Question about my daughters K-1 visa.(merged)

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Thank you so much, my spouse and I are reviewing this now! It is just so overwhelming...so much information! My daughter made it seem like this would be a fast and easy three month tops process!

Your daughter is mistaken

[LionessDeon 2,060]

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1flow

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

OP it would benefit you to read the above links and do some research, then come back with questions. Get the process and requirements down first. Every visa case is different. Don't worry and concern yourself now with others situations. Get started on your first. Good Luck!

Edited May 4, 2016 by LionessDeon

[LionessDeon 2,060]

Your daughter is mistaken

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

Yep this chart that is also available in the guides gives an estimated time of 7 months.

[yuna628 9,530]

To get through London, the daughter will need to make 100%. To get through adjustment of status, she'll need 125%.

In both cases co-sponsor/joint sponsor can be used.

Poverty guideline is here: https://www.uscis.gov/i-864p

The I-134 financial sponsorship form is not a legally binding document. So if you co-sponsored on this, you are not ''legally on the hook'' for anything. For adjustment of status though, the financial documents will be legally binding. You or anyone else cosponsoring of course needs to be thought of carefully. Cosponsorship is a very kind gesture and I think you doing so should depend on the general dynamic of the relationship with your daughter and her fiance. The general situation and how responsible they both are. The immigrant fiancé will not be legally able to seek out work until you file adjustment of status (with temporary employment authorization/AP), which generally arrives 90 days after filing (as you wait for the green card to be processed). How long the green card takes will all depend on how backlogged your city's office is.

Let me assure you that cosponsorship is easy for London, and they will accept it without any issue provided you give them the required evidence. London even allows the immigrant to self-sponsor if they have a large amount of money.

It also does not matter if your daughter is living at home or has her own place. My family has a large house and I live with my family as I care for my mom with health issues. My new husband lives with us now, and we intend to live here for a while until stabilized and we'll look for an apartment close by, though with the job market we'll probably go where they offer us. We also used a cosponsor, not only to see us through the K1 London process, but we also are using one for adjustment of status. He has received his employment authorization within the 90 days.

The length of time to get through this process (both of them) has nothing to do with her living at home or cosponsorship. It all has to do with the service center your case is sent to and the amount of backlog. You are being handled by California Service Center until the case is approved and sent on to London. California is now the sole processor of K1 cases. They used to approve cases within a few days to a few weeks. Since things have changed, approvals can happen unless there is a complication within a few months. The standard USCIS processing time is within 5 months, that is the best estimate they will provide - even if the service center runs faster or slower.

Once you get out of that wait period (no matter how long it takes) then the rest of the process needs to be completed up to the interview. That usually takes a month or two (depending on how fast California sends the case out). So all in all, to complete the entire process and have the fiancé arrive to America, can take in some cases around 6-7 months of time.

As you can see I and my husband's case took a long time. This is because we unfortunately were placed at Texas Service Center, which was severely backlogged. And again with AOS, we have the unfortunate factor of being handled by Baltimore which has a similar amount of delay.

Hope this helps.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Can you tell me what made the K1 visa take so long, is it due to the co-sponsor?

It's not due to having a co-sponsor. It has everything to do with being a governmental institution where everything is slow. There are also security checks.

Thank you so much, my spouse and I are reviewing this now! It is just so overwhelming...so much information! My daughter made it seem like this would be a fast and easy three month tops process!

It's a lot longer than 3 months. It's not fast. It's easy if you educate yourself and can follow directions.

My main concern as a father is why are you doing the leg work for her? If she is old enough to get marry, then shouldn't she be the one on here doing the research?

My wife does stuff for our adult kids, and I am against it. That's crippling them and making them dependent on us. They need to learn who to solve adult problems on their own.

[susanvmallory 2]

It's not due to having a co-sponsor. It has everything to do with being a governmental institution where everything is slow. There are also security checks.

It's a lot longer than 3 months. It's not fast. It's easy if you educate yourself and can follow directions.

My main concern as a father is why are you doing the leg work for her? If she is old enough to get marry, then shouldn't she be the one on here doing the research?

My wife does stuff for our adult kids, and I am against it. That's crippling them and making them dependent on us. They need to learn who to solve adult problems on their own.

