Cuban Beneficiary exempt from meeting w/in 2 years?

[1/2Cuban 0]

I am asking this for a friend of a friend. They are both 40 something he is CubanAmerican she is Cuban. They have not met in person only through photos, phone, and email. They are hoping to do a K-1 visa, but are worried about not having met personally.

I am not sure exactly why he cannot go to visit, if he dosen't have US residency, if he won't be able to apply to go legally for a while, maybe he no longer has immediate family there to qualify him to go legally, or financial hardship, or whatever..... I don't know.. That information is still unknown to me.

My question is: Since there is a travel ban (even though he is of Cuban desent and could potentially legally be able to visit) and an embargo and a lot of other bs. Would/Could this in itself be enought qualify them exempt from the meeting w/in 2 years thing?

Anybody know of anyone who has been exempt for this reason?[/b

[Minya's wife 25]

I am asking this for a friend of a friend. They are both 40 something he is CubanAmerican she is Cuban. They have not met in person only through photos, phone, and email. They are hoping to do a K-1 visa, but are worried about not having met personally.

I am not sure exactly why he cannot go to visit, if he dosen't have US residency, if he won't be able to apply to go legally for a while, maybe he no longer has immediate family there to qualify him to go legally, or financial hardship, or whatever..... I don't know.. That information is still unknown to me.

My question is: Since there is a travel ban (even though he is of Cuban desent and could potentially legally be able to visit) and an embargo and a lot of other bs. Would/Could this in itself be enought qualify them exempt from the meeting w/in 2 years thing?

Anybody know of anyone who has been exempt for this reason?

I'm not sure of the answer to your question, but there is at least one VJ member here who is currently pursuing a K1 visa for her fiance who is in Cuba...and I think they've met w/in the last two years, meaning she has been in Cuba. I think her VJ name is revex05. Hopefully she'll see this question and pop in to answer you more clearly.

From what I understand, the exemption to the meeting w/in the last two years rule is only granted if the petitioner can prove that the meeting cannot occur due to cultural restrictions. A travel ban to Cuba may not be a strong enough reason to claim exemption to this rule because the Cuban citizen could perhaps get a visa to a third country, and the USC could then travel to that country and they could then meet....that's just what I've been able to understand when reading posts regarding exemption to the "meeting in person w/in last two years" requirement for the I-129F petition.

-P

Edited April 19, 2007 by Paula&Minya

[athena_ny 1]

I am asking this for a friend of a friend. They are both 40 something he is CubanAmerican she is Cuban. They have not met in person only through photos, phone, and email. They are hoping to do a K-1 visa, but are worried about not having met personally.

I am not sure exactly why he cannot go to visit, if he dosen't have US residency, if he won't be able to apply to go legally for a while, maybe he no longer has immediate family there to qualify him to go legally, or financial hardship, or whatever..... I don't know.. That information is still unknown to me.

My question is: Since there is a travel ban (even though he is of Cuban desent and could potentially legally be able to visit) and an embargo and a lot of other bs. Would/Could this in itself be enought qualify them exempt from the meeting w/in 2 years thing?

Anybody know of anyone who has been exempt for this reason?[/b

It's very unlikely. They'll have said she needed to go to Cuba, or they needed to meet in a country like the DR or something.

Financial hardship doesn't "count" per se.

[kitkat1 5]

My question is: Since there is a travel ban (even though he is of Cuban desent and could potentially legally be able to visit) and an embargo and a lot of other bs. Would/Could this in itself be enought qualify them exempt from the meeting w/in 2 years thing?

Anybody know of anyone who has been exempt for this reason?[/b

Extremely unlikely this would qualify since the USC could go to Cuba via Canada or Mexico.

[Minya's wife 25]

I am asking this for a friend of a friend. They are both 40 something he is CubanAmerican she is Cuban. They have not met in person only through photos, phone, and email. They are hoping to do a K-1 visa, but are worried about not having met personally.

I am not sure exactly why he cannot go to visit, if he dosen't have US residency, if he won't be able to apply to go legally for a while, maybe he no longer has immediate family there to qualify him to go legally, or financial hardship, or whatever..... I don't know.. That information is still unknown to me.

I just re-read your original post...and I'm a little confused. If the male Cuban American is not a US citizen, he cannot file a K-1 visa petition for his Cuban fiancee. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the petitoner has to be a US citizen...a permanent resident (green card holder) cannot use the K-1 to get their fiancee in the US.

If this is the case....the other questions you've posted are moot....if he is a USC, my response along w/ the others you've received are spot on. A waiver for the meeting w/in 2 years of filing i-129F is highly unlikely.

-P

Edited April 19, 2007 by Paula&Minya

[athena_ny 1]

I am asking this for a friend of a friend. They are both 40 something he is CubanAmerican she is Cuban. They have not met in person only through photos, phone, and email. They are hoping to do a K-1 visa, but are worried about not having met personally.

