Disapproved K-1 visa

[mark-n-daisy 9]

I'm asking for some advise here because I don't know where else to turn to. My fiance's K-1/K-2 visa interview was disapproved for the second time a couple days ago. She's still in Manila and doesn't want to go home to Cebu because she is confused and has nothing to go home to. I feel sorry for her but I just spent over $4000 in the last month for and her son to get this far and I don't have the money or will to continue trying when it looks like no matter what we do they won't approve her. The first interview the CO said we didn't have enough email letters (because we text a lot) and the ones she provided were not loving enough to suit her. She also complained there was only one picture of us together. I was only there in Cebu for 4 days and taking pictures is not one of my priorities. So for the next interview I had her print out additional pictures I took of us at a karaoke club and a restaurant. So after they did the medical exam again they did the interview the following day and this time it was a male CO. He mostly asked what my relationship was to her son, which there is none because he is from an old boyfriend, and also where was my divorce decree paperwork. I had supplied all those documents to NVC so I thought they were in my package sent to the Manila embassy. If it was missing then why was nothing said about it in the first interview? I don't understand why the CO would ask so many questions about her son and me when the visa really is about her. He is just coming along because he is her son and I want them to be together here with me in Florida. That's all I know because Aileen is so distraught she won't talk about it anymore. We were so in love for so long that now that we don't have a future and must go our separate ways it is hard to adjust to this situation. Is there anyway for the embassy to look at our case again to make sure it was fair?

[V24 21]

I am so sorry.. I hate how unfair the whole system can be. I am not experienced at all but i keep reading that K1 visas are way more difficult to get than spousal visas, you could think about getting married in her country and filing for the CR1 spousal visa?

[Ash.1101 1,755]

Eh.

Personally, I think you should have a relationship with her son regardless if he's your son or not.

I'm sure the CO's believe the same, they probably feel that since your relationship to her son isn't very good (and this is from your own words), that she's just using you for a green card.

At this point you might as well get married but.. still.


If you're going to bring the kid into this country, then it is about him. He's the most important person in this, he's just a kid getting dragged along and you don't seem to see past your fiance to realize that.
I can kind of see where the CO's coming from. =/

If you want to get even more simpler, the kid is also going for a green card and you know nothing about him yet you'll be his sponsor, of course you'd be denied. They're a packaged deal, if you want JUST your fiance, then.. I guess.... don't apply for the kid too but.. still. All of this seems awful.

If the CO asked my fiance anything about my daughter he could tell them more than her own father could. Birthday, times and days she goes to speech therapy, autism related calming methods for her, what grade she's in at school, the name of her teacher, foods and things she likes, and an explaination of her disability, as she's autistic and is more so like a 3-4 year old than an almost 7 year old. Her birthday presents, and the favorite things we all like to do together. I can't really think of a question he couldn't answer.

Edited September 12, 2015 by Ash.1101

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

The above poster is right, the CO did not see a relationship between you and her son and you said "....which there is none." Why not ?
Just because he is from an old BF doesn't mean you can't see him and treat him as your own and have evidence to prove that.
You should talk to him on skype or send him letters, birthday / Christmas gifts, have photos of all of you together as a family interacting.

Did you file 2 petitions for her or did you get 2 interviews on the same petition ?

Listen.....it took us 5 freaking years to be together. We filed and were denied after hanging in limbo in AP for almost 1 1/2 years.

Then we filed again and finally were approved. He is now here and we are stronger for it. We met in 2009, filed in 2010 and he came 8 months ago.

Why are you giving up ? I spend way more than $4000 and took 5 trips to visit. It takes what it takes and you didn't put enough effort into this.
If you love her then keep trying no matter how long it takes. True love doesn't give up.

Request another interview (through a senator/congressman) and fly over there if granted another interview.

Bring more evidence, you were ill prepared from what I read from your post. She needed to have the divorce decree with her at the interview, lots

of photos with you two, family if there is any and of course you both with her son. Go there, take more photos and bring everything but the kitchen sink

and I hope they grant you another interview.

If not then they will return your petition back to USCIS where it will die the death of expiration. Then you have 2 choices : File another K1
and be better prepared with evidence or marry her in her country and file a CR1.......but do not just give up like this.

She will be approved if you do this right......you said photos is not your priority and it seems staying there longer than 4 days isn't either, well

then make it your priority. Sure it costs money, get a part time job or make a loan, borrow or refinance, whatever it takes.

This takes real effort and you can do it if you love her ! Get it together.

