What are our odds for CR-1 approval?

[jeffthehat 10]

Hey there. U.S. citizen here.

 

I've been in a relationship with my Thai girlfriend for 1.5 years, and I'm ready to start a life with her. My reported income is around $15k annually (I'm self-employed), so we won't be able to do the K-1 visa. Thus, we planned on getting married in Thailand this April to apply for the CR-1. 

 

Our relationship is without a doubt legitimate. But there are a few things that I worry might come off as red flags to the Immigration office. 

 

1.) She's six years older than me. 

 

2.) She applied for (and was denied) a tourist visa to the US in 2016. This was a couple of months after we started dating. She told the immigration officers that she wanted to use the visa to go to NYC for New Years. She didn't mention me. This will almost certainly come up in the interview, and I can't think of an explanation that won't sound like immigration fraud. 

 

3.) My lifestyle is a typical. I'm one of those "digital nomads" who rotates countries every few months. Since Sept. 2016, I've lived in Thailand for six months (two three-month intervals), Italy for two months, and I'm currently in Hungary. Between those stretches, I lived with my parents in the U.S. for 2-3 months. She stayed with me for a week in Italy and will stay with me this month for a week in Hungary. I'm worried that this freewheelin' lifestyle will cause Immigration to think that our relationship is not legitimate. 

 

4.) My finances. Obviously, I'm not making a lot of money. And I've got a significant amount of credit card debt. We'll have to get a sponsor, of course, but this is just another factor that I think will look bad. 

 

Outside of that, our relationship is completely normal. I'm just worried that the other factors will result in a denial. 

 

Given these circumstances, what are our chances of approval? Thanks!

 

 

[payxibka 10,048]

55 minutes ago, jeffthehat said:

Hey there. U.S. citizen here.

 

I've been in a relationship with my Thai girlfriend for 1.5 years, and I'm ready to start a life with her. My reported income is around $15k annually (I'm self-employed), so we won't be able to do the K-1 visa. Thus, we planned on getting married in Thailand this April to apply for the CR-1. 

 

Our relationship is without a doubt legitimate. But there are a few things that I worry might come off as red flags to the Immigration office. 

 

1.) She's six years older than me. 

 

2.) She applied for (and was denied) a tourist visa to the US in 2016. This was a couple of months after we started dating. She told the immigration officers that she wanted to use the visa to go to NYC for New Years. She didn't mention me. This will almost certainly come up in the interview, and I can't think of an explanation that won't sound like immigration fraud. 

 

3.) My lifestyle is a typical. I'm one of those "digital nomads" who rotates countries every few months. Since Sept. 2016, I've lived in Thailand for six months (two three-month intervals), Italy for two months, and I'm currently in Hungary. Between those stretches, I lived with my parents in the U.S. for 2-3 months. She stayed with me for a week in Italy and will stay with me this month for a week in Hungary. I'm worried that this freewheelin' lifestyle will cause Immigration to think that our relationship is not legitimate. 

 

4.) My finances. Obviously, I'm not making a lot of money. And I've got a significant amount of credit card debt. We'll have to get a sponsor, of course, but this is just another factor that I think will look bad. 

 

Outside of that, our relationship is completely normal. I'm just worried that the other factors will result in a denial. 

 

Given these circumstances, what are our chances of approval? Thanks!

 

 

You won't be able to do any visa without any kind of joint sponsor

[geowrian 22,339]

The minimum income required for the affidavit of support is actually higher for a CR-1 (albeit a K-1 needs to go through AOS which has the same higher requirement anyway). You can use a joint sponsor if your income is insufficient, or use assets.

I'm not shying you away from a CR-1 at all (I would suggest it over a K-1 anyway)....just pointing out that that the income requirements for support are at least as high.

1. Age alone is not a cause for denial, and only 6 years is not much. I wouldn't worry about this...just show evidence of a bona fide relationship.
2. The tourist visa refusal is not an issue but must be disclosed. But yes, the CO may ask why you weren't mentioned. It's not a misrepresentation not to include you unless she was asked something about it that would require mentioning you. It is what it is, though....just tell the CO what happened if asked about it. She must be completely honest at all times (meaning no trying to deceive them either!), but doesn't need to disclose something unless asked.
3. The frequent travel doesn't jump out to me as a reason to suggest a fraudulent relationship. But I would suggest starting to establish & maintain ties to the US to show that you really do intend to live there with her. The purpose of the visa is for family reunification, so showing that you actually will be living together within the US is important.
4. Having to use a sponsor doesn't hurt your relationship validity.

As for chances, it's somewhere between 0% and 100% (exclusive). It's all about your individual case.

[ASMS 86]

1. Is not a big age gap, I doubt this could be a problem during the interview.

 

2. As long as she wasn't questioned about you, and then she lied about, that should not be a problem. If she was honest with everything she said and the documents she used, then it won't cause difficulties.

 

3. A "nomads" life is not exactly what us inmigration wants from a petitioner. Remember that you are applying for your wife to have a permanent residence in the US, not a tourist visa. So you will need to prove that your intentions are to reside with her in the US.

