dwrowe

JimVaPhuong:

Thank you for your valid opinion and good advice. The next few days i will spend researching further into what you mentioned and create a plan for my next action.

Will post again in the next few days.

Thank you so much -

Dave

WOW - In my country we have a saying " A penny for your thoughts " i think i got my penny's worth of "what i should have done" . . . LOL. i guess i should have expected that.

But thank you - I do think its worth a shot to talk with the authority in Indonesia again and see if they can help. (will let you know what happens when i get back)

I immigrated to USA from England at 20 years of age, 8 years ago became a US citizen, my job has allowed me to live in Japan, Vietnam, Korea, and Indonesia, married in Indonesia to my wife who was on a H1/B visa working for a US company in Asia. . . . so not much different than most of the people marrying in Indonesia and Immigrating to USA - or am I - .. . . all i am saying, might be some people have different circumstances.

So reflecting back on what I would have done different, (this is just my opinion, don't scold me for having an opinion)

(a) conduct the marriage in the country you intend to take residence permission. ( assuming that is possible. )

(b) expect confusion between the two different country agency when explaining your condition.

© remembering Governments are not logical, the systems are made complicated, and if someone tells you otherwise they are full of fluff. ( But rummer has it that Immigration Reform is on the way. . . just don't hold your breath.

So that's my "two cents worth" -

Thank you Darnell - I understand, we will try again contacting the Indonesia registry office for guidance, however they do not have a problem with our marriage and there thought is that everything is fine, only USCIS do not support this because i did not attend the registration process. So we believe they cannot help change the USCIS mind,or change my past actions.

We both worked in Asia so we were not stationed state side until about 2 years after marriage, then my job brought me permanent in USA. We found time to have our son born in USA, and at that time she was on business Visa through her job.

I appreciate any comment to my posting as during a stressful time that i am sure all watching this aboard have been through can respect. However i strongly believe in family values, and of course it is obvious my son can leave his mother behind and come to USA, but i personally believe that is ridicules and in humane to any society that has strong family views.

That being said, researching prior requirements to obtain Visa permission into any country especially USA is a case by case bases and there is no cookie-cutter method to insuring that a Visa will be issued. All the research and i can insure you it was done ( i have over $7,000 in attorney fees) prior to submitting and paying filling fees to the USCIS.

Every country marriage system has unique nuances, and the ones we discovered in Indonesia i will post here so people in the future may be aware.

Indonesia has two steps to the marriage process, one is the religious wedding, the second is the registration. Further the registration process is done differently depending on the religious ceremony, and is not required by Indonesian law,(but most definitely is by Western countries, because that is when they verify that it was all legal and you don’t have other wife’s)

Also the time delay between the marriage ceremony and the legal registration is also critical, same day is best. . . . Also obtaining all documents from your country of birth is also critical, (not country of residence) birth cert. divorce papers, permission to marry . . . . the list goes on. . . .

What you do not want to have is a delay between the religious ceremony and the legal filing, also both husband and wife must be present when signing legal registration (not required by Indonesia government, but will not be accepted in USCIS.)

This was the mistake we made; I left Indonesia, after the wedding and before the registration, my wife took care of it all before flying back to USA, In Indonesia we are legally married. . .. However in USA the registration was deemed not legal, so 2 years later when filling for I-130, our actions in the past were determined badly.

So yes we messed up. . . . i did not do my home work, but i don’t blame anyone, in my mind it was not a forcible issue. . . .

As for the K1, Jakarta Embassy of course they could not issue a K1, but that was the written direction from USCIS stating that "issuance of an Immigration Visa is subject to the USCIS interpretation of any country law as it might pertain to the respective law in the USA". Therefore the USCIS does not legal recognize the marriage in Indonesia and the correct Visa would be a K1. We have filed an appeal but that will take up to 1 year to resolve, we also have the Legal advisory board trying to resolve the technical laws, but that could also take forever.

So people have said, doing your home work is very important, but will it guarantee you getting your requested Visa? 'NO'. I am sure that the USCIS issue millions of Visas each year, and probably very small percentages have issues. . . . But you might end up being one of those small percentages, and no matter how much you do your home work or prepare, something might not alien.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Moving on with my case, HAVE A BACK UP PLAN: will be flying to Indonesia for July 4th week, (seems appropriate timing) have meeting at the US Embassy office that was arranged through my local Senators office. . . . (this always helps to have them aware of issues like this) Also we will be married again in Canada next month. ( this was the easiest quick marriage out of USA) and re-submit for i-130 using new documents.

Thank you all - Yes last night we checked into re-marring in Canada, looks like quickest way. . . . but still more waiting for I-130 again. . . . Does anyone know if the possibility of obtaining a visitor visa for the USA so that she can come for a two week term in USA. ( the flight every 2 months is killing me,, but get great frequent flyer miles) but would trade them all for a visa to get them home.

Dave

I have been attempting to get my wife and my American born son back into the USA. We were married in Indonesia, and before she could come to USA we were required to file for a I-130 which we did. . . this was denied because as our Indonesian marriage was not recognized by US.

We then applied for K1, but then this was denied by Jakarta Embassy because legally my wife was married in Indonesia. . . yep to me. . . . . . so we filed for a Humanitarian Parole, which was denied today saying that Parole was not intended to circumvent the USCIS system. To hold our family together i fly to Indonesia every 2 month, but it is placing a strain on our marriage.

It has been 2 years since my 3 year old son was born in North Carolina and has never been home since. . . . he cant even speak English, but he holds a USA passport. He cant even come to USA for a vacation. . . .

What is my options.?