K1 might go away to combat marriage fraud.

[esoll 0]

I came across this excellent article from the Center for Immigration Studies explaining the visa process from the side of the consular posts and USCIS. It is a lengthy article but worth reading to get an inside look at the process. Principally it is about marriage fraud. It appears that the consular post do not have the authority to deny a visa, all they can do is to send it back to USCIS for further review and it is not done often. So if your application made it to the embassy it is almost certain to be approved even if they think the application is a fraud.

http://cis.org/marriagefraud

I printed here the recommendations to tight down the process to combat visa fraud. One of them is to eliminate the K1 and force the petitioner to go marry his/her fiancee in his/her country.

Esoll.

Recommendations

Eliminate Fiancé (K-1) visas. There is simply too much fraud associated with this visa category. Americans who intend to marry foreign nationals are free to do so, but making the effort to get married abroad testifies to the legitimacy and seriousness of the relationship. Couples can always have a second ceremony or reception in the United States once the foreign spouse receives his or her immigrant visa.

Adjudicate marriage-based immigrant visa petitions in the foreign spouse’s country of residence, with the American sponsor present. Authorize consular officers (or overseas USCIS officers) to rule on the validity of the relationships and deny fraudulent petitions. Appeals could be heard by an officer’s supervisor — with both petitioner and applicant present.

Eliminate waivers of ineligibility for marriage-based green card applicants with criminal convictions, involvement in a criminal street gang, or long periods of illegal stay, unless the health or welfare of their citizen spouses or children would be severely affected. Not knowing a foreign language or having to find a new job overseas should not be grounds for waivers.

Create a national marriage registration database to help combat serial marriage fraud.

Create a third option for USCIS adjudicators when a couple is interviewed to remove the foreign spouse’s “conditional” status on his or her green card (typically after two years of marriage). Rather than just revocation or approval, conditional status could be extended for up to three years with a supervisor’s approval. Would-be cheaters would have no guaranty that they would only need to remain married for two years.

Deny all applications filed by couples that cannot hold a basic conversation with each other in a common language. Legitimate couples will learn to communicate with each other and can reapply at that time.

Eliminate the co-sponsor system for Americans filing immigrant visa petitions for spouses overseas. This means that Americans living below the poverty line would be unable to sponsor immigrants. Exceptions should be made for bona fide full-time students at the university level and young petitioners still listed as dependents on their parents’ most recent tax return. Since many, if not most of the Americans that engage in marriage fraud for cash are in a weak financial situation themselves, this move would add a difficult hurdle for would-be scam artists who want to engage in a sham marriage to a foreign national for money.

Eliminate the possibility of adjustment of status to anyone out of status or on a short-term visa.

Give both the State Department and USCIS significantly more resources to combat marriage fraud.

Require USCIS officers to seek the assistance of overseas consular officers when conducting investigations on suspect cases. Officers in-country often have language skills and local knowledge that can help expose sham marriages.

Give American spouses all immigration-related documents that the interviewing officer has access to, including previous tourist visa applications, case notes, criminal histories, etc. Americans should know if their foreign spouses have track records of immigration fraud.

Investigate claims of marriage fraud made by American citizens who only realize that their spouses were “in it for the green card” after they receive permanent residency. While not taking the Americans’ word at face value, USCIS must investigate these claims and deport those found guilty of fraud.

Deny visa petitions for foreign spouses who previously have been divorced from an applicant. This will eliminate the opportunity for a foreign national to divorce his or her spouse, enter into a fake marriage with an American citizen to gain legal status, and then divorce the American and re-marry and sponsor for immigration his or her original spouse.

Aggressively prosecute everyone involved in marriage fraud, from those involved in personal schemes to large-scale marriage fraud rings. Penalties should include jail time for those convicted

[Marty J 0]

It appears that the consular post do not have the authority to deny a visa, all they can do is to send it back to USCIS for further review and it is not done often. So if your application made it to the embassy it is almost certain to be approved even if they think the application is a fraud.

