The visa your lover would be eligible for would be the K1 fiance visa (if you sincerely intend to marry once she arrives) or the CR1 spouse visa (if you are already married)

First we work together to produce a thick packet of forms, evidences and civil documents. This is required to demonstrate that you are eligible to apply, and that your true agenda is a genuine life together, not immigration fraud.

My signature philosophy is that a petition should ALWAYS be “front loaded” with high quality evidence of a bone fide relationship. My “front loaded” petitions prepare the way so that your Lover will have an Easier interview.

The petition package is mailed to the United States Customs and Immigration Service.

USCIS takes about 4 to 5 months to review and approve.

USCIS then hands the case over to the US State Department’s National Visa Center.

Fiance visa applications are held only briefly at NVC, just long enough for NVC to decide which embassy or consulate should handle the case, and then send it there.

For spouse visas NVC gets more deeply involved requesting a second packet of forms and civil documents,and once satisfied, forwarding the case on to the assigned embassy or consulate.

Once her petition has arrived, your lover contacts the consulate to schedule her interview.

About a week or more before her interview date she undergoes a medical exam at a clinic appointed by the consulate.

Finally she attends an interview at the US consulate. She must demonstrate she is of good moral character  and the relationship is bone fide.

One to Two weeks later she gets her visa, and can join you in the USA.

I make the process sound simple. But its not.

It is easy to make rookie mistakes that can derail the entire process.

If you want it done right. Guaranteed.  I can help.

by  Fred Wahl
your Personal Immigration consultant

to confirm the engagement for marriage is “bone fide” and that you are of good moral character.

At the end of the interview the decision is made to approve or deny the visa.

It is a stressful time for you as so much hinges on making a good impression.

The secret to success?  Preparation

Preparation for the interview starts BEFORE the petition for your visa is even submitted.

Encourage your American Fiance to include, ample and compelling evidences of your courtship and relationship, as part of the original petition package submited to HomeLand Security. It should include photos, travel proofs, samples of correspondences,phone bills, affidavits from people who know the two of you as a couple,and whatever other proofs that show your engagement is “bone fide”.

I call including these materials “front – loaded” the petition.

A well prepared “Front – Loaded” submission to USCIS, helps convince the Consular Officer, as he reviews your case documents before the interview begins,

that your intentions for for a visa for marriage to you American lover is sincer and should be approved.  When a ‘Front loaded” petition is done properly, your interview may be very short and sweet.

But don’t rely ONLY on a front – loaded petition.

Do your homework too.

Make sure you KNOW who your fiancee is. Get to know him well. Ask him to tell you about his background, his family, his work, his plans.

Encourage your Fiance to visit often and to spend as much time with you, as he can afford. The more “together time” you spend with him the better you know him, and the more first hand stories you can share during the interview, the easier the inteview will seem.

Go to my website for a list of sample interview questions and practice them with your Fiance, until you your answers are relaxed and fluent.

Schedule your medical exam at the consulate designated clinic a week or earlier before the interview.

This avoids rescheduling your visa interview, in case the clinic takes longer than usual to process your lab test results.

The consulate gives you a a checklist of documents to carry to the interview.

Go over the list carefully. Make sure you have everything.

Do a final review of all of the documents and evidences.  Read each carefully, familiarize yourself with what they say. Often the answers to questions the consular officer asks are right there.

Your verbal answers should be consistent with the written answers.
.
Arrange all documents, photos and evidences into a logical order.  A document wallet works well.

Practice so that you know where everything is, and can without fumbling quickly find whatever you need.

Review the appointment letter, so you know where and when the interview is being held.

Double check any special rules or procedures, like no cell phones, which gate to use, etc.

Finally allow plenty of time to arrive on time.

by Fred Wahl

The simple answer is, before you submit

“Look around you and get an idea of what is normal”.

The consular officers are trained to seek fraud.

One way they look for fraud is to compare your story
with that of the other couples they interview.

The closer your courtship and timeline looks similar to
what is considered normal (for her country, for your cultures)
the less skepticsm.

The further away from the norm, especially on the side
of cutting corners and rushing things, the more skepticism
your petition attracts.

