biggish data

Engage Marry or end relationship?

The above comment is indeed correct from CandZ, if dramatic, that you will not be allowed to work immediately upon entering the US on a K1 (when you arrive on K1, you must get married within 90 days then file an "Adjustment of Status" and optionally apply for a temporary work permit and ability to leave the country - it takes 2 - 3 months to receive these).

If this aspect of it matters to you, you may which to consider instead marrying ASAP and filing the CR-1 visa. This gives you a green card immediately, and therefore the ability to work as soon as you land.

This is the guide for CR-1: http://www.visajourn...tent/i130guide1

The downside to the CR-1 is it can sometimes take longer to receive than the K1, but with the current processing times, the gap in processing CR-1 vs K1 has closed considerably.

Edited by lost_at_sea, 04 April 2013 - 11:05 AM.

lost_at_sea

Female

United Kingdom

2013-04-04 11:05:00

Engage Marry or end relationship?

Hi All,
I have been dating my US bf for over 6 years now. I met him 6years ago on holidays. We genuinely love each other and want to be together. He is volunteering in the US at the moment so no money coming in. He has come to europe many times and I did a school visa for 2 years in the states before.

Problem I am currently in europe and he went back to the sates 3 months ago. We would like to be together and would marry. BUT he used to have a company, left money with a friend to pay the irs his taxes before he left to travel. His "friend" did not do this and now he would has to sort his irs debt out. As he is volunteering, he does not have money coming in currently.

So the questions......

Would a k visa work if he doesn't have job or enough money to "support us"?
If we applied could him in allot of trouble?
I am a qualified yoga teacher, beauty therapist and holistic practitioner so I could get work out there or even set up a practice.
How much money would I have to have in my bank account to support myself for k visa or marriage?

Hope someone can advise me but we're starting to think we might have to give up on us with the way our circumstances are right now. Neither of us want that but we don't know what else we can do.
Any ideas?

Thank you for reading,
Blessings.

You can totally file for the K1, and you should read the guide about doing so:

http://www.visajourn...content/k1guide

Sounds like your main concern is support - yes, he would ordinarily be supporting you and have to prove as such, but since he cannot, he will have to find someone to co-sponsor you - maybe a family member? See the information on "affidavit of support". You won't be able to be the person providing the support, unless you're a secret millionaire.

His status with the IRS probably isn't an issue and won't "get him in trouble". That sounds like a totally separate issue that you probably want to work out a way to deal with, so you don't have that stress in your marriage.

So long as you can meet the criteria for K1, you can go with that.

Also, your title for your forum post "Engage Marry or end relationship?" is a little harsh. I don't think you really want us to tell you to break up with him just because he has no money.

No one here could possibly decide that for you. You may do any of those things, and there are legal and achievable ways to engage and/or marry him.

Edited by lost_at_sea, 04 April 2013 - 10:52 AM.

lost_at_sea

Female

United Kingdom

2013-04-04 10:50:00

K1 expedites in Korea

Maybe I'm just looking for any reason to get my Fiance here faster but with the current tensions in the Koreas, I am wondering if that would qualify as a reason to expedite visas. It looks like it could become unsafe there very quickly. Or if a war were to break out would they expedite then? I called USCIS to ask I just got a generic answer. The woman just said my situation needs to criteria and I could put in the request if I wanted.

If war or something breaks out, then USCIS will issue a statement about whether there will be automatic expedites (as they did for Haiti).

You can try it, but I'm not sure what evidence you can provide.

lost_at_sea

Female

United Kingdom

2013-04-05 09:41:00

should I drop my I-129F application

My fiance and I filed our I-129F K-1 application at the end of Jan '13. Received NOA on Feb. 1 and assigned to the California Service Center. Concurrently, my finance applied to grad school and was accepted to two schools, one of which she was also granted a 50% scholarship. School begins in August. Unfortunately, the Califonia Service center now has a 7.5 months wait time. So it is unlikely she will be approved for K-1 until September.

I put in a request for Expedited processing based on the financial hardship that we would suffer if she is not approved for the Visa before school starts. However the expedite request was denied.

