Help I've fallen & i can't get up

[Rob&Pame 2]

Hi.

After 7 days in AP, my fiancee received her denial....

What is AP?

[tcTTct 37]

Sorry I don't mean to sound rude but the Lunar date/Western date mixup doesn't make sense.

If the petitioner lists engagement ceremony date 1/20/10 Western format, the corresponding Lunar date would have been a higher month towards the end of the year because Tet comes after Western new year. So the lunar date would have been December or something similar, not 2-20-11. This sounds like the case of her being nervous and not remembering at all.

Best of luck to you both.

[ScottThuy 140]

The reasons they gave are boilerplate for the consulate in HCMC. The real underlying reason is probably they believe the relationship is a sham. They pick out inconsistencies in the interview for reasons that USCIS would swallow when they return the petition.

The photos excuse is common in HCMC, and it's also arbitrary and completely unreasonable. The reason they cite is that the petitioner appears to be wearing the same clothes in many of the photos, therefore, they must not have spend very many days in Vietnam. The reality is that nobody brings their entire wardrobe with them when they travel abroad, so you could spend two or three months in Vietnam and still end up wearing the same clothes a lot. However, this reason is easy to cite if the petitioner has only made one or two trips to Vietnam.

Beneficiary doesn't know names or ages of petitioner's children - Is this really how it went down at the interview? Yikes! Your fiancee was not at all prepared for the interview. This information should have been drilled into her head. Names, ages, where they go to school, what position they play on the soccer team - everything!

What happened with the Dam Hoi date? Did she forget?

Were you in HCMC for the interview?

There's nothing you can do now except wait. There was a time when it was remotely possible to get the petition held at the consulate while you submit more evidence, but apparently this is never done anymore. Your petition will eventually make it back to USCIS. The CSC usually just sends you a notice that the petition was returned, the validity has expired, and you're free to file another petition. CSC has also been sending NOID's for the second petition, citing the consular officer's reasons for denying the visa. You can read up about this here:

http://www.visajourn...service-center/

I can think of at least one other member that got the almost exact same denial... Jim is spot on as always on your next steps...

[ScottThuy 140]

It looks pretty bad. Besides the wrong answers, you did get engaged after three weeks. All these things together make them feel like you are committing fraud. I think the best way for you do now is to wait for the K1 petition to expire and get married with your fiancee. I doubt another K1 would get a better result.

Not the best of advice here... If he does nothing and just files a CR1 after getting married, the potential P6C would be an issue if the allowed a rebuttal response and none was provided... CSC usually allows the K1 to expire, but don't count on it.. stay on top of what is going on and call USCIS regularly to check the status... if the opportunity to rebut presents itself.. take it... If not, then there are two options... refile K1, or get married and file CR1... in either case.. the reasons for initial denial must be addressed before you head down the path again... expect it to take 1 year or so to get back to the interview stage again regardless of the outcome at USCIS...

Don't let this get you down brother.. you guys just tripped and fell down.. easy enough to get back up and back on track.. just takes time, money and commitment...

[joenlemy 2]

Both Scott and Jim are dead on Bob. You will want to stay in contact with USCIS. You can also contact your congressman and ask for help with tracting your case. Calling DOD or the NVC will do no good. They will only refer you to USCIS.

My wife got denied in HCM as well. she recieved a letter stating the case was being sent back to USCIS and the day it left. They also returned our entire package to her. IMO i would look at each reason for the denial and prepare a rebuttal for each reason stated.

Best of luck to you

[mishab 1]

I just read your original post and want to know more about the interview process. Who asked about your engagement party? Was she asked if you had the engagement party and the date? Why would the consulate care if you had one? are you concerned that having the engagement party 9 month before the divorce being finalized was used against you?

[luckytxn 2,264]

Very sad to hear this as I was hoping at the worst it would be AP and not a denial. These were some pretty huge red flags that you had to overcome and then being this unprepared at the interview was very bad.

There are not too many options for you here. You must get ready now to do a rebuttal. When the letter comes I believe they give 30 days and you must rebut if you don't there could be a total ban done.

From here on out you both need to get to know each other but she needs to especially make a much more of an effort. You need to get with her and see if she is serious about this relationship. You need to look inside and see this all from outside and refresh. What is going on here? Not just the CO saw this as a possible fraud but to us here it looks bad. Now I for one would like to give people a reasonable doubt and figure you and her just didn't know about all this and were just unprepared. (Even though you have gone through this before)

If the rebuttal is successful it can be sent back and a reinterview is in order so keep gathering any and all proof of relationship. Even if you have to refile you will need this. Others have had their cases sent back to USCIS and were successful in getting a pink but it is a long haul. Be patient and God bless.

[bobtrann 0]

What is AP?

Additional Processing.

