Forum	Title	Content	Member	Sex	Country	Date/Time
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Expediting K-1	Siskiyou, after reading your question I too wondered about that. My fiancee is also in the metro Manila area that was hit by the typhoon. I called the USCIS and inquired today. They told me that YES you may request a expedited process. They filed my request today on humanitarian reasons. That does not mean it will be approved but it is a valid reason to request. I pray your fiancee is safe and will remain safe in the upcoming typhoons that are still approaching. This is not just a question of weather of areas that have been declared calamities because of the flooding, the destruction, and the possible health issues yet to arrive. God bless and watch over you on your journey too.	Agingwolf	Male	Philippines	2009-09-30 21:42:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Sharing a language	but sometimes, we may not communicate in full complete or correct sentences but we still manage to understand each other...I guess we know each other	BeauteDLaVie	Female	Algeria	2013-01-10 15:22:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Sharing a language	That's really cool. When I was leaving my job in Japan last month, the girl who was replacing me was Californian and her husband is Japanese. They only communicate in French. I can't imagine both parties using a second language to communicate, pretty wild.	BeauteDLaVie	Female	Algeria	2013-01-10 15:19:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Sharing a language	I am in a similiar situation. Close to 6years knowing my fiance, I never really thought of communicating with him entirely in English so that he can learn...he only knows a few basic words...I guess that there is still time for him to learn and for me to learn his mother language (Berber/Arabic). We both communicate in French	BeauteDLaVie	Female	Algeria	2013-01-10 13:21:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Alien Registration Number	We are approved!!! CONGRATULATIONS! US too! Just found out about 45mins ago...I feel disoriented & excited	BeauteDLaVie	Female	Algeria	2013-04-20 02:18:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Applying for K-1 from China	I'm not sure why, but when I try to change my address on the USCIS Online Change of Address, it makes me need the receipt number, but I don't have that because I just sent out the I-129F a few days ago. You aren't supposed to need a receipt number, but it won't let me get past step 1 unless I give a receipt number. Yea...I just found that out recently as well. Before you could just use your A#.	Thangie	Male	Vietnam	2012-11-30 05:24:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	a few questions about the process	I think anything "officiall-ish" in your name, from mexico will be ok, also maybe card statements if you made atm withdrawals or card payments. Remember that to file the petition you only meed to prove you met once in last 2 years. For interview you might need to prove ongoing relationship. I started looking through my statement and seen I had withdraws from San Luis, AZ which is right across from the Mexican bordertown where she lives. I'm going to print what I have, it's not much only have back to July of last year. But I'm going to put notes on each stating what it is. They may not stamp your passport, but they do keep records. Theres a thread somewhere (youre going to have to search for it) where it talks about how to get the records, or if you live close enough to the border- you can inquire there in person. I vaguely remember someone saying something about getting a printout of all their border crossings, because they had the same situation- they crossed almost weekly by car. Not a bad I idea, I know they have my records because they question sometimes why I drive 8 hours once a month. I might ask when I go at the end of the month to visit her.	mroctober430	Not Telling	0	2013-03-17 21:44:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	a few questions about the process	The first is quite difficult because traveling by land US/Mex don't stamp your passport. Don't having boarding passes or plane tickets since all meetings been by car. I can provide for some trips since we gone deep to Mexico and traveled from Sonora to Baja California got Puerta tickets. How could I prove I've seen her once a month. Gotta figure that part out. Number 2, is easy, got our e-mails, photos, and phone bill.	mroctober430	Not Telling	0	2013-03-17 17:58:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	a few questions about the process	I figure I just bump this up instead of making a new thread. I'm done with our packet and soon be sending it as soon as I can have her sign it and date it where she needs to. I got a few questions, I don't want no problems and have to get a RFE. So with the packet I'm sending: 6 pictures of us together during various stages of our relationship and 1 with family. Also 1 current. 3 pages of her phone bill which is an American cell phone that I pay for and shows her international calling to my cell. So will show a payment and calling to my cell within' past 3 months. 1 page of toll tickets that I saved when me and her went with my mom and her husband to Nyarit Mexico for a week to show that we traveled together. No photos because all were lost. Just wondering if this will be enough evidence of a real relationship? Edited by mroctober430, 17 March 2013 - 05:36 PM.	mroctober430	Not Telling	0	2013-03-17 17:35:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	a few questions about the process	k thanks all. one more deal. on the assembling packet checklist, do I and my fiancee fill out the G-325a? just wanna make sure	mroctober430	Not Telling	0	2013-03-09 23:35:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	a few questions about the process	My fiancée and I are planning to do the K-1 visa route instead of getting married, due my work and small hour windows with Mexican government offices, it's hard for me to get my permission papers. I do however have a few questions. Most are basic and I have seen many topics, FAQs and even info all been very helpful. We plan on sending our packet in the middle of April. It will be leaving from CA but how are the service centers dealt with after NAO1, is it random to the CSC and VSC? I rather prefer the Vermont center. Also given this type of visa, what are the projections of the Juarez Consulate MX of approving the visa? What timeframe are we looking at? Also on photos, how do most send them out? Like place 2-3 in a laminating sheet or like a clear paper pocket. Maybe just in a envelop? Any info will be appreciated thanks.	