Would it be wise to cancel the I-129 k1 visa application and just have my fiance apply for a I-20 School Visa (non-immigrant) instead. We could then get married while she is here on the I-20. But the problem is that USCIS might then deny a subsequent visa-change to a marriage visa.

Any thoughts on this?

I guess the question is more about whether she wants to attend school definitely this year or not. If so, then you may have no choice but to follow the student visa route. If she can put off attending until next year, you could continue on the K1. Most folks on here would not recommend making any plans, particularly expensive ones, that rely on your K1 visa until you actually have it in-hand, as the wait times are so variable and unreliable.

Changing visa routes should not affect your future visa outlooks - folks withdraw or change their plans all the time. You may want to check whether the school visa allows a change of status and under what circumstances.

If you complete your timeline, you'll get a vague estimate on when you may get your NOA2, but note that NOA2 is only half the process.

There will be another 2-3 months on the local consulate side for medical, interview and visa issuance. All in all, I think it highly unlikely that you'll have a visa by August if you got NOA1 in February, since it's 7.5 months average wait for NOA2 + 2/3 more months.

Timeline completion: http://www.visajourn...approval-dates/

Edited by lost_at_sea, 09 April 2013 - 04:07 AM.

lost_at_sea

Female

United Kingdom

2013-04-09 04:04:00

Affidavit of Support

Hello! This is my first post; my fiancee (who is a Russian citizen) and I are preparing our I-129 petition for the K1 visa and I have some questions about the Affidavit of Support forms.

1) Is the Affidavit needed for the peition application or after the petition has been approved?
2) Which form do I use, as I have found two: I-864 or I-134?

If they are not needed for the petition, is it still a good idea to include one of these forms to avoid an RFE on the petition?

You don't need it for the petition, so there's no point sending it (you won't get RFE for something you don't need to send). Your partner will either send it to the local consulate when asked, or take it to the interview with her (it varies by country).

Check the guide: http://www.visajourn...content/k1guide

And it's the I-134.

Edited by lost_at_sea, 09 April 2013 - 11:59 AM.

lost_at_sea

Female

United Kingdom

2013-04-09 11:59:00

K-1 Fiancee Visa lawyer

I honestly don't know why people get a lawyer to get their K-1 visa. The process is fairly simple once you do a little bit of research. My husband and I did everything ourselves for the K-1 Visa process and Adjustment of Status and had no RFEs at all.

Really just do some research on this site and save yourself a ton of money. It seems confusing at first to do it on your own, but really once you research the process and what you need to do, and do it yourself, you'll feel like a pro at it once it's all done.

Edited by BirdyGirl85, 15 April 2013 - 02:19 PM.

BirdyGirl85

Female

Finland

2013-04-15 14:17:00

I-134 questions for Irish beneficiary

Hello VJ!

We are very early in our K1 visa process, only mailed our I-129f 8 days ago, but like most of us, I am fretting over future paperwork. My fiance is Irish and I live in Ireland with him. I am the US citizen, he would be the beneficiary. I currently work as a nanny and I make very little money, and it's all cash in hand so I can't show any of it on paper. My fiance has a full time steady job, and in fact he supports us mostly. I haven't lived in the US for about a year now so I'd have trouble showing that I can support us. Will my fiance, the beneficiary, be able to be our financial provider for the purpose of the paper work, or will we be require to have a co sponsor for the I-134? Thanks in advance!

Jamie

jamiealderson

Not Telling

2013-02-05 22:32:00

I-134 question for petitioner living abroad

Nobody has any insight on this?

jamiealderson

Not Telling

2013-02-07 20:50:00

I-134 question for petitioner living abroad

I am the US petitioner, I live in Ireland with my fiance, the beneficiary. We are months away from an NOA2 or interview but I am just preparing mentally for what's to come. I am concerned with the affidavit of support, I-134 that I will need to provide for my fiance when he has his interview.

Firstly, I believe I would have to show an income of $19,387/year to qualify for the I-134 for myself and my fiance, is this correct?

Also, will there be any trouble with the fact that my job that I have now, and will be filing the I-134 information out with, is in Ireland, and I clearly won't have that job once we've moved to America.

