ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Proceduresvery big problem about k1 visa
Troll or not, this is a hilarious story and also - something that happens all the time.

I just happen to puke at the fact that people like this get their visas without any problems, while someone else, who actually knows who they are looking to marry, and why, have to jump through series of hoops and also be treated like cattle.

I love the visa system.

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BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-01-22 20:11:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresK1 Visa case pending, what can happen if ask for Turis Visa?
I've been denied a tourist visa four times. Only the last attempt happened while K1 was pending and was denied for exactly that reason. The previous three made no sense whatsoever.

Hopefully the four denials won't have an impact on my K1 visa. Once they let our case out of AP, of course. In which, I suspect, we could be because of the four denials? Etc.

Hate the system, I must say.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-01-22 20:03:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Proceduresnvc come on!
QUOTE (kriszel @ Jan 25 2009, 09:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
uscis forwarded our case in nvc. uscis already forwarded our case in nvc here in dubai. dont know how many days before i get the letter from us consulate here. waaaaah!

It could be any day now, but it could as well be... months. Depends on whether or not your case gets stuck in AP. Then some other things as well.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-01-25 15:37:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresIf you've been under AP at NVC, have you gotten your visa?
A while later...

I can add two people two this list.


However, my fiance and I are still waiting, just as worried about the outcome of my interview (the date of which is nowhere to be seen, of course).
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-03 11:13:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresIf you've been under AP at NVC, have you gotten your visa?
Nobody knows anything?

It makes me saaaaaaad! sad.gif
And worried.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-01-16 02:46:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresIf you've been under AP at NVC, have you gotten your visa?
Still curious about this, so I'm bumping it.

Anyone?
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-01-15 02:38:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresIf you've been under AP at NVC, have you gotten your visa?
QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Jan 14 2009, 04:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Not to say it hasn't happened, but I've never heard of anyone with an approved I-129f being refused after reaching NVC and getting stuck in AP. There are simply more checks at that stage and it appears more of us are getting held up once there now for whatever reason.

I know it's hard not to worry, especially after the long wait for the NOA2. All I can say is that I hope it's quick for you and that you're on you're way very soon.

I might be nuts, from all the worrying and whatnot.. but I don't really understand what you're saying...

Are you saying that people don't get denied at NVC, or that you haven't heard of anyone being denied their visa at the actual meeting after having been in AP misadventures?

As much as I understand, you can't get denied by NVC or stuck there forever, but can you get denied because of whatever they find there, that... basically, you can't even be aware of? Do we know if they do these check ups at random? I really can't, no matter how hard I try, think of anything at all that'd make my fiance and I seem suspicious.

I suppose no one's ever done some math, or statistics that show the outcome of NVC-AP'd cases outcome after the interview? =(

Sorry to be pedantic, but the specifics matter!
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-01-14 11:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresIf you've been under AP at NVC, have you gotten your visa?
QUOTE (KimandRuss @ Jan 14 2009, 03:43 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hi there, sorry to hear you're still stuck. sad.gif

Yes, we were stuck at NVC as well and he got the visa just fine. There is an entire thread in the NVC forum to those who have been stuck. cdneh just got sent off to the Embassy after 7 weeks and her interview is 2/9. smile.gif Many have moved on and received the visa.

As long as you know you're both 'good' I wouldn't worry too much about the outcome.

I know the added wait and frustration is hell but it will come ...and very soon you will be together for good. smile.gif

How many is many, though? Like, most of those who have been stuck? All? Just a bunch, while another bunch just never did?

We're just really worried if the denial rate for AP people is significantly higher. =/

Edited by Badgerella, 14 January 2009 - 10:27 AM.

BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-01-14 10:26:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresIf you've been under AP at NVC, have you gotten your visa?
I already mentioned this in the special NVC forum, but I'd like to ask the same question here, since more people read this, many of which have actually been through the whole process already.

