African Zealot

To the OP if your spouse has previously sponsored someone, then your application is not clean (doesn’t mean it’s fraudulent) and retaining the services of a competent immigration attorney is prudent. Don’t waste too much time on VJ, we will be conjecturing because we don’t know everything about the case. A competent immigration attorney who you/she can discuss the history honestly and openly with is the best bet. At this stage, I’m out.

I think you didn’t understand him. When West African immigrants say they are going home for a project, it means they are going home to review or supervise the house or property they are building in their home country. It is part of a legitimate vacation. For us vacation doesn’t mean going back home to do nothing. Vacations are wrapped around projects. The vast majority of Africans, who return home for vacation include working on their project. To the OP, don’t rush to go and pay an expensive immigration attorney over this if you know, your marriage is genuine, it might be much ado about nothing. If she has not previously petition for someone and the marriage is bona fide, I don’t see the need to go and pay an expensive immigration attorney. The airfare from Sierra Leone to Nigeria is about $750 so perhaps the consular officer found it a little strange that she didn’t take the opportunity to pass by Nigeria to visit you while on her vacation to Freetown. I would also find it a little bit unusual if I was a Consular officer.

There’s a way to make it longer. I don’t know about any way to shorten it although I’m open to learning. Good luck!

I don’t recollect seeing it in the FAM however it’s based on my knowledge of three people who surrendered their permanent residence status and got visitors visas. Two or at least one of them I know previously were out of status and naturally worked undocumented for part of the time. Also my extrapolation of marriage to a citizen making previous illegal work forgivable. Can the consular officer suddenly choose to unforgive what had been forgiven?

Best option is to get your citizenship as described by others already. if you’re unable to do that, contrary to other opinions I believe if you surrender your green card voluntarily, your chances of getting a visitor visa are very good. The past violations won’t/shouldn’t affect you because by surrendering your green card voluntarily, you amply demonstrate you no longer have immigrant intent. Are you getting divorced? Or are you relocating with your spouse? Or are you planning to have a long distance marriage? Don’t do it! 😁

Actually unlike what others are recommending, going home now is not a solution. They’ve already been working illegally so if they’re going to be completely honest in subsequent interviews, they cannot return. Visas won’t be approved. Returning to the USA is out. I can’t also recommend they may as well continue with their illegal stay and illegal plan to obtain citizenship at some point probably through marriage. This is a mess all around and happens a lot. Ugh!

That’s one of the realities when you choose to cross the pond and marry a foreigner

I am yet to see a US passport with US visa in it 😜.

Define fairness. This conversation is going nowhere. In my opinion and apparently based on evidence, the diversity from the 50,000 or so diversity applicants is more important and beneficial than bringing your adult children here. Why should we even bring your adult children here? They’re adults! They shouldn’t even be allowed to come at all except visit. Or we may as well bring your entire clan. They are lucky they even have a queue to join. In most countries they would be completely out of luck. The focus of immigration should be on “improving” the citizen stock, not bringing in anyone because they’re related to citizens. I fully support quotas because without quotas some countries will flood the United States. And no I didn’t get here through diversity lottery 😂 PS: DV lottery winners are not highly educated, they only have to pass high school level of education. That’s not highly educated in my book or by any objective measure.

Most countries have done away with family unification visas except for children and spouses. The USA 🇺🇸 policy is an anachronism. Why should my brother be allowed to migrate here because I did? He has a totally separate life. Spouses and children should be it.

Your fiancée made two visits of 5.5 months within a year and had information about working on her phone but the phone belonged to her auntie? That’s a very interesting coincidence and no immigration officer is going to buy that story going forward. Luckily the denied entry and withdrawal of visitors visa shouldn’t affect the immigrant visa petition.

Please also note that the Covid excuse is worn out now. The pandemic has been over a while. If it goes completely south and the put you into proceedings, have a better excuse. Good luck!

