total $ expense to complete K-1 -

[TCC 0]

i need to know total amount of dollars i will need {minus airfare} to complete K1 visa to my girl from the Philippines who will come to the states. I know all the forms i need to fill out for me and her but get confused on the amount i need to complete these forms including the medical she must take. Please help!!

[familyguy 2]

i need to know total amount of dollars i will need {minus airfare} to complete K1 visa to my girl from the Philippines who will come to the states. I know all the forms i need to fill out for me and her but get confused on the amount i need to complete these forms including the medical she must take. Please help!!

With no lawyer around $2,000 will not be far from the total.

[Minya's wife 24]

Your total will differ (and the difference could be significant) from country to country. Even w/in the same country...the amount needed is based upon your specific circumstances.

As a general guide, the following will incur fees:

* Filing an Alien Fiancé(e) Petition, Form I-129F - $455

* Nonimmigrant visa application processing fee - $131

* Medical examination (costs vary from post to post) - $100-$200 (could be more/less)

* Other costs may include translation and photocopying charges, fees for getting the documents required for the visa application (such as passport, police certificates, birth certificates, etc.), and expenses for travel to the embassy or consulate for an interview. Costs vary from country to country and case to case.

* Filing Form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status - $1010 (if filed only for applicant....the fee increases if there are kids as well)

Some fees will are the same, like the fee to file the I-129F ($455) and the visa fee (

[pushbrk 12,106]

i need to know total amount of dollars i will need {minus airfare} to complete K1 visa to my girl from the Philippines who will come to the states. I know all the forms i need to fill out for me and her but get confused on the amount i need to complete these forms including the medical she must take. Please help!!

Budget about $300 for the medical. The government fees and when they are paid, filing to visa to green card through removal of conditions are layed out well here. http://www.fianceandspousevisa.com/FEES.html

[D&R 0]

i need to know total amount of dollars i will need {minus airfare} to complete K1 visa to my girl from the Philippines who will come to the states. I know all the forms i need to fill out for me and her but get confused on the amount i need to complete these forms including the medical she must take. Please help!!

With no lawyer around $2,000 will not be far from the total.

Yep, I was about to say around the 2k mark as well That's what I'm saving up before I even start anyway... anything else is a bonus (or goes towards a big truck when I arrive in the US )

[MikeInWyoming 2]

i need to know total amount of dollars i will need {minus airfare} to complete K1 visa to my girl from the Philippines who will come to the states. I know all the forms i need to fill out for me and her but get confused on the amount i need to complete these forms including the medical she must take. Please help!!

With no lawyer around $2,000 will not be far from the total.

Hummm... that is deceptive and fundamentally flawed. First let's look at the direct and related costs. I will use my experience in the Philippines only as hopefully representative.

The I-129F filing does cost $445.00 plus shipping costs. But there is the cost of collecting the documents and proofs required in the I-129F. So let's start there. The original post says "his girl from the Philippines" and asks for all minus airfare. Has he met her in the last two years? He needs documentation. Are we to deduct airfare from this... OK. but there are the hotel or related bills for the trips. Plus the proof that he has been providing her support. And then there is the cost of gathering all the PI based documents. Does she still live on the Island she was born on? If not some travel me be required! Has she been married in the past? You will need copies of the annotated marriage contract for the annulment. If she has never been married she needs a form saying so from the NSO. She needs multiple copies of the NBI (with aka's if she has been married - and getting the aka's listed is not easy to get). She will need a police clearance, her birth certificate, proof of correspondence (postal mail the embassy is fussy about that) and all the other things... how must did it cost you to connect that? How fast did you need it. Pay fixer's and it is fast - know the ropes and act as your own fixer and it is still expensive but fast. Go through the standard channels and it takes months and still is not free. If there is an annulment and related paperwork... you may find that all necessary papers have never been filed. That can take many thousands of pesos and months still. :-) And remember she has to get all this from the PI to you in the US - so there are shipping costs.

And of course you need your paperwork. That is cheaper and easier - but not free,

So saying $445 to file the I-129F is accurate and not true.

Then there is the $131 for the GF. (Does she have a child? Because each child will cost an additional $131.) But the $131 can only be paid in Philippine Pesos. How are you going to get your GF the money? Western Union? LBC? RemitHome? All will charge you a service fee. All have exchange rates unfavorable to you (between 45 to 47.5. And your GF must pay at the Banco de Oro (BDO) where they convert back at an exchange rate of 50 to 1. Your $131 will probably cost you about $170 or more.

