K-1 Visa Extreme Hardship Waiver for Syria

[the_apache_bear 7]

I've been in a relationship with the man who is now my fiance for about 2 and a half years, and we've finally decided to take the leap and get a K-1 Visa for him to come here and us to get married. I'm absolutely perplexed about this hardship waiver that excuses a couple from the Visa requirement of having met within the last 2 years. I'm a US citizen by birth, however my fiance is from Syria, and his country has been in political turmoil since well before we even met. Take into account the fact that extremists have poured into the country for the last year or so as well as a result of this conflict, and the fact that the government has recently placed new laws barring male Syrian citizens within a certain age range from traveling (my fiance falls into this range) or leaving the country, and our meeting in person just isn't possible. Not only would me going to his country put me at a high risk of injury, death, or abduction and torture, but my fiance simply cannot leave his country because of these new laws, and even if he could he would face all the same risks I just mentioned traveling more than a mile or two from his front doorstep. This essentially makes meeting in a third location impossible. Now, I know this is a bit contradictory to what I just said, however it is my understanding that the Syrian government will make an exception and allow young men to travel, but only after they've paid a large sum of money, and even then every risk of injury, death, and so on is still as prevalent. It's not that we're trying to avoid costs like those of traveling or the money we'd have to pay for the government to let my fiance out, it's that because of the circumstances every move he makes is jeopardizing his life, so my fiance and I are trying to absolutely minimized his traveling and ergo his risk of being hurt abducted or killed.

My questions are, would this be a valid reason for USCIS to grant us an extreme hardship waiver? If so what kind of documentation should I submit, or what kind of details and key words should I put in my written plea for one? Would anyone venture what our chances are in percentage of this being a reason USCIS would approve the waiver for? And if you don't think or know it won't work, why? Is it going to impact our chances negatively that with a large sum of money my fiance could leave his country, despite the threats it would pose to his life? If you or someone you know has personal experience with a similar issue please don't hesitate to share. Thank you.

[ISBJORN10 5]

Legally it seems good reason , just mention what you said with some news from bbc , cnn

[Maritah 101]

I dont think that USCIS grant a waiver about this requirement to meet each other before fill the application, because you and your fiancé can meet each other in a third country (i.e. Canadá or México).

Furthermore, no waiver will be given unless he has applied for tourist visas, preferably several times, and has been denied.

Best regards,

[the_apache_bear 7]

I dont think that USCIS grant a waiver about this requirement to meet each other before fill the application, because you and your fiancé can meet each other in a third country (i.e. Canadá or México).

Furthermore, no waiver will be given unless he has applied for tourist visas, preferably several times, and has been denied.

Best regards,

"Not only would me going to his country put me at a high risk of injury, death, or abduction and torture, but my fiance simply cannot leave his country because of these new laws, and even if he could he would face all the same risks I just mentioned traveling more than a mile or two from his front doorstep. This essentially makes meeting in a third location impossible." - Original post

Dear, if you're not going to bother reading the whole post then please don't bother responding. I need real, serious answers.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

So just to make sure that I'm reading this correctly.

1) It is very dangerous to you to travel to Syria. Has the US actually put out a 'please don't travel here?' advisory re: Syria?

2) The Syrian government will not let him leave Syria without a bribe, essentially? A very large one?

I just want to be sure this is clear. I may not have ideas, but others may and if I'm not clear on these issues, others may not be as well.

[Maritah 101]

"Not only would me going to his country put me at a high risk of injury, death, or abduction and torture, but my fiance simply cannot leave his country because of these new laws, and even if he could he would face all the same risks I just mentioned traveling more than a mile or two from his front doorstep. This essentially makes meeting in a third location impossible." - Original post

Dear, if you're not going to bother reading the whole post then please don't bother responding. I need real, serious answers.

I suggest you hire a lawyer.

Good luck with your journey.

[ISBJORN10 5]

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/alertswarnings/syria-travel-warning.html

use this alert when you submit your petition

[the_apache_bear 7]

So just to make sure that I'm reading this correctly.

1) It is very dangerous to you to travel to Syria. Has the US actually put out a 'please don't travel here?' advisory re: Syria?

2) The Syrian government will not let him leave Syria without a bribe, essentially? A very large one?

I just want to be sure this is clear. I may not have ideas, but others may and if I'm not clear on these issues, others may not be as well.

1) Yes it is both very dangerous for me to travel there, and essentially impossible for my fiance, as well as incredibly dangerous for him to leave. The US HAS put out a strong advisory against traveling to Syria.

2)Yes, that is correct, although they obviously aren't calling it a "bribe". They've recently put into effect new laws saying that any man within a certain age range that would be usable by the army can not travel or leave the country unless they hand over a very large sum of money. And even if he were able to leave and travel, it would be just as dangerous for him. We're looking at gunfire, shelling, chemical weaponry, and extremist abductions to name a few.

Thank you M@rita and ISB

Edited October 25, 2014 by the_apache_bear

[sma1488 155]

Thinking down the road a bit, if he can't safely leave the country now, how is receiving a K-1 visa going to lessen the risks he will face? It seems like with such tight restrictions, the visa wouldn't make a difference to the Syrian "government."

[the_apache_bear 7]

Thinking down the road a bit, if he can't safely leave the country now, how is receiving a K-1 visa going to lessen the risks he will face? It seems like with such tight restrictions, the visa wouldn't make a difference to the Syrian "government."

Well he can travel, after the fact that he has to give the Syrian "government" a huge amount of money, and he'll be at incredibly high risk of being killed or abducted. Internal travel is extremely risky there right now, since checkpoints are all over the place and frequently under attack, shelling, gunfire, etc. Same goes for every other inch of the country, and similarly his risk of being abducted h\is prevalent in every part of Syria, however only worsened by the fact that he'll have to stop at numerous check points to get out of the country to travel. So, like I said he can travel, however given the extenuating circumstances we're trying to absolutely minimize this. We're in love and we have been for years, so if the Visa is granted we're ready for him to take the mentioned risks to leave the country and come here for marriage, but to do that twice could very well mean death for my fiance.

[Darnell 8,478]

it's a bond, right?

and it'll get repaid back to him, when he returns to Syria, right ?

[Boiler 45,765]

When?

Wonder if they get the waiver how they will validate the relationship.

[milimelo 4,514]

Plenty of people from Syria make it to Jordan for visas.

[averageguy6 22]

You have a unique situation. Make the best argument based upon the facts, consider an attorney with experience in this area.

A Syrian man would seem to also be at risk for having the visa held up at the embassy in Administrative Processing....so even if you get a USCIS waiver, expect that the USA embassy COULD take a long time before issuing any visa.

Another poster mentioned Jordan...can he travel there without risk and you could travel there too....

Syria does not have much of an organized govt anymore according the the TV news and we are basically at war with the place......

Agreed you should not go there.

[YamenWaad 45]

you can go to meet him in Lebanon or Turkey. we did the same