newbie in the group

[msheesha 548]

How did they discover the letter was copied?

Did you realize before hand it was copied from the internet?

If his family is poor, you can contribute by buying food, etc. As long as you're contributing for food, etc it shouldn't be much of a burden.

From what I've seen and experienced, it's normal in the Moroccan culture to have people stay at each others' houses for extended periods of time. Whenever we visited family in another city, all family members from that city, stayed at one house, so as not to miss a minute of time with us. It was at times excrutiatingly different, but from what I see very much a part of Moroccan culture. One contributing house guest for the summer shouldn't be too much.

Check out the American schools over there. Where does he live? Is it a major city? Casa has several American schools. There is a blogger - Evelyn in Morocco - she teaches English in Fes. You could contact her to see if she has any leads.

[Crossed_fingers 128]

Wow, you got a lot of info from them!! Did they just tell you on the phone, or send you an email? That's good, as rough as this time must be for you at least you are getting armed with more information. Regarding the quoted letter, like Msheesha asked, did you know it was copied? What is his English like? Was it the type of thing where it stood out as being more eloquent than the rest of his written English?

I am surprised that he thinks staying with his family for longer would be a burden. Or maybe I misunderstood, and you thought that on your own and he never said so. If that's the case, I think it may be a cultural difference or misunderstanding.

[Golden Gate 530]

From my view, the fact that you filed within the first 6 months is what made them suspicious. Then they started searching for other things to back up their suspicions about the relationship.

[Crossed_fingers 128]

Oh, I must have missed that. I agree, the timing is a HUGE red flag. From the consulate's own website:

Some of the signs that an Internet contact may be developing a relationship with an American in order to obtain an immigrant visa through marriage are:

*

Declarations of love within days or weeks of the initial contact;

*

Proposals or discussions of marriage soon after initial contact;

*

Requests to the American to visit the foreign national’s home country soon after the declaration of love or proposal;

If I remember right, the website used to suggest that couples know each other at least a year before filing, although I don't see that language on there today.

[sussemadel 16]

Oh, I must have missed that. I agree, the timing is a HUGE red flag. From the consulate's own website:

Some of the signs that an Internet contact may be developing a relationship with an American in order to obtain an immigrant visa through marriage are:

*

Declarations of love within days or weeks of the initial contact;

*

Proposals or discussions of marriage soon after initial contact;

*

Requests to the American to visit the foreign national’s home country soon after the declaration of love or proposal;

If I remember right, the website used to suggest that couples know each other at least a year before filing, although I don't see that language on there today.

I think I'd be pretty upset if I found out my fiance was sending me a letter that he copied from the internet

[sandinista! 1,816]

I think I'd be pretty upset if I found out my fiance was sending me a letter that he copied from the internet

To say the least. There has to be more to the denial than the 9 day visit too, that the consulate is not revealing. My parents, son and I stayed less than 9 days, and we were approved without any problems.

[Peace.... 281]

The purpose of the letter was just to tell me how he felt. A simple email before we filed to let me know he loved me and wanted to be with me. It was nothing more that a simple piece of evidence they choose to pick out amidst the hundreds of pages of conversations, etc.

The interivew was over an hour. They asked all sorts of questions, from what we talk about to my political views, but she only chose to focus on the length of my stay and the letter he wrote. He has the feeling as soon as he started answering questions that she wasn't going to approve him.

I think I will be a burden to the family because I will be living with them this summer. His family is not well off and putting up another person for a few months will be at least a financial burden for them. Not to mention they will want to throw us a wedding. I know they will do whatever they can to do so without thinking of the costs. That's what I mean by being a burden. this is something I do not want to do.

I was told that the K1 petition is only valid 4 months after its approval. Our approval date was 26 Jan. I only meant if no extension was filed it would be expired by June and we could get married then file the K1 spousal.

I am looking into trying to find work in Morocco teaching English at least for the summer. Does anyone have any leads? I have taught English abroad before, but I only have a teaching certificate from the states to teach general English. Thanks for any leads you may have.

