DS-160 and work experience

[Dragonsarereal 10]

hello!

 

a quick question about the DS-160 for my K1 Visa. I am confused. I had a look at the form a month ago and I can't find it anymore but it seemed to ask my complete work history.

I was wondering why to get married, I need to show my curriculum, name of employers etc? Or did I get this wrong? thanks! I am new to this...so plenty of stuff to learn.

[Letspaintcookies 2,235]

1 hour ago, Dragonsarereal said:

hello!

 

a quick question about the DS-160 for my K1 Visa. I am confused. I had a look at the form a month ago and I can't find it anymore but it seemed to ask my complete work history.

I was wondering why to get married, I need to show my curriculum, name of employers etc? Or did I get this wrong? thanks! I am new to this...so plenty of stuff to learn.

The DS-160 is a one form fits all. It's not just used for K1 applicants. Don't know how to clearly explain it but the online form is an active form and will change depending on your answers. So somebody applying for a tourist visa will see and has to answer different questions than you applying for a K1.

[Wuozopo 4,287]

4 hours ago, Dragonsarereal said:

hello!

 

a quick question about the DS-160 for my K1 Visa. I am confused. I had a look at the form a month ago and I can't find it anymore but it seemed to ask my complete work history.

I was wondering why to get married, I need to show my curriculum, name of employers etc? Or did I get this wrong? thanks! I am new to this...so plenty of stuff to learn.

It’s part of the vetting process. They want to know if you have training or work experience in various technical or scientific fields for example. Bomb making, explosives, biological toxins come to mind. Some occupations could trigger further security checks.

[Wuozopo 4,287]

14 hours ago, Dragonsarereal said:

I was wondering why to get married, I……………

I forgot to address this part.

Your visa allows you to remain in the US and a path to a greencard and citizenship, so the extra questions and the medical exam are not just for getting married. You could fly to the US tomorrow and get married there, because you are from a  VWP country (Visa Waiver Program). That is assuming you are British and not from a non VWP country living in the UK.

[Dragonsarereal 10]

13 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

It’s part of the vetting process. They want to know if you have training or work experience in various technical or scientific fields for example. Bomb making, explosives, biological toxins come to mind. Some occupations could trigger further security checks.

I see! Can you imagine a real terrorist actually writing down all those qualifications for them? That would be so smart. I hope they will like my titles...

2 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

I forgot to address this part.

Your visa allows you to remain in the US and a path to a greencard and citizenship, so the extra questions and the medical exam are not just for getting married. You could fly to the US tomorrow and get married there, because you are from a  VWP country (Visa Waiver Program). That is assuming you are British and not from a non VWP country living in the UK.

I have dual citizenship, Italian and British. 

[Wuozopo 4,287]

2 hours ago, Dragonsarereal said:

I have dual citizenship, Italian and British. 

Both VWP countries so you could travel on either passport with ESTA clearance to the US and marry while there. Fiancé’s from places like Philippines, Mexico, most of South America, Africa, and the Middle East can’t easily visit the US so the K1 allows them a way to enter so they can marry. 

[Dragonsarereal 10]

1 hour ago, Wuozopo said:

Both VWP countries so you could travel on either passport with ESTA clearance to the US and marry while there. Fiancé’s from places like Philippines, Mexico, most of South America, Africa, and the Middle East can’t easily visit the US so the K1 allows them a way to enter so they can marry. 

They really, really don't like it when people arrive as tourists with the intention of getting married and they don't declare it. I am planning to play by the rules...I will go when I can go. I also have a teen daughter attending college, so the timing will be just fine for her to finisher her GCSEs in the UK before moving. 

[Wuozopo 4,287]

9 minutes ago, Dragonsarereal said:

They really, really don't like it when people arrive as tourists with the intention of getting married and they don't declare it. I am planning to play by the rules...I will go when I can go. I also have a teen daughter attending college, so the timing will be just fine for her to finisher her GCSEs in the UK before moving. 

