gender, race, and marriage in immigration: the spousal sponsorship appeal process in canada

133 Pages·2010·0.58 MB·English

by  Lacey Forsyth

GENDER, RACE, AND MARRIAGE IN IMMIGRATION:
THE SPOUSAL SPONSORSHIP APPEAL PROCESS IN
CANADA
by

Lacey Jane Forsyth
Bachelor of Arts, University of British Columbia 2007

THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS

In the
Department of Sociology and Anthropology

© Lacey Forsyth 2010
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
Spring 2010

All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada,
this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for Fair
Dealing. Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private
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with the law, particularly if cited appropriately.
APPROVAL
Name: Lacey Jane Forsyth
Degree: Master of Arts
Title of Thesis: Gender, Race, and Marriage in Immigration: The
Spousal Sponsorship Appeal Process in Canada

Examining Committee:
Chair: Dr. Ann Travers
Assistant Professor of Sociology

______________________________________
Dr. Wendy Chan
Senior Supervisor
Professor of Sociology

______________________________________
Dr. Dorothy Chunn
Supervisor
Professor of Sociology

______________________________________
Dr. Habiba Zaman
External Examiner
Professor of Women’s Studies

Date Defended: ___________April 19th, 2010_______________
ii
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Last revision: Spring 09
ABSTRACT
Spousal sponsorship and immigration to Canada is a complex process.
Using a qualitative and quantitative content analysis, this feminist research
examines the relationship between gender, race, and marriage in 93 spousal
sponsorship appeal cases. More specifically, this thesis examines how the
gendering and racialization of spousal immigrants contributes to Canadian
perspectives on spousal sponsorship and how they shape the meaning of
marriage for immigration purposes. I argue that marriage for spousal immigration
purposes is defined in a white, heterosexual, patriarchal, gendered, Western
way. The spousal sponsorship appeal process uses marriage as a mechanism to
exclude spousal relationships that do not conform to Western marriage ideals.

Keywords: immigration policy; marriage; gender; race; sponsorship
iii
DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to the three most important ‘men’ in my life.
To my husband, I thank you for all your love, support,
encouragement, and patience in writing this work. To my son, thank
you for making me see what’s truly important in life- you are my
inspiration and source of joy. To Connor, beloved friend, devoted
companion, and a wo-man’s best friend. You will forever be loved and
deeply missed.
iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This thesis would not have been possible without the guidance and
support of my supervisory committee. To my Senior Supervisor, Dr. Wendy
Chan, I am so thankful for your insightful ideas and contributions to this research;
your wisdom, patience and encouragement throughout this process is truly
appreciated. To Dr. Dorothy Chunn, thank you for your encouraging words and
thoughtful comments and suggestions for my research. I would also like to thank
Dr. Habiba Zaman for taking the time to serve as my external examiner and for
bringing a new perspective to my work. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council for financially supporting this
research project.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Approval..........................................................................................................................ii
Abstract..........................................................................................................................iii
Dedication.......................................................................................................................iv
Acknowledgements........................................................................................................v
Table of Contents...........................................................................................................vi
List of Tables................................................................................................................viii
Introduction.....................................................................................................................1
Chapter Outlines.......................................................................................................5
1: The Politics of Marriage and Migration- A literature review...................................7
Women and Immigration...........................................................................................8
Family Class Immigration to Canada......................................................................13
Spousal Sponsorship in Canada.............................................................................15
Marriage and Immigration.......................................................................................20
Conclusion..............................................................................................................26
2: Theory and Methodology.........................................................................................27
Theoretical Framework...........................................................................................27
Feminism, Law and ‘Woman’..................................................................................28
Feminism, Law and Racialized Women..................................................................32
Feminism, Law and Patriarchy................................................................................37
Methodological Framework.....................................................................................41
Research Questions ...............................................................................................41
Data Collection........................................................................................................42
Data Analysis..........................................................................................................43
Limitations and Contributions..................................................................................46
3: Overview of Spousal Immigration to Canada........................................................49
Spousal Sponsorship and the Appeal Process under the Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act..........................................................................................................50
Sample Characteristics...........................................................................................54
Marriage..................................................................................................................55
Gender....................................................................................................................58
Citizenship ..............................................................................................................61
Reasons Given for Initial Refusals and Appeal Outcomes.....................................63
Success Rates under the ‘Bad Faith’ Marriage Provision.......................................68
Conclusion..............................................................................................................71
4: What’s Love got to do with Marriage?: Examining the role of ‘genuineness’ in
spousal sponsorship appeal outcomes.....................................................................73
‘Genuineness’ and ‘Credibility’ in the Spousal Sponsorship Appeal Process.........73
Gender, Race and ‘Genuineness’ in the Spousal Sponsorship Appeal Process....77
vi
Gender and ‘Genuineness’.................................................................................77
Race and ‘Genuineness’.....................................................................................82
Discussion...........................................................................................................92
The Meaning of Marriage and Spousal Sponsorship..............................................96
5: Conclusions and considerations for future research.........................................100
Appendices..................................................................................................................106
Appendix A: Immigration and Refugee Board Immigration Appeal Division: List
of Spousal Sponsorship Appeal Cases in my Sample........................................106
Appendix B: Quantitative Coding Manual............................................................109
Reference List.............................................................................................................112

vii
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE 3-1 .............................................................................................................55
TABLE 3-2 .............................................................................................................59
TABLE 3-3 .............................................................................................................62
TABLE 3-4 .............................................................................................................70

viii
INTRODUCTION
Immigration is an integral part of any successful country as it provides
countries with the human capital needed to survive (Daniel, 2005). For the
purposes of this thesis, I borrow Peter Li’s (2003) definition of an immigrant. He
defines an immigrant as a person: “born outside the country who ha[s] been
admitted to Canada, as well as symbolic representations of those who, in the
eyes of the resident population, should be given or denied entry to Canada” (Li,
2003, p.2). Immigration is a necessary component of Canadian society.
Canadian immigration policies are frequently criticized for their
exclusionary politics and perspectives. The racialization of immigrants in
Canadian immigration policies is a historical phenomenon even though the
policies are officially ‘colour-blind’ (Chan, 2005; Li, 2003; Ng, 1992; Razack,
1999; Razack, 2000; Thobani, 1999). Winant (2000) defines race “as a concept
that signifies and symbolizes socio-political conflicts and interests in reference to
different types of human bodies” (p. 172). In other words, race is a socially
constructed category that is historically situated which attempts to categorize,
classify and (hierarchically) organize groups of people based on skin colour and
ascribe collective or group characteristics to racial designations such as ‘Black’,
‘Asian’ or ‘White’ (Brubaker & Cooper, 2000; Omi & Winant, 1994; Winant, 2000).
Recent criticisms of Canadian immigration policies and practices uncover a trend
towards maintaining (a white) Canadian identity and (forced) immigrant
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