I don't know what to do.

[Mrs Rizvi 0]

This may be quite jumbled up. I'm really emotional right now.

My fiancé and I filed earlier in this year in March for his K1 visa. Everything has been going as planned with a few exceptions. The embassy in London toyed with us. They never sent him ANY paperwork regarding our case. I had to call them. I called them in total of THREE times. I went to visit my fiancé this month because it's been really hard on us. As soon as I got back I contacted the embassy asking if they sent anything out. Apparently they did and his appointment was for today @ 8am. We thought everything was over with. We were so happy.

The only thing that stopped him from obtaining his visa was the fact he was overstaying his student visa. It wasn't refused or anything but he has to go back to his home country which is Pakistan. The problem is the US embassy in Pakistan will toy with me. My fiancé's contact has had loads of friends that had problems with that embassy. Which my fiancé has decided on living in Saudi Arabia. Apparently it will be much easier.

I don't know how long this will take. I'm devastated.

feel free to ask questions or anything. i just need help

[Penguin_ie 5,984]

I am a bit confused, let me see if I got this right...

So basically, your fiancee was refused a K1 visa at an interview today because of a previous overstay in the USA when he was on a student visa? How long did he overstay, and how long ago was that? And they said he should go back to Pakistan (why? what concern is it of the US embassy in London?), while you file for a waiver (normally these are not available for fiancee visas, just spousal ones- what exactly were you/ he told at the interview)?

Or is it that he had an interview appointment at the London embassy today, but your fiancee could not attend because he had overstayed his student visa to the UK, and has now returned to his home country of Pakistan?

In any case, having the case transfered to a different embassy- Saudi Arabia in this case- should not be a problem, but won;t solvce the overstay issue either.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I think I understand. He's overstayed his student visa in the UK. Because of that, he has to return to Pakistan. He doesn't want to reapply in Pakistan because the US consulate there is tough.

It sounds like they used a technicality against you. Generally, a consulate cannot use your immigration status in the country where you apply for the visa as a reason to deny a visa to the US. In other words, they can't deny his K1 visa because he had overstayed his student visa in the UK. There is simply no provision in US immigration law for this. However, when you apply for a US visa in a country other than the country of your citizenship, the consulate has the option of whether or not they will accept your visa application. They often require you to be a legal resident of the country where you submit the visa application. If not, they can refuse to accept your application, and send your file to your home country or back to the US. The reason a consulate can do this is to prevent people from getting a tourist visa to a country where they perceive the US consulate is more likely to issue a visa to them (the UK, for example). This is "consulate shopping", and consulates try to prevent people from doing it.

Your fiance was obviously not "consulate shopping", but the US Embassy in London obviously didn't want to deal with his K1 visa application. They couldn't deny the visa, so they refused to accept the application because he wasn't a legal resident of the UK.

If he intends to apply in Saudi Arabia then he'll need to get legal resident status there. Frankly, I'm not sure that Saudi Arabia is going to be much better than Pakistan, in terms of how difficult it will be to get a visa. There are also some cultural requirements that generally apply to Pakistani men, such as family involvement in the engagement. Those cultural requirements might be tough to prove at the consulate in Saudi Arabia. Hopefully, you've met his family and they approve of the marriage, yes?

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

They may also have an issue with him going to another country if they are sending his petition to his home country. It may give the image that he is hiding something that an investigation there might uncover.

[Mrs Rizvi 0]

I am a bit confused, let me see if I got this right...

So basically, your fiancee was refused a K1 visa at an interview today because of a previous overstay in the USA when he was on a student visa? How long did he overstay, and how long ago was that? And they said he should go back to Pakistan (why? what concern is it of the US embassy in London?), while you file for a waiver (normally these are not available for fiancee visas, just spousal ones- what exactly were you/ he told at the interview)?

Or is it that he had an interview appointment at the London embassy today, but your fiancee could not attend because he had overstayed his student visa to the UK, and has now returned to his home country of Pakistan?

In any case, having the case transfered to a different embassy- Saudi Arabia in this case- should not be a problem, but won;t solvce the overstay issue either.

He went to his appointment at the embassy. They didn't deny him his visa. They just said they couldn't give it to him because of the fact he overstayed his student visa. The case would have to continue in Pakistan. He's overstayed his student visa for 7 months. Basically, the whole time our case has been on going.

What's a waiver?

Would the overstaying be a problem for the case when he's back home?

[Mrs Rizvi 0]

I think I understand. He's overstayed his student visa in the UK. Because of that, he has to return to Pakistan. He doesn't want to reapply in Pakistan because the US consulate there is tough.