Are there people who were in AP at some stage of the process (or, more specifically, the NVC part), but still got their visas without problems? Or, at least, without some... extraordinary ones? Is the AP misadventure even brought up at the interview? Does it raise flags?

I just worry that, even though there is not a single thing my fiance and I have ever done that could raise any red flags at all (legal or, actually, any basis at all), they'll find some nonexistent thing, turn it into a flag or a special note and just have us get denied at the USEM stage.

We've been in AP for around 3.5 weeks now. Naturally, we don't know any details.

I really hope I am worried for no good reason at all, other than getting angry and impatient. =/

BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-01-14 02:42:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresK-1's go to Embassies straight from USCIS?
A whole bunch of August-ish 2008 filers/December NOA2 receivers have gotten used to weird information and weird treatment(s).

NVC most certainly exists and tends to keep your case for 7-ish weeks these days. Especially if you fall into the above mentioned category. At the same time, files go missing before they reach the NVC and then magically appear after.. some months.

Either way, whoever you call, you're likely to get incorrect information.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-06 20:01:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresPre-interview visit?
In order to be granted entry into the US as a visitor, you need to prove that you'll be returning to your home country. It could be anything and everything and, quite often, nothing works. You don't have to say that you have a K-1 pending, but they could, at this stage, find it in the records. At least that's how I understand it.

I've been denied a tourist visa four times (I don't come from a VW country, though), even though I had more than enough proof that I'd be returning back to Croatia. Last time I applied, I of course mentioned my fiance on the Dwhatever visa form and they didn't care much about it at all. The application was denied because the fact that I'd have to be back to Croatia to attend my interview meant absolutely nothing to them. They told me to just wait it out.

As far as I understand the mention of Dublin - being from the UK, you don't need a visa, but instead can just hop on a plane, fly to the US and then, right there, be either denied or granted entry. I would assume you can skip the expensive and annoying part of the journey into the unknown by going through the immigration part of the process right there, in Ireland. Which is, if anything, a lot closer to where you are from than any place in the US.


BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-08 14:14:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresExtending a K-1 petition
That sounds great, thank you!
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-14 10:25:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresExtending a K-1 petition
QUOTE (payxibka @ Feb 13 2009, 04:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Badgerella @ Feb 13 2009, 09:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Our interview is finally scheduled for when it works best for us. It'll be on April 8th.

Our NOA2 says our petition is valid through April 10th 2009.


Does anyone know what's involved in extending a K-1 petition? Is it an Embassy-only thing, or does anything need to go back to the NVC or someplace else in the US? Can it be done IN JUST TWO DAYS if the visa is denied, or the case goes into AP, or if it's just delayed for whatever reason (missing documents, needing more of them, all consular officers getting sick...)?


We're just worried that, if something goes wrong, we won't have time to correct it, or react to the circumstances, at all, because our petition expires just two days after the interview.

Thank you for your help!


Consulates have the ability to extend the petition approval validity period in 4 month increments... no need to go back to NVC


Thanks for your help.


However, does that mean that they'd extend it, in case of problems? I assume they would, if they asked for more documentation or anything of the sort, but one can never be sure... If we get denied, would they still keep it at the embassy and give us some time to react to that, too?

BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-13 15:22:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresExtending a K-1 petition
Our interview is finally scheduled for when it works best for us. It'll be on April 8th.

Our NOA2 says our petition is valid through April 10th 2009.


Does anyone know what's involved in extending a K-1 petition? Is it an Embassy-only thing, or does anything need to go back to the NVC or someplace else in the US? Can it be done IN JUST TWO DAYS if the visa is denied, or the case goes into AP, or if it's just delayed for whatever reason (missing documents, needing more of them, all consular officers getting sick...)?


We're just worried that, if something goes wrong, we won't have time to correct it, or react to the circumstances, at all, because our petition expires just two days after the interview.

