bankruptcy

[maggiemax 0]

Hello and please excuse me if this has already been addressed, but i am new and using my fiancee's account. We are ready to file for our K-1. My finances are not good, but i think i can squeeze by. My problem is that i need to file for bankruptcy, but am afraid that it will ruin my chances for her visa. The longer i hold off filing the longer i have to wait to put all this behind me. I own my home (mortgaged, but with some equity) and this will not be affected by the bankruptcy. My questions is, should i wait to file until we get the K-1 and get her to the states and get married? Common sense tells me yes, but my 'common' sense is what got me in trouble to begin with lol. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, while i am here.......i have been living abroad with my fiancee for the last year with no work, living off my savings. I have work promised as soon as we move back to the states when we get the K-1......this is another hurdle that is before me. Any advice in this matter would be of immense help as well. I am from the US and my fiancee is Filipina and we are both living in Costa Rica at this time........if this makes any difference at all.

Sincerest best wishes for all,

Craig n Agnes

[Dakine 26]

Hello and please excuse me if this has already been addressed, but i am new and using my fiancee's account. We are ready to file for our K-1. My finances are not good, but i think i can squeeze by. My problem is that i need to file for bankruptcy, but am afraid that it will ruin my chances for her visa. The longer i hold off filing the longer i have to wait to put all this behind me. I own my home (mortgaged, but with some equity) and this will not be affected by the bankruptcy. My questions is, should i wait to file until we get the K-1 and get her to the states and get married? Common sense tells me yes, but my 'common' sense is what got me in trouble to begin with lol. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, while i am here.......i have been living abroad with my fiancee for the last year with no work, living off my savings. I have work promised as soon as we move back to the states when we get the K-1......this is another hurdle that is before me. Any advice in this matter would be of immense help as well. I am from the US and my fiancee is Filipina and we are both living in Costa Rica at this time........if this makes any difference at all.

Sincerest best wishes for all,

Craig n Agnes

You not only have to qualify financially at the embassy interview but when she adjusts status after you guys are married in the US. We're talking about probably over a year before you would also have to qualify to adjust status.

Bankruptcy won't affect anything as long as you qualify finacially.

Question. How did your fiancee get to Costa Rica? Does she qualify for a US tourist visa?

Edited April 14, 2010 by Dakine

[az110965 252]

Hello Craig.

First of all, welcome to VJ. Now down to brass tacks...

Bankruptcy has no bearing on the approval or denial of a I-129F petition or ultimately the K-1 visa but your lack of current employment DOES. The Consulate doesn't care about your credit rating or how yopu pay your bills, but he does care about your ability to support your fiancee/wife.

In order to be approved at the Embassy interview you either need to be employed and making 125% of the federal povery level OR have significant financial holdings that are provable. Equity in your home alone won't sufice, teh Consulate is looking for stocks, bonds, insurance with a cash surrender value, savings accounts, etc...

You'll need a co-sponsor who's willing to assume the 10 year risk of your fiancee not becoming a public charge to get past the embassy interview or no-go.

The best advice I can offer is to return home, START your new job and start earning provable income along with a letter from your employer stating position, starting date with the company and annual earnings. The Consulate looks at current earnings the hardest but they also request the past year or two tax returns with w-2's and recent pay stubs.

After starting your job, file the k-1 and you'll be best able to get past the interview without the need of a co-sponsor.

Good luck,

Alan

P.S. The Embassy in San Jose is one of the easier Embasssies to get a K-1 approved but the Consulate will still require you meet the minimum income standards.

[az110965 252]

Duplicate posts aren't required, we'll answer you if you give us a moment. See your first post for responses.

Mod - please delete this duplicate post or merge into one if OP gets additonal responses on this thread.

Alan

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Duplicate thread moved from CR-1 forum to Consulate forum and merged with existing thread in Consulate forum. Duplicate post removed

[maggiemax 0]

You not only have to qualify financially at the embassy interview but when she adjusts status after you guys are married in the US. We're talking about probably over a year before you would also have to qualify to adjust status.

Bankruptcy won't affect anything as long as you qualify finacially.

Question. How did your fiancee get to Costa Rica? Does she qualify for a US tourist visa?

Wow....thanks for such a quick responses. She came to CR on a tourist visa to meet me and to live together to make sure we wanted to get married. We have lived together here for a year now and are sure of each other. She is not planning on going back to the Phils. I don't really know if she can get a tourist visa to the US because the Philppine Consulate closed down in Cosa Rica last year and the closest is in Mexico. Even so, she is concerned she may not qualify. We were told we can file from here (Costa Rica), but i know that our main problem is financial at this point. I am figuring that once we get married in the US and i go back to work that by the time we file for change of status or adjustment, i should be okay financially. My father has agreed to co-sponsor if needed, but i hope i do not have to go that route. I am hoping to repair my finances within the first year of being back stateside.