mroctober430	Not Telling	0	2013-03-08 11:36:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Help	Question 18 is entirely and only about the requirement that you've met within the past two years. Read the instructions on the form: 18. Has your fiancé(e) met and seen you within the two-year period immediately receding the filing of this petition? [ ]Yes [ ]No Describe the circumstances under which you met. If you have not personally met each other, explain how the relationship was established. If you met your fiancé(e) or spouse though an international marriage broker, please explain those circumstances in Question 19 below. Explain also in detail any reasons you may have for requesting that the requirement that you and your fiancé(e) must have met should not apply to you. "If you have not personally met each other, explain how the relationship was established. They only want to know how your relationship began if you have NOT personally met each other. "If you met your fiancé(e) or spouse though an international marriage broker, please explain those circumstances in Question 19 below." Question 19 is for explanations about meeting through a marriage broker. They don't want you explaining that here. "Explain also in detail any reasons you may have for requesting that the requirement that you and your fiancé(e) must have met should not apply to you." Again, they only care if you've met within the past two years. If you didn't, and you're asking for a waiver, then they want a detailed explanation why you think you should get a waiver. You have to submit evidence to support question 18. The explanation they want should describe the evidence you've submitted. If you submit evidence of a trip then describe that trip. When did you arrive? When did you first see your fiancee? Where did you stay? What did you do? When did you return? The more self-explanatory your evidence is, the less detailed your explanation needs to be unless you're frontloading for a difficult consulate. Again, they are not asking how your relationship started. They are asking you to describe the meeting that satisfies the two year requirement.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-29 11:40:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Evidence of Engagement, AGAIN?	Dear Vj's, I just received the letter from my consulate in Frankfurt telling us to go ahead and fill out the many forms. On one of the forms it says, however, that we need to attach evidence of financial support, copy of passport.... AND evidence of engagement. What do they mean by this?? We submitted a whole file with photos, credit card transactions, flight tickets etc etc back in January when we sent the application to the Vermont Service Center. Isn't the consulate supposed to get that or do we REALLY need to do the whole thing again? Puh... Thanks so much in advance for your responses, and good luck to everybody! Ana Does it say you need to submit that evidence with the forms you mail to the consulate, or does it say you need to gather that evidence for the interview? Most consulates don't collect the affidavit of support until the interview, and they DO expect the beneficiary to have sufficient evidence to support their claim of a relationship at the interview.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-30 09:46:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Declaration of how you met in person question	Question 18 is not asking how you were introduced, whether through an online game or chatroom, etc. It's asking you to describe the meeting that satisfies the two year meeting requirement. They only ask you to describe how your relationship began if you never met in person and are asking for a waiver of the two year meeting requirement. If you are including evidence of a trip you made last year then describe that trip. If you're dealing with a tough consulate, or otherwise have a reason for wanting to frontload your petition, then write about the evolution of your relationship in an attachment, and add "See attachment" to the brief description you write in box 18. The evidence you provide must, at a minimum, prove you physically met each other when you claim you did. Phone bills, emails, chat transcripts, etc. do not prove this. In fact, they prove you were NOT together at the time that evidence was created. The best evidence, called "primary evidence", comes from a credible third party. Airline boarding passes and passport stamps prove that you traveled. Airline or hotel itineraries do not. Credit card and ATM receipts prove that your credit or ATM card was in a specific location on a specific date, and are slightly less credible than boarding passes and passport stamps. Photos are secondary evidence, but help to reenforce the primary evidence as they show you were together during the window of time when you claim you traveled. You can also provide evidence to support your claim of a relationship, if you believe it will help you at the consulate, but if you don't have sufficient primary and secondary evidence then USCIS won't approve the petition.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-07-30 09:35:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Question On Form I-864	Age of majority is when the child legally becomes an adult. In most states it's age 18. In Alabama, Delaware, and Nebraska it's age 19. In Mississippi it's age 21. In some states, if the child is in high school when they reach the age of majority then they will continue to consider them a minor until they graduate or leave high school. In other states they will consider them an adult if they graduate from high school, even if they haven't reached the age of majority yet. Whether or not a child has reached the age of majority is not directly connected to whether or not a parent is required to support them. In most states, the requirement to pay child support terminates when the child reaches the age of majority. Many states require a parent to continue paying child support if a child is enrolled in college, even if the child has already reached the age of majority. That requirement usually terminates if the child leaves college or reaches a specific age (23 is common). The fact that the parent is required to pay child support doesn't mean the child isn't an adult. Line 21.d on the I-864 roughly equates to section 8 on the I-134. If the child is legally a minor then you have an obligation to support them, they are wholly dependent on you for support, and they are included in your household size. If the child is an adult but you have a legal obligation to support them, then they are wholly dependent on you for support, and they are included in your household size. If you claim the child as a dependent on your tax return, whether or not they are a minor or adult, then they are wholly dependent on you for support, and they are included in your household size. If the child is a legal adult, and you have no legal obligation to support them, and you don't claim them as a dependent on your tax return, then they are not dependent on you for support, and they are not included in your household size. When people say that the consulate uses the I-864 rules when evaluating an I-134 they are usually referring to the minimum income rules, as stated in the I-864P. They don't literally mean you should be following the I-864 instructions when filling out the I-134. By the same token, don't literally follow the I-134 instructions because those instructions are largely irrelevant for a K1 visa. Use the I-864 instructions as a guide to tell you what the consulate wants to know, such as how many people are included in your household size under the I-1864 rules. IRS tax return transcripts are always preferred. W2's should only be included if you are providing a complete copy of your tax return rather than an IRS transcript.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-08-02 19:59:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Whats the difference	Whats the difference between "Additional Processing" and "Administrative Processing". Whenever i call NVC, its either or. Can someone shed light. Thanks It's a matter of semantics. There's no real difference.