K1 Process costs

[journeymanvz 0]

I was wondering how much would the whole K1 process cost. My g/f and I are considering getting married very seriously, and I want to know how much money we will have to come up with. Thank you...

[zyggy 9]

I was wondering how much would the whole K1 process cost. My g/f and I are considering getting married very seriously, and I want to know how much money we will have to come up with. Thank you...

Lotsa of factors go into this... The petition fees, fees accociated with pictures, passport, medical, police report, postage, etc. Do you want to travel to her country to attend the visa interview with her. How far does she have to travel to get to the consulate?

Budget a minimum of $1,500... But depending on you situation budget more. The information is out there, you just have to add everything up...

Edited February 11, 2006 by zyggy

[KarenCee 3]

Ditto...its the fees for filing this....filing that...the certificates, the photos, the move....it all adds up. Read the guides here and the costs for each form. Add that to the other expenses and you should get a rough estimate. It's not cheap...but you know my sweetheart is worth that and more. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[BlueRaiderUK 0]

The fees are the worst when you get to AOS though, but hopefully you can save up during the K1 process

[motu 5]

As everyone else says it's quite a bit - I would add that either way - whether you get married now or later - all processes cost nearly the same. And things like having to travel to the consulate (hotels, airfare, taxis etc.) adds to the process. My wife's initial K1 was a little over $1000 and then the airtickets etc. to come here and me joining her etc. another $1500 and then the I485 etc. added another $500 - so it all depends on where you live and what and how you want to do. If you do plan to get married eventually - the visa fees are not that big a deal - its the other costs that are many times more. Good Luck

[journeymanvz 0]

Thank you very much for the responses. Now something adds up to the question. Would a K3 be more affordable or its relatively the same?

[slim 1,514]

K-1 application fee is $170. The paperwork (copies, photos, etc.) is going to be $10-20 or something depending on where you go. So, you can do it all yourself (including mailing it out, UPS insured for $11) for under $200.

However, there are MILLIONS!!!! of variables here. What country does she live in? You have to meet in person within the last two years, she has to go to the consulate, get a med check, etc., etc., etc. That adds up.

I would say budget would be; low-end $1500, high-end upwards of $5000 or so.

Right now I'm at about $2000 (with a two week stay in Moscow and the K-1 sent in.) and we still have to get her to the interview, then get her here. That's going to be at least another $1000 or so.

Everyone's case is different, but by no means is this process cheap. The only saving grace here is that you don't have to pay for everything at once, and if you look at it like "Well, we would've gone to dinner and a movie tonight...($60) to the amusement park tomorrow ($125) etc." then you can actually add up that money pretty quickly. Whatever you save by not going out together now, will pay for the VisaJourney. (Well, maybe!)

Good luck!!!

[zyggy 9]

Thank you very much for the responses. Now something adds up to the question. Would a K3 be more affordable or its relatively the same?

Pretty much the same as the process is pretty much the same...