K1 Visa Denied In Lagos

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Have your fiance write down everything of the interview word for word as best as she can remember. Was the interupter someone you know ? There must be some clue as to why they think your relationship isn't bonefide. What did they ask her and how did she respond ? Did they do a field visit and someone say something wrong ? Being the petition is from California and a K1 most likely they will declare it expired and you won't get a change to get details. You could push through a second K1 right at the end of the original expiration of approval date . It causes them to review the old K1 and NOID the new one if you didn't cover the issues from petition 1.

[Jahwaree 83]

Yo bro , U only lost a round but you will win the war....keep that positive attitude.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

I advice against another K1. You could end up in the same place twice. CR1's will be reviewed and most likely be reaffirmed.

Do the CR1 to carry more punch with it this time around.

[2HeartsR1 1]

I am sorry to hear of your delay Gowon. God has the final say! I know you and your fiance must be deeply disappointed and frustrated. I am sure you put together a meticulous record of your relationship. I know you contacted your senators, Have you contacted your congressman? My I-130 was recalled back by CSC, and my congressman's office began contacting CSC the 1rst day they received my request. Of course he was up for re-election too, but the woman who is working on it has been very responsive and helpful. I hope your delay is not a long one...I know it is hard.

[Vicomi 31]

Gowon, I've got no advice to offer. However, I'm shocked and saddened to hear this is the outcome of your fiance's interview. So keep strong and carry on. Hope you will be reunited soon your lady. God Bless (F)

[chikings 27]

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

This is unreal!! I am praying that your Queen finds all the support, comfort and love from her family until you two can be togther. I know your on it!! Your plan sounds great. No need to tell you to keep at it because there is no other option for you but to prevail and turn this around in your favor as it should all ready be!! Anything I can do. Just let me know. Even if it's just to bounce ideas of off.

This is truly heartbreaking... If they truly, truly, knew what they were doing... It's sad...

Peace,

Chi

[feli114 65]

I am truly saddened to hear this. From reading your questions and following your dialogues on here, I just expected to see you with an approval. Lagos Embassy should really be ashamed. You have complied with their requests, and that should be what they focus on. People deserve the chance to be together after all of this. I wish you luck in your pursuit of happiness.

[Dana and Divine 61]

Thanks Guys.

Action Items So Far:

I already faxed the release of information forms to my Two Senators in California. One Senators office stated that they haven't received the fax (I'll call back as I have the confirmed page) and the others Senators office said they got my fax and they will get back to me within 2 to 3 weeks

Other Stuff:

The hardest thing for me is that I am not there to console my Fiancee but I told her to be strong and that this is a process. I feel let down by my adopted country somewhat. I followed the rules, filed out all the forms, paid all the fees, waited in line, was courteous throughout the process and the end result is a generic form letter to an approved petition. I know it's a priviledge and not a right but I have fulfilled all of the requirements that a reasonable person will know about. I mean how does one go about proving a "bonafide relationship", more than all we have been doing for the past year?

Lawyering up is not in the cards at the moment but I will do all I can from here with filing out more forms, calling etc, I am looking for any guidance on that. Other than the Senator stuff, what else can I do? I emailed the Embassy again but I think they are closed.

It' so frustrating.

If all else fails then I will get married in Nigeria when I go home next year but I want to pursue this petition fully first.

Thanks for listening.

So sorry for hearing about this brother. I would feel betrayed as well. I do believe they are going to wait until you marry her in order to approve the petition because she is female and they feel your wife will need her family present for marriage, traditional or not. I do wish you both all the best and hope you are able to have your Senator's move this forward for you.

Do you believe your fiancee answered confidently and well? Did she need a translator that might not have relayed her direct tone when delivering her answers (you know body language is very important), or did she speak for herself? I just don't know. Truth is, we can all guess at 1000 things that could have gone wrong and we'd never get to the bottom of it. Did she state what the CO looked liked or the CO's name?

Praying for you both.

[Karee 4,190]

We've seen this alot in recent years, especially at Lagos. Simply filing for a CR-1 visa will not resolve the issue. You need to find out somewhow (apparently it doesn't seem easy at that consulate) exactly why they thought the relationship was not bonifide. If you don't overcome that hurdle, they will just deny the CR-1 for the same reasons. I would try to get as much information as possible about questions asked at the interview, and what she thinks the red flags might have been.

