I129F denied due to 2 year meeting requirement, next steps for person with flying phobia? (merged)

[Just Paul 4,595]

2 minutes ago, devusr said:

Even if we do get married in Sri Lanka, they want proof of a "bonafide" marriage.

It is not a "bona fide" marriage in Sri Lanka that you are proving.  It is a "bona fide" marriage anywhere in the world.  Look at the guide here or on the USCIS i-130 site to see what to include.  Getting USCIS approval is the easiest part.  Getting a visa issued at a consulate is the hard part especially if you only spend a few days together and never commingle finances, list each other as insurance beneficiaries, or obtain or do things a married couple would normally do.   

 

Visa fraud and marriage fraud is a real thing.

 

8 minutes ago, devusr said:

So it seems nothing is really guaranteed.

Nope nothing is truly guaranteed.   Just ask the spouse of someone who was forced to join the communist party or worked as a prostitute to feed her family and end up getting a ban.

 

10 minutes ago, devusr said:

It seems the good honest people are the ones that are always punished.

Simply you are not going to get an approved petition (the easy part) or an approved visa is you choose not to follow the rules of immigration.

[mushroomspore 3,044]

Not sure why you guys applied for the K1 when you didn't meet the requirements? Sorry but the truth is that they're REALLY strict about the requirements. I personally am not aware of any cases where they exempted people. This is going to sound harsh but USCIS and the consulate are highly unlikely to accept flying phobia as a viable reason for not fulfilling the requirement. It doesn't matter if you've been friends for multiple decades. The government has these specific requirement (must have met in person within 2 years of the filing) for a reason. You're also going to have a very hard traveling anywhere right now due to COVID. The rest of the world has shut out Americans due to that. This also doesn't even go into the fact that it's hard to convince the government (or anyone, really) you've been in a romantic relationship with someone if you haven't even seen your partner in person for a while. 

 

Quote

It seems the good honest people are the ones that are always punished.

Not really. Most people who have been approved are genuine loving good couples who have experienced their own struggles with this process. It's hard on EVERYONE. The separation is hard on EVERYONE. The waiting is hard on EVERYONE. We all want to think we're special and that our circumstances will make for certain exemptions but that's just not the case and that's not how the American government operates. 

[devusr 41]

There is an additional option, is it possible to do this?

 

The company that I work for in the US may allow me temporarily to work remotely from Sri Lanka for about a 1-2 years. If I move their, marry the beneficiary, can I file a DCF? Will they waive the minimum 6-month living requirement there?

[yuna628 9,676]

6 minutes ago, devusr said:

 

Even if we do get married in Sri Lanka, they want proof of a "bonafide" marriage. The certificate acknowledged by a sovereign nation like Sri lanka should be more than enough!! So it seems nothing is really guaranteed. It's really ridiculous.

 

It seems the good honest people are the ones that are always punished.

You really think that a marriage certificate is the only proof needed? If that is the case what proof did you send for the K1 and why was it rejected? The USCIS needs to determine that no fraud is happening. A marriage certificate doesn't prove that its a bonafide marriage, only that the marriage took place.

 

All of us have had to, one way or another go through this process. It has nothing to do with a good person or a bad person. We all had to provide proof, put in the time and effort to grow and develop our relationships, and satisfy the government as to the nature of the relationship.Right now there is a global pandemic and there are severe travel restrictions. We all have had to make sacrifices to be with the persons we love and jump through whatever hoops the government puts before us.

[Binbin22 232]

12 minutes ago, devusr said:

Yes, if we continue the route of meeting at Bahamas, we would do it in September/October.

Americans are ban from the Bahamas and there’s no expiration on the ban as get.. so Bahamas is not an option for now.. 

[carmel34 3,626]

I'm not sure of the track record for scrutinizing relationships in Sri Lanka, but more time together is always best, especially if you go down the CR-1 spousal visa path.  Maybe do more research on the regional forum looking for K-1 and CR-1 visa interviews in Sri Lanka.  It also depends on other relationship "red flags," basically the more you have the more likely they will look very closely at the file and hence the need to front and side load with relationship evidence.  Sending $30K to someone you have never met could be seen as one red flag, and sometimes a relationship that was initiated through family members is another.  Do you have an age gap?  Religious differences?  Language difference?  Just submitting a spousal visa petition with a marriage certificate may not be enough.  In our case, by the time of my husband's visa interview, I had visited him in Brazil 9 times, and once in Europe.  We front and side loaded as much financial co-mingling as we could, and were approved with no problems.  As others have said, the more time you spend together, the greater your chances of success if you decide on the CR-1 route.  Or go with K-1 and file with proof of meeting once somewhere in the world you can both get to, in your case, without having to fly.  Good luck!

