K-i denied in Nigeria

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

We also used his cousin, who lives in the USA, as a sponsor. He works in a nuclear medicine facility in Texas. His income is very lucrative (but he is verrry tight with his money, understandably) The point is, we jumped every hoop they asked us to. Clean bill of health, spotless police record, proof of financial responsibility, all fees paid, received a wavier of meeting, notarized letters from our families, I could go on and on. The system is BROKEN. yes, we will continue down this road, and play this stupid game, because we have no choice. We are dedicated to each other. But it makes me sick that my own country is doing this. Land of the free, home of the brave- a country built on the idea of immigration. This system is a JOKE.

Most US citizens think immigration of loved ones is a right and it isn't. That is why we must petition for the privilege to have them interviewed for a visa. Because some countries are more fraud ridden than others we must pass different levels of scrutiny in the process. Very few people from Canada would lie for the chance to live in the US. West Africans have a lot of people that dream of life here and will stop at nothing for a chance. We all pay the price for the bad behavior of a few. I too am a member of the once denied in Lagos crowd. So I have been there done that. The system is what it is, and is far from perfect. Legimate couples spend years trying to get their point across and some fraudsters slide through without a bump only to leave their USC crying to USCIS ' I have been duped, help rid me of this evil' after being the one that started the whole mess. Most people believe it is impossible to really know someone without meeting and spending face time. You should do everything you can to show you tried your hardest to do this. Failing that you should do everything you can to show you understand his culture. How close are you to his sponsor ? If you have never met the man it is yet another red flag. Don't get postal on me but here is what the CO is probably seeing

A woman in the US that has a condition that makes her partially disabled is befriended by a Nigerian with a well to do relative who doesn't have a petitionable relationship to the Nigerian. They never met, she doesn't understand Nigerian culture. They look at the statistics of such a relationship and smell a runner in the making. You failed to disprove it to them. What other red flags are you dealing with ? Are you white ? Older? Previously married w/wo kids ?

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Unfortunately Nigeria is a high fraud country and they try to weed out the scammers as you know already.

A bona fide was not established without meeting. The waiver was approved. Post has the last say on it, that is the way the system is set up.

Though CO's are not to re-adjudicate an approval their dicretionary authority trumps the approval.

However...this is where the "broken" comes in, if a petition has been returned with recommendation to review and it is not reviewed due to the fact that neither the CO nor CSC wants to extend the validity and actually do the requested review, then that's plain and simple messed up. It is sitting in storage and then simply denied.

Furthermore it is "broken" due to irrelevant assumptions and speculation by CO's without factual evidence and solid substantial reasons.

You qualify for the class action with the approved waiver so just go that route until you have saved money saved up to meet.

I understand your frustration. It has been 3 years for us as well.

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

i went to the embassy yesterday ,i was denied the visa at the lagos embassy in Nigeria....

Consulate:This is the letter they gave to me ..This Office regrets to inform you that it is uable to issue a visa to you because you have failed to convince the consular officer that your relationship with the petitioner is Bona fide ..You case will remain pending under section 221(g) of the immigration and nationality act while it is return to the national visa center for their review ..When their review is complete,they will contact the petitioner who will then have the opportunity to respond.. If the case is reaffirmed,we will contact you to set up a new appiontment date..If the case is not reaffirmed,the petitioner will be notified and the national visa center will close the case

Please do anyone know how long it will take for the case to be forwarded back to National Visa Center,and do we have to continue with the K1 visa or my finacee can come down for the marriage here or she can come for the second time..Please somebody should advice please...Thanks

Was it a Lady of dark complexion?

I really appreciate all the information,encouragement and kindness you have all shown me. Part of the pain in this process, is feeling so alone- feeling like no one understands. Most of the time I feel like I am screaming in the wind, and no one cares. Thank you all soooo much. We wont ever give up, and I know it is going to be a long hard road, it already has been for the last 3 years. We will continue to fight to be together, and help change the system. I wish that people would realize that in this computer and digitized world, it is so easy to meet people from other countries. It shouldn't be this hard to be with the one you love. THANK YOU AGAIN TO ALL OF YOU. AND BEST OF LUCK!!!! KEEP UP THE FIGHT!!!

Trust me, I understand where you're coming from.

Hang in there.

