creativeliza

did they say that the reason for the denial was the fact that he was not resident there? also what type of visa did he have when you met and when you started filing for him at the dominican embassy? and what type of visa does he have now to be there?

He came on a business visa and it was still valid when he applied but they wouldn't accept any of our evidence of living together because he didn't have residency. I then found out that it is an automatic denial without residency. He is currently in the process of getting his residency now.

We have an unusual case. My fiancé is from India but we met in the Dominican Republic. We filed for a fiancé (K-1) visa last April (2010) and we had our interview in November. We were denied the visa and although they said it was because they didn't believe we were really a couple, the red flag appears to be that he did not have a residency visa in the Dominican Republic and although he wasn't illegal there, that automatically made him ineligible for the K-1 visa.

We were devastated by the denial but our best option seemed to be for my fiancé to get residency, us to get married and then reapply for the visa as a couple. Months went by as we gathered money and documents to do this. Meanwhile, we did not formally appeal the decision.

Then, out of the blue, I get an email stating "Post-Decision Activity" and it said:

Your Case Status: Post Decision Activity

On March 9, 2011, a USCIS office received this case from the State Department with a request that we review it. We will notify you when we complete our review, or if we need something from you. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address or call our customer service center at 1-800-375-5283.

For approved applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include USCIS sending notification of the approved application/petition to the National Visa Center or the Department of State. For denied applications/petitions, post-decision activity may include the processing of an appeal and/or motions to reopen or reconsider and revocations.

I asked a friend of mine who is an immigration lawyer about this and she said she had never heard of the State Dept. reviewing a case if a formal appeal had not been filed and that perhaps it was due to the fact that technically the US Consultate in the Dominican Rep. did not have juristiction on the case because my fiancé was not a resident of the country. Filing from India is not an option however.

Does anyone have any experience with a situation like this or could offer guidance? We want to get married but not void our chances if this case will be reopened. Not sure what to do.

I am a US citizen and have been living in the Dominican Republic without residency for the past 8 years. My fiance is from India and he has been living in the Dominican Republic for the past 2 years on a visa that allows him multiple entrances. Recently we had our k-1 interview and were denied principally because my fiance did not have residency in the Dominican Republic.

So our plans are for my fiance to apply for residency immediately and in January we will marry. I have a friend who is an immigration lawyer and she got her visa via DCF and she said that if we both had residency we could do that as well as soon as we got our residency, as long as we could prove we had been living there for more than 6 months. However, the documentation on this site says it needs to be a legal residency for 6 months. Are there any exceptions to this?

We have been in the visa process for 8 months and got turned down so we want the quickest way. Residency only takes 2-3 months so if we could apply right away that would be great but if we have to have 6 months of residency legally then we are looking at 9 months.

There is no information on the Dominican Republic embassy website on DCF.

Just thought I'd share that we finally got our interview date, Nov. 3rd. I'm flying to Santo Domingo Oct. 31st. A little nervous about the sponsorship part, we need to do it all in assets, but hoping for the best.

So how many of us are still waiting for the interview date? The consulate in the Dominican Republic releases the upcoming interview dates once a month. We weren't on the list for the October interviews so we are hoping for November.

It's been 2 months since the consulate got the petition approval. Who else is waiting?

You need to do both. They have to review the documents to verify authenticity.

I want to know which one of these do you do?

Do I, take this sheet to any Banco Popular branch in the Dominican Republic to pay the non-fundable visa application fee of the equivalent of US$140.00 in Dominican pesos and an additional non-refundable fee of US$15.00 (the equivalent in Dominican pesos) plus applicable taxes per applicant.

Or pay US$210.00 the day of the interview in the Consular Section. Or Both.Please advise me cause appointment is the 1st week of October.

Thank you.

I want to know which one of these do you do?

Do I, take the sheet to any Banco Popular branch in the Dominican Republic to pay the non-fundable visa application fee of the equivalent of US$140.00 in Dominican pesos and an additional non-refundable fee of US$15.00 (the equivalent in Dominican pesos) plus applicable taxes per applicant.

Or

Pay $210.00 the day of the interview in the Consular Section.

Or Both.

Please advise me cause appointment is the 1st week of October.

Thank you.

I want to know which one of these do you do?

Do I, take the sheet to any Banco Popular branch in the Dominican Republic to pay the non-fundable visa application fee of the equivalent of US$140.00 in Dominican pesos and an additional non-refundable fee of US$15.00 (the equivalent in Dominican pesos) plus applicable taxes per applicant.

Or

Pay $210.00 the day of the interview in the Consular Section.

Or Both.

Please advise me cause appointment is the 1st week of October.

Thank you.

thanks for all the info. it's very likely that there won't been a need to travel but i wanted to know the facts. my fiancé has been living away from his home country (india) in the dominican republic and he has a visa for there but he has been away a long time. he just wants to know he could travel back to india if there was a family emergency.

Depends on you. Approximately 60 days after you file for it. You can file for it (I-131) as soon as you get married (for $340) OR wait until you file for AOS and it is no additional charge. You can file for AOS ($1010) as soon as you are married and have a certified marriage certificate in hand.