It actually says:

"The consular officers, who actually interview applicants and sometimes American sponsors as well, have no authority to deny or revoke a marriage-based petition that they believe to be fraudulent. Interviewing officers can only document the case and forward it on to USCIS, where the deciding official generally never meets either spouse."

which seems a very different thing than saying they never deny K-1 visas, and they approve suspected fraudulent applications.

Interesting article though.

[Marty J 0]

Oh, and their recommendations don't mean jack, so I wouldn't get too worried that the K-1 visa is going to vanish.

I can put up a website and recommend free ice-cream for all, but it ain't gonna happen.

[MrsAyilliath 0]

I for one can see the merit in the suggestions being made and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if we saw some of these suggestions implemented in the coming years.

On the flip side, however, I can also see the benefits involved in the K-1 visa. The question will be which holds greater weight the suggestions in the article or the benefits of the K-1.

Great article. Thanks for posting.

[sj5 4]

I came across this excellent article from the Center for Immigration Studies explaining the visa process from the side of the consular posts and USCIS. It is a lengthy article but worth reading to get an inside look at the process. Principally it is about marriage fraud. It appears that the consular post do not have the authority to deny a visa, all they can do is to send it back to USCIS for further review and it is not done often. So if your application made it to the embassy it is almost certain to be approved even if they think the application is a fraud.

http://cis.org/marriagefraud

I printed here the recommendations to tight down the process to combat visa fraud. One of them is to eliminate the K1 and force the petitioner to go marry his/her fiancee in his/her country.

Esoll.

Recommendations

Eliminate Fiancé (K-1) visas. There is simply too much fraud associated with this visa category. Americans who intend to marry foreign nationals are free to do so, but making the effort to get married abroad testifies to the legitimacy and seriousness of the relationship. Couples can always have a second ceremony or reception in the United States once the foreign spouse receives his or her immigrant visa.

Adjudicate marriage-based immigrant visa petitions in the foreign spouse's country of residence, with the American sponsor present. Authorize consular officers (or overseas USCIS officers) to rule on the validity of the relationships and deny fraudulent petitions. Appeals could be heard by an officer's supervisor — with both petitioner and applicant present.

Eliminate waivers of ineligibility for marriage-based green card applicants with criminal convictions, involvement in a criminal street gang, or long periods of illegal stay, unless the health or welfare of their citizen spouses or children would be severely affected. Not knowing a foreign language or having to find a new job overseas should not be grounds for waivers.

Create a national marriage registration database to help combat serial marriage fraud.

Create a third option for USCIS adjudicators when a couple is interviewed to remove the foreign spouse's "conditional" status on his or her green card (typically after two years of marriage). Rather than just revocation or approval, conditional status could be extended for up to three years with a supervisor's approval. Would-be cheaters would have no guaranty that they would only need to remain married for two years.

Deny all applications filed by couples that cannot hold a basic conversation with each other in a common language. Legitimate couples will learn to communicate with each other and can reapply at that time.

Eliminate the co-sponsor system for Americans filing immigrant visa petitions for spouses overseas. This means that Americans living below the poverty line would be unable to sponsor immigrants. Exceptions should be made for bona fide full-time students at the university level and young petitioners still listed as dependents on their parents' most recent tax return. Since many, if not most of the Americans that engage in marriage fraud for cash are in a weak financial situation themselves, this move would add a difficult hurdle for would-be scam artists who want to engage in a sham marriage to a foreign national for money.

Eliminate the possibility of adjustment of status to anyone out of status or on a short-term visa.

Give both the State Department and USCIS significantly more resources to combat marriage fraud.

Require USCIS officers to seek the assistance of overseas consular officers when conducting investigations on suspect cases. Officers in-country often have language skills and local knowledge that can help expose sham marriages.

Give American spouses all immigration-related documents that the interviewing officer has access to, including previous tourist visa applications, case notes, criminal histories, etc. Americans should know if their foreign spouses have track records of immigration fraud.

Investigate claims of marriage fraud made by American citizens who only realize that their spouses were "in it for the green card" after they receive permanent residency. While not taking the Americans' word at face value, USCIS must investigate these claims and deport those found guilty of fraud.

