Chances of Approval? How Long? (filipino citizen to USA)

[jessica.e 1]

I'm very new and I feel really uninformed/uneducated on visas.

 

I met my fiance in the Philippines in 2014 when I was on vacation visiting family. We started dating right away and became rather serious pretty quickly (we fell in love). It's been 3 years now and I've gone back to the Philippines twice on my own just to visit him for months at a time. At first, we weren't sure where we wanted to live together (options being USA, Philippines, Japan). After suggesting possibilities to him on coming to the states, he finally decided that that's what he wants to do. Well, let's get down to the facts, right?

 

• I am 22yo, he's 18yo (eh big woop). We're both legal to marry in our own countries.
• I was born as a US citizen. He has never been to the US.
• I live with my parents still (common in filipino-american households), but I work and am capable of making ~13-15k a year. I say capable because it just depends on how many hours I work which can/will change depending on my class schedule. I pay for my phone, car, tuition; I've bought expensive things I'm paying off.. so basically I usually have $400-1000 on hand, you know? I have a good credit score.. i don't know if that does anything but it's between 700-800.
• My mother is willing to co-sponsor if necessary, but from her attitude I think she'd rather I try to get him here on my own.
• We're both currently in college and will be graduating (if all goes well) with bachelor's degrees in about 2 years.
• Our plan is for me to submit the petition in a year (I just returned from the Philippines, was there May-July 2017) to start the process and while it's getting processed (the whole thing like assuming the petition is approved, then he submits the visa application and what not) we would finish our bachelor's degrees.
  • our families are really adamant about graduating before marriage, you know
• Neither of us have been previously married/engaged.
• I've never filed a petition before. He's never applied for any type of US visa.

 

And my main confusions are:

1. We have no idea what we're doing ? I have no idea what the timeline is actually like.. like what if it takes a shorter amount of time than 2 years? We haven't planned a wedding yet, though I've just tossed around an idea, and weddings take longer than 90 days to plan am i right? Or what if it takes longer than what we think?
2. What's the chances that my petition will even be approved ? I mean.. I am a college student who's living with her parents.. just from reading someone's going to be like, "can this child even support someone else??"
3. Also.. what are the fees like? I didn't even think about the fees before my grandma told me how much they spent to help my aunt (in law) come to the states as a spouse (their situation is almost completely different than mine.. I can't really ask them how theirs went and expect mine to be the same).
4. Do we need people (like.. lawyers??) to do things for the petition or application ... I don't even know what question I'm trying to ask for this one but hopefully you get what I'm saying ?

 

Sorry if this is like a big jumbled mess, but I hope someone can help me out! If you feel you need more information on our situation to give me better advice, please ask and I will answer because I need all the advice I can get haha.

Edited August 29, 2017 by jessica.e

[jessica.e 1]

Btw I live in Texas, and I don't know what the poverty line is here. But after I peeked around in other forum posts, I saw the minimum gross income is like $20k for.. somewhere at one point ?? but I don't think I'm capable of making that much at my current job level even before taxes ??

[kzielu 1,147]

You have zero chance of qualifying on your own with $15k. You need co-sponsor but I am not sure if Manilla embassy accepts them. Do you have recent tax returns ? Have you been paying taxes on your income ?

 

Look at the guides - everything is in there. First decide which visa you want to apply for.

 

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

 

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

 

You don't need any lawyers unless you have your fiancee has inadmissibility issues. Forms are fairly easy to fill if you spend enough time making sure you did it correctly.

[jessica.e 1]

2 minutes ago, kzielu said:

You have zero chance of qualifying on your own with $15k. You need co-sponsor but I am not sure if Manilla embassy accepts them. Do you have recent tax returns ? Have you been paying taxes on your income ?

 

Look at the guides - everything is in there. First decide which visa you want to apply for.

 

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

 

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

 

You don't need any lawyers unless you have your fiancee has inadmissibility issues. Forms are fairly easy to fill if you spend enough time making sure you did it correctly.

That's what I was thinking, so I would need a cosponsor. I think Manila does, my uncle had a co-sponsor when bringing my aunt to the states. I do have recent tax returns, I usually get money back rather than owing money to the government. We're going to try for the K-1 Visa.

