The most common reasons for denial follow:

Misrepresentation: If either the petitioner or fiancee made a material misrepresentation or knew or should have known that incorrect information was being provided in the visa process, from the initial filing of the petition to the consular interview, the petition can be denied. An innocent failure to provide sufficient information can be appealed or cured by submitting another petition.

Insufficient Documentation or Information: When the petitoiner or fiancee are notified that they have not provided sufficient documentation or information, supplementing the petition can cause time constraints that might not be able to be met. This issue frequently arises in the context of termination of a prior marriage. Failure to provide satisfactory proof of divorce, annulment or death of a former spouse can delay or be cause for denial of a Fiancee Petition.

Conviction of a Crime: A fiancee petition can be denied if the fiancee has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude, drug possession or trafficking or prostitution. Moral turpitude can loosely be defined as depraved and vile conduct that flies in the face of honest and moral conduct. The fiancee should also not have any immigration violations. On the petitioner’s side, the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act (IMBRA) must be considered. Non-compliance with IMBRA can also result in denial of the petition.

Insufficient Relationship: Petitioner and fiancee must prove that they have personally met within the last 2 years and have developed a serious relationship with a genuine intent to marry. Proof can be provided in the form of airline boarding passes, hotel receipts, phone records, passport stamps and recent photos of the petitioner and fiancee together. Petitioners are encouraged to liberally supplement their petitions with such evidence.

Medical Issues: The fiancee is required to submit to an extensive medical examination, primarily for communicable diseases such as tuberculosis. The petition can be denied should the fiancee carry a communicable or sexually transmitted disease. A severe mental disorder can also be cause for denial as can a severe non-communicable physical disorder.

Petitioner’s Income: Petitioner is required to show a minimum income of at least 25% above the poverty level set by congress each year. The intent of this requirement is the concern that the fiancee not become a public charge in the future. If petitioner cannot initially cross this threshold, supplemental or new tax returns may be required.

The Interview: The fiancee’s preparation for the consular interview is critical. They should be clean and neatly dressed, prepared to answer questions regarding their relationship with the petitioner and have full and complete documentation to supplement their answers to questions in order to dispel any doubts about a sham marriage. Well prepared and well documented petitions will bring shorter interviews and fewer questions, but preparation for the questions is again critical. Inability to answer simple questions may bring the credibility of the fiancee into issue, causing denial. Assuming the parties are prepared, honest, sincere, know each other well and genuinely wish to marry, experience has it that the interview questions will be quite simple.

Guest Post Author

As I tell my clients, all you have to do is tell the truth. Its the easiest thing to remember. It is prudent to obtain the assistance of an experienced immigration attorney when initiating the K-1 Visa process. This article is for informational purposes only and shall not be construed as creating an attorney/client relationship. Christopher J. Stoll is an attorney with over 25 years of experience in assisting the immigrant community. He is licensed to practice in the immigration courts of all 50 states. http://www.amimm.net

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

There are two information lines you can call within Australia according to the US Consulate;

One is a paid 1-902-941-641 number which is charged at $1.15  per minute which either has pre-recorded information that is no different to the information you can find on the US consulate website. In my opinion this aspect of the phone line is rather useless as the information given is fairly obvious for the most part or explicitly mentioned on the website and visapoint site about your application process, services and interview. This part is available 24 hours a day.

However within this you also have an option to be connected to a live consultant available between 8:00am and 7:00pm, Monday to Friday Australian Eastern Time. This now costs $3 per minute. If you are needing to call the US consulate this is definitely the more helpful part as you can ask your specific question particular if you have complex issues like administrative processing, visa reciprocity fees, etc. that are not articulated fully on the site.

The second information line is a 1-800-687-844 number which is essentially the same live consultant service as the above 1-902 number but no pre-recorded information. Thus it is only available in those hours listed above. However here you have to give credit card information and you are charged a flat $12 for the call.

I guess the best advice to give if you think you need to speak to a live person about your case then judge in your mind how long you think the conversation could be and opt for the number service accordingly that will give you the best value for money given one is a ongoing charge and the other is a flat rate.

However note they never really get specific on those calls so will not delve into the personal details of your case and are not say like a bank or credit card hotline where you can debate merits of the case or fees with them. They are more informational and procedural and they don’t deviate from that so don’t waste your money if that is your intention as you will only come away more frustrated.

