Cambodia k-1: Refusal Worksheet, case returned to USCIS

[Csdvii 0]

Hello everyone! My name is Chan, this is my first post, but I have come to a point where I need help or some assurance that what I am doing is good for my case.

I was in Cambodia for two weeks in late June 2012 for my Fiancees interview, it being our first I will admit we were not prepared. In hindsight I blame myself, I research almost everything up to this point. I'm still kicking myself because I will always wonder if I could change the outcome. I will try again no doubt. I've been in a relationship with my Fiancee for a year and a half.

What I am asking is what evidence would best prove in my favor for the following:

1. CO did not believe our relationship was genuine.

I have many photos (2 full printed albums), I have visited twice. Printed out all our emails. Receipts for my flight and an engagement ring I bought for her. Visa photocopies of my travels.

I am going to add to next attempt: Phone call records and all chat logs (we chat twice a day, some short some long). I've started video chat, but how would I prove this using FB Video Chat or Gmail Video Chat without any activity logs. Or do you recommend Skype for these records?

2. CO says the person who introduced us is too involved, maybe CO meant this because it was her uncle from the US, who is a dear friend of mine. I do not know in what exact context the CO was referring to him as, maybe I will have to see on the NOIR notice. He does in fact support her and rest of his family in Cambodia when he can. I don't see why this has any bearing on my relationship to her, Hes always helping his family before I knew her. Is there a way to prove that I am not tied to him. This maybe tie in with the third point of interest.

3. C0 says her past visa "misrepresentation" was also an issue. Case was filed on behalf of her uncle(brother of the uncle that introduce us) that lives in Cambodia that adopted her when she was under 18. They request DNA test but this was never done and case was denied. This case started in 2005 and end probably in 2008. This ones seems hard to overcome and really cause of concern for me. Is getting married there a good option and just file CR1, will this say to them I'm committed to her and that her past visa attempt be barred from being an issue altogether.

I want to add is all of our photos we are not hugging or kissing or anything of that nature, we are more private when it comes to this. Is it good to add these to our evidence, not that we have been taking any pictures like these.

OK any advice, experience, or questions would really help me, or If I am doing something wrong please let me know. Thank you for reading this. I greatly appreciate it.

[del-2-5-2014 1,339]

Hello Chan, sorry that this is happening to you Guys. It's rather daunting to have your future life in the hands of someone that spends maybe 30 minutes on your stuff.

I just wanted to say that what I've garnered on here is that unless the core reasons for the refusal are dealt with, that filing a CR1 from a K1 refusal can also lead to another refusal.

So you have some work to do.

[eaglewest 9]

Hello Chan, I am sorry to hear about your refusal. I'm not an expert to help answer your question. But first, if you don't mind me asking, how did you become a US citizen? by birth, through parents or by married to a US citizen before? and back to your fiancee, in which type of visa she used to apply before? Sounds like she was petitioned before by her uncle. If she was involved with material misrepresentation, This is serious problem.

couple of reasons for K1 visa denial:

The CO can deny K1 visa due to serious medical condition (beneficiary has communicable desease that is a thread to the public)

The CO can deny K-1 visa due to lack of termination of prior marriages on the part of either the beneficiary or the petitioner.

The CO reserves the right to deny your K-1 visa. If you or your fiancee made a false statement or an omission on any U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) form with the intent to receive a K-1 visa benefit.

Note:

Section 212(a)(6)© of INA strictly forbids fraud and misrepresentation for the purposes of obtaining an immigration benefit. In fact, violating this provision could cause U.S. embassies worldwide to bar your foreign future spouse from ever entering the United States without a waiver.

So your problem could be misrepresentation on your fiancee's part (past visa) as you stated on your post. It's not about you should add skype/FB video chat or phone call records to the email and photos that you already have.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

1. CO did not believe our relationship was genuine.

They suspect everyone of this in southeast Asia, but your fiancee more so because they're convinced she had an ulterior motive.

2. CO says the person who introduced us is too involved,

This is a killer at every consulate in southeast Asia. An immigration lawyer in Saigon who is fairly well known on this forum refers to this scenario as "Uncle Boom Boom". The uncle introduces an American friend to his niece for the primary purpose of helping her to immigrate to the US.

