Denied in Indonesia

[Darrinos 6]

KierenHby,

Yes, that's true, and they've been extremely helpful and friendly. However, from what I read, other than doing the investigation to find out why an application was denied, getting a "letter of support" sounds like a bad idea. Your input?

Thanks,

Darrin

[KierenHby 897]

U sure? Never heard of a Congressional office supplying an otherwise worthless support letter (unless for a mistress or a business friend, ie $$ donater).

[Darrinos 6]

After speaking with the staff at the congressman's office, she said that it "usually helps" to encourage the CO to take a closer look at the case, and though it wasn't an actual letter of "support" it was sometimes viewed that way. However, elsewhere on this website, I've read that this letter creates resentment at best, and a guaranteed denial at worst. Not sure what to think right now.

This is all so frustrating. She and I know she isn't going to stay here when she comes for a visit. She has all of the paperwork needed and documents to show sufficient ties to Indonesia. She's worked as a travel guide several times in multiple countries, and she always returns to Indonesia. It's all there to see, but they (at the embassy) haven't even taken a look at any of these documents on either of her visits. I don't understand, and contacting the congressman seemed like a great idea, but not so sure now....

[Boiler 43,522]

How does the Congressman know her?

[az2014 381]

After speaking with the staff at the congressman's office, she said that it "usually helps" to encourage the CO to take a closer look at the case, and though it wasn't an actual letter of "support" it was sometimes viewed that way. However, elsewhere on this website, I've read that this letter creates resentment at best, and a guaranteed denial at worst. Not sure what to think right now.

This is all so frustrating. She and I know she isn't going to stay here when she comes for a visit. She has all of the paperwork needed and documents to show sufficient ties to Indonesia. She's worked as a travel guide several times in multiple countries, and she always returns to Indonesia. It's all there to see, but they (at the embassy) haven't even taken a look at any of these documents on either of her visits. I don't understand, and contacting the congressman seemed like a great idea, but not so sure now....

Darrinos, it's pretty simple to understand. She did not convince the CO that she would return. That is all there is to it. Paperwork and documents show nothing, mine were not looked at either. There is no '100% certain' way to show sufficient ties, that would ensure someone gets approved. It all comes down to how the CO feels that day.

You might not like and agree with it, but that's just how it is, and they are entitled to do that.

Feel free to apply for a B2 again, but don't expect anything to change. Start focusing on getting married and going down that route.

Oh and forget the whole letter by a politician idea.

[Darrinos 6]

He doesn't know her, except from what I've told him. We completed a privacy release form and then a member of his staff called to discuss the case. She said that she would find out why, specifically, she was denied, and then would send a letter of "support" before her next interview. All the congressman's office knows of her is what I've truthfully told them.

[Boiler 43,522]

You are told the reason for the denial, I assume it was the usual.

Say you were interviewing somebody for a job and were given a letter of support from someone who had never met the applicant, what would you do?

[NancyNguyen 1,657]

You are told the reason for the denial, I assume it was the usual.

Say you were interviewing somebody for a job and were given a letter of support from someone who had never met the applicant, what would you do?

Sounds like Angela Merkel's office to me.

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

I don't know that congress persons have free time to help foreigners to find out denial reasons smh

I interned as an aide for my state Congresswoman and immigration issues are definitely one of the constituency services we tried to provide for citizens who inquire about it! It wasn't a popular request, at least in my state, but we did what we can or at least direct them to where they can ind better help!

I don't necessarily think that the letter from your congressperson is a bad idea, meaning I don't think it can hurt, but in this situation it's probably not the most helpful. But from what I understand it seems like you aren't looking for the letter to be what grants the decision for you, you just want an extra push for them to actually look at the evidence of ties she has collected which you said they ignored last time. I don't think that's all that far-fetched! But you still need to have that solid evidence for them to look at or it's not going to help much.

Edited February 25, 2016 by MorganandMichael

[ch3john 308]

As others have mentioned, K-1 will be the best route.

As far as dealing with the embassy in Jakarta. I have nothing but good things to say about them. They were extremely responsive to emails, usually within 2 hours during business hours, and were very helpful and friendly. My wife came to the U.S. on a K-1 and we also had to do CRBA with the embassy for our son. We dealt with 2 different units at the embassy (CRBA and K-1) and both units were equally responsive and helpful.