If my current job meets the 125% poverty limit for the 2 of us, but it's in Ireland, will that still work? Or will I have to have a co sponsor who's working in America already?

Also just looking for general advice from anyone who has filed the I-129F from abroad. Anything I should watch out for or be concerned about in the months to come?

jamiealderson

Not Telling

2013-02-06 20:28:00

Anyone ever gotten this email from USCIS?

A little info about us first. We filed our I-129f and got our email NOA1 on February 4th I believe, we both live in Ireland and filed from abroad. We sent the application to the Dallas lockbox and in our email NOA1 we were told it was sent to the California Service Center. We have not received our NOA1 hard copy so I'm guessing that's what this email is about. I called the 800 number provided, was transferred to a tier 2 and she didn't seem to know what it was about. We were a bit alarmed reading the part about our application being destroyed. Anyone get this before? The lady put in a service request for us to find out what it was all about. Fingers crossed we magically get approved because of the service request!! Email follows in red:

*** DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL ***

The last processing action taken on your case

Receipt Number: WAC1390385249

Application Type: I129F , PETITION FOR FIANCE(E)

Your Case Status: Card/ Document Production

On February 20, 2013, the post office returned your document I129F, PETITION FOR FIANCE(E) as undeliverable. If you do not contact us at 1-800-375-5283 within 180 days from February 20, 2013, this document will be destroyed and you will need to file a new application with fee.

This step applies to applications that result in an applicant receiving a card (such as a "green card") or other document (such as a naturalization certificate, employment authorization document, travel document, or advance parole). Applications will be in this step from the time the order to produce the card/document is given until the card/document is produced and mailed to the applicant. You can expect to receive your card/document within 30 days of the approval of your application.

If you do not receive your document, please contact our National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283.

If you have questions or concerns about your application or the case status results

listed above, or if you have not received a decision from USCIS within the current

processing time listed*, please contact USCIS Customer Service at (800) 375-5283.

*Current processing times can be found on the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov under Check Processing Times.

*** Please do not respond to this e-mail message.

Sincerely,

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

jamiealderson

Not Telling

2013-02-20 18:45:00

AR-11

Yes thank you, so from what I understand we don't need to file the AR-11 because my fiance isn't in the US.

jamiealderson

Not Telling

2013-03-13 09:14:00

AR-11

Hello,

I recently had to change my address with USCIS. I am the USC, we sent out I-129F last month, myself and my Irish fiance live in Ireland. We had to change our address on file because for some reason they couldn't deliver mail to us here in Ireland. We never received our hardcopy NOA1. We changed our address with USCIS to my mom's address in California and she has begun to receive mail on my behalf and she got the hardcopy NOA1 finally, and all is fine and dandy.

My question is, in one of the letters my mom received from USCIS it is saying that in order to complete our change of address, we have to file an AR-11. I looked at the form and it's called and "Alien's Change of Address Card", so that makes me believe that I don't have to file that because I am a USC and not an alien. I would just go ahead and file one for my fiance but it asks questions like his current US address, and port of entry and stuff. All implying that the alien is already IN AMERICA. Well my fiance is not in the US, does he have to file that? Thanks in advance!

Jamie

jamiealderson

Not Telling

2013-03-13 08:14:00

G-325a Multiple Addresses as College Student

I would recommend you to write as first address the one in Denmark. There is where you are living now and also that will proof that you are living with your fiancé (or in the same country) and meet the 2 years requirement. Then you can list all your past addresses in the last 5 years. So you have to go back where you were living 5 years ago and so on. You can avoid some of the residences for not filling an extra paper. 5 addresses including the Danish one are enough. In the next question of "more than 1 year residence outside" you can simply write "none".

Don't worry, the process is really simple and coming from Denmark is not a big deal. It is more a matter of time. My process took 8 months in total so that's the average.

Espanyol

Male

Spain

2013-01-24 12:52:00

Wow, thanks everyone for all the info! My apologies for the mis-use of that term and the confusion it caused. Sounds like I just need to avoid the self employment route all together and seek out an employer who will put me on payroll. Luckily I have filed my taxes every year and hopefully that in conjunction with a sponsor and eventual letter of employment with pay stubs will be enough. I'll check with the consulate to see exactly how many years worth of forms they need.

