Denied at Interview

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

   You will need to show at some point proof all prior marriages are terminated.   This will be hard to do when there was no marriage.  You may end up moving there in the long run. 

[jaysaldi 213]

7 hours ago, TennilleO said:

He used an agent to complete his paperwork and didn't review any of the documents. During that interview he was denied for not having strong ties to his country. During our interview when they asked about previous visa he told them about the visitor one and then the CO asked if he was married or has been and he said no and then he brought it to his attention that his previous application stated that and he explained that he didnt complete that and paid someone. The CO said because he signed it he would have to deny him. 

The paperwork we later submitted through our Congressman was the high court certificate of singleness that stated he was not currently married. 

Did the agent simply click the wrong box (married instead of single) in a typographical error or did his application for a visitor visa state say who he was married to, the date of marriage, information about wife, etc.?

[Sparkle Sparkle 914]

Spousal visa is still the only option as USCIS recognizes common law marriage where licenses or certificates are not issued just verbal agreement. That's to say if his marriage is said to be a common law then he does not need to present any evidence of divorce if he goes through spousal visa, he only needs to present a document that states that he is single and available for marriage before he marries and file the spousal visa... Good and God be with you

[Sparkle Sparkle 914]

1 minute ago, Sparkle Sparkle said:

Spousal visa is still the only option as USCIS recognizes common law marriage where licenses or certificates are not issued just verbal agreement. That's to say if his marriage is said to be a common law then he does not need to present any evidence of divorce if he goes through spousal visa, he only needs to present a document that states that he is single and available for marriage before he marries and file the spousal visa... Good and God be with you

And of course this is an option available if you not already facing a ban for misrepresentation. 

[geowrian 22,337]

27 minutes ago, Sparkle Sparkle said:

Spousal visa is still the only option as USCIS recognizes common law marriage where licenses or certificates are not issued just verbal agreement. That's to say if his marriage is said to be a common law then he does not need to present any evidence of divorce if he goes through spousal visa, he only needs to present a document that states that he is single and available for marriage before he marries and file the spousal visa... Good and God be with you

Not always. See this case from last month.

More specifically, if one claims to be married on a DS-160, they will want to see evidence that the marriage was terminated, not just verbal agreements. Note that this may differ from somebody who claimed a common law marriage on a DS-160 (which is a valid option for marital status on it).

 

 

[Mrs Jones 1]

How long did he went for the interview that they’re using against him now? Had it been more than 5 years or so? 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

12 hours ago, TennilleO said:

Hello

My fiance had an interview and was denied based on a previous visitors visa that stated he was married. We provided paperwork stating that was not valid. He was still refused. I'm trying to figure out what can we do and if there is a next step. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

What were the details in the previous application.  Did he list a spouse’s name?  

[Temi & Obim 24]

13 hours ago, TennilleO said:

Hello

My fiance had an interview and was denied based on a previous visitors visa that stated he was married. We provided paperwork stating that was not valid. He was still refused. I'm trying to figure out what can we do and if there is a next step. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

1. When your fiance went for that visitor visa interview did he confirm or denied that his married to the CO? because what I remember when I went for my own visitor visa they asked me about my ties to Nigeria and if I was traveling alone, married or have any kids.
2. Also when he filled out a DS 160 form did list any spouse name?
My suggestion will be go to high court and request maybe there is something they can give him to show that his not married to anyone whether customary or legally. Because an agent won't just assumed his married so whatever he was planning to use then as prove is what you guys needs to find and dissolve officially before proceeding to spousal visa.  

[TennilleO 117]

5 hours ago, jaysaldi said:

Did the agent simply click the wrong box (married instead of single) in a typographical error or did his application for a visitor visa state say who he was married to, the date of marriage, information about wife, etc.?

The agent put a wife down, not sure about if other info was put.

[TennilleO 117]

1 hour ago, Mrs Jones said:

How long did he went for the interview that they’re using against him now? Had it been more than 5 years or so? 

It had been 4 years ago

[TennilleO 117]

35 minutes ago, Temi & Obim said:

1. When your fiance went for that visitor visa interview did he confirm or denied that his married to the CO? because what I remember when I went for my own visitor visa they asked me about my ties to Nigeria and if I was traveling alone, married or have any kids.
2. Also when he filled out a DS 160 form did list any spouse name?
My suggestion will be go to high court and request maybe there is something they can give him to show that his not married to anyone whether customary or legally. Because an agent won't just assumed his married so whatever he was planning to use then as prove is what you guys needs to find and dissolve officially before proceeding to spousal visa.  

