Fiancee's previous K1, stayed in US beyond 90-day limit

[stv62208 0]

Thanks to all for the help with my earlier question.

Now, I have a new question that I think deserves a new thread.

I apologize for the very long message, but I don't want to leave out any information.

Our situation is this:

My fiancee received a K1 in 2004, from a different petitioner.

She came to the US, things didn't work out between them, they did not get married, and she returned home.

She did receive a US Social Security Number during her time in the US.

Also, from responses to my earlier post, she does have an existing A-number, but we are not able to find it.

MY NEW QUESTION:

During her trip to the US in 2004, SHE DID STAY IN THE US BEYOND THE 90-DAY LIMIT.

K1 Issue Date: 28 July 2004

K1 Expiration Date: 26 Jan 2005

US Customs Entrance Stamp: August 11 2004

Handwritten on the K1 VISA: "K-1 Nov 11, 2004"

and the "1 Entries" number on the K1 VISA is circled, with the same hand-writing.

There is no US Customs Exit Stamp on her International passport!

She does not remember anything unusual, during her departure.

No fine for a violation, no scolding by the Customs authority, nothing.

On her Internal Russian passport, she found:

Exit from Russia: August 11, 2004

Return to Russia: December 26, 2004

This is approximately 45 days beyond the 90-day limit!

SHOULD WE WORRY???????

I will submit copies of every page (except blank pages) of her International Passport, with the 129F petition.

I do not intend to submit any information from her Internal Russian Passport.

I never imagined that this passport would be required, but I don't want to appear to be hiding anything!

I would not anticipate that anyone would notice the lack of an Exit Stamp, but I worry, because:

She does have a US Social Security Number. Of course, I must put this on the 129F petition.

I will try to find the existing A-number, and also put this on the 129F petition.

Will these numbers allow a quick search, to see the details of her earlier visit?

IF this is discovered during the early stages of the petition process, what are our options?

This might be the best situation for us, to deal with the problem at the start of the process.

Do I need a lawyer, to get everything out in the open, at the beginning, when I submit the petion?

THIS IS WHAT I REALLY WORRY ABOUT:

If this is not detected, and we proceed without any problems, up to her personal interview, what then?

Surely, they will ask something about her earlier K1 experience.

Would they specifically ask some question, where she must admit that she stayed too long in the US?

We would never give false information, for moral and legal reasons.

But, I would not be uncomfortable, if we did not tell something that was never asked.

(A sentence with a quadruple-negative! I must be trying to hide something!!!)

I apologize to any members who are not fluent in English!

FINALLY, THIS COULD KEEP ME AWAKE AT NIGHT FOR YEARS!!!!

Would this fact come back to haunt us some time in the future, when she applies for permanent residence?

PLEASE, WHO HAS SOME INFORMATION, OR ADVICE, ABOUT THIS SITUATION?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I am sure someone who is more familiar with this particular situation will chime in, however, the good news is that she did depart the US when it turned out that a marriage between her and her former partner was not going to work. The real problem with overstaying a visa occurs if you have more than an 180 day overstay, which will trigger a 3 year ban. A 90 day overstay will probably trigger questions of her during the interview - why did you not marry the former petitioner; why did you not leave before the visa expired, etc. There are answers to these questions and she should be prepared to give them. The circumstances on why she did not leave right away will probably be of interest and it may be quite acceptable to the interviewing officer (ie. we had doubts and still thought the relationship would work, then decided it was really over, etc.) As I said, the good news is that she did return home and she didn't incur a ban even though she overstayed.

The most important thing to remember is that you both must be up front with this information. USCIS already has the information about her former K-1, and the Russian Consulate staff will probably be interested as well in this second visa. There is nothing you can do about that so you might as well prepare for it from the very beginning. Just do not lie or even 'lie by omission', which could be interpreted as not presenting relevant information with the application or the interview.

If it were me, I would want to include the stamp that shows her re-admission to Russia to verify the date she left the US along with a text explanation giving the circumstances of why she didn't marry her former fiance and why she overstayed the visa. Since you know it will raise a red flag it is better to address the issue up front - it will tend to reduce the 'redness' of the flag and will show you are trying to be as honest and forthright as you can.

As I said, if someone else has different information that is specific for the Russian Consulate, I am sure they will correct me.

[pushbrk 12,327]

She should not need to submit her internal passport but I'm not sure I'd submit anything from her passport with the petition because it isn't required. Look through all the forms throughout the process and see just what questions she'll need to answer about previous trips to the US. Carefully examine every question and its truthful and accurate answer. Does it raise any flags?

[stv62208 0]

I am sure someone who is more familiar with this particular situation will chime in, however, the good news is that she did depart the US when it turned out that a marriage between her and her former partner was not going to work. The real problem with overstaying a visa occurs if you have more than an 180 day overstay, which will trigger a 3 year ban. A 90 day overstay will probably trigger questions of her during the interview - why did you not marry the former petitioner; why did you not leave before the visa expired, etc. There are answers to these questions and she should be prepared to give them. The circumstances on why she did not leave right away will probably be of interest and it may be quite acceptable to the interviewing officer (ie. we had doubts and still thought the relationship would work, then decided it was really over, etc.) As I said, the good news is that she did return home and she didn't incur a ban even though she overstayed.

The most important thing to remember is that you both must be up front with this information. USCIS already has the information about her former K-1, and the Russian Consulate staff will probably be interested as well in this second visa. There is nothing you can do about that so you might as well prepare for it from the very beginning. Just do not lie or even 'lie by omission', which could be interpreted as not presenting relevant information with the application or the interview.

