JE57

1 hour ago, goodlulck52 said:

"I am sorry we cannot give you Visa this time, I would suggest you to visit some other countries first then re-apply US visa."

 

What if the "some other country" refuses her visa application and suggests her to visit some "some other country" first and then re-apply to the "some other country's" visa...

I am unaware of any country on earth that doesn't have visa free access to at least one other country...   Sounds like they are from Turkey which means they have visa free access to 102 other countries including ones that don't require a plane flight and some lovely tropical spots in the Caribbean

Your Mom and Dad apparently have no travel history... Thus no record of them entering and leaving any other countries as per terms of travel plans.  Your Dad is a Gov. employee but this does NOT require that he return to that profession.  If the salary is good and they own property in their home country are active members of the community these all show strong ties.  But the visa office gave you the instructions on what must be done.. Your parents must establish a travel history to other countries.   Likely beginning with ones that they have visa free access to and then use that to obtain visas for countries that require it.   Having a travel history that didn't exist before is the best grounds for re-applying.  Remember in the USA by law the the CO MUST assume that the applicant intends to travel to the USA and remain there.  Over coming that requires strong ties to home country and sometimes also a strong travel history.  Sounds like you will need to plan to meet your Mom and Dad "1/2 way in between" and maybe re-apply 6 months to a year later after your parents have built up travel history which would constitute a change in circumstances.  At that point it might be advisable for mom and Dad to both plan a shorter visit to the USA,  not because they want to give the answer that satisfies the CO but because they truly have no desire to be away that long or because they want to pursue other destinations possible with you.    

Congrats on the first part of your journey!   You probably have already left the Philippines and entered Guam (Welcome to the USA).  Would suggest before you leave Texas that you have multiple copies of our marriage proof whatever those might be.   I'm losing count of the number of times we've had to show that or thought we'd have to.  Clearly you won't have to show it USCIS any further and when my wife subsequently interviewed for her Tourist Visa she was prepared with all kinds of documents but the interview was very easy.  The officer pulled up her record saw that she had entered the USA on a K1 that she had previously applied for a tourist visa to the USA and was denied and then simply asked my wife what happened.  My wife explained we entered the USA on K1 knowing there was a chance to return to Hong Kong and that we got married and that I was offered a position in Hong Kong.  The response for the CO was, 'Thank you.... I'll be issuing your tourist Visa'   Since then my wife and I have returned to the USA for a two week vacation.  POE was Chicago,  I went thru the line with her and she was asked about her employment in Hong Kong,  She has since gotten a job and how long she planned to remain in the USA... She  was asked to show the ticket for the return flight and then advised that she should be sure to leave on the intended flight.  He then proceeded to stamp her Visa for 6 months...  We can't speak to what would have happened if she had not been employed but there was never any question to prove her employment or anything else.  So good luck on obtaining the tourist visa when you get back... I know we waited a bit when we returned to show that we really were back in Hong Kong and that we had the appropriate Residency stamps..  You may want to wait a month or so from when you return to the Philippines as well so you can show that you really have returned if questioned.

Different Consulate but we were able to re-do the medical which essentially extended the time that she had to enter the USA that might be an option for you so as to enter on a K-1 in July. Others may be able to offer an opinion on this.

If you are disappointed then you are not understanding the responses that you have gotten.   Based on the answer you got at the interview your case has NOT been denied.  It may be in the future after the CO further reviews what you yourself imply is a lot of data supporting the legitimacy of your relationship.  But so far all you know is that the CO is further reviewing.  You can see that as a good thing - He didn't deny you at the interview or a bad thing - he didn't approve you and might further reject you.  The letter of support from your future wife's congressman is unlikely to make a difference.  You simply need to wait and pray that it is accepted this time.  Understand that Red flags are exactly that and you have no opportunity to argue with a CO at an interview.  You can say things that will hurt you but at this point you just have to wait and see what happens.. Hope it works out for both of you.   If your visa isn't approved then you have to look at options to get Married and apply for a spousal visa but you and your future wife in that case need to really sit down and try to take a step back and say what would a complete stranger think of this relationship would then believe it is real and if they had doubts what could you do to make those doubts less or make the relationship more believable?   Again to be clear I'm not saying your relationship isn't real I'm say it doesn't matter if it's real or not if the person deciding your fate doesn't believe it's real.   Best of luck hope you get the Visa that is currently in AP

While others will have a more authoritative answer in the interest of getting you an answer in your timezone...  The USEM will require a CENOMAR from NSA.  Thus I believe that the CENOMAR or CEMAR with notations of divorce will determine your eligibility to Marry in the USA.   The USEM is looking for a legal divorce and as such in your case I believe the Philippine Gov would have to acknowledge that divorce (Which it should but might require additional steps to show a notation on the CEMAR)

