Previous Denials

[brnidokiegurl 0]

don't plan on them reading chats and im......

[Queen Jenn 0]

don't plan on them reading chats and im......

OK, thanks for the tip.

[MM_MS 0]

In the application, there is a question asking whether he has ever applied for a U.S. visa before. They will review those applications and decisions. The fact that you have yet to meet 'the beneficiary' in person doesn't bode well.

I think it's naive to imagine that the U.S. government does not seek information from other countries about individuals, and vice versa. I have no idea if they will or not, but surmise they wouldn't hesitate to ask if they wanted that information. You and he have considerable challenges ahead, imo.

I'm kinda worried. My fiance applied twice for a student visa last year and was denied (this was at the U.S. Embassy). He also has a denial from Canada and one from France (we were trying to meet in a different country because I couldn't afford to go to Africa). Is this going to affect the application for the Fiance Visa? Will they see the previous denials and deny the Fiance Visa?

[Perseverance 1]

Queen Jenn, Getting a visa in Nigeria is NOT EASY! I had been to Nigeria 3 times to see my now husband and was there for the interview dates, they gave us hell, and we had plenty of proof which they did not read or look at. I also had a lawyer who helped us with the papers. We have been together since 2004. This road that you are about to start on is not going to be easy, it will be hard on both of you. Yodrak is right Nigeria is a high fraud country. You and your SO need to know everything about each other, nothing is out of bounds for the interview, they even asked Justice questions about my ex-husband. There are people who sail through with no problems but there are more who have trouble. my thoughts to you is to be prepared for trouble, they like to dish it out at the Lagos Consulate. It does seem to me that those who apply for K3 and are already married have less problems at the consulate, than K1. Our lawyer had advised us against a K3 that a K1 was easier, but the Interviewers (we had more than one and more than one interview) had a big problem with us not being married, we had to explain what our lawyer had advised us. Sorry to be a downer, I just want you to prepare yourselves WELL.

[Queen Jenn 0]

Queen Jenn, Getting a visa in Nigeria is NOT EASY! I had been to Nigeria 3 times to see my now husband and was there for the interview dates, they gave us hell, and we had plenty of proof which they did not read or look at. I also had a lawyer who helped us with the papers. We have been together since 2004. This road that you are about to start on is not going to be easy, it will be hard on both of you. Yodrak is right Nigeria is a high fraud country. You and your SO need to know everything about each other, nothing is out of bounds for the interview, they even asked Justice questions about my ex-husband. There are people who sail through with no problems but there are more who have trouble. my thoughts to you is to be prepared for trouble, they like to dish it out at the Lagos Consulate. It does seem to me that those who apply for K3 and are already married have less problems at the consulate, than K1. Our lawyer had advised us against a K3 that a K1 was easier, but the Interviewers (we had more than one and more than one interview) had a big problem with us not being married, we had to explain what our lawyer had advised us. Sorry to be a downer, I just want you to prepare yourselves WELL.

I appreciate the advice. I want to be well prepared, too. I'm planning on filing the K1 when I return (unless things aren't good when we meet). I'm not sure that a K3 would be good in our case. I would think that the consulate may have issues if we get married during our fist meeting.

[Hazah 0]

My fiancee in Ukraine was denied a tourist Visa to U.S. two years in a row, once after having met in person. They said that since she was young, had a part time job, and owned no significant property, she didn't have enough grounds for returning to Ukraine after the tourist visa was over. They were basically afraid she'd disappear and become a ward of the state.

When we applied for the K1 fiancee visa after meeting a 2nd time we had no problems whatsoever. So i think this is pretty good proof that K1 is totally separate from all other Visa applications.

[heathius 0]

I would have to side with Yodrak on this one. Nigeria is one of the toughest places for visas, so have your ducks in an overly neat row before get started. Although others have said that previous visa attempts are not taken into account, I think your case could come into question based upon the circumstances surrounding the denials. Since he obviousely tried to enter the country twice on a student visa for a primary purpose other than studying (to see you), this could raise some flags. It wouldn't surprise me if they tag him as someone who is fishing for a visa.

[Queen Jenn 0]

I would have to side with Yodrak on this one. Nigeria is one of the toughest places for visas, so have your ducks in an overly neat row before get started. Although others have said that previous visa attempts are not taken into account, I think your case could come into question based upon the circumstances surrounding the denials. Since he obviousely tried to enter the country twice on a student visa for a primary purpose other than studying (to see you), this could raise some flags. It wouldn't surprise me if they tag him as someone who is fishing for a visa.

