Denied for K3 - Approved for re-apply of K1. PLEASE READ.

[pushbrk 12,105]

Wait, what? I'm confused...if you're already married, why are you applying for a fiance visa?

For US immigration purposes, they are not married. This is because they have not been together in person since the marriage certificate was issued. A rub could be that if they now HAVE been together since that date, they could be considered married and denied a fiancee visa. It's an issue of "consummated" after proxy marriage, not one of sexual relations.

[sara..... 371]

ok i hate to bring this up but whats to stop the person that does the interview from coming up with your already married so you are not able to get a k-1? look at how many times couples have been refused k-1 because they had a Islamic engagement party and the interviewer took it as being married and in their case they really are married.....unless i read the post wrong their case never made it to the embassy level but only to the first stage of the petition for married visa

sara

[pushbrk 12,105]

ok i hate to bring this up but whats to stop the person that does the interview from coming up with your already married so you are not able to get a k-1? look at how many times couples have been refused k-1 because they had a Islamic engagement party and the interviewer took it as being married and in their case they really are married.....unless i read the post wrong their case never made it to the embassy level but only to the first stage of the petition for married visa

sara

It's a catch 22. If they haven't been together since the USC left Bahrain, it may be very difficult to convince a consular officer the relationship is bona fide. If they HAVE been together in person again, the Consular Officer may very well determine they are married NOW and therefore the foreign SPOUSE is not eligible for a fiancee visa.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Please keep in mind that visas are applied for abroad. If they had actually gotten through to a K3 interview, they would have filed petitions in the USA, but the visa interview would have been in Bahrain. Don't confuse "filing a petition" with "applying for a visa"

Are you actually replying to me? Because I even specified applying for the visa in Bahrain (if the K3)

[pushbrk 12,105]

Are you actually replying to me? Because I even specified applying for the visa in Bahrain (if the K3)

Yes, I was replying to you. Nobody applied for any visa. A petition was filed and denied. Don't confuse filing a petition with applying for a visa.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Yes, I was replying to you. Nobody applied for any visa. A petition was filed and denied. Don't confuse filing a petition with applying for a visa.

Actually try re-reading the OP. The OP has FILED for and been APPROVED for the K1 petition (though they said visa, which is what I was correcting with my "petition" comment). In 2 months.

I just had the best Thanksgiving of my life. Four days ago, my husband was finally approved in only TWO months for a fiance visa and we now wait for the packet and an interview.

Edited November 29, 2011 by Vanessa&Tony

[pushbrk 12,105]

Actually try re-reading the OP. The OP has FILED for and been APPROVED for the K1 petition (though they said visa, which is what I was correcting with my "petition" comment). In 2 months.

I responded to your "funny note" in post #7 of this thread. I suggest you read that again. The couple applied for no visa. Your comment is not relevant. Yes, the OP referred to an approved visa but in the same sentence provided enough information for anybody who understands the process, to know what was approved was a petition, not a visa.

For all. Please don't ever mix the terms petition and application or petition and visa. It confuses people.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

I responded to your "funny note" in post #7 of this thread. I suggest you read that again. The couple applied for no visa. Your comment is not relevant. Yes, the OP referred to an approved visa but in the same sentence provided enough information for anybody who understands the process, to know what was approved was a petition, not a visa.

For all. Please don't ever mix the terms petition and application or petition and visa. It confuses people.

Actually, again you misread. My "funny note" was this:

Funny note - had you applied for the CR-1, instead of the K3, you may have been fine. The K3 has certain requirements, so I've read, about applying for the visa in the country you were married in.

The only time I mentioned the word "visa" was when I said "applying for the visa in the country you were married in" (which you later confirmed was correct - they would interview in Bahrain if the K3 had gone through). So there was nothing wrong with my comment. I even corrected the "petition" vs "visa" thing. I think you're just trying to get out of admitting you were wrong in your previous comment that "a petition was filed and denied" when in fact the K1 had been APPROVED.

I still think there's an error in the certificate. 9 FAM 40.1 N1.3 deals with proxy marriages but this WASN'T a proxy marriage so the consummation "issue" shouldn't be an issue. They were together on the wedding date. I still think the certificate states the "registered" date as the wedding date which makes it SEEM like a proxy wedding.

As to your last comment - yes visa and petition are different, which is why I clarified a K1 PETITION was approved, not visa.

[pushbrk 12,105]

Actually, again you misread. My "funny note" was this:

The only time I mentioned the word "visa" was when I said "applying for the visa in the country you were married in" (which you later confirmed was correct - they would interview in Bahrain if the K3 had gone through). So there was nothing wrong with my comment. I even corrected the "petition" vs "visa" thing. I think you're just trying to get out of admitting you were wrong in your previous comment that "a petition was filed and denied" when in fact the K1 had been APPROVED.

I still think there's an error in the certificate. 9 FAM 40.1 N1.3 deals with proxy marriages but this WASN'T a proxy marriage so the consummation "issue" shouldn't be an issue. They were together on the wedding date. I still think the certificate states the "registered" date as the wedding date which makes it SEEM like a proxy wedding.

As to your last comment - yes visa and petition are different, which is why I clarified a K1 PETITION was approved, not visa.

The words "applied for" are not applicable to this case. Nobody applied for anything yet. If you're talking about a visa, it is "applied for", then "issued", (or "denied"). It is also "used". US Citizens "file a petition" which is either approved or denied. Since this couple only filed petitions initially, and neither of those petitions were "approved", there was never any opportunity for anybody to "apply for" ANYTHING, visa or otherwise.

