Hello from Pennsylvania!

Hi everyone. My name is Elizabeth and I am currently living in Pennsylvania. My fiancee Ciaran lives in Belfast, and we've just been denied my fiancee visa. We met online in December 2010, met in person at Dublin airport in April 2011, and he proposed May 15, 2011 while we were in Balbriggan visiting his mum's family. We've been apart now since May 20th, and its been really rough. Now that they've denied my visa, I'm waiting for the letter explaining why and if I can appeal. If so, we hope that its something stupid like a document being overlooked (I've heard the New York office is notorious for overlooking things or expecting you to send documents they don't ask for). I am so frustrated right now with this whole situation and am hoping to learn about the experiences of others who have been in my shoes before.

I really am horrible at introductions so forgive me for that lol.  I suppose once I get my letter stating the reason I was denied, I'll post about it to see if anyone has been denied for the same reason before.

Best wishes to everyone.

HI! There are a ton of us on here from PA.  When you get your letter you can post the reasons here if you want, just redact any personal information. 

Hopefully it will be an easy fix.

Hi!  Sorry to hear you're having trouble.  Hope it was just a technicality and everything will be sorted on your appeal.

Hiya Elizabeth,

I'm from PA as well (Philly suburbs). I'm sorry you were denied. As the others have said, hopefully it is something that can be easily fixed.  Best wishes to you.

Thank you all for the warm welcome and support. It is really terrible right now, not knowing why and even if we can fix it. And there's no way we can afford to re-apply and pay another $1300. Why does it have to be so expensive anyways? Has anyone figured that out yet?

Why it is so expensive?  Because they want it to be and it will only get more.

There is a list somewhere on here that lists how much it costs them (something like 300) and how much they charge. 

Bookgrl,

God, thats disgusting. They charge $1300 for it, yet it only costs around $300?? Maybe trying to get him here on a K1 would have been better? I mean, that's only three or four hundred I think last I checked. Ugh. I just hate it that they not only charge an insane amount, but if they deny you they don't refund even a portion of the fee.

So, according to UPS, the return parcel with my explanation letter should be here in the next hour. Once I read over it, I'll post it in a new topic (omitting names of course) so we can see if anyone else has any experience with the same reason for refusal.

They are allowed to charge anything they want for these types of visas.  Here is hoping it is something easy to fix (or jsut a mistake on their part).

I lived in Pittsburgh for a long time and I'm headed to join my husband in Belfast this summer. I hope it gets better for you! Hang in there!!

FLtoBelfast,

How funny! Thats where I was meant to be moving! What is it with Belfast men and American women? Hope all goes well with your move.

Thanks! I hope the situation with your move vastly improves. My husband and I (we got married Dec 30th  ) decided to get married first in the states in a small ceremony before attempting the immigration procedures in order to bypass the fiance visa issues. Perhaps we'll bump into each other some day!

Hello, I am from Carlisle PA. I hope you have been able to get your visa situation sorted out. I know how you feel though. The first time I processed my fiancee visa, I was denied as well. It seems we didn't have all the paper work in order and they are pretty strict about things like that. However the second time I applied, I was accepted and moved over in 2000 and married in May. So good luck and try and be patient.
You'll love Belfast. I lived there for 2 years and thought it was great and would love to go back. I am currently in Gloucester UK which is nice too.

Welcome to the board!

Hello and Welcome....another from PA (Juniata County)