Interviewed, house visited and still no decision 4 months after interview

[Dave&Judy 3]

Thanks Newbie 608

I am in the US. My friend, who went through the same situation, appealed the case on her own actually got it settled and they got approved. However, everything went pretty fast for them while it's dragging out for me. That's why I am even more confused and do not know if this is abnormal.

For my friends' case, they got separated at the interview. USCIS officers showed up at their place the next day with none of them presented at home. One of the roommate told the officers that my friend did not live there with her husband. The next day, they got called in the office, told that their case was denied and they had 30 days to appeal. It was like click click click. My case has been dragged out for more than 4 months and I do not know what is going to happen now. I am so worried. Do you know anyone who had to go through the same process as I do?

You already have example in front of you, Your friend.

So, how it went for your friend later?

Best advice is get immigration lawyer working with you before its too late, a really good one.

Did you post your interview experience? Do you feel any pointers those brought your case at this stage?

Keep posting, and in the mean time search for lawyer.

Still its not end of the world. You can appeal the decision(if they deny you) and then take it from there.

[Shiobhan 235]

Where was his clothes, drawers, shoes closet, men toys like stero & equiptment type,men toys, his screw driver or the

other litle thingys they keep in the garage or kitchen drawer, could U have called & said honey immigration is here, Y did U say he moved out? affter a fuss seem if he went to cool off a few days he would take a few items of clothings, so the marriage

is either over or a sham those officers must be thinking, U will get denied, so get an atty asap, before your situation fast foward into major problems.............have a heart to heart with him move him back in if theres hope.

[LlamaInvasion 76]

"Men toys" means nothing. I have more electronics, tools and "men toys" than my husband AND his male family members combined. Clothes, pictures, maybe, but the fact is, they arrived for the house inspection, and OP's husband was not living there. That's bad, regardless of what else was there.

Jim has excellent advice, lawyer up.

[Cathi 5,793]

Where was his clothes, drawers, shoes closet, men toys like stero & equiptment type,men toys, his screw driver or the

other litle thingys they keep in the garage or kitchen drawer, could U have called & said honey immigration is here, Y did U say he moved out? affter a fuss seem if he went to cool off a few days he would take a few items of clothings, so the marriage

is either over or a sham those officers must be thinking, U will get denied, so get an atty asap, before your situation fast foward into major problems.............have a heart to heart with him move him back in if theres hope.

you do know lying to USCIS carries serious consequences, don't you?

[aaydrian 479]

A lawyer may be your best bet but your case seems doomed. I say that because:

1) You both were interviewed separately

2) A house visit revealed that you & your husband don't live together [your admission].

3) Vietnamese are more scrutinized because of a history of immigration fraud.

I noticed that I didn't see where you said that since this incident occurred you and your husband have reconciled and now cohabitate? If not then if and when you have to return home (Vietnam) it's because:

a) Your marriage to a USC from the beginning was for immigration benefits only.

b) Your marriage (genuine or not) to a USC no longer appears to exist and you adjusting status successfully would only be for immigration benefits.

[easydoesit 6]

To the OP: Was there any other things that may have been considered "Red Flags" in your case? Since you were interviewed separately, they may have been suspicious from the start. Did the interview end poorly? What would have caused them to be suspicious? Are you living together again now? I don't know how you could expect that this be approved if you don't intend to live together, unless there's a very good reason for the separation.

[Shiobhan 235]

Not saying she should have lied, but all couples have spats, so if it escalated until he had to go to uncles house a few days

inspection should produced proofs of his residence then & there even mails,then to call him & say they're there would have

beenn an opportunity to make up when he showed up, to tell them he moved out says its over.

[Wakey86 12]

I don't mean to be hyper-critical, but this statement is a bit naive. They have every right to make any sort of judgement they want to. In fact, it's their job to make judgements. Adjustment of status is a discretionary benefit, and it's their job to root out fraud. They can ask any question they want. They can make any accusations they want. They can be as rude as they want. They can do practically anything short of taking you into a dark room and beating you with a rubber hose. As distasteful as these tactics are, the fact is that they have been found to be effective. People will often give up information they've been hiding when they feel intimidated, and when you're the subject of a fraud investigation then they want you to feel intimidated.

They came to your house because they suspected your relationship was a sham. The fact that your husband was not living with you confirmed their suspicions. A follow up interview is a possibility, but at this point I doubt if it's needed. They have enough information now to deny your application. If you're lucky then the denial letter will come by mail, and include a notice that you've been placed in removal proceedings for material misrepresentation. If you're not so lucky then the denial letter will be delivered by an ICE officer who will take you into custody.

