Beginning the journey

[Bill-Adriana 0]

Hello,

My wife (Brazilian) and I are just beginning the visa journey and are somewhat overwhelmed at all the forms and options. Hope to count on the help of all here to sort things out.

We live in Brazil and will be filing the I-130 and associated documents in Brasilia. From what I read, as soon as the I-130 is approved, we can petition for a K-3 visa and then travel immediately to the US to await approval.

Is that correct? How long can we expect the I-130 approval to take?

One other question we have is in regards to filling out the online forms - some info doesn't fit the space. Can we pen that in?

Sorry for a long first post, but we have a lot of questions!

Thanks for your help,

Bill&Adriana

[hindocha 0]

Evening Bill and Adriana,

The story is that I130 used to take longer than K3 but now takes about the same time to process. Yes, if you want to file for K3 you will have to wait for, NOA1 from I130 and then send the K3 petition off along with the I130 NOA1 receipt.

To file either K3 or I130 (stand alone) the fee is $455.

There is no initial fee to file K3.

Whilst you file for K3 Adriana can fly back to the USA, but will have to prove strong ties to Brazil:

Employment

Housing lease

House Ownership

Any equity she may have in Brazil

This to show intent to return to Brazil and not apply for AOS (Adjustment of Status whilst resided in USA).

I130 is the superior visa cause Adriana will receive a 2 year (I think) Conditional Residence (hence naming it CR-1) Green Card. Will be able to work straight away. Will receive her SS# within 2 weeks I think. You will have to pay Sponsorship fee of $70 and Immigrant Visa fee of $400.

With K3 you will have to:

Apply for EAD (Employment Authorization Document) - $355

Apply for AOS within 2 years - $1010.00

In the long run you will be saving about $700

I was in the same boat as you, thinking wise.

We petition originally to follow the K3 route. But now are following the I130 route. This is because your London constitute told use that I130 and K3 are getting processed within 2 weeks of each other.

Adriana will obviously have to under take a medical. I don't know how much it is in Brazil, but this has to be done once NVC has assigned you a case number.

I hope my post has helped.

Best off luck Bill and Adriana

[Bill-Adriana 0]

Whilst you file for K3 Adriana can fly back to the USA, but will have to prove strong ties to Brazil:

This to show intent to return to Brazil and not apply for AOS (Adjustment of Status whilst resided in USA).

Thanks for your answer - it helped clear up my questions on the difference between the I-130 and the k-3

But now I'm confused about flying back to the US and proving ties to Brazil. We live in Brazil. I have been a permanent resident here for the last 20 years.

What we intend to do is submit the I-130 in Brazil. What I read was that after the I-130 is submitted, we could travel to the US to await the remainder of the process.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[pushbrk 12,969]

Hello,

My wife (Brazilian) and I are just beginning the visa journey and are somewhat overwhelmed at all the forms and options. Hope to count on the help of all here to sort things out.

We live in Brazil and will be filing the I-130 and associated documents in Brasilia. From what I read, as soon as the I-130 is approved, we can petition for a K-3 visa and then travel immediately to the US to await approval.

Is that correct? How long can we expect the I-130 approval to take?

One other question we have is in regards to filling out the online forms - some info doesn't fit the space. Can we pen that in?

Sorry for a long first post, but we have a lot of questions!

Thanks for your help,

Bill&Adriana

Contact the Embassy directly for questions about any forms you might submit "online" but certainly yes, you can write anything on the forms you need to write.

No, you cannot file an I-130 petition directly with a Consulate abroad and then follow it with a K3 process. The K3 isn't immediate anyway. Your fastest way to be together in the USA is to follow the DCF (Direct Consular Filing) guide and any specific instructions Brasilia gives you. That will be faster than any K3 process. Just click on the word "Guides" at the top of any page here and then ask any remaining questions in the DCF forum.

The previous reply to your post can be disregarded. The poster did not understand you were doing a direct filing in Brasilia.

[Bill-Adriana 0]

Thank you!

[rsn 135]

moving from K3 to DCF