My fiance interview was today at the casablanca embassy. He recieved a form saying that 221g saying that it was returned to homeland sercuity for futher review. Can anyone tell me what to expext from this letter. I called USCIS and they said that it could have been approved or it could be asking for additional information. Please im going out of my mind can someone help me.

hmmmmm!!! do u know what questions were asked?

HI! I have a feeling that some infomation is missing ,did you file all the necessary documents correctly?
My best wishes.
Sincerely.

Incidentally, I think you are in the wrong forum and are looking for the K-1 forum. Could it be possible that this relates to IMBRA? It may be that they will require further security checks and that is why the application has been returned. I hope you hear something soon so you can stop worrying.

Shauna from looking at your timeline it could very well be the effects of the IMBRA. I did not know that when I pm'd you. Try to calm down, and I do hope you get some answers soon!

Karen H.

I really doubt this is IMBRA..

Did your fiance happen to be interviewed by an evil woman????

believe me there's a lot of girls with the same issue as yours in the Middle East North Africa Forum..

what exactly is a IMBRA? i spoke with someone from the USCIS and said that it is sent back for further review and they will let me know there decision. thank you everyone for your responses.

When the petition is going to be sent back for further review, that means they want to revoke the petition!! Please post in ME/NA forum because there are plenty there that can help you the most recent I believe is Morocco4ever she is working the hardest on getting her decision turned over as well, please you have to hurry and try to deal with Casa before they send it back!!

IMBRA is the international marriage brokers act, IMBRA would not apply to your case because of the date that you filed for your petition... so the decision that was made at Casa is not imbra!!

Yes... you need to act fast before your petition is actually returned. Contact your Congressman to help you and try to call Casa to see what is going on and why it was "returned". If they need more evdence maybe your fiance can supply it before it is returned to the US. This is a good place to have your post as this is a problem in Morocco and many women here can help you. Please act fast and I am so sorry about this decision. Who interviewed your fiance? What questions did they ask and did your fiance show all of your evidence? I hope it works out! Good luck!
Sarah

This sounds like the same result that many others going through Casa have gotten. They are probably questioning the validity of the relationship and sending it back to USCIS. USCIS will then review the petition again, in light of whatever evidence Casa has added, and decide to uphold Casa's decision or reaffirm your petition. The process can be quite lengthy. Once they send it back, you're pretty much in it for the long haul, from what I've heard here.

Is there any way you can post exactly what language they used under the reason for the 221(g)? It would help others to advise you properly.

Here are some threads of others who have been in the same situation:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1372

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2687

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3896

I recommend getting the EXACT wording of the 221(g).

If it says "Admistrative Review" this is routine. You will get a visa in a few weeks/months assuming nothing comes up in name checks.

If it was returned to the USCIS, it most likely means the CO did not believe your relationship was valid and is returning your petition to be reevaluated. Others who have been through this will tell you what to expect/do. They are all well informed and very helpful. Hopefully this isn't the case and you are in routine administrative review.

What did the CO say to your fiance?

I agree with the others, it has nothing to do with IMBRA. And Shauna, you are in the right place. These girls that have fiances from Morocco will certainly help you with this situation. Good luck! I hope it is just AR and you will get your visa soon.

Meriem

I think I can help. I belong to a group of people who have gone through the same thing.

Call casa right away and ask what is the reason your case is being returned to CIS.

phone number for casa>>>

011 212 22 430 578

Casa is closed on Fridays so you must call them tomorrow...Thursday between 11:30 and !2:30 eastern time

Your goal is to get casa to tell you exactly WHY they want to return your case.

Send an e mail to them today as well asking them to inform you of the reason they want to return your case.

E mail for casa>>>

IVCasablanca@state.gov

Put your case number in the subject line and in your email. Put both your names and birthdays too.


This is the law to tell them>>>


In adjudicating visa cases involving petitions, posts should bear in mind three important factors:

A. the consular officer's role in the petition process is to determine if there is substantial evidence relevant to petition validity not previously considered by DHS, and not to merely readjudicate the petition;

B. the memo supporting the petition return must clearly show the factual and concrete reasons for recommending revocation (observations made by the consular officer cannot be conclusive, speculative, equivocal or irrelevant) and;

C. consular officers must provide to the applicant in writing as full an explanation as possible of the legal and factual basis for the visa denial and petition return. Post must maintain a copy of the returned petition, other evidence relevant to the case, and a copy of the written notification of the denial.