To my understanding he didn't get that far on the visitors visa.

He went to the high court and got documents that he hasnt been married but it hasn't been any help. 

Im not sure what documents were turned in and dont know how to get a copy because he didn't ask for one.

I will try to see what he can find out on his end. 

Thank you

[geowrian 22,337]

2 hours ago, Temi & Obim said:

My suggestion will be go to high court and request maybe there is something they can give him to show that his not married to anyone whether customary or legally.

They can only provide information within their system (and it appears to have already been done and not been accepted).

When I married my now-wife (a filipina), she could have gone back to the Philippines and obtained a Certificate Of No Marriage (CENOMAR) showing she was not married still. Until we informed them of the marriage (ROM - a process you have to pay for and provides all sorts of documents...many people do skip ever doing this), as far as they knew she was still single and could obtain the necessary documents to marry somebody else. But she was certainly actually married.

The issue is no document proves somebody is single...just that there is no record of a marriage in a given jurisdiction. Generally it's just somebody's word and a lack of evidence to the contrary that they have to go by. The issue here is their sworn word said they were not single, and there is no going back on that as far as US immigration goes.

Edited December 4, 2019 by geowrian

[Temi & Obim 24]

4 minutes ago, geowrian said:

They can only provide information within their system (and it appears to have already been done and not been accepted).

When I married my now-wife (a filipina), she could have gone back to the Philippines and obtained a Certificate Of No Marriage (CENOMAR) showing she was not married still. Until we informed them of the marriage (ROM - a process you have to pay for and provides all sorts of documents...many people do skip ever doing this), as far as they knew she was still single and could obtain the necessary documents to marry somebody else. But she was certainly actually married.

The issue is no document proves somebody is single...just that there is no record of a marriage in a given jurisdiction. Generally it's just somebody's word and a lack of evidence to the contrary that they have to go by. The issue here is their sworn word said they were not single, and there is no going back on that as far as US immigration goes.

Now I understand, that is why I suggested to them to go look for the "documents" he was going to show as prove then

[carmel34 3,631]

It sounds like the denial was based on his lying on the tourist visa application.  He stated he was married on an official US government form that he signed under penalty of perjury, when he wasn't married.  The lie is on his record and always will be.  It was a serious federal offense.  Overcoming the misrepresentation will be very difficult, if not impossible.  Your only hope is to get married and file for a spousal visa.  During that process you will find out if he is eligible to file for a waiver, and if that is possible, a very good immigration lawyer who has experience filing waivers will be necessary.  It will be a long road and expensive, and at the end of the process he may still be denied.  If you really want to be together you should look into countries where you could live together outside the US if he is found inadmissible with a lifetime ban.  Good luck!

[Nitas_man 3,100]

2 hours ago, TennilleO said:

It had been 4 years ago

It is not possible to complete the application “family information” section without providing the name and address of the spouse listed in the “personal information” section
 

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/PDF-other/DS-160-Example_11012019.pdf

 

Read this example DS-160 application very carefully. Then ask your beneficiary to come clean and share exactly what was put on that form so that you can know how bad it is.  
 

Right now you’re being BS’d and since if you check “married” you HAVE to provide a name and address for the spouse (which the IO also has in front of him) you’re the only one in the loop being left in the dark.  If you don’t name the spouse, you can’t ever submit the application or it’s incomplete and gets rejected.

Me?  I’d be unhappy if I invested all that effort into someone who left out that critical detail that yes married was checked but didn’t add that a “spouse” was also NAMED in that application.  I’d be more unhappy if I got lied to and made to look stupid over it.
 

You can’t miss that and you are supposed to print out that application to bring to the interview by the way.  You’re getting snookered.  Your beneficiary?  Checking married AND naming a fake spouse puts him in a very bad place.

They’re giving him a chance to fix it, they have to because if he can produce some document then he’s off the hook.   Once the admission is made that there is in fact no spouse the denial reason will switch to a much more serious one than a missing document.

 

No wonder Nigeria is such a high fraud country if the “agents” routinely lie on simple B visa applications.  I don’t think you can lie on that level though unless the applicant participated.

Good luck

Edited December 4, 2019 by Nitas_man