meeko

Hi! I have an odd situation. I'll start from the beginning.
My fiancé (Lives in England) tried to visit me in America in June and was denied entry. They interrogated both of us and finally decided to give him the denied entry "lack of ties" stamp in his passport. Basically, he had no job, car, not in school, etc so after asking us for hours what he was doing in America and if we planned to marry, they sent him back after telling him to get a fiancé visa if he wanted to ever come back.
So, we are taking their advice and filed for the I-129f. I received the nao2 saying it was approved(Yay!!!) but we have come across a worry.
About 4 or 5 years ago, he was in America at a summer camp and a kid told the camp owner that he saw my fiancé smoking pot (no proof whatsoever, they just took this kids word for it!). They told him he could either admit to it or be banned from the US for 5 years. Naturally, he admitted to it so as to avoid the ban and they put him on the phone with someone and he was forced to tell the man that he had done drugs and was being kicked out because of it. He doesn't think he had signed anything, received any paperwork, or had any kind of stamp in his passport (he has since got a new one so we can't check). He also never went in front of any kind of judge or hearing. They just told him they canceled/revoked his visa (he was under a working one I believe) and for him to go home.
Now, when he was here in June, the officers interrogating us never mentioned this ordeal. So I'm wondering if because he admitted to it they didn't put anything on his record. Is this likely at all? Is there a way to see if he has any kind of ban or past deportations? Also, does the visa application being approved mean they already looked over all of his records and found them reasonable? We aren't sure if that would have come over on his police record in England.

Any input on this at all would be extremely helpful! We are in such a panic over this and just want to know what to expect.
Thank you so much!

Marocco

Hi. It's impossible to give you advice without knowing precise information, such as: to whom did your fiance admit smoking pot? Who is "they"?

ian-mstm

Were you travelling with him? You don't actually say so, so it's difficult to know for sure!


Just so you know... the CBP officer lied to you! He is allowed to lie to you.


Let's just cut to the chase... was he, in fact, smoking pot? If so, then he did the honorable thing by admitting to it. If not, then he should have stood up for himself.


Who is "they"?


That really doesn't mean anything... since CBP can question him about anything they want... whether it's on his immigration record or not.


Since it's almost impossible to find out, you should assume two things: 1) that it is on his record; and 2) that he did have a ban.


The visa application hasn't yet been approved... in fact, he hasn't even applied for the visa yet. The I-129F is a petition that establishes the relationship between a USC and a non-USC. That's all it is. So far, the US government has decided that he meets the requirements to apply for the visa... but until he does that and it is processed, there's no way to know whether or not it'll be approved.


It probably won't show up on his ACPO certificate, but if asked about it at his medical, he must tell the truth. Again, if he did smoke pot (regardless of what "a kid" said), he should say so. If he didn't, he should say so. He should always tell the truth where US immigration is concerned.

Ian

meeko

He admitted it to the owners of the camp he was working at. And then the owners called a man and gave my fiancé the phone and told him to tell the man why he was being kicked out. The owners never told him who was on the phone. He never talked to immigration or anyone at the airport about it, only the man on the phone and the camp owners.

I was traveling with him, yes. I was returning from a semester of school in England and he tried to come back with me on the waiver program.

Alright, so assuming there is a ban am is on his record, how should I assume this is going to go? They deny him because of the ban at the interview? Or would they deny him at the airport?

Thank you for your responses guys

meeko

Reading back over what I said, did not make "they" very clear. When i said "they" I meant the summer camp owners. They were that only people he talked to about any of it besides the unknown man on the phone.
Fiancé is telling me that he left on his own accord. The owners only told him that the work visa they had been sponsoring him on was being canceled. Maybe the man on the phone was whoever was canceling his visa?

Noorah101

The facts of your case are still pretty vague. I suggest that your fiancé have a consultation with an immigration attorney, where he can speak directly, and answer the specific questions the attorney will ask, in order to get a better idea of what lies ahead with immigration.

I don't think we laymen on this forum can be of much help in your case. You need a professional's input.

Rene

ian-mstm

Yes... you said he admitted it because he didn't want a ban... but you haven't actually answered the question: did he, in fact, smoke pot?


So, it could have been a janitor... or it could have been US immigration... or anyone in between! At this point in time, there's no way to know and no way to find out... so, you must proceed as though someone at US immigration knows.


If he has a valid K-1 visa, it's unlikely that airline personnel will deny him boarding - and if he has a valid K-1 visa, it's unlikely that the CBP officer in the US will deny him entry. So... so if anything is going to happen, it'll either happen at the interview or the medical.

If he did have a 5 year ban (which would likely trigger the day he left the US) then he must wait until 5 years has passed before trying to re-enter the US... even with a visa. That said, if he did have a 5 year ban and he served that time then the ban, by itself, would not be a reason to deny the visa. The ban really isn't a problem assuming enough time has elapsed... the problem will, most likely, be the drug use - if he did, in fact, use drugs.


Only US immigration can cancel a visa... the sponsors don't have that authority. The sponsor, of course, could simply have lied to him that the visa was cancelled because they no longer wanted him there and this was the easiest thing to say. Since there's no way to find out, they could have made up any story they wanted - whether or not it was the truth.

Bottom line here... there is nothing you can do at this point except continue down the K-1 path and see what happens.

Ian

meeko

Sorry for not answering the pot question, I wasn't sure if he actually did so I had to ask him lol yes, he did. However that was years ago, so surely it wouldn't show up in any kind of drug test at the medical, right?

If the remainder of the process goes smoothly, he should get that k-1 right around the five years mark. Here's to good luck!

Alright. So a drug test shouldn't be a problem. All we can do now is cross our fingers and carry on! Thank you!

ian-mstm

Right - but he will be asked if he has ever used drugs, and he must answer truthfully. Be aware that if he lies to gain an immigration benefit (= visa) and he gets caught, then he faces a lifetime ban from the US. So, as I've mentioned before, he must tell the truth if/when asked.

Ian

meeko

Alright. I've been reading up on this and I'm unclear as to whether or not he would get a one year ban automatically when he admits to having smoked before. It's been years and he would for sure pass any drug test. Is it likely they will push for the one year ban?

ian-mstm

Where? Please provide a link.

Ian

civilservant

I don't know where you read this, but it isn't correct.

meeko

Various threads on here and visajourney. This is one of the many I've found:
Here

What typically happens if someone admits to past drug use but tests negative? I've yet to read any testimonies of someone being approved without taking drug tests every few months for a year after the interview to make sure they are clean.
If this isn't true I will be absolutely thrilled )) I was feeling so hopeless about this.

ian-mstm

I'm not sure how you managed to equate one year of drug testing to a "one year ban"... they aren't the same thing. If you don't understand that, then your fiancé needs to speak to an immigration attorney... because if you're passing your interpretation of this information to your fiancé, well... you're doing him a disservice.


Then I suggest you haven't read enough yet... because there are many stories. Regardless, it'll make no difference to you whatsoever. Why? Because you won't know whether your fiancé will be one of those or not... until he goes to the medical.

Honest to god, worrying about something you have absolutely no control over is a complete waste of time. In fact, I suggest you step away from the computer... because it's bad for your mental health.

Ian

meeko

By "ban" I meant he wouldn't be able to come to the states until he had quarterly drug tests for a year in the UK. Sorry for the confusing wording, I consider any period of time he isn't allowed to join me over here as a "ban"

Alright, thanks. I'm a huge worry wart, and my fiance is always telling me the same thing you said. What happens, happens.

Thanks for the responses!