FIANCEE DENIED K-1 IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

[Ireti 0]

Hello everyone,

I didn't know where else to turn and so happy I found this site.

The story is that my fiancee was denied his K-1 visa at his interview in Lagos, Nigeria yesterday (friday 11/19). He says that the interview went well until he was asked for affivadit of support which he had but unfortunately our co-sponsor flopped last minute and we didn't have enough time to get someone else and he only had mine as primary sponsor. The problem is that I am a full-time student in my third year of Medical School and do not work. The CO said that he doesn't believe that we can support each other since we are both students and feels the relationship is not genuine. The CO also said we didnt have enough pictures but he had about 30. We don't know what next action to take or how we can rectify anything. My fiancee states that he was given a form to appeal. Can anyone please advice on what we should possibly do next. I already emailed the consulate requesting another interview date to find another co-sponsor. Anyone pls help....Thanks

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

You weren't prepared. That's easy enough to see. Either you had some help getting this far (an immigration lawyer, perhaps?) or there are some major gaps in your knowledge of the process.

You knew you'd need to submit an affidavit of support, which you did. Apparently, you also knew something about the income requirements, and knew your affidavit wasn't sufficient because, at one point, you had a joint sponsor lined up. What confuses me is why you thought you'd be approved if you knew you needed a joint sponsor? Not having a sufficiently qualified sponsor is usually a dead stop at any consulate.

Also, only 30 pictures? At Lagos?

Did you know before the interview that Lagos is, arguably, the toughest consulate in the world to get a visa from?

Like I said, you weren't prepared. Your petition will probably be sent back to USCIS. You can wait and see what USCIS does with it, or you can get married and file a CR1 petition. Whatever route you take, you've got some time to prepare. Spend some time here and study the process, and especially spend some time in the Africa: Sub-Saharan regional forum.

I can't comment on the "form to appeal". I'm guessing this probably just a standard "here are some of your options" type of forms. I've never heard of a "form to appeal" a denied visa.

[Afrikan Queen 11]

Sorry to hear that.

I disagree with JimVaPhuong. You were prepared but someone bailed out on you. Find someone you can trust and rely on to be your co-sponsor such as a family member. Honestly, I sent about 20 pics to my fiance, but it gas a variety of pics (ei. with family, friends, just the two of us). Hope it doesn't effect our decision. Do you have anymore pics to present? What form were you given? Looks like you are given a second chance. Wish you the best.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

You weren't prepared. That's easy enough to see. Either you had some help getting this far (an immigration lawyer, perhaps?) or there are some major gaps in your knowledge of the process.

You knew you'd need to submit an affidavit of support, which you did. Apparently, you also knew something about the income requirements, and knew your affidavit wasn't sufficient because, at one point, you had a joint sponsor lined up. What confuses me is why you thought you'd be approved if you knew you needed a joint sponsor? Not having a sufficiently qualified sponsor is usually a dead stop at any consulate.

Also, only 30 pictures? At Lagos?

Did you know before the interview that Lagos is, arguably, the toughest consulate in the world to get a visa from?

Like I said, you weren't prepared. Your petition will probably be sent back to USCIS. You can wait and see what USCIS does with it, or you can get married and file a CR1 petition. Whatever route you take, you've got some time to prepare. Spend some time here and study the process, and especially spend some time in the Africa: Sub-Saharan regional forum.

I can't comment on the "form to appeal". I'm guessing this probably just a standard "here are some of your options" type of forms. I've never heard of a "form to appeal" a denied visa.

There actually is no "appeal" at the consulate level or even the USCIS level. There is a "motion to re-open" but you would file that. At any rate...Jim is correct, you went to the most difficult consulate in the world unprepared. The result was entirely predictable.

I do not agree with getting married and filing for a CR-1 in these cases. I know many people do, but here is the deal...getting married fixes nothing you were denied for, getting married only means you are married, whether or not he gets a visa. You have a lack of evidence of relationship and they will deny a spouse visa for that just as quick.

