WHEN IS A CASE COMPLICATED ENOUGH - HIRING A LAWYER IN SPOUSAL PR

[flangepoint]

Hey guys,

I've read most of threads pertaining to "Should I hire a lawyer" before posting a new topic. The reason that I'm starting this thread is the following:

1. All " Should I hire a lawyer" are way too old 2010, 2013 with a very few replies
(I’m aware that this might be due to the fact that a lot hasn’t changed in basics of applications)
2. All the topics mention NOT TO HIRE A LAWYER if you're case is straight forward but there is no consolidated view of what constitutes a complicated case good enough to make it worth hiring a lawyer Vs a straight forward case.


Personally, I am not in favor of hiring a lawyer until there comes a point where I'll be required to quote Sections & Sub Sections of an act to appeal against a refusal to an application. I consider myself as an average well-read person, who can organize documents and present evidence wherever required with sizeable clarity and understanding. I did my own PR back in Jan 2015 (one of the first few pool applicants) and landed in Canada in March 2016 as PR.

I'm now in Toronto, working in a reputed firm in permanent role. I headed back to India in Nov and got married to love of my life and would now like to sponsor her for PR. The case looks straight forward until here. Guy has a PR, a job that satisfies the MNI threshold to be an eligible sponsor, is legally married with a marriage certificate, photos and sizeable evidence to prove relationships (photos with family, places traveled together, phone records, wedding rings exchanged etc).

Why would I still entertain the thought of hiring a lawyer in this case right??

I had some questions about my particular situation that I couldn't find answers to online. Please take the time to read this and let me know if I need a lawyer

I've known my NOW spouse since Oct 2015, she works in reputed IT firm in Mumbai, India as a developer. At that time, I was still in Bangalore working and waiting to for PR decision to come by. Ours has been a long distance relationship right from the word Go. We meet 3 times before I left for Canada. We have evidence as boarding passes for these destinations. As soon the PR came, I made arrangements to fly to Toronto. It took us both a lot of courage to leave each other back and move forward but we're both strong, especially her, so we decided to do this.

In July of 2016 the distance started taking a toll on us, so we decided to meet. I was new in my job so it was impossible for me to fly down. So we applied for her TRV to come here and it was rejected for the reasons of Travel History.

In Nov 2016, I flew back to India for a month and we got engaged and married. It was a low-key function with around 60 close family member and friends. We have photos, videos and a marriage certificate as evidence.

Now, in Jan 1st week, we apply for an online TRV for her to come visit me. They refused that too. This time we provided the following documents:

HER
Proof of employment
Letter from her company that she will resume back from her job vacation on her return from Canada
6 month pay stubs
4 month banks statement with about 2 lacs
Confirmed Return airfare tickets - Proof that she will leave Canada after 2 weeks
All the forms & declarations
Marriage certificate - Proof of relationship

MINE
Letter of invitation
Letter of employment from my employer
6 months pay stub
6 months banks statements
PR card copy

All the necessary forms.

The application was refused for more than one reason this time, which was really annoying

Reasons for refusal
1.Travel history
2.Family ties in Canada and in country of residence
3.Current employment situation
4.Personal assets and financial statement

We're upset at for all the right documents we had and the even after being so careful in preparing the application & submitting it, it not only got refused but got refused on many more fronts than before.

We want to file for a Spousal PR. The documents and all the evidence is ready and I can file this within a month.

The question now comes whether the track record of TRV rejections affect her chances of a PR adversely or not.
Then I logically have the inclination to hire a lawyer, fully knowing that he would do nothing different than what I would.

What I don’t know and would sincerely like to hear from all you experienced, well-read folks, is your honest advice on how to get through this pile of crap.

I'm ready to hire a lawyer, a chef, a pilot. Money is not an issue. Just want to get this done as this is affecting us a lot. We're both happy as persons by nature but since this PR issue has taken its toll and things will become even more delicate.

I'm aware that the outland PR which is my only option now, will take about 8 to 12 months.
The rough checkpoints for this would be
1. Assessment of sponsor in first 44 days,
2. Confirmation that the file is under process
3. 6th month after AOR, if all goes well, we'll get a notification for medical
4. 8th month a letter asking for passport, or email/message on CIC portal
5. 10th month stamped passport with VISA and COPR

Please help me out here.

