Does the beneficiary decide which consulate to interview at?

[pelo814 0]

My fiancé lives in Botswana, but the embassy there doesn't process K1 visas. The closest consulate for him would be Johannesburg. 

 

Now here is the problem:

I went to visit him a few months ago, but we met in Cape Town (South Africa) first, then went to Botswana. Anyway, after I left he started a new job and had to go to Johannesburg about 1.5 months later for training for a few weeks. When he left they said he overstayed his 90 days (by 5 days) so now he can't enter South Africa for a year, so until August 2020. We are trying to send appeals and call the SA embassy and figure everything out because they are saying he was there in SA the whole time. He went back to the boarder when his appeal was ignored, trying to get information. Even a SA  customs officer said it was a mistake but it was too late for him to do anything and it had to be appealed. 

 

So my question: 

If the beneficiary's country doesn't process K1 visas, can the beneficiary choose which consulate to go to, or is it determined by NVC?  Because if we cannot get this sorted out, it would obviously be better to travel to Harare. 

 

[payxibka 10,044]

3 minutes ago, pelo814 said:

My fiancé lives in Botswana, but the embassy there doesn't process K1 visas. The closest consulate for him would be Johannesburg. 

 

Now here is the problem:

I went to visit him a few months ago, but we met in Cape Town (South Africa) first, then went to Botswana. Anyway, after I left he started a new job and had to go to Johannesburg about 1.5 months later for training for a few weeks. When he left they said he overstayed his 90 days (by 5 days) so now he can't enter South Africa for a year, so until August 2020. We are trying to send appeals and call the SA embassy and figure everything out because they are saying he was there in SA the whole time. He went back to the boarder when his appeal was ignored, trying to get information. Even a SA  customs officer said it was a mistake but it was too late for him to do anything and it had to be appealed. 

 

So my question: 

If the beneficiary's country doesn't process K1 visas, can the beneficiary choose which consulate to go to, or is it determined by NVC?  Because if we cannot get this sorted out, it would obviously be better to travel to Harare. 

 

Jurisdiction is decided by the department of state 

[SalishSea 16,772]

Generally, in order to interview at a consulate that is located in a country other than the one of citizenship, the applicant must be a legal resident.  So unless he has the option to move to another country and gain legal residence, that option is out.

 

US DOS cannot override SA's policy or determination of a bar for overstay.  Best bet is to try to appeal the bar by SA, since it isn't a US immigration issue.

[pelo814 0]

11 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Generally, in order to interview at a consulate that is located in a country other than the one of citizenship, the applicant must be a legal resident.

That is the problem... His country of resident do not process K1 visas.

So he will then have to interview in a country where he is not a legal resident. 

 

11 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

 Best bet is to try to appeal the bar by SA, since it isn't a US immigration issue.

This is what we are doing... I was just asking about how the consulate was decided, since his country of resident does not process K1.

30 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Jurisdiction is decided by the department of state 

Thank you!

Edited October 25, 2019 by pelo814

[payxibka 10,044]

13 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Generally, in order to interview at a consulate that is located in a country other than the one of citizenship, the applicant must be a legal resident.  So unless he has the option to move to another country and gain legal residence, that option is out.

 

US DOS cannot override SA's policy or determination of a bar for overstay.  Best bet is to try to appeal the bar by SA, since it isn't a US immigration issue.

Generally, in order to interview at a consulate that is located in a country other than the one that has JURISDICTION over the country of nationality,  they must be a legal resident 

[SalishSea 16,772]

4 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Generally, in order to interview at a consulate that is located in a country other than the one that has JURISDICTION over the country of nationality,  they must be a legal resident 

Agreed.  What I was getting at was that in the absence of DOS JURISDICTION (i.e consular services provided in another country), the beneficiary cannot simply "decide" (OP's word) to travel to interview somewhere else.  Hence, the beneficiary will have to attempt to appeal the bar for entry into SA.

[payxibka 10,044]

Just now, Jorgedig said:

Agreed.  What I was getting at was that in the absence of DOS JURISDICTION (i.e consular services provided in another country), the beneficiary cannot simply "decide" (OP's word) to travel to interview somewhere else.  Hence, the beneficiary will have to attempt to appeal the bar for entry into SA.

Agreed, the ability to decide would be called "consulate shopping"

[payxibka 10,044]

OP.  For example, Kiev has been known to occasionally take a Moscow interview (might only be because they both were former USSR).  So you can always ask Harare if they would take it but chances are they will say no.