Your case has taken a serious nosedive, and you need professional legal help now. This isn't like your friend's case where neither of them were home and a roommate said something stupid. They came to your house and you confirmed that your husband wasn't living there. Of all of the things they could have found that would have been proof of a sham marriage, the only thing they could have found that would have been more compelling would have been a signed confession. You'll have a very narrow window to file a motion to reopen after the denial is issued. A lawyer should be working on that motion now.

[Wakey86 12]

JimVaPhuong

I thought this was a place where people could voice their opinion and give support to those who need it- and by the way you were being hyper-critical (as you called it) by labeling my comment as "Naive"- I was voicing my opinion. And as much as the USCIS officers have the "RIGHT" to say what they want, that doesn't make it fair or true.

As an African I feel for the couple because I understand how we folk in this continent are viewed by some people- unfortunate but true.

[akihon 129]

JimVaPhuong

I thought this was a place where people could voice their opinion and give support to those who need it- and by the way you were being hyper-critical (as you called it) by labeling my comment as "Naive"- I was voicing my opinion. And as much as the USCIS officers have the "RIGHT" to say what they want, that doesn't make it fair or true.

As an African I feel for the couple because I understand how we folk in this continent are viewed by some people- unfortunate but true.

But the thing is, you think that the USCIS officials care about the emotional side of a relationship. They don't, and they have no reason to.

Their right to judge everything is just that - they judge your marriage at face value, at first glance, and it does not extend beyond that.

For you to say that what they say is not fair nor true is you appealing to the emotional side of things and assuming that they care about what you think of your marriage.

They don't care about what you think your marriage is. They only care about what THEY think your marriage is.

They never ask you how you feel about your husband/wife. For a reason. They don't care.

Edited September 4, 2012 by mebbe

[him4life 13]

wow even if they are denying the case why take so long in sending out the denial letter? i wonder wats the holdup, they must have a difficult task trying to make a decision, usually denial letters comes in the same time frame as an acceptance letter would

[Sandra G. 5,075]

They have the right to question,doubt and deny.Pray for the best, prepare for the worst.Good luck.

[yourtearsblack 0]

To the OP: Was there any other things that may have been considered "Red Flags" in your case? Since you were interviewed separately, they may have been suspicious from the start. Did the interview end poorly? What would have caused them to be suspicious? Are you living together again now? I don't know how you could expect that this be approved if you don't intend to live together, unless there's a very good reason for the separation.

At the time of the interview, we were honest to them that we did not live together at that time because he was in school. He moved in with me around May. And since we were planning to move into our own home around the end of this year, we have most of his stuffs in the storage. The fight was a huge one for our cultural gap, but we managed to keep this marriage alive. He moved back in with me now. I just do not know if they will show u again or that will be it for us.

JimVaPhuong

I thought this was a place where people could voice their opinion and give support to those who need it- and by the way you were being hyper-critical (as you called it) by labeling my comment as "Naive"- I was voicing my opinion. And as much as the USCIS officers have the "RIGHT" to say what they want, that doesn't make it fair or true.

As an African I feel for the couple because I understand how we folk in this continent are viewed by some people- unfortunate but true.

I can totally feel it. falling in love and getting married to an African seems to be totally fortunate to me until this thing happened. I felt wrongly treated but well, as people said, USCIS has the right to be rude as long as they think they are working for the truth.

[yourtearsblack 0]

Not saying she should have lied, but all couples have spats, so if it escalated until he had to go to uncles house a few days

inspection should produced proofs of his residence then & there even mails,then to call him & say they're there would have

beenn an opportunity to make up when he showed up, to tell them he moved out says its over.

It was a huge fight regarding the cultural differences. So, he decided to move to his uncle. He moved in with me not too long ago since he has just got done with school. we still have all his stuffs in the suitcases because we were planning to move to a smaller apartment as well. So, when he left, he took his suitcases. I do have some of his clothes, pictures, but the officers said that every "fraud marriage" provides the same kind of evidence.

[Wakey86 12]

But the thing is, you think that the USCIS officials care about the emotional side of a relationship. They don't, and they have no reason to.

Their right to judge everything is just that - they judge your marriage at face value, at first glance, and it does not extend beyond that.

For you to say that what they say is not fair nor true is you appealing to the emotional side of things and assuming that they care about what you think of your marriage.

They don't care about what you think your marriage is. They only care about what THEY think your marriage is.

They never ask you how you feel about your husband/wife. For a reason. They don't care.

WOW,ouch! Well that's too sad. I think I'm being misunderstood in all this- I'm not saying how the USCIS officers should feel/behave/react I'm saying we don't see things the same way- they look at the logical evidence no matter what the emotional situation is. It's their job to be analytical and very critical about everything. I'm just saying I wish they could look deeper...which they don't.

Edited September 5, 2012 by Wakey86