Convincing CIS to Re-Affirm a Petition

If a marriage or fiancée case is not approved at the visa interview, the US Consulate usually asks for a Timeline of the relationship and maybe also additional evidence of the relationship. After the requested items are submitted, if the Consulate is still not convinced that the relationship is genuine, then the petition will be sent back to CIS in the US for review and possible revocation.

If the petition is sent back to CIS-US, there will be a long wait until they review the case and contact the sponsor for additional evidence or explanations. The waiting time could be a year or more.

The problem with having denied cases reviewed by CIS-US is that they rely completely on what the Consulate tells them. Often, they don’t have any knowledge of local conditions in Vietnam and they cannot judge if the Consulate’s reasons for denial are valid.

Also, if a Consular officer in Saigon wants to deny a case, he just has to give some examples of things that the applicant did not know at the time of the interview. CIS might accept what the Consulate says but in many cases, the Consulate’s reasons for denial are not reasonable. For example, the Consulate may tell CIS-US that the applicant could not describe the place where the sponsor lives in America, or could not provide the names of the sponsor’s friends or his boss.

Or, the Consulate might tell CIS-US that the couple’s engagement party was too small, or that the applicant did not know details of the sponsor’s life in the US, such as what foods he likes, the names of his favorite TV shows, the names of places he goes to in his free time. Or the Consulate may say that the photo evidence shows that the couple only spent a few days together in Vietnam.

So, when CIS contacts the sponsor and says that they intend to revoke the petition, the sponsor must be able to provide more evidence of the relationship and explain why the Consulate’s reasons for denial are not valid.

For example, the sponsor needs to point out that the applicant has never been to the US and there is no way she could describe a town she has never seen. And the sponsor must point out that large engagement parties and wedding receptions are not the norm for many couples these days. And if CIS-US asks for evidence of co-mingling of financial resources, the sponsor must explain that his wife or fiancée lives in Vietnam, is not a US resident, so her name cannot appear on the sponsor’s bank or credit card accounts or on insurance policies or anything else that is normal when both of them live together in the US.

Any response to a CIS Intent to Revoke must be based on facts, not based on emotion, not asking CIS to “understand”. CIS officers do not have the authority to approve a case because of emotional appeals. They need good reasons and good evidence to re-affirm a petition.

Is there an option to such a long and frustrating experience? Yes. On 05 March, at the Attorney Open House at the Consulate, the Immigrant Visa Chief said that if the sponsor cancelled or abandoned the first petition and filed a new one, the Consulate would view the new petition without prejudice. In other words, they will review the new petition case without being influenced by the denial of the first petition case.

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Q.1. What are the chances of success if a new petition is filed with the same evidence that was available for the first petition?
A.1. There is very little chance of success in such a case. A new petition must have evidence that can overcome any potential denials by the Consulate.

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Q.2. If a case is denied at the interview, how long does the couple have to submit new evidence or rebut the denial reasons?
A.2. The regulations give the couple one year after the interview to appeal a denial. However, sometimes the Consulate does not wait this long and returns the petition to US-CIS without telling the couple first.

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Q.3. Is it helpful to ask your congressional representative for help?
A.3. Congressional Inquiries to the Consulate are only appropriate if it is clear that the Consulate has made a mistake in denying or returning a petition, or if the processing time at the Consulate or CIS are very much beyond the normal processing time.

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ROBERT MULLINS INTERNATIONAL www.rmiodp.com www.facebook.com/rmiodp
Immigration Support Services - Tham Van Di Tru 

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