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Husband Seperated from Wife and Children Due to Marriage Before Entering on K-1 Visa – 10 Year Ban

April 7th, 2007
by VJ News

BRADENTON, FL – A Bradenton man is fighting to keep his family together, even though they are half a world away.

He and his wife, a Japanese national, are caught in the middle of an immigration nightmare. It started with what seemed like a simple visa mistake. Now every moment of every day, Keith Campbell is fighting to bring home his wife and two young boys.

While living and working as an American expatriate in Asia, Keith Campbell met the woman that would become his wife. He soon settled into her Tokyo home as they made plans to marry.

Nine years later, his wife Akiko and their two children are back in Japan, but not by choice.

In February 1998, when Akiko applied for a K1 fiance visa, she was told the process would take three to four months to complete, Keith said, so the couple scheduled a wedding in June.

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The date for the wedding approached quickly, but the visa was still missing.

The couple decided to go on with the ceremony anyway. Held in Hawaii, a midpoint for relatives flying from both Japan and the mainland United States, Keith said it would affect the lives of too many people to postpone the ceremony.

After a short honeymoon, Akiko went back to Japan and Keith headed for the United States to prepare a home for his new family and – in what has proven to be a costly mistake – Akiko arrived two months later.

With fiance visa in hand, she entered the United States already married to Keith – an error in judgment the U.S. government has labeled fraud but the Campbells argue was an honest mistake.

After eight years, three lawyers, countless hours and thousands of dollars spent trying to remedy the original visa error, the couple received what, according to Keith, seemed to be an answer to their prayers: A letter from the Department of Justice bearing the opening line, “The visa petition you filed has been approved.” The document then states that the case has been forwarded to the US Consulate in Tokyo.

Akiko would have to go back to Japan to receive the visa she and her husband have worked so hard to obtain. According to Keith, the form letter and conversations with U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials led the family to believe receipt of a visa changing Akiko’s immigration status to permanent was a “forgone conclusion.”

When Akiko left for Tokyo with her children – Leonardo, 4 and Micah, 17 months – the family thought it would be a good opportunity to visit relatives during a brief visit in Akiko’s native land.

However, not only was the petition denied, Akiko was told she was forbidden to return to the United States for 10 years.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, April 7th, 2007 at 3:24 pm and is filed under Family Immigration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.