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-08-07 11:07:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K-1 denied :(	"Are you fairly close in age or is he much younger?" what do you mean, buddy? I think it is a human right, "free to marry". When a man marries a young woman, it is not a big deal, this is not fair and it expresses pejudice againt women who they have the same right. Moreover, what is close in age for you? 3,4,5 years difference ? In some countries it IS considered a red flag if a man marries a much younger woman. It depends entirely on what is socially acceptable in the beneficiary's country. An older woman marrying a much younger man is not common in most MENA countries, and it is viewed by the US consulates there as a red flag. This is especially true if the woman is near or past the end of her child bearing years as many cultures in the Middle East and Africa view marriage as being primarily for the purpose of procreation. You may not like this, but a country where an older woman and a much younger man can be a particularly difficult problem is Morocco. It's fairly well known by the US consulate in Casablanca that there are many young Moroccan men who hang out in the internet cafes and places where tourists congregate looking for older women to seduce. Their primary goal is a ticket out of Morocco and to a western country. This is a fact that the consulate has to deal with, and anybody whose case fits the pattern will be subjected to additional scrutiny. The same is true in any high fraud country. The consulate looks for factors that are common in fraud cases.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-08-02 14:02:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Can you enter using Visa Waiver even when you have your K-1 issued?	I know this is a few weeks old, but I have first hand experience in entering on the VWP with another, unused visa in my passport. I had a valid F-1 visa, but wanted to spend the entire summer in the US, whereas the F-1 only allowed me to enter 30 days before starting school. I entered, asked the CBP officer if he could just admit me as a tourist since i planned to go home for a week and then come back on the F-1, no problem at all he said. Might be different with a K-1, but legally, there shouldn't be any problems doing this, as long as you re-enter. The problem is, you're only going to Canada. The reason I wouldn't do this, is because entering Canada after a VWP stay is NOT considered having left the US as far as your visa waiver tourist status goes. You'd have to leave to somewhere outside Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean to re-enter in a new status after a VWP stay. The F1 isn't a single use visa like the K1, and it doesn't allow for immigrant intent like the K1 does. The VWP also does not permit immigrant intent. There's a huge conflict here. The alien would be asking CBP to admit them under terms that prohibit immigrant intent, while they've got a visa in their passport that clearly indicates they intend to immigrate. I doubt most CBP officers would admit someone as a VWP visitor if they had a K1 in their passport. This is like going half way through the immigration process and then asking to be treated temporarily like a tourist again.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-06-10 20:23:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Can the police give me ph records if requested?	My Fiance he is from Morocco but has been living in the UK for more than 2 years with a student visa. What are the chances of his interview being in the UK? Either way I want to send everything that I have now and I'm planning on visiting him again in London while we wait for the response of the first packet. So I'm hoping when we get to the interview process he can take the other evidence of that 2nd meeting and ongoing relationship. It's up to the Embassy in London whether they want to accept the case for someone who is not a UK citizen, but most consulates will accept the case if the beneficiary has resident status in the country and isn't just visiting. Quick question on the FORM G-325A on the Citizenship/Nationality section; I was born in Colombia but am now a U.S. Citizen should I put Colombian or American? Thank you for the response. It doesn't matter where you were born. You're a US citizen now. You should write "United States" for your citizenship/nationality.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-08-13 01:08:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Didn't make second copies of the papers from the I-129F. Help!	This is not correct. There is no need to have a copy of the 129f or the contents at the interview, they will already have all the copies you sent in with the petition. At the interview you can bring further evidence of an ongoing relationship since the time the 129f was filed. The second copy isn't for the consulate. It's for the beneficiary. It's often helpful for the beneficiary to have a complete copy of the petition package so they can study it. The consulate often bases interview questions on the information that was provided in the petition package. Many people have failed the K1 interview because the consular officer knew things about the petitioner that the beneficiary didn't know.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-08-12 02:11:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I129F	Hi all.... I received my approval for the I129F yesterday by instant message and Email I am waiting for the letter to arrive today. I applied on March 2, 2012. Four months and 3 weeks later I recieved a request for additional info. I sent in the additional info and received the approval on August 16, 2012. Hooray !! Can anyone tell me what we do next? Thanks and just a word to anyone in the process, this can indeed be done, just carefully follow any directions and be very detailed with info and replies. Good luck to all. Have you provided a copy of your I-129F package to your fiancee, including the additional evidence you sent in response to that RFE? A copy of the package is often useful for the beneficiary to study because interview questions often come from information provided with the petition package. Prepare your affidavit of support and financial evidence and gets those to your fiancee. Download the consulate instructions from the Manila Embassy website. Those will describe the process leading up to the interview, and the documents and evidence required. Here are the instructions in English: http://photos.state....uction_rtf2.pdf ...and Tagalog: http://photos.state....2__rtf2_009.pdf	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-08-17 09:13:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Fiance letter of intent to marry	People seem to be very hung up on the requirement being for a "letter" of intent, but the I-129F official instructions from the USCIS (Page 2, 5B) indicate that you must: "Provide original statements from you and your fiancé(e) whom you plan to marry within 90 days of his or her admission..." This is from the official instructions found here. I'm not sure how nor where the whole "letter" thing came about, so the address is fairly meaningless either way. The whole "letter" thing came about because it was found to satisfy the "original statements" requirement every time, without question. When you find something that works it's a good idea to stick with it. And you're right - the address it's addressed to is entirely irrelevant. It's the written statement that matters.