Potential complications with K-1 Visa, had previously sponsored a spouse to the US

[JohnCAL 2]

In 2000, I went back to Vietnam married and sponsored a spouse to the US. In 2009 we were divorced because there were too many fights. In 2012 I dated my first spouse's sister and she got pregnant and I married her right before the child was born. Recently I also divorced my second wife because she started to use drugs. I have custody of my 3 year old child. Now I have a fiance in Vietnam. I want to sponsor her here on a K-1. Do you see any potential problems with my complicated marriage history?

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

Yes, supposedly 2 or more divorces is an issue/ but you are a man and my brother-in-law had 4 divorces and bought in young wife on K 3 at the time / spouse visa

[VOL 425]

Yes, supposedly 2 or more divorces is an issue/ but you are a man and my brother-in-law had 4 divorces and bought in young wife on K 3 at the time / spouse visa

2 or 4 divorces are not an issue at all for USCIS

In 2000, I went back to Vietnam married and sponsored a spouse to the US. In 2009 we were divorced because there were too many fights. In 2012 I dated my first spouse's sister and she got pregnant and I married her right before the child was born. Recently I also divorced my second wife because she started to use drugs. I have custody of my 3 year old child. Now I have a fiance in Vietnam. I want to sponsor her here on a K-1. Do you see any potential problems with my complicated marriage history?

I see no problems

Have you only sponsored one person? Or did you sponsor your 2nd wife also?

[JohnCAL 2]

Vol,

My second spouse (and first wife's sister) was a US citizen and I didn't sponsor her. She came after her parents sponsored her here.

Edited July 24, 2015 by JohnCAL

[VOL 425]

Your good.

I don't see any issues.......

[Boiler 45,564]

It is Vietnam so be prepared.

[Villanelle 4,122]

Eh, maybe Im reading it differently then others but you married your ex wifes sister. Granted no immigration benefits were obtained, but you married your ex-wifes sister. You know this is strange right?

So you have an odd marital history and are going to be going through what we can say is not the friendliest consulate in the world (!). In no way am I saying you will be denied but I suggest you search the forums for how to "frontload" your K1 and have your intended prepare for some potentially intrusive questions.

[JohnCAL 2]

I am not proud of what happened. Like some guys I had a sister-in-law fantasy that unfortunately became reality and destroyed my marriage and eventually led to the pregnancy of my second spouse 2 years later as we never stopped seeing each other.

I have a few questions:

1. Will they examine the file so closely to be able to tell that my exes are sisters. They do have the same middle name and last name. Their last name is Nguyen which 60% of Vietnamese have.

2. If they find out my exes are sisters, is it enough to reject my fiance petition?

3. Instead of K-1 visa, can K-3 or spousal sponsorship present less of a problem for my case?

4. If we got rejected on the first round. Will the pregnancy and birth of my child with my wife/fiancee make it hard to reject our case a second time?

Yes, I will find out what "front load" is and try my best. I will also hire a lawyer to guide me.

Will things like being a single father of a toddler, my age of 42 and fiance at 30, high income ~ $130,000 (less chance the govt will have to support my spouse later) help my case?

Thanks,

Edited July 25, 2015 by JohnCAL

[Villanelle 4,122]

Frontload basically means what it sounds like- loading a lot of information into the packet at the beginning of submission so that they have it all at the beginning. Its a 'slang term' used on the forums. So dont expect a lawyer to know what you are talking about if you use the terminology. lol. In regards to a spousal visa you would 'sideload' meaning enter the information at a different window of opportunity so it gets to the right people you want looking at it. When you send stuff determines who gets it and when its looked at.

For a K visa you would send the 129F petition which basically establishes the relationship and then the packet is sent to the consulate who reviews it and determines if they are going to issue the visa. Im sure you researched the process but if not please check out the guides section at the top of the forums for an overview of the process.

You technically need very little to get the 129 approved besides proof of meeting and intent to marry. So theres no doubt the 129 will be approved. The potential hiccup will be at the CO where they will look at everything and decide things like the validity of your relationship (is it for immigration purposes only) Are you the type of guy who would do such a thing, is the proof of your relationship solid etc.

In most cases a decision is already made (or its speculated such) so its recommended to have frontloaded the application before it gets into the hands of the officer for the interview. If you are counting on going to the interview and bringing tons of evidence and swaying the officer, well its probably too late. Some people have reported Officers having no interest in what they brought, simply wanting to ask whatever questions they had already prepared and give the answer. So frontloading is important.

You should assume that they will look into your history. While I can not assure you that they will connect the dots and review your first wifes A file in depth and realize that she shares the same parents as your second wife/ since your second wife was a USC when you married her- you should assume they will.

For a case like this I would think its better to be over prepared then under prepared. Now the decision would be yours ultimately of what you want to include in the frontloading. You can point out the family relationship or omit it. There is nothing wrong with omitting it and simply frontloading with proof of your current relationship and preparing for the interview where the family relationship may be brought up to your fiance and having prepared answers.

Being married to two sisters or rather having been married to two sisters is not a reason for denial. If they both obtained benefits from you it could appear as if you are assisting a family in obtaining benefits and the relationships were not genuine but that was not the case as one sister did not get benefits.

