Transferring money...what's the best way visa wise?

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

When my Fiancee comes here will she have to pay taxes on any money brought into the country?

No taxes are charged by the IRS for her money. Anything over $10,000 is reported to the government for informational purposes. If it's brought on the plane, it's reported to customs. If it's wire transfered, it's reported by the receiving bank.

[bigdog 377]

I would wire money if needed period.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

No receipts AREN'T good proof of an ongoing relationship. They sometimes help but they often hurt.. especially in high fraud countries. As others have said, it can look like someone is "buying" their visa, or it can look like someone is "buying" a wife. Neither of those are good things. It's always better not to inform USCIS of monetary transfers except for bdays and other events.

Money receipts are absolutely an accepted way of showing ongoing relationship and approved by the USICS..

lease also send her proof of relationship. This is very important. Send copies of all emails, chats and messages to show evidence of your true love. Send actual copies of the emails,etc. not a list from in box. Also send copies of cards, letters, phone records, receipts of money sent, receipt from engagement ring, ticket stubs/itineraries from subsequent trips and pictures together.

Straight from USICS and my Lawyer. Also all of my friends who are married to women that came over on either K-1 or K-3 Visa had them as evidence.

[CharlesR 4]

Money receipts are absolutely an accepted way of showing ongoing relationship and approved by the USICS..

lease also send her proof of relationship. This is very important. Send copies of all emails, chats and messages to show evidence of your true love. Send actual copies of the emails,etc. not a list from in box. Also send copies of cards, letters, phone records, receipts of money sent, receipt from engagement ring, ticket stubs/itineraries from subsequent trips and pictures together.

Straight from USICS and my Lawyer. Also all of my friends who are married to women that came over on either K-1 or K-3 Visa had them as evidence.

Agree, and done the same. If you have it, send it. Build on it while your waiting for the interview and throw the rest at them when he/she gets there.

[skylane 6]

American Express PrePaid is by far the best.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Money receipts are absolutely an accepted way of showing ongoing relationship and approved by the USICS..

lease also send her proof of relationship. This is very important. Send copies of all emails, chats and messages to show evidence of your true love. Send actual copies of the emails,etc. not a list from in box. Also send copies of cards, letters, phone records, receipts of money sent, receipt from engagement ring, ticket stubs/itineraries from subsequent trips and pictures together.

Straight from USICS and my Lawyer. Also all of my friends who are married to women that came over on either K-1 or K-3 Visa had them as evidence.

You're completely misreading the rest of my post. In MANY high-fraud countries they are very very bad. I'm not saying they aren't good in some cases (I said special events and birthdays), and great they worked for you, but they also don't work for some people.

Here's a few threads asking the same question:

- http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/282542-can-i-use-money-transfer-receipt-as-evidence-in-k1-visa/

- http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/330972-will-money-transfer-receipt-will-lead-me-to-refusal-on-k-1/

- http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/324739-western-union-receipts/ (this one shows me the Philippine embassy has added it as good proof of relationship).

It is also customary when quoting something link your source. Please link where you got the above bolded part.

I wouldn't say that JUST because the Philippine embassy agrees with it that it's right. It's okay for that embassy (probably because income is so low there) but the REALITY is in SOME consulates it can be an indicator of fraud... I personally wouldn't have let my husband (then fiance) pay me to quit my job... that's a little odd and would make me feel like a bought woman. Working helps distract you from the waiting time anyway... even though I HATED the job I was doing before I left.

**Edit - also, don't blindly follow your lawyer. Some lawyers aren't worth the money you pay for them.

Edited September 25, 2011 by Vanessa&Tony

[JimVaPhuong 4,864]

Straight from USICS and my Lawyer.

You want to tell me where USCIS has ever said anything about money transfer receipts? In fact, where has USCIS ever said they want "proof of relationship"? Proof of a relationship is not relevant for approving a fiancee visa petition. USCIS only requires proof that you've met within the past two years. Anything else you send is frontloading for the consulate. That also means that it's going to depend on the consulate whether or not it's good evidence.

I've seen this evidence work both ways at the consulate in Saigon. I saw one case where the petitioner was introduced to the beneficiary by a relative of the beneficiary's who lived in the US (that's considered a red flag at that consulate). The petitioner barely had enough income to qualify as a sponsor. The beneficiary produced receipts for monthly remittances from the petitioner. The consulate concluded that the relationship was a sham for immigration purposes. They concluded that the petitioner could not have afforded those monthly remittances on their income, and they were probably getting the money from the beneficiary's family in the US in order to help manufacture evidence for the interview. The "mail order bride" scenario never comes up in Vietnam. There is an abundance of beautiful young girls there who would jump at the chance to get a visa to the US. If somebody were looking for a "mail order bride" then they wouldn't have any trouble finding one without having to pay anyone.