In general, an approved petition will be considered by consular officers as prima facie evidence that the requirements for classification - which are examined in the petition process - have been met. Where Congress has placed responsibility and authority with DHS to determine whether the requirements for status which are examined in the petition process have been met, consular officers do not have the authority to question the approval of petitions without specific evidence, generally unavailable to DHS at the time of petition approval, that the beneficiary may not be entitled to status (see 9 FAM 41.53, Note 2, 41.54 Note 3.2-2, 41.55 Note 8, 41.56 Note 10, 41.57 Note 6, and 42.43 Note 2) due to fraud, changes in circumstances or clear error on the part of DHS in approving the petition. Conoffs should not assume that a petition should be revoked simply because they would have reached a different decision if adjudicating the petition. …”

What does that language mean? It means an approved petition is prima facie evidence of eligibility for an immigrant visa, unless a consular officer finds substantial evidence of ineligibility. More importantly, this evidence must have been unknown and unavailable to DHS at the time it approved the petition.

Contact your senator and congressman to get their help.

If you wait, your case will be returned to CIS. This is a situation where you have to move quickly. I am available if you need more assistance.

We were denied a visa March of 05 and have since had it reaffirmed and are waiting for casa to take action.


Hugs

chi

shaunaspears...I am so sorry to hear this.

It does not sound like this has to do with IMBRA...this is what Casa is doing to a lot of us. Please follow Chi's instructions by contacting the consulate directly to see if you can get an answer as to why the return. If you get no answer from the consulate then please contact your senator to make a congressional inquiry...they can get the answer for you.

I am also sending you more info via PM.

Big Hug,
~Kiya~

Shauna, I'm so sorry this happened to you. You are certainly not the only one. Kiya and chiquita can help you the most with this since they unfortunately have gone through the same thing. I hope you can turn it around before it gets sent back; that did happen with one woman a few months back, though nobody ever figured out exactly why hers was later approved. Like the girls said, move FAST and maybe you'll luck out like she did.

ok now that im reading my posts i wonder how i overlooked that the post was already in the ME/NA forum... hmmmm lack of attention on my part

hope everything works out shauna

Hi Shauna,

From what you said it does not sound like AP, but rather it is being sent back to the CIS. We have a group of women that are going through what you are going through. You got some excellent advice from Chiquita. She is further along in the process than any of us, and her petition was reaffirmed, so don't give up hope.

Contact your congressman/Senator and Casablanca. If you can get them to review the case there before they send it there is hope you can get it approved. I will warn you, they will lie and say they already sent it back. They told me that, but didn't actually send it back for another 2 months. If they say they sent it back ask them for the registry number so you can track the package. If they haven't sent it then they certainly can't give you the number.

BTW, mine is for the CR1. Chiguita's was sent back for the K-3, but they reaffirmed the CR-1. Kiya's is for the K-1. So this happens to all different types, not just the fiance visa.

There are many more steps you will need to take, but best to see if you can get them to reconsider first. If it doesn't work we can all guide you along the way. I think it would be a really good idea to have your husband write down all of the questions they asked and his answers. The answer to why they sent it back could be in the interview itself. You need to take a serious look at all of your red flags. For Casa they seem to enjoy sending back petitions because the woman is older than the man. They say it isn't common for an Arabic man to marry an older woman. That just isn't true, there are plenty of younger men marrying older women. And you can certainly point out to them that the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) married a woman that was quite a bit older than he was. He loved her dearly, and stayed with her until her death. Would they dare to say that was a fake marriage to a muslim?

Hugs to you, this is a tough road, but love will conquer all.



Icey, are you having a blonde moment?

Ohhh Shauna.... I'm so very sorry you guys hit this bump in the road. Insha'allah you can it all straightened out soon. Chiquita has very good advice. For some reason, quite a few couples from Morocco are being put through this, and I don't know why.

Please stay in contact and let us know what happens.

Thoughts and prayers with you.



-MK

maybe i am speaking out of turn, but this is why i am sad that some of the 221 (g) information has been effectively taken off this site and moved elsewhere. The regional forums could help so much in cases like these and when I joined and was served with the 221(g) there was no regional forum... i had NO IDEA what the heck to do (although it was not a consular return)


i hope this can be overcome

That is exactly how I felt, there is nothing here to address these 221g letters. I was totally in the dark and had to work my a$$ off to figure out what was going on. Now we have a network of us that have been through it, so we can help guide those on AP/AR, or those that have been returned. I wish I had had this when it happened to us, maybe I could have stopped it in Casa before it was sent back. No reason to cry over spilled milk though, whats done is done and we move forward from here.