So is there anything we can do to deal with this?? I mean, he WAS planning on going to school here anyway. I just tried to help him get the student visa (figuring we could meet once he got here since he was planning on coming anyway and I wasn't sure at the time whether or not I wanted to date him anyway).

Or do we just hope they don't raise the issue (but have him prepared to explain if they ask)?

[bszoom42 0]

don't plan on them reading chats and im......

Um, sorry for threadjacking, but how about itemized phone bills for text messaging? Basically, I have an itemized bill from T-Mobile listing the date/time, the source phone number, the destination phone number, the number of message units, and the cost. (I need to find a cheaper way to text international!).

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I would suggest being proactive with this. Include in your written summary about how you 'met' that you first got together online and then wanted to get together in person. You thought that a good opportunity to do so would be with him here as a student since he was intending on continuing his education anyways. That way if the relationship didn't work out, you would have the chance to discover it early on and he could still continue his education so it seemed like a good approach. With the denials of student visas, you decided to try and meet in other countries where it wouldn't be as expensive to get to as travelling to Africa, thus he applied for visitor visas to other countries. (If you also had to apply for visas to these countries you might want to include that statement, or else say you would have applied for your visas after his were approved). However, you were not able to arrange visits in other countries and so you were finally able to afford to travel to Africa. Being proactive by showing you were trying to get together and meet will add some sort of longevity to your relationship that may be useful. Good luck.

Edited May 22, 2007 by Kathryn41

[TimsDaisy 0]

don't plan on them reading chats and im......

Um, sorry for threadjacking, but how about itemized phone bills for text messaging? Basically, I have an itemized bill from T-Mobile listing the date/time, the source phone number, the destination phone number, the number of message units, and the cost. (I need to find a cheaper way to text international!).

As evidence of what? For the I-129F, they are irrelevant. For later on, the interview, they may be useful.

[bszoom42 0]

As evidence of what? For the I-129F, they are irrelevant. For later on, the interview, they may be useful.

Oh - good point; I was getting confused between the difference between proving you have met within the last 2 years for I-129F filing; and proving you have an on-going relationship for the interview.

Thanks!

[bora bora 1]

I wouldn't worry about the denials for visas to other countries - like everyone said - it doesn't have anything to do with the U.S. And if anything, it shows how much you two want to meet.

You have to be honest ALWAYS about the student visas.

I'm sorry to say, but when I think of Nigeria I always remember those Dr. Phil shows about fraud and men doing anything to come to the U.S. That may as well not be your case, but this will probably be a big obstacle for you.

Good luck and be strong if you two decide to apply for the K1. The K1 visa is not a tourist or student visa.

[Queen Jenn 0]

I would suggest being proactive with this. Include in your written summary about how you 'met' that you first got together online and then wanted to get together in person. You thought that a good opportunity to do so would be with him here as a student since he was intending on continuing his education anyways. That way if the relationship didn't work out, you would have the chance to discover it early on and he could still continue his education so it seemed like a good approach. With the denials of student visas, you decided to try and meet in other countries where it wouldn't be as expensive to get to as travelling to Africa, thus he applied for visitor visas to other countries. (If you also had to apply for visas to these countries you might want to include that statement, or else say you would have applied for your visas after his were approved). However, you were not able to arrange visits in other countries and so you were finally able to afford to travel to Africa. Being proactive by showing you were trying to get together and meet will add some sort of longevity to your relationship that may be useful. Good luck.

Thanks a bunch. I'll definitely include that and hopefully, it will help.

[TimsDaisy 0]

Generally speaking, denials for other forms of US visas do not hamper your efforts to get a K1 visa. They should not matter too much at the petitioning stage, at any rate. You must always answer truthfully and completely when asked about past visas applied for. But many of us here have denials for other forms of visas and it doesn't cause a problem later. Usually, this is because the grounds for granting different visas is . . . . different. Each requires you to prove different things. So something that may have presented a problem with one visa, will be irrelevant when you apply for a different kind of visa.

Unless you are asked, however, I do not believe you need to disclose any interactions with other foreign governments. In fact, that I can think of, the only time your background with another government matters is when you need a police certificate from a foreign country where you've resided. And a visa application and denial somewhere else is probably not going to come up on a certificate as a criminal conviction!

At this point, just proceed through the I-129F process as carefully and completely as you can. Go enjoy meeting your potential fiance, don't worry about the paperwork yet. Just save your boarding passes and make sure your passport is stamped.