K-1 approval w/ former employment at cannabis retail store

[henry_h 3]

My girlfriend, 27/F/Colombia and I, 32/M/USA, have sent the I-129f petition in January 2025 and are awaiting a response. My question is the following:

 

She worked in a legal retail cannabis store for about 3-4 months as a keyholder/front of store employer when she was living in Canada before moving back to Colombia and starting the visa application from there. She does not have any other continuing ties to the cannabis retail sector. We are aware that it remains a Schedule 1 drug in the USA federally. Would this former work experience in the cannabis retail sector affect her ability to receive approval and admission to the USA

 

Thank you very much for your advice!

[TBoneTX 47,584]

Henry, welcome to the forum!  By the way, your unanswered duplicate thread from hours ago has been removed; it's disappointing not to receive replies, but weekends here are slower.  Folks will undoubtedly chime in.

 

You ask a good question.  "A job is a job," it seems, or should seem, if it was legal; others here will comment on the potential USCIS reaction at the petition phase.  I'm purely guessing that if USCIS has an issue with her job, an RFE (request for evidence) will be sent to you, at which point you could respond by explaining the employment circumstances in detail.

 

The big matter would be whether she ever used cannabis.  If she has used it, she must be truthful and admit to this during the medical examination before her visa interview, and bear the rightful consequences.

 

Again, others here will be along with input, so stay tuned.

Edited yesterday at 04:44 AM by TBoneTX
typo

[henry_h 3]

4 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

Henry, welcome to the forum!  By the way, your unanswered duplicate thread from hours ago has been removed; it's disappointing not to receive replies, but weekends here are slower.  Folks will undoubtedly chime in.

 

You ask a good question.  "A job is a job," it seems, or should seem, if it was legal; others here will comments on the potential USCIS reaction at the petition phase.  I'm purely guessing that if USCIS has an issue with her job, an RFE (request for evidence) will be sent to you, at which point you could respond by explaining the employment circumstances in detail.

 

The big matter would be whether she ever used cannabis.  If she has used it, she must be truthful and admit to this during the medical examination before her visa interview, and bear the rightful consequences.

 

Again, others here will be along with input, so stay tuned.

Thanks @TBoneTX! 

I have lurked plenty on this forum and I was particularly looking forward to your reply since you always have nuggets of insight. Apologies for the duplicate post, wasn't sure if this was a better place to post.

 

Yes - that was my assumption, and we went by the assumption that more truth is better truth (in this case). And yes, we are totally prepared to tackle an RFE if it comes to that.

 

We aren't worried about the use issue.

 

[TBoneTX 47,584]

Well, you just got your first upvote for being an alert member who has asked a thoughtful question.   

Thanks for your endorsement.  Others are more tuned in and can comment authoritatively.

We'll move posts if they're not in an optimal forum.  You guessed pretty much the right place to post, initially.

 

USCIS, and the consulates, and CBP all thrive on the truth.

A 4-month front-of-store job certainly isn't your fiancee's life's work, and sensible authorities will realize that.

 

As the incomparable pushbrk says, "Reading carefully, interpreting literally, and answering completely & honestly is the key to your success during this entire process."

 

Edited to add:  Sincere thanks from ALL of us for your clear identification of who is who and giving your ages right up front.  Everyone should emulate you in doing that.

Edited yesterday at 05:07 AM by TBoneTX

[henry_h 3]

6 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

Well, you just got your first upvote for being an alert member who has asked a thoughtful question.   

Thanks for your endorsement.  Others are more tuned in and can comment authoritatively.

We'll move posts if they're not in an optimal forum.  You guessed pretty much the right place to post, initially.

 

USCIS, and the consulates, and CBP all thrive on the truth.

A 4-month front-of-store job certainly isn't your fiancee's life's work, and sensible authorities will realize that.

 

As the incomparable pushbrk says, "Reading carefully, interpreting literally, and answering completely & honestly is the key to your success during this entire process."

 

Edited to add:  Sincere thanks from ALL of us for your clear identification of who is who and giving your ages right up front.  Everyone should emulate you in doing that.

I'm being spoiled by your appreciation.

There's very little information on this specific topic online, I have found some US Embassy information from Canada, notably the following:

Quote

A Canadian citizen working in or facilitating the proliferation of the legal marijuana industry in Canada, coming to the United States for reasons unrelated to the marijuana industry will generally be admissible to the United States. However, if a traveler is found to be coming to the United States for reasons related to the marijuana industry, they may be deemed inadmissible.

https://ca.usembassy.gov/cannabis-legalization-in-canada/

 

This is in direct reference to Canadians, and while she isn't Canadian, it was a Canadian industry. I'm hoping that this is going to be relatively accurate as to how things go. And it falls in line with your reasoning - retail cannabis is far from her life's work, it was a job at the time to pay the bills. 

 

Consistent honestly is the plan.

 

And thank you! I've seen what happens in some threads with 0 context of anything. 

 

[TBoneTX 47,584]

You can cite that quoted segment if you're questioned.  It should quell any concerns.

If anyone here knows more, I guess we'll both learn something!

[smilingstone 642]

My thought is, does the store name even indicate that it sells cannabis? 

 

Beneficiaries have to list employment history, but I do wonder how thorough they are in looking into this info. As a K1, I wouldn't think employment history bares much scrutiny, and it's more so for forming an overall impression on your character? Only my guess though. 

 

From what I read though, it seems they care more about people entering the US who currently work in the industry. Any accounts I came across of people being refused were because they were here to visit cannabis farms for business. 

 

I think it's hard to say if you'll face difficulty. On the one hand, it was a legal job in that country, on the other hand I can see a US official labelling it as drug trafficking. 

[Edward and Jaycel 1,989]

6 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

As the incomparable pushbrk says, "Reading carefully, interpreting literally, and answering completely & honestly is the key to your success during this entire process."

 

I will second this... (or third this? ) This has got us to where we are now (Jaycel just getting her Conditional Green Card on a relatively quick timeline) and it was specifically mentioned by our Consular Officer at the embassy and our interviewing officer at USCIS that they appreciated our honesty about my brush with the law that I had 30 years ago. I can't speak to other's experiences but the people we encountered along the way in positions to make a decision on our cases were very human, were genuinely interested in our story and were very understanding of being fallible and making mistakes (and wanting to hear the circumstances around those mistakes so they could understand and adjudicate properly). Please stay here with the community and let us know how your journey progresses!  

[Crazy Cat 44,636]

Frankly, As @TBoneTX said, I would be more concerned with a history of using than a short stint in a retail store.  Good luck.  Please keep us informed as every case adds significant information for those who follow in your footsteps.