are lawyers actually needed?

[MizzM]

my husband is applying for PR. after some drama weve managed to get every single piecd of information requested except 2 birthdates of uncle and cousin who live in Canada (there are over 50 immediate family members here). Now his Aunt is saying we are mot smart for wanting to file without a lawyer...... but also is not offerimg to pay ill add. but is hounding us to get one. i have access to lawyers to consult with which I have done when i was really confused. now that being said my husband has over stayed his work Visa but we are legally married now and I was born here. is it really going to make much of a difference? could we file (since at this point only thing i need is a stamp) and THEN if we run into problems get a lawyer? he used a consultant before and got totally screwed over which is why he has now overstayed so we arent keen on consultants. I just dont see what else a lawyer could do that I haven't been able to do. advice? thank you

 

[JulianaAndrew]

No, lawyers are not necessary at all. In many cases, it is better to go without one. Unless you have a complicated case, with red flags and other inconveniences, a lawyer would be recommended. Personally I recommend you to write a letter, 5 pages or so long, detailing the relationship with your husband, specifically showing the timeline of your relationship. They don't ask for this on the checklist nor the guides, but it is really a great thing to do.
Anyway, if at any point you need a lawyer, then get a lawyer, but you do not need one right now to submit your app. Double check everything, submit updated forms (there are some updated October) and do it right the first time, so you don't get your application returned.

 

[Rob_TO]

my husband is applying for PR. after some drama weve managed to get every single piecd of information requested except 2 birthdates of uncle and cousin who live in Canada (there are over 50 immediate family members here). Now his Aunt is saying we are mot smart for wanting to file without a lawyer...... but also is not offerimg to pay ill add. but is hounding us to get one. i have access to lawyers to consult with which I have done when i was really confused. now that being said my husband has over stayed his work Visa but we are legally married now and I was born here. is it really going to make much of a difference? could we file (since at this point only thing i need is a stamp) and THEN if we run into problems get a lawyer? he used a consultant before and got totally screwed over which is why he has now overstayed so we arent keen on consultants. I just dont see what else a lawyer could do that I haven't been able to do. advice? thank you

Lawyers are definitely not need for basic cases. Vast majority do without them, and many that do use lawyers later regret the decision as there are tons of stories here of lawyers causing unnecessary delays or making mistakes.

But why are you getting all your family's info?? All you need for the PR app is info of parents and siblings, that's it. Uncles, cousins, etc are not required.
This is the only form you need to put your sibling's info on: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5406E.pdf

 

[MizzM]

se th

Lawyers are definitely not need for basic cases. Vast majority do without them, and many that do use lawyers later regret the decision as there are tons of stories here of lawyers causing unnecessary delays or making mistakes.

But why are you getting all your family's info?? All you need for the PR app is info of parents and siblings, that's it. Uncles, cousins, etc are not required.
This is the only form you need to put your sibling's info on: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5406E.pdf[/QUOTE

thats what I had read about lawyers too that they werent necessary and that lots regret using one.

under the relationship information it askes for family and specially states "uncles,aunts and cousins ect." who currently reside in canada.

as for the info for his family back home that was easy. although he has a heard of brothers and sisters hes close to all of them.

the problem was with the info they request for family members here in Canada as there are SOOOOOO many and they are so strange with giving info. every one of them have immigrated here soooo the government already has their info but they are just geing difficult and there are a bunch who he knows of but never met. It was frustrating but eventually we got pretty much all the info they asked for.

 

[MizzM]

No, lawyers are not necessary at all. In many cases, it is better to go without one. Unless you have a complicated case, with red flags and other inconveniences, a lawyer would be recommended. Personally I recommend you to write a letter, 5 pages or so long, detailing the relationship with your husband, specifically showing the timeline of your relationship. They don't ask for this on the checklist nor the guides, but it is really a great thing to do.
Anyway, if at any point you need a lawyer, then get a lawyer, but you do not need one right now to submit your app. Double check everything, submit updated forms (there are some updated October) and do it right the first time, so you don't get your application returned.

a 5 page letter explaining our relationship? we have the letter explaining his overstay. what would we say in a letter explaining our relationship? what would it be explaining? like give a detailed time line? we've only been together for 1.5 yrs lol there isnt 5 pages to explain hahaha unless we explain about everyone of our amazing adventures as a couple weve had but i dont think they want to hear about how we went skydiving or hiking or rapelling or camping or skiing or,or,or hahaha.... could you explain the purpose of this a lil more please? thank you for you

 

[MizzM]

se th

weird... not sure why my response went into the quote... sorry

 

[JulianaAndrew]

It would help the officer to have a better understanding of the relationship. Therefore they could reach the conclusion that the relationship is genuine quicker. It is up to you, if you don't want to that's fine.

 

[YVR123]

I don't think 5 pages letter about relationship development is the right length for everyone. It doesn't hurt to write about relationship development. And ours was 1 page (double space) back then.

 

[MizzM]

It would help the officer to have a better understanding of the relationship. Therefore they could reach the conclusion that the relationship is genuine quicker. It is up to you, if you don't want to that's fine.

hmmm ok awesome thank you ill see what i can come up with. thanks for the advice

 

[MizzM]

I don't think 5 pages letter about relationship development is the right length for everyone. It doesn't hurt to write about relationship development. And ours was 1 page (double space) back then.

thank you for that info that helps

 

[Rob_TO]

under the relationship information it askes for family and specially states "uncles,aunts and cousins ect." who currently reside in canada.

Ah yes, indeed it does. I don't recall that section back when we applied, perhaps since my spouse at the time had no family at all in Canada.

And for the relationship "essay" part, we just kept it very simple and stuck to the space provided on the application page. Though I think a 1-pager explaining the basics like how you met, dated, propsed, got married, etc would be more than enough.

 

[MizzM]

Any other "would help" advice that isnt in the checklist before we submit it all??
someone said to do a cover page but i tried doing one and omg it was 3 pages long lol soooo i feel like thats counteractive lol thanks so mucg for all the help its very appreciated

 

[geografa]

It sounds like everyone approaches this differently. We included a cover letter with our application, along with a photo-timeline (which we added to Q11 of IMM5532 (where it asks if there is any supplementary info about the relationship you would like to add). Our timeline showed us on visits and adventures together over our 4 year relationship. The focus was photos with captions to explain things. This allowed us to show the passing of time (eg. we look different now, my partner's neice has grown etc.). I would say that you should take advantage of any opportunity the application allows to convince the agent of the genuineness of your relationship. By including this part to Q11 we are not breaking the 20 photo limit, and it fits into the whole application structure. That's a suggestion from our end. BTW- we have just begun the process and have only received sponsor approval and AOR1, so this is purely anecdotal advice at this point

 

[Jaywill]

I use one and time will tell, they have caught errors that I wouldn't have thought of, and made good suggestions for strengthening my application. I think my app is better because I have one.

 

[CanadianZenGirl]

My husband and I are the most boring couple alive, real homebodies who seldom leave the house ... we don't travel, we don't hang out with friends, we only see family occasionally ... and I wrote four pages outlining our relationship, single-spaced on both sides of the paper. I probably could have written more, too. I think that was the easiest part of our application package. I wrote about how we met and our visitation routine (he would drive up from the States, so there were no passport stamps or airline ticket stubs to show), getting together with my family for holidays, my trip south of the border to get married and meet his family, how we spent our time when he was here, etc.