hello: i filled 129F for fiancee

[maradona1945]

hello:
i filled 129f for my fiancee in morocco. the case was approved by uscis but was denied by the consulat. i provided them with everything they asked for.
i m very frustrated what should i do next? if i appeal what are my chances that i will be approved? how long it take? should an attorney work my appeal for better result?

i sent an email to the consulat about the denial they told me that my file was sent back to uscis.
please help me with my case. thank u:cry:

[blueblue]

I am sorry you are dealing with this. It sounds like the embassy has returned your petition for review/revocation because they are thinking you have a fraudulent relationship. This is an ugly situation and it will take time to resolve, but keep your hopes up.

Do you know why they returned it? Have you contacted your Senator/Congressman office to ask for their help to find out where you petition is and why it was returned? That would be the first step if you haven't already done so.

Which service center did you originally file the petition? That makes a difference if you will receive a Notice of Intent to Deny or they will just let it sit and forget about it until it expires (CSC).

You can file a new petition to start over again, the first one will not prejudice the second BUT you should address the first and any issues you can think of they might have used for reasons to return the first. Put a letter in with the petition explaining everything, what they did, that you are not a fraudulent relationship, evidence of your bona fide relationship, etc.

Here are some resources for you to research more on this issue:

What You Can Do Immediately When Faced With This Issue:

* First and foremost, contact a good immigration attorney.
* Immediately have the beneficiary send a scanned copy of the 221(g) issued.
* Contact the consulate directly (immediately) and attempt to have the petition reviewed by the senior consular before it is returned.
* If you are unable to get through to the consulate on the phone, contact them via email, and if you're mail has a "read verification" use it.
* Contact your congressman/senator, get them involved immediately. You will need to sign a release form giving them permission to make an inquiry on your behalf.
* Provide your congressman/senator with as much information as possible about your case, the interview, and the result.
* If your congressman/senator is top notch, they will not just send an email or letter to the consulate, they will call on the phone and try to get the petition reviewed again before it is sent back.
* If they are not successful, they can request the diplomatic pouch number the petition is being returned in. This number will allow you to track the petition until it is received by the local service center.

* GUIDELINES AND CHANGES FOR RETURNING DHS / USCIS
APPROVED IV AND NIV PETITIONS
http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_1388.html

* GUIDANCE ON PETITION REVOCATIONS http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_1415.html

* 9 FAM 42.43 SUSPENDING ACTION IN
PETITION CASES http://foia.state.gov/masterdocs/09FAM/0942043N.PDF

* Articles by Marc Ellis, an attorney specializing in returned petitions http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0323-ellis.shtm
http://www.ilw.com/articles/2004,0429-ellis.shtm

* Threads of others wrongfully accused of marriage fraud:
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3896

[maradona1945]

I am sorry you are dealing with this. It sounds like the embassy has returned your petition for review/revocation because they are thinking you have a fraudulent relationship. This is an ugly situation and it will take time to resolve, but keep your hopes up.

Do you know why they returned it? Have you contacted your Senator/Congressman office to ask for their help to find out where you petition is and why it was returned? That would be the first step if you haven't already done so.

Which service center did you originally file the petition? That makes a difference if you will receive a Notice of Intent to Deny or they will just let it sit and forget about it until it expires (CSC).

You can file a new petition to start over again, the first one will not prejudice the second BUT you should address the first and any issues you can think of they might have used for reasons to return the first. Put a letter in with the petition explaining everything, what they did, that you are not a fraudulent relationship, evidence of your bona fide relationship, etc.

Here are some resources for you to research more on this issue:

What You Can Do Immediately When Faced With This Issue:

* First and foremost, contact a good immigration attorney.
* Immediately have the beneficiary send a scanned copy of the 221(g) issued.
* Contact the consulate directly (immediately) and attempt to have the petition reviewed by the senior consular before it is returned.
* If you are unable to get through to the consulate on the phone, contact them via email, and if you're mail has a "read verification" use it.
* Contact your congressman/senator, get them involved immediately. You will need to sign a release form giving them permission to make an inquiry on your behalf.
* Provide your congressman/senator with as much information as possible about your case, the interview, and the result.
* If your congressman/senator is top notch, they will not just send an email or letter to the consulate, they will call on the phone and try to get the petition reviewed again before it is sent back.
* If they are not successful, they can request the diplomatic pouch number the petition is being returned in. This number will allow you to track the petition until it is received by the local service center.

