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US citizen living abroad in my fiance's home country

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I am a US citizen living abroad in Israel, my fiance's home country. It was the only way for us to be together while dating because Israel grants work visas to boyfriends/girlfriends of Israeli citizens as long as we live together (domestic partners). Now we have decided to get married and want to move to the US. We actually can't get married in Israel even if we wanted to because Israel does not have civil marriage, only religious. He is Jewish and I am not, so we can only get married in the US.

Here are my questions:

Will the fact that I don't live in the US be a problem when I petition for his K1 visa? In Israel, I am not considered a resident, only a tourist permitted to work.

When sending in the petition, can I put my address of residency as my parent's address (my last place of residence in the US)? Israeli postal service is scarily unreliable, and I don't want to risk any important paperwork getting lost in their system.

How can I prove that we will both live in the US together after getting married?

When getting my fiance's documents apostilled, do only the originals have to be apostilled or also the translations? Do the translations need to be notarized by an Israeli lawyer or an American notary?

Thank you!

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Russia
Timeline

I am a US citizen living abroad in Israel, my fiance's home country. It was the only way for us to be together while dating because Israel grants work visas to boyfriends/girlfriends of Israeli citizens as long as we live together (domestic partners). Now we have decided to get married and want to move to the US. We actually can't get married in Israel even if we wanted to because Israel does not have civil marriage, only religious. He is Jewish and I am not, so we can only get married in the US.

Here are my questions:

Will the fact that I don't live in the US be a problem when I petition for his K1 visa? In Israel, I am not considered a resident, only a tourist permitted to work.

When sending in the petition, can I put my address of residency as my parent's address (my last place of residence in the US)? Israeli postal service is scarily unreliable, and I don't want to risk any important paperwork getting lost in their system.

How can I prove that we will both live in the US together after getting married?

When getting my fiance's documents apostilled, do only the originals have to be apostilled or also the translations? Do the translations need to be notarized by an Israeli lawyer or an American notary?

Thank you!

The big question which is unclear to me about your situation: are you actually planning to move to/stay in the US after the marriage (assuming the K-1 is granted)? Or do you just want to go to the US, get married and return to living in Israel?

I've heard that Apostilles are not necessary, at least not in my country. Might be different for Israel. Hopefully someone with experience from that country will chime in.

Edited by millefleur

🇷🇺 CR-1 via DCF (Dec 2016-Jun 2017) & I-751 ROC (Apr 2019-Oct 2019)🌹

Spoiler

Info about my DCF Moscow* experience here and here

26-Jul-2016: Married abroad in Russia 👩‍❤️‍👨 See guide here
21-Dec-2016: I-130 filed at Moscow USCIS field office*
29-Dec-2016: I-130 approved! Yay! 🎊 

17-Jan-2017: Case number received

21-Mar-2017: Medical Exam completed

24-Mar-2017: Interview at Embassy - approved! 🎉

29-Mar-2017: CR-1 Visa received (via mail)

02-Apr-2017: USCIS Immigrant (GC) Fee paid

28-Jun-2017: Port of Entry @ PDX 🛩️

21-Jul-2017: No SSN after three weeks; applied in person at the SSA

22-Jul-2017: GC arrived in the mail 📬

31-Jul-2017: SSN arrived via mail, hurrah!

 

*NOTE: The USCIS Field Office in Moscow is now CLOSED as of February 28th, 2019.

 

Removal of Conditions - MSC Service Center

 28-Jun-2019: Conditional GC expires

30-Mar-2019: Eligible to apply for ROC

01-Apr-2019: ROC in the mail to Phoenix AZ lockbox! 📫

03-Apr-2019: ROC packet delivered to lockbox

09-Apr-2019: USCIS cashed check

09-Apr-2019: Case number received via text - MSC 📲

12-Apr-2019: Extension letter arrives via mail

19-Apr-2019: Biometrics letter arrives via mail

30-Apr-2019: Biometrics appointment at local office

26-Jun-2019: Case ready to be scheduled for interview 

04-Sep-2019: Interview was scheduled - letter to arrive in mail

09-Sep-2019: Interview letter arrived in the mail! ✉️

17-Oct-2019: Interview scheduled @ local USCIS  

18-Oct-2019: Interview cancelled & notice ordered*

18-Oct-2019: Case was approved! 🎉

22-Oct-2019: Card was mailed to me 📨

23-Oct-2019: Card was picked by USPS 

25-Oct-2019: 10 year GC Card received in mail 📬

 

*I don't understand this status because we DID have an interview!

 

🇺🇸 N-400 Application for Naturalization (Apr 2020-Jun 2021) 🛂

Spoiler

Filed during Covid-19 & moved states 1 month after filing

30-Mar-2020: N-400 early filing window opens!

