Tourist visa to K-1 visa with a lie

[John & Rose 7,239]

It ALL comes down to successfully answering one question. Nothing else matters. Her DS-160 shows a husband. That will have to be dealt with no matter what.  If the goal is to be together in the states, that is the only stumbling block and it is a doozy. Admit fraud and get banned. Create fake divorce papers and get caught, get banned or worse. I don’t think “she was just kidding” is a good defense. 

[Going through 5,670]

4 hours ago, Justjake said:

In some circumstances it can be safely assumed that if a certain event had occurred, evidence of it could be discovered by qualified investigators. In such circumstances it is perfectly reasonable to take the absence of proof of its occurrence as positive proof of its non-occurrence.

The claim of being married can be dismissed as there is no evidence that the marriage exists, other than a statement that it exists.  A statement in and of itself is not enough to be considered factual just because it has been stated.  There would need to be factual evidence that proves the statement of the fact.

The onus is on her to prove that she has never been married----not for them to prove that she was.  They don't have to prove anything here. 

Now she has to provide factual evidence that she was lying.

 

It can't just be "dismissed" or made to go away...she dug her own hole and has to climb out of it now.

 

[Justjake 23]

1 hour ago, John & Rose said:

It ALL comes down to successfully answering one question. Nothing else matters. Her DS-160 shows a husband. That will have to be dealt with no matter what.  If the goal is to be together in the states, that is the only stumbling block and it is a doozy. Admit fraud and get banned. Create fake divorce papers and get caught, get banned or worse. I don’t think “she was just kidding” is a good defense. 

It is indeed a doozy.  I agree wholeheartedly with your post.

I will not make things worse by creating fake divorce documents.

There is no way possible to provide a divorce document.  I understand that a divorce document is needed in order to address the issue of her saying she was married on the DS-160. 

In general, aimed at no one in particular:

Telling me that I need to produce a document serves no purpose as a document cannot be produced.  Telling me to produce something that can't be produced is about as useful as a rubber crutch.

I understand the severity of the situation.  I would rather be told that I am up a creek without a paddle, than to be told to procure something that can't be procured.  

I am a big boy, and I can handle being told I'm screwed, I don't need to have things sugar-coated.

With that being said, I can't imagine that I am the only one in the world that has had this sequence of events unfold like this.  I am not that unique.

I welcome any brainstorming ideas on how to address this.  I understand that the application will be denied.  I understand that I will have to file a waiver of inadmissability.  I understand that the waiver may be denied.  I very well may have to move to China to be with her. But in the meantime I don't want to leave any stones unturned, no different avenues examined. 

 

 

[John & Rose 7,239]

Honestly, I strongly recommend getting a lawyer. Making a mistake here can make a bad situation much worse. I would love to say you should be able to explain the situation to the CO and he will understand (trust me, we do) and offer some forgiveness like they do in Korea. This is just a bad time for immigration. A good lawyer will help more than we could. I really do hope there is a way. You seem to be a very good person and you have been very good at not fighting with some of the comments here. I hope there is a way but there is also that part of me that feels like the fraud kind of hurts us all. We certainly can’t condone it but we understand why it happened. I think you may be up the creek but there is a paddle. Don’t give up but also don’t think this is just going to go away. I am on your side 100%. Hopefully the lawyer will have a plan. Maybe admit the fraud and negotiate it down to a 3 year ban. I’ve seen bans get reduced. 

[Justjake 23]

Thank you for your reply and input. I appreciate the honesty. I will most definitely be getting a lawyer.  This is something I would never attempt to do pro se.

In the meantime, is there anything I can do to help out around the forums?  Direct new posters, be a Google search monkey or anything. 

[Going through 5,670]

37 minutes ago, Justjake said:

With that being said, I can't imagine that I am the only one in the world that has had this sequence of events unfold like this.  I am not that unique.

I welcome any brainstorming ideas on how to address this.

Thinking along the lines of when you are able to file a waiver---You said earlier in this thread (but never elaborated, unless I missed it over the last 15 pages) that she has proof of never being married---what exactly does she have?  

[Ryan H 3,812]

~~Post contributing nothing to the discussion removed.~~

[Justjake 23]

42 minutes ago, Going through said:

Thinking along the lines of when you are able to file a waiver---You said earlier in this thread (but never elaborated, unless I missed it over the last 15 pages) that she has proof of never being married---what exactly does she have?  

All she said was that "if INS needs a single ID, I can provide it". I assume that meant China can issue documents attesting to the marital status of a citizen.  Similar to our social security card maybe? I will try to get more information about what she is referring to. 

[Going through 5,670]

17 minutes ago, Justjake said:

All she said was that "if INS needs a single ID, I can provide it". I assume that meant China can issue documents attesting to the marital status of a citizen.  Similar to our social security card maybe? I will try to get more information about what she is referring to. 