I feel much better after hearing from you all. Thanks again for the advice. I still have a ton of research to do, but I can tell this site will be a great resource once I begin the process!

mali0521

Not Telling

Peru

2013-04-07 23:34:00

Of course I pay taxes at the end of the year. I still report my income when there is one.

mali0521

Not Telling

Peru

2013-04-07 17:57:00

You're seriously asking this? That's tax evasion....you and your employer could go to jail.

mali0521

Not Telling

Peru

2013-04-07 17:47:00

Thanks, LBeachey for your quick response! That's good to hear that my lack of income isn't such a huge obstacle. I will have an income when we start the visa process, so hopefully that will hold more weight than my previous lack of income. I do have tax returns from the last few years, they just don't show any income.

Do you think that any of my issues will delay the process?

mali0521

Not Telling

Peru

2013-04-07 15:29:00

Even if you have no income, you will need to have the last three year's tax returns but not until the interview. You can file the last three year's now, even if it is to report zero income. Due to to your lack of income, you will need a co-sponsor. This can be anybody but typically is parents, sibling,close friends. Your lack of income is an issue but is overcome by many in this process.

mali0521

Not Telling

Peru

2013-04-07 15:25:00

Hi all,

I'm in need of some advice before my fiance and I take the steps to apply for the k-1 visa. I am a U.S. citizen and my fiance is from Peru. I have been living with him in Peru for the last year and have been volunteering here, unpaid. Before I came here, I was on unemployment benefits for almost 2 years. I don't have any w-2 forms from the last 2 years to present as part of my visa app. and I've been told this will pose great obstacles for me in this process.

Soon I will be returning to the states to seek full time unemployment and begin applying for the visa. I plan to work as a nanny there. I know I will be making a nice salary, but my concern is that my job may not be taxed. Some families put their employees on payroll, some don't.

My questions are: Will my lack of w-2 forms pose a problem? Will the fact that I was previously on unemployment pose a problem? (even though I haven't received unemployment benefits for over a year?) Does it matter if I accept a position that is paid under the table? Will a confirmation letter from my employer and copies of my paychecks from a personal family checking account suffice as proof of income? Will not so great credit pose a problem?

I'm also wondering what we can expect for the processing time. I have heard anywhere from 5 months to 2 years. Anyone bring their Peruvian fiance to the U.S.? How long did the whole process take?

Thanks so much for reading. I look forward to any suggestions, comments, advice,etc.!

mali0521

Not Telling

Peru

2013-04-07 13:33:00

k1 approval expiring

Whats going to happen if my fiancee k1 visa approval expired? What should I do? I need help pls.

df1975

Not Telling

Philippines

2013-01-07 21:44:00

Don't fear the phone!

Greetings! I just wanted to tell you not to fear the phone!

My fiancée and I had been waiting for almost a month since when DHL had delivered the visa packet the Embassy in Armenia and they still hadn't contacted her to schedule an interview. Both the Embassy's website and the usvisa-info.com website instructs applicants to wait patiently until they are invited to interview and we had been patient, but we finally called today to inquire about the status of her application. In speaking as pleasantly as possible with the person at the Embassy, he said he couldn't tell us anything and that we would just have to send an e-mail, but he did take down our names and the case number. We sent an e-mail five minutes later (as he said) and sure enough, my fiancée got an invitation to interview within half an hour. Perhaps it's a coincidence in our case, but still, my advice to all waiting in similar situations is to not be afraid to pick up the phone and follow up on your fiancée's application.

Good luck!

nhutchings

Male

Armenia

2013-01-04 15:17:00

Deadline on submitting NOA3 back to the Guangzhou US Embassy

Glad to hear such a good news from you, I'm waiting for my NO2. Does your fiancee know our 001 forum? She can learn a lot of this K1 stuff there (all in Chinese), she could also join our K1 QQ group (the NO. is 13774119) , we got a few members who are waiting for their interviews already. We'll be glad to help her!

