Kingston,Jamaica

[Vanny]

Hey Kingston Forum,

Congrats to Yardie, happy for your guys
and everyone else who has gotten an update.

We had our interview today and everything was perfect, but our application was denied due to the fact that I did not provide enough proof....that I could have lived in Jamaica for a year. ( no denial letter)
But we have 2 denial letters (for my bf)

Apparently I can live there for 1 year as an un married couple? The visa officer was adamant that I could live there for a year.

Does anyone know if this is true? I called the passport office and they said i can only get
a 6 months extension as a visitor. There is no 1 year office.

I don't get the visa's officer rationale on this.. he said canada and jamaica share the same laws?!

Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[lonely_wife]

Vanny I am so sorry about this.. I cannot help you in any ways with your questions has I do not have a clue but I just wanted to say my thoughts and prayer are with you... I hope things work out for you (virtual hug)

 

[chelley]

vanny...

awww so sorry to hear about the decline, that sucks royally and is the first time i'm hearing of kingston declining a PR (although i'm sure it does happen, no doubt!)

i'm assuming you applied under congugal? unfortunately the burden of proof for this category is on you...

you can appeal and try to demonstrate that jamaican law state that you are in an illegal "overstay" situation if you extend your stay past 6m (a condition which bears zero penalty but I do believe exists none the less)... it'll be a tough one since you didn't actually TRY but if you have enough legal background to show that you cannot do it, the appeal may go thru... it might be beneficial to get legal assistance in gathering the documentation you'd require to support your appeal (jamaican law is somewhat difficult to navigate from what i've found, contradicting information is rampant from my experience, they like to change policy to suit the colour of their shoes (or the colour of money to be more specific)... so it may be the case that, with paying x amount to PICA, you actually CAN extend past 6m (i know to extend TO 6m it's currently 10,000J, and there were recent laws that allowed spouses of citizens get unconditional status, however i'm not sure if that extends to common law spouses, and if so, what their definition of common law is, that might possibly be a hurdle you would need to overcome?))

alternately as you've been told that there isn't doubt in your relationship, you could bite the bullet, marry (or do the common law 1 year thing) and reapply, knowing that your application will likely be approved... I have no idea what the timelines for appeals are, but it might end up being the faster (and less costly) route.... you already have your application prepared, it would just be re-printing forms and a few different pieces of evidence and you know that thru marriage the reason for denial would be allievated, so this is probably the way i would suggest personally...

so sorry again... i wish i could do more because i can imagine you're beyond gutted...

 

[jahlove]

Vanny - Wow, i heart goes out for you i am so rry to hear that but like lonely_wife i have no knowledge of these things. I sure pray thing work out for you though love.

 

[chelley]

btw... for the record, i overstayed my 3m (by 4m), didn't even do the "extend to the 6m" application... when we left there wasn't even a question as to how long we stayed, never mind why we overstayed... this may hold some insight as to why the visa officer says that you would be allowed to stay?


i was expecting to at least have to pay for the extension in arrears at the airport... but they didn't even bat an eyelash....

maybe the law isn't actually a law but a guideline? lol

 

[soanxiouswifey]

Sorry to hear Vanny I think once they give you 6 months then thats what u are ''allowed'' to stay but if you stay longer no one really cares...as chelly mentioned she overstayed as well...

you can always appeal, get your facts together on the laws of jamaica and such... i think that once the two of you love each other and wish to spend your lives together you should go ahead and get married. all the best on whatever you decide...

 

[Vanny]

Thanks for your replies ladies. lonleywife and jahlove
This has been going on for months.. that letter was never in the pkg, not sure why it would take them over a year to say no.
I read on the canadian visitors travel website you could get jailed for overstaying and it's illegal, I didn't want risk anything. That's why I didn't even try? And it's written openly on their passport office visa site, we can extend for 6 months.