 

4. there's nothing bad with having a joint sponsor, at the end you will be the main sponsor. If you don't make enough money just make sure to find one that meet the requirements.

Edited January 13, 2018 by ASMS

[jeffthehat 10]

Thank you for the reply

 

Quote

The minimum income required for the affidavit of support is actually higher for a CR-1 (albeit a K-1 needs to go through AOS which has the same higher requirement anyway). You can use a joint sponsor if your income is insufficient, or use assets.

 

I remember reading somewhere that a joint sponsor could cause some issues with the K-1. But I may be mis-remembering. Would the K-1 still be a legitimate option? With my income, I've been operating under the assumption that a CR-1 is our only choice. 

 

Quote

1. The tourist visa refusal is not an issue but must be disclosed. But yes, the CO may ask why you weren't mentioned. It's not a misrepresentation not to include you unless she was asked something about it that would require mentioning you. It is what it is, though....just tell the CO what happened if asked about it. She must be completely honest at all times (meaning no trying to deceive them either!), but doesn't need to disclose something unless asked.

Hmm... so she should just say that she didn't mention me bc that would lower her chances of getting a tourist visa? Would that actually work?? I feel like she's admitting an intention to fraud the system there, but it's the honest answer haha. 

 

Quote

The frequent travel doesn't jump out to me as a reason to suggest a fraudulent relationship. But I would suggest starting to establish & maintain ties to the US to show that you really do intend to live there with her. The purpose of the visa is for family reunification, so showing that you actually will be living together within the US is important.

I've actually been considering grad school in the US starting Fall 2019. Would that count as establishing ties? I wouldn't have any paperwork/ applications to show until this winter, at least. How could I work that into our application?

 

Thanks again

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2018 by jeffthehat

[geowrian 22,339]

15 minutes ago, jeffthehat said:

I remember reading somewhere that a joint sponsor could cause some issues with the K-1. But I may be mis-remembering. Would the K-1 still be a legitimate option? With my income, I've been operating under the assumption that a CR-1 is our only choice. 

There are a handful of embassies where they only accept a co sponsor for the I-134 on a case by case basis. Usually, family members tend to be accepted in those cases anyway.

K-1 is a legitimate option (so long as you don't marry until entering on the K-1 visa). That said, I still suggest a CR-1 as it's only a few months longer to obtain and better in every way since it grants LPR status upon entry (and no AOS required!).

 

15 minutes ago, jeffthehat said:

Hmm... so she should just say that she didn't mention me bc that would lower her chances of getting a tourist visa? Would that actually work?? I feel like she's admitting an intention to fraud the system there, but it's the honest answer haha. 

I can't say what she should say...be honest, but no need to implicate deceit either. Presumably she really did want to visit there...so if somebody were to just note that they weren't asked about you, then there was no need to bring it up. If she was asked about it, then yeah...she needs to say why she told them an alternate reason.

They very likely aren't going to focus on this...it's not material to the visa application.

 

15 minutes ago, jeffthehat said:

I've actually been considering grad school in the US starting Fall 2019. Would that count as establishing ties? I wouldn't have any paperwork/ applications to show until this winter, at least. How could I work that into our application?

Enrollment would be a good tie, yes. I'd suggest showing more if you have it still, but I don't think this is going to be a big issue for them either.

Your fiancee would bring the evidence to the interview.

[pushbrk 13,611]

1 hour ago, geowrian said:

There are a handful of embassies where they only accept a co sponsor for the I-134 on a case by case basis. Usually, family members tend to be accepted in those cases anyway.

K-1 is a legitimate option (so long as you don't marry until entering on the K-1 visa). That said, I still suggest a CR-1 as it's only a few months longer to obtain and better in every way since it grants LPR status upon entry (and no AOS required!).

 

I can't say what she should say...be honest, but no need to implicate deceit either. Presumably she really did want to visit there...so if somebody were to just note that they weren't asked about you, then there was no need to bring it up. If she was asked about it, then yeah...she needs to say why she told them an alternate reason.

They very likely aren't going to focus on this...it's not material to the visa application.

 

Enrollment would be a good tie, yes. I'd suggest showing more if you have it still, but I don't think this is going to be a big issue for them either.

Your fiancee would bring the evidence to the interview.

There are two Embassies (Actually Consular Immigrant Visa Units) where cosponsors are very rarely accepted in a K-1 visa case.  Those are Manila and Bangkok.  Where I've seen them accepted, is with a soon to be or very recent college graduate with good job prospects has their well qualified parents as cosponsors.  This problem is only in Manila and Bangkok, in my experience.

 

If asked specifically, why she didn't mention a relationship with a US Citizen, a generic truthful answer could be something along the lines that she was simply planning to visit her boyfriend.  Unless there is some sort of formal engagement on paper, "fiance" is a widely misused or simply unused term.  Also, the DS160 doesn't ask about a fiance like the old paper application did.