Compare the timeline of your courtship, from your first date
to the day you proposed marriage, compare this with the
timelines of other average couples,from the same culture,and country.

If it is common practice to rush to engagement and elope after only a few
weeks, then your short relationship is consistent with the norm,
and therefore looks reasonable,

If common practice is to have long courtships followed by long engagements,
then your short relationship is NOT consistent with the norm,
time to slow down.

Each situation is different, each consular officer
applies his own experience and judgement.

by Fred Wahl
your personal Immigration Guide

In reviewing their in-house data, and then combining this data across the different firms, they believe their statistics demonstrate that the Visa Section in Guangzhou is denying an abnormally high percentage of K-1 and CR-1 petitions. The attorneys assertion is that the visa officers in Guangzhou are over zealous in applying a higher standard than is official State Department policy. They believe this has resulted in Petitions which routinely would be approved at any other consulate, being unfairly denied in Guangzhou. Based on their own review of the denied cases, the attorneys have intuited the following list of extra-ordinary reasons they believe K petitions were denied in Guangzhou.

No English, No Visa.
One Visit, No Visa.
Marriage on First Visit, no Visa.
Very Large Age Different, No Visa.
Three or More marriages by Petitioner, No Visa.

These are the apparent “Red Flags” when applying for the Fiancee or Spousal visa in China. It seems that these could also negatively influence the consideration of your petition in other countries as well. To “err” on the safe side, I would suggest to any couple to strengthen the appearance of their genuine relationship, by addressing some of the issues listed above.

Enroll the Fiancee in English School if her English is weak.
Take a second trip. Enjoy a second or third visit, spend face to face time together.

In the case of the denied petitions, true love finally won out. Each denied Fiancee couple, got married, in China, then applied again, this time for an IR1 or CR1 visa, and after long delays, these were granted.

by Fred Wahl
your personal Immigration Guide

Getting Fiancee or spousal visas for Vietnam is much harder than from most other countries.

The consular officers in Ho Chi Minh City apply a higher standard before they accept that a relationship is genuine.

Like the consulate in China, see my other blog posting
they expect a petitioner to have made multiple trips, to have had a
long engagement, and to be able to communicate well with his fiancee
(English no problem).

In addition they expect each petitioner to have celebrated a large, formal engagement party and banquet called “Dinh Hong” (but not on the first trip).

Some of their “official” reasons for denial are:

Photographs
submitted as evidence of the relationship indicate that Petitioner and
Fiancee have spent only four or five days together.

(This
is their “code” what it really means is “only one trip = no visa”. If
only one trip, it doesn’t matter how many photos you give)

It
does not appear that the claimed relationship is continuous and on
going. For example, Petitioner has not returned to visit Fiancee for
one year.

Fiancee and-or Petitioner
submitted evidence of only a small, inconsequential engagement ceremony
without any US guest. This contradicts local social and cultural norms
in which many family members and friends, including those in the US,
are invited to engagement celebrations numbering in the hundreds of
guests for families of even modest means.

In
contrast to Vietnamese social and cultural norms which mandate a
lengthy and careful period of pre-nuptial arrangements, Petitioner and
Fiancee became engaged before meeting in person.

The
decision to approve or deny is generally made by the consular officer
before he meets with the Fiancee, before the interview. This is why
taking the extra effort to make a complete and convincing petition at
the start is essential to your success. If the officer has decided to
deny, he will ask her detailed questions about the “proposal, the
petitioners home town or the future wedding plans”. Any answer the
Fiancee gives will not be “credible”.

Beneficiary’s
chronology of the claimed relationship is not credible. For example,
Fiancee can not recalled when Petitioner proposed to her.

Fiancee
is unaware of basic facts regarding Petitioners location and or
hometown (features, characteristics, etc). For example Fiancee was
unaware of where Petitioner has lived for the past two years.

Fiancee is unaware of the exact wedding plans, what church, or venue, when the marriage would take place.

