ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
USCIS Service CentersPetition is back at USCIS
My petition was returned in May 2006, received in July, I had to wait until the 180 processing time passed until I could ask about it and after I did I received this in the mail.


"Monday, December 11, 2006

Dear XXXX,

On 11/09/2006 you, or the designated representative shown below, contacted us about your case. Some of the key nformation given to us at that time was the following:

XXXXX

The status of this service request is:

Thank you for your inquiry regarding the listed petition. Said petition was returned to the California Service Center (CSC) by the State Department's [consulate/NVC] for review and was received in the CSC on or about 7/11/06. All returned petitions are reviewed in the order in which they are received, and due to the high volume of petitions returned to our center daily and the various complexities involved in returned petitions, we may make no predictions as to the amount of time necessary to complete our review nor may we release for return to our center until the review is completed.

If you have any further questions, please call the national Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283."



I thought I would post since I am a little ahead of y'all. Sorry, not to offer a light at the further end of the tunnel. It is really heartbreaking.
My petition was returned because the it expired at the Embassy and the CO decided not to extend it and it was returned. Since my case wasn't sent back as a review my lawyer said an expiration could be refiled so I did that and am waiting to see what will happen.
sakurasamaFemale02006-12-25 11:42:00
USCIS Service CentersPetition is back at USCIS
My petition was sent back from New Delhi May 3, arrived July 11 and was first "touched" November 2. My six months have passed and I called to request a review and a NOID. I asked the operator when I could expect to hear something and she told me she would put in my request and told me not to call again for 45 days! :clock:
sakurasamaFemale02006-11-19 19:16:00
Asia: SouthK-1 visa denied!!
She is asking if there are other people who are going through/have gone through an Embassy in Pakistan who has had a similar problem. Vicki/Bala and I are both dealing with returned petitions from India. Anyone from Pakistan?
sakurasamaFemale012/5/2006 15:57
Asia: SouthInternatinal calling plans to India
I use onesuite.com Nine cents a minute.
sakurasamaFemale012/5/2006 15:59
Asia: SouthREJECTED!
My first petition was returned because it expired and the CO chose not to revalidate it, not because it was denied. So I didn't have to wait for a final notice from the first one. I was able to resubmit.
sakurasamaFemale07/4/2007 17:48
Asia: SouthREJECTED!
cjindia,

The same thing happened to me and my fiance with New Delhi. We had lived together for over 8 months, had been dating for a year and a half, had tons of emails, letters, phone calls, photos. My story is really long but at the end of it we were told our petition had expired and wasn't being revalidated because the CO wasn't convinced of a valid relationship and was sent back to the NVC. There is a silver lining- YOU WERE NOT DENIED, your petition just expired. This means you can file another one without having to wait for the first one to have to go through the review process (which could take years!!!)

My fiance and I attempted to get married but because neither he nor I am an Indian citizen and I couldn't stay in the country for the requistite 45 days we couldn't get married. I refiled a fiance petition for him with a very long explanation of everything that went wrong with the first petition, all the mishandling and incompetency at the Embassy level, included my emails to the Embassy and their vague pointless emails back (when they actually bothered to reply!). It has taken over 6 months for the second petition to be approved by USCIS and I don't know it that was just bad luck or because my petition was so long but it did get approved and is on its way back to Delhi. I am hoping that the CO there will realize that my fiance and I are SERIOUS about getting married and that she/he can't send it back to DHS after it has been approved TWICE!!!!

Incidentally, I pursued both petitions, the returned petition and my newly submitted petition. The returned petition is still in limbo after 13 months.
sakurasamaFemale07/4/2007 15:34
Asia: SouthDelhi VFS Instructions for K-1 Visa
You are so wonderfully helpful! Using your list I made a list for my fiance and told him to be in Delhi by Monday morning. What would I do without visa journey and fellow visa journeyers? After my fiance was told it would take 3 months for an interview and not getting anything in the mail I would have never thought to ask when his interview was scheduled had I not been reading your post. THANK YOU SO MUCH BSZOOM42!!!!!!
sakurasamaFemale08/18/2007 13:18
Asia: SouthDelhi VFS Instructions for K-1 Visa
Whoo-hoo! I emailed the Embassy and just got a reply that my fiance's interview date is September 12th too! Do you think it will help any for me to be there- as far as convincing the powers that be of our sincereity? This is our busy season at work and I am sure I could take time off work to go to India but I think I would rather spend the money to take to my fiance to Hawaii!

