K-1 visa after F1 denial, looking for good law advices

[Keyla11 1]

Hello everybody, here is my case:

I am italian, me and my boyfriend have been dating for the past almost 2 years. We met in New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Italy and USA.

We were over the distance, but didn't feel ready yet to get married, since we never had the chance to be together for more than 2.5 months straight, so we figured that a student visa would have been the best option, that would have given us a couple of years to be together and see how things would go.

Also, I always wanted to study animation in California, so we put the 2 things together, he finds a job that can support me economically in San Diego, I enroll into the college (even though I had already a degree), apply for the visa, and there's just the LAST step: the interview. I was agitated, because I didn't have a job, or a property or husband or anything that could prove I had strong ties to my country, but after all, I wasn't doing anything wrong..although, I read that most of the people that said that have a boyfriend/girlfriend in the USA got denied their visa, so I was worried to talk about him.

Unfortunately one of the first questions was about my boyfriend, I was asked who he was (which sounded weird..how did they know his name??), and I said "a friend" and they was asked if he was "just a friend" and...yes....unfortunately I said YES.

My visa was denied ANYWAY for lack of ties, probably beacause I haven't been in Italy for 1 year straight in the past 3 years.

Later on I figured the reason they knew about my bf: when I went to visit him (Dec 2014) at the airport I told them that I was going to visit him..!

So, now, we decided to give up the student plan, and get married, but I am SO SCARED about my statement to the officer saying that we were JUST FRIENDS...

It's not like we were married, we could have had a crisis or something, but still, I would rather be able to tell the truth about me being scared and lie, because I care more that my relationship will be considered true and genuine, but also, I am worried that they will say I committed fraud or something.

Anyway, we are thiking to wait 2/3 months from the denial to apply for the K1 visa, just to make it a bit easier, but also, I would like to know if any of you went through the same situation, or at least, knows a good lawyer, that we can trust, and that is not just interested in filling our papers and get the money, because we can fill the papers ourselves, but I need advice about what's the best filing timing would be, and what's the best thing to say at the interview when they will ask (and they for sure will) about what I said previously, and if we should file more proves of our relationship.

He is coming to visit me in a week, so it's not a problem to have other proves. Even though we have already tons. I mean, we have REALLY BEEN into a relationship for almost 2 years so..I think it's hard to think the opposite, but I also know, from this recent experience, that they can decide to believe anything they want, and I really really really need to be able to live a normal relationship with my boyfriend...!

So please, ether you've been through it or you know a good, trustful lawyer, I would be happy to hear!

Thanks so much!

[Darnell 8,478]

this is a DIY Immigration Web Site, most of us loathe lawyers and not include them in the immigration process. Still, some folk might be able to give over a name or two or three.

[Unidentified 2,930]

Previous visa denials is not going to deny you a K1 visa. But I'm not sure if it's a good idea to apply so soon after the F1 denial, especially considering you were not honest about your relationship. Maybe someone else can chime in on this.

Where did you read that people with boyfriends/girlfriends are denied? I had no issues when I applied for F1 and said I would be living with my boyfriend. He only asked if we were planning on getting married while on the F1 and I said no. Honesty is the best policy.

And yes, most of us doesn't really believe in using lawyers. We have seen so many couples here getting their application messed up by their incompetent lawyers.

[Keyla11 1]

Well, honestly I don't know where else to find this kind of help I need if it's not from someone that knows how law works in these cases...

[Darnell 8,478]

did you hit the AILA immigration lawyer website ? Yes? No ? If no, why no ?

[Keyla11 1]

Yes! I was recommended it so I did give a look at it, but it's not like I can know from it who could be trustful or not...I would rather find someone that had good experiences with a lawyer than randomly chose one from a list..

[Darnell 8,478]

then you not dig deep and read. Please, dig deep, read more at that web site.

Seriously.

[Keyla11 1]

I did look at it, also contacted some of those lawyers I found, but there's not review section or feedback or anything like that.

So please, if you know something that I don't, could you tell me?

[Mike-eeh and Odie 192]

No lawyer needed.

You didn't lie, he was just a friend, from a certain point of view.

If you didn't have a ring on your finger, that he is "just a friend; " because in "your" opinion, "more than friends" means "engaged." See?

[Keyla11 1]

Yeah!!That's what I like to hear haha

well, yes, I don't think it's something impossible to make up for, but I just want to do it right!

[Shauneg 762]

No lawyer needed.

You didn't lie, he was just a friend, from a certain point of view.

If you didn't have a ring on your finger, that he is "just a friend; " because in "your" opinion, "more than friends" means "engaged." See?

Yea sure.

[Unidentified 2,930]

No lawyer needed.

You didn't lie, he was just a friend, from a certain point of view.

If you didn't have a ring on your finger, that he is "just a friend; " because in "your" opinion, "more than friends" means "engaged." See?

So by your definition a boyfriend/girlfriend is just a friend with benefits? Or am I missing something in your definition?

OP: it will be fine. You got denied because of lack of ties to your home country. It is not something that will affect your future K1 because you won't have to prove ties to your home country as you're leaving it.

