Cuba has one of the highest rates of marriage fraud for immigration purposes in the world. For this reason, a much higher number of interviews are convoked for Cuban sponsorship applicants than for applicants from nearly all other countries.
Currently, if an interview is convoked, then the applicant will be given the choice of traveling to either Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago or Mexico City, Mexico. The applicant will advise IRCC which office they would like to travel to, and then be advised within approximately 1 – 3 months of their interview date.
We recommend to our clients that they travel to Port of Spain due to the ease of travel to Trinidad and Tobago for Cuban citizens compared with Mexico. For Cubans to travel to Mexico, they have to submit an application online and then travel to the Mexican Embassy in Havana for an in-person interview. Cubans are frequently refused Mexican visas for the same reasons they are refused US visas and Canadian visas: lack of economic prospects in Cuba.
For Cubans to travel to Port of Spain, they may make their application for a visa orally when they arrive at the airport in Trinidad and Tobago (like Canadians do in Cuba). They will provide proof that they meet the requirements to enter the country, such as:
· Proof that they have access to USD$1,000 for their trip
· Proof that their hotel is paid for
· Proof of their reason for entering Trinidad and Tobago
The authorities of Trinidad and Tobago are not legally required to grant entry to Cuban citizens for the purpose of their Canadian immigration interview. As with all countries, seeking entry is a privilege and not a right. However, Cuban citizens are usually able to enter for their Canadian immigration interview without much hassle.
When the Cuban citizen attends their sponsorship interview, they will be asked many questions. Most of these questions are about their sponsor and relationship, and some of them can be very personal.
Some common questions asked in Cuban sponsorship interviews include:
· What time does your sponsor wake up in the morning?
· How does your sponsor take their coffee?
· How much money does your sponsor make?
· What does your sponsor do for a living?
· When did you and your sponsor first sleep together?
· Why would your sponsor want to marry someone who is divorced and/or has kids?
· Who are your sponsor’s family members shown in these photos?
The important thing to remember is that there are no wrong answers to these questions. The correct answer is the truth. The officer is looking to see if you answer quickly and confidently, rather than being unsure or possibly having memorized the information as people do for fake marriages.
When the interview is concluded, several different things may happen:
· The applicant could be advised that the application will be approved and asked to submit their passport for visa issuance
· The applicant could be asked to submit additional documents
· The applicant could be advised that the next steps will be provided to them via email
If additional documents are requested, then a final decision will be made after they are received – you should move to submit these documents right away. Most of the time, the documents may be submitted via email or online Case Specific Enquiry.
If no additional documents have been requested but you have not been asked to submit your passport, this does not mean that the application will be refused. What happens depends upon the discretion of the officer.
If the application is going to be approved, the applicant will be asked to provide their passport. This could very possibly happen once they are back in Cuba, and they (including any accompanying dependent children) will have to go to Havana to submit their passports for visa issuance.
Once the visa is issued, they will be able to board a plane to Canada. The sponsor can accompany them if they like, or they can fly to Canada on their own and meet their sponsor at the airport.
If the application is going to be refused, then an email will be sent with the reasons for refusal as well as a description of appeal rights. If you plan to appeal a negative decision, you have to ensure you adhere to the deadlines given in the letter.
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Contact us if you have questions about sponsoring your spouse from Cuba.
*Please note that all information contained in this article does not take into account any impact of coronavirus COVID-19 on application procedures or processing times.
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