biggish data

IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

Good luck to you both ....they did not require him to bring anything
into embassy or re-do medical before going in?

Yes, they required a new medical and he had to bring his passport with him.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-09-29 21:01:00

IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

Congrats, that is sort of a long time, but I am sure in the end it will be all worth it! Best of luck.

It's not unusual for the Islamabad embassy. Mine is unfortunately not out of the norm.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-09-29 15:30:00

IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

They were looking for evidence of fraud.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-09-29 13:02:00

IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

I don't know why my case was sent back. USCIS kept saying they didn't request it back and the embassy said they did not send it back. I worked very closely with my congressman to keep a watch on the progress. When it got back to the states I was told to take in paperwork to the local USCIS office (they returned the entire contents of his file to him at his original interview). I took it in on a Friday, the next day the officer showed up unannounced at 9:30 am and interviewed me. He walked around my house, took pictures of my bedroom and closet. He said, they were looking for evidence of another man living with me. It was very unsettling.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-09-29 11:44:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

My husband was called into the embassy for fingerprint and oath today. He was called to the window, asked to do the oath and gave his fingerprints. The woman told him "Congratulations, you are approved. You will have your visa is 7-10 days. After 3 years of waiting, our journey is coming to an end and our new life together will begin. There have been many ups and downs through this whole process and I thank everyone here on this forum for all of your support.

Here are the particulars of our case:

Married 11/11/2011
Filed 12/2011
Approved at USCIS 10/2012
Interview at embassy 1/2013
We saw sporadic updates from 1/2013-1/2014
There were several updates in 3/2014, result our case was requested back by USCIS
In May 2014 a Homeland Security officer visited my home in the US and interviewed me (wife/petitioner)
Returned to the embassy end of June
Request in the first week of July for updated documents (DS260, marriage certificate, nikkah nama, birth certificates), passport and medical were not requested at this time
About 5-6 updates until August 22nd
Congressional inquiry Sept 8th, response - waiting to schedule oath and fingerprints
Call from the embassy Sep 18th to schedule the appoiuntment, bring new medical and passport for the 29th

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-09-29 08:23:00

K1 Visa Rejection....

Your circumstances are different.

Your beneficiary is from Pakistan. Is he in AP hell?

Yes circumstances are different, however K-1 or CR1/IR1 both have long wait times at the Islamabad embassy.

My case has gone from AP (15 months) to Returned to NVC which resulted in a visit from Homeland Security at 9:30 am on a Saturday morning. The case is now on its way back to the embassy via NVC.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-05-20 12:36:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

K1 Visa Rejection....

Make sure you send in the intent to marry letters from BOTH of you or you risk another RFE.

And yes 6 months is just starting.

Yep...I filed for CR1/IR1 in December of 2011...still waiting...

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-05-20 09:53:00

slight misspelling in mothers name on my birth certificate

Try to get the birth certificate corrected.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-24 19:57:00

There is nothing I have to hide from USCIS. Our relationship is bonafide. Long AP times is standard processing for this embassy, but with all of the evidence being returned to my husband at the time of interview is not. USCIS confirmed that when I dropped off all the paperwork again. I think they made a mistake and now they are trying to cover their butts. Which I don't know why, its not like we have any recourse anyway.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-05-08 12:55:00

Other than the usual, I am older and a USC...the only thing I can think of is that the embassy went to process my case and did not find any paperwork so they questioned USCIS on the whereabouts.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-05-07 21:23:00

So the update on my case is that it was returned to the San Francisco field office and then forwarded to my local field office. Finally my congressional liasion was given the direction to have me make an appointment to bring in all the paperwork that was returned to my husband at his interview. I had my appointment today and surprisingly they were very helpful and pleasant. They told me that it was strange that they returned all of the paperwork to my husband and they took everything from me. I asked them if my case was sent back for revocation and they said it was under "extended review" and there are no notes about revocation. The woman at the window then started asking me questions about how we met, how many times have I visited, etc. I answered them and then she asked me to write it all up. I told her that all of that information is in the paperwork I gave back to her. I also handed her 9 months of fresh chat logs and copies of my last 3 plane tickets with the passport stamps. She said that it would take 30-60 days for the officer to review and he would contact me if they need any more information.

Part of me is relieved that it was not sent back for revocation, but I still feel like I am going through that process and they are just calling it "extended review". I just hope that this is the final step and we will see something positive in the next two months.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-05-07 09:00:00

We still do not know if our case was sent back by the embassy or was called back by USCIS, our service centre was in Sacramento that processed our case but our case was called back by San Francisco office. So we have to wait 120 days to find out what is going on. Till then we can only speculate, since no one seems to have an answer to this.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-15 01:14:00

Update on my case...my congressman just got this message back from CSC:

"We have contacted the National Visa Center (NVC) for an update on the above referenced case. The case is currently at the Embassy in Islamabad. It will be transferred to the NVC then forwarded to the San Francisco District Office. In speaking with the NVC they have indicated the case was requested back by the San Francisco District Office. You may want to allow about 30 - 45 days then forward your query to the San Francisco District Office."

