Illegitimate investigation! Help please!

[Sabian 4]

Hi,

I need your help fellow VJers. There is something terribly wrong going on at the Islamabad Embassy. Here is my story.

I met my husband in early 2007 on myspace. We started talking and became friends. We officially became a couple in February 2008. In February 2009 I went to visit my husband. I spent 2 and a half weeks with him and had a wonderful time. We talked about possibly getting married, but didn't follow through because we were not ready yet. Then in April 2010 we decided to get married, so I traveled back to see my husband.

While there we planned our wedding, but were very limited on funds, plus I got sick from the plane and the food. I could only be on vacation for 2 and half weeks from work so we were very limited in time as well. However, we made the most of the time we had together. We planned our wedding as best we could, borrowed money and had a small ceremony at home. We then got married by the Registrar of Christian Marriages and got our marriage certificate. I then came back home and filed for our I-130 for spouse.

Side note: I was a part of the group that got delayed because of the Texas Service Center. What would normally take about 6 months to complete at USCIS, had now taken 9 months. I contacted my Congresswoman as did many other individuals. 36,000 cases were incorrectly sent to the Texas Service Center for processing and had to be sent back to the California Service Center. After this long delay our case was sent to Islamabad for processing. My husband was interviewed given a slip, passport was taken and told he was put in AP.

At the time I was very upset he did not get approved, and I thought he had not been treated fairly in his interview and I wrote them embassy saying I was not happy with the questions they were asking my husband and if they were legitimate for our case. This was my mistake and I acted out of passion instead of waiting. The officer who handled our case was not happy and I sincerely apologized and explained that our process has caused us both a lot of emotional strain. My husband was called back to Islamabad for a 2nd interview, then they contacted me via phone for an interview. Our case was then sent to the FBI for fraud.

The FBI agent handling our case was rude and sarcastic. When I asked him if I should contact my Congress or Senator's he sarcastically replied I could contact the President for all he cares! It didn't matter what we told him he was convinced we were committing fraud. He had no evidence and all his accusations were just that...baseless accusations. He told us our answers didn't match in our interviews. The only question which I could not answer properly was what day I picked up my wedding ring. I specifically told the officer I don't remember! We went shopping for our rings over a year ago! I cannot remember the day we picked it up. He then said we were lying because I looked "well" in my photos but claimed I was sick. How can you tell what I look like sick, and how is this evidence that 4 years of a relationship are fake? I had travel sickness, diarrea and was so sick we had to go get antibiotics. I even have evidence I went to a doctor! The agent claims my husband didn't know his previous jobs and I fed him information. I fed my husband information on his employment history? Did this agent even call my husbands previous employers to verify he worked there? How could I "feed" him this information? Did he call the Registrar of Christian Marriages? My work, my family, friends? He didn't investigate anything, call anyone, verify records...nothing.

The FBI agent said he was sending it to another officer for review and that it was probably going to be revoked by the Department of State. Please, can anyone help me. I am desperate, I want to live with my husband in my own country and I feel like my US citizen rights are being violated!!

[Winning23 25]

I would recommend you speak to an attorney and provide all the facts to them. Lawyers may speak up the process by directly working w/ Immigration and Consulate.

This appears to be a case where for some reason or another, the interview w/ your husband revealed conflicting information, thus, grounds for suspicion.

Hopefully, your case get resolved soon.

Best,

Edited September 30, 2011 by sucasa

[sherryandyashpal 7]

OMG, i am so sorry about this whole thing... its truly sounds like a nightmare.. I 100% agree with the previous post, you deserve better, DEFINITELY contact congressman and the immigration attorney will be able to spell out your options and rights... I am very sorry to hear this all.. i wish you all a speedy resolution,

Sherry

[Miss smarty pants 84]

When your case gets back to USCIS, you will have a chance to rebut. In the meantime, stop calling people and sending emails. You are shooting yourself in the foot. They will ask you for more information if they need it. You have to be patient and wait now. Calling people and emailing is only going to make things worse for you now. Wait for an official response or request.

[souleymon 27]

Really a Nightmare..Like you Fate has being decided already..Goodluck and i hope you find a Good Attorney that help you through in a short time

[Oksana & Max 94]

While attorney could help.

I would recommend also contacting the congressman and give hime all of the information. This is at first I hear that FBI is involved in the investigation. Something went really wrong.

Sorry for your issues.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

The FBI does not investigate visa fraud. The person who called you was probably from the Fraud Prevention Unit of the consulate. They routinely lie in the course of their investigation to get you to admit something you might otherwise not be willing to admit. Yes, they are allowed to lie to you, just as a police officer is allowed to lie to you in order to coerce you.

A little advance research would have better prepared you for what might happen. They can ask all sorts of embarrassing questions at a spousal visa interview. They can do the same at a green card interview or removal of conditions interview at a USCIS field office in the US. You can choose to answer the question or you can refuse to answer. Whichever option you choose should be done with the courtesy that's due to a foreign service officer or US immigration officer. Becoming indignant about the nature of the questions is always a mistake. Hopefully, you wouldn't respond the same way to a cop if you didn't like the questions you were being asked. A petty bureaucrat may not have a lot of authority, but if you piss them off then they'll use whatever authority they've got to make your life as miserable as possible.

Psychology is your friend in these cases. You're asking for a discretionary benefit, and the consular officer is the one who has the discretion to approve or deny your request, and their decision cannot be appealed. They don't need proof of anything. They can make snap judgements about any evidence they review, or they can refuse to accept evidence and make any assumptions they want to make. A little courtesy and humility can go a long way in helping you get what you want.

If the visa is ultimately denied then your petition will be sent back to USCIS. They may decide to reaffirm the approval of the petition, or they may decide to side with the consulate and revoke the approval. In the latter case, they'll send you a notice of intent to revoke. You should respond with a truckload of evidence. The consulate is accusing your husband of fraud. If the approval of the petition is revoked then he'll be guilty of fraud in the eyes of the US government.

[Harsh_77 718]

Why is your timeline saying you are applying for F3 ???

I think you shot your self in foot, by continous emailing folks, I would say wait until you hear anything or they ask for more information.

Dont keep on emailing Congressman / senator or officer investigating your case.

If they say there was mis-representation then they normally have a proof they would not just claim it.

So you got to wait for the response and have patience.

[rodceasar 34]

So sorry to read about this, however I highly recommend that you follow the guidance mentioned above by JimVaPhuong. This reply explains it all without further ado...

[Sabian 4]

I agree that I should never have sent them an email after my husbands first interview. After I realized my mistake and apologized I have made every effort to be extremely curteous, patient and cooperative with the embassy. I let me emotions get the best of me.

I have been contacting the consulate because I was told to do so. I have a letter prepared for my congresswoman as well, but I am wondering if it is best for me to wait to send it after reading these posts. I am not an expert in immigration. I am just trying to do what they ask of me. All I want is to see my husband, that is all. I have never been so stressed out in my whole life. I have not seen him in 17 months..I am a basket case.

The CO told me that he will contact me within 24 hours, but I don't know what to expect since he usually doesn't keep his promises.

I appreciate all of your posts, you have all helped me greatly.

Why is your timeline saying you are applying for F3 ???

I think you shot your self in foot, by continous emailing folks, I would say wait until you hear anything or they ask for more information.

Dont keep on emailing Congressman / senator or officer investigating your case.

If they say there was mis-representation then they normally have a proof they would not just claim it.

So you got to wait for the response and have patience.

It is supposed to say K3, thank you for pointing out that error I will fix it.