confusednscared said:
It depends on how you entered into the US, legally with a Visa using your own identity and overstayed or illegally using someone's identity (backtrack). CIC is very particular about how you entered into the US especially if you have no legal status.
If you have entered using fake documents and different identities, then you have automatically breached an immigration law and is considered inadmissible to Canada.
If you have used your own documents and entered on a legally issued US Visa but overstayed, you have a better chance of scoring.
A friend of mine is going through the process of ADR because her husband was rejected under "inadmissibility" as he entered the US illegally using fake documents. The IO admitted that there is no issues with their relationships but he is seen as a "criminal" because of his silly mistake some 10+ years ago.
It's a very serious offense. I would suggest if you are in this situation that you seek a proper immigration lawyer to go through your options. I wouldn't listen to people's advise and not show up for your interview in Guyana or Trinidad. It is important you attend your interview. Not attending your interview will burn your bridges when it comes to future immigration to Canada. Maybe an immigration LAWYER, not CONSULTANT, can help you prepare to answer questions at your interview regarding how you entered the US.
One other thing to keep in mind is get all legal documents you have from the US whether police or Government to show you have no criminal records.
If you are rejected from Canada because you are viewed inadmissible, I think you still stand a chance of having that inadmissibility overthrown once you can prove your living situation in the US (local police checks from all regions you've lived since you landed) and genuineness of relationship but it could take you through the whole 10 yards of ADR and follow-up hearings with your spouse in Canada. It's timely and you can look at spend about 2-3 years (the max) in Guyana to wait out the process.
Good Luck!
yeah and it is a little even more complicated than that. My husband was advised by people who wanted to take him across the border. Someone basically drove up to the border with him in a car and told him to say he was American, and that had lost his passport. Obviously that did not worked out so well and they detained him and charged him with IMMIGRATION charges, which are not the same as CRIMINAL charges, before deporting him back to Mexico. he never used a fake ID, but never entered legally either. After that event, he attempted again and successfully reach the Us where he lived for about 2 years, illegally.
Immigrations charges does not make one inadmissible, but some can be also criminal, and criminal ones are what makes one inadmissible.
I have worked with a lawyer on this. From the start she made it clear to us that he was not inadmissible, but that an agent, inexperienced, ignorant or careless could make the mistake to refuse him based on that. Yet if this was to happen she said she was 100% confident she could win this before a judge, someone who knows the law.
MY husband was called for an interview, and the agent did not seem to care much about our relationship. she asked much more questions on his illegal status and what had happened, and but mostly why he had charges on his FBI record. She basically told him she had no issue with our relationship, but was not sure he was admissible so that before approving him she needed to consult with her superior.
I think that the work of our lawyer is what also made them handle this more carefully. already in the lawyer's submission letter with the applications, all of this was honestly discolosed. she also had a note, that stated that all of this situation did not make him inadmissible. When the agent brought the inadmissibility factor, he pointed out to her what the lawyer had stated.
After his interview, based on what my husband reported back to her, she wrote right away a letter to the embassy, re establishing, what she knew to be the law, and that if he was to be refused, she knew she would win this and that it would be unfortunate as the result would be the same, and we would have to wait an other year, and more resources would be wasted..
maybe it made a difference maybe it didn't but I like to think that the way she handled this pushed them to consider carefully before giving a random decision...
none of this is about chance, all of this is based on LAWS. An agent doesn't just say yes or no. he has to give a decision, in a written resume, that details the reason one is refused. His refusal has to be based on what the law says. the problem unfortunately, is that a lot of people in those positions are not so familiar with the laws... A lot of agents, are locals, thye are not even canadian..So how much can one expect them to know the canadian law...and this is why appeals exists, so that someone like a judge, more experienced and knowledgeable of the law can re-evaluate the decision..
I agree that getting a lawyer is the most advisable thing to do at this point.
On a different note, I think what probably also made this better, is that he went back to Peru, his homeland not for the interview, but at the same moment the application was submitted. I think it demonstrated that he was willing to do things correctly, and that he was not just in it to get out of the country and papers as he already was out of it and decided to go back to his homeland with the risk of leaving behind all he had worked for during the 5 previous years...
