Q & A June 27, 2004

My friend entered the U.S. with a K-1 visa in November 1998. For some reasons, she didn’t get married with her boyfriend, and then stayed in the U.S. illegally. She got married with a U.S. citizen in September 1999, and went back to China in March 2003 for her mother was very ill. Her husband petitioned a k visa for her, which was approved by the BCIS. Now the case was transferred to China.

Questions:

1. Before she is interviewed in Guangzhou for her visa, will she possible obtain a waiver for the visa?
2. Are there any legal ways they can take to ensure the visa is granted?

Hong
New York

Dear reader:

1. It will not be possible for your friend to obtain a waiver before the interview of the 10 year bar for remaining illegally in the United States for one year after April 1, 1997. The rule is that such waiver application cannot be accepted until the individual has been interviewed for the visa.
2. There is no legal way that your friend can ensure that the visa is granted. In addition to concerns over the period of illegal stay in the United States, the consulate will most likely inquiry into the bonafide nature of the K-1 application in 1998. If the consulate concludes that the relationship was bonafide, such finding will certainly assist your friend in her application. She should therefore bring as much evidence as she can to the interview concerning the bona fides of the first relationship. A finding of the relationship in 1998 being non-bonafide would bar her permanently from the United States.

Copyright © 2003 Alan Lee, Esq.
The information provided here is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts or circumstances. It should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Law Office of Alan Lee or establish an attorney-client relationship.