OlasKween

That would be awesome!!! I am not really sure how to private message you, but I would love to talk more about it:)

Hi, I am planning to travel to Nigeria this year. I would prefer not to go alone. Is there anyone else here who would like to meet and travel together? My fiance is located in Lagos. We are planning to get married while I am there and I would like to stay 2-3 weeks. Please message me here if anyone is interested. Thanks

My fiance was also denied a K1 visa in 2011. We had a lawyer, and we had a lot of evidence for our case. We tried for about a year to get them to give us a new interview, or to review the case. We even had senators, congressmen, and our lawyer write letters concerning our case. They refused. We had no complications, he has no ex wives, or children, no medical conditions, no trouble with the law. They just assumed that he wanted to get married to become a citizen. Now they have told him that he is not eligible for a visitors visa to come here because we have applied for a k1. In my experience, they will NOT look into this decision. I think it will be a waste of time to pursue it. The only options you have are to refile, or to have her come to Naija and get married and then reapply for a spousal visa. This is what we are planning to do.

They believe the beneficiary will fool the USC and the USC has no idea of the scammers motivation. They believe the USC

is taken advantage of.

To a certain extend that does happen. The USC never saw it coming and they are shocked when it does happen as we all have seen here. ####### happens.

However, I am a grown a$$ woman capable of making my own decisions, conduct my own back ground searches and investigations about someone and suffer my own consequences without whining to the USCIS about it later crying "deport him, deport him".

The gov needs to stay out of that choice UNLESS they have factual evidence. That is the law. Period. Surely our gov is capable to investigate appropriately during the long AP months and then state a factual reason and opportunity of rebuttal.

This cut and dry denial without factual evidence is wrong.

AMEN!!! that is exactly what I am trying to say!! Give us some clear cut rules and answers, not this guessing game, and stay out of my love life!

Bravo.

I hear you.

So this is my take.

A CO in Nigeria, by giving my Fiance a 221(G) - for non bona fide relationship, has just basically accused me, then tried me and convicted me of a potential felonious crime of commiting an act of immigration fraud and then they denied me my due process of the law. Oh, then they happily told me that I wouldn't be given any opportunity to appeal

Let's think about that for a minute.

Yes, i feel your pain. It is one of the most painful things i have ever gone through. Hang on, we will get there.

Yes, I read it Olaskween and I agree with you that the system is broken on the USCIS review side and the CO refusal side.

There are no check and balances, no one to hear our side, they are going against their own regulations and laws and want us to refile. Nice income for their department.

No one can understand what it feels like to be accused of a non bona fide relationship unless they are standing in those shoes.

It is a slap in the face.

You can message me anytime to keep in touch ~ I feel your pain.

thank you friend

Was it a Lady of dark complexion?

Trust me, I understand where you're coming from.

Hang in there.

Thank you

Unfortunately Nigeria is a high fraud country and they try to weed out the scammers as you know already.

A bona fide was not established without meeting. The waiver was approved. Post has the last say on it, that is the way the system is set up.

Though CO's are not to re-adjudicate an approval their dicretionary authority trumps the approval.

However...this is where the "broken" comes in, if a petition has been returned with recommendation to review and it is not reviewed due to the fact that neither the CO nor CSC wants to extend the validity and actually do the requested review, then that's plain and simple messed up. It is sitting in storage and then simply denied.

Furthermore it is "broken" due to irrelevant assumptions and speculation by CO's without factual evidence and solid substantial reasons.

You qualify for the class action with the approved waiver so just go that route until you have saved money saved up to meet.

I understand your frustration. It has been 3 years for us as well.

I hear your frustration also. I will go ahead with the lawsuit. Thank you for pointing out some of the systems flaws, and I agree totally, but I also think there are a lot of other "broken parts" to this system. I just wrote about it in my reply to NigeriaorBust if you care to read it and tell me what you think. Thanks for your support.