Hi, I am sorry to hear your news. On the other hand, I just wanted to let you know I too was 14 years older than my fiance when he interviewed. He had a brother that lived here in Chicago, two cousins, and a sister that won the lottery visa, none of these were a issue for the CO who interviewed him. I was one of the lucky ones that actually got a call from the CO while he interviewed my fiance and he was very polite and we talked for about 20 minutes and confirmed my love for him. I had visited Morocco 6 times and I think this is what won our case, heck, I didn't even have a full time job nor a co sponsor and used my assets to help qualify. He never talked about age difference as my husband is 30 and I am 45. He just looked at the pictures only, never any emails, chats, etc. So maybe a few more visits under the belt.

[Hicham♥Sara 15]

I'm sorry for your denial =( Remember everything happens for a reason, and when it comes to true love only trials like this can make you stronger. I have seen this in these cases where there is a denial, it helped the couple work together and get through a rough time and just brought them that much closer. Morocco is beautiful, you can have a small wedding not to huge and remember our dollar goes very far over there. and I agree with squeeky, get a beautiful dress The best is yet to come

[MrsAmera 41]

Objectively looking at this what are your flags?

- age difference

- length of physical time spent together

- length of time talking before filing

On the plus side; neither of you have been married before and there are no kids in the mix. Usually that's some points for you.

A CR1 is not a guarantee of a visa. I would request the consular notes from the Dept of State in a FOIA to find out what was said about your case. You may be able to get more details from that. If the reason you are being denied is something other than what they are telling you this is information you want to know. Again the consulars often know more about a case than you do.

I think this story and many others coming out of Casa are important for ppl to take note of. There are many more denials than I've seen in recent years. I think that as petitioners people need to understand the real hurdles they are facing when applying for a visa. Take the time to do research and spend physical time with your SO - for the visa and for yourselves. A week or two together is not going to be enough to show sincerity. Put it in the context of the US. If you were dating someone from WA state and you lived in FL and had only spent a week physically together would you say you knew that person? Many would argue you must spend more time together.

No criticism to anyone in this regard - just some thoughts.

[princess apple 4]

It is possible that the consulate may have extended the petition before sending it. If that's the case, it may be reviewed, but it would take much longer than one month for a review to happen. More like 4-6 months. It takes more than a month just for USCIS to get the petition back.

that is the same thing my lawyer said to us. it takes a month to get it back to the uscis and they can take a long time to work on appeals or if they will in time. they can sit on them for a long time and they end up expiring.

[KittyPollitt 284]

that is the same thing my lawyer said to us. it takes a month to get it back to the uscis and they can take a long time to work on appeals or if they will in time. they can sit on them for a long time and they end up expiring.

One of these days, I'm gonna go sit for the bar, I swear. I had an immigration attorney when I was married to my ex husband (who was an F1 overstay). I hadn't talked to her for over a year, and one day, I called her up just to tell her what was going on with my present husband's case and get her input. I spent an hour on the phone explaining to her the ins and outs of a potential denial, the psychology of consular officers, and frontloading petitions (which was a totally alien concept to her). Most immigration attorneys are set up to deal specifically with simple petitions from easy consulates and adjusting status. When it comes to denials, waivers, and difficult CO's, most of them only know what they've read in textbooks. It really pays to stay up late and read about other people's cases that are specific to your SO's country and countries like it (in the case of Morocco, that would be Manila (Philippines), Guayaquil (Ecuador), Lagos (Nigeria), and possibly Guangzhou (China)). You'll be amazed the kind of things that can pop up and what you should be prepared for. Just my two cents

Sarah

Edited March 10, 2011 by squeaky580

[Gugusitolindo 32]

I'm sorry for your denial =( Remember everything happens for a reason, and when it comes to true love only trials like this can make you stronger. I have seen this in these cases where there is a denial, it helped the couple work together and get through a rough time and just brought them that much closer. Morocco is beautiful, you can have a small wedding not to huge and remember our dollar goes very far over there. and I agree with squeeky, get a beautiful dress The best is yet to come

You and your Fiance are so cute! The pics are great, and you guys look great together. Thanks for sharing the pics with all of us.!