It sounds like they used a technicality against you. Generally, a consulate cannot use your immigration status in the country where you apply for the visa as a reason to deny a visa to the US. In other words, they can't deny his K1 visa because he had overstayed his student visa in the UK. There is simply no provision in US immigration law for this. However, when you apply for a US visa in a country other than the country of your citizenship, the consulate has the option of whether or not they will accept your visa application. They often require you to be a legal resident of the country where you submit the visa application. If not, they can refuse to accept your application, and send your file to your home country or back to the US. The reason a consulate can do this is to prevent people from getting a tourist visa to a country where they perceive the US consulate is more likely to issue a visa to them (the UK, for example). This is "consulate shopping", and consulates try to prevent people from doing it.

Your fiance was obviously not "consulate shopping", but the US Embassy in London obviously didn't want to deal with his K1 visa application. They couldn't deny the visa, so they refused to accept the application because he wasn't a legal resident of the UK.

If he intends to apply in Saudi Arabia then he'll need to get legal resident status there. Frankly, I'm not sure that Saudi Arabia is going to be much better than Pakistan, in terms of how difficult it will be to get a visa. There are also some cultural requirements that generally apply to Pakistani men, such as family involvement in the engagement. Those cultural requirements might be tough to prove at the consulate in Saudi Arabia. Hopefully, you've met his family and they approve of the marriage, yes?

We don't have to reapply for our visa. Our case will just continue there. Pakistan's US embassy isn't very fair. They like to say things they shouldn't. He's getting his residential permit to go to Saudi Arabia. It'll be easier there for him and our case. His family approves of the marriage and they already love me even though I've only spoken to them via skype, lol. His mother is very excited to have me marry her son. His siblings all like me. His immediate family is most important. However, his aunts and uncle are also very happy to welcome me. So, that isn't any problem.

My main problem is how much longer will it take? I'm scared they will delay it even longer. Use the overstay against us... but are they even allowed to do that?

[Mrs Rizvi 0]

They may also have an issue with him going to another country if they are sending his petition to his home country. It may give the image that he is hiding something that an investigation there might uncover.

My fiancé has only lived in Pakistan for maybe four years of his life [toddler and younger teenager years]. He grew up in Saudi Arabia. He went to London at age 17 for college and has lived there ever since [he's now 22]. So, I'm not sure on what they could think he'd be hiding? lol

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I don't know if they think he's hiding something.

There is a general requirement at most consulates that the applicant be a legal resident of the country where they apply for the visa. Your fiance isn't a legal resident of the UK because of his expired visa. They're sending the petition to Pakistan because that's his country of citizenship. You can ask that the petition be forwarded to Saudi Arabia, but the consulate in Saudi Arabia has discretion on whether or not they accept it. If they don't then your fiance may have no choice except to submit another visa application and interview in Pakistan.

Without someone having done the exact same thing recently it would be difficult to even guess how long this will take. If I had to guess, I'd say up to a month for the petition to make it's way to the consulate in Pakistan. Then, another month or two for the consulate in Saudi Arabia to decide if they will accept the petition. He must be a legal resident living in Saudi Arabia at the time or they probably won't accept it. They could even refuse to accept it because he became a legal resident after the visa application was rejected in London. Again, they don't like 'consulate shopping', and will try to stop someone if they suspect it. You might be able to shave off a little time if you can get your request in to have the petition sent to Saudi Arabia before it leaves the embassy in London.

After that, it probably depends on how long it takes the consulate (whichever one has the petition) to schedule an interview. Whether Pakistan or Saudi Arabia, I would count on at least a few months of AP if the visa is not denied outright.

[ksmith8337 0]

My fiancé has only lived in Pakistan for maybe four years of his life [toddler and younger teenager years]. He grew up in Saudi Arabia. He went to London at age 17 for college and has lived there ever since [he's now 22]. So, I'm not sure on what they could think he'd be hiding? lol

It sounds to me that he needs to go back to Pakistan because this is where the London embassy is assuming the case will be sent to. You need to ask the London embassy about this question. Tell them he has plans to move to KSA and ask if the case can be sent there.

Me and my husband have not had to many problems with the embassy in Riyadh, KSA. His interview was on Oct. 12th, we are approved he will be receiving the visa in about a week. His case was very similar. My husband was moved to KSA when he was just 4 years old and has lived there most of his life but he is an Egyptian citizen.

If your case had not been denied then as soon at it gets to the embassy, which should take about 2-3 weeks his new interview would be in about a month. Then for three weeks they will keep his passport as they process the visa for you.

Don't know if I helped any. I'm not a professional at this or anything but really our case has gone pretty smoothly.

Kimberly Smith

Edited November 1, 2010 by ksmith8337