Imagine you just finished your K1 visa interview and the consular officer hands
you a letter stating your K1 visa is refused. What do you do now? All your plans and hopes
are stopped at this moment. It also feels like this consular officer just literally decided the
fate of your life. You're not going to be able to come and join your fiancé in the United States.
In this video, we'll talk about the most common reasons for K1 visa denials
and what you can do about it. So, what are you waiting for? I'll see you on the other side.
Welcome to my channel. This is a place where you can learn everything about immigration,
immigration news, immigration updates, where I give you the information that you need to
know to make your immigration journey a success. My name is Jacob Sapochnik, and
I'm an immigration attorney located in San Diego, California, and I help clients in all 50 states.
So, let's dive right in. Let's talk about K1 visa denials. Let's start with a recent example. David
met June online, he flew to Korea to meet her and propose to her there. Then when he came back to
the US, he filed for I-29f the fiancé visa form. Everything was good. The initial petition in the
USCIS was approved. And then, at her interview, she was given Form 221-G. This is a form for
further administrative processing. Their case was pending for about four months. And after that,
they received a final denial. They were devastated. Their case was sent back to
the USCIS for further review. Now, once again, in this case, it's possible that
they didn't have enough evidence to show there was a bonafide relationship. They really met fast that
he only met her once. There could be different reasons. Again, when this case goes back to USCIS,
USCIS may deny this case, and give further the reasons why they're denying it. But the
fact is that remember that it's not the end of the world. But right now, let's talk about some common
reasons as to why a K1 visa could be denied. Not enough evidence to prove that it's a bona fide
relationship. This is like the main reason why these K1 visas get denied. Both the USCIS and the
embassy eventually are going to check whether it's a bona fide relationship. So, they want to see the
documents to prove that you are really in contact with each other through text messages, emails,
calls. They want to see evidence of what kind of engagement was it. Was it a big engagement party,
was it small depending on the culture. There are many, many factors that will determine what a bona
fide relationship is, depends also on the culture in the country. But whatever it is, make sure you
document your case very carefully. Because this is the one main reason why a lot of these K1 cases
get rejected. The beneficiary, the immigrant who is applying for the K1 visa previously was
petitioned before by other US citizens. For K1 visa, remember, the USCIS and the embassy are
checking your background. They want to see whether you generally want to come to the US to be with
your US citizen future spouse, or you’re using it as a reason to move to the US. A person who has
multiple petitions and keeps changing petitioners obviously is going to look more suspicious. Now,
even if you had multiple petitioners, even if you had a K1 before, and it didn't work, it's fine as
long as you're honest with them with the USCIS or with the embassy and explains why it didn't work,
you should be okay. And also, remember that it's up to you to prove that your intentions are real
and genuine, and not the other way around. Number three. Number three reason why these K1 visas get
denied is because the US citizen petitioner cannot meet the income requirement to be a
future sponsor. So, it's very important when you complete I-134, which is the affidavit of support
for K1 visa purposes to make sure that you meet the income requirements as required by law. And
if you don't, there are other things you can do like to get a joint sponsor and things like
that. But again, the income requirement is really important. So, make sure you understand what it is
and how to apply it to your particular case. Number four, another reason which is less common
for K1 visa denials is that the beneficiary has some sort of a communicable disease.
So, for example, if you have a disease that is infectious, or maybe easily spread in the United
States, and the consular officer determines that based on your medical exam, then you will not be
allowed to come to the States until you're no longer carrying that disease. But once again,
many of the diseases can be overcome with treatment. So, if you do have such an illness,
it's important to take care of that before you apply for the visa. Number five. Another
reason why K1 visas get denied is because the beneficiary has a criminal record. Now, remember,
we're not talking about a misdemeanor. We're talking about serious crimes, specifically when
it comes to sex crimes, child molestation, anything to do with the Adam Walsh Act,
those things are really, really serious. And that can result in the denial of the K1 visa. Also,
if you have multiple misdemeanors like, multiple DUIs or multiple thefts, those combinations of all
these crimes could also be a reason why your K1 visa could be denied. Now, remember, if after your
K1 visa interview, you do receive the 221-G form, because your case is in [inaudible] processing,
it's not the end of the world. In many cases, we can provide more information,
whether it's about the relationship, or any criminal history, or whatever that is that
it’s possible to overcome that. But if your case is still denied, what can you do? Well,
what I usually recommend to our clients is to look at what the reasons why it was denied and see if
we can fix it. And if we can, we can restart a petition, fight it properly from the beginning,
and make sure that next time, we have a better chance to get approved. The second option,
if the couple is truly committed to be together, and I determined that
getting a K1 visa under these circumstances is not going to work, I recommend for the couple
to get married. And then we can go ahead and file the CR1 because, with the CR1, we have
more options. If we have to fight a waiver, we can get a waiver. But in many cases where
I feel like the K1 is not going to work, I will recommend to get married and apply for the CR1.
So, there you have it. These are the most common reasons why a K1 visa can get denied and what to
do about it. If you have any questions, let me know in the comments. And also, make sure that
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video to more people just like you. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you in our next video. So,
if you like this video, watch these two videos for more information just like that.