Anyone with K1 second interview experience?

[lichenrachel]

Hey everyone, this is my first post here. Never thought I would need to post a "help!" thread here because my fiance and I were so confident that we would get a visa. (I am the Chinese beneficiary)

 

Until I was given a white slip after a super long interrogating interview in early November...My fiance and I and our families were shocked and devastated. So was everyone who knows us.

 

My fiance and I met in China and lived together in Beijing for almost a year until he decided to go back to the States for law school and we decided to get married. It is the first marriage for both of us. I brought book-thick evidence to the interview and was asked more than 30 questions. I was denied the K1 visa on the ground of "non-bona fide" relationship by a hostile visa officer.

 

With tremendous help from my fiance's senators and representatives and our families and friends, we succeeded in keeping the case in GZ and I was given a second chance to go for another interview. I have been searching for K1 visa second interview cases on the internet but haven't found any. I am wondering whether anyone here has had experience with that and is willing to shed my some light on how the second interview works. I have heard encouraging things like they are not going to be as tough on the second interview but have also heard about a case where the beneficiary was given another white slip after a seemingly unreasonable first round denial.

 

I don't think we can afford another denial. The whole visa denial mess has been so mentally and emotionally exhausting, for us and for our families. It will be a real shame to have him quit law school to come to China to marry me and delay our futures because of an arbitrary decision made by GZ. We are doing everything we can to make it work this time. If you don't feel like commenting openly, you are welcome to PM me.

 

Many thanks in advance.

[tkgert]

Keeping your case in GZ, and receiving a second interveiw is very rare from the many post that I have read. You have accomplished far more than most that receive the non bonafide BS that they use very often. Good Luck and keep us posted. When is your interveiw? TK

[dnoblett]

Is rare to keep a case in Guangzhou, a few have been sent back to the consulate when USCIS feels that denial was unfounded.

 

I think one member managed to keep case in Guangzhou and overturned the denial without an interview.

 

Very rare for a second interview, in most cases they simply request you to turn in passport so that they can affix a visa into it.

[bullmastiff]

Considering the exhaustive amount of questions , there must have been something that they were suspicious of . One thing , if you guys already lived together for 1 yr , why not get married and then come to the USA ? Why K1 ??? From the exhaustive questioning you should be able to draw a conclusion why they come to the conclusion of non bonafide relationship ???

Things just did not add up. It is not a random thing to target you .

 

My feeling is the 2nd interview is either to ask you further questions to verify something or they simply is going to approve your case. They did this as a courtesy to the conggressional inquiry .Be glad you at least have this 2nd chance.

Edited December 2, 2010 by bullmastiff (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

This is the one case I saw that got held and overturned at the consulate, though it was not a K-1 case but a spousal visa case.

 

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=40316

[lichenrachel]

Considering the exhaustive amount of questions , there must have been something that they were suspicious of . One thing , if you guys already lived together for 1 yr , why not get married and then come to the USA ? Why K1 ??? From the exhaustive questioning you should be able to draw a conclusion why they come to the conclusion of non bonafide relationship ???

Things just did not add up. It is not a random thing to target you .

 

My feeling is the 2nd interview is either to ask you further questions to verify something or they simply is going to approve your case. They did this as a courtesy to the conggressional inquiry .Be glad you at least have this 2nd chance.

 

 

We were about to get married in Beijing when we consulted with a US immigration lawyer (probably a not very good one. We are using a different lawyer to handle our denial though). He suggested K1 over marriage visa because he said it is faster and safer. We had very little knowledge of this sort of things so we followed his advice.

 

From our analysis with our lawyer, we think I fell into two trap questions at the first interview. First, he asked "is there any other reason for you to go to the States?". I interpreted it as "is there any other reason besides marriage" while he might be asking "is there any reason instead of marriage", I said "of course my principle reason is to get married to my fiance. Any other reasons?...I also like the American culture, so it won't take me too long to get used to life there. There are also good education opportunities. I have a very comfortable life in Beijing. If not for joining my future husband in the States, there is no reason for me to abandon everything here." Then I mentioned I would like to go to grad school when I go to the States when he asked me "what is your plan when you get to the States?". We think the CO might have concluded that I am going to the States to pursue other immigrant benefits (school, career, or whatever he thinks), which is very insulting to me.

 

Education is very important to me. Even if I don't get a job afterwards, it is important for my personal development and most importantly for the education of our kids in the future (when we have kids). All I tried to do at the interview is to prove that my fiance and I have long term life plans in the States and I won't become a public charge and I will lead a meaningful life there.

 

I realize maybe I was being too candid with the visa officer who I should have treated more like my enemy:) Anyway, those are the two questions that might have showed red flags. But I still don't think it justifies a denial. There were other 30+ not related questions and all the evidence we showed.

