I-129F Denied :(

[AdetteAdette 1]

We got denied after our 'Lawyers' only sent in the one form, waited 5 months for the decision, we were devastated, so we put in again with all the correct paperwork and got approved!

[Vicomi 31]

HI MJ, You have been given very good advice by members and I agree that this is a great site!! So I'll only add what I have not read yet... You can also get additional advice on You-tube on how to file. Take time to research and especially check out helpful hints eg the best photographic evidence to submit, letters of intention, etc. My Fiance and I took a week to put together the petition and evidence eg photos, email and so on. I can imagine the frustration as it sounds that you and your partner have invested a lot in your relationship. So my humble advice would be is to do your research, get your evidence whilst waiting for this letter and take it from there. Good luck with your re-application.

[feli114 65]

Just gather all your documentation now and take your time. You need pics of you 2 together, copies of ur passport and stamps, passport photos of both of you. I wish you luck and read through your country specific forum.

[afoyoswa 178]

I've noticed on the USCIS status updates that some petitions get rejected outright for not being properly filed, while others (like the OP's) get put away for adjudication and then denied later. The OP's petition would seem to be a classic example of not being properly filed: why wasn't it rejected right away?

[TigerFlower 61]

Hello Mike, nice to 'meet' you.

I would wait for the actual paper arriving in the mail to see the details. If it is an actual denial, refile using this site and it's very helpful guide. Don't waste money on an attorney, and above all.... don't give up!! There are many members on here with heartbreaking stories, but in the end they find a way and are together

[MangoAve 25]

I hate to be harsh, but, the instructions on the I-129F are clear. If you only sent that form and money, not only you wasted money, you wasted time. Yes, I can assure you that's why you're denied. You must fill out all the forms and send evidence of having met in person within 2 years. So, if you haven't seen her in 2 years prior to filing, you must return to her home country and gather evidence of meeting her within that timeframe. Becareful with using western union receipts as evidence as it may look like a business transaction.

You will have to refile and spend more money and wait more time.

Actually I disagree that they are clear. The instructions do say proof of having met within the past two years, but its quite obvious how people interpret this differently. Look at previous posts and you see how some included very little and others put a lot; both were approved. Form part C, question 1, I have heard of people getting an RFE for having it blank. But it seems it could be read as "if.....blah blah blah". Therefore if you don't even meet any criteria you don't even bother to answer it. Not even with an 'N/A'. Another example would be "were you ever convicted of a crime? Y N" and the next question was "did the conviction result in prison time?" (just an example). If you answered No to the first part, why would you even bother putting something in for the second part?

[M J 11]

Thanks for all the replies.

I will wait to get the letter, but I am pretty sure the denial is due to not enough info.

So it looks like my best bet will be to refile. Now since I filed once, then do a completely new I-129F submission, there won't be any issues? It should not be too hard to get the info needed. The big hassle will be for her G-325 with signature, and passport style pics.

[dwheels76 5,468]

Well Mike it will be okay. You have gotten great advice here. Be real clear on the circumstances of your meeting. I have read quite often now people getting RFE because they didn't do that or didn't explain in more detail (this K1 seems more indepth than the spousal Visa goodness).

And keep this on your mind and in your heart, because this process is long and requires alot of patience.

Delayed but not denied.

[Pitaya 2,577]

Worst part is that I do not know why yet. It's been almost 5 months and I received an email yesterday just telling it has been denied and I should receive a letter explaining why. So needless to say I'm freaking out. At first I had no clue why, but after looking through this site, I think I might know. I pretty much only filled out the I-129F form and mailed that in with the fee, nothing else. I figued once the backgroud checks were done they would ask for more info for the interviews. I called USCIS 3 different times and talked to 3 different people asking them what I needed to do, and they all said the only thing I need to do is fill out the I-129F form and mail it in. They also mentioned the requiremens to be eligable, but that was it. I talked to a couple lawyers also, but they wanted a few thousand dollars to handle it. I did not get the letter yet, but should in the next couple days. I don't know why I did not find this site before when searching online. It came up now in my google searces on what to do about a visa denial.

So what are my options? Should I get a lawyer?

My background... My Fiance is from the Philippines, and I have known her for 5 years now. I have been supporting her for the past 4, I helped her go back and finish highschool, and she is now in her 3rd year of college. Originally we were going to wait for her to finish college, but I figured it would be better for her to finish here (USA) and get used to the culture, language, and build a network through school. I have a lot of (daily) chat logs from Yahoo, Skype, and emails. I also have a lot of Western Union receipts and Xoom online history of me sending her money. I have visited her and met her family 2 times now and gave her an engagement ring. We are both eligieble to marry and have no criminal background. Also neither one of us have been married before, or have any kids.

I thought I might be asked for clarification or more info, but I did not expect to be denied. Would not providing enough info or documentation result in a denial? I guess worst case is that there is something in her background check that came up, but knowing her as long as I have, I would be very surprised. I feel foolish now if it is just because I did not provide enough info. I waited a few months before mailing the form while trying to make sure it was all I needed.

Thanks for any advise.

Sorry I did not introduce myself. My name is Mike... hello everyone.

Welcome to the forum.

To give a comment now based only upon a non-specific email message is merely speculation, and can only cause more anxiety. You should wait until you carefully read the letter when you receive it. Your proper course of action will determined by the contents of that letter.

Good luck on your visa journey.

