Help! Just found out K1 Visa validity expired

[Matma70 25]

Filed K1 Visa for my Nigerian fiance on 9/20/2016 and everything went smoothly but right before interview I realized that I typed his birth year incorrectly as 1976 but is 1975.

 I contact the USCIS and  told to make appointment and bring copy of any birth certificate and passport.  I go in and everything seems fine.  

2/9/2016 my fiance has interview and receives RFE  and we turn everything in as requested.

 

End of February, I received notice from USCIS that this was incorrect place to correct birth year since it was already sent to Consulate, fix it with Department of State.  I make  contact  and I do

as told but several weeks later I am told this incorrect place.  I contact Consulate by email and send them information about correction and copies of passport/BC and am just told case is under review.  

 

I watch and watch for something to happen but case remains under "Administrative Review" for months.  I send emails for status updates and told to wait.  Seems exceptionally long so I write again and told case has been sent back to USCIS.  Well it takes 4 months or so to reach USCIS.  Get update from online telling me to wait for a notice.  Wait 60 days and email for status only to be told today THAT OUR VISA VALIDITY EXPIRED PLEASE FILE AGAIN. No reason why!  I'm so dazed and confused right because it looks like it was expired by March.  Why no contact and explanation?    Have not even told my fiance..he has already been talking suicide since the long wait.  I don't want to tell him the bad news!!!

[geowrian 22,337]

The visa didn't expire, the I-129F did. When a K-1 visa is refused, they send it back to USCIS. USCIS then lets it sit until it expires. This is standard operating procedure for a refused K-1 as of several years ago.

 

Unfortunately, you need to either file again from the start, or marry and file for a CR-1. In either case, you need to correct whatever reason it is for denial...presumptively a lack of a bona fide relationship. Nigeria has the most difficult embassy to go through...few cases that we see are approved on the first try.

 

Do you have any red flags (age gaps, past marriages, difference in languages or religions, proposing on the first visit, etc.)? How much time have you spent together in person?

Edited September 26, 2017 by geowrian

[Matma70 25]

Thanks! Sorry I meant 1-129F  was denied.  

 

No reason other than the expiration was given.  According to him, the interview went well no additional questions asked or focus on anything.  Just given RFE for son's birth certificate, which I did not know was needed since he will not travel here anytime soon (maybe not at all).  He was asked for his birth certificate although we provided his Age Attestation which according to my research and what other Nigerians on here said is will suffice.  The asked for photos and correspondence again but we had already sent at about 8 pictures and 40 pages of correspondence but I provided more. Also, his passport!  His passport could be the issue because when he got ready to pay the interview fee at the bank he could not find his passport..he looked for 3 weeks and then had to apply for a new one. He submitted the new one  along with court affidavit and police report about the last one.  

 

 Our conversation and facetime was plenty but unfortunately because I only had a few days that I could spend off work and away from my pets, I only spent 5 days there. Yes, he proposed then.  So, 5 months after we met, he proposed on first time together.

[Everlast 49]

Sorry about your plight. Now you have enough time to start anew and do things right, All it will take is time and patience. And focus. Will it work out at the end? If it is grounded in honesty and truth, all shall be well.

 

Wishing you the very best in life!

[dwheels76 5,468]

2 hours ago, Marcey70 said:

Thanks! Sorry I meant 1-129F  was denied.  

 

No reason other than the expiration was given.  According to him, the interview went well no additional questions asked or focus on anything.  Just given RFE for son's birth certificate, which I did not know was needed since he will not travel here anytime soon (maybe not at all).  He was asked for his birth certificate although we provided his Age Attestation which according to my research and what other Nigerians on here said is will suffice.  The asked for photos and correspondence again but we had already sent at about 8 pictures and 40 pages of correspondence but I provided more. Also, his passport!  His passport could be the issue because when he got ready to pay the interview fee at the bank he could not find his passport..he looked for 3 weeks and then had to apply for a new one. He submitted the new one  along with court affidavit and police report about the last one.  

