K-1 visa denied at Delhi embassy.... 212(a)(5)(a)

[lital 0]

My fiance had his K-1 interview at the Delhi embassy this morning. The outcome was denial, and the consular officer cited 212(a)(5)(a), lack of valid relationship. I'm totally surprised :(

According to my fiance, he was asked questions about himself, me, and our relationship. He kept asking about the 4 days we spent together in Bangalore, like to see if he would change his story, but it was always the same facts, what we did, where we stayed, etc. Several times during the interview, the consular officer tried to trick my him by referring to me as his wife during the questions, but fiance corrected him each time, stating, 'excuse me sir, but she is not my wife, she is my fiancee.'

The consular officer only looked at the photo album he brought of us together in India. However, he did not look at any of the cards and letters I sent my fiance, our emails dating more than 1 year back, phone bills showing daily texts and calls, our skype logs that show daily calls, and pages of our skype chats.

I thought if anything, they would give him a 221(g) if they wanted more proof of relationship, though we already had plenty... never did I imagine 212(a)(5)(a) which means they are sending it back to the US

I'm absolutely crushed right now.... have contacted my congressman's office, as they helped me get an expedite from USCIS... but not sure they can do anything at the embassy level.

[sara..... 371]

My fiance had his K-1 interview at the Delhi embassy this morning. The outcome was denial, and the consular officer cited 212(a)(5)(a), lack of valid relationship. I'm totally surprised :(

According to my fiance, he was asked questions about himself, me, and our relationship. He kept asking about the 4 days we spent together in Bangalore, like to see if he would change his story, but it was always the same facts, what we did, where we stayed, etc. Several times during the interview, the consular officer tried to trick my him by referring to me as his wife during the questions, but fiance corrected him each time, stating, 'excuse me sir, but she is not my wife, she is my fiancee.'

The consular officer only looked at the photo album he brought of us together in India. However, he did not look at any of the cards and letters I sent my fiance, our emails dating more than 1 year back, phone bills showing daily texts and calls, our skype logs that show daily calls, and pages of our skype chats.

I thought if anything, they would give him a 221(g) if they wanted more proof of relationship, though we already had plenty... never did I imagine 212(a)(5)(a) which means they are sending it back to the US

I'm absolutely crushed right now.... have contacted my congressman's office, as they helped me get an expedite from USCIS... but not sure they can do anything at the embassy level.

they like to see pics of you and your s/o with his family ........family is a big thing in india that being said.........i was engaged for five years to the same man in india didnt help us a bit we had pics with his family and some of my family that had traveled to india with me...we are also both muslim...they decided to wait until our petition expired and send it back as expired petition......get a hold of catnip she and her husband went thru that embassy at about the same time as we did.......she can give you a lot more information than i can she fought it and got it reaffirmed

sara

Edited March 1, 2013 by sara.....

[lital 0]

they like to see pics of you and your s/o with his family ........family is a big thing in india that being said.........i was engaged for five years to the same man in india didnt help us a bit we had pics with his family and some of my family that had traveled to india with me...we are also both muslim...they decided to wait until our petition expired and send it back as expired petition......get a hold of catnip she and her husband went thru that embassy at about the same time as we did.......she can give you a lot more information than i can she fought it and got it reaffirmed

sara

Thanks, Sara. We are just so shocked by this unexpected outcome...

[Jarun 1]

We had similar experience in Mumbai; fiance did get handed the 221G at the interview for more of the skypes, emails, etc. After providing more copies ended up with same outcome - denial, and the consular officer cited 212(a)(5)(a), lack of valid relationship. Doesn't help your circumstances, but we feel your pain and hope you can get your case reviewed before the petition expires. It is extremely disappointing, especially after your long wait. Best to you to get through this and have happy ending!

[lital 0]

We had similar experience in Mumbai; fiance did get handed the 221G at the interview for more of the skypes, emails, etc. After providing more copies ended up with same outcome - denial, and the consular officer cited 212(a)(5)(a), lack of valid relationship. Doesn't help your circumstances, but we feel your pain and hope you can get your case reviewed before the petition expires. It is extremely disappointing, especially after your long wait. Best to you to get through this and have happy ending!

Thanks, Jarun. I'm rather surprised that we did not even get a 221G, just straight to denial at interview. Oh well, I guess that saved us the time and effort of sending them more stuff and just waiting longer for the ultimate denial.

