SammyD

Unfortunately, this is the response I got.....

"Dear Petitioner,

While the provisions of immigration law permit the issuance of a visa to a K2 applicant up to one year after the issuance of the K1 principal applicant, admission of aliens to the US is the clear purview of the Department of Homeland Security and they have the prerogative to refuse entry to anyone regardless of the possession of a visa. By law their decision in the case will be final.

Immigrant Visa Unit, US Embassy Bangkok"

To my inquiry......

"On last Thursday, September 20th, I travelled with my wife and K-2 step-daughter from Bangkok back to the US. At the US arrival airport (MSP), CBP said that they could not admit her since she arrived more than one year after the original entry date of her K-1 mother. The mother’s (Piemsiri Ketniem) K-1 visa issue date was August 3, 2011 and her US entry date was August 13th. The K-2’s (Onphimon) visa issue date was June 27, 2012 which was within the one year of the K-1 visa issue. The expiration date on the K-2 visa is December 25, 2012, so we expected no problems with the September 20th arrival.

CBP has given her a 30 day parole for us to meet with a Deferred Inspections Officer. Can you provide any further clarification or explanation that I can take to the deferred inspections meeting?

Thank you for your help in this manner.

Best regards,

Sam"

So I guess they didn't want to take any stand for fear of mis-stating something.

Thanks for the reply and assurances. I thought that I had had that assurance from the Bangkok consulate in an email but when I went back to it at the CBP office at the airport, it wasn't so black and white. It only said the K-2 visa needed to be issued prior to the K-1 visa issue date and was silent on the entry date. This was clear enough to me but still was not to the CBP. I will send an email back to consulate with the problem to get a clearer opinion from them. Thanks again.

Hi All,

I thought we had everything in order....after all the waiting with the K-1, AOS.....but my step-daughter was denied admission upon our arrival last week. At least she is in the country on a 30 day parole but we need to back for a meeting with a deferred inspection officer. At the POE, the CBP said that they could not admit since she arrived more than one year after the K-1 fiance which was true. However, I had asked the Bangkok embassy this directed and their response seemed to imply that we only needed to have the K-2 visa issued within a year of the K-1 visa being issued. Nothing about the actual date of entry into the US for the K-1. The visa issued had 6 months validity which was past the entry date. Everything that I saw on here and elsewhere said this was case. So is CBP just flat out wrong? Or is the Bangkok embassy in error for the issuing the K-2 with valid dates that extended past the 1 year entry date?

Thanks,

Sam

So does my senators and congresswoman. I called and talked directly with the congressional aide that handles immigration issues. He had a request in to the USCIS the same day, after I faxed in the form. For the senator, I just sent things in and did not talk directly, they got the same reply to us that the congressional aide did, except it came about 4 days later. We had the approval notice 6 days (4 business days) after the reply to the congressional aide.

Yours must carry more weight than mine. Now going on 20 days since they got the response back from USCIS that they were working on our case.

Congrats!

So the transfer notice date is probably the key indicator. Ours is the 28th. If that is putting us at least another 2 weeks out.

Thanks,

Sam

Any idea what "evidence" we can show the embassy for "legal status"?

The situation is that we are now trying to get my wife's daughter (my step-daughter now) here on the K-2 "follow to join". But my wife's GC is not yet approved. For a number of reasons we did not apply for the AP thinking that the GC would be approved well before the one year period expired for the K-2 and my wife would make a trip back to visit family and such and the daughter would return with her. Well, it is getting close to that so we wanted to get the K-2 approved. I explained the situation through e-mail with the embassy and they said to go ahead and make the interview appointment. But the consular officer denied the K-2 until we provided copy of GC or evidence of "legal status". My wife's brother went to the interview as the guardian and he should have showed them the NOA for the I-485, marriage certificate, etc. I have gone back to the embassy again for confirmation but am still waiting for a response.

Nothing on ours as while.....receipt date of Dec 5, 2011.

Have any December AOS been approved lately from CSC? Ours was transferred already in late Dec but still waiting since that time.

Yay! Things are moving now. Have the NVC letter now dated May 3rd. Hope to get packet #3 soon.

PS. Along with the case number the NVC letter also had the bar code.

Morning Sammy,

You're welcome. ... What is this you also read the case number is sufficient??? After what I just posted back to you???

IF IT DOES NOT COME FROM NVC or EMBASSY you do not follow those [unofficial] instructions! Why do you think I called in for the official directions and back it up with their phone numbers so you, or anyone else can call them in case anyone has to hear it for themselves?! Did I just waste my time here? I hope not.

