Has your K1 Fiance Visa Been Denied?

K1 Fiance Visas are generally denied when the Petitioner fails to meet the requirements of a Fiance Visa, when the forms are incorrectly filled out and never corrected, our when there is a lack of evidence to support the claim of a genuine relationship.

There are several options available to you if your K1 Fiance Visa has been denied. But, before deciding upon a course of action, you must first determine if the denial was made at the USCIS stage or at the Consular level (Embassy).

If your K1 Fiance Visa has been denied by USCIS, you have the right to an appeal. You must file your appeal with USCIS within 30 days of the date that your petition was denied. You will have to submit your appeal on form I-290B with the filing fee. The other option is to withdraw your first petition with a “letter of withdraw” and then file again. For many reasons, costs being one of them, this is a good option.

If your K1 Fiance Visa was denied at the Consular level, you can immediately ask for a Consulate General review of the decision. Check the Embassy website for the procedures for such a review. This option is available to you until the Embassy returns your case to USCIS for further processing.

If your case has already been returned to USCIS for further processing, you can USCIS to reaffirm their original approval and resubmit your application to the Embassy for a second time. Keep in mind, this process can take a very long time and for that reason, you may be best to simply withdraw your petition and then re-file.

Sometimes the cause of your denial at the Embassy level is a problematic Embassy Officer. Some Embassy Officers around the world are more difficult to work with than others and sometimes you get a Consulate Officer who just doesn’t believe you intend to get married once your fiancé arrives in the US. In such a case, you may wish to consider getting married first and filing an I-130 petition for a CR1 Marriage Visa. This new approach removes the issue of your intent to get married and places most of the decision making authority for the Visa with USCIS and the National Visa Center.

If your Fiance Visa has been denied, I suggest that you give me a call so we can discuss your case and options. This is not the time to go it alone. You are welcome to call me toll free at 1-888-515-3529.

Attorney Jeffrey C Pettys