My Sordid Past

[berichka79 0]

Maybe I’ll be the first USC on this forum to go through the new IMBRA process with an arrest record. I don’t have any felonies or warrants, but maybe I should change my name from PorknBeanz to GuineaPig

hey porknbeanz...so, did you submit info on your "sorid past"??? i have a couple dui's and a resisting arrest on my record from 91/93...should i sumbit this info with my i-129f???

[TracyTN 237]

This thread is nearly a year old.

You might have better luck PMing or emailing porknbeanz for a reply instead of posing the question here.

[*julez* 124]

Or you could read the following thread that also has links to more threads with a similar past to yours:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=44032

Andymisiu (USC) was approved with DUI convictions - 3, I think.

Good luck!

[PorknBeanz 0]

Wow, time flies when you're having fun!

The only uncomfortable thing that happened was during the visa interview. I travelled to Kiev to be with my fiancee for the interview.

Our appointment was at 8:45AM on Wednesday May 31. We arrived at the consulate at about 8:30AM and after going through security handed over all the required paperwork from the KEV-1 checklist. The lady at the bullet-proof glass window was friendly and smiled a lot. We noticed other people were getting called into the interview area and then leaving. At about 10:00AM we were told to come back at 2:00PM. We went out to have lunch. I was getting nervous because in the stories I've read, I haven't read of anybody having to come back later in the day.

At 2:00PM there was only one other woman in the waiting area. She was called to the interview area first. She came back to the waiting area and told us her visa was declined. She said it was her second time traveling to Kiev for the interview. The first time, she didn't have one of her documents translated. She didn't know why she was declined this time.

We (my fiancée, her son, and me) were called to the interview window. The consular officer who did the interview was an American man with red-hair and a beard. He asked if I was the petitioner and I said yes. I was asked how many times I've been to Ukraine, and I said this was my fourth trip. He asked if I spent all four trips with the same woman, and I said yes. He asked if this was my first visa application and I said yes. He asked if I have ever been arrested. I said yes and yada yada yada… He asked about a restraining order that was filed, and I told him that I had already fied a RO against my wife and she filed one after she received the one from me (same day the divorce was filed). He said that my record was confusing about what I was convicted of and my sentence. I told him I wouldnt plea-bargain, so it was a misdemeanor (not domestic violence) and my sentence was 40-hours helping out at the local animal shelter. He asked for my passport, looked through it, and handed it back. He thanked me for the clarification and told my fiancées son and me to return to the waiting area.

He asked my fiancée if she knew about the incident he asked me about, and she said yes. He asked her for her interpretation of what I had told her about the incident, when I had told her, and if my story to him was different than what I told her. She said that I had told her about this early in our relationship because I had explained about green card girls claiming abuse, and that many American men are worried about that, because many American women do the same thing to gain leverage in a divorce. She also said that I had told her the embassy might give her a booklet on how to claim abuse and get an automatic green card. He asked why she loves me.

He asked her to name where I worked, what is my profession and my salary, and if I had any children. He asked how many men she had met through the agency, how many people knew that she was planning to leave the country, and if I was friends with the owner of the agency. He asked how many times I had visited her and the dates of each of my visits. He also asked if she knew my birthday.

I could hear her interview from the waiting room, but it was in Russian. Fortunately, her 11-year old son could also hear, and translated each question and answer to me as the interview progressed. The consular officer handed her the domestic violence book without comment, and said congratulations.

I think you have to be honest about any indicents you have in your past. The government knows everything about everybody, and the officer at the embassy will already have a file about you in his hand when it comes time for the interview. If you are untruthful or try to hide something, it can go very badly.

We were married in September. She received her travel documents in December and visited her family for a couple weeks around New Years. A couple of weeks ago she got her EAD card, and today she passed her written test for a drivers license. Everything is going great!

[*julez* 124]

Thanks for the update! You should post your story in the IMBRA forum - it would be good for others with similar issues to know how this is being handle by the embassies.

I'm glad everything worked out for you guys!!!!