Yes as others have said you will be fine.  Our story as well.   You note that you've been dating via SKYPE since AUG... I'll simply remind you that a requirement to file a K-1 Visa is that at the time you file you both must be eligible to Marry in the USA.. The HK divorce will get you that.   But also note that you must have met in person in the last two years before filing.  So it's time to start planning a trip to meet in person.   You do NOT need to wait for the divorce to be finalized to have your in person meeting count toward the 2 year requirement!  Assuming she has no tourist visa to the USA it seems likely you'll need to go to her.  But you know a couple who have been thru this so lean on them a bit.

For DCF (Direct Consulate filing) your husband would have to deal with the Domicile issue.  However, that does not mean he has to travel to the USA before you.  There are other way to prove Domicile or intent to re-establish Domicile.  Depends much on the situation.  Being able to DCF also depends on him having legal residence in the Philippines which I'm sure he does.

  Best of luck to you have faith there are ways to make this work.

There is no need to go home before the he submits the paperwork.   He can simply indicate that you will process in the Philippines on the application.  But bear in mind that there is no need to go home either as you could leave for the USA from your country of Residence (the one you are working in).  Depending on what country that is and where you live in the Philippines you might find that it is much easier to process the interview and medical from where you live..  In the Philippines you'll may face a more detailed medical at St. Lukes, you would also have to process a CFO which you could avoid if you fly from where you reside.  The choice, ultimately is up to you and to some extent on your employer and your country of residence. 

As A&L said above... Make sure that your Engagement Party doesn't look anything like a wedding...I don't think I'd include a contract for the party or receipt.. It could too easily be construed as an early wedding followed by a Honeymoon. Keep in mind what you are trying to prove. The I-129 requires proof of having met in the last two years. Boarding pass is enough for that. The rest is front loading the application for proof of real relationship to make the interview easier. A good idea for sure but what your trying to show is a real relationship exists. To that end I'd suggest structuring it like a small book with a cover page that shows the milestones in your relationship and how your relationship has grown. Some pictures from first meeting with Family, vacation pictures of the two of you having fun. Some chat logs that that show how you work things thru as a couple. And send copies of everything, keep the originals. w.u. receipts i think are only helpful if they accompanied by an explanation as to how the two of you agreed to spend the money and how that relates to your relationship.

Best of luck...

Your case is strengthened by showing that you intend to return to India. You make your case stronger by convincing the Visa officer that interviews you that you will in fact return to India. SO.. how do you make your case stronger? Not in any particular order...

A) Develop some travel history to show that you can travel and return. Short vacations to other countries are good.. These show that you enjoy travel/tourism and that your interest in USA or Canada is solely for a short visit for tourist purposes.

B) Get a job in India.. Ideally a job that pays well and for which you have compelling reason to return to..

C) DO NOT apply immediately to the USA for a tourist visa... If the USA and Canada do share information or you are asked about other refusals your (presumed) lack of travel history could make you look desperate to get to the USA anyway you can.

D) Savings..Likely only helpful if those funds are somehow tied to your presence in your home country or so significant that you could afford an investment Visa in the USA (absolute minimum of US $500,000 and likely more than $1 Million USD)

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Honestly the way you present your case it sounds like you are looking for a way to move to, live and work in the USA. If this is your true intent please say so... The members here are happy to help advise you on legal (though limited) paths to obtain your dream...

To OP, you have some serious research to do about a K-1 Visa... Read thru the guides here in detail. It won't be fast figure a mimimum of 3 months before she can interview. You don't apply for a K-1 at the Embassy, *YOU* apply for her by sending all the documents into to USCIS lockbox... You'll see that when you read thru the guides. You don't need a lawyer for this and as was said above as long as she did not mis-represent her relationship with you when she applied for a B1/B2 that will have no effect on the K-1. As to where she applies.. she will have to attend an interview prior to departure to the USA. If she'll be in Thailand at the likely interview time with valid residency there that is the embassy I would choose. If she were to go thru the US Embassy in Manilla there are additional requirements... St. Luke's does a through medical which if she's living in Thailand at the time would require additional trips to the Philippines. There is also the matter of CFO clearance from the Gov. of the Philippines. Once she has a VISA to the USA she will need to complete the CFO counseling if she travels to the USA from the Philippines... No such requirement if she interviews and departs to the USA from Thailand. Good luck on your Journey sorry she won't be able to join you in the USA for Christmas.