Thank you for your help!
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-13 10:19:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresUSCIS and my email address
The email my fiance (the petitioner) used on the I-129f, kept being an answer to one of the two questions they'd ask me every time I called NVC to ask about our case status during AP.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-14 10:24:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresI-134 Question
QUOTE (Gary and Alla @ Feb 14 2009, 02:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
YES, they DO test for drugs! Then they will ask her if she uses them and if she says "no" she is denied for using drugs and lying about it. If she says "yes" she is denied for using them. And I am not saying, or even suggesting, your fiancee is a drug user, but hey, I make no judgements of people that use marijuana, just saying, you should talk about it. My wife has never used drugs but we talked about it, it is just part of the process.

Out of curiosity, where did you get this information? If it's accurate, I'll have to assume that they either test for different things in different countries, or that their instructions and explanations are simply incorrect.

The packet I received contains an additional document that consists of three sheets of paper, explaining into detail what any and all beneficiaries will be tested for at the medical.

I've seen around here that in the Phillipines, they do pregnancy tests. Here, they either don't, or, since the instructions for the medical mention nothing about it, they trick you into it without your knowledge. The latter, here, would be against the law, so I assume it can't happen.


BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-14 10:39:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Proceduresquestions
Yes, contact your respective embassy.

We had no problems at all rescheduling the interview for a month and, apparently, it's not that much of a hassle to extend the petition either (I still hope we won't need it). Our simple explanation was - my fiance wants to be here for the interview, but can't make it prior to April 1st and we need some more time to collect all the paperwork, too. This was in Croatia.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-15 13:38:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresNew 2009 guidlines !!!!!!
I have to admit it does not make me angry, at all, when someone, who is new to this, or any other process, comes here, or wherever else and asks questions. It doesn't make me angry, either, when someone gets angry because they learn something they, in fact, dislike. People get frustrated and I don't care if they need to vent.

Nowhere in the OP's post I read anything about him/her not wanting to work. They came here ASKING QUESTIONS and at one point, they ended up venting. Got a problem with it? Move on and let the person be. Mind your own business. Take a deep breath and go for a walk. Zen. Yoga. That kind of thing.

The poverty guidelines prevent nothing, at all. They just exist so that an USC could import their cow (apologies to those who will get offended by this - it's how I call myself, too, and I'm the beneficiary in this case). Why cow? Because that's how this system treats you. So many of us want NOTHING AT ALL but to live in the damn country where our fiance/fiancee is for a reason that's NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, but most definitely isn't leeching off anyone, especially not the person we're marrying. So for whatever or whoever's sake, stop treating us like we're some scum of the earth who can't make any money at all, ever.

There will be just one single period of my life in the US during which I won't be working, or actively seeking a job- ONLY the period when I first come there and CAN NOT WORK LEGALLY. After that, I'll be buying my own bread. I won't come for yours. And my future husband won't exist just so he could feed me either, thank you for asking. I really am capable of doing that on my own. And that's exactly what I will be doing.

So, yes, my fiance makes enough money to import his cow. Once the cow is imported and can work legally, she'll be contributing to the new family. How odd, huh?
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-16 08:36:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresNew 2009 guidlines !!!!!!
Judgemental? How? Why?

Because I am once more saying that I am no leech and that I am not coming to the US to steal your money? I don't care about it. I'll earn my own. I'm really capable of that much. Seriously. I wasn't born to sit on my ####### and wait for some random American to come and pick me up. I've had a bunch of other things to do for all these years of my life.

I'm really getting sick of this attitude, is all.




