I am living in the US and engaged to my fiance in Cambodia and we've been through the whole process already up to the interview which she failed. The reason for failure was stated in the paper she received as Material Misrepresentation. This means she was cited as a liar in the interview according to my lawyer friend (He has been giving me advice on how to proceed but now trying to help me with this. He did none of the paperwork for me). Basically she twisted her story a little because she got nervous I think and they didn't want to hear anymore and told her she failed.

I've emailed the embassy using a letter written by my lawyer friend and they responded that the packet will be sent back to USCIS for revocation and I can ask them any questions about it. I'm just wondering, what is supposed to happen now? Do they just simply refuse the visa and I have no chance to appeal this decision or do I have to go through the whole process again? I have no idea what to do now besides wait for the CIS center in the US to contact me just to tell me I can't do anything about this.

I'd hate to start over again or even try doing a K-3 visa which is more paperwork I hear. But I will do what is necessary to bring my fiance over here. I was thinking to maybe try another consulate, say in Thailand since that is where Cambodian people had to go before this office was opened. I'd like to hear anything if anyone knows how this process works. Thanks.

It's a tough call. Normally, in cases where the Consulate indicates they'll send the case back to USCIS, I advise hiring a local lawyer with specific immigration experience with the Consulate. However, I don't recall seeing a material misrepresentation case come accross the board recently.

The more details we have available, the better. What did she represent, specifically? This is no time for sugar coating.

She was told to stick to 1 story and ended up using 2 stories. We met through her uncle who lives near me but her uncle wanted to hide that fact so told her not to mention him. We were going to use a story that we met on the internet solely, but when she got asked about relatives in the US, she mentioned him and then she made it worse saying he lives close to me. So of course they aren't going to believe the ridiculous chance that he just happens to live next to me but we did not know each other. So it was really her fault for deviating from the story she said she was going to stick to. I just can't believe this would happen after waiting just over a year for all this to happen since I met her in person.

Everything else went smooth as far as the I-129F getting approved and then we had to wait 3 months for the interview date. I don't think there is any use in going to Cambodia now except to actually marry her for a K-3 because the consulate has already returned our case to the US. There was a checkbox on the blue form she received which had something about a waiver but it was not checked. So I don't know if they will let me do anything about this case or if they will simply close it.

A material misrepresentation is a lifetime ban if I am not mistaken... Filing a second petition for K-1/K-3/IR(1) will not eliminate or circumvent this situation.

Have you thought about living your life in Cambodia?

Wow! Your first mistake was conspiring to misrepresent how you met by contriving the "story". These things do tend to come back and bite us. This is no small misrepresentation. The only way I see to overcome it is to marry and then have enough visits (with proof you paid the travel expenses with your own funds) to convince them you're marriage is bona fide. You may then need to file a hardship waiver to overcome any consequences of the initial material misrepresentation. In any event, I'd seek the advice of a very talented and experienced immigration attorney in the US. I doubt there's anything that will turn case around and get it reconsidered in Cambodia. You don't have an option to just try another Consulate. It's like "You can't outrun a radio." The misrepresentation is on file.

Contact Marc Ellis.

Yes, I would think Marc could tell them whether and/or what chance they have of eventual success and IF possible, how to go about it. This is another example of why we strongly advise people NEVER to lie on an immigration form or to an immigration official.

who is marc ellis??

An immigration attorney whose practice appears to be concentrated in consulates in SE Asia region. He posts from time to time under meber name Ellis Island

Google is your friend. Marc Ellis Esq.

Honesty is always the best policy when dealing with an embassy and interview and immigration.

Wow. I hope if you get her an interview at another embassy you instruct her to tell the truth instead of sticking to a "story". Who cares you met thru an uncle. But lying under oath is a major denial for a visa.


good luck, but i think you may have to live there with her.

Wow a lot of replies. I think the reason her uncle wanted to be left out of the picture is because they will think that he is paying me to bring her over like a lot of people do and then we go our separate ways. And it still very well could have been denied if we just told them about her uncle because of that reason. It just seems silly they would not even give us another chance and just send everything back to the US.

