Filed I-130/Refugee

[doctorphilic 0]

Hi there, not sure if this is the right place to post. I am a US citizen and am trying to bring my wife from Ethiopia (who was originally Yemeni). She now lives in Ethiopia and working on obtaining refugee status because of war back in Yemen. I filed the I-130 and I-129F (K3/K4) paper work simultaneously and it is being processed (I just had my interview and the immigration officer told me she will send the approved case to the visa center). Here is the issue: a friend of my wife who had interview at the consulate in Addis Ababa was recently denied even though her husband who sponsored her was a US citizen and they told her about her being a refugee. Is being a refugee a problem with I-130? I told my wife to get the refugee paper because I thought that would give her protection and even help her case. Any advice is appreciated.

NB: i posted same info under family section as I was not sure. Thanks in advance!

[TBoneTX 48,049]

Welcome to the forum. Duplicate thread in other forum has been removed (we post once on a single topic around here ).

Am moving this thread from the Embassy/Consulate forum to the CR-1 Process forum, for now. (The I-129F will probably be closed, and the I-130 path is superior regardless.)

Best of luck with your situation.

[Penguin_ie 6,002]

Being a refugee by itself will not help or hinder the case. However, the CO (Consular Officer) may have thought that was the other lady was a refugee, she was desperate to get to the USA in any way possible, and her marriage was not bonafide, that she only got married to get a visa. Is there any red flags in your case, such as big age difference, religious differences, recent divorce, or either of you having files before? That sort of thing makes them look closer at your case, but each case is looked at individually. How many times have you met, and for how long? Have you met eachother's families? Both these things can help get a visa approved.

[doctorphilic 0]

Being a refugee by itself will not help or hinder the case. However, the CO (Consular Officer) may have thought that was the other lady was a refugee, she was desperate to get to the USA in any way possible, and her marriage was not bonafide, that she only got married to get a visa. Is there any red flags in your case, such as big age difference, religious differences, recent divorce, or either of you having files before? That sort of thing makes them look closer at your case, but each case is looked at individually. How many times have you met, and for how long? Have you met eachother's families? Both these things can help get a visa approved.

Thank you for taking the time to respond! To answer your questions, we have been married to each other for about four years now and there were logistical issues that prevented me from filing her papers earlier. Except for that, everything else is good. No previous marriage, and no other red flags I could think of. We have one daughter together who is two years old. We have met about 5 times (three times in Yemen, her home country and two times in Ethiopia, my former country). We have seen each others family numerous times. The only worry was having that recent refugee status and whether that complicates her I-130 (she is telling me her friend got rejected because of that). I told her to get the refugee paper work because that is what many of her people fleeing the war zone are doing. But she did leave Yemen because of the war (otherwise I would have filed for her in Sanaa). I just hope everything is good. Thanks again!

[aaron2020 11,652]

Thank you for taking the time to respond! To answer your questions, we have been married to each other for about four years now and there were logistical issues that prevented me from filing her papers earlier. Except for that, everything else is good. No previous marriage, and no other red flags I could think of. We have one daughter together who is two years old. We have met about 5 times (three times in Yemen, her home country and two times in Ethiopia, my former country). We have seen each others family numerous times. The only worry was having that recent refugee status and whether that complicates her I-130 (she is telling me her friend got rejected because of that). I told her to get the refugee paper work because that is what many of her people fleeing the war zone are doing. But she did leave Yemen because of the war (otherwise I would have filed for her in Sanaa). I just hope everything is good. Thanks again!

Being a refugee does not affect the I-130.

You and your wife still needs to meet all the requirements for a IR-1 spousal visa.

The other couple were probably denied the spousal visa for a deficiency in the I-130, etc. It had nothing to do with being a refugee.