Lemchan

I had my visa interview yesterday in Vancouver, and got the visa the same day! Finally, I've made it out of this mess!

Got an interview date from the consulate in Vancouver (Canada) today! I am out of town so I can't tell if they physically sent me packet 4, but apparently at some point in time I gave them my e-mail address, because I got this in my inbox today:

Dear *****,

Please be advised that The International Marriage Broker Regulation (IMBRA) processing has been completed. We are now able to continue with the processing of your fiancé petition. We have scheduled your interview for 14 Sept 2006 at ***** and your appointment letter will be mailed to you at the earliest. Please bring all original documents with their photocopy on the day of your interview.

Thank you.

K Visa Unit

Vancouver, BC

Thank goodness, looks like I've finally made it out of the IMBRA pit. Hopefully more people will be hearing from their consulates soon..

With regards to the formatting, I believe the forum lets you change the font. So you could use a fixed-width font like Courier New to keep the formatting clean, i.e.:

VJ member.........NOA1...NOA2...reop'd...RFE ud...RFE m...RFE b...RFE a...MB...S/C...F/C

rene..............3/8....4/6....6/20.....6/26.....7/3.....7/12....7/13....N....CSC...Argentina

Maria&Robert......3/14...3/30...6/27.....6/29.....7/5.....................N....VSC...Argentina

Mew...............3/19...3/29...6/27.....6/29.....7/5.....7/12............N....VSC...Brazil

etc....

Just my two bits..

I think Mew should put the instructions in big red letters. Poor guy..

Also, I think 6 of us got the "RFE was sent" update on July 6th. Did any of you receive the RFE in the mail yet?

Please let me know. Thanks

Our attorney just called. Ours was sent on July 6 and arrived today.

Haha, yeah, I've gotten that impression from "normal" border crossings I've made in the past.

I work for the government up here, I figure that carries some weight

Right now I am not too worried. Going to have a go at going into the USA in a couple weeks.

. OF course, as I've stated before, I find they usually stop asking questions when they find out where I work (sorta same dept. as them in Canada) and I've wondered if that is just coincidence or plays some sort of role in it all.

I agree they always stop asking questions as soon as I tell them what I do for a living. I believe they place a higher degree of trust in you if you hold a position of trust or responsibility.

Just got my RFE e-mail! Here's hoping the actual RFE arrives quickly.

KEY

RFE u/d- RFE update through USCIS online case status/email

RFE m- Actual receipt of RFE through postal mail

S/C- Service center used by petitioner

F/C- Fiance(e)’s home country

VJ member-----------NOA1--NOA2--reopened—RFE u/d—RFE m—S/C---F/C

Sleepless in OR-----03/06---03/31---06/20------06/26-----07/05---CSC—France

aquelunya-----------03/08---03/02---06/29------none------none----VSC—Israel

Rick2000------------03/08----03/23---?no touch--none------none----VSC-Philippines

ap24-----------------03/10---03/20---06/22-------none-----none----VSC—Poland

mike1972e----------03/13---03/25---06/23-------07/05----none----VSC—Vietnam

Maria&Robert-------03/14---03/30---06/27-------06/29----07/05---VSC—Argentina

Mew-----------------03/19----03/29---06/27------06/29-----07/05---VSC—Brazil

dowd001------------03/20----03/24-----?----------none-----none----VSC—Moscow

am.woman------ ---03/21----03/28---06/22-------none-----none-----VSC—France

abdcas--- ----------03/21----04/04----06/22-------07/06------none----VSC-Maroc

Lewis----------------03/22----04/06---07/05-------none-----none----VSC—Mexico

rlt -------------------03/29----04/17---06/22-------none-----none----VSC—Brazil

Mad Man ------------03/31----04/07----?------------none-----none----VSC-Philippines

lashernyc1----------04/07----04/12---06/28-------none-----none----VSC-Brazil

lemchan-------------04/14----04/25---06/29-------07/06-----none----VSC-Canada

jell ------------------04/17----04/25---06/29-------none------none----VSC-Russia

cdngirl06------------04/18----04/24---06/30-------07/03-----none----VSC-Canada

Xiuyin --------------04/21-----05/01----06/29-------none------none----VSC-China

Added myself..