Edited July 22, 2020 by carmel34

[ThomasNC1988 762]

2 minutes ago, devusr said:

There is an additional option, is it possible to do this?

 

The company that I work for in the US may allow me temporarily to work remotely from Sri Lanka for about a 1-2 years. If I move their, marry the beneficiary, can I file a DCF? Will they waive the minimum 6-month living requirement there?

DCF has all but disappeared I believe. You could very easily file traditionally after you have been there for 6 months. As in there is no reason for you to come home and file. Then you can stay there all the way through her interview and probable visa issuance.

[Just Paul 4,595]

9 minutes ago, devusr said:

If I move their, marry the beneficiary, can I file a DCF?

DCF as popularly used is no longer an option anywhere except in exceptional circumstances.   Moving back to the US due to a job requirement can be one of those reasons.  If you did move to Sri Lanka you do need to take steps to insure domicile or re-establishing domicile is not an issue.

 

You would need 6 months of legal residence there.

Edited July 22, 2020 by Paul & Mary

[devusr 41]

1 minute ago, carmel34 said:

I'm not sure of the track record for scrutinizing relationships in Sri Lanka, but more time together is always best, especially if you go down the CR-1 spousal visa path.  Maybe do more research on the regional forum looking for K-1 and CR-1 visa interviews in Sri Lanka.  It also depends on other relationship "red flags," basically the more you have the more likely they will look very closely at the file and the need to front and side load with relationship evidence.  Sending $30K to someone you have never met could be seen as one red flag, and sometimes a relationship that was initiated through family members is another.  Do you have an age gap?  Religious differences?  Language difference?  Just submitting a spousal visa petition with a marriage certificate may not be enough.  In our case, by the time of my husband's visa interview, I had visited him in Brazil 9 times, and once in Europe.  We front and side loaded as much financial co-mingling as we could, and were approved with no problems.  As others have said, the more time you spend together, the greater your chances of success if you decide on the CR-1 route.  Or go with K-1 and file with proof of meeting once somewhere in the world you can both get to, in your case, without having to fly.  Good luck!

 

We are about 2.5 years apart, she is buddhist (I used to be but am christian now), both speak fluent english and sinhala.

 

Can I file the CR1 with 1 visit and then do multiple visits AFTER filing the CR1?

[payxibka 10,045]

 

 

Just now, devusr said:

 

We are about 2.5 years apart, she is buddhist (I used to be but am christian now), both speak fluent english and sinhala.

 

Can I file the CR1 with 1 visit and then do multiple visits AFTER filing the CR1?

Of course ( after filing the  PETITION).  Application for the visa comes later 

[mushroomspore 3,044]

6 minutes ago, devusr said:

There is an additional option, is it possible to do this?

 

The company that I work for in the US may allow me temporarily to work remotely from Sri Lanka for about a 1-2 years. If I move their, marry the beneficiary, can I file a DCF? Will they waive the minimum 6-month living requirement there?

They're not going to waive anything and that's not really the way to go into this. All applicants are subject to meeting all requirements. That's just how it is. There are no shortcuts here. 

[ThomasNC1988 762]

1 minute ago, devusr said:

 

We are about 2.5 years apart, she is buddhist (I used to be but am christian now), both speak fluent english and sinhala.

 

Can I file the CR1 with 1 visit and then do multiple visits AFTER filing the CR1?

That would be the route most people take. Plenty of time to get visits in between filing and interview unfortunately. 

[carmel34 3,626]

4 minutes ago, devusr said:

There is an additional option, is it possible to do this?

 

The company that I work for in the US may allow me temporarily to work remotely from Sri Lanka for about a 1-2 years. If I move their, marry the beneficiary, can I file a DCF? Will they waive the minimum 6-month living requirement there?

This might work if you can take a boat to Sri Lanka, since you can't fly.  DCF is most likely not an option, it has been discontinued in most countries except for a few rare situations.  You would file a regular I-130 petition after marriage.  Later in the process you would need to show sufficient US-based income, which it sounds like you would have, plus a US domicile, so keep your US connections like a place to live, bank accounts, driver's license, pay US taxes, etc.  Find out from the Sri Lankan government what you need to live there for 1-2 years legally with your spouse.  Good luck!

[Just Paul 4,595]

2 minutes ago, devusr said:

 

Can I file the CR1 with 1 visit and then do multiple visits AFTER filing the CR1?

Sure but take the time to front load the petition all that you can.

[JFH 12,190]

4 hours ago, devusr said:

I sent it to her bank through western union over a period of 1 year. It was to be used for things like to pay rent, utilities, food etc.

 

Where can I get a yatch for 30k?

Who paid her bills before she was introduced to you?