3. C0 says her past visa "misrepresentation" was also an issue.

Well, at least he didn't say she was permanently barred from the US. That would be the usual result for someone who was determined to have been guilty of material misrepresentation, but they don't usually impose that penalty on a minor. Adoption fraud in Cambodia is widespread, so much so that USCIS stopped accepting adoption petitions for Cambodia in 2001.

Here's a USCIS Q&A about this:

http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/AdopProcCambodia_020702.pdf

USCIS and Department of State are still not accepting adoption petitions for beneficiaries in Cambodia because of the fraud issue.

Here's the low-down: The consulate believes her uncles are pulling every trick they can to get your fiancee into the United States with a green card. The consulate believes they tried the adoption route and then backed out when they were asked for DNA because they knew they'd been caught. The consulate now believes her uncles are trying to hook her up with an American so that she can immigrate via marriage. They may or may not believe that you are in on the caper, depending on your circumstances. If you happen to work for one of her uncles, or if you have marginal income that barely qualifies you to sponsor an immigrant, or especially if her uncle helped pay your expenses to travel and meet her, then the consulate probably thinks you're not only in on the setup, but that you're probably being paid to help. If none of those circumstances applies to you then the consulate probably just thinks you're an unwitting accomplice who has been duped by the uncle and your fiancee.

The situation with the uncle is not insurmountable if you can demonstrate that the uncle was a friend of yours long before he offered to introduce you to his niece, and that you don't have a business relationship with the uncle that would make you subordinate to him (i.e., his employee), and that your life is comfortable enough that you couldn't be bought off to help his niece immigrate nor accept any financial assistance from him in arranging for your trips to Cambodia. You have to convince the consulate that YOU are above suspicion, and that the uncle did nothing more than arrange the introduction. After that, you were in control of the relationship. This could have been handled with the documents you sent with the petition. Question 18 on the I-129F is an excellent opportunity to address these sort of red flags.

You can marry your fiancee now and file an I-130 while you're waiting for an answer from USCIS, but I strongly recommend you don't rush into this. Make several more trips and gather a lot more evidence first. You'll need more ammunition at the next interview.

If you get a NOIR then you must respond forcefully with a truckload of evidence, even if you've already married and filed an I-130. If the approval of the I-129F is revoked then your fiancee will be guilty of material misrepresentation, and you'll need to a hardship waiver to overcome this.

[ChetT 9]

JimVaPhuong said it best. If I were the CO, your case look fishy. Sorry to day that, you have a hard fight, but not impossible.

[SupastarsaM 7]

I've started video chat, but how would I prove this using FB Video Chat or Gmail Video Chat without any activity logs. Or do you recommend Skype for these records?

Every time you chat, do a screen capture. It will save the image that you have on the screen at that time. I did that every time I was online with my wife. I printed those out and included it with the pictures. Good Luck.

Sam,

[SPSguy 18]

Dear all,

Perhaps I can offer some insight. I am a naturalized American with Cambodia as birthplace. I married my Cambodian wife in 08, and are still married today with a handsome 5 month old son added to the equation. We knew each other 2+ years prior to filing our K3 at the time and my wife was approved for a K3 visa in less than 5 minutes interview. She was able to visit the US several times as we both worked in Cambodia. Unlike most couples that couldn't wait to enter the U.S., my wife and I weren't ready to emmigrate to the States. So we ended up petitioning for the IR1 Visa on top of the K3 visa. The IR1 was approved in less than 5 minutes also. On her second interview the CO didn't quite understand why my wife had applied for two visas since the K3 hadn't expired. I had to educate the CO that the K3 is a faster visa and it allowed her visit the U.S. multiple times while we worked in Cambodia. During this time, we both worked in Cambodia for two more years. After the two year mark, I petitioned for the IR1..ten year Greencard for my wife. WE have since applied for a re entry permit due to our circumstances and work in Cambodia.

My experience with the Phnom Penh, Cambodia consulate has been positive. Having attended both interviews with my wife for the K3 and IR1 ( and over hearing others interviewed during our wait ) here is my recollection and personal opinion:

It appears reasons 2 and 3 support #1.

In Cambodia, like many Southeast Asian countries, marriage fraud is rampant and regularly excercised and accepted as a norm. Although traditionally, marriages have involved the introduction from relatives...ie.. uncles, nieces, parents and sibblings, it has become common for "arranged marriages for a fee."