The same thing goes for Jamaicans overstaying Canada it's not allowed. I will try to appeal and show them evidence that is on Their website? And go the mo bay passport office next week and pay 150$ to get a denial letter.

He told my bf this category is for people who cannot leave their country. So if they cannot leave their country, how would they have met in the first place?! Stupid..


I will email the immigration officer and tell him he's an idiot and I am sorry that I have to pay taxes for a unqualified visa officer with no common sense.

Chelley, maybe it was because you were married ? that's why they didn't question. I am not sure. But I am glad you guys got through quick, since you have kids involded. My baby son is over there with his dad and I miss them both so much.


It's good to see so many 2010 applications flying out the door

 

[Vanny]

soanxiouswifey we would have married but he's going through a long divorce process, it's been 2 years already
.we should get the temporary divorce cert soon. omg you've been waiting for a long time too!!!
why are they holding up your file...gees

 

[soanxiouswifey]

I heard its hard for people to get a fiance/conjugal partner visas for Canada,

that sucks! out here it does take a while to get a divorce, I cant imagine how angry and sad you must feel. It is Illegal to stay over 6 months. Even with my son, he is american and when he comes into the country they will give him 6 months, they can give me problems because he is not supposed to stay in jamaica over 6 months but its been way over 6 months since he went back to the US.

You should appeal with a representative, I hope it all works out well for you my love. Try to keep your spirits up.

As for my file i am just chilling waiting on them, don't know why they taking so long. They have my passport now so I am waiting to see what next...what will they ask for next...i tell you this is really crazy

 

[chelley]

i don't think the lack of reaction on the overstay was anything to do with my marriage... they didn't question us at all over it (and my passport is in my maiden name, so marriage would not be the obvious assumption)... we called and asked about (not) extending the 3m stamp to the 6m and they're response was "oh, you should do it right away", i asked what would happen if it wasn't done, and their response was "oh you should come in and pay the fee right away, there's no reason why you wouldn't be granted the extension" lol... there really seems to be no documented (or undocumented) reprecussions for overstaying the alloted time staying... when i was on the island they were tracking down a doctor who had been on "illegally" for over 19 years, why? for tax evasion, not overstaying... they just want the money and can't really design policy that doesn't see some sort of finanical benefit... that's why i wonder if there really is an OFFICAL law, or just a guideline that allows them to collect when it's convienent... after living there, nothing would surprise me!

i'm sure you'll find that information on their website is inconclusive at best (i found contradicting info on the PICA website and invalid links to supporting documents and so on... i doubt you'll get anywhere with providing substantial proof from there!), this is why i suggest getting a legal type involved if you are serious about appealing, it could be another long road and it's best to invest into it if you're serious... if you try to extend at mobay i can just bet that you will get told you must extend to 6m then come back when that's expired... and remember, there are legal ways to stay in a country for more than 6m (study permits ect ect... if they're being stickler on this element, you'd need to demonstrate that you do not qualify for any of those... it's not just as simple as printing out a copy of something that a (crappy) website say... if you want to appeal, you'd best be VERY PREPARED for anything and everything they might ask/request....

i strongly advise NOT verbally abusing a government official (especially through a trackable mechanism), while you feel angry and hurt now you could be significantly limiting your future options in doing so... they may not take it lightly! if you want to fight this, i suggest going the manner suggested...

marrying would probably still be the better path even with a wait for the divorce, congugal is a tricky one to prove regardless, not only must you overcome the reasons why you wouldn't qualified as married, but you are also required to demonstrate interrdependance on 5 different levels... even they believe your relationship is genuine, they could still decline an appeal on another technicality (i.e. failure to prove financial codependence for example, if your finances are not in some way connected in a marriage-like arrangement, not saying they are or are not, just that there are SO many points you must prove/disprove to qualify as congugal and it's the most complicated category to prove and you really have to have a bullet proof application that doesn't miss a thing... they will pick it apart otherwise... i've heard successful congugal applications are upwards of 700+ pages... not sure how true that is, but that scares the crap out of me with my 45pg application lol


i know, no help, but with immigration it really is black and white and you're best to know what you're up against to determine what you should do next... sorry for the ramble, i do feel for you and sincerely wish you best of luck, i hope you can get your family together and home soon... the little guy needs his mommy and daddy!

