K1 denial

[David&Femke 91]

2 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Maybe, but that's a suggestion that the CO is going outside of policies. He could also deny somebody simply because they're taller than he/he is. We can speculate all day.

You have a good point avoid high shoes.

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

4 hours ago, ConOfficer said:

I can't speak for every officer or every consulate, but I don't agree with this. Most officers don't look at the petitioner or the relationship evidence until they've called the applicant up to their window. That's not to say that there can't be something on the face of the petition that is so bizarre that the officer will go into the interview with a negative impression (extreme age difference, many divorces, recent visa refusals where the applicant suspect reasons for wanting a visa). 

 

Evidence is important, but just because people get together and take some pictures doesn't mean the relationship is legit.

 

I also don't see the benefit of "front loading." USCIS will approve anything, and the consular officer doesn't care whether proof of relationship evidence is attached to the petition or if the applicant brings it in on the day of their interview. 

 

I won't say how each embassy works, as each one works differently; but from reading the posts here a lot, and even old old ones up to 6-7 years back, front loading for some embassies is very beneficial.

 

From my own personal experience with my partner, and noting the Philippines is not a front load necessary embassy, but there for instance, the embassy, nor CO, asked to see any proof of ongoing relationship material or even I-134 financial documentation, yet during the interview he asked my partner about who was saying what in some of the original chat messages we supplied for the I-129F petition. So they do review that information before the interview.

 

It is always at the discretion of the CO, and a  lot of people on VJ here have said despite having tons of information to hand in at the embassy, they never got the chance to and still were denied because the embassy and CO thought the initial evidence in the petition was not sufficient. Yes, for USCIS, only two actual requirements matter, that's the easiest part of the whole process! 

 

The petition though, when it goes to the embassy, they see it first generally and a lot of the information they get comes from it. Employment history for petitioner, base evidence relationship, photos, all that. So again for some embassies, it is important as they say to front load it. Each case is unique, so it does depend a lot on what country the beneficiary is from.

[Dusty B Shah 0]

10 hours ago, Sietta Karneh said:

From what he told me, the CO did not look interested in anything he had to say, he answered every question correctly, he's Muslim n I'm Christian, he lives in west Africa.

Hi, just read your post, it's true every embassy is different, I thought my fiancé would have issues too, we are 18 yrs apart in age, he's Muslim & im also Christian. We only met once as well, for only 9 days. I thought our age difference would be a huge issue, it wasn't. He's from Pakistan which has its own set of issues. But it all worked out, just be patient. Everything happens for a reason. 

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Visit, marry, file a CR1 and front load the petition. Most African embassies look at the file before the interview and are influenced by your
front loaded relationship evidence or the lack of it. They often will refuse to take any evidence that you bring to the interview, so

make sure you front load. Gambia interviews in Senegal, not exactly an easy embassy.

Prepare your next petition well and be present at the next interview.

[Kastrs 723]

9 hours ago, Yan_Inna said:

It doesn't matter if it was 1 visit or 100. Instructions state that  you should see each other's in person in a period of two years. That's all. It doesn't say how many times you have to meet each other. Moving to another country and living there? Really? No offense, but who has time for that. What about a job? The denial most likely has to do with the interview itself. I read on here that someone got denied just for calling their fiancé a boyfriend.....

Yes the MINIMUM bar to file a petition for a K1 is meeting once within the two years prior to filing. That does not mean that one visit is necessarily enough to substantiate a bonafide relationship, particularly when there are "red flags" or the case is going through a difficult/high fraud consulate. In these cases, only one visit will often cause problems and lead to delays in visa approval or potentially visa denial.

 

And yes appropriate use of terminology is very important. The K1 visa is for a fiance not for a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse. The CR1/IR1 visa is for a spouse not a fiance/boyfriend/girlfriend.

[Kastrs 723]

11 hours ago, ConOfficer said:

I can't speak for every officer or every consulate, but I don't agree with this. Most officers don't look at the petitioner or the relationship evidence until they've called the applicant up to their window. That's not to say that there can't be something on the face of the petition that is so bizarre that the officer will go into the interview with a negative impression (extreme age difference, many divorces, recent visa refusals where the applicant suspect reasons for wanting a visa). 

 

Evidence is important, but just because people get together and take some pictures doesn't mean the relationship is legit.

 

I also don't see the benefit of "front loading." USCIS will approve anything, and the consular officer doesn't care whether proof of relationship evidence is attached to the petition or if the applicant brings it in on the day of their interview. 

I also cannot speak for every embassy, but it is true that paperwork is reviewed prior to the interview. Often the paperwork will have been sorted and notations may be made on certain information. 

