But Carwin Miltimore insists the young woman he met online four years ago married him out of love, not a desire to come to Canada.
A visa officer rejected the 60-year-old truck driver’s sponsorship application of his 22-year-old spouse because they felt their age difference made it improbable the relationship was genuine. But last fall an immigration appeal tribunal ruled in the Ryley man’s favour.
Now, the department is asking the Federal Court of Canada to overturn that decision and order a new hearing because it was unable to cross-examine Marife Matangcas Miltimore at the earlier tribunal.
“The wait has been very frustrating,” Miltimore said in an interview.
“I understand that it would be strange to see a man my age walking down the street here with a woman of her age, but in the Philippines it’s not unusual.”
After his 25-year marriage ended in divorce in 2007, Miltimore tried and failed to find a new companion in his home community of 400 people southeast of Edmonton. He turned to the Internet for help, failing to find anyone suitable at plentyoffish.com before eventually connecting with Marife through an Asian dating website.
The pair met in person in April 2008 when Miltimore travelled to the Philippines. They were married in the island nation in February 2009.
As the sponsorship case has dragged on over the past three years, Miltimore said they’ve been able to be together only a few weeks a year during his annual vacation visits. But the couple connect almost daily through video webchats.
“I’m 100 per cent sure that I’m not being duped. I’m not an idiot,” Miltimore said.
“When you talk to someone online every day for hours, you can see in their eyes and by the way they speak that they love you.”
In addition to $10,000 for legal bills, Miltimore has spent generously from his earnings to help Marife and her family with health care needs, a grandmother’s funeral and a new roof for her father’s home.
Despite the age difference, the couple plan to start a family.
Miltimore’s daughter from his previous marriage appeared in support of her father’s appeal during the tribunal hearing.
Neither the immigration department nor Justice Canada would comment on Miltimore’s case, but the federal government’s appeal — scheduled to be heard in a Calgary courtroom Aug. 27 — comes amid a larger crackdown on marriages of convenience.
Sponsors are already required to financially support their spouse for three years even if the relationship fails, and both are prevented from sponsoring a new partner for five years from the day permanent residence is granted.
But under new measures proposed by Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, applicants could also see their permanent residency revoked if they don’t stay together with their sponsor for at least two years.
Critics have complained the new rules could force applicants to remain in abusive relationships or risk removal from the country, but department spokeswoman Danielle Vlemmiks said the changes would bring Canada’s policies more closely in line with those of other countries like the United States, Great Britain and Australia.
“It is expected that Canada would no longer be regarded as a ‘soft target’ by those who might consider using a marriage of convenience to circumvent (the country’s) immigration laws,” Vlemmiks said in an e-mail response to questions from the Herald.
Raj Sharma, a Calgary immigration lawyer who represents Miltimore, said a few high profile cases featured in the media in recent years have created a false impression that marriage fraud is rampant.
Of the 46,300 applications for permanent residence for partners and spouses processed in 2010, about 16 per cent were refused. The immigration department says many of those rejections are based on in-person interviews that identify questionable relationships.
“The reality is that overseas visa officers are trained to spot marriages that aren’t genuine,” Sharma said.
“These new measures are just a political PR stunt that plays well to the minister’s core constituents.”
In Miltimore’s case, Sharma said the department is wasting tax dollars that could be better devoted to files where seasoned criminals are seeking permanent residency or citizenship.
“The government’s scarce resources should be spent on cases of individuals who pose a danger to Canadian society,” he said.
“Instead, we’re protecting a man from himself because we have this paternalistic view he’s being used for immigration purposes.”
Miltimore is scheduled to fly to the Philippines the day after the court hearing for a three-week stay with his wife. He’s hoping he will arrive with good news.
“If the court rules in our favour, it would be nice to think the department might put a rush on it after all the delays,” Miltimore said.
“I have faith, but after three and half years, Marife sometimes wonders whether we will ever be together.”
Original Article
Source: calgary herald
Author: Matt McClure
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