Help! We are confused with a lot of questions.

[Ladislau&Jenny 0]

Hello everyone, hope you guys are doing well. 

 

Me and my girlfriend we have been dating for almost 4 years now, I am portuguese from Portugal and she is an US citizen and now we have decided to go into the next step, being together, but we don't know where to start and how much it would cost for us, as far we found out we need to apply for K-1 visa right also we know that she has to meet the poverty guideline for the current year witch is over %150. 

 

We are so much in love with each other meeting every year every time I stay with her is for 3 months, I also in good standing never overstayed or anything we are ready just dont know where to start and how much it could cost and time until we can actually be together.

I think we need an attorney to fill all the paperwork, everything looks so confused and hard but maybe is just from our minds, haa she is from Wisconsin if that things helps to say.

Thank you everyone, hoping to find kindly responses here.

[Unshakable Faith 493]

6 minutes ago, Ladislau&Jenny said:

Hello everyone, hope you guys are doing well. 

 

Me and my girlfriend we have been dating for almost 4 years now, I am portuguese from Portugal and she is an US citizen and now we have decided to go into the next step, being together, but we don't know where to start and how much it would cost for us, as far we found out we need to apply for K-1 visa right also we know that she has to meet the poverty guideline for the current year witch is over %150. 

 

We are so much in love with each other meeting every year every time I stay with her is for 3 months, I also in good standing never overstayed or anything we are ready just dont know where to start and how much it could cost and time until we can actually be together.

I think we need an attorney to fill all the paperwork, everything looks so confused and hard but maybe is just from our minds, haa she is from Wisconsin if that things helps to say.

Thank you everyone, hoping to find kindly responses here.

No attorney is needed, it's actually a very simple process as long as you follow instructions well.  Go to the link for guides for the K1 visa and it will tell you everything to include in your petition! 

[Scandi 3,970]

Most members in this forum go through all kinds of visa processes by themselves, so not sure why you feel you need a lawyer? If you have a difficult case, like a criminal background or so, then it might be a good idea though.

 

People in here just follow the guides and checklists you can find in the menu on the top of this page, so that's a great place to start. 

 

For K-1:

Guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

Flowchart: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1flow

Tips: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1tips

 

Good luck on your journey. 

[Dutchster 1,106]

Agree with what said above, it's fairly easy to fill out the K-1 petitions yourself. A lawyer is mostly needed when there is a legal problem such as criminal background (Like Scandi already said), Follow the guides on here, read through the K1 forum/topics. You'll be fine without an attorney. 

[Ladislau&Jenny 0]

Thank you for the answers guys, I am very glad, I know that this depends from case to case but how roughly we are looking to spend with whole process? 2k, 5k? How much? Once again thank you for everything. 

[Scandi 3,970]

This is what we paid in 2015/2016 before the fees went up:

 

I-129f = $340  

Medical = ca $320

Visa fee = $265 

Hotel & and travel to the American embassy: $210

 

And then a whole bunch of smaller costs like police certificate ($22), postage to send the i-129f package with tracking, taking passport photos first for the i-129f for both of us and then new passport photos for the medical and K-1, travel to one of two clinics in all of Sweden to have the medical done ($52), new passport as the old would expire in the middle of the process ($40), getting the American divorce decree and so on..

 

And that's just the beginning. When you enter the US you have to get married and file for AOS.

 

Marriage license = $85 here in Cali

Cost for the wedding if you decide to have one outside of the court house

I-485 = $1140

Biometrics = $85

New passport again in case one of you have a name change

Copies of the marriage certificate

Postage to send the AOS package

Getting a drivers license

 

I bet I missed some things.. 

Edited March 18, 2017 by Scandi

[claudiag 12]

On 18/03/2017 at 1:10 AM, Ladislau&Jenny said:

Thank you for the answers guys, I am very glad, I know that this depends from case to case but how roughly we are looking to spend with whole process? 2k, 5k? How much? Once again thank you for everything. 

Hello! Like others said, you don't need an attorney  

 

As far as how much you will spend, you will need to pay the filing fees as everyone else but you need to go to Paris for the interview, so that's going to add to the costs :/

 

I just went through the entire process last year so if you need anything you can PM me  

 

[SparklePony 238]

Another Portuguese member here.

 

Like others have said, study the guides, there is SO much info here, no need to use an attorney, that just drives the cost up with no guarantees of better or faster results. I learned so much on here on what I could and couldn't do.

 

The K1 process is fairly easy for Portugal. Medicals are done in a clinic in Lisbon and you can only book an appointment once you have an interview date, which will be in Paris. One tip, regarding chicken pox (varicella) - if you didn't have it, get the vaccine at your local health center before the medical, if you did have it, get your doctor to give you the paperwork for blood work to prove immunity. Either of these is cheaper than going through the clinic at the time o of the medical. As for the interview, there is the hassle of having to go to Paris. My then-fiancé was able to go with me as he was visiting at the time. I had an early afternoon appointment so we took a dawn flight Lisbon-Paris, got there, bought the envelope (which has to be bought in France), got to the embassy, had the interview, then caught a late afternoon flight back to Lisbon. It was very tiring, but we were done with the whole thing in one single day and saved on hotel&food, and plane tickets as we used low-cost airlines. Also, my experience with the embassy, both regarding my visa and those of my kids (who had theirs done a year later) was really good. Very professional and helpful in what I needed.