AOS Denied. What next?

[Villanelle 4,122]

Im a little fuzzy on the whos whos in all this- If Im understanding correctly-

The poster is the alien. A male. Spouse is a USC. Both married previously. Wifes previous marriage was either to a USC or didnt involve sponsoring. Husbands previous marriage was to another alien and didnt involve US immigration. He has kids but theyre not being petitioned for (so Im assuming they live with their mother in the foreign country or are older?)

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They denied you because they suspect your marriage is to obtain immigration benefits and is not legitimate.

The small slivers of information you provided about the types of questions they asked poses more questions about why they might have come to that conclusion-

What she was doing when u came back 4 days ago, ??? where were you 4 days prior to the interview? Had you been out of the country for an extended period of time before the interview? Did you give mismatching answers to the question?

all places where ex-wife lived after separation, Something like this might be asked if you and your wife started a relationship during the time when your relationship with your ex-wife was not finalized. You state you and your current wife were living together for 2 years before marriage. When was your divorce finalized from your first wife? Was there an overlap?

Rings, Do you and your wife have wedding rings? Did you and your wife answer the question of whether or not you exchanged rings as part of your wedding vows the same way? Rings are not required but answering the question differently is a problem.

activities on day before wedding(9 months ago) A legitimate question about an important day. Varying answers will cause a denial.

when she met kids & how often, when moved in together, sex etc... Again, meeting the kids and your sex life/ daily activities is used to determine the validity of your relationship. When you moved in together is the same as above- determining if theres an overlap of your prior marriage.

While you may want to put a lot on the fact that a lot of the questions were about the 'ex-wife' and chalk the denial up to that. It really (IMO) wasnt. The ex-wife was a factor, especially if the marriage to the ex-wife wasnt finalized before the relationship with the new spouse began, but it wouldnt cause a denial. Your denial was caused by the inconsistent answers.

If you married spouse 2 nine months ago in May 2012 and lived with her 2 years prior, that means you moved in together in May 2010. If you divorced spouse 1 in June/July/Aug/Sept 2010. its a non-issue. If you didnt divorce spouse 1 until March or April of 2012. Then oh my thats a different and very suspicious situation. You were living with a woman in the US for 2 years with a wife overseas. You obtain a divorce from your wife overseas and marry the USC and file for AOS. Definitely seems illegitimate.

So which situation are you?? If youre the latter you need to focus on submitting proof of why you remained married to your overseas spouse for so long while you had a relationship with your current spouse. If it was the first, you need to figure out why you had inconsistent answers and remedy it.

[ValerieA 350]

You need to be careful.

They're going to grill if anybody have previous marriage.

No, this is not true. Many of us, myself included, had a prior marriage. Other than having to provide a certified copy of the divorce decree, it was a total non-issue.

[greenie80 3]

No, this is not true. Many of us, myself included, had a prior marriage. Other than having to provide a certified copy of the divorce decree, it was a total non-issue.

it really comes down to the Officer. If they want to pick on that, they can. It's good to hear it doesn't happen to everybody

[ValerieA 350]

it really comes down to the Officer. If they want to pick on that, they can. It's good to hear it doesn't happen to everybody

Please don't unnecessarily frighten people on here. If it was a normal occurrence, we would have heard about it on this forum before this. It is simply a red herring in this context.

[greenie80 3]

Please don't unnecessarily frighten people on here. If it was a normal occurrence, we would have heard about it on this forum before this. It is simply a red herring in this context.

I'm not trying to frighten anyone. I've gone through each page possible on visajourney and trackitt and many people have been asked about their previous marriage. Just because u haven't heard about it more than once doesn't mean it rarely happens. I specifically searched for cases like mine having been married before and guess what? when I went to my interview I was asked a few questions regarding my previous marriages. Ill be happy to back it up with links. I think the worst for these people that are going through second interviews is to tell them not to worry about if. They should be mindful that the subject could very well come up and they should not be caught off guard. And it is very relevant to the present marriage because if the officer can prove that perhaps your previous marriage was a sham, then you are barred from ever adjusting doesn't matter how many times u marry a USC. So people do your research please

[GreenTrain 1]

I'm not trying to frighten anyone. I've gone through each page possible on visajourney and trackitt and many people have been asked about their previous marriage. Just because u haven't heard about it more than once doesn't mean it rarely happens. I specifically searched for cases like mine having been married before and guess what? when I went to my interview I was asked a few questions regarding my previous marriages. Ill be happy to back it up with links. I think the worst for these people that are going through second interviews is to tell them not to worry about if. They should be mindful that the subject could very well come up and they should not be caught off guard. And it is very relevant to the present marriage because if the officer can prove that perhaps your previous marriage was a sham, then you are barred from ever adjusting doesn't matter how many times u marry a USC. So people do your research please

Agreed !

