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What do we do now?

Mrs. Turan

Hero Member
Mar 11, 2010
211
13
Vancouver Island, Canada
Category........
Visa Office......
The Canadian Embassy, Ankara, Turkey
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
05-03-2010
File Transfer...
06-05-2010
Med's Request
29-07-2011
Med's Done....
20-08-2011
Interview........
23-06-2010
Passport Req..
09-11-2011
VISA ISSUED...
18-11-2011
LANDED..........
25-12-2011
In August of 2010 my husband and I were refused his permanent residence status because of his interview and because they did not believe we had a genuine marriage. Now I know that people will read this and have their judgements about us (probably questioning whether I am being duped), but hold off for a few minutes. We have been in constant communication since we were married in November of 2009. We both decided Canada would be the better place to live because it's a safer place to live for one thing, and also Istanbul is a very expensive place to exist and cost of living is really high there.
Anyways after his rejection letter finally arrived, after 8 weeks of us waiting and phoning and e-mailing and finally contacting my MP. I appealed it and went to live there. I was given a date for my hearing in April 2011 and flew back to Canada in March. I went to my appeal hearing, which turns out was a formal hearing. I was surprised to learn this but thought ok well we have a genuine marriage and how could they possibly dispute it after everything we've been through? I did not have a lawyer because for one thing, we couldn't afford it, and for another thing, I read in numerous articles that we could get a lawyer but it wasn't crucial because everything would be explained. I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent person, an honest person, not surprisingly one of the reasons why my husband and I get along so well is that he is similar in nature to me. Now why should I assume that Immigration Canada would dispute my character and my husbands, too, but that is exactly what happened.
My husband comes from a good family, a hardworking family like mine. The fact that he is raised as a Muslim, yes different than me, but from the beginning we have always said that all religion leads to the same God and we respect each others differences and values.
I took it upon myself to learn Turkish. I am almost fluent in it now, I can proudly say. My husband on the other hand has not learned english. We tried to teach each others' languages but it was too hard. I picked up Turkish really quickly because I'm just good at it, and my husband struggles with it. I told him wait until you come to Canada. While living there with him and his family I just fell into it easier, in my opinion, the same way he would pick it up quicker living here. Maybe I was wrong to tell him that, maybe any of you can give me reasons why I was wrong to tell him that. Whatever! Hindsight is twenty-twenty. I love that him and his whole family spent so much time teaching me Turkish. I love how proud they are of me that I learned so much in 7 months. I could go to the grocery store and the bakery every day. Speak to all of his Aunts and Uncles and cousins, while my husband and his immediate family sat back watching me, so proud.
I never in a million years would have thought I would find myself married to a man on the other side of the world. A man that I love so much and cannot imagine my life without him now. I just want to have him here in Canada so I can show how beautiful of a husband he is to all my family here. I guess I'm kind of a
hick and never realized how seriously opposed Immigration Canada could be. My family here has been waiting and waiting too. Our dream to live in Canada as husband and wife is in the hand of a judge(Immigration Canada) and may never be realized. Sad because it was so hard to leave everyone behind for 7 months and now if my appeal is rejected I'll be heading back probably for good this time. Thank goodness, my Mother-in-law from Turkey taught me how to cook Turkish dishes, and how to be a Turkish wife. I know that we'll be happy together. I know that I will never want for anything and my husband will do everything he can to make me happy as I will him. But I'll be losing my family in Canada again and it's just really unfair. How can they not see that we are genuine? I know there is still a slim possibility that we will be approved and maybe I'm putting the horse before the cart by thinking I will be refused. But you didn't see the nasty lawyer that worked for Immigration Canada. He tried to insinuate we were lying. He got us flustered by making statements that I wasn't allowed to answer. He went on and on and when I finally got my turn I was a wreck.
They made it seem like we needed to hurry through the appeal but spent hours questioning things about our relationship that had nothing to do with the 7 months we had just spent together. All the beautiful memorable photos I included. They asked me nothing about how we spent our time in Turkey so happy every day. All the conversations we had about our future, my family. So much of what I tried to tell them was inadmissable, regarded as new evidence and could not be included. Almost everything I tried to say was stricken from the records.
Yes I know there are cases of fraud, where spouses can con their way into Canada, but this is so not the case in our situation. We both work very hard, we are not rich or come from rich families. We both know how to live with less and can do so happily if we're together. But why do we have to? I'm a Canadian citizen and together I know we would do well. We want to buy a house, have a child and just be happy. And yes we explained this to the judge. My husband in Turkish and I in English. Isn't there some way for them to see what we already know, what everyone in both our family knows? How can they get away with this?
Anyways this is my rant. I needed an outlet to vent all this out. Maybe it's been repetitive like any of my previous posts. Maybe you all think I'm stupid. I don't care. I finally meet the man of my dreams and it's bad enough my Dad passed away 3 years ago so he never got the chance to meet my husband but now the rest of my family doesn't get to meet him either(other than my Mom, who did stay there for 5 weeks with us). I just love him and want us to be together here.
 

