Refused K1 at SDO

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

41 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

I would be very surprised (shocked) if it was a case of the interviewing CO not "knowing" which visa your fiancé was interviewing for.  That just doesn't happen.  If that was the case, a marriage certificate would have been on the 221g list of documents.

 

There is no appeal for a refused K-1.  Congressional rep cannot intervene in the consular decision.

 

This is the second case in the past week we've seen refused due to petition expiry.  Interesting.....

 

Good luck with the CR-1 if that is the direction for you.

Maybe they expect the petitioner or beneficiary to ask for an extension instead of assuming they'll do it automatically. 

[user555 196]

Maybe you could tell them to watch 90 Day Fiance and look at Pedro and Chantel. They were approved for a K1 so you should be too. 

[jeanita68 231]

2 hours ago, user555 said:

Maybe you could tell them to watch 90 Day Fiance and look at Pedro and Chantel. They were approved for a K1 so you should be too. 

Pedro and chantel are the same age? 🤷‍♀️ whats your point?

[The_Empyrean 733]

Well... I'm sorry this happened to You guys. It really sucks.. 

Apply for spouse visa once you get married. Easiest way to get things done. 

Hmm that refusal due to expiration is weird, as others have mentioned, it's becoming more and more frequent.. I wonder if they are trying to back down with K1 to completely remove it down the line.. But then it's stupid, why would USCIS then keep the K1 and drag it out for so long to let it expire..? There should be more to that (obviously not OP's mistake, as they seem very well prepped).

 

Best of luck

[msrodriguez 267]

So basically they just messed with us. They don’t care and there’s nothing we can do. What a great system. 

[The_Empyrean 733]

7 minutes ago, msrodriguez said:

So basically they just messed with us. They don’t care and there’s nothing we can do. What a great system. 

System is broken - yes.
But even the consular officers get directions from above, and they're just doing their job. Can't blame them either. It's like saying that the shop clerk is responsible for poor quality unopened, unexpired Cola bottle. 

I'm not saying for sure that they're doing that, don't get me wrong. They might've had other redflags, and instead, they decided to deny under expiration, who knows at this point.

[Unlockable 7,314]

Hi @msrodriguez,

 

Although it is not required for the petitioner to attend the interview, for the Dominican Republic, it is heavily encouraged. Situations like this is frustrating. Your presence may have helped the situation. To answer a previous question you asked about appeals, the policy is there is no appeal for K1 visas. What the Embassy does is send your case back to the US where it is left untouched where enough time has passed that it is no longer valid. This is why people are saying it may be moot to try to appeal because by the time you get somebody that can look at your case at the Embassy, it may no longer be there. 

 

You can inquire about your case and push for a review but do so with cautious optimism and a backup plan. Getting married and filing a spousal visa is one option of a back up plan. Also, moving forward with your immigration journey, arm yourself with knowledge of the process and system and try to be there every step of the way. that way you can immediately identify mistakes.

 

Best of luck.

[Fe.Ta 874]

😟 Aww, man.  I am so sad to read this, especially because I was rooting for you guys, since we were in the same March-April NOA2 bunch. 😣

 

I don't know much about your case.  But, it sounds like it could have been a deeper issue than an actual expiration date or that the officer not knowing the difference between K1 and CR1.

 

From what I've read in VJ, here are some of the factors that could be happening:

