K1 in process and old passport question (Split)

[bed1020 1]

Hello!

My fiance had a J1 visa when he was in high school, and in his home country, they literally take your old passport when you get a new one, so he doesn't have his old J1 visa. I don't know what to do, and I am kind of freaking out. It was from 14 years ago.

Edited December 29, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

***Topic split from an old thread.  Reference to old thread removed***

- VJ Moderation

[IWander 589]

Enter the information to the best of your recollection.  

[OldUser 6,650]

3 hours ago, IWander said:

Enter the information to the best of your recollection.  

Another option is contacting the sponsor company, they should have a record.

FOIA may also help.

[MeghanK 629]

First, don't freak out. I was also freaking out over this (assuming you read my previous thread 🙂) and it ended up being not a big deal.

 

IIRC we contacted the company who provided the J1 to my husband, they did not keep records longer than a few years. We kept that email exchange for evidence.

 

We also submitted a couple FOIAs to try to track down records of the J1, we recieved replies that they did not find any records. We kept that exchange for evidence as well. 

 

At some stage (maybe AOS, honestly can't remember), we included all that evidence with an explanation letter detailing everything we remembered about the J1. Basically just the year it was given and used and the agency it came from.

 

No one ever asked us about the J1 at any stage and it was never a problem. 

 

I could be wrong but I think the only thing they are looking for is related to whether or not the J1 had the home residency requirement and if so, that it was fulfilled or could be waived. Was your fiance in their home country for 2 years cumulative time after the J1 was done through when you applied for K-1? Because if so, I think you're fine. If you dont lie/withhold info, there is no available evidence of your J1, and you prove you did your due diligence to search for it, what more can you do? The chance of this messing with your K-1 is incredibly low IMHO. 

[bed1020 1]

Thank you! I actually have the K1 visa already (I need to update my timeline), and they didn't even bring it up at the interview! Now I'm at the AOS stage, and my lawyer wants us to provide all this evidence about his J1. Did they ask about it for you at the AOS stage? I got a DS2019 letter from the program, but she also wants us to fill out a FOIA to get record of entry and exit and the original J1 visa. I'm wondering if this is necessary? The 2-year residency requirement is easy to demonstrate that he fulfilled. 

[OldUser 6,650]

10 hours ago, bed1020 said:

Thank you! I actually have the K1 visa already (I need to update my timeline), and they didn't even bring it up at the interview! Now I'm at the AOS stage, and my lawyer wants us to provide all this evidence about his J1. Did they ask about it for you at the AOS stage? I got a DS2019 letter from the program, but she also wants us to fill out a FOIA to get record of entry and exit and the original J1 visa. I'm wondering if this is necessary? The 2-year residency requirement is easy to demonstrate that he fulfilled. 

Your lawyer is doing exactly what you paid for in the interest of beneficiary. 

What's going to be the proof of fullfiling the residency requirement? Also, the yes / no question regarding 2 year residency requirement should be answered truthfully. If fiance doesn't remember whether they were subject to this rule or not, they cannot answer truthfully.

[bed1020 1]

We received a DS-2019 letter which contained all his information from the original DS-2019 form from the official program coordinator, which states that he is subject to the 2-year residency requirement. That's how we know.

 

He recently stayed in the residency country for over a year, so we have passport stamps/plane tickets from that time period. For older years, (he's from Kyrgyzstan), we have documents with his official address registration in Kyrgyzstan (internal state ID card, registration forms, and his military ID card). Our lawyer is also preparing affidavits.