Often, couples who are in a dating relationship will have the foreigner apply for a visitor visa to the U.S. They know that mentioning the dating relationship as part of the application process can trigger a B visa denial, so they choose to keep the relationship a secret, a dangerous move.
When processing on an immigrant visa or on a green card, immigration officers consider the entire immigration history and this can cause problems for a couple who was less than truthful on the B visa application. Here is an innocent inquiry together with my reply.
Question
I need information on marrying a Belarusian. We have known each other a little over 5 months already. We have definitely met in person. She is a few days away from interviewing with an ambassador to come to the United States on a temporary visa. I am afraid she will get denied. Will the visa denial hurt my chances in the future, for example if I want to bring her here on a marriage visa?
Answer
Cesar, Thank you for your inquiry. Have you read the information on our site concerning B visitor visas? Here it is: B Visa for Visitors
When she goes for her interview, will she say she is coming to see you? If so, her chance of obtaining a B visitor visa is likely not good at all. There is a risk she might overstay her welcome as a visitor. Your promise to return her to Belarus is not good enough. People change their minds. She might get pregnant. She must have a strong incentive to return to Belarus when her stay as a visitor ends. The fact that she has a U.S. boyfriend suggests her roots in Belarus are not strong. She might want to immigrate to the U.S. based on the relationship.
If she does not mention she is coming to see you, then it may appear that your relationship is not important to her. When applying for fiancee visa, spousal visa, or green card, immigration officers can and often do look back on prior applications, including a B visa application. They look at the entire immigration history. You are already dating and have been to see her, but she does not want to see you? Either you are not important or she was not telling the truth on her B visa application.
I generally will not have a foreigner apply for any U.S. visa unless I am 80% certain the visa will be granted. It is better not to be denied than to have been denied. I hope this information helps. You are welcome to call to discuss further if you like.
Kind regards
Allan
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My girlfriend lives in Brazil has been denied a Visitor visa 2 to 3 times. The first visitor visa denied was when she was with someone else. He did get a K1 and K2 that she was given but then he back out and she never did come to the US. We met online and this all happen over a year ago with the other person. Her sister wanted to come and visit their friends in the US. So they both went to get visitor visa the sister did get hers and she still had the K1 without a cancel on it. She had received a letter in October 2011 of the canceled K1. They told her to come back in two months for the visitor visa which she did and they denied it again. I told her not to go back but she did because her sister want her to go try. We are planning to meet in Brazil and looking to get married in the future. We have know each other for a year online. I plan to stay about three months. My question is which visa would you suggest I apply for that has the best chance of her and the two children. The two are K1 or CR1 Thanks
Gary, I know we had the chance to speak by phone today, so it seems things are on track now. This is a quick follow up. You have a messy situation with all the B visa denials. Fortunately, she made no misstatements. Even so, any denial draws attention to her filings going forward and can cause an immigration officer to look for problems. Since you will spend 3 months with your fiancee in Brazil–a substantial amount of time–it makes sense to marry there after you’ve spent time together. A marriage will look better on paper in your situation. It also will help me better defend your position in the event of a visa denial. For more information on comparing fiance and marriage visa processing, please link over to this blog post:
K1 Fiance Visa or CR Marriage Visa – Which is Better?
Kind regards, Allan
Hi Allan, my girlfriend is a US citizen by birth, i have a B2 multiple entry visa and im from the United Kingdom. I am worried that my travel patterns to the US may cause a red flag. here is my detailed travel dates over the last year.
03-december 2013 until 13-december 2013
18-March 2014 until 29 March 2014
28-April 2014 until 16 May 2014
15 July 2014 until 23 August 2014.
Each time i entered i was granted 6 months stay, as you can see i left way before that date.
so far i have spent 78 days in the US and 182 out.
however i plan on returning to the US on 27-September 2014 until 17-November which is in 5 weeks time.
even after that trip i would only have been in the US for around 4 months of the calender year.
I am beginning to get extremely worried i will not be allowed into the country this time.
during each of my stays i have done a lot of travelling, visited Orlando resorts in july, travelled around Arkansas stayed in multiple hotels etc, i do not plan on overstaying nor living in the US (my girlfriend is at college so its easier for now for me to go to her) eventually she would like to come over to the UK.
Am i worrying over nothing with regards to my upcoming entry into the US and can anyone see a problem with me being admitted?
thank you, Nathan
It sounds as if you are doing o.k. Just keep spending money on our U.S. economy and a border agent should be fine with your visits. Each officer is different, so I cannot promise you won’t have a problem, but things seem to be good for you. Kind regards, Allan
Hello,
i live in Germany, my boyfriend in the united states. We met last year when i was in the US for vacation. I applied for a student visa in order to get closer to him but got a denial twice. Now we are contemplating to apply for a k1 visa but not sure if that’ll be appropriate or it’ll be better for him to come and do the marriage in Germany. Another problem is that am still legally married to my ex husband. I’ll like to know how we can go about it?
Kathryn, You must terminate your current marriage. Please do not apply for a student visa again. The more visas you are denied, the more difficult it is to obtain a visa in the future. You should only apply for visas when you are reasonably certain of success. Kindly, Allan