Should I be concerned? NOA2 recall-IMBRA

[Lyslinn 0]

Hi

My wedding is scheduled for August 26. I'm american, my fiance is canadian. Everything was going smoothly back in early may, we had just sent the consulate in vancouver our checklist so we could get an interview and then were we recalled. Now i haven't heard anything else from anyone. The USCIS website still says we are approved and that it was last reviewed may 01. I've called the USCIS but they've given me no information. I have an immigration attorney and she's gotten a congressman on my case, but then how come my case hasn't been touched?

I'm really worried that my fiance isn't going to make it in time for our wedding on August 26.

Does anyone know how long it typically takes at the vancouver consulate to get an interview date? Like is the date usually a month....2 months, etc in the future? or just a few weeks?

Trying to get advice when we should bite the bullet and postpone the wedding. The thing is I start grad school august 28 and it's a very time extensive program and the place we are getting wed is 4 and a half hours away by car from where my grad program is..... plus we've already paid a lot of money for the wedding and people have already bought plane tickets....Sigh, I just don't know what to do!

[Cygnet 0]

Hi!

I'm not doing K-1 and don't know much about the IMBRA recalls. But that topic has a special section here on VJ. Maybe you can check out and see what other people say about recalls (ie. how long it takes). I guess you'll get an RFE of some sort. I'm sorry your application has been recalled.

As for Vancouver, I've read that they're pretty quick with scheduling interviews. Check out the regional section (Canada) to read feedback on the consulate. Some people have said that it took less than a month to get an interview. Your problem is basically the IMBRA recall, not so much the scheduling of your interview,

Good luck!

Edited June 21, 2006 by Cygnet

[gimygirl 0]

that is a really difficult question to answer. unfortunately, this is one the you and your fiance will have to decide on and make togther.

there are no definitive answers yet to how much of a delay these recalls are making. i would call your wedding venue and ask what would happen if you needed to re-schedule your wedding date. i would also call your wedding guests that have purchased airline tickets, to call the airline and ask what the charge would be to switch dates as well.

best of luck and i wish you a speedy journey!

[Darkchild80 0]

My fiance is from Canada too! Fortunuately, we are only 20 minutes apart. If you are very concerned or saddened about moving your wedding date, he could visit you for the wedding. Canadians can freely enter the USA due to free trade laws. We have no problems crossing either border and you don't need a visa to visit Canada. So, you can arrange a visit before the wedding. I would inform the customs officers that I am visiting a friend and not going to my wedding! They will be hesistant of your fiance crossing the border. Good Luck!

[Cygnet 0]

My fiance is from Canada too! Fortunuately, we are only 20 minutes apart. If you are very concerned or saddened about moving your wedding date, he could visit you for the wedding. Canadians can freely enter the USA due to free trade laws. We have no problems crossing either border and you don't need a visa to visit Canada. So, you can arrange a visit before the wedding. I would inform the customs officers that I am visiting a friend and not going to my wedding! They will be hesistant of your fiance crossing the border. Good Luck!

The only thing with this is that they will have to abandon the K-1 and appy for K-3 or CR-1.

[expatrica 0]

Trust me, I understand what you're going through . . .

Our wedding is July 23rd. We started planning before we even knew my UK citizen fiance knew he needed a visa. Unfortunately by the time we our petition was recalled it was way too late for us to postpone the wedding - too many lost deposits - too many unrefundable plane tickets etc. So, we've come up with another solution.

We're going ahead with the ceremony/party however, it will be a committment ceremony without actual mention of the words "marriage, husband," or "wife." We will still exchange vows and rings and say our "I do's." The difference in wording will be so subtle that hardly anyone will know. My fiance will then return to the UK a week later and reenter the US when he has the visa. At that point we'll have a city hall "wedding" and file for AOS etc. For me, my wedding is the day we exchange vows in front of family and friends. The actual piece of paper is not such a big deal so I'm happy with this compromise.

Perhaps, if push comes to shove, you could do something along these lines?

[Cristy 4]

Please update your timeline!

I would email vancouver and ask them for some info. From the looks of things you will get an RFE so I would not plan anything.

[Lemchan 0]

Hi,

I am Lyslinn's fiance, didn't realize she was posting here until I read this post.

We are basically in "panic mode" over this; back when we filed (yes, I know, we should create a timeline), we were assured by our attorney that there was plenty of time and it would be no problem at all to have an August wedding. Well, she would have been right, if not for the IMBRA mess, but, you know, hindsight being 20-20 and all. In retrospect, we shouldn't have taken what the attorney said at face value, but it's too late to change that now.