It has also become common for relatives to conjure up schemes to sponsor entire families to the United States. Uncles and Aunties marry nephews and nieces for immigration benefits. Mothers divorce fathers and later marry for fee or marry a relative to bring to the U.S. Cousins sometimes get involved to bring over their own relatives and on and on. Some people divorce on paper but live together in real life for both immigration benefits and public assistance.

When you consider our relaxed immigration laws, loopholes, exceptions, and special waivers ( example use/abuse of VAWA ) many people that should be deported are able to retain their residency with the help of relatives that have conjured and calculated schemes to trick the system. In recent years, we have seen outright immigration fraud committed by many Cambodians..both new immigrants and naturalized.. whereby sums of money exchange hands for the purpose of acquiring residency. In fact, some people have turned America's relaxed immigration laws into income generators. If you have lived in Cambodia for any period of time, you will know that anyone can find out the "going rate" for fake marriages. Today it's around $30-$40,000. Someone with no work or saving can easily pocket this money by becoming a petitioner for K1 and spousal visas.

I believe the OP may be aware of the fraudulent epidemic, thus, it is expected and personally -- I support the meticulous filtering of new immigrants from Cambodia and Southeast Asian countries in general. As a Citizen of a country that values honesty, personal integrity, and merit, I despise people that sell their names, credit, and status to the highest bidder. What will this do to the future of America if we as Americans permit this to continue? How many criminals do we want to become Americans? Criminals breed new criminals tying up our justice and immigration system, jeopardizing the quality of the American culture.

Having said that, America still needs new quality immigrants to feed our culture of freedom, innovation and hardwork. What can we do but to enforce strict yet encourage continuous immigration?

In response to the OP, I would advise using "time" to prove to the CO that the relationship is valid with true intent for love. No need to focus on screen shots, email, or anything that can be paid with money as proof. In Cambodia, everyone knows that people and there are services for a fee that will arrange a weddings with food, actors, dancers, music, and even parents/relatives for the bride/groom. The statistic speaks for itself on the # of K1 visas that ended in divorce within 1-2 years; how many spousal visas ended in divorce only to have repeat petitioners take part in arranged relative immigration schemes.

"Here's $30,000 for you to sponsor my niece, if you like her and things work out great. If not, it's your money for the taking. Take $10K now and $20K later." This is the type of scheme coming out of Cambodia.

Unfortunately this makes it difficult for honest people to bring their loved ones to America. The thieves, crooks and bad guys are always one step ahead. They know how to deceit and act better than the average person. They can stand and lie in front of the COs without a blink of an eye. Honest people on the other hand shake and stumble over simple questions like, "Why do you want to come live in America?"

There are two sides to every story and two lawyers in every court case. The burden of proof ( as it should be ) is on the petitioner to show history, duration, and authenticity. The best the OP can do is be honest and try his best. The CO has the responsibility to detect potential problems that may or may not appear to be in the best interest of the petitioner but yet in the best interest of America.

The COs are always on the lookout for intent from all parties as sometimes the petitioner can be authentic but the beneficiary and her uncle may not.

Hope this helps. Focus on showing authenticity, history, and duration of the relationship.

[SupastarsaM 7]

What's wrong with collecting screen shots with both parties in the picture having a chat submitted as part of the evidence? Not good enough? The fella needed some help and I suggested he do something that I did. My suggestion isn't good enough?

[SPSguy 18]

What's wrong with collecting screen shots with both parties in the picture having a chat submitted as part of the evidence? Not good enough? The fella needed some help and I suggested he do something that I did. My suggestion isn't good enough?

You are suggesting things that are unrelated to his challenges.

How would taking screen shots help him to mitigate issue #1?

How would taking screen shots help him to resolve issue #2?

How would taking screenshots help him respond to issue #3?

There are many more things you and others can suggest. And they may be excessively unnecessary, to put another way more than enough. He did say he has Phone call records and all chat logs (we chat twice a day, some short some long). And he said he has two full printed photo albums.

Do you think having 100 printed photo albums will help him? Or more chatlogs?

Edited August 1, 2012 by SPSguy

[ChetT 9]

Hope this helps. Focus on showing authenticity, history, and duration of the relationship.

Very understandable and valid.

Can you give example of each of the above ? This might help alot of people.

Authenticity:....

History:...

Duration:...

[SPSguy 18]

Very understandable and valid.

