Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing K-1 Visa application after the denial of a prior visa application. Generally speaking, we will see folks contact us after they have tried to apply for a Tourist Visa, oftentimes on their own, and they have been denied. 

Now as I have discussed in many other videos, denial for a US Tourist Visa is not uncommon especially out here in Thailand where we see frequent denials under what is called section 214b of the Immigration and Nationality Act which creates the requirement on the part of the Consular Officer adjudicating such matters, to be satisfied that the applicant has sufficient strong ties to their home country - in this case generally speaking we are dealing with Thailand - and weak ties to the United States. Oftentimes any kind of relationship to an American will be enough to mitigate against the weak ties part of that analysis; that in and of itself is something to bear in mind. 

That said, what happens if you are filing for a K-1 Visa after being denied for a US Tourist Visa? Well unfortunately, I used to not be that worried about that. Then a couple of years ago I did a video after a colleague made a video about they were starting especially under the first Trump Administration, it is not impossible we could see this again, to scrutinize K-1 Visa applicants subsequent to a Tourist Visa application denial and start looking for discrepancies in the different filings, basically saying, "hey you said something different in this Tourist Visa application", even though it was denied, "than what you are saying in this K-1 application". Now issues of materiality of fact can become a factor in such an analysis; I won't do a deep dive on that. But long story short, it can come up. A prior Tourist Visa denial for example might have an impact on a subsequent K-1 Visa application. That is why it may not be a terrible idea to contact a legal professional before applying for any Visa. If you haven't applied for any Visa yet, it may be a good idea to contact a legal professional before doing so, because you may actually put yourself in a detriment position subsequent to a denial of a Tourist Visa when it comes to a subsequent K-1 Visa application. And just as a matter of being as sort of straightforward or in the most positive posture one can be in, it may not be a terrible idea to contact a legal professional before applying for either in order to ascertain whether it is even appropriate to apply for one or the other or both, because doing so might actually hurt you in the long run.

Just something to think about but yeah, there can be an impact. More and more I think it is not outside the realm of possibility that it could be an impact that a prior Tourist Visa denial could have an impact on a subsequent K-1 Fiancé(e) Visa application.