Income Requirement Becoming a Roadblock

[JFH 12,189]

35 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

 

not sure why you mention a marriage visa in your country ,  that is not what you are going for unless you want her to move there 

Some countries (the UK, for example) require non-citizens and non-residents to have a marriage visa just to be able to get married there, even if they have no intention of living there after the ceremony. In the UK this was introduced to stop marriage fraud, sham marriages for immigration benefit, etc. The UK is not somewhere you can easily go for a destination wedding. You cannot marry on a tourist visa or a visa-free visit to the UK like you can here. 

Edited May 19, 2020 by JFH

[JFH 12,189]

When I see posts like this, I have to ask myself at what point the K-1 visa seemed like the best option for the individuals involved. Not only does it cost more, but the immigrant spouse-to-be is putting themselves in a situation where they cannot work for many months. Why on earth this would be a good option for 2 people who are struggling as it is without the cost of healthcare, adjustment of status, and feeding another person brought into the mix is a complete mystery to me. Especially when said immigrant is VWP eligible. 
 

OP, forget the K-1. It’s essentially an over-priced tourist visa that permits you to pay a whole load of money to adjust status after you get married. Just visit when flights are on the move again, marry, and file the CR-1. You can then start work within minutes of arriving, if you so wish. 

[JeanneAdil 6,261]

27 minutes ago, JFH said:

When I see posts like this, I have to ask myself at what point the K-1 visa seemed like the best option for the individuals involved. Not only does it cost more, but the immigrant spouse-to-be is putting themselves in a situation where they cannot work for many months. Why on earth this would be a good option for 2 people who are struggling as it is without the cost of healthcare, adjustment of status, and feeding another person brought into the mix is a complete mystery to me. Especially when said immigrant is VWP eligible. 
 

OP, forget the K-1. It’s essentially an over-priced tourist visa that permits you to pay a whole load of money to adjust status after you get married. Just visit when flights are on the move again, marry, and file the CR-1. You can then start work within minutes of arriving, if you so wish. 

good advise if there was a person who had the 125% of the needed poverty level to support the original petition

otherwise not a good idea to think of marriage at all / seems no one could support you and 7 others 

[Cndn 98]

1 hour ago, JFH said:

When I see posts like this, I have to ask myself at what point the K-1 visa seemed like the best option for the individuals involved. Not only does it cost more, but the immigrant spouse-to-be is putting themselves in a situation where they cannot work for many months. Why on earth this would be a good option for 2 people who are struggling as it is without the cost of healthcare, adjustment of status, and feeding another person brought into the mix is a complete mystery to me. Especially when said immigrant is VWP eligible. 
 

OP, forget the K-1. It’s essentially an over-priced tourist visa that permits you to pay a whole load of money to adjust status after you get married. Just visit when flights are on the move again, marry, and file the CR-1. You can then start work within minutes of arriving, if you so wish. 

If I could go back and do it all over again I would forget I ever heard the words “K1.” It is so inferior to the spouse visa. I am so pissed. I just didn’t know any better at the start of this and I thought the K1 was a much faster way to be with my spouse. I didn’t get how much hassle I would be saving myself to just wait a few more months. I tell anyone and everyone I can to go with the spouse visa. 

[SalishSea 16,923]

She’s a grown woman.  Is there some reason why she doesn’t work?  US immigration is expensive, and there is even greater attention given to the public charge issue now.  If she receives public benefits, Medicaid Etc that will not be in your favor.

Do you understand that K-1 visa holders cannot work in the US for 5-7 months after arriving?

 

You may have to Delay things until she can get a job (or two, or three) to be able to sponsors you.

At this point, she can’t afford to sponsor an immigrant.

[Calicolom 265]

50 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

She’s a grown woman.  Is there some reason why she doesn’t work?  US immigration is expensive, and there is even greater attention given to the public charge issue now.  If she receives public benefits, Medicaid Etc that will not be in your favor.

Do you understand that K-1 visa holders cannot work in the US for 5-7 months after arriving?

 

You may have to Delay things until she can get a job (or two, or three) to be able to sponsors you.

At this point, she can’t afford to sponsor an immigrant.

K-1 is for people like me. I could not stay in her country long enough to get married. Also I could not get one straight anwer, on how to get married in her country.

[SalishSea 16,923]

15 hours ago, HopefulAmerican35 said:

The only other idea I had was to speak to the local chapter of the LDS church that they're a member of to see if they'll cosponsor me. 

