yailukmuu

Luckily, I have our K-1 filled out excepting one piece of information so I haven't sent it in, and now it appears likely (but not certain) that for many (any male aged over 50) K-1 with a Thai fiancee is (or I predict will not be) an option.

A bit of history:

South Korean males broker (read "buy") wives from Kzakastan, Vietnam and the Republic of Phillipines to the tune of greater than 50,000 a year.

The process is "pay," a broker, fly to the country, meet a group of women, pick one and a few days later marry.

Naturally there have been some issues with this sort of scenario and one stands out: In 2010 a South Korean man murdered his 20 year old "mail order bride," claiming that a "ghost told him to do so." Additionally there have been quite a lot of problems including abandonment.

Cambodia who saw quite a lot of brokered marriages reacted recently passing a law forbidding any male over age 50 from marrying a Cambodian woman (ironically, even if she was 49, or for that matter, 55) (also ironically because the "ghost directed murderer" was aged 47).

Thailand has introduced the proposal to the Cabinet. In my opinion, it is almost certain to be adopted.

"The new law is in line with similar laws in Cambodia and Laos as part of the upcoming ASEAN integration in 2015 and is expected to pass Parliament with ease and should take effect on May 1st, 2011."

Therefore there appears little point in my completing our K-1.

Since I cannot travel to Thailand before May 1st, and more importantly I don't want to marry my fiancee in Thailand because if we do she loses significant property rights, what can I do?

Since she cannot come here, can I meet her in, let's say Singapore, get married there, and then bring her here under the "other route" (I'm only familiar with the K-1 process). Any suggestions would be appreciated. Will America honor a marriage made in a country where neither of the couple is resident?

A warning: I predict that within a year or two, RP (Philippines) will also enact the same law.

By the way, if you are a female over aged 50 you can do as you please.

It may seem obvious, but if you keep jewelry and/or cash of any significant value, hide it.

Leave a small amount ~$50 and some trinkets to make burglars think that there just isn't any more.

A friend of mine had her house broken into (while they were asleep) the thief too a fair amount of cash laying out in view, but her 8 year old daughter had her "stash of cash" stuffed inside the jacket of one of her stuffed toys. She still has her cash.

Will someone please clarify something for me? I know about the 125% above poverty income level but I had NO idea that you have to show net worth of 5 years of support in advance... please tell me this is not the case and that I read this incorrectly. I apologize if someone already answered this or if it is somewhere else on this site but I am asking this question in reference to the initial post because I am nearing the time for when I am sure to hear about approval too and I am hoping to learn in advance to avoid any problems due to the affidavit of support.

Thank you in advance!

My case is a bit unique.

Most people work and have income, others are retired and have pensions and/or social security. Unemployed people would generally look and eventually find a job that meets requirements.

My situation is different. I'm recently unemployed but my optimal path is to return to college to attain a degree that gives me greater opportunity both in finding a job and being paid. I have assets enough to do this and it makes sense for me to do it, but I wondered if my plan of action might cause problems with the K-1, and people have said essentially: "yes, it will."

The foreign consulate wants to see a person who has a job whose income meets the requirements, thus poverty rate x 125%.

The five years is an alternate measure of assets for a person who has no job, or earns less than the poverty rate x 125%. Let's say that poverty rate for a scenario is $22,000 annually. Then if the person has $22,000 x 5 years (that is what the rules call for) then if the person has no income, but hase $22k x 5 = $110,000 sitting in a savings bank account, then they "meet requirements" even without income from a job.

I have double the required assets, so one would think that there is no problem. But as has been advised here, by people with experience, the Bangkok consulate wants to see a job. Though technically my assets should be enough, some consulates in some countries act essentially as demi-gods, meaning that they have the power of god, and in a sense, for us, they do. A denial based upon perceived lack of support from the Bangkok consulate for me and my fiancee (at least for some time) is sort of a death sentence.

So if you have a job that meets income requirements you don't even have to have 1 cent x 5 years, or five cents in assets. If your case says that you need $20,000 a year and you have a good job, but it only pays $10,000/year, then you would need the "difference," or $50,000 in assets, which can be a house value(after deducing mortgage), money in a bank, stocks or bonds, or other liquid assets. But even there, people imply that Bangkok wants to see some kind of a job.

I suspect that the 5 year asset rule simply does not pertain to you.