[OlasKween 3]

Most US citizens think immigration of loved ones is a right and it isn't. That is why we must petition for the privilege to have them interviewed for a visa. Because some countries are more fraud ridden than others we must pass different levels of scrutiny in the process. Very few people from Canada would lie for the chance to live in the US. West Africans have a lot of people that dream of life here and will stop at nothing for a chance. We all pay the price for the bad behavior of a few. I too am a member of the once denied in Lagos crowd. So I have been there done that. The system is what it is, and is far from perfect. Legimate couples spend years trying to get their point across and some fraudsters slide through without a bump only to leave their USC crying to USCIS ' I have been duped, help rid me of this evil' after being the one that started the whole mess. Most people believe it is impossible to really know someone without meeting and spending face time. You should do everything you can to show you tried your hardest to do this. Failing that you should do everything you can to show you understand his culture. How close are you to his sponsor ? If you have never met the man it is yet another red flag. Don't get postal on me but here is what the CO is probably seeing

A woman in the US that has a condition that makes her partially disabled is befriended by a Nigerian with a well to do relative who doesn't have a petitionable relationship to the Nigerian. They never met, she doesn't understand Nigerian culture. They look at the statistics of such a relationship and smell a runner in the making. You failed to disprove it to them. What other red flags are you dealing with ? Are you white ? Older? Previously married w/wo kids ?

This is why I think the system is broken. (and by the way, I am not upset with you, or anyone else on here, I am just conversing:) ) #1- we wouldnt have sham marriages if it wasnt so hard to move here in the first place. Think about this: a person from another country wants to move here. He/she fills out the required forms for identification, gets a medical report, a clean police record and gets the necessary immunizations, etc. I think if she can prove that she has enough to live on (for say 6 months?) or an amount specified by the govt, or someone here to sponsor her, she should be able to IMMIGRATE HERE. Why should she have to be married, or the child, or parent or sibling of someone here? Why should she have to jump through all the hoops, and pay so much money to come here? This country is built on the idea of a refuge for those who want to be free. AM I CORRECT?? "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. " Most people who want to come here want to IMPROVE things. I say that- if you can prove who you are, that you have means to provide for yourself (or a sponsor), have a clean bill of health, NO trouble with the law, you should be able to come. If you get here and you dont like it, go back!! Make it a law that they will NEVER be eligible for assistance from the govt. Make it a law that if they come here to GET married, then if they are EVER divorced from that person, they go back home. Make it a law that if you have suspected terrorist contacts, or such, you will not be admitted. But for heaven's sake, there are good people everywhere. Stop destroying peoples hopes and dreams. People work years to come to an interview, and in a few minutes, your world it torn apart. We need some kind of straight forward laws- not this mamby- pamby stuff of, "do everything we tell you an pay all the fees, and we will talk to you for 10 minutes, and if we are in a good mood that day, we MIGHT let you through. . . oh, and we wont refund your money if you don't, but you can refile, and maybe next time we wont accuse you of being a scammer." That is a broken system. If people could work hard, save the money, and get themselves here- THEY WOULDNT BE MARRIAGE-SCAMMING. I will work till my dying day to get this system changed, because it is plain, flat out WRONG.

[OlasKween 3]

Unfortunately Nigeria is a high fraud country and they try to weed out the scammers as you know already.

A bona fide was not established without meeting. The waiver was approved. Post has the last say on it, that is the way the system is set up.

Though CO's are not to re-adjudicate an approval their dicretionary authority trumps the approval.

However...this is where the "broken" comes in, if a petition has been returned with recommendation to review and it is not reviewed due to the fact that neither the CO nor CSC wants to extend the validity and actually do the requested review, then that's plain and simple messed up. It is sitting in storage and then simply denied.

Furthermore it is "broken" due to irrelevant assumptions and speculation by CO's without factual evidence and solid substantial reasons.

You qualify for the class action with the approved waiver so just go that route until you have saved money saved up to meet.

I understand your frustration. It has been 3 years for us as well.

I hear your frustration also. I will go ahead with the lawsuit. Thank you for pointing out some of the systems flaws, and I agree totally, but I also think there are a lot of other "broken parts" to this system. I just wrote about it in my reply to NigeriaorBust if you care to read it and tell me what you think. Thanks for your support.

[OlasKween 3]

Was it a Lady of dark complexion?