VJ-------------------NOA1------NOA2-----reopened-----RFE update------RFE mail -------S/C------F/C

Sleepless in OR----03/06-------03/31-------06/20--------06/26------------07/05-----------CSC---France

aquelunya--------03/08--------03/22--------06/29--------none-------------none-------------VSC---Israel

ap24----------------03/10-------03/20-------06/22--------none-------------none------------VSC---Poland

mike1972e------- -03/13-------03/25-------06/23--------07/05------------none------------VSC---Vietnam

Maria&Robert------03/14-------03/30-------06/27---------06/29-----------07/05-----------VSC---Argentina

Mew----------------03/19-------03/29-------06/27---------06/29-----------07/05------------VSC---Brazil

dowd001-----------03/20-------03/24---------?------------none-------------none------------VSC---Moscow

am.woman--------03/21-------03/28-------06/22---------none-------------none-------------VSC---France

Lewis---------------03/22-------04/06-------07/05--------none-------------none-------------VSC---Mexico

rlt ------------------03/29-------04/17-------06/22--------none-------------none-------------VSC---Brazil

Mad Man -----------03/31------04/07----------?-----------none-------------none-------------VSC---Philippines

lashernyc1---------04/07-------04/12-------06/28--------none-------------none-------------VSC---Brazil

lemchan------------04/14-------04/25-------06/29--------none-------------none-------------VSC---Canada

jell -----------------04/17-------04/25-------06/29---------none------------none-------------VSC---Russia

cdngirl06-----------04/18-------04/24-------06/30--------07/03------------none-------------VSC---Canada

Xiuyin -------------04/21--------05/01-------06/29--------none-------------none-------------VSC---China

...where is Canada then, has anyone with a NO2 from Canada been touched?

I'm from Canada and have a NOA2... no touch yet.

I got a touch.. finally.. this morning. Saying that my case has been reopened. So they are not ignoring Canadian NOA2 petitions... just taking their time.

Guys? Guys!!! This just in:

On June 29, 2006, we mailed a notice requesting additional evidence or information in this case. The notice explains in detail what additional material is needed. If you have questions about the notice, what is required, or if 30 days have passed and you have not received the notice. Please contact the service center where you submitted your application during business hours.

I guess Vermont is sending out RFE's to everyone! Yay!

I think "everyone" might be a little premature... some of us have still never been touched at all

Thanks to all who have replied so far.

We all have different experiences, of course, but I generally faced more scrutiny at the Canadian border than my fiance ever did at the US border. There are never any guarantees, but most likely you'll be able to visit. Bring a lease, verification of employment, etc., and if it's feasible, go through one of the Canadian POEs (like Toronto or Calgary) if you're flying in.

I definitely plan on bringing verification of employment. And yeah.. definitely going to be going through a Canadian POE. Hopefully straight from the one in my home city (Edmonton).. the officers at the border generally seem more friendly here than if I fly to say, Toronto then into the US. Probably because they're less busy and therefore less stressed... Toronto is a madhouse.

My SO, David, was just here for 4 weeks. He's British, living in Germany, and entered Detroit via the VWP. The CO asked him the reason for his visit... David told him truthfully that he was here on vacation to visit his fiancee. The CO asked to see his return ticket and cautioned him to be on the return flight or it would "jeopardize the fiance petition" (they said in unison). With a "welcome to the US", David came on in.

Seems fairly painless.. I will be hoping for the same if my fiancee and I decide to do this.

David also had a letter from him employer to validate his ties to Germany, but he wasn't asked to produce any other evidence and so he didn't.

I get the impression that they don't ask for evidence much. If they aren't buying your story, evidence rarely sways them.. though I'd surely still take it. Just in case. And any other evidence I can scare up..

I can't speak from personal experience (oh how I'd love to say I was at that stage!) but I suspect that it will be fine as long as you explain yourself if asked.

I think probably the vast majority of people don't plan a real wedding while waiting on the K-1; I mean, you have no idea how long it's going to take. My fiancee and I did plan a wedding but now it is all threatening to blow up in our face because of the IMBRA mess.

I'm pretty sure the people doing the interviews know this full well and are aware that most people can't present such proof. Evidence of a planned wedding is just one thing among many sorts of evidence you can show them. There are plenty of other ways to show that the engagement is legitimate.

-lem

My fiance and I are discussing getting married at the court house once he gets his K1 into the country. We'd like to immediately be able to put him on my health insurance, as well as have the ability to plan our wedding TOGETHER (planning with a 1000 miles between us takes all of the fun out of it). So our plan is to, as soon as he gets his K1, him to enter the country and within the first few weeks legally marry. Then, we plan on using as much time as it takes to plan a wedding ceremony.

I've read in some places that in interviews they like to see proof of wedding plans. Well, if we follow this plan, we won't have any. If we have other secondary proof (engagment ring receipt, photos, travel stubs, etc.) will that be enough? Or are they pretty adamant about seeing proof of a planned wedding?

Thank you!

I am Lyslinn's fiancee.

First, thank you for replying. Second, I unfortunately have to point out that I think people are getting the wrong idea about what we are asking.

First, to address what you say, it is not a Catholic wedding and we will take what steps are necessary so that no marriage occurs. No pronouncement, no exchange of vows, if necessary scrap the minister and just have a "party" at the hall. That is really not the issue from our perspective.