Most US citizens think immigration of loved ones is a right and it isn't. That is why we must petition for the privilege to have them interviewed for a visa. Because some countries are more fraud ridden than others we must pass different levels of scrutiny in the process. Very few people from Canada would lie for the chance to live in the US. West Africans have a lot of people that dream of life here and will stop at nothing for a chance. We all pay the price for the bad behavior of a few. I too am a member of the once denied in Lagos crowd. So I have been there done that. The system is what it is, and is far from perfect. Legimate couples spend years trying to get their point across and some fraudsters slide through without a bump only to leave their USC crying to USCIS ' I have been duped, help rid me of this evil' after being the one that started the whole mess. Most people believe it is impossible to really know someone without meeting and spending face time. You should do everything you can to show you tried your hardest to do this. Failing that you should do everything you can to show you understand his culture. How close are you to his sponsor ? If you have never met the man it is yet another red flag. Don't get postal on me but here is what the CO is probably seeing

A woman in the US that has a condition that makes her partially disabled is befriended by a Nigerian with a well to do relative who doesn't have a petitionable relationship to the Nigerian. They never met, she doesn't understand Nigerian culture. They look at the statistics of such a relationship and smell a runner in the making. You failed to disprove it to them. What other red flags are you dealing with ? Are you white ? Older? Previously married w/wo kids ?

This is why I think the system is broken. (and by the way, I am not upset with you, or anyone else on here, I am just conversing:) ) #1- we wouldnt have sham marriages if it wasnt so hard to move here in the first place. Think about this: a person from another country wants to move here. He/she fills out the required forms for identification, gets a medical report, a clean police record and gets the necessary immunizations, etc. I think if she can prove that she has enough to live on (for say 6 months?) or an amount specified by the govt, or someone here to sponsor her, she should be able to IMMIGRATE HERE. Why should she have to be married, or the child, or parent or sibling of someone here? Why should she have to jump through all the hoops, and pay so much money to come here? This country is built on the idea of a refuge for those who want to be free. AM I CORRECT?? "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. " Most people who want to come here want to IMPROVE things. I say that- if you can prove who you are, that you have means to provide for yourself (or a sponsor), have a clean bill of health, NO trouble with the law, you should be able to come. If you get here and you dont like it, go back!! Make it a law that they will NEVER be eligible for assistance from the govt. Make it a law that if they come here to GET married, then if they are EVER divorced from that person, they go back home. Make it a law that if you have suspected terrorist contacts, or such, you will not be admitted. But for heaven's sake, there are good people everywhere. Stop destroying peoples hopes and dreams. People work years to come to an interview, and in a few minutes, your world it torn apart. We need some kind of straight forward laws- not this mamby- pamby stuff of, "do everything we tell you an pay all the fees, and we will talk to you for 10 minutes, and if we are in a good mood that day, we MIGHT let you through. . . oh, and we wont refund your money if you don't, but you can refile, and maybe next time we wont accuse you of being a scammer." That is a broken system. If people could work hard, save the money, and get themselves here- THEY WOULDNT BE MARRIAGE-SCAMMING. I will work till my dying day to get this system changed, because it is plain, flat out WRONG.

They waived the meeting requirement but they did not waive the bonefide relationship requirement. You could have a ton of email and not have a bonefide relationship, romance scam victims are a prime example of this, they have a inbox stuff with loving communications, they have sent tons of money to support their "loved one" but there is no valid relationship. What the issue is is that the bar of proving bonefide has been raised and they apparently failed to meet that bar. Starting for the denial , and knowing that not meeting is part of the key and that she can't fly you try to find the next step. It is trying to meet. Can he get to a place she can get to. Chances are no , but they have to try. It is far cheaper to apply for 3-4 visas( US , Canada , Mexico) and be denied than one plane ticket to Nigeria. The money thing is another hurdle they have to overcome. So far I have probably spent over 50k in costs ( travel , petition/visa fees, insurance, clothing,phones,car ) and we still have the last petition ahead in his journey. If they can't afford the upfront costs they may not pass the unlikely to become a public burden hurdle and their progress will be halted again.

We also used his cousin, who lives in the USA, as a sponsor. He works in a nuclear medicine facility in Texas. His income is very lucrative (but he is verrry tight with his money, understandably) The point is, we jumped every hoop they asked us to. Clean bill of health, spotless police record, proof of financial responsibility, all fees paid, received a wavier of meeting, notarized letters from our families, I could go on and on. The system is BROKEN. yes, we will continue down this road, and play this stupid game, because we have no choice. We are dedicated to each other. But it makes me sick that my own country is doing this. Land of the free, home of the brave- a country built on the idea of immigration. This system is a JOKE.