I would say the fastest, cheapest and easiest route is to simply withdraw that petition and file a new I-129f and start over and get prepared better next time. While there is nothing "wrong" withe getting married and filing for a CR-1, bear in mind if you fail at that also, you are STILL Married.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

There actually is no "appeal" at the consulate level or even the USCIS level. There is a "motion to re-open" but you would file that. At any rate...Jim is correct, you went to the most difficult consulate in the world unprepared. The result was entirely predictable.

I do not agree with getting married and filing for a CR-1 in these cases. I know many people do, but here is the deal...getting married fixes nothing you were denied for, getting married only means you are married, whether or not he gets a visa. You have a lack of evidence of relationship and they will deny a spouse visa for that just as quick.

I would say the fastest, cheapest and easiest route is to simply withdraw that petition and file a new I-129f and start over and get prepared better next time. While there is nothing "wrong" withe getting married and filing for a CR-1, bear in mind if you fail at that also, you are STILL Married.

The reason some people get married and file a CR1 is because it removes the original K1 petition from the picture. Withdrawing the original K1 petition sometimes has unintended consequences. By returning the K1 petition to USCIS, the consular officer has made an accusation against the beneficiary. Until USCIS makes a decision on this accusation, consulates will sometimes refuse to schedule an interview for a subsequent K1 petition. In other words, they sit on the second petition indefinitely, waiting for a decision that will never come. The same thing can happen if USCIS decides not to readjudicate the returned K1 petition, and just allows it to expire. Marc Ellis wrote about this problem in the pinned thread about the new tactic being used by CSC. It was his opinion that the new CSC tactic would avoid this problem, since it forces a decision on the first petition by sending a NOID when they receive the second petition.

I agree that marrying and filing a CR1 does nothing to address the reason for the K1 visa denial. It also does not eliminate the possibility of a P6C finding against the beneficiary if USCIS ultimately revokes the approval of the original K1 petition. However, it does allow the petitioner to move on with the process without having the prior K1 petition potentially interfere or stop the process. The only thing they have to deal with is if USCIS ultimately sends a NOID for the first K1 petition. They still have to respond to the NOID, or risk having a P6C finding against the beneficiary, which would mean an I-601 would be needed at the CR1 interview.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

K1's are frequently expired , especially for CSC petitions , which means there is no accidental bad notes on your file. Withdrawing the petition will cause that to happen which is what a lot of people do when going CR1, I did the double K1 and came out on top. You have to really prepare for Lagos and going in less knowing you don't meet the affidavit requirements is just impossible. The thing about going for a second K1 is that it doesn't require another trip to Lagos to get the ball rolling. Question for the OP , how many times have you been together ? One trip or more ?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

K1's are frequently expired , especially for CSC petitions , which means there is no accidental bad notes on your file. Withdrawing the petition will cause that to happen which is what a lot of people do when going CR1, I did the double K1 and came out on top. You have to really prepare for Lagos and going in less knowing you don't meet the affidavit requirements is just impossible. The thing about going for a second K1 is that it doesn't require another trip to Lagos to get the ball rolling. Question for the OP , how many times have you been together ? One trip or more ?

Have a look at Marc's pinned thread to see what I was referring to:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/245030-k1-noids-at-california-service-center/

In the cases he's talking about, the beneficiary was denied a visa at the interview. CSC decided not to adjudicate the returned petition (which is how CSC usually handles returned petitions), and sent the petitioner a notice that the petition had expired, and they were free to file another petition. After sending a second petition, CSC sent the petitioner a NOID citing the consular officer's reasons for denying the visa from the first petition. This means that CSC did not look at the returned petition until the second petition had been filed, at which point they decided the consular officer's accusations were sufficient to justify sending a NOID.

Marc also explains that a returned petition constitutes an accusation of fraud by the consular officer - they place a P6C marker in the beneficiary's file. If they send a NOID, and it's not sufficiently rebutted by the petitioner, then the P6C marker becomes a finding of fact - the beneficiary is now inadmissible for fraud, and needs an I-601 waiver to overcome it.

When USCIS allows a petition to expire rather than adjudicating it, it does not remove the P6C marker from the beneficiary's file. Withdrawing the petition before USCIS adjudicates it point can have even more dire consequences - USCIS is allowed to presume that the consular officer's accusations were correct without being obligated to offer the petitioner a chance to rebut them. Since the petitioner has given up on the petition, they can just close the file.

