K1 visa, financial sponsor and child support arrears.

[Ihrielle 2]

After discovering conflicting information I thought I'd ask here.

My fiance and I are almost ready to apply for a K1 for me (my child included) to be with him in the USA. His earnings put him a little over the required amount to sponsor me so a good friend with a high salary has kindly offered to be a co-sponsor just to "make sure".

The issue is his child support arrears to the state. He has been in an agreement to pay them off for almost two years and has remained up to date with current child support payments along with the required monthly arrears payment. His debt still stands at over 15K. (He didn't have confirmation that the child was his until two years ago as I encouraged him to get a DNA test done). His child is on the other side of the country living with his maternal grandmother and he has been unable to see him for about eight years.

When looking at his viablity as a sponsor...how is this arrears factored in? Is it regarded in the same way as, say, a home loan debt and not factored in or will the amount of his arrears be taken off his yearly income? Also, will this call his "moral standing" into question?

I thought the fact I had a co-sponsor would compensate for any potential hitches on the finacial side as pertains to his arrears but I have recently discovered through scanning this forum that co-sponsoring for the K1 doesn't carry the same "legal weight" as co-sponsoring for residency once we are married.

Whilst he is in a position to both keep up with his payments and contribute to living costs once the three of us are (hopefully) together, paying the entire amount of debt off in one fell swoop before we apply isn't really possible for him at this point.

Basically, I'm confused on a few fronts here and would really appreciate some clarity.

We have been together for three years and this means a lot to me. I've been holding off on going back to visit him again with the intent of just focusing on getting the fiancee visa and I am missing him terribly.

[Penguin_ie 6,002]

As long as he has made payment arrangement and is paying, he should be ok.

Does he still have his passport or did they take it away from him?

[Ihrielle 2]

As long as he has made payment arrangement and is paying, he should be ok.

Does he still have his passport or did they take it away from him?

No, his passport has been supended until he clears up the debt (or at least gets it down to about 2000k, I think).

[Ihrielle 2]

No, his passport has been supended until he clears up the debt (or at least gets it down to about 2000k, I think).

* 2k, rather.

[Ihrielle 2]

I appreciate the answer from Penguin but does anyone have any more detailed information on this?

[Villanelle 4,124]

Its actually 2500 to get your passport back., Im assuming he has other proof of being a USC like a birth certificate right? So he doesnt need a passport.

Morally they dont care about your co-sponsor. Its all about the numbers.

So theyre going to evaluate his income the same way they evaluate anyones income. Proof of paystubs, tax returns, employment letter, determine if its stable etc. They'll calculate his household size the same way they do everyone else (number of people on his taxes/in his household + the immigrant+immigrant child)

If the lien/arrears are brought to their attention because it shows up in their system they will want proof that he has payment arrangements on the amount (similar to someone who has payment arrangements with the IRS)

Theyll use their discretion to determine if the co-sponsor is going to be able to support you while in the US for the 90 day period if needed based on their income, their dependents and monthly payment on their arrears.

The potential things youre worried about that you shouldnt are: 1.theyre going to deduct the entire amount off his income - they wont if he can show he has arrangements, they would only deduct the monthly (pro-rated) amount and hes only agreeing to support you for 90 days. 2. Theyre going to evaluate him morally. They only care about his numbers. Hes not applying for a visa, you are.

You just need to make sure the co-sponsor has enough income to meet the guidelines. His household would be him, and he most likely would check off partially dependent for his child because he doesnt support the child fully, then you have yourself as the immigrant and your child. So that would bring your total count to 4.

The new guidelines for 2013 have 4 at roughly 29,400. For 3 its around 24,400. For 2012 its apx 28,800 and 23,800

[Villanelle 4,124]

I dont know why my mouse keeps double posting everything today. sorry.

Edited February 17, 2013 by capri

[baron555 934]

If he has a cosponsor that is not affected by this support payment then he is good to go.

[Gary and Alla 3,696]

I appreciate the answer from Penguin but does anyone have any more detailed information on this?

One thing to bear in mind is that consulates do not have any rules they MUST follow for this procedure. They need to be satisfied that you will not be a public charge and different consulates approach that different ways. Austrailia is not known to be particularly difficult in this regard.

1. Check with others that have used the Australian consulate. I am guessing this is a non-issue for you and you probably do not even need the co-sponsor at all

2. Australia would probably accept the co-sponsor you have if needed. SOME consulates have not accepted sponsors/co-sponsors who were in arrears in child support OR if they were they deducted the amount owed from their annual income.

