My wife didn't pass her CR-1 interview today...

[allanr 4]

Just a word  of caution with anyone who finds themselves in this situation. 

 

My wife worked almost every day for the last 6 weeks in preparation  for the Immigration (CR-1)  interview today in Manila.  She had volumes of neatly organized information.  She did a complete timeline of our 4+ year relationship and marriage with timestamped pictures,  along with meticulously detailing all the of the other requirements.   We thought we hit every check mark.  We  read and  re-read what we needed to bring to the interview, and thought we  had  everything nailed.  My wife is exactly the type of person who should  pass.   We are telling  the truth about everything.  We looked forward to hearing she passed and starting tomorrow, setting up all our flights, moving arrangements...etc.  

 

When her DS-260 form was checked by the interviewer however, it showed that between  2011-2013, she worked in Malaysia as a domestic helper (14 hours a day 7 days a week for a Chinese family there..never allowed  out).  We never intended to hide this, but on the I-130 form, we only had to list her last 5 years of living addresses.  She was told she must have a Malaysian police clearance for her time in Malaysia in order to be considered for a visa.  We explained that nowhere in the instructions was this  requirement stated, just Philippines police clearance.  They said they had to have it and until my wife submitted it, she did not pass her interview.  They would not say  if once that is in place, she will have passed, but we're hoping that is the case.

 

The interviewer told us to go the Malaysian Embassy for this.  However, my  wife was sent to another window  that was  assigned to answer questions about this, and the woman there assured us that we didn't have to do the Malaysian Embassy, and could just request online.  We took her word for that and flew home  to Cebu.  When we got  back, we did find a link that allows for getting a Certificate of Good  Conduct...but that it takes a minimum of 1-2 months to receive it....According to my wife, while you can indeed request the report online,  you must go the Malaysian embassy to  pay for it...so once  again, we'll be back on a plane for this.    My wife has spent the last hour or so trying to  find out where it is stated in the interview instructions that she  needed a police report if she lived in another country.  While we don't doubt this is indeed a requirement. we can't find it is listed anywhere.

 

Now we have to head back to Manila, then hope the government of Malaysia actually will follow through with the document.   So much for our moving plans in the short term.  Mr. Murphy strikes again.

Edited July 24, 2019 by allanr

[givionte 138]

Ouch, that's an expensive mistake with all the travel you must make to obtain it.  Yes, the officer was accurate that you need this certificate.  They are required to have it, and nobody higher up will sign off on your immigrant visa without it.  Shame you weren't able to catch on to it before it was too late.  It should have been mentioned in the pre-interview checklist they email or you can print online, listed amongst other required documents like the i-864 and birth certificate.  Any country she has resided in for 1 year or longer you must obtain a police certificate for.

 

Keep your heads up, in a couple months they'll get that piece of paper, and will be on your way to a new life in the US, so you still have lots to look forward to!

[Dashinka 23,187]

Did they give your wife an RFE at the end of the interview to provide the requested evidence?  I assume so, so they should allow up to 60 days or so for a response.  Hopefully you can get the Malaysian police certificate quickly.

 

Good Luck!

[allanr 4]

I actually did find it listed that you  need a police certificate if you lived in a foreign country for longer that 6 months when you were older than 16  years old.   We pretty much just missed it.   In the age we live in, i can see why it's a requirement.

[allanr 4]

20 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

Did they give your wife an RFE at the end of the interview to provide the requested evidence?  I assume so, so they should allow up to 60 days or so for a response.  Hopefully you can get the Malaysian police certificate quickly.

 

Good Luck!

 

They gave her a paper saying she did not pass the interview for the following reasons..which was  the missing police document.  It states she has a year to get it and submit it.  of course the medical exam is only  good  for  6 months..so everything needs  to be in place more quickly than that.

[allanr 4]

24 minutes ago, givionte said:

Ouch, that's an expensive mistake with all the travel you must make to obtain it.  Yes, the officer was accurate that you need this certificate.  They are required to have it, and nobody higher up will sign off on your immigrant visa without it.  Shame you weren't able to catch on to it before it was too late.  It should have been mentioned in the pre-interview checklist they email or you can print online, listed amongst other required documents like the i-864 and birth certificate.  Any country she has resided in for 1 year or longer you must obtain a police certificate for.

 

Keep your heads up, in a couple months they'll get that piece of paper, and will be on your way to a new life in the US, so you still have lots to look forward to!

