Andrew010101

Hello, My fiancee was not approved at the consulate due to marijuana use. We were given a date, one year later, that she could come back and the recommendation to do monthly drug tests. The issue is that there are no directions on how to proceed regarding going back to the consulate for an interview after the retry at the clinic. Does she go to the clinic and show 12 months of drug tests, pass the drug test there, and the clinic deals with communication with the consulate? I could only find one thing regarding this scenario where somebody said the clinic will give the beneficiary a paper to take to the window at the consulate. I'm just trying to get more information instead of winging it. I plan on calling the clinic to ask but figured I'd put a post here for others to read. My attorney could not give me anymore information and thought that we were denied, should get married, and do a completely separate visa. We never got a denial and the case is still open.

Any update on this? My fiance was denied due to marijuana use and was given a date that she could come back, but no real instructions. I plan on calling the clinic but I'm unsure if they'll be any more helpful than the consulate itself. I am wondering if we go to the clinic on the given date, pass the drug test, and the clinic handles the communication with the consulate to reschedule. My attorney could not give me any information either.

What is the challenge you’re referring to? I knew she smokes but it slipped our minds. Pretty obvious in hindsight but all good, we move on. She already stopped and taking drug tests for the next 11 months. Not sure I understand your questions about how I feel about her arriving and millions of Spanish speakers. I think it will be a start to a good life.

Understood and I appreciate the linked post. It seems that the original poster was attempting to get the consulate to create a lost packet for them, not only answer one question (whether or not the consulate was supposed to help them, I don’t know). Honestly, I would not be surprised if the consulate did not answer a simple question for me- I’ve been dealing with government entities for years now and I’m fully aware of the games you have to play with them. As for the attorney, I’m not sure if I replied to you or it was someone else yesterday. I explained how I might have made my attorney think we were explicitly told the visa was denied because that is what I said. Although, I did show the papers given to my fiancée and it did not say we were denied, just to do the medical exam again in December. I’m assuming the attorney could have seen that and told me I was wrong. Besides all this, do you have any insight into my original post? Do you agree with the others saying we are simply put on hold until December? I do notice you have been a member of this site for years and have plenty of responses to people. Thank you.

I wish I had the power to tell someone’s effort level over my phone/computer screen and 7 short comments. I feel bad for anyone who pays for 3 immigration consultations before using a free open forum (at least when you’re not on a tight schedule). I’m sure the consulate would answer a quick question but would understand if not. Thanks for the response.

I’m unsure if my fiancée and I our at fault for leading them to believe it was denied. We received the papers back and I told the attorney we were denied due to marijuana usage. At the same time, I showed them all the forms we received- so they saw that there wasn’t any paper that stated we were denied, only the paper saying to do rehab/stop drug use and come back in December. I feel like we should have been told “no you were not denied..” and then basically what everyone on here has told me. I do appreciate everyone’s responses but I really want to get official confirmation that my fiancée only needs to get tested for 12 months and return. No having to redo the I-129f, etc. Unfortunately I’ve been very busy and unable to call the consulate yet. I am not doing anything until confirming this. I suppose it already is confirmed from the paper stating we are eligible for another exam in December.. I’m probably overthinking this. Anyways, thank you for the response and good words!

The attorney or my fiancée? And I posted this without the knowledge that the consulate holds petitions and it isn’t always a deny or accept. My attorney also agreed it was denied and we could resubmit or marry and do CR1. Without this post and assistance we probably would’ve gotten married or submitted an entire new I-129f.

My attorney did not detail this- they said we can resubmit the I-129f or switch to I-130 after married if we wanted to. Unfortunately we did not mention the marijuana usage not did they ask us. I feel pretty dumb considering I’ve been working for the government for years now- it’s something I should’ve known. Anyways, that resource you linked is amazing and answers many questions for me! Thank you for the response.

Thank you. If I can get this confirmed that it is on hold and not denied, it is definitely the best case scenario. I thought it was denied and had to restart the entire petition, or we had to switch to the I-130. Waiting 11 more months only for the medical exam/interview is perfectly fine at this point. Thanks for the response!

Appreciate it. The main reason I was thinking about the I-130 is because my attorney is working pro bono and will only continue to represent me if I switch to the I-130. I was under the impression I’d have to restart the entire process but it sounds like it is on hold and not actually denied. Thanks for the reply!!

I am active duty but I believe it is only if you are on orders to deploy. Furthermore, it only expedites one part as far as I know- and I don’t believe it is getting the medical exam or interview faster. I may be wrong.

Thank you!! Sorry, my profile is new so it wouldn’t let me make another comment the whole day. I appreciate you and your advice. Is there a way I can get this confirmed? I know calling USCIS gets you nowhere so I wonder if the consulate is any better. Again, thank you. I’ll have to give them a call soon.

I see. Are you implying that it would've specifically mentioned something along the lines of "do 12 months of testing AND resubmit I-129f" if that was the case? We are still waiting on the letter of denial but if the consulate only said what they said, that is all we must do? Thank you for the response.

Thanks for the response. Although aware of the importance and pros of coming with a green card vs. having to get one afterwards, we are really focused on getting her here ASAP. I think being in the military relieves a lot of stress that would be caused if she comes without a green card (knowing we will be stable regardless of her temporarily not working, etc.). I’m leaning towards trying the K-1 again but I’m hoping to get legal advice before making any decisions that could cost us some years.

I appreciate your responses. The return of paperwork from the consulate to USCIS confuses me. I could not find an answer on how long it’ll take for an official letter or notice of denial. Is there a chance it does not get sent back to USCIS and it remains open? Either way, I think even a refile of the I-129f and redoing everything would still be faster than the CR-1 route. Thanks again and sorry for all the questions. Finding answers on official government websites is hard when situations start to get unique.

Understood. The clinic is the place that recommended 12 months of testing/rehabilitation, but the paper from the consulate stated the following: applicant has demonstrated abuse or addiction to a controlled substance. You may obtain a new medical examination on this date | dayDEC2025 ] to demonstrate that you no longer abuse controlled substances. Pretty straight forward information but I was looking for possible insight or experience before we redo it and possibly get denied again. I also understand it is up to the consulate at the time of interview and no one knows for sure.

That’s a hard decision to make, especially after expecting her to be here within a few months of the interview she had in December. Do you have any insight on how another I-129f petition would look after the prior denial? I am active duty so unfortunately I cannot move there with her while we file the paperwork. Thank you for your response.

Hello all. My fiancee was drug tested at her medical exam in early December and tested positive for marijuana. Our K-1 was denied at the interview 3 days later. Unfortunately we were ignorant to this being a problem and now are trying to figure out what the next best step would be. She was recommended to do 12 months of drug testing/rehabilitation and come back for the medical exam/interview DEC2025. While this is not a problem, I have read/been told conflicting things such as drug use will likely result in a denial even with 12 months of clean testing. Since we have to wait this long again, I figured it might be best to get married and submit for the CR-1 instead so she can have her green card upon arrival, but I have seen that the wait times are upwards of 18 months or more. I am unsure of what to do next and there is a lot of conflicting accounts from everything I have read. I believe our next step should be one of the following: 1. Request to extend the I-129f until December. Fiancee does 12 months of drug tests and we redo the medical exam/interview. As said before, I have seen conflicting information with extensions as well; I have read that you can extend after denials by 4 months and others saying that you must refile, pay fees again, etc.. 2. Cancel I-129f petition, get married, and submit the I-130. If anybody as experience/advice on this, it would be greatly appreciated. Apologies if this is the wrong forum to post this in.