PFL letter unique situation in Spousal sponsorship

[Faiz123]

I submitted spousal immigration application in Oct 2023 to sponsor my wife from Pakistan recently I received a PFL letter from IRCC there are 2 issues.

1, My wife was married twice & divorced in past before she married me. I submitted my wife 1 marriage divorce certificate with application. she thought her 2nd marriage (which lasted for 25 days b/c of 2nd husband abuse police report was filed for abuse as well) was not registered with union council or Nadra but after investigation we found out her 2nd husband registered 2nd divorce with UC now in PFL IRCC said information obtained by RAU unit in Islamabad that they think the divorce certificate we submitted were fraudulent & it's not a valid marriage & my spouse was not free to marry with R117 (1)a & (9)c(i) & section 40(1)
so my question is how RAU do their investigation when they go to union council or Nadra and get everything (all marriages information) through id card number or they check only specific info for example in this case 1st marriage divorce certificate only & at this stage should I disclose & provide them 2nd marriage divorce certificate if yes then how to tell them it's honest mistake we missed it? it's a genuine marriage worried about the PFL.

2, Union council messed up the dates on 1st marriage divorce certificate I submitted to IRCC with application it shows divorce completed in 1 month & we found out as per Pakistan law it take 90 days to finalize divorce so UC providing wrong information.

How to handle & reply IRCC PFL for both issues?

Thanks!

 

[nzkko]

Lawyer up, this is very serious

 

[scylla]

I submitted spousal immigration application in Oct 2023 to sponsor my wife from Pakistan recently I received a PFL letter from IRCC there are 2 issues.

1, My wife was married twice & divorced in past before she married me. I submitted my wife 1 marriage divorce certificate with application. she thought her 2nd marriage (which lasted for 25 days b/c of 2nd husband abuse police report was filed for abuse as well) was not registered with union council or Nadra but after investigation we found out her 2nd husband registered 2nd divorce with UC now in PFL IRCC said information obtained by RAU unit in Islamabad that they think the divorce certificate we submitted were fraudulent & it's not a valid marriage & my spouse was not free to marry with R117 (1)a & (9)c(i) & section 40(1)
so my question is how RAU do their investigation when they go to union council or Nadra and get everything (all marriages information) through id card number or they check only specific info for example in this case 1st marriage divorce certificate only & at this stage should I disclose & provide them 2nd marriage divorce certificate if yes then how to tell them it's honest mistake we missed it? it's a genuine marriage worried about the PFL.

2, Union council messed up the dates on 1st marriage divorce certificate I submitted to IRCC with application it shows divorce completed in 1 month & we found out as per Pakistan law it take 90 days to finalize divorce so UC providing wrong information.

How to handle & reply IRCC PFL for both issues?

Thanks!

I agree with the above. You need a lawyer asap. This is not a do it yourself response.

It was a huge mistake not to disclose the first marriage. It's going to be hard to convince IRCC this was an honest mistake. You knew the marriage happened and then purposely excluded it from the application.

 

[scylla]

I submitted spousal immigration application in Oct 2023 to sponsor my wife from Pakistan recently I received a PFL letter from IRCC there are 2 issues.

1, My wife was married twice & divorced in past before she married me. I submitted my wife 1 marriage divorce certificate with application. she thought her 2nd marriage (which lasted for 25 days b/c of 2nd husband abuse police report was filed for abuse as well) was not registered with union council or Nadra but after investigation we found out her 2nd husband registered 2nd divorce with UC now in PFL IRCC said information obtained by RAU unit in Islamabad that they think the divorce certificate we submitted were fraudulent & it's not a valid marriage & my spouse was not free to marry with R117 (1)a & (9)c(i) & section 40(1)
so my question is how RAU do their investigation when they go to union council or Nadra and get everything (all marriages information) through id card number or they check only specific info for example in this case 1st marriage divorce certificate only & at this stage should I disclose & provide them 2nd marriage divorce certificate if yes then how to tell them it's honest mistake we missed it? it's a genuine marriage worried about the PFL.

2, Union council messed up the dates on 1st marriage divorce certificate I submitted to IRCC with application it shows divorce completed in 1 month & we found out as per Pakistan law it take 90 days to finalize divorce so UC providing wrong information.

