Will hiring a lawyer make any difference?

[ankar37]

Hi all, hope all is well

I have been doing some research in this forum and please let me explain my situation, I really need some advice.

I am currently a PR and have applied for Canadian Citizen not long ago. My girlfriend and I met online a year ago, we were born in the same city and have the same cultural background. I visited her in January for a short 10 days and she has visited me Twice for 2 months overall.

Now she will arrive in 3 weeks and we are going to get a civil marriage here in Toronto, Ontario. We are truly in love and have all kinds of proof such as gifts, countless pictures and daily videochat log and etc.

I have consulted a few lawyers as well, but will hiring a lawyer as my representative really make any difference than applying on my own? I don't want to spend that much if I can do this on my own, and I really appreciate any advice for my situation.

Thanks

 

[ankar37]

Sorry I forgot to mention that I am planning to apply for an inland application with an open work permit at the same time. And our parents will not be attending the civil marriage ceremony.

 

[Fari_S]

Hi all, hope all is well

I have been doing some research in this forum and please let me explain my situation, I really need some advice.

I am currently a PR and have applied for Canadian Citizen not long ago. My girlfriend and I met online a year ago, we were born in the same city and have the same cultural background. I visited her in January for a short 10 days and she has visited me Twice for 2 months overall.

Now she will arrive in 3 weeks and we are going to get a civil marriage here in Toronto, Ontario. We are truly in love and have all kinds of proof such as gifts, countless pictures and daily videochat log and etc.

I have consulted a few lawyers as well, but will hiring a lawyer as my representative really make any difference than applying on my own? I don't want to spend that much if I can do this on my own, and I really appreciate any advice for my situation.

Thanks

Hey there,

I'm not too sure, buy I think you can apply on your own, my brother also had a long distance relationship for about 12-13 years I think, they also met online and got married in 2015 in Pakistan, my sister in law never visited him here in Canada but my brother been back home and gave her a vist too before getting married, they also provided their chat logs, phone calls, gifts etc as much they had, and thankfully their process was done within 7-8 months and she is here already, arrived last year.

Give them as many proofs as you can to support your case.

Wait for other experts advice.

Good luck

 

[mikeymyke]

Lawyers will not speed up your application, and can even sometimes slow you down, as a lot of them forget documents or make mistakes on the forms

Most important thing is to address your red flags to the best of your ability. Are you doing a civil marriage just to speed up the sponsorship? Or because you dont have the funds to do so? Why arent any parents attending wedding? Is there a large age difference? etc

 

[msb]

I met my husband jan 2016 during a one week holiday. We married in April 2016, during our second time in person. Court wedding without my family present.
We applied for sponsorship in Dec 2016.
No lawyers, just advices from here mostly and fbook group. We got approved at our interview last month. My husband did well at the interview and we gave as much info as we could, had letters from family, friends, coworkers. Coworkers also all signed me a card to wish us well for the interview.
Chats
Phone logs
Lots of photos of visits and family.

We had major red flags and overcame them.

 

[haXudon]

definitely BIG BIG BIG difference....

....on your wallet.

but that's about it.

 

[ankar37]

Lawyers will not speed up your application, and can even sometimes slow you down, as a lot of them forget documents or make mistakes on the forms

Most important thing is to address your red flags to the best of your ability. Are you doing a civil marriage just to speed up the sponsorship? Or because you dont have the funds to do so? Why arent any parents attending wedding? Is there a large age difference? etc

Thank you for your advice.

Yes because she actually had to give up her master degree to start a new life with me in Canada. So the earlier we applied, the earlier she could continue her study here as a domestic student. We figured a degree from Canada is better for the future.
And yes we don't have enough funds to perform an actual wedding ceremony.
Our parents won't attend because their passports are not "available"...
We are the same age.

My only concern is that they will believe we are truly in love but will refuse us due to the intention for status which unfortunately is true as well.

 

[ankar37]

I met my husband jan 2016 during a one week holiday. We married in April 2016, during our second time in person. Court wedding without my family present.
We applied for sponsorship in Dec 2016.
No lawyers, just advices from here mostly and fbook group. We got approved at our interview last month. My husband did well at the interview and we gave as much info as we could, had letters from family, friends, coworkers. Coworkers also all signed me a card to wish us well for the interview.
Chats
Phone logs
Lots of photos of visits and family.

We had major red flags and overcame them.

WOW! Thank you for sharing such a good story! Congratulations!

I guess true love does conquer all.
Thank you, we will do the same, have to be prepared for an interview.

 

[ankar37]

definitely BIG BIG BIG difference....

....on your wallet.

but that's about it.

Hahah, well I guess so, one of the ICCRC lawyer was saying he will include his cover letter and such, and that is the reason I was wondering about it.

 

[msb]

WOW! Thank you for sharing such a good story! Congratulations!

I guess true love does conquer all.
Thank you, we will do the same, have to be prepared for an interview.

We answered honestly.
They ask my husband what was our last fight about
Why we marry fast
What tv show we like
What will he do if they refuse us
If he knew something that happened to me during childhood
If i support him (of course sometimes a little lol)


He explained his answers, stayed calm and positive and used the translator to his advantage. He knows english but it gave
Him time to think.

 

[ankar37]

We answered honestly.
They ask my husband what was our last fight about
Why we marry fast
What tv show we like
What will he do if they refuse us
If he knew something that happened to me during childhood
If i support him (of course sometimes a little lol)


He explained his answers, stayed calm and positive and used the translator to his advantage. He knows english but it gave
Him time to think.

Those are some solid tips you are giving me, thank you so much. And their questions are so good I am not gonna lie
Thanks again

 

[msb]

Those are some solid tips you are giving me, thank you so much. And their questions are so good I am not gonna lie
Thanks again

They asked like 30 questions. We didnt really practice, but we did talk to a few ppl who had the interview the day before, and knew they were asked about the last fight.

If there is a fbook group about canadians married to people of your country and that is about sponsorship, it may help u find good info.

U are inland so it maybe easier as well

 

[Krysia]

Hi all, hope all is well

I have been doing some research in this forum and please let me explain my situation, I really need some advice.

I am currently a PR and have applied for Canadian Citizen not long ago. My girlfriend and I met online a year ago, we were born in the same city and have the same cultural background. I visited her in January for a short 10 days and she has visited me Twice for 2 months overall.

Now she will arrive in 3 weeks and we are going to get a civil marriage here in Toronto, Ontario. We are truly in love and have all kinds of proof such as gifts, countless pictures and daily videochat log and etc.

I have consulted a few lawyers as well, but will hiring a lawyer as my representative really make any difference than applying on my own? I don't want to spend that much if I can do this on my own, and I really appreciate any advice for my situation.

Thanks

We are using an immigration consultant to help us through the process and I'm happy we did ..all the paperwork can be overwhelming and we wanted to do it properly. The guy we contacted has proven record of successful cases ..he is always available for any questions. So it all depends on you if you are confident enough to go through it on your own or seek help of a professional.

 

[msb]

U go through the paperwork the same way wether its a consultant or yourself
Glad i didnt use one
Saved tons and got approved

 

[Krysia]

U go through the paperwork the same way wether its a consultant or yourself
Glad i didnt use one
Saved tons and got approved

Like I said it's up to anyone...im happy you didn't need a consultant and got approved..each case is different and has its degree of complexity ..