Finally found a woman that I want to marry

[JeanneAdil 6,221]

You need to meet poverty guidelines to do sponsorship

100% if K1 fiancee 

125% if spouse visa 

poverty guidelines now have 100% at $19720 for family of 2

and $24650 for 125%

 

u may need a 2nd job to afford to travel to meet and to petition for her

and u may have to meet more than once to satisfy immigration (most of us with an African spouse had to spend quality time together)

 

total cost of K1 is higher than CR1 and going higher as USCIS has asked for increases in the process to adjust status after marrying in US (from $1225 to $2820)

 

And trust me we are happy for u and the prospect that you have found the right person and wish u the very best 

but u need to meet

u need to know the cost to travel to meet , to possible marry (here or there)

the cost to apply and sponsor

the timetable for visa (looking at a possible 2 years from application to interview )

 

also hit the word portal above and read posts about other Kenya immigrants and understand embassy specific requirements and experiences of others

 

and really really i hope u 2 can find a way and be happy together

 

[TBoneTX 43,254]

11 hours ago, roninlongshanks said:

that's not love

You have definite friendship and mutual interest, but nowhere near love yet.

Three phases of relationships are writing, phoning/camera interaction, and in-person.

The first two can go swimmingly well, but the third is crucial.

You must also spend enough time in person to see yourselves at your worst.

I once had an otherwise-sweet girlfriend who turned into a cruel monster once a month.  That killed it for me.

 

Your income and delinquent child support are objective obstacles, right now.

 

Subjectively, 99% of things about a person can seem wonderful, but if one element disqualifies her, a lasting relationship can never be.

Ask yourself:  "What displeasing or worrisome flaws and shortcomings in this person can I ignore forever -- and never bring up or think about, ever again?"

The only way to identify and self-confront such issues is to spend copious time together, in person, in a variety of circumstances, and not just in the "we're both on our best behavior" glow of vacationing.

Edited April 6, 2023 by TBoneTX

[JeanneAdil 6,221]

9 hours ago, Rocio0010 said:

Offer to move to Kenya and see what she does. 
Report back, then we can continue the talk about co sponsor and whatnot. 

this works  

 

Yes, with an H1B visa, which is a dual intent visa, very competitive. 
Or with a J1 visiting professor visa, which is also highly competitive. It’s  non- immigrant visa and it usually Carries a two year home residency at the end of the program. 

Like I said, offer to live in Kenya for a while, see what she says 

 

[JeanneAdil 6,221]

43 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

You have definite friendship and mutual interest, but nowhere near love yet.

Three phases of relationships are writing, phoning/camera interaction, and in-person.

The first two can go swimmingly well, but the third is crucial.

You must also spend enough time in person to see yourselves at your worst.

I once had an otherwise-sweet girlfriend who turned into a cruel monster once a month.  That killed it for me.

 

Your income and delinquent child support are objective obstacles, right now.

 

Subjectively, 99% of things about a person can seem wonderful, but if one element disqualifies her, a lasting relationship can never be.

Ask yourself:  "What displeasing or worrisome flaws and shortcomings in this person can I ignore forever -- and never bring up or think about, ever again?"

The only way to identify and self-confront such issues is to spend copious time together, in person, in a variety of circumstances, and not just in the "we're both on our best behavior" glow of vacationing.

this is why i spent months with my husband and his family

learning how he treated the women in his family as i had hear horror stories

Many want to get to the USA and will say anything to make this happen 

 

OP U need to meet in person

u need another job and u need to pay the back support 

and i quoted for family of 2 but there are children and immigration will deduct your court ordered support from income 

 

to marry a foreigner,  it takes time, travel,  money and patience

its not easy,  fast or cheap

[dwheels76 5,463]

16 hours ago, roninlongshanks said:

I found a woman that I want to marry from Kenya.  We both have a lot of the same values, & interests.  We've been video chatting almost every day for quite a while now, & want to take the next step.

 

My overhead is about $1,100/month to live that includes the child support that I'm paying.  I make $2,100/ net.

 

I don't know anything about the process except for the hours of research that I've been doing & it seems like a lot of the info chronology is contradictory.

 

Can anybody please tell me what to expect, or anything that's not on websites?

 

Do we have to meet each other first?  Can we do online marriage?

 

Should we do a tourist visa first?

 

Thank you for your time.

Yes there are online weddings that you can do apart anywhere in the world, but you still have to meet in person before you file. Usually the folks who do this are those that come from countries where getting married is very difficult.
The main thing for you is to meet and then decide what you want to do. The likelihood of a single young person from a 3rd world country from Africa getting a visitor visa to come see a BF/GF is highly unlikely. But you won;t know if you don;t apply. if that's what you want to do.
I gather that you can;t travel because you don;t have a passport and you can;t get a passport with delinquent child support correct? Get that fix for your sake. Immigration does not like back child support issues and tax issues.

[discoverusa 233]

I believe what is preventing OP from visiting is child support unit may hold his passport due to overdue child support. In addition, limited funds to travel internationally. 

 

I would concentrate on paying back child support, getting your passport back and saving money for future travels and immigration fees/sponsorship. 

[SalishSea 16,826]

OP, you’ve got quite the difficult path ahead, since you cannot get a passport to travel, she’s very very unlikely to get a tourist visa, and you do not qualify to sponsor an immigrant.

 

You have lots of thinking, researching and studying to do.

[discoverusa 233]

Getting a second job comes to mind. 

[dwheels76 5,463]

You didn't mention how many children you have but just as a financial aspect of how much you need to be making to meet the guidelines here is the chart.

[Sarah&Facundo 577]

Steps:

 

1. Get a second job or a new job.  Perhaps you will need to study something to make that happen. Your income is very low for US standards and you will not be able to support a future spouse (never mind also proving your ability to sponsor an immigrant and handling what you owe for your current child(ren) you are responsible for).

2. Pay back your child support.

3. Apply for a passport. That takes a few months. You also can not sponsor an immigrant without a passport (or without meeting them).

4. Save up money to travel to Kenya.

4. Travel to Kenya, not just once, but multiple times. Get to know this woman, her family, etc. You do NOT know someone unless you spend time with them face-to-face. Anyone can appear "amazing" online. 

5. Apply for either K1 or CR1 whenever that time comes. Timeline would be about 2+ years to get to the US (by today's wait times, which are increasing).

 

Or, as stated above, tell her you would like to move to Kenya. If you truly want to be with her, that will be your easiest solution. Also, Kenya is known for high fraud for a reason. See if she is using you to get to the US. Would you still be in the picture if you decided to move there? Let's see what she says...

 

Good luck! I hope it all works out!

[jakelake 222]

On 4/5/2023 at 9:02 PM, roninlongshanks said:

I found a woman that I want to marry from Kenya.  We both have a lot of the same values, & interests.  We've been video chatting almost every day for quite a while now, & want to take the next step.

 

My overhead is about $1,100/month to live that includes the child support that I'm paying.  I make $2,100/ net.

 

I don't know anything about the process except for the hours of research that I've been doing & it seems like a lot of the info chronology is contradictory.

 

Can anybody please tell me what to expect, or anything that's not on websites?

 

Do we have to meet each other first?  Can we do online marriage?

 

Should we do a tourist visa first?

 

Thank you for your time.

Can she come to visit you in the US?

The next step is to meet each other, not to marry.

Does she talk about wanting to live in the US?

Would she be okay if she decided to leave the US and then live in Kenya with her?

You have to be able to determine whether she is trying to use you to get to the US.

 

 

 

 

[jakelake 222]

roninlongshaks stated that he is netting $2100/month. That is different from the gross amount.