Approval after NOIR

[NatalieAyers 1]

Hello, I'm looking for a little hope. Has anyone else petition been sent back to USCIS from the Embassy with recommendation to revoke and later got approved.

I filed for my husband in December 2018. Our petition was approved April 2019 and had his initial interview in September 2019 and was placed into AP. We then had a dual interview (via phone for me and in person for him) in January 2020. We finally heard back December 2020 that our petition would be returned to USCIS with recommendation to revoke because we do not have a petitionable relationship (whatever that means). My husband is from Ghana and it's hard to find any happy ending. 

~ Hopefully yet scared

[SalishSea 17,980]

3 minutes ago, NatalieAyers said:

Hello, I'm looking for a little hope. Has anyone else petition been sent back to USCIS from the Embassy with recommendation to revoke and later got approved.

I filed for my husband in December 2018. Our petition was approved April 2019 and had his initial interview in September 2019 and was placed into AP. We then had a dual interview (via phone for me and in person for him) in January 2020. We finally heard back December 2020 that our petition would be returned to USCIS with recommendation to revoke because we do not have a petitionable relationship (whatever that means). My husband is from Ghana and it's hard to find any happy ending. 

~ Hopefully yet scared

"Petitionable relationship" sounds to me like maybe he is already married to someone else?  And maybe that marriage is more of the informal African type, but still legitimate enough to invalidate yours for US immigration purposes?

 

 

[NatalieAyers 1]

1 minute ago, Jorgedig said:

"Petitionable relationship" sounds to me like maybe he is already married to someone else?  And maybe that marriage is more of the informal African type, but still legitimate enough to invalidate yours for US immigration purposes?

 

 

That's definitely what originally went through mind. But he assured me he has never been married. I'm waiting for the letter from USCIS and will go from there. I'm really just looking for someone in a similar case as mine that received an approval after responding to the NOIR 

[SalishSea 17,980]

Just now, NatalieAyers said:

That's definitely what originally went through mind. But he assured me he has never been married. I'm waiting for the letter from USCIS and will go from there. I'm really just looking for someone in a similar case as mine that received an approval after responding to the NOIR 

It would only happen if they somehow denied it in error.  Are you sure no one has ever petitioned for him?  Sometimes applicants from African countries make the unfortunate error of lying on B visa applications about marital status, believing falsely that saying they are married (when not) will help them get a visitor visa.  That may also be what happened.

 

Have you thought of moving to Ghana?

[NatalieAyers 1]

Just now, Jorgedig said:

It would only happen if they somehow denied it in error.  Are you sure no one has ever petitioned for him?  Sometimes applicants from African countries make the unfortunate error of lying on B visa applications about marital status, believing falsely that saying they are married (when not) will help them get a visitor visa.  That may also be what happened.

 

Have you thought of moving to Ghana?

According to him, he has never been petitioned for or applied for a visitor's visa. And moving to Ghana is not in the cards for me. I take care of my disabled mother and she is not willing to go to Ghana and I am not willing to leave her. 

[SalishSea 17,980]

1 minute ago, NatalieAyers said:

According to him, he has never been petitioned for or applied for a visitor's visa. And moving to Ghana is not in the cards for me. I take care of my disabled mother and she is not willing to go to Ghana and I am not willing to leave her. 

Then I'd think very carefully and try to recall what was said at the interviews/the nature of the line of questioning.

 

Obviously it goes beyond the usual bonafides.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Not having a petitionable relationship means the US Embassy does not believe your marriage is a real.   The lack of a real marriage means you don't have the required relationship to petition for him.  

How did you guys meet?

 

Did you marry on the first visit?

 

How many time have you visited him?

 

What was asked in your joint interview?  It's extremely rare to have a joint interview.  A joint interview is an indication that they think he married you so he can immigrate to the US and it's not a marriage based on love.

[NatalieAyers 1]

1 minute ago, aaron2020 said:

Not having a petitionable relationship means the US Embassy does not believe your marriage is a real.   The lack of a real marriage means you don't have the required relationship to petition for him.  

How did you guys meet?

 

Did you marry on the first visit?

 

How many time have you visited him?

 

What was asked in your joint interview?  It's extremely rare to have a joint interview.  A joint interview is an indication that they think he married you so he can immigrate to the US and it's not a marriage based on love.

We met on Facebook in September of 2017 and we did not marry on my first visit I went there for the first time in January of 2018 ( we did have an engagement ceremony during this visit) and I went back in September 2018 to get married. I have made a total of 4 visits to Ghana. 

They mostly focused on how we met on Facebook during the dual interview and his father name. 

