Hi, im new here.

[brandonsgirl 0]

Hello everyone,

Just thought i would introduce myself, my name is Jemma and im british. I have been engaged to my American fiance for over a year now.

We have a infant son together and have been looking into which visa will be best for us for some time now. In order for my Fiance to come over to join us in England i would have to be 21 and im not so we cant do it that way. Even though since we are engaged and have a baby together you think there would be a visa avaliable.

So we are looking into My son and I joining him over there (in america) and the only way we can find is the Fiance visa. But im wondering if anyone has done the process themselves without the use of a lawyer?

I have spoken to a couple of lawyers but they would charge so much with the fee's and have seen the process broken down step by step on the internet and it seems pretty much straight forward.

Here is the link of the page i saw.... http://usimmigration.visapro.com/K1-Fiance-Visa.asp

Does anyone have any advice?

After sending off the petition for the K1, how quick roughly does it take to get approved so we can get the actual visa processing..

Can i stay in america with my fiance whilst the visa is processing or no?

Any help and advice will help

Thankyou in advance

[az110965 252]

Welcome to VJ. If you take the time to read the guides and do some research you'll feel better about the K-1 process...

That being said. Many of us (the vast majority) have prepared and filed our I-129F petitions on our own and have had no problems with it. The consensous is that normal cases don't require lawyers who, typically, take the information you provide them with and fill out the paperwork for you (at a huge cost).

Even though you have an infant child together your case does not appear at first glance any more intense than a typical K-1 visa. Expect 3-6 months approval times from the USCIS, then an additional 1-2 months until your visa interview at the American Embassy located in your country.

In the meantime, ask questions after you've read the guides and we'll help all we can.

Best of luck,

Alan

[brandonsgirl 0]

Thankyou for you reply..

We have researched and looked at so many different visa processes and types of visas and it is deffinatly a one way ticket to a headache lol.

By the looks of it the only avaliable visa to us is the Fiance visa in which our son and I go over to America. As we cant find a visa in order for my fiance to come over to UK.

I will look at the guides and see if the can help de-confuse me lol.

What does NOA1 mean? If you dont mind me asking..

[~Johnny~ 27]

Thankyou for you reply..

We have researched and looked at so many different visa processes and types of visas and it is deffinatly a one way ticket to a headache lol.

By the looks of it the only avaliable visa to us is the Fiance visa in which our son and I go over to America. As we cant find a visa in order for my fiance to come over to UK.

I will look at the guides and see if the can help de-confuse me lol.

What does NOA1 mean? If you dont mind me asking..

Hi Brandonsgirl, Welcome to VJ. Alan gave you some sound advice. An NOA is Notice of Action. It's really just an official form used by the USCIS. A good thing I'd suggest you do is read the guides and become familiar with things work.

Try here

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1guide

And here's a flowchart of how things work.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...amp;page=k1flow

Good luck.

Edited March 13, 2010 by ~Johnny~

[brandonsgirl 0]

Thankyou, Yeah i have been looking at the links you gave me. All very informative.

Have you done the process all yourself or have you used the help of a lawyer?

Were hoping to do it all ourself but really dont want to miss/forget anything as we know that it can delay the process if we do.

Its still the K1 that we need to apply for right? For me and our son? Or is it the k2. Im so confused about which one applies.

[~Johnny~ 27]

Thankyou, Yeah i have been looking at the links you gave me. All very informative.

Have you done the process all yourself or have you used the help of a lawyer?

Were hoping to do it all ourself but really dont want to miss/forget anything as we know that it can delay the process if we do.

Its still the K1 that we need to apply for right? For me and our son? Or is it the k2. Im so confused about which one applies.

K1 for you, K2 for your child. Most folks here on VJ have done the process themselves. If you're comfortable reading, and following instructions, and you don't have any unusual issues then typically a lawyer is not needed. It really depends on your comfort level and how much "patience" you have...

[brandonsgirl 0]

Lol. There is a bit in the K1 where you put the children you have. I thought that was all you had to do.

Just when i think ive gotten the hang of what i need to send and what information i need to provide something else pops up lol.

I do however have an appointment this month at the U.S Embassy here in London to get our son registerd with them as he is 1/2 american. Im sure they will be able to give me some advise aswell.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

If you are good at paying attention to details and filling out forms you should have no problems doing the K-1 visa process on your own. Read as much information as you can, including reading over all of the forms themselves. You will need to obtain certain documents to present at different stages of the process and knowing about them beforehand will mean you won't have to wait to get them later.