Deny visa petitions for foreign spouses who previously have been divorced from an applicant. This will eliminate the opportunity for a foreign national to divorce his or her spouse, enter into a fake marriage with an American citizen to gain legal status, and then divorce the American and re-marry and sponsor for immigration his or her original spouse.

Aggressively prosecute everyone involved in marriage fraud, from those involved in personal schemes to large-scale marriage fraud rings. Penalties should include jail time for those convicted

I think, these are good recommendations to downsize the marriage fraud.

Edited March 21, 2009 by sj5

[Marty J 0]

I for one can see the merit in the suggestions being made and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if we saw some of these suggestions implemented in the coming years.

On the flip side, however, I can also see the benefits involved in the K-1 visa. The question will be which holds greater weight the suggestions in the article or the benefits of the K-1.

Great article. Thanks for posting.

The Centre for Immigration studies is a right-leaning think tank. It's not part of the government, and it exists to try and convince people that they'll be awash with horrible foreigners if they don't have stricter immigration laws.

The suggestions contained in the article are not under consideration by the government, and their appearance in the article don't mean that they ever will be.

Have a read of some of their other articles (such as Immigration to the United States and World-Wide Greenhouse Gas Emissions, The New Case Against Immigration, or Immigration, Both Legal and Illegal, Puts Huge Strain on the Country) to get a flavour of what they're about.

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

Moved to Immigration News and Discussion.

And thanks Marty J -- you took the words right out of my mouth.

[GordonFreeman 0]

Being from Switzerland, you might not be used to the fact that "news articles" and political propaganda go hand in hand in the US. That's something that doesn't happen in Europe as much (except for sports publications being tied to a specific team, for example).

There is virtually no unbiased political talk in America. Most of it are right leaning, and some of it are left leaning (which tend to be slightly more factual and truthful, partly because the US is technically a right leaning country).

Nothing that goes on those "news" is considered by the government. Because it shouldn't. That article is based on a lot of lies and empty assumptions.

[esoll 0]

Moved to Immigration News and Discussion.

And thanks Marty J -- you took the words right out of my mouth.

Hey right!!! let's move this to the bottom of the forum, How convinient... Let's make it dissapear.....

What gives you the authority to move a perfectly placed posts, anyway!!

What part of "General discussion" do you not get!!!

Esoll

[Marty J 0]

Moved to Immigration News and Discussion.

And thanks Marty J -- you took the words right out of my mouth.

Hey right!!! let's move this to the bottom of the forum, How convinient... Let's make it dissapear.....

What gives you the authority to move a perfectly placed posts, anyway!!

What part of "General discussion" do you not get!!!

Esoll

I think you might be missing the point that the forum you originally placed it in was the K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures General Discussion.

Edited March 21, 2009 by Marty J

[Nagishkaw 510]

Interesting article. Thanks!

[elmcitymaven 9,711]

esoll, I have sent you a PM with answers to your questions.

[bayojona3231 4]

I came across this excellent article from the Center for Immigration Studies explaining the visa process from the side of the consular posts and USCIS. It is a lengthy article but worth reading to get an inside look at the process. Principally it is about marriage fraud. It appears that the consular post do not have the authority to deny a visa, all they can do is to send it back to USCIS for further review and it is not done often. So if your application made it to the embassy it is almost certain to be approved even if they think the application is a fraud.

http://cis.org/marriagefraud

I printed here the recommendations to tight down the process to combat visa fraud. One of them is to eliminate the K1 and force the petitioner to go marry his/her fiancee in his/her country.

Esoll.

Recommendations

Eliminate Fiancé (K-1) visas. There is simply too much fraud associated with this visa category. Americans who intend to marry foreign nationals are free to do so, but making the effort to get married abroad testifies to the legitimacy and seriousness of the relationship. Couples can always have a second ceremony or reception in the United States once the foreign spouse receives his or her immigrant visa.

Adjudicate marriage-based immigrant visa petitions in the foreign spouse’s country of residence, with the American sponsor present. Authorize consular officers (or overseas USCIS officers) to rule on the validity of the relationships and deny fraudulent petitions. Appeals could be heard by an officer’s supervisor — with both petitioner and applicant present.