Thanks. I will tell her about this great forum and QQ group. BTW, what is the forum address if you don't mind sharing with fellows here?

My petition is also at the early stage of this whole K1 process, but it's always good to know more ahead of time so that we can all be better prepared for the interview. Best wishes to all of you K1 ers..

IP&YZ

Not Telling

China

2013-04-02 00:01:00

Deadline on submitting NOA3 back to the Guangzhou US Embassy

Thanks a lot guys. My application is far from being advanced to that stage, as I have just received NOA1 about 10 days ago, so I foresee maybe another 7 months from now I would need to call Eunice for help. I was asking this because I need to plan ahead for that trip if I really need to go to China again some time down the road. But now seems like some people over there can help so maybe I can postpone the trip until she is ready to go for the interview. That part I am sure I will be there with her to Guangzhou, regardless how it turns out to be. Well, hopefully everything will be silky smooth down the road, and wishing you guys the best of luck on this K1 journey.

IP&YZ

Not Telling

China

2013-04-01 18:55:00

Deadline on submitting NOA3 back to the Guangzhou US Embassy

Hi folks, I always wonder how soon my fiancee has to turn in the NOA3 (package 3) back to the US Embassy in Guangzhou (China) once she receives it. The reason I m asking is because she is not good in dealing with official documents like this, especially she knows very little English, and I am afraid she will mess things up, so most likely i will have to go to China again to help her out filling in the forms and sending the necessary documents back to the local embassy. Any folks who has gone through K1 Visa stage 3 can you shred some light on this pls? Thank you so much.

IP&YZ

Not Telling

China

2013-04-01 15:45:00

Having a lawyer/firm involved helpful?

Hello so me and my gf are finally submitting our i-129f paperwork and i've followed the guide here which is very detailed and amazing thanks again for the help. But i was wondering if its beneficial to have an attorney help in the process. I know most of you are thinking that its a bad idea and it will cost a lot but i'm in a strange situation where my brother is an immigration attorney and has offered to help without fees. I've already sent my paperwork to his firm with a signed G-28 and they will be sending to a lockbox. Is this going to over complicate things or will it be beneficial with all the other forms/things coming down the road and any problems we may encounter?

Thanks.

-Logan

We did use a lawyer, because we were unconfident and really just wanted someone to look over everything (plus, we had a recommendation from someone else doing visa stuff with the same representation). What they did was as the previous commenter said - they compiled all the documents we supplied, completed the forms for our signing etc. and mailed the package (which included disclosure forms for both of us to say that we had OKed the representation). We could have done it ourselves.

My advice would be not to bother - if you get down the line and something goes wrong, or you get to a stage you'd like more professional help with, you can always engage a lawyer at that stage and save your money now.

lost_at_sea

Female

United Kingdom

2012-10-31 14:13:00

Letter of Intent

Hello All

i have applied for K1 using a lawyer and my understanding is that he send the information without a letter of intent. I was never asked to write one nor my fiancee. I was wondering if this is going to be an issue. Should i address it to my lawyer? I was hoping he knows what is required and what is not not. that might be reason why he never asked for one. Please advise

thank you

Hi. We're also using legal representation and we were also advised not to bother with letters of intent for 129f filing. Our lawyer stated that they don't usually do them in the cases like ours where we already live together and have shared rental contracts / bills etc. As our lawyer is an immigration lawyer, I was happy to go with her recommendation (and I specifically asked on that point, as everyone on the forum believes it to be a requirement). The worst that happens is they RFE for it (and I'll let you know if that happens for us).

lost_at_sea

Female

United Kingdom

2012-11-05 06:16:00

Well I guess u are wrong because I received a letter today( belgium europe) saying that my case is sent to california !!!! so they DO send papers overseas please dont give wrong information to other people If you are not sure about something dont write anything down please !!

See

Glad you got it.

lost_at_sea

Female

United Kingdom

2012-11-16 08:38:00

We were sent two copies of NOA1 - one went to our lawyer (as did an email to them) and one came to us in the UK.

