Spousal Visa Application Scenarios-Please contribute Your Scenario

[Xavier01]

Hi one and all. I thought it might be helpful for users to see the visa spousal scenarios of others who have applied either successfully or not for there own reference based on some of the common factors discussed as relevant for spousal visas. Ill start with my own example. Please feel free to modify the format to include variables that you think are important!

Sponsor: Male, 41 yrs, Physician & Canadian citizen by birth with no children & one previous marriage/divorce 3 years ago

Sponsor Candidate: Female, 27 years, Employed in Philippine with a finance degree & no children or previous marriages

Relationship Description: Length 14 months at marriage, 4 trips of 2-3 weeks to her country

Relationship Proof: daily Skype log, extensive email contact, facebook contact, plane tickets/hotel receipts/photos together & with her family in landmarks around the Philippines/gift receipts/receipts of bank money transfers or of wired money as financial support/proof of marriage & of life insurance beneficiary as spouse/narrative document of our relationship history & testimonials from friends & work colleagues who have met & known about the relationships history

Application Status: to be Processed

 

[scylla]

Sure - I'll bite. ***Edited to add special circumstance that might help others.***

Sponsor: Female, 36 yrs, Banker & Canadian citizen by birth with no children & no previous marriage

Applicant: Male, 52 years, IT Consultant & American citizen by birth with no children & 1 previous marriage (divorced 25+ years ago)

Relationship Description: Dated 4 years before marrying, submitted application 6 months after marriage, living together 4 years (applicant was spending approx 10 out of 12 months each year in Canada as a visitor working remotely when not traveling as a consultant)

Relationship Proof: emails, plane tickets for 26 trips taken together, 40-50 photos of travel/wedding/family events, joint bank accounts and utility bills, insurance policies naming each other, wedding bills/invitations/program/cards/guest list/etc.

Application Status: Outland application via Buffalo. Processed in 4 months in 2010.

Special Circumstances: When we submitted the application it was missing one mandatory police certificate. My husband spent 1.5 years living and working in Kuwait city in the mid 80's. All of the police records in Kuwait were destroyed in the war and they consequently told us they couldn't issue a police certificate because they had no record of my husband. We tried to obtain this police certificate for four months by contacting various Canadian, US and Kuwaiti offices (embassies, consulates, you name it we did it) and failed. We ended up writing a letter as part of our application package outlining what we had done to try to obtain the certificate, who we had contacted and what their answers had been. This was accepted by CIC and the missing certificate created no apparent delays. Seems like no big deal now - but at the time, I spent way too many sleepless nights worrying we'd be rejected since our application was incomplete.

 

[computergeek]

If scylla will dive in, so shall I.

Sponsor: Male, 28 yrs, Hotel/Restaurant Supervisor, Naturalized Canadian Citizen originally born in Taiwan, no children, no previous marriage

Applicant: Male, 46 years, IT Consultant & American citizen by birth with no children & 1 previous marriage (divorced 7 years ago).

Relationship Description: Dated 2 years before marrying, submitted application 10 months after marriage, living together 1.5 years (applicant in Canada on a NAFTA intra-company work permit, traveling 30-50% as a consultant)

Relationship Proof: chat logs, emails, plane tickets for 2 trips taken together, 20 photos of travel/wedding/family events, joint bank accounts and apartment lease, joint owned car, insurance policies naming each other, relationship support letters from friends, family, our doctor, and our gym owner.

Application Status: Outland application filed March 2012 via Buffalo, changed to CPP-O/LA. First stage approved in late June, applicant approval in September 2012.

Special circumstances: Applicant was refused in FSW application due to excessive demand medical inadmissibility (December 2011). Simultaneous challenge of refusal (leave granted July 2011) with sponsored spousal application; dismissed JR application the same day LA issued PPR.

 

[crassy]

Sponsor: Female, 36, student. Canadian citizen by birth, originally from Toronto.
Applicant: Male, 31, works in the mining industry.
Relationship Description: Met while I was backpacking around Australia. Got married, got pregnant, bought a house. Went from having a backpack to having a 4 bedroom house full of stuff.
Relationship Proof: Joint owners of a house, 3 joint bank accounts, 3 joint credit cards, we have a 5 year old daughter, numerous holidays, I have his surname, we went through the immigration process for me to stay in Australia. We fight a lot.
Application Status: Applied outland filed 20 September 2012. Still waiting on step 1, step 2 will go through Sydney.
Special circumstances: Husband has a criminal record (DUI in 2003).

