Withdrawing K-1 now filing CR-1 [merged threads]

[Dan and Akari 37]

2 hours ago, Mike E said:

What is the point of registering a U.S. marriage in Burma? I have never known a Burmese citizen to do so. It becomes moot once she becomes a U.S. citizen, since Burma does not permit multiple citizenships.

 

 

My original question was only to solicit information to understand the advantages of marriage in Utah versus a marriage in Myanmar.  
 

One reason to register is the fact that she now owns property in Myanmar. Her mother bought it for her many years ago with the intent of giving it to her when she got married. Registering in Myanmar, regardless of what country in which we get married, allows me to be listed as a joint owner of that property which provides more evidence of our bona fide relationship. 

[bck86 19]

I, too, initially filed an I-129F (November 2022), then decided to switch to I-130 (January 2023). Lost a couple months, but feeling so much better about all of it. Getting married via Utah was easy and now there are no questions as to whether we are "too married" or "not enough engaged" to be approved for a fiancé visa. I sent a withdrawal letter for the K-1 in February and about a month later, I got an "acknowledgement of withdrawal" notice. We haven't been approved yet but so far everything seems to be going smoothly and I feel so much better about our situation. I wouldn't want to spend the next 12+ months being anxious about it.

[bck86 19]

10 minutes ago, Dan and Akari said:

One reason to register is the fact that she now owns property in Myanmar. Her mother bought it for her many years ago with the intent of giving it to her when she got married. Registering in Myanmar, regardless of what country in which we get married, allows me to be listed as a joint owner of that property which provides more evidence of our bona fide relationship. 

To be fair, this is one of the main reasons I would like if our marriage could be registered in his country, so I understand. But the other reasons for marrying via Utah outweighed this particular reason. If you're absolutely leaning on joint ownership of that property to make your case, then I think you have your answer. But if you have an otherwise strong enough petition, it doesn't seem worth the effort, in my opinion. Just go for the easier route.

[M+K IL 102]

37 minutes ago, Dan and Akari said:

My original question was only to solicit information to understand the advantages of marriage in Utah versus a marriage in Myanmar.  
 

One reason to register is the fact that she now owns property in Myanmar. Her mother bought it for her many years ago with the intent of giving it to her when she got married. Registering in Myanmar, regardless of what country in which we get married, allows me to be listed as a joint owner of that property which provides more evidence of our bona fide relationship. 

One thing to flag here is there might be an issue with a foreigner being a joint owner (or both owners being foreigners once your soon to be wife gets US citizenship).

 

Seems like only certain kinds of property can be owned by foreigners

 

https://www.realtytoday.com/articles/111165/20200121/buying-property-in-myanmar-as-a-foreigner-a-short-guide.htm

 

(I'm from Indonesia which has similar restrictions)

[TBoneTX 43,419]

Three related threads have been merged.  Please keep further questions within THIS thread only.  Thanks.

[Dan and Akari 37]

Filling in I-130 online. Reached this point.  I have searched and read other posts with this subject but didn't see one addressing my specific question.  You are instructed to upload a document in the beneficiary's native language, then given a file requirement that if it is NOT in English it must be translated.  Do I really need her to write this information in Burmese and then find a certified translator to translate it back into English?  Am I overthinking this?

 

Information About Beneficiary In Their Native Written Language

If the beneficiary's native written language does not use Roman letters, upload a document with his or her name and foreign address in their native written language.

File requirements

• If your documents are in a foreign language, upload a full English translation and the translator's certification with each original document.

 

[Larry207 2]

On 7/4/2023 at 6:25 PM, Dan and Akari said:

So now that we have decided to withdraw the K1 and file a CR1, we need to obtain our marriage license because although USCIS may recognize us as married based on our engagement "Ceremony" in Myanmar, a marriage certificate would be in my opinion, more solid evidence of a bona fide union: they may use the ceremony to deny the K1, but they may not accept the ceremony to approve the CR1.

 

A lot of folks on our initial post suggested we just do the Utah County online wedding, file the I-130 and move on.  My wife and I are physically together in Thailand and can be in Myanmar in 2 hours to register our marriage in the same country that we had our ceremony.  Other than the advantage of being able to marry when the husband and wife are in different locations, what are the advantages of the online Utah wedding versus just getting married in Myanmar since we are together?

 

Edited July 9, 2023 by Larry207
A marriage certificate is mandatory as evidence when you are filing the I130

[Larry207 2]

On 7/4/2023 at 11:49 PM, Redro said:

Use your US address.

You are not living in Thailand. You are not a resident of Thailand. You are on a very long vacation in Thailand. 

In addition, you want to show USCIS and NVC you are maintaining your residence/ties to the US. 

If you are wanting to use your physical presence in Thailand as proof you and your partner have spent a lot of time together.

Proof would be mail to that address. 

Passport stamps indicating you are present in Thailand should be sufficient for bonafides. 

 

 

You are going to need proof that your domicile is in the U.S.

[Dan and Akari 37]

I think we have a solid plan for spouse beneficiary to stay in Thailand on an ED visa for 12 months after we submit our new CR-1 at the end of this month.  

