Tourist Visa

[Vovo 0]

Good Day 

 

I am new here , but this page did help me a lot when l was depressed about my first interview that l failed on the 08 Jan 2018. Okay my situation goes this way . I met this amazing guy on  an international dating site  on the 15 October 2017 and we so much in love with each other , been communication everyday till this day , we click in every aspect ,and have so much in common but l had no idea out feeling will grow to something so big and end up seeing a future together , He asked me to visit so I was planning to go meet him for the first time this 08 Mary in 2018 but all hope where lost when my visa was rejected under section 214 (b), no ties but l though l had gathered enough evidence to show that l had strong ties in my home country , I had a letter from my employer ( 6 Years employed), and she was sponsoring me for the entire trip ( that l was gona take an advance then pay back  arrangement  )l had a lease of agreement in my name , currently studying , so l had an enrollment  letter from the college where l am currently studying and had a quotation of my unpaid return ticket  . On the bad side l was convicted of a fraud case it's been 9 Years now and l am due for an a crime expungement , in a few months to come ,I was honest with my situation when l filled in my tourist visa application ,what happened was l used to work as a cashier at Steers Restaurant  , so this friend of mine came to my till and purchased using a stolen credit card , that went on for like days , when l notice l did not report that person and l regret not doing so. I thought l was protecting our friendship but little did l know l was ruining my future .To cut the story short so l was arrested and pleaded guilt and l was given a fine of R 0 -R1000 range   so l did not go to prison , So when l got in for my interview l was asked only three question ,1.why l was travelling to the USA  of which l answered it was for ''tourism purpose '' as l was going to meet my boyfriend for the firs time so l preferred to be booked aT a nearby guest lodge and sightseeing for the duration of my stay that was intended to be 14 days .2 How much l earn then l produce my payslip , and who was sponsoring my trip of which my boss was and l had a letter and her certified copy of id  . Then she asked me about my involvement in the charge that l had and she asked for proof of policy clearance then l produced it . I however did not produce the other documents l had to show my ties as I was under the impression that she was gona ask for those anywhere . The only response l got was l did not qualify for that visa at that particular time then l asked why then she said l had no ties to my home country and because of the criminal record ,then l left , Now my question is did l apply for the wrong visa , 2. did l not have enough compelling ties ?Was l suppose to have let my boyfriend send me a letter of invitation but at that particular time he invited me to visit him l felt the relationship was too early for me to visit him at his place so l was not comfortable , Fast forward now my boyfriend is planning to visit me but there is a challenge he owes child support tax with the baby mama not with  state and he lost his passport -  Q - will he be granted to apply for one ? , IF the answer is no can we then apply for k1 visa but he also had a criminal record of adulteration with food against baby mama but its been 12 years now since he was sentenced ( 8 Months in prison time )I am just so stressed if ever we will be together considering the challenges and bad choice that we made in the past ,I would appreciate any advise if any have had a similar challenge .I love this men with all my heart he does too , if we can not get through this our last option will be for him to relocate then we leave here in SA a we both have one child from previous relationship and we so ready to start our live and family together .He is 34 and l am 33

[Vovo 0]

oh the other thing he did his online test and qualified by 158% above poverty guide line test but we can't apply for k1 as we have never met and can we use his child support tax as reason for not being able to meet as it is a huge amount 17000usd in arrears and he is currently paying his child support  for over two years ,  

[JE57 239]

Lot's of things in your post let's take them one at a time: 

1) Denial of tourist visa.  Had your BF given you a letter of invitation the prevailing wisdom here is that it would not help and likely would have made it "LESS" likely that you would have been granted it.   If your job does not pay significant amount by USA standards than you could be presumed to have intention of immigrating to the USA thus the denial and the criminal record not yet expunged could be considered reason to 'flee' your home country.  Once the issue is expunged that would represent a change in circumstances and be a reason to apply again given the office mentioned the criminal record. 

2) Your BF has a record.  Not sure what is meant by 'Adulteration with food'  it sounds like he tried to poison her..  If that is the case the question would be rather this would affect his ability to sponsor another for immigration benefits.  It might require a waiver of some sort.  But may not be a problem if it was long ago.

3) The child support past due is a problem.  It would not be sufficient for a waiver of the meeting in two years requirement.  In theory if he has a arrangement supported by the Child support agency to repay then arrears then he should be able to get a new passport but it's equally likely that he'd be denied getting passport because of the arrears and might have to fight it out with the child support collection agency to report the agreement to the state who would then report it to the US Dept. of state.  He should try but with 17,000 in arrears I''m betting he'd be denied a passport. 