Regarding residency: I should be clear - it is untrue in our case that he requires residency at my interview, as my partner (the petitioner) is in the UK on a temporary visa. He isn't settled here. He is on secondment.

Erg.. the forum isn't letting me make some further corrects. I mentioned this to my lawyer - she said that when there is representation they often don't bother to also send a physical notice to the petitioner. She said we must have "been lucky". If there hadn't been a rep though, there's no reason for it not to be sent to the petitioner, no matter where they list their address.

lost_at_sea

Female

United Kingdom

2012-11-01 04:41:00

The NOA1 usually is sent to the lawyer when there's one involved in the process. However, I will admit that I got 2 things mixed together. The petitioner will have to establish his/her residency by the time of interview.

We were sent two copies of NOA1 - one went to our lawyer (as did an email to them) and one came to us in the UK.

Regarding residency: I should be clear - it is untrue in our case that he requires residency at my interview, as my partner (the petitioner) is in the UK on a temporary visa. He isn't settled here. He is on secondment.

Edited by lost_at_sea, 01 November 2012 - 04:33 AM.

lost_at_sea

Female

United Kingdom

2012-11-01 04:29:00

WAW !! finally some good news !!! thanks so muchhh

Just to be clear: The beneficiary's address listed for where they will be living when they move to the US must be listed and be in the US. My lawyer was quite clear on this (and also said that they generally don't like PO Boxes for that field, too - it should be a place of residence).

lost_at_sea

Female

United Kingdom

2012-10-31 12:32:00

In part A, question 2. That is your US address being asked for.

If you don't give USCIS your US address I'm fairly sure that the petition will be rejected because they can't communicate with you. They only send hardcopies to the US address, not one overseas.

This is untrue. My partner and I both live in the UK and received our NOA1 to our UK address earlier this week. You only need a US address for the field that asks where the beneficiary will be living upon relocation (in our case, we listed a friends address who we're likely to stop with for a few days when we return, who is aware of our visa application process etc. - this is based on our lawyer's recommendation).

Edited by lost_at_sea, 31 October 2012 - 11:54 AM.

lost_at_sea

Female

United Kingdom

2012-10-31 11:52:00

i want to know

hi tony, no a bad traffic record would not prohibit your fiancee from filing for you.

good luck on your journey. feel free to stop by the sawasdee thread as there are thailand specific folk in there that you can connect with.

Kang Lang

Female

Thailand

2010-08-18 10:29:00

University degree

There is always work available for those willing to work.

Kang Lang

Female

Thailand

2011-01-31 22:54:00

Thailand Specifi K1 question

sawasdee ka snp...

welcome and good luck on your journey. there is nothing to fill out in terms of marriage for your fiancee. she was not married. when you get her cenomar it will reflect as such. as for her child's father you will of course name him as such. it's not an uncommon thing in thailand to have children outside of a paper marriage. hopefully that makes sense and helps for your petition.

good luck!

Edited by Kang Lang, 14 July 2011 - 08:30 AM.

Kang Lang

Female

Thailand

2011-07-14 08:29:00

thanks az mike!

Kang Lang

Female

Thailand

2011-07-13 11:03:00

bump...is anyone able to help?

thank you!

Kang Lang

Female

Thailand

2011-07-11 14:19:00

Hi there, can anyone translate this for my friend please?

??? vishu ?????????????? ????????????????????? ??????
..
?????????????????????..??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
..

?????????????? ? ??????????????????????????????
..

?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
..

???????????????????????? facebook ????
..
??????
..

Edited by Kang Lang, 06 July 2011 - 09:56 AM.

Kang Lang

Female

Thailand

2011-07-06 09:55:00

Netima Sederis <emsederis@yahoo.com>

thank you karee!

Kang Lang

Female

Thailand

2011-07-05 08:57:00

hello there, does anyone know of a professional translation service for a personal document. my husband's best friend (thai) and his wife(usc) are having difficulties in their marriage and she has written a letter to him that she would like translated into thai for full comprehension and my husband doesn't feel comfortable or knowledgable enough. it is VERY sensitive information. any help is appreciated.

good luck on your journies all!

Kang Lang

Female

Thailand

2011-07-04 17:05:00