RFE Proof of Citizenship or residency

[Junola 0]

I need some advice please!!!

My 129F was finally approved sent to the US embassy in Montreal, Canada :)However instead of getting the packet 3. My fiancé received a letter asking her to provide proof of Citizenship or legal residency in Canada. The problem is she is an asylum seeker and has a 5 years temporary status until 10/2014. She already did the interview but the Canadian government hasn’t made a final decision yet.

I have two questions actually first will the temporary status that the Canadian government gave my fiancée be enough to prove legality in Canada? Second how do I go about providing this document to the US Consulate I will be in Canada myself next week can I as a US citizen go to the US embassy and give them my fiancée’s temporary resident document (so that I can explain the situation)? Or do I have to do this by mail?

Please help I am losing sleep over this going back to her native country is not an option because we are expecting a baby

[canadian_wife 1,808]

If she has temporary status until 2014 pending a decision, why not simply suggest that? As long as she has not been sent deportation orders, her temp status shoudl still be legal.

I do not believe there is a reason to explain anything, why not simply copy the document and have your fiance explain the situation, as it is HER situation, on a written, notarized document and return it to the consulate

good luck

[Junola 0]

Thanks for replying to my post. I understand that she has to be the one explaining her situation but I thought may be if I stop by and drop it off myself they may let me know if the doc is satisfactory so that we can start the process of withrawing her asylum in order to get her password which is being held by the Canadian government.

[canadian_wife 1,808]

honestly, there is very little you can do. Since your petition has now been accepted and approved, it is now up to her to apply for the visa. Why can't she go in and see if the document is acceptable...or go together?

Good luck

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Thanks for replying to my post. I understand that she has to be the one explaining her situation but I thought may be if I stop by and drop it off myself they may let me know if the doc is satisfactory so that we can start the process of withrawing her asylum in order to get her password which is being held by the Canadian government.

I presume you meant "passport" and not "password".

I'd be very careful about withdrawing her asylum application. If you do that then I would think she'd lose her status in Canada. Without lawful status she wouldn't be able to apply for a visa to the US at a consulate in Canada - she'd have to return to her home country, which you've already said is exactly what you DON'T want.

I realize she can't get a visa without a passport, so this seems like a catch 22. Maybe she could apply for a replacement passport at her home country's embassy.

[Junola 0]

First of all thanks for all of your support and help.

So my fiancee and I went to the US Consulate and were told that we needed to contact the immigration IV team via email. So I did scan my fiancee's temporary residency paper and also decided to drop a copy at the US Consulate mail box.

The US Consulate in Montreal just sent me an email showing the front page of the Packet 3 beeing sent to my Fiancee. So I guess they have accepted it ouffff!

I still have a problem with the passport though. My fiancee talked to her Canadian immigration lawyer and she stated that the only way they can give her passport back is by withrawing her asylum claim and if she does that she will be given 30 days to leave Canada.

Can I take my chances and withdraw her Asylum right before the interview since they have already asked for proof of residency? Are they gonna ask her to provide it again at the interview?

Will the email that we sent back and forth be enough to convince them that they knew about her situation and asked us to proceed?

Just in case I am not able to collect all required documents before my I129f approval expires on 9/15/2011. Is it easy to get a request to extend approval of 129F approved?

Any help will be greatly appreciated

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I would not withdraw the Asylum request until after the successful interview. She can explain the situation about her passport at the interview. If she is approved, they will then need her passport and she can safely request its return and then deliver it to the US Consulate for the visa to be affixed to the passport. She should provide them with a copy of the information that states that once her passport is returned to her she has only 30 days in which to leave Canada to ensure that they don't linger on putting the visa into her passport and returning it to her.

If the petition expires and she is still waiting for a scheduled interview, don't worry. The Consulate will automatically extend the validity of the petition. If you have not returned the check list, or have not scheduled an interview yet , then they may or may not extend the validity of the petition. I would start working now on getting everything that is needed so that you can at least set an interview date before the petition expires. If there are still outstanding documents (eg. foreign police records, etc.) then they will request them at the interview and will not issue the visa until they have them in hand.

So, don't have her cancel her asylum application until she has an approval of the K-1 and they are at the stage of needing the passport to attach the visa. It will be useful for her to have copies of the documents she is using for her asylum application in Canada with her at the interview so if they have any questions or her situation as an asylum applicants prevents her from getting some of the necessary documents, the Consular staff may be able to incorporate that information into their decision as it identifies some of the unique problems in her situation.

Good luck.

Edited July 10, 2011 by Kathryn41

[Junola 0]

I like that idea Kathryn. If withdrawing her asylum will automatically disqualify her for the K1 visa then it’s not worth it. The US consulate finally decided to send her Packet 3 after reviewing her asylum papers so they are aware and thought it was good enough.

Is there anyway she can go thru the interview process without the passport on hand? I mean she has a photocopy of the Bio page but the passport is still seized.

Has anybody been allowed to go thru the interview without a passport then brought one after the visa was approved? If you have run into this situation please let me know.