01-Apr-2020: Filed N-400 online 💻 

02-Apr-2020: NOA 1 - Receipt No. received online 📃

07-Apr-2020: NOA 1 - Receipt No. received via mail

05-May-2020: Moved to another state, filed AR-11 online

05-May-2020: Application transferred to another USCIS field office for review ➡️

15-May-2020: AR-11 request to change address completed

16-Jul-2020: Filed non-receipt inquiry due to never getting confirmation that case was transferred to new field office

15-Oct-2020: Received generic response to non-receipt inquiry, see full response here

10-Feb-2021: Contacted senator's office for help with USCIS

12-Feb-2021: Received canned response from senator's office that case is within processing time 😡

16-Feb-2021: Contacted other senator's office for help with USCIS - still no biometrics

19-Feb-2021: Biometrics reuse notice - canned response from other senator's office 🌐

23-Feb-2021: Interview scheduled - notice to come in the mail

25-Feb-2021: Biometrics reuse notice arrives via mail

01-Mar-2021: Interview notice letter arrives via mail  ✉️ 

29-Mar-2021: Passed interview at local office! Oath Ceremony to be scheduled

13-Apr-2021: Oath Ceremony notice was mailed

04-May-2021: Oath Ceremony scheduled 🎆 Unable to attend due to illness

04-May-2021: Mailed request to reschedule Oath to local office

05-May-2021: "You did not attend your Oath Ceremony" - notice to come in the mail

06-May-2021: Oath Ceremony will be scheduled, date TBA

12-May-2021: Oath Ceremony re-scheduled for June 3rd, then de-scheduled same day 😡 

25-May-2021: New Oath Ceremony notice was mailed

16-Jun-2021: Oath Ceremony scheduled 🎆 - DONE!!

17-Jun-2021: Certificate of Naturalization issued

 

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Morocco
Timeline

I am a US citizen living abroad in Israel, my fiance's home country. It was the only way for us to be together while dating because Israel grants work visas to boyfriends/girlfriends of Israeli citizens as long as we live together (domestic partners). Now we have decided to get married and want to move to the US. We actually can't get married in Israel even if we wanted to because Israel does not have civil marriage, only religious. He is Jewish and I am not, so we can only get married in the US.

Here are my questions:

Will the fact that I don't live in the US be a problem when I petition for his K1 visa? In Israel, I am not considered a resident, only a tourist permitted to work.

When sending in the petition, can I put my address of residency as my parent's address (my last place of residence in the US)? Israeli postal service is scarily unreliable, and I don't want to risk any important paperwork getting lost in their system.

How can I prove that we will both live in the US together after getting married?

When getting my fiance's documents apostilled, do only the originals have to be apostilled or also the translations? Do the translations need to be notarized by an Israeli lawyer or an American notary?

Thank you!

Will the fact that I don't live in the US be a problem when I petition for his K1 visa? In Israel, I am not considered a resident, only a tourist permitted to work.

*** I am living in Morocco with my fiance (I am also just on a tourist visa from the US). I actually think it helps your case- as it shows you have a legitimate relationship. It's not a problem.

When sending in the petition, can I put my address of residency as my parent's address (my last place of residence in the US)? Israeli postal service is scarily unreliable, and I don't want to risk any important paperwork getting lost in their system.

***you should put your parent's address, as you are just on a tourist visa and that doesn't count as your permanent address.

How can I prove that we will both live in the US together after getting married?

***there is no way to prove this, but at the interview, maybe they're going to ask your fiance about why he wants to live in the US and what his plans are for the US and this is a great time for him to speak about his intentions of living in the US and working and the future...

When getting my fiance's documents apostilled, do only the originals have to be apostilled or also the translations? Do the translations need to be notarized by an Israeli lawyer or an American notary?

***first double-check that this is necessary. Some countries require this and others do not. This is supposed to be done before you get the documents translated. At least this is my understanding. The Apostille would be an Israeli official not American.

Hope this helps and gooooood luck!!! Mazel tov :) :)

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Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Norway
Timeline

Yes, use your parents address as mailing address and have them pay close attention to their mail (for K1, the USCIS will not send any case documents outaide the US anyway). Use your current address in Israel as physical address (as anything else would be a lie if you consider yourself living there).

Keep in mind that at the interview stage you need to show financial assets/income in the US to support your fiancé. If you don't have that, you need a US based co-sponsor.

If it isn't difficult, it isn't worth it.

 

K1 process

9/24/15: I129f sent

9/30/15: NOA1

11/2/15: NOA2

Delayed processing due to work

3/15/16: Medical

4/28/16: Interview (approved)

Delayed entry due to work

8/12/16: POE Detroit

 

9/4/16: Wedding!

 

AOS process:

9/9/16: I485/I131/I765 sent

9/14/16: Received 3xNOAs by text/e-mail (day 2)

9/14-18/16: Received 3xpaper NOAs 

9/23/16: Received biometrics appointment letter (day 11)

10/3/16: Biometrics appointment (day 19)

11/4/16: EAD+AP approved (day 53)

11/16/16: EAD status changed to card shipped (day 65)

11/17/16: EAD/AP combo card received (day 66)

12/30/16: Notice of interview scheduled (day 109)

2/1/17: AOS interview (day 142) - APPROVED

2/8/17: GC received (day 150)

 

ROC process:

11/3/2018: ROC window opens

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