I am so nervous!

My fiance hasn't gotten anything in the mail and lives in Himachel Pradesh far from Delhi. I had already sent him all the forms that I could print out from the internet but I know he doesn't have the medical paperwork to take to the doctor. All the paperwork has to be submitted at least five busines days before the interview? So is our only option him going to Delhi two weeks early to get the medical paperwork, do the medical there and then submit all the papers and wait in Delhi until his interview?
sakurasamaFemale08/17/2007 20:12
Asia: SouthDelhi VFS Instructions for K-1 Visa
Hi,

My fiance was told the same thing when he submitted his paperwork yesterday about the interview being scheduled one month later and occuring two months later. How did you hear about your fiancee's interview three days after your fiancee submitted the DS-230 etc.? Thanks!!!
sakurasamaFemale08/15/2007 19:17
Asia: SouthSeptember Interview Dates posted at New Delhi
We have been dating for three years and lived together for one of them so I think we are pretty well established but we have to practice as it is hard for my fiance to remember my American relatives' names, American city names and my official job title- things we don't usually talk about in every day conversation.
sakurasamaFemale09/2/2007 20:47
Asia: SouthSeptember Interview Dates posted at New Delhi
August 23. They didn't take our I-134 packet though. I emailed the Embassy and they said to bring it to the interview. Are you practicing questions with your fiancee? I hope they don't ask anything strange like my father's first name or something!
sakurasamaFemale09/2/2007 15:15
Asia: SouthSeptember Interview Dates posted at New Delhi
Hey bszoom,

Thanks for keeping us up to date. My fiance's is the same day as yours'. I am so worried I feel sick whenever I think about it!!!
sakurasamaFemale09/1/2007 21:03
Asia: SouthAnybody studying your SO's language?
I was living in Dharamsala when I met my fiance so I picked up some Tibetan in the year I was there. I recently signed up for a Tibetan language class and was so proud of myself. When I announced to him that I was going to study Tibetan, he asked me, "why?" Deflated, I said, "to talk to your mom". He pointed out that his mother spoke a regional dialect and wouldn't understand the Lhasa Tibetan I would be studying. I went to class anyway but as soon as I realized Tibetan is a tonal language my desire (confidence?!) evaporated. Now I am happy with the little phrases I know, like, "how are you? and "I love you"!
sakurasamaFemale09/1/2007 21:10
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresDoes anyone know how to get married in India?
Thnaks everyone. Kapathak, can you give me the name and possibly address or phone number of the lawyer you trust in Dharamsala?
sakurasamaFemale02006-07-13 13:30:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresDoes anyone know how to get married in India?
Yes, the name of a good local lawyer would help! I am not sure if Buddhist temples have marriage logs. Do you have to prove you are Hindu to have a Hindu marriage?
sakurasamaFemale02006-07-12 15:10:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresDoes anyone know how to get married in India?
You all are so helpful!!!!

Kpathak- so with a religious marriage there is less waiting? I spent 2004 teaching English at a nunnery in Dharamsala so I beleive we are going to get married at the temple there. Give me all the details of what you did!!!

calOC- I guess my fiance is talking about the Intent to Marry procedure you are outlining. He seems to think we both need to be there to get the process started. Is this not the case? We will definitely hire a lawyer.


Civil and religious ceremony- I want to marry this man a hundred times anyway so I guess I can do all of it to cover my bases.
sakurasamaFemale02006-07-12 13:47:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresDoes anyone know how to get married in India?
I am planning to go to India in September to marry my fiance and he is telling me that it takes 45 days to get married in India. That first we need to see a lawyer and then wait 45 days to go to a high court to get the marriage license. Is this right? Is there any way to do it more quickly, legally or by bribery? I can only take three weeks off from work! We are Buddhist and he lives in Dharamsala, if that information helps anyone.

Thanks!
sakurasamaFemale02006-07-12 09:42:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresDoes anyone know an marriage lawyer in India?
Does anyone know a lawyer in India who will start the court marriage proceedings before I arrive in India so that I can marry when I arrive? I am in contact with a lawyer but he insists that he can't start the proceedings until I get there but I have read ( http://mri.med.yale....chiro/visa.html ) that others have started the process before they arrive. The civil marriage paperwork takes between 30 and 45 days but I am only able to stay away from work for three weeks ( I am a teacher). My fiance is in Dharamsala and I am flying into Delhi but we can travel anywhere in to get married. Please help!!!!
sakurasamaFemale02006-08-14 10:26:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresDoes anyone know an lawyer in
I can't find a friggin' temple to marry us!!! My fiance keeps telling me Tibetans don't marry in a temple. They marry in a hotels!? The basic problem is that marriage is a secular concern not a spiritual one as far as Buddhism is concerned so the monasteries in Dharamsala don'thave anything to do with it. There must be an Indian Buddhist temple that performs marriages.

