Returning Petitions to the United States via 221g

[yassmine2878 1]

Do any of the rest of you have to deal with not being able to talk too much about work? If so, how does your spouse handle it? How do you handle it? This is the first time I've had to really deal with this since I've been single most of the time I've worked here, and Mustapha never cared about my work so he didn't ask questions or talk to me about it. Also, I didn't have the same level of responsibility when I was married to him that I have now.

I know exactly where you are coming from. I cant tell my honey the specifics of my job either. No names, no places, no dates, no nothing. It can be quite frustrating, especially when you are trying to relate a humourous story from work. (Such as encountering a client lacking the sense God gave a shovel.) Once you get past the language hurdle, then you have to omit half the identifying information, and throw in the fact that he doesnt exactly understand what I do for a living anyway, and you're left with a blurry afterimage of what used to be a story so funny you almost wet yourself laughing when it started. All this explaining, without really explaining anything after all. It like saying you have twelve toes, sometimes you'd rather just keep your shoes on.

I get hit from both sides, too. I also have immediate family with a security clearance so strict, they're not even allowed to speak with foreign nationals. It can make for trying times when it comes to keeping the lines of communication open.

But Ahmed is pretty understanding about it. His mastery of English improves rapidly and there will come a day when he will be able to put 2 and 2 together and not feel like he has been (unintentionally) left out of the loop. I suspect the same will be true for your SO, given a little time and patience.

[iceyspots 0]

Jen..

the reason why the priority is favorable to k-1s are because, the goverment has heads up on whom you are bringing over to marry. when you marry withou their knowledge they get pissed off about. they dont have warning so they pentalize us. bottomline the goverment can not play cupid.

K-1 are non-immigrant visas, marriage visas are immigrant visas. It's the categories that they are in that makes the difference.

[iceyspots 0]

Add me to this bandwagon too!

NO MORE EVIL CO'S WITH CASA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[yassmine2878 1]

By the by... add me to the list. Im all for it! Anything we can do to raise awareness of the problem in Casablanca and, hopefully, prevent it from happening in the future.

[ELW 5]

This issue should definately be PINNED! It is too serious to get buried away! If this happened to any one of us here, we would panic and need as much info as possible readily available.

[~kiyah~ 14]

Alhamdulillah! You have pulled an old post out of its grave, shukran! Yes, this should be pinned!

There is a lot of information ... very basic but vital information that anyone who is faced with this issue needs to know. There is no "guide" pinned anywhere on this site regarding this issue.

We continue to see this happening constantly, and I have noticed more and more from other consulates, not just Morocco. Also, it's not just happening to K1s...it's happening to them all, CR1, K3. This information does need to be placed where people can find it, it can actually help someone who has no idea of where to turn or what to do, or even what to expect.

I would be more than happy to create a summarization or guide of what you can do and what you can expect when faced with this issue. Of course this is not legal advice, I am not a lawyer...it is however straight from research and experience of my own and others whom I know have gone through and are currently going through this return process.

I will post here some basic 'what to expect' information...maybe it can help.

Here is what is happens when a petition is returned:

• 221(g) is issued to beneficiary at conclusion of the interview stating the application and/or petition is being returned to the United States.
  
• Petition is returned to the United States by the interviewing consulate for "further review" in what is called a diplomatic pouch.
  
• Returned petition is received by the NVC. It is reviewed and entered into the fraud database by fraud management.
  
• Returned petition is sent to the local service center where the petition was originally filed.
  
• Local service center receives returned petition.
  
• Local service center who processed the original petition sends a notice of receipt to the petitioner.
  
• Local service center reviews the returned petition and consular officer notes on the case.
  
• Local service center then sends either a NOID (Notice of Intent to Deny) or NOIR (Notice of Intent to Revoke) to the petitioner also asking for more proof of the relationship, many cases have specific consular objections to rebut.
  
• Petitioner is given 30-60 days from date of NOIR/NOID (depending on the service center) to respond with additional evidence of the relationship or other specific evidence. The timeframe to respond will be provided in the letter.
  
• Local service center receives evidence...if in the timeframe given (30-60 days) the case is reviewed and either reaffirmed or denied.
  