Hope this helps, and if I'm not correct in anything I've written here, I'm sure someone will elaborate.

You mention an either/or choice of taking a job outside of your career path or going to school. You could do both. There are many folks, including this one, who work full time and study concurrently. Another option is to stay on your career path. Optimism begets opportunity. Many of those who have lost jobs and consider themselves 'unemployable' experience just that. We all win some and lose some, yet those who are tenacious always succeed.

When I got my BS in Chemistry I worked about 30 hours a week. When I got my BS in Safety Studies I worked about 30 hours per week.

When I got my Associates degree in Nursing I worked about 10 hours a week, had I worked more I wouldn't be an RN today. "C's are not allowed and if a student gets below a grade of 70 on a mid-term or final, that's it--you're out. The class can be repeated "if" there is a space for you to re-enter the next year. And many schools stick to that regime, my best friend in my ADN study got a 69 on a mid-term and was bounced. Now a decade later, she never achieved the RN because year after year there was no "opening" for her. Nursing courses of study are more like boot camp, you make it or you don't.

Many folk do work full or part time while in college and indeed, there are degree course of studies actually designed for full-time workers. In my area there is an ADN (Associates Degree in Nursing) that is a three year course, instead of a two year course, with most courses over the weekend.

It may be surprising to many but my Associate's degree in Nursing was brutal compared to my other BS degrees. The Master's degree for NP in Occupational Health truly requires about 4 hours of home study for every hour of class. In addition there are 20 hours a week required for "clinical rotation." During summer break I'm required to do an internship full time, but would be available to work on weekends. NIOSH grants a stipend of about $200 per week and I think this is the reason. So while I'd wholeheartedly agree on many courses of study, on this one, I think it's impossible.

I am looking into the possibility of delaying entry for a semester, and taking one or two courses as distance courses. This would change the program to a 2.5 year program, but would allow full-time work for one semester, and might lighten the load so that I can work part time for one or more other semesters. As you say, for those who are tenacious there is always a way.

A degree in Chemistry or Biochemistry is not specialized (I'm not putting you down, I have a BS in Chemistry).

However if you did a Doctorate's thesis and experimentation on weaponization of Bacillis anthraxis (Anthrax)then you move into the realm of "specialized." That they would want to hear about, naturally, though "they" would already know, I'm betting.

As coffeeannan has asked, please update us...

It was a shocking surprise for the wife at the interview. I made just over 18k in 2007. I owed the IRS 10k so they denied my wife at the interview saying that in reality I only made 8k due to the IRS thing. I quickly filed my 2008 taxes which were over 50k and sent her that. That overcame the lien.

Once she got here with a SS#, I went back and amended my returns back to 2006 as married filing jointly. That wiped my debt clean and I also got a return check for 5k.

There are few things that I fear. The IRS is one of them...

A very good reason to never burn bridges with an "ex." Been there, it's funny how sometimes filing married/jointly can return a lot of money in a refund, and sometimes married/filing single can be the winner in lowering taxes, but the latter only occurs when one person in the couple has either low income, or (as what happened to me one year) lot's of tax credits and lot's of deductibles. We were friendly enough with each other to, over two years, use the best method for minimum taxation.

You sound fast on your feet!

Thank all of you for the very helpful info.

In September I'll be sitting for what is called the COHN-S exam (Certified Occupational Health Nurse) so that will put me near the top of the line amongst applicants for any jobs that do come available. They are available, just not within commuting distance, for instance I declined one in Las Vegas not long ago. Having an apartment house and a house in my state of NH (and being unable to sell them) is somewhat of an albatross, though I don't want to sound complaining with so many whose homes are underwater.

Then perhaps my plan will be to take a job in October-December.. If I need to travel to a distant locale it will not be perfect but it would sure look good on paper, and looking good is important here. If I take a temp job (which are easier to get because they usually suck) then when it's time to leave to return to college I'll feel more comfortable quitting. It puts one in an ethical quandary to take a job knowing that you'll quit within a year, as it often takes about 1-1.5 years to really start to be comfortable in an industrial clinic. Contract/temp agencies are meat markets, they don't care about you (there may be exceptions but I've yet to see them) but being able to freely reciprocate is nice also.

In 15 months I'll be 62 and eligible for Social Security. I have not the slightest interest in starting social security (if it even exists) before I'm 67, I'd prefer to wait till 70, (or later, if that's possible) but of course I could opt in at reduced benefits once I reach 62. How will the Bangkok consulate look at this as a "potential" source of income?

