I have had a number of clients come to me in the last month who have petitioned for their husband, wife or fiancé in Cambodia and had their petition denied. Because it is well known that I usually travel to Cambodia in July, and that I go to the U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh to fix broken immigration cases, it is not unusual for people to be coming to me at this time of year with their denial letters. What is unusual, is that every single one of them says “fraud or material misrepresentation”. Every marriage based petition says that the file is being returned to USCIS for revocation. This is a new game being played by the consular staff in Phnom Penh, and it raises the stakes considerably.
I advise people who come to me with these letters that these files have returned to USCIS to die. It is unlikely that USCIS is going to do any manner of an investigation of these cases unless provoked. In fact, the fiancé applications all have a time limit on them anyway. Generally speaking, the denied files are the lowest priority files at USCIS. In the past, I have advised people whose petitions for husbands, wives and fiancés were denied simply to refile. It is much quicker and easier simply to start over than it is to get USCIS to find the denied file and review the rejected petition. What is more, when the petition gets to Cambodia the interviewing officer will be different from the one that did the first interview. That is a matter of policy. The person who has rejected most of the petitions that I have seen is the chief of the visa section and he is due to leave the Phnom Penh Embassy in July. As such, he will not even be there when the new petition comes in. Unfortunately, he will leave behind a burdensome legacy.
“Fraud or material misrepresentation” are not words that he chose randomly. Engaging in fraud or material misrepresentation for the purpose of obtaining an immigration benefit is a grounds for denial of not only the current visa application, but of any future visa applications. Fraud is not only a ground to deny future applications by this husband, wife or fiancé, but from any petitioner. Simply put, the visa applicant has committed fraud and therefore the visa applicant is forever barred from obtaining a visa to come to the United States. Unless this finding of fraud or material misrepresentation is reversed by USCIS, then future visa applications will all be denied at the embassy.
As a result, simply refiling and letting the old case quietly die is no longer a viable option. It is entirely possible to file a new application and have USCIS approve it without addressing the prior finding of fraud or misrepresentation. However, if USCIS has not addressed that finding, then the embassy will stand by its finding of fraud or material misrepresentation and reject the visa application outright. This problem is further complicated by the fact that the visa section is often quite secretive about why they have turned down visa applications. In my own experience, they will usually tell me their reasons when I am at the embassy, but not when I send an email. Sometimes the reasons that they give are quite surprising. For example, I had a case where the embassy decided, based on its own investigation and supposition that the petitioner in the United States was still involved with his ex-girlfriend even though they had never asked any questions about the ex-girlfriend. As such, it is not likely that you can address the issue in a subsequent filing, without first resurrecting the previous file.
I am available for both sides of the case, both with USCIS and the Phnom Penh Embassy. I will be going to Cambodia this July, so anyone with a visa denial would do well to see me as soon as they can. For people who have not filed yet, I am available to try to make sure that your petition never gets rejected in the first place! One of the things that always intrigues me is that when I ask my clients for documents proving the bona fides of their relationship, they all bring me the exact same things. What is more, when I ask for letters from people who have some knowledge of the relationship, the letters all look alike. It is remarkable. Given that the Phnom Penh Embassy rejects the vast majority of husband, wife and fiancé petitions, it should be obvious that “the usual” documents are not enough. I can help you to put together a petition that the Consul, not just USCIS, is likely to approve.