General K1 questions

[kiwirst 39]

Hi All

I am the lucky guy who is getting sponsored by his fiance to move to the US. We sent in the I-129F approx 17th of Feb, received NOA1 on 30 March. Our application was just approved on 15th June. So now we wait for the next part.

Now for the questions =)

I have seen posts regarding how much it costs, is it true you have to have $5k in your bank at the interview? Is this in my account or my fiance's?

What does the Police Certificate actually mean? Also I have not been at my current address very long, only this year, will that matter?

How long does the process take once the NOA2 is sent out? We have seen on the letter it is 2-4 weeks for the new case number then the interview times/dates?? Very confusing this process.

How flexible is the Embassy with the interview process? Reason is in my current job I am constantly travelling for work & I need to be working for the money.

The last & biggest question is, I am from New Zealand, however I have been in the UK for 6 years now. Will this affet our application? Esp as I have had a typical London life with moving flats every year.

[Dodi 69]

Chris,

Congrats on the NOA2 approval. You're one step closer.

1st - I don't know where you've heard that you have to have $5k in your bank account, but that's not true. I don't think many of us here could pull that one off! The visa issuance fee at the interview is $350, plus about £14.20 for the courier fee, but you'll also have to pay £190 for your medical exam prior to that. As far as your Affidavit of Support from your fiance, what you'll need to do is have an original, signed I-134 from your fiance that shows that she makes the minimum required amount over the poverty line to sponsor you and to keep you from becoming a public charge. You can use the search engine on here to find the I-134 tips and poverty guidelines information, it lays out the details of that very simply for you. You have to have an ORIGINAL, so she'll need to get that together rather quickly and send it along with all of the required documentation: 2009 Tax Returns, W-2's, letter from her employer stating when she started, how much she makes, etc., and a letter from her bank stating when her account was opened, current balance, and how much was deposited and withdrawn for the past year. (Her bank may charge her a small fee for this, and sometimes it takes a week or so to get it, so she might want to request it quickly.)

2nd - Police Certificate. Since you've lived in London for five years, the best way to start that is to probably request an ACRO certificate. You can search that on here, or through Google. It's £35 and takes 10 days to receive. You will probably also need a police certificate from NZ going back to age 16, I'm not sure what their certificate costs or how you go about getting it, I'm sorry.

3rd - It usually takes a couple of weeks to get your Packet 3 from the Embassy. Since you've been living in London for so long that's where they should have you interview. You'll get instructions in the packet for how/when to schedule your medical exam at Knightsbridge. If you haven't already, check with your NHS GP about the vaccinations you might need before your AOS (probably your Tdap and MMR and Varicella if you haven't had chicken pox already) and see if you can get them prior to your Knightsbridge exam. If you can, it'll save you having to find a civil surgeon to give them to you and re-transcribe everything onto a new medical form and seal it prior to your AOS. Your interview will probably be scheduled about 3 to 5 weeks after you send in the checklist from Packet 3.

4th - They understand travel for your job. If you explain this in the interview it shouldn't be a problem. It never hurts to have documentation for things just in case, but it's doubtful you'll need it in the end.

5th - There are plenty of people who live in countries other than their birth nation. There's always a chance this will cause Administrative Processing, but it's unlikely so long as you're a documented resident of the UK in good standing and have no police violations. Nothing is guaranteed, but having documentation for everything is the key to making things go as smoothly as possible.

Breathe. You'll get through this. Congratulations and good luck!!

[BaronessHeather 0]

Dodi, I think what Chris may have been asking (and what I came on here hoping to find out about as well) is what they'll consider adequate proof of financial support. I read, in one of these endless pages of instructions and information, that you have to be able to satisfy the authorities that you can support each other financially. This is the thing my guy (who will be moving here from Scotland) and I are worried about, since well, neither of us really makes a ton of money. Do they want to see a certain amount of money in a bank account, or do they want paystubs, or what?

