Denied Tourist Visa to the US... What now??

[AmericanExpat 18]

Expat I am with you dude you knows what you are doing so proceed and plz do report back your experiences in detail. good lucky buddy.

Thanks. Situations change in a few days it seems. Now I'm glad I filed the I-130, i'm getting stuck with going back to the US for the next 3 years. I love the military!

[AmericanExpat 18]

So, things change overnight it seems. Gotten called back from inactive status, and have to report for duty by Jan. Since I filed the I-130, once it's received, I can request expedited processing from NVC or USCIS right?

Only other docs I need are;

I-864

1040

DS 230

Medical

Police Report

Anything I'm missing?

[NikLR 13,227]

http://www.visajourn...tent/i130guide1 and http://www.visajourn...p/EZGuideSpouse

The USCIS is the part that approves or denies your petition. You can only apply for a military expedite if you are being deployed. You can try if you're not, and may get expedited by the USCIS, I've read posts of people doing so, but you generally need proof for the NVC part. BTW, did you remember to send the G-325A forms and photographs with your petition?

The NVC processes your affidavit of support (poverty guideline is lower for active military) and your wife's visa application. She will need a police certificate or report from every country she's lived in for longer than 1 year.

Do citizens of Malaysia always need a visitor visa to visit the USA? If so then your wife will need one if you want her to visit you in the USA and she will have to prove then and to homeland security that she is only visiting and isn't trying to stay. This was your main problem to begin with so I wish you luck with it. I've never needed a visitor visa as I'm Canadian. But I still bring proof of strong ties to my country when I go visit my husband.

Edited November 20, 2012 by NikiR

[AmericanExpat 18]

http://www.visajourn...tent/i130guide1 and http://www.visajourn...p/EZGuideSpouse

The USCIS is the part that approves or denies your petition. You can only apply for a military expedite if you are being deployed. You can try if you're not, and may get expedited by the USCIS, I've read posts of people doing so, but you generally need proof for the NVC part. BTW, did you remember to send the G-325A forms and photographs with your petition?

The NVC processes your affidavit of support (poverty guideline is lower for active military) and your wife's visa application. She will need a police certificate or report from every country she's lived in for longer than 1 year.

Do citizens of Malaysia always need a visitor visa to visit the USA? If so then your wife will need one if you want her to visit you in the USA and she will have to prove then and to homeland security that she is only visiting and isn't trying to stay. This was your main problem to begin with so I wish you luck with it. I've never needed a visitor visa as I'm Canadian. But I still bring proof of strong ties to my country when I go visit my husband.

So I can contact them to try to get expedited first then? My unit wouldn't inform me if we're being deployed, but it could be since they canceled my inactive status... or they could just be under strength. Yes, sent in the G-325A forms and photographs.

She went today to apply for the police certificate, should get that back within 2 weeks or so.

Yes, unfortunately. Malaysians need a visitor visa to visit the USA. They need it for Canada also, and Canada just moved their embassy department for visas to Singapore (even though Singapore is a VWP country).

With the 1-130 approved, there is no longer a visa required right? Greencard holders don't require a visa since they are permanent residents correct?

[rade2rising 205]

yea you qualify for expedite dude this is great news.

[AmericanExpat 18]

yea you qualify for expedite dude this is great news.

Hope so. Think so, but have to wait and see. I don't think I can even request until they have sent me back the NOA thing.

[Stephen + Elisha 92]

With the 1-130 approved, there is no longer a visa required right? Greencard holders don't require a visa since they are permanent residents correct?

I-130 is the first step in obtaining an IR-1 or CR-1 (if you've been married less than 2 years) immigrant visa. USCIS adjudicates the I-130 petition, then sends it over to the Department of State for visa processing. NVC handles document intake and schedules the consular interview, ultimately culminating in issuance of an immigrant visa that will confer permanent resident status (green card) immediately upon entry to the US.

[jaycali 415]

Hope so. Think so, but have to wait and see. I don't think I can even request until they have sent me back the NOA thing.

If you're a resident in Malaysia, and you used your Malaysian address in the I-130, chances are your petition will be 'auto-expedited.' This mysterious process doesn't exist according to the USCIS if you call them. However, a trend in the last year or so has been that I-130 petitions filed by US citizens living in the beneficiary's country get a fast track through the USCIS - By fast track I mean 2 - 3 weeks between NOA1 and NOA2.

There will still be a visa. The I-130 is a petition to allow your wife to apply for an immigrant visa.

Edited November 20, 2012 by Jay Jay

[NikLR 13,227]

If you're a resident in Malaysia, and you used your Malaysian address in the I-130, chances are your petition will be 'auto-expedited.' This mysterious process doesn't exist according to the USCIS if you call them. However, a trend in the last year or so has been that I-130 petitions filed by US citizens living in the beneficiary's country get a fast track through the USCIS - By fast track I mean 2 - 3 weeks between NOA1 and NOA2.

There will still be a visa. The I-130 is a petition to allow your wife to apply for an immigrant visa.

Currently due to the sending of petitions to the NBC, most of the new approvals from them have not been auto-expedited or from petitions from foreign addresses. If the petition goes to California or Vermont it could be auto expedited, but it's not guaranteed.

