I just had a thought -- is it possible Mississauga lost our marriage certificate, and Nairobi VO got an incomplete package? I can't think of any other reason to explain this.Hi all,
I finally heard something from CIC, just not what I expected. My husband's application (I am the sponsor) has been processing since February 25, by the Nairobi VO. I received a message alert from My CIC this morning, which turned out to be a letter addressed to my husband. It said that it appears he may not meet the requirements for immigration to Canada because our "marriage ceremony" (Islamic nikah) was conducted in Canada without his presence, therefore we are not married under Canadian law, because Canada does not recognize Islamic nikah as marriage (nor does it recognize marriage by proxy). They are giving us 30 days to provide more information otherwise, they say, they will make a decision based on what they have, "which may result in the refusal of your application."
Anyway, I know all of this - we were married in the faith tradition for *us*, and I included those documents not as proof of marriage but as proof of relationship. We ARE married legally in Ethiopia, in a marriage recognized under Canadian law. Our application included our marriage certificate from Ethiopia, its English translation and an affidavit for the translation.
I don't understand how the immigration officer missed this, it just makes no sense. We had an extremely well organized application package, including a table of contents that referred to all the documents included! I'm thinking to respond with an explanatory letter, and attaching the marriage certificate for reference. What do you guys think of the situation?
Also, will scans of the marriage certificate, affidavit and translation be enough for my 'response'? The original affidavit and certified copy of the marriage certificate are/were in the application package, and I can refer to it in my explanation letter (I have page numbers for everything!).