After meeting a U.S. Citizen in his home country of Columbia, “Jacob” fell in love and proposed to the young American beauty. Now engaged, Jacob wanted to visit the U.S. to meet his future mother and father-in-law. It had always been Jacob’s dream to visit the U.S., and so he applied for a B-2 visa to visit the U.S.
At the visa interview in Bogata, Jacob was questioned repeatedly about his reasons for his proposed visit and his intention to depart when required. Jacob explained why he wanted to visit which included the fact about his engagement to a U.S. Citizen. Unfortunately, Jacob unknowingly supported the government’s presumption of “immigrant intent” against him. That is, when one applies for a B-2 non-immigrant visa, they will have to show thorough evidence that they intend to return to their respective country of origin, else their visa application will be rejected. A B-2 applicant is presumed to be coming to the U.S. permanently; the burden is on the applicant to prove otherwise.
Jacob’s application was predictably denied, at which point he contacted Slepian Law.
Andrew Slepian reviewed the facts of the matter and explained to Jacob that the U.S. Government believed that he would not depart the U.S. if he was granted a B-2 visa. As marriage to a U.S. Citizen allows the potential to obtain U.S. Lawful Permanent Residency, the U.S. Government had good reason to believe Jacob would remain in the U.S. However, in this particular matter, Jacob’s U.S. Citizen wife wanted to remain in Columbia to work and the couple had no intention of remaining in the U.S. after their visit.
Andrew worked with Jacob to re-file his B-2 application and prepare supporting documentation to prove he was going to return to Columbia at the end of his proposed visit. The interview was re-scheduled and this time, Jacob was ready. Having been denied once already, Jacob’s application was strictly scrutinized but in the end, Jacob was able to prove he was going to return to Columbia and his B-2 visitor’s visa was granted! Jacob could now visit the U.S. for six months with the possibility of an additional six-month extension. Jacob and his wife visited Buffalo, New York in the Fall of 2013 and met Andrew for the first time! They plan to return to Columbia in January and maybe someday, Jacob’s wife will pursue U.S. Lawful Permanent Residence for Jacob.
