orangeblossom

My fiancé and I failed the first time we went to the interview together. Yes, we failed at this same embassy. The 2nd time, he went to the interview alone and passed. It's not required for you to go to the interview. Just make sure you have all the supporting documents and proof of relationship evidence ready to go for your wife to take to the interview. I suggest you practice your interview together ahead of time. My fiancé and I practiced our interview 3 weeks every day before the interview. Good luck on your visa journey. 

Orangeblossom, do you have an update on your refiling? I'm also in Seattle. I have my second trip to Phnom Penh planned in June, but don't have any photos of our first visit because we met while I was there as a tourist last November. I'm wondering how many more times I need to go visit him before I can even begin. I'm not sure how many more trips I can afford.

Mysoueng, I refiled the petition in February. USCIS got the paperwork on Feb 12. I'm still waiting for NOA2. The processing center is in CA. They're behind schedule at the moment. Hopefully we no RFE. Are you going the to get engage right away? You can file as soon as you guys meet and engaged. You just have to file within 2 years of meeting each other. I've be there 3 times when my fiancé and I failed our interview. As of now I've been there 4x in less than 18 months from the time I first met my fiancé: With this embassy it's hard to tell how they determine to pass people. Have fun in Cambodia and best of luck on your visa journey!

Ebunoluwa: I thought so too. USCIS is going to let the returned K1 petition collect dust. First thing first I'm going to withdraw my petition anyway just in case. I'll refile when I return from my trip. There will be mountain of evidences to prove that we have a bonafide relationship.

My fiancé and I had already decided that if we fail our 2nd interview we will get married in Dec 2016. I'm able to take 1 month off from work to process the paperwork during that time. For now we're going to just refile and see what happen. I contacted another member on a different forum telling me to wait to hear from USCIS before I withdraw my petition. He said a couple contacted him saying that USCIS contacted them after a denied interview. USCIS didn't believe the CO and is sending back the petition for the couple to have a 2nd interview. During that time they had already married. Things got complicated having 2 cases open and they did not get to attend the 2nd interview.

When I checked the status of my case as of today it said that USCIS received my case. They're in the process of reviewing it and will mail us their decision after reviewing. Status updated Aug 26, 2015. Our interview was the end of May 2015. It's been 4 going on 5 months waiting to hear from them. If I don't hear anything back by the end of October I am going it withdraw my petition and refile.

I'm a 34 year old female petitioner and my fiancé, beneficiary is 38. I did attended the interview with my fiancé in May. They gave us a stoke interview. Long story short- we failed! I did my front loaded my application and surprisingly we got interviewed within 3.5 months from the time I filed. I think front loading really helps speed up the process. I will turn in the same evidence and add some new evidence from my upcoming trip when I refile next month.

During the interview I was already going on my 3rd trip visiting my fiancé. This coming October will be my 4th trip total since the first time I visited him in March 2014. I basically visit him once every 6 month.

It's a long process to get married in Cambodia or else we would've gone that route. We need to get permission from the Ministry of Foreign Affair and the US embassy in order to get married there. The average wait time is over 1 month for approval. I need to stay there for 1 month to process all this and I don't have any personal leave to take 1 month off from work.

I see. That sounds scary. I'm going to read up on returned visa cases and tips on refiling and 2nd interviews.

We would love to start a family soon. Unfortunately that's going to happen anytime soon. Everything is put on hold for now because the CO did not believe us. I pray everyday hoping my fiancé and I pass our 2nd interview. Thank you guys for answering all my questions.

What is PC6 hard marker? I tried googling info on this but couldn't find any. Thank you for answering all my questions. I really appreciate it.

Thank you. How do I know if my petition expire? Does it say on the NOA2? I'll be visiting my fiancé in 2 weeks. Going to be my 4th trip since my 1st visit in March 2014. That's 4 visits in less than 19 months. I will definitely front load my application again with mountain of evidences when I refile.

