denied at interview - no reason given

[rahill 28]

My fiancé had his interview at the US embassy in Addis Ababa Ethiopia on May 3rd and the interviewer spoke to him for less than 2 minutes and handed him a generic form letter stating that our petition was denied. The officer gave no reason for the denial. The letter said to contact the UCIS customer service. It has been more than 8 weeks and we have received no information about why it was denied and when I called the UCIS customer service number they have no record of the file being returned to the national visa center. According to their records the file is "undergoing administrative processing." I am now back in Addis Ababa Ethiopia so I inquired with the embassy there and they stated that the officer found "based on the presented evidence, that the petition represents a bona fide relationship as required under section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act." It is of course a bona fide relationship and we submitted plenty of evidence to show this (photos, text messages, receipts from my time spent here etc etc). The embassy also stated that the file was returned to NVC. Again, I inquired and the UCIS customer service agent said there is no file returned to them. My question is do we have to reapply from the beginning now? Would it be better to get married here and reapply as a spouse visa? So very frustrated. Any help, suggestions, shared experiences would be welcome here.

Thank you

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

Returned K-1s are usually left to expire, nothing else is done to them. You could re-file, or go get married, spend more time together & file for CR-1.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Sorry you got denied. The COs often seem to make up their mind before the interview; did you front- load the petition, or did he bring most evidence to the interview? Are there any red flags in your case such as large age or religious differences, recent divorce, previous immigration attempts or meeting only once or twice?

Yes, getting married and re-applying is usually the better option.

[LionessDeon 2,060]

"I am now back in Addis Ababa Ethiopia so I inquired with the embassy there and they stated that the officer found "based on the presented evidence, that the petition represents a bona fide relationship as required under section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act."

Did you mean to say "does not" represent a bona fide relationship? When you contact USCIS customer service are you asking for a Tier 2 rep? How much face time have you had. I wouldn't file another K1. Best to marry and file CR1.

Edited June 30, 2016 by LionessDeon

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

You will never hear anything and do not wait for an answer about the deniial

denied in 2009 and never got any information on why

and we had plenty of proof and i had spent quality time with him and his family for over a month and knew him over a year and a half (almost 2)

while you are there, marry and do the the CR 1 application

get the forms online from USCIS and fill it out with him while he is there to help with answers

get all your documents from Nigeria while you are with him including passport photos of him, biography, copy of passport, and birth certificate (all needed and translated)

Good luck

[JC&BB 33]

I am so sorry to hear this, did he answer any questions incorrectly? Can you two get married there and you come back here and apply for him to come under the visa? Hmmmmmmmm.... I am currently waiting on my second NOA before it's sent to Addis for my fiancé to interview..... Has your fiancé told you the questions that were asked of him? I do believe they have their minds made up before the person gets to the interview. How many times have you seen your fiancé? I am getting a little scared because I've only seen mine once and everything else has been on viber, facebook, emails, and what's up app....... I am just going to continue to pray, you both are in my prayers.

[Pitaya 2,577]

~Moved from K1 Process to K1 Progress Forum~

[aratamorne 165]

So sorry to hear. Don't file a new K-1, you are there and together, get married and go the spousal visa route. With no information from the CO on what left them dissatisfied there is little you can do to correct the problem and history could just repeat itself.

Good Luck

[Jawaree 717]

Get Married B4 you leave there, record the additional time spent together

and do spousal petition as soon as you get back

[lookGod004 1]

I notice something about those consular..they make up there mind before interview..imagine I was so nervous cos age gap is 26 years different and we met once and she spent only 5 days with me..when I was called there was a pink slip on the desk already....just asked few questions and said welcome to USA ...and we both smiled..from my own experienced they make up there mind already ..

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Since you are there you can try to request a second interview and ask to be present and bring more evidence IF the

petition is still in queue to be returned. Some embassies wait weeks / months before actually returning them.

If it already has been returned to USCIS (via NVC) then it will be expiring and you will receive a letter in 6 months from USCIS

that states petition is expired and you can re file.

Best move is to get married and file a CR1. Sorry this happened to you, I understand the frustration because we went through

a returned petition too and re filed a second K1 successfully.

Front load your next petition.

[rahill 28]

Since you are there you can try to request a second interview and ask to be present and bring more evidence IF the

petition is still in queue to be returned. Some embassies wait weeks / months before actually returning them.

If it already has been returned to USCIS (via NVC) then it will be expiring and you will receive a letter in 6 months from USCIS

that states petition is expired and you can re file.

Best move is to get married and file a CR1. Sorry this happened to you, I understand the frustration because we went through

a returned petition too and re filed a second K1 successfully.

Front load your next petition.

I inquired with the embassy and they said they've returned the case and there is nothing more that can be done so second interview isn't an option. I think based on everything I have heard here we should get married and refile as a spouse visa CR-1. However, what is meant by "front load" your next petition. Is this about the evidence? Because we submitted a ton of evidence in the petition. Everything from private FB and viber text messages to photos, to hotel receipts from our time together. Thanks for the response.

[rahill 28]

Sorry you got denied. The COs often seem to make up their mind before the interview; did you front- load the petition, or did he bring most evidence to the interview? Are there any red flags in your case such as large age or religious differences, recent divorce, previous immigration attempts or meeting only once or twice?

Yes, getting married and re-applying is usually the better option.

Hi. There is only a 8 year age difference. That doesn't seem unreasonable. Also, no religious difference, previous marriages or immigration attempts. We spent several months together. I agree, based on what I've heard, marriage and reapplying seems the better option. Thank you.

[rahill 28]

Thank you all for your thoughtful responses. I think the best option is, as many have suggested is to get married and reapply for a spouse visa. Can anyone clarify what is meant by "front load" the petition? We submitted, in our original petition a lot of documentation of our having met and spent time in person (photos, hotel receipts, boarding passes etc) and also of our ongoing relationship in the form of private text messages from messaging applications like viber and FB. Do you all know if he will have to redo the medical exam, police report etc? Or is it valid up to a certain amount of time. I am planning to be here in Ethiopia (fiancé's home country) for six months and we want to reapply as soon as possible. I don't want to wait until I'm home to do it because it breaks my hear thinking I have to go back to US without him again. While I know that still might be the case, I figure to expedite everything, we want to reapply while I'm here as soon as we are married. For the record, I have a permanent residence in the US. It is only being subletting while I'm gone. Thanks again for all of your replies and voices of support. This is a heart wrenching process...

[rahill 28]

"I am now back in Addis Ababa Ethiopia so I inquired with the embassy there and they stated that the officer found "based on the presented evidence, that the petition represents a bona fide relationship as required under section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act."

Did you mean to say "does not" represent a bona fide relationship? When you contact USCIS customer service are you asking for a Tier 2 rep? How much face time have you had. I wouldn't file another K1. Best to marry and file CR1.

Of course I meant "does not" that was a typo. Yes, I've inquired with the USCIS and asked for tier-2 and they are so unknowledgeable and unhelpful it's infuriating. I've even had them give me incorrect information. I think we will marry and file the CR-1. Thank you.