K-1: Question about I-134 form

[roshlioto 1]

Hello. I'm new to this site, so please excuse me if I made any mistakes. I've applied for K-1 visa from Bulgaria, with my spouse being an American citizen. In the letter with instructions that was sent to me, it says that the I-134 form should be filled and signed by the fiancée/fiancé. My question is this. My fiancee is currently a student and her mother /only parent in the US/ is her only provider. Should her mother fill and sign the I-134 form?

[Penguin_ie 6,000]

Both.

Your fiancee is the primary sponsor and must fill in the I-134. As she has no income, she will need to explain why she didn't file taxes.

Then her mom will fill in a second I-134, including 3 years taxes, proof of US citizenship, paystubs.

[roshlioto 1]

Ok, so they both have to fill the form. How would she need to explain she didn't file taxes? There's no space in the form for that. Currently I have only her mother's filled and signed form. But that's it. No 3 years taxes (if it's not included in the form that is). I only have the form and that's it. Should I have anything else? There's nothing else that's being demanded other than that form.

[Penguin_ie 6,000]

You basically need proof of what is filled in the form.

For the fiancee, she should include a short letter, signed, saying she didn't pay gtaxes because as a student she was not working at all and thus not required to file, as per the IRS's rules.

For the mom/ co-sponsor, most embassies want 3 years taxes and a couple of months of paystubs. I am pretty sure that is in the instructions for the I-134, but I don;t have it handy. Check the VJ Guide for what to send: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

[pumpkinseed 10]

Yes, her mother could be your co-sponsor and they BOTH need to fill in the form. Then your fiancee's mom will need to get tax transcripts (I heard that the Embassy in Bulgaria might not ask for all three last years' tax returns, but it's good to have them just in case), letter from her employer, pay stubs - anything that proves sufficient and stable income - and proof of U.S. citizenship.

Also, ask your fiancee to write a statement explaining why she didn't file taxes or why she's not employed right now and it's best to have it notarized. Also, it might not be asked for, but you could also get a letter from the university showing her student's status.

That's what I would do, and my fiance and I are in a similar situation.

Good luck and don't forget to post your interview experience to help all other users from Bulgaria

[roshlioto 1]

The thing is that they (the US embassy - Bulgaria)didn't anything like that. I will have my fiancée write the letter, and fill the form, but the other documents will be harder to get. And my interview is 5 days from now, thinking I have all the documents. I don't think her mother will be able to get a letter form her employer that soon. I don't think there will be a problem with the pay stubs but who knows. What about a proof from the bank? Do all the documents have to be the originals, because when (I'm not saying if, otherwise I'll start freaking out) they get the documents, the best the will be able to do is scan them and send them to me.

[pumpkinseed 10]

The i-134s should be originals, because they expect to see original signatures. But, take a deep breath and don't freak out. I think the worst that could happen is they will tell you to send them after the interview (I've heard of cases like that in the Embassy in Bulgaria), that is if everything else is ok and they believe your relationship is real, if her mom makes the required amount of money etc.

They won't just refuse you because the document was a scanned copy, don't worry. They will give you the chance to send it later. Or they might even accept it. They will refuse you the visa if they doubt your relationship, or if you're not eligible for this kind of visa, or if financial situation is not acceptable etc.,

From what I understand you have her mom's original filled form so that's good.

Get as many of those documents as you can. Her mother probably already have the paystubs - most people usually keep a record of what they get paid, or she can show a proof that the money go to her account, if she doesn't get an actual, paper paycheck.

Regarding the tax returns, ask her if she already has them - they send them to everybody so most people usually keep them. If she doesn't have them , she could order them from here for free : http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=232168,00.html . It's the official IRS site and they say it takes several days to mail them, but I've read about some people here who asked them to have them faxed to them and they did it (in this case - call the phone number and ask them to do it). You can present scanned transcripts and paystubs, they don't need originals.

You don't really need a bank statement if her mom makes above the poverty line for the required number of people. If she does have some savings you can try to provide a bank letter, but showing assets is only required if they don't make enough on a regular basis and continuously.

[roshlioto 1]

I just called the US embassy, at 2 pm, and surprisingly there was someone there. So I understood that my fiancée doesn't need to fill the form or do anything. Her mother needs to send me a copy of her pay stubs or the letter from her employer. They didn't say anything about tax, but I'll tell her to send it to me just in case.

[Penguin_ie 6,000]

Your fiancee needs to fill in the form, trust me on this.

You may have miss-understood, or the embassy worker missunderstood what you asked.

[roshlioto 1]

I specifically asked whether my fiancée has to fill the form and the woman told me that only the mother should do it. W/e. Since it's not a big deal, I'll tell her to fill it and write the letter.

[emiliya27 3]

They both need to fill in the I-134, and the forms must have original signatures.

Good luck!

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

There is no such thing as a primary sponsor or a co-sponsor for the I-134. There is only one sponsor. A consulate should only be looking for an affidavit from one qualified individual. There is anecdotal evidence in these forums of no I-134 being required of the US petitioner for K1 applicants at the consulate when there is another qualified sponsor. So on the outside, the information you got from the help desk at the consulate sounds correct.

I'm bothered though by the written instructions you received from the consulate, wherein (you say) the instructions ask for an I-134 from the USC petitioner. As such, if it were me I would not go to the interview without it. The CO may very well not need it (as your future mother-in-law is the only person who qualifies), but......well I don't think they would put it in writing if they did not mean it. This looks consulate specific to me.