NEW QUESTION:

Does anyone know an Indian Buddhist temple in northern India, preferably around Delhi, that performs marriages?
sakurasamaFemale02006-08-15 06:38:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresDoes anyone know an lawyer in
Does anyone know a lawyer in India who will start the court marriage proceedings before I arrive in India so that I can marry when I arrive? I am in contact with a lawyer but he insists that he can't start the proceedings until I get there but I have read ( http://mri.med.yale....chiro/visa.html ) that others have started the process before they arrive. The civil marriage paperwork takes between 30 and 45 days but I am only able to stay away from work for three weeks ( I am a teacher). My fiance is in Dharamsala and I am flying into Delhi but we can travel anywhere in to get married. Please help!!!!

Edited by sakurasama, 14 August 2006 - 10:27 AM.

sakurasamaFemale02006-08-14 10:26:00
K-3 Spouse Visa Process & ProceduresAnyone processing K3 through Delhi, India ?
Timesnap, I will be after I get married in September. I went through a thwarted fiance petition with Delhi (same betrothed!).
sakurasamaFemale02006-08-18 16:38:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionVISA DENIED OUTRIGHT???????
First of all, I have all the empathy in the world for you because I am going through a similiar thing. I know how utterly horrible it is to face this kind of disappointment. The most important thing to keep in mind is you have not lost your case yet. Try to save it now by contacting everyone and anyone you can think of. Call the Embassy a million times and try to talk to anyone you can. If it doesn't work from what I understand (because this is the point I am at right now) your petition will be sent back to the original immigration service center that approved it in the U.S. and you will get an intent to revoke your petition letter giving you thirty days to respond. This is your chance to prove that the Embassy made a mistake (how I am not sure yet and am still figuring out!) and if they are convinced they will send you petition back to the Embassy.

More bureaucracy, more waiting but not hopeless. Just very bad news. Honestly, sometimes the visa process seems pretty arbitrary. I am really sorry this has happened to you. Don't give up hope.
sakurasamaFemale02006-07-15 21:02:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionRed flags. I'm worried.
Make sure your fiancee can answer questions about your divorce. They asked my fiance what went wrong in my first marriage at the interview.
sakurasamaFemale02006-07-18 06:03:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionAfter interview......?
Sorry to make you nervous but my fiance's passport was taken, he was told all the paperwork looked fine and that his passport would be couriered back to him. It was couriered back to him a MONTH later with a 221(g) saying that our case had expired and was sent back to the DHS. When I called the Embassy (New Delhi) freaking out they said there was nothing they could do now because they physically did not have the paperwork anymore. We are reapplying.

I think this is a crazy rare situation though and I have not heard of anyone else having this type of problem though!
sakurasamaFemale02006-11-10 10:31:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionAnyone going through the embassy in New Delhi?
As far as I can remember, my fiance was asked what I do for a living and where I work, how we met, where I was before coming to Dharamsala (I was living in Japan, moved to India for a year and then returned to America). He said it was very intimidating and his interview did not go well :(

It is a high fraud country unfortunately so they are suspicious and none too helpful. I hope your fiance's interview goes smoothly. Best of luck!
sakurasamaFemale02006-11-10 16:15:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionUnsuccessful Interview - Now What?
You might want to read this too.

