File Returned to USCIS

[VanessaTony 3,567]

...I take everything with a grain of salt on this website.

If you take everything on this site with a grain of salt then why are you posting asking for advice? It would appear you would also take THAT advice with a grain of salt.

The simple truth is MENA countries are rife with fraud. You being older isn't the norm especially if you're past the age of being able to bear children. You only visited the once which for many countries shows a lack of commitment to the relationship. I don't know your religion or his but a difference there is also a red flag, and sometimes a conversion can look bad as well.

Is that fair? Not at all but these are the obstacles with MENA countries that you need to be aware of. Had you spent several months living with him and his family you would have been fine, even if it was just the one visit. Simply going there and getting married won't overcome the rest of the lack of relationship evidence and your red flags but it might help. Your best chance is to live with him for a couple of months in his country.

[rade2rising 205]

If you take everything on this site with a grain of salt then why are you posting asking for advice? It would appear you would also take THAT advice with a grain of salt.

The simple truth is MENA countries are rife with fraud. You being older isn't the norm especially if you're past the age of being able to bear children. You only visited the once which for many countries shows a lack of commitment to the relationship. I don't know your religion or his but a difference there is also a red flag, and sometimes a conversion can look bad as well.

Is that fair? Not at all but these are the obstacles with MENA countries that you need to be aware of. Had you spent several months living with him and his family you would have been fine, even if it was just the one visit. Simply going there and getting married won't overcome the rest of the lack of relationship evidence and your red flags but it might help. Your best chance is to live with him for a couple of months in his country.

one visit in 3yrs defintely doesn't help the situation either.

and to overcome this will be a major challenge but surely possible. hope you get good feedback from the attorney you will be seeing.

[mjswede 0]

I am a little confused? did you get the 221g or denied ?

He got the 221G. We submitted additional proof on June 22 in response to the 221G. I emailed the Embassy and did not get a reply after 1 week. I conatacted my Senator's office. They contacted the Embassy on July 16th and the Embassy responded on July 19th. I find it hard to believe they reviewed our proof between June 22nd and July 19th. The Embassy states that the petition has sent the petition back to the United States for review and possible revocation.

one visit in 3yrs defintely doesn't help the situation either.

and to overcome this will be a major challenge but surely possible. hope you get good feedback from the attorney you will be seeing.

We met online September 2009 and met in person July 2011. We are not quite at the 3 year mark. Thank you.

one visit in 3yrs defintely doesn't help the situation either.

and to overcome this will be a major challenge but surely possible. hope you get good feedback from the attorney you will be seeing.

We met online September 2009 and met in person July 2011. We are not quite at the 3 year mark. Thank you.

[pushbrk 12,898]

He got the 221G. We submitted additional proof on June 22 in response to the 221G. I emailed the Embassy and did not get a reply after 1 week. I conatacted my Senator's office. They contacted the Embassy on July 16th and the Embassy responded on July 19th. I find it hard to believe they reviewed our proof between June 22nd and July 19th. The Embassy states that the petition has sent the petition back to the United States for review and possible revocation.

We met online September 2009 and met in person July 2011. We are not quite at the 3 year mark. Thank you.

For the person who asked about 221g or denial, that same section (221g) is used for both soft denials that ask for additional documentation and for hard denials returned to USCIS. This case got both.

As far as USCIS and the Consulate are concerned, you have a one year relationship that started when you met in person. They give little, if any, consideration to anything that happened after that. You might as well stow all your thoughts and emotions about discrimination. They will get you nowhere. Your case fits a fraud scenario Ankara and other Consulates in region see multiple times every day. No matter how strong you think your evidence was, the only thing that really counts is the time spent together. Communication evidence does not overcome the red flags that associate your relationship with the common fraud scenario.

Be aware that the California Service Center will simply tell you the petition approval has expired and you're free to start over if you like. So, it really doesn't matter how long it takes to get the response. That's what it will be.

Edited July 23, 2012 by pushbrk

[rade2rising 205]

ok dear, what about going on a trip to see him sometime in the near future? I mean that can help you with your evidence...

[belinda63 3,038]

Some suggestions here, and remember each officer is different. I had only met my fiance once prior to him obtaining his visa but we included photos of us together with his family as well as chat logs, etc. I am nine years older than him and have three children which was a red flag as he was never married and no children. I believe it was the fact that we both traveled to Sweden to meet, which required action and money on our part, rather than just me flying to see him with no real action on his part, and my having met some of his family and having been accepted by them that really helped with our case. All I can say is good luck and document as much as you can. Make another trip, as hard as it is, and meet the family, neighbors, city mayor, people down the road,etc. and take lots of photos.

[Dumb/Dumber 61]

Thanks for the intelligent reply. My fiance is from Turkey. I am meeting with an expierenced immigration attorney on Wednesday. Any idea how long it will take our file to get back to the United States? It would not be wise for me to live in his village. I do not think they care much for foreigners. I thought we had a lot of proof for our relationship. I will go there and marry him if needed.

My husband's interview was January 12, 2012 and they received the petition in California on June 15, 2012. Returned for Review was all our 221G said.

[pushbrk 12,898]

My husband's interview was January 12, 2012 and they received the petition in California on June 15, 2012. Returned for Review was all our 221G said.

