CR-1 Chances of denial?

[kcrb 24]

Hey all. I'm extra anxious and I wanted to get the insight of people who have been approved or those who have been denied. 

 

To start, this is a same sex marriage that was performed inside a civil registry in Mexico because it was either, a) pay for a wedding none of my family would go to because they wouldn't travel to Mexico AND not be able to afford the immigration process or b) have the civil wedding, and pay for a small ceremony in the states should she get approved. We went with the second option. A few things that concern me from a relational standpoint: We've only been together a year and two months, we got married after 6 months. We both knew as soon as we met that we were going to be together for the rest of our lives. We met when she was here visiting her dad on a B1/B2, so we basically lived together for 4 months before she had to return to Mexico. I wanted to propose on her birthday, but the ring company didn't have the ring ready, so I just told her on her birthday and gave it to her another day. 

 

I spent 2 weeks there in May, two and a half weeks there at the end of July, beginning of August (when we got married), Two and a half weeks in September, where we went to Puerto Vallarta as a honeymoon, A week in December, a week and a half in the beginning of January, went home for 3 days, and then returned to Mexico to be with her for a month. The last time I went, we also went to Cancun for 5 days to get away. We have MOUNTAINS of pictures, I comprised about 250 to have her go into the interview with. I also saved every boarding pass of my travels there and our travels within Mexico, hotel receipts, the receipt for the ring, every receipt from sending her money, filed a joint tax return in 2016 with an ITIN, have notarized affidavits from my mom and her two best friends, my family Christmas card that has her on it, screenshots of facetime, screenshots of call logs, screenshots of messages, etc. She also speaks fluent english and I have a working knowledge of spanish, and we are 3 years apart. 

 

She has never overstayed on a visa, but has been denied a green card in 2016 because she turned 21 before their interview date (her Dad petitioned for her, her mom, and her brother) which changed her priority, so they had to deny her. She didn't get to interview. Her dad reopened a petition on her behalf right after she was denied in 2014, but it is still sitting at USCIS, like it will for the next 15 years. She has been denied entry once, because the border patrol agent stated she could not prove enough ties to Mexico. They put a note on her Border Crossing Card, and since then, she has been unable to cross, except for the time she crossed when we met. She has not tried to cross since returning on her last visa. She has been going in and out of Mexico to the US since she was about 5 years old, always with visas, never overstaying, so I'm not too worried about that. I'm only worried about her inability to recollect every time she crossed the border. There was at least 30 times she crossed between 2012-2015. She only remembers ones that are documented with photos and the time she got denied. She lives in a border city, so many times she would cross to go to Walmart and then just cross back into Mexico. 

 

She'll be interviewing in Ciudad Juarez April 27th, and I will be driving from almost 40 hours Washington DC to support her. I'm going to send her in with my passport and credit and debit cards to prove that I'm there, if they have any questions. 

 

Any insight anyone can provide, I would appreciate it. Thank you! 

[Ryan H 3,851]

Passport alone is sufficient to prove presence.  Ring receipt is not good evidence, just a fluff piece (it only reflects you purchasing a ring, nothing more).

 

I've seen other post when they had multiple border crossings but could not reflect the exact dates was to use verbiage similar to "multiple times during these years."

[RRR2016 21]

Wow! What a journey it's been for you both. But I can relate, because I had to return to Mexico after my husband and I got married during grad school in the U.S. and I later found out I was subject to the two year home residency rule. My only path for residency was to return home and begin the Consular process one year later. It took us 16 months to be approved. So I can understand your worries and concerns.

 

First of all, it sounds like you went through Consular Process, which given your wife's situation is the correct path. I don't think you need to worry about the time she was denied entry to the U.S. or have to mention/prove all the times she's crossed the border. That type of information is only held by the U.S. border and is very difficult to obtain. 

 

Considering you already have an interview date, I'm sure your process is going rather well. If not, the office would have requested more documents. My advice is make sure your wife brings all the documents listed on her interview letter. Plan your trip so she has enough time to go the medical exam, fingerprint scan before the interview.

 

Best of luck and it's nice to hear you will be joining her in Cd. Juarez. The support from your spouse makes this process less stressful.