This is interesting. I would like to clarify some things before the thread gets muddy with those who would want to nit-pick about proper terminology. This is an open forum and as such many topics are discussed in casual English and not specific immigration terminology. It can cause issues and misunderstandings when they intersect.

For the K visa you use the 134. Its a non enforceable aff of support. Its basically a worthless sheet of paper. However it is needed. Its suppose to be evaluated at a lower poverty rate but the embassy does have discretion and some ask for and use the higher rate that the 864 for AOS uses. Some also demand a higher burden of proof, some are more relaxed since it is non enforceable and expires in 90 days. Depends on the embassy. So you will find varying info about the 134 through out the forum and there is no set standard of how it is to be applied. You can not complain and demand it be evaluated a certain way or moan about why did so and so get through with X proof and I am being hassled.

There is no requirement with the K visa to establish domicile period. In a weird twisted way the Officer can interpret the requirement of having a source of stable income to include showing you have an established domicile because well with out one it may be hard to have a stable income- or at least that could be the line of thinking...

From the OPs postings he seems to have bank accounts in the PI- these will not count for purposes of aff of support. He has an account in the US. That will count. He has assets. They will count as long as they are liquid and not deemed a hardship. He has an online business. Not sure if the income is enough based on his tax returns- but I assume he has thoroughly reviewed the forms and feels he surpasses the poverty guidelines.

For his specific income- if it is an online based self employment income- domicile is not usually an issue since he can reside wherever he likes and operate the company. When you are self-employed they review your income differently. They look at Sched C, how long youve been self employed (needs to be atleast 1 year) what kind of work it is, projected income/pending contracts, overall stability etc. It really depends on the type of work- how you present it best to show its stable.

I agree.... It is not clear that proof of or intent to establish Domicile is specifically required for a K1. The Hong Kong Consulate at the time required an offer letter from my manager in the USA who would absorb me on return from a temporary International assignment before they would issue the VISA. Hopefully under the circumstances of OP they would accept savings/assets in the USA as sufficient to meet the needs of the affidavit of support *if* it is even requested.

Hi,

Best of luck to you and your future wife... I know it can work.. My now wife was denied a tourist visa and we applied for and were granted a K-1, got married in the USA and then were able to return to our home overseas. Subsequently she was granted a tourist visa.. So it can work.. A couple of things to consider....

She was delayed getting the K-1 because the Embassy required proof of my intent to establish domicile and have a future income in the USA... Not saying this will happen to you but it did happen to us. In our case our intent really was to remain in the USA and we were blessed with the opportunity to return to our home overseas after we arrived in the USA.. In my opinion you won't be denied for K-1 because you can't show proof to establish domacile may need to provide further evidence which can be hard to do if it isn't true.. Catch 22 there. Although we didn't go thru the Manilla embassy instead going thru Hong Kong. Ideally you'll have an interesting interview and walk out with a tourist visa instead of a K-1.

The strength of your argument for a subsequent tourist visa (and subsequent B2 entries to the USA) depends then on your ties to the Philippines after you get married and return. We assume she does not have strong enough ties to satisfy the requirement to prove she will return. You then become a strong tie in so much as you also will stay. So my advice would be make sure all your ducks regarding your residency in the Philippines are in a row before the interview. That you have legal status in the Philippines and that you can show strong reason that you will continue to reside there.

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I'll note that while others have said that being married to a USC is a big red flag I think actually that marriage to a USC that resides overseas and can show that they plan to continue to do so is not a negative.

The last consideration is that once she has a US K1 VISA in her passport that she will not be allowed to LEAVE the philippines without a CFO sticker. It's hard for me to imagine that CFO is going to put up much of a fuss but be aware that you also will have to pass this hurdle.

Do let us know how it goes please.

Maybe I'm reading your #1 wrong. Are you saying once she arrives in the USA on her K1 they do not HAVE to get married in 90 days? If so, that is very very incorrect

Yep, you're right.. While it seems legally possible to stay longer than 90 days and marry the original partition after 90 days and adjust is seems that the risks of this would far out weigh the potential benefits. Sorry to the OP and the community for not so well thought out suggestion.

As for the CFO sticker... Hank has assured me that others that are still married legally in the Philippines have received a CFO sticker when they were divorced elsewhere. But like mentioned above a non-issue if you journey to the USA directly from Hong Kong. Once you return your residence (green card for US) or other foreign residence negates the need for the CFO sticker on a subsequent exit back to your place of residence.