• As said before, depending on how the age gap falls (they question some decades more than others, i.e. 20 with 34 versus 30 with 44), it can be an issue.  Additionally, though it is a double standard, if the female is the older one, it gets scrutinize even more depending on the cultures.  In general, it is said that female petitioner applications have a higher chance of difficulty or scrutiny (not always the case, of course), even when there is no age gap.
• The local embassy.  It seems the DR embassy is a hit and miss and, although it is not a requirement, it helps to attend the interview together (probably).  Also, just like any immigration place, one officer doubting or not believing even a small piece is enough to halt the process.
• The political-security relationships between USA and the DR.  I am not into politics, so I won't know for sure.  But, as of April 2019 the travel advisory has been bumped to yellow as far as proceeding with caution when traveling to the DR due to the incidents that have happened at resorts with tourists, etc.  So, while not the heaviest factor, it is still something to consider.  Plus, the actual political relationship as it stands between the countries.  I also don't know if the DR is one of the countries that would be considered high-fraud (like some of the countries in Asia), which would also affect a decision.
• Time spent together.  You mentioned there were 5 trips?  Even though the number of trips is enough, it depends how long they were.  Some embassies or officers would weigh more 1-2 trips of 2-3 weeks than 5 trips of 5-6 days.  Just because the longer trips show the petitioner and the beneficiary have had some exposure to one another and the actual "living together" part.
• Longevity of the relationship.  While you may have a lot of evidence, some embassies or officers look at the timeline.  So, for example, if you met 1 year and 7 months ago and filed about 7 months ago or so, then the relationship only lasted a year before an application was submitted.  To VJ members, this is plenty of time and reasonable, BUT (again) none of us know how the officer will interpret it at the time of review, especially when considering other factors as the age gap and time spent together.

I am sure there are other factors I may be missing and I also don't have your file or know your case.  But, these were things I had to consider myself to look at our case beyond the evidence.  This is also why I went to the interview to be safe.  Of course, I completely understand that work and other life responsibilities don't always allow this to happen.

 

Re-applying for a K1 is a possibility as well as the CR1.  Either one, you will have to have patience and you are going to have to think about the pros and cons or how you can make it so the case is almost bullet-proof.

 

The best advice I can give you is that you know your case and you are the only one that would be able to see which is more realistic.  Also, when prepping your packet again, see it through the lens of an officer and imagine all the angles they would take to "tear" your case.   This is what we did we ours.  For example, we didn't have enough evidence of our parents' support because they are not tech savvy, so it would prove difficult to have screenshots of social media posts or conversations through text/Whatsapp.  Instead, we typed letters our parents wrote in support of our relationship and submitted those signed with state IDs to prove the signatures.  Likewise, we knew we had the "minimum requirement" of meetings but not as much as we would have liked (since traveling to and from Argentina is expense), so we decided that us attending the interview together added some points in our favor.

 

If you love one another, time will only make you stronger, and you will do anything you can to be together.

 

Best of luck!  Although I am not dealing with DR, if I can be of any moral support or insight, feel free to message! 😁

[Thunderbolt 172]

8 hours ago, user555 said:

Maybe you could tell them to watch 90 Day Fiance and look at Pedro and Chantel. They were approved for a K1 so you should be too. 

It's not Pedro. It's Molly & Luis.

[dentsflogged 352]

3 hours ago, msrodriguez said:

So basically they just messed with us. They don’t care and there’s nothing we can do. What a great system. 

It almost certainly wasn't intentional nor personal - it is absolutely a broken system but contrary to many people's thoughts when it happens to them, it's not aimed directly at keeping that individual and their loved one apart. It absolutely sucks, but it's easier to just take a deep breath and remind yourself that all governments break everything they touch and it's a sign of their ineptitude not of personal vendettas. 

Sadly, since you weren't at the interview, you don't know exactly what happened - only what your fiance tells you. It's possible that he's leaving out small details that he thinks don't matter, or that he was stressed at the time and has forgotten things (especially since it's so long ago).   

 

Others have asked pertinent questions which you haven't responded to - answers to that may help work out what went wrong so you'll be prepared when it comes to the CR-1 interview.  If you don't want to you don't have to answer them here, but think about them.  Who is the elder of the two of you?  If it's you, then it's going to be that much tougher.  Which decade are you both in? You're 30's and he's 20's? Or is he 30's and you're 40's?  Again, if it's that one, then it's going to be even harder.  

Were there any questions that your fiance had problems answering, and if so which ones?    There's no point in getting the CR-1 interview if he still fumbles with being able to name your parents or say what you do for a living because you can be 100% sure that whoever interviews him next time will have the notes from this interview in front of them and will absolutely be asking questions designed to trip him up on any of the things that he may have had issues with this time around. 

