F-1 VISA APPROVAL FOR STUDENT WITH REVOKED VISA FROM POLICE ALTERCATION

• Nationality: China
• Case: F-1 Visa Renewal
• Challenges:
  1. Mr. Tien is stuck in China while his visa has been revoked
  2. He hired Chinese lawyers to help him renew his visa, but their application was denied.
  3. Mr. Tien’s Visa is being revoked because of a small incident that happened while staying in the U.S. The incident was so small that the police didn’t write a report on it at the time. Now, Tien is being held until the non-existing report can be provided.

BACKGROUND

Mr. Tien was born and raised in China, but he decided that he wanted to go to college in the U.S. His F-1 was approved and Mr. Tien spent two years here. While in school, he fell in love. But the relationship wasn’t all smooth sailing.

The stress of his classes, the weight of the student loans, and the prospects of his future kept Mr. Tien very busy. He got into a fight with his new girlfriend when she expressed he was not spending enough time with her. It escalated to a screaming match. The cops were quickly called to the dormitories. When the police arrived, they knew this wasn’t anything to write a report about. In order to calm the situation, they cuffed Mr. Tien and put him in the car for a while to “cool off”. When he calmed down, he returned to his room and apologized to his girlfriend. The police went on their way, telling their precinct that this was a “non-reportable offense”.

That summer, Mr. Tien went home to China to see his family.  He booked his ticket back to California and picked his classes for his next semester. When he got to the airport, he was stopped at customs. They told him that due to an “incident with the police”, his visa was being revoked. He couldn’t believe it; nothing had really happened. When he questioned them, they told him that there was no police report submitted but just an “incident” on his record and they wouldn’t be able to review his visa again until they received the full report.

Mr. Tien rushed to lawyers in China, telling them of his circumstance. The lawyers got the police to sign a statement confirming that there was no report written for this incident, so they could confirm with the USCIS that there was no report to submit and, therefore, he should be allowed back into the United States.

This did not fly with USCIS. They would not allow Mr. Tien back into the country. He didn’t know what to do and, unfortunately for him, neither did his lawyers. This is when started to feel everything he had in America would be lost, and was desperate. His lawyers contacted us hoping we might be able to supply the missing piece they needed so Mr. Tien could return to California and finish his schooling.

KEYS TO SUCCESS

First and foremost, we needed to talk to the District Attorney’s office (or DA). They had already confirmed that there was no case report for this call but the USCIS wanted a document generated by the DA that confirmed this. We opened the lines of communication between Mr. Tien, his lawyers, and the DA, making sure that we were getting exactly what was needed to please the USCIS. They were able to supply a document confirming what had been stated prior.

Unfortunately for him, because of the prior appeal that failed, he needed to file for his F-1 Visa a second time. This time though, he had the proper paperwork in order and in theory, this should be everything he would need to get approved. If he wasn’t approved, he would not be allowed back. He would lose his school, his dorm, his friends and his girlfriend… all because he raised his voice one night when he was far too stressed.  

OUTCOME

Mr. Tien’s F-1 Visa was officially reinstated. The process took a couple of months so he missed a semester of school, but he was allowed back into the U.S. and, with that, he was able to continue the life he had been building for himself. Mr. Tien will be graduating from his university this year and his future is looking brighter than ever.

*Name has been changed to protect client identity