Questions regarding multiple visa

[ARCX77]

Hello everyone,

I would like to have your comments on my situation:

I'm a Canadian guy and I met a Cuban girl 8 months ago. We felt in love pretty fast and since then, lots of phone calls, thousands of sms, several emails and I went with her on vacation
2 times for one week each time in Cuba and I'll go back soon for a 2 weeks in her family to meet them and her friends.

I learned that Cuban law will change on January 14th 2013 and Cuban people should be able to travel outside Cuba with only a passport and a visa.

I have a very good job and I can take several weeks / months off every year. I have no problem to go to Cuba to have time with her and her family. I would
like her to come here and meet my family and friends also. She already met all my older sister's family in Cuba some times ago.

For her to come here I have 2 choices:

1- get a visa for temporary stay
2- wedding in Cuba and sponsor her to come here in Canada.

Because we want to do all things the right way, I would like her to come here with a visa to met my family and friends, see how she will adapt to our country,
if she'll miss her family and friends etc. So the first thing would be to apply for a visa first.

Here's my questions:

1- should we try the single or multiple visa first, as I would like her to come and go from Canada several times a year ? Which one is easier to get ?

2- She's single and me also, and all her family lives in Cuba. She has a job, but might not be able to keep it if she comes here. Is this can be a problem
getting the Visa ? If all her family lives in Cuba, is this strong enough to show that she'll go back and respect the law ?

3- I would like her to come here for 3 months the first time (from march to may 2013 )and we already planned to be in Cuba for 1 week in July 2013 but we haven't buy our tickets as of now.
If I buy our tickets for the week in July is this strong enough to show that she'll go back in her country in may ?

4- If the temporary visa is denied, we plan to get married and try to sponsor her as family / spouse. If the temporary visa has been denied, could this be a problem to sponsor her as a
spouse ?

5- If we get married, they ask if she met all my family and if not why. If the visa is denied, she won't be able to meet all my family and she won't have any idea how's the life here in Canada.
Is it possible to explain that we tried to get a visa and got a refusal ?

I've been in Cuba several times and even if it's heartbreaking to leave, I left every time on the scheduled date. We plan to do the same thing when she'll come to Canada.
We are respectful of the laws and our plan is to live few months here in Canada and few months in Cuba. My family is important to me and her family is important to her and
we want to live in both country. Is there a way to put that in the invitation letter so they can understand that it's not our goal for her to live here all the time in Canada ?

I know it's a lot of questions, but the more informations I have, the better we can prepare

Thank you

David

 

[amikety]

I'll answer what I know. If I skip anything, it's because I don't have enough knowledge to help. Also, I think someone slipped some drugs into my dinner (joking) so if my reply has any gross mispelling or wonkiness, ignore. I usually can write and form coherent thoughts. Usually..... >.>

Pre-questions:

Yes, it would help if she can come to Canada to meet your family. If she can't, consider bringing a few members of your family to Cuba to meet her if it's affordadble for them. The fact they have met matters more than where they met.

2) If she has to quit her job to visit you a) Don't volunteer this information to Immigration, b) Yes, it is looked on negatively to not have a job, but it can be outweighed by other factors; c) Does she have a backup plan to support herself? (Last one has nothing to do with Immigration, just general concern on my nosy part.)

3) In my opinion, showing you have a trip already planned and paid for (especially if it's a non-refundable ticket) is very good proof she will return to Cuba

4) A fiance/e or spouse being denied a TRV is common. You will need to include this denial in her application and explain the circumstances around it. Getting a TRV for a fiance/e or spouse is very difficult as they're considered an overstay risk.

5) The visa being denied would be a great tool as to why she hasn't met your family. Also, if your family can't afford to go to Cuba, put that in the story as well. None of my family has met my husband (and if God loves me, they never will). In that case, I'll need to write a letter explaining why. You'll need to do the same. Once again, a TRV refusal must be declared in her application. If she forgets to mention it, Immigration will know. It's the same place ( more or less!).

Post-Questions

In order for your future wife to maintain her PR status, she must spend 2 out of 5 years in Canada. She can be outside for 3 years, but not 3 years and 1 day. I'm sure you know this, but most provinces also have residental requirements to maintain healthcare.

You should include anything you feel is relevent in your invitation letter and your reasoning is valid, however, her TRV still has a good chance of being refused. It has nothing to do with her and everything to do with other Cubans committing fraud and overstaying.

That being said, on a personal note, 8 months is a very short period of time. CIC will judge a relationship on it's length. You may wish to burn me at the stake for saying this, but Cuba in general isn't a nice place to live. Be careful. You live in a nice country and have a nice job (as you've said). Don't become a golden ticket. I would recommend some research into Immigration fraud - know what you will be held liable for in the event of the unthinkable.

