I 130 denied Appeal or re apply

[chaine1 116]

That's not what I hear from people here and people I work with who have found the process extraordinarily difficult from the Philippines.

From my understanding, paperwork and such may be scrutinized more heavily for authenticity, but as long as everything is in order and authentic, most people will receive their K-1/I-130 visas. Compare that with Nigeria, Pakistan, Morocco, in which immigrant visas are routinely denied, even with loads of evidence. Anyway, maybe someone with lots of knowledge about the Philippine embassy can comment on this.

And four pounds? No, dude. No. That's over a thousand pieces of paper.

Plenty of people front-load, especially those going through embassies such as Nigeria. Four pounds is not unusual, and is actually encouraged in these cases (as long as it is quality evidence).

[speedwell 224]

Plenty of people front-load, especially those going through embassies such as Nigeria. Four pounds is not unusual, and is actually encouraged in these cases (as long as it is quality evidence).

It's the biggest joke in Immigration (and a nasty one too) that you need to prove you have a life together before you are allowed to live together. My husband and I couldn't have come up with one thousand pages of quality evidence if we went into business together.

I'm very much against scaring people to death who think their packets aren't up to snuff because their submissions don't have to be taken to the post office in a wheelbarrow.

Edited April 24, 2013 by speedwell

[NikLR 13,227]

Quality over quantity.

[ainsn 13]

Quality over quantity.

Ditto.

Our petition was approved without any RFEs and we only sent in our marriage certificate, evidence of my visits to Bangladesh during vacation periods, affidavits from my parents, and enrollment verification from both our universities proving we were students.

Whatever you submit has to substantiate the relationship narrative you are presenting, if you do that without any questionable holes you should get an approval.

Don't give up, try again and cover all your bases.

[L37 0]

Marriage certificate, Photo's together with our family wedding photo, Plane ticket together, Insurance of a car with our names.

Isn't that enough?

...Compare that with Nigeria, Pakistan, Morocco, in which immigrant visas are routinely denied, even with loads of evidence. ...

[Moomin 292]

lack of evidence could also be US citizen's birth cert. or passport.

Usually, if only a very few documents are missing, they will send out a hardcopy RFE to your address they have on file; requestiong more evidence. If that was sent out and you never responded to it, then USCIS will make a decision based on what they have - usually that'll be insufficiant for an approval.

Other option is that is simply lacked so much that they denied the petition.

How about you - regardless of having a lawyer or not - go over the CR1/IR1 guide and check which kind of evidence you didn't submit? Then, use that as the basis of your new petition.

[speedwell 224]

How about you - regardless of having a lawyer or not - go over the CR1/IR1 guide and check which kind of evidence you didn't submit? Then, use that as the basis of your new petition.

:thumbs: :thumbs:

[Cathi 5,757]

My husband went through a difficult consulate, we literally sent the required documents, 6 or 7 pictures and visa stamps and boarding passes from one of my trips to see him, that was it. We didn't have any RFE. and at the interview we were not asked for any additional documentation. We didn't send emails or 4 million pages of skype conversations. I have seen on this forum, and in other forums that consulate officers have said front loading with too much evidence is a red flag because it looks like you are trying to over compensate for lack of a true relationship.. There is no reason on Earth why you would ever need 4 pounds, let alone one pound of evidence with the petition,especially through an easy consulate.

[LilyR 7]

I agree with the others that suggest refiling, rather than appealing, unless USCIS did something wrong in the way their adjudicated your case. If it was a matter of not receiving enough evidence, then I would certainly refile.

And I agree with the comments from other people about not wanting to scare people, but I do think a realistic reporting of experiences can be helpful. It is particularly important to realize that every case is unique and what may work for one person may not work for someone else. This goes well beyond which embassies are "difficult" and which are not. It includes many different variables for each family.

I can only report my personal experiences (as others have done) and hope that perhaps it will help someone. I sent in about 200 pages of evidence with my 130 when it was originally submitted. I received a notice for a standard interview at my local office along with an RFE. The dates are a bit tricky, but I think we were required to have the standard interview because my husband was eventually deported from the country not long after we married. I brought about 150 more pages to the interview addressing the list of requirements in the RFE (which was a form letter, not specific to our case). The paper I used is measured at 5 pounds for a ream of 500 pages. Using that as a benchmark, I submitted probably 3.5 pounds of paperwork. My interview went well and we got a text message approval a few hours after my interview. The officer who interviewed me stated that there was more documentation that she would have needed, but she commented that the consulates sometimes want to see a wealth of evidence depending upon the exact circumstances for the family involved at the time of the visa interview.