If these issues apply to you, to be successful you MUST remedy them prior to submitting your Petition. And you MUST
provide the supporting documents to irrefutably prove the remedies have
occurred. Many petitioners have their multiple trips and engagement
party after the fiancee visa petition has been submitted, then bring
proof of the trips, etc to the Fiancee’s consulate interview. They
leave dumbfounded when finding that their Fiancee who attended the
interview alone, but with all the documents, was not allowed to show
the proof, instead was asked a few questions and left, denied due to
the weak initial petition documentation.

Submit a stronger petition with more “proof of a genuine relationship”, UP FRONT.
Contrary to official statements, decisions to accept or deny a petition
are often made early, prior to the interview, while the consular
officer is reviewing your petition. The officer then asks pointed
questions during the interview in order to justify the decision he has
ALREADY made. Be sure to provide all proof of your genuine relationship
“up front” in the petition.

See my video on How to Prove a Genuine Relationship

Strategy
to successfully petition: Immediately take extra care to ensure that
your “paper trail” is solid, and put at least two trips to meet her
into your plans, sign her up for English lessons if her conversational
English is not good, and celebrate your “Dinh Hong” during one of your
trips.

If you are using a prepaid phone card make sure it
provides you with itemized call records. These are the best proof that
you are making regular and frequent contact. If your current phone card
does not give you an itemized call logs
see http://fianceevisaservices.com/international-prepaid-long-distance.html

My
petitions generally get approved faster than average. This is due to
the professional way I assemble your petition package, including
extensive, but very necessary efforts needed when applying for a
Vietnam fiancee, to prove the “bona fides” of your genuine committed
relationship.

by Fred Wahl
your personal Immigration Guide

Thanks to Gerald for his suggestion and help in putting this together.

In order to approved for immigration to the USA each foreign born applicant must undergo a medical examination. This is to demonstrate that the applicant is NOT ineligible for immigration due to public health, mental health or drug abuse issues.

All applicants being processed in the Philippines have their medical’s at St. Lukes Medical Center in Ermita, just a block away from the US Embassy.

Below is a detailed description of the process.

St. Luke’s Medical Center Extension Clinic (SLMCEC)
1177 J. Bocobo Street, Ermita, Manila

Telephone Numbers: (+63 2)521-0020, (+63 2)521-8647

Working Days/Hours: Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. and from 1:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. (Closed on Philippines holidays)

Map: http://www.slec.ph/contact-us.php
Online Registration: http://www.slec.ph/us/registration/

The medical takes 2 days.

Day 1 consists of all the tests

Day 2 is immunization and collection of results.

Fees:

$ 213.25 – 15 years and older
$ 185.35 – less than 15 years old

Each Applicant should bring the following

1. Original Passport and 1x photocopy of passport Info page
2. 3x recent 2×2 pictures. Ears are visible, and no earrings.
3. Appointment Email or Letter, plus 2x photocopies
   (if appointment has not been scheduled, instead bring NVC letter with MNL case number)
4. St. Lukes Online Registration form + 1x photo copy
5. Vaccination Records
6. Cash to pay fees
7. Annulled or divorced applicants bring proof of marriage termination

General Recommendations:

1. Eat a hearty breakfast (it will be a long day)
2. Bring Drinking water, in clear container
3. Bring a black ink, ballpoint pen
4. Bring envelope or portfolio to contain your documents
5. The best timing for Day #1 is Wednesday or Thursday.
   (Monday and Tuesday are most busy, and arriving Friday means having Day #2 after the weekend on Monday)
6. Don’t wear any metal jewelry

Recommendations for female:

1. You may not undergo exam during your menstrual period. Best to schedule one week after last period is over.
2. Remember the date, of the first day of your last period. You will be asked this.
3. Wear loose clothing, that can easily be removed. All UPPER garments will at one point be removed.
4. There is little privacy so better to avoid wearing full dress.
5. Bring something to tie long hair with.

Day #1
1. Doors open at  6:00am. People start queuing much earlier.

2. Present documents to guard. He gives you a number.

3. When staff calls the number, queue at her counter.
(Filling out the registration form online the night before speeds this part.)
Staff confirms all required documents are present, photos are acceptable, and scans finger prints.

4. Pay medical fees on 5th floor, on right, beside the elevator.

5. Proceed to the 3rd floor for X-ray. Fill in more forms, change into hospital gowns. No upper garments, bra, or necklace allowed.
Hair should be tied up.

