Visa Process

[Linds&Youssef 56]

Hi everyone,

I've been seeing a significant amount of comments about the K-1 process that I thought were strange and posed interesting questions. For example, I've seen several people mention that they had the feeling their case was already decided even before the interview occurred and that they felt like the CO's were unnecessarily hard on them during the interview. Because these are potential situations that we all face (and more selfishly, because I wanted peace of mind for myself in Youssef's and my own case), I asked my immigration attorney. Here are some things that he shared with me that I wanted to share with the group. I hope some of this information is useful to you! Here are some nuggets of information that the attorney imparted to me:

* Often, couples will petition for the K-1 visa and literally submit the mandatory documents and proofs, and send one or two small pieces of evidence in support of the authenticity of the relationship. It's incredibly important to submit as many different kinds of evidence as possible (i.e. phone records, emails, screen captures of facebook conversations between couple and relationship status, facebook interactions between each partner and significant other's friends/family, IM and Skype logs, photos of you together that show a date within the past two years, evidence of travel to visit the beneficiary fiance(e), videos--uploaded to a website and easily accessible by internet, and notarized affidavits from friends and family). The lawyer said you don't have to submit every single piece you have, because the CO actually has to read every single thing you submit and you don't want to frustrate them by overwhelming them since this can slow your process significantly. It's important, however, to include significant events and show time span across your evidence. Interactions with friends and family/affidavits/public relationship status postings are important because if your relationship were not legitimate you probably wouldn't be sharing about your relationship publicly. When USCIS gives you an RFE during the NOA processes, it's really important that you supply them with enough evidence to prove beyond any question that your relationship is legitimate, and not just send one individual piece of evidence to answer the concern. Also, he said that while you're in NOA phase they're basically looking at the legitimacy of your relationship from the petitioner's standpoint. They want to see that you're not being paid to bring someone over, in other words. That's why if you can provide several first hand testimonials on your behalf from American friends and family, it'll be very helpful.

* When the officers are going through your paperwork during NOA, they're basically marking a checklist of questions that need to be answered before they're satisfied of the relationship's authenticity on the petitioner's side. Don't misunderstand, they're still looking at whether the relationship seems legit from the beneficiary side, too. But the most important part of that will come during the interview. So if there are several questions or red flags that still need to be addressed or things about your relationship that seem suspect to the CO reviewing your file during NOA, these will be marked in red on the outline that accompanies your file to the consulate in the beneficiary's country (in our case, Morocco) for further probing during the interview--this is why some people have long, grueling, brutal interviews... because the CO has a list of things that look suspicious in your case sitting in front of them, and their protocol is to assume the relationship is fraudulent until proven beyond any doubt that it's legit. If the USCIS officer reviewing during NOA doesn't see anything that makes him suspicious about the relationship then that's when you generally will have very short interviews that seem more like a formality than anything else.

* Things that make the officers suspicious might include: significant age difference (particularly if it's the female who's older and outside of child-baring years), significant differences in attractiveness--I know this seems harsh, but the reality is that particularly in "high fraud posts" it's easy to understand that if the non USC party is very attractive and the USC partner is pretty homely that it might be a possible fraud attempt. This alone won't be a factor, but if it's paired with a large age difference, disabilities, previous marriages/children, etc., then it's a suspicion point. Disabilities are another one because a disabled petitioner might seem like an easier target if the beneficiary partner were in fact trying to trick the USC petitioner into thinking the relationship was legit. They also look at previous marriages and children. All the above factors are things that could be construed to make an easy target by just showing a little attention to someone who may not get much attention elsewhere. Again, I know it's harsh, but it's a reality that this is possible. The marriage/children thing is big in Arabic countries because divorce is frowned upon and, I'm sure, for other reasons as well. Other red flags might be multiple K-1 attempts or applications in previous relationships by either party or multiple failed attempts by beneficiary party to enter the US on other long-term visas. Think of it as relationship profiling. Once the officer is confident that the USC doesn't have an ulterior motive, the next thing to rule out is the possibility that the USC is being misguided or tricked by the beneficiary party. So if you have red flags in your case, it's best to minimize the possibility of the officer being suspicious from the very beginning by making sure you include enough of the various types of relationship proof.