I forgot to add - the first child thing.. well, anyone heard of contraception? Y'know, just in case you can't afford one. Or while you can't.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-15 19:31:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresNew 2009 guidlines !!!!!!
QUOTE (Gary and Alla @ Feb 15 2009, 04:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
And while I am on my soap box...let me tell you something, the only thing ##### about these qualificaion numbers is that if you think you can really support a wife or family on these numbers, you are in for a big surprise. I earn MANY MANY times the amount needed for my family of 4 and we certainly are not "affluent". We have a budget and follow it closely. If you make 4-5 times the minimum it will not be enough for a comfortable life. You know you have to fork out another $1010 when she arrives, yes? And you know after you do this you have to meet the guidelines again with the I-864 form, yes? And you know there are there are many more expenses yet to come, yes? Maybe you have no clue what happens when a woman moves halfway 'round the world to be with you. My wife came with clothes and nothing else. What can they bring? Her electrical appliances wouldn't work here (except her computer) so we spent nearly $1000 the first two days she was here just to replace all the things she couldn't bring. Hey, blow dryers and irons and etc. etc adds up quick, and you think a bachelor has the stuff a woman needs? Dreamer.

So, you're one of those who think finding a spouse from some other country actually means acquiring a pet who just wantswantswants, needsneedsneeds, asksasksasks and demandsdemandsdemands and, therefore, you need to be making a fortune in order to pay for all those wishes and demands?

What if the person who's actually coming to the States has some, y'know, skills and knowledge and can live with just those clothes or whatever they bring until they're ready to start legally working? Believe it or not, there are so many of us.

I don't expect blow driers and irons to be bought for me when I arrive. We'll see if WE can buy those, or anything else we'll want, once I start contributing to our family budget. Or, you know, I might not even come there with a bag full of my clothes and just 50 cents to my name, in the first place.

But yes, we're all different, I know. Some things just make me sick more than the others.

BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-15 13:10:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresSorry that this is a bit of a dumb question...
QUOTE (pushbrk @ Feb 18 2009, 01:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Badgerella @ Feb 17 2009, 12:35 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (pushbrk @ Feb 17 2009, 09:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Badgerella @ Feb 17 2009, 12:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
So I would assume that either the COs in Croatia do not know what those visas are (doubt it), or that 'treated as' is allowed to be used without the quotation marks. It's exactly what you'll hear from the Embassy employees here in Croatia. I'd at least like to believe they know what they are supposed to be saying.


Humans sometimes use vague language when answering questions. You'll see it anywhere, and anytime. A K visa is what it is.

I have to admit it was not vague at all. At the very worst, it was simplified, as in - told in a language someone like me/another random person involved in this process would easily understand. When I needed my first batch of information, I contacted the nonimmigrant visa section here in Croatia. Because I knew this visa was nonimmigrant. And what was the first thing they told me? To contact the immigrant visa section because the said visa is being treated as immigrant and that from now on, I'll be dealing with them. Fair enough. All clear, fine and dandy.

I see absolutely no problems with the term 'treated as' used in this instance. It explains everything we need to know. Sure, it's a nonimmigrant visa. But it's being treated as an immigrant one, isn't it? It is, obviously - so far, I've not contacted anyone, or done any single thing one has to do when applying for a 'regular' nonimmigrant visa (except for having my pictures taken). If even the authorities outright say that, why not just accept it that way?


Vague terminology has a good chance of being understood correctly. I gave a more precise explanation, to eliminate the chance of misunderstanding. K visas are a hybrid of immigrant and non-immigrant visa because their use to enter the USA does not directly result in the visa holder becoming an LPR (immigrant). Consulates have non-immigrant visa staff sections and immigrant visa staff sections. K visas are administered by the immigrant visa sections. Applicants fill out both non-immigrant and immigrant visa applications.

I think I've lost track of why we're discussing this. Is there somebody still confused?


I don't think so. Everything was perfectly clear from the very beginning? From the first answer to the OP's question, that is.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-17 19:25:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresSorry that this is a bit of a dumb question...
QUOTE (pushbrk @ Feb 17 2009, 09:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Badgerella @ Feb 17 2009, 12:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
So I would assume that either the COs in Croatia do not know what those visas are (doubt it), or that 'treated as' is allowed to be used without the quotation marks. It's exactly what you'll hear from the Embassy employees here in Croatia. I'd at least like to believe they know what they are supposed to be saying.


Humans sometimes use vague language when answering questions. You'll see it anywhere, and anytime. A K visa is what it is.