On the LONDON embassy FAQs—https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visa-faqs/

We are traveling to the United States to marry and will return to the United Kingdom after marriage. Do I still need a fiancé(e) visa?

If you will return to your permanent residence you may apply for a tourist B-2 visa, or if eligible, travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program.  At the time you apply for the visa and/or travel to the United States you will be required to show that you have a residence outside the United States that you do not intend to abandon. There is no set form that this evidence takes as it varies with each person’s circumstances.

 

[Dragonsarereal 10]

2 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

On the LONDON embassy FAQs—https://uk.usembassy.gov/visas/immigrant-visa-faqs/

We are traveling to the United States to marry and will return to the United Kingdom after marriage. Do I still need a fiancé(e) visa?

If you will return to your permanent residence you may apply for a tourist B-2 visa, or if eligible, travel visa free under the Visa Waiver Program.  At the time you apply for the visa and/or travel to the United States you will be required to show that you have a residence outside the United States that you do not intend to abandon. There is no set form that this evidence takes as it varies with each person’s circumstances.

 

As I have previously noted in other comments, we have already discussed the option of getting married here and even staying here, but a) I do not like the idea of getting married and then my husband leaves for who knows how long before I can join him b) if we get married in the UK, his family will only meet me for the first time as his wife and I don't think this is going to feel good. I'd rather have the ceremony together where my boyfriend lives. I have no living family in the UK.  c) My boyfriend cannot become employed in the UK. He will have to return to the USA within weeks after the wedding so we will still have separation issues.  He teaches at university and his subject is of no use in the UK, plus at age 56 is not easy to change career just as you prepare for retirement and his pay would be way lower.  d) Getting married here, adjust to live as a married couple (buy a double bed etc) and THEN restart the process of settling in a new place, selling all etc is not going to simply my life at all. Tax wise, it would extremely complicate my boyfriend's life.

[Wuozopo 4,287]

27 minutes ago, Dragonsarereal said:

As I have previously noted in other comments, we have already discussed the option of getting married here and even staying here, but a) I do not like the idea of getting married and then my husband leaves for who knows how long before I can join him b) if we get married in the UK, his family will only meet me for the first time as his wife and I don't think this is going to feel good. I'd rather have the ceremony together where my boyfriend lives. I have no living family in the UK.  c) My boyfriend cannot become employed in the UK. He will have to return to the USA within weeks after the wedding so we will still have separation issues.  He teaches at university and his subject is of no use in the UK, plus at age 56 is not easy to change career just as you prepare for retirement and his pay would be way lower.  d) Getting married here, adjust to live as a married couple (buy a double bed etc) and THEN restart the process of settling in a new place, selling all etc is not going to simply my life at all. Tax wise, it would extremely complicate my boyfriend's life.

I think you misunderstood. I never thought you wanted to marry in or live in the UK. The link is about marrying in the US. 

 

That  FAQ was just to show you it is perfectly legal to marry in the USA while.visiting to back up where I said “You could fly to the US tomorrow and get married there, because you are from a  VWP country (Visa Waiver Program).”  

 

And I understand you would rather have the K1. I chose the same visa but at the time, it only took 4 months total for a fiancé visa. The work authorization (EAD) took less than 2 months, and the greencard 5.5 months. The wait is much longer now for the the greencard.(another year for that?) so that’s why so many tell you to go for a spouse visa which is a better visa since ou get the greencard and can work and get a US driver license immediately. I don’t care. Everybody has their reasons for choosing. I was just educating you on general possibilities, not that you care about a spouse visa because you have chosen fiancé. You’ll do fine. 
 

How old is your daughter? 

[Dragonsarereal 10]

37 minutes ago, Wuozopo said:

I think you misunderstood. I never thought you wanted to marry in or live in the UK. The link is about marrying in the US. 

