K1 Denied at POE, However Visa Expires 02/04/2016

[heatheve 40]

I was told I could not enter on a K1 visa at Toronto Pearson Airport this evening. The officer said because my petition expired on 08/22/2015, my visa is now "invalid" regardless of what my visa expiration date states (which is 02/04/2016). He said he spoke to his supervisor and chief and they agreed. His colleague standing beside him also agreed that because my petition expired, my K1 visa is no longer valid. As you could imagine, I was in complete shock and devastated. When I asked to speak to a manager, the officer kept brushing me off and told me to leave and inform my airline that I would no longer be on the flight. As I kept trying to ask, he began asking the next person in the waiting area to come forward so he could deal with their case. I was scared to raise my voice or start a fight because I didn't want him to cross off my visa and render it invalid (it was something I noticed he did to the people ahead of me).

He even had the nerve to make jokes and laugh at me at the end when he asked about our wedding plans (we scheduled it for this Friday) and said I should have sponsored my fiance here instead. Ridiculous.

Also I had my interview at the consulate in Montreal on 08/12/2015 and received my passport soonafter with my K1 visa inside. The officer did not touch my visa but he did open the sealed envelope and went through the documents. He returned it back to me unsealed. I feel like this will be a major problem now.

His advice was to contact the consulate and get a letter stating I'm still admissible to enter as a K1. I'm planning on giving a call to the Montreal consulate (the consulate that issued my visa) and explaining the situation. However I do live in Toronto so I may give that consulate a call as well (not sure if that will help matters though). I'm at a loss of what to do. The officer was rude, unprofessional, and power tripping over not only me, but the others that were ahead me in secondary (who were also refused entry on their respective visas). The officer's last name was along the lines of "Dagdagan".

If anyone has gone through anything similar, please share your experience. I don't believe I should have been denied and my visa is still valid. However my sealed envelope is of course no longer sealed. Advice?

Edited September 23, 2015 by heatheve

[dza 46]

i am confused on something, your petition expired on 22th of august, you mean the date that comes with noa2?
i am truly so sorry for what r u going through i am asking because i might go to the same, meaning my petition expires before i have my interview and visa, but i know the consulate they re-validate it again

[heo luoi 206]

To be clear by petition you mean the expiration on the NOA2? Our interview date is only a week before this date on my NOA2?! :S

[HFM181818 748]

whether you believe that you should have been denied admission is not relevant. Only the CBP officer's opinion matters.

[belinda63 2,981]

As you know they were wrong not this does you any good. You will have to have the package resealed by the embassy. I don't know if you can mail it or if you will have to take it in person. All I can say is contact the embassy and explain what happened. I have never heard of this, the visa was valid so.........

[heatheve 40]

Yes my NOA2 expired on 08/22/2015. There's an annotation on my K1 at the bottom that states:

"PET FILED: 27MAR2015 / VALID TO: 22AUG2015"

He was fixated on the petition expiry date and use that as the basis to refuse me entry tonight.

[neoblast 138]

That's unfortunate but only his opinion matter. Hopefully you can get a re-validation from the embassy soon. That's annoying, sorry!

[heo luoi 206]

http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/general/frequently-asked-questions/what-is-a-u-s-visa.html

While a VISA only agrees entry TO a POE not through it, this is a bit disconcerting. When the whole process takes > 6mos, and the visa is issued at the end of it this is hard to understand for certain

[dza 46]

my information is, the date on noa2 its meaning we should have the interview before the expiration date on noa2 approval
meaning if we should have a problem with the date if we exceeded it , it will be with the embassy not the POE
i believe you could have a reasonable problem with him if after your visa issued and you traveled after the 6 months that you should travel within that date as i know
as i know once your visa issued you have i think 6 months to enter US, if you passed this date i think this is the time that you should have a problem entering usa

but my God why is he talking about the expiration date in noa2, its completely out of our control, i am someone pretty sure i will exceed it because the embassy takes 3 tk 4 month to give me interview date which will exceed the expiration date on noa2
i said all that, so if u miss any info of what i said it could be a weapon to you to talk with
i am truly so sorry for what u r going through

[dza 46]

and what i am talking about is in noa2 paper there is a part says

Notice type: Approval notice
Valid From: mine is 08/26/2015 to 12/25/2015

is that what r u taking about?

[heatheve 40]

and what i am talking about is in noa2 paper there is a part says

Notice type: Approval notice

Valid From: mine is 08/26/2015 to 12/25/2015

is that what r u taking about?

Yes that is what I'm referring to.

Since the Montreal Consulate does not have a phone number for visa inquiries, I've submitted an email both through their Public Inquiry Form and directly to the the Consulate email address. I attached a copy of my passport and K1 visa and explained my situation.

I appreciate all the replies made in this thread so far.

[SalSterling 10]

I think Officer at the airport was not well informed. An approved petition will expire on expiration date that mentioned on the NOA2 only if there is no actions were taken by the petitioner and beneficiary once NVC made the contact. In your case and any other cases where there is an approved visa then there shouldn't be reason for not allowing your to travel.

I am writing this with my personal experience since one of such petition was expired that I filed and we didn't take any action since we were not ready at that time etc.

I hope this matter will resolve quickly and you can join your fiance.

[gennyangel 3]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/547563-entering-on-a-k-1-with-expired-petition/

Maybe this will help you with some bits of information in it. Same case as you

[TBoneTX 43,057]

This would seem to be the operative information from the earlier thread:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/547563-entering-on-a-k-1-with-expired-petition/?p=7609208

It would be valuable to hear elaboration from HFM181818 about the seeming disconnection between the FAM/DoS information and the POE refusal of entry.

Edited September 23, 2015 by TBoneTX

[PhilLuv 43]

Sad that this happened to you. It seems a lot of folks in the US allow their uniforms to get into their heads and feel they can do anything without repercussions, irrespective of the adverse effects on their 'victims'. You may now have to physically head to the Consulate to get a reseal. This time you may also consider going through Niagara Falls and fly off from Buffalo Airport.