I have to admit it was not vague at all. At the very worst, it was simplified, as in - told in a language someone like me/another random person involved in this process would easily understand. When I needed my first batch of information, I contacted the nonimmigrant visa section here in Croatia. Because I knew this visa was nonimmigrant. And what was the first thing they told me? To contact the immigrant visa section because the said visa is being treated as immigrant and that from now on, I'll be dealing with them. Fair enough. All clear, fine and dandy.

I see absolutely no problems with the term 'treated as' used in this instance. It explains everything we need to know. Sure, it's a nonimmigrant visa. But it's being treated as an immigrant one, isn't it? It is, obviously - so far, I've not contacted anyone, or done any single thing one has to do when applying for a 'regular' nonimmigrant visa (except for having my pictures taken). If even the authorities outright say that, why not just accept it that way?
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-17 15:35:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresSorry that this is a bit of a dumb question...
So I would assume that either the COs in Croatia do not know what those visas are (doubt it), or that 'treated as' is allowed to be used without the quotation marks. It's exactly what you'll hear from the Embassy employees here in Croatia. I'd at least like to believe they know what they are supposed to be saying.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-17 15:06:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresSorry that this is a bit of a dumb question...
QUOTE (jasman0717 @ Feb 17 2009, 04:31 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
According to the embassy website for the philippines, a K-1 visa is a nonimmigration visa.

It's a nonimmigrant visa everywhere. It's just that the most consulates treat it as immigrant (sections that deal with it, windows you go to, etc.).
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-17 10:44:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresSorry that this is a bit of a dumb question...
Everything refers to it as a non-immigrant. The USEM in Croatia treats K1s as immigrant visas, though.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-11 02:02:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresChanging my name
QUOTE (mingus_drake @ Feb 17 2009, 01:01 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
hi all, maybe a stupid question but handy to know for SSN etc... we plan to get married as soon as possible after landing in the usa so we can do the AOS and i can start working asap. so i'll apply for a SSN after the marriage so i don't have to change my name on it. however- how and where do i have to change my name? can i do it in the usa or do i have to legally do it in australia where i was born?

also we're having a wedding ceremony in australia before we go to the usa, but we won't sign a marriage certificate so it won't be legal. i assume that's kosher? good.gif

I can't tell you about Australia, but I learned, just today, how it works in Croatia, where I come from.

Apparently, the wedding certificate the US will issue will not say anything about name change. As a Croatian citizen (I will, of course, keep this citizenship, as well), when I come here, I have to register the marriage with the authorities here (same you'd go to if you were to marry in Croatia). If I change my name, which I'm going to because I'm taking my fiance's last name when we marry, I have to register that with the Croatian authorities as well, in order to have it in the books, and in order to have my Croatian passport, ID and other documents re-issued with the right name on them.

The Croatian authorities told me to bring the original wedding certificate with an apostille on it (Hague convention stamp that makes various documents valid internationally), translated to Croatian in order to complete any of the forementioned steps.


As for the wedding ceremony you plan to have - I would avoid. Even though no documents will be signed, I still wouldn't do it just for extra safety. Once we're legally married in the US, we might have, at some later date, a church ceremony here in Croatia, just for my relatives and friends who won't be able to attend the real wedding in the States.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-17 10:56:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Proceduresme an dmy fiance has not met yet in person because he cant visit me for a very reasonable reason,however he wants to get me and my children to US.Wh
QUOTE (charles! @ Feb 19 2009, 04:58 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Uhh. How does this differ from........... so many things one can see clicking around here?

Or maybe I don't get the joke!! innocent.gif

Edited by Badgerella, 19 February 2009 - 05:27 PM.

BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-19 17:24:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresRisk of denial into U.S. after repeated trips on non-immigrant tourist visa
QUOTE (Bobby_Umit @ Feb 23 2009, 03:17 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (Badgerella @ Feb 22 2009, 05:51 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Except that it's really hard to prove INTENT if no intent is shown.

