Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	INCOME	Hi everyone. I filed a K1 for my fiancee, just want to ask if I will have a problem regarding the support. I am self employed and just a few dollars above the minimum income requirment "line 22" on my recent income tax. my 2 previous income tax " 2009 and 2010" was way below the poverty line. what I want to know is if that will be an issue. BTW I have 3k dollars bank savings will that help? Another thing, do i need to send my 2009 and 2010 ITR, or the 2011 will suffice? Thank you very much. It's up the consulate in Manila. Usually, if you qualify based on your most recent tax return, and you can provide evidence that your income this year will also be enough to qualify, then they'll accept it. The savings will help if you can demonstrate you've had it for a while. They usually want to see bank statements going back six months or more. They want to make sure someone didn't give you a temporary loan to help you qualify. The consulate requires the most recent tax return. They have the option of requesting additional tax returns. It's up to them.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-06 21:45:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	NOA2 approved, wheres the childrens requiremetns	Hello Everyon We recieved our NOA2 approval !!!! Im still waiting on the paperwork to reach my home and I'd like to start other paperwork now. The children were included in the original I-129F application (part B, item 13). Now, Im not sure which flow i need to follow for ensuring that her childrens paperwork is the right paprtwork to use and fill out. is there a specific link anyone can reference for me ? and is the K2 proocess intended to be for the children or am i mistaken.. Many Thanks in advance... Ed You didn't petition for the children. You petitioned for their mother. The approved petition makes her children eligible to apply for derivative visas. The reason the consulate usually wants to see the children listed on the petition is because they want proof that the petitioner is aware that the children exist, and acknowledges by this that they know the children will be eligible to apply for derivative visas. The children submit their visa applications at the same time your fiancee submits hers. There should be instructions in packet 3 for derivatives. The consular process for K2's is usually the same as for K1's, but the forms and documents required are usually a little different. Here's a link to the packet 3 instructions for K1/K2 for Manila: http://photos.state....3__rtf2_005.pdf	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-07 12:47:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Relationship evidence for K1	When my fiancée submitted the I-129F he sent only a U.S. birth certificate of our daughter to prove our relationship. Also,he submitted only his U.S. birth certificate not the passport coz what he read from the I-129F instruction it says we can send either birth certificate or passport. - Will it be enough or you think CSC going to ask for more evidence? Thanks. You don't have to prove you have a relationship until the consulate interview. To get a petition approved you have to prove you've met at least once in the past two years. How is that your daughter has a US birth certificate? Was she born in the US?	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-08 12:54:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Can you marry a US citizen on a tourist visa, and stay?	That's what I was saying, but apparently in Jim's experience "partner means same sex" Anyway, I guess I have gotten this a little . Sorry OP! I've lived in California most of my adult life, and in the San Francisco bay area for nearly 20 years. I've heard people use the term "partner" a lot. When they aren't talking about a business partner then better than 90% of the time they're talking about a same-sex partner. Maybe it's different elsewhere, but it's very common here.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-10 21:02:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Can you marry a US citizen on a tourist visa, and stay?	I call my partner my partner too. When did that become a same-sex only thing??? In the US it's common for same-sex couples to refer to their "partner". They couldn't use terms like "wife" or "husband" before same-sex marriage was made legal in some states, and even today if a gay person uses those terms it starts arguments with some hetero people, so they still tend to avoid them. If they're not married they often don't use "boyfriend" or "girlfriend". Even if a hetero male has no moral objection to gays, some still cringe when they hear another man say "my boyfriend". When a female says "my girlfriend" it's often presumed to be a close friend rather than a love relationship. Same-sex couples in the US have adopted the term "partner" as the path of least resistance. It implies a love relationship without any specific gender connection. The term "partner" is much less common with hetero couples. Therefore, when someone uses this term there is an assumption, or at least speculation, that a same-sex relationship is involved. Why not? The only requirement is that you entered the US legally. Happens all the time. Yes, and majority of people who do it are successful. It's still illegal to enter the US with a preconceived intent to immigrate unless that intent is allowed under the terms of the visa they used to enter, and it's against the VJ terms of service to recommend anything which isn't legal, even if it's possible and relatively common. On this site we have to stay clearly on the right side of the law and not even approach the gray areas.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-10 11:56:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	i-129f skips NVC??	