Filipiniana News – August 2010 RHYME & REASON Although the issue had arisen in the past, sponsorship fraud was in the news again quite recently after a number of Canadians who sponsored their foreign spouses publicly decried the fact that the latter only married them for purposes of gaining immigration status in Canada. Unfortunately, the sponsored spouses have already been granted permanent residence and the sponsors cannot simply revoke the three-year undertaking to support that they submitted with the sponsorship application. As much as they would want these alleged fraudsters deported immediately, there are processes which need to be undertaken before this can be done. At the other end of the spectrum are couples in genuine, committed and loving relationships who are suffering from long-term separation due to the immigration officer’s often perceived overzealousness in disputing the genuineness of a marital relationship, usually by...