TD visa for spouse refused

[PakistaniCanadian 1]

I am a dual Pakistani Canadian citizen working in US on TN visa (Nafta professional). I recently got married (1 month ago) in Pakistan and my wife is only a Pakistani citizen.

Her TD (dependent of TN) visa was refused by Islamabad embassy in Pakistan under section 214b 'failure to establish ties'. She took all main documents with her including copy of my TN approval, i-94, pay slips etc. and the officer did not ask her to show any other document.

I am not sure what kind of ties the officer is looking for. Do we need to show ties with Pakistan or Canada? We don't have much ties in Canada except my Canadian bank account but in Pakistan we do have home and family ties.

Also note that I left Pakistan 2nd day after our marriage and we suspect that that could also be a reaon of refusal. We suspect that the officer just handed her a generic refusal with 214b since according to my wife he was giving the same letter to everyone who got rejected that day.

 

Any one with similar experice please help!

Edited April 27, 2019 by PakistaniCanadian

[geowrian 22,337]

Refusal under INA 214(b) means that they believe she is an intending immigrant. More specifically, every non-immigrant is presumed to be an intending immigrant until they demonstrate otherwise. It's a tough bar to overcome, hence why 214(b) is so common.

 

It doesn't sound like she has many ties. You live in the US. A home can be sold. People live apart from their family often.

Either way, there's not anything you can do at this point. They reviewed her circumstances and determined that she didn't have sufficient ties at this time. Sorry.

 

She is free to reapply. But unless there is a material change in her circumstances, the decision is unlikely to change.

[PakistaniCanadian 1]

TN visa is non-immigrant visa only valid for 3 years and TD is a dependent of TN. Is it not enough to show that we will leave US when my TN expires?

 

Both me and my wife have family ties (parents, siblings) in Pakistan. She is currenly doing a job in Pakistan and we can get a leave of absense letter from her employer. Also I own a home in Pakistan. But i am confused if we need to show ties with Pakistan or I need to show ties with Canada as well?

 

I don't want to apply for her canadian permanent residence since it takes 1 year.

 

Please advise what evidence of ties should she take with her next time.

[PakistaniCanadian 1]

Also can this refusal be because we have not spend much time together and I came to US 2 days after my marriage? If I go to Pakistan and she takes all my original documents next time during the interview, will it make any difference? Thanks

[geowrian 22,337]

Unfortunately, there is no additional evidence of ties that she can bring that will impact the decision. The relevant factors are noted on the DS-160 and/or brought up at the interview.

 

Ties to her location of residence is generally what they look for. They are looking for a reason why she is compelled to leave on time.

 

The refusal under 214(b) is not related to the validity of the marriage itself. That's a different component.

 

Edit: Documents are very rarely looked at. They have no way to verify them on the spot, and they don't ensure somebody will return home.

Edited April 27, 2019 by geowrian

[Boiler 45,426]

It can not be ties to Canada, she has no legal standing in Canada, so what does she have in Pakistan?

 

How long was she intending to come, you mentioned a leave of absence?

[Juniper 62]

1 hour ago, PakistaniCanadian said:

Also can this refusal be because we have not spend much time together and I came to US 2 days after my marriage? If I go to Pakistan and she takes all my original documents next time during the interview, will it make any difference? Thanks

 

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

Ties to her location of residence is generally what they look for. They are looking for a reason why she is compelled to leave on time.

 

You said you owned a house in Pakistan.  That probably helped you in getting your TN visa because of your property "ties" to your home residence in Pakistan and will leave the USA. You are now married and you probably don't have your wife as joint owner of your house because you left Pakistan after the second day of your marriage.  She might be living in your house right now and she is not an owner of the house.  That would seem suspicious if you were not able to show any property ownership ties to Pakistan for her. 

Edited April 27, 2019 by Juniper

[PakistaniCanadian 1]

3 minutes ago, Juniper said:

 

 

You said you owned a house in Pakistan.  That probably helped you in getting your TN visa because of your property "ties" to your home residence in Pakistan and will leave the USA. You are now married and you probably don't have your wife as joint owner of your house because you left Pakistan after the second day of your marriage.  She might be living in your house right now and she is not an owner of the house.  That would seem suspicious if you were not able to show any property ownership ties to Pakistan for her. 