Unless something has changed, USCIS doesn't send approved petitions directly to the consulate. They send them to NVC. My NOA2 even specifically stated that the petition had been sent to NVC. I can't see how USCIS could send them directly to the consulate because NVC assigns the Department of State case number.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-10 10:28:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Where do I stand with this past?	thanks for that clarity - I appreciate it. well guarenteed there was no admitting of anything because I didnt do what was accused. Nor is that my nature. Nor was I aquitted If they brought you up on charges then there are usually only three possible outcomes; convicted (guilty), acquitted (not guilty), or the charges were dropped by the prosecutor (not guilty). From your description, it sounds like you were acquitted.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-10 11:30:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Where do I stand with this past?	The reason it can be tricky is because US immigration law considers you inadmissible if you are either convicted or if you admit "committing acts which constitute the essential elements" of the crime. Being acquitted doesn't necessarily mean you didn't do it. Some people are acquitted for technical reasons. The consulate will want to see the court transcripts to determine if you made any admissions that would make you inadmissible to the US. Here's an example: A cop searches your property and finds a half gram of cocaine. You admit to the cop that the cocaine is yours. You hire a lawyer and go to court. The lawyer points out that the cop's search was unlawful, so the judge acquits you. Legally, you were found not guilty. As far as US immigration law is concerned, you admitted to the crime and are therefore inadmissible.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-10 10:55:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Interview Process K-1	I know there is a possibility he'll have to go to Casablanca or stay in the United Kingdom for the interview. But I was wondering, will they interview me too? How will they confirm that the answers are correct or verify that he knows me well and my family too. Is it where they ask me some questions about him and vise versa to compare? I was just wondering how they review and base an approval in that stage of the process. I've heard some people don't pass because they don't get all the answers "correct" but how would they know what is correct? We share up to the most intimidate things about our families and our past & present to keep our relationship strong and make sure we touch every subject to avoid any problem later. Thank you for the feedback! Some consulates will allow the US citizen petitioner to come inside for the interview. Some will not. My understanding is that the consulate in Morocco doesn't allow the petitioner to attend the interview, while the consulate in London will allow it if you get your name on the access list in advance. At consulates that will permit the petitioner to attend they usually don't want the petitioner to answer any questions unless they specifically ask them a question. They sometimes don't even want the petitioner to approach the window during the interview. What they don't want to see is the petitioner coaching the beneficiary with answers. They can ask any question they want to ask. Sometimes they already know the answer. Sometimes they don't. For example, they might ask if the beneficiary knows the color of the petitioner's house. Think the consular officer doesn't know the answer to this question? Actually, they probably wouldn't ask that question if they didn't know the answer. They could have already looked at the petitioner's home using Google Street View. They also sometimes get a public records report about the petitioner from Lexis Nexis. This will contain detailed information about the petitioner's public records, including any court cases, insurance claims, business licenses, etc. If you bought your home then they'll know how much you paid for it, how much your property tax bill is this year, which company you buy homeowners insurance from, and whether you've ever filed a claim. They will definitely know everything on any document you submitted with the petition, and they often draw heavily on those documents for questions. That's why the general consensus on VJ is that you should provide a complete copy of the petition package to the beneficiary so that they can study it. They can also ask questions they don't already know the answer to. In this case, they're just trying to confirm whether the beneficiary has a credible answer ready. For example, "Where are you planning to marry?". They can't possibly know the answer to this unless it's something you already explained on some document you submitted with the petition. If the beneficiary says "We're getting married at the Holy Moly Church on Main Street" then the CO could look up the church on Google to see if it really exists. If they interview both the petitioner and the beneficiary separately then you're in trouble. That's called a Stokes interview, and they don't do that unless they suspect fraud. Most consular officers have made a preliminary decision before the interview even starts just based on the documents and evidence they've already got. Getting a question wrong is one of the least common reasons they deny. They usually suspect something, and the interview just helps confirm it. London is not usually a difficult consulate for British people, but consulates tend to tailor the interview for the beneficiary's home country. The consulate in Casa Blanca can be brutal, so consular officers in London can be more difficult when interviewing Moroccans.