[carmel34 3,646]

11 hours ago, NatalieAyers said:

I'm really just looking for someone in a similar case as mine that received an approval after responding to the NOIR 

Not our personal circumstance, but I've been here active on VJ almost every day since 2018 and can recall a few couples who have successfully overcome similar situations with an NOIR for a CR-1.  Here are the steps I would recommend, do some or all of these things (they will all take many months, even years, depending on the specifics of your situation and what evidence you already have):

 

1.  Hire the best immigration attorney you can afford, he/she can assist you in gathering more evidence to submit in response to the NOIR once you receive it.  The NOIR should state the specific reasons for the denial.  If the denial was because of a material misrepresentation (e.g., lying to an immigration officer), the attorney can help you understand what, if any, steps you could take to try and overcome it.

2.  Do more visits to spend as much in-person time as you can, which could be difficult during this pandemic, and definitely expensive.  Time together is the best way to overcome doubts about your relationship being bona fide.  Marrying on only the second visit in a high-fraud part of the world is a a red flag.

3.  Do more financial co-mingling, as much as you can while living in separate countries, and gather up all the documents as evidence.  For example, file IRS taxes as married filing jointly, list your husband as beneficiary on your life insurance, health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, retirement accounts, bank accounts, and do a will, living will, and power of attorney.  Add your husband to your credit card account as an authorized user.  Those are just a few ideas that show a higher level of commitment in the marriage since there is financial risk associated with many of them.

4.  Many who have gone through the NOIR response process say that it takes forever to receive the initial letter, then once you gather documents and send a reply they take many months to review it and send their decision.  So others have suggested just filing a new I-130 petition but only after knowing the specific reasons for the denial of the first CR-1 and doing everything you can to overcome it in the second one with more visits, financial co-mingling, and knowing if a waiver of inadmissibility is needed (for example, if there was any misrepresentation on any forms or in the interview).

 

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Edited February 22, 2021 by carmel34

[JeanneAdil 6,583]

Unforunately ,  it takes a long time for the petition to be returned to the office here in the US/ under normal times it was 6 months but who can tell now when you will hear of the issue(s) the CO listed.  try to find out from your husband what they asked and what the CO said as this is important to get ready to appeal if you decide you have evidence (and i mean real evidence) that the issue(s) are in error.

You will have only 30 days to respond ( i am not sure if that is calendar days or business days)   

I appealed my case and the court of appeals declared my marriage bona fida but said i could reapply.

U really need to know what the CO says in your letter of NOIR as that makes so much a difference.

If there is a marriage that is not dissolved , or other HUGE issues,  forget and move on

In my case (even though i had made 5 trips and spent 6 total months there , the CO said he didn't know what books i read and i was able to come up with an old email telling him I was rereading Moby ####### and he responded "never heard of it"  and we discussed the difference in libraries and Morocco having no real understanding of what we consider the classics  / so proving my issue was easy but the Court of Appeals had my case 13 months and like i say "i had to reapply"   if i was to do it again,  i would reeapply and send the proof with a new application.  

 

I hope this helps somewhat and very sorry for what your heart is going thru

Jeanne

BTW married now 11 years in March and he is a citizen 

so,  if he is worth it ,  fight

[African Zealot 1,455]

15 hours ago, NatalieAyers said:

Hello, I'm looking for a little hope. Has anyone else petition been sent back to USCIS from the Embassy with recommendation to revoke and later got approved.

The Do It Yourself boat has already sailed. Time in to bring in the mercenaries, the hired big guns aka competent immigration attorneys. It is what it is.

 

Good Luck!

[Obaa Afia 3]

I went through the same thing. I went for interview twice in 2016 and my petition was sent back with the same reason. They said I was married and even gave me a name of someone I never knew. USCIS responded in 2017 and we got an immigration lawyer in the US. I swore an affidavit that I was never married. USCIS approved it again. And I went for another interview in 2018. I was then approved. Keep pushing if he has nothing to hide. All the best. 

[Far.han 9]

On 2/23/2021 at 10:10 AM, Obaa Afia said:

I went through the same thing. I went for interview twice in 2016 and my petition was sent back with the same reason. They said I was married and even gave me a name of someone I never knew. USCIS responded in 2017 and we got an immigration lawyer in the US. I swore an affidavit that I was never married. USCIS approved it again. And I went for another interview in 2018. I was then approved. Keep pushing if he has nothing to hide. All the best. 

Der can u share ur uscis case history timeline..it ll help...here is mine my cr1 case returned...

[Nockideetah 5]

Receiving another approval after the NOIR, what happens?

[NatalieAyers 1]

27 minutes ago, Nockideetah said:

Receiving another approval after the NOIR, what happens?

Still wait