Fiance visa and expedited removal? Keep reading for more information or if you know you need help now, please contact us.
Sometimes the fiance visa process goes well. Other times you may think everything is going well. Then your fiance gets to the interview for the visa. You discover now that the consular officer denied your fiancé the visa. The consular officer gives your fiancé a § 221(g) letter. This letter states that your fiancé is ineligible for a fiancé visa due to an expedited removal order. Often times the letter will direct the fiancé to apply for a waiver. Once the USCIS grants the waiver, you fiancé becomes re-eligible to receive the fiancé visa.
Denied a fiance visa under § 221(g) of the INA
Your first thought over this extra step maybe annoyance. The correct perspective can often make you feel better about a difficult circumstance. At some US consulates, when the consular officer determines the applicant for the fiancé visa is ineligible, the consulate will deny the visa and then return the fiancé visa petition to the USCIS. Once the USCIS receives it they close it. The closure occurs because consulates are not quick about returning fiancé visa petitions. The USCIS will usually receive the petition after the petitioner’s period of validity. As it is no longer valid, the USCIS closes it without giving the petitioner a chance to respond. So if you and your fiancé get a chance to fix the problem you are ahead of a lot of couples with this problem.
How You End up with an Expedited Removal Order
Some people express surprise on finding that they have an expedited removal order. You receive expedited removal orders when you are an arriving alien. This means you have arrived in the United States and are being inspected by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). If you were trying to enter the United States without inspection, Its no surprise to you if CBP caught you and removed you from the United States through the expedited removal process.
Arriving Aliens and Expedited Removal
People who were trying to enter the United States through lawful means, arriving on an airplane, arriving by car or arriving by boat may not understand what has happened to them. When you present your passport for CBP review, CBP questions you about your intentions in entering the United States. If you say the wrong thing in response to the questions, you may find yourself refused entry and returned to your home country.
You may believe that all that has happened is that you were not let into the United States. Instead, you find out later, during the fiancé visa process, that CBP gave you an expedited removal order. Applicants for admission to the United States also get expedited removal orders when CBP discovered through the interview process that they have worked in the United States before. Another ground for receiving and expedited removal order is the CBP officer judges your answers as untruthful.
Waiving the Expedited Removal Order
Now that you understand how you ended up with an expedited removal order, we should deal with how to fix the problem. If you are lucky enough to be able to apply for the waiver, you must submit an I-212 application, permission to reapply for admission to the United States after deportation or removal. We can help with this process. Once you receive the approval, the consulate will reschedule another fiancé visa interview. This time your fiancé should have no difficulty at the interview and should receive the fiancé visa, enabling him or her to come to the United States to marry you.
How We Can Help
If you start the fiancé visa process on your own, and run into this problem, fiancé visa and expedited removal, we can help with the necessary waiver request. Please contact us.
