I applied to sponsor my husband to come to Canada from Nigeria…

Question

I applied to sponsor my husband to come to Canada from Nigeria which is where we
were living while waiting for his visa. He adopted a 3 year old boy prior to our
marriage because we wanted a family and I'm older than him and it was too late. 
The young couple approached him to adopt the boy because he was their soccer
coach and excellent with kids.  It turned out that the lawyer didn't know that
he had to be 35 when he adopted in Nigeria and he was 33. So now he has been
declined. Why would he be declined when it was the lawyer that messed up
the adoption. I can't sponsor the adopted boy now since he wasn't legally
adopted and he wasn't eligeble for me to sponsor. I will adopt him with my
husband once we are here and settled.  Now I can only sponsor my husband. We
were told that there is no doubt that our relationship is genuine,  due to all
of the supporting documents. We had 2 weddings there also. My husband has no
health issues or criminal issues from the tests he did. Canada claims they want
to reunite families so why are they not reuniting us?  When he applied for a
temporary visa prior to our marriage, they declined that visa which has left a
black mark on his record.  It was because they thought his job reference letter
was fradulent.  We had a lawyer prove it wasn't with a statutory declaration but
they still didn't give him a temp. visa.  I think they just hate Nigerians and
there is nothing we can do to get him here.  He has now got a visa for Qatar and
he is leaving in 2 weeks.  He has an honors degree in petroleum engineering,
which is on the list of needed occupations for Canada.  They don't care though
because they are racist.  Once he gets a job, Canada will really split up my
family because I will go there and my 19 year old daughter will be left home
alone again like she was for 6 months already when they wouldnt give him a temp.
visa.  We think he will have a better chance if he isn't from Nigeria but is
from Qatar.  Iwas born and raised here for 55 years and there are people with
more rights that are immigrants than I have!!  I even spent 28 years in the
'noble' profession as a teacher.  Basically a volunteer position for the pay for
hours.  A little bitter, oh ya.  I am very ill with fibromyalgia, ME/CFS,
chronic myofascial pain syndrome, small fiber neuropathy which means I have
physical pain 24/7.  Now I have emotional pain 24/7 because I miss him so much. 
We've now been married a year and he has never seen my home, met my daughter or
anyone in my family or my friends, all thanks to Canada immigration.  My family
is very angry with me because they haven't met him yet.  What can I do to get
him here.      Janet

Debra · Accepted Answer

Debra Thal (username) :

Immigration very often does not grant visitor visa's to when there is a pr
application in the process.

Debra Thal (username) :

This happens to Americans and Europeans as well.

Debra Thal (username) :

The reason why they do this is that they cannot allow someone into the country
as a visitor if they do not feel that person will leave at the end of the visit.

Debra Thal (username) :

Your husband has to prove strong ties back home.

Debra Thal (username) :

One strong tie is this child.

Debra Thal (username) :

Another could be a job.

Debra Thal (username) :

If there is house he owns that helps.

Debra Thal (username) :

His coaching job helps as well.

Debra Thal (username) :

I hope that clarifies things.

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

Makes sense about the temp. visa. Why has he been declined to come to Canada. I
understand the son would be declined since he is not legally adopted. But what
has my husband not provided that makes him ineligeble? He has everything.

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- : Why is my husband declined when he qualifies? Just
because the son is declined does not mean he should be too. They are 2 separate
people afterall. What do I do?
Debra Thal (username) :

But did they decline his PR status or just the visa?

And if they did decline the PR status what was the reason?

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

They declined the temporary visa in January 2010 because they thought his
reference letter was fraudulent. It wasn't as his boss did a statutory
declaration that it was true.

Debra Thal (username) :

So, then you understand the reason. It's not about the adoption.

Debra Thal (username) :

It's because they didn't believe the reference letter was valid.

Debra Thal (username) :

I don't know why you think it's about the adoption.

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

January 5, 2011 his permanent resident visa into Canada was declined and they
gave no reason on the paper. When we were in the office that day he said he was
declined because he wasn't old enough to adopt the son and therefore the
adoption was illegal. Not true. He was 33 when he adopted the son on May 30,
2010 and I gave him permission and we were married already. I was 54 at that
time. I have read in Onitsha, Anambra State where he lives that you need to be
25 and I've read you need to be 35. But when your not 35, the partner can adopt
if he/she gets permission to his spouse.

Debra Thal (username) :

Aren't the saying that he cannot come because the child cannot come?

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

I had to leave and not finish putting all the information down. It's nice to
meet you here at the same time.

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

They are saying that he can't come because he wasn't old enough to adopt. His
lawyer was at fault for doing poor work for him. The son is in good hands with
his aunt. Why can't he come because he qualifies. He's separate from his son.

Debra Thal (username) :

Because he would have to say that he will never bring the son.

And he cannot do that.

He cannot say he will come without the son and then bring him later.

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

I don't think it's right that he gets declined because his lawyer did bad work.
Why can't he come and while the adoption is getting straightened out by the
lawyer, he can be reunited with me. We are missing each other terribly to the
point that I've become more sick with my chronic illnesses and that won't get
better until we're reunited.

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

He won't bring the son because he can't. It all doesn't make sense because the
country gave him a passport with the adoption order.

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

We were not going to bring the son with us all along. We were going to bring him
when he got working in a job here and my daughter had time to adjust to him and
then we would bring him here. That would be roughly 6 months later depending on
how fast he got a job. We also didn't want to interfere with his school year.

Debra Thal (username) :

So, why can't you adopt now and then bring them both?

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

He is getting the adoption paper corrected and when that is done it will be sent
into immigration.

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

The lawyer is giving a new adoption order and pitching the other one and it was
just going to be in his name since that was how it started. He will still be my
son and it will still be legal since I've given him permission since he is
younger than 35 and I'm over 35.

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

I must say the lawyer is very angry about this. He has threatened to kill my
husband or to put him into jail for the rest of his life. So he is walking on
thin ice with him.

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

My husband is hiding out and very afraid because this lawyer has a lot of power
and money and he does not want his reputation damaged by the crappy work he did
for my husband.

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

That is why he said he would kill him, etc.

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

It's kind of like, my husband will take what ever he can get and he isn't
allowed any input to the solution of the initial adoption so he couldn't ask to
put my name on it too. That could cause him to blow up and kill him. That is
Nigeria.

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

I'm writing a letter to immigration for reconsideration if I feel like there has
been an error because my MP contacted them so I have this chance. What would be
my best case.

Debra Thal (username) :

Can you afford an immigration lawyer in Canada to act for you?

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

I have seen a lawyer and she says that she cannot do anything for me until I
bring the new adoption paper out of Nigeria.

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

She said to appeal the case, it will cost $10,000. and I have no way of raising
that kind of money. I don't know how long I have to straighten things out before
they will say that I have to make an appeal and begin paying a lawyer. In the
meantime, my husband has a visa to Qatar to go get work and I will follow him
when he gets work as a petroleum engineer. He can't bear to wait much longer to
be away from me and so he is taking action and moving forward. If he doesn't get
the papers I will have to move and leave my 19 year old daughter behind in
CalXXXXX XXXXXke I have when I stayed with him. I'm torn between the two but
Canada is not interested in reuniting us from what I can see. They seem to want
to put road blocks up no matter what we do.

Debra Thal (username) :

So, if you get the adoption straightened out then you can reapply to sponsor
your spouse.

Isn't that the best approach at this point?

JACUSTOMER-gmk0o6mr- :

Yes.

I applied to sponsor my husband to come to Canada from Nigeria…

How JustAnswer works

JustAnswer in the News:

What Customers are Saying:

Meet the Experts: