Had an appeal against the refusal of a spousal sponsorship. The hearing was held today via videoconference with the Board Member. In reviewing case law the night before, the following seemed to be helpful: As in all other cases of this nature before the Division to date, the two prongs of the "bad faith" test articulated in Regulation 4 are to be read conjunctively, as per the French version of the Regulations. In order for a foreign national to be caught by section 4 of the Regulations, the preponderance of reliable evidence must demonstrate that the marriage is not genuine and was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring a status or privilege under the Act. This approach, of the two available, is most favorable to the appellant. In order to succeed on appeal, the appellant need only establish one of the prongs of the test has not been met. The onus is on an appellant to demonstrate that the principal applicant is not caught by the excluding section of the Regulations. In today's case, an argument could be made that the marriage was entered into by the overseas spouse for the purpose of acquiring a status or privilege... Read more →