 

Thank you for the links! I guess I could have looked at those first, but I just wanted my questions out here.

[Mr Geminian 691]

The whole K-1 visa process is very easy as long as you have all the required documents in place. Though it's time consuming but its worth waiting for the most important thing in the life- marriage. 

 

As said by @kzielu You won't be needing a lawyer as long as your partner's police record from his country(and any other country he lived) is clear. You will definitely need a co-sponsor because the amount of salary you are drawing now is not upto the requirement for a k-1visa. Co-sponsors can by anybody from family, friends, colleagues or even neighbours. You don't have to worry if you are a student or working as long as you meet the Affidavit of Support requirement.

To Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) in other words I-129F costs you $ 535 and once the petition is issued the K-1visa at the embassy/consulate will cost you $265 and medical exam will cost you anywhere between $50-$300. The minimum time for the whole process to complete is between 4-6 months.

 

The following is the official income requirements for K-1 visa. You will have to look for "100% of HNS Poverty Guidelines"

Edited August 29, 2017 by Aviinashh M

[Mr Geminian 691]

2 minutes ago, Aviinashh M said:

The whole K-1 visa process is very easy as long as you have all the required documents in place. Though it's time consuming but its worth waiting for the most important thing in the life- marriage. 

 

As said by @kzielu You won't be needing a lawyer as long as your partner's police record from his country(and any other country he lived) is clear. You will definitely need a co-sponsor because the amount of salary you are drawing now is not upto the requirement for a k-1visa. Co-sponsors can by anybody from family, friends, colleagues or even neighbours. You don't have to worry if you are a student or working as long as you meet the Affidavit of Support requirement.

To Petition for Alien Fiancé(e) in other words I-129F costs you $ 535 and once the petition is issued the K-1visa at the embassy/consulate will cost you $265 and medical exam will cost you anywhere between $50-$300. The minimum time for the whole process to complete is between 4-6 months.

 

The following is the official income requirements for K-1 visa. You will have to look for "100% of HNS Poverty Guidelines"

https://www.uscis.gov/system/files_force/files/form/i-864p.pdf

 

[jessica.e 1]

@Aviinashh M Thank you so much for all the information, the fee estimates especially! The minimum time for it all to process is a lot quicker than I thought, which is great news  assuming things get approved that is, right?

 

I never actually thought I would be able to get him here without a co-sponsor in my current financial status anyway.

Would you say that K-1 visas usually get approved when the person wanting to immigrate is clean (no criminal record, no previous marriage, etc), and the petitioner also has good standing financially (w/co-sponsor in my case) as well?

Edited August 29, 2017 by jessica.e

[Mr Geminian 691]

10 minutes ago, jessica.e said:

@Aviinashh M Thank you so much for all the information, the fee estimates especially! The minimum time for it all to process is a lot quicker than I thought, which is great news  assuming things get approved that is, right?

 

I never actually thought I would be able to get him here without a co-sponsor in my current financial status anyway.

Would you say that K-1 visas usually get approved when the person wanting to immigrate is clean (no criminal record, no previous marriage, etc), and the petitioner also has good standing financially (w/co-sponsor in my case) as well?

I dont see any reason why the USCIS will reject your application but it is for you guys to prove that the relationship is legitimate and that you are engaged. My wife(then fiancee) applied for I-129F in July 2016 and the case received the consulate in November and by the time i finished my medicals and visa it was april 2017. I would have finished my interview in January itself but then there was a delay from my end and had to re-schedule the interview. Anyways you will find all the answers to your questions on VJ and we all are here to help you anytime so all the best

[Umka36 781]

Most embassies use the 125% poverty guideline even for K1, unless you are activity duty armed forces.

Edited August 29, 2017 by Umka36

[Meg&Andrew 297]

It's up to the discretion of the CO if he or she wants to accept the I-134 (co sponsor). You will still be required to submit your financial information as well with the I-134 as you are still the primary sponsor. Also you should know, the fees dont just stop after the k1 is done. There is a lot more to it than just that. When your fiance arrives, after you marry within the 90 days he will have to file for AOS which was $1070 when my husband applied. I'm not sure if that fee has gone up or not.  The fee has gone up from what i just read to $1225. Then there will be fees on down the line from that as well. 

