VISA DENIED OUTRIGHT???????

[BelwinMills 0]

Sorry to hear about your interview. Hope you guys can find someway to bring your SO over. How long was your relationship? Did you have a lot of proff? My congressman helped me a lot but he said are case was unique since I have proff dating back 7 years and a stack. He says sometimes it is hard for people who have been in a relationship for just a few years cause they dont have enough evidence. What evidence did he have with him? Best of luck figuring this out. If you want to get married i would recomended the CR-1 over the K3 for u guys.

[almaty 19]

So he had his interview today and the guy asked him a bunch of questions, he answered them, then he asked for evidence he showed it to them, then the guy, who my fiance said was not a very nice guy, said there was not enough evidence and that his visa was denied.

Aren't they supposed to give you a chance to bring more evidence if that's the case? I'm so confused right now. I called the Embassy and they said there was nothing we could do once it was denied.

What are your thoughts? Should I just get married down there and start the K-3 or is it worth it to start the K-1 all over again?

usually the consulates never issue a denial...that can sent it back to usa and request that the visa be denied based on ntheir evidence...we got a 221g..with the recommendations to sent it back to america for review and denial and got it over-turned in a week at the consulate level.,..i was lucky and proactive...the head of the consulate was interested in our side, maybe in colulmbia they are more restrctive

[skemper19 0]

OK, here's what happened... I'm sorry I was in a state of shock and had to leave work because I was very upset and frustrated...

The "gentleman" who interviewed him asked him numerous questions. Then stopped in the middle of the interview to chat with someone behind the glass, proceeded to laugh hysterically, then started asking him another bunch of questions. He then asked for photos, he showed him photos of my last three trips down there (20 more or less in total). He then asked to see e-mails, my fiance shoed him about 12 e-mails from the past 6 monsth (they already had 12 others form my original petition from the previous 6 months), then he asked to see phone records, my fiance showed him phone records form the past 6 months (the previous 6 months were supplied in the original petition I filed). He then showed him receipts from all of my trips (hotels, boarding passes, etc.), the showed him receipts of packages sent back and forth between us. Then said "I'm sorry, your visa is denied, there's not enough evidence". That's it, he gave him his passport and police certificate back and he left. That's it, no chance to come back, nothing, a plain out denial!!!!!! I am so shocked right now, so upset that all of this happened. We worked so hard for all of this and the decision was made by some imbecile who is probably miserable and wanted everyone else to be miserable as well.

So, what should I do? Should I try and contact my congressman???? Senator?? PLEASE HELP!! I don't know what to do!!!!!

[Jaci 0]

Ok... did the CO give your fiance ANTHING AT ALL? A slip of paper? Did they stamp ANYTHING in his passport?

[Looking4Wife 0]

Sometimes you have to keep calling and calling until you either get someone more helpful and less full of misinformation, or they get sick of you and put you through to someone who might be more helpful.

Beautiful quote, sounds like something I would say! ... and so true in SO MANY situations in life, not just limited to immigration...

Sorry to hear the bad news, skemper19, and I hope that your approval problems will be resolved quickly...

[Dean iWait 0]

OK, here's what happened... I'm sorry I was in a state of shock and had to leave work because I was very upset and frustrated...

The "gentleman" who interviewed him asked him numerous questions. Then stopped in the middle of the interview to chat with someone behind the glass, proceeded to laugh hysterically, then started asking him another bunch of questions. He then asked for photos, he showed him photos of my last three trips down there (20 more or less in total). He then asked to see e-mails, my fiance shoed him about 12 e-mails from the past 6 monsth (they already had 12 others form my original petition from the previous 6 months), then he asked to see phone records, my fiance showed him phone records form the past 6 months (the previous 6 months were supplied in the original petition I filed). He then showed him receipts from all of my trips (hotels, boarding passes, etc.), the showed him receipts of packages sent back and forth between us. Then said "I'm sorry, your visa is denied, there's not enough evidence". That's it, he gave him his passport and police certificate back and he left. That's it, no chance to come back, nothing, a plain out denial!!!!!! I am so shocked right now, so upset that all of this happened. We worked so hard for all of this and the decision was made by some imbecile who is probably miserable and wanted everyone else to be miserable as well.

So, what should I do? Should I try and contact my congressman???? Senator?? PLEASE HELP!! I don't know what to do!!!!!

Yes call your congressman and both senators, ask for their immigration liason and explain you situation. They will want you to write a letter most likely, I would ask them if you can fax it. Then I would hire an immigration attorney.