6. Proceed to 4th floor, for Blood sample collection.

7. Proceed to Urine Collection (also 4th floor).

8. Proceed to 5th floor to “USA Counter” located on right. Present documents.

9. Proceed to Visual Exam Room.  There for measuring of body weight, height, and vision.

10. Proceed to Vital Signs Room, for blood pressure  and pulse rate.

11. Proceed to Physical Exam rooms. (Applicants are assigned same gender doctors.)
Doctor first inquires about medical history, such as previous pregnancies, last menstrual period, surgeries and diseases experienced. Then change into a hospital gown and on to examination table. Doctor examines ears, throat, neck, breasts, wrists, arms, abdomen, anus, privates.

12. Proceed to 2nd floor for Immunization Interview. Doctor asks about medical history, prior diseases, prior vaccinations, then prescribes which immunizations would be required.

13. Proceed to Ground Floor. Check out at reception. Staff returns documents, plus a Receipt to be used when returning on following day.

Day #2

1. Arrive for 9:00 am.

2. Guard inspects Receipt, and refers to his computer.

3. If previous days exams were satisfactory, the receipt is marked immunization and you go to 2nd floor for vaccinations.
A copy of exam results are given to you. (you will hand these over when arriving to the USA, at US border control)
and a sealed copy of your exam results is sent directly to the US consulate.

For Most applicants this is the final step prior to the consulate interview.

4. However, if your x-ray showed a possible TB infection, then the receipt is marked sputum and you proceed to undergo a sputum test to confirm if this was a false positive or sign of a real infection.

The doctor gives case specific instructions which normally include requesting a follow up exam at St. Lukes a few months later, to review the sputum results. St. Lukes contacts the consulate directly to postpone your interview. A new interview can be scheduled only after St. Lukes provides clearance.

by Fred Wahl
your personal Immigration Guide

Each week I speak to callers who are  trying to figure out what could work
the best for them, getting married overseas or in the USA, applying for spousal or fiancee visas?

This is what I tell them:

To bring your lover to the USA you have two real choices, apply for a K1 Fiancee Visa,  planning to marry once she arrives, or marry first, then apply for a CR1 Spousal Visa.

I say ‘real’ choices because attempting to bring her here on a tourist, work, or student visa is as likely as winning the lottery, its just not going to happen.

If you want to save yourself some time reading, this is all you really need to know:

Fiancee visa  is about 6 months faster, but costs about $1,000 more.

And if you prefer to listen/see a presentation, I have just updated the video
I originally recorded in 2010 and have posted the latest version at

http://fianceevisaservices.com/youtubefianceeorspousevisa.html

If a couple wants to be united as soon as possible, the fiancee visa is the prefered choice.

For couples who prefer to save some money and don’t mind the longer separation, or who prefer to celebrate their wedding in front of her family and neighbors, the spousal visa is their choice.

The K-1 Fiancee visa is like a tourist visa on steroids.

It allows the holder to enter the USA and visit here for up to 90 days. AND includes eligibility to apply for permanent residency. If the wedding occurs within the 90 days alloted, the bride is eligible to apply to remain in the USA permanentlty. This is called Adjustment of Status. She may “adjust” her status from a temporary K1 visitor to that of a Permanent Resident. The id card she gets stating she is legally permitted to stay is called the “Green Card”. The K1 visa is valid for 6 months. Your fiancee must begin her travel before it expires.

Two departments of the US government will handle your case, first USCIS in the USA, then the US Department of State at NVC in Vermont, and the consulates and embassies overseas.

