Denied again...

Well, to put it simply, I got refused at the border.

My dad and I arrived at the border around 9:30am. We gave our passports over, saying we were heading to Plattsburgh. Everything was okay until I heard the officer ask, 'Have you had any problems passing through the border, Lindsay?' And that's when my heart stopped. I said yes, and explained what happened since he wanted to know. After a few more questions, he sent us off to secondary inspection. We parked the car, and went into this building.

Once inside, we took a seat and waited to be called. My name was finally called and I approached the guy behind the counter. He asked some questions, I explained to him I was visiting my husband for 7 weeks, that we had applied for the CR-1 visa, I explained why I was refused last week, etc, etc. He told me that I wasn't allowed to come to the USA without a visa. I told him I had filed for the CR-1 and that I had the right to visit. He told me that I was an intending immigrant and that I would need either the immigration visa (which we applied for) or the K3 visa. I tried explaining to the guy that the K3 is basically obsolete, but he didn't believe me. He told me to take a seat.

I sat back down. I couldn't believe what was happening. I knew that the K3 visa was obsolete and if I had applied for it, the application would just get thrown out. And I knew I had the right to visit while this CR-1 visa was being processed. But this officer didn't believe me. I finally got called back up by the same guy. He told me that he spoke with some fellow officers and they all said the same thing, that I would need either a K3 or an immigrant visa to be allowed back into the US. I tried telling this guy again that if I filed for a K3 now after having submitted an I-130, that it would just get thrown out. Again, he insisted that wasn't right. He told me to take a seat again and someone would call me up to get my fingerprints.

I told my dad to listen for my name while I went outside and called Ben (no cellphones allowed inside). I told him what had happened so far and that it was basically over, I wasn't getting in. I saw my dad waving for me, so I said goodbye and headed back inside. This lady officer escorted me to a back room. The guy officer who I had been talking to was already back there, ready to take my fingerprints. Just like I had done last Tuesday. Once it was over, the lady officer escorted me back to the seating area and told me to wait till I was called up.

Again, I told my dad to listen for my name as I headed back outside to call Ben. Told him what just had happened. And throughout this whole ordeal, I hadn't started crying yet. But now is when I started to cry. I couldn't believe this was happening to me. I knew I was allowed to go through, but for whatever reason, this guy wouldn't believe me. After talking for about 5 minutes, my dad waved for me to come back inside.

The same officer had called me up. Told me he needed to take my left and right index fingers again, and then took a picture of me from a webcam. He explained that I was being refused entry. Told me that to get through to the US I would need either the immigration visa I applied for or a K3. And he explained that if I went to another border and tried this again with another story that it could lead to trouble, and might hurt my visa application, and it might even lead to being banned from the USA for a couple of years. Neither of which I want at all. So until I get my visa, I won't be visiting the US.

Hoping Ben could come visit, but it wouldn't be for long. He has full-time work and only has a two-week vacation. Not sure how we're going to do this for almost a year. Hopefully we can figure something out and see each other soon. Please, if you're reading this, pray for us. We need all the good luck we can get right now.

~Lindsay