Tragedy! Visa Denied!

[mounir412 101]

im so sorry to hear about this

[Palladin 18]

I am with my wife in Guangzhou this week. I am hoping for a meeting with the consular officers this week but so far I don't have that luck.

I really hope I can get to meet them. If they are truly interested in finding out the truth in our relationship I don't understand why they are not willing to meet me and let me explain things? My Congressman requested a meeting on my behave but so far they are not buying that either.

[evelyn1140 18]

I am with my wife in Guangzhou this week. I am hoping for a meeting with the consular officers this week but so far I don't have that luck.

I really hope I can get to meet them. If they are truly interested in finding out the truth in our relationship I don't understand why they are not willing to meet me and let me explain things? My Congressman requested a meeting on my behave but so far they are not buying that either.

Good luck

[Darnell 8,479]

I am with my wife in Guangzhou this week. I am hoping for a meeting with the consular officers this week but so far I don't have that luck.

I really hope I can get to meet them. If they are truly interested in finding out the truth in our relationship I don't understand why they are not willing to meet me and let me explain things? My Congressman requested a meeting on my behave but so far they are not buying that either.

so you got an ACS appointment already?

[bobbyA 20]

so you got an ACS appointment already?

Darnell,

Allow me to jump in and share my experience for future reference.

It's my experience that you don't need an appointment to go to ACS. Back in July I had a question about my then fiancee's k-1 petition. As long as I went to the consulate between 8:30am and 11:30am or 1:30pm and 3:30pm, the guard would let me in when I showed him my US passport. I went to the 5th floor, went through a different and more relaxed security checkpoint and then proceeded to the ACS area. No one stopped me or questioned me at all.

I took a number and waited for my number to be called. I waited around and observed the people who went before me. Some of the cases required appointments, but some didn't. I saw a US man took his Chinese wife to ACS and asked the Chinese staff what's the quickest way to get his wife to the US to take care of his illness. The Chinese staff told him to file a petition. He continue to ask how, and she told him to go to window X at 3:30pm for American Citizen Hour. I thought ACH was dead!

Then my turn came, I was called by a Chinese staff to a window. I gave her my number tag and passport and showed her my fiancee's interview appointment letter and asked to speak to an immigration officer. She looked puzzled, but after I explained to her why I had to see an immigration officer, she asked me to be seated and wait for an immigration officer to call me.

I saw an immigration officer picked up my passport and letter and had a big question mark on his face. He called my name, and I went to his window and asked him whether my fiancee could turn in her documents and proceed with her interivew the next day without her medical report. He said he doesn't see why not, and he went to confirm with another officer and came back to tell me that it's OK to do so, just that the visa will not be issued until we turned in her medical report.

Granted, I had butterflies in my stomach all that time, but I accomplished what I went there for

[Noah Lot 391]

There is no law saying a US citizen can only get married to a foreigner no more than once. I understand that if you bring in a froeign bride once every two or three years that's definitely a no no. But that previous marriage lasted a good 16+ years and it was bona fide, not for green card.

It would have been nice and much easier if I find a local girl to marry. I thought about that. I thought I was attracted to caucasian girls and thought about the possibility of inter-race marriage. But it didn't seem to work. I am still more comfortable looking for a company within my own ethnic group. Nothing wrong with that. Most posters here find that one way or another they would rather marry some one from a foreign country, than find a local spouse.

At least the US constitution still says that citizens have a right to pursuit their happiness however they want, that includes bring a foreign spouse in to start a family here. There is probably a limit at some point, if every one go out to bring a foreign bride in. But we are talking about about 50 thousand foreign brides be brought in a year, versus a population of 310 million, versus 4 million new babies be born here each year. If we hit a limit that citizens are limited to bring foreign spouses in, then we will probably be at a stage that we should impose mantatory borth control on the citizen population, or things of that nature. We are far from that!

Actually, it's the Declaration of Independence, and all it says is 'pursuit of happiness'...nothing about getting it. The Declaration of Independence is not law, just more of a polite way of telling England to butt out.

[Darnell 8,479]

It's my experience that you don't need an appointment to go to ACS. Back in July I had a question about my then fiancee's k-1 petition. As long as I went to the consulate between 8:30am and 11:30am or 1:30pm and 3:30pm, the guard would let me in when I showed him my US passport. I went to the 5th floor, went through a different and more relaxed security checkpoint and then proceeded to the ACS area. No one stopped me or questioned me at all.

This is great news, actually, as many things changed up after ACH died.