[pushbrk 12,978]

London is reasonably flexible in rescheduling interviews but I would do all you can to show up when first scheduled. While they're being flexible they're also expecting that you are prepared to leave your job and move to the USA to marry and live permanently. Putting them off because you have to work, can count against you as they evaluate whether your relationship is bona fide.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Dodi, I think what Chris may have been asking (and what I came on here hoping to find out about as well) is what they'll consider adequate proof of financial support. I read, in one of these endless pages of instructions and information, that you have to be able to satisfy the authorities that you can support each other financially. This is the thing my guy (who will be moving here from Scotland) and I are worried about, since well, neither of us really makes a ton of money. Do they want to see a certain amount of money in a bank account, or do they want paystubs, or what?

What they want is a guarantee that the immigrant is not going to become a public charge, and end up receiving benefits paid for by the taxpayers of the US. When your fiance eventually comes to the US, you get married, and then submit a petition for a green card, you will be required to sign a contract (the I-864) with the US government which guarantees exactly that. There are minimum financial requirements you must meet in order to qualify to make that guarantee. If you don't qualify on your own, then you'll need to have a joint sponsor who qualifies (sort of like getting a co-signer for a loan). The minimum income requirements are 125% of the federal poverty guidelines, which vary according to the size of the household. The household size include the sponsor, the immigrant, and anyone else the sponsor provides support for (as well as any other immigrants they may have sponsored).

The current poverty guidelines are published by USCIS here:

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864p.pdf

The consulate's job is to pre-screen K1 visa applicants to ensure that their sponsor will be able to meet the "public charge" requirements. They use the I-134 affidavit of support for this. The financial requirements are generally the same as the I-864, though the consulate does have discretion. Some consulates (London included) will allow a visa applicant to "self sponsor", which means they can show their own financial resources to prove that they will not become a public charge. $5000 in the bank would not be nearly enough, on it's own, for an immigrant to self sponsor. It would need to be 8 or 10 times that much. This is why most visa applicants don't self sponsor.

Money in the bank (or other assets) can be considered in lieu of income in order to meet the minimum requirements, which may be what the OP had heard about. The general rule is that assets offset a shortage in income by a ratio of 1:3, which means if your income is $1000 short of the minimum then you'd need $3000 in assets to make up the difference. The ratio is 1:5 for assets if the sponsor is not related to the immigrant (the US citizen fiancee is considered a relative for this purpose, a friend acting as a co-sponsor is not).

[kiwirst 39]

Dodi,

Thank you for explaining that a lot clearer, unfortunately the US does have a way of overcomplicating things & using tons of acronyms (I work for GE so I am well aware of this)

So I guess now I will have to get the lovely lady in question to start her side along with me getting in touch with NZ about police certs ( I wonder if my previous traffic conviction from NZ will show? 1997). Will I be able to approach the Met Police for the cert or does it have to be through your borough?

At the moment we are working as hard as we can to get a base amount of money in a joint account in the US for this reason (& the famed wedding as well) so I wonder if an original statement of that will help? I also have a number of GE shares due to me if I leave.

Thank you for the tips on where to look and what to look at, just waiting now for the packet to arrive & to really kick this thing off. Any idea on average processing time for the complete visa?

[Dodi 69]

Chris:

I'm pretty sure you could get the information from the Met on where to get your official US-accepted police certificate from NZ.

As far as the poverty guidelines go, to be more clear, for a family of two (just you and your fiance, neither of you having children), your fiance would need to prove that she makes more than $22,887 per year, according to her tax return/employer letter/pay stubs, to sponsor you or would need to get a co-sponsor. The amount of money you have in the bank at one time is helpful, but if you just put it there, it's not going to weigh as much on their decision as how much income she has coming in. Basically, if you had an emergency that depleted your savings, or if you used it for the wedding, and you had no income coming in to cover you, how would she support you?

Just FYI, most banks in the US won't put you on a joint account without a social security number, or so I've found. We tried to put my fiance on my account here on his last visit and they said they couldn't without an SSN.

You can get the Packet 3 forms online if you want to start filling them out early. London Processing info and Forms List. This link will give you the list of documents that you'll need. Visa Forms. This link will give you the forms themselves. Please note: The I-864 is for your AOS AFTER you're married. The I-134 is for the K1.

