Hi list,

Earlier in April my Fiancee has received the following letter from Delhi Consullate:

The Consulate General regrets it is unable to issue a visa at this time. Section 221 (g) of the U.S Immigration and Nationality Act prohibits the issuance of a visa to anyone who has failed to present the documents required in connection with their visa application, or who has otherwise failed to meet the requirements of U.S. law or regulations governing issuance of a visa. The following remarks apply in your case:

A list of all the petitioner's and beneficiary's relatives living in the US and India, with complete contact address information, telephone, and dates of birth (include cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, grandchildren, children, nephews, and nieces, and all in-laws). For those relatives who live in the US but were not born there, describe how they came to the US, when, under what visa type, and the names they used when they immigrated. Please provide FAMILY names.

All ration cards, voter ID cards, and voter lists for the beneficiary and her parents from 1995 to present.


My Fiancee has submitted all the documents as per their request, today she received the following letter from the Consullate:

The Consulate General regrets it is unable to issue a visa at this time. Section 221 (g) of the U.S Immigration and Nationality Act prohibits the issuance of a visa to anyone who has failed to present the documents required in connection with their visa application, or who has otherwise failed to meet the requirements of U.S. law or regulations governing issuance of a visa. The following remarks apply in your case:


Documents to be submitted:
Documents submitted by you are unable to establish that a credible relationship exists
between yourself and petioner. The fiance visa petition is valid for four months from the
date of its approval. Your petion was approved on December 27 2006, and since then, more than
four months have elapsed. Because the consular officer was not convinced with the relationships
between yourself and petitioner, the petition has not been validated. We have returned the
petition to the National Visa Center. Hence forth no further action will be taken by the post
on your case.


We have submitted everything to prove we have ongoing relationship, I am not sure why else they want. This is jus crazy, I don't know what to do.


Do I have to re-submit for K1 Visa at this time? what should I do?.

Please help!!!!!!

Thanks in advance

Raj

This is awful news, I'm so sorry for you! After all that trouble to submit the list of relatives!

Don't re-submit another K1 visa application at this time, because it will go to the same Consulate with the same proof and might have the same result. You will find much more info on what to do next in the forum called, "Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)".

I remember in a previous post you said that during the interview, your fiancée was requested to submit a document proving she had custody of her child, but she could not find such a document. Did she later submit anything in writing to the Consulate about that?

Was there anything about your relationship that might have been a red flag (like not meeting enough, not knowing each other long enough, or not enough communication proof submitted)? What relationship proof did you submit? It might be helpful for others to know .

Many people have gone through the same thing as you, and can give you good tips [see "Waivers (I-601 and I-212) and Administrative Processes (221g)"]. I wish you good luck in getting this resolved.

I am sorry to hear about your situation. Perhaps consulting an Attorney for proper advice at this point will be of value. Instead of filing for K1 (if that is required), you will be better off with K-3. Just my 2c.

Search posts by Kiya and Chiquita in the above mentioned forum and PM them
for help.
You should immediatety get your congressman involved to try to overturn
the return of the petition.
So sorry for that, it is so ridiculous that you have to go through this.

I agree with others i think that this is the appropriate time to hire an immigration attorney. I am so sorry to hear about this. You both will be in my prayers!


AJ1

Lot of people have replied to my message, thanks to all of them.
During my Fiancee's interview there were no questions asked about our relationship because
we have enough evidences to prove our relationship like Engagement ceremony pictures, phone calls every day,
airline tickets for the trips made to visit her etc. The reason she was not given visa at that time was because my
Fiancee was unable to produce any document showng that she has the custody of her child but later she found
the documents and submitted to VFS center. After submitting those documents to the VFS center she has received
221(g), she went through lot of hassles to gather althose documents and finally when submitted now they are saying
they are sending the application to National Visa Center because they are not convinced with our relationship which I
think is total Bull ######!!!!!!!!.

This is really frustrating, you mentioned about congressman. Do I have to contact local congressman, do they really help
in these cases?. What should I ask them?, please help.

Kiya and Chiquita can help, ours to was to be returned, also about all the congressman or senator can do is find out when it is returned. Mine did get a return letter from them giveing the date of return which ended up being wrong, but now i have confirmed it is at least back in the states. We still have not learned the reason why. The congressman will now check into at the California center for us.. My understanding is most K-1 that go back thru California can take up to a year to review and at that time will probably just be cancelled because they have expired. Then to refile.

Your or you representataive need to find out the pouch number it is to be returned in then you can track and know when it arrived back in U.S.

