Karonya and Adel

My fiance entered the states on june 17, 2012. His medical was expired so they kept his passport and we had one month to get a new medical done. We did all that and got his passport back with the I-94. Now I'm trying to complete the I-485 and not sure what to put on the last date of arrival. He actually entered june 17th but the I-94 shows the arrival date as July 25 since that was the date for our appointment to give the new medical. Which date do I put?

Yes, the consular officers did assume that the reason why a 25 year-old man from Algeria would want to marry a 40 (?) year-old woman from the US might be -- at least to some degree -- fueled by the desire to live in the Land of Milk and Honey.

Whether or not that's true is irrelevant, as the assessment is up to the people in charge, not the beneficiary and not the applicant.

Compare it to a job interview. If you apply for a job and are being interviewed, the person conducting the interview is deciding on whether you get the job or not. Sure, you can complain to the interviewer's boss, but I doubt that this would get you the job.

Be realistic in your expectations. If you are a United States Senator and people who are unhappy with the decision of US Government employees contact you every few days and complain, do you really think you would butt in every time? Sure, if some documented abuse or scandal surfaces, perhaps, but if a woman complains that her fiance in Algeria did not pass the interview because the consular officers concluded possible abuse or fraud or call it whatever you want, I don't think that's something a US Senator would want to deal with. It's not his job.

It is her job (talk about sexist to assume my senators are male!). it is her job to help her constituents with their concerns. it is her job not to make the outcome what I want it to be but to be sure that the laws are followed and my case is given due consideration. and, as a matter of fact, her office has already contacted me and is willing to get involved.

If you have access to internet you might have access to Skype, if you put calls to the US on Skype are around 0.015 per minute. I would try to get hold of a human being while still there in case the file can get turned around. Who is your Senator? (truth is some are more responsive for these kind of cases than others).

when are you getting back to the U.S? you could always use skype to call your senator from Algeria so that you can try and start working on getting things turned around ASAP.

I leave for home tomorrow morning. that is why I said I would wait until I was home to start calling

Absolutely dreadful, don't give up - I'm sure they'll offer a second interview. Stay strong and positive, you'll find a way.

For others who may be nearing your situation - could you post the questions you were asked? Never heard of the book question... Thanks!

yes i will when I am home.

Calm down your senators office is not going respond you in like 10 mins. They need some time to respond back and when some time which is within couple weeks depending what else is going on in their office and how big a staff they have.

?? I don't know why you feel the need to tell me to calm down. i was not complaining that I had not had a response just letting everyone know that I had tried to contact my congressman so they could leave that out of their suggestions. I am calm and I don't need your "10 minutes" sarcasm. if you have nothing helpful to say don't post.

Im so sorry to hear that. Dont give up! Wait for senators help or your attorney. I am 15 yrs younger than my petitioner but they never question me about it. All the best! Fight for it! You are just in a high fraud country. Show and prove your true intent.

Thank you, I won't be giving up. I did not expect an immediate approval but I also did not expect what basically amounts to a denial (to moroccogirlny, I know it is a recommendation for revocation but in the same way it is a denial also. the consulate "denied" to give him the visa and "denied" was the exact word out of the CO's mouth and from what I have read K1's rarely have the chance to provide new evidence. revocation, denial they end up with the same thing-- no visa) I say again I will be contacting congressmen when I am home and won't let this rest. there is no reasonable reason to refuse him a visa. no misrepresentation, no criminal history, plenty of proof of contact between us, 3 trips to algeria by me, letters from his father and mother and aunt and friends, no religious differences, we had the Islamic ceremony... everyone knows my age and that I have children and no one here has a problem with it. I am sure about my relationship with adel and i know they think I am a fool for believing him. they will be proven wrong. thanks, everyone, for the posts that were helpful and/or sympathetic.

Yeah, plan A is contact your senator right away and see if they can get you guys a second interview. Plan B is most likely get married and file for CR-1.

Im sooooo sorry though, there does seem to be an upswing in refusals these days.

i have emailed my senator twice with no response. not going to get help from them until i get home and can call them. i have always heard that if you are denied for a k1 visa there is no point in getting married and filing for marriage visa as getting married proves nothing.