CSC will handle an I-130 return differently from how they handle an I-129F, because I-130 petition approvals do not "expire".

[KemalTuanaYalcin 16]

I contacted one of my senator's office last week and today I found out that our file is being sent back to USCIS.The Consular officer says that the relationship was entered soley for immigration. I have only seen him once in 3 years. We are trying to save our money for our future. He had his interview last month and was given a 221G form requesting proof of relationship. He brought hotel receipts, engagment ring receipt,emails, my phone log from my calling card and pictures to the interview. I thought that was enough. In response to the 221G we sent pictures, emails (about 65) , engagment ring receipt (again), envelopes from the mail I sent him.

The only possible red flag I can think of is that I am a lot older than him (about 17 1/2 years) We get along great and the age has never bothered us.

I plan to call USCIS tomorrow or Monday. I also plan on calling my representative in congress. I am doing the right thing by contacting USCIS? I am unsure what to do at this point. I am also considering hiring a lawyer but I thought I would contact USCIS first.

Has anyone else gone through this? What is my best course of action.

Thanks to all

Hi So sorry to hear about this. Unfortunately my fiance and I experienced something similar and I had actually gone and visited him about 5 times from when we first met to when he had his interview which was about a year and 1/2 total. At the time of our petition the requirement was a minimum of 1 personal meet in a 2 year period. I am not sure if that has changed or not. No, we were not out-right told that the reason he was not granted or issued a visa was because they thought he was in it only for immigration, however they state that they needed more evidence of the relationship. While you can contact your congress person for aid etc, the unfortunate fact is that they are really looking for concrete evidence of you both trying and wanting to spend time together, planning for a long term future together and wanting to be married to each other. Although you state that for financial reasons you decided not to see each other more over those three years, in their eyes, they may question how you plan for a long future together and have a solid enough foundation on which to build that future if you have only been together 1 time in those three years.

My suggestion to you is that before you spend the money for the attorney, that you do a few "free" consultations with several attorneys.That way you can get the professional opinion of several individuals to see if they concur that the primary issue is the lack of personal meet or something else. In addition, as the file is being returned to USCIS, do not be surprised if it takes 6-8 months for them to actually receive the file. You may want to consider exploring other options, going for visits, if you have not already done so, get letters from family members attesting to your relationship etc. Unfortunately however, if USCIS comes to the same or similar conclusion as the consulate, you may want to consider working on building your relationship more so from the stand-point of spending quality time together, in person, then re-petitioning. I will tell you that we provided much of the same documentation as you described, proof of phone conversations, video chats, letters mailed snail mail to each other, and other such pieces of what we felt were concerete pieces of proof or our relationship and still found ourselves in the same boat as you.

Anyway, just wanted you to know that you were no alone. If I can be of any help to you, please send me a private message. I know this can be dis-heartening, but do not give up. Just re-group, utilize as many resources as you can at your disposal and consider your options and alternatives and go from there. I wish you the best.

[evelyn1140 18]

I contacted one of my senator's office last week and today I found out that our file is being sent back to USCIS.The Consular officer says that the relationship was entered soley for immigration. I have only seen him once in 3 years. We are trying to save our money for our future. He had his interview last month and was given a 221G form requesting proof of relationship. He brought hotel receipts, engagment ring receipt,emails, my phone log from my calling card and pictures to the interview. I thought that was enough. In response to the 221G we sent pictures, emails (about 65) , engagment ring receipt (again), envelopes from the mail I sent him.

The only possible red flag I can think of is that I am a lot older than him (about 17 1/2 years) We get along great and the age has never bothered us.

I plan to call USCIS tomorrow or Monday. I also plan on calling my representative in congress. I am doing the right thing by contacting USCIS? I am unsure what to do at this point. I am also considering hiring a lawyer but I thought I would contact USCIS first.

Has anyone else gone through this? What is my best course of action.

Thanks to all

Sorry to ask this but why didn't you go to Turkey in the past 3 years. I understand you are trying to save money but turkey airfare is very cheap (January, October)

You have never been in Turkey ?

[KemalTuanaYalcin 16]

I looked for the answer here but could not find the answer. Does anyone know how long it takes a petion to be returned to the United States from the Embassy. I called UCIS and they do not have it. They told me I had to wait 120 days. Does that mean it takes 120 days for the file to be returned or do they have 120 days to review it?

Hi yes. It can take anywhere from 1 month to 12 I have seen in some curcumstances for the file to be returned to USCIS, then it has to undergo the review and the approval/denial. The 120 days that you were quoted is an approximate time frame for review once it has actually been returned and received by USCIS from the consulate. Although I understand you have valid points as to why you had limited time together etc, the truth of the matter is that they want to see above and beyond evidence of a bona fide relationship. As someone else mentioned above, one option to consider would be to marry there and move there temporarily if that is feasible for you then re-apply for an IR1-CR1. If not, another option would be to wait out the final decision of the review once it has been returned to USCIS. It is really more a decision of what works better in your particular situation.

As for contacting a representative, typically from what I have seen from others who have posted on this site is that they can assist with obtaining more clarity from the consulate as for the reason for the file being returned to USCIS but as far as assisting with getting the case approved, unless there was an administrative error or something along those lines, their reach for aiding you in obtaining the approval you are seeking can be rather limited.