 

[candyman2121]

Hello everyone,

I would like to have your comments on my situation:

I'm a Canadian guy and I met a Cuban girl 8 months ago. We felt in love pretty fast and since then, lots of phone calls, thousands of sms, several emails and I went with her on vacation
2 times for one week each time in Cuba and I'll go back soon for a 2 weeks in her family to meet them and her friends.

I learned that Cuban law will change on January 14th 2013 and Cuban people should be able to travel outside Cuba with only a passport and a visa.

I have a very good job and I can take several weeks / months off every year. I have no problem to go to Cuba to have time with her and her family. I would
like her to come here and meet my family and friends also. She already met all my older sister's family in Cuba some times ago.

For her to come here I have 2 choices:

1- get a visa for temporary stay
2- wedding in Cuba and sponsor her to come here in Canada.

Because we want to do all things the right way, I would like her to come here with a visa to met my family and friends, see how she will adapt to our country,
if she'll miss her family and friends etc. So the first thing would be to apply for a visa first.

Here's my questions:

1- should we try the single or multiple visa first, as I would like her to come and go from Canada several times a year ? Which one is easier to get ?

2- She's single and me also, and all her family lives in Cuba. She has a job, but might not be able to keep it if she comes here. Is this can be a problem
getting the Visa ? If all her family lives in Cuba, is this strong enough to show that she'll go back and respect the law ?

3- I would like her to come here for 3 months the first time (from march to may 2013 )and we already planned to be in Cuba for 1 week in July 2013 but we haven't buy our tickets as of now.
If I buy our tickets for the week in July is this strong enough to show that she'll go back in her country in may ?

4- If the temporary visa is denied, we plan to get married and try to sponsor her as family / spouse. If the temporary visa has been denied, could this be a problem to sponsor her as a
spouse ?

5- If we get married, they ask if she met all my family and if not why. If the visa is denied, she won't be able to meet all my family and she won't have any idea how's the life here in Canada.
Is it possible to explain that we tried to get a visa and got a refusal ?

I've been in Cuba several times and even if it's heartbreaking to leave, I left every time on the scheduled date. We plan to do the same thing when she'll come to Canada.
We are respectful of the laws and our plan is to live few months here in Canada and few months in Cuba. My family is important to me and her family is important to her and
we want to live in both country. Is there a way to put that in the invitation letter so they can understand that it's not our goal for her to live here all the time in Canada ?

I know it's a lot of questions, but the more informations I have, the better we can prepare

Thank you

David

Get ready for a divorce as soon as she get her Permanent Residence here.

 

[ARCX77]

amikety

Thank you very much for taking the time to give me that answer ! That will help a lot !

You said : " on a personal note, 8 months is a very short period of time. CIC will judge a relationship on it's length. You may wish to burn me at the stake for saying this, but Cuba in general isn't a nice place to live. Be careful "

You're right that 8 months is very short and it's important that we take our time to be sure ( can we ever be sure anyway ? ) that it's good for both of us. I work 6 months a year and I have 6 months off.
I can go to Cuba almost as often as I want when I'm off and sometime even when I work, I can go to Cuba also. Our plan was to be able to go to Cuba when I'm off and that she can come to Canada when I
work, so we can be together more often. My plan is to try for the visa first, to see how she'll react here and give her time to meet my friends, family, understand our way of living, to see if she'll miss her family and friends. Maybe it'll be good to try the simple visa first as it's good for 6 months and could be a good way to show CIC that we'll respect every law. But if the Visa is denied, it'll be hard to be away from her for almost 6 months and I'll never know for sure if she can adapt to the reality here and if she'll miss her family and friends.

You also said :" Does she have a backup plan to support herself? (Last one has nothing to do with Immigration, just general concern on my nosy part.)"

We won't try to have a visa if she has to quit her job, unless we have a good backup plan. I don't want her to be in any problem because of that. So yes we'll plan to be sure that if that doesn't work, she'll be ok there.

I'll go with her and her family often in the next few months and when we'll be ready we'll try for the Visa first and give us time

1- I don't know if you can help with this question, but on the IMM5257E form, t the " detail of visit to Canada" they ask: Funds available for my stay ( cad). She doesn't have that much money and of course I'll provide all the money for her trip. What should we put in that box ?

2- Also can I tell CIC that she's my girlfriend or just friend ? does this matter ?
thanks

 

[amikety]

I'm trying to be subtle, but the other poster was more direct. We see a lot of sad stories of people being used to get PR into Canada. Please be careful.

My main concern regarding her job was, if she quits to come visit you, then goes back to Cuba, will she be able to get a new job easily and/or have funds to live. It was a more of 'she has though this through' than anything else.

 

[ARCX77]

yes, I understand and I only get informations as of now, she's not here yet..

Lot's of sad stories but there's good stories also. A guy that I know married a cuban girl in 1989 and they're still together and live here.
Not because there's bad stories that all stories will be bad... My friend ( canadian ) married a canadian girl and she used him to get his money and
there's a lot of stories like that around here....