She might be referring to the Affidavit of Single Status...it's commonly used when registering to be married within China.  

This will help her be able to be legally married in China....although USCIS may then look at it as being married to two people at the same time, since *technically* she was already "married" when she married you...so yeah, it kind of always goes back around in a circle to the whole divorce decree thing.

Btw---tell her the acronym "INS" hasn't been used in a long time now   

Edited November 9, 2018 by Going through

[TM92 527]

25 minutes ago, Going through said:

This will help her be able to be legally married in China....although USCIS may then look at it as being married to two people at the same time, since *technically* she was already "married" when she married you...

Maybe USCIS and/or the Guangzhou COs will do a double take as its not just prohibited by both US and Chinese law but its also looked down upon by mainstream Han Chinese society.

[David & Diana R 1,005]

4 hours ago, John & Rose said:

Which is, for lack of a better term, visa fraud. Now you have to prove she is legally free to marry. That will require a divorce decree or a death certificate of the husband. 

Yeah, she needs a divorce decree for the husband she was never married to.  Good luck trying to prove a false positive.

[Lemonslice 4,798]

2 hours ago, Justjake said:

I welcome any brainstorming ideas on how to address this.  I understand that the application will be denied.  I understand that I will have to file a waiver of inadmissability.  I understand that the waiver may be denied.  I very well may have to move to China to be with her. But in the meantime I don't want to leave any stones unturned, no different avenues examined. 

 

 

She might be able to be paroled in the Marianas - move there, have her visit often?

 

 

[Justjake 23]

41 minutes ago, Going through said:

She might be referring to the Affidavit of Single Status...it's commonly used when registering to be married within China.  

This will help her be able to be legally married in China....although USCIS may then look at it as being married to two people at the same time, since *technically* she was already "married" when she married you...so yeah, it kind of always goes back around in a circle to the whole divorce decree thing.

Btw---tell her the acronym "INS" hasn't been used in a long time now   

It has just occurred to me that by the time we get to the consulate interview (if we make it that far) we will have already married, and therefore she will be unable to provide a Affidavit of Single Status.

Sigh...

[Lemonslice 4,798]

4 minutes ago, Justjake said:

It has just occurred to me that by the time we get to the consulate interview (if we make it that far) we will have already married, and therefore she will be unable to provide a Affidavit of Single Status.

Sigh...

She would have to provide an affidavit of single status for the date when she stated she was married... highlighting the fact that she was lying.  Also, as stated by a few posters earlier, this would only prove she is single in China - she might have been married elsewhere in the world... 

 

The bottom of the form usually has a note right before the signature saying that you are confirming that the information is true and correct.  😕

[Villanelle 4,122]

@Justjake That was a very nice offer you made to help out in the forums!  But the mods keep things running smooth here. Just hang out. Browse around. There are plenty of off topic non immigration threads to participate in as well as a waiver section you can read through. You may want to also check out the regional section for Embassy specific experiences. Effects of major changes contains what would be considered 'drama threads'. Lots of crazy stories posted there. Read the TOS and post accordingly. Its basically common sense- dont harass, spam, etc. Any issues use the report button and enter your issue in the pop up box- a mod will get to it as soon as they can. My personal advice- dont get roped into arguments with people- theres an ignore feature if needed. Dont offer advice on things you do not know about just because logically it makes sense. A lot of immigration is illogical. The TOS allows anyone to post anything (accurate or not) as long as it doesnt violate any other TOS, but personally its a bit aggravating to read incorrect advice posted as fact. Ask questions as needed but do not hijack threads. 

 

--

Re your situation- I kind of feel this thread has focused on the most unlikely scenario (her being asked for a divorce decree). Not to say she wont be, but rather when she is questioned about the decree and she admits she was never married and lied on DS-160...well the issue isnt proving she was never married anymore- the issue is the misrep. She will get a ban and then it comes down to you being able to get a waiver. I understand the speculation that USCIS will ask for 'proof it was a lie' and the potential problem it can be to do such but from what Ive observed asking for proof it was a lie either doesnt happen or is a minor paperwork fix like showing the certificate of being single and your own statements admitting the lie. Ill try to do some research for you and see if I can find some links to cases. I do have one document on my laptop but I dont have a link. Its almost the same situation- Woman from Vietnam. Got a tourist visa and lied saying she was married. However she entered the US, married, and then filed for AOS in the states. So this was not a CR case at the Embassy. The same polices about being eligible for GC apply though. (If anyone can find the case online and provide a link it would be great. The doc I have is the initial filing- so I dont know how it turned out for her.) This was Apr '15. PDF doc. She had to file the 601. Notice there is nothing in the doc about proving she was lying on the DS160 hence my belief its not as big an issue as the misrep/601 is. 

 

 

Procedural Issues in Immigration.pdf