I am not sure exactly why he cannot go to visit, if he dosen't have US residency, if he won't be able to apply to go legally for a while, maybe he no longer has immediate family there to qualify him to go legally, or financial hardship, or whatever..... I don't know.. That information is still unknown to me.

I just re-read your original post...and I'm a little confused. If the male Cuban American is not a US citizen, he cannot file a K-1 visa petition for his Cuban fiancee. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the petitoner has to be a US citizen...a permanent resident (green card holder) cannot use the K-1 to get their fiancee in the US.

If this is the case....the other questions you've posted are moot....if he is a USC, my response along w/ the others you've received are spot on. A waiver for the meeting w/in 2 years of filing i-129F is highly unlikely.

-P

You're right, only a USC can file a K1 - LPR can petition for alien relative inside of the US (say they marry an F1 or B2 and do AOS) but the wait time is something like 6 years. LPR can't do K1.

[TimsDaisy 0]

My question is: Since there is a travel ban (even though he is of Cuban desent and could potentially legally be able to visit) and an embargo and a lot of other bs. Would/Could this in itself be enought qualify them exempt from the meeting w/in 2 years thing?

Anybody know of anyone who has been exempt for this reason?[/b

Extremely unlikely this would qualify since the USC could go to Cuba via Canada or Mexico.

Um, I'm not sure how that would work. So the USC is supposed to break the law in order to comply with the law? Not likely a wise way to go, is it?

[Minya's wife 25]

My question is: Since there is a travel ban (even though he is of Cuban desent and could potentially legally be able to visit) and an embargo and a lot of other bs. Would/Could this in itself be enought qualify them exempt from the meeting w/in 2 years thing?

Anybody know of anyone who has been exempt for this reason?[/b

Extremely unlikely this would qualify since the USC could go to Cuba via Canada or Mexico.

Um, I'm not sure how that would work. So the USC is supposed to break the law in order to comply with the law? Not likely a wise way to go, is it?

Yes, not sure how that works...I read something on the State Dept.'s web site on needing a special license to be able to travel to Cuba, but I didn't quite understand the details or restrictions.

But my earlier suggestion for why a waiver would not work, I think is still valid. The Cuban citizen and the US citizen can meet up in a third country...not Cuba or US, take photos save receipts and then file the K-1 application.

-P

[lucyrich 20]

A USC or LPR can't legally go to Cuba, even via an intermediate country, unless the USC has a license to do so.

I've read a bunch of records of decisions regarding denied I-129fs and most of them are K-1 people who think they should be granted an exception to the "met in person within the previous two years" requirement. The USCIS denies many of those requests.

Cultural grounds presumably wouldn't apply here.

Extreme hardship might apply. But there's a pretty high bar for that. You've got to show that no in-person meeting could happen anywhere in the world. Even if the USC can't travel to Cuba, and the Cuban can't travel to the US, you'd have to show that the two couldn't arrange a meeting in a third country. Venezuela comes to mind as a country that's relatively easy for both Cubans and US Citizens to reach.

At the very least, you'd have to show that you tried and were turned down. The USC should apply for a license to visit Cuba. The Cuban should apply for whatever paperwork is necessary to leave the island and go to a third country. The hardship waiver isn't likely to be approved unless you show you've really explored all the possibilities to arrange an in-person meeting. And for what it's worth, financial barriers won't carry much weight.

[TimsDaisy 0]

My question is: Since there is a travel ban (even though he is of Cuban desent and could potentially legally be able to visit) and an embargo and a lot of other bs. Would/Could this in itself be enought qualify them exempt from the meeting w/in 2 years thing?

Anybody know of anyone who has been exempt for this reason?[/b

Extremely unlikely this would qualify since the USC could go to Cuba via Canada or Mexico.

Um, I'm not sure how that would work. So the USC is supposed to break the law in order to comply with the law? Not likely a wise way to go, is it?

Yes, not sure how that works...I read something on the State Dept.'s web site on needing a special license to be able to travel to Cuba, but I didn't quite understand the details or restrictions.

But my earlier suggestion for why a waiver would not work, I think is still valid. The Cuban citizen and the US citizen can meet up in a third country...not Cuba or US, take photos save receipts and then file the K-1 application.

-P

As far as I know, the only legal ways for Americans to travel to Cuba are via humanitarian or cultural/arts exchanges and specially established programs which are given dispensation to go there. I don't believe it's something anyone off the street can walk in and apply for. That's not 100%, but it's what I understand from a friend who has been several times under such a program run by her employer, where she takes groups of American leaders to tour and learn about Cuba. Perhaps something like that is an option. Google away . . . .

(anecdote: imagine my shock, having grown up with the American view of this mysterious, dark, communist place called Cuba, to be walking down a London Street and see adverts for Sandals Cuba! What! They have resorts there? And you can go there? Like on a plane? No worries? Buy cigars and all! Nutty.)