August 28, 2022
Clients knew they were in for a battle with their case.
They met on a dating app in October 2020.
She was in Nigeria, and he was in Kansas.
A few months later, they got married in Nigeria.
But they had a big problem standing in their way of being together: an old visa application.
Several years ago, client had applied for a visitor’s visa twice and was denied each time.
On one of her visa applications, she falsely stated that she was married to her ex-boyfriend.
We advised the clients that this problem may come up during the I-130 petition phase at USCIS.
USCIS examines a marriage filing to determine whether the petitioner and beneficiary are both “free to marry” and have entered into a bona fide marriage.
We also advised that they may get a Request for Evidence (RFE) asking for a divorce decree involving the false “spouse.”
In fact, the case could be denied for failing to submit this divorce decree!
In June 2021, we filed the case.
In March 2022, USCIS sent an RFE.
The RFE asked for one evidence: “proof of legal termination of the marriage.”
Clients did not have this one evidence.
However, we used our experience and skills to prepare a solid response showing that the beneficiary was never married.
We also explained why she named her ex-boyfriend as “spouse” on her old visa application.
In fact, we submitted a lot of evidence about that past relationship, her state of mind and why she named him as “spouse.”
We submitted the response in July 2022.
The case was approved on August 19, 2022!
The case is now at the National Visa Center for further processing.
However, the fight is not over!
We advised clients from the very beginning that the US embassy in Lagos may refuse the visa based on misrepresentation.
However, if this does happen, we can prepare a waiver to address this problem.
Contact us for professional help with your case if you are in a similar situation.
P.S. Success stories are based on real cases. However, each case is different and past successes do not guarantee a similar result with future cases