So there's bad people everywhere....that doesn't mean we have to hide and stay away from love.

I'm the one that talk with her and travel to Cuba with her. With a temporary visa and her with me here, I would be able to see how she'll react before trying the PR.

But if visa is denied, should I just give up just in case that it'll end bad ? What if she's true with me ?

 

[amikety]

It's entirely up to you what you do with your life. I think it's more a case of a lot of posters here are cynical after all the damage we've seen.

The good news is conditional PR is now in place, so if your relationship ends for any reason, she won't keep her PR status.

My intentions about asking about her job were purely concern that she would be able to support herself when she returns to Cuba, nothing more. And I do hope it all works for the best for you. Happy endings are so much better than horror stories.

 

[ARCX77]

I agree with you and you, in fact, ask good questions about her job. It's something we'll make sure that everything's gonna be ok before we try for the visa.

thanks for your help !

Hope to be able to come back in a few months and let you know that I did the right choice.

 

[amikety]

Oh, as far as the funds go, if you can write her a letter or provide her with bank statements or paystubs, she can include that as her proof of funds. I use my husband's paystubs when I extend my VR. I usually include 3 non-concurrent paystubs.

Not to be a downer, but it will difficult for her to get a TRV. Cuba is one of the places people are dying to get away from - literally. Citizens of countries like Cuba (or any dictatorship/oppressive regime) are considered overstay risks. She will need to include every last piece of evidence she can to have hope of getting the TRV.

I have always maintained I'm visiting my family when I go through the border, which is technically true. I think your situation is a Catch-22 of sorts. If she says boyfriend, her chances of a TRV will be almost 0. (Spouses are an increase overstay risk.) On the other hand, saying friend isn't the whole truth and the VO could read between the lines. If it's at all possible, make it 'friends' and see if maybe your mom or sister will write her an invitation letter as well. That's just an idea I came up with.... you're free to ask others here if that's even a good idea.... haha.

Just to correct myself, I forgot to say condition PR is two years (not that you care! )

I really feel for those of you who have to deal with TRVs. It makes me realize how lucky I am.

 

[panlea]

Hi ARCX77,

I would love to hear about how your story went as I am in the exact situation as you and I am about to fill and submit a TRV for her in Havana.

thanks,

Panlea

 

[julika]

Hi ARCX77,

I really wish to hear your storry too!!
I'm in the same situation. It's been a little more than a year since my Cuban boyfriend and I started our relationship. As you, we want to take our time, but law is not helpfull at all. We want to work on a visitor's visa when I'll see him in April and we would like him to come for 3 weeks in September (I think if we don't ask for a too long visa, it looks better than asking for a long visitor's visa as we all know that visiting should not takes many months...lol!!).

Thanks,

 

[happymama]

I was reading this post and had to write... though I do know first hand that there are MANY fraudulent relationships between Cubans & Canadians, happy endings do exist! My husband is Cuban...we have been happily married for 5 years (together for over 6) and we have a beautiful baby boy!

When posters warn that you be careful, they do it in your best interest. I have seen family friends firsthand in Cuba (men & women both) that have used people, to marry as a way out of the country. It's sad and unfortunate but it happens. If your relationship is as wonderful as ours, your ending will be happy as well! Best of luck to you! I'd love to hear how things worked out

 

[PatriChan]

I was reading this post and had to write... though I do know first hand that there are MANY fraudulent relationships between Cubans & Canadians, happy endings do exist! My husband is Cuban...we have been happily married for 5 years (together for over 6) and we have a beautiful baby boy!

When posters warn that you be careful, they do it in your best interest. I have seen family friends firsthand in Cuba (men & women both) that have used people, to marry as a way out of the country. It's sad and unfortunate but it happens. If your relationship is as wonderful as ours, your ending will be happy as well! Best of luck to you! I'd love to hear how things worked out

So happy to read your post happymama! Thanks for sharing! The problem is people share bad stories...like bad restaurants, bad food, bad coworkers, bad boyfriend stories....very seldom do people share the good stories! So thank you!

I met my husband in 2010 in cuba. We dated (meaning we talked, emailed, and I visited every 3 months or so) until September 2013 we got engaged. We finally got married in May 2013 after many "paperwork issues". We tried for a 1 month TRV for October ( in June or July I think it was)...and after 2 weeks it was refused as the embassy felt there was insufficient evidence he would return to his country. He didn't have children, He didn't own property. The same week 2 of my Cuban friends visited their friends were approved but they had the whole package so less of a flight risk (but only one returned!). I'd like to do it again hoping a month TRV would be approved now that my SA was approved but I don't think I'll waste my $$ (although it wasn't expensive. I did go with Multipiple visa-thinking it would show more evidence that he planned on returning to Cuba).