My daughter has her K1 visa application and all supporting documents ready to me mailed off; however, she was asking if I would co-sponsor her and the way she explained everything to me and my husband is very different from what I am finding out through my own research. She believes the process will be approved within 6 weeks of mailing out her K1 application. I on the other hand felt this was an inaccurate time frame and am trying to educate myself on this process due to the conflicting information my daughter is telling me. I am concerned my husband and I will be financially/legally responsible for supporting the two of them due to her lack of preparedness and my husband, much like you, wants to see her stand on her own two feet prior to bringing her fiance to America.

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

May I add that the I-134 affidavit of support does not get submitted with the petition. It is not viewed until the fiancé goes to her interview in London. By then your daughter might have 5-6 months on the job. If she waits a month or two to file, then even more. London does not even require a tax return, so her $7000 last year does not even have to be viewed. They can approve on a letter from her employer stating her income and hours worked per week. She can add several months of pay stubs as a second proof. Everything Yuna said is correct. She knows London and what they accept. What happens in a different country does not necessarily apply to a London K1 interview.

The I-134 is not legally binding if your sponsor. The I-864 for adjustment of status is. Read the form for exactly what the sponsor's obligations are. I would not joint sponsor for my grown children so I understand exactly how you feel.

Edited May 4, 2016 by Nich-Nick

[susanvmallory 2]

May I add that the I-134 affidavit of support does not get submitted with the petition. It is not viewed until the fiancé goes to her interview in London. By then your daughter might have 5-6 months on the job. If she waits a month or two to file, then even more. London does not even require a tax return, so her $7000 last year does not even have to be viewed. They can approve on a letter from her employer stating her income and hours worked per week. She can add several months of pay stubs as a second proof. Everything Yuna said is correct. She knows London and what they accept. What happens in a different country does not necessarily apply to a London K1 interview.

The I-134 is not legally binding if your sponsor. The I-864 for adjustment of status is. Read the form for exactly what the sponsor's obligations are. I would not joint sponsor for my grown children so I understand exactly how you feel.

Well this has all been very eye opening! I believe it is time for my daughter to prove she can do this for herself, by herself! I cannot be financially responsible for the decisions she and her fiance make. I am concerned that she is misinformed on time lines, procedures and the overall visa process. What I find most concerning is that she herself uses this site for all her information and forms, she actually introduced me to this website. I decided to start reading myself and asking experienced people questions, instead of listening to my 24 year old who doesn't have all the facts, yet expects me to cosponsor her fiance.

[yuna628 9,530]

My daughter has her K1 visa application and all supporting documents ready to me mailed off; however, she was asking if I would co-sponsor her and the way she explained everything to me and my husband is very different from what I am finding out through my own research. She believes the process will be approved within 6 weeks of mailing out her K1 application. I on the other hand felt this was an inaccurate time frame and am trying to educate myself on this process due to the conflicting information my daughter is telling me. I am concerned my husband and I will be financially/legally responsible for supporting the two of them due to her lack of preparedness and my husband, much like you, wants to see her stand on her own two feet prior to bringing her fiance to America.

I think it is a good thing for you to be educated on this process, especially if you may consider cosponsorship. But I am also very much of the mind that the petitioner (the daughter) and the applicant (the UK fiancé) need to read and fully comprehend all instructions and the process too. It sounds as if the daughter has a little more reading cut out for her. Afterall this is their lives that will change, and marriage is a big step. My husband and I handled everything regarding the paperwork and educating ourselves.. people were a great help here. He worked tirelessly to save up money so that we did not have to put a large burden on my family and we paid for our own wedding. My sister graciously agreed to cosponsor us.. but not everyone's circumstances are the same. My husband is a responsible and well-educated adult, and my family has known him for longer than I suspect a lot of fiancé's situations would. Her cosponsoring us wasn't a problem to her.

I don't know how much money your daughter has on hand, or if she pays some sort of rent to you... But since the fiancé will not be able to seek out a job until the employment authorization comes in, and you don't know what the job prospects will be like for him, there is no way of knowing how long he will need at least some sort of support. Someone has to provide the basics for him until he gets on his feet. There is also the cost of healthcare to consider. Immigrants are eligible for healthcare, and they will need insurance eventually. So your daughter will have to consider that.

Love is difficult, and so is long distance romance. It's understandable when a couple wants to be together, but I would suggest going over everything carefully. If not done correctly, it can contribute to additional delay. Believe me, if it wasn't for the circumstances with my mom, I would have been sponsoring my husband myself... we don't like to be a burden on anyone. So I can fully understand your reluctance here.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

To be fair, it is VERY common for people to come on here and say "I applied last week and I am not approved yet! Why is it taking FOREVER?" when USCIS very clearly says that the petition goal time is 5 months, and that is just the first step (it happens to be going faster now but can change at any time). So she would have found out that it is slower the hard way, like many more before her. Good luck.