I will look into this Marc Ellis guy while I wait to hear from CIS. I suppose that is all I can do at this point is wait to hear from them. Living in Cambodia is not an option for me. I may call up the Vermont center and ask them beforehand if anything can be done.

Hello- I replied to you privately earlier... but I still think it was because the story was changed. I actually did meet my fiance through his uncle too. That is what we put on paper for the initial filing because we are not going to lie. I didn't even think about that being a problem. I think I will be ok because that was our original story and it is approved. I don't think it has anything to do with a family member, I think it's the story change. I am very sorry this happened. Please do keep us posted.

The sooner you face the fact you both conspired to lie on immigration papers and to a Consular officer, the sooner you'll be able deal with the realities of your situation. This is a serious matter. You don't get a second chance to change your story. You pay the consequences for the lie. It this case, they are likely to be quite severe.

So, if I understand your explanation, she was, in actuality, denied for telling the truth! You *did* meet through her uncle, and that is what she said, even though her uncle and you had agreed that she would neglect to mention it. As far as I can see, there shouldn't have been a Material Misrepresentation finding, if that is the case. If she declared that you had met solely through the Internet, and then the CO learned that her uncle lived nearby, then I can support the Misrepresentation claim. Which was it?

We did not attempt to deceive but merely omit the portion about her uncle since they would probably have denied us anyway just because I knew him. I think we had a better chance with the internet story, but she got nervous and let it slip. I am not giving up so easily and I will see what the office in the US can do about this even if I have to hire Marc Ellis or someone.



Yes it was the latter. She was supposed to hide the fact I knew her uncle but after the CO asked about relatives she mentioned her uncle and then later said he lived near me making it worse.

She was denied because after the lie the truth came out. In other words she was caught in the lie she and the petitioner/OP conspired to tell. They weren't just omitting a fact, they devised a false story to conceal a fact. That's why the denial is for a material misrepresentation.

If anybody can help, it would be somebody like Marc Ellis but there's no point in continuing to insist what happened was something different from what it was. The OP told her to lie, she did and was caught doing it.

No I did not tell her to lie, but to omit her uncle. She mentioned him by accident. In a sense, we really did talk for the first time on the internet so that was not lying. It was the way we met which is in question. I'm only looking for anyone who can advise me at this point. I called USCIS today and they said once they receive the petition back, they will review it for up to 120 days and tell me what I can do. I will file an affidavit with them to see if I can it sent back for a second interview.

You do not want the petition to come back... if it does you are SCREWED and game over as the USCIS will do nothing to your file but let it gather dust and eventually expire, in addition to that, your fiancee will now have a permanent ban to entry .............

It's already on the way back as I've emailed the Cambodian embassy twice already the same day her interview failed. They told me the petition has already been sent and they have no record any longer. This is where the affidavit comes in to have a chance at an appeal on this decision since she was wrongly accused. I will have to work with the Vermont center now.

If it's already left the Consulate (unusual before 60 days after the interview) then you probably won't get a chance to deal with Vermont at all. Customarily, they just close the file because the petition approval has expired. It's their cop-out way of dealing with such issues.

Again, your fiance was not falsely accused of a material misrepresentation. She lied and you conspired with her to tell that lie. You didn't meet on the internet. You were introduced by her uncle. This is a very serious matter, that could result in here being banned for live from entering the USA.

I also recommend that you contact Marc Ellis for a consultation. My SO and I had a consult with him when our case was put in AP (with no deception I might add). He is very knowledgeable in my opinion and calls things as he sees them.

Another recommendation I have is that if you do intend to persue your case after being denied for material misrepresentation, I strongly urge you to not post any further details related to the misrepresentation as I believe it is common knowledge that the Embassy staffer's do frequent these forums.

Good luck!

