sidmando

We have our visa interview scheduled in a couple weeks. My question is whether I (the petitioner) have to attend or whether my wife (the applicant) can attend without me. I have had an urgent change of plans and can't make it on the date the interview is scheduled, and I'm worried that if we reschedule it will push us back a couple months. Can anyone advise me on exactly who has to attend the interview? Thanks!

Yes, I have read the FOIA report, including the transcript of her questioning. In that transcript she did mention her work as a waitress, so I'm not sure what they're referring to when they said "she left out..." The questioning was straightforward, and her answers were honest. She did not withhold any information. Reading through the entire FOIA report, I have a hard time imagining how anyone could construe what she did as fraud or misrepresentation. I am including screenshots of the relevant part of the interview. The only thing I can see that the "she left out..." might refer to is that the first time they asked her about what kind of work she did she didn't mention the waitress job, but shortly thereafter she did mention it. Returning to the question of how we should proceed, I appreciate the clarification about the difference between the application being denied and the visa being refused. I didn't understand that previously, and that's why I thought it was risky to go ahead with the interview ASAP. So based on what you've told me, I don't see any harm in going to the interview as soon as we are able to. I would imagine that it is 100% certain that the visa won't be approved since the 5 year bar hasn't elapsed yet, but now I understand the usefulness of the interview in terms of understanding what needs to be done in order to finally overcome the refusal. It seems to me there are two possible outcomes of the interview. 1) They just advise us to wait out the 5 years, or 2) They tell us an I-601 is needed. Would you agree that those are the only possible outcomes of an interview prior to the end of the 5 years?

First off, thank you so much for taking the time to analyze this situation in such detail. I am starting to understand the reason for the differences of opinions among those who have commented. And FYI I have scheduled a consultation with an immigration attorney for this coming week. I agree that the DYI approach is not the right way to get this process completed as soon as possible. And my parents (who are both in their 80s and cannot travel to Peru) have yet to meet their first and only grandchild, so time is of the essence. So, to clarify, if we go to the interview before the bar has expired there is no possibility that the application will be flat out denied on the basis of the bar? In other words, they will either tell us to wait out the bar OR apply for a waiver, but there is no possibility that they will simply deny our application without any further path forward to getting the visa? Is that correct?

So what would be your advice? It seems to me that if we go to the interview before the bar has expired (and without a waiver) we're certain to be denied. But you and Boiler are saying that even if we wait out the 5 years we still might get denied. So does that mean you recommend applying for a waiver before going to the interview, no matter how long the waiver takes? And can you tell from the info I provided which type of waiver I would need?

Family, here are the relevant parts of the Notice and Order of Expedited Removal. Let me know if you see the information you're referring to. I don't see any mention of fraud or misrepresentation.

I just looked it up. It says the applicant must be physically present in the US to apply and that it should be done no less than 60 days before traveling abroad. So that wouldn't work for us. It seems to me that if we wait until near then end of the 6 months of validity of my stepdaughter's visa to bring her to the US it will be less than a year before we are all able to move to the states together. Would you agree that we would be unlikely to have problems bringing my stepdaughter back in if she has been out of the country less than a year? Especially since we can explain that the reason she was out of the country was because we were waiting on her mother's visa?

Can you explain your reasoning? pushbrk has been one of the most consistent participants on my threads, and his advice always seems to be good. He said above that postponing the interview until the bar expires is our best bet. Why do you think that's a bad idea?

How/when/where does one apply for a re-entry permit? How long does it take?

But presumably if we wait until the bar expires then we wouldn't need a waiver at all, right? So it seems to me that trying for a waiver MIGHT speed up the process by a few months IF it goes through quickly, but based on what the consular officer told me at yesterday's interview that seems unlikely. Would you agree that if we just postpone the interview until Sept. of next year we should be in good shape?

Commenters on this site. I don't remember exactly who. I have been trying to understand this issue for over a year. It seems like it should be a pretty straightforward question. If we go to the interview while the ban is still in effect, will that result in a denial of the application? If we wait until the ban has expired will our application be approved assuming everything else is in order (which the fact that my stepdaughter's visa was just approved seems to indicate that it is). And if that's the case, doesn't that mean we should wait until the ban has expired to go to the interview? Lastly, it seems like the waiver process isn't relevant for us at this point, since the ban will be over in 1 year, and waiver applications are currently taking 1-2 years to process.