Marc feels that this new policy is an improvement because it forces CSC to make a decision on the previously returned petition, and allow the petitioner a chance to rebut. If the petitioner is successful, then the fraud marker is removed.

I haven't seen any evidence that CSC is doing the same thing if the petitioner subsequently marries the beneficiary, and files a CR1. The CR1 effectively nullifies the K1 petition, so even if USCIS never issues a decision on the previously returned K1 petition, the consulate has no reason to sit on the approved CR1 petition. A returned K1 petition hanging in limbo would also not affect the approval of a CR1 petition. The only potential hangup would be if USCIS ultimately sends a NOID for the returned K1 petition. The petitioner must rebut the NOID, even if they've already filed a CR1 petition. If they don't then they allow the P6C marker to become a finding of fact, effectively making the petitioner's new spouse guilty of fraud. Marc also wrote an excellent article about this scenario in 2006:

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0323-ellis.shtm

He wrote an updated article this year:

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2010,0713-ellis.shtm

[Gothika 0]

The reason some people get married and file a CR1 is because it removes the original K1 petition from the picture. Withdrawing the original K1 petition sometimes has unintended consequences. By returning the K1 petition to USCIS, the consular officer has made an accusation against the beneficiary. Until USCIS makes a decision on this accusation, consulates will sometimes refuse to schedule an interview for a subsequent K1 petition. In other words, they sit on the second petition indefinitely, waiting for a decision that will never come. The same thing can happen if USCIS decides not to readjudicate the returned K1 petition, and just allows it to expire. Marc Ellis wrote about this problem in the pinned thread about the new tactic being used by CSC. It was his opinion that the new CSC tactic would avoid this problem, since it forces a decision on the first petition by sending a NOID when they receive the second petition.

I agree that marrying and filing a CR1 does nothing to address the reason for the K1 visa denial. It also does not eliminate the possibility of a P6C finding against the beneficiary if USCIS ultimately revokes the approval of the original K1 petition. However, it does allow the petitioner to move on with the process without having the prior K1 petition potentially interfere or stop the process. The only thing they have to deal with is if USCIS ultimately sends a NOID for the first K1 petition. They still have to respond to the NOID, or risk having a P6C finding against the beneficiary, which would mean an I-601 would be needed at the CR1 interview.

Jim, What i don't understnad is a simple denial due to a lack of financial support would ended getting a p6c marker! isn't a p6c marker related to fraud but not when just a simple denial occurs! So, my understanding is all petitions sent back to USCIS will ended up getting a p6c marker if the NOID is not addressed prperly. Can you please clarify this?

Thanks,

[edmondson 0]

Sorry to hear that.

I disagree with JimVaPhuong. You were prepared but someone bailed out on you. Find someone you can trust and rely on to be your co-sponsor such as a family member. Honestly, I sent about 20 pics to my fiance, but it gas a variety of pics (ei. with family, friends, just the two of us). Hope it doesn't effect our decision. Do you have anymore pics to present? What form were you given? Looks like you are given a second chance. Wish you the best.

I wish to add this before you make some mistakes about Lagos,i had my interview on the 19th of november and was approved but my approval was easier because my fiance had loaded her petition with too much of facts and i too had been compailing lots of mails,photos,recipts,any thing you can imagine of that ties the both of together plus our families.It realy paid of because at the security check they had to check my bag twice because it was well loaded with evidence and they were laughing and i told them it was today or never.Most people that were denied were mostly people that were not prepared thinking that as long as they were filed by a US citizen that it was enough but i can remember one came with his husband"s American passport and was denied because she does not have call logs or mails showing means of communication,most were denied due to they were not prepared and i wished that they have found this site VJ.Thank GOD that my interview went so well did not even last up 3minutes.So my advice is to tell your person to start getting ready from now and you will have every thing ready and go through every thing on a daily basis and make sure dates of events are stuck on his or her brain because they might want to get you confused about dates of events.Good luck to your journey.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

