Should I Retain a Lawyer?

[THETIMEISNOW 37]

Hello VJ Family! I really need your help. I filed a K-1 petition in 2006 and basically was bounced around for 3 years. In September 2009, I relocated to Senegal and married my hubby. Due to complications with my pregnancy, I returned to the U.S. in July 2011. My husband filed for a B1/B2 visa so that he could be with me during the delivery of our child, but was denied. I am concerned that since we have filed for two different visas, that it will cause complications with our CR1/IR1 process. Should I retain an immigration lawyer or do you I have a good chance of filing the petition on my own?

[The Mean Lady 604]

neither of these previous applications are reason for you to get a lawyer

obviously you have experience filing so you should be able to do it again

and if you have any questions, ask away!

[Segers2012 1]

Filing two visas??? That's probably why he got denied. Once you start the K1 visa, you can't file for any other visa. You could go to the nearest US Embassy and talk to them. If you don't want to deal with that and prefer an attorney (if you got the $$$) then go for it.

[The Mean Lady 604]

Filing two visas??? That's probably why he got denied. Once you start the K1 visa, you can't file for any other visa. You could go to the nearest US Embassy and talk to them. If you don't want to deal with that and prefer an attorney (if you got the $$$) then go for it.

the visitors visa was filed five YEARS after the fiance.

i dont see how these denials could be related due to that

[THETIMEISNOW 37]

neither of these previous applications are reason for you to get a lawyer

obviously you have experience filing so you should be able to do it again

and if you have any questions, ask away!

THANKS, KDH!!!

[Andy and Pui 16]

Hello VJ Family! I really need your help. I filed a K-1 petition in 2006 and basically was bounced around for 3 years. In September 2009, I relocated to Senegal and married my hubby. Due to complications with my pregnancy, I returned to the U.S. in July 2011. My husband filed for a B1/B2 visa so that he could be with me during the delivery of our child, but was denied. I am concerned that since we have filed for two different visas, that it will cause complications with our CR1/IR1 process. Should I retain an immigration lawyer or do you I have a good chance of filing the petition on my own?

When you filed the k1 back in 2006 is this the same person you are filing for now? Was there an interview or what happened with the k1? If there was an interview and it was denied you might need to look into the reason why it was denied. Depending on what happened with the pervious k1 you may or might not need a lawyer.

Edit: Because I am not good typing.

Edited January 11, 2013 by Andy and Pui

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Filing two visas??? That's probably why he got denied. Once you start the K1 visa, you can't file for any other visa.

That is not true. You can be petitioned for/ file two different visas (even though in this case it wasn't at the same time). You just cannot HOLD two different visas. Ie if the person had a B2 tourist visa, and got approved for a K1 fiance visa, the B2 would be cancelled.

OP, you should be fine. There is nothing wrong with you guys having filed 2 visas before, though you should look into why the K1 was bounced around for so long- for example if it was for security/ name checks, that will likely happen again. If it was because they doubted your bondafide relationship, your being together for so long and living together and having a child should make this time around quicker.

[ndu26 114]

having filed for B1/B2 visa does not exclude you from filing an immigrant visa, just that one has to be foregone and since he was denied anyway, i dont see what the problem is. Like others have said, investigate into what happened to the k1. Considering the time frame, I am sure it has automatically been cancelled but you still need to knw what was the reason for the delay when you had it in process.

Honestly unless ones case is full of so many twist and turns, I think attorneys are making a feast from people. so if your case is straight forward enough, do it yourself but seek direction whenever you found yourself confused. so many people are willing to help out here.

[THETIMEISNOW 37]

That is not true. You can be petitioned for/ file two different visas (even though in this case it wasn't at the same time). You just cannot HOLD two different visas. Ie if the person had a B2 tourist visa, and got approved for a K1 fiance visa, the B2 would be cancelled.

OP, you should be fine. There is nothing wrong with you guys having filed 2 visas before, though you should look into why the K1 was bounced around for so long- for example if it was for security/ name checks, that will likely happen again. If it was because they doubted your bondafide relationship, your being together for so long and living together and having a child should make this time around quicker.

Here is some additional info concerning the K1 Visa petition. These are the responses that I received from the U.S. Embassy (all were via email; I never received a letter) concerning my husband's (then fiance's) case. I do not know if the his visa was ever denied; this is why I say that we were bounced around for 3 years before getting married. Please offer any suggestions:

Responsed on 5/2/07 VIA EMAIL after hubby's interview on 4/24/07:

Dear Ms. Petitioner,

During the interview stage of the immigrant visa process, consular officers have to review approved petitions to confirm that the requisite family relationship, on which the petition is based, exists. Mr. Beneficiary could not provide any convincing evidence of his relationship with you, and could not answer basic questions regarding the relationship. As a result, the consular officer referred his case to the Eligibility Review Unit for review. We will contact him if we need additional documents and/or conduct an in-depth interview.

Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) prohibits a consular officer from issuing a visa to an alien if the consular officer has reason to believe that the alien is ineligible.