3. Some consulates do not accept co-sponsors for K-1s...period. (Australia is not one of those)

Bottom line? There IS NO rule carved in stone. There are plenty of VJ members from Australia and I am sure any of them can give you better insight to how this will be accepted.

[Ihrielle 2]

Thank you for all of your responses. Maybe I wasn't very clear as one of the respondents assumes my co-sponsor has the arrears...and the other assumes my fiance wants to come to Australia...I think.

To clarify: I'm Australian and I'm looking to go to the US on a K1 with my sweet son in tow. My US fiance has child support arrears he is paying off (and with those deducted from his yearly income, would not quite meet the requirements). My co-sponsor earns about 70,000 per year and has no dependants at all. My fiance lives near Chicago so I guess the consulate he will apply through would be there (?).

* will his arrears payments be deducted from the amount of his earnings?

* will a co-sponsor be accepted if my fiance's yearly earnings are not enough. I have read that sometimes this will be not be accepted as sponsoring for a K1 is not as legally binding as sponsoring for residency.

* will the fact he didn't pay child support for quite a while and accrued these arrears call his moral integrity into question?

We haven't started this process yet so I'm not even sure if all of this is processed in Australia or in the US.

Thank you again.

[Ihrielle 2]

Its actually 2500 to get your passport back., Im assuming he has other proof of being a USC like a birth certificate right? So he doesnt need a passport.

Morally they dont care about your co-sponsor. Its all about the numbers.

So theyre going to evaluate his income the same way they evaluate anyones income. Proof of paystubs, tax returns, employment letter, determine if its stable etc. They'll calculate his household size the same way they do everyone else (number of people on his taxes/in his household + the immigrant+immigrant child)

If the lien/arrears are brought to their attention because it shows up in their system they will want proof that he has payment arrangements on the amount (similar to someone who has payment arrangements with the IRS)

Theyll use their discretion to determine if the co-sponsor is going to be able to support you while in the US for the 90 day period if needed based on their income, their dependents and monthly payment on their arrears.

The potential things youre worried about that you shouldnt are: 1.theyre going to deduct the entire amount off his income - they wont if he can show he has arrangements, they would only deduct the monthly (pro-rated) amount and hes only agreeing to support you for 90 days. 2. Theyre going to evaluate him morally. They only care about his numbers. Hes not applying for a visa, you are.

You just need to make sure the co-sponsor has enough income to meet the guidelines. His household would be him, and he most likely would check off partially dependent for his child because he doesnt support the child fully, then you have yourself as the immigrant and your child. So that would bring your total count to 4.

The new guidelines for 2013 have 4 at roughly 29,400. For 3 its around 24,400. For 2012 its apx 28,800 and 23,800

Thank you for your response. I think my post must have been too convoluted and confusing.

Yes, my fiance has sufficient ID to prove he is a USC.

My fiance has the child support arrears, not my co-sponsor.

My fiance may come in a little under the required amount of earnings to sponsor if they deduct his monthly arrears pro rata. My co-sponsor earns a high salary and has no dependants at all.

I read somewhere that my fiance's moral standing will be looked into.

I have read so much information and differeing opinions...I'm just confused and anxious about applying until we know where we stand on this.

Amanda.

[Penguin_ie 6,002]

* will his arrears payments be deducted from the amount of his earnings?

- Possibly, it seems to happen more and more often but as Gary said, there is no specific rule on this- it is up to the embassy and the CO you get on the day.

* will a co-sponsor be accepted if my fiance's yearly earnings are not enough. I have read that sometimes this will be not be accepted as sponsoring for a K1 is not as legally binding as sponsoring for residency.

- Yes, Australia accepts co-sponsors (other US embassies, such as the one in Manila, Phils, usually do not).

* will the fact he didn't pay child support for quite a while and accrued these arrears call his moral integrity into question?

- Very very unlikely, but the financial aspects of this MAY come into play. Keep in mind that since your fiance hasn't even filed the petition yet, it'll be half a year or more until interview and submission of the I-134 affadavit of support- with good money management, he can hopefully pay off a good chunck of the arrears and that wil lok good for him.

We haven't started this process yet so I'm not even sure if all of this is processed in Australia or in the US.

- The process starts by your US fiance filing a petition in the USA, but the financial determinations are made at the US embassy in Australia.

[Ihrielle 2]

* will his arrears payments be deducted from the amount of his earnings?

- Possibly, it seems to happen more and more often but as Gary said, there is no specific rule on this- it is up to the embassy and the CO you get on the day.

* will a co-sponsor be accepted if my fiance's yearly earnings are not enough. I have read that sometimes this will be not be accepted as sponsoring for a K1 is not as legally binding as sponsoring for residency.

