How do you obtain consular notes from the interview?

[hyperetai 0]

Hi all I am a new member here at VJ. Just to give a short synopsis, I will give a full one at a later time in the Vietnam forums, I applied for my fiance as a K1 visa which was ultimately denied and returned to uscis, after which they said I could respond when uscis sends me a response. Their response was your paperwork is expired case closed, reapply at any time. So I filed an FOIA request specifically asking for the consulars notes during the inteerview. I received my FOIA packet and basically it had my application and any evidence I provided at the time but nothing as far as my actual request, there was about 20+ pages that were withheld and were sent to the state department for review before they could be released, could these possibly be the notes? Has someone else made a similar request and was successful in getting the consular notes?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post all.

*FOIA = Freedom of Information Act

Edited March 2, 2010 by hyperetai

[pushbrk 12,969]

Hi all I am a new member here at VJ. Just to give a short synopsis, I will give a full one at a later time in the Vietnam forums, I applied for my fiance as a K1 visa which was ultimately denied and returned to uscis, after which they said I could respond when uscis sends me a response. Their response was your paperwork is expired case closed, reapply at any time. So I filed an FOIA request specifically asking for the consulars notes during the inteerview. I received my FOIA packet and basically it had my application and any evidence I provided at the time but nothing as far as my actual request, there was about 20+ pages that were withheld and were sent to the state department for review before they could be released, could these possibly be the notes? Has someone else made a similar request and was successful in getting the consular notes?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post all.

*FOIA = Freedom of Information Act

It's possible they withheld the notes but the FOIA is probably the only way you're going to get them.

[Anh map 2,098]

What was the reason for denial? What do you see as the weakness(es) in your case?

The Vietnam forum as well as the Asia:East and Pacific (exclusive Vietnam forum is relatively new) has a lot about HCMC. If you haven't been there to do some reading go ahead and then post about your case. Lots of folks there to offer their experiences.

I can't offer any answers re: your FOIA request or possible CO notes.

Welcome to VJ

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hi all I am a new member here at VJ. Just to give a short synopsis, I will give a full one at a later time in the Vietnam forums, I applied for my fiance as a K1 visa which was ultimately denied and returned to uscis, after which they said I could respond when uscis sends me a response. Their response was your paperwork is expired case closed, reapply at any time. So I filed an FOIA request specifically asking for the consulars notes during the inteerview. I received my FOIA packet and basically it had my application and any evidence I provided at the time but nothing as far as my actual request, there was about 20+ pages that were withheld and were sent to the state department for review before they could be released, could these possibly be the notes? Has someone else made a similar request and was successful in getting the consular notes?

Thanks for taking the time to read my post all.

*FOIA = Freedom of Information Act

I think you may be chasing a dead dog here. What are you hoping to do if you get the CO's notes? Are you hoping to petition to have your case reopened? It would be faster to just reapply. Are you hoping his/her notes will reveal some inside secrets about your case that they didn't tell you when they denied the visa? I doubt that will happen. They have to give a valid reason when they deny the visa application, and that reason has to be stated on the 221 notice they gave to your fiancee. Anything else that might have been going on inside the CO's head is probably still there in the CO's head, and not written down in your case file.

The most common reason they deny visas at the consulate in HCM is because they suspect the relationship is a sham for immigration purposes. The CO may have a myriad of reasons for believing this is true, but the reasons he states on the 221 notice must be backed up by evidence. In other words, the real reasons they suspect this might never be written down on any document because they are circumstantial, and the 'official' reasons written on the notice might just be whatever they were able to find evidence for. You can get a lot of clues as to what the CO was thinking by evaluating the entire circumstances of the interview. What sort of evidence did the CO ask to see? What questions did the CO ask?

I suggest you do as Anh Map recommends, and read up in the regional forums to see why people are denied in HCM, and then compare those reasons with your own case. The fact that your petition was allowed to expire is good news. If you'd had to respond to a NOID then you might have had to wait for years. Before you reapply, figure out what set off the CO and ultimately caused your visa to be denied. Consider addressing the issues with evidence in your next petition.