Sometime people don't care about previous marriage details as they think its only the current marriage that matters.

Remember they can always start from previous marriage, and prove you wrong even if you have tons of evidences about your current marriage(they don't even look at those). People tend to forget those painful incidents but they want those details as well. It sucks.

Please don't unnecessarily frighten people on here. If it was a normal occurrence, we would have heard about it on this forum before this. It is simply a red herring in this context.

Better to get frighten, and get prepared rather get rejected and suffer.

[Villanelle 4,122]

I somewhat agree with the above- but a statement like- theyre going to grill you if youve had a previous marriage is very vague and IMO very inaccurate. The only way a previous marriage is going to be an issue and something that is going to be 'grilled' is if your previous marriage overlapped your relationship with your new spouse, or if the USC spouses prior marriage resulted in immigration benefits for the previous spouse. And even then its only if the Officer chooses to go that direction in the interview.

Scenario 1- USC had a prior marriage 10 years ago where spouse 1 adjusted through them. Marriage dissolved 6 yr ago. Married spouse 2 last year. Adjusting spouse 2 now. Most likely marriage to spouse 1 is a non-issue and will not come up. Does not seem like spouse 1 is marrying aliens and adjusting them.

Scenario 2- USC had a prior marriage 2 years ago where spouse 1 adjusted through them. Marriage dissolved less then a year ago. Immediately upon divorce papers being issued USC married spouse 2 and filed papers to adjust spouse 2s status. Questions arise. Seems like USC is marrying aliens and adjusting them.

Scenario 3- USC had a prior marriage 2 years ago where they were married to another USC, marriage dissolved less then a year ago, immediately after divorce papers were signed they married the alien and filed to adjust status. Again, seems suspicious. Again, while they didnt adjust the first spouses status, it casts doubt on the legitimacy of the marriage to the second spouse.

Scenario 4- (which may be the OP) Alien is in the US on a work visa, or in a foreign country married to spouse 1 while having a relationship with a USC. Terminates relationship with spouse 1 through divorce, marries USC and files for AOS. Of course its going to seem they terminated the first marriage solely for the purpose of marrying the USC to obtain benefits.

Everyones situation is different. A general statement is way to vague. Every person needs to look at their situation from the outside and say- what does this look like and how can we address any concerns someone might have. Was there any overlap? Why was there an overlap? What are our answers about the overlap? Do we have any physical proof we can bring with us?

[ValerieA 350]

I'm not trying to frighten anyone. I've gone through each page possible on visajourney and trackitt and many people have been asked about their previous marriage. Just because u haven't heard about it more than once doesn't mean it rarely happens. I specifically searched for cases like mine having been married before and guess what? when I went to my interview I was asked a few questions regarding my previous marriages. Ill be happy to back it up with links. I think the worst for these people that are going through second interviews is to tell them not to worry about if. They should be mindful that the subject could very well come up and they should not be caught off guard. And it is very relevant to the present marriage because if the officer can prove that perhaps your previous marriage was a sham, then you are barred from ever adjusting doesn't matter how many times u marry a USC. So people do your research please

Yes, please provide links to posts where a previous marriage (that had nothing to do with immigration) caused a second interview. I am very interested in seeing this.

[greenie80 3]

Yes, please provide links to posts where a previous marriage (that had nothing to do with immigration) caused a second interview. I am very interested in seeing this.

Sure ill look some up tonight. Even if the person was married to someone from their own country, divorced, and married a USC, they may want to know why. Perhaps this person divorced their "real" wife to get GC, then divorce and remarry the original spouse. Again, just because it didnt happen to you doesnt mean it happens rarely. If people dont keep an open mind, they may set themselves up to failure. It doesnt hurt to google 2nd interview, you will be surprised what you find.

Also from personal experience, my husband and I had our first interview last May and after a month we went to info pass to find out why we hadn't heard back. The officer said we would be scheduled for a second interview. When we asked why, because we brought a ton of evidence, the officer said you've had previous petitions and it says here you are having a marriage separation 2nd interview. I've been petitioned 2x before by spouses. Another person that I've been chatting with from my office in Oakland Park was also called for a second interview, he was married before to a USC but didn't do AOS. I will find some links tonight. Also when I have my 2nd interview in 2 weeks ill write up what happened.