 

 Our conversation and facetime was plenty but unfortunately because I only had a few days that I could spend off work and away from my pets, I only spent 5 days there. Yes, he proposed then.  So, 5 months after we met, he proposed on first time together.

Okay I'm confused. In the 1st post you said you put your fiance's birthdate down wrong 1976 instead of 1975.
Now you say it's your son. You wouldn't have to list a grown adult in a K1 petition.
Nope Age Attestation aren't accepted at embassy. You must get a Birth Certificate from NPC.
So 5 days in person is all you have spent together since you filed?
 

[Matma70 25]

On 9/26/2017 at 8:17 PM, dwheels76 said:

Okay I'm confused. In the 1st post you said you put your fiance's birthdate down wrong 1976 instead of 1975.
Now you say it's your son. You wouldn't have to list a grown adult in a K1 petition.
Nope Age Attestation aren't accepted at embassy. You must get a Birth Certificate from NPC.
So 5 days in person is all you have spent together since you filed?
 

No, you are not confused...I "sort of" said both.

 

I noticed my fiance's birth year was incorrect and tried to have it correct BEFORE the interview with USCIS...then after interview with Embassy and DOS.

 

ADDITIONALLY,  At interview fiance received RFE because we did not know that we needed to provide HIS 5 year old son's birth certificate.  I got that he could use Age Attestation from Nigerian filers on this and other sites.  Read that if he was born after a certain date he would not be able to obtain an original birth certificate.

 

Yes, we only spent 5 days together because as I explained I only had a week of leave from work.  According to him, interviewer never questioned our relationship and did not look at correspondences or pictures.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Matma70 25]

On 9/26/2017 at 8:09 PM, Everlast said:

Sorry about your plight. Now you have enough time to start anew and do things right, All it will take is time and patience. And focus. Will it work out at the end? If it is grounded in honesty and truth, all shall be well.

 

Wishing you the very best in life!

Thank you so much for your words of encouragement. This time I may use a service or an attorney!  

[Matma70 25]

On 9/26/2017 at 8:17 PM, dwheels76 said:

Okay I'm confused. In the 1st post you said you put your fiance's birthdate down wrong 1976 instead of 1975.
Now you say it's your son. You wouldn't have to list a grown adult in a K1 petition.
Nope Age Attestation aren't accepted at embassy. You must get a Birth Certificate from NPC.
So 5 days in person is all you have spent together since you filed?
 

This is from U.S. Department of State website regarding Birth Certificate.

 

Alternate Documents: For people born prior to 1979 or in some cases prior to 1988, a birth certificate issued by a Local Government Authority or a hospital or a baptismal certificate is acceptable. There is also the National Population Commission Attestation of Birth Certificate issued to people whose birth occurred before 1979 when the National Population Commission issued birth certificate was first introduced as a pilot program. Any of these is acceptable.

[SandiB 48]

19 hours ago, Marcey70 said:

This is from U.S. Department of State website regarding Birth Certificate.

 

Alternate Documents: For people born prior to 1979 or in some cases prior to 1988, a birth certificate issued by a Local Government Authority or a hospital or a baptismal certificate is acceptable. There is also the National Population Commission Attestation of Birth Certificate issued to people whose birth occurred before 1979 when the National Population Commission issued birth certificate was first introduced as a pilot program. Any of these is acceptable.

Maybe I'm reading something wrong, but if his son is 5, then he was born well after those dates. It seems as if the Alternate Documents are acceptable for those born BEFORE 1979 and/or 1988?

[Matma70 25]

13 hours ago, Ezraylia said:

Maybe I'm reading something wrong, but if his son is 5, then he was born well after those dates. It seems as if the Alternate Documents are acceptable for those born BEFORE 1979 and/or 1988?

Fiance's birth certificate -  We had to get and use Age Attestation (born in 1975)

 

Son's birth certificate - Already possessed officially version but did not take to interview because he is not traveling to US in next 2 years so we did not know we still needed to provide.