[sakurasama 0]

First of all, I have all the empathy in the world for you because I am going through a similiar thing. I know how utterly horrible it is to face this kind of disappointment. The most important thing to keep in mind is you have not lost your case yet. Try to save it now by contacting everyone and anyone you can think of. Call the Embassy a million times and try to talk to anyone you can. If it doesn't work from what I understand (because this is the point I am at right now) your petition will be sent back to the original immigration service center that approved it in the U.S. and you will get an intent to revoke your petition letter giving you thirty days to respond. This is your chance to prove that the Embassy made a mistake (how I am not sure yet and am still figuring out!) and if they are convinced they will send you petition back to the Embassy.

More bureaucracy, more waiting but not hopeless. Just very bad news. Honestly, sometimes the visa process seems pretty arbitrary. I am really sorry this has happened to you. Don't give up hope.

[no one 0]

OK, here's what happened... I'm sorry I was in a state of shock and had to leave work because I was very upset and frustrated...

The "gentleman" who interviewed him asked him numerous questions. Then stopped in the middle of the interview to chat with someone behind the glass, proceeded to laugh hysterically, then started asking him another bunch of questions. He then asked for photos, he showed him photos of my last three trips down there (20 more or less in total). He then asked to see e-mails, my fiance shoed him about 12 e-mails from the past 6 monsth (they already had 12 others form my original petition from the previous 6 months), then he asked to see phone records, my fiance showed him phone records form the past 6 months (the previous 6 months were supplied in the original petition I filed). He then showed him receipts from all of my trips (hotels, boarding passes, etc.), the showed him receipts of packages sent back and forth between us. Then said "I'm sorry, your visa is denied, there's not enough evidence". That's it, he gave him his passport and police certificate back and he left. That's it, no chance to come back, nothing, a plain out denial!!!!!! I am so shocked right now, so upset that all of this happened. We worked so hard for all of this and the decision was made by some imbecile who is probably miserable and wanted everyone else to be miserable as well.

So, what should I do? Should I try and contact my congressman???? Senator?? PLEASE HELP!! I don't know what to do!!!!!

Corruption!! Definitely get your congressman and senators involved. If only there's a way of getting that "gentleman" released from his duties.

[Jaci 0]

OK, here's what happened... I'm sorry I was in a state of shock and had to leave work because I was very upset and frustrated...

The "gentleman" who interviewed him asked him numerous questions. Then stopped in the middle of the interview to chat with someone behind the glass, proceeded to laugh hysterically, then started asking him another bunch of questions. He then asked for photos, he showed him photos of my last three trips down there (20 more or less in total). He then asked to see e-mails, my fiance shoed him about 12 e-mails from the past 6 monsth (they already had 12 others form my original petition from the previous 6 months), then he asked to see phone records, my fiance showed him phone records form the past 6 months (the previous 6 months were supplied in the original petition I filed). He then showed him receipts from all of my trips (hotels, boarding passes, etc.), the showed him receipts of packages sent back and forth between us. Then said "I'm sorry, your visa is denied, there's not enough evidence". That's it, he gave him his passport and police certificate back and he left. That's it, no chance to come back, nothing, a plain out denial!!!!!! I am so shocked right now, so upset that all of this happened. We worked so hard for all of this and the decision was made by some imbecile who is probably miserable and wanted everyone else to be miserable as well.

So, what should I do? Should I try and contact my congressman???? Senator?? PLEASE HELP!! I don't know what to do!!!!!

Start with info from the embassy website

http://bogota.usembassy.gov/wwwsc024.shtml

Denial

An application may also be temporarily suspended under Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Applicants whose applications are pending under Section 221(g) are given instructions by the consular officer at the conclusion of their interview.

This section MIGHT apply to you.

We invite you to use our Visa Information Call Center for additional, general information on visa requirements. However, the Visa Information Call Center does not provide case-specific information.

I don't much like the sound of that, but here is something I would certainly try pronto:

Review of the Decision

A Supervisory Consular Officer reviews every visa refusal. There is no formal appeal process for visa denials, but if an applicant wishes to know the outcome of the supervisor’s review, s/he may do so by sending a letter with her/his complete name as it appears on her/his passport to:

Sección Consular

Embajada de Estados Unidos de América

Carrera 45 # 22-D45

Bogotá, D.C.