[Ash.1101 1,755]

Agree'd on the pictures as a family. While it's a fiance visa, when kids are coming in with the fiance it becomes more like a "we're becoming a family visa". My fiance will have some pics of us together, only one pic of all three of us together, and some pics of him and her.

I think I have more pics of my fiance and my daughter than I do with him and myself because I'm usually the one taking pics. But those candid pics of them doing a puzzle at christmas, or playing chutes and ladders, or riding the carousel together, being at the beach looking at seashells together, those mean so much for us as a family, which is our goal at the end of the day. Our goal isn't simply to be able to be with the one we love and get married, our goal is to become a family together because it's not just about us.

You can see the love in them, and it's like he's always told me, he loves her as much as he loves me because she's an extension of me.

It's always weird when a kids involved, but it's almost always the adults making it weird. The kids just being a kid. =[




As for advice: I'd say either get more involved, and yes that means spend more money, but that's generally just how it is and retry. Take pictures, get to know her son, spend meaningful time together as a family because that's what you -should- be when he's there.

If not, then marry her and go through the spousal visa process, but I feel the same issues may come up.

I think from dating until currently my fiance has spent at least 7000$ just on visiting alone, not including everything for the visa. Not including buying christmas presents and birthday presents for us, which I know last year was around 200$ for christmas. He just spent about 100$ on presents for my daughters bday.

It gets less expensive once you're actually with them, but you have to tred on through. My fiance works for a casino and is 23. He puts in overtime hours just to make sure he can save up enough to come back here.

He works incredibly hard and has never once complained about how much he's spent. -I'VE- complained about how much he's spent, and he simply tells me it's worth it.

Edited September 12, 2015 by Ash.1101

[aaron2020 11,651]

If taking pictures to provide evidence for the K-1 was not a priority, then it's easy to see why the K-1 was denied.

The CO is looking for a bona fide relationship. Before a mother would rush out to marry a man, perhaps it would be important to her to see what kind of a father a man would be like around her kid. That's normal. Not "What relationship with the boy? The only reason he is coming is because of his mom. I don't have a relationship with her son, the most important person in her life."

If you want her here, then you need to make it a priority to provide the evidence that the US Embassy wants and to develop a relationship with the most important person in her life. More importantly, if you are bringing her son to the US with the intention of marrying her, then you need to make it a priority to develop a relationship with him as a parent.

[cristina16 81]

I am a woman. If someone I am suppose to marry can only spend 4 days with me after flying to Manila for 2 days ( due to the time difference of course), sorry guys I will not marry the guy period! This is not about how much a person spent to see me, what life he can provide- TIME spent together is priceless.

Well that is me!

Fyi. I am employed full time, high demanding job, single mom, have 2 kids in school; i spent 3 weeks during my last visit and 2 weeks this month in CA to visit.

The fiance, had a full time job, super high demanding job, with 2 kids that his misses dearly, yet he spent almost 3 weeks here.

Again, this is me and that's how I think.

[Unidentified 2,930]

I'm asking for some advise here because I don't know where else to turn to. My fiance's K-1/K-2 visa interview was disapproved for the second time a couple days ago. She's still in Manila and doesn't want to go home to Cebu because she is confused and has nothing to go home to. I feel sorry for her but I just spent over $4000 in the last month for and her son to get this far and I don't have the money or will to continue trying when it looks like no matter what we do they won't approve her. The first interview the CO said we didn't have enough email letters (because we text a lot) and the ones she provided were not loving enough to suit her. She also complained there was only one picture of us together. I was only there in Cebu for 4 days and taking pictures is not one of my priorities. So for the next interview I had her print out additional pictures I took of us at a karaoke club and a restaurant. So after they did the medical exam again they did the interview the following day and this time it was a male CO. He mostly asked what my relationship was to her son, which there is none because he is from an old boyfriend, and also where was my divorce decree paperwork. I had supplied all those documents to NVC so I thought they were in my package sent to the Manila embassy. If it was missing then why was nothing said about it in the first interview? I don't understand why the CO would ask so many questions about her son and me when the visa really is about her. He is just coming along because he is her son and I want them to be together here with me in Florida. That's all I know because Aileen is so distraught she won't talk about it anymore. We were so in love for so long that now that we don't have a future and must go our separate ways it is hard to adjust to this situation. Is there anyway for the embassy to look at our case again to make sure it was fair?

It was a fair call. You're not putting any effort into the relationship and that's what the CO saw. You're not taking pictures and gathering evidence to prove you have a bona fide relationship. You're not putting effort into getting to know her child. It doesn't matter who the father is. You are about to marry his mother, you're about to be his step-father. Act like it. If you really love her then fight for her and her son, step it up.