 

[bacontoaster]

Sponsor: Female, 24 years old, no prior marriages or children, Canadian citizen

Applicant: Male, 23 years old, no prior marriages or children; American born

Relationship Description: Met online end of 2008 while we were both completing our bachelor degrees. Realized we only lived a few hours from each other. Started a proper relationship summer of 2009. Married August 2012, after we finished University.

Relationship Proof: emails, trip itineraries, photos, wedding contracts, chat logs, and the kitchen sink.

Application Status: Outland application via Ottawa, October 11, 2012

Special circumstances: None really. We're living apart because we both have relatively well paid jobs and we're trying to save money to get our lives started, and living in a country where we can't work wouldn't make sense. I hope that doesn't count against our relationship proof.

 

[parker24]

Sponsor: Female, 24 yrs, On call Educational Assistant, On call Office Admin, Canadian Citizen, no children, no previous marriage, disabled(hearing)

Applicant: Male, 26 years, Adoption Specialist(currently unemployed), American Citizen, no children, no previous marriage

Relationship Description: Met in 2006 and became very close, talked a lot, even through relationships with other people. In April 2011, admitted we had feelings for each other all along and decided to give it a shot. Applicant came to visit sponsor twice, before deciding to stay. Sponsor not able to get a flight that wasn't cancelled, down there(so sponsor has never met her in-laws face to face) Married Sept 2011.

Relationship Proof: chat logs, emails, plane tickets for 2 trips applicant took to visit sponsor, plane tickets for the cancelled flight sponsor tried to take, 75 photos of travel/wedding/family events, phone logs showing sponsor calling applicant, letter from sponsor's parents saying we were able to stay with them, letter from our pastor, a few facebook messages and a few myspace messages.

Application Status: Outland application filed March 2012 via Buffalo, changed to CPP-O/LA. First stage approved in early June, in process August 10th.

Special circumstances: Other than the sponsor having a disability(which was kind of worrisome), none really. Applicant is visiting Canada since May 2011.

 

[tavora]

Sponsor: Female, 34 yrs, librarian, Canadian citizen by birth with no children, no previous marriages

Applicant: Male, 26 yrs, hardware repair technician, American citizen by birth, with no children, no previous marriages

Relationship Description: Long distance, had been dating 3 years at marriage, married April 2012; 16 trips as of the application date (more since filing)

Relationship Proof: Skype logs, plane tickets/boarding passes, travel medical insurance (purchased by me for him during his travels to Canada), photos together & with family, wedding contracts, chat logs, cel phone bills, text messages, email correspondence, relationship support letters from his parents and my parents

Application Status: Outland application via Ottawa; received sponsor approval, case transferred to CPP-O as of September 20, 2012

Special circumstances: We have a slight age difference, if you want to consider 8 years an 'age difference.' We have been long distance for our entire relationship, but planning for him to visit me as of February 2013 to wait out the rest of the PR process.

 

[JMStargazer]

Sponsor: Male, 25 yrs, film school graduate and freelance TV/film script supervisor, Canadian citizen by birth with no children, no previous marriages

Applicant: Female, 34 yrs, former radiologic/CT technologist and technical writer, American citizen by birth, with no children, no previous marriages

Relationship Description: He's from St. John's, Newfoundland; I'm from Portland, Oregon. We met on IRC and were friends for like 6 or 7 years before we ever decided to hook up. Began officially dating in January 2010, I visited him in Toronto (where he was attending film school) in April 2010, and moved to Toronto on a NAFTA tech writer visa in June 2010. Promptly got scammed out of $4000 I'd put down on a rental and lost my job in the span of 3 weeks due to the stress...I wanted to die. Found a gig on Craigslist helping a disabled lady with housework in exchange for room & board, lived with her for 6 months. Moved to partner's college town to be closer to him and shared an apartment with a totally sketchy pot dealer for 4 months until partner's on-campus residence contract ended. We finally moved in together in April 2011, and signed another 1-year lease in April 2012.