• If the petition is denied the local service center sends the petitioner an 'official' denial letter. This can be be appealed if the denial letter states such.
  
• If the petition is reaffirmed the local service center sends the petitioner an official notice of reaffirmation.
  
• Local service center sends the reaffirmed petition AND its evidence provided in the rebuttal directly to the consulate along with a recommendation to issue a visa.
  
• Consulate notifies the beneficiary of a new interview date.
  
• Beneficiary has interview for the reaffirmed petition and the visa is either issued, or the case in placed in Administrative Processing which after cleared a visa is issued, or worst case scenario it is denied via 221(g) and returned again to the USCIS.
  

What can you do immediately when faced with this issue:

• Immediately have the beneficiary send a scanned copy of the 221(g) issued.
  
• Contact the consulate directly (immediately) and attempt to have the petition reviewed by the senior consular before it is returned.
  
• If you are unable to get through to the consulate on the phone, contact them via email, and if you're mail has a "read verification" use it.
  
• Contact your congressman/senator, get them involved immediately. You will need to sign a release form giving them permission to make an inquiry on your behalf.
  
• Provide your congressman/senator with as much information as possible about your case, the interview, and the result.
  
• If your congressman/senator is top notch, they will not just send an email or letter to the consulate, they will call on the phone and try to get the petition reviewed again before it is sent back.
  
• If they are not successful, they can request the diplomatic pouch number the petition is being returned in. This number will allow you to track the petition until it is received by the local service center.
  

If the petition is returned, you are in for a wait. The diplomatic pouch the petition is returned in is sent from embassy to embassy picking up other returned petitions along the way. It could take up to 2 or 3 months for it to be received by fraud management at the NVC...then the NVC has the petition for about 1 month before sending it to the local service center where it was originally filed. One thing to also know is that returned petitions do not take priority...they are reviewed in the order they are received...that is after new petitions have been processed.

What you can do in the meantime while you wait:

• Continue contacting the consulate to get an actual reason for the return...not the blanket "validity of relationship" response.
  
• Stay in contact with your congressman/senator, they can assist you in getting the actual reason for denial.
  
• Immediately file a Freedom Of Information Act request for the Department of State asking specifically for the consular notes on your returned petition: DOS FOIA
  
• Immediately file for a Freedom of Information Act request for the USCIS asking for the same specific consular notes on your returned petition: USCIS FOIA
  
• Continue to document your relationship, emails, letters, phone bills, visits to their country, etc.
  
• Be ready for the opportunity to rebut the consular findings.
  
• Contact a good immigration attorney...preferrably one who has experience in returned and denied petitions.
  

Now, there are some differences between returned fiance petitions and marriage petitions. The K1 is especially at risk due to the expiration of the original approval, many returned K1s are not given the opportunity to rebut, they receive a notice telling them their K1 has expired and may file again at any time...this is why the FOIA is so important. You need to know the exact reason the petition was returned, just filing again is a huge risk if you do not know why the petition was returned in the first place.

While the K3 does have an expiration date also, they are treated more seriously. I have not known anyone who has had a returned K3 not being given the opportunity to rebut. Obviously the CR1 does not expire. Still, it is very important to file the FOIA, not every service center will tell you exactly what the consular office findings or objections to issuing the visa are. Some people are only asked to provide more evidence of their relationship.

Ok, sorry for the long post, but this is very important info that the USCIS or the consulate will ever give you...moreover, this is the information that needs to be pinned.

~Kiyah~

Edited for typos...I hate typos

Edited January 8, 2007 by Kiya

[maggieNomar 0]

Wow Kiyah, you are amazing. If there were a hand clapping yellow guy I'd sure give him to you here. Bless you for taking the time to help those who have been screaming for help.

[mybackpages 0]

Wow Kiyah, you are amazing. If there were a hand clapping yellow guy I'd sure give him to you here. Bless you for taking the time to help those who have been screaming for help.

From Maggie (and all of us) to Kiyah

[~kiyah~ 14]

Don't just thank me...there are many including me whose experience and research made the lists above possible.

