Filipiniana News - Rhyme or Reason 14 November 2008 In my immigration law practice, I often refer to spousal sponsorship applications as the “happy files.” This is mainly because they are fun to put together, entails listening to and articulating the heartwarming love stories of the sponsor and his or her spouse/partner and organizing their various joint documents in the best possible way that will convince the visa officer of the genuineness of the marriage or common-law relationship. Moreover, they are processed much more quickly than regular immigration applications – often, in a few months from sending the application, the spouse or partner is issued a permanent resident visa and landing documents. However, I have also been seeing a growing number of not-so-happy stories of refused sponsorships especially in cases where the applications were done by the sponsor and applicant themselves without professional legal assistance. Although the marriage i...