Throughout the process, we must remain level-headed and do what is required to obtain a positive result. But even though I am a sponsor I will speak here as a citizen, from one of the first families to settle this part of the world, 350 years ago: No one should entertain any illusions that their foreign partners have any "right" whatsoever to be here.
As I have been told several times at the border when I had to go to the United States to visit my partner, entering a foreign country to visit or to stay is a privilege, not a right, and that privilege can either be granted or denied. Immigration officers have a lot of leeway in determining whether or not to accept an application. It is best to leave them with as few doubts as possible. They are being very careful and I fully agree with this, even though I have been waiting for 7 years for my partner to join me here. The process is long, complex and often arbitrary, and the personal feelings of the people involved about this process are not a factor and should not be.
Indeed, I have gone through all kinds of emotions in trying to get my partner here. I have been hopeful, disappointed, distraught, impatient; I had to sell my home to be able to travel regularly to see my spouse in the U.S.; all the papers we had to get; all the forms we had to fill; the letters of recommendation we needed, not to mention the fees! But I never lowered myself to accuse CIC of being under direct political influence and, in effect, of being corrupt. If you are going to drag through the mud the very organization on which you are depending to reach your life goals, you had better back it up! The state doesn't owe anyone happiness; all we can do is pull ourselves together, get informed and do our utmost to reach a positive result, no matter the hoops we have to jump through and the sacrifices we have to make.
