Raj Sharma, Calgary Immigration Lawyer and former immigration hearings officer provides tips for winning your spousal or immigration appeal.
Hi, my name is Raj Sharma. ...Today I'll be sharing with you my top five tips for succeeding on a spousal sponsorship appeal. Let's just say this is the situation you find yourself in. After you sponsor your overseas spouse, the Visa Office very often convokes an interview. At that interview a visa officer could come to the determination that either your marriage is invalid, or that the marriage is not genuine.
In that event you have thirty days from the date that you receive the overseas refusal decision to appeal the decision ...
My first tip for you is to hire an experienced immigration lawyer. The Immigration Appeal Division is an administrative tribunal with its own procedures, and its own rules. It's best that you contact counsel that appear before that tribunal on a regular basis. I suppose a corollary to that, not hiring an experienced lawyer, take that lawyer's advice....
My second tip for you is to attend someone else's appeal hearing. Appeal hearings before the Immigration Appeal Division are open to the public. Anyone can attend. Ask your lawyer if he or she has other cases or other appeals that are scheduled that you can attend. When you attend someone else's appeal hearing, you will get a chance to see the types of questions that counsel ask, and the types of questions that minister's counsel ask. You'll also get a chance to see what the member, or the immigration judge, finds relevant. This is very important....
My third tip is for you to prepare, with your lawyer, your testimony. Your testimony is very, very important. It's not just about providing the IAD with paper.... It's your testimony that's most important. You've got to prepare, you've got to understand what questions and what areas are relevant. Preparation is key. You've got to ensure that your testimony is clear and cogent.
Answer the question that's asked. Many times an individual will answer a question that wasn't asked. Listen to the question, understand the question, then answer that question. ...
My fourth tip is for you to have clear and cogent explanations for any contradictions or omissions, or any issues that arose at the time of the Visa Office interview. Remember, you're here because a visa officer either did not believe that your marriage is genuine, or had issues as to the validity of your marriage. Even though the appeal is de novo, that means the appeal will look at the evidence fresh, you still need to deal with the findings of the visa officer. ...You've got to explain any implausibilities, any inconsistencies, any omissions, or any credibility issues that the visa officer had underlined or underscored. You must deal with any adverse findings made by the visa officer.
As my final tip, you've got to know your relationship history. You've got to be able to demonstrate knowledge of your spouse's day-to-day lives. You've got to be able to demonstrate knowledge of extended family members, and contact with those family members. Remember, it's our practice at this office to call both the sponsor and his or her spouse from overseas. The testimony will first be presented by the sponsor, and then the applicant will be asked questions. The testimony of both of you doesn't need to be exact, but it should match on all major areas where it could be expected that a husband and wife or spouse will know.
It's not about memorization of dates and times. Too much memorization will lead to obviously-rehearsed testimony. The board member is looking for spontaneous testimony. The board member is looking for those small indicators that this is a genuine relationship. The board member may be concerned about whether you are being used as a dupe for this applicant to enter Canada. The board member may be concerned that this is marriage fraud being perpetrated by one or both partners. It is essential that you bring forward evidence, and that you testify in a clear manner, always remembering that it's your case to make. The burden is on you to establish that this is a genuine relationship.
Finally I want you to know that there is no real appeal of a refusal on your spousal sponsorship appeal. This is it. You need to work hard, find the right counsel, prepare thoroughly, and best of luck. Thanks for watching this video, and viewing this channel. If you have any other questions about this topic or any other immigration topic, please feel free to visit our website or contact our office. One of our lawyers would be happy to help you.