Trust me, I understand where you're coming from.

Hang in there.

Thank you

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

I hear your frustration also. I will go ahead with the lawsuit. Thank you for pointing out some of the systems flaws, and I agree totally, but I also think there are a lot of other "broken parts" to this system. I just wrote about it in my reply to NigeriaorBust if you care to read it and tell me what you think. Thanks for your support.

Yes, I read it Olaskween and I agree with you that the system is broken on the USCIS review side and the CO refusal side.

There are no check and balances, no one to hear our side, they are going against their own regulations and laws and want us to refile. Nice income for their department.

No one can understand what it feels like to be accused of a non bona fide relationship unless they are standing in those shoes.

It is a slap in the face.

You can message me anytime to keep in touch ~ I feel your pain.

[OlasKween 3]

Yes, I read it Olaskween and I agree with you that the system is broken on the USCIS review side and the CO refusal side.

There are no check and balances, no one to hear our side, they are going against their own regulations and laws and want us to refile. Nice income for their department.

No one can understand what it feels like to be accused of a non bona fide relationship unless they are standing in those shoes.

It is a slap in the face.

You can message me anytime to keep in touch ~ I feel your pain.

thank you friend

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

This is why I think the system is broken. (and by the way, I am not upset with you, or anyone else on here, I am just conversing:) ) #1- we wouldnt have sham marriages if it wasnt so hard to move here in the first place. Think about this: a person from another country wants to move here. He/she fills out the required forms for identification, gets a medical report, a clean police record and gets the necessary immunizations, etc. I think if she can prove that she has enough to live on (for say 6 months?) or an amount specified by the govt, or someone here to sponsor her, she should be able to IMMIGRATE HERE. Why should she have to be married, or the child, or parent or sibling of someone here? Why should she have to jump through all the hoops, and pay so much money to come here? This country is built on the idea of a refuge for those who want to be free. AM I CORRECT?? "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. " Most people who want to come here want to IMPROVE things. I say that- if you can prove who you are, that you have means to provide for yourself (or a sponsor), have a clean bill of health, NO trouble with the law, you should be able to come. If you get here and you dont like it, go back!! Make it a law that they will NEVER be eligible for assistance from the govt. Make it a law that if they come here to GET married, then if they are EVER divorced from that person, they go back home. Make it a law that if you have suspected terrorist contacts, or such, you will not be admitted. But for heaven's sake, there are good people everywhere. Stop destroying peoples hopes and dreams. People work years to come to an interview, and in a few minutes, your world it torn apart. We need some kind of straight forward laws- not this mamby- pamby stuff of, "do everything we tell you an pay all the fees, and we will talk to you for 10 minutes, and if we are in a good mood that day, we MIGHT let you through. . . oh, and we wont refund your money if you don't, but you can refile, and maybe next time we wont accuse you of being a scammer." That is a broken system. If people could work hard, save the money, and get themselves here- THEY WOULDNT BE MARRIAGE-SCAMMING. I will work till my dying day to get this system changed, because it is plain, flat out WRONG.

Bravo.

Yes, I read it Olaskween and I agree with you that the system is broken on the USCIS review side and the CO refusal side.

There are no check and balances, no one to hear our side, they are going against their own regulations and laws and want us to refile. Nice income for their department.

No one can understand what it feels like to be accused of a non bona fide relationship unless they are standing in those shoes.

It is a slap in the face.

You can message me anytime to keep in touch ~ I feel your pain.

I hear you.

So this is my take.

A CO in Nigeria, by giving my Fiance a 221(G) - for non bona fide relationship, has just basically accused me, then tried me and convicted me of a potential felonious crime of commiting an act of immigration fraud and then they denied me my due process of the law. Oh, then they happily told me that I wouldn't be given any opportunity to appeal

Let's think about that for a minute.

[OlasKween 3]

Bravo.

I hear you.

So this is my take.

A CO in Nigeria, by giving my Fiance a 221(G) - for non bona fide relationship, has just basically accused me, then tried me and convicted me of a potential felonious crime of commiting an act of immigration fraud and then they denied me my due process of the law. Oh, then they happily told me that I wouldn't be given any opportunity to appeal

Let's think about that for a minute.