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-11 22:19:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Is this a denial or approval?	Agree, your visa was not DENIED. This is a good sign I think. They requested additional documents. You sent them. They requested her passport. Why would they request the passport unless they were going to put the visa in it? If they were truly going to deny your visa after the documents you sent in, they would have just sent a letter. So pretty for sure your visa is on the way! I agree with this. They wouldn't have asked for her passport after the 221g if they didn't intend to issue a visa.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-05 11:05:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K-1 visa enquiry	The consulate in Lagos is (arguably) the most difficult in the world. They see every possible manner of visa scam on a daily basis, and many of those scammers are well prepared. This makes it doubly difficult to stand above the crowd as a legitimate couple. The consular officer is going to be predisposed to believe you're just another scammer before the interview has even begun. First, why did your fiancee visit Nigeria before you became engaged? Was it for business or pleasure? If she was there as a tourist then they're not going to believe she didn't take any photos. Americans don't take a holiday half way around the world without taking photos, especially now that practically any device with a battery also includes a camera. Second, is it common in Nigeria for a man in his 20's to marry a woman in her 40's? If not then you can expect this to be an issue at the interview. If an average Nigerian wouldn't believe the relationship was genuine then the consular officer is going to be convinced that it's not. Third, the consular officer is going to look for an ulterior motive aside from a genuine relationship. You've got one. You're not working, and you want to go to school in the US. A masters program is extraordinarily expensive in the US, especially for a foreigner, so hooking up with a older woman, especially if she's financially secure, would seem to fit this profile. The consular officer is going to be interested in how your relationship evolved, both before and after the relationship became serious. You don't have much concrete evidence of your relationship before you became engaged, and you don't have much time between when you became engaged and the petition was filed. You might have been able to improve your chances by taking more time, having her take more trips, and collecting far more evidence after you became engaged and before sending the petition.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-13 10:11:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I-134 Financial question--Child support	The I-134 is a bit of a relic. USCIS doesn't use them anymore, and consulates only use them for screening certain types of non-immigrant visa applicants. In the case of a K1 visa applicant, they're looking for the likelihood that the beneficiary will have a sufficient sponsor later on when it comes time to adjust status. They criteria they usually use for this is the same criteria that will be used with the I-864 affidavit of support. Based on that criteria, any minor child counts as part of your household size, whether or not the child lives with you or you receive child support, because you are obligated under law to provide support for the child. The "wholly or partially dependent" selection is no longer relevant since the child will add "1" to your household size, regardless of which you select. Unless you claim someone else as a dependent on your tax return that you haven't mentioned, then your household size will be three; yourself, your son, and your fiance. The minimum required income will probably be $23,862 per year. It will be less if you are active duty military. It will be more if you live in Alaska or Hawaii.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-14 10:37:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Affidavit of Support	the stocks are a personal holding. You have to prove you own them and prove their current value. A statement from your broker indicating the current value of your holdings should suffice. Assets offset income by a factor of 1 to 3 (when the beneficiary is your fiancee or spouse), which means you'd need $10,500 worth of assets to make up for a shortage of $3500. Given that stocks change value on a daily basis, they consular officer would probably feel more comfortable if your stocks had a current market value well above the minimum threshold you need to clear. If the stocks are a personal holding, why are they in a business brokerage account?	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-14 21:15:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	poverty level	Wow all this is confusing cause it does says 125% poverty guidelines for I-864 especific but I wonder where it says diferente for I-134 Consular officers follows the policies spelled out in the Foreign Affairs Manual. If you're interested in what the FAM says about the I-134 then read Chapter 9, section 40.41: http://www.state.gov...ation/86988.pdf There are a couple of key points about the I-134 that can be summarized from the FAM: 1. Use of the I-134 has been reduced considerably since it's not legally binding like the I-864. 2. K1 visa applicants aren't authorized to use the I-864, and must instead use the I-134. 