tourist visa and misinterpretation of fraud

[lioneta21 0]

Hi everyone, I'm looking to get any type of feedback or advice on my mother-in-law's case.

My mother-in-law got married in Colombia to a US citizen who happens to be from Ecuador. They got married in Colombia(which is where she lives). He petitioned for her and her two youngest sons whom were 13 and 15 at the time. When they went to the embassy for the interview, the consulate told them that it is a fraudulent marriage and he is just doing this to help her, so the petition was denied. This was back in 2007 I believe. They didn't appeal the case and just left things alone. They are still legally married in Colombia but separated obviously because of denial so they don't have a relationship anymore. My husband wants to send his mom to the embassy for a tourist visa but we don't know what the chances are that she will be denied or if something will happen to her for the history of this case. She can't remember if there was any paperwork she signed accepting the decision of the denial for suspected fraud or if it was just a verbal denial and entered into the system. And it is in the system because it was mentioned to her younger son when he went to ask for a tourist visa. So we don't know if it would be better to have her take a shot and go interview for a tourist visa hoping nothing bad will happen to her or just have my husband petition for her since he is a permanent resident??

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

If they separated because of the denial then it does seem it was a fraudulent marriage. It is in their system so she is unlikely to be approved for a tourist visa. She might be permanently barred from the US for fraud.

[lioneta21 0]

is there anyway to overturn the decision such as proving the marriage was real? would a waiver work? my husband is worried about petition her through him and it being a waste of time and money

[Hypnos 6,576]

If the embassy made a finding of fraud and this was not contested then it's likely gone down as a permanent notation on the file. Once established, it's extremely difficult to remove.

They should consult an immigration lawyer experienced in waivers and misrepresentation/fraud.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Hypnos

[KierenHby 897]

She'll have a hard time getting any visa on her own. A fraud label is very hard to overcome.

[Starkilla09 366]

Hi everyone, I'm looking to get any type of feedback or advice on my mother-in-law's case.

My mother-in-law got married in Colombia to a US citizen who happens to be from Ecuador. They got married in Colombia(which is where she lives). He petitioned for her and her two youngest sons whom were 13 and 15 at the time. When they went to the embassy for the interview, the consulate told them that it is a fraudulent marriage and he is just doing this to help her, so the petition was denied. This was back in 2007 I believe. They didn't appeal the case and just left things alone. They are still legally married in Colombia but separated obviously because of denial so they don't have a relationship anymore. My husband wants to send his mom to the embassy for a tourist visa but we don't know what the chances are that she will be denied or if something will happen to her for the history of this case. She can't remember if there was any paperwork she signed accepting the decision of the denial for suspected fraud or if it was just a verbal denial and entered into the system. And it is in the system because it was mentioned to her younger son when he went to ask for a tourist visa. So we don't know if it would be better to have her take a shot and go interview for a tourist visa hoping nothing bad will happen to her or just have my husband petition for her since he is a permanent resident??

Your mom will have to get an immigration lawyer who specializes in fraud/misrepresentation cases to have that "fraud" issue overturned. Marriage fraud on ones record is one of the greatest immigration ills with no visa of any kind whatsoever and permanent bar to the U.S. Have an attorney fight this.

[MacUK 983]

Think about it logically from an outside perspective.

She was denied an immigrant visa as the embassy didn't believe the relationship was real.

And they broke up based upon that denial.

That makes it appear that the embassy may have been right, they could believe that if the relationship had been real then her husband could have moved to her country to be with her instead. Might not have been the American Dream but it's what people who were in love would have done.

They might have been right, they might have been wrong. But I believe it will be hard to prove it was a bonafide relationship when it ended simply because she was unable to get a greencard from it.

[bigjailerman 318]

is there anyway to overturn the decision such as proving the marriage was real? would a waiver work? my husband is worried about petition her through him and it being a waste of time and money

No you cant prove that a now dissolved marriage after a Cr1 spousal visa denial was ever real. In fact the divorce just proves the counter point even more so. On top of that, the previously applied for visa shows intent to stay in the USA so her chances are pretty slim. Her best bet is to wait for the US to finally complete a Colombia visa waiver program... They started it in 2-14 but takes years. Her son can also petitioner her but could be waste of $$ if she is banned for fraud.

Edited September 13, 2016 by bigjailerman

[JFH 12,189]

Chances are slim. It'll cost her $160 to find out. Depending on how badly she wants to go, she should pay for a lawyer specialised in this.

My husband was denied a UK visa and has a permanent ban from the UK (not because our marriage as believed to be fraudulent but because of a criminal conviction from the early 90s). We didn't divorce. We became more determined than ever to be together and moved to plan B - I move to the USA. Wasn't what we planned or how we pictured our married life but we have to play with the cards that life has dealt us.

[jan22 2,898]

No you cant prove that a now dissolved marriage after a Cr1 spousal visa denial was ever real. In fact the divorce just proves the counter point even more so. On top of that, the previously applied for visa shows intent to stay in the USA so her chances are pretty slim. Her best bet is to wait for the US to finally complete a Colombia visa waiver program... They started it in 2-14 but takes years. Her son can also petitioner her but could be waste of $$ if she is banned for fraud.

A ban for fraud and/or misrepresentation would apply to anyone in a visa waiver country also, so waiting for Colombia to be added to the VWP is a waste of time (and likely something that is far off in the future). OP said her husband was a permanent resident, so he cannot petition his mother until/unless he is a US citizen.