Average time for processing in London appears to be 4 to 6 weeks. Sometimes longer, sometimes shorter. According to the USCIS website, the waiting time for an appt is only 16 days, which was accurate for my fiance's B2 visitor visa in February, but I've heard people say it takes longer than that for a K1. If you have concrete travel/wedding plans you can sometimes ask them to work with you and bump it up sooner if you've got your medical planned out and everything, just be aware that it takes a week or more for them to get your medical exam results over to the embassy and they won't give final approval until they have those, even if it's tentatively approved at the interview. Here is a link to the London medical exam info London Medical Info

Again, congrats on coming this far and GOOD LUCK!!

Edited June 23, 2010 by Dodi

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

As far as the poverty guidelines go, to be more clear, for a family of two (just you and your fiance, neither of you having children), your fiance would need to prove that she makes more than $22,887 per year, according to her tax return/employer letter/pay stubs, to sponsor you or would need to get a co-sponsor. The amount of money you have in the bank at one time is helpful, but if you just put it there, it's not going to weigh as much on their decision as how much income she has coming in. Basically, if you had an emergency that depleted your savings, or if you used it for the wedding, and you had no income coming in to cover you, how would she support you?

125% of the poverty guidelines for two people is currently $18,212. I think you skipped a line and read the amount for three people.

Unless the OP is going to try to self sponsor then the consulate won't know about any money he has in his bank account. If his fiancee has money in her bank account then should could list it on the I-134, but it isn't necessary if her income alone is sufficient to qualify.

[Dodi 69]

Thank you, sorry about that. I'm at work and doing 10 things at once!

[kiwirst 39]

Thanks for the answers, they are helping ease the mind over this process.

Does anyone know if having dual citizenship affect the outcome of the decision? I am in the middle of applying for my UK citizenship & am worried it may have a bearing on the process or will it not even be worried about?

[Dodi 69]

When you say you're in the process of filing... have you filed the application or not? That could have a bearing on your visa application. That could put you into administrative processing before/after your interview. They'll want to know why you've applied for citizenship with their country but are now moving to the US. Be prepared to answer that.

[love my Nour 5]

No you don't have to have that much in your bank account. That is crazy... You will need a police report from where you are living now, and maybe from where you used to live. This is only for information regarding you have not been in any trouble with the law. It could take awhile depending on immigration. Since you got your NOA notice, that is the first step...then when you go to the Embassy for your interview, make sure they understand how much you really want to be with your fiance. My husband is from Morocco which is different than your embassy. They did not believe him about our relationship and was going to send papers back to USCIS. So beware you could get papers stating you are not approved, but do everything you can if this happens to reassure them of the love between you two. Make every effort if this does happen to stop it from going back to USCIS. I did, I called the embassy, my senator over here and had people write letters of our relationship. He is now here as of 2 years ago and we are happily married. GOOD LUCK!!!!

Hi All

I am the lucky guy who is getting sponsored by his fiance to move to the US. We sent in the I-129F approx 17th of Feb, received NOA1 on 30 March. Our application was just approved on 15th June. So now we wait for the next part.

Now for the questions =)

I have seen posts regarding how much it costs, is it true you have to have $5k in your bank at the interview? Is this in my account or my fiance's?

What does the Police Certificate actually mean? Also I have not been at my current address very long, only this year, will that matter?

How long does the process take once the NOA2 is sent out? We have seen on the letter it is 2-4 weeks for the new case number then the interview times/dates?? Very confusing this process.

How flexible is the Embassy with the interview process? Reason is in my current job I am constantly travelling for work & I need to be working for the money.

The last & biggest question is, I am from New Zealand, however I have been in the UK for 6 years now. Will this affet our application? Esp as I have had a typical London life with moving flats every year.

[kiwirst 39]

Application has been filed, however would it come through in either the interview or not? At the moment I am waiting on an approval from the UK government on whether or not I can. This has been a long term plan/goal of mine & finding the girl I want to spend the rest of my life has changed my location for life but not my plan.

[Rob and Jill 82]

If you look at my signature you will see a rough idea of how the process is moving along for us. We're running a little slow at the moment due to some paperwork issues, but that is our fault and not the Embassy.

Also, money wise, everyone tells you what you have to have for the visa etc etc., but a lot of people forget to say when you file your Adjustment of Status you have to pay around another $1,100. That amount should be mailed in pretty soon after your marriage.