Michelle.Moir

Hi Folks

Well Herb and I got news from Congress today as to their reason why our case
is delayed We can't believe it !!!!!!!! How can this happen to us we
are a normal couple that really do love eachother so why pick us ??????

For those whom know of us in the NG over the last 8 months..... this is what
we found out today ! Sad and even more frustrated cause we are a genuine
couple !!!! We certainly weren't prepared for this response to our query
of " Where is our file" but this is what we got !
My question is this ......What happens now and has anyone been through this
???? How long will this take to be cleared ? This is awful for us I
can't stop crying Does any lawyer know why we would have got
this ? Did we get picked out randomly ? I don't understand it at all !!!!!
    

Michelle
Congress got Herb's e-mail addy typed wrong so that's why she had trouble
sending it..... read on.....



My two emails were sent back as undeliverable therefore I am attempting once
again except this time without the forwarding information:

The Congressional Liaison of the Nebraska Service Centre who works with the
Delegation of Congressional and Senatorial Offices of Michigan which is 17,
and other States such as Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Minnesota, was
unavailable last week due to the birth of their first child, and came back
on Monday, November 24, 2003, therefore that was the reason for the delay.

My response received on your behalf was the following:

"I looked up Herbert Smith's application and currently it is going through
security review for Fraud, which is a normal process for a fraud case. If
the case clears, which as of today it has not, then it will be routed to
an adjudicating officer for final review, and no the case has not been
sitting doormat on the shelves for the last couple of months"

"I will forward your additional concerns received from your office on behalf
of Herbert Smith LIN 03 161 53371 to Terry I. Way Director NSC. You will
receive a formal letter/response"

This is all the information I have for you, as I stated above I tried
forwarding my email inquiry and the NSC Congressional Response; it would was
sent as undeliverable therefore I copied the response and will fax you a
copy of the letter with your concerns sent to the NSC Congressional.

I do wish that I had better news, but if the case is considered to be a
"Fraud" then until it clears will it be sent to an adjudicating officer,
this type of case is completely different then those cases with a so called
"hit."

You both will be apprised of any additional information received on your
behalf.

Best Regards,

Beatriz Mancilla
District Representative
Office of Congressman Peter Hoekstra
184 South River Avenue
Holland, MI 49423

Phone: 616-395-0030
Fax: 616-395-0271

CharlieS

Michelle,

I'm a little lost for words. I'm so sorry you guys are being screwed around so much. Even more so in light of us all expecting you to receive good news any day now.
It must be a terrible time for you both, just keep faith. I believe the onus is on BCIS to show fraud, and not on you guys to prove otherwise.
I'm wishing you all kinds of luck and good fortune, and hopefully the BCIS will come to their senses soon.

Hebapotamus42

I'm so sorry Michelle. That's absolutely awful. I don't understand how they can review it for fraud without even asking for more evidence. And they can't even provide a reason as to why they suspect that?? I'm sorry for bringing up more questions, but this is so strange. Could you two just get married and go the k3 route?

Leslie

This is horrible. What in the world are they basing fraud on??? It is so easy to have a bona-fide relationship!! What in God's name is different about your petition?

Leslie

Bluegrass Lass

That is horrible, Michelle! I'll be praying for you and Herb to get through this. It's a shame they didn't explain the reasoning behind why they think it's fraud, and ask you to provide more evidence.

May the two of you gain strength from each other to get through this tough time.

Jamie

Dad of 3

Michele:

In the broadest sense, alleged fraud could be almost anything. I dont know anything about you or your fiancee or the situation so I can not even begin to think what it could be. Perhaps they are questioning authenticity of a document submitted, or perhaps there is some kind of immigration history for a person with your name or your fiancee's name. I dont know how NSC works (and I think I am thankful I dont!!) but do they ever do they sample random applications for fraud as part of their normal operating procedure??

Regardless of why it got there, I hope that your application moves out of that unit to an adjudicator soon and all goes well.

Maryanne Kehoe

Michelle, the response you got from your Congess office doesn't say
*why* NSC considers this a fraud case (and ***where*** your file has
been for the past +220 days!!)

Where is your hubby from (is it one of "those" countries"?)

So sad......(and your case is one of the reasons why law-abiding
citizens like us need immigration reform----if they can speed up the
citizen process for kids being adopted from overseas, the article I read
last night stated the process is going down to 45 days process time
total), then CERTAINLY, cases like yours cry out for said-reform!!!!





Congress response to our delay in nebraska ....can anyone help ?????