As far as going back to the states and getting a job before filing for K-1, we don't want to be separated and she does not want to stay here in Costa Rica alone or go back to the Philippines without me. It seems to me that i am putting the cart before the horse, but am hoping for some kind of break i guess. I may be able to have my future employer write me a letter of employment and put money thru my bank account until i can get back stateside, but don't know how in depth the employment check is. I could be considered a consultant so as to explain my being here in Costa Rica, but getting paid in the US. I'm grasping at straws now i think.

[az110965 252]

"I may be able to have my future employer write me a letter of employment and put money thru my bank account until i can get back stateside, but don't know how in depth the employment check is. I could be considered a consultant so as to explain my being here in Costa Rica, but getting paid in the US. I'm grasping at straws now i think."

Craig,

A letter from a future employer will carry no weight at all with the Consulate at the interview, Consulates only consider CURRENT income (and in some cases past income). The only time I'm aware of that a Consulate will take into account future earnings is in the case of very recent college grads who previously wouldn't have qualified income wise, based upon their ability to earn a better living with their degree.

The next thing I'll caution you about is when your stated that you don't know how in depth the employment check is, and perhaps you would funnel some funds through your account. Consulates at their discretion may contact employers on the phone to inquire as to a petitioner's employment status and if the Consulate even has an inkling that you're being less than fourthright you'll be denied for material misrepresentation of the petition, resulting in your fiancee possibly being PERMANANTLY barred from entry to the USA.

It's been said many, many times here on VJ - don't embellish, don't stretch the truth and never ever outright lie. The Consulate hs the ability to place you into administrative processing at the time of the interview to verify anyting he feels the need to. My philosphy is not to screw with the guy who could ruin my life.

If your Dad is a willing co-sponsor, this is your best chance for success. I realize that you don't want to be seperated from your fiancee but returning to the USA to get your job is teh most prudent course of action. None of us wanted to be seperated from the people we love, but in retrospect the time apart is minor compared to the time we'll be together in the future.

Alan

[maggiemax 0]

Wow....thanks for such a quick responses. She came to CR on a tourist visa to meet me and to live together to make sure we wanted to get married. We have lived together here for a year now and are sure of each other. She is not planning on going back to the Phils. I don't really know if she can get a tourist visa to the US because the Philppine Consulate closed down in Cosa Rica last year and the closest is in Mexico. Even so, she is concerned she may not qualify. We were told we can file from here (Costa Rica), but i know that our main problem is financial at this point. I am figuring that once we get married in the US and i go back to work that by the time we file for change of status or adjustment, i should be okay financially. My father has agreed to co-sponsor if needed, but i hope i do not have to go that route. I am hoping to repair my finances within the first year of being back stateside.

As far as going back to the states and getting a job before filing for K-1, we don't want to be separated and she does not want to stay here in Costa Rica alone or go back to the Philippines without me. It seems to me that i am putting the cart before the horse, but am hoping for some kind of break i guess. I may be able to have my future employer write me a letter of employment and put money thru my bank account until i can get back stateside, but don't know how in depth the employment check is. I could be considered a consultant so as to explain my being here in Costa Rica, but getting paid in the US. I'm grasping at straws now i think.

Thanks Alan. Excuse my thought process.

[Dakine 26]

Thanks Alan. Excuse my thought process.

For one it's best if you have pops sponsor you guys.

Philippine consulate doesn't come into play at all.

She will have her interview at the US consulate/embassy in CR.

You will have to establish domicile in the US like a residence, mailing address, phone number etc.

It "may" be better to marry and do a CR-1.

Check into a DCF [Direct Consular Filing]. I DON'T know if that's an option for you guys tho.

It would be GREAT if it was.

Maybe someone else here will know.

Edited April 14, 2010 by Dakine

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

For one it's best if you have pops sponsor you guys.

Philippine consulate doesn't come into play at all.

She will have her interview at the US consulate/embassy in CR.

You will have to establish domicile in the US like a residence, mailing address, phone number etc.

It "may" be better to marry and do a CR-1.

Check into a DCF [Direct Consular Filing]. I DON'T know if that's an option for you guys tho.

It would be GREAT if it was.

Maybe someone else here will know.

Domicile in the US is not required for a K1. It IS required for a CR1 though. Specifically, it's the I-864 affidavit of support that requires it. This is the aspect of a DCF that hangs up a lot of people who have been living outside the US for an extended period of time.

[maggiemax 0]

Thanks for all of the replies. I don't have problem proving a Domicile in both countries (Costa Rica and US). I have a house, car and receive all my bills in US and I have a corporation (not active), a car, apartment, utility bills for two years here in Costa Rica. My fiancee and I lived here together in Costa Rica for over a year. If we get married here, Are we qualified for the DCF? I don't understand how the DCF/CR-1 works. Neither of us have residency in Costa Rica. We moved here to see if we liked it enough to live here and we never filed for residency,because we were never sure. Now we decided to get married and want to go back to the states to live. The DCF states that as long as I have resided outside the US for 6 months or more as 'legal residents' i qualify as the petitioner... it is the 'legal resident' thing confuses me. Legally i must leave Costa Rica every three months for 72 hours, which i have done for the last two years, do same with my fiancee for over a year. thanks for any advice.