DENIED After 3yrs 3mos waiting ISLAMABAD! HELP!

[Neverending]

Well we've been denied after our 3 yr 3m waiver wait in Islamabad. Because my husband lied on past immigration forms (isnt that why you file waivers,,to overcome this?? in the first place?) and the best part, I did not meet extreme hardship. According to them relocating to Pakistan is just a mere inconvienence, yes they used that word,,just an inconvienence and I had tons of supportive evidence with the things going on and the state of the country and they did not even dwell or elaborate on that part of my hardship at all, just the other mere inconvienences!!! It does not qualify as extreme! So if that is not extreme then can someone please tell me what is???

Now what are my options,,,,appeal,,,and how do I do that, do I need an attorney? What else? When his bar is up in 3 1/1 yrs, can he get his visa then?? Or can they stop him then too? PLEASE HELP!!! Has anyone had an appeal that was won? What are the chances and doesnt it take yrs and yrs?? I am not gonna let them get away with what they just did. They ignored the worst part of the hardship, the persecution, chance of death, etc for american family to start any life there let alone visit. They completely bypassed that part of my argument. Anyway please help!!

[simply-heartfelt]

OMG.... I don't know what to tell you, but I'm so sorry.

[Chapital]

I am so sorry...sounds like they must have a really high bar for "extreme hardship". I hope someone who has gone through a appeal there can help you.

[Salsa2]

Wow! I am so sorry about the denial.

I think you need a professional opinion. Try a consult with Laurel Scott. www.visacentral.net Good luck.

[Adriane]

Oh, no...... I'm so sorry.

I would definitely contract Laurel.....

[Pinkpig]

Well we've been denied after our 3 yr 3m waiver wait in Islamabad. I am so sorry to hear this. You have been waiting way too long. Because my husband lied on past immigration forms If he is charged with fraud/misrepresentation, I believe that is a lifetime ban and will always need a waiver to overcome. (isnt that why you file waivers,,to overcome this?? in the first place?) and the best part, I did not meet extreme hardship. According to them relocating to Pakistan is just a mere inconvienence, yes they used that word,,just an inconvienence and I had tons of supportive evidence with the things going on and the state of the country and they did not even dwell or elaborate on that part of my hardship at all, just the other mere inconvienences!!! It does not qualify as extreme! So if that is not extreme then can someone please tell me what is??? This is a difficult place to get an approval from. I don't believe that they look at the country factors as strongly as they do personal factors.
Now what are my options,,,,appeal,,,and how do I do that, do I need an attorney? An appeal has to be done within 30 days. An appeal is based upon the adjudicator making a mistake in a point of law. An appeal takes about 2 years for a decision. What else? When his bar is up in 3 1/1 yrs, can he get his visa then?? Or can they stop him then too? I believe he will need an approved waiver to enter the US legally if he has been charged with immigration fraud. Does he also have a bar for overstay? PLEASE HELP!!! Has anyone had an appeal that was won? Yes, we have had members win appeals. Yes, it takes about 2 years. What are the chances and doesnt it take yrs and yrs?? I am not gonna let them get away with what they just did. They ignored the worst part of the hardship, the persecution, chance of death, etc for american family to start any life there let alone visit. They completely bypassed that part of my argument. Anyway please help!!

I am so sorry that this has happened to you. IMHO: You need the best lawyer that you can get to file a new much stronger waiver at a new visa interview, which you can ask for. That would would be the quickest way and the way that gives you the best chance for an approval. To get an approval from there on a fraud charge you will need some hardships that are personal to you, the USC. I do not think that they are going to ever approve a waiver based just on that country's unstable/threatening situation.

Again, I am sorry. For starters, you can do a consulatation with Laurel Scott for $125 or ask her questions on her free chat on Wednesday at 9 am Eastern time.

Laurel Scott or Heather Poole in my signature are the only two lawyers that I would recommend for you to take on the next step. I personally know that they both know what they are doing and would not steer you wrong.


Good Luck.

[Neverending]

Thanks so much for all your replies. I was not aware that we can ask for another interview and file another waiver?? I've never heard of this. How do I go about doing this? I have contacted Heather Pooles office a short time ago. Has anyone done this,,,ask for another interview and refiled waivers after being denied?

My head is just going a million miles a minute and I cant even concentrate right now. How can they say its a mere inconvienence to live there and is not a hardship when it is? Why dont their own USCIS employee families live there or even be allowed there then if its not so bad?? Im very upset right now. They are 100% wrong!

[emt103c]

I agree with those who have posted here. You definitely need to contact Laurel Scott or Heather Poole. I know that Laurel will be able to tell you how to do the refile, she's spoken about it many times on the chat.

I am deeply sorry that this has happened. The least they could have done was have denied it in a normal amount of time instead of wasting so much of your time.

Contact one of these attorneys.

[blueblue]

I am SOOOO sorry to hear this Neverending. It is truly unbelievable what they do to families. I really am so sorry, I know exactly how you feel, even reading your post brings back all those old feelings, really, really ugly.