If anyone has experience with Bangkok, please feel free to IM me any suggestions, hints, etc...

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Yep. Make sure you don't owe the IRS any money. They'll find out about that as well and deduct it from what you earned in 2010.

*lol* That's an easy one... since the IRS will owe me a refund of about $4500 as soon as I file for 2010. I have no skeletons in my closet.

You don't have to send the Affidavit of Support with the I-129F application. You can send it to your fiance closer to the time of the interview in Bangkok. If you don't think you can get the job before then, then maybe you should see if you can get a Co-Sponsor for the affidavit.

Co-Sponsor is not an option.

That is good to know, I thought the I-129F had to be filed with the first K-1 documents.

Perhaps then the best is to analyze the likely time-line for when it will be needed, and then take a job (regardless of how "good" it is) when the need for the I-129F occurs, or possibly even hold off the entire process for several months. In my field it's always easier to find jobs between August and November. Perhaps I'll have to hold off entering college for a semester.

2. Get a temporary job. Any income would look better than none. Even if the income is below the threshold, your assets are more than enough to cover it.

Thank you,

Since the Affidavit appears to be most important to the Bangkok Consulate which will, at best, be reviewed six to nine months down the road, is it possible to update the form when circumstances change? If I must take an "out of career path" job, I'd rather opt to wait until later, to a time closer to when this data is looked at. Is it only during the time when the foreign (Bangkok) consulate reviews my documents which counts here? If I have a job at that time, is that likely to be acceptable?

Poverty level for a family of three is: $17,607 x 1.25 (factor) = 22,009 x 5 (5 year support) = $110,045 (from US census 2010 data)

Petitioner has 229k net assets which is the sum of real estate (deducting debt) savings; stock, other liquid assets ect.

Therefore Petitioner has over 2x the necessary amount required in assets as is required.

However the petitioner is unemployed as of late last year.

From “Some tips on the affidavit of support” here at Visajourney.com:

“The USCIS looks VERY CLOSELY at current income and not just the assets.”

The Petitioner (me) is a sub-specialty RN, an Occupational Health Nurse that works in industry. Past jobs include plant nurse Ruger (gun manufacturer); FiberMark (a paper mill); and plant nurse and clinical supervisor at a unit of GM (the auto maker). I hold a lot of credentials and have a lot of skill—in industry. Plain and simple: Hospitals don’t want me. My job is as different as a plumber’s is to an beekeeper.

I could take a very substandard nursing job, far removed from my career, and take at a ~$20k annual salary drop, or go back to college and get a ANP (Advanced Nurse Practitioner) degree in two years, at no cost, and probably even collect a small monthly stipend (~$800 thanks to NIOSH (OSHA’s research partner) which was my plan.

NP’s are in huge demand, especially in the industries that are left; RN’s are not, regardless of what most people think. (Unless you are a surgical nurse, a nurse anesthetist, or one of a few unique sub-specialties in demand which does not apply to me). NP’s are in demand because a NP can act like a MD (even prescribing medication) and an $~80k salary is much easier to stomach these days than an MD’s $170k salary. In effect a factory can dispense with a physician if they have an NP, and save megabucks, so NP's are in huge demand, RN's are not. So two years from January I expect(ed) to graduate with a annual ~$20k increase in salary, with several job offers as I leave.

Or

Must I go and take whatever employment that I can get, regardless of earnings or the adverse effect on my career path so that I can say: “I am employed?” and please those government officials who hold our future in their hands? (I'll admit, it may be just that way). It may be that I need to put my college plans off for a year thought it will be such a waste.

Note: While I might occasionally find a week or several to work on a fill-in basis for someone on vacation, or illness leave, industry in my neck of the woods has been devastated. It is very unlikely that I will find full time work over the next 6 months.

In good times I could sell my real estate and move—but do so now will be a blood-bath. I'll lose my life’s savings, if I can even sell my two properties at all. Naturally I’m hoping that two years from the upcoming January real estate has recovered somewhat, and then I can sell and move. Even if not, the increase in salary will make "holding on" palatable.

Thoughts or suggestions anyone?

Note: I asked a similar question some months back under a different name but this time I have my “ducks all in a row,” and have started the K1 process, and we are here on the board; so please forgive me if you remember a similar question back in January.