I really appreciate all the information,encouragement and kindness you have all shown me. Part of the pain in this process, is feeling so alone- feeling like no one understands. Most of the time I feel like I am screaming in the wind, and no one cares. Thank you all soooo much. We wont ever give up, and I know it is going to be a long hard road, it already has been for the last 3 years. We will continue to fight to be together, and help change the system. I wish that people would realize that in this computer and digitized world, it is so easy to meet people from other countries. It shouldn't be this hard to be with the one you love. THANK YOU AGAIN TO ALL OF YOU. AND BEST OF LUCK!!!! KEEP UP THE FIGHT!!!

@Kelvin

It can take months before they send it back. Lagos likes to sit on the petition until they are sure it is expired.

What happens next depends on your servie center. If you are a Californian you will most likely wait about 180 days and get a notice that your petitions validity has expired and you are free to file without prejudice. They never review your case and if you don't know the exact problem you are on your own next time overcoming it. You are also stuck paying the fees all over and filing another petition.

If you are a vermonter , you will wait about the same time usually but they usually review the case and you may recieve a reaffirmation or a NOID.

No matter what route you take the approval rate at the second time goes up. There have been a few double denials over the years and honestly they aren't always wrong in denying the visa. We didn't wait for California to declare the first petition dead but submitted a new K1, front loaded and covering the "issue" of him not knowing the details of classified work. It was approved and we are almost ready to gather the evidence for citizenship.

@OlasKween

If you have to proof that you couldn't travel to meet, did you include the proof he couldn't come to meet you ? Did he try for a visa to the USA and Cananda at least ? Immigration isn't cheap and if you can afford the beginning steps it gets more expensive later on. Unless you have family members that can lend you money you are on your own. You don't find people that think bringing foreigners into the US is a worthy cause.

We filed the petition and were denied. They will not let him come to visit now, because if we are to file a visitors visa, the will deny it because of the denied K-1. They will deny any petition we file, except for a spouse, or K-1, and those are not guaranteed.

join suit..??????????? they have not met - there's nothingu to come on!!

Ricardo, the suit is for anyone denied a K-1 visa that should have been approved or re-evaluated. We certainly do qualify, because we were issued a waiver of meeting by the USCIS due to medical issues. I talked to Brent Renison yesterday.

Yes, I have already spoken to Brent Renison. I talked to him yesterday, and I am going to join the lawsuit, but as you know, it will do me no good with my problem. It will however help others in the future who file (hopefully). As I stated earlier, I want to work to change the system, and I will do as much as I can to do that. As for my case, we are going to meet as soon as possible, and refile. We are just praying for a miracle. Our biggest obstacle is money. Does anyone know of any philanthropist, or organization etc. that would contribute to our cause?

Thank you for your response. I believe you are right. I actually did contact 2 senators and 2 congressmen within weeks of our denial, and their letters of request along with my lawyers information, was sent to Lagos, and USCIS. We also contacted the Ombudsman in DC, and had an appointment with the local USCIS office to ask them for a review or reopening of this case. We had stacks and stacks of evidence of our relationsip. The system is so messed up. Does anyone know of any groups working for reform of the system? I have found some groups claiming to want reform, but they are mostly hispanic people working for hispanic rights, not really reform of the system. thanks guys

Hi everyone, I have a question about refiling. My fiance and I were denied at our interview in Lagos last year in November. We were not given a reason, other than "FOR IMMIGRATION PURPOSES ONLY-DENIED" stamped accross the top of our petition. We are refiling, but have a few questions. We were granted a waivier of meeting based on my medical condition that prevents me from flying. We think we will have a better chance of approval if we meet in person before filing, but he will have to come here on a visitation visa. Won't this look suspiscious since we already filed for a K-1? How do we go about this? Does anyone have an idea? If he were to come on a student visa, wouldn't that also look bad? How do they expect us to meet? How do we even know what it was that caused them to deny the petition in the first place?