Again...our fault.  This is coming on the heels of me having to take two trips to Manila to submit my I-130 form, due to a page missing on my divorce decree ...what I had was signed, stamped and dated by the county clerk on the main page, but the last page was missing.   In both cases, I left it up to my wife to get things in order..she is the smart, organized one of the two of us.  She had her local police clearance...just not any foreign ones.   Out of the 75 or so people being interviewed... she  had by far the most documentation with her.  Three large notebooks...with just one page missing...again.

 

All this probably points to the need to use a service for a  visa..it's a complicated  process and it's easy for first-timers to make a mistake.

[Dashinka 23,187]

4 minutes ago, allanr said:

Again...our fault.  This is coming on the heels of me having to take two trips to Manila to submit my I-130 form, due to a page missing on my divorce decree ...what I had was signed, stamped and dated by the county clerk on the main page, but the last page was missing.   In both cases, I left it up to my wife to get things in order..she is the smart, organized one of the two of us.  She had her local police clearance...just not any foreign ones.   Out of the 75 or so people being interviewed... she  had by far the most documentation with her.  Three large notebooks...with just one page missing...again.

 

All this probably points to the need to use a service for a  visa..it's a complicated  process and it's easy for first-timers to make a mistake.

Don't believe for a minute that using a lawyer or a visa service will change anything.  They miss things as well.  Regardless, although a hassle, it is recoverable.

 

Good Luck!

 

Btw, here is the DOS guidelines related to police reports necessary for IV interviews.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/collect-and-submit-forms-and-documents-to-the-nvc/step-5-collect-supporting-documents.html

 

If you are 16 years of age or older, you must submit a photocopy of a police certificate from all countries you have lived in using below criteria:

If you ...	AND you...	THEN submit a police certificate from...
Are 16 years old or older	Lived in your country of nationality for more than 6 months at any time in your life	Your country of nationality
Are 16 years old or older	Have lived in your country of current residence (if different from nationality) for more than 6 months	Your country of current residence
Have ever lived in another country for 12 months or more	Were 16 years or older at the time you lived there	The country where you used to live.
Were arrested for any reason, regardless of how long you lived in that city or country, and no matter what age you were		The city and/or country where you were arrested.

[geowrian 22,335]

11 hours ago, allanr said:

We explained that nowhere in the instructions was this  requirement stated, just Philippines police clearance. 

Edit: Misread K-1, sorry. Fixed link for CR-1:

 

https://ph.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visas/family-based-immigration/the-interview/

Quote

Police Clearance from other countries: Applicants who have stayed for one (1) year or more upon reaching the age of 16 years are required to obtain a police certificate. Country-specific information on how to secure foreign police certificates is available at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Visa-Reciprocity-and-Civil-Documents-by-Country.html

 

Edited July 24, 2019 by geowrian

[allanr 4]

35 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

Don't believe for a minute that using a lawyer or a visa service will change anything.  They miss things as well.  Regardless, although a hassle, it is recoverable.

 

Good Luck!

 

Btw, here is the DOS guidelines related to police reports necessary for IV interviews.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/collect-and-submit-forms-and-documents-to-the-nvc/step-5-collect-supporting-documents.html

 

If you are 16 years of age or older, you must submit a photocopy of a police certificate from all countries you have lived in using below criteria:

If you ...	AND you...	THEN submit a police certificate from...
Are 16 years old or older	Lived in your country of nationality for more than 6 months at any time in your life	Your country of nationality
Are 16 years old or older	Have lived in your country of current residence (if different from nationality) for more than 6 months	Your country of current residence
Have ever lived in another country for 12 months or more	Were 16 years or older at the time you lived there	The country where you used to live.
Were arrested for any reason, regardless of how long you lived in that city or country, and no matter what age you were		The city and/or country where you were arrested.

 

Yes...as  i said above a couple of times..i found the link after  I wrote that... Once  again...our fault.

 

[Tanish 197]

10 hours ago, allanr said:

All this probably points to the need to use a service for a  visa..it's a complicated  process and it's easy for first-timers to make a mistake.

Not really. All this points to is gathering information more thoroughly and from different sources. There are plethora of cases here who have done all the processes without any professional assistance. All you need is invest more time in gathering information on the process.

 

These things happen. I can reasonably confidently say that what you are going through has happened to someone before. If you search for the similar case, you are bound to find a couple of them that all missed a PCC from one of the countries that they stayed at.

 

There are also cases where lawyers messed up and didn't send the required documents.

 

All you can do now is wait. While you are waiting go over the list of documents again. Go over all the threads you can find regarding this and submit everything that you can. It is advisable to be over-prepared than under-prepared.

