How transparent should I be in the application?

[sfp123]

The way I figure is there's a couple scenarios:

1. Marrying so that you can get into the country - MoC
2. Marrying so that you can be with your partner - NOT MoC
3. Marrying so that you can be with your partner via getting into the country - NOT MoC

I think that a lot of us fall under #3.... sfp123 sounds like she does, and I certainly did. If I'd been born in the same country as my spouse, we would have moved in a year earlier than we did, but probably not bothered with getting married until much farther down the line!

I totally agree. And CIC has to know that the reality is that a lot of genuine couples get married for immigration reasons. Which doesn't make them marriages of convenience! But the truth for many is that people get married faster than they might have otherwise. I would certainly rather wait a year, and get to have the traditional engagement, where you plan for a wedding, get excited about being married... and instead, I worry that my big wedding will feel anticlimactic, since I'm already married. But hey, you do what you have to do to be together. And I'm clear that I don't want to be apart...

 

[computergeek]

I totally agree. And CIC has to know that the reality is that a lot of genuine couples get married for immigration reasons. Which doesn't make them marriages of convenience! But the truth for many is that people get married faster than they might have otherwise. I would certainly rather wait a year, and get to have the traditional engagement, where you plan for a wedding, get excited about being married... and instead, I worry that my big wedding will feel anticlimactic, since I'm already married. But hey, you do what you have to do to be together. And I'm clear that I don't want to be apart...

In my case I realized that if it weren't for my partner I wouldn't be going through all of this - I'd have simply taken my initial rejection and gone back to the US. Like you, I'm in pretty much the same situation - I'm the American and my partner is the Canadian and we don't have the option of going to the US - I can very much empathize and understand it. The one good thing is that after 15 months of marriage now things are still amazing, despite the external pressures. We had the smallest possible civil ceremony but I have the best memories of it and when I look back at the pictures I get quite emotional, even now.

Being together makes it all worth this process.

 

[sfp123]

In my case I realized that if it weren't for my partner I wouldn't be going through all of this - I'd have simply taken my initial rejection and gone back to the US. Like you, I'm in pretty much the same situation - I'm the American and my partner is the Canadian and we don't have the option of going to the US - I can very much empathize and understand it. The one good thing is that after 15 months of marriage now things are still amazing, despite the external pressures. We had the smallest possible civil ceremony but I have the best memories of it and when I look back at the pictures I get quite emotional, even now.

Being together makes it all worth this process.

That makes me happy to hear. My big fear is about living apart for a few months, and how hard that will be. Especially if the application takes longer than I'm hoping! But our relationship is so good, I have to trust that we'll be able to ride it out. I'm glad yours feels worth it too!