Time off work for visits

[Pink_Waters 56]

Hello guys, I was wondering. 

My wife (the petitioner) when she got her new job after her last visit, the company policy is that she can only take time off after passing 1 year from employment date.

so she wasn't being able to come visit since she got that job.

we sent the company pamphlet which says so with the I-130 documents.

My question is, will this be enough to justify her not being able to visit for a whole year, or will we have to get another proof ?

thanks. 

[Ryan H 3,925]

Keep in mind that you don't prove anything, you only submit evidence regarding the bona fides of your relationship.

 

Now with that being said, the policy of most employers is 1 year of employment before extended vacation; IMO, sending the company pamphlet was pointless as all it is information about the company and nothing to support the bona fides of your relationship.

 

What other items do you have for evidence?

[Pink_Waters 56]

13 minutes ago, Ryan H said:

Keep in mind that you don't prove anything, you only submit evidence regarding the bona fides of your relationship.

 

Now with that being said, the policy of most employers is 1 year of employment before extended vacation; IMO, sending the company pamphlet was pointless as all it is information about the company and nothing to support the bona fides of your relationship.

 

What other items do you have for evidence?

We sent the pamphlet as it states that the policy is 1 year of employment before vacations or times off.

but regarding other evidences that has something to do with that specific time off issue, I am not sure really what can we provide.

any ideas ? 

[Ryan H 3,925]

I'm not clear on a couple of things.  Has the I-130 already been sent?  If so, then it's too late to add anything.  Like I said previously, that pamphlet means nothing.

[Pink_Waters 56]

7 minutes ago, Ryan H said:

I'm not clear on a couple of things.  Has the I-130 already been sent?  If so, then it's too late to add anything.  Like I said previously, that pamphlet means nothing.

Yes, It has already been sent like 5 months ago.

I still have a chance to side load on NVC stage,

So what do you suggest ?

[mallafri76 1,012]

Not being able to get vacation is not really an excuse not to see each other. You always have federal holidays in conjunction with the weekend or if she works shifts, she can take her two days off in each week together so they become four days off. You can visit or if you can't get a tourist visa, you can meet in another country. 

 

What evidence do you have if a boba fida relationship? How many visits have you had?

 

[Pink_Waters 56]

2 hours ago, mallafri76 said:

Not being able to get vacation is not really an excuse not to see each other. You always have federal holidays in conjunction with the weekend or if she works shifts, she can take her two days off in each week together so they become four days off. You can visit or if you can't get a tourist visa, you can meet in another country. 

 

What evidence do you have if a boba fida relationship? How many visits have you had?

 

Thanks for your response,

The nature of my wife's shifts really cannot enable her to get 4 days in a row time off sadly, or else we could have considered that.

I cannot get a tourist visa, nor a third country is an option due to the limitation of which countries i can get tourist visas for, most of them are african countries that are not really safe.

The problem is that she needs at least a week off to make that trip because it is a very long flight and she would need a day at least off after she is back so she can rest and fix her sleeping schedule again for work.

Regarding how many visit did we have, it is only one visit sadly. we spent a month together, then she went back and finished her boarding to get her license, then applied for work. didn't see her since. but we video call 24/7 with evidence for that, plus other documents for me being a beneficiary on many of her insurances, and me being on the least of our house.

So, what do you think we can get as an evidence for her problem getting enough time off to make a trip ?

Thanks. 

[pushbrk 13,837]

21 hours ago, Pink_Waters said:

Thanks for your response,

The nature of my wife's shifts really cannot enable her to get 4 days in a row time off sadly, or else we could have considered that.

I cannot get a tourist visa, nor a third country is an option due to the limitation of which countries i can get tourist visas for, most of them are african countries that are not really safe.

The problem is that she needs at least a week off to make that trip because it is a very long flight and she would need a day at least off after she is back so she can rest and fix her sleeping schedule again for work.

Regarding how many visit did we have, it is only one visit sadly. we spent a month together, then she went back and finished her boarding to get her license, then applied for work. didn't see her since. but we video call 24/7 with evidence for that, plus other documents for me being a beneficiary on many of her insurances, and me being on the least of our house.

So, what do you think we can get as an evidence for her problem getting enough time off to make a trip ?

Thanks. 

First, forget about evidence for WHY she isn't visiting.  They don't care why.  Concentrate on what evidence you CAN provide.  A month together is better than a week.  Her passport stamps are evidence of her time in Egypt.  You can provide photos together and examples of how and how frequently you communicate.  Your wife could provide a letter explaining the evolution of your relationship.  Since you've never been to the US, your name on the lease where she lives is not only meaningless, it will look contrived.  Leave it out.

 

Be aware all of this should have been included with the petition in the beginning.  Yes, you can side load but even if NVC actually includes your side load in the file, Consular Officers are not required to even look at it, much less consider it and often they do neither.

[Pink_Waters 56]

On 9/20/2017 at 2:47 PM, pushbrk said:

First, forget about evidence for WHY she isn't visiting.  They don't care why.  Concentrate on what evidence you CAN provide.  A month together is better than a week.  Her passport stamps are evidence of her time in Egypt.  You can provide photos together and examples of how and how frequently you communicate.  Your wife could provide a letter explaining the evolution of your relationship.  Since you've never been to the US, your name on the lease where she lives is not only meaningless, it will look contrived.  Leave it out.

 

Be aware all of this should have been included with the petition in the beginning.  Yes, you can side load but even if NVC actually includes your side load in the file, Consular Officers are not required to even look at it, much less consider it and often they do neither.

Thank you for your input, I really appreciate it.