The AP is a document which allows you to LEAVE and RE-ENTER the United States. It is NOT permission to enter another country. We found this out when Alla got her AP and we headed up to Canada and were turned away at the border, she had no visa to enter Canada and no green card. Fortunately it is a 10 minute drive so nothing lost. She could, of course, have returned to her home country. We got the green card less than a week later.

If working or traveling soon after entering the US is a priority for you, the K-1 is not a good visa to choose.

If one successfully completes the K-1 process, comes to the US and marries, how quickly can the applicant get papers to come and go from the US?

I am confused by all the abreviations. I figure that NVC must be National Visa Center but what is AVR and DOS (Department of State?)?

Hi,

So we got our NOA2 (yay!) and I know that next comes the medical exam, interview, etc. but I have some questions.

• Does the consultate the case contact us and if so how? I ask because our consulate is in the Dominican Republic and very unreliable.
  
• Who answers questions about whether our documentation is sufficient? I am the US petitioner and have been divorced twice. First time with an American. For that I have the divorce decree with raised seal and also the divorce sentence. Does it need to have the apostile as well or because I'm american this is sufficient? Both documents come from the court where the divorce took place. The second divorce was with a Dominican and I have all the stamps for that.
  
• How long does it normally take from NOA2 until interview?

Thanks,

Eliza

Good news, my "touch" was more than that. Woke up to an email from USCIS that our petition has been approved! Woo hoo!

Hope that means you're about to receive some good news!

And, in the meantime, I might just have to "move" for some proof that my case still exists.

good luck. i was worried about the same thing. i have a little hope now. i filed earlier than you though so maybe they are getting to you.

touched today! i think it was only because i updated my address, but i'm really hoping it's a sign of good things to come this week for those of us still waiting...

Me too! I couldn't believe it when I saw the updated date as today and I didn't do anything so it gives me hope! Here's to the tail end… may we all get processed ASAP

I filed on April 2 and am still waiting. My file was "touched" on April 22 when I updated my address. Should I be worried that there hasn't even been a touch since, never mind communication of any kind?

I filed April 1st and still no word on the NOA2. Looks like the Haitian earthquake really slowed things down this year, especially for those filing from the same island (my fiance is from India but living in the Dominican Republic). I pray we hear something SOON...

Congratulations! I guess all the April filers are in "waiting mode" now. Since there didn't seem to be too many VSC April filers the more the merrier!

I hope we start seeing the NOA2 coming soon. From what I can tell, the CSC is processing quickly and those that filed there in April should be getting their NOA2s soon. My application was received April 1 so I'm hoping to get it soon. Still no news…

The physical meeting is a requirement for the K1. The meeting must have taken place is the past two years prior to filing K1 petition and you must provide phisical proof of such meeting. I do not think there is any way around it, never have seen a waiver for that. If there is a waiver then You must file affidavit of support at interview stage before visa is issued or denied to prove that the alien fiance will not become a public charge if addmitted into the US, if your income is less than 125% of poverty line then you can have a co-sponsor file with you to help meet income requirement. If you are experiencing financial hardship that is going to be an issue also. Good luck and good bless . PLease keep us posted as to the outcome of your K1 petition. It is a very interesting sitiuation..

From what I understand, the only way around not physically meeting is if it is an arranged marraige and you can document why for religious or cultural reasons a meeting before marraige is not allowed. The other issue you might have is the financial one as mentioned above so that's difficult. You need an affidavit to show that you have the financial support to bring your partner to the US. I wish you luck.

I finally got my case # after I called the USCIS office. I didn't realize that they just mail the NOA1; I thought it was also emailed and it was 19 days before I found out. The address I put on the form was where I am living now which is overseas. Good thing I called because they don't mail to overseas addresses. So once I updated the address to where I will be living in the US, they gave me my case # and will send the NOA1 there.

One lucky thing was that they did go ahead and start processing the petition even though they couldn't mail the NOA1. It's a good thing to know for the few of us that are living overseas while applying for the K-1 for our fiance.

Thanks, I feel better then.

I have confirmation from certified mail that the petition arrived on April 1st but I still haven't gotten my NOA1. Has anyone else had this happen? From what I can tell it seems like this step happens fast so I'm confused as to why 20 days later still no word. Also I'm wondering as to how people get the NOA1 notification. I am hoping it is via email because had a little confusion as to what to put for my address. I'm living in the Dominican Rep. with my fiance so I listed our physical address here and on the cover letter I put our mailing address through Business Mail. I should have just put the address in the States where we will stay with my mom at first but I didn't think of that when I mailed the petition.

There shouldn't be a problem. I'm in a similar situation. Ironically my fiance is from India and we both are living in the Dominican Republic. I know that our documents will be handled by the consulate here.

Yes, our application arrived yesterday according to certified mail. Awaiting NOA1

I am not a permanent resident of the Dominican Republic so I don't think that would apply to me.

I am in an unusual situation. I am American living in the Dominican Republic. I met my fiancé here who is from India. We just started the K-1 petition so we can marry and move (move back) to the US. I was wondering if there were others in my situation where you are living abroad, want to return to the US and marry but your fiance is not from the country you are living in?