Then there is the payment at St. Luke's - same deal as to exchange rate and it must be paid in Pesos even thogh the cost is stated in US dollars. So $285.35 becomes $335 in a heartbeat and that is only if she does not need another appointment. Remember children add more. Oh and the one passport photo you need of her at St. Luke's (according to the Embassy website?) That's BS. You will need four (4) and and what do you know - there is a photo place accross the street - at a higher price - come prepared and save your money.

Unless she lives in Makati - she has travel expenses which can be great.

I will not list the cost of airfare - but assuming two or three trips by you and one for her (and her child?) - that's not insignificant.

Yes the last fee is $1010 to file for the AOS once you are married. But you also travel to the Biometrics and possible the interview... maybe a long way with lodging.

Bottom line is that the 445+170+335+1010=1960 is just the tip of the iceberg. Good luck.

[pushbrk 12,106]

Yes the last fee is $1010 to file for the AOS once you are married. But you also travel to the Biometrics and possible the interview... maybe a long way with lodging.

Bottom line is that the 445+170+335+1010=1960 is just the tip of the iceberg. Good luck.

Correction. The last fee, filing to permanent resident status is the removal of conditions fee.

[MikeInWyoming 2]

Yes the last fee is $1010 to file for the AOS once you are married. But you also travel to the Biometrics and possible the interview... maybe a long way with lodging.

Bottom line is that the 445+170+335+1010=1960 is just the tip of the iceberg. Good luck.

Correction. The last fee, filing to permanent resident status is the removal of conditions fee.

You are right... but that comes 21 months after the initial green card. Sort of a separate event. :-)

[pushbrk 12,106]

Yes the last fee is $1010 to file for the AOS once you are married. But you also travel to the Biometrics and possible the interview... maybe a long way with lodging.

Bottom line is that the 445+170+335+1010=1960 is just the tip of the iceberg. Good luck.

Correction. The last fee, filing to permanent resident status is the removal of conditions fee.

You are right... but that comes 21 months after the initial green card. Sort of a separate event. :-)

Sure, but AOS is a separate event too. Neither is "optional". Citizenship is optional.

[MikeInWyoming 2]

Yes the last fee is $1010 to file for the AOS once you are married. But you also travel to the Biometrics and possible the interview... maybe a long way with lodging.

Bottom line is that the 445+170+335+1010=1960 is just the tip of the iceberg. Good luck.

Correction. The last fee, filing to permanent resident status is the removal of conditions fee.

You are right... but that comes 21 months after the initial green card. Sort of a separate event. :-)

Sure, but AOS is a separate event too. Neither is "optional". Citizenship is optional.

Good point - but I assume that at the end of the ten years there is more to file... so where to we put the stake in the ground?

[pushbrk 12,106]

Yes the last fee is $1010 to file for the AOS once you are married. But you also travel to the Biometrics and possible the interview... maybe a long way with lodging.

Bottom line is that the 445+170+335+1010=1960 is just the tip of the iceberg. Good luck.

Correction. The last fee, filing to permanent resident status is the removal of conditions fee.

You are right... but that comes 21 months after the initial green card. Sort of a separate event. :-)

Sure, but AOS is a separate event too. Neither is "optional". Citizenship is optional.

Good point - but I assume that at the end of the ten years there is more to file... so where to we put the stake in the ground?

There's more to file but it's simply a renewal of a card, like renewing a driver license or passport but with a bigger fee. It doesn't apply to those who go the citizenship route so it to is the result of having exercised an "option". The fiance visa, to conditional status to full LPR status is a package deal for those who stay married and stay in the USA. After that, there are options.

[Aubrey 10]

Our K-1 alone cost us about $1000 (including transportation costs to the interview). The AOS fee ($1010) plus mailing fees plus the likely possibility they lose your medical and you have to redo it, etc, removing conditions a year later... I'd say budget for $3000 plus the lost income from your SO not being allowed to work for 3-6 months in the USA, depending on when you get married and file.

[Azzudiin 26]

Aubrey makes a great point, planning on just the fees to government would be a mistake. Once your SO is here they cannot work for a few months and you will be paying all the bills.

If you are starting this process, make sure you plan on many things from travel expenses to things your SO will need once here. Example mine will need almost an entire new wardrobe because she lives in a warm climate and is coming to a cold climate. She does not even own a winter coat at the moment.

The process is not cheap, dont jump in and be over your head right from the start, that just puts unnecessary strain on a relationship. Get your finances in order then make the leap, if you and your SO are in love, a few more months to plan carefully will not be problem.