Good luck on your journey and wish you the best.

[marryingparis 3]

Her big concern now is not being able to get the K-1.

Your chances of getting approved on a K1 visa are actually much, much higher than on a tourist visa.

[Mike-eeh and Odie 192]

Go for the K-1. It takes 6 months to a year, depending on the circumstances, but in that time, she can sell her business and get other details in order. The K-1 approval is MUCH higher than a B2 visa. The B2 visa is rarely approved in most SE Asian countries.

[Caryh 5,206]

_{Sure, but it's not because they are helping potential immigrants, it's because they are helping their votes.}

_{Actually, I got the idea from a co-worker who came here from Nigeria. This is what his spouse did, and he said it helped. But most of the people in here seem to recommend against doing so.}

It can help move the process along if it gets hung up or delayed. But it doesn't really affect the outcome. Tell your gf not to worry about the visitor visa rejections affecting an eventual K-1 visa. They will have no end affect at all. Although she will need to report the applications.

[Amhara 460]

See? USMSBOW says just the opposite... to NOT get married there, and get the K1 instead. That's something that I'm noticing a lot... a lot of contradiction from story to story, but I suppose this is due to different countries. Am I right?

Choosing the fiance vs. spousal visas are a personal choice. Even though K-1 is 'faster', it's more expensive and much more steps. We would have chosen to marry if we were able to, but we were not in a position to do so - the K-1 was our only choice for us to be together in the US. Our process through DoS was understandable much longer than many other USEm's, so our process wasn't as quick as some, but our embassy was awesome - only seven months from filing to visa issuance!

You need to be aware of all the marriage requirements. Does she need to wait after she gets her divorce to re-marry? How long does completing a marriage take in Indonesia? One thing for you to know is that K-1 visas cannot be appealed if they are denied, but spousal visas can be appealed. So if you go for K-1, and get denied a visa, you can try again for spousal visa if you overcome the original reasons for denial.

My guy had applied for a visitor visa before we started our process too. If he would have been able to get it, we were thinking that he could visit here a few times a year, and he could finish his degree before immigrating. We were thinking we would marry on his first or second trip here, but that he would return as he had a full scholarship. However, we were sorely mistaken about that idea! In a way, I'm glad he was denied his visitor visa because I don't think we would have been able to follow through on that plan! Things really worked out for us, but I wish we would have been able to marry earlier. Ours would have been probably a 1+ year, but thank goodness for neutral third countries!!!

I hope you find a good choice for you too and that her divorce is painless!

[Expat1 971]

Hey all,

I am a US citizen, but my girl friend lives in Indonesia. She has been to the embassy 2 times now, and was denied both times. The first time she was unable to prove that she would return to Indonesia. It was understandable because of her answers. But the second time, she had documentation proving ties to Indonesia (family, bank records, ownership of a home, employment verification, etc.) and they wouldn't even look at these documents. They looked at the notes from her previous appointment and said that they felt she was still going to visit me. When did that become the issue? I thought the issue was "would she return?" She absolutely will! We want to apply for a K-1 later, but not yet, and she is not ready to move here. She still has property to sell and business to settle.

So my question is this: First, what if anything, can she do on her THIRD attempt? (I work with a guy who had to try 7 times and was successful, so please don't say it won't happen after 2 times.) My next question is how long should she wait until she tries again? Lastly, has anyone else had trouble at the Jakarta Embassy. It seems that they aren't very cooperative, friendly or easy to work with. It's almost as if they've just decided to not approve any visa of any kind there.

My girlfriend is now very pessimistic about the entire process, and has me wondering about the probability of making this work. Please someone, throw me some hope!

Thanks!

LOL - my wife had a house and job too. The third time was NOT the charm. I don't believe there is a good way to get a visitor visa from Jakarta and yes my wife was as ticked as your gf.

So we just decided to get married.

In spite of the a$$holedness of the NIV section the IV section was very easy to deal with during the visa processing. Once they get the word from USCIS they send the medical stuff out immediately and once that's back the interview is quick and easy. The correspondence as I recall was by email.

You'll have to date her in her own country, which by no means is ever a bad experience anyway. Good luck!

Edited February 25, 2016 by Expat1