VISA for Japanese spouse - Proof of communication problem

[daijoeboo]

Hello all,

I have a question pertaining to proof of communication. Sorry for the long post.

Here are the facts in a nutshell.

1) We met in October 2012 but did not start dating until Feb. 2013. We saw each other here and there at local spots around town. We were just acquaintances.
2) In Feb. 2013 my wife had a going-away party because she had decided she was moving closer to her hometown to be with family. At this time I expressed my feelings to my wife, who reciprocated, and we found ourselves wanting to be together, however she was already moving and had quit work. As I had no particular ties to the area I decided to take a leap of faith and go with her.
3) From March to May, she resided in the new area, and I resided in the old area as I looked for work in the new area she movied to (to which I decided to move to and follow her), I tidied up loose ends in the old area. (this period could be considered long distance, although it was all within Japan and all calls were local)
4) From May 2013 onwards, we were living together. We started living together immediately, and I have sent official documentation indicating this.
5) In October of 2014 we moved to Canada together and are now living together. We have not lived separately since May 2013.

Questions:
-Is CIC maybe asking about the 3-month period between Feb and May of 2013?
-Or, perhaps they are asking about the period going all the way back to Oct. 2012?

My issues are:
-I got a new phone in early 2013 and any text msgs during those 3 months from Feb 2013 - May 2013 would have been on the old phone. At that time I was not thinking I would need them as I did not know if we would settle in Japan or come back to Canada. I just wasn't aware they would be necessary.
-If they want records going back to the date of first meeting, there are really no records going back to Oct. 2012 because at that time we'd just see each other around town and were only acquaintances. Plus, we were not dating at that time so there were no letters or phone records.
-The bulk of our dating/courtship period (time before marriage) was spent living together and I have records proving we lived at the same address. Due to this I did not think anything else was necessary as we didnt really live apart for any extended period of time.

Where might CIC be finding issue with my case and what can I do to solve the issue?

As far as the Proof of Communication in my officially submitted application, I sent 1) photos, dated and labeled, showing our relationship from the May 2013 onwards including marriage and the wedding, 2) letters from both our parents indicating knowledge and approval of the relationship.

If I really think about it, I can only imagine they want proof that we were 'courting' at the point I decided to move to be with her or something like that.

Or they may just be bringing me up on technicality because I did not include any phone records and they are accustomed to receiving phone records. (?)

Again, here, I had hope they would see the dates and our papers proving co-habitation. I wrote this too on the application somewhere, I clearly remember that I put
"N/A - cohabitation" for some of the areas regarding the above.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance
J

 

[canadianwoman]

There is a question about the development of the relationship, so I hope you put these details there.
When they ask for proof of communication, they want it from as far back as possible. However, they also realize that not everyone is going to have kept old phone bills, etc., and so may not have proof of communication from very early in the relationship. This is OK, as long as it is explained; if you didn't explain it to the visa officer's satisfaction in the application, they will call for an interview and your wife can explain things then. In addition, you sent in proof you were living together, so answering "no, because we were living together" is fine for questions about communication and visits during that time.

As well, your wife is Japanese. Applicants from Japan are rarely suspected of engaging in marriage fraud to enter Canada, so her application will not be subject to the kind of scrutiny some of them are. It should be OK.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Or they may just be bringing me up on technicality because I did not include any phone records and they are accustomed to receiving phone records.

Are you referring to the questions in the app or has CIC sent you an additional request for proof of communication? It isn't clear from your post.

 

[daijoeboo]

Hi all thanks for replying to my long post its greatly appreciated.

canadianwoman
The process is a bit foggy to me now but I think explanation of the development of the relationship entailed a written paragraph in each of our respective background forms. I did write details there, as did she, and we included letters from my mother and her father as well vouching that the relationship was known and genuine, as well as numerous photos. I think the start of our relationship (the early early portion) is what is in question here, as the portion where we lived together leading up to marriage is clearly documented as far as it can be. As you mention, not everything remains in a neat paper trail from so early on, so I will have to scrape together what I do have and try to explain it as clearly as possible.

We actually did not include any phone records or letters because for a bulk of our relationship we have been living together. The simple fact that my application physically lacked these may also be the problem here, I am not sure.

canuck_in_uk

The CIC has sent me additional communique (to my wife actually, the applicant) asking for proof of communication. I have already been approved as sponsor and we are well into the application process at this point. Sorry I wasnt clear - this is a request for additional info not the submission of the application. The good news is, I guess, as this tells me someone has gotten around to looking at our file.

As canadianwoman said, I get the feeling I will just have to make due with what I am able to get together and write a really well-written explanation to go with it.
Has anyone ever been asked for further proof of communication partway through the process?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Sorry I wasnt clear - this is a request for additional info not the submission of the application. The good news is, I guess, as this tells me someone has gotten around to looking at our file.

As canadianwoman said, I get the feeling I will just have to make due with what I am able to get together and write a really well-written explanation to go with it.
Has anyone ever been asked for further proof of communication partway through the process?

It's an odd request given that you guys are living together. I would simply reply back with the explanation that you gave in your first post, emphasizing the fact that you've lived together for over 1.5 years.

 

[canadianwoman]

Send an explanation of why you don't have much proof of communication, since you are living together. Then send what you do have: texts, Facebook, emails, etc.

 

[daijoeboo]

Hi guys,

Yes I found it odd too that proof of communication would be asked for if we have been living together for so long.
As I mention there were no emails or letters or anything written, just photos, so this may have been the problem. They are probably accustomed to receiving at least something.

As suggested I will try the following, I'll write it here just so others get an idea for what applicants may go through.
Hopefully this will be sufficient and after my wife gets her PR I can post an update indicating this strategy was successful.

I will be translating and sending in a couple of Facebook messages and items from Facebook which may help. There isn't much but we have a bit. The reason I didn't originally include this is because I thought the fact we live together was much larger time-wise and weight-wise.

I also have an email conversation between myself and a good friend outlining the fact that I will be moving to be with her, leaving my old area behind etc., and everything involved there.

Also, I will be providing information from the cellphone provider we used at the time clearly indicating that they are not able to provide phone records for such a long time ago and only up to 3 months prior to the present date. This has been their response based on phone calls and we have confirmed this, it's just a matter of finding a way to clearly show this to CIC. We wrote them by email asking for the phone records (even knowing they can't/won't) so we have their reply saying "no", and send that along with screenshots from the website showing that one cannot see phone records beyond 3 months ago.

Along with this I will write an explanatory letter indicating more clearly our circumstances.

Thanks for your input guys.