The hoping not to be denied at Casablanca thread

[KittyPollitt 284]

[msheesha 548]

Does anyone have an interview coming up?

[KittyPollitt 284]

Got 2 K1's in the next two weeks.. one on Tuesday, another the following Monday.. They're quiet people tho

[Crossed_fingers 128]

Got 2 K1's in the next two weeks.. one on Tuesday, another the following Monday.. They're quiet people tho

I hope they'll come out and share. And I'm always eager for more info from you and Vanessa. BTW, did your man happen to notice whether other men were there being interviewed for fiance or spouse visas? If they were successful or not? Maybe you already said that, I can't remember.

We still haven't filed. We're constantly about 2 weeks away from filing. At the rate we're going, I can come back in 6 months and report that we'll be ready in about 2 more weeks.

[KittyPollitt 284]

I hope they'll come out and share. And I'm always eager for more info from you and Vanessa. BTW, did your man happen to notice whether other men were there being interviewed for fiance or spouse visas? If they were successful or not? Maybe you already said that, I can't remember.

We still haven't filed. We're constantly about 2 weeks away from filing. At the rate we're going, I can come back in 6 months and report that we'll be ready in about 2 more weeks.

When he went in for his interview, he said it was all little old ladies filing for visitor visas, a few students, and some lottery winners. He was the only family visa applicant there.. He said the little old ladies got approved, tho! good news for bringing in-laws to visit in the future..

We're still waiting for the "further test" results, which should be in on Wednesday, and my stepdad's I 864A, which I HOPE we get by next Friday. They said visas are issued 2 days after interview/additional info submission. So, submit papers Friday, visa Tuesday, submit Monday, visa Wednesday. But that's just what they told him. I don't trust them...

[Crossed_fingers 128]

Aww, well yay for little old ladies.

Vanessa, did your husband happen to notice if there were other family visa applicants present during his interview?

[Vanessa1 7]

Aww, well yay for little old ladies.

Vanessa, did your husband happen to notice if there were other family visa applicants present during his interview?

He said there were no K1's in terms of the family-based visa applicants there that day...at least that he noticed.

[Crossed_fingers 128]

It seems like perhaps Squeaky, Vanessa, and Msheesha provided less physical evidence than was traditionally suggested on here, correct? Msheesha, I can't remember if you "front loaded" or not, but I believe you mentioned your fiance attending the interview with phone records and some, but not all, of your photos. Squeaky, I believe you front loaded a bit more but when it came time for the actual interview your fiance brought in around 50 pics and no new emails or chat records, right? And Vanessa, if I recall correctly your petition did not front load at all and your husband brought a relatively small number of pictures but no logs, emails, IM records, etc.?

Just trying to gather info in one place. Msheesha also indicated a lack of red flags, Squeaky's situation is a bit unusual (cuuuuute baaaaaby), and it seems like CR-1's out of Casa are generally a bit lower risk than K-1's. So I'm not completely tempted to set fire to all of our evidence having read about your wonderful approvals. But especially with Monica's recent denial, which I do understand but I admit I'll still surprised by, I am debating a bit more whether we should front load less and/or bring less evidence to the interview. I'm still thinking of sending at least some pictures in with the I-129F, but perhaps, for instance, we might not send ANY IM print-outs or emails. I'm debating about whether to send histories, inbox screen shots, and phone bills, or if even that is overkill for the I-129F. A lot to think about!

Congratulations again, and Monica, I hope you two are finding ways to get your next steps off the ground.

[Crossed_fingers 128]

Oh interesting, right after I wrote that last message I saw this thread in the general K-1 forum: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/263770-continuing-relationship-evidence/ I'm not sure how to link to the exact post I read, but scroll down a bit to ScottThuy's reply at 3:20 today. He includes a link which will open up a PDF of a form of "fraud indicators guide." I'm not sure where this came from. It looks like a document stamped by the American Immigration Lawyers' Association. Might be helpful.

[msheesha 548]

We did not front load the application.

We provided about a years worth of phone records. When my husband called me, he called generally call my cell phone,so we had the records of him calling me at least daily. The cell phone bills also showed all of our incoming and outgoing text messages. We generally text each other 3 to 5x per day at least. When I call him, I use a calling system and am able to print out the call records. So, we had records of 3-5 texts back and forth daily, and at least two phone calls daily.

The photo proof we provided was a photo book that probably contained about 50ish photos. It included photos from all the times I've been there and the various places we've visited together, our wedding, and with his family. We also included a copy of the receipt for my wedding ring. If I think of anything else, I'll post it. But the photos and the phone bills were the majority of the proof that is coming to mind. Also, as mentioned, no red flags, and I've been there 8 or 9 times.

[KittyPollitt 284]

It seems like perhaps Squeaky, Vanessa, and Msheesha provided less physical evidence than was traditionally suggested on here, correct? Msheesha, I can't remember if you "front loaded" or not, but I believe you mentioned your fiance attending the interview with phone records and some, but not all, of your photos. Squeaky, I believe you front loaded a bit more but when it came time for the actual interview your fiance brought in around 50 pics and no new emails or chat records, right? And Vanessa, if I recall correctly your petition did not front load at all and your husband brought a relatively small number of pictures but no logs, emails, IM records, etc.?