Yes she was falsely accused am I'm tired of repeating myself to you pushbrk. She told them her uncle introduced us after saying we met on the internet which was supposed to mean we "talked" for the first time on the net. It is all about wording. We did meet on the internet, but not in a way such as matchmaking sites. She told them we met through her uncle which is the truth. And had she hid the fact, I think it would have turned out better since they would not suspect him paying me to bring her over here which is not true. One of the top reasons for denial on Ellis's site was the petitioner knowing someone from the beneficiary's family. Another one was having a ceremony and plunging into marriage shortly after meeting for the first time. Both of these apply to me and so caused a red flag for the CO.

This forum is causing me more grief then helping at the moment so I will limit my responses to anyone who has any helpful suggestions.

The biggest problem I see is that you both were trying to cover up the way you actually met, I don't know why you cant just say you met via her Uncle and tell the truth there is no reason to cover this up. But by everyone agreeing to omit the information this becomes a conspiracy. Even if the information covered up is harmless you still have falsified the papery work you turned in to USCIS. Another problem you may have is Conspiracy is a criminal act. The best thing you can do now is talk to an attorney on this matter.

You wrote the following. What have I misinterpreted?

She was told to stick to 1 story and ended up using 2 stories. We met through her uncle who lives near me but her uncle wanted to hide that fact so told her not to mention him. We were going to use a story that we met on the internet solely, but when she got asked about relatives in the US, she mentioned him and then she made it worse saying he lives close to me. So of course they aren't going to believe the ridiculous chance that he just happens to live next to me but we did not know each other. So it was really her fault for deviating from the story she said she was going to stick to. I just can't believe this would happen after waiting just over a year for all this to happen since I met her in person.

Because you need to come out of your sense denial about the seriousness of what has apparently occured. Your continued cavalier attitude will be an incredible disservice to you. More than one person has told you that, if in fact the petition is already headed stateside, you are SOL. Once the 120 day review period has occured, the petition is expired. The USCIS will not act upon any affidavit you supply after that fact, because they don't have to. This is fact. Several people on this board have had this happen to then.

The moral of this story: A petition returned stateside is the kiss of death.

Nelwyin, you can put it in any way you want, but telling a story is actually considered to be a lie when the story is not fully true. Everything else is just "wording".

I am done here. Moderator feel free to closed this thread.

sorry to hear your troubles but 'CASE CLOSED'

Try the K-3 visa method as apparently it will take longer to appeal for your K1 visa (if its even possible).

Wow! People were trying to help you with their experiences, and you just went off and kept saying "we weren't lying".

You obviously feel no guilt or shame in participating in a series of events that will now cause this woman to never to be able to come to the USA for any reason... because you did not want to speak the "truth" because you were afraid it would cause a refusal. ding ding ding ding... guess what... you got what you were afraid of..... maybe some would say you got what you deserved....

If we are wrong, please come back and do an "I told you so".... I however, am not holding my breathe...

Or, if the relationship is indeed legitimate, you've put both of you in the position where it's likely your only remaining option to be together is to live in Cambodia. Good luck to you. I hope Marc Ellis can limit your consequences to delay and substancial additional cost.

I just love it when someone comes to the boards, posts a topic - all boo hoo, what can I do, my fiance/spouse did something illegal. People then reply to the topic with their actual knowledge of how things truly work with USCIS. Ultimately, when the poster finds out that they're up shizz creek without a paddle and are tired of hearing the truth, they are like "close the thread." Bone up, be a man. Your fiance commited the USCIS/DOS mark of death - you don't ever tell a lie to the government as they will always find out. Boo f'ing hoo. Deal with it. To wuss out and say "I am done here" is super childish.

Seriously. But the OP refuses to admit that they did something illegal, which proves to me that they will have problems long into the future.

A family member of mine, who deals with matters of national security, told me at the beginning of this process: "Tell the whole truth, even if you think it makes you look bad. If you tell "half a truth", or withhold information from them, and they find out about it, they will wonder what else you are withholding or lying about and scrutinize you even further."

Good luck, nelwyn, you're gonna need a ton of it.