USCIS = United States Customs and Immigration Service
NVC = National Visa Center = Operated by US Department of State

K1 Fiancee Visa Timeline:

0 week: Couple submit I-129F Petition Package to USCIS
+1-2 weeks: USCIS confirms receipt of Petition
+12-24 weeks: USCIS approves case and passes it on to NVC
+1-2 weeks: NVC confirms case has been sent  to US consulate in her country
+1-2 weeks: US consulate receives case
+4-12 weeks: Fiancee has medical + consulate interview
(brings to consulate second package of documents and evidences)
+1-2 weeks: Passport is returned to Fiancee with K1 Visa attached

AVERAGE TIME: 6-8 months, from submission to receipt of visa

Costs:
$340 Fiancee visa filing fee, attached to I-129F petition
$200 Medical exam fee, just prior to the interview at the consulate
$240 Visa application fee, prior to interview at the consulate
$100 Medical exam fee, to verify innoculations, conducted in USA
$1,070 Green Card application fee

Total: $1,950 thru to Permanent Residency

The CR-1 Spousal visa is a visa for permanent immigration to the USA. It is valid for 6 months,and allows the holder to enter the USA, in order to reside here permanently. Permanent residence is already approved, and no ajustment of status is needed. The visa holder gets her green card after a few simple formalities.

CR1 Spousal Visa Timeline:

0 week:  Couple submit I-130 Petition Package to USCIS
+1-2 weeks: USCIS confirms receipt of Petition
+12-24 weeks: USCIS approves case
+3-6 weeks: NVC requests foreign spouse choose her “Agent” in USA
+1-2 weeks: NVC requests Sponsor to pay online $80, Affidavit of Support Fee
+2-6 weeks: NVC requests Sponsor to pay online $230, visa application fee
+0 weeks: After Sponsor pays fees, he submits Package of Civil documents to                   NVC, including his Affidavit of Support
+3-6 weeks: NVC confirms all needed documents have been verified
+0: NVC schedules appointment at US consulate, or advises that US consulate will contact foreign spouse directly
+4-12 weeks: Foreign Spouse has medical + consulate  interview (brings to consulate final package of documents and evidences)
+1-2 weeks: Passport is returned to Fiancee with K1 Visa attached

AVERAGE TIME: 10-14 months, from submission to receipt of visa

Costs:
$420 Spousal visa filing fee, when you originally apply to USCIS
$80 Affidavit of Support Fee, paid to Department of State (National Visa Center), about 7 months
$230 Visa application fee, paid to Department of State (National Visa Center), about 8 months
$200 medical exam fee, just prior to your interview at the consulate

Total:  $930 thru to Permanent Residency

Comparison

A. The proof that you have a “bone fide” relationship is the same.
See how to prove your relationship is bone fide:

http://fianceevisaservices.com/youtubegenuinerelationship.html

B. Spousal Visa takes at about 6 months longer

C.  Paperwork: Fiancee Visa: 2 document submissions, Spousal Visa: 3 document submissions.

D. Minimum Income Eligibility is $18,913 annual income for Spouse versus $15,130 for Fiancee

K1 Fiancee Visa

Pro: You can apply as soon as you have met ‘face to face’
Con: If your income is below the minimum, and you need a joint-sponsor, check with the consulate first, as
some consulates DO NOT permit use of a financial joint-sponsor

CR1 Spousal Visa

Pro: Green card is included, you save about $1,000 in fees.
Pro: If you do not meet financial eligibility: Use of a financial joint-sponsor is always allowed
Pro: Her family attends wedding
Con: You must marry first before submitting.
Con: Takes about 6 months longer
Con: Three sets of documents to prepare

Watch the NEW K1 vs CR1 video at

http://fianceevisaservices.com/youtubefianceeorspousevisa.html

Or call me directly at 1-800-806-3210 x702 to discuss your options.

Frequently Asked Questions:

After she gets her fiancee visa, can we marry in her country, then travel together to the USA?

No. When she travels using the K1 fiancee visa, she MUST at that time be unmarried. If she becomes legally married before the visa is used, it must be abandoned. And you would have to start all over again, this time applying for a Spousal Visa. You MAY have a celebration, or cultural or religious ceremony providing it is NOT considered by the government of her residence country as a legal marriage.

We are already married, I don’t want to wait 12 months, Can we apply for a Fiancee Visa?

No. Once married, the option to apply for a fiancee visa is taken off of the table. She must be unmarried to apply for, as well as use the fiancee visa.

We plan to marry in six months, can we apply for the spousal visa now?