 

ANYWAY, I AM very grateful for the second chance and I am working on strategies to overcome last denial. We put A LOT OF efforts into keeping the case in GZ and basically used every resort we had. My fiance had to juggle the heavy workload of law school and my visa denial and it has been really difficult and exhausting for him. I am just trying to see if anyone has been through this got his/her denial overturned. (Though it seems like no one here has had the same second review thing.) I did get several responses on the Chinese versions of Candle Love ("immigration visas to the USA through marriage" forum). Some said they got a "second interview" notice after submitting additional materials after a blue slip, but only to be told "you visa is denied" in face. No interview questions at all. Though it is not exactly the same as my case, it does sound really scary.

 

Sorry if I am writing too much here... I have had this discussion many many times with my fiance and our lawyer. I just want some outsider's opinions on it. Also my fiance's finals are coming up for the next few days, I'd rather not keep distracting him too much now.

 

Thank you again for everyone who shared their suggestions here.

[lichenrachel]

Keeping your case in GZ, and receiving a second interveiw is very rare from the many post that I have read. You have accomplished far more than most that receive the non bonafide BS that they use very often. Good Luck and keep us posted. When is your interveiw? TK

 

 

I know I am extremely fortunate in this case and I am very very thankful. (Although I am still pissed at GZ for the previous denial) They asked me to go back anytime between Mon and Wed for fingerprints and will schedule the interview for the next day. I will probably go back in about two weeks when I have all the renewed evidence ready.

[tsap seui]

Keeping your case in GZ, and receiving a second interveiw is very rare from the many post that I have read. You have accomplished far more than most that receive the non bonafide BS that they use very often. Good Luck and keep us posted. When is your interveiw? TK

 

 

I know I am extremely fortunate in this case and I am very very thankful. (Although I am still pissed at GZ for the previous denial) They asked me to go back anytime between Mon and Wed for fingerprints and will schedule the interview for the next day. I will probably go back in about two weeks when I have all the renewed evidence ready.

 

 

I wish you good luck at your interview.

 

With GZ it's all about luck. They can speculate and conjecture any reason under the sun to deny someone. Lots of us get caught up in their speculation and conjecture....and others pass on through.

 

It's not how well you represent yourself at the interview or how much evidence you have to back up your bona fide relationship....it's just plain ol' luck.

 

tsap seui

[lichenrachel]

This is the one case I saw that got held and overturned at the consulate, though it was not a K-1 case but a spousal visa case.

 

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=40316

 

 

I saw that post when I was crazy searching for remedies after my visa was first denied. I gave me a little bit of hope but since it is a spousal visa it is not exactly my case.

 

I didn't realize the fiance/marriage visa would be this complicated at all. My fiance would definitely defer law school for a year to wait until I get the visa if we knew it was going to be this hard. We both thought I would already be in the States by now. With all due respect, I think the whole process is ridiculous and the immigration system is broken. I feel I was already sharing more than enough in front of a stranger about my private life and I felt totally humiliated and victimized when I was denied such a basic human right to be reunited with my loved one and accused of faking a marriage to go the States. It is very ironic that in the immigration visa interviewing area, they have portraits of human rights activists and minority leaders hanging on every wall.

 

Done complaining.

[dnoblett]

We were about to get married in Beijing when we consulted with a US immigration lawyer (probably a not very good one. We are using a different lawyer to handle our denial though). He suggested K1 over marriage visa because he said it is faster and safer. We had very little knowledge of this sort of things so we followed his advice.

 

 

Yep, not a very experienced lawyer, K-Visas seem to have the highest denial rate of the visas because it is easy for the consulate to toss the "bona-fide relationship" denial.

 

As for the logical approach it would have been to marry in China, and file petition directly in the consulate since it sounds like US Citizen lived in China more than 6 months, it IS the quickest, and least expensive of the routes.

 

K-1 has the EXPENSIVE adjustment of status in the USA, which now costs: $1070

 

Costs involved:

K-1:

I-129F: $340

Consulate: $350

AOS: $1070

($1763)

 

CR-1

I-130: $420

NVC I-864: $70 (Not charged when DCF)

Visa fee: $400 ($355+$45)

($820) DCF

[lichenrachel]

Keeping your case in GZ, and receiving a second interveiw is very rare from the many post that I have read. You have accomplished far more than most that receive the non bonafide BS that they use very often. Good Luck and keep us posted. When is your interveiw? TK

 

 

I know I am extremely fortunate in this case and I am very very thankful. (Although I am still pissed at GZ for the previous denial) They asked me to go back anytime between Mon and Wed for fingerprints and will schedule the interview for the next day. I will probably go back in about two weeks when I have all the renewed evidence ready.

 

 

I wish you good luck at your interview.

 

With GZ it's all about luck. They can speculate and conjecture any reason under the sun to deny someone. Lots of us get caught up in their speculation and conjecture....and others pass on through.

 

It's not how well you represent yourself at the interview or how much evidence you have to back up your bona fide relationship....it's just plain ol' luck.