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-08-18 23:07:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K-2 question/problem	How far along is she? Some airlines won't fly pregnant passengers in their last trimester. Nearly all won't fly them in their last month. Being pregnant doesn't change the daughter's eligibility for a visa, though being married would disqualify her. If the baby is born before the daughter travels to the US then the baby won't be eligible for a visa based on the K1 petition. Derivative visas are available to unmarried children of the primary beneficiary, but not to grandchildren. If the baby is born after the daughter travels to the US then the baby is virtually guaranteed US citizenship. This can put the consular officer in a quandary. If the baby is born before the daughter travels to the US then the baby will have to wait for the daughter to become a permanent resident, petition for an F2A visa, and then wait for the priority date to become current, so we're talking 2 to 3 years before the baby comes to the US as a permanent resident. On the other hand, if the baby is born after the daughter travels to the US then the baby is automatically a US citizen without having to go through the immigration process. The only factor that determines which of the two scenarios happens is timing. Consular officers don't generally like handing out US citizenship to a child that isn't otherwise eligible for it. They deny tourist visas if they suspect the applicant is traveling to the US to give birth. If the child has a US citizen father then they may delay issuing a visa to the mother until after the child is born, and then insist on the child's citizenship being proven by filing a CRBA. This happens frequently to K1 beneficiaries. In this case, I could see the consular officer using the 'public charge' determination to delay the issuance of the visa. The daughter is definitely going to need medical treatment in the US if she travels before the baby is born. The consular officer could ask for proof that the daughter will be covered by medical insurance, or that the petitioner will have sufficient funds to pay for that medical treatment. If they suspect she's going to use Medicaid in the US to pay for prenatal care and delivery then they'll deny the visa on the 'public charge' requirement. The consular officer has many tactics at their disposal to delay issuing a visa. I could see them using those tactics in this case to ensure that the child is born in Colombia. Be prepared for this possibility. Vaccines which are inappropriate for a pregnant woman can usually be postponed until after the intending immigrant arrives in the US. They'll need to get those vaccines in the US, and have them documented on an I-693 by a civil surgeon in the US, before they'll be able to get a green card. It doesn't matter who the daughter travels with, as long as she doesn't enter the US before the primary beneficiary. She must not get married before entering the US or her K2 visa will be void. There was a relatively recent ruling that established that a K2 who is eligible to adjust status when they enter the US will remain eligible to adjust status as a K2 thereafter, as long as the K1 is eligible to adjust status, but that ruling was specifically about K2's who aged out after arriving in the US. I don't know if marrying before she adjusts status would affect her eligibility to adjust status. Just to be safe, it would probably be best if she waited until she had her green card to get married.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-08-25 10:47:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Overstay as minor, able to file k-1?	That was what I was confused about. There were no matters of returning my I-94 on my way of the states, nor there was any sort of suspicion in my returning with vwp. I had a travel agent in Korea take care of all my forms including ESTA, did I commit visa fraud without even knowing it? No, you didn't commit visa fraud. You got lucky. The ESTA application does ask some pretty specific questions, including if you've ever been deported, denied admission, or denied a visa. They DON'T ask if you've ever previously overstayed your lawful presence in the US. You can't technically lie about a question you were never asked. The fact that your ESTA was approved is not the same as a waiver for the ban. The ban doesn't exist until an immigration officer determines it exists, and that hasn't happened yet. Once an immigration officer determines the ban exists then you need a waiver to overcome it. It doesn't matter if you've used ESTA half a dozen times in between. You may not be as lucky from here on. The DS-230 does specifically ask you to list the dates you previously visited the United States. It also specifically asks if you were previously unlawfully present for more than 180 days and departed less than 3 years ago, or if you were unlawfully present for more than 1 year and departed less than 10 years ago. You're going to have to answer those questions.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-08-25 11:08:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Need Information	Yes, she will be moving here to the States. We want to go with the K-1 fiancé visa. After the initial paperwork, what embassy(s) get involved? This isn't a cut and dry matter for me like the sites entail. I'm completely lost. We haven't started any paperwork for fear it would mess up her visas and get her sent back to the philipines. She does have a travel visa to the USA that is good for quite a few years. This actually is pretty cut and dried. The US Embassy or consulate will be involved, regardless of what country the beneficiary is from, because this involves immigration to the US. When a visa applicant is from a different country than the one that the US consulate is located in then the US consulate usually requires the applicant to have resident status in that country, and not merely be a visitor. This is meant to prevent "consulate shopping", which is when a visa applicant travels temporarily to a different country because they believe their chances of getting a visa at the US consulate in that country is better than it would be in their home country. For example, the US Embassy in Lagos, Nigeria, is known to be an extremely tough consulate because of the level of visa fraud there. A Nigerian national would likely not be allowed to interview at the US Embassy in London unless they had resident status in the UK. I don't know what sort of status is conveyed by a work visa in Canada, or if that would be enough for the US consulates in Canada to allow your fiancee to interview there. If the US consulate in Canada won't accept the petition package then your fiancee would have to return to the Philippines and interview at the US Embassy in Manila. If I recall, there are two US consulates in Canada where fiancee visa applications are accepted and interviews are conducted. These are in Vancouver and Montreal. Which one your fiancee would interview at depends on which province she lives in. Having a petition filed for her by a US citizen shouldn't have a direct adverse affect on her immigration process in Canada. In other words, they shouldn't try to remove her from Canada just because there's a US petition pending for her. However, she can't simultaneously immigrate to both countries. Both Canada and the United States require immigrants with resident status to actually LIVE in the country, and both countries impose limits on how long a permanent resident is permitted to be outside the country before they will be considered to have abandoned their resident status. She can't satisfy the residency requirements of both countries simultaneously. She needs to immigrate either to the US or Canada.