THETIMEISNOW

From those letters it looks like they just weren't convinced the relationship was authentic. Since you have since lived with him and have a child together, this shouldn't be hard to convince them of now. I think you'll be alright filing on your own.

Thanks!

having filed for B1/B2 visa does not exclude you from filing an immigrant visa, just that one has to be foregone and since he was denied anyway, i dont see what the problem is. Like others have said, investigate into what happened to the k1. Considering the time frame, I am sure it has automatically been cancelled but you still need to knw what was the reason for the delay when you had it in process.

Honestly unless ones case is full of so many twist and turns, I think attorneys are making a feast from people. so if your case is straight forward enough, do it yourself but seek direction whenever you found yourself confused. so many people are willing to help out here.

Thanks!

that is not why he got denied. No embassy is going to talk to to anyone about anything before a petition had been filed, an they ceratinly won;t talk to her, she wasn't the one filng. There is no reason whatsoever for her to hire an attorney.

Thanks!

You will be fine to file on your own. Think of it this way even with a lawyer you have to still give them the evidence to submit for you.

Now that you are married and you have time together. Can I ask you these questions.

1. Through these what 6 years how much face time have you had together?As in how long each visit how many visits.
2. When was the last time you seen each other?

I would strongly suggest in your evidence that you will front-load like crazy you also include a very detailed Relationship Timeline so you can highlight key things like you told us. The K1, The B1, his baby born and he not there. They need to see this all neatly displayed infront of them.

Be prepared to submit to a DNA test down the road I am sure that will be required not a big deal but just a heads up.

You will be fine and no need to waste time on lawyer. But do have your husband go over interview questions and feel comfortable and answering. God bless u.

Thanks dwheels76 for your response! I have seen my hubby in 2005, 2006, 2008 (each visit time was for a month), and 2009. I did not visit my hubby in 2007 because I started the K1 petition. My hubby and I married in 2009 and lived together until July 2011.

That is not true. You can be petitioned for/ file two different visas (even though in this case it wasn't at the same time). You just cannot HOLD two different visas. Ie if the person had a B2 tourist visa, and got approved for a K1 fiance visa, the B2 would be cancelled.

OP, you should be fine. There is nothing wrong with you guys having filed 2 visas before, though you should look into why the K1 was bounced around for so long- for example if it was for security/ name checks, that will likely happen again. If it was because they doubted your bondafide relationship, your being together for so long and living together and having a child should make this time around quicker.

Here is some additional info concerning the K1 Visa petition. These are the responses that I received from the U.S. Embassy (all were via email; I never received a letter) concerning my husband's (then fiance's) case. I do not know if the his visa was ever denied; this is why I say that we were bounced around for 3 years before getting married. Please offer any suggestions:

Responsed on 5/2/07 VIA EMAIL after hubby's interview on 4/24/07:

I also received another email on the same day 5/2/07:

In order to proceed with this application for an immigrant/fiancé visa, this office must confirm visa eligibility. We will contact the applicant if we need additional information or if we need to conduct an additional interview. Until we have completed this review process, we cannot move forward with the visa application.

Please note that the interviewing Consular Officer will automatically refer all visa applications to the Consular Section’s Eligibility Review Unit for additional processing if the legal basis for visa eligibility was not established during the initial interview.

The length of time it takes to complete this processing varies considerably and unfortunately we cannot predict how long this review will take.

Best regards,

Consul

This is the "formal" letter that I received via email on 5/15/07:

May 15, 2007

Ms. Petitioner

[Address]

Dear Ms. Petitioner

During the interview stage of the immigrant visa process, consular officers have to review approved petitions to confirm that the requisite family relationship, on which the petition is based, still exists.

Unfortunately, MR. Beneficiary could not provide any convincing evidence of his relationship with the petitioner, and could not answer basic questions regarding the relationship. As a result the consular officer has scheduled Mr. Beneficiary for a more in-depth interview on August 2, 2007 at 2 PM. Please have him bring all evidence of his relationship to you ( pictures, letters..)and all his employment documents.

Sincerely,

Consular Assistant

The following email was sent on 8/10/07:

Approved while on vacation with my wife in the Philippines going to get an extended visa to attend the interview with her at the embassy! Ready for the next step and can't tell you enough how much VJ and its members have given me hope. Approved in exactly 91 days!

AWESOME!!!

neither of these previous applications are reason for you to get a lawyer

obviously you have experience filing so you should be able to do it again

and if you have any questions, ask away!

THANKS, KDH!!!

Hello VJ Family! I really need your help. I filed a K-1 petition in 2006 and basically was bounced around for 3 years. In September 2009, I relocated to Senegal and married my hubby. Due to complications with my pregnancy, I returned to the U.S. in July 2011. My husband filed for a B1/B2 visa so that he could be with me during the delivery of our child, but was denied. I am concerned that since we have filed for two different visas, that it will cause complications with our CR1/IR1 process. Should I retain an immigration lawyer or do you I have a good chance of filing the petition on my own?

CONGRATULATIONS

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

There is a remote possibility you could use it is both of the following occurred. You were not married when the petition was back at the Embassy, You had properly filed change of address within 10 days of each move either you or your now hisband did from from original filing. If you married prior to the return the petition was non approval before it's return and if you failed to keep your address up to date then the notice was probably sent and returned as undeliverable thus ending their resposibility. However because the new petition is a different type they will probably not expediate it anyway.

Thank you so much!

Usually any petition that has had no activity in a year is closed , K1 petitions have a validity of 4 months after approval ( or reapproval) so you either missed one window or the other it seems. But if you married in the mean time you wouldn't have been able to use the petition , they would have denied you at the interview when the marriage came up.

So, are you telling me that the visa was approved at one point but the consulate did not properly inform us? If that is the case, then could I use the fact that I was not informed of the expired petition to help expedite my I-130 petition process?

I think you'll need to resubmit for an I-130 petition. The fiance visa is an I-129F. So it wouldn't be feasible now anyways. You should look into applying for the I-130. They are being approved quickly through NBC right now. Perhaps that's a consolation. Sorry to hear you're going through this. Did you update your address with them since you moved? Why did you never submit a service request?

Thanks bsd058! I am currently back in the States and I did update my address. I am in the process of submitting an I-130 petition. I've never heard of a service request. What is it and how do I go about doing it?

I petioned for my then fiance, now husband to to come to the States in November 2006. When I moved to Senegal to be with him in 2009, I was told that the application was reapproved for processing. I never received any information/letters from them since. I called last week to find out the status of the petition and I was told that it "expired". When I questioned it, I was told that they had no other information and to call Department of State. I called Department of State and was told to call USCIS. I called USCIS and was told to call NVC. No one can give me any other information besides it being "expired". Can someone please help me to understand what is going on? Also, please offer any advice. Thank you.