Just trying to gather info in one place. Msheesha also indicated a lack of red flags, Squeaky's situation is a bit unusual (cuuuuute baaaaaby), and it seems like CR-1's out of Casa are generally a bit lower risk than K-1's. So I'm not completely tempted to set fire to all of our evidence having read about your wonderful approvals. But especially with Monica's recent denial, which I do understand but I admit I'll still surprised by, I am debating a bit more whether we should front load less and/or bring less evidence to the interview. I'm still thinking of sending at least some pictures in with the I-129F, but perhaps, for instance, we might not send ANY IM print-outs or emails. I'm debating about whether to send histories, inbox screen shots, and phone bills, or if even that is overkill for the I-129F. A lot to think about!

Congratulations again, and Monica, I hope you two are finding ways to get your next steps off the ground.

In front loading the petition, I included excerpts from three months of chat logs, photos from my first trip, and a couple photos of our daughter, just after she was born. The reason I didn't send him to the interview with any chat logs or emails is simply because there were none. The things taken to the interview should mostly be from AFTER the petition was filed, to prove an ongoing relationship, and I have been living with my fiance since 20 days after the petition was filed. So really the only evidence I could provide them was photographs and my passport showing my entries. If the situation were different, I probably would have had him take some chat logs in (figure about 3-5 page excerpts from each month since filing), and maybe a page from each month of phone records, if they are available.

On a side note, I VERY STRONGLY believe that our K1 petition would have been denied had it not been for our daughter. He had to explain to them that it would be difficult for us to marry in Morocco due to having a child out of wedlock.

My father always used to tell me, an innocent man does not have to explain himself. In dealing with this crazy consulate, I'm beginning to believe more and more that this way of thinking is one that they have as well. I also believe that they will only issue K1's to VERY VERY strong cases. As personal my personal advice, I've been telling people who will potentially go through Casa to file a CR1 and skip the K1. But that's just my opinion.

Sarah

[Crossed_fingers 128]

Why is it that a K-1 is so much more difficult than a CR-1? I agree that it is the case - I just don't see why, from a preventing fraud standpoint, it would make a difference? If anything, a fraudulent person who marries an American while still overseas would start the clock ticking on that 2 years of marriage towards the 10 year green card immediately without having to even live with the American. Am I missing something? It doesn't seem like the fact that a couple "only" got engaged instead of married means the beneficiary's intentions are less pure, imho. Unless there's a high rate of Moroccans skipping town on their fiancee's before they get married or something, it seems to me like 90 days after their arrival they'll be in the same boat (married) as the CR-1 beneficiaries and the likelihood of fraud is the same? Maybe I'm wrong.

[Mithra 1,185]

Just my thoughts but I believe that being married just shows more of a commitment than simply being engaged. You have to go through more to get married and it's not as easy to get out of than just breaking up an engagement. I believe that generally there is more family involvement in marriage than engagement. Although there have been quite a few cases of folks being married and the family of the husband doesn't even know. I understand that those on here that are engaged and have filed for a K1 feel a strong commitment to their fiance, just as strong of a commitment as someone would have for a spouse. It's just a lot easier to get out of an engagement than it is to get out of a marriage.

Sarah, I like what you said about an innocent man not having to explain himself. I really feel that some people go way overboard proving their case than they have to. There are a lot of us on the board that have shown just the basics of proof (a few e-mails, a few phone records, a few photos) and have been successful both with securing the visa and filing AOS.

[msheesha 548]

Does anyone know who today's interview is? Good luck to all having interviews this week. Please let us know how they go.

PS - thanks Crossed Fingers; I didn't mind you speaking up about/for me at all in the other thread. It disappeared though. But, thanks.

[momof1 205]

Hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries by adding my opinion to this thread. I'm a regular lurker here but I mostly post in the waivers/AP area.

I really don't see hundreds of pages of chat logs and telephone records as proof of a bona fide relationship. It's just proof that you talk a lot. To me, details about the particular couple are what's the most important. How long you've known eachother, how many times you visited, how quickly you got engaged, how quickly you filed the petition, and other details such as age are probably more important that how often you communicate....but that's just my opinion.

I know I filed through Algeria and my case is VERY different than everyone else here but we didn't bring a single shred of evidence other that our marriage certificate and our son's birth certificate. At the time of the interview, we had already been married for about 6 years and we had a 5 year old son. We hadn't seen eachother in a year due to his deporation and my son's medical condition and we weren't asked for any proof or ongoing relationship at that interview or when his visa was issued another year later. As I said, our case was not typical though. We were married for a long time, lived together previously for years in the US, had a child, a traditional age gap(him older than me), religion in common, and a lengthy immigration battle.

Are there any hard numbers around here for the success rate of K1's as compared to CR1/IR1's in Morocco? It would be interesting to find to find out if in fact one is better than the other. I have a friend who was denied K1 in Morocco last year and has gotten married. I know they have a MAJOR red flag(his brother is married to her best friend in the US)and I really want them to be approved this time.