Looks like we'll be going the marriage route now, as what option is left with a denied fiance visa?? The petition expires mid April. I'll see what the congressman's office says, if it is possible to request another interview. But at this point I don't expect anything.

[TimeTravel 78]

Thanks, Jarun. I'm rather surprised that we did not even get a 221G, just straight to denial at interview. Oh well, I guess that saved us the time and effort of sending them more stuff and just waiting longer for the ultimate denial.

Looks like we'll be going the marriage route now, as what option is left with a denied fiance visa?? The petition expires mid April. I'll see what the congressman's office says, if it is possible to request another interview. But at this point I don't expect anything.

Congressman will not able to help you in this case.

Keep in mind, getting married doesn't give guaranteed approval for visa. Yes, it is a plus, but first of all, you guys must have to overcome with the relationship validity issue. You guys may require to spend more time together, and make the relationship evidence stronger.

[BeachMusic 8]

According to my fiance, he was asked questions about himself, me, and our relationship. He kept asking about the 4 days we spent together in Bangalore, like to see if he would change his story, but it was always the same facts, what we did, where we stayed, etc.

The 4 day trip to bangalore was your only trip together?

[catknit 144]

Hey Ms. Sara :luv: !

So, OP, yeah - Delhi can be a tough embassy. Can you give us your back story? Any red flags? [Age issues, mixed faith/race, divorces, kids, short visit, too few visits]???

There are a couple of options:

#1 - Beg the embassy to keep your file onsite and try to get a second interview right away. I honestly don't think I've ever read of that happening.

#2 - Wait to hear back about your denied case - this means you wait for the USCIS service center to get back to you with one of four options. A) They declared your petition expired and your free to go ahead refile, B) They generate a NOIR/NOID and ask you to prove your case, C) They reaffirm you without any additional proof and send the case back to the consulate, D) The case falls into a black hole and you never here from them again about that case. A and D are super common - I'd say 98% of the time out of Delhi. C happened to us in 2009 and there were a handful of couple that it happened to - haven't read about it happening since at Delhi. I've never seen B happen - doesn't mean it hasn't, I just haven't seen it here.

#3 - Decide to marry and go ahead and file the CR-1 [i130]. If you do this you need to send a letter to your service center withdrawing the former petition [unless they have confirmed it is expired and that you are open to file a new case].

If you go with this method, you have got to make sure you covered whatever caused the denial in the first place - lack of face time? Spend more time there. No proof of some of the traditions that are gold standard to India - do them. You need to prove that you have a legit relationship. This is hard for Delhi mainly because it is a high fraud embassy. Crazy stuff happens there all the time. I remember sitting watching dozens of interviews - long story but if you look through my older posts you'll see I spent a lot of time in the embassy - seriously, some of this couples you'd think WTH??? A young guy [couldn't be over 24] with acid washed jeans, long hair, graphic shirt holding hands with a 40+ chunky white chick with a perm and a mullet who couldn't wait to bring him home to Nebraska after falling in love in an online game - now, they may have the best relationship in the world. Seriously - you never know - they could completely "click" personality-wise. But, you could tell the CO wasn't buying it. The woman was on the edge re: child bearing age and that's a HUGE thing in Desi culture - there WILL be grandkids. The guy's English was butchered at best - and they just didn't "look" the part. She was head over heals, that was obvious. The guy? Not so much. Maybe he had a case of the nerves. I don't know...even me, Miss Hopeless Romantic, got bad vibes on that one. And, keep in mind, the COs are trained. Cultural rules, religious rules, family expectations, some speak flawless Indic languages...

Anyway - which ever route you go - GO TO THE NEXT INTERVIEW. I can not stress this enough. Anytime anyone asks me my opinion of attending an interview at Delhi, I always say yes. Both Desi, both Hindu, arranged marriage that was set 4 years ago - sounds like a slam dunk - GO TO THE INTERVIEW. Mixed couple, met at work, reams of proof of the relationship - GO TO THE INTERVIEW. Your marriage was on a reality show on NDTV about over the top weddings - still - GO TO THE INTERVIEW. There are two reasons - you can answer any question that crosses the CO's mind, there and then. Secondly, you are there to hear exactly what the CO wants, questions, get the vibe of what happened etc to help plot your next steps if needed.

We hit this speed bump, made some decisions, went on with life, built a stronger case [that was great for us personally but due to the reaffirmation we didn't need to "prove" on paper], he finally got his visa after 2 interviews, all new reports/pcc/medicals twice, 3 rounds of AP, and 18+ months from our NOA1 [i think]. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, it just may be a long and annoying tunnel.