Relationship Proof: Joint bank account, 2 years of joint lease agreements, Skype and old IRC logs, plane/train tickets & boarding passes, photos together & with family/friends, relationship support letters from both our mothers

Application Status: Outland application couriered to Mississauga 8/7/12; received sponsor approval, case transferred to CPP-O as of September 4, 2012

 

[lunas]

Sponsor: Male, 39 years old, Canadian citizen by birth, no previous marriages
Applicant: Female, 34 years old, naturalized American citizen, no children, previously divorced
Relationship Description: We met online last September and after being friends for 4 months, we started dating (officially) in December 2011. We got married in March 2012.
Relationship Proof: Lots of skype logs and phone calls, as well as Google Talk conversations. We have tried to live our lives as if we were living together by using Skype (poor laptops and cameras). We have plane tickets (only from applicant) because of the special circumstances (note below). We keep a joint bank account just in case. Photos and supporting letters from friends.
Special Circumstances: Sponsor has a criminal background from a little over 17 years ago. Even though it's not an offence against a family member it's still serious. Even though we work full time, nothing makes sense as we are living in two separate places separated by the Canadian/American borders.
Application Status: Outland application sent to Mississauga on Sept. 07, 2012. Still waiting for news.

 

[tink23]

Sponsor: Female, 27 years old, no prior marriages, no children, Canadian citizen by birth

Applicant: Male, 24 years old, no prior marriages, no children, Dominican citizen

Relationship Description: Met in March 2008 when sponsor was on a vacation. Continued contact and trips until August 2009 when sponsor moved to the applicant's country; Dominican Republic to be with him. Lived in DR for 3 years. Married after 4.5 years of relationship.

Relationship Proof: Phone cards and sample of msn conversations before sponsor moved to DR, apartment rental receipts, engagement cards, 150+ photos, wedding invitation, wedding receipts, passport entry and exit stamps, proof of trip to Canada together for Christmas (applicant got trv which is quite rare for there... however 2 years later denied a trv), letter from past employer proving sponsor lived/worked there, letters of relationship support, etc...

Application Status: Outland application via Santo Domingo, Received by CIC-M August 23, 2012, approved to sponsor: October 9 2012, received in SD: October 26, 2012

Special circumstances: None really. Long relationship compared to other Dominican-foreigner relationship before marriage. Sponsor moved back to Canada in August 2012 after 3 years of living in DR and submitted sponsorship package. Reason for moving back to Canada before visa is to re-establish herself and hopefully to get a job. Sponsor is a teacher (and taught elementary school for the 3 years while living in DR) however, getting into a school board in Ontario is near impossible right now, so coming back early to secure a job is definitely necessary. Hoping for a swift approval considering the length of time together and spent living together.

 

[lawgrrl]

I think this is a great topic for a thread, and thanks to Xavier01 for starting it!

Sponsor: Male, 60 yrs. old, Canadian citizen by birth (and US permanent resident (green card holder) since 12/1994); no children; one prior marriage & divorce 20 years ago; self-employed small (very small!) business owner and musician.

Applicant/Sponsor Candidate: Female, 60 yrs. old, US citizen by birth; no children; one prior marriage & divorce 18 years ago; employed paralegal.

Relationship Description: Married since 3/1994, cohabiting since 9/1993 (i.e., a LONG TIME!). Currently residing in Portland, Oregon; hoping to immigrate to B.C. SOON.

Relationship Proof: Some wedding & honeymoon photos; copies of our first (1994) and most recent joint tax returns; copies of joint financial accounts; copies of joint insurance policies; copies of beneficiary designations of sole accounts (e.g., applicant naming spouse as beneficiary of retirement accounts); recent Facebook postings celebrating our wedding anniversary and birthdays; recent photos of applicant with spouse's parents; detailed narratives by both sponsor and applicant of how & when we met, when we met parents & families.

Application Status: Pending, 1.5 pound application package delivered to CPC-Mississauga 10 October 2012.

Special Circumstances: Sponsor is self-employed and does not "show" a lot of income on US tax returns, so we were a bit concerned about the "minimum necessary income requirements," although many say it's not critical or even necessary for a spousal sponsorship. We submitted copies of 12 months' worth of the sponsor's individual checking account and business checking account, as well as most recent retirement and investment account statements. When dealing with bureaucrats, I (applicant and primary application preparer) will always err on the side of too much information, rather than not enough! We're also a bit concerned about showing "intent" to re-settle in Canada. We don't have jobs, home, lease, etc. yet, and may well retire after landing. So we just said that we wanted to be able to look after the sponsor's 90- and 86-year old parents and be close to them (which is also true).