Eliminate waivers of ineligibility for marriage-based green card applicants with criminal convictions, involvement in a criminal street gang, or long periods of illegal stay, unless the health or welfare of their citizen spouses or children would be severely affected. Not knowing a foreign language or having to find a new job overseas should not be grounds for waivers.

Create a national marriage registration database to help combat serial marriage fraud.

Create a third option for USCIS adjudicators when a couple is interviewed to remove the foreign spouse’s “conditional” status on his or her green card (typically after two years of marriage). Rather than just revocation or approval, conditional status could be extended for up to three years with a supervisor’s approval. Would-be cheaters would have no guaranty that they would only need to remain married for two years.

Deny all applications filed by couples that cannot hold a basic conversation with each other in a common language. Legitimate couples will learn to communicate with each other and can reapply at that time.

Eliminate the co-sponsor system for Americans filing immigrant visa petitions for spouses overseas. This means that Americans living below the poverty line would be unable to sponsor immigrants. Exceptions should be made for bona fide full-time students at the university level and young petitioners still listed as dependents on their parents’ most recent tax return. Since many, if not most of the Americans that engage in marriage fraud for cash are in a weak financial situation themselves, this move would add a difficult hurdle for would-be scam artists who want to engage in a sham marriage to a foreign national for money.

Eliminate the possibility of adjustment of status to anyone out of status or on a short-term visa.

Give both the State Department and USCIS significantly more resources to combat marriage fraud.

Require USCIS officers to seek the assistance of overseas consular officers when conducting investigations on suspect cases. Officers in-country often have language skills and local knowledge that can help expose sham marriages.

Give American spouses all immigration-related documents that the interviewing officer has access to, including previous tourist visa applications, case notes, criminal histories, etc. Americans should know if their foreign spouses have track records of immigration fraud.

Investigate claims of marriage fraud made by American citizens who only realize that their spouses were “in it for the green card” after they receive permanent residency. While not taking the Americans’ word at face value, USCIS must investigate these claims and deport those found guilty of fraud.

Deny visa petitions for foreign spouses who previously have been divorced from an applicant. This will eliminate the opportunity for a foreign national to divorce his or her spouse, enter into a fake marriage with an American citizen to gain legal status, and then divorce the American and re-marry and sponsor for immigration his or her original spouse.

Aggressively prosecute everyone involved in marriage fraud, from those involved in personal schemes to large-scale marriage fraud rings. Penalties should include jail time for those convicted

Some of these suggestions do make a lot of sense; but I do not see USCIS taking away K-1. There is no doubt that there is marriage fraud in some of these countries.

[David Allen 3]

What a load of ####### this is... A marriage from a K-1 visa is no more prone to fraud than a K3 would be. I met my fiancee while I was on vacation and got to know her over almost 2 years before even applying for the K1. When we first met, she didn't speak english much, but over the 2.5 years I have now known her, we communicate pretty well together, though she still struggles with english from time to time.. What makes that any less legitimate than a person who meets someone while on vacation and just up and marries in the foreign country before going home to apply for a K3?? (not that I would even have a problem with that). You cannot tell me that they can look into the hearts and minds of the applicants and decide because someone doesn't meet some arbitrary requirement - speaks fluent english, or they've only known each other for a certain length of time that a particular couple is any less legitimate than one where they both communicate perfectly. I'm as concerned about marriage/visa fraud as anyone - BUT HOW CAN YOU EVEN BEGIN TO COMPLAIN ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE AT LEAST GONE THROUGH THE LEGAL PROCESS FOR A VISA - WHEN IT'S ESTIMATED THERE ARE OVER 12 MILLION WHO JUST WALKED ACCROSS OUR SOUTHERN BORDER??? Give me a freakin' break! People meet and fall in love - decide to get married - maybe too quickly sometimes, but you can't just tell me you suspect all just because they maybe wanted to get married at home instead of abroad. It would have been MUCH easier for me to have married her in Thailand and to have applied for the K3, than to have gone through the K1 process - but she wanted to get married in the US. I understand and accept that there are hoops that we need to jump through in order to get the visa for my fiancee and her daughter - but it pisses me off that some would first call us guilty and have to prove otherwise based on some idiot's arbitrary opinion.

