Hi everyone,
It seems like most people here sponsored their Moroccan husbands outland, and I sponsored mine inland, but I wanted to share my story.
We applied last October through a consultant (BAD IDEA). I married my husband in November of 2010, almost a year before we applied. We had a marriage interview this Monday at our local CIC office, and since then my whole life is falling apart. It was the hardest experience of our lives...the IO consistently insinuated that my husband has faked 2 1/2 years of a relationship with me to gain status, and drilled me as to why my husband's father renewed his visa at a certain time and didn't come to our wedding. We thought it ended well though...the IO said she had a "good feeling" about it, but wanted to look things through before letting us know for sure (she heavily hinted that she was going to approve, made small talk, told us we were a young couple but very mature, etc etc). I had a bad feeling about it, but my husband felt more positive, and faxed her some more information (proof that he is colourblind which is why he dropped out of an industrial drafting program 3 years ago, and a university transcript from 2008/2009).
He spoke to her again on Tuesday over the phone, and she said she has reconsidered her decision, and sees too many contradictions in our case (in the interview she said there were none). She seemed about to refuse but my husband begged her to allow us to send in more evidence, and not to judge us in one day. She didn't want any of our emails, facebook chats, cards or financial information at the interview, now she wants everything. Our deadline for sending everything was Tuesday, and we did everything we could.
When I spoke to the IO on Tuesday, her argument was that since my husband did badly in an engineering program 4 years ago (before we met) and changed programs, then dropped out due to being colourblind, and couldn't remember if he found out in 2009 or 2008 and said 2008, the IO thinks that he ENTERED Canada in 2008 with the INTENTION not of studying and getting a degree, but of meeting someone like me to get residency. According to her, he was faking a relationship with me even while we were still dating and he was still in status, and had no reason too need permanent residency (his plan was always to get a degree and go back to Morocco to work with his dad, but this changed when we got into a serious relationship). My husband has been out of status since September 2010...he tried to have it renewed but it didn't work out. But he's stayed here for ME, and turned down plane tickets back to Morocco to work with his dad on a couple of occasions.
What I tried to explain to the IO was that he has no INCENTIVE to fake a marriage to me for residency, because there's nothing in it for him other than staying here with me. His parents are millionaires, he faces no discrimination or persecution back in Morocco, and he has a million dollar inheritance waiting for him there. His life here is not great...no health insurance, no work permit, no income of any kind other than what I buy him. If he was in Morocco right now he'd be driving around in a fancy car, eating out at fancy restaurants every night, and generally getting the best of what life has to offer, without any of the work normally involved. His dad is a wedding planner and plans wedding for the King's family...in fact, news of our predicament has spread all the way over there, and our IO was about to get a call from one of the King's advisors (which never happened because my husband's dad told the advisor not to).
We're both 99% sure that our application will be refused. The IO called my husband's father and has talked to his mom...they both explained why they weren't at our wedding, and that they love me like a daughter, would love it if we came to live in Morocco indefinitely, and that they will support us both for the rest of their lives. I have a great relationship with my husband's parents, his mom comes to visit every few months, and his family have completely opened themselves up to me...I've never been made to feel uncomfortable or pressured into anything even with the cultural differences.
I'm ashamed to be a Canadian citizen right now. Why is it that we stereotype everyone from a certain country as being "visa hungry" regardless of economic background? I understand why IOs have to intimidate people, to sort out the real from the fake. But what else can we prove other than how genuine our relationship really is? We sent in cards, emails from my parents mentioning my husband, our facebook chats from 2 years ago, my facebook chats with my mother in law, etc etc. All the things I thought would be proof have been used against me...when my husband showed the IO my life insurance policy with him as the sole beneficiary, she basically said "You get $70,000 if she dies...you really lucked out with her didn't you?" Married couples are supposed to support each other, but I guess when your husband is Moroccan it's a different story. If he was British, or Australian or something, I'm sure none of this would have ever happened.
All our friends are shocked by what's happened, and my landlord and neighbours have called the IO to the point where she got all annoyed and told me to stop giving out her number. We're so fortunate to have such amazing friends and family who support us and defend us in this difficult time.
My husband is the most generous, down to earth and kind person I've ever met, and will ever meet. He loves fishing and cooking, and my parents love him. He spends his days cooking me delicious meals and cleaning our house. The last time we visited my parents together, he cooked for a party of 20 people, barbequed, made canapes and then cleaned all the dishes afterwards. The first time my parents met him, a month after we started dating, my mom told me that he would never hurt me, and he would never pressure me into doing anything or make me uncomfortable. A few months before we got married, my best friend told me "You know he'll never ever leave you, right?" If our marriage is not genuine...then no one else's is either.
We just can't change what's already happened, so there's no way we can prove the IO wrong. I just hope we get her refusal letter soon so we can sell everything we have here to leave the country.
It makes me sick that we're supposed to be a 1st world country, open to people of all cultures and believes who can DECIDE what they want to do, and yet a 22 year old Moroccan who gave up a great life in his homeland to stay out of status in Canada with his wife is "willing" to fake everything for a visa...even with his family and all his friends. If Canada can't accept our relationship, then I'm sure Morocco will. At least it's warm there, there's beaches and beautiful architecture, and we can live a normal, immigration free life without our right to choose our future being refused simply because of where my husband was born.
Sorry for the rant. Has anyone else been refused on similar grounds as well?