I know what Marc Ellis writes. He was the one that prepared the second K1 and wasn't at all worried about the first one. They denied it because the CO demanded that my husband tell her details of my classified work if he wanted a visa. I filed an attempted espionage report because that falls in the reportable incident list. We filed the second petition before hearing from the first one.( This was Marc's advise)

Have a look at Marc's pinned thread to see what I was referring to:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/245030-k1-noids-at-california-service-center/

In the cases he's talking about, the beneficiary was denied a visa at the interview. CSC decided not to adjudicate the returned petition (which is how CSC usually handles returned petitions), and sent the petitioner a notice that the petition had expired, and they were free to file another petition. After sending a second petition, CSC sent the petitioner a NOID citing the consular officer's reasons for denying the visa from the first petition. This means that CSC did not look at the returned petition until the second petition had been filed, at which point they decided the consular officer's accusations were sufficient to justify sending a NOID.

Marc also explains that a returned petition constitutes an accusation of fraud by the consular officer - they place a P6C marker in the beneficiary's file. If they send a NOID, and it's not sufficiently rebutted by the petitioner, then the P6C marker becomes a finding of fact - the beneficiary is now inadmissible for fraud, and needs an I-601 waiver to overcome it.

When USCIS allows a petition to expire rather than adjudicating it, it does not remove the P6C marker from the beneficiary's file. Withdrawing the petition before USCIS adjudicates it point can have even more dire consequences - USCIS is allowed to presume that the consular officer's accusations were correct without being obligated to offer the petitioner a chance to rebut them. Since the petitioner has given up on the petition, they can just close the file.

Marc feels that this new policy is an improvement because it forces CSC to make a decision on the previously returned petition, and allow the petitioner a chance to rebut. If the petitioner is successful, then the fraud marker is removed.

I haven't seen any evidence that CSC is doing the same thing if the petitioner subsequently marries the beneficiary, and files a CR1. The CR1 effectively nullifies the K1 petition, so even if USCIS never issues a decision on the previously returned K1 petition, the consulate has no reason to sit on the approved CR1 petition. A returned K1 petition hanging in limbo would also not affect the approval of a CR1 petition. The only potential hangup would be if USCIS ultimately sends a NOID for the returned K1 petition. The petitioner must rebut the NOID, even if they've already filed a CR1 petition. If they don't then they allow the P6C marker to become a finding of fact, effectively making the petitioner's new spouse guilty of fraud. Marc also wrote an excellent article about this scenario in 2006:

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0323-ellis.shtm

He wrote an updated article this year:

http://www.ilw.com/articles/2010,0713-ellis.shtm

[baron555 934]

Hello everyone,

I didn't know where else to turn and so happy I found this site.

The story is that my fiancee was denied his K-1 visa at his interview in Lagos, Nigeria yesterday (friday 11/19). He says that the interview went well until he was asked for affivadit of support which he had but unfortunately our co-sponsor flopped last minute and we didn't have enough time to get someone else and he only had mine as primary sponsor. The problem is that I am a full-time student in my third year of Medical School and do not work. The CO said that he doesn't believe that we can support each other since we are both students and feels the relationship is not genuine. The CO also said we didnt have enough pictures but he had about 30. We don't know what next action to take or how we can rectify anything. My fiancee states that he was given a form to appeal. Can anyone please advice on what we should possibly do next. I already emailed the consulate requesting another interview date to find another co-sponsor. Anyone pls help....Thanks

Wait until you get a good job or another cosponsor. Visit again and takes tons more pictures and generate much more evidence since that is what they want to see.

Then do it all over again.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Jim, What i don't understnad is a simple denial due to a lack of financial support would ended getting a p6c marker! isn't a p6c marker related to fraud but not when just a simple denial occurs! So, my understanding is all petitions sent back to USCIS will ended up getting a p6c marker if the NOID is not addressed prperly. Can you please clarify this?

Thanks,

The OP also said the consular officer "feels the relationship is not genuine" and "said we didnt have enough pictures".

