Unstated Consular Requirements for Fiance Visa

[Erol G 2]

So I definitely observed the stated legal requirements for the K-1 fiancé visa: both individuals be free to marry, be a US citizen, have met the alien fiancée at least once in a 2 year period, have a genuine relationship. I satisfied all of those issues, actually, with my fiancée, and I also checked if I meet the income requirements for my personal household. Apparently, what the embassy has doubled down upon is the fact I met my fiancée through a relative here in the US. Again, the posted requirements do not specifically state that this is prohibited. Then the embassy launched a fraud claim against our interest, and the attorney whom I now hired insists the visa is dead and he needs to withdraw it because the fraud claim could make things only so much more difficult. The accusation is that I have been accepting bribes, which is definitely not accurate. I visited my fiancée in the other country, and we shared the travel expense. That cannot be construed as a bribe. Regardless, now I am having to start all over after a  1.5 year wait period. Now I will have to start all over and spend extensive time with my fiancé, costing us a lot of expense, when the K-1 visa would have made it so reasonable, and that is how it is advertised. I actually read about cases where it is even desirable to have relatives involved, but for some reason my case failed on those grounds. 

[geowrian 22,335]

There's absolutely nothing prohibiting meeting through relatives. At the same time, if the CO believes the arrangement was the purposes of evading immigration law (i.e. to get the beneficiary an d/or their family into the US) instead of due to a bona fide relationship, that becomes an issue.

 

What precisely did they say was the issue with the relationship? What evidence did you show? Any red flags?

[Boiler 43,438]

What do you mean by other country?

 

How many times did you visit and for how long.

[JE57 239]

It seems unlikely that you met thru relatives in the USA is the reason for the denial of the K-1.  What your future spouse said at the interview and the strength of your evidence of a real relationship is more likely the cause.   Going forward you need to understand the full and real reason for the denial otherwise future attempts to secure a visa for fiancee will likely result in the same fate.  Yes, a denied K-1 is dead so go to the Philippines and get married.   Your fiancee shared travel expenses when you met in person? While it is not beyond the possibility that your fiancee has significant money it is not normal for the Philippines and unless she or her family had significant money then that would cast some doubt on the realness of the relationship and be a red flag.  Depending on the relationship the relatives in the USA could also be a red flag.   For instance if you worked for the relatives.  Again understand the reason(s) for the denial before moving forward.  Many many times the members on here will say we are only getting part of the story.  If you intention on posting here was to express frustration than you have my sympathy.  If your purpose was to warn others that meeting thru relatives could cause problems... Yes that is true if you don't have demonstrable real relationship with your future wife and the warning would be to look at things thru the CO eyes and see how family in the US who introduced you could require additional bonafied relationship evidence.

If you are looking for help on how to proceed then more details will help others help you and reconstructing as close to accurate transcript of every question/answer from the interview.

Her saying I paid for 1/2 of his trip when we met in person sounds a lot different than I paid for my share of the travel expenses of our trip together.  Good luck and God bless.

[Erol G 2]

I'm afraid that was the unfounded, incontrovertible judgment from the consular officers--that they hold a criminalist prejudice against my visa application that took me about 2 years and for which there is no way to move forward. I now have to consult with an attorney who luckily is not charging excessively to redo the entire visa process, but with my having to move to Philippines. In terms of earlier post, I am not a consular officer, and it is not legitimate to really expect of me to espouse the perspective of a consular officer who is earning large salaries to perform a duty that still follow a legal framework. As a consumer and petitioner, I follow the posted guidelines and ensure that I meet the requirements. As I mentioned, apparently the officers at the embassy in Manila have the assumption that I am accepting bribes from my fiancé's relatives. A gift to help with travel expense cannot be construed as a "bribe." A bribe indicates that you are not genuine about the immigration interest and are possibly doing this with various clients. This is definitely not the case. The interest has been genuine and policy-compliant from the start. We took a variety of pictures to prove the relationship, not necessarily porn pics or fiery passion (I have read elsewhere urogenital references and depictions should be avoided), yet they did express a romantic interest through hugging, nearness, light kisses, etc. Then we had adequate email correspondence to prove that we have definitive plans upon my fiancée's arrival. 

 

Apparently, at this point, you cannot expect your genuine visa application to be even honored despite whatever evidence you have and compliance you observe. Just get an attorney from the beginning and put up with the excessive legal fees on top of now overmounted USCIS/State Department fees. 