To OP.... It isn't easy... Divorce granted in Hong Kong will allow you to file for a K-1 Visa as you will be seen as free to Marry by the US. However, getting to the point where you are eligible to file for Divorce in Hong Kong is not as easy. 1) To file for a divorce in Hong Kong the minimum requirement is that you must have a 'substantial connection to Hong Kong'. The interpretation of that varies but is unlikely to include a 14 day tourist visa. Further Philippines are only allowed 14 days as a tourist here and that is defiantly not long enough to accomplish a divorce. To pursue this your best bet is to be hired in Hong Kong on some type of work visa.. If Female then Domestic helper visa is an option.. If male it's harder but driver, or perhaps Gardner landscaper is an option. Further I'll point out that if you are a female without a strong job in the Philippines and no work visa for Hong Kong it is very possible that on your attempt to leave the Philippines that you'll be denied exit by Philippines immigration. So called off-loading... In short, your best bet if you want to go this route is start pursuing overseas employment via an Agency approved by POEA. Hong Kong would not be your only option other countries may be available that would also enable divorce as mentioned above but the whole process is not simple unless you have a 'substantial connection' to Hong Kong meaning basically that you are allowed to stay in Hong Kong for longer than the 14 days.

A couple things to consider... Assume you would prefer the wedding to be the wedding and not have to do a legal thing before the real thing for immigration purposes. In that case I'd suggest your options are:

1) Apply for a K-1 visa.. Plan the wedding about a year after the application... Generally the K-1 takes about 5 months.. A year gives you a buffer... Once the K-1 is approved it is valid for 6 months from the date of the medical and then you get an additional 3 months in the USA to accomplish the wedding so timing wise you should be fine. Another consideration is that if it happens early then you don't actually HAVE to get married in 90 days.. While after 90 days you would be out of status you can still adjust status if you get married and then the overstay is forgiven. The potentially HUGE disadvantage of the K-1 is that once you enter you must wait an additional amount of time (3-4 months after filing your AOS) to leave the USA or to work in the USA. For this reason you may wish to consider a CR1 visa. If for some reason you don't get the K1 in time for the wedding you may still go get married but will need to return to Canada and start a CR1 (about a year)

2) To do the CR1 visa you would have to get married first.. If you wanted that marriage to be the REAL thing.. the dream wedding as it were your best option may well be to use your Canadian privilege to take short trips to your desired wedding location, do all the planning and then go ahead and get Married in the USA. Once you are married in the USA you WILL have to return to Canada and file the CR1 but assuming you and your husband maintain residence in Canada until you get the Visa all should be well.

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A couple things to protect yourself.... 1) NEVER EVER LIE or intend to deceive immigration officials. 2) Do not enter the USA on tourist visa with the intent to remain and adjust status. 3) Maintain and bring strong ties (reasons why you must return to Canada each time you cross the boarder) 4) Bear in mind that your privilege to enter the USA is subject to review each time you use it, thus the reason you should bring proof of intent to return to Canada until you have immigration visa (K-1 or CR1) in hand.

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Again, the key to planning your dream wedding in this case is your presumed proximity to the wedding venue and your flexibility in terms of when you intend to actually move to the USA.

I guess my advice would be a bit different... I find that Asian culture differs significantly from American culture. And these are vast generalizations so only you know if it applies to you or not...I have observed that while Americans seem to want to talk things out that Asian culture seems not to be that way. I think perhaps you may need to spend some time explaining gently and carefully why you care and re-assuring her that you love her no matter what skeletons she may have in her closet. You don't necessarily need to exhume those skeletons and you certainly don't want to cause her pain reliving past hurt or shame. You simply want to be sure that there is nothing in her past that is going to haunt the two of you going forward. Definitely you can explain about the TB test as she may not be aware of it. You also can let her know that you love her and that you want to make sure that she gets the best care possible. If she can't talk about past medical conditions cured or not then the next disagreement could well come when she gets to the USA and you suggest that perhaps she should have a Pap smear.. Naturally there are many logical reasons for her to do this but she could easily see this as an indication from you that you think there is reason for risk. I don't think this is a single conversation but I do think you need to reach an understanding that it's perfectly valid for some things in each of your pasts to be off limits but that secrets that could affect the course of your future need to be discussed without a feeling that if might cause fissures. Not sure how you asked her but asking if she has any diseases may have been interpreted as lack of trust on your part. Her saying don't ask me about this again may not have been a complete closure of that door but definately requires further communication. I'd say you may need more time to work on getting past these hurdles. Imagine how this would play out had she been in the USA and you tried to have this conversation and neither one of you can get the space to separate from the issue. I think this is a GREAT opportunity to practice how the two of you deal with a difficult issue. Good Luck to you!