[Pennycat 880]

Just checking....do you/your daughter realize that choosing the K1 route (rather than the spouse route) means that the immigrant won't be able to work for several months upon arrival? And that to apply for the green card and work authorization is $1070?

Spouses arrive with green cards. It's part of the reason spouse visas take longer. Fiances arrive with nothing but permission to enter with the intention to marry and apply for the green card (which is why it's faster-- you're skipping a step in order to move here quicker). But first, you have to get married and then you do have to apply (and the process involves a lot of paperwork and documentation and even the most organized people can't really do it overnight), and the application fee is the above-mentioned $1070. When you apply for the green card (which can take about a year), you also apply for temporary work authorization and that takes about 2 or 3 months. So even if they got married the day the fiance arrives, and applied for these things that same day, she'd (you'd?) be supporting fiance for at least a few months until fiance can get work authorization and a job (and likely a lot more than a "few").

[Pennycat 880]

My daughter has her K1 visa application and all supporting documents ready to me mailed off; however, she was asking if I would co-sponsor her and the way she explained everything to me and my husband is very different from what I am finding out through my own research. She believes the process will be approved within 6 weeks of mailing out her K1 application. I on the other hand felt this was an inaccurate time frame and am trying to educate myself on this process due to the conflicting information my daughter is telling me. I am concerned my husband and I will be financially/legally responsible for supporting the two of them due to her lack of preparedness and my husband, much like you, wants to see her stand on her own two feet prior to bringing her fiance to America.

This part could be sort-of true. There are two major steps to getting a fiance visa (and then there are MORE steps to being able to work and live permanently in the US but I'll go over up to the "getting on a plane" part)

Step One: US Citizen asks Department of Homeland Security (Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS) for permission for the fiance to apply for a K1 visa. USCIS looks at the file to make sure they both meet the baseline criteria (including background checks and things) then says "yes" and forwards it off to the State Department.

Step Two: State Department sends the file to the appropriate embassy, who contacts the fiance letting them know that they are allowed to apply for a K1 visa through this one particular US citizen. They have a lot of things to do (medical appointments, interviews etc) for the embassy, who then does a deeper dive into the relationship, the individuals, the financials etc etc and says yes or no.

These days Step One is taking about 60 days. But, it takes a few weeks for USICS to pass this off to State, and then another week or so for State to pass to the embassy, and then another few weeks for the embassy to contact the fiance. And then it can take several weeks to knock out everything on the checklist the embassy gives the fiance (the medicals must be done by certain doctors and sometimes they don't have appointments for weeks), and then it can be another few weeks for an available appointment for an interview. So, Step 2 can take 2 months or more.

I'm guessing your daughter saw that people here were getting through Step One in 6 to 8 weeks and either thought that was the whole process, or didn't communicate this to you effectively or something. But no, start to finish it's far longer than that.

[susanvmallory 2]

I think it is a good thing for you to be educated on this process, especially if you may consider cosponsorship. But I am also very much of the mind that the petitioner (the daughter) and the applicant (the UK fiancé) need to read and fully comprehend all instructions and the process too. It sounds as if the daughter has a little more reading cut out for her. Afterall this is their lives that will change, and marriage is a big step. My husband and I handled everything regarding the paperwork and educating ourselves.. people were a great help here. He worked tirelessly to save up money so that we did not have to put a large burden on my family and we paid for our own wedding. My sister graciously agreed to cosponsor us.. but not everyone's circumstances are the same. My husband is a responsible and well-educated adult, and my family has known him for longer than I suspect a lot of fiancé's situations would. Her cosponsoring us wasn't a problem to her.

I don't know how much money your daughter has on hand, or if she pays some sort of rent to you... But since the fiancé will not be able to seek out a job until the employment authorization comes in, and you don't know what the job prospects will be like for him, there is no way of knowing how long he will need at least some sort of support. Someone has to provide the basics for him until he gets on his feet. There is also the cost of healthcare to consider. Immigrants are eligible for healthcare, and they will need insurance eventually. So your daughter will have to consider that.

Love is difficult, and so is long distance romance. It's understandable when a couple wants to be together, but I would suggest going over everything carefully. If not done correctly, it can contribute to additional delay. Believe me, if it wasn't for the circumstances with my mom, I would have been sponsoring my husband myself... we don't like to be a burden on anyone. So I can fully understand your reluctance here.