Maybe they are going to do a field investigation? Anyone have any experience with this?

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-07 16:57:00

At this point I am hoping its a mistake...still waiting to hear back from USCIS through congressional liason.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-06 13:49:00

When he was jobless I did send money to help the family, but now that he has a job there is no need to. I sent them all of that too. We have also filed taxes here in the US for the last three years.

The plan was for him to go to college here and obtain a masters.

We want to have a child, but I get very sick during my first trimester of pregnancy and to be honest I don't want to have a child alone. It shouldn't be a requirement that we have children to prove we have a relationship. And to be honest...and this may be too much information, but how do they expect me to get pregnant if I am only seeing my husband 2 weeks out of a year? Knowing how hard it is to raise a child alone...is that really a realistic expectation they should set on me?

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-06 13:33:00

They asked for proof of our relationship (photos, chat logs, plane tickets, copies of my passport showing entry and exit stamps, etc). We do not have a joint bank account because I don't know how to add him to my account without him being here to sign the papers. However, we did get him an ITIN and have filed taxes together for the last three years.

My husband has a bachelors degree in commerce and I hold a bachelors in MIS and a masters in accounting. He is fluent in english as well. Money is not the issue, I work for a global corporation as a systems analyst and I make well above the minimum financial requirements. At the time my husband was unemployed, but now he is working for an outsource company in Pakistan.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-06 12:41:00

When we got married I was 37 (few weeks before I turned 38) and he was 25. Now I am 40 and he is 27. My husband may be young in age, but is mature beyond his years.

We got an RFE from USCIS and provided them a packet of everything they asked for.

Edited by janetusman, 06 March 2014 - 12:22 PM.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-06 12:21:00

So I would say, no matter what a person from the US working in American Embassy in Islamabad is thinking, or whatever he or she has been told about Pakistani "CULTURE", Pakistani society is a big society of 190 million people with so many different traditions, races, norms, class difference and languages. It might be an oppression and slave driving mentality if someone wants to torture a married couple but not justice, that he/she is making excuses of age difference, ethnicity, religion etc a reason to perceive marriage as not in good faith.

I think another issue is that there is a difference between CULTURE and RELIGION and the embassy does not make that distinction. Because culturally we come from similar backgrounds as I am Asian and we have the same views on family and such.

Edited by janetusman, 06 March 2014 - 12:13 PM.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-06 12:11:00

Latest update from the congressman:

I received a response from the Embassy, but I have not yet received one from the CSC. Here is what the Embassy said:

Thank you for contacting the Immigrant Visa Unit. We received word from the National Visa Center on March 5^th that USCIS was requesting the file be returned to them. We will be sending the file back to NVC through the diplomatic pouch in the next few days and any original documents or passports in the file will be returned to the applicant through the Embassy?s courier service. Alas, we have no information as to why USCIS requested the file be returned to them.

What the heck is going on?? Did USCIS request the wrong file back?

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-06 12:06:00

OP...I am very sorry I don't have any advice. I will say however I wish you and your husband the best of luck. You've been through a lot, yet your posts are rationale and balanced. For those who cannot bear to be separated from their loved one another month...they should check out your case and think about what it really means to be patient.

Off my soapbox. And, again, best of luck.

Thank you JRF

I feel so sorry for this. Trust in God and have faith. Right now your only hope is your congressman or senator. I dont think your case has been denied. There is something fishy going on here. Usually if they deny, it wont take so long to say you are denied. Just my opinion.

I am just hoping that there is some kind of mistake. Unfortunately for this embassy, it is not unusual for long APs to end in a denial. There are a few members on this forum that have had the same thing happen to them.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-06 09:43:00

No, I converted to Islam before we were married and I live here in the US as a muslim. I sent in a copy of the certificate given to me by my local Islamic center. I signed my nikkah at home, he signed his at the mosque. We had our reception at home and our walima at a wedding hall.My husband joked that we had a small wedding with 100 people at the reception and 250 people at the walima. Which is small over there, but huge by US standards. Kssette is correct, Islam does allow a man to marry a non muslim so for the embassy to say you were not married simply because you (Carolyn) are Christian is a mistake on their part.

Yes, there is a large age difference between us 13 years to be exact.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-06 09:39:00

Nope...we have sent inquiries via the congressman and my attorney throughout the year. In December we asked the embassy about his expired medical and they told us to submit a new one.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-05 21:13:00

Long story short - My petition was filed 12/2011, USCIS approved 10/2012, NVC approved and scheduled the interview 12/2012, Interview was held 01/2013 and we have been in AP since then. I regulary check the website for status updates and we got our first update after the initial after interview updates in September 2013. There were then sporadic updates in Oct and November. We sent an inquiry via congressman in December about the expiring medical and the embassy had us submit a new one. There were a few more sporadic updates in Janaury and then nothing until today 3/5.