Robertg: what happened to you is totally unfair. Fight to the end! While I was going through the process, I made a lot of notes in case we were denied, because we are a so-called "high-risk" couple. Please see info by Kiyah below, that I saved. Again, good luck!

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...3896&st=330
221g - Guide: Returning Petitions/Applications Under Section 221(g) of the INA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following guide is specific to returned petitions/applications under Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act issued by the Department of State at the conclusion of a beneficiary interview. In no way is this guide legal advice, and should never be used in place of a good immigration attorney. The information has been compiled from personal experience and months of research.

First a Little Basic 101 on the 221(g):

The document issued by the Department of State under Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is for the most part used for requesting additional information from the beneficiary such as missing documents, additional evidence, or advising them of not being able to issue their visa due to pending name/security checks i.e. Administrative Processing or Administrative Review. However, Section 221(g) is also used by the Department of State when returning petitions/applications to the USCIS for further review ultimately recommending revocation.


Why are Petitions/Applications Returned to the USCIS by an Embassy/Consulate Under Section 221(g)?

Petitions/applications are returned for a variety of case specific reasons. Returning a petition/application to the USCIS means that the embassy/consulate refuses to issue a visa to the beneficiary, but they do not have specific evidence to actually deny a visa application. So the next best thing to do is return the petition/application to the USCIS office where the petition was originally filed requesting further review and ultimately recommending revocation.

What Happens When a Petition/Application is Returned to the USCIS by an Embassy/Consulate?

221(g) is issued to beneficiary at conclusion of the interview stating the application and/or petition is being returned to the United States.
Petition is returned to the United States by the interviewing consulate for "further review" in what is called a diplomatic pouch.
Returned petition is received by the NVC. It is reviewed and entered into the fraud database by fraud management.
Returned petition is sent to the local USCIS service center where the petition was originally filed and approved.
Local service center receives returned petition.
Local service center who processed the original petition sends a notice of receipt to the petitioner.
Local service center reviews the returned petition and consular officer notes on the case.
Local service center then sends either a NOID (Notice of Intent to Deny) or NOIR (Notice of Intent to Revoke) to the petitioner also asking for more proof of the relationship, many cases have specific consular objections to rebut.
Petitioner is given 30-60 days from date of NOIR/NOID (depending on the service center) to respond with additional evidence of the relationship or other specific evidence. The timeframe to respond will be provided in the letter.
Local service center receives evidence...if in the timeframe given (30-60 days) the case is reviewed and either original approval is reaffirmed or the petition is officially denied.
If the petition is denied the local service center sends the petitioner an 'official' denial letter. This can be officially appealed if the denial letter states such.
· If the petition is reaffirmed the local service center sends the petitioner an official notice of reaffirmation.
Local service center sends the reaffirmed petition AND its evidence provided in the rebuttal directly to the consulate along with a recommendation to issue a visa.
Consulate notifies the beneficiary of a new interview date.
Beneficiary has interview for the reaffirmed petition and the visa is either issued, or the case in placed in Administrative Processing which after cleared a visa is issued, or worst case scenario it is denied via Section 221(g) and returned again to the USCIS with a recommendation for revocation.

What can you do immediately when faced with this issue:

First and foremost, contact a good immigration attorney.
Immediately have the beneficiary send a scanned copy of the 221(g) issued.
Contact the consulate directly (immediately) and attempt to have the petition reviewed by the senior consular before it is returned.
If you are unable to get through to the consulate on the phone, contact them via email, and if you're mail has a "read verification" use it.
Contact your congressman/senator, get them involved immediately. You will need to sign a release form giving them permission to make an inquiry on your behalf.
Provide your congressman/senator with as much information as possible about your case, the interview, and the result.
· If your congressman/senator is top notch, they will not just send an email or letter to the consulate, they will call on the phone and try to get the petition reviewed again before it is sent back.
If they are not successful, they can request the diplomatic pouch number the petition is being returned in. This number will allow you to track the petition until it is received by the local service center.
To track a returned petition/application with a pouch number, you can contact the Diplomatic Pouch Service in Washington.

* US Congressional Representatives (By State):
http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml

* US Senators (By State):
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_info...enators_cfm.cfm

If the petition is returned, you are in for a wait. The diplomatic pouch the petition is returned in is sent from embassy to embassy picking up other returned petitions along the way. It could take up to 2 or 3 months for it to be received by fraud management at the NVC...then the NVC has the petition for about 1 month before sending it to the local service center where it was originally filed. One thing to also know is that returned petitions do not take priority...they are reviewed in the order they are received...that is after new petitions have been processed.

