Larry L

Group Members;

I am sponsoring my partner in family class, as conjugal partner. She
just had her interview at the embassy. The visa officer was a woman
and a native of the country where my partner resides.

According to my partner, the officer said they had NO doubts that our
relationship was genuine but that we applied in the wrong category.
The officer said conjugal partner is for lesbians, gays, people unable
to get a divorce, and others who are not able to marry legally and
apply as spouses. The officer told my partner if something happens to
her when she is in Canada then they cannot force me, the sponsor to
bear responsibility, as I am nobody from the legal point of view! The
officer said she could refuse the visa immediately because we did not
belong to the conjugal partner category but because we
have spent the time and money she would do us a "favor" and put the
following conditions on it. She said that the income on the Option C
tax statement I submitted is not sufficient for sponsorship and that I
should immediately provide further proof of income. She also said if
there is no marriage certificate in their mailbox within 3 months they
will close our file. She also said we could go to appeal court but she
is positive we would lose.

Myself, I am currently abroad (not in the same country as my partner
resides), and doing volunteer work. When I was in Canada, I talked to
at least 3 or 4 different officers at CIC about the fact that on tax
statements I can only show a small income (ironically the reason I
show a small income is because I have done so well financially and
have such substantial assets that I am able to do my volunteer work
abroad and easily live off my assets. In addition, I provided a
complete list of my assets when my partner applied for
her visitors visa and was refused). ALL of the officers told me,
because conjugal partner is family class, I did not need to provide
ANY proof of income, as long as I was not collecting social
assistance. Only one of the officers suggested it would not hurt to
include the tax statement even if the income shown was low and even if
it is not required to provide it, so I did that. I have all these
conversations, dates, times, and agent numbers documented. So it seems
to me the visa officer is making basic mistakes.

As far as the officers statement that conjugal partner is for
lesbians, gays, people unable to get a divorce, and others who are not
able to marry legally and apply as spouses. I quote from op02e,
Processing a member of Family Class, section 5.43 to 5.45, from the
CIC website. "Although the intention of the conjugal partner category
is to accommodate those few Canadians with foreign partners who can
neither marry nor live together, inability to marry cannot be an
absolute requirement, since this would have the effect of "forcing"
those couples to marry who may have chosen not to do so".

Regarding the officers condition that we marry within 3 months, a
quote from section 5.43 of op02e, "Because of Supreme Court decisions,
the choice to marry is a constitutionally protected choice. Thus, CIC
cannot require couples to marry in order to immigrate".

So, my question is, now what is my best course of action (other than
appeal)?

I thought about asking my partner to get in writing, what this visa
officer said, but first, she is already very frustrated and angry with
this process so I don't know if she will want to do it, and second,
the officer can change her story to whatever she wants or write
something vague, which is what they did when we requested reasons why
my partners visitors visa was declined last May.

It seems to me the visa officer made some basic mistakes. Can I
insist on being provided the qualifications and experience of this
officer? Can I insist my partner be interviewed by another officer and
since I am a Canadian citizen can I not insist my partner be
interviewed by a Canadian visa officer? Can I insist that I be present
for her interview if she is granted another?

Also a quote from section 12.2, op02e, "Procedural fairness requires
that officers inform applicants of any doubts about the relationship
and give them a chance to respond. CPC-M may arrange an interview with
a SPONSOR, but officers must provide specific questions for the
sponsor to answer. Case notes must contain sufficient detail to
support the decision". Can I insist on being interviewed and being
provided these specific questions to answer? And can anyone tell me
what is CPC-M?

Any comments, regarding the visa officers statement that if something
happens to my partner when she is in Canada then they cannot force me,
the sponsor to bear responsibility, as I am nobody from the legal
point of view!

And finally, I have the email address of the Director of Immigration
at the embassy where my partner was interviewed (the reason I have it
is actually a coincidence due to a another matter completely unrelated
to immigration, a common hobby, and I got it prior to our application
for conjugal partner). I am thinking of writing an email to the
director telling him what the visa officer said and the conditions the
officer imposed to issue the visa. That I feel the visa officer is not
competent, asking that this situation be investigated, asking for
another interview, asking the director to do the interview himself,
asking that I have the opportunity to be interviewed if there are any
doubts, etc.. Can anyone who has previous experience working in the
Canadian immigration department or other sponsors who tried the same
thing, give me their opinion on this?

If I complain about the competency of the visa officer, can they
refuse the visa immediately and close the file?

Thank-you,
Robert

Andrew Miller

CIC cannot require you to marry, but if you won't then your girlfriend will
be refused - CIC is not required to approve anything if in their
determination criteria are not met.

Seems that you read from Manual only parts that you like and think that may
be beneficial to your case, but you are obviously not reading what's
important - factors that must be present and well documented to be accepted
as conjugal partners. It is the category for those who cannot get married or
live together long enough to meet definition of common-law partners due to
legal and other valid reasons, regardless documented trying and who's
relationship has most of the elements of interdependency (emotional,
physical, social, financial, etc.).

I would suggest you read the Manual again and analyze in details all
requirements to see what (if any) chances you may have for appeal. And then
decide what to do, but is she is the one you want to live with then why not
to follow suggestion of interviewing officer?