marriage to a US prisoner

[iannikki 8]

hi all, my fiancee is in prison in the US and we'd like to get married I am South African, his parents will sponsor me. however with all the interviews he would obviously cannot attend. can someone advise me on what to do?

[Ilovemyman 147]

Did you meet him the last 2 years?

One eequirement fo k1 it is meet in person last 2 years.

[Alaska2012 462]

Why not wait until he is out?

[Darnell 8,478]

huh? uscitizen not have required interviews until the adjustment of status, and even then, it's optional, based on uscis caseload at a local office.

what's up? what's going on ?

[iannikki 8]

Did you meet him the last 2 years?

One eequirement fo k1 it is meet in person last 2 years.

yes i have been to see him

[iannikki 8]

huh? uscitizen not have required interviews until the adjustment of status, and even then, it's optional, based on uscis caseload at a local office.

what's up? what's going on ?

i have been told a lot of conflicting information. in order to prove a marriage is not a shame both of us would have to attend an interview .therefore i am trying to find out as i am new to this process.

Why not wait until he is out?

because we dont want to

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

only the beneficary can go to the interview

don't tell me but consider that the person is in prison

not a good start

what do you know of his past record and don't believe what he says

investigate

pay the $35 to look up his criminal history

how long will he be in prison

for God's sake don't send money to him and his family

this sounds so scary

[Alaska2012 462]

My husband hasn't been with me to any interview so don't worry about that.

But good luck convincing them this is the real deal! Unless you knew him from before he got locked up?

[iannikki 8]

only the beneficary can go to the interview

don't tell me but consider that the person is in prison

not a good start

what do you know of his past record and don't believe what he says

investigate

pay the $35 to look up his criminal history

how long will he be in prison

for God's sake don't send money to him and his family

this sounds so scary

with all due respect i did not come on here for judgment, only advise, there is nothing scary about this at all and since you do not know our history i would request you keep your opinion to yourself. thank you

[Darnell 8,478]

ok - so for filing, i think he qualifies.

for you to receive the visa, though, there is a thresh-hold on his income for form I-134, which follows the guidelines from I-864, which follows the math shown in I-864P, evaluated on interview day (6 to 14 months after filing the I-129F)

[Ash.1101 1,755]

He doesn't have to be there to prove the marriage is not a sham because you're not married yet. The K1 visa is simply so you can come here to marry him.

I do agree with Darnell though, make sure the parents finances are in order since they'll be cosigning. http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-864p.pdf

Does South America require Proof of Domicille? That may be very hard as well seeing as he resides in prison at the moment.

Also make sure that what ever he was convicted of doesn't make it harder for him to bring you here.

You may not like people voicing their opinions about your relationship, but prepare for the worst because they WILL scrutinize your relationship, especially under your circumstances.

People will voice their opinions. We see plenty of people who are in loving relationships post a month after coming to the states and getting married saying that they were abused and/or cheated on and they never would have expected this. We've had people find out about court problems and things like that at their visa interview. The USC tells them maybe one or two things crime/court related, only for the foreign fiance to find out 10's of court orders at the interview. We see this -a lot- therefore, a lot of us will voice our opinions to hopefully help some avoid an avoidable situation.

Edited August 2, 2015 by Ash.1101

[VOL 425]

only the beneficary can go to the interview

I looked at website it doesn't say Petitioner can't go

"Does the Petitioner Need to Come to the Interview?

We do not require the petitioner to attend visa interviews because of space restrictions. However, a family member may come to the aid of elderly applicants, or young children."

[JohnR! 5,495]

He will have to file for your K-1 visa through the regular channels. There is no presumption or requirement that the petitioned be present at the interview - you should be OK in that sense.

Good luck with your journey!

hi all, my fiancee is in prison in the US and we'd like to get married I am South African, his parents will sponsor me. however with all the interviews he would obviously cannot attend. can someone advise me on what to do?

[yuna628 9,527]

Can the petitioner, which in this case, would be a person in prison, prove that they have met in person?

Do they have access to such evidence if it does even exist?

They will have to answer yes to the criminal convictions questions on the I129F form and provide evidence regarding that?

Are you prepared to answer the difficult questions that may be asked of you regarding those aspects during the interview and can provide evidence of a real relationship?

Does his family make enough under the financial sponsorship guideline?

Certainly those factors will be taken into account. OP, it's not the fact that you thought he might need to attend an interview that you need to be concerned about at all. It's the above questions. Be aware that he must be the one to file the petition, not you. Will he do so through a lawyer?

[madtownguy 164]

I thought the petitioner can't be a felon?