Edited February 7, 2013 by greenie80

[kzielu 1,149]

No, this is not true. Many of us, myself included, had a prior marriage. Other than having to provide a certified copy of the divorce decree, it was a total non-issue.

Exactly, I had been previously married, got GC two months after submitting package. Adjusted from L-1B.

[greenie80 3]

Exactly, I had been previously married, got GC two months after submitting package. Adjusted from L-1B.

you were one of the lucky ones...the officer didnt want to take the extra step. My lawyer, who is very renowned has done hundreds of interviews and he said some officers do and some officers dont want to know about ex spouses. How many interviews have you attended? 1 and you are basing your opinion on that one instance where you got lucky. I'm glad they didnt put you through that, but it does happen to other people and those of us waiting for a second interview need to be very mindful of that.

[MrsB2012 10]

you were one of the lucky ones...the officer didnt want to take the extra step. My lawyer, who is very renowned has done hundreds of interviews and he said some officers do and some officers dont want to know about ex spouses. How many interviews have you attended? 1 and you are basing your opinion on that one instance where you got lucky. I'm glad they didnt put you through that, but it does happen to other people and those of us waiting for a second interview need to be very mindful of that.

Appreciate your candid responses. While I know that my previous marriage has zero bearing on my current one and that everything about my current marriage is genuine, the officer and USCIS does not. It's my/our responsibility to prove to the officer that this is the case and by answering their questions truthfully and providing a myriad of evidence, I'm sure it will be fine. I much rather be over prepared than sit down for the interview and be completely blindsided. My husband is from Denmark, which doesn't raise many red flags. Considering the social system and quality of life Danes have in Denmark, it would be insane for anyone to suggest or think that many Danes would be trying to flee Denmark to fraudulently obtain immigration benefits in the US. But again, the responsibility falls on us.

Btw- good luck at your second interview!

Edited February 7, 2013 by MrsB2012

[greenie80 3]

Haha thanks so much!! It's been a long journey but I am almost there

I will update again in a couple of weeks

[GreenTrain 1]

I somewhat agree with the above- but a statement like- theyre going to grill you if youve had a previous marriage is very vague and IMO very inaccurate. The only way a previous marriage is going to be an issue and something that is going to be 'grilled' is if your previous marriage overlapped your relationship with your new spouse, or if the USC spouses prior marriage resulted in immigration benefits for the previous spouse. And even then its only if the Officer chooses to go that direction in the interview.

Scenario 1- USC had a prior marriage 10 years ago where spouse 1 adjusted through them. Marriage dissolved 6 yr ago. Married spouse 2 last year. Adjusting spouse 2 now. Most likely marriage to spouse 1 is a non-issue and will not come up. Does not seem like spouse 1 is marrying aliens and adjusting them.

Scenario 2- USC had a prior marriage 2 years ago where spouse 1 adjusted through them. Marriage dissolved less then a year ago. Immediately upon divorce papers being issued USC married spouse 2 and filed papers to adjust spouse 2s status. Questions arise. Seems like USC is marrying aliens and adjusting them.

Scenario 3- USC had a prior marriage 2 years ago where they were married to another USC, marriage dissolved less then a year ago, immediately after divorce papers were signed they married the alien and filed to adjust status. Again, seems suspicious. Again, while they didnt adjust the first spouses status, it casts doubt on the legitimacy of the marriage to the second spouse.

Scenario 4- (which may be the OP) Alien is in the US on a work visa, or in a foreign country married to spouse 1 while having a relationship with a USC. Terminates relationship with spouse 1 through divorce, marries USC and files for AOS. Of course its going to seem they terminated the first marriage solely for the purpose of marrying the USC to obtain benefits.

Everyones situation is different. A general statement is way to vague. Every person needs to look at their situation from the outside and say- what does this look like and how can we address any concerns someone might have. Was there any overlap? Why was there an overlap? What are our answers about the overlap? Do we have any physical proof we can bring with us?

Good analysis !

But i would like to add to 'Scenario 4' person on work visa(H1B) need not to marry someone to get immigration benefits.

H1B visa's are Highly Skilled worker visa's(65K per year from all over world). Employers are more than happy to process green cards for their employees having H1Bs.

On the other hand, they can get always green card based on their employment.

[AnotherLostSoul 167]

Oh greenie, I didn't know you're also up for a second interview! Gosh, fingers and toes crossed for you as well.

GreenTrain: I responded to your PM. And I really wish you the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!