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-08-24 00:48:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	K1 denied-determined circumvent us immig law	Hi, I need help..My fiance K was denied Here is what the letter says: The consular officer determined the relationship exists soley to circumvent us immigration law and there is on intent to marry within 90 days. The petition will be returned to USCIC. I forgot to submit the statement from both of us to marry within 90 days. Also Does this mean that they determined it was fraud? I am so disappointed and not sure what to do now. Please help. Is it "fiance" or "fiancee"? What country is he/she from? At some consulates there is a remote chance of getting the visa section chief to keep the petition at the consulate for a second interview, but this seems to be pretty rare these days. It's almost certain that the petition is going to be sent back to the US. It goes to NVC first, and then to the USCIS service center that originally approved it. What happens after that depends on the service center and the adjudicator who has to review it. The California Service Center often doesn't bother to review the returned petition, even if they think the consular officer's accusations have merit. They often just send you a letter advising you that the petition has expired, and you're free to file another petition. Sometimes when they do this they are just postponing a decision on the returned petition. If you don't file another petition then they don't have to make any decision on the returned petition. On the other hand, if you do file another petition then they may decide to revive that returned petition and make a decision on it. In that case, they'll send you a Notice Of Intent to Deny (NOID) on the second petition, citing the reasons the consular officers used when they returned the first petition. Sometimes they just approve the second petition without bothering to review the first petition. The Vermont Service Center usually readjudicates returned petitions. This could take months to complete. If they reaffirm the approval then they'll send you a notice informing of you of this, and they'll send the petition back to the consulate for another interview. If they decide they agree with the consular officer then they'll send you a Notice Of Intent to Revoke (NOIR). If you get a NOID or NOIR then you must respond with evidence to counter the consular officers accusations. You usually have a limited amount of time (30 days) to respond, so you should begin preparing your evidence well in advance just in case you need to file a response. You must do everything you can to avoid either having the approval of the first petition revoked (NOIR) or having the second petition denied (NOID). If either of these happen then the consular officer's accusations will be presumed to be true, and your fiance/e will be considered by the US government to be guilty of material misrepresentation; i.e., fraud. Another option to get married and give up on the returned K1 petition. The upside of this approach is that you can file a new I-130 petition without waiting for USCIS to make a decision on the returned K1 petition. The downside is that USCIS might still eventually make a decision on the returned petition, and if they send a NOIR then you still must respond or risk a finding of fraud against your fiance/e. Marc Ellis, an immigration lawyer who is also an occasional visitor to this forum, has written an excellent article about returned K1 petitions and the potential problems that might occur here: http://www.ilw.com/a...0323-ellis.shtm	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-08-28 01:07:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	using powerpoint	Whatever tools you used to organize the evidence isn't relevant. I used Microsoft Word to organize my scanned evidence, with a header and footer printed on each page; e.g., "I-129F Petition for <Beneficiary's Name>, Attachment xx, Page x of x". I used this method with the I-129F petition, the AOS application, and the removal of conditions application. No RFE's or other problems so far.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-08-31 10:09:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Proof of Meeting	Thanks for the answers guys. One more question: After scouring my apartment I've turned up a few useful bits and pieces of documentation, but my fiancee still hasn't found anything. Is it suspicious if I show a booking and e-ticket for both of us, but then can only show boarding cards, atm receipts, hotel receipts for myself and none for her? You said you were both living in the same city. Was that city in her country? If so then travel documents and receipts for you alone should be sufficient. If not then it's likely they'll want some evidence that she also traveled to that country, and was there the same time you were. Booking receipts and e-tickets aren't useful. They prove you booked accommodations, but they don't prove you actually traveled. Boarding passes prove you got on the plane. Passport stamps prove you arrived in the country.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-09-02 11:24:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	k-1	In filing forms I-485, I-765 AND I-131 Do I have to use my single name or my married name? Thank you You use your LEGAL name. If you legally changed your name when you married then that's the name you use. BTW, this question isn't about the K1 visa process, as the title implies. It's about adjustment of status for a K1 beneficiary. There is a separate forum for questions of this type where you'll probably get more answers. It's called Adjust Of Status (Green Card) from Family Based Visas.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-09-03 11:58:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	My story. Advice needed.	I'm very gracious for the replies I have had. I'm very excited, I can't wait to start paying all this money out It will all be worth it in the end. It sounds like it will be stressing though! At least in that time, I will have a chance to save up some money. What are good things for proof of meeting? I have every plane ticket, a frequent flyer card, movie ticket stubs, a ticket for a ski slope which is visible in a picture of us together (attached to coat), hundreds if not thousands of photos (plenty of different time periods too such as Christmas, Summer, and Easter), and also signed and dated letters from my parents when I travelled aged under 18 (dates will coincide with pictures and plane tickets). Most of that stuff won't be of any use for the petition because it's too old. You only have to prove you've met sometime in the past two years. Boarding passes, receipts, and photos from some recent trips would be enough for the petition. If you enter with a visa and have any stamps in your passport then that would also be useful, but most people from the UK use ESTA and the Visa Waiver Program, which doesn't produce any paper evidence. Some people who are dealing with particularly difficult consulates will overstuff the petition package with carefully selected evidence, a process known as "frontloading". I've never heard of this being needed, or even particularly useful with immigrants from the UK. When you're ready to file then come back here and read the K1 guides, then download the current forms and instructions from the USCIS website and carefully read the instructions for each form.