[Villanelle 4,121]

This is a really tough situation so I understand why you posted seeking feedback on it.

First as mentioned this is a DIY based website so most have not used lawyers. Occasionally someone posts looking for a recommendation and is given via PM some recommendations based on the reason they are seeking one. But generally you are not going to find the forum littered with reviews.With that said- what you personally could gain from a lawyer is assistance in being prepped for the interview considering the circumstances. (you can also get that from individuals here and file with out a lawyer) You have to remember the lawyer can not speak for you in the interview. Your are asking about 'how the laws' and policy work. That can be explained here as well. But at the end of the day I think you will find the policy manual although it consists of strict rules- it also has rules that state discretion is to be used by the Officer in certain situations and thats what you fall under.

So there is not going to be an official policy to quote (or appeal) to say do x y and z and you will be fine or fail to do x y and z and you will be denied. Discretion.

The K visa is basically (and Im assuming youve done research on it) but basically the fiance visa where you make sworn statements of a bonafide relationship with the petitioner. Technically there is no (and Im being very loose with my terminology here; speaking in plain easy to understand English and not manual policy speak)- well for other visa types if you have 'lies' on file its a reason to deny. For the K visa its not. But those lies can still be used against you because you are trying to establish you are telling the truth about the relationship.

The USCIS takes lying very seriously. Lying for benefit is something that never goes away nor is forgotten. So it was a very serious mis-step in attempting to conceal your relationship for a benefit (the F visa). But whats done is done. At this point you can present a very strong case for the K visa including evidences of the relationship as well as your word- keeping in mind to them your word is "meh" and they can deny it. The stronger your packet the less likely it is to be denied. You can search the forums for 'frontloading a K1" because IMO this is what you need to do. The more evidence the better.

I personally am not comfortable with compounding one lie with another or attempting to cover up the lie. As stated honesty is the best and IMO the only policy. The best advice for something like this is when it gets to the interview stage (which it will) to answer the questions asked briefly and only give as much information as being asked. If asked why the F was denied- because you didnt have strong enough ties. No need to elaborate on to other speculation. If they persist and bring up - well why did you answer or state just a friend in previous interview- or what was your answer in previous interview- then its time to fess up and come clean and admit that you answered incorrectly at the time because --- (insert your reason) You never did state why in your post you answered that way...

Hopefully they will appreciate your honesty and judge your application based on the evidence you provided as well as your honesty in the interview and approve it. If they deny it you could appeal but if you read on here youll see thats a wash so youd have to either marry and apply for the CR or simply reapply with more evidence and it will most likely go through the second time. It would be almost like your 'punishment' for lying, them making you jump through hoops and reapply after a denial.

So your choices are to try the K visa or marry and try the CR visa/ Some feel the CR visas are easier to go through because the marriage already took place and you have different types of evidence then you have with the K visa. But if they want to deny you as 'punishment' then it wont really matter which route you took.

I dont know if any of the above information helped or not, but if you are looking for what are creative ways to weasel myself out of the questions- my recommendation is dont. You are not going to outsmart the interviewer or charm them or double talk them- its just going to make you come off looking foolish and guilty and cause a denial.

[mmorgan14 3]

My fiancé (boyfriend at the time) were doing the long distance thing for nearly 3 years. He was visiting me here in the US on his visa waiver. During a visit, while going through customs at the airport, the officer told him that he was abusing his visa waiver (which is bullsh*t....we were VERY careful about visit duration and frequency). So we thought "hey, we're going to do the right thing" and have him apply for a regular travel visa so he can't be told he's abusing his waiver. Well, he was denied his visa also because he didn't have enough ties to his own country. Oh and guess what? Because he was denied his visa, he could no longer use his visa waiver to visit me! Awesome!!

Anyways, long story short, we ended up getting engaged and our K1 has been approved and is currently at the NVC. The fact that his travel visa was denied had me VERY worried about our K1 being denied. But after all my research, I've found that LOTS of other people were denied their travel visas and had no problems getting their K1s.

Like everyone has already said, being honest is the only way to go. As long as your relationship is legit and you've got the proof to back it up, you should be golden.

Edited July 22, 2015 by mmorgan14

[Darnell 8,478]

I did look at it, also contacted some of those lawyers I found, but there's not review section or feedback or anything like that.

So please, if you know something that I don't, could you tell me?

Sure. When I've had to do research there, I've compiled a list of lawyers that were listed (between 100 to 200) then do a google search on their names with 'immigration' added in,

seeking specifically for complaint notices.

Alternatively, a lookup in each state's attorney complaint board is useful. A lack of entry there doesn't vette them as being knowledgeable or useful, so keep that in mind.

No lawyer needed.

You didn't lie, he was just a friend, from a certain point of view.

If you didn't have a ring on your finger, that he is "just a friend; " because in "your" opinion, "more than friends" means "engaged." See?

I ask you not use the gaslighting technique for responding in this topic. Thanks so much, and Thanks in advance!