Post
by jei2 » Wed Mar 05, 2008 2:36 pm
Hmm.. as I was musing earlier about personal bias...
Claire, if you are confident that your evidence was submitted and you fulfilled the criteria of para 281 of the Immigration Rules, you might want to hold on for the appeal. Simply because of the possibility that some diplomatic posts might start to apply the overstayer re-entry penalties before they actually become effective on 1 April 2008.
Furthermore a new application might not make any difference to the ECO's views; you now need to swing the "balance of probabilities" aspect of the refusal in your favour as the Immigration Judge will also look at this.
This would give you time to submit further evidence such as letters from friends, family, receipts, telephone bills, correspondence between the two of you (emails, text messages etc). It's also possible to get telephone records from international dialling cards so if either of you are using these hold on to them. This is not new evidence per se, but throws further light on the existing issue of whether or not the marriage is genuine.
Remember that the onus will be on your husband not on you, to prove that there is "intervening love and devotion" eg that his feelings for you have not diminished with distance and separation. Ensure that you keep all his cards, letters, etc to you...and that he keeps receipts of the money and gifts etc that you are sending him...
Look at the arguments made by the ECO as objectively as you can and ask yourself: on what (lack of) evidence might their assumptions have been made? Then work on finding practical documentary evidence to counteract it.
Note that the ECO might also be taking into account other differences between your husband and yourself, particularly if you are the older spouse and there is a significant age gap.
Remember that evidence of marriage is not just signified by a marriage certificate and shared utility bills; how the marriage is viewed externally by friends and family could be a significant factor. If you can but haven't already done so, gather as many supporting letters as possible from these quarters. And of course your husband will want to know how your mutual friends and relatives are faring back in the UK.
Finally, if the ECO disregarded evidence of your more than sufficient income (assuming it was just for the two of you), you can argue that this assessment was flawed, and it leads on from there that their assessment of whether or not the marriage is genuine was either:
i) subsequently flawed or
ii) too subjective to be reliable as grounds for refusal.
This should give the IJ something to chew on while s/he decides whether or not they agree...
Oh, the drama...!