 

In terms of the CR-1 (which I agree with the other posters - this is the far superior route to go) - you're going to likely hit the same roadblocks of being asked for things like joint assets and such at interview if you were asked for them now.  Responding with "we don't have that because X reason" without offering something else of a similar nature isn't going to cut it when it's the second time around.    You can add his name to some assets without SSN. Ask around local banks until you find one that will let you open a joint account without his SSN (we found one in our town first try that would let me have an account by providing them my Australian tax reference number rather than a SSN). Be creative if you need to be - look for things which may not be 100% "iron clad" like a joint mortgage or similar - but that can be used to include in the totality of evidence which shows a joint life & finances - for us because we filed before I had an SSN and as such couldn't be on the mortgage for our home, we sent our joint account with proof of both of us depositing in it over a 12 month period, the paperwork from when we adopted our cat (with both of us listed as co-owners and on the pet insurance we purchased) and documents showing that I had purchased all the furniture and kitchen goods and laundry stuff for our new home (to the total value of the deposit that my husband paid on it) as well as a signed document that we had prepared saying that when my SSN was obtained and I had a decent credit score we would be refinancing the mortgage and adding me as co-owner - not exactly the same as being on the mortgage itself for those purposes but it all shows co-mingling of life and assets. 

Good luck OP. It's a long, hard road but you'll get there!

Edited August 20, 2019 by dentsflogged

[Helenlc 157]

oh damn hun... I just logged in and saw this... been rooting for you since we started this process together back in nov. It hardly seems fair what they have done, and even less so there is no right of appeals. 

 

But having seen you and your determination, spirit through all of this.. I will say don't let it break you... you will find a way to make this happen... look into the CR1 and go that way. 

 

 

[sbarbie1914 22]

I'm not sure I agree with getting married and starting the entire process over again.  You mentioned the 5th piece of evidence the officer was asking for was proof of joint assets, which is not required for a K-1 visa.  That missing piece of documentation is most likely the reason for the visa refusal, no matter how unfair it may be.  I Googled it and found this tid bit:

It's not necessarily something that can't be overcome.  I would suggest adding your fiance's name to your utility bill, or something similar, then bring that back to them.  You could also try calling or emailing the consulate, ask for a supervisor, find someone in charge to help straighten it out.  I am sure you are not the only one that's run into road blocks due to mistakes made on their part.

 

If that doesn't work, it may be cheaper and faster to hire an attorney rather than start the whole process over again with CR-1 visa application.  Maybe at least get some good advice from a knowledgeable attorney before making a next step.

 

[msrodriguez 267]

I am 39 and he is 26. Yes, I do understand that creates an issue. Men are approved with much younger women all of the time. Seems rather sexist. I know I sound a little bitter and poor me, but I'm just highly frustrated at this point. 

[geowrian 22,337]

To be more precise, an INA 221(g) refusal means the visa application does not conform to the requirements to issue the visa. This can be for a very broad set of reasons (missing documents, background checks, supervisor or legal review, document verification, etc.).

 

In this particular case, the CO appears to have determined that eligability for the visa was not established (the burden falls on the applicant to demonstrate eligibility - in this case relationship evidence-wise) and the petition is now expired. As such, the application is incomplete (it requires a valid petition) and a 221(g) refusal was given. The petition being expired means it will be returned to USCIS since petitions are their responsibility. USCIS will (eventually) terminate it for having expired. So it effectively is dead already.

 

Unlike some other cases where there has been a refusal and intent to send the petition back, the difference here is the petition is actually expired and they have no obligation to renew it. An appeal now just doesn't have anywhere to go...the petition is expired, they have chosen not to renew it, and that alone is cause for it to be returned.

Edited August 20, 2019 by geowrian

[SalishSea 17,818]

56 minutes ago, sbarbie1914 said:

I would suggest adding your fiance's name to your utility bill, or something similar, then bring that back to them. 

Really?  LOL.  You don't think they would see right through this?