Interview done, pending additional information

[linuxpro]

We are applying for a K1, but do not plan to stay in the USA.
I went to the interview with my foreign fiance.
Those who told me not to worry about the i134 were right. The embassy only wanted my tax return, bank statement, and investment statement. I only have a 2012 tax return. I have not done my 2013 taxes yet.
They only questioned me about support. The fact that I am 47, divorced, but do not have children was a bit of a mystery to the consular. I did not point out that I have no children by plan.
They did not have a problem with the fact that we both live and work in Singapore, not the USA where I hold citizenship. Lots of Americans work in Singapore. They did ask when I plan to return to California. They reminded me that we may have problems with getting her a green card unless we remain in the USA. I just told them that I have all the appropriate documents, and will cross that bridge when we come to it.
They did question some unexpected things:
1. They wanted to know why we were not taking her son. She explained that her son is still in school in Burma. I bit my lip not to comment on the low quality of US public schools.
2. They asked for her son’s birth certificate (and we do not have it).
3. They questioned us because she, her father, and her brother worked or do work for the government of a country that was communist up until only a few years ago.
4. They said we did not provide sufficient proof that her former husband died seven years ago.

So we are again in a "holding pattern". She is on the phone tracking down documents.

[rayb]

Proving death of a former spouse can be a real problem in the absence of available older civil documents. I had a client whose wife died in a plane crash in Saudi about 30 years ago. She was a Japanese citizen and neither Japan nor Saudi have the available infrastructure to provide proof of the death after this long a period. Saudi had issued a death cert in the 70's when the crash occurred in Riyadh, but they won't cooperate with finding a record of the foreign victim this late in the game.

The widower eventually proved the death of his wife by providing copies of the funeral records in Masachusetts, and a photo of the headstone. The U.S. State Department, however, was very cooperative in providing State Department records of the deaths of his two young sons, who were U.S. citizens and who also died in the plane crash.

--Ray B

We are applying for a K1, but do not plan to stay in the USA.
I went to the interview with my foreign fiance.
Those who told me not to worry about the i134 were right. The embassy only wanted my tax return, bank statement, and investment statement. I only have a 2012 tax return. I have not done my 2013 taxes yet.
They only questioned me about support. The fact that I am 47, divorced, but do not have children was a bit of a mystery to the consular. I did not point out that I have no children by plan.
They did not have a problem with the fact that we both live and work in Singapore, not the USA where I hold citizenship. Lots of Americans work in Singapore. They did ask when I plan to return to California. They reminded me that we may have problems with getting her a green card unless we remain in the USA. I just told them that I have all the appropriate documents, and will cross that bridge when we come to it.
They did question some unexpected things:
1. They wanted to know why we were not taking her son. She explained that her son is still in school in Burma. I bit my lip not to comment on the low quality of US public schools.
2. They asked for her son’s birth certificate (and we do not have it).
3. They questioned us because she, her father, and her brother worked or do work for the government of a country that was communist up until only a few years ago.
4. They said we did not provide sufficient proof that her former husband died seven years ago.

So we are again in a "holding pattern". She is on the phone tracking down documents.

[linuxpro]

Proving death of a former spouse can be a real problem in the absence of available older civil documents. I had a client whose wife died in a plane crash in Saudi about 30 years ago. She was a Japanese citizen and neither Japan nor Saudi have the available infrastructure to provide proof of the death after this long a period.
--Ray B

The refusal was 221(g).

The USCIS accepted the incident report from the Burmra military. The consular wanted more. He was killed by a bomb in a military operation (occupational hazard). There is no body, so no forensic report, no grave marker, nothing. I do not know were this will go.

Getting the birth cert for her son is not a problem. It is a complete mystery why they would ask.

I did not talk to the consular myself until the i134 came up. She asked us a lot about me paying child support. I repeated, "I have no children so for whom would I be paying?". I had my experian credit report as proof that I am debt, and support free, but they never looked at it. I had a similar experience when I joined the US military back in 1989.

They asked way too many questions about her family working in the Burmese government, but made no requests based on her answers.

They asked us to return two documents and that is all.

[rayb]

The birth cert request was to obtain a "file filler place setting" for future immigration processing of the child. Many immigrants later attempt to bring children in who are not their immediate children.

There is a sometimes-justified paranoia about potential immigrants with "political" ties. It's part of training for new employees to stop politically-connected entrants at the gate. Once in the U.S., it's almost impossible to remove immigrants who later prove to be too politically involved.

--Ray B

The refusal was 221(g).

The USCIS accepted the incident report from the Burmra military. The consular wanted more. He was killed by a bomb in a military operation (occupational hazard). There is no body, so no forensic report, no grave marker, nothing. I do not know were this will go.

Getting the birth cert for her son is not a problem. It is a complete mystery why they would ask.

I did not talk to the consular myself until the i134 came up. She asked us a lot about me paying child support. I repeated, "I have no children so for whom would I be paying?". I had my experian credit report as proof that I am debt, and support free, but they never looked at it. I had a similar experience when I joined the US military back in 1989.

They asked way too many questions about her family working in the Burmese government, but made no requests based on her answers.

They asked us to return two documents and that is all.

[linuxpro]

The birth cert request was to obtain a "file filler place setting" for future immigration processing of the child. Many immigrants later attempt to bring children in who are not their immediate children.

There is a sometimes-justified paranoia about potential immigrants with "political" ties. It's part of training for new employees to stop politically-connected entrants at the gate. Once in the U.S., it's almost impossible to remove immigrants who later prove to be too politically involved.

--Ray B

I see.

The death cert is going to be costly. The government officials in her country will throw her request in a queue with all the other requests. If you want your document before you grow old and die, you pay a bribe.