 

tsap seui

 

 

Yes. I know if I had been just a little bit luckier I would have got the visa the first time with no problem. I saw so many "if your relationship is sound, they will never deny you a visa" kind of talks and I thought there is nothing to be afraid of and I was not nervous at all before the interview. I visited the US twice for student conferences when I was in college and I got my visas in 1 minute. I never thought it could be a matter of luck until I got rejected the K1 visa.

 

Thank you for your wishes, tsap seui. I am going to the Lama Temple to pray tomorrow:)

[lichenrachel]

We were about to get married in Beijing when we consulted with a US immigration lawyer (probably a not very good one. We are using a different lawyer to handle our denial though). He suggested K1 over marriage visa because he said it is faster and safer. We had very little knowledge of this sort of things so we followed his advice.

 

 

Yep, not a very experienced lawyer, K-Visas seem to have the highest denial rate of the visas because it is easy for the consulate to toss the "bona-fide relationship" denial.

 

As for the logical approach it would have been to marry in China, and file petition directly in the consulate since it sounds like US Citizen lived in China more than 6 months, it IS the quickest, and least expensive of the routes.

 

K-1 has the EXPENSIVE adjustment of status in the USA, which now costs: $1070

 

Costs involved:

K-1:

I-129F: $340

Consulate: $350

AOS: $1070

($1763)

 

CR-1

I-130: $420

NVC I-864: $70 (Not charged when DCF)

Visa fee: $400 ($355+$45)

($820) DCF

 

 

God damn the inexperienced lawyer who charged us $150 consultation fee for nothing...

 

We were overly confident the first time round. We just thought "wait for 6 months and be reunited in the States? Sure, no problem." We didn't even think as far as the adjustment of status and the green card. We just assumed as long as we are together again in the States, we will figure out the rest from there.

 

And you bet the K visa is more expensive. Since we hired a lawyer after the denial (from "one of the best immigration law firms in the nation"), we paid $2000 flat fee (plus another $150 consultation fee) for fighting the denial and keeping the case in GZ. The lawyer we have now is very nice and helpful and we don't regret hiring her at all, but we think the main reason that kept our case in GZ is the help from senators and representatives. Anyway, money is not the main issue now. If everything works out fine this time, I am willing to give the lawyer (or better, the God) $500 (or however much the God reasonably asks for) as bonus.(just kdding:))

[lichenrachel]

We were about to get married in Beijing when we consulted with a US immigration lawyer (probably a not very good one. We are using a different lawyer to handle our denial though). He suggested K1 over marriage visa because he said it is faster and safer. We had very little knowledge of this sort of things so we followed his advice.

 

 

Yep, not a very experienced lawyer, K-Visas seem to have the highest denial rate of the visas because it is easy for the consulate to toss the "bona-fide relationship" denial.

 

As for the logical approach it would have been to marry in China, and file petition directly in the consulate since it sounds like US Citizen lived in China more than 6 months, it IS the quickest, and least expensive of the routes.

 

K-1 has the EXPENSIVE adjustment of status in the USA, which now costs: $1070

 

Costs involved:

K-1:

I-129F: $340

Consulate: $350

AOS: $1070

($1763)

 

CR-1

I-130: $420

NVC I-864: $70 (Not charged when DCF)

Visa fee: $400 ($355+$45)

($820) DCF

 

 

 

And yes, we are getting married in China and applying for spousal visa if I get denied again (knock knock).

[credzba]

We were about to get married in Beijing when we consulted with a US immigration lawyer (probably a not very good one. We are using a different lawyer to handle our denial though). He suggested K1 over marriage visa because he said it is faster and safer. We had very little knowledge of this sort of things so we followed his advice.

 

 

Yep, not a very experienced lawyer, K-Visas seem to have the highest denial rate of the visas because it is easy for the consulate to toss the "bona-fide relationship" denial.

 

As for the logical approach it would have been to marry in China, and file petition directly in the consulate since it sounds like US Citizen lived in China more than 6 months, it IS the quickest, and least expensive of the routes.

 

K-1 has the EXPENSIVE adjustment of status in the USA, which now costs: $1070

 

Costs involved:

K-1:

I-129F: $340

Consulate: $350

AOS: $1070

($1763)

 

CR-1

I-130: $420

NVC I-864: $70 (Not charged when DCF)

Visa fee: $400 ($355+$45)

($820) DCF

 

 

 

And yes, we are getting married in China and applying for spousal visa if I get denied again (knock knock).

 

 

Except now he is back in the states, so he can't file DCF in China (unless he returns and lives in China for 6 months).

If your denied again, you'll have to solve that problem, or they will use it AGAIN on the IR/1.

Just be careful if it comes to that.

[Lee VD]

 

 

Costs involved:

K-1:

I-129F: $340

 

 

 

Try $455... at least thats what I paid (Oct. 2009)

Edited December 3, 2010 by Lee VD (see edit history)