fil01

I care. The OP cares. The OP's friend who got denied cares. I'll bet the friend's fiancé cares. Isn't that enough for you?
I'm calm. Why are you getting upset over the discussion in this thread?
Why don't you read the OP's post above and tell me how this thread has been hijacked.

I see you haven't noticed that everyone except you is discussing the reasons why the OP's friend could have gotten an RFE. Instead of discussing the issue, you've decided to anoint yourself the thread police. Since you are so bored and have nothing to contribute, why don't you go rant on some other thread.

Please don't twist my words. Where did I say that new evidence "may" come out after the petition is submitted? Here's what I said:
...it is impossible to make sure there is no new information when the beneficiary interviews at the Embassy.
...the Consular Officers will definitely have specific evidence which is unavailable to DHS at the time of petition approval. Where did you get the idea that they wouldn't?
...it's impossible for the USCIS to have all of the evidence when they initially adjudicate the petition because they only have the evidence from before the petition was submitted, and nothing from then until the Embassy interview.
Also, you can hedge your argument all you want by saying that red flags "generally" don't change over time. This demonstrates a lack of knowledge about the K-1 process. Red flags can and do change over time. An example of this is when a petitioner and a beneficiary have not visited each other for almost two years by the time the petition is filed with the USCIS. After the petition is filed, they visit each other two or three times. I'd say that's a pretty big change, not to mention it's new information.
Further, Ellis' article only focuses on a few obvious rudimentary examples of some potential red flags on the petitioner's side of things, and he says nothing about the beneficiary's red flags other than to acknowledge that there may be some. Additionally, you ignored my comment about the beneficiary's documents which are submitted at Embassy interview, and not the USCIS. Wouldn't all of these documents be new information? Please keep in mind that Ellis has a bias; he's trying to sell something. More disturbingly, he doesn't seem to know that, despite an approved K-1 petition's four-month validation period, the USEM routinely revalidates them for up to one year.
Finally, even though you don't want to give a straight answer, there's a very good reason why you haven't seen the USCIS deny a K-1 petition for failure to prove a bona fide relationship before it's been to the Embassy level...because it doesn't happen! If it did happen, a person with your bona fides would have no problem providing a single case where it did happen.

By the way, the USEM requires K-1'ers to bring evidence of a genuine relationship to their interview. The following is from the USEM's interview instructions:
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS. It is important that you submit ALL of the following documentation to facilitate the processing of your application.
~clip~
EVIDENCE OF A GENUINE ENGAGEMENT. You must be prepared to prove to the consular officer that you have a genuine relationship with your petitioner and a clear intention to marry within 90 days of admission into the U.S. In the past, successful applicants have submitted photographs, letters, e-mails, phone records, bank records, and remittance records as evidence supporting their relationships and intent to marry.
Link to USEM K-1 interview instructions.

One of the the problems with your logic is that, even assuming a petition is front-loaded, and even assuming that the USCIS looks at the front-loaded evidence of a bona fide relationship, it doesn't take into account all of the evidence of a bona fide relationship which occurs from the time the K-1 petition is initially submitted by the petitioner to the USCIS until the time of the USEM interview, nor does it take into account other documents that the beneficiary must submit to the USEM during the interview which, if submitted with the initial petition, would be outdated by the time of the interview. So, as you can see, it is impossible to make sure there is no new information when the beneficiary interviews at the Embassy.
Your interpretation of the paragraph is just plain wrong. At the USEM, the Consular Officers will definitely have specific evidence which is unavailable to DHS at the time of petition approval. Where did you get the idea that they wouldn't?
Marc Ellis' article is not agreeing with you. Read this part of Ellis' article again:
What does that language mean? It means an approved petition is prima facie evidence of eligibility for an immigrant visa, unless a consular officer finds substantial evidence of ineligibility. More importantly, this evidence must have been unknown and unavailable to DHS at the time it approved the petition. That is the nearly the whole game for your client right there, in a few words.
As I said above, it's impossible for the USCIS to have all of the evidence when they initially adjudicate the petition because they only have the evidence from before the petition was submitted, and nothing from then until the Embassy interview.
Jim's post does not agree with you either:
USCIS does not interview either the petitioner or beneficiary, nor do they evaluate evidence of a bonafide relationship during the petition approval process. The consular officer is the first one to see any of this evidence, which makes it abundantly easy for the consular officer to produce evidence which was "generally unavailable to DHS at the time of petition approval". This is, in fact, how the overwhelming majority of denied petitions end up being sent back to USCIS. The consular officer is claiming that the visa was denied based on evidence discovered during the interview, and they're recommending that USCIS revoke the approval of the petition.
diavitirio...please link me to anyone whose K-1 petition was denied by the USCIS for failure to prove a bona fide relationship without the petition ever having reached the USEM level.

The link you posted again is titled "This article focuses on the return of approved family-based IV petitions by consulates and how to represent clients in DHS revocation proceedings."
Firstly, a k1 visa is NOT a "family-based immigrant visa" and secondly, it AGAIN refers to "the return of .... petitions by consulates".
But you are correct that he refers to K1 visas, incorrectly, as IV's.

USCIS does not interview either the petitioner or beneficiary, nor do they evaluate evidence of a bonafide relationship during the petition approval process. The consular officer is the first one to see any of this evidence, which makes it abundantly easy for the consular officer to produce evidence which was "generally unavailable to DHS at the time of petition approval". This is, in fact, how the overwhelming majority of denied petitions end up being sent back to USCIS. The consular officer is claiming that the visa was denied based on evidence discovered during the interview, and they're recommending that USCIS revoke the approval of the petition.
What that cable is stating is that the consular officer can't cite evidence that was included with the original petition as a reason for denying the visa unless they are also implicating "clear error on the part of DHS". And yes, this also occasionally happens. USCIS does make mistakes, and consular officers do sometimes catch those mistakes. But this scenario is far less common than the discretionary denial I described above.
This is why red flags should be addressed by frontloading the petition. This makes it more difficult for the consular officer to claim that USCIS didn't know about it when the petition was approved.