What do we need to do to get this forum to address these 221g letters better? Something to help guide people when they get these? Kiya tried her best, but I guess in the meantime we will simply read the posts and hope that we can help the people going through this.

Yes, it's quite unfortunate that those who do not frequent the ME/NA forum regularly would be totally blindsided by a 221g petition return.

Can someone ask the moderators if a thread can be permanently pinned regarding the 221g? It seems to be pretty relevant.

this has been asked, and it would benefit more than the Yalla ME thread, however 221(g) is bigger than the ME forum. It really should go in the Waiver/AP forum. In there though, i disagree it should be pinned. there are many threads in there of importance, and this would be just another one. Unfortunately it is under-utilized for AR/AP.

Has anyone heard from Shauna? What is happening? I hope it doesn't get returned! Good luck
Sarah

Yes, I requested this be pinned months ago...apparently it is not important enough an issue to make it easy for people to find. My personal opinion about placing it in the waivers section is...that is the wrong place, the thread of this created there basically died because it was lost in the shuffle, hence the reason for it to be pinned. This is much larger than just pinning the 221g issue...the issue of returning the petition is what needs to be pinned. It is only the 221g form being used to do this, as this form is also used for other reasons not as serious as petition return.

Shauna is working right now to get the right people involved to get this stopped at the consulate level. Just pray for them, insh'allah she will be successful in getting this looked at before the consulate returns the case.

~Kiyah~

Kiyah, Chi, Morocco4Ever and the others...

I want to say that I think it is amazingly generous of you all that despite battling your own cases, you continue to reach out to other people and try to help them. You are here, almost immediately, when a new person unfortunately faces their petition being returned.

I am sure reading these boards is painful at times, yet you continue to reach out to people and share not only your knowledge but offer emotional support as well. You strength is admirable.

Rebecca

yes, I was having a blonde moment, and the sad part is that I'm not even blonde.

I thought it was posted in the Embassy thread... for some strange reason or another.



but isnt the entire thread dedicated to Waivers and 221(g) administrative processes?>

lol u lost me icey!!



my point was we WERE using the Waiver/AP forum before to track this kind of stuff... the thread was kept up by updates and a few bumps here and there... my point was MANY threads in the forum are important and 221(g), etc. is just another one and i disagreed it should be pinned.

did i miss your point completely? its possible!!!!!

I give up... lol

hahaha

yeap so anyways listen to morocco4ever and call them and have them reconsider the petition and if they said they sent it back tell them they are full of crap and you want the tracking number

i say screw getting this pinned and just start a 221(g) thread and bump it up when it falls back!!

Shukran Rebecca, I know we do try to get to them as soon as possible, because we know exactly how it feels to not know what to do or where to turn. Chi and Morocco4ever have been such an inspiration, as well as others very close to me going through this same issue.

Yes, it is painful to come here at times. However, when I read of another couple this issue affects, I feel that huge sense of urgency all over again, the fire in me to fight this head on only grows stronger. I do not want anyone to ever have to go through this, if the knowledge we have gained through our own experience helps someone else either avoid it or fight it then that to me is worth so much.

~Kiyah~

Thanks Rebecca, that is suck a kind thing to say. Yes, there are times it is hard to read things here, but we are all a family in ways. We all have loved ones that we are waiting for, and this is an extremely stressful process. It is important that we all support each other in any way we can. This is the area we know best, and if I can help just one person through this, and help them with some of the pain I am feeling, then it helps me get through it as well.

Okay folks, while we are on the subject of 221g, and I am again getting more stressed out the more I read these forums....please help!

Interview date for Aziz was 5/31. After an interview with that lady everyone seems to know about, he was given a 221g that said, "Please get a new passport." After that, in the form letter, it said, "In addition your case requires administrative processing in Washington, D.C. We will contact you when these processes are complete."

I assume this is AP. How is AP different from AR, or is it the same? Since it has been returned to Washington, should we just wait patiently, or try to do something.

I am of the conviction that being courteous with the people in Casa will help us a lot more to expedite things than if I try to raise hell. But we are under a lot of stress and I need him here sooner rather than later.

Please.....any advice?

If he made it through the interview just fine, then he shouldnt worry, the security clearance is standard... now if they told him the petition was being returned to the U.S., then they are trying to revoke the petition.