So, yes, okay, it's illegal.


Can anyone prove it? Nope. Just like no one can prove that there was no intent.




Burden of proof is on the petitioner, not USCIS.

Carry on at your own risk.

I know of one case personally that ended up with a three year ban, after they tried this "visitor" to "marriage" ploy.

Everything is supposed to be done at your own risk, no? And the burden of proof is always on the petitioner, while COs do it as they please.

Intent or no intent is a very moot point.

I know of no cases at all that ended up not succeeding. Can't say that I know of many who have, though, either, because people from here don't really tend to go to the US in the first place.

BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-23 01:26:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresRisk of denial into U.S. after repeated trips on non-immigrant tourist visa
Except that it's really hard to prove INTENT if no intent is shown.

So, yes, okay, it's illegal.


Can anyone prove it? Nope. Just like no one can prove that there was no intent.

Edited by Badgerella, 22 February 2009 - 05:51 PM.

BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-22 17:51:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresConcern about Interview Date, date is for December and Our NOA2 expires in May
QUOTE (Alberto Jové @ Feb 25 2009, 09:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hello everyone,

I thank you all for the help you have provided us during our timeline. From the start we have been checking with this forums to see how things flow and it has been great, later I'll more on the whole ordeal.

We have obtained our NOA2 Approved around January 29th, 2009 and around February 3rd, 2009 we received the NVC notice that the case has been sent to the embassy. My fiancee sent an email two weeks after the NVC letter to the embassy to check up on the information needed for the interview and when would the interview scheduled. The embassy has replied with a December 2009 date and that is way beyond our time frame for the I-129f notice approval of May 2009.

What should/could we do? Send another email back to confirm this date? I called the embassy and was told that I have to do things over email.

Any one else encountered this before, any words of wisdom are greatly appreciated. We are hoping to be married this summer, kicking.gif

Again, thank you all for your time and effort helping others though this process.

According to an NVC employee I talked during our Administrative Processing stay, as long as a case is in USCIS, NVC or USEM hands, no document can expire. They get automatically extended.

Our NOA2 expires on April 10th and our interview is scheduled for April 8th. We contacted the embassy for the millionth time, just to make sure we have enough time for any and all additional processing, requests for more evidence, forgotten/lost papers, COs getting sick and disappearing.. basically any and all problems we might encounter. They said we were safe, even though the interview will be happening only two days before our NOA2 expiration date.


If I were you, I would contact the embassy and explain the situation, or just basically point out the problem. They might've overlooked it, but at the same time, there's a chance they'll be automatically extending the petition because of whatever backlogs they're dealing with. Personally, I think it's really weird they are scheduling the interview this far away. What embassy are you dealing with? I had no idea any of them were that backlogged. blink.gif
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-25 15:59:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresHPV Vaccine info
QUOTE (Tmac @ Feb 26 2009, 06:47 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Does anyone know if these vaccination requirements are country specific? If they aren't, is there any way around the HPV vaccine? My fiancee and I do not want her to have the shot based on numerous reports of paralysis and other various unexpected side effects..any thoughts? Thanks for help in advance =)

In Croatia, we have a list of mandatory shots and HPV is not (yet) one of them. They're trying to make it that way for all females under the age of 26. Until the vaccination is fully tested, it won't be made mandatory for sure.

I'm 31 and won't be given the HPV shot at the medical. As much as I understand the system (having talked to the panel physician and other doctors here, including an epidemiologist, I think I really do), no applicant from Croatia will be given this one, as well as some other vaccinations. Some depend on age, some on some other circumstances. The list of the mandatory ones in this country is pretty much long enough to cover all that's required for an immigrant to the US, anyway.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-26 12:34:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresApostile not needed?
QUOTE (Catt @ Feb 24 2009, 09:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
A document with attached Apostille and a notarized document are two very different things.