IT'S NOT AN IMMIGRANT PETITION!!! A fiance visa is a non-immigrant visa :S
What petition are you talking about? Are you talking about the K1 petition? Because evidence of relationship is not a requirement. If you're talking about the visa application that's not a petition.
The embassy's authority is not limited. THEY decide whether to approve or deny your application for a visa. THEY decide whether to send your visa application for revocation. then you wait 6+ months for USCIS to readjudicate your petition and decide whether to reaffirm or deny. The embassy's power is much stronger than you seem to think it is.
I'm sorry but you do not know what you are talking about in regards to K1 petitions/visa applications. They are different to spousal visa applications/petitions.
They are NOT married. It's a FIANCE VISA APPLICATION!! You are talking about front loading which does sometimes help but not always.
Evidence of relationship (NOT MARRIAGE) is presented at the embassy stage and the EMBASSY determines whether your relationship is valid or not.
You are very naive about this whole process.

Yes. USCIS only adjudicates the petition. They make sure that the USC is eligible to petition someone, they make sure they've met in the last 2 years, make sure they're free to marry and then forward the petition to the EMBASSY where the beneficiary is sent information to apply for their VISA.
At the VISA stage this is where the EMBASSY asks for medicals, police checks, proof of relationship etc etc. You do not send proof of relationship with the petition application. Some people do, this is called "front loading" but most do not because it's not a requirement, unlike the spousal visa (I-130) application which DOES require evidence of bonafide marriage to be sent with the application.

The link you posted is for returned visa applications recommended for petition revocation per the SUBJECT HEADING in the link you posted "SUBJECT: SOP 61: GUIDELINES AND CHANGES FOR RETURNING DHS / USCIS APPROVED IV AND NIV PETITIONS".
This relates to when the EMBASSY determines the relationship isn't petitionable (whether fake or whatever) and returns the file to USCIS for revocation of the petition.

You are misreading. For a K1 there are TWO separate processes. The K1 petition stage (mentioned in your quote above) and the K1 visa stage. The petition is adjudicated prior to reaching the embassy. That's when the petition is approved (they have sufficient evidence that they met in person and meet all the requirements to APPLY for a visa), then it gets sent to the embassy where the EMBASSY decides whether the relationship is valid or not.
If the EMBASSY determines that the relationship isn't valid then they return the application to USCIS to get the petition revoked. If USCIS reaffirms the petition then the embassy with schedule a second interview for the visa application. If USCIS revokes the petition approval, they need to refile.

That's for cases that are RETURNED to USCIS for further review, and even so, if USCIS wants to reaffirm a case, they send it to the Embassy for a 2nd interview; which leaves the Embassy with full control again.
What Tahoma said was correct.

Once again, this is not a spousal visa case.
It's a fiancé(e) visa case. The U.S. Embassy Manila decides whether it's a bona fide relationship, not the USCIS.

The OP is asking about a K-1 case.
If you know of any K-1 cases where the USCIS denied/RFE'd them because they lacked proof of an ongoing/bona fide relationship, would you kindly provide a link.

Are you referring to the fiancé(e) petition process or the spousal petition process? As Tahoma stated, the main requirement for the I-229F to be approved by USCIS is showing that you've met within two years and supply the various documentation requested. Any front-loaded documentation that shows proof of an ongoing relationship is more for the embassy/consulate side, which is not part of the same department or agency as USCIS.

The USCIS service center did not send the petitioner an RFE because, at that level of the K-1 process, it's not required to prove a bona fide relationship. The Embassy determines whether a relationship is bona fide. The USCIS looks at whether the couple met face-to-face within two years prior to filing the petition.
Did the Embassy issue her Form MNL-IV-22 (221g)? If so, what exactly did it say?
Maybe her visa was not denied. Maybe it was refused. If it was refused, then she can submit more evidence.

Um, YES! Who was the person married to, Americans or foreigners? Why would you want to marry someone that showed their level of commitment to marriage with 6 divorces?

There is a reason you started this thread.

In my opinion, anyone who has been divorced six times has a problem which love won't solve.

Never seen someone been married 6 times going on seven times I have no clue but personally I would say it's a problem. GOOD LUCK

Personally, I'd stay away. 6 times???

i agree

You seem to think everything is okay because he wasn't the one who filed for divorce. For me, it's a huge red flag.
By the way, it takes more than love to make a marriage work.

My opinion:
1. Petitioner must attend the interview
2. Submit an I-864 or I-864A from the joint sponsor
3. Don't forget to focus on the strong points of your case
4. If all else fails, ask the consular officer to marry you right then and there.

Updated ideas to help you build the best case possible...
From your fiancé:
- I-134 or I-864 or I-134+I-864
- Six months of current pay stubs
- ITR's from the last 3 years.
- Tax transcripts from the past three years
- W-2's / 1099's from the past three years
- Employer's letter
- Notarized letter stating his promise of support
- Updated letter of intent to marry
And from his mom:
- Proof of citizenship or lawful permanent residence (U.S. passport?)
- I-134 and I-864 or I-864A or I-864A+I-134
- Six months of current pay stubs
- ITR's from the last 3 years
- Tax transcripts from the past three years
- W-2's / 1099's from the past three years
- Employer's letter
- Notarized letter stating her promise of support
Also needed:
- This stuff.