We have already considered the possibility, as someone suggested, of me simply travelling to the USA for a "ceremony" but not a "wedding". However I have been advised by my attorney that under no circumstances should I attempt to enter the USA while I have a visa application pending- free trade agreement or not. Although I have no doubt that many people have done exactly that without consequences, with my luck I would be the one person that they decide to dig deeper on, discover the pending visa, and stamp a big fat DENIED on my passport. And once that's on there, that complicates everything in the future.

Of course, she could come here for the same sort of mock ceremony, but that doesn't really solve much since we still lose all of our deposits, and good luck booking any venue at this point in time for August.

As the title says, we are one of the people that was in NOA2 status and are now in limbo, because for whatever reason (some have suggested computer limitations, but at this point I am more inclined to believe that the people answering the phone just make up whatever, in order to get rid of us; there's just been too many conflicting explanations), USCIS seems incapable of generating RFEs for people in NOA2 state. If USCIS got their act together immediately, got our RFE out, we could reply immediately (we've already gathered the data we think they're going to ask for- police report, new I-129F, etc.) and we would still have hope of me squeaking in before the wedding- I don't think Vancouver is that backlogged, barring a huge increase in load due to the reprocessing of recalled petitions. At this point however, and I hate to be negative, I really have very little confidence in the ability of USCIS to fix this all in a timely fashion.

At this point, I think the only ones who have booked flights are my parents, and I don't think cancellation insurance will cover them in this case. Though they might be able to reschedule the flights-- to when, I have no idea. Some of the things we have booked might be flexible with our deposits and bookings, however I don't have a lot of confidence in that, since, after all, they take deposits to prevent people from backing out.

Right now my best consolation is that if we get screwed over, I can keep my current job longer and make money to compensate for what we'll lose on the deposits. Doesn't make me feel much better though, but what can you do. As Lyslinn said though, the more troubling matter is that she has school starting two days after the scheduled wedding date, so the next time we can really plan a ceremony would be for next summer. Needless to say, that would suck.

Still trying to keep a positive outlook, but it's hard.

[Mew 0]

Hi

My wedding is scheduled for August 26. I'm american, my fiance is canadian. Everything was going smoothly back in early may, we had just sent the consulate in vancouver our checklist so we could get an interview and then were we recalled. ...

Does anyone know how long it typically takes at the vancouver consulate to get an interview date? Like is the date usually a month....2 months, etc in the future? or just a few weeks?

Lyslinn, a lot of VJs are in the same situation - we've had our interviews canceled and our petitions recalled because of IMBRA. We're now waiting for the Service Centers to mail us RFE's (you can check what they're about here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry265171)

Everybody's been trying to contact their service centers to find out when they'll be sendind RFE's for their cases, with no luck. Up until now, they've send a few in connection with processes with NOA2's issued either in May or June.

Try and read threads about IMBRA and you'll understand what this is about. We're here for you!

Edited June 21, 2006 by Mew

[zyggy 9]

Limchan...

As a former POE officer I can tell that some of what your attorney stated is flat out wrong..

There is nothing prohibiting you from entering the US to have a wedding ceremony and then leave to wait out the processing. This is completely legal and it is done all the time. However, your attorney is correct that there is a real possibility that you could be denied entry because of this due to the INA 214B immigrant intent provision. As long as you don't misrepresent yourself in any way, being denied entry due to the 214B immigrant intent provision would have no basis on your pending visa application. It happens all the time.

So know that there is a risk that you will be denied entry to the US (actually at any time, but more so since you've filed the I-129F), but be sure you bring evidence of your ties to Canada. THe best evidence of your intent is yourself in how you answer the questions and what your answers are.

The second point I would like to make is that there is a difference between a wedding and a marriage. A wedding is a celebration, a marriage is a legal status. When you get the K1, there is nothing preventing your and your fiancee from performing the marriage at any time. All you need is an officiant and witnesses. For a Civil marriage a judge and two individuals. You can have the wedding celebration either before or after the marriage. However, make sure both of you know what that difference is..

Keep both of these points in your mind and then make the decision that is best for you both. Best of luck

[Lemchan 0]

As a former POE officer I can tell that some of what your attorney stated is flat out wrong..

That wouldn't surprise me.

There is nothing prohibiting you from entering the US to have a wedding ceremony and then leave to wait out the processing. This is completely legal and it is done all the time. However, your attorney is correct that there is a real possibility that you could be denied entry because of this due to the INA 214B immigrant intent provision. As long as you don't misrepresent yourself in any way, being denied entry due to the 214B immigrant intent provision would have no basis on your pending visa application. It happens all the time.