An Apostille is a rectangular stamp, that is attached on the back of the official document. It is proof to officials of another country, that the document in question was indeed issued by the proper authority (e.g. an Alderman). Apostilles came to life when several countries signed an international treaty, agreeing to accept official documents with said stamp from the other treaty States as proof of authenticity. They did this to avoid (often time consuming) legalizations. Since not all countries have signed this Treaty, Apostilles do not exist in all countries.

This is a link to the US State Department, with some more info: http://travel.state....icial_2545.html

Gary and Alla, we did get Apostilles on birth certificate, marriage certificate and police certificate (because I knew that in my own country, immigration authorities require them for foreign documents). I checked on the DOS website and it does not state the Apostilles as requirement: http://travel.state....types_2994.html

Maybe we were overcautious and this is not needed by CIS. Does anyone else know? Pushbrk?

And unless I am mistaken, a translation does not need to be notarized.

I am not pushbrk, nor I can speak for all the countries, but this is how it works in Croatia. The country is one of those who signed the treaty and therefore any and all official documents can be issued with an apostille on them. The US embassy in Croatia does not require those. We, the Croatian citizens applying for visas, do not need to translate any documents we're turning in or showing to the COs while applying for any and all visas. The COs, as well as other embassy employees dealing with applicants can read Croatian just fine.

However, all the documents I will be taking to the US with me (another copy of my birth certificate, proof of Croatian citizenship, etc.) I will have issued with an apostille just to be sure they are internationally recognized. Besides those, I will have all of them (as well as my degree papers, school transcripts, etc.) translated to english and notarized. Better safe than sorry. Even moreso because I can't just hop on a plane and run back to Croatia at the very beginning of the process, when I'll likely need most of my documents.


I would suggest contacting the embassy, as well as the local authorities. They'll know about the ways documents are issued and they'll sure have some advice to share.

BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-25 16:10:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresConfused again
QUOTE (Mford019 @ Mar 1 2009, 01:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
I was reading my fiancees requirements and it says a passport valid for travel to the U.S., my question is how do you know if a passport is valid for travel to the U.S.?

It means - a valid passport. Whether or not you, along with your passport will be let into the US (or any other country, for that matter) is not up to the passport itself (which, again, has to be valid), but the country in question and its laws and rules.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-03-01 08:05:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresUSCIS, you win...sort of...and a question about canceling the K-1
QUOTE (Sinergy @ Nov 12 2008, 08:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
calm down, did you forget your meds?

I'm perfectly fine, thank you for asking!

Edited by Badgerella, 12 November 2008 - 04:53 PM.

BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2008-11-12 16:50:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresUSCIS, you win...sort of...and a question about canceling the K-1
And then again, the majority of people here (and I am starting to lean towards anywhere in the world, too) assume that OHMYGOD people can live in the US only because any and all other countries in the world are just a piece of s**t and even considering about living there makes you a freak of some sort. Or worse.

What on earth is anyone's problem, here? As far as I understand, the OP wants to cancel his current petition and move to China and just be there. They don't feel like waiting, while being apart, and obviously the OP doesn't think he can live in the US and nowhere but the US. So, what's the problem? His Chinese wife won't feel the awesomeness of the States? Ohmygod, will she survive?!??!?! Eventually, at some point in their life (not our place to even guess or care about, really), they'll maybe apply for whichever visa and go to the States. Or, hey, maybe they'll live happily ever after IN HOLYWOW HORRIBLE ICKY CHINA WHICH HOLYWOW ISN'T THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, where everything is just milk and honey and birds and rainbows.

*instert a vomiting smiley*
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2008-11-12 08:20:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresCrossing with K1 Visa at POE
I'll be likely having my mother come with me as a visitor. If I get my visa and if no one discourages me here, or at the embassy.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-03-02 12:42:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresQuestion about length of courtship affecting CO decision
In Croatia, it took just a little bit of convincing the guards at the entry to let my fiance, the USC in this case, to be let into the (non)immigrant visa section of the Embassy with me. He had no other business to do there but to accompany me to my visitor visa interview. At first they said he wouldn't be able to approach the window with me and participate in the conversation, but he insisted on being let in to just sit in a chair wherever they put him and for that one, he got a go.