http://www.visajourn...?showtopic=2687
sakurasamaFemale02006-11-16 15:02:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionUnsuccessful Interview - Now What?
Contact the Embassy as soon as you can and try to get a reason why she was denied. You need to do this before the petition is returned to the NVC/Homeland Security. You may be able to explain things if there was some kind of misunderstanding or maybe submit more paperwork. Your petition will be sent back to the National Visa Center/ Homeland Seurity which could take months to arrive. After that it will takes months to review and they are supposed to send you a NOID, Notice of Intent to Deny your petition. You have a certain number of days to respond. Basically they will tell you why the Embassy denied you and you have to prove that the Embassy made a mistake. If USCIS agrees with you they will resend your petition to the Embassy for another go round. THIS IS A LONG LONG PROCESS. I would advise you to try to head it off and call the Embassy right away to try to find out if you can fix it before the papers are put in the mail back to the U.S.
sakurasamaFemale02006-11-16 14:51:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionK-1 Visa Denied!
From what you are saying it seems that you did meet the requirement of having met within two years of filing. I think the Embassy has issued the 221 (g) because the Consular Officer has doubts about the validity of your relationship because the case has been on hold for a long while. The best option to save this petition is to start calling the Embassy like crazy and try to talk to a Consular Officer and explain your situation and get it cleared up before the petition gets sent back to NVC. If youcan convince the CO of your intentions you might be able to get his/her decision overturned. If they are not convinced or if the petition is returned to NVC it will sit there for months and you will have to pursue a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID). When the NOID is sent to you it will give to a certain amount of time to expalin why your petition should not be denied and the chance to submit evidence (in your case proff of an ongoing relationship) to substantiate your claim. If NVC agrees with you your petition will be returned to the Embassy for another go round. THIS IS A VERY LONG PROCESS and you should do everything you can to avoid it. If your petition has been denied because of serious doubts about its validity simply visiting your fiance again and reapplying for him without going through the NOID process to explain the first petition will probably result in another denial. Another option would be to go to his home county, marry him there and try for a K-3 visa, which could be denied for the same reasons but at least shows more serious intent. You should consult with a lawyer to help you through the second more complicated petition and the waiver you will need to write for it.
sakurasamaFemale02006-12-02 10:15:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionVERY IMPORTANT Note about Document Submission

Thank you folks, all of you, ((hugs)) for your information.

Without this forum I have no doubt I'd be screaming insane with this process by now. For some reason I can't get the Delhi embassy to acknowledge that my emails exist :wacko: but I sleep at night because of the help I get here. Thanks again. :thumbs:


You are not the only one! My case was completely derailed because I couldn't get into contact with the New Delhi Embassy! I ended up saving the emails I sent (over and over) to them and have sent them in to with my refiled petition to show that I had tried to contact the Embassy.
sakurasamaFemale02006-12-04 10:19:00
US Embassy and Consulate Discussioncalling everyone going through new delhi,chennai ,mumbai,consulate.
Hi Everyone,

I have been going through the New Delhi Embassy. I have been working on a K-1 visa with them which was ultimately sent back to Homeland Security. Sorry to put a damper on things but I have had a horrible experience with New Delhi. I have only ever managed to talk to someone via phone once in all the numerous times I have been called (and been hung up on) and I average about one email for every three or four I send.
I am going to India to get married in September and starting all over again with a K-3.
sakurasamaFemale02006-08-18 17:09:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionFiancee visa app. Do I need a job in the states?
I lived in Japan for 10 years and most people I know who intended to take someone back to the U.S. with them married them in Japan and did a Direct Consular Filing (DCF) of the petition. Everyone did need a sponsor because they were in the inbetween work situation you are in. If you want to file a K-1 your situation will be the same- you will still need a sponsor. Unfortunately, the USCIS/Embassies don't take into consideration employability or work history as proof, explanation or a substitute for a job; they most want you to demonstrate your ability to support right now.
sakurasamaFemale02006-10-31 13:13:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionUnemployment benefits affect support?
Thanks everyone! I iwll give myself a few weeks to job search like mad and hopefully I will land a new job soon and not have to worry about unemployment.
sakurasamaFemale02007-03-13 20:16:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionUnemployment benefits affect support?
Is unemployment public assistance? Don't I have to prove that my fiance will not be a public charge? wouldn't it make sense that I shouldn't be a public charge too? Eek, am I going to become a public charge?
sakurasamaFemale02007-03-13 11:26:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionUnemployment benefits affect support?
I am a college teacher working at two schools. I thought I would have a contract for summer term but enrollment is low and I just found out I will be laid off. So I am half out of work. My work from the other school fulfills the 125% of the poverty limit requirement for support for my 129-F fiance petition but just one job won't pay all the bills so I am considering applying for unemployment benefits. Will this affect my the Embassy's view of my ability to support my fiance? Will this info even be on the support documents? I have received my NOA1 but not my NOA2 but I am praying it should come any day now since my NOA1 was received November 1.