Group: alt.visa.us.marriage-based Date: Thu, Nov 27, 2003, 1:15am
(EST+5) From: [email protected] (michelle.moir)
Hi Folks
Well Herb and I got news from Congress today as to their reason why our
case is delayed  We can't believe it !!!!!!!!  How can this
happen to us we are a normal couple that really do love eachother so why
pick us ??????
For those whom know of us in the NG over the last 8 months..... this is
what we found out today ! Â Sad and even more frustrated cause we are
a genuine couple !!!! Â We certainly weren't prepared for this
response to our query of " Where is our file" but this is what we got !
My question is this ......What happens now and has anyone been through
this ???? Â How long will this take to be cleared ? Â This is awful
for us  I can't stop crying  Does any lawyer know why
we would have got this ? Did we get picked out randomly ? I don't
understand it at all !!!!!
    Â Â
Michelle
Congress got Herb's e-mail addy typed wrong so that's why she had
trouble sending it..... Â read on.....
My two emails were sent back as undeliverable therefore I am attempting
once again except this time without the forwarding information:
The Congressional Liaison of the Nebraska Service Centre who works with
the Delegation of Congressional and Senatorial Offices of Michigan which
is 17, and other States such as Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Minnesota,
was unavailable last week due to the birth of their first child, and
came back on Monday, November 24, 2003, therefore that was the reason
for the delay.
My response received on your behalf was the following:
"I looked up Herbert Smith's application and currently it is going
through security review for Fraud, which is a normal process for a fraud
case. If the case clears, which as of today it has not, then it will be
routed to an adjudicating officer for final review, and no the case has
not been sitting doormat on the shelves for the last couple of months"
"I will forward your additional concerns received from your office on
behalf of Herbert Smith LIN 03 161 53371 to Terry I. Way Director NSC.
You will receive a formal letter/response"
This is all the information I have for you, as I stated above I tried
forwarding my email inquiry and the NSC Congressional Response; it would
was sent as undeliverable therefore I copied the response and will fax
you a copy of the letter with your concerns sent to the NSC
Congressional.
I do wish that I had better news, but if the case is considered to be a
"Fraud" then until it clears will it be sent to an adjudicating officer,
this type of case is completely different then those cases with a so
called "hit."
You both will be apprised of any additional information received on your
behalf.
Best Regards,
Beatriz Mancilla
District Representative
Office of Congressman Peter Hoekstra
184 South River Avenue
Holland, MI 49423
Phone: 616-395-0030
Fax: 616-395-0271

Folinskyinla

Hi:

I would ad to this -- Michelle and Herb have to have a LONG talk. I've been married half my life and I know that its normal for people to keep some secrets from each other.

They had better make damn sure there is nothing, repeat nothing hidden in the closet between each other.

Every lawyer has experienced situations of surprise when something comes up and we turn to our client who then goes "oops". We have an employment case in our office where that has happened not once, but twice.

Leslie

Maryanne,
You stupid, stupid, stupid woman. Michelle is the foreigner.

Cait

Dear Michelle

I am so sad to hear your news. Both of us are in a terrible situation
with no end seemingly in sight and I want to thank you for being such
a good friend to me.

I really believe the "fraud" thing is just random bad luck on your
part, or perhaps an administrative error. I hope and pray it can be
put right soon.

To the rest of the newsgroup - Michelle and I have met and she is one
of the nicest people I know.

Love
Cait

NOA1 17 March NSC
RFE 8 October
Sent response 22 November
Still waiting desperately

lpdiver

As Mr. F stated fraud can be almost anything. I don't think they are questioning the marriage itself. I am guessing that there was a prior application or something irregular about the paper work. Incorrect answers on the paperwork intentional or not can be considered visa fraud. I sat my wife down at the start of all this and ask VERY pointed and VERY blunt questions. Have you ever been a prostitute, ever arrested for drugs, ever been in a police station...etc. It was not easy to do but it will be investigated by immigrations so best to know. There are a zillion other possibilities...has she ever been denied a visa before. I personally feel like it is a genuine mistake on someone's part or else she has a pretty good clue. I am not judging just realistic.

Good luck,
Tony

Dekka's Angel

Michelle, I'm very sorry to read your sad news. I second Folinskyinla's advice. You and your beloved simply must make 100% that you've told each other everything. Once that is done, I might also recommend consulting with an attorney who has experience with this type of thing.

Most of us on the NG (Folinskyinla and MattU aside) can do no more than wildly speculate or guess about the types of things that would cause a fraud investigation at the K-1, as opposed to consulate, stage of processing. But an attorney or immigration advocate (i.e. like at Catholic Charities) with actual experience in this area could probably take a far more intelligent guess and possibly even have some ideas for how you could obtain more specific information from NSC about what the issue really is. Giving this some serious thought might be in your best interests at this time.

As well as having that very very long, heartfelt, candid, discussion with your husband, that Folinskyinla recommended.

Good luck to you - I hope it all sorts very soon.

Clare & Steven

Dekka,
I thought I'd jump in here with your quote about Catholic Charities...
When I was preparing my I601, I went to my congressman for some assistance. When I asked about Catholic Charities, he said the people there are not qualified to help me. He thinks there is one maybe two legal advocates that work in the office that cover half of our state and they just don't have the time or resources to help with my case. I think they just have general immigration knowledge...
I also called the "free legal advice" for my area, but didn't qualify because of my income. My only solution was to hire a lawyer. Luckily, after asking around, I found that our company has reporters who deal with a wonderful immigration lawyer and he was nice enough to go over my paperwork for free.
Best of luck Michelle...hang in there!
Clare

Dekka's Angel

My advice about Catholic Charities was *not* in connection with an I-601 application. I personally believe that one needs an attorney for that and any situation which requires a waiver. We do not at this time know that this the case in connection with Michelle's situation.

But Catholic Charities is, I believe, an authorized lay/nonprofit representative for immigration within the meaning of the federal statutes that apply. That organization is therefore more likely to have some experience which can inform the OP than any of us here (save Folinksyinla and MattU). It was an alternate suggestion for information gathering/strategy purposes only if she was not able to hire an attorney at this time.

Richard III

Clare -

When I went to my local Catholic Charities office to interview the staff member who would be handling our case, I was told that they will only work with you if they do the whole thing start to finish. I would not be allowed to fill out any of the forms if I wanted their help. In the end I determined that I had the resources available, including this NG, to do it myself. I also got the distinct impression that they knew nothing about Russian twists in the process. She indicated that well over 90% of their cases, at least in the Denver office, were from Latin America. They also indicated that they specialized in K1 and didn't know much about the differences between K1 and K3. Odd, but they certainly have their niche. If I were engaged to a woman from Latin American, they would be high on my list. They DO have a LOT of experience in that regard.

Richard III