Regardless, with Palladin in GUZ, his ability to 'get in' in a timely fashion , I pray, isn't hampered at all.

[Palladin 18]

This is great news, actually, as many things changed up after ACH died.

Regardless, with Palladin in GUZ, his ability to 'get in' in a timely fashion , I pray, isn't hampered at all.

Get into the ACS on the fifth floor is not a problem at all. You can make ACS appointment using the online form and print out the appointment letter. Or you can just walk in with your US passport. You can bring your Chinese wife to go upstairs with you, just need to give the security guard an excuse why she needs to go to the ACS with you as well. They said that the fifth floor is theoretically US territory so a US citizen always has a right to go there and be there.

The ladies at ACS are very nice and polite. However they could not get us to meet the consular officers at the IV unit. I ended asking them to notarize a sworn document which I hope my wife can use if/when she gets a second chance of interview.

Then we walked across to the area of the visa interview, try not to disturb any one. I asked the lady at window #30 to see if I can meet a consular officer when they have a convenient few minutes. The lady is very rude and said we will not be met and that we "must leave immiediately". That's just absurd. We are not causing any disturbance so what right does she have to ask us to leave? We stayed till the end of the day even though we did not get to meet any one. At least they knew we were there together and stayed the whole afternoon. That is enough to demonstrate our points.

[Noah Lot 391]

Get into the ACS on the fifth floor is not a problem at all. You can make ACS appointment using the online form and print out the appointment letter. Or you can just walk in with your US passport. You can bring your Chinese wife to go upstairs with you, just need to give the security guard an excuse why she needs to go to the ACS with you as well. They said that the fifth floor is theoretically US territory so a US citizen always has a right to go there and be there.

The ladies at ACS are very nice and polite. However they could not get us to meet the consular officers at the IV unit. I ended asking them to notarize a sworn document which I hope my wife can use if/when she gets a second chance of interview.

Then we walked across to the area of the visa interview, try not to disturb any one. I asked the lady at window #30 to see if I can meet a consular officer when they have a convenient few minutes. The lady is very rude and said we will not be met and that we "must leave immiediately". That's just absurd. We are not causing any disturbance so what right does she have to ask us to leave? We stayed till the end of the day even though we did not get to meet any one. At least they knew we were there together and stayed the whole afternoon. That is enough to demonstrate our points.

She is a consular officer...and you are not....she has regulatory authority within the embassy....you do not....period. Your opinion on such matters is not relevant.

[Darnell 8,479]

I suggest to keep at it. There is some overlap of time for ACS and IV 'document intake processing time'.

Figure it out, that overlap, and go to ACS at the right time. The IV IOs should be available to you, then.

[pushbrk 13,043]

I suggest to keep at it. There is some overlap of time for ACS and IV 'document intake processing time'.

Figure it out, that overlap, and go to ACS at the right time. The IV IOs should be available to you, then.

Good idea. One thing I learned is that the Consular Officers conducting interviews in the afternoon are part of the non-immigrant visa unit. The ones in the morning are the immigrant visa unit. So, it's not the same people. Being on the interview side of the floor in the afternoon gets you in front of the wrong group. I would try the USC side in the afternoon, after the IV unit has their lunch.

[bobbyA 20]

Get into the ACS on the fifth floor is not a problem at all. You can make ACS appointment using the online form and print out the appointment letter. Or you can just walk in with your US passport. You can bring your Chinese wife to go upstairs with you, just need to give the security guard an excuse why she needs to go to the ACS with you as well. They said that the fifth floor is theoretically US territory so a US citizen always has a right to go there and be there.

The ladies at ACS are very nice and polite. However they could not get us to meet the consular officers at the IV unit. I ended asking them to notarize a sworn document which I hope my wife can use if/when she gets a second chance of interview.

Then we walked across to the area of the visa interview, try not to disturb any one. I asked the lady at window #30 to see if I can meet a consular officer when they have a convenient few minutes. The lady is very rude and said we will not be met and that we "must leave immiediately". That's just absurd. We are not causing any disturbance so what right does she have to ask us to leave? We stayed till the end of the day even though we did not get to meet any one. At least they knew we were there together and stayed the whole afternoon. That is enough to demonstrate our points.

Thank you for confirming my experience at the ACS

May I ask what you are trying to achieve by going to the 5th floor? Are you trying to speak to the VO who interviewed your wife? Or are you trying to learn about the status of your case? I'm asking these questions because your mentioning ACS caught my attention, and since I went through some "excitement" in Guangzhou and went to ACS myself, I thought I'd share some ideas if you don't mind.