If it were me, I would want to include the stamp that shows her re-admission to Russia to verify the date she left the US along with a text explanation giving the circumstances of why she didn't marry her former fiance and why she overstayed the visa. Since you know it will raise a red flag it is better to address the issue up front - it will tend to reduce the 'redness' of the flag and will show you are trying to be as honest and forthright as you can.

As I said, if someone else has different information that is specific for the Russian Consulate, I am sure they will correct me.

Thanks very much for the reply. This is so good to hear! One simple question about your reply: When you say "a 90 day overstay", do you mean "any overstay beyond the allowed 90 days", or do you mean "an overstay of 90 days more than the allowed 90 days?" It probably won't make much difference either way, and I know you aren't giving me 'certified legal advice', but I want to understand your opinion precisely. I guess we are lucky, the overstay was less than 180 days, and the 3 year ban has passed by now anyway.

I will wait to hear other replies, but I agree with your opinion. I am thrilled to hear that, most likely, this is only a small problem. I would like to avoid the cost of a lawyer, but with this issue in the air, it might be the best solution.

[stv62208 0]

She should not need to submit her internal passport but I'm not sure I'd submit anything from her passport with the petition because it isn't required. Look through all the forms throughout the process and see just what questions she'll need to answer about previous trips to the US. Carefully examine every question and its truthful and accurate answer. Does it raise any flags?

Thanks for the reply. Of all the documents that I have seen up to now, this question does not appear anywhere. I haven't seen any question at all about a previous K1 experience on the part of the beneficiary, only for the petitioner. I am more worried about any future documents, and the personal interview 6 months from now. From what I have read, they are free to ask any question, and seem to have "god-like" authority. It is very tempting to ignore the problem, and hope nobody notices. But I don't think I can take that chance.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Handwritten on the K1 VISA: "K-1 Nov 11, 2004"

and the "1 Entries" number on the K1 VISA is circled, with the same hand-writing.

There is no US Customs Exit Stamp on her International passport!

She does not remember anything unusual, during her departure.

No fine for a violation, no scolding by the Customs authority, nothing.

On her Internal Russian passport, she found:

Exit from Russia: August 11, 2004

Return to Russia: December 26, 2004

This is approximately 45 days beyond the 90-day limit!

Oops - sorry, that was supposed to be 45 days beyond the 90 day limit. I don't believe it should pose any problems with the visa but I do believe you should address the issue with the application to the Consulate - that is where the issue will most likely arise.

[athena_ny 1]

I am sure someone who is more familiar with this particular situation will chime in, however, the good news is that she did depart the US when it turned out that a marriage between her and her former partner was not going to work. The real problem with overstaying a visa occurs if you have more than an 180 day overstay, which will trigger a 3 year ban. A 90 day overstay will probably trigger questions of her during the interview - why did you not marry the former petitioner; why did you not leave before the visa expired, etc. There are answers to these questions and she should be prepared to give them. The circumstances on why she did not leave right away will probably be of interest and it may be quite acceptable to the interviewing officer (ie. we had doubts and still thought the relationship would work, then decided it was really over, etc.) As I said, the good news is that she did return home and she didn't incur a ban even though she overstayed.

The most important thing to remember is that you both must be up front with this information. USCIS already has the information about her former K-1, and the Russian Consulate staff will probably be interested as well in this second visa. There is nothing you can do about that so you might as well prepare for it from the very beginning. Just do not lie or even 'lie by omission', which could be interpreted as not presenting relevant information with the application or the interview.

If it were me, I would want to include the stamp that shows her re-admission to Russia to verify the date she left the US along with a text explanation giving the circumstances of why she didn't marry her former fiance and why she overstayed the visa. Since you know it will raise a red flag it is better to address the issue up front - it will tend to reduce the 'redness' of the flag and will show you are trying to be as honest and forthright as you can.

As I said, if someone else has different information that is specific for the Russian Consulate, I am sure they will correct me.

Thanks very much for the reply. This is so good to hear! One simple question about your reply: When you say "a 90 day overstay", do you mean "any overstay beyond the allowed 90 days", or do you mean "an overstay of 90 days more than the allowed 90 days?" It probably won't make much difference either way, and I know you aren't giving me 'certified legal advice', but I want to understand your opinion precisely. I guess we are lucky, the overstay was less than 180 days, and the 3 year ban has passed by now anyway.

I will wait to hear other replies, but I agree with your opinion. I am thrilled to hear that, most likely, this is only a small problem. I would like to avoid the cost of a lawyer, but with this issue in the air, it might be the best solution.

90 day overstay means just that. If your permission is valid for 90 days, you wouldn't have a 90 day overstay until you've been in the country for 180 days. (In other words, to overstay a 90 day permission by 90 days, you would have to be in the country approximately 6 months.)

Be advised that a 90 day overstay in and of itself will not trigger a ban - just that it may raise some questions. Once you get to 180 days of overstay, that's when a ban is triggered and a waiver would be required, but since she seems to only have overstayed for 45 days, neither one of these possibilities should be a problem, though I'd be prepared for questions at the interview, just in case.

[Brian & Kathy 0]

In the petition phase, it is very unlikely the overstay will cause a problem.

When it comes time for the interview, one of the standard forms will ask about previous visas. It is the DS-156 form. The question will be #29... Have you ever been in the US? When? How long? Then it asks the visa type. You will have to answer these truthfully. http://***removed***/visas/sample_ds156.pdf

As others said, there will likely be questions about it in the interview. You may want a lawyers' opinion though, as most of us aren't qualified. It could be an issue that could complicate your case.