AND NOW WE WAIT...

 

[JMStargazer]

I think this is a great topic for a thread, and thanks to Xavier01 for starting it!

Sponsor: Male, 60 yrs. old, Canadian citizen by birth (and US permanent resident (green card holder) since 12/1994); no children; one prior marriage & divorce 20 years ago; self-employed small (very small!) business owner and musician.

Applicant/Sponsor Candidate: Female, 60 yrs. old, US citizen by birth; no children; one prior marriage & divorce 18 years ago; employed paralegal.

Relationship Description: Married since 3/1994, cohabiting since 9/1993 (i.e., a LONG TIME!). Currently residing in Portland, Oregon; hoping to immigrate to B.C. SOON.

Great to see another Oregonian! I grew up just south of Portland.

 

[Güzelyol]

Sponsor: Female, 41, librarian & computer specialist, Canadian citizen by birth, no children, no previous marriages.

Applicant/Sponsor Candidate: Male, 32, seller, Afghan citizen by birth, resident of Turkey, no children, no previous marriages.

Relationship Description: Met in Sept. 2010 while sponsor was visiting Turkey, relationship officially started in Oct. 2011, married in April 2012, 5 trips of 2 weeks to his country.

Relationship Proof: Facebook daily messages, Skype log, plane tickets, boarding passes, tourist visas, letters from hotel & from tourist apartment renting company, photos together, wedding photos, money transfer receipts, Post Canada customs forms & receipts, envelopes used for sending mail to Turkey or Canada, phone logs, eBay & PayPal receipts for stuff I bought & I had delivered to him.

Special Circumstances: Before coming to Turkey, applicant never had ID papers from Afghanistan so he can't get a police certificate from the latter, cultural/education/age differences.

Application Status: Outland application received by Mississauga on April 26, 2012. Transferred to Ankara on July 23, 2012. Still waiting for news.

 

[Xavier01]

Thanks for the submissions everybody. I think we are gathering a great body of spousal VISA applications which will be of real help to candidates as the proceed through with their own appllications. Lets keep up the good work!

 

[Creampop]

It's really cool to read everyone's stories!

Sponsor: Male, 45, Canadian Auto Worker, Born Canadian, never married before, no other childern then 2 we share.

Applicant: Female, 42, stay @ home mom for 10 years now, Born American, divorced, 1 son 24 now from previous marriage and 2 I share with sponsor.

Relationship Description: We met on IRC in September 1998 (that is not a typo lol) met in person for the first time february 1999. When we met I was a in home care provider we had a long distance relationship spending every long weekend together, until April 2003 when our 1st son was born I then became a SAHM. my older son was 15 just starting high school so it was alittle harder to visit but, in 2005 our second son was born. We the boys and I traveled back and forth alot, my older son finished high school had a daughter went to college. When our oldest son started school we decided schools were better up here so I started staying a few months at a time take school holidays with the boys back in the states sometimes summers. In December 2011 we finally decided to get married. April 7th 2012 we got married in Niagara Falls NY. had my medical done April 10th, he got our marriage certificate in the mail April 16th, and crossed into Canada on April 19th and given a 8 month VR. Filed Application April 23rd.

Relationship Proof: I sent 13 photos 1 for each year we were together. our marriage certificate, 10 photos from the wedding/reception, birth certificates for our sons (they were born in the US and have dual citizenship), rental car receipts didn't trust my car to travel 600 miles with 2 kids, we went to BC for a wedding sent copies of the plane tickets.

Application Status: Out-land applied to Buffalo, Sponsorship approval July 23rd from CPP-O case stayed in CPP-O due to Buffalo closing, RPRF requested September 14th, PPR October 9th from LA VO, awaiting the PP's return.

Special Circumstances: I had several red flags on my passport due to all the crossing I had done over the years gave me a lot of crap crossing but I am wondering if they in some way it didn't help to prove we had a bona fide relationship, even tho the IO's red-flagged me I know in 13 yrs I crossed atleast 100 times, the last one I received was a departure order October 14th 2011 they came to our home took my passport and had me come into the office the following week what happened was, a friend had asked me to babysit for her one night and I did (with a promise from her she would watch our boys one night) and then a neighbor asked me to watch her 2 girls on a regular basis and I told her I couldn't do that well she got mad and called immigration on me said I was here working illegally so they asked me to leave had to check out when I left no ban no need to apply for an ARC.