Fiance is planning to send in petition application on the last week of January or 1st week of February the least.

I know embassy interview appointment is still very far down the road but I just want to be sure that there will never be problem with my daughter (10 years old) and my son (8 years old) deriving K2 visa from me and following me later. They are listed on fiance's I-129F which we believe, is a requirement for them to be able to have derivative visa.

Our plan is for me to go there first, get married in a civil wedding and then adjust status, then I will go back after 6 months or when I get temporary permanent resident status to get the kids... and then have a Christian wedding with the kids in attendance after we bring the kids there.

My question is: 1. Should I file for visa application for the 3 of us straight away. (provided my fiance's petition application for me gets approved)
2. Are there specific tips to follow in cases like this?

Any input will be greatly appreciated. thank you very much.

if the kids apply for a K-2 Visa at the same time as your K-1, then they would have to enter the USA within six months. a K-2 can not be extended. your AOS could take longer than six months from the time you enter the USA, in which case you will need AP to be able to go back for your kids.

right..so if i were you guys..try to review things again, you might want to consider traveling to US at same time..Take note that Adjusment of status might take more than 6 months..PLUS, if kids will be following, they will have a higher charge in AOS application..FAR EXPENSIVE instead of you guys submit AOS application at the same time..

just a thought guys..

if you decide for the children to apply for their visas at a later date. the k-2 visa must be issued within one year from the date the K- was issued. make sure to allow enough time to schedule an appointment
I know everyone's situation is different, but it's much easier when the kids come at the same time. We were also considering follow to join, but decided to have our daughter come at the same time as my wife. the time that would have been lost being apart is time we could have never replaced.

very well said

More than 6months?!.. i thought it will only take 3months or so:(...

Forgive my ignorance... why would the kids AOS charge be higher? and why would it be cheaper should we apply AOS at the same time?

I wanted them to just follow because I want to be able to adjust a little to life there so I would be able to assist my kids in their adjustment period better later on.

thanks again.

AOS fees for the kids. filing with you $600 each. filing separately from you $930 each.
just my opinion, but kids can have an easier time adjusting to new situations than us, adults.

another thought. any advantage being able to adjust here first might be negated by your being apart from them. I wish you well in whatever you decide to do.

I agree with other message here , its better to bring them along with u since they are young and u could never replaced
the time u lost with them , i came here as k3 visa with 3 kids as k4 derivative , just imagine how much is the ticket we have to pay for the plane and now the AOS all in all its 4000$ , but its better and cheaper than applying them separately , my husband has good job and good income but still have to be tight in budget coz of the AOS but never regret i have my kids with me , and for the adjustment of the kids ,i have kids ages 8. 7 and 5 yrs old, the 8 and 7 is going now to school the younger not yet , at first day of my two boys going to school they really cried and got scared but when we pick them up in the afternoon after the class , the counselor said they adjusted very quickly and about the climate is the big change for us from warm to cold weather , but wre doing ok now , anyway i just want to share my experience and my kids adjustment here, so im sure ur kids is older than mine im sure they will be adjusted also fast as my children. Just give it a thought and goodluck to ur journey .

thanks a lot.. you all made me ponder and really search within my heart.

my fiance have always been in for having the kids go there together with me instead of just following but i was the one who insisted that they should just follow. probably not so much more of the adjustment period but more out of fear.. mostly fear of the unknown... that is why i wanted to check things out first.

well, FH (future husband) had to reassure me again and again that everything will be all right and that he will always be by our side.. and i guess you guys are right, time spent without my children will be irreplaceable.. perhaps not even with burning the lines and endless chats.

so i guess i am raising the white flag so to speak. i will have the kids travel with me then and I will have to place everything unto God's feet.

my deepest gratitude goes to everyone of you for helping me see the other side of the coin.

my wife and I were making the same decisions as you not too long ago. I know everyone's circumstances are different and try to make decisions what they feel are in the best interest of the children. my only hope with those who are thinking of follow to join is to look at the pros and cons before coming to a decision.
I hope you have smooth sailing thru your visa journey.