Can you give example of each of the above ? This might help alot of people.

Authenticity:....

History:...

Duration:...

Sure.

Authenticity = real and genuine. What has the couple done together that can be considered vital in a real/genuine relationship? I am not talking about just 100 photo albums but perhaps photos of specific events that real and genuine couples do together in private and public. My wife and I for example rented two bicycles and we road around Angkor Wat. We don't have many relatives ( perhaps it's a good thing ) so we don't have relatives in every photo. It's just us two doing crazy, funny, stupid, and human things.

History = Past events that the two people have done together. My wife and I are actively involved in charity work so we include photos of some of things we do together. We took photos with young, homeless, abused, and stranger children. We also have photos with people at work. Photos of us bowling together. Photos of her living her life with me. Our photos and events are quite different from the traditional photos of people standing in line for a photo. COs don't know and cannot tell if the people standing in the photos are real or were paid to stand. History also includes a sequence of activities that connect the relationship like 1-2-3.

Duration = How long has the authenticity and history of the two people together? In 2005 I was introduced to a girl that I never know/never met by my Aunt in Cambodia. She sent some photos by email to me. I did't really like her at first. A few months later we started to talk and chat more. Later she mailed some music to me. By the end of 2006, we started to talk almost every day and my phone bills increased from $50 per month to $200. For new year 2006, I went to Cambodia to meet her with my family. I decided this was the woman I wanted to be with but we were not quite ready for marriage. So we continued to email and chatted on phone and skype throughout 2007-2008. In 2008 I married the woman of my dream.

Today, I have known my wife for 6-7 years and married 4 years.

When you look at the statistic for divorce of 1-2 years, the three factors above are important to show relationship validity.

Further to the 3 points listed, I noticed many petitioners are careless about their love one's date of birth, when they met, their phone numbers, has the petitioner ever been married? Why did s/he divorce? etc..etc..

These are important things that authentic couples with history and duration know about each other.

Authentic couples with a history and duration can respond to the COs questions without hesitation. Certain questions like who does your husband work with and what is the population of your husband's State in the U.S. are not as important. If you know great, if not, just say you don't know. I dont believe that any CO in his/her right mind will reject a spousal or fiance visa for not knowing the population of a state or the names of work colleaques.

But not knowing your husbands date of birth, phone numbers that you call everyday, date you met, what his mother's name is, and how many children he has is ground for denial.

If the beneficiary hasn't taken the time to understand and know her husband's biography, past, and personal information, chances are she is more interested in the greencard than the husband or finance.

[SPSguy 18]

Even if there is no intent for fraud as described above, I'd like to add one more point regarding the Cambodian culture in relation to obtain Embassy approval.

In Cambodian culture, upon discovery that a man and woman are interested in one another, often parents on both sides will rush both parties to marry or get engaged. THIS IS FINE IF YOU ARE APPLYING FOR A VISA AND CITIZENSHIP FOR CAMBODIA. But if the objective is to obtain citizenship and visa for the United States, people that are rushed to engage or marry will not stay married for long...perhaps 1-2 years at most.

This is one of the reasons why COs are quite particular about authenticity, history, and duration. I believe most COs want to approve VISAs for everyone but they also know the statistic for divorce and potential for public charge.

[ChetT 9]

Very good explanation SPSguy. I will refer this post to any Cambodians I know that need help.

Personally, my wife is going to have the interview soon. And I keep drilling all the above and some more particularly to our case.

[SPSguy 18]

Great. Keep us posted with your progress.

[cchanlv 0]

Spsguy you seem very knowledgeable on the subject matter and just like yourself im a naturalized US citizen of Cambodian ancestry also. Now i myself will be starting the process of petitioning my fiance where the first step which will be a Cambodian marriage license which is getting very overwhelming. As Americanize as i am but still holding strong Cambodian values and customs i met my future wife through the introduction of my parents on my first trip to Cambodia (arranged marriage) now is this illegal no is it real yes. There seems to be a stigma on arrange marriages i personally want to say in my interview yes this is arranged so what but that's my arrogant American side now how do you show 1,2, and 3 in my case since this is arranged but very real in the intentions of a happily ever after oh i do however disagree with you on the fact that most marriages end in divorce due to the fact of parents pushing for marriage hey i was engaged just a few days after meeting her which is probably one of my most sane and thoughtout decision.