[Project_Harajuku 28]

Ditto to what everyone has said. Immigration isn't a right, it's a privilege so you can't be lazy about the process. You have to prove that you are committed to building a life with your fiancée and her son. If you aren't interested in her son then you need to think long and hard about this because he will be a part of your life if/when they do move to the US.

[mark-n-daisy 9]

Thanks for all your replies so far although I don't agree with some of them and I still don't know what to do about our current rejection. In my defense the 5 days I visited her son was in school and her sister watched him while she was with me. I love and care for him more than you know, I just couldn't met him at that time. Since day one I have been paying for his school, graduation, transportation and supplies, plus hundreds of dollars when he got sick with pneumonia. That is why I could not bear to wait another year to petition him after Aileen (follow on visa). I wanted them to fly here together as a family. I can't imagine a 6 year old flying here alone. I feel our relationship should not be judged by just photos together. It's the effort you put in to help them. I did not email him because they don't have a computer or internet. One replied I didn't invest enough money to make this work. The $4000 I spent was only for the medical, interviews, flight and hotels for one month. Total spent is well over $10,000 in the last 8 months. I think what my real point I'm trying to make is the embassy has their own view point on how a couple should act to prove they are in love and want to marry. Everyone is not the same. They need to be more flexible. This is a more digital age where communication is not like it used to be. FYI, I have 2 jobs and still have to support a house and daughter from my previous marriage so when all my savings was spent I had to consider her too in deciding if I should go further in debt to make this work. Maybe I should wait a year, save more money, and try again.

[Penguin_ie 5,986]

If she was completely denied (as opposed to asked to bring more evidence), then I think your best bet is to get married and try for a spousal visa; be sure to spend time with her son when you go over for the wedding, and take pics. it is not JUST about the photos, but photos proves you spent time together, and that is what is missing here- yes you spent money, but from the CO's point of view, many others spend more, and you spend little time, too...

[cdneh 3,112]

In my defense the 5 days I visited her son was in school and her sister watched him while she was with me. I love and care for him more than you know, I just couldn't met him at that time.

Are you saying that during your single visit, you did not meet, and spend any time at all with her son?

[Unidentified 2,930]

You love her son but you've never met him or communicated with him in any way shape or form? Go visit, meet him and then either go through the K1 again or, probably better: marry and do the CR1 route. But for it to look good with the CO you should definitely start hanging out with her son.

[Hardfacts123 50]

Look I know a lots of people are going to slam my post, but what did you spend ten thousands dollars on in 8 Months if you only spent 4 days in physical presence with your fiancé.

I am looking at it from a CO point of view, are you being used? You don't know the child well, you have spent a large amount of money, with very little physical contact. The beneficiary came unprepared for the interview, and she probably didn't answers some questions correctly enough for the CO.

I am not writing this so you can respond, but as a mind thought question for you to ask yourself.

It is the CO responsibility to protect both parties involved in these petitions, the petitioner from being used for a GC, and the Beneficiary from future abuse. Did your interview demonstrate that neither of these were possible conditions of the relationship?

[Ash.1101 1,755]

I don't see anyone slamming your post. ^ You're on the same page we all are.

For the OP:
Personally when my fiance first came to visit me, I -wouldn't- let him meet my daughter. He had said hi to her online but that was it, but I wanted to make sure it would work out and get a good vibe before introducing him into my daughters life.

The next time he came down a few months later, we did everything as a family. So I understand her not letting you see her son initially, but... As a mother, I'd never ever ever even think to get engaged to someone that has never met my child in person. I find it as irresponsible as women who bring in their new boyfriend every three weeks to meet the kid. Kid's need stability, they don't need to get on a plane one day to meet their new not-dad that has paid for all their stuff for a while.

Financial support doesn't equate to emotional support. It's great you're paying for all kinds of things for the kid, but there are plenty of people that throw money at things because they think that's all that's needed. Throw that money at a plane ticket. While you work very hard for that money, wouldn't you rather see where it's going by physically being there for a little bit then just sending it when ever she has a whim.

You also, in this post went from being indifferent to his existence and viewing him as almost an inconvenience (which is why you're going to get some pretty angry posts) to the boy being the little love of your life you've never met.


I personally think the CO made the right choice. He has to protect the kid too, and there are TWO visas going out, NOT just the fiance visa. The six year old may be told of you, may know you're paying for his stuff, but other than that he doesn't know you.

I hope the CO continues to look out for the kid. He's the most important part of all of this no matter what. I wish the kid the best, he seems like he's just being dragged along. I'm sure the CO feels the same way.