3. The I-134 doesn't meet the legal requirements of INA 213A (the I-864 does), so the income requirements described in INA 213A (125% of the poverty guidelines) don't directly apply. It's more or less up to the consular officer to decide how much is enough. The lack of concrete boundaries for the I-134 has led many consulates to develop their own internal policies for the I-134. The experience of hundreds of VJ members has led to a general consensus here that most consulates do NOT follow the general information given on the Department of State website, and they do NOT apply the 100% poverty guidelines threshold as that site suggests. Most consulates apply the same minimum income levels they would apply with an I-864. Some consulates will usually not allow a joint sponsor with an I-134 - there's nothing in either the law or the FAM that requires them to. Some consulates will permit the beneficiary's income to be considered, while others will not. One thing that is accepted here as gospel - a petitioner who has income comfortably above the I-864 minimums will almost never have their I-134 affidavit of support deemed to be insufficient.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-14 22:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help, emergency!	i think it makes sense to delay your fiance's entry INTO the USA until he's recovered from the surgery and the cast is off. In the meantime you should revisit yer SA visa, see what's up to get valid entry back into SA. Good Luck ! OP is the beneficiary. The USC petitioner is the one who is in the hospital.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-14 10:40:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help, emergency!	Even if you manage to get the interview expedited and get the visa as quickly as possible, it's likely he'll be finished with surgery and out of the hospital before you get to the US. I agree with Krikit. Go ahead and try to visit. Besides the normal proof of ties evidence, try to get his doctor to fax a letter to you explaining the nature of the emergency. If the CBP officer is inclined to deny you entry for suspicion of preconceived intent, he would still have the option of granting you humanitarian parole. I've heard of people who were waiting out a 10 year ban getting paroled into the US so they could visit a seriously ill relative.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-14 10:14:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Applying for K-1 with Previous Overstay	Thank you all for enlightening me. So it would seem that I need to file an i-601. This would involve proving extreme hardship, which I believe I can do as he is an active serviceman and simply cannot pickup and leave. My last question, does anyone happen to know how long an i-601 takes to process... thank you... I agree with Mogambi about getting an attorney. Getting an I-601 waiver can be difficult. An attorney with experience in this area will know what sort of hardship evidence is likely to work and what isn't. Nobody can say for sure how long it will take to get the waiver. It could be weeks. It could be years. A couple of months is more likely. You can't submit the I-601 waiver application until you've attended the interview and the visa has been denied. They can't adjudicate the waiver application until it's been established that a waiver is needed, and the act of applying for the visa is what establishes that.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-14 10:47:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Applying for K-1 with Previous Overstay	Sorry I should have been clearer. In the words of the deportation officer, "You have no bar against you and you may apply for legal entry to the United States at any time." He has indicated that there is no ban, as granted to me by the issue of a administrative voluntary departure (ie. not deportation). Overstay was over one year. Someone who has been deported is barred from applying for readmission to the US, usually for 10 years. Someone who overstays for more than 180 days is automatically barred from returning to US for 3 years, or 10 years if the overstay was more than one year. The overstay bar is imposed when the alien leaves the US. No immigration officer can preemptively waive either of these bars. What the officer told you was technically correct. You weren't being deported, so there was no deportation bar. You hadn't left the US yet, so the overstay bar hadn't kicked in yet. You incurred a 10 year bar the day you left the US.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-14 10:05:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	proof of income for self employed	that is exactly my situation (s-corp) just trying to figure what to give to my fiancee so she wouldn't have to give a lot of explanation why there is no letter from employer and no pay stubs Look at your line 22 total income on your 1040. If that's above 125% of the poverty guidelines for your household size then you should be fine. If it's not then there's not much you can explain to the CO. Most self-employed people file a schedule C and deduct business expenses, which reduces their line 22 total income. The IRS figures that line 22 is what you've got left after your business expenses to live on and pay taxes. The consular officer is going to figure the same thing. Ignore the I-134 form instructions. They were written by INS a long time ago, and you're not submitting the form to INS, or their modern counterpart USCIS. You're submitting it to Department of State. They usually describe what evidence they want in the packet 3 instructions. That's what you should provide, as a minimum. Also, the guidance you found on the USCIS website is from the Adjudicators Field Manual. The consular officer doesn't follow the guidance in the AFM. They follow the guidance in the Foreign Affairs Manual. Chapter 9, section 40.41 of the FAM covers the public charge determination, including the I-134 form. http://www.state.gov...09fam/index.htm There are three PDF's connected to section 40.41. The first is a re-hash of the law. Pay special attention to the second PDF titled "Notes". That's where you'll find information about the I-134.