K1 VISA HELP!

[MatthewK 1]

Hello to everyone!

I am new to this forum and to the whole concept of the K1 visa, so I will first off introduce myself... My name is Matthew and I am 26 years old from Brisbane, Australia. I do actually have a pretty good idea on how the K1 process is going to happen but I would just like to know if anyone has any experiences or knows of anyone who has experienced applying for a K1 Visa with any sort of criminal record.

My fiancee who is a US citizen is 27 and earns well above the required amount, we have also several photos together and spent over 3 months together in the last 6 months. She actually just left to return home this morning so I'm pretty bummed. My problem is this, 2 years ago I plead guilty to a charge of 'assault occasioning bodily harm' (which itself is only the next charge above 'common assault' this charge of occasioning bodily harm to me does not seem so serious as it doesn't really consider 'intent' into the charge nor does it imply the assault ended with 'serious bodily harm' as the charges above assault occasioning are 'serious assault' and 'grievous bodily harm'. So as I understand it, to be eligible and meet the Visa criteria ones crime cannot contain 'intent' and or 'serious' bodily harm.

What I would like to know is if anyone has any exposure to people overcoming these types of things? It was a regrettable situation I found myself in 2 years ago, as I said I am 26 years old and have no other criminal problems or any problems with the Police, I did not provoke this incident but as this other bloke had several more witnesses corroborating his story I ultimately ended up getting the charge to which at the time I did not want to purse fighting in court because I honestly could never foresee it ever being a problem in the future as it was a first offense and all I got was a $600 fine.

I have never lied to the USCIS before, I initially wanted to fly to the USA to see Nikki 5 months ago but as I looked further into the VWP I realised that if this was a road I wanted to take that if I lied on the VWP and said I didn't have any convictions that I could potentially create more severe problems down the road such as an illegal entry would surely waive my right to apply for a K1 Visa. So with this thought in mind, even though the odds would be I could have lied and gotten through to see her on the VWP I decided against this and applied for a B1/B2 Tourist Visa. At the time of this application 2 years had passed since I was convicted of said offense. I was very polite and felt I had everything I needed at the time of the interview, the consulate officer reviewed everything and told me this... "I've got some good news and some bad news, the bad news is that I cannot approve the visa today, but if you come back in a year without any more trouble you will be ok". I said that it was fair enough and I respected his decision, so since I could not go to see her, she came to see me and what ensued has been amazing, I love her with all my heart and just want to be with her. She does not want to live in Australia and I have no problem leaving here for her.

As I understand it the B1/B2 Visa is basically at the discretion of the consulate officer, but the K1 Visa is more lenient I guess is the word because it should be her right as a US Citizen to marry whomever she wants (within reason) So basically what I would like to know is this....

1. Does anyone know if the K1 is more likely to be approved than a tourist visa

2. Being that the consulate officer said to come back in a year, does this mean anything or could he just have been saying that to let me down gently? And that even if I did come back in a year how would any other officer even know that I was told that.

Thanks heaps for your time and I look forward to anyones opinions...

Matthew

1

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

The K1 is not more "lenient". The same inadmissibilities apply for a K1 as for a B2. The difference is that a K1 allows the visa holder to enter the US with the intention of immigrating. The B2 does not. This means a K1 visa holder won't be screened for immigrant intent, while a B2 applicant will be.

Assault with intention to do bodily harm is a crime involving moral turpitude under US immigration law. That's covered by INA section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I). There are a couple of exceptions where it would not be an inadmissibility. One is if the crime occurred before you were 18, and it's been more than five years since your conviction. The other is if the maximum penalty for the crime does not exceed one year in jail, and the actual sentence you received did not exceed six months in jail. If you're found to be inadmissible because of this crime then you would qualify for a waiver on your own if it's been at least 15 years since your crime was committed, and the consular officer determines that your admission to the US would not be contrary to national welfare, security, or safety, and they also determine you've been rehabilitated.

I have no clue why the consular officer told you that you'd be fine if you came back in one year. I don't know of any three year rule for circumventing the inadmissibility. Are you absolutely certain you were denied for the assault conviction? Did they give you a denial letter? It would be immensely useful to know what section of the INA was cited on the letter.

If you were denied a B2 visa because the consular officer found you were inadmissible under section 212 of the INA then you would still be inadmissible if you applied for a K1 visa. However, your fiancee could submit an I-601 waiver request after your visa application was denied if she can demonstrate that it would impose an extreme hardship on her if you aren't permitted to go to the US.

[MatthewK 1]

The K1 is not more "lenient". The same inadmissibilities apply for a K1 as for a B2. The difference is that a K1 allows the visa holder to enter the US with the intention of immigrating. The B2 does not. This means a K1 visa holder won't be screened for immigrant intent, while a B2 applicant will be.

Assault with intention to do bodily harm is a crime involving moral turpitude under US immigration law. That's covered by INA section 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(I). There are a couple of exceptions where it would not be an inadmissibility. One is if the crime occurred before you were 18, and it's been more than five years since your conviction. The other is if the maximum penalty for the crime does not exceed one year in jail, and the actual sentence you received did not exceed six months in jail. If you're found to be inadmissible because of this crime then you would qualify for a waiver on your own if it's been at least 15 years since your crime was committed, and the consular officer determines that your admission to the US would not be contrary to national welfare, security, or safety, and they also determine you've been rehabilitated.

I have no clue why the consular officer told you that you'd be fine if you came back in one year. I don't know of any three year rule for circumventing the inadmissibility. Are you absolutely certain you were denied for the assault conviction? Did they give you a denial letter? It would be immensely useful to know what section of the INA was cited on the letter.

If you were denied a B2 visa because the consular officer found you were inadmissible under section 212 of the INA then you would still be inadmissible if you applied for a K1 visa. However, your fiancee could submit an I-601 waiver request after your visa application was denied if she can demonstrate that it would impose an extreme hardship on her if you aren't permitted to go to the US.

My assault charge was not 'assault with intent to cause bodily harm' it was 'assault occasioning bodily harm'... If one is to be charged of an assault with 'intent' in Australia then 'serious assault' is the charge you would be up for. I didn't actually get a denial letter from the consulate at all that I am aware of, I do not know why? As I understand it the 'extreme hardship' waiver is next to impossible to obtain and just because she has a 'broken heart' that would not be enough. So basically do you honestly think that there really is no way around this problem? Thank you for your opinion and sharing your knowledge.

[Boiler 45,525]

You have three threads going which are all inter related. So this applies to all of them.

Assume US immigration knows everything you do not want them to know, and nothing about what you do want them to know.

There is a waiver for a non immigrant visa which is easier than an immigrant visa. My guess is that you were not refused for the criminal issue, you never got that far.

Obviously it will be easier for her to go to Australia than you to go to the US.

Waivers, well certainly have a consultation at least with an Immigration Lawyer. It can be done yourself BUT you are going to have to put a LOT of work into it.

[akendra 0]

Hi

MatthewK

same case is with me too ..How did u solve ur problem ..? My Mind is going to blow ..ur answer could give me some relief Bro