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-09-04 06:15:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Frustrated with Vermont Service Center	Incoming petitions are put into boxes in the order they are received. Those boxes are placed on shelves in chronological order. Adjudicators pull the next box on the shelf to work on. After that, things can quite easily get out of sync. Yes, some adjudicators are faster than others. More often, an adjudicator pulls a box with a number of difficult and time consuming cases in it, which slows downs processing of the other cases in that box. Sometimes, your case is one of those difficult cases. For example, they might get a hit on a name in a law enforcement database. This might mean they have to take more time to investigate and determine if you're the same Jane Doe who was convicted of shooting a bank teller in an armed robbery 10 years ago. Since USCIS isn't forthcoming with the information, you might never know why your case is taking longer than others. You can contact your senator or congressional representative. If the slowdown is the result of bureaucratic foot dragging then that might light a fire under them and get your case moving. If your case is on hold for investigation results then your senator can't do anything about that, although they might give your senator's office more information than they're giving you.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-09-02 11:13:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Emergency Visa?!! HOW TO	There are only two ways this can be done without repeating the entire visa process. The first (and safest) is to marry, submit the AOS packet, and wait for the AP to be approved. The second (and much riskier) is to apply at the consulate for the K1 to be revalidated for a second entry. The second method is much riskier because the K1 can only be revalidated if the beneficiary has NOT married the petitioner yet (a married beneficiary isn't eligible to enter the US with a K1 visa), and if the original 90 day period from the first K1 entry has not expired yet. Even if both of those conditions are met, it's still up to the discretion of the consular officer whether or not to revalidate the K1 visa. The second method is something you would only consider trying if a dire emergency came up in the first weeks after the beneficiary arrived, and they're going to return to their home country regardless of whether or not it means starting over. It's a shot in the dark, and not something you would rely on in advance as being a solid workable option.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-09-13 10:55:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Divorce and Red Flags	When the consular officer mentions that the timing between the divorce and the petition is a reason for denying the visa then there is a particular type of visa fraud they suspect. If the beneficiary's divorce caused the denial then they suspect the beneficiary never really broke off the relationship with their foreign spouse, and obtained the divorce only so that they would be eligible to apply for a K1 visa. They suspect that the beneficiary will terminate the marriage with the US citizen petitioner at some point after obtaining permanent resident status in the US, remarry their foreign spouse, and then petition for their foreign spouse to immigrate to the US. In high fraud countries, where the beneficiary is recently divorced, there will always be some level of suspicion that this sort of fraud may be involved. They'll look for other evidence to support that assumption, such as evidence that the beneficiary and their ex-spouse were living as a married couple right up until the divorce was granted, or perhaps even after. If they find that there are aspects of the beneficiary's relationship with their ex-spouse that were being hidden from the petitioner then they may conclude the petitioner was being scammed. If they submit the bare minimum evidence required to get the visa then they may suspect the petitioner was in on the scam, especially if the petitioner is low income and there's evidence somebody else financed their trips. It would be useful to have evidence that the beneficiary and ex-spouse were living apart for some time before the divorce, such as separate household register books (Hukou books) showing they had different residences. If the petitioner's divorce caused the denial then they may suspect the petitioner never really intended to permanently divorce their spouse, but did so only so that they would be eligible to submit a petition for a foreign fiancee. They suspect that the US citizen is a willing participant in a scam to help a foreigner immigrate to the US, and probably being paid for it. The consular officer will look for additional evidence to support this presumption, such as evidence that the petitioner and their ex-spouse are still living together, or that the petitioner's ex-spouse has temporary living arrangements that are being paid for by the petitioner or an "interested third party". They will also look carefully at the petitioner's finances. A petitioner with negligible income is more likely to be tempted to become involved in a scam like this. These "pay to play" visa scams can sometimes be worth $20K or more to a willing US citizen. When you're dealing with a high fraud country, and there's a recent divorce involved, then you have to look at your situation and see if there's any evidence to support a consular officer's presumption that either of the above types of scams are being conducted, and consider what sort of evidence you might have that might help counter the derogatory evidence. It would be best if you could frontload your petition with the counter-evidence since it usually helps if questions about suspicious circumstances are answered to the CO's satisfaction before the interview.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-09-13 11:21:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	Request For Evidence	Stamps in passports mean nothing without at least the bio page. You need to prove you have the actual passport in your hands, and didn't just download some pictures of entry/exit stamps from the internet. If you copy the entire passport then that should satisfy the primary evidence requirement, in addition to what you've already sent. Primary evidence establishes you and your fiancee were in the same place at the same time. The next thing you need to prove is that you were actually together during that time. Secondary evidence like photographs help to prove this. "Film dated" photographs are a reference to a time long ago when cameras actually used film, and they were capable of burning an image of date onto the photo. USCIS is satisfied if you simply write the date on the back of each photo. You should also write where the photo was taken, and who appears in the photo. They won't automatically recognize you in the photos (they don't know you) so you have to tell them who each person in the photo is. People milling around in the background are, of course, not relevant.