 

That  FAQ was just to show you it is perfectly legal to marry in the USA while.visiting to back up where I said “You could fly to the US tomorrow and get married there, because you are from a  VWP country (Visa Waiver Program).”  

 

And I understand you would rather have the K1. I chose the same visa but at the time, it only took 4 months total for a fiancé visa. The work authorization (EAD) took less than 2 months, and the greencard 5.5 months. The wait is much longer now for the the greencard.(another year for that?) so that’s why so many tell you to go for a spouse visa which is a better visa since ou get the greencard and can work and get a US driver license immediately. I don’t care. Everybody has their reasons for choosing. I was just educating you on general possibilities, not that you care about a spouse visa because you have chosen fiancé. You’ll do fine. 
 

How old is your daughter? 

hi again. I refer to this sentence under the link quoted, 'At the time you apply for the visa and/or travel to the United States you will be required to show that you have a residence outside the United States that you do not intend to abandon. ' This means I am declaring I will no abandon my UK residence and that would be a huge lie. I AM abandoning my residence. If it had been that easy to just go and get married on a tourist VISA and quickly and easily adjust, we could have done that.

However, we looked at all the possibilities, timings etc and in many other forums where the same topic was debated. From the understanding my boyfriend got, the CR visa was going to be good if I were okay with what I mentioned above - and I am not okay with it. 

I read all the papers and possibilities and became super confused about all the options. So complex and made difficult on purpose. So I asked him to read, understand and summarise as I just could not make any sense of it all. By job he is a law professor so he is way more conversant than me with reading legal writing and interpreting it. 

And when he explained all this to me, it was clear to both that the K1 would be a longer option but more fitting to our particular needs.

Our only issue is that his petition from Wyoming ended up in California for unknown reasons. This is the only reason why I joined the forum.

My daughter is almost 15....and I have a 20 y.o. son but he is living abroad.

[Wuozopo 4,287]

4 hours ago, Dragonsarereal said:

I refer to this sentence under the link quoted, 'At the time you apply for the visa and/or travel to the United States you will be required to show that you have a residence outside the United States that you do not intend to abandon. ' This means I am declaring I will no abandon my UK residence and that would be a huge lie. I AM abandoning my residence. If it had been that easy to just go and get married on a tourist VISA and quickly and easily adjust, we could have done that.

Oh geez…You seem to be overthinking this.

The link in a nutshell is saying it is okay to go to the US on VIsa Waiver …you know like having ESTA…and marry as long as you plan to go back home. And the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) at the airport may ask you for proof of ties back home …like having a residence…that you will return to and you haven’t abandoned. That’s all that not abandoning residence means—-you may get married on a tourist visit short visit to the US,  then return home to process a spouse visa. 
 

4 hours ago, Dragonsarereal said:

If it had been that easy to just go and get married on a tourist VISA and quickly and easily adjust, we could have done that

Nothing I was mentioning was about going as a tourist and staying and adjusting status. That would be circumventing immigration law. That is a whole different situation.  I believe from another post of yours, you thought you had to have a K1 to marry in the US.  Another option is going over just to marry, then return back to the UK and apply for a spouse visa.  And the US Embassy in London tells you that is acceptable as long as you go back to the UK after.

 

4 hours ago, Dragonsarereal said:

Our only issue is that his petition from Wyoming ended up in California for unknown reasons.

And you learned on here that just about all fiancé petitions are now processed in Cali. That is some really old info he got, like 2008 vintage, when the state of residence determined the service center for the I%129f and one mailed their petition directly to the service center. Now all fiancé petitions start at what they call the “Texas lockbox”. Spouse petitions that are done by mail start at various other lockboxes. They are just big intake centers. 
 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2022 by Wuozopo

[Dragonsarereal 10]

8 hours ago, Wuozopo said:

Oh geez…You seem to be overthinking this.

