Denied K1/ Waiting Cr1

[Khatera DS 11]

Hello everyone,

This is my very first post here. I have heard excellent things about this website, so I thought I would give it a go. 

I will briefly address my immigration situation here now.  My husband and I have been together for five years now. He is from Pakistan and I currently live in Ohio, US. We filed a K1 Fiance Visa Petition and were denied in April of 2019. At that point, I had been in Pakistan for a total of 1 1/2 years. The reason we were denied was vague. I was quite perplexed as we were physically in the same place for quite some time. The CO was quite rude and threatening to my husband. I did end up getting my local Congressman involved but, ultimately, we were still denied. I came to learn later that most K1 petitions are denied from that embassy. We legally married in Peshawar, Pakistan and I returned to America and filed the CR1 in September of 2019. So far, no NOA2. I have not been back to Pakistan since August of 2019 due to health reasons- an unexpected, severe surgery- and now Covid. I do plan on attending the eventual interview at the embassy, if we are approved by USCIS. From personal experience, how does a K1 denial effect the CR1? Especially at such a difficult embassy (Islamabad). I have heard varying things. Any input would be so greatly appreciated. 

[TheKingmaker 153]

Age difference? Do you speak the same language? Could be a few of the many reasons.

 

 

[Khatera DS 11]

Just now, TheKingmaker said:

Age difference? Do you speak the same language? Could be a few of the many reasons.

 

 

Hi there, thanks for my first reply! I am half Afghan, fluent in Pashto. That is the local dialect of Peshawar where he lives. Our age difference is only one year.

[Dashinka 23,330]

Generally, a K1 denial doesn’t not impact a CR1.  You are right, for some reason a lot of K1s are denied in Pakistan.  It sounds like you are heading in the right direction with the CR1, hopefully you can get back there soon to be with your husband as frequent visits, and together time seem to be beneficial when dealing with difficult consulates.  Just out of curiosity, back before you husband attempted for the K1, did you have any sort of religious ceremony for the engagement?  We see a lot of K1s rejected for that reason.

 

Good Luck!

[Nitas_man 3,100]

Denied K1 petitions generally do not affect subsequent CR1 applications.  In fact the opposite is usually the case - once K1 is denied next recommended step is to proceed with marriage and file a spousal petition.

Is it possible you were denied because you were residing in Pakistan?  Even vague, did the IO make any remarks as to what could have been the reason?

[Nitas_man 3,100]

2 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

Generally, a K1 denial doesn’t not impact a CR1.  You are right, for some reason a lot of K1s are denied in Pakistan.  It sounds like you are heading in the right direction with the CR1, hopefully you can get back there soon to be with your husband as frequent visits, and together time seem to be beneficial when dealing with difficult consulates.  Just out of curiosity, back before you husband attempted for the K1, did you have any sort of religious ceremony for the engagement?  We see a lot of K1s rejected for that reason.

 

Good Luck!

I second this.  Was there anything like a contract ceremony etc that would have left the impression that you formalized your relationship before applying for a K1?

[Khatera DS 11]

1 minute ago, Dashinka said:

Generally, a K1 denial doesn’t not impact a CR1.  You are right, for some reason a lot of K1s are denied in Pakistan.  It sounds like you are heading in the right direction with the CR1, hopefully you can get back there soon to be with your husband as frequent visits, and together time seem to be beneficial when dealing with difficult consulates.  Just out of curiosity, back before you husband attempted for the K1, did you have any sort of religious ceremony for the engagement?  We see a lot of K1s rejected for that reason.

 

Good Luck!

Hi, Dashinka. Thank you so much for your reply. That is good to know that the previous denial doesn't necessarily impact the CR1! We did not have a religious ceremony for the engagement, but we did have a family dinner to which I provided photos to USCIS. But, the CO at the embassy refused to even look at any of our photos or letters from friends/family at the interview. 

[Khatera DS 11]

3 minutes ago, Nitas_man said:

Denied K1 petitions generally do not affect subsequent CR1 applications.  In fact the opposite is usually the case - once K1 is denied next recommended step is to proceed with marriage and file a spousal petition.

Is it possible you were denied because you were residing in Pakistan?  Even vague, did the IO make any remarks as to what could have been the reason?

Thank you so much for your reply. It is a great relief to know that immediately filing the CR1 was a positive choice. My biggest fear was that I filed too soon after the K1 denial. I was legally residing there with a family member, and they did not question that at the time of the interview. The IO just told my husband he was  a "liar" and would be "banned from America" for lying to immigration. It was so totally unexpected and perplexing. The entire ordeal only lasted 2 minutes. 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

1 minute ago, Khatera DS said:

Thank you so much for your reply. It is a great relief to know that immediately filing the CR1 was a positive choice. My biggest fear was that I filed too soon after the K1 denial. I was legally residing there with a family member, and they did not question that at the time of the interview. The IO just told my husband he was  a "liar" and would be "banned from America" for lying to immigration. It was so totally unexpected and perplexing. The entire ordeal only lasted 2 minutes. 