I am sorry too hear of this BUT DO NOT give up! Did or WILL they give you an official notification stating exactly why this decision was made? Are you or your Husband the older party? I have read on several posts that age difference can be overlooked if they can see that the relationship is true and they have a lot of proof.... I dont see how the Government can decide for a couple based on their age.... FGS!

Good Luck and like I said DO NOT GIVE UP!

it is a refusal worksheet. the section 221g box is checked and it says "your relationship appears to be for immigration purposes only. your petition will be forwarded to NVC with a recomendation for revocation. you can contact NVC regarding the status of your case within 30-45 days;"

she clearly told adel that she was denying his visa that she did not believe we had a real relationship but did not give specific reasons why she did not believe it.

i very much understand that if he was the elder it would not be as big a problem. i also know the CO created issues where there were none. the children issue was discusssed; he was asked and I was asked. his answer was that he had never had the desire for children, that in his imaginings of his future that children did not play a part. i said that i knew he did not want children but if he changed his mind i would not have a problem with that.

of course any answer can be made to work the way they want

we are writing down all their questions and our answers. I can't get them to tell me anything specific other than they don't believe our relationship is real. comparing our interviews, my fiance and I have decided that it is our age, some misunderstandings of some questions on my part and them interpreting one of his answers in a way that he did not mean and our relationship timeline is the issue. the woman that interviewed him was incredulous that he would want to marry a woman that has a son that is 19 and he is 25. was very sarcastic in wanting know how he thought he could make us into a family. he tried to explain to her that my son is on his own and living with his own fiancee and that he would not try to be a father to him but a friend. she did not allow him to explain fully but cut him off. i'm not getting any response from my senators office nor response from emails to the consulate. i guess i will just have to wait until i am home and start making phone calls. does anyone know how quickly they will return our file to NVC?

oh man, visiting twice in 7 months is too much for them? Considering the CO's comment, he surely doesn't know what it's like to be so far away from your loved one! US government should keep CO's families in the US, instead of facilitating the move for their wives and kids. I wonder if then they would be more sympathetic! Geez! Sorry for the rant. Be strong and don't let this defeat you!

I agree. three visits in 14 months is not enough i suppose. and actually the man that interviewed me was algerian he was not american. i think because of that we had some misunderstandings in our interview. i thought he was asking one thing and then later, thinking about it, i realize he was meaning something else. the american woman that interviewed adel just could not believe that he did not know what books i read!!?? really? how many men living with their wives would know what book she is reading?

our interview was yesterday and I was in attendance. we had all the standard proof of a relationship e.g. chat logs phone records text logs letters from family and friends. He was interviewed by a woman in english and then given the same questions by a man in arabic. he answered consistently and truthfully for over an hour. I was then interviewed by the same man for about an hour. We were given no specific reasons for denial just the usual "appears to be for immigration purposes" statement. i'm fairly sure that they did not like the fact that I had met him in may 2009 and went to see him in december 2009. the man said " that was quick!!" they also did no tlike our 15 year age difference. that's all i can think that it would be since we co,pared our answers to their questions afterwards and we gave the same;

so, i have tried contacting my senator, no response yet; what about getting in touch aith an attorney, and how do I find a good one?

Yes we've tried that number and all we get is a recording telling us to call during the hours of 1 to 4. which is when we are calling... thanks i'll try to be patient and wait for an email back!

The instruction letter in the packet specifically says to call or email for an appointment. It doesn't say to use their website to schedule it....

My SO and I have been trying to contact the embassy in algeria since monday. I've emailed and he has called the number on their website, and 3 other numbers we found online for them. The 3 others we found aren't correct and the number on the website is a recording and no one ever answers nor returns his calls after he leaves a message. We're trying to get his appointment set for an interview. No contact information was given in his packet 3 other than the address of the embassy. Any suggestions other than he just shows up there?

I would try to attend if you could. It will not hurt. I am not sure if the "man" at the embassy will let you in though, but hey give it a try. An age difference between couples in the ARAB culture is common, so i do not think it is real red flag to a person who is familiar with the ARAB world. But i did not understand when you said "second try with a MENA man"?