* GUIDELINES AND CHANGES FOR RETURNING DHS / USCIS
APPROVED IV AND NIV PETITIONS
http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_1388.html

* GUIDANCE ON PETITION REVOCATIONS http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_1415.html

* 9 FAM 42.43 SUSPENDING ACTION IN
PETITION CASES http://foia.state.gov/masterdocs/09FAM/0942043N.PDF

* Articles by Marc Ellis, an attorney specializing in returned petitions http://www.ilw.com/articles/2006,0323-ellis.shtm
http://www.ilw.com/articles/2004,0429-ellis.shtm

* Threads of others wrongfully accused of marriage fraud:
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3896

i called today the state department and the lady told me that my case was not denied but was sent for further review. she told me that lot of cases go through the same process and after the review they will send the package back to the embassy to be approved or denied. i do have the diplomatic corrier number and i m about to write emails to all the senators and congressmans and also i will be going to uscis to talk to somebody because the lady who refused to give the visa to my fiancee said that it is lack of evidence. i do have 6 months of phone bills, msn chat history, photos of our engagemnet party and passport stamp showing that i was there the past 2 years and the relation is still on going. i m just pissed of the system because the system is blind. i went to a lawyer and he told me to wait for the denied later and then do another 129F and he wants 2500$ plus fees to do that.
if u have any other ideas or advise for me please just let me know.
side note:
i m a police recruit and if that can help them to understand that i won't be involved in any illegal activities.(fraud)
thanks

[kitkat1]

They are questioning the validity of the relationship. The first thing to do is try to prevent them from sending it back to USCIS in the US -- this is key.

Do NOT hire that lawyer - he gave your horrible and stupid advice. Filing another I-129F will simply have the same result -- it's not like they wouldn't have your filing history or know about the first one!

Get your State Senator involved by going to their website and downloading the privacy form. Fill it out along with the a request for assistance and fax it to their office. Call to follow up. Do NOT waste your time sending an email -- that is not the method for assistance and you will not get a response or any personal help that way.

[blueblue]

Kitkat, filing a new petition IS a valid option and if CSC is the service center to which the K-1/I-129F petition was sent, then that is the ONLY option. CSC does not send out NOIDs on K-1s, they simply let the petition expire and never respond to it.

By filing a new petition, the OP would refer to the first and address any issues or questions that the CO used to return the first petition. It is not an attempt to somehow ignore the first petition, it is a means to get the service center to act at all or not to wait for an NOID.

[blueblue]

If they did not issue the visa, then it was denied and your fiance should have received a form 221(g) stating why they were denying it, the law under which they were denying it and give you an opportunity to respond. (This doesn't always happen though)

Morocco is one of the more notorious embassy's to use conjecture or speculation to substantiate a fraud accusation, in contradiction of the law and procedure. In those instances, they usually don't even bother looking at any of the evidence of the relationship at the interview, why confuse their conclusions with facts?

If you have the courier number for the returned petition, then the petition has already been sent back. Definitely have your Senator/Congressman to inquire where the petition is now and the reasons the embassy are claiming for the fraud accusation. They should contact both the embassy and the USCIS.

What Service Center did you originally file your I-129F? That is where it will be sent back after the NVC records the return.

Read the links I gave you, it is an encyclopedia on returned petitions and will answer most of your questions.

Feel free to ask any others you have or just come for support. Unfortunately, this is a 6-12 months (hopefully) diversion that your case just took. Take some time to regroup and reconnect with your fiance, then come back ready to fight.

[maradona1945]

hello:

i m new to this forum i just registered and was able to respond.
i filed for my fiancee I129f in march 2007 the petition was approved by USCIS and she had an interview in casa in Sept 11 2007 ( bad date) she was asked to provide more evidence and some court papers. i sent her all my international bills plus all the msn chat history but the interviewer never looked at that and she tol her that she can not issue her a visa at this time and the file will be sent back to USCIS. i called the state department and they told me that most of the cases return to USCIS for a review and then they send it back to casa. i did not receive anything yet and i sent an email to my state senator and my state congresman and to rabat consulat and casa consulat and the state department and casa consulat plus i will be sending all the evidence ( phone bills plus msn history and passport copy with a letter) to USCIS in california and hopefully i will get something done about this case because i m very confused and frustrated with those racist people in the embassy. do anybody know how many files were reconsidered after returning to uscis from the embassy? what should i do next? i wish if i had president bush email, because he would probably receive an email from me. lol
can u please help me.

[TracyTN]

Did you not read any of the replies in this thread?

[kitkat1]

Kitkat, filing a new petition IS a valid option

Right now? When they have apparently been told the original approved petition is being returned? How does that work and why would it work?

[blueblue]

When a petition is returned, the visa has been denied under 221g. By filing a new petition, they refer to the first one in the petition (it asks if you have filed a petition for anyone else in the past). They should also include a statement explaining what happened on the first petition and include LOTs of evidence of their bona fide relationship. The idea is to address any possible issue they could use to accuse fraud with the USCIS petition because if it is clearly considered in the approval of the petition, it is not supposed to be used by DOS to deny a visa. Of course, that doesn't always stop them, but it is the best chance.

When the Service Center reviews their new petition, they will bring the old one into the review process. Once the 2nd petition is approved, they are back on track and hopefully will have a better experience at the second interview.

CSC does not send NOIDs on K-1 petitions. When mine was returned, they said they were given low priority and expected to review it in four YEARS. But others that were returned after mine, they simply let them expire and told them to refile. (This is actually what happened to mine, they never responded after the 4 years.) The first petition does not prejudice the second as far as USCIS is concerned. Waiting for CSC to issue an NOID is only going to waste more time, filing the 2nd petition will force review of the case.

The problem is the COs who sees fraud where none exists, refuse to look at evidence that contradicts their preconceived conclusions and simply makes decisions based on speculation or assumptions.