No. You must wait until after the wedding, and you have your marriage certificate BEFORE submit the Spousal Visa Petition package.

by Fred Wahl
your personal Immigration Guide

My philosophy for successfully demonstrating the bone fides of a couples relationship ( for background details watch this video http://fianceevisaservices.com/youtubegenuinerelationship.html)
includes presenting to immigration, itemized logs or samples of communications. This is in order to demonstrate the couple has been talking on an ongoing and regular basis. An itemized telephone bill, or a detailed log from an emails sent folder is fairly easy to generate. But Skype and Facebook provide a long continuous ‘blog like’ record which is not so easy to work with.

When working with my clients, I prepare for them for them a personalized,  check list of the different ways to prove their relationship. They gather their proofs and we submit these evidences as part of the I-129F or I-130 petition we send to USCIS to apply for for Fiancee or Spousal visas. Also an updated set will be hand carried later to the consulate for the visa interview.  I call the package of evidences and documents the US sponsor sends me his ‘shoebox’. I go over each page carefully and select the most useful to include as part of his petition. While he was working on his ‘shoebox’, a client recently asked me this question.

Jason: I’m still in the process of compiling my shoebox and I have a quick question regarding taking the screen shots of the chat logs. Most of our conversations have been on Skype. Must I take the screen shots of our conversations from the skype program? or can I copy/paste them into a word doc and take pictures that way?

Fred Wahl:  When presenting evidences, you should never NEVER put them through, or into an editable, word processed document. WE know you are not editing, or falsifying the evidences, but we DO NOT want to take any chance to cause the consular officer to have any doubts himself. The proof you present should be as close to the original document, desktop, screen, or view as possible, without manipulation.

If the evidence is displayed on your computer monitor, the better procedure is to print out a ScreenShot or ScreenCapture of your actual computer screen. Open your skype, chat, email, facebook,  bank statement, phone bill, or other internet based evidence. Then take a screencapture image that shows the pertinent section (message, text, date, etc) as well as enough of the surrounding borders, graphics, captions, and even advertisements, so that it will be clear to anyone who sees your image, exactly where the image came from, what it is about, and what Internet service you were using. Save the screencapture in an image processing software like photoshop, pixia, photoscape, picasa. Then print out hard copies for your shoebox.

By including the identifiable surrounding elements, you clearly demonstrate the “PROVENANCE” of the evidence, (exactly where it came from).

To be most effective, try resizing the windows, to make the crucial portions (the text portions you want to show) as large as possible  (while still retaining enough of outside edges and borders to make the source recognizable).

Also make sure that the CALENDAR DATE when the communication occurred is clearly visible, and legible especially AFTER printing. Sometimes
the quality of the printing, or the colors used for text make the date hard to read. Correct this, as the date is the most important element on the page.

Remember: When it comes to sampling Chats, we DO NOT want to see the ENTIRE chat session. Only one page, generally just the first page (as it most often shows the date) is enough. It should provide enough information, so as to identify you, her, the date, and a few words shared between the two of you. It is not so important exactly what you were saying, but that you were communicating together on a regular and ongoing basis.  Then scroll a week or more in time, find another sample, and take a screencapture of that page and so on.

A simple sampling procedure:

Start by taking a sample of your earliest session, then depending on how long your records go back, take regular samplings of  4 times, 3 times,  twice or once each month.

Depending on how many months you have corresponded, I recommend the following  sampling intervals

Then top off the stack with an image of the first page of  your most recent chat , taken just before you mail me your shoebox.

At the end of the day this is the way to put together a well documented, understandable and believable package of proofs and evidences. So far following my philosophies, I have had all petitions approved at BOTH the USCIS AND Consulate stages.

by Fred Wahl
your personal Immigration Guide

I get phone calls from strangers, (strangers for they weren’t my clients, they prepared their petitions themselfs, or used an attorney), who call to share their shock and disappointment after hearing from their heartbroken fiancee that their petition was denied.  They ask: Can we sue the consulate? Can we appeal? Can my Congressman help? Yes, to all these questions. But going down that path is simply a waste of time and money, as none of these actions will bring your lover closer to reunion with you in the USA.

What can be done,  that is USEFUL?

Short answer:  Don’t get Denied in the first place.