* The next big hurdle is proving that you're in a relationship that has a chance of lasting. So especially if you're from different cultural or religious backgrounds, you need to be able to show not only that you've talked about these differences, but how you handle misaligned beliefs and behaviors as they arise. For example, you need to be able to show that you can communicate effectively--this one's particularly big if your native languages are not the same. It also helps to show that you're actively working on improving your communication (maybe by taking language courses in the other partner's language). It's also important to show the officer reviewing your case that you are willing to be open-minded about your cultural and religious differences and that you're able to deal effectively with the differences or that you have discussed how to handle them (i.e. raising children, dealing with finances, family matters, religion, etc.). Basically, they're trying to protect the USC from getting into a situation that's supposed to (ideally) be a lifetime commitment before the person really understands the added difficulty of an intercultural marriage (since marriage is difficult enough even when you come from the same backgrounds).

Again, I know some of this is a bit harsh to read, but this came straight from the attorney. And I wanted to put the info to everyone here with hopes that it might help some of you better prepare throughout the process. Best of luck to you all!

[Kelly C 16]

Interesting.

[F.Momo 0]

Thanks this is really helpful -thumbs up -

[Shoot Em Straight 385]

Great info...I hope everyone that has filed a K1 and will eventually go through CASA will read this post!!!

[nicky&imad 16]

wow! Very informative, thank you so much for sharing, it gives me ideas of things i need to be doing to get my fiance ready for his interview, when ever that may be, lol thx again

[houssaininu 1]

Hi everyone,

I've been seeing a significant amount of comments about the K-1 process that I thought were strange and posed interesting questions. For example, I've seen several people mention that they had the feeling their case was already decided even before the interview occurred and that they felt like the CO's were unnecessarily hard on them during the interview. Because these are potential situations that we all face (and more selfishly, because I wanted peace of mind for myself in Youssef's and my own case), I asked my immigration attorney. Here are some things that he shared with me that I wanted to share with the group. I hope some of this information is useful to you! Here are some nuggets of information that the attorney imparted to me:

* Often, couples will petition for the K-1 visa and literally submit the mandatory documents and proofs, and send one or two small pieces of evidence in support of the authenticity of the relationship. It's incredibly important to submit as many different kinds of evidence as possible (i.e. phone records, emails, screen captures of facebook conversations between couple and relationship status, facebook interactions between each partner and significant other's friends/family, IM and Skype logs, photos of you together that show a date within the past two years, evidence of travel to visit the beneficiary fiance(e), videos--uploaded to a website and easily accessible by internet, and notarized affidavits from friends and family). The lawyer said you don't have to submit every single piece you have, because the CO actually has to read every single thing you submit and you don't want to frustrate them by overwhelming them since this can slow your process significantly. It's important, however, to include significant events and show time span across your evidence. Interactions with friends and family/affidavits/public relationship status postings are important because if your relationship were not legitimate you probably wouldn't be sharing about your relationship publicly. When USCIS gives you an RFE during the NOA processes, it's really important that you supply them with enough evidence to prove beyond any question that your relationship is legitimate, and not just send one individual piece of evidence to answer the concern. Also, he said that while you're in NOA phase they're basically looking at the legitimacy of your relationship from the petitioner's standpoint. They want to see that you're not being paid to bring someone over, in other words. That's why if you can provide several first hand testimonials on your behalf from American friends and family, it'll be very helpful.

* When the officers are going through your paperwork during NOA, they're basically marking a checklist of questions that need to be answered before they're satisfied of the relationship's authenticity on the petitioner's side. Don't misunderstand, they're still looking at whether the relationship seems legit from the beneficiary side, too. But the most important part of that will come during the interview. So if there are several questions or red flags that still need to be addressed or things about your relationship that seem suspect to the CO reviewing your file during NOA, these will be marked in red on the outline that accompanies your file to the consulate in the beneficiary's country (in our case, Morocco) for further probing during the interview--this is why some people have long, grueling, brutal interviews... because the CO has a list of things that look suspicious in your case sitting in front of them, and their protocol is to assume the relationship is fraudulent until proven beyond any doubt that it's legit. If the USCIS officer reviewing during NOA doesn't see anything that makes him suspicious about the relationship then that's when you generally will have very short interviews that seem more like a formality than anything else.

