My husband overstayed his visa in South Korea can he still be approved for a CR-1?

[Maam1819 7]

Hi I have been with my Moroccan husband for 8 years on and off. The on and off has been due to the distance and our lack of income. Now we are finally married and determined to make things work. In one of our off seasons he went to South Korea on an asylum type situation (for a lack of better words). And since the dates is Korea are similar to the US (mm/de/yyyy) he thought his visa expired at a later time because in Morocco their dates are (dd/mm/yyyy) so he was jailed for 3 months for this. Will this cause them to deny our CR-1? 

[MarJhi 959]

24 minutes ago, Maam1819 said:

Hi I have been with my Moroccan husband for 8 years on and off. The on and off has been due to the distance and our lack of income. Now we are finally married and determined to make things work. In one of our off seasons he went to South Korea on an asylum type situation (for a lack of better words). And since the dates is Korea are similar to the US (mm/de/yyyy) he thought his visa expired at a later time because in Morocco their dates are (dd/mm/yyyy) so he was jailed for 3 months for this. Will this cause them to deny our CR-1? 

Actually doing jail time for overstaying a visa in South Korea isn't a good look. I don't think the format of the dates being different is going to be seen as a valid excuse because most likely he knew he had a set amount of time ( 6 months, 12 months etc.) to be in country. If he knew he could only stay for 6 months, or whatever the number was, it wouldn't matter what the formatting of the dates was. 

 

So he went from Morocco to South Korea, overstayed, did jail time, then he went to Columbia? What is his status in Columbia? How long can he stay there? 

[Maam1819 7]

He didn’t over stay in Colombia. And we are back in Morocco together. So I’ll have to live in Morocco the rest of my life? 😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔💔💔

[Cathi 5,747]

1 hour ago, MarJhi said:

Actually doing jail time for overstaying a visa in South Korea isn't a good look. I don't think the format of the dates being different is going to be seen as a valid excuse because most likely he knew he had a set amount of time ( 6 months, 12 months etc.) to be in country. If he knew he could only stay for 6 months, or whatever the number was, it wouldn't matter what the formatting of the dates was. 

 

So he went from Morocco to South Korea, overstayed, did jail time, then he went to Columbia? What is his status in Columbia? How long can he stay there? 

Where did you get Columbia from???????????????????????????

[Maam1819 7]

I’m not sure how they knew we were in Colombia but it’s in fact true but not relevant to the question 

Edited May 5, 2022 by Maam1819

[Redro 4,611]

2 hours ago, Maam1819 said:

Hi I have been with my Moroccan husband for 8 years on and off. The on and off has been due to the distance and our lack of income. Now we are finally married and determined to make things work. In one of our off seasons he went to South Korea on an asylum type situation (for a lack of better words). And since the dates is Korea are similar to the US (mm/de/yyyy) he thought his visa expired at a later time because in Morocco their dates are (dd/mm/yyyy) so he was jailed for 3 months for this. Will this cause them to deny our CR-1? 

File the I-130. Wait for it to be approved. When you get to NVC stage you will have to submit documents from Korea- police record and documentation about his arrest. 

He might receive his visa, he might be denied with the ability to file a waiver... 

You don't know until you try... 

Also, dates in Korea are YYYY/MM/DD. 

 

 

[MarJhi 959]

33 minutes ago, Cathi said:

Where did you get Columbia from???????????????????????????

Just looked at some of her past posts and saw they went to Columbia. Wasn't all that hard to do. 

[JeanneAdil 6,496]

4 hours ago, Cathi said:

Where did you get Columbia from???????????????????????????

January post where OP states leaving Korea to go to Columbia

[JeanneAdil 6,496]

4 hours ago, Maam1819 said:

I’m not sure how they knew we were in Colombia but it’s in fact true but not relevant to the question 

people try to help

and some of us,  like me, will be brutally honest

not to be cruel but to tell u the ups and downs of this process 

u need to be fully aware of how the case will look to the CO

so, i will wish u  good luck but please take heed to what our experienced VJ members say to get thru the process and receive a visa for your husband

 

and yes,  all  his travel and all his stays in other countries are relevant

and travel to a country that produces 70% of the world's cocaine and is known for its illegal drug trade is going to affect his application too

he will have to fill out the ds 260 and all travel is on the form

 

now,  for Korea,  get the report in full form the country

submit the copy with your petition

if Co is concerned ,  they will tell u if u can submit a waiver 

the CO probably does not care about the overstay but will be concerned with the jail sentence which can be overcome with a waiver (if CO mentions u can apply for one)  

 

U don't have to live in Moroc forever but your spouse visa process will take a few years (normal is 2 and with waiver u r looking at 3 or more)

 

file your US taxes

keep a US residency with a state DL license,  US bank account ,  owning property or mail going to relative where u would live if here

have income needed to support the visa according 125% of poverty guidelines and a joint sponsor if needed 

 

hope all the above helps / really we do try to help

incha yekbel

[Kai G. Llewellyn 837]

I mean if he's asked about violating immigration laws in other countries, ever claimed asylum, or overstaying in other countries (that can include "have you EVER overstayed a visa" or "have you EVER violated immigration laws"), he'd need to declare the what happened, where and all that jazz. But in terms of his ability to get a CR-1...no, I shouldn't think so. Oh, he'll also need the police cert from ROK and to explain any criminality there, but I'd doubt an immigration violation would be consider a CIMT that'd require a waiver. Although the prior asylum situation could cause questions over the validity of the relationship, there's no hard prevention of him being able to get a visa. Just be sure you have plenty of evidence to back up the marriage and be truthful!