No.  To be eligible, a sponsor must be a USC or LPR.  A church is neither.

[kris&me 572]

You know there is not enough money to support the petition 7 living there plus you

but do you know what that means in money

K1 is 100% and CR1 is 125%  with the following numbers for income needed

 

Sponsor's Household Size	100% of HHS Poverty Guidelines*	125% of HHS Poverty Guidelines*
8	$44,120	$55,150

[Letspaintcookies 2,235]

13 minutes ago, kris&me said:

You know there is not enough money to support the petition 7 living there plus you

but do you know what that means in money

K1 is 100% and CR1 is 125%  with the following numbers for income needed

 

Sponsor's Household Size	100% of HHS Poverty Guidelines*	125% of HHS Poverty Guidelines*
8	$44,120	$55,150

OP mentioned that they're part of the LDS. So it could be that not all household members legally belong to each other. Don't get me wrong here, each to it's own but I guess one would have to figure that out.

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

1 hour ago, Jorgedig said:

She’s a grown woman.  Is there some reason why she doesn’t work?  US immigration is expensive, and there is even greater attention given to the public charge issue now.  If she receives public benefits, Medicaid Etc that will not be in your favor.

Do you understand that K-1 visa holders cannot work in the US for 5-7 months after arriving?

 

You may have to Delay things until she can get a job (or two, or three) to be able to sponsors you.

At this point, she can’t afford to sponsor an immigrant.

This. You may not like the response but everything in there is the truth. At age 22 she can get a job; grocery stores are hiring like crazy as well as other places that require no experience. Unfortunately right now does not seem like the time for you guys to think about immigration. As you are learning it comes with many requirements and the financial piece is huge; now more so then ever. Finding a stranger to be a joint sponsor is also really unlikely- I don't know anyone who would sign a contract to agree to pay back the government if a you ever used benefits. I know you said you could get a job in your field when you get here- but that would be approx 6 months away- and even then- jobs for people with skills are in limited supply with over 3 million people having filed for unemployment. 

[geowrian 22,336]

4 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

I don't know anyone who would sign a contract to agree to pay back the government if a you ever used benefits.

Not only that, but the relationship between a sponsor and the person being sponsored is a factor. What is the likelihood that the sponsor would actually provide support to prevent them from using public benefits in the first place? The I-864 does have a repayment obligation (enforcement is an issue here...), but the CO must be convinced that they would never have a need to enforce it in the first place.

Edited May 19, 2020 by geowrian

[JeanneAdil 6,261]

50 minutes ago, Letspaintcookies said:

OP mentioned that they're part of the LDS. So it could be that not all household members legally belong to each other. Don't get me wrong here, each to it's own but I guess one would have to figure that out.

he says she lives with her family of 7 and Parents who don't make enough money and a sister's partner who makes minimum wage with a child to support so her, father, mother, sister, sister's partner and a child and one other???? are in the house /  no mention of living with church members and no mention of any other income  these 7 plus him would be 8

[HRQX 4,145]

15 hours ago, HopefulAmerican35 said:

but I don't think I can just fly to the US, get married and then come back home on an ESTA can I?

Yes, it's allowed:

Australia also allows non-Australians to marry Australians in a tourist visit and then depart Australia: "You don’t have to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident to legally marry in Australia, but you do have to have the appropriate visa if you hope to live in Australia after your marriage." https://www.immigrationgurus.com.au/how-do-i-get-married-in-australia/

5 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

not sure why you mention a marriage visa in your country ,  that is not what you are going for unless you want her to move there 

In a select few countries, like the UK, a marriage visa is required even if the intention is to depart the UK after the wedding: https://www.gov.uk/marriage-visa

[JeanneAdil 6,261]

14 minutes ago, HRQX said:

Yes, it's allowed:

Australia also allows non-Australians to marry Australians in a tourist visit and then depart Australia: "You don’t have to be an Australian citizen or permanent resident to legally marry in Australia, but you do have to have the appropriate visa if you hope to live in Australia after your marriage." https://www.immigrationgurus.com.au/how-do-i-get-married-in-australia/

In a select few countries, like the UK, a marriage visa is required even if the intention is to depart the UK after the wedding: https://www.gov.uk/marriage-visa

so he was talking about her marrying in Australia and staying there  /  not just marrying for the US visa

 

[In4theJourney 171]

I mean, just because there’s 7 people in household, doesn’t mean he/she supports any of them. The people who count are the people he/she claims as dependents on taxes.