The scenario where the beneficiary's family is working behind the scenes the help the beneficiary immigrate is common in east Asia, but not as common in other parts of the world. Regular remittances in some African countries might be seen as an indication that the petitioner is being manipulated to support a ghost family that's waiting in the wings for the beneficiary to help them immigrate to the US. In some former Soviet Union states it might be seen as evidence that the beneficiary is a gold digger, though in those situations the beneficiary usually drops the relationship and moves on to greener pastures without ever actually applying for a visa.

The only way to know for sure is to know the totality of the circumstances for the petitioner and beneficiary, and to know how that particular consulate views evidence of money transfers under those specific circumstances. In many cases, the best advice is to keep the evidence but don't present it unless it's specifically asked for.

[Rufus2012 175]

I added a joint account to my bank account, got my fiance an ATM/debit card in her name and sent it to her, after confirming it works. Her withdrawals are trivial amounts, mostly to pay for driving lessons and the eventual visa fee when it comes time to deal with the embassy. I suppose a CO looking for trouble could raise a red flag, but really, anyone looking at the amounts and giving it more than a moment's thought would realize this was just a convenience for both of us.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I don't know about K1 or out of US financial implications but what of a spouse of a USC in the US not working and have established financial joint account?. Would that be construed as paying for AOS? It wasn't in my case and I think its cant be in your case. It is just how you explain your current situations. If you are in your country of origin then why aren't you working so a USC has to send you money or vice versa.....just logically think of the interview and the implications. Be genuine and all will go well....

Joint accounts are diserable for AOS.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Money receipts are absolutely an accepted way of showing ongoing relationship and approved by the USICS..

lease also send her proof of relationship. This is very important. Send copies of all emails, chats and messages to show evidence of your true love. Send actual copies of the emails,etc. not a list from in box. Also send copies of cards, letters, phone records, receipts of money sent, receipt from engagement ring, ticket stubs/itineraries from subsequent trips and pictures together.

Straight from USICS and my Lawyer. Also all of my friends who are married to women that came over on either K-1 or K-3 Visa had them as evidence.

USCIS has nothing to do with issuing visas. And your lawyer is wrong. Big surprise. There have been many visas denied for "not sufficient evidence" and transfers of money are most definitely a red flag in some consulates.

I suggest you start be choosing a lawyer that knows who issues visas. It is done by the Department of State and they have a very wide latitude on decisions.

[Juan & Nan 12]

So, I know I've read on here to be careful about wiring money from the beneficiary to the petitioner during the visa process, as it will cause red flags...so what is the best way for my fiance to get his funds moved to my account? We want to have a shared bank account, however, my bank said if he brought it all over in pounds it could take 3-4 weeks for them to process it if it was a large amount. So, they suggested he wire it right before the move.

Thoughts, suggestions or ideas on what the best way to do this is without causing a huge red flag would be great

I am not sure, why that would be a red flag. In fact, during our K-1 process, I transfered funds to my fiance via bank wire transfer and I submitted that information with my package. We had not red flags, no RFE's , and no questions rised.

[Brian121957 43]

When I looked in to using Paypal to send money to the Phillipeans they did not charge a fee is true but there exchange rate was not good. I found it better over all to use use xoom.com. There fee was modest and they are very fast. It was longer to do a bank deposit but to send for personal pickup takes about 4 mins.

As far as paying my fiancee to quit her job. I did eventualy do that. She ran her own business selling barbeque chicken and pork. Her daily net was about $3 usd. I was concerned about the constant smoke affecting her health befor the medical exam. So a few months befor the exam we agree it was best to stop and I sent her funds.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

When I looked in to using Paypal to send money to the Phillipeans they did not charge a fee is true but there exchange rate was not good. I found it better over all to use use xoom.com. There fee was modest and they are very fast. It was longer to do a bank deposit but to send for personal pickup takes about 4 mins.

As far as paying my fiancee to quit her job. I did eventualy do that. She ran her own business selling barbeque chicken and pork. Her daily net was about $3 usd. I was concerned about the constant smoke affecting her health befor the medical exam. So a few months befor the exam we agree it was best to stop and I sent her funds.

Bar B Que smoke is good for you.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

When I looked in to using Paypal to send money to the Phillipeans they did not charge a fee is true but there exchange rate was not good. I found it better over all to use use xoom.com. There fee was modest and they are very fast. It was longer to do a bank deposit but to send for personal pickup takes about 4 mins.

As far as paying my fiancee to quit her job. I did eventualy do that. She ran her own business selling barbeque chicken and pork. Her daily net was about $3 usd. I was concerned about the constant smoke affecting her health befor the medical exam. So a few months befor the exam we agree it was best to stop and I sent her funds.

The exchange rate isn't good on paypal? Every single time I've transferred it uses the current exchange rate.. so I'm not sure how long ago you tried.. maybe things have changed since.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

USCIS has nothing to do with issuing visas. And your lawyer is wrong. Big surprise. There have been many visas denied for "not sufficient evidence" and transfers of money are most definitely a red flag in some consulates.

I suggest you start be choosing a lawyer that knows who issues visas. It is done by the Department of State and they have a very wide latitude on decisions.

USCIS has nothing to do with Visa ?. I am pretty sure they just approved my my application for fiance Visa last Friday.