Cancel or withdraw I-129F or Fiance K-1 Visa

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Very rarely do I get emails like the one below… where someone reaches out and asks how to cancel or withdraw their I-129F petition or fiance visa process.

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And it’s rare because most of us spend a lot of time courting our partners before taking the big step to get married… so it’s kind of odd to hear someone ask about stopping the process. But, reasons for withdrawing are usually one of these two…

• ▬ Reason # 1 – Break up of relationship (most common)
• ▬ Reason # 2 – they got tired of waiting and just got married

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So, if you also get to this point, question becomes “How do I withdraw my I-129F?”

And … “do we have to withdraw? Or can we abandon it to expire?”

In general, paths to withdraw or cancel your Fiance visa case are:

• ▷ Send a letter to the government asking them to terminate your case
• ▷ Abandon your case, after which, it expires on it’s own

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We’ll discuss the proper steps to cancel or withdraw your I-129F or Fiance Visa.

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Procedure for canceling or withdrawing I-129F with USCIS

Imagine you put together a nice I-129F packet and sent it to the USCIS. What if, like the email you saw above, you decide to stop the process from going any further? What are the correct steps to cancel your fiance visa petition?

Well, according to the USCIS, the petitioner may withdraw the petition at any time in writing. You may also abandon it and let it expire (we’ll discuss this in detail below).

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To start the withdrawal request:
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Step 1 – Determine which USCIS Service Center has your case

Figure out which USCIS service center has jurisdiction over your case. Look at your I-797c receipt letter. Identify which service center it is, and what their address is. Use this address to mail a letter.

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Step 2 – Write & send your I-129F withdrawal letter

Draft a letter on a regular sheet of paper and include the following details:

• ❒ Name, Contact information, Date of birth
• ❒ A-number (if any)
• ❒ USCIS Receipt #
• ❒ A photocopy of your identification
• ❒ A copy of your receipt letter I-797c
• ❒ Ask for confirmation that your case has been terminated

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I-129f withdrawal letter downloadable pdf

Mail this letter to the USCIS service center at the address written on the I-797c. 

There’s no requirement to justify why you’re canceling your petition. The USCIS doesn’t need to know all of that. Nonetheless, I do recommend you write one or two sentences to briefly describe why you made this decision.

You’re also not required to notarize this letter. However, the USCIS may ask for it later on based on their discretion.

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Step 3 – What happens after you send the letter

The USCIS is obliged to terminate your petition and send you a notice. You should get a confirmation letter in about 2-8 weeks depending on the USCIS backlog.

According to the USCIS policy manual, any petition that is withdrawn cannot be denied.

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Step 4 – What happens after the case has been canceled

After your I-129F is canceled, your foreign fiance will not get a visa using your petition. Your process will terminate. And you will not get a refund for the I-129F fee. Your paperwork may be returned to you, however, I doubt that normally happens.

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Canceling your I-129F Fiance visa case with the NVC

Let’s look at the next scenario. Let’s say you’ve already been approved by the USCIS and during the NVC processing phase, you decide to cancel…

The steps are identical to before — contact the NVC and request the withdrawal.
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• Steps 1- Contact the NVC
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  Contact the NVC using their contact page, phone, or email.
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• Step 2 – Send withdrawal letter
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  Follow their instructions. As an example, the Cuban US Embassy explains how to cancel your fiance visa petition if the case is making its way through the NVC.
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  You’ll probably need to email a scanned signed letter or perhaps a physical letter depending on what response you get.
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• Step 3 – Get confirmation of cancellation
  
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  Get notification that your I-129F has been terminated by the NVC.
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One final important note: at this point you can also abandon your I-129F fiance visa petition. Meaning, you don’t have to go out of your way to write a withdrawal letter. If you decide not to do anything on your own, the I-129F validity runs out in 4 months on its own. After which your case will be deemed unresponsive and expired.

Nonetheless, the US consulate will try to contact you as a courtesy to ask if you intend to continue. You can respond that you wish to withdraw.
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So, in summary, to withdraw your petition with the NVC, you can either…

• □ Withdraw your case in writing
• □ Abandon your case (do nothing further) and let it expire

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Canceling or withdrawing K-1 visa application with US Consulate

Let’s look at the next scenario — where you’re at the consulate phase (i.e. us embassy interview) and you decide not to continue further. You have to get in touch with the US consulate and ask them to cancel your visa process.

• Step 1 – Determine which US consulate / Embassy has your case
  
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  Check your approval letter from the NVC or online at the CEAC website to determine which consulate has jurisdiction over your I-129F.
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• Step 2 – Check their website for instructions (if any)
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  Most embassies don’t have a dedicated section where they explain how to withdraw a petition. Normally, they want you to email them a request for information. After which, they’ll respond back with instructions on how to withdraw. But in general, the instructions are the same (as we’ll see below).
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• Step 3 – Submit a withdrawal request
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  Consulates usually have similar procedures: they want you to send a notarized withdrawal statement. Here’s an example from the Sudanese US Embassy:
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  Submit a notarized letter to their office either by mail or email. Have the following details of the US petitioner:
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  • ▝ Name, Case Number, type of petition (I-129F)
  • ▝ Brief reason for withdrawal
  • ▝ Sometimes they even ask for proof that you’re the petitioner by submitting a copy of your US passport biographic page
  • ▝ Signed letter (you can use the template from above)
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• Step 4 – Get confirmation
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  Receive confirmation from the Department of State that it’s been terminated.
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• Alternative step – abandon case
  
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  You can also abandon your case. If left abandoned, it will automatically expire after 1 year. The US Consulate will try to reach out and ask if you intend to apply for a K-1 or K-2 visa. To which you can respond back that you’re abandoning your case. (INA 9 FAM 502.7-3(C)(2))
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Also note that you will not get your fees back. The MRV fee, medical exam fee, police clearance, etc. anything you’ve paid so far, will not be refunded.