[ASMS 86]

2 hours ago, geowrian said:

Hmm... so she should just say that she didn't mention me bc that would lower her chances of getting a tourist visa? Would that actually work?? I feel like she's admitting an intention to fraud the system there, but it's the honest answer haha.

If she admits that she didn't say that because it would lower her chances of getting a visa, is very very related with the grounds they use to declare misrepresentation, which means a life ban to go to the US, or in the worst case having to find a waiver to overcome that.

I agree with the previous answer by saying she was just going to visit her boyfriend.

[TNJ17 1,329]

There are income requirements for CR1 as well, and much more than K1. You’ll need to get a job that pays 125% of poverty line, or find a co-sponsor. I don’t know about the Philippines, but the age difference can be a problem in some countries. I don’t think her visa denial will be a problem. Just make sure to answer that question truthfully on the forms. You need to establish residency back in the states. Traveling from country to country might be an issue. 

[bakphx1 791]

If you can get a joint sponsor, your only serious obstacle is not having a US address or living here.  Where do you plan to live after the visa is issued?  She would need to plan to live in the US after getting it.

 

The age difference is small, and more of an issue when the beneficiary is much younger than the USC.

[JosephRose 82]

We are nearing the end of our K-1 process.  The income requirements for Thailand are different , they do not allow joint sponsorship.   In your situation whether you do K-1 or CR-1  finding someone that trusts you enough to lend you 10,000 or even 20,000 usd   long enough to produce a bank statement showing that account balance.   Keep in mind you will have to produce this twice , once at the start of the process and again several months later with your I-134 statement of support.     As complicated as it sounds it really is just a matter of gathering overwhelming evidence once at the beginning and again at the end of either process.   But as with anything money is an issue.

[Loren Y 2,768]

1 hour ago, JosephRose said:

We are nearing the end of our K-1 process.  The income requirements for Thailand are different , they do not allow joint sponsorship.   In your situation whether you do K-1 or CR-1  finding someone that trusts you enough to lend you 10,000 or even 20,000 usd   long enough to produce a bank statement showing that account balance.   Keep in mind you will have to produce this twice , once at the start of the process and again several months later with your I-134 statement of support.     As complicated as it sounds it really is just a matter of gathering overwhelming evidence once at the beginning and again at the end of either process.   But as with anything money is an issue.

This is interesting. I just started my K1 visa process in December for my Thai fiancee, and I make 6-7 times the 125% requirement so no need for a joint sponser, but where do you have to show bank statements showing 10 to 20 thousand in them. I have never heard of that, and since she will be interviewing in Bangkok, I would like to know if this is really required. No problem at all as I have had over 20k in my checking account for years now, but in March I am taking a bunch of financial paperwork over to Thailand to get ready for the interview ,probably in August or September the way things are going, and if I need to provide bank statements I would like to know this. And if it really is that you have to look like a baller, I can bring statements from my offshore account showing 100k plus in them, but I really don't want any US government to know about these funds. Not a good idea to send my fiancee in with statements from my bank account showing hundreds of thousands of dollars I posses that was never taxed or disclosed, sounds like I'll end up like Westley Snipes from a few years ago. But from what you said having the 20k should be good enough, though this is the first I'm hearing about this, so any information would be greatly appreciated, and I'm going to fire up google and see what else I can find on this. I have a pretty high end attorney friend of mine in Bangkok helping me with the process, and I will e-mail him and ask about this as well. Thanks in advance for your help. I'll take any info possible on the K1 process thru Bangkok.

[jeffthehat 10]

4 hours ago, bakphx1@aol.com said:

If you can get a joint sponsor, your only serious obstacle is not having a US address or living here.  Where do you plan to live after the visa is issued?  She would need to plan to live in the US after getting it.

 

The age difference is small, and more of an issue when the beneficiary is much younger than the USC.

 

I generally use my parents' address when asked about where I live. We're planning to stay in the U.S. for a year or two (at least) if/when we got the visa. Other than that, we try to keep our plans flexible.

 

Assuming she got it, would her visa be in jeopardy if she doesn't stay in the U.S. for a fixed amount of time?

[jeffthehat 10]

21 hours ago, ASMS said:

If she admits that she didn't say that because it would lower her chances of getting a visa, is very very related with the grounds they use to declare misrepresentation, which means a life ban to go to the US, or in the worst case having to find a waiver to overcome that.

I agree with the previous answer by saying she was just going to visit her boyfriend.

Yeah, that's what I was worried about. I haven't asked her if the consulate brought up a potential boyfriend yet. But if they did, and she lied, would we be screwed?

[bakphx1 791]

21 minutes ago, jeffthehat said:

 

I generally use my parents' address when asked about where I live. We're planning to stay in the U.S. for a year or two (at least) if/when we got the visa. Other than that, we try to keep our plans flexible.

 

Assuming she got it, would her visa be in jeopardy if she doesn't stay in the U.S. for a fixed amount of time?

Yes, you have to be careful with abandonment until you can get full citizenship.