- Yes, Australia accepts co-sponsors (other US embassies, such as the one in Manila, Phils, usually do not).

* will the fact he didn't pay child support for quite a while and accrued these arrears call his moral integrity into question?

- Very very unlikely, but the financial aspects of this MAY come into play. Keep in mind that since your fiance hasn't even filed the petition yet, it'll be half a year or more until interview and submission of the I-134 affadavit of support- with good money management, he can hopefully pay off a good chunck of the arrears and that wil lok good for him.

We haven't started this process yet so I'm not even sure if all of this is processed in Australia or in the US.

- The process starts by your US fiance filing a petition in the USA, but the financial determinations are made at the US embassy in Australia.

Thank you so much for taking the time to spell all of that out for me--I feel much better (and in "the know" now)

One thing to bear in mind is that consulates do not have any rules they MUST follow for this procedure. They need to be satisfied that you will not be a public charge and different consulates approach that different ways. Austrailia is not known to be particularly difficult in this regard.

1. Check with others that have used the Australian consulate. I am guessing this is a non-issue for you and you probably do not even need the co-sponsor at all

2. Australia would probably accept the co-sponsor you have if needed. SOME consulates have not accepted sponsors/co-sponsors who were in arrears in child support OR if they were they deducted the amount owed from their annual income.

3. Some consulates do not accept co-sponsors for K-1s...period. (Australia is not one of those)

Bottom line? There IS NO rule carved in stone. There are plenty of VJ members from Australia and I am sure any of them can give you better insight to how this will be accepted.

Thank you very much for the information. I appreciate it.

[Villanelle 4,124]

Ah well that makes it a lot clearer, there were too many hes in the first post to tell who was who. Ill just tack on to Penguins post then.

* will his arrears payments be deducted from the amount of his earnings?

- Possibly, it seems to happen more and more often but as Gary said, there is no specific rule on this- it is up to the embassy and the CO you get on the day. Yes, no specific rule. Im inclined to think, K1- 90 days, theyre only going to care what his monthly payment is and take that into account when determining if he can support you, but they can do whatever they want. But a sponsor is a sponsor. Doesnt matter if its the primary sponsor or the joint sponsor. The promise to support is the same. Your fiances or later on husbands contract isnt given more weight or evaluated differently then a co-sponsors form would be.

* will a co-sponsor be accepted if my fiance's yearly earnings are not enough. I have read that sometimes this will be not be accepted as sponsoring for a K1 is not as legally binding as sponsoring for residency.

- Yes, Australia accepts co-sponsors (other US embassies, such as the one in Manila, Phils, usually do not).

* will the fact he didn't pay child support for quite a while and accrued these arrears call his moral integrity into question?

- Very very unlikely, but the financial aspects of this MAY come into play. Keep in mind that since your fiance hasn't even filed the petition yet, it'll be half a year or more until interview and submission of the I-134 affadavit of support- with good money management, he can hopefully pay off a good chunck of the arrears and that wil lok good for him. No where in the 134 process does the petitioners moral validity come into play (except in cases where the Adam Walsh Child Protection Act is called in and even then its not so much about their moral validity but about a legal issue where the spouse or fiance must be advised about the charges and if the petitioner is able to petition because of the crime) You, the visa applicant must show you are of good moral character, the petitioner does not have show such things. The financial aspect may disqualify him, not the moral aspect, but thats why youd have a co-sponsor.

We haven't started this process yet so I'm not even sure if all of this is processed in Australia or in the US.

- The process starts by your US fiance filing a petition in the USA, but the financial determinations are made at the US embassy in Australia.

With all of that said- the following may sound extremely contradicting. The petitioner does not have to show they are of good moral character, but the visa applicant does. I mean people petition for K1s from jail (and they are approved). The fact that your fiance has arrears can make him morally questionable- it can be discovered in the interview by talking to you, or through the 134. You need to be prepared to address it. They need to be certain you are not trying to obtain the visa for immigration purposes. A USC who is morally questionable would have no problem helping an immigrant commit fraud to obtain a visa. So it is in your interest to demonstrate he is not morally questionable. Bring proof of when the child support was issued and a letter from him explaining why it took so long for an order to be obtained since he will not be in the interview. (he didnt know the child was his- took time for a DNA- whatever went down) Thats completely logical and does not make him a bad guy. Also bring sufficient evidence that your relationship is legitimate, which you would do anyway- and youll be fine.

If they feel hes morally questionable, youre going to have a slightly harder time trying to prove youre not attempting to obtain the visa for benefits. (nothing really to do with the 134)