As a backup plan for her to have 'representatives' at the wedding start looking around for video people who might have knowledge and skills video conferencing. If you found the right people if should be possible to do the whole wedding with a live two way video feed. You might need to have your fiance in the Philippines start considering renting out an internet cafe or similar in the Philippines to make it work well. We toyed with that idea and found that some of the places in Vegas might be able to set up something like that. - Good Luck. As others have said a tourist visa may be difficult depending on rather your future mother-in-law has very compelling reasons to return to the Philippines after the wedding. Proving such ties or being allowed even to explain such ties could be difficult.

My wife has always had to pay the 200 peso fee to get the exemption Certificate but last time she did not just present passport and residence card and they hand her the certificate. Glad to see happened to someone else as well. We've seen things change regarding travel such as the elimination of the OEC requirement in some cases so we are assuming that the exemption fee has been eliminated. That would be nice.. It's a small fee but paying a fee to avoid a fee never made a lot of sense to me.

Nope... She was traveling with her Philippines passport... She's paid the exemption fee of 200 Pesos on previous trips but not this last exit. She only had a Philippines passport and is a dependent visa in Hong Kong so perhaps she got lucky and should have paid the 200 Pesos?

Good Evening,

My wife (from PI) and I, USC reside in Hong Kong. Leaving Manila on 23 Oct. my wife presented Hong Kong ID and passport to the travel tax counter in the Airport expecting to pay the 200 Peso fee for her 'exemption' from travel tax as an overseas resident. Low and behold it seems the 200 peso fee has been removed as well now. No fee, no travel tax. Note however that the travel tax counter was looking for her entry stamp in her passport and it seems when we had entered a week earlier immigration didn't give her a stamp on entry. Not sure if this was an oversight or also a new policy. We were lucky because it had been less than 6 months since out previous entry but if you've been away for a while it might make sense to be sure you get that entry stamp if you plan to avoid travel tax thru exemption.

We didn't have nearly as tough a consulate as Ghana but we really enjoyed the process of putting together the evidence we used to front load the petition. Certainly I would not include 1000s of pages..Or even a random sample of a couple pages per month. I would suggest that you look at your relationship and see the 'milestones' of it's development. Create a outline of what those significant events were (ideally at least one per month but more or less depending on the actualities of it all). Then find conversations, pictures and 'evidence' to support that outline. Heck when we did ours we even had a table of contents with headings and page numbers that was based on out outline... I think doing so presents a compelling easy to follow story of how it was you and he to us. Examples of what you might include... How you first met, how you went from strangers to friends, when you first started considering visiting, when you first professed love for each other, what you planned to do when you visited, Pictures of the two of you together when you did visit, discussion post visit about what was good (and maybe what was not and how you dealt with it). How you will overcome culture differences, Etc. The idea is a theme of how the sampled conversations contributed to a growth of the two of you... I agree with others to be careful of ANY ceremonies/ Family meetings in Ghana etc as this website is littered with people who have been denied in that consulate for supposed marriages. You might even open a separate topic in the Ghana forum for anything that might be questionable in that regard. Best of luck to you and your future husband.

To OP... Rather you want to go the Marriage route or the Fiancee route all depends on how quickly you want to be together and how much you can afford to pay for various options. I would suggest the following approach... Assuming you want to be together ASAP and are willing to spend a bit more money on the process...Have your future husband file K-1 ASAP.. Pre-load that application with evidence to make it easier for you at interview... Have him Plan to be with you at the interview figure 6-9 months from the filling date. Have him plan to spend extra time in the Philippines on that trip. While you are waiting for the process to run it's course have your future husband search for and acquire a better job... Have him file income taxes for prior years even if the money he made would not have him have to pay taxes... Once he has a better job or is taking steps to secure a better job the chances of being approved with his dad as co-sponsor goes higher. Now... if you are NOT approved plan it so that he can Marry you if you are denied you can then file CR1 immediately... You will have lost only a few months time considering it would likely take a couple of months before you could get married anyway. The disadvantage of this approach is with the K-1 if approved you won't be able to work or leave the USA for 3-6 months after you arrive depending on marriage date and AOS application date and processing time for the EOS card. With CR1 it takes longer to get to the USA but when you arrive you can work immediately. Only you can balance those priorities. If you future Husband does not secure a better job (which should be relatively easy if he's in NYC where the minimum wage is I understand 10.50/hour for fast food) then perhaps his Dad can move him from what sounds like off the books to on-the books and pay him a legal wage with the prospect of future promotions. In any case the affidavit of support is an interview time thing so you can start the process now and work on the finances now to present a compelling financial future case at interview.