Victims' Stories: Emilia – almost a victim of marriage fraud

• Emilia – almost a victim of marriage fraud
• I met “Juan” at a party held by some mutual friends in 1998.
• He told me he had come to Canada on a student’s visa from Colombia. He wanted to know if we could get together again
• So a few days later we went to a little café and the next week to a restaurant....
• There he told me a few more things about himself and asked me what I thought about marrying him I have to admit I was a little surprised.
• We met over the next two months, and the conversations about marriage continued. I was certainly thinking I would have a future with him because I liked him and he seemed to like me.
• I had heard of other people who married foreigners only to be dumped by their spouses once the latter’s immigration papers came through. The question nagged at me despite my romantic feelings for him
• Then I went on a two-week trip. When I returned, Juan didn’t appear to be interested in resuming our relationship. I was hurt (after all, when I left he seemed as attached to me as ever) but even more, puzzled. Why the sudden change on his part?
• We drifted apart until a few months later when Juan called me out of the blue. He brought up the question of marriage again. This time he didn’t pretend to be interested in a real future or a family; he made it clear that he was facing a hearing on his refugee application (an application based on a bogus story, I later found out) and only marriage to a Canadian could ensure he’d be allowed to stay in Canada.
• I refused. He didn’t have anything serious in mind for me. He proceeded to respond with a barrage of insults, such as “There are many things I don’t like about you.”
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• Remainder of story: Juan managed to get his refugee claim accepted, some way so there was no need of me at this point. The only thing I felt was relief, that I could have been a victim of marriage fraud. Well, while I’d like to think my ability to see through Juan had to do my great native intelligence, in reality it had much more to do with hearing others’ experiences. Now let me make a few things clear. I know that not all of marriages between Canadians and immigrants are based on fraud. Also, I really don’t have any ethical problems with two people mutually agreeing to enter a marriage to let one member come into Canada, as long as there’s no deception on his or her part.
• I just wanted to share my experience. I hope it helps someone else.
• Emilia