DOS no longer takes inquiries on immigrant visa (they handle non immigrant inquiries only now). All inquiries on immigrant visas are handled by NVC. When I called this morning they said "USCIS has requested the case back". After speaking to my attorney who said that USCIS does not request files back unless its initiated by the State Department or the embassy, has said that the most likely scenario is that the background checks came back clean and they have no other reason to deny the visa but to say that the marriage is not bona fide. My congressman liason came back and told me that cases are getting regularly sent back from this embassy for non bona fide relationship. Right now there is an inquiry in to the embassy via the liason to see what is going on.

When I called USCIS, they said they do not request cases back, but if the file is on the way back to them it takes them a minium of 120 days to process. I am hoping to get some more answers through my congressman.

So sorry for the long post, but it helps me deal with this just talking about it.

Thank you for listening.

Edited by janetusman, 05 March 2014 - 06:58 PM.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-05 18:56:00

I tried, but it looks like Carolyn's inbox is full. I am hoping she sees this post and answers here. We gave them everything they asked for: chat logs, plane tickets, photos, visa stamps, family photos, and CDs from the wedding. I have been to Pakistan 3 times in total and I am planning on going in April. We do not have a co sponsor as my income is well above the minimum requirement.

The CO only kept our original nikkah nama and marriage certificate. He said he didn't need any additional evidence. My case status still says AP...if it's being sent back for revocation... Shouldn't it say denied?

Edited by janetusman, 05 March 2014 - 03:29 PM.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-05 15:28:00

Do you know how long it will take to get the letter?

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-05 15:07:00

There is an age difference. I am a USC he is a Pakistani national. We gave them all the information they asked for to prove we had a relationship. They actually told us, we had too much documentation of our relationship.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-05 14:48:00

Nothing that we know about, answered all the questions. Applicant is male and have been married for over 2 years now.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-05 14:35:00

Yes, I had a status change so I called this morning to see why it changed. I spoke to 3 people at NVC including a supervisor, I called USCIS twice and I got to speak to an immigration officer. I have also spoken to both my attorney and my congressman. It appears my case is being sent back for revocation.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-05 14:29:00

I have no clue either, that is what I was told by NVC. Just got off the call from USCIS they say they dont "Request" cases back. So no clue what is going on.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-05 11:13:00

I just called NVC this morning to find out what the status update on my case was and NVC said that USCIS has REQUESTED the case back. Has anyone experienced this? I asked them if it was sent back for revocation and they said no, it was USCIS that requested the case back.

If anyone can help figure this out it would be very appreciated

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-03-05 10:22:00

I am so glad it all worked out for you. Question, why did your case go to the field office and not back to the service center it originated from ?

Are you sure the USCIS asked for it back or did the embassy initiate it and was unclear and had a chit chat with USCIS and then USCIS

decided to request it back ? I am just curious why it went to the field office for further questioning rather than a NOID via the service center.

No one could give me a clear answer on why my case went back. The embassy said they did not send it back and USCIS said they did not request it back. Obviously, someone was not telling the truth.

According to NVC, it was requested back by the San Francisco field office (not where I live) and was transferred to the local field office. When I went in for my appointment with the local field office, they said that my case had not been denied. Although it seems like it was going through the NOIR process.

Edited by janetusman, 07 October 2014 - 10:47 AM.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-10-07 10:47:00

Curious... What did you do with the congressman? I have heard that they help, but don't know the necessary steps to get the help since I'm sure they are busy with other agendas.

When my case was sent back, my congressman was able to follow the case all the way back to the field office in my town. Once it made it here, she contacted the local office where they instructed me to come in. That was where it all started to go better for us.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-10-06 11:39:00

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/

congrats..by the way how can i post my own topics..ive been a long time here but i forgot how to do it.thanks

Go to the forum page, pick the appropriate thread and choose new topic.

The status has changed to Issued!! I never thought I would see it! Thank you all very much for all the well wishes!

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-09-30 08:33:00

Good luck to you both ....they did not require him to bring anything
into embassy or re-do medical before going in?

Yes, they required a new medical and he had to bring his passport with him.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-09-29 21:01:00

Congrats, that is sort of a long time, but I am sure in the end it will be all worth it! Best of luck.

It's not unusual for the Islamabad embassy. Mine is unfortunately not out of the norm.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-09-29 15:30:00

They were looking for evidence of fraud.

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-09-29 13:02:00

janetusman

Not Telling

Pakistan

2014-09-29 11:44:00