Edited May 5, 2022 by Kai G. Llewellyn

[Adventine 3,196]

7 hours ago, MarJhi said:

Actually doing jail time for overstaying a visa in South Korea isn't a good look. I don't think the format of the dates being different is going to be seen as a valid excuse because most likely he knew he had a set amount of time ( 6 months, 12 months etc.) to be in country. If he knew he could only stay for 6 months, or whatever the number was, it wouldn't matter what the formatting of the dates was. 

 

So he went from Morocco to South Korea, overstayed, did jail time, then he went to Columbia? What is his status in Columbia? How long can he stay there? 

 

 I agree that misunderstanding the date format is not a valid excuse for overstaying. South Korean visas are pretty clear:

 

Source: https://www.visahq.in/south-korea/information/

Item 12 below: Maximum duration of stay in South Korea per each entry.

 

 

 

 

I can't say if this is enough to deny a CR-1 but it definitely won't help their case.

 

[Maam1819 7]

5 hours ago, ROK2USA said:

File the I-130. Wait for it to be approved. When you get to NVC stage you will have to submit documents from Korea- police record and documentation about his arrest. 

He might receive his visa, he might be denied with the ability to file a waiver... 

You don't know until you try... 

Also, dates in Korea are YYYY/MM/DD. 

 

 

I’m obviously going to still file for him. The point of the post is to see if anyone has ever had success getting a visa after a situation similar to this. The date format in korea differs from Morocco and he made a mistake is my point. The exact example wasn’t important it was just to convey an understanding of the confusion he had

[Maam1819 7]

9 minutes ago, Adventine said:

 

 I agree that misunderstanding the date format is not a valid excuse for overstaying. South Korean visas are pretty clear:

 

Source: https://www.visahq.in/south-korea/information/

Item 12 below: Maximum duration of stay in South Korea per each entry.

 

 

 

 

I can't say if this is enough to deny a CR-1 but it definitely won't help their case.

 

This looks pretty confusing to me! I’m explaining to you what happened. I’m not here to trying to validate an excuse at all. His visa was valid for much longer than 6 or 12 months. He was there LEGALLY for 3 years. My husband is not perfect. He suffers from mental Illness and maybe that affected the situation. I think all of this is besides the point.  I just want to know if anyone has ever been APPROVED after a similar situation? That’s all. I want a glimpse of hope or maybe to know if it’s impossible so we can work on a back up plan for our future. Not to validate his mistakes— that’s not going to help us now at all. Thanks…

[Maam1819 7]

10 minutes ago, Maam1819 said:

This looks pretty confusing to me! I’m explaining to you what happened. I’m not here to trying to validate an excuse at all. His visa was valid for much longer than 6 or 12 months. He was there LEGALLY for 3 years. My husband is not perfect. He suffers from mental Illness and maybe that affected the situation. I think all of this is besides the point.  I just want to know if anyone has ever been APPROVED after a similar situation? That’s all. I want a glimpse of hope or maybe to know if it’s impossible so we can work on a back up plan for our future. Not to validate his mistakes— that’s not going to help us now at all. Thanks…

 

10 minutes ago, Maam1819 said:

This looks pretty confusing to me! I’m explaining to you what happened. I’m not here to trying to validate an excuse at all. His visa was valid for much longer than 6 or 12 months. He was there LEGALLY for 3 years. My husband is not perfect. He suffers from mental Illness and maybe that affected the situation. I think all of this is besides the point.  I just want to know if anyone has ever been APPROVED after a similar situation? That’s all. I want a glimpse of hope or maybe to know if it’s impossible so we can work on a back up plan for our future. Not to validate his mistakes— that’s not going to help us now at all. Thanks…

Furthermore here is what it looks like not what you put. Please tell me how straightforward this looks:

[JeanneAdil 6,496]

yes,  people have overcome jail time or other issues 

from the Korean site:

 

Remember that when traveling abroad, any incidents or concerns regarding your travel visa, documents, or passport can be reported to the embassy representing your nationality.

 

so,  read up on what happens if the CO gives u a 221g which can be for additional documents or can be for a denial and case returned to US for a NOIR or NOID 

very helpful to know about a 601 waiver ,  and what happens for NOIR/NOID

and many of us go thru this extended process / i got a NOID and appealed it and won

its is possible to overcome a denial / just understand the process completely

 

also if he has a mental illness, document it and show the treatment he is receiving