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-16 00:38:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K1 Fiance Visa	guys i got a question from here... its quite related about leaving the one behind.. i just wanna know.. what if they're married here in philippines? and the guy decided to leave the girl, what can a girl do for the guy since we all know that Philippines dont have a divorce? and so that the guy cannot marry another girl. is it possible to register the marriage license in America? how to do that? i just wanna know.. lol.. nothing personal. It's not necessary to register the marriage in the US. A marriage obtained in the Philippines is legal in the US. If a guy is married then he can't legally marry again without first obtaining a divorce. If he got married without getting a divorce first then the second marriage would be invalid. There could be all kinds of retroactive backlash if it's later discovered that he was already married when he married the second girl. Any jointly filed tax returns would have to be refiled, along with penalties. Any immigration benefits granted based on the second married would be revoked. The list goes on. The fact that divorce isn't possible in the Philippines will have no affect on the guy's ability to obtain a divorce in the US.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-16 00:54:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Is Name Change Required	I need some input and advice to try to figure out if there will be any problems with any of the remaining steps ahead of us, after we get married, if my fiancé does not use my surname. We have both discussed this topic at length and her desire is to remain with the Chinese custom/tradition of not changing your name after you get married. I have absolutely no problem with this idea and support her decision totally. My only concern and/or thoughts were focused around the many filings with USCIS still ahead of us. Does anyone know if her keeping her family name will cause any problems for us in the future with any aspect of AOS, Permanent Residence, Working, SSN, etc? Also I hope I guessed correctly on which forum to place this in since I just wasnt sure what topic it would fall under. To the contrary, it will make everything simpler. She won't have to go back to the SSA office and get her Social Security records updated. She won't need a new passport. All of her documents will remain the same and still be valid both before and after the marriage. Also, there's no issue with things like getting joint bank accounts or filing joint tax returns. The process is exactly the same whether she takes your name or keeps her maiden name. It doesn't complicate anything at all. My wife did the same thing, and it's been a lot easier for us as a result. The issue never came up at our AOS interview. Our Removal of Conditions has only recently been filed, but I seriously doubt it will be an issue there, either.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-17 12:15:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	RFE Proof of Meeting	Read the second paragraph carefully! You have submitted copies of the passport page; however, you did not submit the identification page. Submit all passport pages (with or without stamps) including the identification page. Make a copy of the entire passport, including the covers, and submit it. This helps eliminate any suspicion that you're submitting random pages from somebody elses passport. Ignore the part about "film-dated photographs". That's a generic description that's been obsolete for a long time. There was a time when having a camera imprint an image of the date onto the film was considered to be a fairly reliable way of verifying when the photo was taken. Changing a date that's been imprinted on the film required a darkroom and editing equipment. Although it was relatively easy to change the date in the camera, if a photo was taken more than two years ago then it's unlikely that the photographer would have had the foresight to set the camera date forward unless they knew they'd be sending a petition more than two years in the future. If the photo was taken less than two years ago then it already meets the requirements, and there would be no point in fudging the date. Nobody uses film cameras anymore, but USCIS never got around to updating their canned list of evidence. Writing the date, location, and who appears in the photos (as you said you've done) is all that's needed.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-19 10:15:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Can I add additional "evidence" to my I-129F packet after is already approved by USCIS?	NVC absolutely would not add any additional evidence to the petition package. That would essentially be changing the evidence supporting a petition that has already been approved by USCIS. NVC doesn't have the authority to do that.