Interracial couples, post here!

[Qasim&Shannon 0]

Hello, not sure if this thread is still alive, we are just starting the K-1 process as a mixed-race couple with a bunch of so-called red flags. Just wanted to put myself out there in case anyone else is going through a similar process.

Visa type: K-1
Consulate: New Delhi
Gender of beneficiary: Male
Religious difference? Yes
Religious background of beneficiary: Muslim
Age Difference? significant difference (I am 8 years older than him)

Race/Class/Education Difference: I am a white PhD student, he is a taxi driver with no college education (this doesn't bother me obviously); he spoke only a little english when we met but his english has greatly improved over the course of our relationship

Method of meeting (online, in person, etc): We met in person while I was doing research in India. He was my driver for 2.5 months.
Engagement Ceremony? None
Has beneficiary ever been to the US? No
Does beneficiary have relatives in the US? No
Family approval? Yes from his side, no from mine right now (but I will likely win their approval somehow)
Co-Sponsor required? I am not sure
How much time has petitioner spent with beneficiary in person? 1) 2.5 months first visit in Fall 2012, 2) 7 day visit in March 2013, upcoming 18-day visit in Sept 2013

Has the beneficiary or petitioner ever been married: No

Did the petitioner attend the interview: I plan to attend

I expect that the interviewer will be skeptical of our age, religious, and educational differences. I also expect that him being Muslim will result in increased scrutiny. Any advice would be appreciated!

I received my NOA1 on April 31, 2013.

[Falene 8]

Even if this is an old thread, I am going through this right now.

Visa type: K-1
Consulate: New Delhi
Gender of beneficiary: Male
Religious difference? Not really.. but I doubt they would believe us.
Religious background of beneficiary: Hindu
Age Difference? He is 6 years older

Race/Class/Education Difference: I'm white and he's Indian. Class can not be compared easily, but I think we would be about the same. He has M.Comm in finance and I have B.S. in accounting.

Method of meeting (online, in person, etc): We met online.
Engagement Ceremony? None
Has beneficiary ever been to the US? No
Does beneficiary have relatives in the US? No
Family approval? My family approves and his doesn't know. His parents are deceased.
Co-Sponsor required? No
How much time has petitioner spent with beneficiary in person? One week in Dec 2011 and two weeks in Oct 2012

Has the beneficiary or petitioner ever been married: Petitioner was previously married

Did the petitioner attend the interview: No, but I wish I would have

The interview was June 19 and now we are in Administrative Processing. Reading the other experiences in this thread, I am not feeling very hopeful right now. The CO was Indian and he didn't like how we met online. He also didn't like that my fiance's sisters don't know about the marriage. The interview was short and those were the main issues that came up. They didn't take any of our relationship evidence so I'm not sure how they can judge us on so few things.

[catknit 144]

Shannon - Muslim men appear out of India appear to get AP for security checks with some frequency. Generally, all you can do is wait it out...

I will say you do have one heck of a love story . Document as much as you can about your upcoming trip [pics, etc] especially if you are spending time with his family. Did you have a ring ceremony? You may be questioned about that if it's typical for his area.

Falene - Did you get the infamous laundry list AP paper? Where they ask for EVERYTHING under the sun - correspondences, pictures, his voter id card, etc etc etc? Or, did they just say "AP, we'll be in touch"? It's hard to really read into what an individual CO does because each has their own methods but the laundry list, historically, hasn't been a good sign [not to get you down or anything - just trying to let you know what can/has happened].

Here's wishing you both a speedy journey to a visa and marriage!

[PS - a denial is NOT the end of the world, if god forbid, it does happen - more time away from each other, yeah, but you can still soldier on and get the visa]

Edited June 25, 2013 by catknit

[Falene 8]

Falene - Did you get the infamous laundry list AP paper? Where they ask for EVERYTHING under the sun - correspondences, pictures, his voter id card, etc etc etc? Or, did they just say "AP, we'll be in touch"? It's hard to really read into what an individual CO does because each has their own methods but the laundry list, historically, hasn't been a good sign [not to get you down or anything - just trying to let you know what can/has happened].