As to being close to the visa appointment, it looks like we should be- but we're not. All K-1 and K-3 visa petitions filed since March have been recalled from the consulates and are back in the USA (if they had reached NOA2) or have been in the USA all along (if they never reached NOA2) due to the IMBRA law passed in January. The delay at this point is unknown, things are finally moving again, but they now have 10000 petitions to sort through and neither of us are very confident that they can this done, get them back to the consulates, and get us our packet 4, in a timely fashion.

Of course in retrospect, for us to plan the August wedding was a bad idea but we had received assurances from our attorney that it would be plenty of time. And of course we should never have trusted that either but we did. I mean why would you doubt what your attorney says? Live and learn. Now we take her much less seriously. But now all sorts of commitments are made because we did trust her assurance.

The other thing to keep in mind, and I can't remember if Lyslinn mentioned this or not, but she is a grad student and come September there won't be any time at all for us to have a wedding. We could have a civil ceremony of course but the wedding would have to be scrapped. And that is very disappointing for us.

Now, what you said though, about "why don't I just come visit" is really what we are getting at. That's really what Lyslinn is asking. Can I enter the USA while the K-1 visa is in limbo. The answer from our attorney is "NO" but at this point we don't trust everything she says. The answer from VJers is "probably".

Basically what we are asking for is stories and experiences from people who have entered the USA while the K-1 is pending, whether you were successful or not. What were your experiences at the border? What sort of questions were asked by the officials at the border? Were you allowed into the US or denied? Did this affect the consulate interview later? These are the sort of questions we need answered. Particularly experiences from Canadians would be appreciated, since entering the USA from Canada is different than in most parts of the world (the POE is on the Canadian side).

Thanks..

If it's a Catholic wedding it is recorded in there register !!!!!!!!!!!!! That is legal in God's eyes and more important than the License. Can I ask what the rush is for the wedding. Why doesn't he just come and visit. Your NOA@ is in have you gotten packet three. You should be close to you visa appt. WHy doesn't he visit and then do the wedding when it's in.

Just really confused when you'll get your packet 4 any day now if your timeline is correct. Even though it only shows two dates. Some of us waited 3 months to get NOA2

Still no touch or update on my recalled NOA2 petition. But it is good to see that some people in NOA2 are seeing activity, it makes me more optimistic for the process.

Thank you to both zyggy and Yodrack.

I am still, ah, a bit unsettled about attempting a border crossing, but at least now I feel somewhat better informed. It sounds to me like the worst thing that would happen is that I get turned away at the border, and then I have to explain myself when I go to the K1 consulate interview later.

As you say, this is something that my fiancee Lyslinn and myself will have to decide. For the moment we are still playing wait-and-see with regards to the RFEs going out soon but unless USCIS kicks things into overdrive, this is a bridge we will have to cross, it would appear.

I believe Lyslinn asked this already, but if there is anyone reading this thread that has previously done this, whether it ultimately worked or not, I'd love to hear your experiences. I'd be particularly curious about people from Canada that have done this, as when one flies from Canada to the US, the POE is actually on the Canadian side due to special arrangements between our countries.

As I stated earlier, I'm in exactly your position but the "wedding" is in three weeks. You need to bring ties to your country. It is perfectly legal for you to travel into the US (as long as you have a visa waiver program or something similar which I believe Canada does) while you are in the process of filing an 1-29f. As others have said it is good to have proof with you that you intend to return to your home country. My finace is bringing the following:

- Letter of Employment stating he is a full time employee at (insert company name here) and due back at work on the 31st of July.

- Return ticket

- Bank Statements

Another good thing to bring is a copy of any property docs or a lease agreement. Unfortunately my fiancees lease ends mid July and he'll be living with his parents after that so he won't be able to bring this.

Any other suggestions as to what to bring?

When asked what he is doing in the U.S. he will answer visiting his fiance. He has visited me every three months for the last year so this is nothing new and it is not a lie. He is visiting and we're having a party. Once he goes home and gets his visa, he'll come back and we'll have the "marriage."

Three weeks, ouch. You're worse off than us, no doubt..

I myself live at home as well, so also no property documentation or leasing agreements. I can certainly get a letter from my employer. I've heard that a return ticket doesn't mean much in this context (since they often cost almost the same as a one-way) but who knows. It certainly doesn't hurt, in any event!

The only other thing that I, personally, could think of was signed and/or notarized statements from people who know your intention to return. I have no idea what weight these would carry, but it wouldn't hurt.

Definitely open to any suggestions from others..

- lem

Of course, you and Zyggy are right that my answers will be the "best evidence".

But I would also like to be prepared for the possibility, should I attempt to do this, that they would ask for "supporting documentation" as well.. or do they not do that? I admit that I have never been asked for any sort of evidence of anything upon entering the US, never had anything more than a pleasant chat with the immigration officer before getting waved in. Should I expect the same experience?