 

Having gone through a difficult embassy myself, I will say that front-loading is very important particularly in cases where there is anything out of the cultural norm.  USCIS has a lower bar than the embassy that is true, but not having enough in the petition can lead to a more difficult interview, land the beneficiary in AP, and also lead to additional requests for more relationship evidence. 

[ConOfficer 167]

13 hours ago, Kastrs said:

I also cannot speak for every embassy, but it is true that paperwork is reviewed prior to the interview. Often the paperwork will have been sorted and notations may be made on certain information. 

 

Having gone through a difficult embassy myself, I will say that front-loading is very important particularly in cases where there is anything out of the cultural norm.  USCIS has a lower bar than the embassy that is true, but not having enough in the petition can lead to a more difficult interview, land the beneficiary in AP, and also lead to additional requests for more relationship evidence. 

USCIS writes notes on the petition. 

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

23 hours ago, Yan_Inna said:

It doesn't matter if it was 1 visit or 100. Instructions state that  you should see each other's in person in a period of two years. That's all. It doesn't say how many times you have to meet each other. Moving to another country and living there? Really? No offense, but who has time for that. What about a job? The denial most likely has to do with the interview itself. I read on here that someone got denied just for calling their fiancé a boyfriend.....

I know the thread you are referring to and that was just speculation from other VJer's based on the information given by that OP.

[Kastrs 723]

11 hours ago, ConOfficer said:

USCIS writes notes on the petition. 

AS does the embassy. I know this for a fact because I added additional evidence for NVC (side load) and there were embassy notations.

 

Additionally, as another poster mentioned, the IO can ask questions about anything you have sent in. 

[NikLR 13,231]

11 hours ago, ConOfficer said:

USCIS writes notes on the petition. 

Your point?

[Abies 1,713]

On Monday, January 30, 2017 at 5:54 PM, Sietta Karneh said:

My fiancé was denied a visa at the consulate level, I've not received the reason for denial yet, it's only been 2 months, I'm thinking about going to his home country for us to get marry, what's the best advice, please help me, this has been very devastating for the both of us.

Best option is going to home country to marry your fiance. I was also denied a K1 visa on the 14th of March 2017 at the U.S. Embassy in Lagos Nigeria. After the usual questioning from the CO,she gave me back my passport&some documents as well as a white slip indicating that my case be revoked by USCIS. Guess what?She denied all K1 visa applicants for that day. When my then fiance called to ask why the lady denied me,she said I couldn't prove that our relationship was bonafide&we can either refile the K1 or he come over to Nigeria to marry me&file the CR1. In mid April,my husband(then fiance)came to Nigeria to perform the marriage rites(Traditional&Registry)marriage,flew back to the U.S. first week of May&filed the CR1 on May 16th,got our NOA1 on May 19th&presently waiting for our NOA2. In Summary,most K1 cases denied at the embassy is as a result of the beneficiary been interviewed by a problematic Consular Officer.

Again,USCIS does not send any mail indicating the reasons for the denial because all K1 approved petition expires 4months after  NOA2,so they keep them to expire. So just go ahead&refile the K1 or CR1 but CR1 is the best route because refile a K1 is risky(the CO might say why didn't you go ahead to marry him/her instead of refilling.

Edited July 12, 2017 by Abies

[Abies 1,713]

13 minutes ago, Abies said:

Best option is going to home country to marry your fiance. I was also denied a K1 visa on the 14th of March 2017 at the U.S. Embassy in Lagos Nigeria. After the usual questioning from the CO,she gave me back my passport&some documents as well as a white slip indicating that my case be revoked by USCIS. Guess what?She denied all K1 visa applicants for that day. When my then fiance called to ask why the lady denied me,she said I couldn't prove that our relationship was bonafide&we can either refile the K1 or he come over to Nigeria to marry me&file the CR1. In mid April,my husband(then fiance)came to Nigeria to perform the marriage rites(Traditional&Registry)marriage,flew back to the U.S. first week of May&filed the CR1 on May 16th,got our NOA1 on May 19th&presently waiting for our NOA2. In Summary,most K1 cases denied at the embassy is as a result of the beneficiary been interviewed by a problematic Consular Officer.

Again,USCIS does not send any mail indicating the reasons for the denial because all K1 approved petition expires 4months after  NOA2,so they keep them to expire. So just go ahead&refile the K1 or CR1 but I feel the CR1 is the best route in this case because refilling a K1 can be risky you know(the CO might say why didn't you go ahead to marry him/her instead of refilling). God help us all going through this process