Basically, the US citizen starts the process by filing an I-129f petition requesting permission for his fiancee to apply to come to the US on a K-1 visa. He will receive a receipt - called an NOA1- that will have a case number on it. When the I-129f petition is approved he will receive another receipt -NOA2 - stating it has been approved and forwarded to the US Consulate in your country that does K-1 visas. You will then receive a letter from the Consulate telling you that they have received an approved petition and inviting you to file for the K-1 visa. They will send you all of the information and forms you need and tell you other things you need to do (immigration medical exam, police security checks, things like that). When you are ready, they will schedule you an interview. At the interview they will decide if they will issue the visa (almost definitely they will) and put the visa in your passport. Then you will have 6 months time in which to use the visa to move to the US. Once you move to the US you need to get married within 90 days and then file to become a permanent resident (called 'adjusting status' or AOS') - which means getting permission to stay in the US to live and to work. While you are waiting for this permission (known as getting a 'green card') you can also apply for permission to work and to travel outside of the US. One important thing you should know now - your US partner needs to 'sponsor' you by entering a contract with the Government called an Affidavit of Support. This means that he needs to earn at least 125% of the poverty guidelines for 3 people - or else have a US co-sponsor who does meet this income level.

Regarding your son, if your US fiance is the father of your son, then your son is already a US citizen - derived through his father's citizenship - and does not need a visa. He needs proof that he is a US citizen and will then get his own US passport and be allowed to enter and live in the US as a citizen. Your son's father needs to obtain this proof by applying for a Consular Birth Abroad at the closest US Consulate or Embassy, which will 'register' your son's birth as a US citizen. That will make the paperwork a lot easier for you as you will only need to pursue the K-1 visa and not the K-2 as well.

Here is the information about registering your son for the Consular Birth Abroad documentation: http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/get/f.../first_828.html

Good luck - and don't be afraid to ask questions - the only dumb question is the one that wasn't asked and needed to be .

[brandonsgirl 0]

Kathryn41 - Thankyou so much for all the information and advice. You really helped.

My Fiance is the father to my son and we already have an appointment to get him in at the U.S embassy here in london.

My fiance is currently here in the UK with me on holiday and we want to send off the K1 ASAP... We were going to fill it out over here and post it to where it needs to go in America. Does it matter that it will be postage stamped from here? Does it have to be mailed from america?

I really just want to get the process started asap.

Thankyou again, you really helped.

[raymaga 25]

Welcome to VJ!!! You will find a lot of very helpful people here as well as a lot of information in the "Guides" and "Visa FAQ's" sections.

Most of us (myself included) did NOT use a lawyer. The process is completely doable by yourself and you will save a lot of money as well as a lot of headache because some people have claimed that the lawyer just messed up their paperwork and then it took them longer to get back on track again.

Keep us posted as to your progress.

Good luck.

[~Johnny~ 27]

Regarding your son, if your US fiance is the father of your son, then your son is already a US citizen - derived through his father's citizenship - and does not need a visa. He needs proof that he is a US citizen and will then get his own US passport and be allowed to enter and live in the US as a citizen. Your son's father needs to obtain this proof by applying for a Consular Birth Abroad at the closest US Consulate or Embassy, which will 'register' your son's birth as a US citizen. That will make the paperwork a lot easier for you as you will only need to pursue the K-1 visa and not the K-2 as well.

Good luck - and don't be afraid to ask questions - the only dumb question is the one that wasn't asked and needed to be .

Thanks for that clarification! I wasn't sure since the child was born out of country.

Edited March 13, 2010 by ~Johnny~

[brandonsgirl 0]

Thanks guys

Yeah i think we will do it ourselves then. Reading through things it seems pretty straight forward. Getting the stuff together and sending it off will be easy enough. Its going to be the waiting that will suck. The thought of being away from my fiance again is going to suck but needs must.

Thanks everyone for being so helpful.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Kathryn41 - Thankyou so much for all the information and advice. You really helped.

My Fiance is the father to my son and we already have an appointment to get him in at the U.S embassy here in london.

My fiance is currently here in the UK with me on holiday and we want to send off the K1 ASAP... We were going to fill it out over here and post it to where it needs to go in America. Does it matter that it will be postage stamped from here? Does it have to be mailed from america?

I really just want to get the process started asap.

Thankyou again, you really helped.

You're welcome . How nice that your fiance is with you now and you are able to take care of your son's CRBA (Consular Report of Birth Abroad) right away.

Certainly you can complete and post the I-129f package from England - it doesn't have to be mailed from within the US. It does require your fiance to be living in the US - which he is - and to have a US address because that is where his NOA1 (receipt) will be mailed. While I highly doubt anyone will ever say anything to you about it being mailed from GB, it is no problem to say you completed it together while he was visiting you and posted it from overseas.

I can appreciate you wanting to get this started right away. Even though you will be apart during much of the processing (except for visits) it helps to think of the separation as short term pain for long term gain, and speaking from experience, the frustration and disappointment of being apart does fade away and loses its sting once you are together permanently.

Good luck.

Edited March 13, 2010 by Kathryn41