-David Allen

Sunnyvale, CA.

I came across this excellent article from the Center for Immigration Studies explaining the visa process from the side of the consular posts and USCIS. It is a lengthy article but worth reading to get an inside look at the process. Principally it is about marriage fraud. It appears that the consular post do not have the authority to deny a visa, all they can do is to send it back to USCIS for further review and it is not done often. So if your application made it to the embassy it is almost certain to be approved even if they think the application is a fraud.

http://cis.org/marriagefraud

I printed here the recommendations to tight down the process to combat visa fraud. One of them is to eliminate the K1 and force the petitioner to go marry his/her fiancee in his/her country.

Esoll.

Recommendations

Eliminate Fiancé (K-1) visas. There is simply too much fraud associated with this visa category. Americans who intend to marry foreign nationals are free to do so, but making the effort to get married abroad testifies to the legitimacy and seriousness of the relationship. Couples can always have a second ceremony or reception in the United States once the foreign spouse receives his or her immigrant visa.

Adjudicate marriage-based immigrant visa petitions in the foreign spouse’s country of residence, with the American sponsor present. Authorize consular officers (or overseas USCIS officers) to rule on the validity of the relationships and deny fraudulent petitions. Appeals could be heard by an officer’s supervisor — with both petitioner and applicant present.

Eliminate waivers of ineligibility for marriage-based green card applicants with criminal convictions, involvement in a criminal street gang, or long periods of illegal stay, unless the health or welfare of their citizen spouses or children would be severely affected. Not knowing a foreign language or having to find a new job overseas should not be grounds for waivers.

Create a national marriage registration database to help combat serial marriage fraud.

Create a third option for USCIS adjudicators when a couple is interviewed to remove the foreign spouse’s “conditional” status on his or her green card (typically after two years of marriage). Rather than just revocation or approval, conditional status could be extended for up to three years with a supervisor’s approval. Would-be cheaters would have no guaranty that they would only need to remain married for two years.

Deny all applications filed by couples that cannot hold a basic conversation with each other in a common language. Legitimate couples will learn to communicate with each other and can reapply at that time.

Eliminate the co-sponsor system for Americans filing immigrant visa petitions for spouses overseas. This means that Americans living below the poverty line would be unable to sponsor immigrants. Exceptions should be made for bona fide full-time students at the university level and young petitioners still listed as dependents on their parents’ most recent tax return. Since many, if not most of the Americans that engage in marriage fraud for cash are in a weak financial situation themselves, this move would add a difficult hurdle for would-be scam artists who want to engage in a sham marriage to a foreign national for money.

Eliminate the possibility of adjustment of status to anyone out of status or on a short-term visa.

Give both the State Department and USCIS significantly more resources to combat marriage fraud.

Require USCIS officers to seek the assistance of overseas consular officers when conducting investigations on suspect cases. Officers in-country often have language skills and local knowledge that can help expose sham marriages.

Give American spouses all immigration-related documents that the interviewing officer has access to, including previous tourist visa applications, case notes, criminal histories, etc. Americans should know if their foreign spouses have track records of immigration fraud.

Investigate claims of marriage fraud made by American citizens who only realize that their spouses were “in it for the green card” after they receive permanent residency. While not taking the Americans’ word at face value, USCIS must investigate these claims and deport those found guilty of fraud.

Deny visa petitions for foreign spouses who previously have been divorced from an applicant. This will eliminate the opportunity for a foreign national to divorce his or her spouse, enter into a fake marriage with an American citizen to gain legal status, and then divorce the American and re-marry and sponsor for immigration his or her original spouse.

Aggressively prosecute everyone involved in marriage fraud, from those involved in personal schemes to large-scale marriage fraud rings. Penalties should include jail time for those convicted

[ThaitoUSA 15]

It is interesting that only a small percentage of cases end up going back to USCIS, so most do end up being approved at the consulate stage. The consulate can ask for additional evidence, which happens frequently enough, but they do not outright deny the visa; they leave it to USCIS to do that.