* Things that make the officers suspicious might include: significant age difference (particularly if it's the female who's older and outside of child-baring years), significant differences in attractiveness--I know this seems harsh, but the reality is that particularly in "high fraud posts" it's easy to understand that if the non USC party is very attractive and the USC partner is pretty homely that it might be a possible fraud attempt. This alone won't be a factor, but if it's paired with a large age difference, disabilities, previous marriages/children, etc., then it's a suspicion point. Disabilities are another one because a disabled petitioner might seem like an easier target if the beneficiary partner were in fact trying to trick the USC petitioner into thinking the relationship was legit. They also look at previous marriages and children. All the above factors are things that could be construed to make an easy target by just showing a little attention to someone who may not get much attention elsewhere. Again, I know it's harsh, but it's a reality that this is possible. The marriage/children thing is big in Arabic countries because divorce is frowned upon and, I'm sure, for other reasons as well. Other red flags might be multiple K-1 attempts or applications in previous relationships by either party or multiple failed attempts by beneficiary party to enter the US on other long-term visas. Think of it as relationship profiling. Once the officer is confident that the USC doesn't have an ulterior motive, the next thing to rule out is the possibility that the USC is being misguided or tricked by the beneficiary party. So if you have red flags in your case, it's best to minimize the possibility of the officer being suspicious from the very beginning by making sure you include enough of the various types of relationship proof.

* The next big hurdle is proving that you're in a relationship that has a chance of lasting. So especially if you're from different cultural or religious backgrounds, you need to be able to show not only that you've talked about these differences, but how you handle misaligned beliefs and behaviors as they arise. For example, you need to be able to show that you can communicate effectively--this one's particularly big if your native languages are not the same. It also helps to show that you're actively working on improving your communication (maybe by taking language courses in the other partner's language). It's also important to show the officer reviewing your case that you are willing to be open-minded about your cultural and religious differences and that you're able to deal effectively with the differences or that you have discussed how to handle them (i.e. raising children, dealing with finances, family matters, religion, etc.). Basically, they're trying to protect the USC from getting into a situation that's supposed to (ideally) be a lifetime commitment before the person really understands the added difficulty of an intercultural marriage (since marriage is difficult enough even when you come from the same backgrounds).

Again, I know some of this is a bit harsh to read, but this came straight from the attorney. And I wanted to put the info to everyone here with hopes that it might help some of you better prepare throughout the process. Best of luck to you all!

Thank you so much for the insight! It makes me feel really good about our K1 situation My fiancé is getting a little nervous about the interview (though months away) and when I told him that our case looks great- we are close in age, he's not homely, , I'm not rich, same religious beliefs, he is tutoring in English, I've lived in Morocco and know his family well, we talk everyday, Neither of us is divorced or has children, he asked my dad for my hand (and was given blessing ) , we have similar goals in life, we communicate well in his native language, etc and seemed to (as far as we can tell) have sent in a good petition packet- thorough and orderly. He really cheered up and went on with our geography lesson of the States...

Edited February 13, 2012 by houssaininu

[Peace.... 281]

Hi everyone,

I've been seeing a significant amount of comments about the K-1 process that I thought were strange and posed interesting questions. For example, I've seen several people mention that they had the feeling their case was already decided even before the interview occurred and that they felt like the CO's were unnecessarily hard on them during the interview. Because these are potential situations that we all face (and more selfishly, because I wanted peace of mind for myself in Youssef's and my own case), I asked my immigration attorney. Here are some things that he shared with me that I wanted to share with the group. I hope some of this information is useful to you! Here are some nuggets of information that the attorney imparted to me:

* Often, couples will petition for the K-1 visa and literally submit the mandatory documents and proofs, and send one or two small pieces of evidence in support of the authenticity of the relationship. It's incredibly important to submit as many different kinds of evidence as possible (i.e. phone records, emails, screen captures of facebook conversations between couple and relationship status, facebook interactions between each partner and significant other's friends/family, IM and Skype logs, photos of you together that show a date within the past two years, evidence of travel to visit the beneficiary fiance(e), videos--uploaded to a website and easily accessible by internet, and notarized affidavits from friends and family). The lawyer said you don't have to submit every single piece you have, because the CO actually has to read every single thing you submit and you don't want to frustrate them by overwhelming them since this can slow your process significantly. It's important, however, to include significant events and show time span across your evidence. Interactions with friends and family/affidavits/public relationship status postings are important because if your relationship were not legitimate you probably wouldn't be sharing about your relationship publicly. When USCIS gives you an RFE during the NOA processes, it's really important that you supply them with enough evidence to prove beyond any question that your relationship is legitimate, and not just send one individual piece of evidence to answer the concern. Also, he said that while you're in NOA phase they're basically looking at the legitimacy of your relationship from the petitioner's standpoint. They want to see that you're not being paid to bring someone over, in other words. That's why if you can provide several first hand testimonials on your behalf from American friends and family, it'll be very helpful.

