Returned K1 -

[albkos 1]

So my case made it back to Vermont and they issued me a letter stating that the validity period had ended and I am free to file again and that they will keep all the paperwork.

Does the Consulate return everything including evidence to USCIS?

WHen I refile - should I be worried ?

[Hopeful786 0]

So my case made it back to Vermont and they issued me a letter stating that the validity period had ended and I am free to file again and that they will keep all the paperwork.

Does the Consulate return everything including evidence to USCIS?

WHen I refile - should I be worried ?

Wait why would they send it back to Vermont, the consulate should have extended the validity period at the time of issuing an interview date, if they see that more time is needed.

[catknit 144]

We had a returned case to VSC also, ours was reaffirmed and sent back to New Delhi. We only found out last week while scheduling the new interveiw that everything but the original petition was "misplaced". Police reports, medical report, passport office clearance, 100s pg of emails, affidavits, etc etc etc were no longer with the petition. If I had to guess, and it's merely a guess, anything that wasn't returned to you when you received your denial goes back to VSC. In our case, our supporting documentation was not sent back to the consulate with the petition because it wasn't part of the original petition. But again, that's just a guess.

Should you worry? It depends on the specifics of your case. Will you be refiling a K1? Or, will you be marrying and going for the CR1? When I spoke to the CO, he implied that K visas get a lot more scrutiny because of all the fraud in the past and hinted that CR1 has a little more weight behind it. Could that have been a New Delhi-centric comment, sure.

What ever the reason for your denial, you need to be absolutely sure you can prove you've remedied it.

[Twisted K 2]

i had the same letter. you are free to refile at anytime. but i would recommend gathering all the evidence as possible to "rebut" the original reason for the denial. ours was for lack of evidence, so i sent plenty of evidence this round. we chose to file for a cr1 instead of going the k1 route. a good thing about the i130 petition is it does not expire like the i129f filed for the k1.

sometimes the consulate will not extend the expiration date for one reason or another, and they will send it back to uscis for them to make a more final decision. some have been revalidated out of vermont and re-sent back to the consulate. csc, has chosen to let expired petitions remain expired. this post is the first i have seen where vsc has let a case remain expired.

good luck in your refile

and what catknit said

Edited August 17, 2009 by kaushalia

[Hopeful786 0]

Wait the petition was already expired while at NVC or it just got expired at the consulate?

[Twisted K 2]

i had the same letter. you are free to refile at anytime. but i would recommend gathering all the evidence as possible to "rebut" the original reason for the denial. ours was for lack of evidence, so i sent plenty of evidence this round. we chose to file for a cr1 instead of going the k1 route. a good thing about the i130 petition is it does not expire like the i129f filed for the k1.

sometimes the consulate will not extend the expiration date for one reason or another, and they will send it back to uscis for them to make a more final decision. some have been revalidated out of vermont and re-sent back to the consulate. csc, has chosen to let expired petitions remain expired. this post is the first i have seen where vsc has let a case remain expired.

good luck in your refile

and what catknit said

sorry, i should not have said the bolded, but this is the first "recent".

[Bajih 4]

So my case made it back to Vermont and they issued me a letter stating that the validity period had ended and I am free to file again and that they will keep all the paperwork.

Does the Consulate return everything including evidence to USCIS?

WHen I refile - should I be worried ?

What is the validity period???????? How long?? You have to refile because they didn't get things done in time?? Please explain! Thank you so much!!

[catknit 144]

Bajih - take a deep breath - I can feel your stress thru the screen.

When the NOA2 approval is granted there is a validity period of 4 months on the approval. If everything is working as it should [NVC is clearing cases quickly, the ability to gather the packet 3 and 4 paperwork, the specific consulate's interveiw schedule, etc etc] a typical case should have no problem making its way from the service center to the visa decision within the 4 months. If, for some reason, you're at a consulate with a huge backlog, a lot of AP, or there are problems with getting the documentation, the CO has the power to revalidate a case thus overriding the expiration date.

Those of us who were unfortunate enough to have "issues" with our cases ended up having the original validity period re-instated as a legal reason to deny and send our cases back to the service center. So, a for example - my first NOA2 was issued on 8-11-08, the validity extended to 12-11-08. We were tied up with requests for additional information/AP from 10-16-08 thru late December. On 1-13-09 we were told we were denied stating the lack of convincing the CO of the relationship AND citing the validity period as justification to close/send back the file.

In the vast majority of cases, including those going thru AP-happy consulates, the date is pushed out as needed.

[Bajih 4]

Bajih - take a deep breath - I can feel your stress thru the screen.

When the NOA2 approval is granted there is a validity period of 4 months on the approval. If everything is working as it should [NVC is clearing cases quickly, the ability to gather the packet 3 and 4 paperwork, the specific consulate's interveiw schedule, etc etc] a typical case should have no problem making its way from the service center to the visa decision within the 4 months. If, for some reason, you're at a consulate with a huge backlog, a lot of AP, or there are problems with getting the documentation, the CO has the power to revalidate a case thus overriding the expiration date.

Those of us who were unfortunate enough to have "issues" with our cases ended up having the original validity period re-instated as a legal reason to deny and send our cases back to the service center. So, a for example - my first NOA2 was issued on 8-11-08, the validity extended to 12-11-08. We were tied up with requests for additional information/AP from 10-16-08 thru late December. On 1-13-09 we were told we were denied stating the lack of convincing the CO of the relationship AND citing the validity period as justification to close/send back the file.

In the vast majority of cases, including those going thru AP-happy consulates, the date is pushed out as needed.

Thanks for the information- Yes, I am in panic mode lately. So what you are saying is that if our interview date has come and went over 4 months ago and we are in AP that we are at the mercy of the Embassy as to whether they extend it? NOA2 was earlier than that. How do we know if it has been re-instated?? I know some people from MENA (middle east; north africa) countries have months and months of AP- so all that waiting and they could deny you based on passing a validity date because they couldn't get the AP figured out in a timely manner? (gee-if that is the case, this is definately something I am not sharing with my SO-no need to worry him)

Could I write the embassy in Syria about our validity date or call DOS?

Thanks.

[catknit 144]

Regardless of the situation - everyone's future here is up to the mercy of the embassy. Sucks, I know.

AP is usually this on-going process - name checks, in some countries they do home visits, it's just an involved thing. Unless they find some reason during these extra checks there would be no reason to deny. If they find some [the person has a wife in their village at home for example], they will deny based on that - not the validity running out.

Also, on the 221(g) it explicitly states that there is a built in year to respond [though with name check type AP - they say you do not need to respond to them] - so there is another year - unless they find something.

I don't know what happened with the original poster's case but for mine and others I know, we were told we didn't have a bona fide relationship and as such the CO was refusing to revalidate the petition, therefore it has expired.

Does that make any sense? It's pretty convaluted, I know.

You can find your validity period on your NOA2. I guess if you really wanted to find out how far out they extended the validity period on your case you could call - but I'm betting it's 1 year from the date of the 221(g). If you've been calling DOS regularly to find out what's happening with your AP, the fact that it's ongoing means the case is still valid.

[Bajih 4]

Thanks- I will have to pull out all the paperwork hiding in my closet somewhere. I do not want to worry about this- as at every stop things were positive- there were no issues brought up at the interview and all of the paperwork on our end is in. We are just waiting like everyone else.

I appreciate your explanation- it has put me at ease a bit.