Can someone please explain this process to me, your own experiences?

[MissFrankenstein 0]

I have done a lot of reading through these forums, and over the internet in general, watched many youtube videos.. but I know the best thing to do is to ask those who have been, or are going through this currently.. can you explain the process please, if you had to have interviews before it was granted, problems that came up?
I've read that you can not have co-sponsors with the K1 visa, which means that my fiance and myself are basically screwed.. he does not work, he graduated last year and hasnt been doing much of anything... but we have many people who are willing and ready to co-sponsor me.
The other drama is, I do not work. There are valid reasons as to why, but I've been told that this is an issue, too.
I spoke to an attorney who "advised" me to come to the US, get married after the 60 days, and file for AOS as there is a lot less drama, and a lot less reason for immigration to refuse the petition. Is this true? I know its the wrong thing to do, but I feel like all of our hopes and dreams will never happen based on the information I've been given.
If we go the K1 route, and we hire an attorney to help, will that work out better for us?

[EndlessStory 53]

You do not need to hire an attorney for this! This is a simple process and you can follow the guide here for filling

I will not suggest you to go on tourist visa and get married, you clearly have immigrant intent! That is visa fraud. You might get denied at AOS for visa fraud and then get deported.. Banned for 4 or 10 years? We don't know that.

Your income will not affect the K1 visa assuming you are the beneficiary. Only the petitioner income matters! You can use a co-sponsor. Wherever you read saying no co-sponsor is allowed is a lie! Some embassy do not like co-sponsor but in the law/books co-sponsor is allowed..

Hope that clarify all your doubts about the process

[JayJayH 546]

I have done a lot of reading through these forums, and over the internet in general, watched many youtube videos.. but I know the best thing to do is to ask those who have been, or are going through this currently.. can you explain the process please, if you had to have interviews before it was granted, problems that came up?

I've read that you can not have co-sponsors with the K1 visa, which means that my fiance and myself are basically screwed.. he does not work, he graduated last year and hasnt been doing much of anything... but we have many people who are willing and ready to co-sponsor me.

The other drama is, I do not work. There are valid reasons as to why, but I've been told that this is an issue, too.

I spoke to an attorney who "advised" me to come to the US, get married after the 60 days, and file for AOS as there is a lot less drama, and a lot less reason for immigration to refuse the petition. Is this true? I know its the wrong thing to do, but I feel like all of our hopes and dreams will never happen based on the information I've been given.

If we go the K1 route, and we hire an attorney to help, will that work out better for us?

Your attorney basically advised you to commit fraud by lying to US Customs & Border Protection. You see, when you enter the US on the Visa Waiver Program as a tourist, you are entering on the premise of staying less than 90 days, and then leaving the country. CBP does not have to specifically ask you this, it is assumed by default. No CBP officer would let you into the country if you showed up at the airport saying "I'm here to get married and file for adjustment of status." You'd be on the first plane home.

It is legal to enter the US, get married, and return home. It is also legal to enter the US, get married and then adjust status to stay. It's just illegal to enter the US, get married with the intention of staying. You'd basically have to enter the US with intent to go home after the wedding, but change your mind after telling CBP that you do not intend to stay.

Make sense? Your lawyer advised you to lie to the CBP. If caught, this is very bad.

As far as a co-sponsor goes. Your fiance will have to be the primary sponsor, whether he makes money or not. Whoever told you that you cannot have co-sponsors is dead wrong. Be sure that your sponsors know what kind of obligation they are making by being co-sponsors. They will be financially responsible for you for 40 working quarters (at least 10 years), or until you become a US citizen, whichever comes first. By financially responsible, they are signing a contract with the US government, allowing the US government to sue them for reimbursement of any means tested public benefit that you use.

On a side note, Australian citizens with no criminal history or bad immigration history rarely ever have any problems in this process. Australia is considered a low-fraud country, and as long as you guys have evidence of an ongoing relationship, you will not have very many problems.

Good luck!

Edited November 9, 2013 by yang-ja

[JayJayH 546]

The decision of whether or not to hire an attorney is eventually up to you. My opinion of attorneys in this process is that they overcharge for filling out very straightforward paperwork that anyone with a fair IQ and knowledge of the English language can easily do themselves. As long as the lawyer is competent, it certainly does not hurt anything but your wallet, but if you do your research, ask questions on here when you're wondering about something.. It's really not needed.