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-09-19 00:23:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	I-864 - How to 'end' the support	So what shall we do then? Write a letter to the IRS and explaining all of the confusion – as my fiance filed the I 864 form he knew that his father will be dependent on him for 10 years. Hopefully he will be ready to give the money back to the IRS with some interest or penalties ….. Can this cause a denial for our petition? I have his tax return for 2011 and his father is included there – they will see that he has a dependant and that he is not in the USA I am so worried …… What shall we do please help is appreciated …. File an amended return, and remove his father as a dependent. Keep a photocopy of the amended return, as an IRS tax return transcript would only show the information from the original return. An IRS tax account transcript would show the revised tax figures, but it wouldn't show the line-by-line reason for the changes - it's just a summary. You need a copy of the amended return to show WHY the return was amended. Filing an I-864 does not make someone your legal dependent for 10 years. It places a limited obligation on you to see that the sponsored immigrant is being supported, and allows the government to seek reimbursement from you in case the immigrant receives means tested public benefits, but it doesn't automatically give you a legal right to claim them as a dependent on your tax return. I signed I-864's for both of my step-kids, so I have all of the legal obligations that go along with that. However, since both of them are now over 18, and neither of them are full time students, I don't get to claim either of them as dependents on my tax return, even though I DO support them. Tax law determines who you can claim as a dependent. The I-864 doesn't change that.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-09-23 02:26:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	That pesky lawyer question again...	USCIS has an opinion on "visa assistance firms". It would be a good idea for moderators of VJ to be aware of this USCIS initiative. http://www.uscis.gov...00025e6a00aRCRD With all due respect, that link is about agencies that scam people. There are as many licensed practicing immigration lawyers that are just as likely to bilk people out of their money as there are "visa assistance firms". You're taking a risk either way. By the same token, there are firms that make it clear that they are not attorneys, and they don't offer legal advice. They simply help with preparing the document package, which is not a legal service and does not require an attorney. These services are not scams, they're not operating illegally, and they can be quite useful to people who can't or don't want to navigate through the form instructions themselves. These services fill the void between do-it-yourself types and the attorneys you mentioned who are too busy to take on cases where their legal assistance isn't required. Consulting with a qualified and reputable attorney is never a bad idea. However, unless Department of Justice is involved, immigration is a bureaucratic rather than a legal process. I don't think it's fair to imply that someone should never seek assistance from anyone less than an attorney when all they need is help filling out the forms. FWIW, I also consulted with an attorney, but in the end chose to do it myself. His advice was useful, but in retrospect I would have been successful without it.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-09-23 12:46:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	sponsor	Ok thank you. 2 more questions, if you don't mind. Does the cosponsor on the aos have to be the same person who cosponsored the k1 visa? And my potential cosponsor wants to know if it will in anyway affect his credit or his ability to buy a house next year. I understand his concern but don't know the answer. You can use different joint sponsors; one to obtain the visa and another to obtain the green card. It will have no affect on their credit. The government won't place any liens on the joint sponsor nor make any reports to a any credit reporting agency. If the immigrant ends up collecting any means tested public benefits and government decides to seek reimbursement from the joint sponsor then they'd first begin by making a demand for payment. If the joint sponsor refuses then the government could sue them in a civil court. Losing the case in a civil court could have an adverse affect on their credit. It's actually somewhat rare for the government to seek to enforce the affidavit of support. Also, what you previously said about the sponsor being "responsible for the beneficiary for ten years", this is a simplistic summary of one aspect of the affidavit of support, and it's misleading enough to be downright wrong. First, when a sponsor signs the affidavit of support they do agree to support the immigrant in whatever way necessary in order to ensure they are supported at a level which is equivalent to 125% of the poverty guidelines. The only way the government would ever enforce this is if the immigrant sued the sponsor for support using the affidavit of support as the basis of the lawsuit. This rarely ever happens. The government really doesn't care if the sponsor is supporting the immigrant. Their primary concern is that the immigrant doesn't collect means tested public benefits and leave the taxpayers on the hook for their support. If that happens then the government may seek reimbursement from the sponsor. Again, this rarely happens. The affidavit of support remains enforceable until one of the following events occurs. 1. The immigrant becomes a US citizen. They can do this within three years of becoming a permanent resident if they're still married to the US citizen who petitioned for them. Five years otherwise. 2. The immigrant can be credited with 40 quarters of work credit through the Social Security Administration. Generally, this means working and paying Social Security taxes for 10 years. This is where many people erroneously get that "10 years of support" figure. Spouses usually share Social Security credits, so if both spouses are working then it's possible to collect 40 quarters of credits in five years. 3. The immigrant loses their permanent resident status and leaves the US. 4. Either the immigrant or the sponsor dies. So, the affidavit of support could be enforceable for as little as three years. If the immigrant never works and never loses their status then the affidavit of support could, potentially, be enforceable for the remainder of the sponsor's life. Only one of the events listed above will terminate the affidavit of support. There is no automatic cutoff date.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-09-26 10:51:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	confused	i don't know the exact date when we are leaving from here what if i put an approximate date will they check anything to know when exactly i go to Ethiopia? and do i need a police paper or some kind of clearance from here (Kuwait) when i leave? i read something here and it says you need to have Police clearance certificate for the place you have stayed over 6 month He can remain in Ethiopia until you get the visa. K1 petitions can only be submitted to USCIS in the United States, so even if he's living in Ethiopia he still needs to send his petition package to the United States. Many K1 petitioners have used foreign addresses as their current address on the petition, and they never got any subsequent correspondence from USCIS. I've never heard a concrete explanation for this, but it might be dependent on the reliability of the mail service in the country where the petitioner is residing. It might also have to do with the USCIS clerk's ability (or inability) to record a foreign address into the CLAIMS computer system. If they don't enter the address correctly then nothing will get mailed correctly. Your fiance can avoid this by using an address in the US, perhaps an address where a relative lives. They can forward any correspondence to him. Anh