Two weeks spent together - any chance?

[canadianwoman]

I am asking this for a friend of my husband. This friend has been in an internet relationship with a Canadian woman for a couple of years. She went to visit him, and they got married. However, they have spent only two weeks together their entire relationship. His PR application was denied, and they are now waiting for the appeal.
What do you think their chances are, just based on the length of time together? Have you heard of anyone getting a PR visa when the couple have been together for such a short time? (Other than arranged marriages, of course.)

 

[Kedeisha]

well what proof did they provide as most of us if u count actual time we could be considered short i will be in my soon to be husband presence for 3 weeks but dating for over a yr did they provide proof of their chat call logs pictures the time frame makes a difference but with sufficient proof should be good bthey should also keeo record of all convo post marriage

 

[canadianwoman]

Their proof seems OK, though they only have phone cards for the prrof of telephone communication. But they have lots of photos, lots of emails.

 

[JimM]

I think the fact they married on what I'm assuming is their only meeting is going to go against them, I've seen that mentioned as a red flag in several threads. And I believe you said your husband is Nigerian, if his friend is too that won't help as the country seems to be on a fraud watch list which kind of sucks because of the Nigerians I've met, (not that many but a few), all but one were good people.

 

[canadianwoman]

Yes, they got married on their first - and only - meeting. And yes, the applicant is Nigerian.
I was hoping I could find examples of couples who have been together only for a very short time, but still managed to get that visa.

 

[ddobro2]

I read somewhere that CIC doesn't judge the application harshly if it's an "arranged" marriage but honestly, I feel like what your friend seems to have done is like a "self-arranged marriage." I mean, really, what's the difference in the situation besides the fact that they themselves arranged it and not any parents or matchmakers? If conservative, religious parents had arranged that their children get to know each other for a good amount of time at a safe physical distance from each other, and then get married only when they were first in each other's presence, would CIC judge it the same way? I dunno, really. On the other hand, I do see the point about it being quite odd that on first being being in the same physical place together, you swap vows. And the fact that the applicant comes from a redflagged country, unforch too. By the way, I was physically with my husband for a total of about a week (2 separate trips 3 days each to his city) before we got married (he traveled for the weekend to mine). So maybe I should be worried about an appeal too....although the online relationship was about a year, and now we live together since the wedding in mid-August.

 

[tink23]

ddobro2,
I think the fact that you have now lived with your husband for the past 8 months before you sent your sponsorship application, that that will make void any concerns they would have had with the fact that you were phyiscally together for less than a week before the marriage. You have now combined your lives and lived together for 8 months and so I don't think the concerns they may have had before will be present now when they review your application.

 

[ddobro2]

Thanks, tink23 Your input gave me a lot more confidence. And truthfully, it makes logical sense, but you know when it's your application at stake you start to question "appearances."

ddobro2,
I think the fact that you have now lived with your husband for the past 8 months before you sent your sponsorship application, that that will make void any concerns they would have had with the fact that you were phyiscally together for less than a week before the marriage. You have now combined your lives and lived together for 8 months and so I don't think the concerns they may have had before will be present now when they review your application.

 

[tink23]

Thanks, tink23 Your input gave me a lot more confidence. And truthfully, it makes logical sense, but you know when it's your application at stake you start to question "appearances."

Yes, I know what you mean. I have been with my boyfriend for over 3 years now (he's from Dominican Republic) and I have been living in Dominican Republic for the past almost 2 years. We will get married in the summer of 2012, so by then I will have lived in DR for 3 years and been with him for 4 years and I know I will still feel nervous about everything! I think the main reason is because these strangers hold your life in their hands, and how you present yourself on paper is how they will view you. and the fact that my future husband is Dominican, it's almost as if he's seen as guilty until proven innocent, even though we have been together a significant amount of time and we have brought our lives together. It's only natural to feel nervous about everything, but like I said before, I'm sure the fact that you have now lived together for 8 months will trump the fact that you were together in person for a week only before marrying.

 

[purdylol]

Hi there,

It sounds like you know what you need to do to make this process work. I am Canadian, and my Fiancée is Dominican. I usually go to see him every 2 months, and have been doing this for about two years. We do plan on getting married next year. However in the interim I would like to apply for the visitor visa for him. He knows what he needs, however I am unsure on my part what will be required from me. If you have any advice, please let me know. Your expertise on the process would be greatly appreciated!!

Kind Regards

KP

 

[Iamrobot85]

I was in a somewhat similar situation. I knew my husband online for years, we catted frequently for about four years. We started dating technically before we ever met. We met one time in May of last year and that was for about five days and we decided to get married, we got married the NEXT time we were together though, the second time, and that time we were together for about a month though. So it's kind of similar but also different in important ways. Anyway, I thought we would get trouble when we applied for PR. I thought we would at least get selected for an interview, but we didn't. But then again, I am from America so they seem to be a lot more lax about American citizens. Also, by the time we had actually applied for PR, I think (if memory serves) we had actually seen each other two additional times. As I'm typing this I'm realizing my story isn't so similar I'll still post in case you find something useful or have questions

 

[canadianwoman]

Iamrobot85: did you have any other 'red flags' - a big age difference, different race, anything like that? It seems more people get accepted, even though they hadn't actually spent much time together, than I expected when I first posted.

 

[Iamrobot85]

Well there were things that we were worried might be 'red flags' and some people said it would be a big issue and other people said it most likely would not be. My husband and I are a same-sex couple, for instance, and we were told this would make it harder to immigrate. Also, I had been denied entry into Canada before which is a looong story but suffice it to say that I had some bad information which led me to believe that I could cross with all my stuff and fill out the PR application in Canada, inland. Neither of these things were an issue, I guess, for the IO who reviewed my case. I'm not complaining, but I still am very surprised, all things considered, that they approved me sight unseen without an interview.