Marriage of Convenience - Consequences

[rjessome]

New decision just released. Looks like some of these are actually getting around to being investigated with negative consequences although it does not say what led the Immigration officer to interview this person. Whatever the trigger, I wonder if we will start seeing more of these.

http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca:8080/Reflex/Reflex_Article_FC.aspx?id=13220&l=e

 

[HoneyBird]

wow! well i don`t think she got married to him for status to canada, rather it was an arranged marriage that did not work out because they had their own lives and did not love each other. You got to feel sorry for these indians because there is an immense pressure to have an arranged marriage and then they just chose to leave when they can leave.

 

[heatherusa]

New decision just released. Looks like some of these are actually getting around to being investigated with negative consequences although it does not say what led the Immigration officer to interview this person. Whatever the trigger, I wonder if we will start seeing more of these.

http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca:8080/Reflex/Reflex_Article_FC.aspx?id=13220&l=e

I had a bit of trouble following the progression of things... did they interview her as the sponsor of her second husband and that is where she got questions wrong about the first marriage?

 

[HoneyBird]

I had a bit of trouble following the progression of things... did they interview her as the sponsor of her second husband and that is where she got questions wrong about the first marriage?

i was wondering that too|! But it said that she got married in india and if she is a pr then she probably was trying to sponsor her new hubby to canada. btw. it was a whole year difference though..

 

[rjessome]

Yes, like I said in the original post, it is not clear what the trigger was. Possibly a complaint of MOC if the "mental cruelty" suffered by her sponsor is true (as the IRB relied on). Or the VO (if she sponsored her 2nd husband) may have taken upon themselves to initiate it. After all, it is their job to ensure the integrity of the Act is maintained. Maybe if this case goes to the IAD more details will be released.

I'll reserve my sympathy for this person because a much more underhanded situation could also be true. A lot of money could have changed hands for all of this to take place as well as some long term planning. There is no indication that either a sympathy-deserving or scorn-deserving situation took place. LOL - obviously I've become jaded through what I've seen over the years. I used to be a much more sympathetic person! However, given the length of the timeframe involved, the opportunity this person and her counsel would have had to prepare for the hearing, and her statements, I'm inclined to believe something shady went down. The IRB has shown itself to be very sympathetic to H&C considerations but only when consistent, not at the 11th hour. A person always remembers the truth. Lies are much harder to keep straight.

Bottom line - IMHO it's GOOD to see consequences being doled out for MOCs. They make the task of sponsoring a spouse in a genuine couple that much more difficult and lengthy.

 

[Love_Young]

Thanks for posting this rjessome.

I am glad they are making a true effort to identify the MOC's out there. I believe that more genuine couples will benefit from this in the near future. Also, when reading it, you could tell that she had been lying because she could not remember important things such as when they first met. In my opinion, unless you come down with dementia or Alzheimer's, if you love the person you are with then you aren't going to forget the first time you met and what it was like. I don't know about anyone else but I can always remember that very first moment we laid eyes on each other in the airport. It was incredible. This is why I don't try to worry too much about if we need an interview because if it is a true and loving relationship then you should already know all the answers to the questions they ask. I mean even if you haven't got to actually live with your partner or spouse yet, you will still probably know what their favorite color is, where they work, when they work, etc. I figure that eventually the ones in a MOC will get caught up in their lies sometime and get the punishment they deserve.

 

[jillandmat]

what do people gain from doing this? really?

 

[HoneyBird]

i maybe coloured by my experience of how certain religions/culture operates.

my parents for instance are arrange marriage. but they stuck together although i know if my mom had a choice she would have probably not stayed
.
while at university i met a foreigner and got involved with him...it was only after i found out he was engaged to a muslim canadian (it was an arranged marriage) and to get out of it, he came to my country on the pretext of studying for a degree...well i broke it off with him and a few months later he had to get married to this girl and then 6 months later they were divorced. now he is on to his second marriage in his home country and he is happier.

so all i am saying is that, i can sympathise. indians have a very interesting culture, no indian wants to get divorced, its like taboo! any indian that seeks a way out of india, can't afford to pay huge sums for a fake wedding etc. their dollar is very very weak and those indians that can seek a way have been doing so using the skilled worker class. i think these scams are few. the problem is the marriages are arranged and these people in relationships just want to either be with someone else or run away.

my parents tried to get me to agree several times to marry when they were approached, but i had the opportunity to say no. however i don't thnk thats the case in india, where parents see a marriage as more of a link between two families and how much they can get out of it.

 

[Leon]

Honeybird, you were lucky that your parents are Canadianized and you were given the opportunity to say no but it seems to me that some immigrants take the old country with them when they move to Canada. We have seen stories on this forum as well as in the media where Canadian girls were forced by their families to accept an arranged marriage.

 

[nae-nae]

it is clear that she married her first husband to gain entry to Canada. They divorced shortly after she arrived in Canada then she married another man from India right away. It appears she was interviewed because she was trying to sponsor her new husband. No doubt doing the same thing she had done, marrying so that he could come to Canada. I'm just glad they caught her because there are so many people that are not caught. She couldn't keep her story straight about the engagement or the divorce and her differing stories did not even match the motion for divorce. As with most fraud, she is no doubt being used by other more powerful individuals and money is being exchanged in the background.

Glad they got caught! I wonder what's happened to the first husband following this hearing. I'm sure he has not gotten away scott free on this one.

 

[HoneyBird]

Honeybird, you were lucky that your parents are Canadianized and you were given the opportunity to say no but it seems to me that some immigrants take the old country with them when they move to Canada. We have seen stories on this forum as well as in the media where Canadian girls were forced by their families to accept an arranged marriage.

Sorry Leon i am not canadian! I am the one being sponsored! I am Trinidadian! My great grand parents migrated from India to Trinidad to work in the sugar cane fields..

My parents are liberal though my extended family still hold on to indian traditions and i have cousins with arranged marriages!

 

[HoneyBird]

it is clear that she married her first husband to gain entry to Canada. They divorced shortly after she arrived in Canada then she married another man from India right away. It appears she was interviewed because she was trying to sponsor her new husband. No doubt doing the same thing she had done, marrying so that he could come to Canada. I'm just glad they caught her because there are so many people that are not caught. She couldn't keep her story straight about the engagement or the divorce and her differing stories did not even match the motion for divorce. As with most fraud, she is no doubt being used by other more powerful individuals and money is being exchanged in the background.

Glad they got caught! I wonder what's happened to the first husband following this hearing. I'm sure he has not gotten away scott free on this one.

I was discussing this last nite with my hubby and he said the same thing. Cause if she got divorced so quickly after the first marriage i.e. 4 months then why did she remain in canada? why if she was gone back to india to find a husband, that she did not return permanently to india? why stay in canada.

so basically i was stumped with that one...maybe she saw a better life?

 

[GTWifey]

Marriage Fraud is a delicate yet serious issue here in Canada. Ive always stated on this forum that its very common & happens more than one would like to believe. The signed Undertaking is a serious legal contract between the sponsor and the Canadian government. It explains very clearly the responsibilities (financial obligations) that come with spousal sponsorship.

I would love to hear from couples (still on the forum) who have stayed together several years after completing the sponsorship process. . . I know of many couples on both sides of the spectrum. The couples who have stayed together always had, and continue to have, very close connections with their foreign spouse's immediate family, friends, culture, & country.