B2 waiver denial

[Craig D 0]

My fiancée got here February 17th. We have the wedding planned for April 24th. She's 24, i'm 27 - shes from Peru.

We had hoped to bring her parents and little brother here to attend the wedding. Because her dad works and her little brother is still in school, they were only planning on staying 4-5 days at the most.

They brought all sorts of documentation to the embassy interview -- documents showing that her dad has worked for the police since 1979, his earnings, documentation of his time off and that he is 1 year away from retirement. They brought evidence of her brother's permission to miss classes for those dates. Her mom doesn't really work, just does some tutoring work on the side.

They own their apartment as well as a bunch of land elsewhere in Peru. Her Mom's parents own a lot more land. All of this was brought.

The person at the window was not helpful and instead just glanced at the form and said nope, don't qualify. She didn't even give them the chance to talk. They just wanted to come here for their daughters wedding.

The worst part about it is they were telling the truth. I work for the US Govt here, and he works for the Peru Govt as a police officer. I did send the I-134 affidavit of support, even though I realize that doesn't have much weight in a b2 visa case anyway.

So now my fiancee is heartbroken, we made these big wedding plans (not to mention spent lots of money) and now she's saying shes not even sure she can bring herself to get married if her family isn't there.

What the hell do we do? Is writing a congressman any sort of realistic idea? Please help!

[coraliesolms 47]

Oh thats heartbreaking, Im so sorry. Congressmen cant unfortunately force a good decision in your families favour, in fact, Im not sure they could even look at B1/B2 applications. Did they say why it wasnt good enough? Usually they will give a reason as to why they arent issuing the visa.

If all else fails though, go through with your wedding here (you only have 90 days). And after that, when she has adjusted her status, and received her GC, then go to Peru and have a celebration there! (Not many people have a good reason to have 2 weddings!!) Not that you could get married legally twice, but you could have a ceremony, she can wear the same dress even (not too many brides get to wear their dresses twice either).

I am sorry for your unfortunate luck there, you could try your congressmen, he might be able to find out why it was denied, and perhaps it could be fixed in time.

Good Luck though, and CONGRATS on the K-1 approval

[Craig D 0]

Upon refusing the nonimmigrant visa,

the consular officer shall retain the original of each document upon

which the refusal was based, as well as each document indicating a

possible ground of ineligibility, and should return all other

supporting documents supplied by the applicant.

I did find the above paragraph online.... and the embassy did keep a document of her little brothers. Maybe that had something to do with it. What if they refiled and didn't include him?

[coraliesolms 47]

Is there any way you can call the consulate and enquire about it yourself? It wouldnt hurt to call your congressman, if they have kept copies of the documents, at least someone in Peru can look at it and tell you on what basis they denied the visa. There might be some misunderstanding on something, perhaps an additional thing that can be provided (receipts from paying for your wedding, invitations). Sometimes its something silly that they need. Call and find out. I dont think your congressperson can help you, but you never know if you dont make the call. I would call/email the consulate as well if I was you.

Good luck!

[canadian_wife 1,831]

I am so sorry, that really stinks! I agree with the above poster, call the consulate and find out what happened.

I read an article once that a family was denied a B2 visa to attend the daughter's wedding. What they did was set up laptops at the wedding (and at the house of the denied famiy) to witness the ceremony. It was a pretty unique idea

Good luck.

[Craig D 0]

Here's the letter I'm writing to my congressman. What do you think?

Greetings Mr. Courtney,

I write to seek your help. My name is Craig Diederich. I live in New London now; I have lived in the area since I got out of the Army in 2005 and attended Uconn from 2005-2008. I currently serve in the Air Force National Guard at Bradley and work for the New London, CT Social Security Office. We look forward to seeing you when we have the opening of the new office in April.

I met my fiancee on a trip to Peru in 2005 between semesters. We spent as much time together as possible over the ensuing 5 years and finally she entered the United States on 02/17/2010, completely legally and fully documented.