[pushbrk 12,085]

11 hours ago, allanr said:

  My wife has spent the last hour or so trying to  find out where it is stated in the interview instructions that she  needed a police report if she lived in another country.  While we don't doubt this is indeed a requirement. we can't find it is listed anywhere.

 

Your not finding it because you're looking in the wrong place.  Look at the list of civil documents required on State.gov and you'll see it there.  It's not an "interview instruction".  The document should have been obtained and uploaded with her NBI report.  Is this what you're looking at and have you clicked on the links included?

 

Police Certificates

Available/Unavailable :  Available

Fees: RM20:00

Document Name:  CERTIFICATE OF GOOD CONDUCT

Issuing Authority: Consular Division Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Putrajaya/ Sarawak Regional Office Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kuching and Sabah Regional Office Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kota Kinabalu

Special Seal(s) / Color / Format: Light brown

Issuing Authority Personnel Title: There is no issuing authority personnel title.

Registration Criteria: Both Malaysians and non-Malaysians who have resided in Malaysia for a period of more than one year may apply for a Malaysian certificate of good conduct. The application form for the Malaysian Certificate of Good Conduct, as well as the addresses and telephone numbers of Malaysian Missions abroad, are available here. Processing time for the certificate is one to two months from the date of submission.

Procedure for Obtaining: Visit the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia website at this link: kln.gov

Certified Copies Available: Certified copies are not available.

Alternate Documents: There are no alternate documents.

Exceptions:  Not available to applicants on refugee status if their status in Malaysia is not legal or no valid records exist.  Also, Malaysia will not issue police certificates for anyone out of status in Malaysia.

• Pre-Condition for Foreigners: Foreigners, who wish to apply for Certificate of Good Conduct, Must have resided in Malaysia for a period of at least 12 consecutive months under long term social visit pass – employment pass, student pass, spouse of Malaysian, expatriate pass.

Comments: For more information, click here.

[Mrs Thor 16]

11 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

Don't believe for a minute that using a lawyer or a visa service will change anything.  They miss things as well.  Regardless, although a hassle, it is recoverable.

 

Good Luck!

 

Btw, here is the DOS guidelines related to police reports necessary for IV interviews.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/collect-and-submit-forms-and-documents-to-the-nvc/step-5-collect-supporting-documents.html

 

If you are 16 years of age or older, you must submit a photocopy of a police certificate from all countries you have lived in using below criteria:

If you ...	AND you...	THEN submit a police certificate from...
Are 16 years old or older	Lived in your country of nationality for more than 6 months at any time in your life	Your country of nationality
Are 16 years old or older	Have lived in your country of current residence (if different from nationality) for more than 6 months	Your country of current residence
Have ever lived in another country for 12 months or more	Were 16 years or older at the time you lived there	The country where you used to live.
Were arrested for any reason, regardless of how long you lived in that city or country, and no matter what age you were		The city and/or country where you were arrested.

Is this applicable only for K1 visa applicants?

I am in the United States for F1 visa. Just got married and my husband and I are filing for I-130 and I485. Worried if this would be asked during our interview since I lived in Cambodia before coming to US.

[Tanish 197]

2 hours ago, Mrs Thor said:

Is this applicable only for K1 visa applicants?

I am in the United States for F1 visa. Just got married and my husband and I are filing for I-130 and I485. Worried if this would be asked during our interview since I lived in Cambodia before coming to US.

OP applied for IR-1/CR-1 Visa. This is not just applicable for K1. This is required at NVC stage. Since you are in US already and I am not familiar with the process when the beneficiary does AOS (Adjustment of Status) within US, I wouldn't comment on that. Someone who's more qualified in that regards will answer your question. (I would obtain a PCC from Combodia, if I were you)

[HRQX 4,145]

2 hours ago, Mrs Thor said:

I am in the United States for F1 visa. Just got married and my husband and I are filing for I-130 and I485. Worried if this would be asked during our interview since I lived in Cambodia before coming to US.

Not applicable to your case. Only applicable to cases that go through consular processing.

Edited July 25, 2019 by HRQX

[pm_1234 18]

I am sorry for all the trouble that you have to go through but why do you say it was not listed anywhere about the police certificate? The instructions for DS-260 clearly states you need police certificates for any country you lived in since age of 16 I believe. 

 

Sorry for repeating other answers. I just realized others already responded to your question.

 

Edited July 25, 2019 by Parisa_1234