I could not agree more that each situation is different. We weighed out pros and cons too. My wife was like you in that she wanted to come first and get settled, find work, adjust to the USA, and then bring her daughter here. I was okay either way and we thought long and hard about the decision going back and forth several times about what to do. In the end, we decided to have her daughter come later.

I agree the time lost is time that can't be replaced. I guess we did not see it as a huge amount of time and knew they would still have constant phone and internet contact. Still, they do miss each other alot. Our initial plan was to file everything like a K-2, but in actuality we considered not bringing her daughter until 2009 under a new petition. We wanted to have the option for a K-2 though, so we filed it that way. We are glad we did because things are going well here and we decided not to wait that long for her to come here. We have scheduled the interview now and she will use the K-2 to come here for the start of school in 2008.

I know there are a lot of reasons for and against leaving a child behind to follow later. I don't fault anyone for deciding either way. It sounds like you have decided already to bring them at the same time as you will come to the USA and I am happy you were able to reach a decision. Just wanted to add my two cents in from someone that went the other way since it sounds like most people that have posted so far are against following later.

Scott

I'll admit I am biased towards children coming at the same time as the parent, so sorry if it sounded like I was criticizing those who choose follow to join. whether choosing same time or follow to join the important thing is, in the end, to be together as a family.

To each his own.

I did reach my decision not only based on the advices given here but with much thought and discussion with my dear FH (future husband) and also with my kids... the to follow that i was thinking before was my sole decision, i didn't gave all the other persons involved (my kids and my FH) any chance to sway me the other way before. (do i sound like hitler?.... not really, just being an overprotective paranoid mom )

it's been 8 years now since i kicked my sperm donor (father of my kids who never paid child support ever) out of my parents house and the longest time that i was ever away from my kids was when i had my 2months training in manila years ago for a pharmaceutical company and subsequent 4months initial assignment in another city before i was finally transfered in my hometown. (im from davao so manila is miles away from home)... and yes it was heartbreaking. i have almost forgotten about those days and the replies i got here transposed me back to those times when i would spend every night crying and missing my children...

and again, to each his own. there are indeed valid reasons for choosing the to follow route like the PM i received from a single mom whose child will be on her 4th year in high school come June this year. she said she doesn't want to rob her child of the enjoyment of graduating with her peers, and i could understand coz i, myself, will never trade my high school days esp. my last year in high school with my friends, whom i have formed lifelong bond, for anything else... if that had been the case for me, i would have stood my ground in the to follow path also.

there are other valid reasons and unique situations that really calls for "to follow" but after inner deliberation, i must admit my reasons didn't make the cut.

On a lighter note, fedex online tracking states that my documents will be delivered wednesday, jan. 23. YAY!!!... and if there won't be any problems we might be able to send our application off to USCIS next week . LET THE WAITING GAME BEGIN!!! I'm raring to add our time line here!

Again, thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts. I know you will still be part of our journey for many months to come (years even, with AOS and whatever other USCIS things still looming ahead)... and knowing that, somehow put my heart and mind at rest coz i know, help with questions and sympathy for any frustrations we might encounter along the road is just a few keyboard strokes away

God bless you all!

I'm one of those who opted to let my son follow to join me later because he's in 4th year high school and as much as possible,I don't want him to experience culture shock. Come what may, I know we will be together again. Good luck & God bless in your journey.

As someone that did the follow to join, I did not take your's or anyone's comments to be criticizing those that do the follow to join. I just wanted to present another view from someone that did it. I also hope I did not sound judgemental towards your position either. As I said, there are valid arguments for doing both and the choice is up to the individual. I agree that family togetherness and reunification should be the focus even for those that do follow to join.

Scott

all is good.

so, please help me get this correct, if my now wife (then fiance) received her K1 visa in june 2007, then I must either apply for the kids to follow before june 2008 or must I actually have the childrens visas in hand before june 2008?

also, do I also have to pay a fee for each child in addition to seperate applications for each child?

is the fee about 400 dollars per child?

thank you for any advice/tips

for a K-2, the visas would need to be issued by June 2008. allow enough time to set up interview. each child would require a separate visa application. I believe the application fee is $131 each.