Thanks!!
sakurasamaFemale02007-03-13 11:18:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionQuestion regarding sending money to spouse
Oh, and back to your original question, I did include a copy of the credit card in his name and the bills in my name in our paperwork to illustrate that we are financially intermingled because I thought it would help convince someone of the validity of our relationship as much as phone records and love letters.
sakurasamaFemale02007-07-04 17:53:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionQuestion regarding sending money to spouse
Gwen,

My fiance lives in India. Years ago I gave him a credit card in his name with the bills going to me. Probably a lot of women do it but we don't talk about it!!!

Yodrak asked, "What is the purpose of sending the money? What is the money being used for? The visa applicant was getting along before the petitioner came into their life, why do they now need or want money from the petitioner?" and my answer is quality of life. Contributing to someone's financial support in a developing country costs next to nothing. It doesn't diminish my quality of life but it contributes greatly to his quality of life in India. And if you can't baby your baby, who can you baby?
sakurasamaFemale02007-07-04 15:58:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionThe Mystery of AP at NVC
One month would seem like a blessing with all the time I have been waiting! The aide at my Congressperson's office called but couldn't get anymore information than I could. To soothe my mental health issues I bought a ticket to India (retail therapy!).

I really do wonder what has happened to our country. I can't understand why we are bothering to discuss illegal immigration when our legal immigration system is in such a mess. My fiance is in India and wouldn't be able to get a tourist visa but at this point if he was European, Canadian or south of the border and we were having this much trouble, I would absolutely go illegal. I am an ESL teacher and I have a student who is a naturalized American. Her husband is illegal and I asked her why she doesn't make him legal since she has that option. She told me that he would have to go back to Mexico and wait and her family needs him here. It makes sense- especially when you can't count on the USCIS processing things in a timely manner. Another one of my student's is a permanent resident- here absolutely legally- and he is looking at a 5 year wait to bring his now pregnant wife over. It is absolutely ridiculous. Why play by the rules when the short term costs are so (too!!!) high?
sakurasamaFemale02007-07-21 08:01:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionThe Mystery of AP at NVC
I really can't believe it. Long story, short. My first case (KI filed in April 2005) was given a 221g after the interview, couldn't get info from the New Delhi Embassy to clarify what I needed to meet the 221g, asked for an extension, they finally gave me the information I needed, accepted my fiance's passport and a month later sent it back saying our petition had expired and was being sent back to DHS. Reapplied, waited 8 months for my NOA2. Did numerous celebratory dances and now I am in AP at NVC. I just found out by calling them and asking when my case would be forwarded to New Delhi. I was told they couldn't tell me why my petition was in AP, how long it might be in AP and when I asked what the person's name was whom I was speaking with she told me she couldn't tell me and that there was no one who could give me any more information. How cloak and dagger is that! Than I asked if this was the United States of America (it is, unrecognizable though it may be). I am sooooooo sick of this bureaucratic nonscense and being treated like a nonperson.

I have been waiting over two years to get my fiance here. Advice, sympathy, any one else who is in the same boat!! I am just about to break down; I can't take it any more...
sakurasamaFemale02007-07-17 21:18:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionK2 Visa Denied...Family in Distress We need help!
My K1 petition was sent back to Homeland Security. I waited for some kind of decision on it that never came. A lawyer told me to reapply and my petition was approved again by the USCIS. My fiance's interview is Tuesday and I hope this time he won't have a b*%#h for a CO. I regret wasting that time waiting for some resolution for my first petition. It was awful starting all over again but that is what it took.
sakurasamaFemale02007-09-09 08:32:00
US Embassy and Consulate DiscussionK2 Visa Denied...Family in Distress We need help!
This is so horrible! I have been on these boards for two and a half years because of my own (K-1) visa rejected by an incompenetent CO for a flimsy "reason" and have seen it happen again and again. The first thing to do is relax and realize that you are completely helpless. Okay, now, keep calling the Embassy and talking to whomever will talk to you. This probably won't work but you never know. Do try to demand a 221g which is a letter explaining the refusal. I would also talk to my lawyer about reapplying. You may dread the idea thinking about the long wait but you also don't want to waste time hoping for some thing that just isn't going to happen with this petition. When you do reapply you can spell out what happened in detail in the application and when/if it is approved by the USCIS, hopefully the consulate will have a really hard time denying a petition that has been approved twice by the USCIS. You also don't want your stepdaughter to turn 21 before this nightmare ends!

Most of all, take care of your new wife and daughters. I can't imagine the pain they are feeling being seperated from their daughter and sister.

Best of luck!!!
sakurasamaFemale02007-09-09 07:44:00