Take a deep breath, you can recover from this. I would start by immediately contacting an attorney (or 2) to see who can help you and what is the best course they recommend. If I remember correctly, your waiver had been sent to Rome and that is where your denial came from? You really need to respond to each point they brought up in the denial letter and highlight all the points that they conveniently left out that supported your extreme hardship arguments.

You have 3 options at this point, as far as pursuing the waiver,

1) File a Motion to Reconsider with more evidence and hardships. Basically asking Rome to reconsider their decision. If they don't, it just becomes an appeal. This can be the quickest route if they will actually reconsider it and if you can put together better/more to your hardships to address and overcome their denial. This costs the same as the appeal.

2) File an appeal. Your case will be sent to AAO for review (at least someone else will look at it). AAO is taking 16-20 months for review of appeals. You may be able to get them to expedite since it took so long to get your waiver in the first place, but in our case with the help of our Congressman they agreed to expedite in dec, said they would reply in 30 days and then we did not get answer from them until July (8 months after they said they would answer in 30 days). They had received the appeal in April I think, so was a bit shorter than their stated timeframe at the time.

3) File a whole new waiver. The biggest problem with this is that it took so long for the first one. It is really hard to judge how long this might take and it will still likely end up going to the same people, unless they have someone else active now in Islamabad doing waivers.

For me, at this point I could no longer do it on my own. I can imagine the frustration and how overwhelming this all is at this point. Laurel was a godsend at the time, but I am sure one of the other recommended attorneys too would be able to help take off some of the burden to help you move forward.

I wish you much strength and patience to take the next steps. I hope you can get that approval sooner.

Take care!

[M&M]

I'm so sorry Neverending!!!! Blueblue and Pinkpig gave some great advice!

[xclent]

New waiver would be faster than appeal.

One of the users "neverending2" in I601-Asia filed a waiver in Islamabad and it was forwarded to New-Delhi for adjudication. It wasn't forwarded to Rome. It happened recently.

New Delhi is taking 3 months. (Worst case scenario 6 month you assume)

But the thing is that waiver adjudicating officers think all Pakistanis are bad people so they set a high bar for hardships.

Things were better in Pakistan 3 years back as compared to now. New evidence I think will improve the chances of approval.

[momof1]

But the thing is that waiver adjudicating officers think all Pakistanis are bad people so they set a high bar for hardships.


What is the reason for that? Isn't it unfair? I thought these waivers were suppose to be decided based on the hardships and not where an applicant comes from.

While I'm happy that some get approved so fast, I think it is terrible that some people can get same day approval and others wait over 3 years for an answer.

Neverending I'm so sorry you got denied.

[neverending2]

neverending,i am so sorry about your denial after a long wait..I can feel your pain,because it happened to me a few months ago.My waiver was also denied at Rome and i had filed i601 at Islamabad.After denial i was so shocked that we did nothing for two months.After that i emailed embassy inquiring about refiling of waivers application,they said ask ROME DHS about the refiling.ROME DHS replied that i can can file new waivers application,so after that i went Islamabad consulate and simply refiled the new waiver without any interview.(it took me about three months to prepare my new waiver with the help of an attorney)The best thing is that 1601 now adjudicate in New Delhi not Rome.I601 process now takes about three months(that's what the embassy people said).I think new waiver will be good option for you,because its fast and easy at Islamabad,but first contact some experienced lawyer.Don't be disappointed,we all are with you.

[MistyB]

But the thing is that waiver adjudicating officers think all Pakistanis are bad people so they set a high bar for hardships.


I am so sorry Neverending..I remember you waited for so long. As for this generalization, I dont think that's necessarily true. If that were true, then there would be no approvals period, Egypt, Algeria, etc...certainly wouldnt get approved. You cant make a sweeping statement like that.

I would definitely file a new waiver.


I looked at USCIS' website...apparently they closed the Islamabad office in October of 2007. Everything is being shipped over to New Delhi. So if you file a new waiver, apparently it will go to New Delhi. Rome may have been handling it until things got straightened out in New Delhi. You might want to ask Rome in an email. The whole thing is stupid. New Delhi falls in the Bangkok district yet Bangkok will not be processing. Definitely contact a lawyer.

[MistyB]

neverending,i am so sorry about your denial after a long wait..I can feel your pain,because it happened to me a few months ago.My waiver was also denied at Rome and i had filed i601 at Islamabad.After denial i was so shocked that we did nothing for two months.After that i emailed embassy inquiring about refiling of waivers application,they said ask ROME DHS about the refiling.ROME DHS replied that i can can file new waivers application,so after that i went Islamabad consulate and simply refiled the new waiver without any interview.(it took me about three months to prepare my new waiver with the help of an attorney)The best thing is that 1601 now adjudicate in New Delhi not Rome.I601 process now takes about three months(that's what the embassy people said).I think new waiver will be good option for you,because its fast and easy at Islamabad,but first contact some experienced lawyer.Don't be disappointed,we all are with you.



Have they closed the embassy in Islamabad?

[neverending2]

They have not closed the embassy, Islamabad DHS sub office has closed.