What you can do in the meantime while you wait:

* Continue contacting the consulate to get an actual reason for the return...not the blanket "validity of relationship" response.
* Stay in contact with your congressman/senator, they can assist you in getting the actual reason for denial.
* Immediately file a Freedom Of Information Act request for the Department of State asking specifically for the consular notes on your returned petition: DOS FOIA: http://foia.state.gov/foiareq/foialetter.asp
* Immediately file for a Freedom of Information Act request for the USCIS asking for the same specific consular notes on your returned petition: USCIS FOIA: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD
* Continue to document your relationship, emails, letters, phone bills, visits to their country, etc.
* Be ready for the opportunity to rebut the consular findings.
* Contact a good immigration attorney...preferrably one who has experience in returned and denied petitions.


After a period of 6 months or longer has passed and you do not hear anything from the local service center regarding the receipt of your return, or the results of the review, you can contact the CIS Ombudsman. While the Ombudsman cannot make the USCIS reaffirm your returned petition, they can assist when processing times are outside of guidelines

* USCIS OMBUDSMAN: http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/programs/editorial_0497.shtm

Now, there are some differences between returned fiance petitions and marriage petitions. The K1 is especially at risk due to the expiration of the original approval, many returned K1s are not given the opportunity to rebut, they receive a notice telling them their K1 has expired and may file again at any time...this is why the FOIA is so important. You need to know the exact reason the petition was returned, just filing again is a huge risk if you do not know why the petition was returned in the first place.

While the K3 does have an expiration date also, they are treated more seriously. I have not known anyone who has had a returned K3 not being given the opportunity to rebut. Obviously the CR1 does not expire. Still, it is very important to file the FOIA, not every service center will tell you exactly what the consular office findings or objections to issuing the visa are. Some people are only asked to provide more evidence of their relationship.

Sorry to know about the denial. We had lived with the constant fear of a denial for 2 years while my case was put on an Administrative Review. I did a lot of research during those years and am giving my 2 bits here:

A congressman/senator cannot do anything meaningful, even if they want to. Especially, if they have to deal with a consulate like Mumbai. They cannot demand any information, but have to be obliged with what the consulate may want to share with them, which is not much. No harm getting them involved but don't expect to get anything from that.

The most effective thing is to get in touch with the Chief Consular Officer and talk to him. IF you are lucky and the case papers have not yet mailed back, you might get an reversal and a reconsideration from the consular officer. But if the case papers have already left for the NVC, there is nothing that can be done except Appeal. Now, thats something you won't want to get into since it can take years even before you get a hearing date.

Since yours is an K1, I would suggest go ahead, get married and apply for an CR1. Of course, the visa case will go to the same consulate for the CR1 but now you have a much stronger case and CR1s are not treated lightly and rejected off hand. But yes, there is always the risk of even the CR1 getting rejected. But here is the time for you to sit down and contemplate ... love at any cost ... years of long distance relationship, eventually having to move out of the US and to your spouse's country .... or no you want to draw a line in the sand ....

I won't think of spending loads of hard earned money on an Immigration lawyer unless it is to represent your case at the Appeals Board (they will at least be allowed to talk there). Immigration lawyers don't count at the Consular level. Consulates like Mumbai won't even take phone calls from a lawyer. And I think by now you don't need any help with the paperwork.

Good luck!!

Thanks you very much, I am planning to do get married and appy for CR1. Could you please let me know how long this process takes and also the steps involved.

Good luck. wishing you luck that this route will work in your favor.

Trust in God.

Click on the GUIDES section at the top of the page. Go down to GUIDES IF YOU ARE MARRIED and read up on the CR1 guide. Check out other's timelines for how long that process takes. Probably somewhat like the fiance visa (6-8 months). Good luck!

Thanks, I went throught that but my question is that they have my I-129F which was approved already. Do I still need to submit everything they are asking like a fresh application for CR1?.

Please let me know.

Oops sorry I am not so familiar with the CR1 visa so can't answer that question. I'll let others who know answer! (I would think you would need to submit a new I-129F after you are married, as some of the info you originally submitted would need updating.)

If you don't receive an answer here, maybe you can post a new thread outlining your situation & asking the question in the "IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa General Discussion" forum. There might be others who did the same thing, so they would know.

Also, you can send a PM to member "Ryan+Mandi" (do a search of "members" at the top of this page, and read some of their posts), they are going through a similar situation as you, also through Delhi.