GOOD LUCK!

Yeah I didn't make that very clear sorry. I mean this is my second application for a visa. The first was in 2002, he was from morocco.

I emailed the embassy and they have said I can attend the interview, so I will be going. Thanks for all the advice!

amend that to read significant IMPACT to help overcome the flags.....

My fiance and I have a couple of red flags in our file. Age diff and this is my second try with a MENA man. I know that no one can give an answer with any certainty. That being said, in your opinion, would my attendance at his interview make a significant enough difference to make the expense worth it?

approved!! received today, dated 12-9. no touches, texts or emails either! but who cares, woot!!

The problem is that a Moroccan can't take or send Moroccan dirhams out of the country, period, and Moroccans can't convert MAD to another currency except under certain circumstances. I left some USD with my husband on my last trip before he got his visa so he would have spending money on his trip over, and he didn't have any hassle carrying that out, but he couldn't bring MAD, and he couldn't have converted MAD to USD himself, legally.

If they have an American or European friend whom they trust who is currently in Morocco, perhaps they could ask that person to exchange the currency and send it (or carry it out and then send it). Or if that person has a bank account they use from inside or outside of Morocco, they could do a transfer. My understanding is that Moroccans usually move money out of the country through family members or friends of other nationalities.

Ceuta is controlled by Spain. Thats why she can do it there. I received money from my ex-husband when he was still in Morocco and he did it from there.

they sign when they pick up the mail from the post office box and yeah maybe just a little paranoia it's all okay, i've sent to po boxes and i've worked at the post office. it's all good!

she could do it in Ceuta if she has a visa to get through

it's ok, that works. I do it all the time at work. I take it you haven't received the return receipt yet?

he absolutely is. Which is why i agreed with the quote below:

baron555, on 18 October 2010 - 11:23 AM, said:

The K-1 is NOT a "Let's get together for 90 days and Check it Out" Visa.

Your relationship should be solid before you start the process.

If you're having doubts now before you even get together, then you should not continue and work on the relationship first.

When that is solid, then you start the visa process.

I think many people begin this process in the first fuzzy flutter of love that will fizzle out with no other basis for the relationship. I'm not saying he should or should not bring her over, it's his decision. What I'm saying is if he does decide to buy that plane ticket, he should do it with every intention of putting everything he has into that relationship, and if he doubts his ability to do that now, he'd better leave things as they are rather than treating her as something to try out and toss away, which I considered very bad advice. It has nothing to do with whether or not she's taking advantage of him. You can't know that and neither can I. Only he can decide that.

And, i do mean buying the plane ticket after deciding she is not taking advantage of him.

for some reason i couldn't edit my own post

Yeah...and its COLD AND HEARTLESS if the intending immgrant just wants to get the benefit and hail tail once he/she has it...the U.S.Citizen is also a human being...

he absolutely is. Which is why i agreed with the quote below:

baron555, on 18 October 2010 - 11:23 AM, said:

The K-1 is NOT a "Let's get together for 90 days and Check it Out" Visa.

Your relationship should be solid before you start the process.

If you're having doubts now before you even get together, then you should not continue and work on the relationship first.

When that is solid, then you start the visa process.

I think many people begin this process in the first fuzzy flutter of love that will fizzle out with no other basis for the relationship. I'm not saying he should or should not bring her over, it's his decision. What I'm saying is if he does decide to buy that plane ticket, he should do it with every intention of putting everything he has into that relationship, and if he doubts his ability to do that now, he'd better leave things as they are rather than treating her as something to try out and toss away, which I considered very bad advice. It has nothing to do with whether or not she's taking advantage of him. You can't know that and neither can I. Only he can decide that.

The K-1 is NOT a "Let's get together for 90 days and Check it Out" Visa.

Your relationship should be solid before you start the process.

If you're having doubts now before you even get together, then you should not continue and work on the relationship first.

When that is solid, then you start the visa process.

Agreed!!!

you won't get notified of someone else's approval unless it has a "y" for text and email alerts.

Do VSC and CSC give different file numbers? If not then how do you know which one it was filed at?