* When the officers are going through your paperwork during NOA, they're basically marking a checklist of questions that need to be answered before they're satisfied of the relationship's authenticity on the petitioner's side. Don't misunderstand, they're still looking at whether the relationship seems legit from the beneficiary side, too. But the most important part of that will come during the interview. So if there are several questions or red flags that still need to be addressed or things about your relationship that seem suspect to the CO reviewing your file during NOA, these will be marked in red on the outline that accompanies your file to the consulate in the beneficiary's country (in our case, Morocco) for further probing during the interview--this is why some people have long, grueling, brutal interviews... because the CO has a list of things that look suspicious in your case sitting in front of them, and their protocol is to assume the relationship is fraudulent until proven beyond any doubt that it's legit. If the USCIS officer reviewing during NOA doesn't see anything that makes him suspicious about the relationship then that's when you generally will have very short interviews that seem more like a formality than anything else.

* Things that make the officers suspicious might include: significant age difference (particularly if it's the female who's older and outside of child-baring years), significant differences in attractiveness--I know this seems harsh, but the reality is that particularly in "high fraud posts" it's easy to understand that if the non USC party is very attractive and the USC partner is pretty homely that it might be a possible fraud attempt. This alone won't be a factor, but if it's paired with a large age difference, disabilities, previous marriages/children, etc., then it's a suspicion point. Disabilities are another one because a disabled petitioner might seem like an easier target if the beneficiary partner were in fact trying to trick the USC petitioner into thinking the relationship was legit. They also look at previous marriages and children. All the above factors are things that could be construed to make an easy target by just showing a little attention to someone who may not get much attention elsewhere. Again, I know it's harsh, but it's a reality that this is possible. The marriage/children thing is big in Arabic countries because divorce is frowned upon and, I'm sure, for other reasons as well. Other red flags might be multiple K-1 attempts or applications in previous relationships by either party or multiple failed attempts by beneficiary party to enter the US on other long-term visas. Think of it as relationship profiling. Once the officer is confident that the USC doesn't have an ulterior motive, the next thing to rule out is the possibility that the USC is being misguided or tricked by the beneficiary party. So if you have red flags in your case, it's best to minimize the possibility of the officer being suspicious from the very beginning by making sure you include enough of the various types of relationship proof.

* The next big hurdle is proving that you're in a relationship that has a chance of lasting. So especially if you're from different cultural or religious backgrounds, you need to be able to show not only that you've talked about these differences, but how you handle misaligned beliefs and behaviors as they arise. For example, you need to be able to show that you can communicate effectively--this one's particularly big if your native languages are not the same. It also helps to show that you're actively working on improving your communication (maybe by taking language courses in the other partner's language). It's also important to show the officer reviewing your case that you are willing to be open-minded about your cultural and religious differences and that you're able to deal effectively with the differences or that you have discussed how to handle them (i.e. raising children, dealing with finances, family matters, religion, etc.). Basically, they're trying to protect the USC from getting into a situation that's supposed to (ideally) be a lifetime commitment before the person really understands the added difficulty of an intercultural marriage (since marriage is difficult enough even when you come from the same backgrounds).

Again, I know some of this is a bit harsh to read, but this came straight from the attorney. And I wanted to put the info to everyone here with hopes that it might help some of you better prepare throughout the process. Best of luck to you all!

Sounds good......

But just a little reminder to the OLDER WOMEN who are reading this post. I have seven (7) friends here on VJ and there is a age gap of 14-25 years apart. We all were approved in Casablanca and was never harassed about our age,previous marriages, and children (some had more than 3 kids). Actually, we all had great interviews. One of these ladies was also disabled and they too were still approved. So age, divorced, kids, etc. never played a harsh role in getting visa from CASA.

Hope this sheds some light to those of you OLDER and a bit wiser.

One important thing., travel to Morocco as much as you can, this is the best advice one can give and proves much to the CO who is interviewing your hubby/fiance.

[Linds&Youssef 56]

Sounds good......

But just a little reminder to the OLDER WOMEN who are reading this post. I have seven (7) friends here on VJ and there is a age gap of 14-25 years apart. We all were approved in Casablanca and was never harassed about our age,previous marriages, and children (some had more than 3 kids). Actually, we all had great interviews. One of these ladies was also disabled and they too were still approved. So age, divorced, kids, etc. never played a harsh role in getting visa from CASA.