 

In the spirit of trying to stay one step ahead of the process, I am now thinking about evidence we will be required to submit next, specifically evidence of domicile and financial support.  Domicile is relatively easy.  It's the financial piece that has my attention.  To recap, I sold my business in 2016, worked until November 2020 and took an early retirement at age 53.  Consequently, I have had no "income" for the last 3 tax years, 2021, 2022, or 2023 (actually I do have capital gains this year of around $150K, but that is not income from "employment"; however it is cash in the bank).  I set aside a portion of the business sale proceeds to use to bridge the gap between the day I quit and the day I am eligible to draw SS.  Therefore, I have a comfortable asset portfolio (cash and investments) which I can use as evidence of support.

 

However, after researching online, mostly here, I find that even petitioners with comfortable portfolios are being asked to provide additional information regarding support and thereby delaying their process.  I am at a juncture where I can return to the US, find a decent job in order to produce an acceptable AGI from filing my 1040 for CY 2023.  I am curious to hear people's opinion on this...this being how critical is income versus assets when submitting your evidence on the I-864?  Is one year with taxable income out of the last 3 years sufficient if I submit with assets also?  I don't want to overthink this, but I want to avoid missteps.  Getting a job now is a small sacrifice if it means avoiding further delays. 

 

[Mike E 11,726]

Get the W-2 job. IMO NVC and most COs do not understand anything else.

[Mike E 11,726]

13 hours ago, Larry207 said:

You are going to need proof that your domicile is in the U.S.

Proof of intent to establish domicile is not needed for I-130. It is needed for NVC. Actual domicile is not legally required until the beneficiary enters on her immigration visa. At least one  consulate does require domicile before issuing the visa.

[Loren Y 2,743]

40 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Get the W-2 job. IMO NVC and most COs do not understand anything else.

I agree with this. You are smart to think of the path of least resistance, and probably right about the small sacrifice to make things easier. Just having a few current pay stubs seems to make the CO's happy. I don't think they looked at my Tax returns, but were interested in the few current pay stubs showing I was working.

Edited July 9, 2023 by Loren Y

[Ban Hammer 12,879]

related threads merged.  please do not start multiple threads on various aspects of the same subject.

[pushbrk 12,233]

6 hours ago, Dan and Akari said:

I think we have a solid plan for spouse beneficiary to stay in Thailand on an ED visa for 12 months after we submit our new CR-1 at the end of this month.  

 

In the spirit of trying to stay one step ahead of the process, I am now thinking about evidence we will be required to submit next, specifically evidence of domicile and financial support.  Domicile is relatively easy.  It's the financial piece that has my attention.  To recap, I sold my business in 2016, worked until November 2020 and took an early retirement at age 53.  Consequently, I have had no "income" for the last 3 tax years, 2021, 2022, or 2023 (actually I do have capital gains this year of around $150K, but that is not income from "employment"; however it is cash in the bank).  I set aside a portion of the business sale proceeds to use to bridge the gap between the day I quit and the day I am eligible to draw SS.  Therefore, I have a comfortable asset portfolio (cash and investments) which I can use as evidence of support.

 

However, after researching online, mostly here, I find that even petitioners with comfortable portfolios are being asked to provide additional information regarding support and thereby delaying their process.  I am at a juncture where I can return to the US, find a decent job in order to produce an acceptable AGI from filing my 1040 for CY 2023.  I am curious to hear people's opinion on this...this being how critical is income versus assets when submitting your evidence on the I-864?  Is one year with taxable income out of the last 3 years sufficient if I submit with assets also?  I don't want to overthink this, but I want to avoid missteps.  Getting a job now is a small sacrifice if it means avoiding further delays. 

 

A comfortable liquid investment portfolio works every time it is submitted and documented correctly.  What you are seeing in terms of problems mostly, is sponsors receiving and making too much of a stock message YOU WILL RECEIVE that SUGGESTS, you MAY want to get a joint sponsor.  In 2024 sometime when you DO get that message, ignore it.

5 hours ago, Mike E said:

Get the W-2 job. IMO NVC and most COs do not understand anything else.

Not true, no matter how many times you repeat it.

[Dan and Akari 37]

4 hours ago, pushbrk said:

A comfortable liquid investment portfolio works every time it is submitted and documented correctly.  What you are seeing in terms of problems mostly, is sponsors receiving and making too much of a stock message YOU WILL RECEIVE that SUGGESTS, you MAY want to get a joint sponsor.  In 2024 sometime when you DO get that message, ignore it.

@pushbrkthank you very much for your response. I have read many of your posts in other threads and I like your straightforward informative comments.
My follow up question would be where can I find information on what steps I can take to ensure my evidence of support based on liquid assets is “submitted and documented correctly “?  I realize that there are no guarantees in anyone’s case. Variables ranging from NVC reviewers to inconsistencies amongst consulates and even COs within the consulates are a harsh reality of the process. I am not Chicken Little by any means: actually quite the opposite. I take all the opinions and advice given and then weigh my options. Consequently, if my assets are more than sufficient (as attested to by my aforementioned, now terminated, immigration attorney) but some W2 income pushes our case in the direction of “beyond a reasonable doubt” in the eyes of the person reviewing our evidence, I would tend to lean towards the option providing the extra support to keep our journey closest to the critical path of an expeditious approval.