[Erol G 2]

JE57--I'm afraid that was the judgment against my application--that I am getting bribes from my fiancée's relative, which is an unfounded, prejudiced assumption. It is infamously known the Trump administration placed a ban against certain countries from applying. Philippines has not been officially on that list. And a lot of those policies are continuously being legally contested. Also, they never even gave her the expected interview that was to be based on the approved USCIS petition and the documents she submitted, as cenomar, background check, medical screening etc. They took those documents and then turned her away that she needs to present more emails between her and me, and some additional photos. I keep on hearing now from my attorney and also the State Department that the approved USCIS petition is completely separate from the embassy process. In addition to the fact the website at travel.state.gov specifically outlines the intricate degree to which USCIS and the embassy coordinate for the visa, the strong impression then arises why the embassy even requires the USCIS petition if they are now more geared toward disproving its legitimacy. Here and on related sites, I often observe posts that consular officers can and will only reject a visa if a serious issue has been disregarded. I'd insist there was no "serious" issue apart from what they apparently invented just to get it dismissed as fraud. On the Manila embassy website, I found YouTube videos also stating they honor the USCIS process and are interested in granting the visas. This was definitely not the case with my petition. My attorney states those are the current realities due to increased security concerns that I need to hire a legal representative to facilitate the matter. 

[Erol G 2]

JE57--I still don't see how legally or definitely sharing travel expenses--be it 1/2, 1/4, or any other share of an expense between consensual stakeholders constitutes a bribe. Then you can say that the money children get from their parents are bribes, and the salaries from employers for one's work is a bribe, or any sum of money that is exchanged or shared in any way is a bribe. That is simply the historic and economic nature of money--that you depend on it for services to be performed. A bribe specifically means that you are receiving large amounts of money usually as a public servant to perform a favor or procure a service that would be unlawful or ineligible without the bribe. It is probably true that some officials in developing countries are known for being bribed. Apparently, what is now configured as political campaign finance with corporate lobbying money is even discredited as a bribe. I would like to emphasize I am not a public official or in any way a political representative. I entered into the relationship and the K-1 visa with the sole, genuine interest to marry my alien fiancee. This cannot be misconstrued as a bribe. I am outraged and appalled at this decision from the embassy. 

[Boiler 43,438]

OK, well let us know how it goes.

[Lemonslice 4,555]

3 hours ago, Erol G said:

A gift to help with travel expense cannot be construed as a "bribe." A bribe indicates that you are not genuine about the immigration interest and are possibly doing this with various clients. This is definitely not the case. 

Who gave you a gift and how much? 

[Paul & Marina 53]

" I am accepting bribes from my fiancé's relatives. A gift to help with travel expense cannot be construed as a "bribe." "

 

Just food for thought, If you can't afford to travel to see her, maybe they think you you don't have the money to take her

 

A gift to help with travel expense cannot be construed as a "bribe." I think one can make the case that was a bribe.

[TNJ17 1,329]

I really don’t think that is the reason they denied you. We’re you present at the interview? What exactly was the reason for denial? If you weren’t present ask your fiancé exactly what they said because something is missing here. They don’t deny because of that. If they denied you based on the fact they don’t believe you are a bonafide couple that’s more like it. You need to find out exactly what it was before you can continue. This K1 is dead so unfortunately nothing you can do there. But you have two options: you can start all over again with a new K1 but have more visits, get to know each other’s families, send them all the proof of that. Or you can go the spousal visa route. Go get married and file. Again you will need to overcome their suspicions on the not being a bonafide couple with more visits and meeting families and such. 

[Crazy Cat 39,260]

I don't think this is some kind of Trump conspiracy against PI.  There are LOT of fiances from that country who enter the US....and spouses.

[Erol G 2]

I can just post again and again what they accused me of verbatim is that I am "bribing," or receiving "bribes," which is not a material fact or proven circumstance. First, you have to also have a working definition of the term, and how it would apply to a disqualification of our visa. In terms of Paul & Marina, the posted income requirements are above the poverty line, which I have satisfied. Obviously, international travel is expensive and difficult, and if you can get assistance from your fiancé, friend, or a relative, I would say that it should be regarded as "assistance," not as a "bribe," which has very different connotations. In effect, what the consular officers are judging is that the US petitioner can have no form of income other than that he or she has currently and discreetly allocated in a bank account. A lot of people get their sources of income, in fact, through various acquaintances and interpersonal relations. It's often the motto "who you know, not what you know." So all of those people under those terms would have to be disqualified because they are getting some form of additional assistance, and it is not realistic. Not all forms of income and assistance can be construed as "bribes," especially not to determine legal eligibility for a service. If it is really an explicit finance requirement for the issuance of a visa that the US petitioner handle all related travel expenses individually--then that needs to be made known upfront and the terms have to be elaborately articulated. I did not see a clause in the application that states you can't get assistance from some source. I can only say that if such a thing is done it would make it extremely difficult to obtain a visa and not many people would qualify for it one way or the other. 

[milimelo 4,205]

If you yourself can’t afford trip to PI and rely on her relatives to buy you a ticket (anything else they paid for since you mention assistance?) I can totally see why they question your relationship. 

Are you also working for them in any capacity? 

[Erol G 2]

No, I am not working for them. I am getting my "bribes" by offering services as an independent contractor from people who are "bribing" me to do a professional service for them. Hence, the topic "unstated" reason for disqualification. It was not made known to us prior to embarking on an expensive, time-consuming petition.