Edited November 20, 2012 by NikiR

[NikLR 13,227]

So I can contact them to try to get expedited first then? My unit wouldn't inform me if we're being deployed, but it could be since they canceled my inactive status... or they could just be under strength. Yes, sent in the G-325A forms and photographs.

She went today to apply for the police certificate, should get that back within 2 weeks or so.

Yes, unfortunately. Malaysians need a visitor visa to visit the USA. They need it for Canada also, and Canada just moved their embassy department for visas to Singapore (even though Singapore is a VWP country).

With the 1-130 approved, there is no longer a visa required right? Greencard holders don't require a visa since they are permanent residents correct?

You can try for an expedite, BUT it might not happen unless you can get a letter stating you're being deployed. But it might, you can try after you receive your NOA1. From what I've researched on VJ, (which isn't much, but you can search yourself as well ) people seem to get the USCIS stage expedited without much trouble but don't get the NVC stage expedited without a deployment letter.

When the I-130 petition is approved then you pay the fees and send in the affidavit of support. At that point you can pay your wife's visa fee and she then sends in (or you send in with her signature) the DS-230. That is the visa application. She still needs a visa, just not a tourist visa. With the IR1/CR1 visa, she will get a 10 or 2 year green card that will allow multiple entries BUT she needs to keep living in the USA. She cannot live in Malaysia longer than she is living in the USA. They stamp your passport with the visa first and then will send her the green card after she moves to the USA.

Did either of you check how long the police certificate is good for? In some countries it's not valid after a month or two and with some it's valid up to a year. It needs to be valid at the time of her interview which could be up to a year from now.

**Edit** You may want to start a new thread in the Spouse immigration forum if you have more questions: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/110-ir-1-cr-1-spouse-visa-process-procedures/

Edited November 20, 2012 by NikiR

[VanessaTony 3,567]

With the 1-130 approved, there is no longer a visa required right? Greencard holders don't require a visa since they are permanent residents correct?

Yes and no.

The I-130 that you filed is a PETITION for a spousal visa. The visa is called a CR-1 (if married less than 2 years) or IR-1 (married more than 2 years). First you will receive the receipt, also referred to as NOA1 which doesn't mean anything except they've received it.

Your wife will actually do the visa application part, do the interview (you will have to check with other people who went through Malaysia about whether they let USC's attend.. not all do). Once she has her visa approved she will enter the US and get an I-551 stamp (GC stamp) in her passport. She should receive her actual card, greencard, in around a month or less. If she ticks the box on the DS-230II to get the SSN then she should be mailed the SSN as well. She can also go to the SSA and apply for one.

Also, her visa will be issued in the name on her passport, and her GC will be issued in the name on her visa. I've read some people asking for different but I'm not sure how that works. So, if she hasn't changed her passport already (if she's taking your name), she should.

[JP and Tee 13]

from what I know, if you're with the military, unless the US citizen is getting deployed to the middle east (iraq/afghan), then chances for an expedite is quite slim.

I have a tourist visa which I got BEFORE I got married to my US citizen husband. My husband is in the military (living in the us, me in Malaysia) so we thought we would try for the expedite. He emailed the US Embassy in KL, asking for the I-130 petition to be expedited. My husband will be PCS-ing to another US state next year, but the embassy staff said unless it is in the middle east/war zone, then we basically had no need for the petition to be expedited.

you can try, email and ask them but you and your wife might have to go through the usual way which is apply, do the interview then once you get the visa, go to the US (within six months).

A friend who tried to get the tourist visa after she was married got rejected twice.

[AmericanExpat 18]

from what I know, if you're with the military, unless the US citizen is getting deployed to the middle east (iraq/afghan), then chances for an expedite is quite slim.

I have a tourist visa which I got BEFORE I got married to my US citizen husband. My husband is in the military (living in the us, me in Malaysia) so we thought we would try for the expedite. He emailed the US Embassy in KL, asking for the I-130 petition to be expedited. My husband will be PCS-ing to another US state next year, but the embassy staff said unless it is in the middle east/war zone, then we basically had no need for the petition to be expedited.

you can try, email and ask them but you and your wife might have to go through the usual way which is apply, do the interview then once you get the visa, go to the US (within six months).

A friend who tried to get the tourist visa after she was married got rejected twice.

I'll be following your journey 'JP and Tee'! Same countries, military too... only difference is I am in Malaysia (for now). Wonder how you got your NOA so fast, and we're still waiting. Must be the holiday...

[JP and Tee 13]

I'll be following your journey 'JP and Tee'! Same countries, military too... only difference is I am in Malaysia (for now). Wonder how you got your NOA so fast, and we're still waiting. Must be the holiday...

Saw your msg and have responded! Hope it helped!

[hellINTIM 9]

from what I know, if you're with the military, unless the US citizen is getting deployed to the middle east (iraq/afghan), then chances for an expedite is quite slim.

I have a tourist visa which I got BEFORE I got married to my US citizen husband. My husband is in the military (living in the us, me in Malaysia) so we thought we would try for the expedite. He emailed the US Embassy in KL, asking for the I-130 petition to be expedited. My husband will be PCS-ing to another US state next year, but the embassy staff said unless it is in the middle east/war zone, then we basically had no need for the petition to be expedited.