I am the petitioner and would like to re-file the K1 visa sometime next month.The embassy in Cambodia already returned my petition to USCIS under section 221g. The CO believed our relationship is not genuine. It's been 4 months since the interview and so far I haven't heard anything from USCIS. I checked my case status online and it says USCIS is currently reviewing our case and will send us a mail after reviewing it. Do I have to wait for a letter from USCIS in order to re-file or can I re-file now? I have not withdraw my petition. How do I withdraw my petition and re-file for the same beneficiary? Can I send in a notarized withdrawal letter along with the re-file I-139f application. Or do I have to submit the letter and the I-139f application separately?

Hello

I need a good advice I get my interview in June 30 and the counseled officer give me a paper of DNA cuz me and my fiancé had a son to gather u don't know what to do ?

Any one goes through this before ?

Hodan, I'm not sure. You should create a separate post for this topic. That way more people can see your question and able to come up with a solution. Did you the consulate give you instruction on how to obtain a DNA report? They want proof that you're the father / mother of the baby. I heard DNA testing is very expensive.

Keep me posted too. Thanks!

Orangeblossom, according to you and their red flags, I would definitely fail the interview for sure. I met her last year on my first visit and decided to get engaged. We were introduced by our family members... ughhh... what's going on? I would get all the red flags

You mind if I ask you about your background a little bit? Are you cambodian? I grew up in cambodia and came here when I was 16. I still have lots of relatives back in PP, that's why it was easy and natural for me to go back and find someone. I know her family well too. I guess that's prolly doesn't matter. The Counselor officer prolly dont' care any of that

So how long does it take to re-file K1 vs. CR1? Mine took almost a year just to file K1 the first time, I live in texas so it was submitted to texas service center which is the slowest.

For re-filing, you just down the same K1 and send in the same documents? how do you withdraw your previous K1? which form do we fill out for that?

My case was sent to California processing center. California processing center is like taking the express lane. I filed the petition in February 2015 and my beloved got scheduled for an interview in May 2015. Only 4 months. As you can see our interview didn't went too well. I met my fiancé through my mom on Facebook. We started fb and Skyping with each other January 2014. I went to visit him in March 2014 and then went back in August 2014 for our engagement ceremony. So far I've visited him 3 times. I plan to go back in Sept 2015 and again in Dec 2015 for Christmas break. It'll be 5 visits in less than 2 years before our next interview. I hope we pass our 2nd interview. If not my fiancé and I will file a CR1. That means I will have to stay in Cambodia for 1 month to do paperwork. I can't afford to quit my job and take a month off from work. That's why I refiling is a better option for me. Yes, I will turn in all the same documents but I'll also be adding some more evidence.

You shouldn't give up too easily. Just go to the interview. You never know. You guys might get lucky and pass.

oh man, that sucks!!! and they didn't tell you what other options you have either? like you can do this, do this, and then we might re-consider?

so for CR1, that means you guys would get married and they file CR1? man, from what you told me, i think i will probably have 90% chance of failing the interview too, ughhh... this is hard. i can't barely wait 4 months, this means I have to re-file and wait even longer. I am actually considering moving back to cambodia to live with her there

How many time have you met your fiance before you engaged? This embassy is known to fail folks who engaged during first visit. I know a lot of couple who failed because of this. Another red flag is meeting through family. I'm not going to file CR1. It's too much time consumming and complicated process. I'm just going to refile K1. You can refile right away just be sure to withdraw your current petition when you refile.

I was hoping we could submit once the case number was in hand, as the submission just goes into some server. From what I read elsewhere it seems like waiting on the embassy (which provides no additional or new information, if you already have the case number) just adds a couple months to the interview schedule. What is everyone's opinion on this?

Thanks, and sorry again that you had issues. I am bringing my fiancee and her daughter, I hope having the girl helps build our case.

I would just wait until you get the okay from the embassy to submit DS-160.

Oh yeah! Just FYI. Once you completed DS-160 do not submit it. Submit it when the embassy tells you your case is ready for interview.