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-20 10:33:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Visiting Outside the US while still on 2 year (advance parole card)	Question for those who has similar experience, your experience will help other to go through and really much appreciate the help.... My wife came as a K-1 (son K-2) Visa and they're both received their Green Card under 2 years Probationary Status. My concern is we are planning to go home the her country of origin next Feb and the Green Card expire in April. I understand the 90 days grace period for the removal of the Conditions, my big question is would they be able to leave the country (US) and return without any difficulties and would it affects their status when they return? How do we get the VISA change in their Passport since their VISA is KI,K2?. Thank You in advance. You misunderstand. The 90 days is not a "grace period" or it would extend beyond the expiration date on their green cards. The 90 days is window that extends backwards from the day their green cards expire. If you don't file an I-751 within that 90 day window then their green cards WILL expire on the expiration date printed on them. There is no "grace period". As long as their green cards haven't expired then they can reenter the US. They don't need a visa if they have an unexpired green card.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-22 19:48:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Police Certificate for K-1	Theft is a crime involving moral turpitude. It can result in an automatic denial, but that doesn't necessarily mean that it will. There are exceptions when the inadmissibility doesn't apply: 1. If there was only one crime, and if it was committed before the alien was 18 years of age, and if it's been more than five years between the time the crime was committed and the time the alien applies for the visa, or 2. If there was only one crime, and the maximum possible penalty for the crime was 1 year in prison or less, and if the alien was sentenced to six months in prison or less. Note that these are exception conditions and not waiver conditions. This means that if the alien meets the conditions for the exception then the alien is not inadmissible. They don't have to apply for a waiver. Your fiancee will need the complete court records to present at her interview, in addition to the police certificate.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-23 19:38:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	RFE or Not?	It's difficult to second guess what a USCIS adjudicator is going to do because they've made some decisions that have surprised many of us before. However, generally speaking, photos are considered secondary evidence. They usually aren't considered sufficient proof by themselves. Photos are usually entirely produced by the petitioner and/or beneficiary rather than an unbiased third party, and they contain images of people and other content that the adjudicator would not recognize and cannot verify. In other words, photos are easy to fake, and an adjudicator might have a difficult time recognizing that they're faked. They usually require some primary evidence - something produced by an unbiased and reliable third party, and which the adjudicator can recognize and verify. They like to see passport pages with entry/exit stamps, stamped visas, and airline boarding passes. Adjudicators see these documents every day, they know what they're supposed to look like, and they can usually recognize if they've been faked or altered. If you don't have these then a statement by the school might be sufficient, if it's written on the school's letterhead stationary and signed by an administrator.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-18 09:10:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Important Question for my fiances previous status as a minor when applying for the fiance visa!!!!	The way the law works is on the 18th birthday the clock starts against the now adult person. The ban starts as soon as you hit the overstay limits. If he left before 180 days past his 18th birthday he is ok assuming he left on his own and wasn't deported. This is correct. Minors don't accumulate unlawful presence, and adults don't incur an automatic ban until they've accumulated at least 180 days of unlawful presence. As long as you've got sufficient proof that he left the US before he would have incurred a ban then it shouldn't be an issue at the consulate. Bear in mind that the US government will have more detailed records of what he did during the years he was in the US than they would have if he had spent those years in his home country. If he ever got into any trouble with the law, even if he wasn't convicted, then the US government will know about it.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-13 10:18:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Fiance Visa Service	Hi Linds, I guess the reason the person let it slip the boss just passed the bar is that so people will understand now that easyfiance visa dot com is in transition to becoming not just another service but a service provided by an attorney. However, with whome ever I have spoken to its the elves behind the scenes that actually do the filling out of paperwork and the filing. If a problem arises then the attorney steps in. To be honest a service like easyfinance visa or rapidvisa are okay services to use even as a past poster stated the USCIS deems them to be scams. I guess it all boils down to how much research you do about the company or attorney. An immigration attorney or an immigration service is like any other company. Yes they exist to make a profit. That is the nature of any business. However, read reviews and check up on them. Look at past results. Ask for and follow through on references if they wil give them out. Ask many many questions. Read everything and just don't sign on the dotted line. If it is true that easyfiance visa's boss is now a bona fide immigration lawyer who passed the bar, then when you hire easyfiance visa you are hiring an immigration lawyer. Well, I suppose if I had the choice between two lawyers who had just recently passed the bar, one of whom had prior experience working for an immigration doc prep service, I'd hire the guy with the doc prep experience. He's less likely to botch the paperwork. However, if I had a situation that actually required the services of a