I can understand that they don't care about her visiting frequency and that sort of thing, but also won't the CO wonder why we didn't meet in person for that long period of time? I mean I don't wanna risk it based on an incorrect assumption he might make.

Regarding the lease contract. it is a rent to own house, so my wife basically wanted me on the contract of the house as in we are both the owners, with both our names on it, I thought that might be a good evidence that shows genuine relationship.

I would appreciate it if you could elaborate more on my response in case there is something I am not fully understanding,

Thanks a lot sir.

Edited September 23, 2017 by Pink_Waters

[pushbrk 13,837]

30 minutes ago, Pink_Waters said:

Thank you for your input, I really appreciate it.

I can understand that they don't care about her visiting frequency and that sort of thing, but also won't the CO wonder why we didn't meet in person for that long period of time? I mean I don't wanna risk it based on an incorrect assumption he might make.

Regarding the lease contract. it is a rent to own house, so my wife basically wanted me on the contract of the house as in we are both the owners, with both our names on it, I thought that might be a good evidence that shows genuine relationship.

I would appreciate it if you could elaborate more on my response in case there is something I am not fully understanding,

Thanks a lot sir.

We aren't communicating well.  They definitely care about her visiting frequency and even more about how much time you've spent together in person altogether.  What I said was they don't care WHY she DID NOT visit.  As for the house, it is YOUR intentions, not the petitioner's that are the big issue here.  Her putting you on the house says NOTHING about YOUR genuine intentions.  

 

You don't seem to be understanding anything.  Perhaps this time you will.  I don't know how anybody could tell you more directly.

[Pink_Waters 56]

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

We aren't communicating well.  They definitely care about her visiting frequency and even more about how much time you've spent together in person altogether.  What I said was they don't care WHY she DID NOT visit.  As for the house, it is YOUR intentions, not the petitioner's that are the big issue here.  Her putting you on the house says NOTHING about YOUR genuine intentions.  

 

You don't seem to be understanding anything.  Perhaps this time you will.  I don't know how anybody could tell you more directly.

I apologize for the miscommunication, it is my fault, I was very tired at the moment of replying.

Let me clearly express what I originally wanted to say,

I get that you are saying that they don't care why she didn't visit. But, they care about the frequency of visits and how much time we spent together in person. Which means that any long period of time of no face time (in my case 1 year+) would raise a red flag for the CO. so how can one address the possibility of a red flag like that in my case?

That was what on my mind. You are saying to focus on what evidence we have for time spent together, so in your opinion that is enough to address this huge gap between visits ?

 

I totally get now what you mean with that they care about the intention of the beneficiary towards the petitioner, that is why the lease contract would mean nothing to them in that regard. so my follow up question is, then why the beneficiaries being on the petitioners' insurances for example count as a bonafide evidence ? what is the difference here ?

 

Thank you.

 

[pushbrk 13,837]

Without knowing the totality of the circumstances, It's hard to know what, if anything, will make a difference.  I can't stress enough how important it is to front load.  Side loading can be similar odds to a lottery.  What the CO will be willing to consider or even look at, depends on what he has concluded in advance from the original filing.  You heard the term "side loading" most likely on this forum.  Start studying previous threads on the subject.  It has already been discussed frequently, for years.

[NikLR 13,234]

While she may require 1 year with the company to take PAID time off, that doesn't mean she can't take unpaid time off.  But many people won't consider taking time off if they're not being paid because they lack the budgeting skills (or pay to begin with) to overcome the pay check deficit. 

As for evidence, you can't overcome the lack of visitation.  You can, however, show regular communication.  Really that's what you have. 

[mallafri76 1,012]

On 9/19/2017 at 10:13 AM, Pink_Waters said:

Thanks for your response,

The nature of my wife's shifts really cannot enable her to get 4 days in a row time off sadly, or else we could have considered that.

 

The problem is that she needs at least a week off to make that trip because it is a very long flight and she would need a day at least off after she is back so she can rest and fix her sleeping schedule again for work.

Regarding how many visit did we have, it is only one visit sadly. we spent a month together, then she went back and finished her boarding to get her license, then applied for work. didn't see her since. but we video call 24/7 with evidence for that, plus other documents for me being a beneficiary on many of her insurances, and me being on the least of our house.

So, what do you think we can get as an evidence for her problem getting enough time off to make a trip ?

Thanks. 

I would stop focusing on showing that your wife can’t get time off, the CO don’t care, and focus on the things you do have to show a bona fida relationship. And honestly, where there’s a will there’s a way. Your wife can work all Friday for example, then take a red eye to see you, which would bring her to Egypt Saturday morning, you’d have Saturday and Sunday, then she flies back Sunday afternoon, lands Monday morning and goes to work. I’ve done those kinds of trips a couple of times because my husband and I were just missing each other too much. I’d land 7 am in Denmark, go home and shower and I was back in the office at 9 am. Yes, she’ll definitely be tired for a few days but it is possible. 

 

The documents don’t really prove much, anyone can be put on those documents. Visits and pictures of you together and of your family co-mingling are strong evidence. Also do emails, video chats, messenger, things that show you communicate on a daily basis. Going through Egypt, I would definitely try and get at least one more visit in. One visit isn’t much for anyone, let alone for the tougher embassies.

 

As others have mentioned, has she tried getting unpaid vacation? Where does she work? Usually, if someone applies for unpaid vacation in a slow period, most companies are happy to give it. 

Edited September 23, 2017 by mallafri76

[Pink_Waters 56]

Well, Thank you everyone for your input.

Currently there is no way my wife can take time off at all even unpaid from work.

we will focus on our ongoing relationship evidence instead. and we are planning for more couple of visits after her 1 year period passes at work, 1 visit after that and another one during interview, and hopefully everything will be ok.