Help...Passport kept after interview (told "not eligible for K-1") - New Delhi

[Dahlia 1]

NEW UPDATE - R called VFS helpdesk today and was told we were sent email about denial by mistake. He was told our case is still pending. Not sure what to think, but we spent the weekend faxing, calling, emailing officials of all kinds. I even asked for inquiry into delhi embassy practices and gave evidence from visa statistics etc.. pray for favor and good outcome for us..thanks everyone!!!

Our case still pending also. I hope that we both get an approval. My fiance is from Egypt. Our problem is that our age gap is a lot. I am not losing hope, age difference should never be base on this. My fiance came from a very honest good people. I pray that we both have our visa approval from our love one.

[Bec_Dipu 103]

NEW UPDATE - R called VFS helpdesk today and was told we were sent email about denial by mistake. He was told our case is still pending. Not sure what to think, but we spent the weekend faxing, calling, emailing officials of all kinds. I even asked for inquiry into delhi embassy practices and gave evidence from visa statistics etc.. pray for favor and good outcome for us..thanks everyone!!!

Who did you ask for an inquiry from? What statistics did you site?

I was looking at the K-1 data that had interviews over the past year in New Delhi. Out of 22, 12 have been issued a visa, 7 never followed up on their timeline (grrrrrr) and 3 have basically been shoved aside until they expire. Of the 3 not granted [R&S, Team Erra, R&C], I believe all are interracial couples (I'm not sure about R&S). Now those aren't enough numbers to definitely prove anything, but it sure does suggest that racism and bigotry are alive and kicking at the New Delhi embassy.

You know what infuriates me the most? They are trying to have their cake and eat it too. On the one hand they state that it has to be a legitimate relationship where both parties want to marry of their own volition. On the other hand, they couldn't care less about what both parties want, so long as the parents are pleased enough to throw a party. In a country where dowry harassment is reported in the news everyday, you would think they would embrace embrace couples who do this independently of their families. Also, in a country that has such a terrible female to male ratio, you would think they would welcome the opportunity for one of their men to get married to a foreigner because there just aren't enough women to go around.

Well, I'm off to pile concealer under my eyes to cover the dark circles from laying awake all night thinking about how cavalierly some people can judge others based on their own prejudices.

[C Med 14]

NEW UPDATE - R called VFS helpdesk today and was told we were sent email about denial by mistake. He was told our case is still pending. Not sure what to think, but we spent the weekend faxing, calling, emailing officials of all kinds. I even asked for inquiry into delhi embassy practices and gave evidence from visa statistics etc.. pray for favor and good outcome for us..thanks everyone!!!

Best of luck! I know this must be a stressful time, but remember that it will all be worth it in the end.

[USColombia 6]

Good luck!!!

[RCG 3]

My fiance and I didn't have an engagement ceremony either. I am not Indian (which I guess you can tell from my picture lol) and this is not a common practice in my family. My fiance is Muslim and it is not a common practice for Muslims in his part of the country and no one in his family has ever had one.

Do you think they apply this standard to all relationships based on what they think a traditional Indian relationship should be like or do they show sensitivity to the fact that what they see every day isn't necessarily the norm for everyone?

I'm very nervous about being judged against cultural standards which are alien to me and do not necessarily apply to minorities such as my fiance. I keep reading horror stories about this Chinese man denying people left and right because he doesn't think their relationships are real. The rest of the denials seem to come from a tiny woman. So I guess I'll just pray that our CO is neither a Hindi speaking Chinese man or a tiny woman

Hi, I did search on muslim engagement ceremony india and it appears that some do this....maybe ask ur fiance to get an affidavit from his imam or spiritual leader stating the engagement ceremony is not always followed in his area?

i would also say that turn in TONS of affidavits...rahul and i didn't do this..we just turned in letters from me, him, and my mother, and he brought a letter from his mother and friends. we also turned in 100 emails, substancial amt of chats, about 4-6 months worth of cell bills and skype phone calls, and printous of skype webchats, and wedding plans and receipts. i didn't realize until after the interview that affidavit means a letter that is signed in front of a notary. to get this done in india, he will have to go to the embassy/consulate. delhi embassy charges $50 US dollars for each document..crazy, but worth it I guess..

i saw that one interracial couple at delhi had been approved for k1 but they turned in 4,000 pages of evidence, and 300 photos together, plus they had a formal engagement, and turned in numerous affidavits from their families and friends.

good luck!

[RCG 3]

Who did you ask for an inquiry from? What statistics did you site?

