mukherji933

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Hello all. I need help regarding my visa petition.
I am a US citizen who filed for a K1 Fiancee visa. My fiancee is in
Kolkata India. The petition was approved and she already had the
interview. I too went with her to Kolkata India Embassy on interview
day but visa officer did not let me stay with my fiancee during
interview. So I had to sit in the waiting area. My fiancee was asked
general questions such:
how did you meet (she told them we met on a marriage based web site)
how long you corresponded (told them 4 months)
are we same religion (yes we both are Hindu)
when did we get engaged (got engaged after we applied for K1 visa)
Then she was asked about proof of communication, photos of engagement,
etc. She gave them everything - e-mails we exchanged, photos of us
together when we met, police clearance, medical certificates/reports,
birth certificate - everything. Then she was asked why we want to get
married in US and not in India. To that my fiance could not reply as
she was caught unawares. Anyways, they gave her form 221(g) saying we
need to submit more e-mails as proof.
So we gave more e-mails by submitting them at the Embassy the next
working day - which was a monday.
We waited and again after a few days we got another 221(g) asking for
more e-mails. This also we provided. Again a few days later we got
another 221(g) saying why we got engaged in india and want to marry in
the US. Again we provided letter saying that my family is in US and
that is why we got engaged in India and marriage will take place in US.
During all this time, time had passed and we finally got another 221(g)
saying that our petition is being sent back to NVC as embassy is not
convinced that ours is a valid relationship; that our documents showing
correspondence submitted were not satisfactory. But the real sad thing
is that they said since 4 months already passed since the notice of
action from Texas Service center was approved, that 4 months limit is
up and they will not extend it and they are sending petition back to
NVC. I know that out of the 4 months, 2 months was spent just for
waiting to get interview date. Another 2 months was for answering
221(g).
We provided many e-mails, telephone call records, photos, to establish
that we had corresponded. Also, I was present at her interview (though
not allowed to be with my fiancee during interview) and visa officer
surely saw me and told me to wait in waiting area as he is only going
to interview my fiancee. My point is, why would I be present during
interview if ours was not a serious, valid relationship?

This news came as complete shock to us. I called few lawyers in Houston
and they are telling me there is nothing I or they can do since I have
to wait for Embassy to send the petition back to Texas service center.
They also told me that it can take 6 months to 1 year for me to hear
from Texas service center. They also said there is little a senator can
do.
The thing one lawyer said is that embassy, though said in the last
221(g) that they beleive we don't have a bonafide existing
relationship, they may not be telling me the whole story. Instead, they
may provide the real reasons in detail to the Texas center when they
send petition back to NVC (and then to Texas center).
I dont have any criminal records, my fiancee has no communicable or any
other diseases. All info I provided is true, no falsifications and I
did not hide anything. My fiancee's info is all correct.
Inspite of submitting everything, why is it that we get refused a visa?
Worse yet, it takes 6 months to 1 year to even get a reply from Texas
center to me. So I cannot do anything in the mean time, but just wait?
Please help as to what I can do now - every lawyer is giving me a
different opinion, which is confusing me even more. I cannot sleep and
in total pain.
Thank you very very much for any feedback you have.
Rishi

nettlebed

Not wishing to comment on YOUR particular case, but a reason why somebody might be in the interview if they didn't have a serious, valid relationship is that they had been paid to be there. Not a comment on YOUR case, but a valid answer.

If they don't believe you have a valid relationship, it is up to YOU to convince THEM. They hold all the cards, you hold none. If you are not happy with your lawyer, get another one. On the basis of what you have said, you will certainly need attorney's advice. If you can't trust the one you currently have, what hope is there for you?

rex_pereira

The next time you make an application, first make sure that you make a nice XXX home video with yourself and your fiancee and submit that along with your application.

Katikati

why not just marry there if coming to do so in the US is such a hussle?

ian-mstm

While I understand that different cultures do things differently, usually you are required to be engaged prior to applying for the K-1. Just because something seems logical to you, it may not always seem that way to others.

Also, I agree with nettlebed... there are a number of reasons why you would be at her interview - it does not necessarily demonstrate a genuine relationship.

Ian

Just Jenney

That comment popped out at me also. I'm surprised the petition was approved if they weren't even engaged at the time it was filed -- unless they lied on the petition and said they WERE engaged when they really weren't, which is bad, too.

~ Jenney

meauxna

There was a recent thread on a similar topic.

There is no requirement to be "engaged" in any particular formal way for USCIS purposes beyond sworn statements that you intend to marry each other.

From reading other India posts, I know that "engagement" is a formalized occasion/ceremony. I suspect the confusion in this thread is over that term.
It is not a USCIS requirement that Indian couples have the engagement ceremony before being eligible to file I-129f.

Again, based on reading of Indian customs here over the months, I suppose that them meeting on a marriage based website and corresponding for 4 months was too far out of the cultural norm and the CO just didn't believe they are for real.
Time cures many ills.

cindyabs

I'm sure that will make the OP feel better-rolling of eyes......

HunterGreen

Maybe the making of the video itself will....

*back into my corner*

Matthew Udall

If you were not engaged at the time of filing the I-129f, than its no wonder the Consul is sending this back to the Service Center. They are just doing what they are supposed to do.

Edited at add a bit more: One does not need to go through a formal engagement ceremony to be engaged.

rex_pereira

The video comment was made in jest. It was a knee-jerk reaction to Nettle-bed's comment that it is the OP's responsibility to prove his case when the OP was left standing outside the interview room. I had not noticed the issue about the engagement dates which was addressed in later posts.

Elvira

I'm sure it was. But surely you also realise that there are certain cultural sensitivities involved here. [This isn't The Lounge ]

Matthew Udall

Or it might just be how they characterized it. They might believe that you are currently engaged and have a “relationship” with your fiancée, but you had to have had that existing relationship (engaged) at the time of filing, at the time of visa application, at the time of visa issuance, and will need it at the time the international fiancée uses her K-1 visa while entering the U.S.

These Indian engagement ceremonies, while understandable (Its nice to follow traditions) are sometimes nothing but trouble!

mukherji933

Katikati wrote:
    > > The next time you make an application, first make sure that you make a
    > > nice XXX home video with yourself and your fiancee and submit that
    > > along with your application.
    > why not just marry there if coming to do so in the US is such a hussle?
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Hi, Thanks for your response. Yes, I too am thinking of that. But since
my visa is now denied and since embassy may take up to 1 year to send
my original petition back to the Texas service center, how can I start
a new process?
Can I go and get married and apply for spousal visa I-130? while my
Fiancee visa petition is still on its way back to NVC/Texas Service
Center?
Assuming I can file I-130 even before I hear from Texas Service center,
will the Kolkata embassy view my case suspiciously because of past
denial? Of course, they will not question relationship because then we
would already be married.

What are the options available for people who get fiancee visa denied?

Also, I-130 processing times are not listed. When I looked up on the
web site, it says "processing at CSC" - what does that mean and how
long is the wait time for I-130 these days?

arijit

Rishi,

The US Consulate in Kolkata does not do K1 interviews. All K1 applicants from the Kolkata consular district have to go to Mumbai.