The first time you apply should be the ONLY time you need to apply. Do your research, see why the consulate rejected couples in the past, then avoid repeating the same mistakes. If the consulate expects a formal engagement, or multiple trips, or a long courtship …. do what is needed before you submit your petition. And  make sure you provide abundant and believable proof that that there is no fraud, that you are a pure, genuine, ‘bone fide’ couple planning a future life together. While it is certainly inexpensive to prepare all  the paperwork yourself, I recommend you hire me to personally help you. My record is 100% approval. More info is at http://fianceevisaservices.com/ or speak with me at 1-800-806-3210 x702 to discuss.

Long answer:  Start Over

If denied, your only effective option is to start over, repeating the ENTIRE process again. You must do a better job this time. On the plus side: you have more longevity in your relationship, you have more evidences, and the fact you are persisting and trying again adds to your credibility.

Study your mistakes.

Sometimes, the consulate provides a letter, describing in detail why the petition was denied. This should be studied carefully and action taken to correct what you can. That which can not be directly corrected, can be generally overcome due to the fact that your relationship now has much more longevity (at least a year) the second time you apply.

Often however, the vague reason given for denial is ‘the couple was not found bone fide’. Basically that means that the consular officer’s intuition told him to deny. You don’t have any real solid facts to go on. However you should try your best to figure out what went wrong. Ask your fiancee to describe the interview in detail:  What questions were asked, what comments were made, what body language occured? Try to determine what was it that the consulate officer was concerned about, found suspicious or reacted negatively to? Did he ask a lot of questions about your ex-wife? details about the marriage proposal? wanted to know about finances? Who introduced you and why? Commented on the courtship going on before the divorce was final?  Whatever seemed to go wrong, that is something you will have to correct and address, for the next time.

Use addititional evidence to best advantage:

You should have done a full and complete job in providing evidences of your relationship when you filed your original petition. But many of the callers I get, mention they made the ‘rookie’ mistake of not providing adequate supporting evidences of their relationship. If you did not do that job well the first time, now is your chance to do it correctly. Or ask for my help. I strongly believe the most important aspect of the petition is the evidence of the ‘bone fides’ of your relationship, this is where I personally spend the most time and effort when working with clients. Helping them to tell their story in a logical and convincing manner. As your relationship is at least a year older then at the time it you first applied, you now have an entire years worth of additional evidences to add to your petition.  See my video On How to Prove a Genuine Relationship 

Enlist Support of your Congressman

You could ask your Congressman to help get an explanation of why you were denied. I have seen this done, but usually with no worthwhile results. Generally the answer obtained is ‘they were not believed to be bone fide’, full stop.

A better use of your Congressman is to contact him once your fiancee’s second interview is scheduled, tell him the details of your case, explain how sincere and bone fide your relationship is, and ask for his help.

This usually results in an email from his office to the consulate a few days before the interview, advising that the Congressman is personally interested in your case, and asking the consulate to advise the results after the interview. This is not a message from the Congressman endorsing your case. But it serves to put the consular reviewing officer on notice that should the case be denied, he will be expected to report a solid, documented reason. Many cases are rejected based upon the ‘intuition’ of the reviewing officer. The expectation that detailed written documentation will be needed in case of denial tends to influence the consulate reviewer to find a solid reason for denial, and if he is unable to do so, then to approve.

Request Waiver

The recent IMBRA laws restrict the use of Fiancee visas by American sponsors. Two restrictions are that an American is limited to two fiancee visa petitions in his lifetime, and they can not be submitted within two years of each other. So when applying immediately, the second time, for your Fiancee your petition will need to include a request for waiver from at least one of these IMBRA restrictions, even though you are applying for your SAME fiancee.

Fiancee or Spousal Visa

Either visa needs the same amount of evidences. If you are living together, getting married does look better than only staying engaged. However if the relationship is long distance, getting married but still living far apart only marginally makes your relationship appear more sincere. The spousal visa takes about 12 – 14 months to process while the Fiancee visa takes only 5- 7 months to process.  In general I recommend couples whose Fiancee Visa has been denied, to apply for the fiancee visa again as it is faster.

by Fred Wahl
your personal Immigration Guide