I am currently working at a great job but it unfortunately is seasonal and ends in early September.
Then I'm flying off to see my sweetie for a month!!! !!!
Since we may be getting close to approval (I hope! I hope!!) I thought it would be good to bring all the items (or as many as I can) for the next step with me so she will have them there. It won't be too early to do that, will it?
I've looked at the guides but still have some questions.
In the employer letter I will get from my employer, would it be good for him to mention that the job is ending and why? Or if he just said "in good standing etc." would that be lying, considering that the job will end before the interview? Or should I even get an employer letter from him at all?
I haven't lined up another job yet for when I get back, which is too bad because my income for the year will barely qualify unless I get a REALLY good job for the last three months of 2006. But I do have a qualified co-sponsor. I'm just hoping I will not need one for the AOS step.
Another question I have: what is the reason for the duplicate or triplicate, whatever it's supposed to be, copies? Do I need to send originals and copies of everything, the co-sponsor financial data, etc? Will the co-sponsor need to include a copy (or two? or three?) of his birth certificate?
Thanks!

After your case is sent to the Embassy your fiance will get packet 3 which will tell you exactly what paperwork you will need for the interview. The packet should also tell you if originals and/or copies are necessary. For our interview we provided the original and a copy--the originals were given back and the copies were kept.

If you don't have an employer letter, I would say you definitely should plan on having a co-sponsor.

Maybe it'd be a good idea to contact others going through the same consulate/embassy to find out what kind of supporting documents they want to see. The instructions on I-134 will tell you what to bring, but some consulates have different policies.

As I read the instructions on the employment letter they had to state the 'term of your employment' not your standing as an employee. So it would be part-time permanent, full-time permanent, full-time seasonal, such as in your case.

I wouldn't lie about it...even those little fudges cause problems when it comes to the USCIS!

They want the employment letter to show your income. If you are unemployed, you can't have a current employment letter and unless you have other sources of income your current income is 0. So when they ask for the employment letter, tell them you are unemployed. This may or may not cause them to deny the visa depending on your cosponsor and their willingness to accept the cosponsor. Some consulates are more willing to accept cosponsors than others and your unemployment may very well weigh in on how accepting they are.

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. It sounds like, depending on when the interview is, the employer letter will have to reflect the job I have at the time of the interview. So I shouldn't even bother to get an employer letter from my current employer??? Even if he has nice things to say about me. That means I should hope I get a job quickly when I return and that the interview will be after that, because I'm sure it is better to be employed. Or if I had a job lined up in advance could I get that employer to write a letter, even if I hadn't started working there yet?
Considering how unpredictable everything is, all these questions may answer themselves, but if anyone has anything to add I'd appreciate it.
I'm also curious if anyone here has ever had a co-sponsor, and thus the visa, denied?

I don't know about the consulate in Russia. What I do know is that the consulate in Manila will not entertain a cosponsor for K visas. They deny K visas there often because of income.

Recommend you go to the regional forums and ask the questions about co-sponsor and reasons for denial at the embassy. Each embassy is different. You might also use this link to read up on the embassy at the source. Some of them listed give good info some dont.

Embassy list

Thanks for that link dwar49! There's quite a lot of specific info there re Moscow.

Mew et.al.,

The instructions for the I-134 are just that - instructions for the I-134. They are not instructions for what kind of documentation can be submitted to show that a K-visa applicant meets the public charge provisions of the law.

The I-134 itself is optional at the discretion of the consular officer for that purpose, although in most all cases the consular officers do exercise their discretion to require it.

Yodrak

I was just thinking...if, since my current employer (for the last three months) is very willing to write a letter, it would be possibly even slightly helpful if he wrote a letter stating that I was a good employee and that the job was ending only because it's a restaurant only open seasonally. Even if I don't have that job at the time of the interview, could that help indicate my employability? And if I had another job then, maybe I could turn in both letters? Or would it just complicate my application and be useless? Any comments?

What the conof looks for is evidence that you can support your fiance, and not that you're able to find a job or that you've been a good employee. They want to make sure that your fiance won't be a burden to the government.

nfs, why not post your questions to the regional forum? http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showforum=98

You'll find there VJers who know a lot more about what the consulate in Russia look for.

thanks, Mew! I will try that.