They have not asked for anything. He just received the white paper and was told for further processing. So, no we did not get the "laundry list". And you're right, it will not be the end of the world if he is denied. We have already discussed our options if that happens. I just don't want them to drag it out a long time and then deny it. Thanks for your response Catknit.

[India23 22]

I'm glad I found this thread. We have only just filed our K-1 visa back in May & I have been biting my nails with some of the difficulities Indian/American couples are having! We too have other options if we get denied or put on AP... I have met his mother & brother back in 2012. I have a pic of me with her & him.. (hopefully that helps our case) any advice anyone can give me would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

[team_gn 1]

Hello, not sure whether this thread is still alive. I am a total newbie, and my guy and I have not even begun filing for any type of visa yet. We are still trying to decide which route may be best for us. We are a mixed-race couple (I, the USC, am African-American), with several additional "red flags", and don't anticipate this process to be easy. I am very glad to find this topic, and I hope that we can gain some insight and support from others who are or have been in a similar situation. Thanks!

Visa type: Not sure yet
Consulate: New Delhi
Gender of beneficiary: Male
Religious difference? Sort of, but not really. I am not baptised in any religion and will attend religious activities with him.
Religious background of beneficiary: He is baptised Sikh, and as such, respects all religions.
Age Difference? significant difference: I am 5 years older than he, but we are both 30+

Race/Class/Education Difference: I am an african-american woman, he is an indian man born and raised in india. This type of relationship is even uncommon in my part of the US. Our education is roughly the same (B.S. for both), though he has had a few years more than I of formal education. Not sure we can really compare class.

Method of meeting (online, in person, etc): We met while working together remotely; he was part of the off shore team that supports are processes in the US. We continued our relationship online, away from work.
Engagement Ceremony? None
Has beneficiary ever been to the US? No
Does beneficiary have relatives in the US? No
Family approval? Yes from my side, his side does not yet know about the relationship, though we plan to tell them before filing any paperwork

Co-Sponsor required? No
How much time has petitioner spent with beneficiary in person? 10 days recently (November 2013). Trying to plan another visit in the next few months, finances permitting.

Has the beneficiary or petitioner ever been married: No

Did the petitioner attend the interview: N/A

I can see potential problems with the lack of face time (we're poor and travel is expensive), racial differences, potentially age as well, though I really hope that the fact that we are not children works in our favor. Right how we are weighing both the decreased processing time and increased expense of a K-1 visa with the likelihood of rejection the first time around. The CR1 may have a greater chance of initial approval (maybe), but takes longer to process, plus getting married in the first place will be problematic if I have to establish any residency in Delhi first (conflicting accounts of this) or he cannot get a US visitor visa for long enough to get married and then leave. We have a lot to consider, but wanted to make an initial post. Thank you for listening!

[Jilly30 16]

Would really like some input:

Visa type: IR-1/CR-1
Consulate: Mumbai
Visa issued (if applicable)? N/A
Second interview? N/A
AP? N/A
221 g issued? N/A
Gender of beneficiary: Male
Religious difference? Yes
Religious background of beneficiary: Hindu
Age Difference? I (petitioner) am 3 years older
Method of meeting (online, in person, etc): In person while we were working for Carnival Cruise Lines
Engagement Ceremony? None
Traditional (Indian) Wedding Ceremony (N/A if going through K-1)? Court marriage, witnessed by 1 co-colleague of ours & her husband from the ships, plus 2 of his long-time friends, who I met prior to our deciding to get married.
Has beneficiary ever been to the US? Yes, only on C1/D seamen's visa, B2 was denied last year (most likely too much of an immigration risk)
Does beneficiary have relatives in the US? No
Family approval? From my side 100%, his side, not so much. I've only met them once, they were not thrilled when he told them we married. They don't care that I'm American, they just wanted him to be settled in a good job before marriage. They don't care about arranged marriage, they are not super traditional. They are concerned for our financial well-being and until then cannot give their full support. :-( Jobs in the US will help the situation.
Co-Sponsor required? Yes, my father.
How much time has petitioner spent with beneficiary in person? 2 years on the ship, 2 months in India prior to our marriage and currently almost a year in India waiting for his visa approval. I will repatriate to the US once his interview is assigned.