What did the IO claim he "lied" about

[Khatera DS 11]

10 minutes ago, Nitas_man said:

I second this.  Was there anything like a contract ceremony etc that would have left the impression that you formalized your relationship before applying for a K1?

We had a dinner following our engagement for his parents, grandmother and my mother, but no religious contracts were signed at that time. Perhaps, they interpreted this as a formal ceremony? The officer at the embassy refused to see our photo album so I am not sure if he was even aware of this...

[Khatera DS 11]

1 minute ago, Nitas_man said:

What did the IO claim he "lied" about

We met at an animal rights conference and were introduced there by a mutual friend with whom I previously worked in Kuwait, at a school. The IO claimed this was a lie and "didn't make sense."  My husband offered to show photos proving this and he said it was "not necessary." This is the most confusing part to me, as we didn't mean online which I think is a very common reason for denial...

[Nitas_man 3,100]

10 minutes ago, Khatera DS said:

We met at an animal rights conference and were introduced there by a mutual friend with whom I previously worked in Kuwait, at a school. The IO claimed this was a lie and "didn't make sense."  My husband offered to show photos proving this and he said it was "not necessary." This is the most confusing part to me, as we didn't mean online which I think is a very common reason for denial...

OH

 

He already had his mind made up then to deny and was just being a p---k.  Did you include a "how we met" summary in the I-129F package?  If his story and the how we met story didn't align that might be why the IO said that.  Either way, I don't see this affecting a CR1 case.  It just adds to your history.

[Khatera DS 11]

2 minutes ago, Nitas_man said:

OH

 

He already had his mind made up then to deny and was just being a p---k.  Did you include a "how we met" summary in the I-129F package?  If his story and the how we met story didn't align that might be why the IO said that.  Either way, I don't see this affecting a CR1 case.  It just adds to your history.

Yes, I did include it in the original package, detailing how we met. It's so sad to think that, if we had another IO, perhaps the outcome would have been different. Good to know this denial won't effect me negatively. I have heard such crazy denial stories from the Islamabad Embassy, and it is sooo scary. Thank you again for taking the time to reply to my post. I wonder if there is a quota, or a certain number of cases they have to deny-or are encouraged to deny- and I was just an unlucky one for the day. 

[carmel34 3,532]

1 hour ago, Khatera DS said:

I returned to America and filed the CR1 in September of 2019. So far, no NOA2.

Islamabad is a difficult embassy because of the high incidence of fraud so they tend to scrutinize all applications, even legitimate ones, with many denials.  What evidence of a bona fide marriage did you submit with the I-130 petition?  Did you include evidence of the long period of time you lived together in Pakistan?  Documents showing visits you made to spend time together since the beginning of your relationship?  Any financial co-mingling like a joint bank account, joint credit card, beneficiary on health insurance, life insurance, dental insurance, retirement accounts, will, living will?  You might consider gathering some of this kind of evidence, and after receiving the NOA2, upload it as an additional document at the NVC stage.  That might help overcome the concerns about the legitimacy of your relationship that caused the K-1 to be denied.  Has your husband ever applied for another US visa before the K-1?  If so, was he approved or denied?  The IO seemed to be very suspicious of your husband for some reason.  Be patient and very thorough with your documentation and you will hopefully get approved eventually, even if it takes a year or two.  Good luck!

[Khatera DS 11]

12 minutes ago, carmel34 said:

Islamabad is a difficult embassy because of the high incidence of fraud so they tend to scrutinize all applications, even legitimate ones, with many denials.  What evidence of a bona fide marriage did you submit with the I-130 petition?  Did you include evidence of the long period of time you lived together in Pakistan?  Documents showing visits you made to spend time together since the beginning of your relationship?  Any financial co-mingling like a joint bank account, joint credit card, beneficiary on health insurance, life insurance, dental insurance, retirement accounts, will, living will?  You might consider gathering some of this kind of evidence, and after receiving the NOA2, upload it as an additional document at the NVC stage.  That might help overcome the concerns about the legitimacy of your relationship that caused the K-1 to be denied.  Has your husband ever applied for another US visa before the K-1?  If so, was he approved or denied?  The IO seemed to be very suspicious of your husband for some reason.  Be patient and very thorough with your documentation and you will hopefully get approved eventually, even if it takes a year or two.  Good luck!

Hi there! I submitted photos, letters from out parents, joint bank account, proof of my time spent in Pakistan and the two vacations we took together outside of Pakistan. He has never applied for a US visa before. I think we were just very unfortunate. I have heard that there is additional scrutiny on men coming from the KPK region of Pakistan, maybe that played a factor. I will definitely look into the other things you suggested. That is excellent advice. Thank you so much!