4) Him moving to South Africa would depend on his ability to get a passport and sufficient income to continue he child support obligations.  If he thinks he could move internationally and escape child support he is mistaken.  They can revoke his passport and when he crosses a border or eventually needs to renew his passport he'd be headed back to the USA (no Choice) and have to face much bigger problems and possible jail time. 

-

Thus, honestly, you have a difficult although not impossible road to be together in the future.   Short of him getting a passport your best option is to get your record expunged and try again for the tourist visa.  The fastest case he get's his passport and you meet in person in either South Africa or some third country.  And I don't usually say this but honestly the two of you have to seriously consider if he can't get a passport and you can't get a visa that this may not really work out for you.  

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Best of luck and prayers 

Edited March 5, 2018 by JE57

[geowrian 22,337]

Please space out your paragraphs...it's difficult to read the text blob. Thank you.

 

40 minutes ago, Vovo said:

1.why l was travelling to the USA  of which l answered it was for ''tourism purpose '' as l was going to meet my boyfriend for the firs time so l preferred to be booked aT a nearby guest lodge and sightseeing for the duration of my stay that was intended to be 14 days.

This answer is a bit misleading, but should not be a material misrepresentation.

 

40 minutes ago, Vovo said:

2 How much l earn then l produce my payslip , and who was sponsoring my trip of which my boss was and l had a letter and her certified copy of id  . Then she asked me about my involvement in the charge that l had and she asked for proof of policy clearance then l produced it . I however did not produce the other documents l had to show my ties as I was under the impression that she was gona ask for those anywhere . The only response l got was l did not qualify for that visa at that particular time then l asked why then she said l had no ties to my home country and because of the criminal record ,then l left

From the CO's perspective, it probably looks pretty odd that your boss is personally sponsoring your claimed sightseeing vacation for 2 weeks. I understand employers in some areas pay for flights as part of their compensation (my wife's contract did this in KSA), but I'm not personally aware of it being commonplace of a boss personally doing so, or covering other costs. Either way, it is what it is.

 

40 minutes ago, Vovo said:

Now my question is did l apply for the wrong visa

No, a tourist visa is fine to visit the US and meet your boyfriend.

FYI - your boyfriend cannot sponsor you for a tourist visa (nobody can). They can volunteer to cover the expenses for the trip, but an I-134/paystubs/invitation letter/etc. from somebody will not be taken into consideration (this is stated directly from the DOS).

 

40 minutes ago, Vovo said:

2. did l not have enough compelling ties ? Was l suppose to have let my boyfriend send me a letter of invitation but at that particular time he invited me to visit him l felt the relationship was too early for me to visit him at his place so l was not comfortable , Fast forward now my boyfriend is planning to visit me but there is a challenge he owes child support tax with the baby mama not with  state and he lost his passport -  Q - will he be granted to apply for one ? , IF the answer is no can we then apply for k1 visa but he also had a criminal record of adulteration with food against baby mama but its been 12 years now since he was sentenced ( 8 Months in prison time )

Yes. The CO looked at your circumstances and determined that you did not overcome the burden of immigrant intent. Every tourist visa applicant is assumed to have immigrant intent until they have shown otherwise.

 

Adulteration is not a reason for an I-129F petition to be denied, although the exact criminal details need to be disclosed and you might be asked about them at the K-1 interview. I don't think back child support is a reason to deny a passport, but I honestly don't know for sure. It may present a challenge for the I-134 for the K-1 visa later, though.

If he was ineligible for a new passport, that alone probably would not suffice as a reason to have not met in person within the past 2 years of filing an I-129F for a K-1. The waiver for the meeting requirement is extremely difficult to get approved, and financial circumstances generally would not suffice.

 

11 minutes ago, JE57 said:

Short of him getting a passport your best option is to get your record expunged and try again for the tourist visa.

Expungement won't change anything for immigration purposes. Even then, it sounds like it was not deemed to be a CIMT as he was denied under 214(b), not due to the criminal offense.

[Vovo 0]

8 minutes ago, JE57 said:

Lot's of things in your post let's take them one at a time: 

1) Denial of tourist visa.  Had your BF given you a letter of invitation the prevailing wisdom here is that it would not help and likely would have made it "LESS" likely that you would have been granted it.   If your job does not pay significant amount by USA standards than you could be presumed to have intention of immigrating to the USA thus the denial and the criminal record not yet expunged could be considered reason to 'flee' your home country.  Once the issue is expunged that would represent a change in circumstances and be a reason to apply again given the office mentioned the criminal record. / But the case was closed and finalized just that it takes 10 years to have it sealed under your name so l am not sure about fleeing point there ?