I have the documentation of her expedited removal, and it specifically states that she is prohibited from entering, attempting to enter, or being in the US for a period of 5 years from the date of her removal. So is your opinion that we should go ahead and do the interview as soon as we can, even though the ban is still in effect?

So you're saying that there is no risk that the application will be flat out denied if we go to the interview before the ban has expired? I have gotten conflicting advice on this point. Some people have said we will be automatically denied if the ban is still in effect and that we should therefore postpone the interview until after the ban has expired. Can anyone shed light on this issue?

Well the interview won't happen for over a year, unless I am not understanding the situation correctly. Based on everything I've been told, if we go to the interview while the entry ban is still in effect we will be automatically denied. So my current plan is to postpone the interview until after the 5 year period has ended (Sept. '23). Am I understanding the situation correctly?

I'm confused. Why would she be subject to additional bans? And what would be the purpose of applying for a waiver if her ban is going to expire before a waiver could be granted?

As I said above, the consular officer at yesterday's interview told us that waivers are currently taking 1-2 years to process, so obviously that doesn't help us.

Yes. Per the advice I received on this forum, we included all of that in her work history in the visa application.

The reason she was denied re-entry was because she was suspected of working illegally. In the document for her removal it states that she was in violation of the terms of her tourist visa because she unlawfully obtained work on a previous visit.

She was removed from the US. More specifically, she was denied re-entry when she traveled back to Peru and tried to come back to the US. They didn't let her in and sent her back to Peru. At that time she was issued a document from the US Dept of Homeland Security stating that she is prohibited from entering the US for a period of 5 years.

What will happen if she spends more than 6 months outside the US? Since it will be over a year before my wife is able to travel to the US, it would require 2 trips in order to avoid my stepdaughter not being outside of the US for 6 months.

Yes, option #1 seems like the best way forward. Can you confirm that as long as my stepdaughter enters the US (even if it's just for a few days) she will then be able to come & go freely?

The waiver would be needed to get my wife's visa issued before her entry ban expires. She will probably be given a visa interview within the next few months (that's how long it took for my stepdaughter), but my understanding is that she will be denied the visa if we go ahead with the interview while the entry ban is still in effect. Apparently there is a waiver process to get the entry ban overturned, but that process takes so long that it is not a viable option for us at this point. So my understanding is that what I will have to do is postpone my wife's interview until after the entry ban has expired. Is that correct?

There has been significant progress on my applications for my wife and stepdaughter since I last posted, but now there is a new complication that I need some guidance on. We had the visa interview for my stepdaughter yesterday, and it was approved with no problems. So that's great news. The problem is with my wife's application. She was finally DQ'd a week ago. The problem is that she is still subject to a 5 year entry ban (due to having worked illegally in the US before I met her), which still has one year to run. We were considering applying for a waiver, but the consular officer yesterday told me that in the era of COVID waivers are taking 1-2 years to process. So the problem is that my stepdaughter's visa will expire before my wife's entry ban is over. It seems to me there are two possible paths forward. 1) I could travel to the US with my stepdaughter in order to use her visa before it expires. (My wife and I have been married for over 2 years, so my understanding is that a green card will be immediate/automatic in our case. Is that correct?) Can anyone advise whether this is a viable option? If my stepdaughter travels to the US and then comes right back to Peru, will she be able to come and go freely after that? 2) Extend my stepdaughter's visa until my wife receives hers. Does anyone know how this would work? The consular officer said a new medical exam would be necessary, which is fine. But is there a limit on how long the visa can be extended? As always, thanks in advance for any & all advice. I couldn't have gotten this far without all of your help!

I just received an email from NVC informing me that they have scheduled an interview for my stepdaughter in September. The problem is that my wife's application hasn't even been DQ'd yet. Since my understanding is that the applicant must enter the US within 6 months of receiving their visa, my concern is that if we go ahead with the interview for my stepdaughter and my wife's process stretches out another year we could have problems entering the country since my stepdaughter's visa will have been issued more than 6 months prior. I'm guessing the right move is to postpone my stepdaughter's interview until my wife's interview is scheduled. Does that seem like the right way to go at this point?

Yes, my stepdaughter's application was DQ'd with the same financial/tax info. The rental properties are in the US. Cool, I'll write a statement with additional explanation & bank statements. Thanks!