I'm nervous that his parents don't give approval. But I'm angered at the possibility that the the interviewing officer can flag us for that. What right do they have to say we can't live together because his family doesn't approve? That should be a family issue only, not one that the government steps in on! Other than that I feel our case is strong because we've spent loads of time together. No engagement or family at our court marriage, but we spent at least a year getting to know each other and spending time together before deciding to get married.

[sachinky 465]

Any updates from the newer filers?

[jilliannep 13]

I had thought that I had posted in this topic since it's one that I follow, but never did (one of the many things I put off in the rush of immigration). Don't know how much it will help since we we already approved, but here it goes:

Visa type: CR-1 (changed to IR-1 since we've been married over 2 years)
Consulate: New Delhi
Visa issued (if applicable)? Yes.
Second interview? Sorta... he got his papers stolen from him the day before his interview and on advice from VJ went to the interview knowing he would be denied because it was better to show up unprepared than cancel. Rescheduled for a month later.
AP? N/A
221 g issued? N/A
Gender of beneficiary: Male
Religious difference? No
Religious background of beneficiary: Hindu
Age Difference? He is 8 years older than me.
Method of meeting (online, in person, etc): Online traveled to his country a few months later.
Engagement Ceremony? No.
Traditional (Indian) Wedding Ceremony (N/A if going through K-1)? Got married at an Arya Samaj temple. Traditional to a point.
Has beneficiary ever been to the US? No
Does beneficiary have relatives in the US? Yes
Family approval? Yes, from my side.
Co-Sponsor required? Yes. My mother.
How much time has petitioner spent with beneficiary in person? All in all about 6 months.

[AKSinghSingh79 143]

Our interview is scheduled for March 6 in New Delhi. I will be travelling to India to attend the interview with my husband. I will update this thread once we attend.

[team_gn 1]

Hi,

My guy and I decided that, prior to applying for a K1, we would apply for a visitor visa. We don't know exactly when we plan to apply for the K1, we know it can be a lengthy processes, and we really wanted to visit with each other more, have him meet some of my very elderly relatives, etc, prior to getting married. The visitor visa was denied, basically saying that he should apply for a fiance visa instead. I posted in the B1/B2 forum regarding this.

I am angry more about the reason for the denial than the denial itself. It is wrong to apply for a K1 just for the purpose of visiting, just as it is wrong to apply for a B2 for the purpose of getting married.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/471822-answering-the-immediate-relative-question-for-b2-application-prior-to-filing-for-a-k1-visa/?p=6797667

Thanks for listening.

[jilliannep 13]

Our interview is scheduled for March 6 in New Delhi. I will be travelling to India to attend the interview with my husband. I will update this thread once we attend.

I've been lurking around your profile for a while now (I know, bad me) mainly because we faced a lot of the same issues and almost the same lengths of delay. I'm so happy for you that you are FINALLY getting this done! It's such a hard thing when things beyond your control - monsoons, corruption, lost things - delay your case. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

[AKSinghSingh79 143]

I've been lurking around your profile for a while now (I know, bad me) mainly because we faced a lot of the same issues and almost the same lengths of delay. I'm so happy for you that you are FINALLY getting this done! It's such a hard thing when things beyond your control - monsoons, corruption, lost things - delay your case. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Thank you so much for your encouraging words! It is such a relief to see a potential end to our very long and tiring journey (at least with this stage).

I was very happy to see your visa approval posted on the portal!

[jilliannep 13]

Thank you so much for your encouraging words! It is such a relief to see a potential end to our very long and tiring journey (at least with this stage).

I was very happy to see your visa approval posted on the portal!

Girl!? At this stage, your only obstacle is what airline to choose!

[Hannahcat 0]

Greetings,

I was wondering what kind of reactions interracial couples get When visiting India. I am African American and have read about the preference for fair skin in India. Additionally, there have been several incidents where people of African descent have been subjected to taunts, name calling and physical violence while in India.