Map is correct about the domicile requirement, but that mainly applies to the I-864 affidavit of support, which he won't be submitting until after you both travel to the US, get married, and file for your green card. The consulate will probably require an I-134 affidavit of support from him, but this doesn't have the same rules as the I-864. In fact, it doesn't have any rules at all. The consular officer uses the I-134 to screen the beneficiary to determine if they might become a public charge in the US, but without any hard rules they can use a lot of their own discretion. There are some things you can presume right from the start. The consular officer will want assurance that your fiance has income sufficient to sponsor you for a green card. He'll have to return to the US and establish domicile there before he can submit an I-864. In order for that I-864 to be sufficient he'll need a job with adequate income. Since your fiance isn't living and working in the United States then the consular officer can presume he can't meet the requirements to sponsor an immigrant, even if his prior income has been sufficient, because he's going to have to go back to the US and land a job first. The consular officer can insist he have a joint sponsor before they'll issue a visa. Some consulates won't accept a joint sponsor for a K1 visa (they aren't required to). I don't know if that's the case with the consulate in Ethiopia, but if so then it's unlikely you'll be able to get past the "public charge" requirement unless he returns to the US, settles in, and gets a job before you have your visa interview. You will definitely need a police clearance from Kuwait. The available documents and the process for getting them in Kuwait are listed on the Department of State website here: http://travel.state....5.html?cid=9222 According to that page, you must be in Kuwait to get a police certificate. Police certificates are usually only valid for six months. If you obtain the police certificate before you leave then it will probably expire before your visa interview in Ethiopia. Most consulates keep a list of countries where it's either not possible to get a police certificate, or too difficult to obtain if you're outside the country. You might want to contact the US consulate in Ethiopia and ask them if Kuwait is on that list. If it's not then you might end up having to return to Kuwait shortly before your interview in order to obtain a police certificate.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-09-27 01:16:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	petition questions	Hi and thank you for reading So me (from UK) and my fiance Chanel (from USA) are filling in the questions we are currently in New Zealand on a working holiday visa we are applying from here so we can stay together during the process. we really find the paper work a bit scary as we know that filling something in wrong can result in long delays. the question of : applicants residence in the last 5 years we have both been traveling around Australia and new zealand for nearly 2 years and have had several appartments for a few months at a time should we include these addresses? or do they only want permanent addresses from UK and USA? Our other problem is Chanel lived with her mum in America before traveling and now her mum has sold the house and moved so technically she has no registered address in the States can she put her mums new addres even though she has never been there or her old address even though she does not live there any more? Any help would be amazing and really appreciated thank you Jake The form questions are reasonably clear. They don't ask for your relative's addresses, or where you intend to live. The G-325A says "Applicant's residence last five years". That means you list the address where you actually lived, starting with where you currently live (which is apparently in New Zealand), and going backward. Don't list some place you never lived. Don't list some place indicating you lived there when you were actually living somewhere else at the time. Small gaps for travel or moving between residences are ok. Large gaps would be scrutinized unless you were homeless for a long period. You wouldn't have to list two weeks you spent in a hotel room if you had an actual residence somewhere else that you returned to. You WOULD have to list an apartment you rented for two months if that's where you were living, and you didn't maintain another residence to return to. Be honest. Be accurate.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-09-30 00:15:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures	RFE Vermont.... forever?	I seem to be at the end of my wits in here so please, please, please tell me we're not the only one in this but here's our scenario. I filed for our i-129f on January 2012 and then on May 2012, I got an RFE stating that I missed checking one box, which is weird because I made a copy of the documents I sent and I checked it and I DID check the box in question. Anyway, I completed the RFE and returned back to USCIS, which they posted to having received on the end of May. It's been pending ever since. They initially said they would have an answer by 60 days of which came and go with nothing. I called the 1800-number and got an email stating that they would have an answer by 30 days... of which came again, but alas, nothing. I called the 1800-again and they said they can't do anything since they already processed a request before and suggested I email the Vermont office, which I did... and the officer just told me that they are backlogged and working on i-130 and they have no idea on when they will get back to the RFE. I even emailed the head USCIS, which went back to the same answer from Vermont. I reached out to my congressman, who diligently requested an update on my behalf but *STILL* got the same answer. It's already October and it's been 9 months. Is it just bad luck or what? Any encouragement or tips or anything really would help my sanity right now. Thank you. The USCIS website says that VSC is currently working on I-129F case files from the end of February. That doesn't mean that all January cases would have been completed. It only means that the most recent case file any adjudicator worked on was filed in late February. Only USCIS knows what's really going on with your petition. I doubt they're being truthful about not having time to get back to your RFE. The adjudicator usually keeps the case file when they send an RFE, and they usually work on cases where they've received a response to an RFE before starting any new cases each day. They usually issue a decision within days of receiving an RFE response. It's very unusual for them to receive an RFE response and then not have any information five months later. What happened to your case file is anybody's guess. The adjudicator might have lost it. USCIS often won't admit this to the petitioner, but they would usually be honest about this to a congressional representative's office. One possibility is that some adjudicators were told to stop work on certain case files in anticipation of receiving deferred action requests. I know that USCIS publicly states that deferred action requests were not going to affect processing times of other types of petitions, but an IO at the San Francisco field office told me otherwise. She also indicated that she didn't think the processing times on the USCIS website would be updated to reflect the slowdown. Try your Senator's office next.	JimVaPhuong	Male	Vietnam	2012-09-30 00:43:00