She has no money saved, just started a new job and lives at home. She has to find an apartment before her fiance gets here, as I do not have the room for the two of them in my home. My daughter is currently sleeping on the couch. She returned home late January from a 6 month vacation in Scotland, she was supposed to be getting her own place by May (no plans as of yet). She sold all of her belongings and went to Scotland last year in July believing she could stay indefinitely. Her plan was to stay for six month, leave for one day by taking a day trip to Ireland and reentering Scotland for another 6 months (and repeat). She had no intentions on returning home to the USA and has only done so due to not being able to stay in Scotland. She attempted to get a school visa; however, her high school GPA wasn't strong enough to be considered for any Universities in Scotland, also she had no money to fund her education. My daughters fiances family had an unwillingness/inability to sponsor my daughter so she could to stay...RED FLAG. As I am expected to sponsor her fiance on the word of them being financially responsible. Her fiance is finishing University this June as an Illustrative Artist. My daughter is taking EMT classes and works as a security officer, they have big plans to move to the West or East coast...Unfortunately if I cosponsor I fear for the next 10 years I will be legally liable. I want what is best for my daughter but the more I research and ask questions the more I realize how ill-prepared she and her fiance are. Feeling discouraged for my daughter and understanding my spouses hesitance in being a cosponsor.

[abhi_meli 150]

Ask you daughter to take it easy!!! Immigration process is a very serious thing.I understand people fall in love and want to be together asap but one should always prepare in advance and not live in a fantasy world.Either your daughter does not understand the seriousness of all this or she thinks her parents will always support financially,no matter what.Ask her to slow down and first go through all the relevant information once again starting from applying for K-1 to Adjustment Of Status.Also talk to her Fiance and ask him questions about all this.

[aaron2020 11,651]

She has no money saved, just started a new job and lives at home. She has to find an apartment before her fiance gets here, as I do not have the room for the two of them in my home. My daughter is currently sleeping on the couch. She returned home late January from a 6 month vacation in Scotland, she was supposed to be getting her own place by May (no plans as of yet). She sold all of her belongings and went to Scotland last year in July believing she could stay indefinitely. Her plan was to stay for six month, leave for one day by taking a day trip to Ireland and reentering Scotland for another 6 months (and repeat). She had no intentions on returning home to the USA and has only done so due to not being able to stay in Scotland. She attempted to get a school visa; however, her high school GPA wasn't strong enough to be considered for any Universities in Scotland, also she had no money to fund her education. My daughters fiances family had an unwillingness/inability to sponsor my daughter so she could to stay...RED FLAG. As I am expected to sponsor her fiance on the word of them being financially responsible. Her fiance is finishing University this June as an Illustrative Artist. My daughter is taking EMT classes and works as a security officer, they have big plans to move to the West or East coast...Unfortunately if I cosponsor I fear for the next 10 years I will be legally liable. I want what is best for my daughter but the more I research and ask questions the more I realize how ill-prepared she and her fiance are. Feeling discouraged for my daughter and understanding my spouses hesitance in being a cosponsor.

I am sorry Susan, but your daughter seems very ill prepared and entitled.

It's ludicrous that she thought she could just move to another country and reside there.

It's ludicrous that she thought she found a loophole of staying indefinitely in Scotland with day trips to Ireland.

It's ludicrous that she would apply to foreign universities with no means to pay tuition.

It seems that there may be some good reasons why her fiance's family is unwilling to help them. Probably the same reasons you and your husband are concern about.

I am concern that she "expects you to sponsor" her fiance. One can ask another person for a favor, but not expect it or demand it.

They have big plans and no money. How do they expect to finance their moves? With dreams and fairy dust?

Sorry, but your daughter needs a serious dose of reality. She can not expect a favor. She can not expect you to financially support her and her husband. She needs to mature and take steps to support herself.

I have a 21 years old stepson that has cursed at me for not supporting him. He worked full time, got paid on a Friday for 2 weeks of work, paid no rent, ate my food, and expected me to pay for a car battery on the following Tuesday. I told him no and he blamed me for his problems. I had to tell him to leave after many lies and failures on his part to make plans after we explained things he needed to do to move forward. His mother admitted that she enabled him but letting him slide after she yelled at me for making him leave for cursing at me. He no longer speaks to me. I feel the pain that you are going through.