They didn't say the reason to why we failed. After turning in mountain of evidence they're still not convinced we're real couple. The only options we have now is to refile or file for a CR1, spousal visa. They failed everyone at our interview. This embassy is tough because of past visa fraud. It just makes it harder for real couple like us to pass. Real couples don't just give up. They will continue to fight until they win this battle.

AkinPA- the medical exam cannot be done until 1 week prior to the interview.

Skip packet 3. You turn in the affidavit of support at the time of the interview. The embassy will mail the petitioner a checklist and invitation letter known as packet 4. It takes about 1 month for the petitioner to get the letter. Meanwhile after your foreign fiance submit DS-160 form don't forget to pay visa interview fee at ACELEDA bank. It's around $265. You'll need a deposit slip to pay the fee. You can print out the deposit slip online. Make sure you keep the receipt. Good luck on the interview! Feel free to ask me if you have anymore quedtions.

Hello guys! Sorry for the late reply. I just got back from Cambodia. Sad to say my fiancé and I did not pass our interview. We're going to refile our K1 petition.

Anyways, Did you get your NOA2 yet? Have you contact the NVC for your case number yet? You can contact NVC for your case number after 2.5 weeks of receiving the letter. Calling them is a pain because the line is always busy. Just keep redialing and you'll get through. The case number is to track to see if the embassy recieved your packet. If you don't want to call you can wait for the NVC to mail you a confirmation letter. The contain your case number. Your foreign fiance can fillout online form DS-160 once the embassy noted that your case is ready for interview. Go ahead and fillout the form and email the embassy the confirmation letter and they will schedule your interview.

Hi Orangeblossom,

I have a few questions I need your help:

1. how to check NVC to see if your case is ready?

2. when is the earliest possible to fill out the DS-160 so to schedule interview appointment? do I wait for NVC to notify me? or US embassy in Phnom Penh to send me the letter?

3. If the Embassy send the letter, they send it to me in US or my fiance in Cambodia?

4. Is DS-160 confirmation page the only thing I need to email them to get an interview appointment? I heard I have to send in I-134 and 169 too? But on the 169 form checklist, I saw I-134 is on the list of documents to bring in to present during the interview. And form169 says don't send anything to the embassy.

Please help.

Chhay8882: hey, I'm in Cambodia at the moment. My interview is tomorrow. Internet connection here is bad. I'll message you later this weekend at home. I'll answer all your questions.

Nvm

By the way once the you get a letter saying the embassy recieve your packet and you're ready to schedule for an interview just go ahead and have your oversea fiancee fill out online form DS-160 and email the confirmation letter to the embassy.

Your petition will be in transit to National Visa Center. They're the one who mail out your paper works to the embassy in Phnom Penh. It'll be a couple to a few weeks until NVC receive your petition packet. You can call them in 2 - 3 weeks to get the case number. NVC call in line is very busy. You have redial 20 times to get a hold of a customer rep. The NVC will send you a letter saying once the send off your stuff.

Holy smokes! You made the embassy sounds like a terrifying torture chamber. ? Thank you for sharing your story with us. I think hearing your past experience prepare us better for the interview. What are some of the other red flags besides engaging the first visit?

I can't believe they made you guys waited so long. So glad to hear that you both are finally together. ? Did you have to pay the Cambodian government any money to get married in Cambodia? I heard it's a few thousand dollars. Not sure if there is any truth to this.

I front load our petition when I filed for K1 in February. No RFE or anything. It's a smooth process for our case. Surprisingly the embassy is working really fast for us. This whole process is under 4 months.

I started talking to my fiancé in January 2014. After getting to know him through FB and Skype, I took a trip to visit him in March 2014. Then I went back again the end of August 2014 for our engagement ceremony. Several of my immediate family from the United States also attended our engagement ceremony. I'll be flying back to Cambodia next week. It'll be my 3rd trip to Cambodia visiting my beloved fiancé. I'll be attending the interview with my fiancé for moral support.

I have faith and confident that we will pass this interview. I will definitely keep you both posted after our interview.

That's awesome. Thank you for your reply. I had a very good feeling about Friday too. I front load all the evidence when I filed my fiancé petition. I hope we get approve.