Just reply whether my case looks "Straight forward" or "Complicated" to each one of you. If you want to help me out, I would most certainly welcome a detailed write up and follow up communication. I appreciate the time and effort to read out my case.


This forum rocks \m/
Cheers guys !!

 

[Buletruck]

Straight Forward IMO. Despite the disappointment of the latest TRV, and the new reasons for refusal, your recent marriage is probably playing a bigger factor in the refusal than anything else, and it should have no affect on the PR application.

My 2 cents

 

[Sous02]

straight forward application and your TRV refusals will not have any bearing on your application. Just be sure you mention them when the documents ask.

 

[CDNPR2014]

"complicated" files that should consider legal help are files that have some sort of criminality or dependant issue.

seeing as neither of those apply to your situation, i would assume your case would be considered "straightforward".

previous TRV refusals will not negatively affect your spousal PR application. You are applying for PR because you can't be together otherwise. Refusing TRVs for a spouse is basically their way of saying you need to apply for PR to come here. Many people are approved without issue with previous refusals on their record. The PR application outweighs refused TRV's, so it is a non issue.

I don't see any reason why you would need to hire an attorney based on the information you have provided. as mentioned above, they are really only useful for criminal and dependent issues.

Also, to clarify, there is no minimum income requirement for spousal sponsorship. the only financial issues that prevent spousal sponsorship are welfare and bankruptcy. a sponsor does not need to have income to sponsor their spouse.

 

[scylla]

Definitely very straightforward.

 

[flangepoint]

Straight Forward IMO. Despite the disappointment of the latest TRV, and the new reasons for refusal, your recent marriage is probably playing a bigger factor in the refusal than anything else, and it should have no affect on the PR application.

My 2 cents

Thank you Bluetruck.. your 2 cents are worth gold here.

 

[flangepoint]

straight forward application and your TRV refusals will not have any bearing on your application. Just be sure you mention them when the documents ask.

Thank you Sous2. I will mention the V number in all the questions pertaining to previous visa application along with reasons of rejections. Thanks for your input.

 

[flangepoint]

"complicated" files that should consider legal help are files that have some sort of criminality or dependant issue.

seeing as neither of those apply to your situation, i would assume your case would be considered "straightforward".

previous TRV refusals will not negatively affect your spousal PR application. You are applying for PR because you can't be together otherwise. Refusing TRVs for a spouse is basically their way of saying you need to apply for PR to come here. Many people are approved without issue with previous refusals on their record. The PR application outweighs refused TRV's, so it is a non issue.

I don't see any reason why you would need to hire an attorney based on the information you have provided. as mentioned above, they are really only useful for criminal and dependent issues.

Also, to clarify, there is no minimum income requirement for spousal sponsorship. the only financial issues that prevent spousal sponsorship are welfare and bankruptcy. a sponsor does not need to have income to sponsor their spouse.

Thank you CDNPR2014
When issues concern with people that are close to your heart, we seldom make a rational choice. It goes without saying that i'm have too much on my plate emotionally. Your thought helped me knock out my illogical assumptions. Thanks again.

 

[flangepoint]

Definitely very straightforward.

Thank you scylla

 

[canadianwoman]

I don't think you need a lawyer either. But list the TRV refusals where they ask for them, and in the explanation include the fact that she applied for the TRVs so she could come visit you.
For applicants from India, the visa officers expect a big traditional wedding. A smaller one, or one that was not traditional, is fine, but make sure you explain anything that would be considered unusual in your culture. That is, show that you did everything expected in your culture, or explain why you did not do so. 60 guests is enough, especially since you two were in a relationship beforehand.

 

[flangepoint]

I don't think you need a lawyer either. But list the TRV refusals where they ask for them, and in the explanation include the fact that she applied for the TRVs so she could come visit you.
For applicants from India, the visa officers expect a big traditional wedding. A smaller one, or one that was not traditional, is fine, but make sure you explain anything that would be considered unusual in your culture. That is, show that you did everything expected in your culture, or explain why you did not do so. 60 guests is enough, especially since you two were in a relationship beforehand.

Thank you canadianwoman
Appreciate the time you spent writing this out to me. This is excellent.

 

[faisalmohamed]

It's also worth nothing that some lawyers have made the situation WORSE.

So if you're going to hire a lawyer, get one with a good track record.