Spousal Visa denied

[Mmagic 127]

This is a question for a Filipino friend of my Fiance.

She is Filipino 30 years old, he is 62 years old. They met a year ago. He visited her 2 times in 6 months. On the third visit they got married. They filed for spousal visa, I am not sure cr1 , K3 etc...She provided the US counselor in Manila, Philippines with wedding pictures, family pictures, wedding ring and proof oh him traveling to Phil, and all that, She even told the Counselor she is pregnant by him, but still was denied for lack of evidence. Her husband was in the US during her interview, of course. My personal opinion if he was there with her, she might have gotten approved.

Any suggestions, would appeal be wise or just a waste of money and time. If they need to re-file, is there a waiting period?

I know I am not the one should be asking this on their behalf, and suggested that her husband join VJ, but I promised to ask for her since she is friend of my Fiance.

Any suggestion or help is appreciated.

Edited October 13, 2016 by Mmagic

[TBoneTX 43,058]

Thread is moved from the CR-1 Process forum to the CR-1 Case Progress subforum.

[Illiria 980]

You are right in that she or her fiancé should join as there are details that you might not know that might be relevant.

How long did he stay for each visit?

Was she given a slip that listed why it was denied? if we know the sequence of numbers and letters that was the regulation they were denied under then we can diagnose what the reason was.

He could try to contact the embassy to get a second interview and be there for it. This isn't garunteed to work though, as they don't always allow a second interview.

The Philippines isn't that hard to get a fiancé or spousal visa from so I doubt that it would have helped for him to be there the first time other than making he feel better.

How far along is she? It might be they are wanting to wait till she has the baby and they might do DNA testing for the crba (certificate of registration of birth abroad) to check that it is his but that is just speculation on my part.

Without knowing the exact reason given for refusing to give her the visa we won't be able to advise accurately.

As for an appeal the ones I have seen take a long time and usually the outcome is just yeah you should apply again.

No waiting period to apply again but she needs to find out exactly why they were denied because if they don't address it then they will be denied again.

Edited October 13, 2016 by Illiria

[JFH 12,189]

Agree with above - find out the exact reason for denial and focus on fixing that before they even think about second interviews or re-filing.

If it was that they suspect the relationship was not bona fide then the way to fix that is more visits. Spend as much time together as possible and document it with copies of hotel reservations, plane tickets, passport stamps, pictures, etc.

[Shauneg 762]

It's really easy to grab a visa from the Philippines. There's something you don't know....

[Mmagic 127]

You are right in that she or her fiancé should join as there are details that you might not know that might be relevant.

How long did he stay for each visit?

Was she given a slip that listed why it was denied? if we know the sequence of numbers and letters that was the regulation they were denied under then we can diagnose what the reason was.

He could try to contact the embassy to get a second interview and be there for it. This isn't garunteed to work though, as they don't always allow a second interview.

The Philippines isn't that hard to get a fiancé or spousal visa from so I doubt that it would have helped for him to be there the first time other than making he feel better.

How far along is she? It might be they are wanting to wait till she has the baby and they might do DNA testing for the crba (certificate of registration of birth abroad) to check that it is his but that is just speculation on my part.

Without knowing the exact reason given for refusing to give her the visa we won't be able to advise accurately.

As for an appeal the ones I have seen take a long time and usually the outcome is just yeah you should apply again.

No waiting period to apply again but she needs to find out exactly why they were denied because if they don't address it then they will be denied again.

I totally agree with everything you said in here. I tried to get as much information as possible from my fiance since she is the one was telling me how depresses and stressed out her fiend is. I even asked her if they gave her 221g or anything else. All what the counselor told her is I don't have enough evidence to APPROVE your visa at THIS TIME. I did ask her to relay the message to have her husband join VJ and questions himself, will he do it or not I don't know. I will forward this page to my fiance so she can forward to her friend and let her read about it and show it to her husband so they can decide what is best for them...

Thank you so much for the reply.

[Mmagic 127]

It's really easy to grab a visa from the Philippines. There's something you don't know....

You are absolutely right about that. I really don't have any details just what I was told. At least now she and her husband if he wants to, they both can read this page and link. Maybe they can join VJ and input more details. I will ask my Fiance to relay this to them and hope they can come here and give more details that can help them along the way.

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

We went thru the appeal process / it takes a long time and yes, I believe better to reapply

but they must overcome the issues the embassy had during the interview

not unusual for an older man to marry a younger woman

good thing about the appeal you get to answer the issues

they upheld our appeal and said marriage was bona fida but said to reapply (good and bad as it took so long)

[Mmagic 127]

We went thru the appeal process / it takes a long time and yes, I believe better to reapply

but they must overcome the issues the embassy had during the interview

not unusual for an older man to marry a younger woman

good thing about the appeal you get to answer the issues

they upheld our appeal and said marriage was bona fida but said to reapply (good and bad as it took so long)

Thanks Adil, you are right, they need to overcome the issues and give their marriage more time this way they can prove a bona fide marriage. Hope they can join Vj and or have an input so members can help them. I did my share.

[Las&kay 8]

Duration of his visits and prove of ongoing relationship may be the reason for denial coupled with the fact she is pregnant. The best option will be to reapply and by then she will have the baby. They may be waiting for her to have the baby and present a DNA test result when she and her husband reapply. Did she go to the interview with a paper from the hospital detailing how many months pregnancy as at the time of the interview? The co may doubt if there were questions she didn't answer correctly.

[Las&kay 8]

Did she include proof like skype, whatsapp, Viber, phone calls etc

[Mmagic 127]

Did she include proof like skype, whatsapp, Viber, phone calls etc

From what I understood, she was three months pregnant when she went to the interview. Did she have papers from Doctor or not I have no idea. Skype, whatspp and all that prior to marriage I am not sure as well.

One thing I forgot to mention that they met through agency or you might call them marriage brokers in the Phil.

[Ebunoluwa 6,136]

Why is everyone suggesting an appeal and to re apply ? Geez people.

This was a spousal visa. It was refused and was or will be returned to USCIS.

Once USCIS has received it they will send out a NOID/NOIR letter to which the petitioner has to respond in 30 days.

It can take 6 months or longer to receive the letter and in it the reason for the refusal will be mentioned.
If it is just the usual lack of relationship evidence then it should be fairly easy to submit that.

Do not appeal anything and do not re apply. It was not denied by USCIS, it was refused by the CO.

If the petition is still at the embassy (and only if it is still there) request a second interview and have the petitioner be there with a

boat load of evidence.
If it has left the embassy and has been returned to USCIS already then there is nothing they can do except wait for the

NOID/NOIR letter.
If USCIS is satisfied with their response they will send it again to the embassy with recommendation to approve.

If not then the petition will be denied by USCIS, the only agency who can deny a petition.
The embassy can only refuse to issue a visa and return it to USCIS with recommendation to revoke but they can not deny a petition.

[LionessDeon 2,060]

Hopefully the pregnancy date coincides with one of his visits. I assume it does.

Ditto Ebunoluwa response

[NuZayetsPogodi 117]

That's what I was thinking.

Hopefully the pregnancy date coincides with one of his visits. I assume it does.

Ditto Ebunoluwa response