I am married to a citizen of Colombia. I recently recieved notice that my I130 and the I129F are approved and are being forwarded to the NVC in New Hampshire. The instructions indicate that I need to file a I-485, but the I-485 instructions indicate that I need to file the I-824 (in chicago). I'm presuming that is the course of action since the K3 guide makes no mention of what happens after the approval. We still do not have a visa. I would like to know if this is correct. Also, I am a computer systems administrator working as a temp. The company I'm working for has told me that they want to keep me as a permanent employee, and it is only a matter of time.

It could be another month before this happens, and I was only able to report about 20K in income for last year (as I was unemployeed for part of the year). I own my home, have no expenses and about 10K in savings. Should I go ahead and file thie I-864 or wait until my job is permanent?

If your goal is to acquire a K-3 visa , have your wife move to the US and then adjust her status to that of a conditional permanent resident , then there is no requirement for you to file the I-824.

If your goal is to have your wife enter the US on a K-3 Visa all the while going through the CR-1 process at the NVC and eventually returning to Colombia for her interview, then you likely will require a I-824 so that the USCIS will forward your I-130 to the NVC for processing.

Regarding your employment; it needs to be permanent.

That being said, you could buy yourself some time between now and the time you need to show that it is permanent. If you go k-3, you'll require the I-134 affidavit of support at your wife's interview and realistically you can "put off" that date a bit with the amount of time you take to return paperwork.Even if you chose to go the Cr-1 route, filed the I-824, it would still be several months before your file would be sent to the NVC where you would be required to file the I-864 Affidavit of Support.

If you're only supporting yourself and your wife, then $20,000.00 is adequate and all that is necessary for you to show.

Hope I covered your concerns...........Good Luck

We don't have a visa, so I have to conclude that I'll have to file the I-864. We want the visa as soon as possible.

According to the NOA for the I129, the file has alreadybeen sent to the NVC in New Hampshire. It states: "We have sent the orginal visa petition to the department of state national visa center (NVC).........." In the next paragraph, it states: "The NVC will contact the person for whom you are petitioning (beneficiary) concerning further immigrant visa processing steps."

According the the US consulate website in Bogota, the I-864 is required for her interview. Since she needs to apply for the visa in Bogota, I assume that I need to file the I-864 and send it to Chicago per the instructions. Then forward to her a copy with the corresponding NOA. I have no idea what a CR-1 is and none of the papers I have received mention that anywhere. I have a total of 5 NOA's... 1. Reciept of I130, 2. Reciept of I129F, 3. Transfer notice, 4. Approval of I130, and 5. Approval of I129F.

My employeer has been generous to me so far. I am practically guaranteed permanent work there but the corporate wheels move slowly. They indicate that they want to place me in Missouri, or at my current assignment, and then my compensation will increase significantly.

I'm sorry.. that was wrong. I'm filing the I-824 (according to the document) and I will need to file the I-864 as the affidavit of support.

You do not need to file the I-824 unless you want to have your I-130 petition forwarded to the NVC and eventually to the consulate so your wife can get her CR-1 visa there.

If you get her K-3 visa and then she moves to the US , she can Adjust Status by filing form I-485.

A CR-1 Visa is a Conditional Resident visa aka Temporary(2 year) Green Card.

You definitely do not need to file the I824 if your only goal is to be together as soon as possible. The I824 looks like it is taking about 6 months to process, then you would have to add the additional processing time at the NVC and then the wait for the interview.

If you do not file the I824, the beneficiary will go through the shorter K3 process and then come to the U.S. Once they are here, they can file for adjustment of status and will not have to return to Colombia.

Good luck & Congratulations on the approvals!

I already filed the I824. Well, crap. I guess I spent $200 for nothing. I wished that were made clear in the instructions. Now the consulate has sent me the documents for her visa. How frustrating. She called the consulate, and they told her that they sent her something too, but she never recieved it. She's all ready for the interview. They asked for a I-134 (the consulate website says I-864 - surprise). I have to get out the documents, and letter pleading my case (because of my work situation) and hope for the best. My employer still hasn't given me a permanent position, but I'm assured that I need to be patient. The corporate wheels move slowly. Had we waited and gotten married in the US this would be over now. That change of status form is like $400. These fees are really ridiculous. For those of you who want to get married... get married in the US.

Well somehow I stumbled on this site and this thread and thank god I did. I have been having huge issues with the Visa Company I hired to complete my K3. It all started when we got the I 129 and I 130 approvals within a day of each other. The I 129 was fine, sent to NVC and now forwarded to UK Embassy. The I 130 had asked us to fill the I 824...and our VIsa company said we didn't need to do anything because our application for I130 would automatically be sent to NVC. I was certain this was not tha case given my extensive research and thanks to you guys I am now happy we are following the quickest process by which me and my wife can be re-united.....that being K3 and then file AOS.

One question for some of the more experienced of you...how long does it take for the EAD to be approved once the AOS is filed?

Thanks!

Rahul

Congratulations,

I married a paisa. Where is your wife from.

The first decision you have to make is whether it is more inportant to save money or save time. It is a very personal decision but I bet you want her by your side ASAP. You state that you filed the I-824 so you have started down the path of the I-130. I don't know how difficult or costly it is to back out of that option and try to go down the K-3 path.

When my wife and I filed in 2004 she NEVER received the paperwork. The mail in Colombia sucks. After a month I phoned the consulate and they faxed me the paper work which I fedexed to my wife.

If you can stand the wait I would go the I-130 route. She will land employment authorized and greed carded. Our AOS is pending since August 2004 and we have to file for Advanced Parole and Employment Authorization Documents adn Adjustment of Status. The AP and EAD are annual costs while the AOS is usually a one time fee.

Good luck,

Antony

I am also in this case.. would anyone tell me what is I824 difference to I-130? im so confused! thanks..