That is a decision you guys will make. If this seems overwhelming even after reading all the guides and forums on here, and a couple thousand dollars is worth your peace of mind, go for it.

[Boiler 47,499]

From what I have seen she was only told what most Lawyers would say.

Strongly suggest you read the guids to get familiar with the process.

[JayJayH 546]

Oh, and there is absolutely no requirement that you have a job. If you did have a job currently in Australia, that job will be a past job once you arrive in the US on a K-1 anyway, so this is irrelevant. You can be dirt poor, living at a Melbourne bus stop, and it would be irrelevant to your eligibility for a K-1 visa. The visa will only be denied for financial reason if the embassy suspects that you will become a public charge once you're in the US, hence the need for an affidavit of support.

Edited November 9, 2013 by yang-ja

[MissFrankenstein 0]

Thank you all for your very helpful information..
So basically, as long as we can prove our relationship is genuine and ongoing, which we have no problems with doing, and as long as I have co-sponsors, which I have at least 3 US citizen friends who are ready and willing to be, there should be no problems for our application being approved?
Would I be required to live with one of the co-sponsors, or is it fine for me to live with my fiance? He IS looking for work, but he lives in a very small town. I have no intention of remaining unemployed once we're married.. I don't care what I have to do, even if its flipping burgers or cleaning toilets, its better than nothing.

Even though the attorney "advised" to enter and marry, then AOS, its not something I would be willing to risk. I want to do this the right way.

[JayJayH 546]

No, you do not have to live with your co-sponsor. In fact, it would look incredibly suspicious if you lived with your co-sponsor rather than your fiance/husband.

You're allowed to be poor in the US, the US just wants to make sure you're not going to be costing tax payers money. So for example, if you were to end up on food stamps, or government supported housing (means tested public benefits), the US government could then sue your sponsor and co-sponsors for reimbursement.

Your lawyer advised you to do that because it's the quickest way of doing it, and it's fairly difficult for USCIS to prove in court that you did have intent to stay. The burden of proof in those cases is on the USCIS, not on your. Now, if you did enter on the VWP and got caught lying at the airport, you would likely have a lifetime bar, and a plane ticket back to Australia. In addition, if you entered, got married and filed to adjust status on the VWP, you would have absolutely no right to appeal if your adjustment of status was denied for any reason. Your lawyer gave you the quick, shady version and somewhat risky way of doing things. The K-1 is the somewhat slower, completely legal and near foolproof way.

Go the K-1 route. You can always visit the US while the process is ongoing (as long as your intent is to visit, and return to Aus).

Edited November 9, 2013 by yang-ja

[JayJayH 546]

Thank you all for your very helpful information..

So basically, as long as we can prove our relationship is genuine and ongoing, which we have no problems with doing, and as long as I have co-sponsors, which I have at least 3 US citizen friends who are ready and willing to be, there should be no problems for our application being approved?

Yes. There are certain major red flags that the consular officers look for. Red flags would include:

1. You have only met your fiance(e) on a very limited number of occasions.

2. You got engaged after only having been together for a very short time.

3. You seem (at the interview) to know very little about your fiance(e), or are unable to answer basic questions about him/her.

4. The foreign fiance(e) is from a high fraud country (mainly poor/developing countries).

5. Large age gaps, especially where the female is significantly older than the male.

6. Vast cultural/religious differences that would normally be considered "socially unacceptable" in your culture.

7. Language barriers that would make it very difficult for the couple to reasonably communicate.

8. Otherwise "unrealistic" relationships.

None of these mean automatic denial, but tend to raise the burden of proof. The more of these are true, the higher the burden. If none of these apply to you, and you do not have any criminal history, your fiance has no record of sex crimes and you have not previously violated US immigration law, I can almost guarantee that you'll be fine.

Edited November 9, 2013 by yang-ja

[SparklePony 238]

There are cases of co-sponsors not being allowed but from all I've heard/seen it's for high-fraud countries. The Manilla Embassy in the Philippines, for example, bears that fame. Australia does not, so I think you're fine to go for one. Yes, you only need one, not all three. And no, you don't ahve to live with them. They should, however, be made aware of what being a co-sponsor entails.

