I'm so confused...

[misskarolin 0]

Hey! I'm new here and I've just spent several hours reading and rereading the guides, flowcharts, and threads on this site as well as the state department website. Now I'm just confused and overwhelmed and I'm not really sure what I should do. I'm an American citizen and a full-time college student. My German boyfriend and I are engaged and we are interested in having him move here to live with me in the United States. We met online, but have already met in person; in fact, I'm staying with him for a month this winter and I'm unsure of what sort of "evidence" I should collect while I'm there for a later visa application. Also, I'm unsure of which visa we should actually apply for - is it better to try the fiance visa and then get married and live here, or would it be better to marry first and apply for a spousal visa? What's the major difference between the two visas for spouses? I would also have problems with finances, as I work part-time for my university earning $7/hour; hopefully I could get my parents to agree to co-sponsor, since I earn far less than the 125% poverty level I need. Any clarification on the visa process would be really very much appreciated. I'm sorry if this is all explained in the guides, but all the abbreviations and forms and different official things I've been reading about has really confused clueless old me. Thanks so much for your help!

[RUKTHUR 0]

First of all welcome to VJ. The normal K1 visa is faster than K3 visa. You can chose which visa you want to decide to do the process .. But I guess most people here chosen K1.....and I think it is the best for you.

Good luck

[Dan J 277]

Hey! I'm new here and I've just spent several hours reading and rereading the guides, flowcharts, and threads on this site as well as the state department website. Now I'm just confused and overwhelmed and I'm not really sure what I should do. I'm an American citizen and a full-time college student. My German boyfriend and I are engaged and we are interested in having him move here to live with me in the United States. We met online, but have already met in person; in fact, I'm staying with him for a month this winter and I'm unsure of what sort of "evidence" I should collect while I'm there for a later visa application. Also, I'm unsure of which visa we should actually apply for - is it better to try the fiance visa and then get married and live here, or would it be better to marry first and apply for a spousal visa? What's the major difference between the two visas for spouses? I would also have problems with finances, as I work part-time for my university earning $7/hour; hopefully I could get my parents to agree to co-sponsor, since I earn far less than the 125% poverty level I need. Any clarification on the visa process would be really very much appreciated. I'm sorry if this is all explained in the guides, but all the abbreviations and forms and different official things I've been reading about has really confused clueless old me. Thanks so much for your help!

Evidence to collect would be photos, boarding passes, passport stamps, receipts like hotel receipts or ATM receipts and anything else that can show that you were in Germany.

Fiance visa is generally the fastest option. But if money is an issue (which it sounds like it could be), you may want to consider CR-1/IR-1 which is a spousal visa option. Its the cheapest route to getting a green card. But it will also likely take the longest.

[misskarolin 0]

What's probably most important to me is that he can work soon after getting here and that he could be here within a year or so. I've kind of got two plans in mind:

1) After my visit this winter, submitting for a fiance visa and marrying this summer(?) sometime. OR:

2) When he comes here next year, marrying and then applying for one of the visas for spouses (I'm still unsure about the real difference between the two - and yes, I've read the comparison)

I apologize if I'm coming across as idiotic - this is the first time in my life I've had to deal with all of this bureaucracy and it's all a bit much. Over the months I've read many, many websites about the different visa options and I've never really quite understood the differences between everything, and I'm so intimidated by everything and the fear of screwing it up is so great I just feel lost. This is by far the most helpful and informative of any site I've ever come across on the subject, though.

Edited August 30, 2007 by misskarolin

[Dan J 277]

What's probably most important to me is that he can work soon after getting here and that he could be here within a year or so. I've kind of got two plans in mind:

1) After my visit this winter, submitting for a fiance visa and marrying this summer(?) sometime. OR:

2) When he comes here next year, marrying and then applying for one of the visas for spouses (I'm still unsure about the real difference between the two - and yes, I've read the comparison)

I apologize if I'm coming across as idiotic - this is the first time in my life I've had to deal with all of this bureaucracy and it's all a bit much. Over the months I've read many, many websites about the different visa options and I've never really quite understood the differences between everything, and I'm so intimidated by everything and the fear of screwing it up is so great I just feel lost. This is by far the most helpful and informative of any site I've ever come across on the subject, though.

With the K-1 visa, the only way your fiance could work right away is to go through JFK as the PoE. You will be able to get the work stamp. Although, its only good for 90 days. Otherwise, your fiance would have to apply for an EAD which takes about 90 days to receive, and its best to apply for that with AOS, otherwise it will only be good until the expiration of the visa (And you probably wont receive the EAD until after).

With K-3, he can work as soon as he applies for and receives his EAD. This takes about 90 days.

CR-1/IR-1, he will be able to work as soon as he arrives. Since this is considered an immigrant visa, the K visas are non-immigrant visas with immigrant intent.

[~Nini~ 2]

2) When he comes here next year, marrying and then applying for one of the visas for spouses

Keep in mind that your fiance can't use his tourist visa to marry you with the intent of staying in the US. If you're applying for a K3, your fiance will have to return back to his home country while the application is in process.