[memlaura 60]

Gowan I am so sorry to hear this I really thought you would have no issues with this process. There has to be a way to fix this system and make this process better for the people living it daily, I agree with everyone else it is probably better to go and get married there and re file I130, If your heart was set on marring here have a second ceremony here when she gets her. That is what we are going to do since my family wasnt at my wedding there... I know it will work out for you and you will be together soon stay strong...

[del-2-5-2014 1,339]

After much emailing activity with the Embassy I got this:

"Thank you for your inquiry.

Immigrant visa applicants must demonstrate that they have a bona fide qualifying relationship with the petitioner and that they are not pursuing such a relationship solely for immigration purposes. Specifically, as a K1 applicant, XXX needed to show that she was the legitimate fiancée of you, the petitioner.

Our records indicate that XXX was as interviewed on November 7, 2012 and was asked a number of questions about her relationship with you. She was also given an opportunity to present documentation, photographs and other evidence to substantiate her case. The Consular Officer who conducted the interview determined that the applicant was unable to provide sufficient evidence of the required bona fide relationship. Accordingly, the Consular Officer returned the petition to the Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS/USCIS) with a recommendation to revoke the petition. In most cases DHS/USCIS will not contact you, the petitioner, because of the short validity period of K-1 petitions. You are free to file a new petition for XXX to immigrate as your spouse. Any further inquiries regarding the processing of the current case may be directed to DHS/USCIS. Contact information can be found at www.uscis.gov.

Please be assured that the Consular Officer made the decision based on U.S. immigration law. Under Section 205 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, an approved petition can be revoked if there is good and sufficient cause (ref. INA, Pub. L. No. 82-414). Both the BIA and Federal Courts have long recognized that a fraudulent or sham relationship is a valid basis for revocation if entered into for the primary purpose of circumventing the immigration laws [ref. Bark v. INS, 511 F.2d 1200 (9 Cir. 1975); Lutwak v. U.S., 344 U.S. 604 (1953)]. Circumstantial evidence can justify the revocation so long as it meets the ‘good and sufficient cause’ standard [ref. Matter of Soriano, ID 3081 (BIA 1988); Matter of Estime, ID 3029 (BIA1987)]. In XXX case, the Consular Officer’s decision was not made arbitrarily or without sufficient cause. Please note further that the beneficiary The decision of the Consular Officer is final; it is not our policy to refer cases to other Consular Officers or supervisors.

Thank you."

Okay so the evidence that she presented was as follows:

All the requried forms

Letter from my employer

3 years of tax return

Photographs of us on two trips to Nigeria, pictures of me with her family, her with my family

Personalized license plate of her name on my car

Rebtel and AT&T phone record , daily calls at least 3 times a day since April 2011

Snail mails

Receipt of package shipments between the two of us

I am not sure what else she could have presented. But she was at the mercy of the intepreter so who knows.

I;m just insulted personally that I was accused of havinga sham relationship. I mean this allegation if proven has considerable penalty to me as a USC and it shouldn't be thrown around carelessly like this particular CO did.

Just wanted to update you Guys. I've purchased my flight and I'll be doing the Spousal visa as "they" recommend, so we'll see what they have to say next time.

[Karee 4,190]

After much emailing activity with the Embassy I got this:

"Thank you for your inquiry.

Immigrant visa applicants must demonstrate that they have a bona fide qualifying relationship with the petitioner and that they are not pursuing such a relationship solely for immigration purposes. Specifically, as a K1 applicant, XXX needed to show that she was the legitimate fiancée of you, the petitioner.

Our records indicate that XXX was as interviewed on November 7, 2012 and was asked a number of questions about her relationship with you. She was also given an opportunity to present documentation, photographs and other evidence to substantiate her case. The Consular Officer who conducted the interview determined that the applicant was unable to provide sufficient evidence of the required bona fide relationship. Accordingly, the Consular Officer returned the petition to the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS/USCIS) with a recommendation to revoke the petition. In most cases DHS/USCIS will not contact you, the petitioner, because of the short validity period of K-1 petitions. You are free to file a new petition for XXX to immigrate as your spouse. Any further inquiries regarding the processing of the current case may be directed to DHS/USCIS. Contact information can be found at www.uscis.gov.

