Help and advice on K 1 procedure

[CarrieG 0]

Hello I am new to this site and am hoping for some help and guidance. All this seems so daunting and I'm so worried that things will go wrong. Here is my story.

I have been in a loveless marriage for years and for the last four years my husband and I have lived separate lives. I met Chris on an online game (I know only too well how that sounds lol) about a year ago and we went from friends to close friends to totally head over heels for each other. I have visited him already in the US (I am from Northern Ireland ) and when he asked me to marry him I was over the moon and so happy. He has a much bigger family and a closer family than me so I decided it would be easier for me to move there. So at the minute I am filing for divorce from my husband finally and when that comes through we want to then file a k1 application, but I am worried about how easy it will be and if we will get it. There are a lot of horror stories and I hear of refusals from people all the time. We plan to see each other every three months. We have started to send post and emails and we have a log of Skype calls showing we talk at least two times a day .

What else can we do to show we are a genuine couple and what are the chances that the US could turn me down because I will only be newly divorced? We also have started to save for all the fees as I read they are expensive , Chris also well meets the criteria for dependency , he earns at least $50 k a year

Any advice or thought would be very welcome to help us both finally get the happy life we have been waiting for

Oh and I'm 30 and he's 32

[agrabs 253]

I sent you a message

[Nich-Nick 3,355]

Hello I am new to this site and am hoping for some help and guidance. All this seems so daunting and I'm so worried that things will go wrong. Here is my story.

I have been in a loveless marriage for years and for the last four years my husband and I have lived separate lives. I met Chris on an online game (I know only too well how that sounds lol) about a year ago and we went from friends to close friends to totally head over heels for each other. I have visited him already in the US (I am from Northern Ireland ) and when he asked me to marry him I was over the moon and so happy. He has a much bigger family and a closer family than me so I decided it would be easier for me to move there. So at the minute I am filing for divorce from my husband finally and when that comes through we want to then file a k1 application, but I am worried about how easy it will be and if we will get it. There are a lot of horror stories and I hear of refusals from people all the time. We plan to see each other every three months. We have started to send post and emails and we have a log of Skype calls showing we talk at least two times a day .

What else can we do to show we are a genuine couple and what are the chances that the US could turn me down because I will only be newly divorced? We also have started to save for all the fees as I read they are expensive , Chris also well meets the criteria for dependency , he earns at least $50 k a year

Any advice or thought would be very welcome to help us both finally get the happy life we have been waiting for

Oh and I'm 30 and he's 32

Do not file until you have a copy of the decree absolute from your divorce. There will be a waiting period after the decree nisi.

USCIS cares about

He is a US citizen (birth certificate)

You have met in person (Skype and phone calls don't prove that. Boarding passes and passport stamps do))

You are free to marry (decree absolute)

You each intend to marry within 90 days of entry (letters of intent from each of you)

Your forms are completed properly and signed, fees correct and made out to the correct payee.

The required documentation photocopies are included (birth certificate, divorce things, maybe a few photos)

They don't judge your morals--how long you've been divorced.

London embassy/Dept of State cares about

Properly completed paperwork

Medical exam

An Affidavit of Support

Clear police report or court records if any arrests or cautions

Documentation (birth certificate, divorce decree -not photocopies, proof of income from fiancé)

They don't care about your phone calls, new trips, new photos, engagement announcements or rings.

It's not that difficult unless you have serious crimes involving moral turpitude or drugs. There's very few denied in London because it is not a high visa fraud country. When you read of difficulties, look at the countries that they come from. Some consulates are harder than others and require much more out of applicants.

Edited February 11, 2013 by Nich-Nick

[moemac59 193]

What else can we do to show we are a genuine couple and what are the chances that the US could turn me down because I will only be newly divorced?

Any advice or thought would be very welcome to help us both finally get the happy life we have been waiting for

Oh and I'm 30 and he's 32

My husband and filed my K1 app the day after he got his divorce papers. His divorce had only been finalized for 3 weeks. We had no problem with our application.

[CarrieG 0]

Thank you for your replies I feel a bit better now . I worry about everything so it's good to have some great advice

Ill def do the time line on here and keep u all posted

[lynndy38 64]

Nich-Nick pretty much said it all

I'd be a HUUUUUGE hypocrite telling you not to worry as Ive been awful every step of the way!!!!

My husband and I too met whilst both in unhappy marriages,five long years later here we are.......interview next month then hopefully I get to move over to the USA!!!!!

My divorce in the UK took about 8 months but Erics took 2 years,it was finally granted April 2012,we married in the UK July 2012. I'm worried Im going to 'get told off' for moral reasons too......but that thankfully doesn't seem to be what they're looking for.

Get your divorce sorted ASAP,mine was all done online!!! Once you have the decree absolute in hand you can file for the K1. Prepare to be patient. Try and visit each other mostly for your own sanity but face to face trips do help. And if you do visit during the process make sure you have plenty of ties to your home country,proving that you will return after your visit.

Good luck :thumbs:

[UK-USA-K1 128]

Thank you for your replies I feel a bit better now . I worry about everything so it's good to have some great advice

Ill def do the time line on here and keep u all posted

Although it's a logical conclusion from the posts, typing it out might still be helpful so I will.

My best piece of advice at this early stage of the process (pre-process if you will) is to be sure to save everything you have that shows you two have met. Don't use electronic boarding passes on your mobile device when you travel, use and save printed boarding passes.

I didn't think about this during my travel, and used my mobile phone and now cannot print a boarding pass as evidence. Luckily for me, my fiance did save most of her boarding passes for posterity and we had those to file.

Hotel receipts with both of you listed as registered guests are good as well as any boarding passes from possible trips where you may have traveled together showing you seated next to each other can't hurt either.

Most of all, patience is what you'll need the most of. 90% of all applications are approved, so there really should be little to stress over, but the process can take from 6-12 months and varies greatly from one filer to another, so just be ready for the wait (easier said than done as I'm learning right now)

[CarrieG 0]

Thanks guys for all the advice, I have started to save everything but it's annoying as my first trip to see him I had to send my boarding cards to the airline as they lost my bags lol, but we have Skype records and we have started emailing daily too and I send him cards and letters.

Also his cousin is getting married in April so I'm going over for the wedding where we will get loads of pics with his family so I am trying to keep positive and know that one day we will be together properly

[UK-USA-K1 128]

Thanks guys for all the advice, I have started to save everything but it's annoying as my first trip to see him I had to send my boarding cards to the airline as they lost my bags lol, but we have Skype records and we have started emailing daily too and I send him cards and letters.

Also his cousin is getting married in April so I'm going over for the wedding where we will get loads of pics with his family so I am trying to keep positive and know that one day we will be together properly

If that happens again, make the copies of the boarding passes before you send them to the airline, or see if the airline will accept copies, since the copy has the same information as the boarding pass. Either way you'd still have copies to send in with your application (they don't need the original boarding passes with the application)