As an imam, at the particular mosque where I work, we have at least three or four thousand coming for the Jumu'ah prayer, which is the main prayer of the week. I would say at least one-third of those who have applied for immigration are coming up with these concerns and these questions about the delay and why their marriage is not considered valid.
I was actually brought for expert testimony by IRCC on a case. The spouse was away from the other spouse for 10 years, and they finally gave the go-ahead. They weren't moving the case forward because they did not believe that they were actually married. There was also a child who was born, and the spouse who is here, a citizen of Canada, was going every other year to spend some time with the other spouse. They just couldn't believe that the marriage actually took place, and the concern was, “Why don't you have photographs of your wedding? Where's the invitation card?” Some of these villages where people come from back home don't have all these flashy weddings. It's just a simple thing and they don't meet beforehand. It's just an arranged type of marriage. Finally the case was completed, after 10 years.
Again, to answer your question, it's a sizable number. I would say at least one-third of my congregation who have some form of immigration application on file are waiting, and it's delayed anywhere between two and 10 years, as I said.