Please be assured that the Consular Officer made the decision based on U.S. immigration law. Under Section 205 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, an approved petition can be revoked if there is good and sufficient cause (ref. INA, Pub. L. No. 82-414). Both the BIA and Federal Courts have long recognized that a fraudulent or sham relationship is a valid basis for revocation if entered into for the primary purpose of circumventing the immigration laws [ref. Bark v. INS, 511 F.2d 1200 (9 Cir. 1975); Lutwak v. U.S., 344 U.S. 604 (1953)]. Circumstantial evidence can justify the revocation so long as it meets the 'good and sufficient cause' standard [ref. Matter of Soriano, ID 3081 (BIA 1988); Matter of Estime, ID 3029 (BIA1987)]. In XXX case, the Consular Officer's decision was not made arbitrarily or without sufficient cause. Please note further that the beneficiary The decision of the Consular Officer is final; it is not our policy to refer cases to other Consular Officers or supervisors.

Thank you."

Okay so the evidence that she presented was as follows:

All the requried forms

Letter from my employer

3 years of tax return

Photographs of us on two trips to Nigeria, pictures of me with her family, her with my family

Personalized license plate of her name on my car

Rebtel and AT&T phone record , daily calls at least 3 times a day since April 2011

Snail mails

Receipt of package shipments between the two of us

I am not sure what else she could have presented. But she was at the mercy of the intepreter so who knows.

I;m just insulted personally that I was accused of havinga sham relationship. I mean this allegation if proven has considerable penalty to me as a USC and it shouldn't be thrown around carelessly like this particular CO did.

Just wanted to update you Guys. I've purchased my flight and I'll be doing the Spousal visa as "they" recommend, so we'll see what they have to say next time.

That sucks! At least you have your answer from them. Go crazy with the pictures when you go to get married. Look at the bright side. You wont have to deal with adjustment of status when she comes here, as she'll get a 2 year green card right off the bat. You'll definitely want to start reading up here to speed through the NVC steps for the CR-1 visa:

http://www.visajourn...he_NVC_ShortCut

Sorry this happened to you.

Edited November 9, 2012 by Karee

[Ben and Jill 37]

I'm sorry you are going through this, Gowon. I wish you the best with the spouse visa, and I pray all goes smoothly with that.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Circumstantial evidence can justify the revocation so long as it meets the ‘good and sufficient cause’ standard [ref. Matter of Soriano, ID 3081 (BIA 1988); Matter of Estime, ID 3029 (BIA1987)]. In XXX case, the Consular Officer’s decision was not made arbitrarily or without sufficient cause.

What circumstantial evidence meets the good and sufficient cause standard is the question.

I bet it is just Lagos way of saying nope not today...try again.

You can try to have that explained deeper through a good and persistent senator or representative.

You can file a FOIA to make them explain their so called factual reasoning they are to abide by.

I was told by my CO she had a "gut feeling" as her refusal reason when I asked her. Gut feelings aren't in the memo of any law and regulation. It plainly states in the link what is good reasoning and what isn't.

http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_1388.html

[del-2-5-2014 1,339]

Circumstantial evidence can justify the revocation so long as it meets the 'good and sufficient cause' standard [ref. Matter of Soriano, ID 3081 (BIA 1988); Matter of Estime, ID 3029 (BIA1987)]. In XXX case, the Consular Officer's decision was not made arbitrarily or without sufficient cause.

What circumstantial evidence meets the good and sufficient cause standard is the question.

I bet it is just Lagos way of saying nope not today...try again.

You can try to have that explained deeper through a good and persistent senator or representative.

You can file a FOIA to make them explain their so called factual reasoning they are to abide by.

I was told by my CO she had a "gut feeling" as her refusal reason when I asked her. Gut feelings aren't in the memo of any law and regulation. It plainly states in the link what is good reasoning and what isn't.

http://travel.state....grams_1388.html

I already filed FOIA

Even though I may continue to proceed with their suggestion I intend to keep alive the old petition.

Not sure why they can't just say "Hey good buddy, maybe we called this one too fast, why don't yah all come on by and lets chew on this for a bit and see if we can't figure something out".

My coworkers are all upset (they were hoping they would be done with hearing my special ring tone for my baby when she calls in the office, now they have to listen to it for another 9 months or so ) I have 11 of them ready to sign sworn affidavits that they are aware of my relationship with her

Edited November 10, 2012 by Gowon