Colombia

or faxing it to:

Non-Immigrant Visa Unit

(571) 315-2127

You might also find the name of the consul general and call any or all numbers listed for the consulate, repeatedly asking to speak to him/her.

You may have at least a week to have an impact on what happens to your petition. Perhaps you are missing some documents that you might be able to provide.

A lawyer could possibly be helpful. A consultation would definitely help you get another much needed perspective on the situation. One who might be helpful for you, I imagine, would be one who has handled difficulties (returns or denials) in Colombia with some success, if at all possible. It need not be one near you, they can do long distance consulting. A consultation is usually free or a one time fee around $100. I recommend a 3 way call with your fiance for that.

Then there is contacting your representatives. Your congressman can be found here. You can expect your congressman might make a congressional inquiry for you at the embassy to try to get some information on the status and location of your petition. He most likely can't fix the situation for you, but he can get you some information that will help you decide how to proceed. His involvement may also help assure the speedy return of your petition, if that is in fact what will happen. While this is better than "deep sixing" (you can see the a bit about the consulates being warned not to do this here ), which is when the consulate sits on your petition and does nothing with it for quite some time, keep in mind the following;

In order to resolve a consular issue and get a visa issued the petition has to be at the consulate. After it has been returned to the service center (via NVC) the long wait begins for it's round trip, as does your preparation for rebuttal at the service center.

Hope this helps.

Jaci

[skemper19 0]

Thank you all so very much for all of your input. I will be doing all of the above. I have already written a letter to the Supervisory Consular Officer who will be reviewing the case. I will contact my congresswoman, and both Senators tomorrow and see what can be done. All I am asking for is a chance to provide the evidence they claimed we lacked. Though it's so funny, the person who was interviewed before him, has nothing with her, was asked a couple of simple questions and was approved. While my fiance came in with tons of stuff, asked tons of questions, and was denied. It just goes to show you that it all depends on the person who interviews you and how they are feeling that day...... Thanks again for all the advise. I will do it all and keep everyone updated as to the progress!

CHEERS!!!

[Jaci 0]

Hi Skemper

You seem better today, that's good.

edit---

the person who was interviewed before him, has nothing with her, was asked a couple of simple questions and was approved.

note gender change in the above statement

Edited July 16, 2006 by Jaci

[Jaci 0]

First of all, I have all the empathy in the world for you because I am going through a similiar thing. I know how utterly horrible it is to face this kind of disappointment. The most important thing to keep in mind is you have not lost your case yet. Try to save it now by contacting everyone and anyone you can think of. Call the Embassy a million times and try to talk to anyone you can. If it doesn't work from what I understand (because this is the point I am at right now) your petition will be sent back to the original immigration service center that approved it in the U.S. and you will get an intent to revoke your petition letter giving you thirty days to respond. This is your chance to prove that the Embassy made a mistake (how I am not sure yet and am still figuring out!) and if they are convinced they will send you petition back to the Embassy.

More bureaucracy, more waiting but not hopeless. Just very bad news. Honestly, sometimes the visa process seems pretty arbitrary. I am really sorry this has happened to you. Don't give up hope.

Sakurasama

see this:

Consulates are supposed to issue a written denial laying out in detail the factual and legal basis for the denial. See the Feb. 2004 cable I've posted elsewhere.

Was the conoff correct about each fact as written in the denial? If not - pick each incorrect fact apart. You know a lot more about the facts of your case than any Federal adjudicator, CIS or DOS.

Was the consulate's legal basis correct? Like I've said elsewhere, I have seen a conoff use the labor certification-related ground of inadmissibility as a basis for recommending the revocation of an I-130.

Even if all the facts alleged by the conoff are true - are they relevant?

Even if they are all correct and relevant, do they rise to the level necessary

to justify denying the visa application?

For that stage of the analysis, look to the February 2004 cable to learn

what standards a conoff must meet before denying a family-based immigrant visa.

Even if they are all correct, relevant and rise to the level justifying the denial of the visa? Do they rise to the next level of justifying revoking the approved petition?

(On that part, it would be a good idea to at least consult an immigration attorney who is experienced in these type cases.)

Devote a section of your brief to proving your good faith toward your beneficiary.

Devote a separate section of your brief to proving his good faith to you.

Those are good starting off points.

Continue to accumulate evidence. Day-by-day. Emails, chat logs,

phone bills. There is a delay from the time the consulate sends the

petition back to the time you're notified by the Service Center.

Build your case during that time.