I was looking at the K-1 data that had interviews over the past year in New Delhi. Out of 22, 12 have been issued a visa, 7 never followed up on their timeline (grrrrrr) and 3 have basically been shoved aside until they expire. Of the 3 not granted [R&S, Team Erra, R&C], I believe all are interracial couples (I'm not sure about R&S). Now those aren't enough numbers to definitely prove anything, but it sure does suggest that racism and bigotry are alive and kicking at the New Delhi embassy.

You know what infuriates me the most? They are trying to have their cake and eat it too. On the one hand they state that it has to be a legitimate relationship where both parties want to marry of their own volition. On the other hand, they couldn't care less about what both parties want, so long as the parents are pleased enough to throw a party. In a country where dowry harassment is reported in the news everyday, you would think they would embrace embrace couples who do this independently of their families. Also, in a country that has such a terrible female to male ratio, you would think they would welcome the opportunity for one of their men to get married to a foreigner because there just aren't enough women to go around.

Well, I'm off to pile concealer under my eyes to cover the dark circles from laying awake all night thinking about how cavalierly some people can judge others based on their own prejudices.

i wrote my senator, congressman, and president of navajo nation. i asked the senator navajo pres. to do an inquiry and i also sent dozens of uscis depts, including american citzen email for delhi embassy, a copy of my letter to the senator. i found visa statistics on dept of state website. i quoted stats - approx 32,000 k1 visas approved last yr, only 1,200 denied. philippines approved 7,500 k1 visas while india approved 1, 083. india embassy had given out less visas overall than chennai and mumbai. i asked for number of k1 visas that had been approved and denied for last yr from delhi. i also included the verbage from delhi embassy on Proof of Relationship, and that it does not state anywhere that we had to follow the traditional indian marriage norms. i mentioned different visa forums and stated many interracial couples had been denied at delhi and asked to show proof of engagement and family approval. i stated i thought this was unfair considering 1 of the persons is not Indian. and also stated that some had applied for spousal visa and been approved. i asked if they had data on this since it would show delhi was causing undue paperwork for petitioners and U.S. govt.

i honestly don't know if anyone will respond to the inquiry part of my letter but we shall see. vfs delhi last week gave us so many different answers - by phone they told us repeatedly that yes the visa was approved, by email they stated its under processing for 221g, and then i got that email that stated we were denied and case being sent back to nvc. now last nite vfs said they made a mistake by sending me that email and our case was still pending. i'm hoping we get to turn in more evidence - we will definitely get tons of affidavits from my family, friends, and his etc.

[RCG 3]

Update - On 7/7 our visa petition made it to NVC and was immediately sent back to New Delhi, but only because I had contacted NVC and they were completely unaware of the recall on our petititon. Very happy that NVC responds to emails quickly and quickly sent back the petition to

On 7/20 my fiance received email from VFS stating that per Embassy he needed to turn in passport to VFC.

ANY IDEAS ON WHAT THIS MEANS? why would they want passport if they kept it for so long the first time around? VFC people said they only deal with 2 categories - new cases where they are turning in docs for the interview or 221g cases. For 221g cases they said they either will be turning in docs or turning in passports. If they are turning in passports, VFC says visa stamp will be placed in passport.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?? we are hoping for the visa stamp of course, but was told we were getting a 2nd interview previously by letter from the senator.

Thanks!!

[Bec_Dipu 103]

Update - On 7/7 our visa petition made it to NVC and was immediately sent back to New Delhi, but only because I had contacted NVC and they were completely unaware of the recall on our petititon. Very happy that NVC responds to emails quickly and quickly sent back the petition to

On 7/20 my fiance received email from VFS stating that per Embassy he needed to turn in passport to VFC.

ANY IDEAS ON WHAT THIS MEANS? why would they want passport if they kept it for so long the first time around? VFC people said they only deal with 2 categories - new cases where they are turning in docs for the interview or 221g cases. For 221g cases they said they either will be turning in docs or turning in passports. If they are turning in passports, VFC says visa stamp will be placed in passport.

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?? we are hoping for the visa stamp of course, but was told we were getting a 2nd interview previously by letter from the senator.

Thanks!!

It's possible that they decided that if you went through all of the effort to have a congressman get involved, you must be legit so they are ready to approve. I hope this works out quickly for you!!!

[RCG 3]

It's possible that they decided that if you went through all of the effort to have a congressman get involved, you must be legit so they are ready to approve. I hope this works out quickly for you!!!

We would like to Thank everyone who has been with us throughout our Journey and giving us valuable feedbacks and suggestions . Today we went for our second interview and the visa is approved . I should have the visa in a weeks time as told by the VO officer .

Thanks a lot everyone and we want to tell everyone that hang on there as things will work out just fine and that you will be with your loved ones soon.Thank you Lord