Edited August 30, 2017 by Meg&Andrew

[Redheadguy03 505]

Typically, Manila doesn't accept cosponsors for k1 visas. However, they are done on a case by case basis and being in college I would think is a pretty good reason to have one. 

 

Manila tends to be an "easier" embassy than others. My fiance was asked 3 questions when she came and they actually never even asked or verified our financial documents. (we definitely had them though) 

 

Good luck! Search through the forums there is a ton of information, oh and there is a Philippines subforum that is pretty helpful. 

 

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/129-philippines/

 

Edited August 30, 2017 by Redheadguy03

[geowrian 22,336]

USEM typically does not ask for the I-134, but you should have it ready in case they do. The COs there also only accept co sponsors for the I-134 on a case by case basis....usually a close family member is accepted.

[jessica.e 1]

13 hours ago, Meg&Andrew said:

It's up to the discretion of the CO if he or she wants to accept the I-134 (co sponsor). You will still be required to submit your financial information as well with the I-134 as you are still the primary sponsor. Also you should know, the fees dont just stop after the k1 is done. There is a lot more to it than just that. When your fiance arrives, after you marry within the 90 days he will have to file for AOS which was $1070 when my husband applied. I'm not sure if that fee has gone up or not.  The fee has gone up from what i just read to $1225. Then there will be fees on down the line from that as well. 

I hadn't thought about the fee ^^; but I knew he would have to file for it. Thank you for the information!

 

2 hours ago, Redheadguy03 said:

Typically, Manila doesn't accept cosponsors for k1 visas. However, they are done on a case by case basis and being in college I would think is a pretty good reason to have one. 

 

Manila tends to be an "easier" embassy than others. My fiance was asked 3 questions when she came and they actually never even asked or verified our financial documents. (we definitely had them though) 

 

Good luck! Search through the forums there is a ton of information, oh and there is a Philippines subforum that is pretty helpful. 

 

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/129-philippines/

 

Ah okay, this makes me a little uneasy but like you said me being in college is a good reason to have a co-sponsor for them to accept. My uncle had a co-sponsor for when my aunt was brought over, so I know for sure that at least it's not impossible to have a co-sponsor.

 

2 hours ago, geowrian said:

USEM typically does not ask for the I-134, but you should have it ready in case they do. The COs there also only accept co sponsors for the I-134 on a case by case basis....usually a close family member is accepted.

Would I be able to send in an I-134 with my petition to avoid it getting rejected/returned to me? Or would they contact me in some way to let me know "Hey in order for your petition to be approved, you just need a co-sponsor so fill out the I-134" (or something like that)? Sorry if this question seems obvious ^^;

I know this is a completely different case, but when I applied for a Philippine tourist visa (i was staying for 2 months), they had called me and said they needed more financial proof in order for my application to be approved, and I sent it and they approved.

[geowrian 22,336]

2 minutes ago, jessica.e said:

Would I be able to send in an I-134 with my petition to avoid it getting rejected/returned to me? Or would they contact me in some way to let me know "Hey in order for your petition to be approved, you just need a co-sponsor so fill out the I-134" (or something like that)? Sorry if this question seems obvious ^^;

I know this is a completely different case, but when I applied for a Philippine tourist visa (i was staying for 2 months), they had called me and said they needed more financial proof in order for my application to be approved, and I sent it and they approved.

Nope. The I-134 isn't looked at until the interview (plus the supporting evidence would be outdated by the time they got it anyway). USCIS won't make any determination about the public charge concern for a visa....visas are covered by DOS (USCIS is under DHS).

 

If at the interview they request the I-134 and they don't accept the sponsor or co sponsor, they will likely issue a 221g pending. Once you find a suitable co sponsor, you would be able to submit the I-134 + documents.

[jessica.e 1]

@geowrian

Oh okay thank you! Btw, the interview is for both the sponsor and the beneficiary? I would get an interview and my fiance would too, right? So I would bring the prepared I-134 with me to my interview if that's the case?

 

(Thanks for the speedy reply and really helpful information! I really appreciate it!)

Edited August 30, 2017 by jessica.e