Eligibility Review Unit (KC)

I also received another email on the same day 5/2/07:

In order to proceed with this application for an immigrant/fiancé visa, this office must confirm visa eligibility. We will contact the applicant if we need additional information or if we need to conduct an additional interview. Until we have completed this review process, we cannot move forward with the visa application.

Please note that the interviewing Consular Officer will automatically refer all visa applications to the Consular Section’s Eligibility Review Unit for additional processing if the legal basis for visa eligibility was not established during the initial interview.

The length of time it takes to complete this processing varies considerably and unfortunately we cannot predict how long this review will take.

Best regards,

Consul

This is the "formal" letter that I received via email on 5/15/07:

May 15, 2007

Ms. Petitioner

[Address]

Dear Ms. Petitioner

During the interview stage of the immigrant visa process, consular officers have to review approved petitions to confirm that the requisite family relationship, on which the petition is based, still exists.

Unfortunately, MR. Beneficiary could not provide any convincing evidence of his relationship with the petitioner, and could not answer basic questions regarding the relationship. As a result the consular officer has scheduled Mr. Beneficiary for a more in-depth interview on August 2, 2007 at 2 PM. Please have him bring all evidence of his relationship to you ( pictures, letters..)and all his employment documents.

Sincerely,

Consular Assistant

The following email was sent on 8/10/07:

Dear Ms. Petitioner:

During the interview stage of the immigrant visa process, consular officers have to review approved petitions to confirm that the requisite family relationship, on which the petition is based, exists. If an applicant cannot provide any convincing evidence of his relationship with the petitioner and/or if the consular officer has reason to believe the applicant is ineligible because of issues other than family relationship, the case is referred to the Eligibility Review Unit. The Eligibility Review Unit must also address all additional concerns/issues that come up while analyzing those cases. I regret to inform you that we do not discuss the reasons why we ask certain questions.

Eligibility Review Unit (KC)



Email sent on 10/7/07:

Dear Ms. Petitioner:

Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) prohibits a consular officer from issuing a visa to an alien if the consular officer has reason to believe that the alien is ineligible. Based on indications that the petition you filed contains inaccurate information, we are returning it to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) for review and possible revocation. If CIS determines that the information we are providing constitutes sufficient foundation for initiating revocation proceedings, you will be sent a notice of intent to revoke that includes a statement of facts and evidence and you will have the opportunity to respond. Under INA 222(f), which addresses the confidentiality of visa records, we are unable to provide any further details.

Sincerely,

Eligiiblity Review Unit (KC)for Chief, Immigrant Visa Branch

[PA132 5]

From those letters it looks like they just weren't convinced the relationship was authentic. Since you have since lived with him and have a child together, this shouldn't be hard to convince them of now. I think you'll be alright filing on your own.

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures.

[ndu26 114]

I agree too. The outcome if that was the last of it seems pretty straightforward so you are good to go on your own.

[dwheels76 5,468]

You will be fine to file on your own. Think of it this way even with a lawyer you have to still give them the evidence to submit for you.

Now that you are married and you have time together. Can I ask you these questions.

1. Through these what 6 years how much face time have you had together?As in how long each visit how many visits.
2. When was the last time you seen each other?

I would strongly suggest in your evidence that you will front-load like crazy you also include a very detailed Relationship Timeline so you can highlight key things like you told us. The K1, The B1, his baby born and he not there. They need to see this all neatly displayed infront of them.

Be prepared to submit to a DNA test down the road I am sure that will be required not a big deal but just a heads up.

You will be fine and no need to waste time on lawyer. But do have your husband go over interview questions and feel comfortable and answering. God bless u.

[Cathi 5,748]

Filing two visas??? That's probably why he got denied. Once you start the K1 visa, you can't file for any other visa. You could go to the nearest US Embassy and talk to them. If you don't want to deal with that and prefer an attorney (if you got the $$) then go for it.

that is not why he got denied. No embassy is going to talk to to anyone about anything before a petition had been filed, an they ceratinly won;t talk to her, she wasn't the one filng. There is no reason whatsoever for her to hire an attorney.

[THETIMEISNOW 37]

You will be fine to file on your own. Think of it this way even with a lawyer you have to still give them the evidence to submit for you.

Now that you are married and you have time together. Can I ask you these questions.

1. Through these what 6 years how much face time have you had together?As in how long each visit how many visits.
2. When was the last time you seen each other?

I would strongly suggest in your evidence that you will front-load like crazy you also include a very detailed Relationship Timeline so you can highlight key things like you told us. The K1, The B1, his baby born and he not there. They need to see this all neatly displayed infront of them.

Be prepared to submit to a DNA test down the road I am sure that will be required not a big deal but just a heads up.

You will be fine and no need to waste time on lawyer. But do have your husband go over interview questions and feel comfortable and answering. God bless u.

Thanks dwheels76 for your response! I have seen my hubby in 2005, 2006, 2008 (each visit time was for a month), and 2009. I did not visit my hubby in 2007 because I started the K1 petition. My hubby and I married in 2009 and lived together until July 2011.