Hi list,
I was trying to find the actual reason for sending the petion back to NVC, I am posting the emails sent to New Delhi and their replies below. Please give me your thoughs on what could be the actual reason for sending it back.
Thanks in advnace
Raj


Subject: RE: case# NWD2006863004
Date: Fri, 18 May 2007 10:06:34 +0530
From: "Inquiries, Immigrant Visa" <IVND@state.gov> Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
To: "Rajesh Munikuntla" <munikuntla@yahoo.com>

Dear Petitioner:

This is in response to your e-mail regarding K-1 visa case number NWD
NWD2006863004.

Please note that in order to approve a fiancé visa, the consular
officer needs to be convinced that there exists a petitionable relationship
between the petitioner and the beneficiary. In this case, the
interviewing officer had concerns about the existing relationship between the
petitioner and the beneficiary, which could not be resolved by the
documents presented at the time of the interview and later through VFS. K
petitions expire after four months unless revalidated by an officer;
this petition was not revalidated. It was returned to the National Visa
Center (NVC) on May 10, 2007. Once NVC receives the petition, it will
return it to the approving DHS office.

Please direct all future inquiries regarding this case to the approving
DHS
office that has jurisdiction over your place of residence.

We hope this information is useful to you.


Sincerely,

Visa Information Unit
Consular Section
American Embassy
New Delhi, India
Website: <http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov
This email is unclassified as defined by E.O. 12958


-----Original Message-----
From: Rajesh Munikuntla [mailto:munikuntla@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 5:38 PM
To: Inquiries, Immigrant Visa
Cc: komal26_26@yahoo.co.in
Subject: RE: case# NWD2006863004

Dear Sir/Madam,
It is very sad that it has been returned to NVC but
all I am asking you at this time to give the actual
reason for the return.

The process of re-validating takes long time, ours is
a genuine case and I am planning to marry her and file
for CR1 but unless I know the real reason it is hard
for me to decide. So all I am asking is to give the
real reason why the consular officer is not convinced
with our relationship.

Hope you understand the situation, please let me know
ASAP.
Thanking you
Sincerely yours
Rajesh Munikuntla
(Petioner)
--- "Inquiries, Immigrant Visa" <IVND@state.gov>
wrote:

> Dear Petitioner:
>
> This is in response to your e-mail regarding K-1
> visa case number NWD NWD2006863004.
>
> Your fiancé visa application is no longer in our
> office. Please note that fiancé petitions expire
> four months from the approval date. The consular
> officer has the discretion to re-validate fiancé
> petitions if they expire during processing.
> However, since the consular officer was not
> convinced of the relationship in this case, the
> petition was not revalidated. It was returned to
> the National Visa Center (NVC) on 10 May 2007. Once
> NVC receives the petition, it will return it to the
> approving DHS office. Please direct all future
> inquiries regarding this case to the approving DHS
> office that has jurisdiction over your place of
> residence.
>
> We hope this information is useful to you.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Visa Information Unit
> Consular Section
> American Embassy
> New Delhi, India
> Website: <http://newdelhi.usembassy.gov
> This email is unclassified as defined by E.O. 12958
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rajesh Munikuntla
> [mailto:munikuntla@yahoo.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 11:41 PM
> To: Inquiries, Immigrant Visa
> Cc: komal26_26@yahoo.co.in
> Subject: Re: case# NWD2006863004
>
> Dear Sir/Madam,
>
> After submitting every piece of document as evidence
> my petition looks like sent back to NVC, if it is
> still at the post I want a senior Consullar to take
> a
> look at the case before sending it to NVC. What
> happened in our case is total injustice and I am
> going
> to fight till the end.
>
> I already contacted Congressman Mike Furgussion and
> he
> will be assigning a Liaison to look into this
> matter.
>
> I am hoping a senior Consular will look into this
> matter ASAP, in the mean time I really appreciate if
> you let me know the actual reason for the
> return...not
> the blanket "validity of relationship" response.
>
> Thaking you
> Sincerely Yours
>
> Rajesh Munikuntla
> (Petioner)

the consular officer needs to be convinced that there exists a petitionable relationship
between the petitioner and the beneficiary. In this case, the
interviewing officer had concerns about the existing relationship between the
petitioner and the beneficiary, which could not be resolved by the
documents presented at the time of the interview and later through VFS
i would say this was the standard reason given as was in mine "evidence of relationship"

i have a phone number i will send to you, you can call a visa specialists and they will talk to you on this