Questions on if needing a lawyer. :) Easy stuff.

[chaseyracer 0]

Hello everyone, I've spent the last few months frequenting and looking through the website in hopes I wouldn't need to ask these questions, but .. here I am.

I thank all of you for the knowledge you've given me, but now I need to ask my questions..

Well, to make it short and sweet, I am a 26 year old American living in China. I met my girlfriend in Thailand, we were both travelers, 2 years ago. She is from the UK, I am from the USA.

Now, we both work abroad, doing online freelance and stuff. We currently live in China and do volunteer work.

Here's where it gets tricky, we each have around 7k USD to our name.

We have been together for 2 years nonstop, but we don't want to live abroad anymore - we want to get on with our lives together.

Is it possible to submit my K1 Visa while living abroad, and she does the same? Should I go to England and just live while we do the paperwork?


Yes, we have only 5k, but we both have someone who can sign the financial paperwork. (Good parents. ) to meet the financial requirements.

But if we have to go to England, I wouldn't be able to work in that country.. So I'd have no job. Is this a problem?

We don't want to break the law and just get married in the states, so we want to do it the right way.

Can anyone give any advice on what you would do in our situation? We are trying to minimize the time spent away from eachother.

Thanks so much.

[Penguin_ie 6,005]

You can do the K1, live wherever until it is granted, then move to the US together and get married. If you live in the UK, the embassy there usually accepts co-sponsors so that should be ok. Of course, living in the UK for the 9+ months it may take to get the visa may require a UK visa, so be sure to look into that.

You do have other options, too. For example, you are allowed to get married in the USA, with her travelling on the Visa Waiver Program for UK citizens- she is just not allowed to use the VWP with the intent of getting married AND STAYING in the USA. So you could get married, then move back to Thailand or the UK or wherever, and petition for the CR-1 spousal visa, which has the advantage that she can work and travel as soon as she enters the USA on the visa.

[Pheebs1201 269]

Yes you can apply whilst you are both in the UK, this is what we are doing at the moment. But you cannot work, and without a visa you can only be in the UK for 6 months a year (and some sources suggest this has to be two separate occasions each with a maximum of 90 days, but I'm not 100% sure on that). Being unemployed will be okay if you have a co-sponsor for London, but you may want to consider going back to the US ahead of your finace and getting your feet on the ground, as AOS will be another giant expense and they will not be able to work for several months when they arrive whilst their status is adjusted.

I hope this helps, good luck!

[Ian H. 207]

You can file the K1 from abroad, you just have to meet the requirements, like not getting married, being legally single, etc. You can also get married in the UK or where ever and do a spouse visa. You may be able to do DCF as a married couple as well if the London embassy does it. It all depends on what your needs and such are.

By the way, this process can be done without a lawyer if you can read and follow instructions carefully. Lawyers often times make an otherwise simple process more difficult. This site is a great source of information about immigration and the processes involved. Good luck.

Here is a link with the comparison of visas:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare

[chaseyracer 0]

Thank you all for this great advice, it's reasons like you selfless people that there is still so much hope in others.

I will definitely be looking into other options other than the K1, such as the CR-1. But ouch, that 14 months is quite some serious time before one can get it. I mean, I guess if we are living and working abroad, that's a great option.

Can we live in a neutral country while we wait for the K1? IE: Her, UK Citizen, me, US Citizen, live and apply for everything while living in Thailand? Could that work ?Or does she need to go back to her home country?

I understand my part can be done abroad, but can hers?

I am looking into the DCF, Ian! I never heard of this, but I am looking into it now. :]

"To Qualify: U.S. consulates will typically only do this for US citizens who are Legal Residents of the country (typically for at least six months) in which the US Consulate sits (overseas). " Does this mean I have to be a LEGAL RESIDENT of say.. Thailand? To do this? Not just someone who does freelancing and happens to live there?

I think it's best I save my income and don't use a lawyer, save myself the money for the struggle ahead.

Edited November 9, 2014 by chaseyracer

[TBoneTX 49,665]

To build upon what Ian has accurately said: Your success in this process depends on your abilities to read carefully, interpret literally, and answer completely and honestly. Some people who have complex cases (or time or attention challenges) retain lawyers or visa-assistance firms. See what you can learn on this site, and then use your judgment about how to proceed.

Edited November 9, 2014 by TBoneTX

[Ian H. 207]

I'm not familiar with DCF, but I've read that you do need to be a legal resident of the country where you will do that process. If you are able to do it, it's considerably faster than the regular CR1/IR1 route.

You can start a thread in the DCF or country/embassy specific forums and someone may be able to better advise you on DCF and what is required to qualify for this route. Otherwise, you may have to pursue the regular route.

And yes, you can live where you want while you wait out the process, you would just have to figure out what is required to live in said place legally. Living together will certainly help your case as evidence of the bona fide of your relationship.

Remember that the visa you choose is dependent on your needs and actual situation, so you will have to evaluate what the requirements are for each and the length of each as well, in order to determine the best possible route.

[Mike and Yaoling 46]

A good lawyer will cost nearly all the money you have saved, ($5,000 USD) even if you have an easy case. A $2,500 lawyer will just buy stamps and mail the papers that you did all the work yourself on. I am speaking from experience after getting burned with a cheap lawyer. Then you have to pay all the fees to USCIS. Then you have to buy plane tickets. If you are young, take it slow, ask a billion questions and read everything 8 times to be sure and you'll be ok. If you don't feel 110% about something, ask another question. The guys here are super helpful.

Pro tip: USCIS site may tell you very little about how much paperwork you need to send. Ask others about things such as "front loading" a petition and get an idea on how much stuff you need to submit. What needs signatures and so on. Be paranoid and send more than is needed.

Since you are so lucky to be able to work together during the process, I highly recommend that you get married and go for the CR-1 as it is less risky and you have more options to appeal decisions made against you. With the K-1 you have less options. K-1 is better for people that have to live apart and are trying to rejoin ASAP with their loved ones or just prefer to get married in the states.

Edited November 9, 2014 by Mike and Yaoling

[Ulink2 7]

K-1 paperwork is simple - the hard parts are actually gathering the proofs and the interview = all depends on you two.

For the Paperwork

0. Use the most recent forms

1. Make sure you address what they need

2. Make sure all information are correct

3. Write any explanation if you think there are any gray areas but normally it is best if you do not provide more information than asked.

For the proofs:

- Make sure have you primary evidences:

+ Airplane ticket receipt

+ passport with stamped/dated to show you enter and leave

+ Hotel receipt

- Measure you have some secondary evidences They are useless without primary evidences)

+ Photos

+ Gift receipts

- If you want to go an extra miles (They do not ask for proof of on-going relationship at the time of applying) --> I did not care about this, if one reads some of the cases that got RFE or denied before the interview took place, one should realize it did not do anything with this

+ Phone bills

+ Chat logs

Edited November 9, 2014 by Ulink2