Refusal - Please help

FWChelle

Registered Users (C)
Any help would be greatly appreciated...

I posted awhile back. I am Canadian and my fiance (now husband) is American. We applied under Family Class "Conjugal Partner" status.

At the time we filed the application, we could not get married yet as my ex-husband was holding up the divorce. We could also (obviously) not cohabitate in a common-law relationship due to border issues.

Since we filed the original appliation, I have become divorced and we actually just got married this past weekend on June 18, 2005. Further, we have purchased a house together that we take posession of on July 15th, and have also obtained a joint bank account and will assume a joint mortgage.

I was just in the process of getting together a copy of our Record of Marriage, photographs from the wedding, copy of the joint Title to our house from my lawyer, and proof of our joint bank account to drop off to our Immigration Agency to send, along with a change of status from Conjugal to Spousal.

Then I came home to find a letter from Buffalo, advising me that my (now) husband has been "Refused" because they don't feel we have satisfied the requirements of what's needed to prove the relationship is genuine.

Gee, over 2 years of telephone records, flight/travel records, photographs, personal letters that sufficiently proves we have been maintaining a conjugal relationship “for at least one year as per section R2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act” just wasn't enough for them?!?!

To date, we have spent upward of $10,000 in air travel just to visit back and forth, not to mention $3,500 to an Immigration Agency to make sure our application was handled properly, for what?!?! I'm not sure at what point some faceless bureaucrat in Buffalo decided that our relationship was not genuine! And it's completely without basis. We provided them with AMPLE proof. My husband has a clear FBI record, has done the required medical and has no health issues. We weren't even given the opportunity of an interview :mad:

It's now 7pm, I left a frantic message on our Agency's voice mail. My husband is currently 35,000 feet in the air, en-route back to California, where he will get home to find a copy of the letter I just received.

I'm beyond upset, I've been crying for over an hour. Our lives have been on hold for months, and now the carpet has just been ripped out from under us for no good reason, I don't understand. I'm a Canadian citizen, born and raised here, and I am VERY disappointed in my government right now.

I don't know what's involved now with an appeal. I can't talk to my agency until tomorrow. Can anyone shed some light that can help me sleep tonight?

What happens now?

Thanks for any help you can give.
 
while I cannot explain why buffalo rejected your husbands application, I dont see why you both cannot stay together in Canada, while you appeal the decision.
 
sapota, until my husband receives his PR, he has a job in California that he needs to remain working for. Especially now that we have a mortgage to pay... if he comes here, he cannot work and we need a joint income.

A little update...

I spoke with our immigration agency, and the Director was very surprised we were refused without even an interview. She admitted that conjugal cases are always iffy, but with us, we had OVER 2 years worth of 'proof' that our relationship was genuine.. flight records, telephone records, personal letters and emails. My husband has no criminal record or health issues. Other than that particular officer choosing not to believe the validity of our relationship, they had no reason to refuse him, especially not without even an interview.

Our Director has contacted the supervisor in Buffalo and is going to try to get a reconsideration based on new information/status.. now that we are married and have 'combined our affairs', which was their biggest issue with our application. We're hoping not to have to go through the appeal process.. and, there isn't much sense appealing a conjugal case when we're now married. It may actually be quicker to re-file as Spousal.

I don't have much faith that we will be granted a reconsideration, but I guess it's worth trying.

*sigh*
 
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