Lawyer or no Lawyer

[Sous02]

Gotcha! Had me questioning my application! Thanks for clarifying!

This issue of notarization could go either way. It is a key document in your application. Given cic's flexibility I would read what the majority of posters have done and perhaps get ready.

 

[wedhadi16]

Dont get a lawyer, you can do it on your own just follow the check list read the question carefully dont leavee anything blank. i Had a lawyer and i had the worst experience ever. i had to redo my application on my own and everything is going well. good luck

 

[MattBurnes]

ooookay, you guys really got me thinking here.

On a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being the highest) - how important is the notarized letter of her parents knowing about the marriage?

We can a notarized letter from them saying they know we are in a relationship; or even being engaged. But telling her parents that we actually already did get married w/out telling them is not going to go through well. At the end of the day, if we really have to, it will be okay and if that's what it takes that's what it's going to be. But if we could get around that if would be great

My family is a little more liberal and it would be okay for me to tell them and could easily get them to write a letter and have it officially translated+notarized.

Again, we have tons of evidence; 1 year of just friends and almost 1 years of dating... we live together, literally spend every free minute together; go on trips and have millions of pictures and even videos that are publicly available (we will include some screencaps).

 

[wedhadi16]

why do you need a letter notarized by her parents? thats too much if u have enough photos ,evidence etc you are good to go,BUT if u get an iterview they will ask you where were her family or friends at the wedding , why didnt they come. so when u finish ur application explain to them. i did that because i my first application i didnt have my famly in my wedding so when i re did my application i explained to them the 2 pages of what had happened. your going to drive yourself crazy. i you have phots of your familes together put them all in the application.

 

[profiler]

ooookay, you guys really got me thinking here.

On a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being the highest) - how important is the notarized letter of her parents knowing about the marriage?

We can a notarized letter from them saying they know we are in a relationship; or even being engaged. But telling her parents that we actually already did get married w/out telling them is not going to go through well. At the end of the day, if we really have to, it will be okay and if that's what it takes that's what it's going to be. But if we could get around that if would be great

My family is a little more liberal and it would be okay for me to tell them and could easily get them to write a letter and have it officially translated+notarized.

Again, we have tons of evidence; 1 year of just friends and almost 1 years of dating... we live together, literally spend every free minute together; go on trips and have millions of pictures and even videos that are publicly available (we will include some screencaps).

My wife's parents didn't sign anything. They do show up in our pictures with me and my family though...

 

[wedhadi16]

ok i would advise you that you write on a sheet of paper they reason why both of your families werent there. because they will question you thats the only thing other than that your good to go since you have plenty of photos

 

[canadianwoman]

You do not need any letters from family and friends attesting that your relationship is genuine. Only people applying common-law need that. Of course, some people who are sponsoring their husband or wife do include such letters, but it is really not necessary. If you do not want to tell people you are already married, then just do not use letters from family and friends as part of your evidence.

However, I would not say on the application that people do not know you are married. This will look strange to the visa officer. Just don't mention it at all. You can include photos of the two of you with friends and each other's families without saying anything about whether they know you are married. They obviously know about the relationship.

Then, in the application you can say that you want to have a big wedding reception in Mexico. Include proof of this plan. You can explain that you got married in a small civil ceremony because you did not have enough money yet for the big reception.

If there is an interview, and the visa officer specifically asks about whether people know you are married, you have to tell the truth. But not including this fact in your application is not a lie. (It is just an odd fact that will complicate your application for no good reason.) You are a German and Canadian couple, so with the evidence you have that your relationship is genuine, it is unlikely that there will be an interview.

 

[Hello_123]

When my husband and I were filing out our application we also debated whether to hire a lawyer or not and we did without one. Like you said, the application is pretty straight forward, however at times you may doubt yourself if you're providing enough supporting document/proofs or if you're understanding the form correctly. This is why this forum is great! If you spend sometime browsing through it you'll probably find your question already asked by many other and information on it shared by people who have been through it.

If you haven't applied, another thing to consider would be to apply INLand or Outland. The processing time is significantly shorter when applying outland (outside of Canada/through a Canadian embassy) than applying within Canada. If your currently employer is willing to extend your work permit then you can enjoy the advantage of shorter PR processing time and staying in Canada with your wife with a valid work visa!
If you choose to apply InLand then you will have to obtain a valid visa in order to enter and stay in Canada once your current work visa expires. Within Inland application, you will be eligible to apply for a open work permit which I hear takes about 4-5 months to come through.

All the best to you, with or without a lawyer! 

 

[MattBurnes]

Did you guys include the application for the open work permit in the same package or did you send it out individually? The government website states I should not send
multiple applications within the same package as it might delay processing time.

 

[profiler]

Did you guys include the application for the open work permit in the same package or did you send it out individually? The government website states I should not send
multiple applications within the same package as it might delay processing time.

All together in one package, but clearly separated.

 

[canadianwoman]

Are you applying inland or outland? You include the application for the open work permit with the inland application. With an outland application, you cannot get an open work permit.

Keep in mind that outland applicants can be in Canada while the application is being processed, and that outland is generally much faster than inland.

 

[MattBurnes]

I'm applying inland.

Yeah I know it would be faster but my current work permit will expire at the end of
February. A visitor visa would also be an option but there is no rush for us so I'll we'll just go with inland

Thanks for all your help!