2) Your BF has a record.  Not sure what is meant by 'Adulteration with food' - yes he put some stuff in his juice just to stop her from shouting at him  it sounds like he tried to poison her..  If that is the case the question would be rather this would affect his ability to sponsor another for immigration benefits.  It might require a waiver of some sort.  But may not be a problem if it was long ago.

3) The child support past due is a problem.  It would not be sufficient for a waiver of the meeting in two years requirement.  In theory if he has a arrangement supported by the Child support agency to repay then arrears then he should be able to get a new passport but it's equally likely that he'd be denied getting passport because of the arrears and might have to fight it out with the child support collection agency to report the agreement to the state who would then report it to the US Dept. of state.  He should try but with 17,000 in arrears I''m betting he'd be denied a passport. 

4) Him moving to South Africa would depend on his ability to get a passport and sufficient income to continue he child support obligations.  If he thinks he could move internationally and escape child support he is mistaken.  They can revoke his passport and when he crosses a border or eventually needs to renew his passport he'd be headed back to the USA (no Choice) and have to face much bigger problems and possible jail time. /- He is not really keen that is the last resort and remember l am a mother and would not accept him not paying off his child support , he will still pay if when he gets a job here 

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Thus, honestly, you have a difficult although not impossible road to be together in the future.   Short of him getting a passport your best option is to get your record expunged and try again for the tourist visa./ so when it's sealed so l still disclose   The fastest case he get's his passport and you meet in person in either South Africa or some third country.  And I don't usually say this but honestly the two of you have to seriously consider if he can't get a passport and you can't get a visa that this may not really work out for you.  

-

Best of luck and prayers 

Thank you so much for an insightful reply 

[Vovo 0]

Thank you so much guys for the response l got l will also share this information with my bf , it's just hard to forget about everything when the heart is so much in love . But with the child support arrears he called the agency and he was told the debt is with babe mama not with state ,maybe there is a change as he has a good co- parenting relationship with her and he intend to make an arrangement with her and pay a lump some towards the debt and possible have the other amount be forgiven by her , Will that help him getting a passport maybe ?

[Going through 5,671]

2 hours ago, Vovo said:

IF the answer is no can we then apply for k1 visa but he also had a criminal record of adulteration with food against baby mama but its been 12 years now since he was sentenced ( 8 Months in prison time )

What was the exact charge?  The reason I ask, is that sometimes with Adulterated Food there can be a *secondary* charge along with it---was the mother breast-feeding at the time?  (not sure of the age of the child when this happened...if the mother is/was breast-feeding at the time it occurred, they normally tack on some sort of a "child endangerment" charge along with the first one---which would make things more complicated for him K1-wise.)

Edited March 5, 2018 by Going through

[Vovo 0]

not exactly sure l will ask him tonight is that not domestic violence , but they where not cohabiting he had visited for baby sitting and yes the child was 2 years but not sure if the mother was breastfeeding 

[az2014 381]

If you can't afford the trip yourself and have to get your employer to cover your expenses then pay them back in the future, thats an easy easy denial reason.

 

The US is an expensive place. You were rightly denied. Too much of a risk you would stay. The CO saw it that way too.

[Boiler 45,553]

Not all child support arrears preclude him from getting a Passport so I would check on that first, simplest solution would be for him to get a Passport and visit you

[JE57 239]

If the child support arrears are not known to the state that he or the child's mother resides in then he should be able to obtain a passport.  The only way he'll know for sure is to apply for one.  If he gets it then the two of you can meet in person and then the K-1 sounds like a real possibility.   

 

[Vovo 0]

thank you so much for the response l feel optimistic again,l here there is a new law that would require all USA citizen to have a passport to travel from one state to another , if that is the case it's not only will be our journey affected but him visiting his mom as they live in different state . So him getting a passport is important if that is the case if this law is pass on however not how far true it is ..

[geowrian 22,337]

38 minutes ago, Vovo said:

thank you so much for the response l feel optimistic again,l here there is a new law that would require all USA citizen to have a passport to travel from one state to another , if that is the case it's not only will be our journey affected but him visiting his mom as they live in different state . So him getting a passport is important if that is the case if this law is pass on however not how far true it is ..

That's the REAL ID program. I believe only American Somalia currently requires a passport to travel domestically on a flight (ground travel is still fine w/o a passport). Several other states are in the process of implementing REAL ID and have been granted an extension. The rest have complied already. A state that has complied or has been granted an extension can still use their state IDs and drivers licenses for domestic air travel.

https://www.dhs.gov/archive/current-status-states-territories

Edited March 6, 2018 by geowrian