lawyer, like filing an appeal or going to immigration court, both lawyers would be equally inexperienced. If you're going to pay lawyer's fees then vet the lawyer and find out what you're getting for your money. I wouldn't necessarily refuse to hire someone who had recently passed the bar exam if my case was straightforward, and if I was getting a decent break on the fees. It would also help a lot if I knew the guy had specific experience, like working as a paralegal in a lawyer's office while they were going to law school. If they had very little specific experience, and they were charging top dollar, then I'd back away. If I had a difficult legal situation then I'd insist on an experienced attorney. Filing a visa petition is usually a bureaucratic process. Most people don't need a lawyer for this since it's just a matter of submitting the right forms and documents. Actually getting the visa involves the discretion of a consular officer. The only way anyone else could help you with this is if they have specific experience with that specific consulate. If you've got a difficult situation (an I-601 waiver, for example) then a lawyer with extensive experience with people in the same situation can be worth their weight in gold. If you've got serious issues with a particular consulate then a lawyer with extensive experience with that consulate can be equally valuable. For most people with routine cases a lawyer is not necessary.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-05-26 11:27:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	People make up your mind before bringing someone here!!	I think it is too easy for people who file for the k1 to get here. As someone petitioning for my husband with a cr1 it is by far more of a difficult process before the visa is approved. I think the screening process for k1 should be just as difficult. Really isn't quite fair that is is easier and faster for couples not married. The screening process for K1's is no easier than it is for CR1's. The only substantial difference between the two is that a CR1 has more processing at the NVC stage, while a K1 has to go through adjustment of status after coming to the US. For my wife, that meant TWO interviews - one to get the visa, and another one to get the green card. She was screened by the consulate for the first interview, and screened by USCIS for the second. I don't see how that's easy compared to a CR1.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-06-05 00:33:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Miscarriage/spontaneous abortion from the past can affect interview??	Not wanting to tell your fiance about a miscarriage means you're hiding something in your past other than the miscarriage. Does your fiance think you're a virgin? Did you get pregnant after meeting your fiance, and your fiance wasn't the father? Was the father another foreigner that you were previously dating? Here's a scenario to ponder... You come to the United States. You marry your fiance within 90 days. You file for your adjustment of status. You get selected for a green card interview. At the interview the IO is reading the results of your medical exam and says "So, you had a miscarriage on <date>?". You say yes. Your husband is dumfounded. The IO sees your husband's reaction, and realizes your husband didn't know anything about your previous pregnancy. The IO immediately separates you and your husband and calls another IO to assist. The two IO's now question you and your husband separately for more than two hours. The IO's switch places and repeat the questioning. In the end, you're told that you'll get a decision within 60 days. As you're leaving you realize the decision is probably not going to be good. This is not how you want your green card interview to go. This is not how you want your fiance to find out about your previous pregnancy and miscarriage. This is not the sort of thing you keep secret from your future husband.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-27 11:42:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Waiver Eligibility for Interview	Ok, thanks for your help. My fiance is in Lima, Peru. I was going to go through an attorney here in Atlanta to have him help me with the hardship for the waiver he wanted $1,500. Is it helpful to go through him or should I do it on my own? And is the success rate better with an attorney? If you know anything about this it would be very helpful. I know it's a very complicated process, I'm sure I could type up some hardship forms on my own and have them notarized just not sure if its better to go through an attorney... Thanks Nobody knows the success/failure rates for certain. However, the anecdotal evidence is that your chances are much better if you have an attorney with experience with these waivers helping you. Proving hardship is difficult, even more so if you're not married. The Adjudicators Field Manual doesn't provide much insight into the criteria they use to determine "extreme hardship", but an experienced attorney should know what will pass muster. N.o.B is correct about the process. The inadmissibility doesn't exist until an immigration officer says that it exists. For most people, that happens at the visa interview. Once they've said that the alien is inadmissible then they'll accept a waiver application.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-29 11:23:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I-134 supporting documents	btw what does the US Embassy require? is it "a letter from the bank means BANK CERTIFICATE" OR "bank statement with all transactions" ? I AM SO CONFUSED. We brought 6 months of bank statements and 3 years of tax transcripts. I know that the tax transcipts or W-2s are required. Tax transcripts are prefered. We also brought pay stubs from the most recent to 6 months. Good luck!	