Case with a LOT of red flags (CR1, Spouse from Pakistan)

[JessNAmir 2]

Okay....I don't want to be morally judged here, just requesting some honest advice.

My name is Jess and I am 37 years old and I am married to a Pakistani man named Amir who is 34. We got married in January of 2020. Previously, we filed a K1 but were denied. I believe it was due to the "red flags" associated with our case..which are all my fault. I have been married three times before this marriage and engaged once. (Please, please no rude remarks in regards to that.) I will explain more.

Fresh out of high school, I married my highschool sweetheart at age 18. We were both in the US Army. He cheated on me and that marriage ended after only six months. At 20, I married a man from China while I was there teaching. That marriage ended in divorce also because he was married already. I did not know. I filed a CR1 visa for him that was approved by USCIS but I withdrew the petition. After this teaching gig, I lived abroad in Kazakhstan and was briefly engaged to a Russian man. I filed for his K1 but we broke up before the interview. I married a man from Lebanon when I was 25 and we lived together in Chicago for seven years and had one child, a daughter, together. We amicably separated. About three years ago, I met my husband who is from Pakistan. He was visiting a local museum with his family and I was working there. We became friends and eventually began a relationship. We first filed a K1 but were denied at the visa interview. We have since married in his country of Pakistan. Considering my past, what real chance do we have that our petition will ever be approved by such a strict embassy? I know my story is super messy. I made a lot of mistakes when I was young and I will be the first to admit that. Otherwise, we meet the financial requirements, ect.. I have been to Pakistan 6 times and we have vacationed together in the Maldives and Dubai. 

[Khatera DS 11]

5 minutes ago, JessNAmir said:

Okay....I don't want to be morally judged here, just requesting some honest advice.

My name is Jess and I am 37 years old and I am married to a Pakistani man named Amir who is 34. We got married in January of 2020. Previously, we filed a K1 but were denied. I believe it was due to the "red flags" associated with our case..which are all my fault. I have been married three times before this marriage and engaged once. (Please, please no rude remarks in regards to that.) I will explain more.

Fresh out of high school, I married my highschool sweetheart at age 18. We were both in the US Army. He cheated on me and that marriage ended after only six months. At 20, I married a man from China while I was there teaching. That marriage ended in divorce also because he was married already. I did not know. I filed a CR1 visa for him that was approved by USCIS but I withdrew the petition. After this teaching gig, I lived abroad in Kazakhstan and was briefly engaged to a Russian man. I filed for his K1 but we broke up before the interview. I married a man from Lebanon when I was 25 and we lived together in Chicago for seven years and had one child, a daughter, together. We amicably separated. About three years ago, I met my husband who is from Pakistan. He was visiting a local museum with his family and I was working there. We became friends and eventually began a relationship. We first filed a K1 but were denied at the visa interview. We have since married in his country of Pakistan. Considering my past, what real chance do we have that our petition will ever be approved by such a strict embassy? I know my story is super messy. I made a lot of mistakes when I was young and I will be the first to admit that. Otherwise, we meet the financial requirements, ect.. I have been to Pakistan 6 times and we have vacationed together in the Maldives and Dubai. 

I think it won't be impossible but very hard to convince the officers. Come prepared with a lot of supporting evidence. I was denied a K1 also with no red flags. Basically a K1 is useless at an embassy like Islamabad. You made the right choice by filing a spousal visa instead of another K1. Best of luck.  

[payxibka 10,044]

At least you keep changing venues so that is a positive 

[JFH 12,189]

There is another poster (whose name escapes me) with a similar past and a Pakistani husband. From what I recall, it has taken 4 years and counting for his visa to be approved. I would definitely be prepared for a long ride, if I were you.  

[JessNAmir 2]

55 minutes ago, payxibka said:

At least you keep changing venues so that is a positive 

Absolutely! Gotta keep things fresh. 

[JessNAmir 2]

26 minutes ago, JFH said:

There is another poster (whose name escapes me) with a similar past and a Pakistani husband. From what I recall, it has taken 4 years and counting for his visa to be approved. I would definitely be prepared for a long ride, if I were you.  

Thank you for your kind reply. I will try to find those posts.

1 hour ago, Khatera DS said:

I think it won't be impossible but very hard to convince the officers. Come prepared with a lot of supporting evidence. I was denied a K1 also with no red flags. Basically a K1 is useless at an embassy like Islamabad. You made the right choice by filing a spousal visa instead of another K1. Best of luck.  

Thank you so much. 

[Just Paul 4,591]

When he interviewed for the K1 was there any reasons told for the denial?   I would front load the spousal petition as much as possible to refute that / those issues.

[sexyafrican36 42]

No judgement, but I would say though, in your case, physical time spent together would be of substantial importance. You would have to show that you are in a relationship, which means spending longer times with him, family vacations, etc. not impossible, but I don’t see any other options but more physical time together. Remember to be there when he has an interview at the embassy too. Good lucky Jess !

[African Zealot 1,453]

Did you file a petition for your Lebanese ex husband too? There is no legal reason your application cannot be approved, but being that your marriage/relationship history is admittedly super messy with foreigners, bias will likely come into play.......

Edited October 26, 2020 by Ray.Bonaquist

[nastra30 2,001]

Op, you already seem to be mindful that your application will be heavily scrutinized so make sure to frontload your application.

[JessNAmir 2]

9 hours ago, Paul & Mary said:

When he interviewed for the K1 was there any reasons told for the denial?   I would front load the spousal petition as much as possible to refute that / those issues.

Thank you for your reply. Actually, we were given no reason for the denial. Just that the officer "didn't believe our story." It was my assumption that it was due to the past mistakes I made it my early 20s. 

[JessNAmir 2]

4 hours ago, Ray.Bonaquist said:

Did you file a petition for your Lebanese ex husband too? There is no legal reason your application cannot be approved, but being that your marriage/relationship history is admittedly super messy with foreigners, bias will likely come into play.......

Hello. No, I did not. He already was in the US for about five years before our marriage. Thank you so much for your reply. I do feel the mistakes I made in my early 20s along with Pakistan being a difficult country already works against me...and I understand. 

[JeanneAdil 6,220]

 

12 hours ago, JessNAmir said:

Thank you for your kind reply. I will try to find those posts.

Thank you so much. 

Lovetoteach is the other VJ member

but it is because of a bad interview and his divorce which they did not believe

so was the Pakistan married before also?

that would be a red flag

your ages are not against you

religions?

like said above ,  spend as much time together as you can

and start the commingling of finances by adding him to your 2020 tax returns

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-alien-spouse

[JessNAmir 2]

3 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

 

Lovetoteach is the other VJ member

but it is because of a bad interview and his divorce which they did not believe

so was the Pakistan married before also?

that would be a red flag

your ages are not against you

religions?

like said above ,  spend as much time together as you can

and start the commingling of finances by adding him to your 2020 tax returns

 

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-alien-spouse

Okay, great. I'll check out their old posts. Thank you so much. We are both Christians. Yes, I will definitely add him to my tax returns and **fingers crossed** have a trip to visit him planned in Jan.  And he has not been married before. 

Edited October 26, 2020 by JessNAmir

[Mollie09 1,543]

First of all, good luck! 

Second, make sure your husband knows all the details of your previous relationships. Part of the scrutiny in these situations comes from asking the immigrant if they would marry a similar person in their own country - would he marry a Pakistani woman who has been married before and has a child? So make sure he understands that angle.