I hate it when I read of more returns, it breaks open the old wound and it hurts all over again. I get angry and sad to know, really know how they feel when it happens to them.

I pray that this can at least give some hope and help to anyone this happens to. I pray they can reach a peace in their heart, have patience with this process, have the strength to stand up for their relationship, and know they are not alone.

I can tell you this, Chi, Morocco4Ever, and all the others I know who have gone through this have litterally been a God send. I really don't know what I would have done without them.

~Kiyah~

[morocco4ever 63]

I sure understand when you say it opens old wounds. Every time I hear of another return I just get sick for them because I know exatly what they are feeling. When ours was returned I searched everywhere on returned petitions, with no success. After several months I finally ran into a couple of people who had had theirs returned as well. From them I learned where to start.

We really need this pinned. Its not fair that Kiya has to post the same thing over and over again. We can not pretend it doesn't happen, it does, and it seems to be increasing. What do we need to do to recognize this horrible situation so that those facing it don't have to wait for those of us who know has time to go into detail. Kiya has spelled out the process very well in spite of her lack of time. The detail behind each step is quite involved. People have questions above and beyond this list. I hate to see it buried so no one can find it.

[Ban Hammer 13,337]

I sure understand when you say it opens old wounds. Every time I hear of another return I just get sick for them because I know exatly what they are feeling. When ours was returned I searched everywhere on returned petitions, with no success. After several months I finally ran into a couple of people who had had theirs returned as well. From them I learned where to start.

We really need this pinned. Its not fair that Kiya has to post the same thing over and over again. We can not pretend it doesn't happen, it does, and it seems to be increasing. What do we need to do to recognize this horrible situation so that those facing it don't have to wait for those of us who know has time to go into detail. Kiya has spelled out the process very well in spite of her lack of time. The detail behind each step is quite involved. People have questions above and beyond this list. I hate to see it buried so no one can find it.

if it does not get pinned, an idea is bookmarking this thread or saving the info as a text file so when someone asks you can either copy and paste from the text file or open the bookmark and bump the thread.

[Ta Ta 1]

Please Captain Ewok... we need this pinned. It can affect anyone and is valueable

information.

[limah 1]

Thanks 100000000000000! To kiya and all of the others that are putting information in here to help us. I have done osm eof the things that youve posted here. I know you can understand how helpful it all is. There is not a day that goes by where I am thinking to myself, is there something more I should be doing.

I emailed the DOS, or composed the letter for the FOIA, and they told emailed me back saying that it is a 3rd party request since it was about my husband. So he wrote a letter, mailed it to me giving me consent to request any infromation about his case. Am I missing something with this? I havent heard anything back yet.

I gotta say, that diplomatic pouch thing is for the birds!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No wonder it takes so long!

Thanx again. You are more of a help than you know, and very modest! You too, MAGGIENOMAR, for passing on my info!

God bless you!

Limah

Edited January 8, 2007 by limah

[~kiyah~ 14]

Thanks 100000000000000! To kiya and all of the others that are putting information in here to help us. I have done osm eof the things that youve posted here. I know you can understand how helpful it all is. There is not a day that goes by where I am thinking to myself, is there something more I should be doing.

I emailed the DOS, or composed the letter for the FOIA, and they told emailed me back saying that it is a 3rd party request since it was about my husband. So he wrote a letter, mailed it to me giving me consent to request any infromation about his case. Am I missing something with this? I havent heard anything back yet.

I gotta say, that diplomatic pouch thing is for the birds!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No wonder it takes so long!

Thanx again. You are more of a help than you know, and very modest! You too, MAGGIENOMAR, for passing on my info!

God bless you!

Limah

You are right, the diplomatic pouch part of this process is for the birds...also thrown into the mix is that Morocco does not send these petitions back right away even though the "guidelines" tell them how important it is to send returned petitions back in a timely manner.

I have heard of them sitting on them for longer than 1-2 months. My own petition sat there for nearly 6 weeks before it actually got sent back. Very frustrating to say the least, knowing you're in for a wait AND knowing the consulate just made it longer by sitting on it before sending it back.

~Kiyah~

[limah 1]

I dont even want to think about it!