I+H	Female	United Arab Emirates	2012-07-04 02:43:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	TOTAL COST OF K1 VISA	You have the choice to get married and go for the CR1- no waiting on work authorization - instead of the K1. If you choose the K1, you have to be ready to accept that period of no work. If that isn't feasible for your particular situation, then you may want to choose the other option. Since you can research this in advance, and choose the option which is best for you, I don't see how it is truly 'unfair'. Just my .02. I don't know much about CR1, but I think the waiting time is longer than for K1, and they'd have to be already married. What I mean with unfair, is that some people, truly in love, can't be together because of the financial burden, especially when they don't get an EAD. Not everyone has a good income. A look in the streets of every US city will tell you that.	Clownies	Not Telling	Belgium	2006-09-03 23:28:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	TOTAL COST OF K1 VISA	and don't forget: the fact that he won't be able to work until he gets an EAD, or AOS.... So no incoming money for several months... The system IS unfair, imo.	Clownies	Not Telling	Belgium	2006-09-03 18:55:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	how should i organize evidence?	My husbands immigration case has been sent back to USCIS and i am waiting for a letter from them with the option to submit additional evidence of our relationship. I am ready with over 150 pics of us together and almost three years worth of chat records among other things. I am wondering what is the best way to organize this evidence. I would like to put everything in nice folders with tabs and everything. For the pics what is the best way to organize? I have heard that they will not accept "wedding albums" but if i glue a couple pics to each sheet of paper and put it in a folder with tabs and other markings would that be ok? Is there ever such a thing as too much evidence or too many folders? any replies will be helpful	Lilly Jathol	Female	India	2012-07-06 21:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	change last name?	I do want to eventually change my last name but I do agree that if I change it now it will look desperate and may lead to extra paperwork. Thank you everyone for your advice and best of luck	Lilly Jathol	Female	India	2012-07-07 20:49:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	change last name?	I have been married for almost 2 years now and i have not changed my last name. I always told my husband i would change it once he got here (assuming he would be here by now) but i would like to keep it the same as my kids until then. Now that my husbands case has been sent back to USCIS i am wondering if they think we are not in a real relationship and we dont want any ties to each other after this process is over (we also dont have any children together yet). would it be a good idea to get my name changed now? will this help or hurt the process? any advice is most appreciated.	Lilly Jathol	Female	India	2012-07-06 21:07:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	NOA2--> NVC---> London Embassy	Hello ... If you look my timeline u will notice that i needed to wait to long .. I waited for NOA2 5 months and 3 days so i thought oh maybe now it will be faster .. no way .. after that i had to wait from may7th till may 31st to have some good and bad news ... cause after many emails sent to NVCinquiry and NVCsearch i thought they lost my case .. cause some ppl happened that ... so i was freaking out .. so I told my fiance to call USCIS to ask whats going on one more time .. he had a good luck to talk to a supervisor that said the true .. well we sent your case on the may 29th to NVC .. when the lady said it .. he asked why ? why so long .. she said .. We dont send in the next day .. some oficials are more fast some more slow .. and keep the cases in some boxes before sending .. so they can send in a bulk ... probably what happened .. so that was a bad news of waiting and good news to know they didnt lose it .. after that took pretty fast .. on june 1st my fiance called NVC just to give a try ...lol maybe was impossible so fast to arrive ... oh well on june first arrived and they got our RDJ number from NVC .. so finally we had a number case .. and on june 4th they sent to consulate .. arrived in consulate on june 6th .. and I got a interview date just today ... after some days .. we tried by consulate .. but after so many tries .. he called DOS = Departament of state .. (tip of some vj guy ) so we got .. and after it received the email from the consulate stating my interview will be in July 17th ... be patient ... pretty sure ur case is waiting to be sent with other ones .. good luck	MSM	Female	Brazil	2012-06-14 23:26:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I think I did the K1 wrong help please!	Try to call USCIS and ask for advice ... maybe they will tell if you can send the evidences or wait for RFE ... good luck	MSM	Female	Brazil	2012-07-09 18:11:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Did you get a visa after serving the 3/10 yrs ban ?	Updating ... I got my visa .. with no questions about overstaying a j1 visa .. i guess i was honest on the forms .. and i had all the proofs leaving the country so i was a little nervous .. but they didnt request any doc ... or proof .. they just asked normal questions about k1 visa .. 3 ones .. Where did i meet my fiance? If i lived with him in California and when do we intend to marry ? I guess after you serve the ban you dont have any problems ... or maybe the agency never reported me to the immigration	MSM	Female	Brazil	2012-07-23 14:05:00