The link in a nutshell is saying it is okay to go to the US on VIsa Waiver …you know like having ESTA…and marry as long as you plan to go back home. And the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) at the airport may ask you for proof of ties back home …like having a residence…that you will return to and you haven’t abandoned. That’s all that not abandoning residence means—-you may get married on a tourist visit short visit to the US,  then return home to process a spouse visa. 
 

Nothing I was mentioning was about going as a tourist and staying and adjusting status. That would be circumventing immigration law. That is a whole different situation.  I believe from another post of yours, you thought you had to have a K1 to marry in the US.  Another option is going over just to marry, then return back to the UK and apply for a spouse visa.  And the US Embassy in London tells you that is acceptable as long as you go back to the UK after.

 

And you learned on here that just about all fiancé petitions are now processed in Cali. That is some really old info he got, like 2008 vintage, when the state of residence determined the service center for the I%129f and one mailed their petition directly to the service center. Now all fiancé petitions start at what they call the “Texas lockbox”. Spouse petitions that are done by mail start at various other lockboxes. They are just big intake centers. 
 

 

 

Thanks for explaining. We are not interested in being separated while married, so we got on with K1. My boyfriend did not look in a random website last updated in 2008 to find out his destination. I will post here his exact text so you see how he worked it out. I now realised that he did not send anything to Nebraska but to Texas. (memory!) Here is his message..... 'I received a letter from the USCIS California Service Center confirming receipt of my petition.  That's terrible news, because as you found, the California average processing time is 14 months, whereas Nebraska's is only 3.5 months.  I have searched in vain for an explanation of why my petition went to California.  The instructions told me to send the petition to Dallas, Texas, which I did.  So for some reason they then decided it was to be sent to California.  But why, when processing times are so much slower there than in Nebraska right next to Wyoming?  I have the impression that perhaps the process has recently changed, because one official page refers to a page that is supposed to tell you where to file based on your location, but that page doesn't ask your location (or ask to be allowed to access location through the browser), it just says to mail to Dallas.  So it seems that they are just telling everyone now to mail to Dallas, then they forward to various service centers.  If it is based on location, it sure is strange and disappointing that Wyoming is in California's region rather than Nebraska's next door.  I read through the details about inquiries and I can't talk to a live person because I don't have a qualified inquiry.  So I just simply get no answer why my petition was sent to California rather than Nebraska.'       OKAY so now that it is clarified that he sent the stuff to Texas, and I forgot that, and thought it was Nebraska, we can rest in peace knowing that in 545 days or so we will have a VISA. There is no point now in discussing which other VISA we could have used, as I repeated over and over that we have no interest in being married and separated right away. No interest - at all. It's easier to live as singles until we marry and do all the necessary changes in one go, also because being dual national and having a minor at home I have to change and officially translate multiple documents and inform my consulate of everything, so I'd rather not do it all twice. (Italian bureaucracy is a nightmare). Thanks for your help!

 

[Chancy 6,233]

On 11/14/2022 at 5:13 AM, Dragonsarereal said:

The instructions told me to send the petition to Dallas, Texas, which I did.  So for some reason they then decided it was to be sent to California.  But why, when processing times are so much slower there than in Nebraska right next to Wyoming?

 

Because Nebraska doesn't process I-129F petitions for fiance K1.  They only process I-129F for spouse K3.  Almost all I-129F for K1 are processed at the California service center.  A few I-129F (from petitioners with criminal background related to child sex offenses) are sent to Vermont service center.  Forms processing table here -- https://www.uscis.gov/forms/all-forms/service-center-forms-processing

 

[Dragonsarereal 10]

On 11/21/2022 at 5:39 AM, Chancy said:

 

Because Nebraska doesn't process I-129F petitions for fiance K1.  They only process I-129F for spouse K3.  Almost all I-129F for K1 are processed at the California service center.  A few I-129F (from petitioners with criminal background related to child sex offenses) are sent to Vermont service center.  Forms processing table here -- https://www.uscis.gov/forms/all-forms/service-center-forms-processing

 

yes, we just found out all this afterwards...oh well, we are in for a long wait...