How to handle & reply IRCC PFL for both issues?

Thanks!

I would strongly recommend you disclose everything. Again, get a lawyer immediately.

 

[armoured]

The two R117 references simply mean that the IRCC believes that your spouse was already married when you got married, which makes her ineligible as a spousal applicant (i.e. they consider your marriage bigamous when it was carried out and hence invalid). I don't know what the R40 reference means.

I agree you need a lawyer. It was highly dubious to not disclose the first marriage (and your logic terrible - if you thought it was an invalid marriage, then what is the divorce certificate for?).

Why lawyer? Because even if they accept your logic, you've committed misrepresentation. You can hope they'll be lenient but - bluntly - you should not trust your judgment to make a decent argument (as shown by your previous decisions).

 

[Faiz123]

Yes, I'll disclose everything to IRCC. If any one knows a good lawyer please let me know. Thanks

We didn't know that 2nd marriage was registered with UC union council. divorce certificate I submitted was from 1st marriage so I think when IRCC investigated through RAU they saw 2nd marriage info in database & thought it was never ended hence the spouse was not eligible to marry me which is not correct but I need to clarify this to IRCC by submitting 2nd marriage certificate. in PFL reply.

Section 40(1) = Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states that: A permanent resident or foreign national is inadmissible for misrepresentation (a) for directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter that induces or could induce an error in the administration of this Act.

 

[scylla]

Yes, I'll disclose everything to IRCC. If any one knows a good lawyer please let me know. Thanks

We didn't know that 2nd marriage was registered with UC union council. divorce certificate I submitted was from 1st marriage so I think when IRCC investigated through RAU they saw 2nd marriage info in database & thought it was never ended hence the spouse was not eligible to marry me which is not correct but I need to clarify this to IRCC by submitting 2nd marriage certificate. in PFL reply.

Section 40(1) = Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states that: A permanent resident or foreign national is inadmissible for misrepresentation (a) for directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter that induces or could induce an error in the administration of this Act.

You need a lawyer. Your spouse is facing a five year ban from Canada right now. Please get a lawyer asap.

 

[Faiz123]

I am very worried. Please let me know a good lawyer I am also searching on google. Thanks

 

[armoured]

I am very worried. Please let me know a good lawyer I am also searching on google. Thanks

The firm that runs this board is considered reputable, but I do not know if they handle / specialise in this type of issue:
https://www.canadavisa.com/cohen-immigration-law.html

 

[armoured]

We didn't know that 2nd marriage was registered with UC union council. divorce certificate I submitted was from 1st marriage so I think when IRCC investigated through RAU they saw 2nd marriage info in database & thought it was never ended hence the spouse was not eligible to marry me which is not correct but I need to clarify this to IRCC by submitting 2nd marriage certificate. in PFL reply.

You knew there was a type of marriage. Even if you thought it was not registered, it would have saved you from this situation to disclose it to IRCC and explain that you didn't think it was registered (but here are divorce papers, too). IRCC is much more forgiving about disclosing information that turns out to be irrelevant than it is about withholding information.

Too late now. But I put this here as warning to others: disclose things even if you have some (bad!) reason to think it doesn't matter. Or if in doubt - this is when to consult a lawyer, before applying and submitting false information.

That said, there is a chance they will accept your explanation.

Section 40(1) = Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states that: A permanent resident or foreign national is inadmissible for misrepresentation (a) for directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter that induces or could induce an error in the administration of this Act.

Thank you, I'd been looking at the regs.

Note, although you did withhold information that could (arguably should) be considered material, it seems that IRCC may have written this before knowing that there was a divorce for the prior marriage (and that it took place before the current marriage).

In other words, a lawyer can at least attempt to argue that the second marriage was over, the current marriage hence valid, and that therefore the facts withheld were not material under the meaning of the act. That's at least plausible in context of the 'we thought it hadn't been registered' claim.

Note, this is NOT a slam-dunk. Personally I don't think I'd buy the argument. Even if IRCC officers don't, however, their in-house lawyers might disagree [with the IRCC officer evaluating] (esp if a lawyer is involved in the response, i.e. they might not think it's worth it to refuse.)

 

[Faiz123]

armoured thank you for this information it's very helpful!