 

[chelley]

btw... congrats Yardie... glad to hear more positive outcomes.... hope the ppt call comes soon!

 

[CharlieD10]

OMG Vanny, so sorry to hear!

I have to say though, when my husband came, the Immigration Officer didn't believe him about coming to get married (maybe it was the earrings?) and she gave him a three months' stay only. I was flabbergasted because I knew it was normally 6 months! So we ended up going to PICA and paying for an extension, and again they only gave him 3 months.

Next time he comes, we are applying for unconditional landing, because I don't want him hassled every time he comes. He doesn't think he will be though, because when he was leaving, the Immigration Officer who saw him on the way out demanded to see his marriage certificate, and lucky for us, he had it on him. He said the Officer made some entries in his computer, and told him that he is now flagged as the spouse of a citizen, so he should mention it next time he comes to Jamaica.

I am so sorry to hear though. I know from reading around this site that it takes at least a year to get a full appeal hearing, 6-8 months for ADR. You might need to sit down with your husband and discuss whether you want to pursue appeal, or re-apply under spousal once the divorce is final. First though, you guys need to spend some time just consoling each other, this is a hard thing!

 

[chelley]

charlie...

they used to give 6m automatically if your ticket dates were more than 3 or 4 weeks... if your ticket was for less than that they gave a month(plus a day) or 3m, and it was free to extend to 6m if you wanted to (something in Jamaica free??), but in Oct 09 they implemented a 10k fee to extend from 3 to 6m and now they only give 3m, i've not heard of anyone getting a 6m stamp automatically since that date... i suspect if he came after then it was nothing more than the standard money grab.... they want that 10k!


hopefully unconditonal still applies, it's unclear if they have changed it or not for spouses (one of those mixed messages/no supporting documetation things i was talking about!)... i think i might get it if we choose to have any more children.... and spend my mat leave in jamaica again

 

[CharlieD10]

Chelley - that's disgraceful. We had to pay the fees for the extension around the same time of our honeymoon, believe me, we had better uses for that money!

I know that when I go to the US, even for just a weekend, they give me a 6 months stay automatically, don't know why Jamaica must be so tief!

I spoke to a gentleman from PICA recently, he told me to get the unconditional landing for my husband, so I am guessing it is still in effect.

 

[Vanny]

Soanxiouswifey, since he’s a minor maybe they might let it go? My son has been there since last June/10, we got him unconditional landing because his dad is Jamaican. I think he will be fine.

Chelley you’re right, there is probably nothing set in stone. To me things in writing are very important especially government related information. If it’s on their site, they must abide by it. But Jamaica is different; I should have thought of that and covered myself
by getting something concrete. The funny thing is… why the hell would I put so much effort in living there?? I am applying for him live here, not me living there. Anyways, I’ll take your advice about not verbally abusing the immigration officer. I’ll keep my thoughts to myself. I’ll speak to a lawyer and see if he sees a case ? If not, I will wait for the divorce and reply again. I have seen American citizens apply under that same category and get approved. It baffles me. They can visit each other freely.

The only reason why we applied under this category was to be reunited as a family due to small children as we knew the divorce might take awhile.

I won’t let this get me down, we will move on and plan the next move 

Charlie, what kind of earrings does your husband wear? Diamond studs or hoop earrings lol I can’t believe we have to wait another 6-8 months, perhaps 15… oh lord.

They jus want to rob ppl of their money!! It’s crazy ughhh!!

This immigration officer was so young, under 30 on top of that.. yelling at my bf
So why didn’t u marry!?! Why didn’t y ou marry tell me?!?!

Anyways, good thing I wasn’t there..