Hope this sheds some light to those of you OLDER and a bit wiser.

One important thing., travel to Morocco as much as you can, this is the best advice one can give and proves much to the CO who is interviewing your hubby/fiance.

This is absolutely true! I apologize if I gave the impression that these are things that will get you a denial automatically. Of course you can have a legitimate relationship regardless of your age similarity or difference. I was simply trying to get the point across that these are things that might flag your case for further attention. If you present evidence to render these possible red flags immaterial then you shouldn't have a problem. Again, these are also statements coming from my attorney, not me. I'm not trying to offend anyone, just pass along the words of someone who handles cases like all of ours every day. Best of luck!

[Peace.... 281]

This is absolutely true! I apologize if I gave the impression that these are things that will get you a denial automatically. Of course you can have a legitimate relationship regardless of your age similarity or difference. I was simply trying to get the point across that these are things that might flag your case for further attention. If you present evidence to render these possible red flags immaterial then you shouldn't have a problem. Again, these are also statements coming from my attorney, not me. I'm not trying to offend anyone, just pass along the words of someone who handles cases like all of ours every day. Best of luck!

Well I surely wasn't offended just wanted to add some insight to your previous post. Most of your post is exactly what some of the VJ members have often said to us when applying for a visa in high fraud countries.

Casablanca is known for being harsh and saying things about the Petitioner and trying to upset the Beneficiary. One girl here posted her fiance was denied right off the bat when the CO looked at their pictures together and he said why in the world would you want a fat wife and just laughed at him. She of course was devastated but could do nothing about it. She did report him, but of course nothing happen and their case was denied. This is just one of the horrible examples that the CO's look for along with professing love too soon into the relationship online before ever meeting or getting married on the first visit.

I sure hope many here read what you have written and understand that this is no game and visa's don't come easy in CASA.

[Miss smarty pants 84]

Then.....of course.......there are cases where it just doesnt matter how many visits or how much you love each other or how much evidence you submit. Sometimes they simply dont like the beneficiary. Period.

[mounir412 101]

really Interesting and very helpful , thank you so much

[Peace.... 281]

Then.....of course.......there are cases where it just doesnt matter how many visits or how much you love each other or how much evidence you submit. Sometimes they simply dont like the beneficiary. Period.

Miss Smarty Pants your are absolutely correct as well. There have been posts here coming from Morocco that had more evidence than I had and way more visits and they were denied as well. The wife of the Beneficiary was very lovely and the pictures of the two of them were just breath taking and she would even stay for months at a time with the family.

Its a 50/50 chance no matter what kind of great evidence you have when it comes from Morocco.

[Staashi 371]

One thing must be noted which I believe is often ignored, many times your fiances/spouses have an internet history that is reviewed by Casa COs. Their histories will show if they have been looking for a USC for awhile. They have access to usernames, screen shots, profiles, etc. - how you might ask? You give it to them when you submit your evidence. It is so easy to type in someone's email address and find out all the places they visit online.

Sometimes, I believe the COs have a boatload of information about your fiance or spouse, that if they could truly share it with you you would run.

However, they can't share it, and they deny based on what they know to be true. They believe the USC is being scammed, and they try to stop a bad situation before it truly gets started.

[msheesha 548]

One thing must be noted which I believe is often ignored, many times your fiances/spouses have an internet history that is reviewed by Casa COs. Their histories will show if they have been looking for a USC for awhile. They have access to usernames, screen shots, profiles, etc. - how you might ask? You give it to them when you submit your evidence. It is so easy to type in someone's email address and find out all the places they visit online.

Sometimes, I believe the COs have a boatload of information about your fiance or spouse, that if they could truly share it with you you would run.

However, they can't share it, and they deny based on what they know to be true. They believe the USC is being scammed, and they try to stop a bad situation before it truly gets started.

For example someone asking what he should say when the CO asks him to explain his love for a woman 17 years his senior, as in the thread above this one???

Call me crazy, but if I'm a CO and the guy has to post a question about how he can explain his way out of a 17 year age difference on a visa website, I'm gonna be skeptical!

Edited February 17, 2012 by msheesha

[Staashi 371]

For example someone asking what he should say when the CO asks him to explain his love for a woman 17 years his senior, as in the thread above this one???

Call me crazy, but if I'm a CO and the guy has to post a question about how he can explain his way out of a 17 year age difference on a visa website, I'm gonna be skeptical!

Ding, ding, ding!