I had to do the interview on my own (and failed to acquire the visitor visa I had come for), but without any problems at all, my fiance was granted a meeting not with 'my' CO, or any other, but with the Consul herself.

Croatia allows the USC to be there for the interview, yet again they are not allowed to take part in it. There are chairs a few meters away from the immingrant/nonimmigrant visa windows that serve as a waiting room and that's where he will have to wait. He'll again be allowed to react if he ends up wishing/needing so.


As for your original question(s), I would strongly suggest what others have, too - make as many trips as you can, take as many photos as you can and save any and all things that do, or can relate to your relationship.

Good luck!
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-03-01 05:07:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresAmerican woman marrying Brazilian Man...help
Spain is nothing like the former USSR states you're reffering to (whichever those corrupted ones might be) and offering money to government-related officials in most countries would result in something a lot more serious than a missing police certificate.

I would advise the OP to not even consider this option. Not just in Spain, but in most (European) countries. Myself, I would not do it anywhere.


BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-03-04 09:03:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresRFE for evidence that qualifies us for the exemption to have met within the past two years
QUOTE (rebeccajo @ Mar 1 2009, 06:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Just a little back-history for those of you arguing about the requirement:

When K1 was first formulated in policy, there was no requirement that the parties had met in person.

Over the course of time, there became growing public concern that the visa was being mis-used for the importation of mail-order brides. There was also a concern that said females were using the visa as a way to enter the US when there was no other method available to them.

Policy was subsequently changed to add the meeting requirement in the hope of admitting only persons involved in a legitimate relationship with a USC (and not inconsequentially as an attempt to filter out those persons attempting to enter the US fraudulently because no other visa type was available to them).

However, the 'new' requirement still does not filter anyone or anything, just adds one more thing to the list of requirements. I am of the opinion that people should meet and, if possible, try co-existing as a couple before they decide to marry, but in some cases and under some circumstances it really may not be possible. The extremes, so to say, would likely be some religious or cultural reasons where people are not even allowed to meet. In this process, with one of the countries (the US, of course) having its doors basically sealed, so many other situations and circumstances come into play. Many a person from some not-the-US country won't be granted a visitor, or any other visa. Many an USC won't have time or money to spend months and months overseas, despite all the desire and goodwill they have. The most will be able to overcome these 'problems', they will have seen each other once, twice, seven times before the interview, but - this still does not make them a couple that has a bona fide relationship, nor does it grant them a happily ever after life. The fact that the two people know each other from their kindergartendays, while living in the same block does not grant them that either. It takes a lot more.

Why am I saying all this? Just to make sure people realize, or at least start putting it into consideration that we can't know how many people, even on this very website, have genuine, bona fide relationships. We can't and do not know how many really will succeed (both the processes and their married life together). Many are probably in it to get out of situations they are not pleased with, both in the US and somewhere overseas. Many do it because they really are convinced it will work out. Many really are no different than a 'normal' couple, from that next-door-kind-of-thing. We do not know who is who, or what reasons they have. And, what I keep repeating, it is none of our business. None at all.

The OP came here asking a question. An answer is acceptable and appreciated. An explanation is just fine, too. Personal experience as well.


Random judgement, lectures and the like should stay behind the screen, if they need to exist in the first place. You don't know whether your relationship is any better than the next person. Why? Because you simply are not that next person and you do not share their situation.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-03-01 05:20:00
K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & ProceduresRFE for evidence that qualifies us for the exemption to have met within the past two years
I don't think anyone is saying there is no problem. There is one and it's called - RFE. In order to at least attempt to solve it, the OP needs to submit any and all proof they have and just, basically, hope that it's recognized and accepted.


It's none of our business why the people in question didn't meet before sending in their application. Judging them or their actions, even less so.
BadgerellaFemaleCroatia2009-02-28 19:27:00