tdelyte

Star Member
Jul 29, 2009
80
8
Toronto
Visa Office......
ANKARA, TURKEY
App. Filed.......
February 8th, 2011 (CIC MISS)
File Transfer...
April 1st, 2011
Med's Request
RE-DO December 15th, 2011
Med's Done....
December 22, 2011
Interview........
May 10th, 2011- PASSED and informed the same day :-)
Passport Req..
January 24th, 2012-(phone call from Embassy) "medical has been received" updated on ECAS on December 19th
VISA ISSUED...
January 25th, 2012- Drop off PPT in the morning and told to come back in afternoon to pick-up PPT with Canadian VISA :-)
Its truly a very sad story and I feel terrible for you...:-( I too am married to a Turkish man and going through the sponsorship process. I cannot comment on the usual stuff that immigration sees as "issues" but I'd like to say one thing. I would strongly AVOID stating that you are somewhat "FLUENT" in Turkish....why? because in 7 months of living in Turkiye it would be impossible. Turkish is one of the most difficult languages to learn...and I would know seeing as I am Canadian/Turkish and have been speaking the language since I was a child and I wouldn't even say I'm 100% fluent....lol Reading your post and seeing that was a big redflag to me so I can imagine what immigration is thinking. Instead of saying your kinda "fluent" why not say you're trying your very best to learn and are learning at a fast pace? I used to work for CIC so I know how they look at language profiles and claiming something such as fluency, in 7+months and especially in Turkish? REDFLAG

I know its too late at this point for you to retract your claim and I'm sure it was very obvious to CIC that you are not fluent in Turkish but I do REALLY REALLY hope, for you and your husband, that you both are re-united and together in CANADA- where you deserve to be :)

Good luck to everyone and I wish everyone happiness together with their partners!!!
 

Mrs. Turan

Hero Member
Mar 11, 2010
211
13
Vancouver Island, Canada
Category........
Visa Office......
The Canadian Embassy, Ankara, Turkey
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
05-03-2010
File Transfer...
06-05-2010
Med's Request
29-07-2011
Med's Done....
20-08-2011
Interview........
23-06-2010
Passport Req..
09-11-2011
VISA ISSUED...
18-11-2011
LANDED..........
25-12-2011
Ok when I wrote the post last night, I was really emotional and I meant I understand my husband and his family. I never told the judge I was almost fluent, I just told you all on here I was. Sorry I was only considering with Murat and his family, how we can understand. I know I am not fluent, I think I even said I knew the language well enough to go to the bakery and grocery store. I did tell the judge that too. I've got a long long ways to go, this I know. I never realized how arrogent I might have come across. I'm sorry, Turkish is a very difficult language and I could never learn it so quickly. If you knew my husbands family you would know they taught me the stuff that I needed to learn and the words I understood. Strung together in a way that I could do.
I would not say it is one of the most difficult languages to learn though. I took French from grade 6-12, and still am not fluent :) But for a hick like me learning Turkish feels pretty cool.