Your job, or lack thereof, as others have said, is not relevant. If you have a co-sponsor in the US that is willing, your fiance's lack of job isn't relevant either. They just want to make sure you won't be using welfare money reserved for US citizens.

I would advise though that you make sure you'll have means of survival. Once you marry, the paperwork continues and it's expensive. There are fees to be taken into account, and you'll need a roof over your head and food on the table. If neither of you have a source of income, you need to know how you'll handle all this. You won't be able to get a job until you have your Green Card, and that can take several months. What will you do in the meantime? You need to know in advance how you'll go through this.

I also echo what others have said about NOT going to the US with the intent to marry as that would cause you serious trouble. That lawyer gave you some very bad advice.

[MissFrankenstein 0]

Well, I am older than him by 10.5 years :/
I read someone elses post on here who had a similar age difference with her fiance, but others comments seemed to reflect that it wasn't a big issue being that AU is not a high fraud country and that such age differences in AU are not frowned upon..
We have been "online dating" for 15 months, met in person twice in that time, once as friends because of our age difference, the second time as a couple, where we spent the entire VWP length together..
The attorney said that these would raise suspicion and we should hire an attorney to handle such a "complicated case" :/

We do have financial support from family and friends until such a time that he, we, or I get employment. It's just that those who will be looking after us until we have sorted our visa/employment out, don't earn enough based on the guidelines (most of what they earn are "tips") although they live comfortably and supported me while I was there for my VWP stay. They also don't really want to sponsor me as they have issues with the current US government, LOL.. but anyways.. I have that covered as I said

[EndlessStory 53]

You will not have any issue with age for your K1. You over stress yourself. You are not from a high fraud country.

You do not need to hire attorney because it is a waste of money but if you want to, feel free to hire them.

This process is easy and it's just filling out paperwork and all the instructions are written clearly.

[JayJayH 546]

Well, I am older than him by 10.5 years :/

I read someone elses post on here who had a similar age difference with her fiance, but others comments seemed to reflect that it wasn't a big issue being that AU is not a high fraud country and that such age differences in AU are not frowned upon..

We have been "online dating" for 15 months, met in person twice in that time, once as friends because of our age difference, the second time as a couple, where we spent the entire VWP length together..

The attorney said that these would raise suspicion and we should hire an attorney to handle such a "complicated case" :/

We do have financial support from family and friends until such a time that he, we, or I get employment. It's just that those who will be looking after us until we have sorted our visa/employment out, don't earn enough based on the guidelines (most of what they earn are "tips") although they live comfortably and supported me while I was there for my VWP stay. They also don't really want to sponsor me as they have issues with the current US government, LOL.. but anyways.. I have that covered as I said

Like I said, none of those factors alone are grounds for denial. Yes, you have a fairly large age gap, but is this completely abnormal in Australia or the US? Is it considered "socially unacceptable" in either country? No. Do Australians have an economic incentive to migrate to the US? In most cases, no.

If Australia was a dirt poor country, where it was taboo, and completely socially unacceptable for a male to marry an older woman, and you met once in person and got engaged and married within a month of meeting, then yes, this might be an issue, but even then, they still couldn't deny you solely on that basis alone. They'd have to have reasonable grounds to suspect fraud. And 10.5 years is not that huge of a difference.

In my guess, the consular officer who will be handling your case will likely look at the age difference and raise an eyebrow initially, but this will likely be countered by whatever other evidence you submit. You cannot be denied a visa because of age difference. The only reason a consular officer can refuse to issue a visa is because of 1. a suspected sham marriage, 2. bad immigration rap sheet, 3. crimes involving moral turpitude, 4. likelihood of the immigrant becoming a public charge, or 5. lying or using fraudulent documents to obtain the visa. Reasonable evidence showing a genuine relationship will in all likelihood make this a non-issue. At worst, they might ask you about the age difference at the interview but not make a very big deal about it.

Calling this "such a complicated case" is this a lawyer's way of making $2000 for filling out some papers for you.

Edited November 10, 2013 by yang-ja

[Ketsuban 1,035]

Of course the lawyer would say that. He wants your cash immigration is expensive enough without an incompetent lawyer messing it all up.

[MissFrankenstein 0]

Thank you all, so very much for taking the time to explain things to me and make me stress less