Do you know of anywhere in the law that I could specifically look to support this. It's not that I don't believe you, just that, if at some point I should have an encounter with an immigration official, at the border, at the consulate, etc., that is not aware of how the law works (they should, of course), I'd like to be able to support my case. If my attorney doesn't know, and that is supposedly her job then it makes me nervous that some officials might not, either.

So know that there is a risk that you will be denied entry to the US (actually at any time, but more so since you've filed the I-129F), but be sure you bring evidence of your ties to Canada. THe best evidence of your intent is yourself in how you answer the questions and what your answers are.

What sort of evidence would be recommended? I don't have a lot of assets here; don't own a house, etc. My fear would be that my pending visa application would be evidence enough for them to say that I don't have strong ties to Canada. Do you have any suggestions of what evidence would be sufficient to convince them otherwise?

The second point I would like to make is that there is a difference between a wedding and a marriage. A wedding is a celebration, a marriage is a legal status. When you get the K1, there is nothing preventing your and your fiancee from performing the marriage at any time. All you need is an officiant and witnesses. For a Civil marriage a judge and two individuals. You can have the wedding celebration either before or after the marriage. However, make sure both of you know what that difference is..

Yes, we are aware of the difference (though I'm sure I am guilty of using the wrong term in the wrong place, often). Our present "alternative" is to have the marriage within 3 months of getting my visa (realistically, probably more like almost-immediately after I get it), and have the wedding next year. Of course though, there is something sentimental about having them both at the same time. Realistically though I recognize that it is looking more and more like that will be impossible.

[Yodrak 7]

Lemchan,

Zyggy answered your question already - read his comments again.

Yodrak

So know that there is a risk that you will be denied entry to the US (actually at any time, but more so since you've filed the I-129F), but be sure you bring evidence of your ties to Canada. THe best evidence of your intent is yourself in how you answer the questions and what your answers are.

What sort of evidence would be recommended? I don't have a lot of assets here; don't own a house, etc. My fear would be that my pending visa application would be evidence enough for them to say that I don't have strong ties to Canada. Do you have any suggestions of what evidence would be sufficient to convince them otherwise?

[Lemchan 0]

Of course, you and Zyggy are right that my answers will be the "best evidence".

But I would also like to be prepared for the possibility, should I attempt to do this, that they would ask for "supporting documentation" as well.. or do they not do that? I admit that I have never been asked for any sort of evidence of anything upon entering the US, never had anything more than a pleasant chat with the immigration officer before getting waved in. Should I expect the same experience?

So basically what I am asking is whether or not there is something more I can do than just answering honestly and truthfully and hoping for the best.

Thanks,

- lem

Lemchan,

Zyggy answered your question already - read his comments again.

Yodrak

[expatrica 0]

Of course, you and Zyggy are right that my answers will be the "best evidence".

But I would also like to be prepared for the possibility, should I attempt to do this, that they would ask for "supporting documentation" as well.. or do they not do that? I admit that I have never been asked for any sort of evidence of anything upon entering the US, never had anything more than a pleasant chat with the immigration officer before getting waved in. Should I expect the same experience?

So basically what I am asking is whether or not there is something more I can do than just answering honestly and truthfully and hoping for the best.

Thanks,

- lem

Lemchan,

Zyggy answered your question already - read his comments again.

Yodrak

Hello,

As I stated earlier, I'm in exactly your position but the "wedding" is in three weeks. You need to bring ties to your country. It is perfectly legal for you to travel into the US (as long as you have a visa waiver program or something similar which I believe Canada does) while you are in the process of filing an 1-29f. As others have said it is good to have proof with you that you intend to return to your home country. My finace is bringing the following:

- Letter of Employment stating he is a full time employee at (insert company name here) and due back at work on the 31st of July.

- Return ticket

- Bank Statements

Another good thing to bring is a copy of any property docs or a lease agreement. Unfortunately my fiancees lease ends mid July and he'll be living with his parents after that so he won't be able to bring this.

Any other suggestions as to what to bring?

When asked what he is doing in the U.S. he will answer visiting his fiance. He has visited me every three months for the last year so this is nothing new and it is not a lie. He is visiting and we're having a party. Once he goes home and gets his visa, he'll come back and we'll have the "marriage."

[Lyslinn 0]

Has anyone else here from Canada come in while a fiance visa was pending, had a nonelegal wedding ceremony and then returned to Canada to wait for the visa so they could return for the legal binding marriage?