Wife did not make it past homeland and got k-1 cancelled

[Rob & Monika 87]

The only thing I can think of that would help this story make sense, is that they are actually of Chinese descent living in South Korea

A) He does not know Korean (post #58)

B) They studied English together in Korea (post #50) (how do you do that when you don't know english or korean?)

C) He can easily communicate with her family living in Korea (post #59) (they must speak something other than korean)

D) Fiancee can speak some english but does not easily understand english or read it. (post #50)

According to various online sources, aside from Korean, the only other ethnic group mentioned living in South Korea is a small population of Chinese.

Edited April 26, 2012 by Rob & Monika

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I find it hard to believe that at LAX there are no Korean speaking interpreter or CPB officers. If her English was so bad, why not ask for someone who speaks Korean? If it was so bad I think they would offer that service without her even asking.

And I find it highly strange to wear a ring meant to signify marriage before you are married. That goes against the whole point.

[jaycali 415]

I find it hard to believe that at LAX there are no Korean speaking interpreter or CPB officers. If her English was so bad, why not ask for someone who speaks Korean? If it was so bad I think they would offer that service without her even asking.And I find it highly strange to wear a ring meant to signify marriage before you are married. That goes against the whole point.

You're absolutely right. LAX should have had at least a couple of Korean speakers there. I've been through CBP there twice where the CBP officer himself was Korean.

[pddp 240]

The only thing I can think of that would help this story make sense, is that they are actually of Chinese descent living in South Korea

A) He does not know Korean (post #58)

B) They studied English together in Korea (post #50) (how do you do that when you don't know english or korean?)

C) He can easily communicate with her family living in Korea (post #59) (they must speak something other than korean)

D) Fiancee can speak some english but does not easily understand english or read it. (post #50)

According to various online sources, aside from Korean, the only other ethnic group mentioned living in South Korea is a small population of Chinese.

Just FYI and with all due respect, there are people from all over the world living in Korea. I should know- I used to live there.

[TedM 9]

Agree with others. This is sad to hear, and truly sorry, but you either need more information or you're not telling us something.

I wouldn't do anything else until you know with certainty why she was made to return. It certainly wasn't for indiscriminate reasons, though the information you give doesn't add up to much. For myself, I wouldn't let my wife/fiance be sent back on a plane without raising bloody hell, scared or not; at the very least get answers. Not an indictment of your actions, just I find it odd you have no clue why she was sent back, when she was right there with you.

Don't waste your time doing anything else until you get the reasons for the denial of entry.

[Rob & Monika 87]

Just FYI and with all due respect, there are people from all over the world living in Korea. I should know- I used to live there.

I understand that, I only mentioned Chinese because their population in S Korea is high enough to be mentioned on several websites when I tried to look up the different ethnic groups there. Either way, from what the OP said, they tried to immigrate from S Korea but were not Korean, unless that was a typo on his part.

[Leatherneck 693]

I find it hard to believe that at LAX there are no Korean speaking interpreter or CPB officers. If her English was so bad, why not ask for someone who speaks Korean? If it was so bad I think they would offer that service without her even asking.

And I find it highly strange to wear a ring meant to signify marriage before you are married. That goes against the whole point.

You ripped the thoughts right from my head as I was about to post the very same. Anybody that has ever arrived at TBIT (Tom Bradley International Terminal), knows the CBP uniformed personnel can resemble a U.N. special session at times, surely there had to be a Korean speaking officer there or one they could easily reach. You can spit in any direction and hit a Korean speaking traveler/citizen waiting to clear immigration or customs.

Something went terribly sideways in this case. I can only imagine the sheer trauma the poor woman must've experienced as she endured the 9th degree grilling.

Edited April 26, 2012 by Leatherneck

[Boiler 44,852]

Hardly the first case on here where someone has asked about getting married before entering on a K1 or actually has.

I will take the OP at his word unless he directly contradicts his thread title.

[Iyawo Ijebu 157]

hindsight is painful:

1. always ask for an interpreter

2. she should have stayed in the 'holding tank' with CBP - at least she would be IN the USA, and the procedural errors could have been fixed the next week, with an easier outcome.

3. the CBP officer 'grilling' her , was out of line. You (and anyone else) can't see this in real time, so keeping her in the country would have been useful to 'fix' this fella's procedural errors and uncover other silliness and stupidity.

4. Her lack of English? that part was taken advantage of, she was quickly sent elsewhere.

5. the airlines were trying to coerce the man into paying for the ticket. Not paying for the ticket would have been a good thing, as it forces more review of all.

I'm truly sorry this happened to your lass.

Yeah. I for sure would never have paid for THAT ticket.

[DCVA 0]

I'm sorry this happened to you. This is the exact reason why I traveled with my fiancee at the time to make sure stuff like this didn't happen.

[sarita88 3]

Sometimes CBP officers make trick questions, when I got in USA with fiance visa at Miami airport, a officer asked " where did you meet ur HUSBAND?" I answered he is not my husband yet...and i met him at...."

[baron555 934]

I just wanted to post this so I can get help and also warn people that k-1 visas are so strict. She got interviewed again at the airport.

Most folks just waltz on in.....unless there is something very suspicious about their behavior. I'd speculate this was the case with your fiance.

Yes, contact the consulate and have them re-issue the visa. Your better bet would be to fly over and return with her so you can assist with anything at the POE.

[LinaMD 8]

I refuse to believe that wearing a ring, calling your fiance your husband or not being fluent in each others language can be a good enough reason for a denial at POE. In my home country we wear our wedding bands on the right hand, engagement rings are rare and a ring on the left hand doesn't mean a thing. Most of my married friends don't even wear their rings after the wedding. I also know couples that call each other hubby and wifey way before they got enganged.

My husband and I met in Seoul. We both love South Korea and hope to go back one day. I perfectly understand why she is embarrassed to meet her parents. I know how shy a korean girl can be when she has to speak English. Some of my husbands collegues had Korean girlfriends and the language barrier was not that big of a problem.

A CBP officer should not raise an eyebrow only because someone doesn't do things the "normal" way. Their job is to face cultural diversity every day. So I think there must be something else there.

I hope your fiancee is doing ok...

[Shenzhen 34]

I need some real help. My fiance did not make it past the homeland security screening and was sent back. k-1 was cancelled. Any recommendations for lawyers or what could I do to fix this.

You should have not bought her the return ticket. I advise anyone else not too either. Not saying it wouldn't have made a difference, but at least inquiries could have been made. I know I would not have let my woman go back that easy. WOW sorry about your bad experience. You need to find out more and get back to us.

[sarita88 3]

I refuse to believe that wearing a ring, calling your fiance your husband or not being fluent in each others language can be a good enough reason for a denial at POE. In my home country we wear our wedding bands on the right hand, engagement rings are rare and a ring on the left hand doesn't mean a thing. Most of my married friends don't even wear their rings after the wedding. I also know couples that call each other hubby and wifey way before they got enganged.

My husband and I met in Seoul. We both love South Korea and hope to go back one day. I perfectly understand why she is embarrassed to meet her parents. I know how shy a korean girl can be when she has to speak English. Some of my husbands collegues had Korean girlfriends and the language barrier was not that big of a problem.

A CBP officer should not raise an eyebrow only because someone doesn't do things the "normal" way. Their job is to face cultural diversity every day. So I think there must be something else there.

I hope your fiancee is doing ok...

One thing is that you believe or not, other different thing is what our CBP office think.