Yes, i feel your pain. It is one of the most painful things i have ever gone through. Hang on, we will get there.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Around 9 million people apply for the DV lottery each year. If you opened the gate to these people and their family and everyone that doesn't qualify for the lottry because they are not from a DV lottery country or don't have the required minimum education we would have over 10 million new residents probably closer to 25. Our country can't handle than type of population surge, yes at one time when the US wasn't a country yet or when it was a young country we had to room/resources for any that wanted to come. But we don't. Even if we restricted the immediate immigrant their children would soon take down the support systems of every state. It is in the governments interest to protect it's current residents. Most places have to put controls on their immigration and they try to do it in a far mannor. Maybe to be fair and make sure that they don't become public burdens we should limit immigration to people that hold masters or phd's in stem related degrees. Eliminate all visas unless you can pass the educational test. No more family, no work, no dream act until you prove you are qualified for educationally. Immigration rules could be much worse than they are. They don't need to be easier. Times are not the same as when we were a young and growing nation. We have past those times. We have hit the age of decline and need to perserve our resourses as such. We no longer need the masses of people to clear the land and build the base of the society. The world has change and the ideal immigrant in the view of what the US needs has changed. Your banner of send me your tired and poor is from an age where women wore corsets and were resigned to a life of bearing children and housework.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

They believe the beneficiary will fool the USC and the USC has no idea of the scammers motivation. They believe the USC

is taken advantage of.

To a certain extend that does happen. The USC never saw it coming and they are shocked when it does happen as we all have seen here. ####### happens.

However, I am a grown a$$ woman capable of making my own decisions, conduct my own back ground searches and investigations about someone and suffer my own consequences without whining to the USCIS about it later crying "deport him, deport him".

The gov needs to stay out of that choice UNLESS they have factual evidence. That is the law. Period. Surely our gov is capable to investigate appropriately during the long AP months and then state a factual reason and opportunity of rebuttal.

This cut and dry denial without factual evidence is wrong.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Bravo.

I hear you.

So this is my take.

A CO in Nigeria, by giving my Fiance a 221(G) - for non bona fide relationship, has just basically accused me, then tried me and convicted me of a potential felonious crime of commiting an act of immigration fraud and then they denied me my due process of the law. Oh, then they happily told me that I wouldn't be given any opportunity to appeal

Let's think about that for a minute.

Not being allowed to appeal is most un-American. Even murderers are given the chance to appeal within the American justice system!

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

If there was indeed something fishy going on then they should give us the reason of factual evidence and I sure as heck would tell them thank you for your findings and for not issuing the visa.

I do not need 'protecting' from my gov for my choice of a well checked out beneficiary WITHOUT FACTUAL EVIDENCE and only due to speculation. That is my mantra. Where is the justice and logic in their thinking. I am tired of hearing that it is a privilege and not a right. It should be my right as a USC to live in my country with my choice of mate that has been checked out in detail for 16 long months in AP and no facts have been found other than a CO's "I don't know it's just a gut feeling."

Vent over.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Around 9 million people apply for the DV lottery each year. If you opened the gate to these people and their family and everyone that doesn't qualify for the lottry because they are not from a DV lottery country or don't have the required minimum education we would have over 10 million new residents probably closer to 25. Our country can't handle than type of population surge, yes at one time when the US wasn't a country yet or when it was a young country we had to room/resources for any that wanted to come. But we don't. Even if we restricted the immediate immigrant their children would soon take down the support systems of every state. It is in the governments interest to protect it's current residents. Most places have to put controls on their immigration and they try to do it in a far mannor. Maybe to be fair and make sure that they don't become public burdens we should limit immigration to people that hold masters or phd's in stem related degrees. Eliminate all visas unless you can pass the educational test. No more family, no work, no dream act until you prove you are qualified for educationally. Immigration rules could be much worse than they are. They don't need to be easier. Times are not the same as when we were a young and growing nation. We have past those times. We have hit the age of decline and need to perserve our resourses as such. We no longer need the masses of people to clear the land and build the base of the society. The world has change and the ideal immigrant in the view of what the US needs has changed. Your banner of send me your tired and poor is from an age where women wore corsets and were resigned to a life of bearing children and housework.

Then limit or do away with the lottery and place some value and priority on family or change the laws instead of playing games. Make laws...no more K1's so we are all clear and don't waste 4 years abiding by regulations, paying fees, crossing every t and dotting every i chasing after freaking rain bows.