Obviously I don't know all the details of your case, but I would suggest going back to ACS by yourself (don't bring your wife). Present your wife's appointment letter and your passport to the Chinese staff and ask to speak to an immigration officer. (The Chinese staff let me speak to a US immigration officer without giving me any trouble). When you see the officer, explain that you are there to get an update for your petition. Tell the IO you're leaving Guangzhou soon (your flight leaves on X date), and it would be nice to know where your case stands at this time so that you can make plans for your life going forward. Be persistent but sincere and polite.

I feel that the ACS officer can speak to the VO who handles your wife's case on your behalf. After all, you're there with a personal plea. VO's are as human as we are, and people do have compassion. I'm sure they'll understand that people have a life to live. They should at least give you the benefit of the doubt since you traveled half way around the world to see them.

I wouldn't ask to speak directly to the VO who interviewed your wife. Instead, get his/her peers to look into your case for you. If he/she comes back with a "you have to wait" answer, ask politely "how long do I have to wait? I can't wait indefinitely". Ask if it is possible your wife could have a second interview while you're in Guangzhou.

You might have thought about all these, but I thought I'd throw in my unsolicited 2 cents since I've been to ACS myself, I saw and overheard conversations between US officers and USC enough to give me some warm fuzzies

I appreciate your persistence and taking action! Good for you!!

Edited November 16, 2011 by bobbyA

[crazybanana 1]

sorry about your bad news. me and my wife went through these interview twice. One for K1 and one for CR-1. got approved the second time around. she just got to America last month. If I were you. take a deep breath, calm down, clear your head and pay close attention to what Darnell is telling you. hire a good lawyer and figured out what you need to do next.

[Palladin 18]

She is a consular officer...and you are not....she has regulatory authority within the embassy....you do not....period. Your opinion on such matters is not relevant.

No, she is NOT a consular officer. The lady at Windows #30 simply hands out white slips of visa denials and explain to people the reason written on the printed white form. She makes no decisions and has no input on any case whatsoever, and has zero authority. She is just a local employee hired to do a job that an automatic computer can do much better. It was very rude for her to ask me to "leave immiediately".

After the IV unit repeatedly responded to my webmail inquiry that they can not break their new rule of not to meet individual petitioner any more, and repeated request that I bear patience with them as they are doing the administrative processing on our case, I figure I will not insist on a personal meeting. Afterall my document has already been delivered as well as any message I want to convoy, as well as the fact that I made the trip to Guangzhou and stayed in the Consular building for a whole afternoon. I don't want to irritate them un-necessarily. The responses so far are very positive and they have given all indication that at the end of administrative processing, it's very likely they will give my wife another interview, or maybe a visa could be granted directly.

The visa denial clause was 221(g), which I understand encapsulate all cases where not enough documentation is presented, or the visa applicant has not demonstrated the case enough during interview. There was no other clause other than 221(g), and other than the mention of the phrase non-bona fide relationship.

Let's wait and see what happens next.

Edited November 17, 2011 by Palladin

[pushbrk 13,043]

No, she is NOT a consular officer. The lady at Windows #30 simply hands out white slips of visa denials and explain to people the reason written on the printed white form. She makes no decisions and has no input on any case whatsoever, and has zero authority. She is just a local employee hired to do a job that an automatic computer can do much better. It was very rude for her to ask me to "leave immiediately".

After the IV unit repeatedly responded to my webmail inquiry that they can not break their new rule of not to meet individual petitioner any more, and repeated request that I bear patience with them as they are doing the administrative processing on our case, I figure I will not insist on a personal meeting. Afterall my document has already been delivered as well as any message I want to convoy, as well as the fact that I made the trip to Guangzhou and stayed in the Consular building for a whole afternoon. I don't want to irritate them un-necessarily. The responses so far are very positive and they have given all indication that at the end of administrative processing, it's very likely they will give my wife another interview, or maybe a visa could be granted directly.

The visa denial clause was 221(g), which I understand encapsulate all cases where not enough documentation is presented, or the visa applicant has not demonstrated the case enough during interview. There was no other clause other than 221(g), and other than the mention of the phrase non-bona fide relationship.

Let's wait and see what happens next.

221(g) is used for both soft denials (where additional documentation is requested) and for hard denials where they add the indication that the case is to be returned to USCIS with a recommendation to revoke the approval of the petition. It is my understanding yours was the "hard" version of a 221g denial. It IS possible to get a new interview after a hard denial. You've done the things that COULD bring that to pass. I hope they work.