Also they have a general info section you can read in regards to your US Consulate interview. So if you read our US Consulate interview post and this, it will certainly demistify the entire visa interview process for you and help you be fully prepared for the experience. It is a very sterile environment and process to say the least!

Finally you should be aware that if you are refused a visa under either the 221(g) Administrative Processing provision or the 214(b) non-satisfaction of home country ties or visa condition violations, that you do not then immediately subsequently attempt to enter the US on the Visa Waiver Program as you will most likely be refused entry at the US border and be sent home.

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

As with the H1B visa and L1 visa, petitions and forms have to filed and approved at the USCIS and Department of Labor and with the E3 visa at the Department of Labor only, so a lot of the vetting has already been done. Then of course employers if they are planning to go through the time, expense and hassle of hiring a foreigner, they themselves are going to make sure most of the time, that the employer is a legitimate candidate with relevant experience and qualifications.

So going to the US Consulate interview, while in many ways seeming like a big deal to the candidate because of the formality, seriousness and security of the process, ends up being just a routine with at the most and most a few hours wasted in the room waiting. Therefore actually getting the E3 visa or H1B visa stamp in the passport is the last step in the process before flying to the US to begin their new career.

However for some unfortunate candidates it is not so simple and the process at the US consulate takes a lot longer under the title of “administrative processing” under condition 221(g).

For a few of this group it is partly or fully their own fault as they have forgotten documents they were supposed to bring or to pay relevant fees. Usually in these instances, it just requires another US consulate visa appointment or even a quick dash out to get things and pay the relevant costs, returning the same day to continue the interview albeit with going to back of the queue.

Also in some instance people have lied about their experience, qualifications and/or circumstances and/or their employer has to some degree and this is noticed or suspected by the US conular officer. In these cases the administrative processing that follows will ultimately result in a visa denial or occasionally and instant denial at the US consulate.

(To Note visa like the F1 visa or J1 visa tend not to have this issue. Of course you can still be denied for these visas, but it tends to be instant at the US consulate as the USCIS is generally not involved in these petitions)

However in most cases the “administrative processing” or condition 221(g) is a lot more grey and is often as a result of a very particular case officer hesitation due to some aspect of the application. These can include;

1. Unsure about the company as never sponsored a foreigner before and/or is a smaller organization or possibly operates in an industry field not usually associated with the professional work visa like E3, H1B and L1
2. Unsure about the job offer as it sounds like a non-professional or specialty role which may not require a bachelors degree not usually associated with the E3 visa, H1B visa or L1 visa
3. Unsure about the candidate as either their something amiss about their qualifications and experience and how it relates to the role they are about to fulfill or about their personal background from a security/character/criminal standpoint or for the E3 visa whether they intend to return home
4. Unsure about the nature of a dependent on the visa petition

The problem is at this point if a candidate receives a letter or notification under “administrative processing” 221 (g) that they lose complete control over the process. Whether their case will take a 1 week or 4 months is really dependent on the individual US consulate, what the backlog is at the time, mailing times, whether the processing will happen locally or be sent back to the US, public holidays and of course the nature of the individual case.

Additionally in most instances there is no way to get extra information until the US consulate contacts you with an update or request for more information or in any way to find out how long the process is going to take. This of course can complete ruin a potential work position, as many employers in the US are unlikely to hold open a role indefinitely with no guarantee of success or timeliness. Then of course individuals and families have also no doubt made travel plans and paid costs and begun to wind down local life so can cause a lot of heartache and financial pain as well.

This is a clear example of the US Immigration system for Legal Immigrants being completely unfair and in need of complete reform. However in the new immigration laws proposed by members of congress, things like this are never discussed as that would be too practical and not score any political points! This aspect and many like it is why the Legal Immigration mess feeds into and causes Illegal Immigration problems for the US.

Sometimes US consulates when required don’t even send the “diplomatic pouch” which carries the case documents back to the US straight away and collect other cases from their particular US consulate and others in the area or country prior to sending it back. This of courses further delay along with the fact the USCIS who re-process these cases often view this as low priority cases to evaluate.
In truth this process should only be used sparingly by US consular officials as in many cases just duplicating work already done by other US Government agencies as well as the Private employer.

I wish I could give more hope and insight to the process for people in this situation but it is a veyr mysterious process and this is all that is really known about it. All I can hope is that you never be subject to condition 221 (g) and administrative processing!

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.