[Kimbear 53]

Calling a senator or congressman cannot help. USCIC are not answerable to elected officials.

If you get the letter from them, and you are indeed denied, your best option is to refile, following the guides and enclosing all the bits and pieces necessary to support your petition. Read the guide, you will find it is a valuable tool.

Welcome to Visa Journey. If you have questions, or need help, you have come to the right place. This website is the absolute best.

I'm pretty sure they can help, they have dedicated people in their office for immigration. We got help, back whern we got an NOID (notice of intent to deny) due to a mistake my lawer made. yes i did fire him and foudn this stie. the Senator was able to tell us the reason for the NOID as USCIS refused to tell me or the us citizen or even my lawyer what the issue was. Long story short, uscis screwed up abjudicating my i-129f, technically there was an error that should have resulted in an RFE sent out to me, but they never did that. they sent it off to NVC who refused it as they saw immediately it was not abjudicated properly. Thus uscis got it back, and immediately tried to deny it. If i did not contact my senator we would not have found out what the issue was, what we could do to recitify it and prevent it from being denied. Due to his help, we were able to fix the mistake and immediately courier our reply to them and get our petition reinstated and processed properly. It did delay us a few months but it was salvaged.

However this worked for our peition. It might not be easy for others, but you wont know if you dont try. All it takes is for a us citizen to conact his congressman/ senator and get an answer as to what exactly is the problem.

[Kimbear 53]

Actually I disagree that they are clear. The instructions do say proof of having met within the past two years, but its quite obvious how people interpret this differently. Look at previous posts and you see how some included very little and others put a lot; both were approved. Form part C, question 1, I have heard of people getting an RFE for having it blank. But it seems it could be read as "if.....blah blah blah". Therefore if you don't even meet any criteria you don't even bother to answer it. Not even with an 'N/A'. Another example would be "were you ever convicted of a crime? Y N" and the next question was "did the conviction result in prison time?" (just an example). If you answered No to the first part, why would you even bother putting something in for the second part?

my proof was a simple 2 line sentance and a bus ticket from Canada to Chicago. That simple.the trick if you will is intepretting it to mean IN PERSON, face to face, with proof. beit a pic or a passport stamp showing you were in the same city.

Edited August 1, 2012 by Kimbear

[nealxette 4]

Thanks for all the replies.

I will wait to get the letter, but I am pretty sure the denial is due to not enough info.

So it looks like my best bet will be to refile. Now since I filed once, then do a completely new I-129F submission, there won't be any issues? It should not be too hard to get the info needed. The big hassle will be for her G-325 with signature, and passport style pics.

Ask your fiancee to fill up the form and send it to you the earliest time possible. You can help her in answering the form when you video chat. Ask her to send it via express mail or fedex. Good luck!

[rayandmel 39]

A Congressman/ Senator COULD help if the problem was different, HOWEVER, the OP clearly stated all he sent was an I-129f form and a check.

Not being rude, but he did not follow the instructions and no Congressional help is going to fix that.

MJ, I am sorry this happened to you, but maybe you could try the following: When we filed, I printed the instructions for filing from USCIS site so I would have it in front of me to make notes on it, and mark off what was done. I went step by step and did what the instructions said. When I got to a part that was N/A for me, I took a black marker and scratched that section out. It helped me to stay focused. I then printed the instructions from this site (as well as examples of the Letters etc) and cross referenced what I had done according to the USCIS site.

USCIS will not send and RFE for that much missing stuff. It is the government. They don't have to by nice. If that much stuff if missing they will just deny you and you will have to re-file. I am so sorry they waited so long to let you know.

If the reason for your denial is that you did not send the correct items, it is a timely but do-able fix. I wish you luck and hope it all works out for you.

[Sunnyland 639]

Hi. Sorry to hear your petition was denied. Thanks God that did not happened to us but you never know in these cases, as others said to you already maybe the reason was that you did not submit enough info about your relationship. You alwasy have to submit all the info that you can to prove that your relationship is REAL and not a scam or anything else. We sent all kind of proof (like 20 photos, copies of chat talk, emails, tickets etc).

I must say that this site is awesome, we found out this site just before we were gonna send the form i-129F with the evidence , etc and you have no idea how useful was the help offered here.

Hope you can re open your case and start all over again. We never needed a lawyer and sometimes using a lawyer is a waste of time and money as they charge you a lot and still make big mistakes.

Stick to Visa Journey site and you both will be fine. Good luck!

Edited August 1, 2012 by Chris & Isa

[DouglasFiel 53]

Calling a senator or congressman cannot help. USCIC are not answerable to elected officials.

If you get the letter from them, and you are indeed denied, your best option is to refile, following the guides and enclosing all the bits and pieces necessary to support your petition. Read the guide, you will find it is a valuable tool.

Welcome to Visa Journey. If you have questions, or need help, you have come to the right place. This website is the absolute best.

Had a long reply typed and lost it....

Bottom,,, line They ARE responsible and responsive to the elected offfials.

The elected officials make immigration law and they fund the immigration activities.

I have Senatorial assistance twice in the past. The results were immediate.

If you have a legitimate issue they will act and USCIS will respond.

By the way one of the issues was needing advanced parole for emergency travel,,, was at the

San Antonio, TX USCIS office with no appt. USCIS stated could not help. Called Senator's office

and in 30 mins someone from the back office of USCIS came down, processed the advanced parole.

Guess YMMV.

My two cents,,, (albeit borrowed from China)

Regards,

dc