I would also like to clarify there is a difference between lying and omitting. Lying can get you denied, omitting can not. When I say you can omit the fact they were related I mean you can simply not address it in your frontloading. Not call attention to it. So if you were to write a letter about your history with the current immigrant you are petitioning presently you could talk about your current relationship, the fact that you have custody of your child with ex wife number 2. The fact that you were involved with the immigration system with ex wife number one. But just not say anything about ex 1 and 2 being siblings. That would be an omission of a fact. A lot of facts would technically be omitted from your statement of relationship because its impossible to disclose everything.

You can use a lawyer if you feel you need one in assistance in prepping a statement or paperwork but I do not think its is mandatory- as I stated its just an odd situation but theres nothing that would lead them to believe immigration fraud.

My personal feelings is to just spill the beans upfront- but I can understand taking the approach of not saying anything or calling attention to it if they dont pick up on it then you alerted them, so its a hard call to make. Either way I dont believe its going to go anywhere so thats why Im more for spilling it upfront casually- as it truly is no big deal.

-

For the remaining questions- some feel spousal visas are easier the K visas because you are already married. I think (shrug) each have their ups and downs. You need different proofs for the spousal visa- so for some people its easy for some they are left with the same troubles of burden of proof. Children are a tricky subject- they are considered proof of a relationship evidence but they cant be your only proof. So does it make it easier- well it gives you another "item" (I hate to refer to children as items) but it gives you another item in the evidence column. So yeah thats a + but its kind of like you only need so many +++'s to get approved. If a child is one of yours then great. Congratulations. You also upped the requirements on your aff of support so thats a negative. HA>

But seriously I think you are going to be fine.

(I am interested in others opinions though on whether they believe you should upfront disclose exes were sisters or not or wait to see if USCIS picks up on it and asks at the interview- anyone??) My vote is to disclose it upfront because its a tough embassy and you'll look more honest being totally upfront.

[Maria4Garrett 5]

You wouldn't have any problems if you submit ALL DOCUMENTS needed and meets all the requirements for sponsorship whether you apply fiancé or spousal visa. k1 is fast but your fiancé must convince the CO at her interview that your relationship is real and not for immigration purposes only. Spousal visa sounds safer but you both have to bear the LONG waiting.

[M&A2 5]

Hello everyone,

I am really interested in this topic as I am somehow at he same boat.

I must say thank you to the long and well based answer of "Damara".

In additional, I would really share my case in this topic.

I'm trying to write shortly.

I'm the Benificant of a K 1 visa. The petitioner has a clean history. He has been married for 27 y and had 4 children. His wife passed away. We met online and got engaged. ( we both are from the same country).

The PROBLEM IS "ME".

My first married ended in divorce 13 y before. I have a child from the first married.

The second married was with a us citizen, whom I met online. We got married in Albania in 2010.

- Then in spring 2011 I applied for a Tourist visa ( as he told me) which was denied.

- In 2012 he made a petition ( married based ), I am not sure why, but after 3 months it was denied .( He said that he had some problems with bank).

- Then he applied again after a year , spring 2013, but at that time our relationship wasn't going well. He didn't come to visit me for almost 1 and half year, so I decided to make the divorce. During this time I met online with my present fiancé. During the divorce process ( September 2013 - September 2014) we met 4 times. My fiancé met my parents and my son too. We have a lot of evidence of meeting in person and communications online during all this period ( almost 700 pages in viber writen form) plus others . On November 2014 we applied ( after 15 months of meeting in person ).

THE QUESTION IS:

Could my history indicate my Finacé Visa?

We have choose to tell everything in advance and not to hide anything.

In addition I have proof that my ex us citizen husband has threatened me during the divorce proces. I am not going to send the proof to the embassy, but I am just keeping them in a folder just in case that they ask me at the interview .

Dear DAMARA,

I'm really waiting for any answer from you, because I really appreciate your answer above

Sincerely

[M&A2 5]

My vote is to disclose the relation between the two ex wifes. Iyou will not be nervous on the day of the interview and you will be prepare for the question. Good luck

[VOL 425]

My vote is to disclose the relation between the two ex wifes. Iyou will not be nervous on the day of the interview and you will be prepare for the question. Good luck

Why disclose if they don't ask?

The CO may not ask about his previous divorce

And I doubt they will ask about his previous K1......

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

'Front load', yes, of course you need to do that. Disclosing the relationship of the ex wives is probably not needed. Just give what is required of the I-129F petition. You have to provide both of your divorce decrees anyway. No need to point out they are sisters. Just list the exes and give the copies of the decrees. List the one ex-wife's info where it asks about previously sponsoring anyone. The other ex-wife doesn't get listed there because she was a USC.

Focus on 'front loading' with evidence that your current relationship is real and valid, along with proof of meeting in the last 2 years. IF they should happen to ask about the relationship of previous wives at the interview, then answer whatever they ask honestly. It may never even come up, but you can be prepared if it should.

You sponsored the first ex years ago, and the second one was already a USC, so I do not think the CO will see a red flag of you bringing women here for green cards. If you can show your current relationship is bona fide, then you should be good to go for the current K-1 visa.

[Pitaya 2,577]

It is Vietnam so be prepared.

Agree.

Manila is certainly not Ho Chi Minh City.