[bobtrann 0]

Sorry I don't mean to sound rude but the Lunar date/Western date mixup doesn't make sense.

If the petitioner lists engagement ceremony date 1/20/10 Western format, the corresponding Lunar date would have been a higher month towards the end of the year because Tet comes after Western new year. So the lunar date would have been December or something similar, not 2-20-11. This sounds like the case of her being nervous and not remembering at all.

Best of luck to you both.

You're right. My fiancee totally messed up on this one. Thank you for your observation.

[bobtrann 0]

I just read your original post and want to know more about the interview process. Who asked about your engagement party? Was she asked if you had the engagement party and the date? Why would the consulate care if you had one? are you concerned that having the engagement party 9 month before the divorce being finalized was used against you?

The consular officeer at HCMC. Yes she was asked about it. The CO care sinces it's a cultural thing in VN.

[bobtrann 0]

Very sad to hear this as I was hoping at the worst it would be AP and not a denial. These were some pretty huge red flags that you had to overcome and then being this unprepared at the interview was very bad.

There are not too many options for you here. You must get ready now to do a rebuttal. When the letter comes I believe they give 30 days and you must rebut if you don't there could be a total ban done.

From here on out you both need to get to know each other but she needs to especially make a much more of an effort. You need to get with her and see if she is serious about this relationship. You need to look inside and see this all from outside and refresh. What is going on here? Not just the CO saw this as a possible fraud but to us here it looks bad. Now I for one would like to give people a reasonable doubt and figure you and her just didn't know about all this and were just unprepared. (Even though you have gone through this before)

If the rebuttal is successful it can be sent back and a reinterview is in order so keep gathering any and all proof of relationship. Even if you have to refile you will need this. Others have had their cases sent back to USCIS and were successful in getting a pink but it is a long haul. Be patient and God bless.

Let me clarify that my fiancee is very sensitive about my previous marriages. Apparantly when her cousine introduced us she "forgot" to mention to her that I was divorced twice. Later, when my fiance found out she was quite shocked but by then she liked me already. Come to think of it, my 2nd wife didn't like the fact i was divorce either. My kids live far away in another city or state and I have not seen them for years so she didn't know much about them. Thank you and everyone else for your advice.

[Anh map 2,098]

I just read your original post and want to know more about the interview process. Who asked about your engagement party? Was she asked if you had the engagement party and the date? Why would the consulate care if you had one? are you concerned that having the engagement party 9 month before the divorce being finalized was used against you?

A very big deal in Vietnam. One illustration of how things can vary based on cultural norms and/or fraud history (of country, not petitioner).

[quann 26]

to be perfectly honest if i was the CO coming in i'd be highly suspicious also...VN petitioner twice divorced, engagement after 3 weeks meeting with another vietnam beneficiary when the the 2nd divorce hasn't been finalized. you guys hardly know each other, can't even agree on a simple answer such as your engagement date (it's not like you guys have alot of important dates together). the lunar date excuse is laughable. individually maybe you can overlook these errors, but add them up together and it's highly suspicious. what's there to prevent a 3rd divorce in a few years after she gets a green card? i'm probably a ####### but someone has to say it.

why don't you guys take this time while waiting and get to know each other better if it's legit? what's the rush?

[Christi85 86]

to be perfectly honest if i was the CO coming in i'd be highly suspicious also...VN petitioner twice divorced, engagement after 3 weeks meeting with another vietnam beneficiary when the the 2nd divorce hasn't been finalized. you guys hardly know each other, can't even agree on a simple answer such as your engagement date (it's not like you guys have alot of important dates together). the lunar date excuse is laughable. individually maybe you can overlook these errors, but add them up together and it's highly suspicious. what's there to prevent a 3rd divorce in a few years after she gets a green card? i'm probably a ####### but someone has to say it.

why don't you guys take this time while waiting and get to know each other better if it's legit? what's the rush?

+1

[Aztec&Taino 144]

Let me clarify that my fiancee is very sensitive about my previous marriages. Apparantly when her cousine introduced us she "forgot" to mention to her that I was divorced twice. Later, when my fiance found out she was quite shocked but by then she liked me already. Come to think of it, my 2nd wife didn't like the fact i was divorce either. My kids live far away in another city or state and I have not seen them for years so she didn't know much about them. Thank you and everyone else for your advice.

I am sorry about your denial. Some people who get denied the K1 choose to wait, keep collecting evidence, marry as soon as they can make a trip to the beneficiary's country, and then file for the CR1.

About your above comment: I do not know I would be introducing a friend to a cousin like this: "Cousin X, meet my friend Bob who has been twice divorced." I mean, this is not the sort of information you give when introducing someone, but it should have come out in conversation a few dates after meeting. If you choose to continue to pursue the relationship make sure your fiancee knows your children's names, ages, and marital history.

Best wishes!