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Canceling or withdrawing after K-1 or K-2 visa approval

Let’s look at the final scenario — if you two went through the interview, got approved, but now you decide you don’t want to be together. How does it work after a visa has already been stamped in your passport?

Well, after a K-1 or K-2 visa is approved, you cannot withdraw a petition because the petition becomes irrelevant. Your K-1 or K-2 visa will be valid for up to 6 months. 

It’s up to you to either use the visa or let it expire. And if you don’t use the visa, then you won’t get your fee refunded.

But, if your foreign fiance has already entered the US with a K-1 visa, and you decide not to go through marriage, then there’s nothing to withdraw or cancel at this point. 

You can simply choose not to marry and the K visa will expire within 6 months.

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My fiance and I decided to marry instead of waiting for a K visa… Do we still have to withdraw our I-129F petition?

Here’s somewhat of a common issue — some of us get tired of waiting for the fiance visa and want to get married instead. There’s a bunch of different reasons why this happens… for example, Timothy just couldn’t “wait for the USCIS letter” any longer…

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How would he withdraw his petition? Would it “complicate things”?

Well, the proper procedure depends on WHEN you want to apply for a spousal CR-1/IR-1 visa (using form I-130). 

• ❒ If you want to immediately apply for a marriage-based visa, then yes, you should withdraw your I-129F petition (see instructions below).
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• ❒ If you don’t want to immediately apply for a spousal visa
  • ▝ (1) withdraw your petition, or 
  • ▝ (2) allow the I-129F to expire — if that falls within your desired timeline

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If you choose to actively withdraw, follow the steps from above

• □ Contact the USCIS, NVC, or US Embassy and submit a letter withdrawing your I-129F… simply tell them you’re getting married instead.
• □ Use the same template and letter structure as we’ve discussed earlier. Get a confirmation that they’ve received your withdrawal request.

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Keep in mind that time is a big factor here. For instance, what if you abandoned an I-129F petition several years ago, and now want to get married? Do you still withdraw your previous expired petition from years ago?

Well, that depends on how long ago you did the fiance visa process. If it was more than 1 year ago then most likely, the petition is already expired. If it was less than 1 year ago, then the petition may still be valid, in which case, you’ll have to withdraw your petition from the USCIS before proceeding with the spousal visa.

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Does canceling my I-129F petition affect anything in the future? any problems if I withdraw?

Just like how Timothy asked if his withdrawal will “complicate things”, we’re also curious if there are going to be any problems in the future if we withdraw. How does canceling a K-1 visa affect other visas, such as tourist / visitor?

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Well, there’s no real “problem”. Withdrawing simply means you’re taking back the request for an immigration benefit. However, there’s a few things to be clear about:

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• Does it make me a multiple filer?
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  Anyone who’s filed and has gotten an I-129F approved within the last 2 years OR has two or more previous filings in a lifetime, is considered a multiple filer.
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  If you ARE an I-129F multiple filer, you can read about the topic in detail. You will have a few extra responsibilities such as requesting a waiver. Again, read the full details on how this works in my other article.
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• Is this a “Red flag” for my future?
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  To me, withdrawing your fiance visa case isn’t much of a red flag. As long as you’ve got justification for why it happened (such as your relationship ended) then it’s not a problem for future visa petitions.
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  But, I can see an argument against it. Every case is unique and some facts could be considered suspicious by the Consulate if you withdraw. That’s on a case-by-case basis.
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• Will they consider it Visa fraud?
  
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  Very rarely can it be seen as a desperate attempt to cover up some kind of visa fraud or violation (where you withdraw your case fearing being caught in marriage fraud). This happens rarely.
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  There’s a famous landmark case which dealt with this: Matter of Laureano, 19 I&N Dec. 1 (BIA 1983). In general, I wouldn’t be too worried regarding withdrawing a fiance visa case and whether it adversely affects any current or future visas. But of course, it’s always a possibility to be investigated for such things.

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If you decide to cancel your fiance visa case

So let’s wrap up the discussion. You can follow a few simple steps to withdraw your application with the government.

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1.  With the USCIS, the petitioner withdraws by writing to them.
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2.  With the NVC, the petitioner and beneficiary may cancel the application either by writing or simply abandoning the process (and letting the approval expire).
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3.  With the US Embassy (Department of State) you can withdraw by writing to them or abandoning your case.

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If you’d like to read more about it, you can read the complete the USCIS’s withdrawal literature (although it doesn’t quite apply to the fiance visa).

You can use my template to draft the letter and ask for a withdrawal. And before you go, I’ve got a question for you…

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Did you go through a petition withdrawal? Why? How was the experience?