This is a distinction with a very BIG difference. Please understand the difference and refrain from referring to filing a petition with words like "apply" etc. OK?

Examples to be perfectly clear.

For people with denied or yet to be filed or approved petitions, the words "apply for" should not be used. As in, "apply for the I-130". An I-130 is filed, not applied for.

"My visa was approved." cannot ever be an accurate statement before an interview has taken place.

Edited November 29, 2011 by pushbrk

[VanessaTony 3,567]

The words "applied for" are not applicable to this case. Nobody applied for anything yet. If you're talking about a visa, it is "applied for", then "issued", (or "denied"). It is also "used". US Citizens "file a petition" which is either approved or denied. Since this couple only filed petitions initially, and neither of those petitions were "approved", there was never any opportunity for anybody to "apply for" ANYTHING, visa or otherwise.

This is a distinction with a very BIG difference. Please understand the difference and refrain from referring to filing a petition with words like "apply" etc. OK?

Again, the couple has a K1 petition APPROVED. So why are you saying that they have had neither petition approved? The K3 petition was denied. The K1 HAS BEEN APPROVED! You obviously have an English comprehension issue.

I doubt ANYONE took what I wrote the why you keep trying to make it sound. It's pointless arguing with you on the other point.

OP - you weren't married by proxy so the consummation issue shouldn't be an issue. I would be surprised if your K1 visa will be approved. If it is, it'll probably cause issues down the line seeing you were already legally married in another country and therefore unable to legally marry "again" in the US.

Edited November 29, 2011 by Vanessa&Tony

[pushbrk 12,105]

Again, the couple has a K1 petition APPROVED. So why are you saying that they have had neither petition approved? The K3 petition was denied. The K1 HAS BEEN APPROVED! You obviously have an English comprehension issue.

The USC initially filed an I-130 and an I-129F for spouse. Both petitions were denied, so there was never an opportunity to apply for either a CR1 or K3 visa. So, read what you initially wrote and you'll see that "applied for" was never an option.

Subsequently, the petitioner filed an I-129F for fiancee, which has now been approved. No K1 anything has been approved. A petition has been approved. The foreigner will now have an opportunity to apply for K1 visa, but has not yet applied for anything, much less any visa.

Please understand I'm asking you to get the terminology right. Getting it wrong confuses the reader.

First, a petition gets filed. When approved, a foreigner can "apply for" a visa. Until invited to do so based on an approved petition, nobody "applies for" ANYTHING.

Edited November 29, 2011 by pushbrk

[pushbrk 12,105]

OP - you weren't married by proxy so the consummation issue shouldn't be an issue. I would be surprised if your K1 visa will be approved. If it is, it'll probably cause issues down the line seeing you were already legally married in another country and therefore unable to legally marry "again" in the US.

The OP is in the same situation as a couple who was married by proxy, whether there was a proxy or not. That's the reason USCIS gave for denying the I-130 petition. They presented a marriage certificate with no evidence that the couple was together on the date the certificate bears, or any date between that date and the date the petition was filed.

What is not clear at this time is if they were together again between the date on the marriage certificate, and the date they filed the I-129F for fiancee. If they were, the marriage will likely be considered to be consummated and the visa denied. If they have NOT been together since the Bahrain trip, then they may have some difficulty showing a bona fide relationship. It's a tough situation all around and there is not enough data to predict what will happen now, except that finally, at least somebody looks like they are going to have their first opportunity to "apply for" something.

[RealAI 1]

Here is a huge lesson for your 'destination wedding' with a foreigner:

We married in Bahrain, we hired a local attorney there to make sure everything was done perfectly in accordance with the law. Sure we were legal. IN BAHRAIN.

Here is what you don't do: Do not leave the country of your spouse, until you have sex after your marriage certificate is *filed* with the court clerk office there.

We had a wedding. We had a honeymoon. We certainly made love. I returned to U.S. The lawyer filed the certificate 2 weeks after I left. USCIS denied our petition on the basis that we had not had sex after the date the legal document was filed with the Court clerk there. They deemed it a "proxy" marriage, even though I was indeed present at my own wedding.

I was speechless, sweating, ill. I am really hurt that my government is involved in my sex life. It is archaic. What if I married a person who was incapable of intercourse? What business is it of theirs? Seriously.

It took us 2 months to create our initial petition paperwork. It took them 5 months to tell us that bad news. It then took us another four months of depression to recreate again our petition and save the money to hire an american attorney who re-filed, explaining what we had been through thus far.

I just had the best Thanksgiving of my life. Four days ago, my husband was finally approved in only TWO months for a fiance visa and we now wait for the packet and an interview.

Light at the end of a very long, very dark tunnel.

Good luck everyone, I am flying happy that the love of my life, will be with me soon. <fingers crossed>

Stay strong. And remember, have sex AFTER you file the wedding certificate.

U have your embassy listed as Saudi Arabia. But you got married in Bahrain? Is your husband in Saudi Arabia or in UAE (bahrain)? If he is going for his interview at the US embassy in Riyadh Saudi Arabia please be well prepared for the interview. I don't want to make you nervous, but we had our interview in that embassy and they were pretty hard with us. May be you will have better luck. Anyways good luck and let us know when u get your interview date.