I find this message very touching..pls be strong Gowon and Olaskween..I can imagine wht u guys r going thru.So so sorry. Gowon wud advice u to switch to CR1. Godbless u guys in the next step.

I went through a similar fiasco with my K-1 visa petition of my fiance from Lagos. It is a very bad embassy to work with. We were denied in Nov. of 2011, and have been fighting ever since. By the way- we never received anything that looks like the yellow page you have received. The only reason for denial we were ever given was to print at the top of our petition "FOR IMMIGRATION PURPOSES ONLY" . I contacted my attorney (who helped us file), 2 congressmen, 2 senators, the ombudsman in DC, the USCIS, the NVC, and anyone else we could think of that might be of some influence. No one at the NVC, OR USCIS knew what to tell me. Everytime i would ask a question, I would get a different answer. The embassy in Nigeria would not even answer their phone- it rang and rang- not even a voice mail (I got their number from the State website). Since we were getting no answers, (and were being told that they could not locate our paperwork, and could not therefore get a reopening of our case, or a re-interview,) and the time was quickly approaching that our validity period for USCIS was ending, I made an appointment to visit my local USCIS office in Boise Idaho. I took all of our proof, and information (which was not even looked at, at the interview,) to explain our situation, and ask for an extension of our validity period. I was treated rudely by the officer at the counter, and basically laughed at. He said he had no way to extend the expiration date, and told me I was welcome to get more forms and re-file. I found this sooo frustrating. If the embassy is sure that we are trying to "scam" the system, wont we still be "scamming" if we re-file? and- if we re-file and are approved, does that mean that they were wrong with their first denial, and they will refund our money? We have been together for almost 3 years, and it makes me sick that money is keeping us apart. In the world today, it is very easy to meet someone from another country, shouldn't the laws change to reflect an easier way to be with the one you love?? The system is broken. It needs fixed. I want to fix it, but I don't know where to start. I feel your pain, and I have felt it for many years, it never dies, until you are with the one you love. Best of luck to you, and if you find something that works, let me know.

I just received a copy of the yellow form that was given to my Fiancee.

What I have done so far is email the Embassy and they responded by saying that "You are allowed to file a new petition, or marry Applicant and file for her to immigrate as your spouse."

So I am headed out the door at 8AM to fax stuff to my Senators.

What else should I be doing?

Thanks.

An exceedingly good pace, especially in Abuja.

Unfortunately though, unlike here in the USA and most 1st world countries, one needs the right connection to tap into the upwardly mobile network.

well, we are not sure about that yet. first we need to get him the student visa so he can work. then when we get a little money saved up we will decide if it is better to file from there, or go back to Naija to file. First things first

Well, we decided to send him to Malaysia to work. The easiest way was to get a student visa, which allows him to work there while studying. We were denied for "immigration purposes only" . In less than 5 minutes of the interveiw without even looking at one peice of evidence we had. we have no issues that should keep us apart. It is a matter of the immigration system being broken. That is a whole different story. Right now, we are looking for any thing that might help us get funding fast.

once again, we have no money. It will cost far more to get him back to Naija, than to get him into school so that he can work. At least if he works for a while, he can afford his trip back.

Oh,and I am still very much able to bear children and we are STILL in AP..after having TONS of evidence in every aspect that was requested and then some..With Lagos,its all about luck!!

I just went thru a similar circumstance. We had an immigration lawyer do ours so we could be sure it was all done right. My fiance is 8 years younger than me, and our interview lasted about 5 minutes also. The interviewer didnt look at one piece of evidence my fiance took with him. Same reason given. We have tried everything to get our case re-evaluated. We have a lawyer from California, we had a senator, and a congressman intervene on our behalf. We had tons of evidence of the entirety of our relationship.(2 years). But in the end, before they could re-evaluate our case, the USCIS still denied us, because our petition had "expired" and suggested that we "start over". I dont understsand how refiling can help anyones case. If they suppose you are scamming the system now, wont you STILL be scamming the system next year? not to mention all the money we will spend and time wasted apart. Everyone I talked to in the immigration offices, or USCIS, gave us a different answer to any questions we asked. This system is in serious need of reform. I can understand having laws, but I dont think one interviewer should determine the outcome of a visa request.