What really is the point of these questions? Does whatever answer he provides affect whatever recommendations we’re going to give him? OP and his father committed immigration fraud and is paying the price harshly. No need to drag him by asking questions that rub in his past deception. Just my $0.02, I am not violating TOS because I haven’t implied you shouldn’t comment. 😂 OP, four years ago we purchased a plane ticket for Mr. Amuzu, a man from my original country to return home after his cancer became terminal. He came here on a humanitarian visa to bury his son and overstayed for years. Sometimes one wants to be back home when things get to this stage. I judge no man however I honestly don’t see your father getting here soon or indeed ever. Fortunately these days we have FaceTime and WhatsApp et al to connect with our loved ones despite the distance. My advice would be to stop expending time, effort, energy and cost on what will ultimately most likely be a futile expedition but then I understand not everyone is a practitioner of Stoicism and embraces fate. I wish you and your mother and family the very best. 🙏🏾

At this point all the questions OP is being asked to try to pinpoint the problem are a fishing expedition. Best advice is to retain the services of a qualified immigration attorney. Similar thing happened to a roommate of mine years ago. He canceled his joint insurance policies with his wife the very day his green card was approved and subsequently divorced her. The interviewing officer “suggested” he withdraw his application. He did and reapplied x years (x= 3,4 or 5, I forgot) later and was approved without a hassle. OP given your inconsistent answers, I would advice you allow a very healthy amount of time elapse before you reapply because honestly you excuse about jet lag etc being the reason you completely flunked the answers to those questions don’t fly with me. Don’t push your luck by reapplying too soon. My $0.02

It will affect you and rightly so. It definitely wouldn’t make sense for you to be approved when you’re delinquent in your obligations to the government and country.

Don’t be in denial. Kaput that wedding pronto. After that Spend some time trying to get to a happy place with all, if that doesn’t happen you have some hard choices to make. Personally I think your fiancée gotta go, not because a person can’t cut off their kids but because she’s abandoned you a few times. She’s not 100% into it, I am not a fan of people who bail when the going gets tough particularly in situations (like stepmom stepchild situations) where it is expected that things will get tough. My $0.02

Furthermore note that financial issues are the #2 cause of divorce. Being young and broke are not good markers for a sustaining marriage. I guess what I am recommending is, it shouldn’t be just about financially qualifying, that’s a low bar to clear. There should be enough income to reduce chances of stress from finances. Good luck!

I would estimate that 75% or more of the time if you do that, you’re essentially also saying goodbye to the marriage. I don’t know if your wife is already here however chances are she will divorce after her immigration status is secured. Generally when you’re marrying a woman with children, her mantra is love me, love my children regardless and if you do anything at all that she perceives as unloving to them, you’re dead in the water. Good luck to you!

She should (not can) go home. Bundle her on the next convenient flight and send her home. As a marriage counselor within my community I have on occasions purchased plane tickets to dispatch in-laws back home (and got reimbursed later of course 😁). Mothers in law in my immigrant community are notorious for causing marriage friction upon their arrival although usually it is the man’s mother who is the culprit, not the woman’s in this case. Send her home, all the money you spent is already spent and a sunk cost and shouldn’t come into the equation. Send her home, and have proof she departed so in case in the future she wants to come visit and it comes up, she has proof she departed before the test date. I know you love your mum but send her home now, because it’s not going to get better. Trust me it will be one of the best decisions you ever took and best for all including her. My $0.02!

In my opinion pursuing this is a waste of everyone’s time including immigration authorities, yourself, your sister and the dishonest bird who has flown away. I don’t see it going anywhere based on what you wrote. Divorce and move on My $0.02

Don’t be a sucker. Inasmuch as you’ve developed bonds with them, you would have no legal basis to keep them and the longer you stay with her before pulling the plug, the more locus she would have in demanding support from you for all the kids. Pull her affidavit of support, you will thank us later for the advice. This relationship apparently was a train wreck ab initio!

You didn’t read my whole posting.😁 I made a distinct exception for developed western countries and India.

It can’t be the M. Eng. I have an M. Eng from NC State and a jaw breaking foreign name however after graduation during interviews never had any questions to clarify what it was. Also just choose the MS option like you’ve been doing. A word for you though, I don’t know what country you’re originally from however if it not from a handful of western developed nations like the UK or Canada, your chances of getting a position related to your degree particularly STEM positions are slim to none except perhaps software and programming and IT positions if you’re from India. Sadly and May I say ignorantly many/most Americans or perhaps American recruiters don’t have much respect for foreign degrees and for many immigrants getting a masters degree in the USA is not by choice but to make it easier to integrate or be accepted in the American workforce. In the interim keep churning out those applications and welcome!

Forget about USA for a while buddy. You’re extremely likely to get another refusal at which point you would be on the precipice of spiraling into a vortex of refusals from which some never extricate themselves.

Maybe another question is, are they perhaps considering she’s coming to do a “job” that should be done by a U.S. caregiver in which case it would be illegal? If you’re reapplying perhaps you should reframe it as emotional support. Some of the visa “restrictions” are problematic because they’re not necessarily crafted to cover every possible scenario.