According to the rules of the K-1 visa, we have to be married within 90 days of her arrival, or approximately May 17th. We set a wedding date of April 24th.

The family of my fiancee, like many Latin American families, is extremely close knit. She is having some difficulty adjusting to life here without them, but is managing with my help. Soon she will enroll in the university and proceed to become a productive United States resident.

We were hoping and praying her parents might come to the United States to attend the wedding. Being a government employee myself, I know there are lots of complex rules that dictate any decision - in this case who can, and cannot, receive a visa into the United States. And although I put lots of efforts into attempting to read as much policy as I could find, the visa was still denied for her parents.

Ybeth's parents are your typical family with what would be considered traditional "American" values, although they obviously are not from America. Her father has worked for the police force since 1979 and has only a short time until retirement. Her mother is a former journalist who now devotes her time to the one remaining child in the house, 11 year old Diego. Ybeth also has an older brother who is serving in the military. As a family, they are well entrenched in Peru. They own their own residence as well as several plots of land elsewhere in the country. They have no reason to leave, especially with her father so close to retirement. While many visa applicants come to the United States for the maximum and often beyond the maximum time allowed for the visa, Ybeth's parents wished only to stay 4 to 5 days, as Diego could not miss many days of school.

The visa was denied. I'm imagining it was because they have the 11 year old Diego that they included on their visa request. Surely it would be much easier if perhaps, only her father came to the wedding. However Mr. Gutierrez would not leave his wife and child behind like that.

Besides, I'm only guessing at the reason behind the denial. The staff at the embassy is very vague when they issue a denial, and at least in this case, did not let her parents speak hardly at all. I understand it is a very difficult job and certainly the country wants to err on the side of caution rather than tragically letting a social charge, or worse, evil-doers into the country.

Now utterly depressed, my fiancee says she cannot marry me here without her family, as they are so important to her. She is on the verge of going back to Peru, after all we have fought for to legally get her here. Like I said, as a fellow govt employee, I understand there are rules and procedures that must be followed. I often times at work and forced to make decisions at work that affect peoples lives but those working in the embassy certainly trounce my efforts. In this case, because the individual working the window may simply have had a bad day, or a misunderstanding on our part of the rules, my life is going to be taking a very drastic change here. I enjoy serving my country as both a military member and a civilian. I hope that perhaps you might look into this and see if there is some way to help. It would be immensely appreciated.

Craig W Diederich

[Mike B. 231]

If you send a letter to your representative, you will likely get a response telling you that the Department of State cannot discuss visa issues with a third party due to privacy laws. They will also probably send along a privacy waiver for your fiancee to fill out. Since you only have 90 days, you might want to get things moving as quickly as possible and call your representative telling the staffer you have an immigration problem and need a privacy waiver sent to you ASAP. A representative with good constituent services will know exactly what you're talking about and send the thing in the mail to you in a day or two.

[Craig D 0]

So her parents have decided to leave the 11 yr old with her Grandparents while they try to attend the wedding. We think her Dad could easily get the visa, but they are also considering both applying at once. It would be horrible for the both of them to get denied knowing alone her Dad probably could have gotten it. Any ideas????

[sachinky 465]

B-2 visas are a crapshoot.

There's nothing you, your Congressman or anyone can do. Only the applicants can qualify for it by demonstrating significant economic and social ties that will compel them to return at the end of their stay in order to convince the CO.

Daughter's in the U.S.--mother, father, little brother are most likely NOT going going to be issued B2s together. Not from Peru.

I'm sorry about your situation and I understand your fiancee's heartbreak but unfortunately, this is a situation most K-1 entrants have to keep in mind/expect on some level.

You can always go back after procuring the AP and have a big celebrationg in Peru.

Good luck! Wishing you all the very best.

Edited April 6, 2010 by sachinky

[canadian_wife 1,831]

I agree with sachinky. B-2 visas are difficult to get for some people. However, leaving the boy at home is certainly going to help them. Make sure they include a letter from the grandmother indicating that she is taking care of the boy and the expected return date of the parents.

Good luck.