So basically what I am asking is whether or not there is something more I can do than just answering honestly and truthfully and hoping for the best.

Thanks,

- lem

Lemchan,

Zyggy answered your question already - read his comments again.

Yodrak

As a former POE officer I can tell that some of what your attorney stated is flat out wrong..

That wouldn't surprise me.

There is nothing prohibiting you from entering the US to have a wedding ceremony and then leave to wait out the processing. This is completely legal and it is done all the time. However, your attorney is correct that there is a real possibility that you could be denied entry because of this due to the INA 214B immigrant intent provision. As long as you don't misrepresent yourself in any way, being denied entry due to the 214B immigrant intent provision would have no basis on your pending visa application. It happens all the time.

Do you know of anywhere in the law that I could specifically look to support this. It's not that I don't believe you, just that, if at some point I should have an encounter with an immigration official, at the border, at the consulate, etc., that is not aware of how the law works (they should, of course), I'd like to be able to support my case. If my attorney doesn't know, and that is supposedly her job then it makes me nervous that some officials might not, either.

So know that there is a risk that you will be denied entry to the US (actually at any time, but more so since you've filed the I-129F), but be sure you bring evidence of your ties to Canada. THe best evidence of your intent is yourself in how you answer the questions and what your answers are.

What sort of evidence would be recommended? I don't have a lot of assets here; don't own a house, etc. My fear would be that my pending visa application would be evidence enough for them to say that I don't have strong ties to Canada. Do you have any suggestions of what evidence would be sufficient to convince them otherwise?

The second point I would like to make is that there is a difference between a wedding and a marriage. A wedding is a celebration, a marriage is a legal status. When you get the K1, there is nothing preventing your and your fiancee from performing the marriage at any time. All you need is an officiant and witnesses. For a Civil marriage a judge and two individuals. You can have the wedding celebration either before or after the marriage. However, make sure both of you know what that difference is..

Yes, we are aware of the difference (though I'm sure I am guilty of using the wrong term in the wrong place, often). Our present "alternative" is to have the marriage within 3 months of getting my visa (realistically, probably more like almost-immediately after I get it), and have the wedding next year. Of course though, there is something sentimental about having them both at the same time. Realistically though I recognize that it is looking more and more like that will be impossible.

Hi,

I am Lyslinn's fiance, didn't realize she was posting here until I read this post.

We are basically in "panic mode" over this; back when we filed (yes, I know, we should create a timeline), we were assured by our attorney that there was plenty of time and it would be no problem at all to have an August wedding. Well, she would have been right, if not for the IMBRA mess, but, you know, hindsight being 20-20 and all. In retrospect, we shouldn't have taken what the attorney said at face value, but it's too late to change that now.

We have already considered the possibility, as someone suggested, of me simply travelling to the USA for a "ceremony" but not a "wedding". However I have been advised by my attorney that under no circumstances should I attempt to enter the USA while I have a visa application pending- free trade agreement or not. Although I have no doubt that many people have done exactly that without consequences, with my luck I would be the one person that they decide to dig deeper on, discover the pending visa, and stamp a big fat DENIED on my passport. And once that's on there, that complicates everything in the future.

Of course, she could come here for the same sort of mock ceremony, but that doesn't really solve much since we still lose all of our deposits, and good luck booking any venue at this point in time for August.

As the title says, we are one of the people that was in NOA2 status and are now in limbo, because for whatever reason (some have suggested computer limitations, but at this point I am more inclined to believe that the people answering the phone just make up whatever, in order to get rid of us; there's just been too many conflicting explanations), USCIS seems incapable of generating RFEs for people in NOA2 state. If USCIS got their act together immediately, got our RFE out, we could reply immediately (we've already gathered the data we think they're going to ask for- police report, new I-129F, etc.) and we would still have hope of me squeaking in before the wedding- I don't think Vancouver is that backlogged, barring a huge increase in load due to the reprocessing of recalled petitions. At this point however, and I hate to be negative, I really have very little confidence in the ability of USCIS to fix this all in a timely fashion.

At this point, I think the only ones who have booked flights are my parents, and I don't think cancellation insurance will cover them in this case. Though they might be able to reschedule the flights-- to when, I have no idea. Some of the things we have booked might be flexible with our deposits and bookings, however I don't have a lot of confidence in that, since, after all, they take deposits to prevent people from backing out.

Right now my best consolation is that if we get screwed over, I can keep my current job longer and make money to compensate for what we'll lose on the deposits. Doesn't make me feel much better though, but what can you do. As Lyslinn said though, the more troubling matter is that she has school starting two days after the scheduled wedding date, so the next time we can really plan a ceremony would be for next summer. Needless to say, that would suck.

Still trying to keep a positive outlook, but it's hard.