She is living in my home with my parents. Her parents also live in same town.

 

The following conversation took place with the officer

Is your husband canadian national? yes

Why you want to go? to live with my husband

How long u have been married? we got married last month

 

The officer then did not ask for any other document and straightaway handed her refusal letter.

 

[PakistaniCanadian 1]

17 minutes ago, Boiler said:

It can not be ties to Canada, she has no legal standing in Canada, so what does she have in Pakistan?

 

How long was she intending to come, you mentioned a leave of absence?

My TN visa is till 2021 and she is my dependent so she was intending to come till my TN expiry.

 

She is currently working in Pakistan at a university and we can ask her employer to give her leave of absense letter if that can help her visa chances. But the officer did not ask for any document during the interview.

Edited April 27, 2019 by PakistaniCanadian

[Juniper 62]

9 minutes ago, PakistaniCanadian said:

She is living in my home with my parents. Her parents also live in same town.

 

The following conversation took place with the officer

Is your husband canadian national? yes

Why you want to go? to live with my husband

How long u have been married? we got married last month

 

The officer then did not ask for any other document and straightaway handed her refusal letter.

 

Thank you for that information.  You must have submitted documents as part of your visa application.  In those documents the CO is looking for "ties". Length of marriage is an issue and it would help if she was a joint owner of property and bank accounts and those documents submitted with visa application.   Probably very difficult to fix/change the current situation with joint property/accounts now that you are apart.

 

American standard in marriage validation are joint property/accounts/insurance etc.

Edited April 27, 2019 by Juniper

[Ontarkie 14,205]

I can see how you being a dual citizen being the issue here. Her ties are stronger to you not Pakistan. If you don't go back to Pakistan neither will she. 

[PakistaniCanadian 1]

2 minutes ago, Juniper said:

Thank you for that information.  You must have submitted documents as part of your visa application.  In those documents the CO is looking for "ties". Length of marriage is an issue and it would help if she was a joint owner of property and bank accounts and those documents submitted with visa application.   Probably very difficult to fix/change the current situation with joint property/accounts now that you are apart.

Visa application includes just one online DS-160 form and there is no way to attach any supporting document with that. Everything else depends on the interview. I need to understand the exact reason of refusal so that I can prepare supporting documents accordingly. My TN visa is temporary and she is my dependent, it should have been enought to show that we don't have immigrant intent

[PakistaniCanadian 1]

1 minute ago, Ontarkie said:

I can see how you being a dual citizen being the issue here. Her ties are stronger to you not Pakistan. If you don't go back to Pakistan neither will she. 

I have home and family in Pakistan. Providing documents showing my ties with Pakistan will help? 

She also have family and job in Pakistan.

[geowrian 22,337]

How is the house, relatives, or job a tie to return home if she can leave them alone (barring visits) for 2+ years?

 

The exact reason for refusal  was being unable to overcome the presumption of immigrant intent. That's a judgement call by the CO based on an evaluation of her circumstances. There is no particular component that will ensure success or cause failure in overcoming immigrant intent.

 

To be clear, I'm not saying their decision was correct or not, nor if that's how it should be (or not). I'm just trying to explain why a reason for why they reached the decision that they did.

[PakistaniCanadian 1]

2 minutes ago, geowrian said:

How is the house, relatives, or job a tie to return home if she can leave them alone (barring visits) for 2+ years?

 

The exact reason for refusal  was being unable to overcome the presumption of immigrant intent. That's a judgement call by the CO based on an evaluation of her circumstances. There is no particular component that will ensure success or cause failure in overcoming immigrant intent.

 

To be clear, I'm not saying their decision was correct or not, nor if that's how it should be (or not). I'm just trying to explain why a reason for why they reached the decision that they did.

I must leave when my TN expires and she is my dependent. Please advise what we can do to increase our chances for the second time.