Unless you are willing to undergo delays and more waiting, I wouldn't follow any unofficial anything! I will state this very clearly here: THEY HAVE NO WHERE TO PUT YOUR FILE IF THEY DO NOT HAVE THAT BAR CODE AT THE EMBASSY LEVEL! So you send in your file without copy of this sheet, and then? Where's your file located after that!? Nobody knows and this is what the DOS Main office told me, as well as the NVC.

I don't know where you read that and it's up to you if you go ahead. If you do, good luck. But for me and I'm sure many others, it is not worth the risk not to follow instructions. Simple and true.

Mari

PS: Regarding the electronic Alert? You can call and find out and then let us all know in your next post! OK?

Ok ok. I have been warned and bashed. Hahahahahahah....and no you did no waste your time. Thank you very much. It has been one week now so can call the NVC for update.

Sam

[/color]I called the NVC this morning on your question SammyD, and they told me that we need the Bar Code ID paper which they send us from Embassy with Packet #3 ( Identification purposes so our file doesn't get lost?).

This Bar Code paper gets sent back with our Bene's required documents prior to their interview. *I recommend you make a copies of this since it ID's our file. *

In case you have any questions regarding your Bene's Embassy, I am leaving you with fone #'s for NVC & the Main Visa Office which deals directly with each Embassy!

Here is the NVC: 603-334-0700

(press 1 for English, 5 for human to speak with you). They will ask you for Beneficiary's name and Date of Birth. Then ask same of Petitioner. They will confirm your phone # & email addy.

Here is the US Dept of State -- Main Visa Office in Washington DC: 202-663-1225

You call this one when NVC cannot answer your question only. They (NVC) typically will refer you to this one when they're unsure about your Embassy specifically & you cannot get a hold of your bene's embassy yourself.

Love to you all!

Mari

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Thanks for calling in on this. I had read about the Bar Code (making it easier on their end to bring up electronically) but also read that the case number is sufficient.

Will I receive an alert (via e-mail or text) similar to what I got from USCIS when NVC and then the consulate gets the file? Or should I call into NVC after a week?

Thanks,

Sam

So here is a question. Can we shorten the turn around time but mailing in the packet 3 documents as soon as we have the case number and the file has been received by the consulate? This assumes that we know any specific details that might come from this particular consulate.

Exactly!

YEAH! Got our NOA2 e-mail. Now trying to make sure all in order for packet 3 reply.

Hi All,

Newbie here.....how do I get my info added to the Decemberite list?

Thanks,

Sam

SammyD, we never see you in the Dec 2010 K1 Thread? How come? Here's the link: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/287508-december-filers/page__st__615

Mari

Hi Mari,

To be honest, although I did register and used this site as an aid for putting together our application, I do not come here that often. After my fiancee got worried when two of her visa group friends got interview notices and they had submitted after us, she got worried so I came on here yesterday to check out if any news on timelines.

Thanks, I will check out that thread.

Sam

SammyD, I know one of those was a military expedite. The other I do not know if it was an expedite or not. I am a September filer and it took almost 5 months for my NOA2.

Thanks. Feedback from my fiancee suggested that one was a retired consulate officer (where unknown) so thought that some strings might have been pulled on that one. I was not overly worried as I am just over 3 months now but when she heard of the second one going for interview and they had applied after us, she was worried that there was something wrong with our application. So I rechecked USCIS status and then came on here to check....and then saw this thread.

I am December 2010 too and not complaining on my timeline yet but have had two of the ten in my fiancee visa group in Bangkok who applied in January 2011 and February 2011 after us already received their NOA2. All are from CSC.

"Sammy, I am in WI too and am in the same situation. It is my understanding that you can not file. One of the criteria for filing is that you are "able" to be married. Unfortunately you are not "able" to be married for 6 mo after the divorce is finalized here in WI.

Good luck,

John"

Thanks. I was afraid of that. Now that our timeline has been thrown off as we were planning the marriage party back in Thailand sometime shortly after we recieved the "parole" to leave the US during the AOS stage, would it better to now do both the ceremony and party there at that same time and proceed through the K-3 route or just bide the time and stay with the K-1 plan?

Sam

I have a question too about starting the K-1 process. I am a recent divorcee. My home state (Wisconsin) in which the marriage and divorce occurred. In this state, remarriage cannot occur until 6 months after the divorce is granted. So, my question is, can I start the K-1 process before the waiting period is over knowing that the K-1 process will take time and given the 3 month window after the fiance arrives in the US?