I have a client who overcame a consular denial by himself,

without legal assistance. But he is a very well-prepared

client. Not everybody can do that.

But once you read the denial, you may be surprised at how

much the conoff wrote down that is irrelevant or just plain wrong.

I had a case where a chief of Immigrant Visas at a consulate

got the family name of the beneficiary wrong.

Voila! A mistake like that is heaven-sent.

Good luck.

This post has been edited by ellis-island on Dec 1 2004, 03:11 AM

--------------------

Don't bet your whole future on what you read

on a message board or in a chat room.

This is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is intended.

You should not infer one.It's information of general applicablity.

Do not take any action without first consulting a qualified immigration attorney in greater detail.

John Marcus "Marc" Ellis, Attorney

American Immigration Lawyers (AILA)

membership number 10373

My Le has described a 221(g) denial. What I am about to write does not apply to 212 denials (fraud). A 221(g) denial simply means the beneficiary has failed to prove his or her case to the officer's satisfaction. The standard they are supposed to be using is the "reasonable man" or "reasonable person" standard. Would a reasonable person reviewing the evidence available be satisfied that this is a petitionable relationship? I won't go into the way DOS interprets the "reasonable man" standard, or the miniscule amount of evidence they review to reach this general conclusion. Suffice it to say this particular officer thought a reasonable person would not be satisfied a petitionable relationship exists. 221(g) denials can be overcome with additional evidence. The question is when or where do you provide the additional evidence? In a K-1 221(g) situation, a person might consider traveling to Vietnam and getting married. Returning to the States and filing an I-130/K-3. That doesn't end the problem of the consular officer's denial. You still have to make your case to the Service Center. You inform them of the previous denial and show where the consular officer was in error. Plus you provide all the additional information the consulate said you were lacking. If CIS approves your I-130 or K-3 after considering both the consulate's denial as well as your rebuttal, then your loved one will go to a new interview and the consulate is not supposed to deny an application where the reasons for denying it were considered by CIS in their approval. The problem with this approach is you may not know exactly what will be in the consular's return memo. You may not know exactly why the beneficiary's application was denied. Another problem with this approach is if the consulate's grounds for denying the application were legal rather than factual, (marriage not valid in VN, divorce not valid in the States, inter alia), you'll need legal authority to the contrary to win your rebuttal.The bottom line is - you've got to know exactly why the consulate denied your loved one's application. Once you know that, you can proceed. Until you know that, you may be shooting in the dark. But more often than not, doing it that way is a lot faster than waiting for the Service Center to get around to reviewing your K-1 denial. That can take years. What if it's not a K-1, but rather an I-130? I'm not going into that now. It's more difficult - but still doable. --------------------Don't bet your whole future on what you read on a message board or in a chat room. This is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is intended. You should not infer one.It's information of general applicablity. Do not take any action without first consulting a qualified immigration attorney in greater detail. John Marcus "Marc" Ellis, AttorneyAmerican Immigration Lawyers (AILA) membership number 10373

[jazair 0]

good luck

[chiquita 0]

You have received very good advice here.

I went through a K 3 denial in Casablanca. Our file was returned to USCIS through the NVC where we were given the chance to rebutt the consulars findings (denied due to the validity of the relationship...CO refused to look at our proof from my husband, he had lots of proof but I am older, it is a commom practice to deny for age differences there now) and had our case reaffirimed by USCIS. We since have had our second interview and our security checks are done. We are waiting for the consulate to call my husband to come pick up the visa.

I just wanted to add what is so very important right now...TIME! You need to stop the consulate returning your case. If they do return it to USCIS, you can count on a very long delay in getting your fiance here.

I know it is overwhelming and shocking. The shock will cause you to delay taking action. Call the consulate and do as Jaci suggested.

You will need a release to have your reps get involved. Fax it to their office if you can't get there tomorrow. While it is true all they can do is make an inquiry, it can't hurt.

The best thing for you to do is find the real reason they want to have your case returned to USCIS. Once you know the reason, which sounds to me like they don't believe you have a valid relationship, you can get to them what they need.

Once a CO decides to return a case, the case must be reviewed by a supervisor and if that person agrees with the first officer, the case will be returned unless you can get it stopped right away.

I wish I had this great advice way back when we were denied in March 05. Good luck and I hope you can prevent your case from going back to USCIS!!!

chi

[Jaci 0]

I wish I had this great advice way back when we were denied

As do I Chi

We have long road ahead of us on our way to our next interview.

Thanks for posting.

Jaci