[TracyTN 237]

The guides offer a great comparison chart between the two visa types.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=compare

[misskarolin 0]

With the K-1 visa, the only way your fiance could work right away is to go through JFK as the PoE. You will be able to get the work stamp. Although, its only good for 90 days. Otherwise, your fiance would have to apply for an EAD which takes about 90 days to receive, and its best to apply for that with AOS, otherwise it will only be good until the expiration of the visa (And you probably wont receive the EAD until after).

With K-3, he can work as soon as he applies for and receives his EAD. This takes about 90 days.

CR-1/IR-1, he will be able to work as soon as he arrives. Since this is considered an immigrant visa, the K visas are non-immigrant visas with immigrant intent.

Yeah, I read about the 90 day work permit somewhere before, but I'm not sure where he would get it. Does he just ask for it at customs, or is there some special place he needs to go? Should I put the forms for the AOS and the EAD in the same actual envelope, or just send them out at the same time?

Yeah, I've read the comparison, but somehow it didn't really clarify which was the best for me. I guess I'm just a bit think or something. ;D

At least I'll be an expert at mailing all of this stuff in, because I work at a post office...

This has really been very helpful, guys. Thanks a lot!

[rika60607 215]

If you can wait a year or so and want your SO (significant other) to be able to work soon after arriving to US, and are concerned about the costs...

Logical choice is to get married (either in Germany or US) and apply for the CR1 visa while you are in the US and your SO is in Germany.

However, it is a long term separation which can be pain if you can't afford to travel frequently.

K1 will save you from separation after marriage, but will cost more. In the end, may be a cheaper option, if you consider cost of plain tickets

[misskarolin 0]

What I'm worried about with doing a marriage-based visa is having proof of a bona fide marriage when we can't even live together in the same country. If I were studying abroad in Germany and we lived together there, that would be nice, but unfortunately I can't do that.

[TracyTN 237]

What I'm worried about with doing a marriage-based visa is having proof of a bona fide marriage when we can't even live together in the same country. If I were studying abroad in Germany and we lived together there, that would be nice, but unfortunately I can't do that.

Obviously this is very common - so all you can show is that you had a bonafide relationship prior to getting married, and that you've comingled some assets since you got married (adding him to insurance policies, perhaps a joint bank account, etc.). I'm sure folks in the K3 forum could give you more information about what they provided.

Also, not all consulates are really strict on this. Germany is probably more lax about it than, say, Vietnam may be.

Edited August 30, 2007 by TracyTN

[payxibka 10,048]

What I'm worried about with doing a marriage-based visa is having proof of a bona fide marriage when we can't even live together in the same country. If I were studying abroad in Germany and we lived together there, that would be nice, but unfortunately I can't do that.

A bonafide marriage can be demonstrated by more than living together and having marriage relations. This can be demonstrated by every other thing that exists in a typical marriage relationship. In other words how have you "comingled" your lives (assets, liabilities, accounts, insurance, etc......).

[misskarolin 0]

I've been told that I should keep a record of all our email correspondences and phone calls so we can show we've had a relationship all this time. The problem with that is that we rarely email because we talk on MSN all the time. Also, his phone number doesn't show when he calls me, and because international calling isn't included in my cell phone plan (the only phone I have), he doesn't have any phone calls from me. Apparently a phone record is difficult for him to get. Also, even though we spend a lot of time talking to each other, it's not reflected in the phone call list because we use a voice chat program (Ventrilo) all of the time. Every email I've ever sent to him is only 4 emails. The only good thing is that because I work in a post office and I love sending real letters and postcards, he has quite a few of those spanning at least a year's worth of time. Would photocopies of those be good enough to send in our application, or would I have to include the real thing?

[payxibka 10,048]

I've been told that I should keep a record of all our email correspondences and phone calls so we can show we've had a relationship all this time. The problem with that is that we rarely email because we talk on MSN all the time. Also, his phone number doesn't show when he calls me, and because international calling isn't included in my cell phone plan (the only phone I have), he doesn't have any phone calls from me. Apparently a phone record is difficult for him to get. Also, even though we spend a lot of time talking to each other, it's not reflected in the phone call list because we use a voice chat program (Ventrilo) all of the time. Every email I've ever sent to him is only 4 emails. The only good thing is that because I work in a post office and I love sending real letters and postcards, he has quite a few of those spanning at least a year's worth of time. Would photocopies of those be good enough to send in our application, or would I have to include the real thing?

You do not have to provide 12 mos. worth of calling records, just give them a sample of what you do. What about for a period of time using a calling card that records the call history..

Don't ever send originals of anything unless explicity required.

[misskarolin 0]

To give you guys an idea of the extent to which we talk on MSN: He just copy/pasted our chat log into MSN and it was 3787 pages long and about 1.4 million words. That's only one screenname...

Okay, guys, this has really reassured me a lot about the process. Now all we have to do is wait a few more months before we can start it! ;D Thanks again!