Hello, I've been working on my wife's sponsorship for the last few weeks and I really need some external opinion...
I'll try to keep it short
Our story
I'm a vietnamese guy (25 years old, born in Canada) who lives in Montreal, she (21 years old) is from a small village in Vietnam.
We're really, deeply in love with one another; our love is genuine there's no doubt about it. BUT, we're scared that the fact that we got married relatively fast can greatly play against us. We first met early October 2011 while I was in Vietnam for a month. We basically lived together because we lived in the same house (my aunt's house), as she worked and lived there (she's a friend of my family back in Vietnam). We fell in love during the same month. Then in November, I had to go back to Canada.
I went back to Vietnam at the end of February 2012. I proposed to her on February 22nd, then we had our engagement ceremony at her parent's house in a very rural place on February 24th. And then we had our wedding ceremony on March 11th, although we didn't have our marriage certificate yet. We decided to organize the ceremony before we got the marriage certificate because we were afraid we were not going to make it in time before I had to go back to Canada on March 18th. The ceremony was very intimate, about 30 family members were there, and it was very laid back; is that bad? Only my mother could follow me from Canada for the ceremony. There were also several of my uncles/aunts/nieces/etc who live in Vietnam. On March 16th, We finally received our marriage certificate.
We didn't have the time to organize a reception yet, we're willing to organize one in Vietnam next time I go there with more family members. And we'd like to organize one in Canada aswell.
Anyway, so my questions are:
1) Can the fact that we got married rather fast from the day we first met affect us negatively? (Roughly 6 months)
2) Is it better to give out as much details and explanations as possible? Or is it better to keep it short and concise? (Mainly regarding the IMM5490 form questions)
3) We organized our wedding ceremony before having our marriage certificate, which I think is illegal in Vietnam. Will that play against us during the sponsorship process?
4) Although we do have pictures of many events we shared together and with friends/family members, we don't have that many photos; we'll send about 30. Would that be enough?
5) In March 2012, I built a website for her, on which I share small things of my life with her almost everyday. It is translated in three languages (Vietnamese, French and English) to help her learn faster English/French. Would it be relevant to include a printed copy of each posts I made on that website? Or should I simply include a link to the website? I can share the link here if there are any curious ones
6) Overall, are our chances any good?
I didn't give out all the details here, but I think our story sounds "alright". Although, I'm also a bit confused, because one of my aunts who used to conduct United States sponsorship interviews in Vietnam told me that if she read our story, she would deny our inquiry... So this is why I'm asking to hear your opinions
I know I'm new here, but I'm looking forward for your replies and I will contribute my own way to this community as I gain more experience
Thank you very much for your time! Any input will be immensely appreciated
I'll try to keep it short
Our story
I'm a vietnamese guy (25 years old, born in Canada) who lives in Montreal, she (21 years old) is from a small village in Vietnam.
We're really, deeply in love with one another; our love is genuine there's no doubt about it. BUT, we're scared that the fact that we got married relatively fast can greatly play against us. We first met early October 2011 while I was in Vietnam for a month. We basically lived together because we lived in the same house (my aunt's house), as she worked and lived there (she's a friend of my family back in Vietnam). We fell in love during the same month. Then in November, I had to go back to Canada.
I went back to Vietnam at the end of February 2012. I proposed to her on February 22nd, then we had our engagement ceremony at her parent's house in a very rural place on February 24th. And then we had our wedding ceremony on March 11th, although we didn't have our marriage certificate yet. We decided to organize the ceremony before we got the marriage certificate because we were afraid we were not going to make it in time before I had to go back to Canada on March 18th. The ceremony was very intimate, about 30 family members were there, and it was very laid back; is that bad? Only my mother could follow me from Canada for the ceremony. There were also several of my uncles/aunts/nieces/etc who live in Vietnam. On March 16th, We finally received our marriage certificate.
We didn't have the time to organize a reception yet, we're willing to organize one in Vietnam next time I go there with more family members. And we'd like to organize one in Canada aswell.
Anyway, so my questions are:
1) Can the fact that we got married rather fast from the day we first met affect us negatively? (Roughly 6 months)
2) Is it better to give out as much details and explanations as possible? Or is it better to keep it short and concise? (Mainly regarding the IMM5490 form questions)
3) We organized our wedding ceremony before having our marriage certificate, which I think is illegal in Vietnam. Will that play against us during the sponsorship process?
4) Although we do have pictures of many events we shared together and with friends/family members, we don't have that many photos; we'll send about 30. Would that be enough?
5) In March 2012, I built a website for her, on which I share small things of my life with her almost everyday. It is translated in three languages (Vietnamese, French and English) to help her learn faster English/French. Would it be relevant to include a printed copy of each posts I made on that website? Or should I simply include a link to the website? I can share the link here if there are any curious ones
6) Overall, are our chances any good?
I didn't give out all the details here, but I think our story sounds "alright". Although, I'm also a bit confused, because one of my aunts who used to conduct United States sponsorship interviews in Vietnam told me that if she read our story, she would deny our inquiry... So this is why I'm asking to hear your opinions
I know I'm new here, but I'm looking forward for your replies and I will contribute my own way to this community as I gain more experience
Thank you very much for your time! Any input will be immensely appreciated