The marker has to do with the reason the consular officer cites for returning the petition to USCIS. If the consular officer cites only INA 212(a)(4), which relates to the public charge requirement, then a finding of fact would only mean the beneficiary was inadmissible because they couldn't meet the public charge test, but there would be no ban. If the consular officer returns the petition because they believe the relationship is a sham, primarily for the purpose of securing an immigration benefit, then they cite INA 212(a)(6)(C ), which relates to misrepresentation or fraud to secure an immigration benefit. Consular officers cite paragraph (6)(C ) the majority of the time when they use their discretion to deny a visa, even if the reason was because the beneficiary didn't have enough pictures or chat logs to convince them the relationship was real. A finding of fact means the beneficiary is guilty of fraud, and subsequently banned from the US.

The P6C marker exists if the consulate cited paragraph (6)(C ) when returning the petition. It becomes a finding of fact if USCIS makes a final decision not to reaffirm the petition approval. If they send a NOID or NOIR then they're telling you that they intend to make that final decision unless you can successfully convince them otherwise. If you withdraw the petition then they may close the petition with the same finding, which means the P6C becomes a finding of fact. Or, they can close the petition without prejudice, which means they are making no final decision, so the P6C marker is left unanswered. This is the scenario where some consulates were apparently sitting on the second approved petition because USCIS made no final decision on the previous petition.

Marc covered this in pretty good detail in his articles. Yes, paragraph (6)(C ) IS specifically about fraud and misrepresentation, but consulates cite it when they just aren't convinced. Something about the circumstances didn't seem right to them, or the beneficiary didn't answer the questions to their satisfaction, or just didn't have enough evidence. No actual fraud was committed, but the bureaucratic process leaves them essentially guilty of fraud anyway.

[Gothika 0]

The OP also said the consular officer "feels the relationship is not genuine" and "said we didnt have enough pictures".

The marker has to do with the reason the consular officer cites for returning the petition to USCIS. If the consular officer cites only INA 212(a)(4), which relates to the public charge requirement, then a finding of fact would only mean the beneficiary was inadmissible because they couldn't meet the public charge test, but there would be no ban. If the consular officer returns the petition because they believe the relationship is a sham, primarily for the purpose of securing an immigration benefit, then they cite INA 212(a)(6)(C ), which relates to misrepresentation or fraud to secure an immigration benefit. Consular officers cite paragraph (6)(C ) the majority of the time when they use their discretion to deny a visa, even if the reason was because the beneficiary didn't have enough pictures or chat logs to convince them the relationship was real. A finding of fact means the beneficiary is guilty of fraud, and subsequently banned from the US.

The P6C marker exists if the consulate cited paragraph (6)(C ) when returning the petition. It becomes a finding of fact if USCIS makes a final decision not to reaffirm the petition approval. If they send a NOID or NOIR then they're telling you that they intend to make that final decision unless you can successfully convince them otherwise. If you withdraw the petition then they may close the petition with the same finding, which means the P6C becomes a finding of fact. Or, they can close the petition without prejudice, which means they are making no final decision, so the P6C marker is left unanswered. This is the scenario where some consulates were apparently sitting on the second approved petition because USCIS made no final decision on the previous petition.

Marc covered this in pretty good detail in his articles. Yes, paragraph (6)(C ) IS specifically about fraud and misrepresentation, but consulates cite it when they just aren't convinced. Something about the circumstances didn't seem right to them, or the beneficiary didn't answer the questions to their satisfaction, or just didn't have enough evidence. No actual fraud was committed, but the bureaucratic process leaves them essentially guilty of fraud anyway.

Thanks Jim. I got it! You explained it well. I know that you are the "WRITESMITH" in this forum. Glad you are here...

[pushbrk 12,093]

Lot's of good hypothetical answers here folks but until the OP posts the exact wording of the notice handed to her fiance, it's all speculation. Please post exactly what the notice says, so the speculation can stop and real help begin. The right answer has probably already been given but there's no way to know without reading the notice.

What you can be sure of is that no fiance or spouse visa is going to be issued without a qualified sponsor's affidavit of support.

[sachinky 464]

Were you given a denial notice or a 212g asking for a new qualified sponsor and more relationship evidence?