[sara..... 371]

Hey Ms. Sara :luv: !

So, OP, yeah - Delhi can be a tough embassy. Can you give us your back story? Any red flags? [Age issues, mixed faith/race, divorces, kids, short visit, too few visits]???

There are a couple of options:

#1 - Beg the embassy to keep your file onsite and try to get a second interview right away. I honestly don't think I've ever read of that happening.

#2 - Wait to hear back about your denied case - this means you wait for the USCIS service center to get back to you with one of four options. A) They declared your petition expired and your free to go ahead refile, B) They generate a NOIR/NOID and ask you to prove your case, C) They reaffirm you without any additional proof and send the case back to the consulate, D) The case falls into a black hole and you never here from them again about that case. A and D are super common - I'd say 98% of the time out of Delhi. C happened to us in 2009 and there were a handful of couple that it happened to - haven't read about it happening since at Delhi. I've never seen B happen - doesn't mean it hasn't, I just haven't seen it here.

#3 - Decide to marry and go ahead and file the CR-1 [i130]. If you do this you need to send a letter to your service center withdrawing the former petition [unless they have confirmed it is expired and that you are open to file a new case].

If you go with this method, you have got to make sure you covered whatever caused the denial in the first place - lack of face time? Spend more time there. No proof of some of the traditions that are gold standard to India - do them. You need to prove that you have a legit relationship. This is hard for Delhi mainly because it is a high fraud embassy. Crazy stuff happens there all the time. I remember sitting watching dozens of interviews - long story but if you look through my older posts you'll see I spent a lot of time in the embassy - seriously, some of this couples you'd think WTH??? A young guy [couldn't be over 24] with acid washed jeans, long hair, graphic shirt holding hands with a 40+ chunky white chick with a perm and a mullet who couldn't wait to bring him home to Nebraska after falling in love in an online game - now, they may have the best relationship in the world. Seriously - you never know - they could completely "click" personality-wise. But, you could tell the CO wasn't buying it. The woman was on the edge re: child bearing age and that's a HUGE thing in Desi culture - there WILL be grandkids. The guy's English was butchered at best - and they just didn't "look" the part. She was head over heals, that was obvious. The guy? Not so much. Maybe he had a case of the nerves. I don't know...even me, Miss Hopeless Romantic, got bad vibes on that one. And, keep in mind, the COs are trained. Cultural rules, religious rules, family expectations, some speak flawless Indic languages...

Anyway - which ever route you go - GO TO THE NEXT INTERVIEW. I can not stress this enough. Anytime anyone asks me my opinion of attending an interview at Delhi, I always say yes. Both Desi, both Hindu, arranged marriage that was set 4 years ago - sounds like a slam dunk - GO TO THE INTERVIEW. Mixed couple, met at work, reams of proof of the relationship - GO TO THE INTERVIEW. Your marriage was on a reality show on NDTV about over the top weddings - still - GO TO THE INTERVIEW. There are two reasons - you can answer any question that crosses the CO's mind, there and then. Secondly, you are there to hear exactly what the CO wants, questions, get the vibe of what happened etc to help plot your next steps if needed.

We hit this speed bump, made some decisions, went on with life, built a stronger case [that was great for us personally but due to the reaffirmation we didn't need to "prove" on paper], he finally got his visa after 2 interviews, all new reports/pcc/medicals twice, 3 rounds of AP, and 18+ months from our NOA1 [i think]. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, it just may be a long and annoying tunnel.

Hey sis.......i need your address lol times awaisting......

sara

[lital 0]

Well I've been in India since April, but we haven't gotten married yet... And randomly today, I got 2 emails from USCIS. My case was set to expire in April, so honestly I though I'd never hear from them again after getting denied in March.

The first email:

Your Case Status: Post Decision Activity


On June 13, 2013, we shipped this approved or re-affirmed case to the Department of State for visa processing. For more information, please contact them directly.

The second one (2 hrs after first one):

On June 13, 2013, a USCIS office received this case from the State Department with a request that we review it. We will notify you when we complete our review, or if we need something from you. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283.

I'm so confused now. Does this mean the K-1 was reaffirmed? Is it at a USCIS office or being sent to DOS??

I called DOS, and they told me the case is in Administrative Processing. hmmmm. Any ideas what this means? I'm staying put in India anyway, so if there is a second interview I'll definitely be there.