mugumogu

Is there no other way? Who could I appeal to? Given that the Bureau of Consular Affairs itself is issuing a travel warning for Kenya, I really don't want him to go there..

I had to go to Juarez, Mexico, which is one of the 10 most dangerous cities in the world. The list also includes Baghdad, Iraq, and Karachi, Pakistan. Kenya? Please. That's a vacation. Honestly though, it wasn't that bad once I was there. I wouldn't worry about the travel warning.

You do not need to send 4 copies. That is old information.

Why play the "what if" game?

I received our certified marriage certificate in the mail about a week after we were married. Where are you getting married that it takes 4-6 weeks to get it?

There are a thousand different ways you could do it. I pasted the pictures to a sheet of paper and wrote on the paper next to the pictures. It doesn't matter.

So my fiancé in Mexico will receive a package also? Will this be different then what I just got in the mail? There are dates inside the letter say from December - April what are these dates for?

I had the same questions after we got our NOA2. What happens next is that in about 2 weeks, you will get a letter in the mail from the National Visa Center (NVC) stating that they have received an approved petition and it will have the case number. It also states that the case will be forwarded to the consulate in Juarez. About 2 weeks after that, you should get the interview invitation letter from Juarez telling you to go online, complete the DS-260, and schedule your interview appointment. There is no "packet 3" for Mexico.

Ours took about 13 days from approval at the interview to picking up the DHL package.

Juarez is not that bad. You should read my review here: My review. I talk about the safety there. Overall, I felt safe and we actually went shopping and saw a movie while we were there. No need to worry.

Damn, I wrote a page and a half an attached it to the I-129F.

We went through Houston. We allowed a 3 hour layover when we booked the flight and the process took about an hour. We had lots of time to kill at the airport.

A side note to POE. Do I have to be at the airport when my fiance enters the US or can I wait at the final destination as she will have to take an additional connecting flight to be home.

You don't need to be there. You can meet them at the final destination if you want.

The bigger question here is why doesn't your fiance pay taxes?

Update: Applied for the Social Security card on December 6, 2011; sent AOS packet (with work authorization application) on December 8, 2011; received Social Security card on December 12, 2011. It is stamped with, "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION". No issues with getting it on a K-1 vsa.

My fiancee and I used Skype a lot to do voice calls. All that there is a record of is the call beginning and end time. Nonetheless, I pulled up the Skype log on my computer showing a list of all the calls and did a screen shot. It was basically just a list of dates and times. Keep in mind that the consular officer isn't going to sit there and read hundreds of pages of emails and texts like a novel. If you have hundreds of emails dating back as far as 2008, select maybe a total of 20 of the best ones between then and now and include those in addition to copies of your cell bill that may show texts back and forth to each other. This way, you cover a pretty good span of time and show that you communicate often. Many people use apps and things in which there is no way to track anything and they know this. The emails themselves would likely be enough so I wouldn't worry about the Viber conversations.

Note that no vaccinations are REQUIRED for the K-1 visa. These can be done after the visa is issued.

Why have them worry about the costs? You should be footing the bill.....along with all the other costs for them to move to this country and restart their lives here. If they don't speak English, that alone will add to your cost outlay since they will need to learn that to be able to obtain any type of productive work.

Baron, did you read anything in this forum? The poster is the foreign fiance and I do believe people from England speak English.

Looks like a good summary to me, though I don't know where you got $1805 for the total cost. The current filing fee is $340.00. You pay a filing fee for another form later on in the process, but it still doesn't come close to $1805. Aside from the details of what is included in your initial package, it seems that you know the process well. Good luck!

Thanks everyone for your input. I was thinking moral support too.

I had fears initially about going too and I'm the guy! Mainly, I was afraid that if I went, I wouldn't fit in since I'm not Mexican and would only draw unwanted attention to myself and my fiancee; especially since there aren't a lot of foreigners in that part of Mexico. I wanted to be there for her though and I went. You should read my review here: My review. I explain about the safety, the hotels, and what it's like there. We ended up going to the mall and to the movies and the hotel we stayed at was very nice. I won't deny that Juarez is dangerous, but I found the area around the consulate to be safe. If it weren't for the news, I wouldn't have noticed that it was different than any other part of Mexico I've been to. Tell him not to worry, you will both be fine and good luck!

Does anyone know if there are any issues getting it before or after the marriage?

I don't know what you are reading, but several of us in VJ have provide instructions on what to do to get her SSN. Even links have been provide to you. Do what you need to do wiht the information we provided.

I read it on SSA's website...

"In general, only noncitizens who have permission to work from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can apply for a Social Security number... Lawfully admitted noncitizens can get many benefits and services without a Social Security number. You do not need a number to conduct business with a bank, register for school, apply for educational tests, obtain private health insurance, apply for school lunch programs or apply for subsidized housing. You cannot get a Social Security number for the sole purpose of obtaining a driver’s license."

But yeah, maybe K-1 visas are a grey area and it looks like most people have no problem getting a number.

Thanks everyone. But I'm reading that social security won't issue a card or number to people unless they provide evidence of their work authorization with the application, which as a K-1 visa holder, we will not have.

My employer is saying that in order to add my fiancee to my insurance after we marry, we need the marriage certificate AND her SSN card. She can't get an SSN card without work authorization. She can't get work authorization at least for a few months after we apply for it. Does this sound right? Does anyone else have issues getting an SSN without having authority to work in the US?

Can you get vaccinations completed by your regular doctor and take the record to a civil surgeon to sign off on the i-693?

My fiancee is coming to the US from Mexico on a K-1 fiancee visa so she was not required to have vaccinations prior to getting the visa. We will need to get them done here. My question is, do we have to go to a civil surgeon to complete the vaccinations or can we go just to my regular doctor & get them. She will be able to get them at my doctor's office for free and they can provide her with proof of having received them. Would we then go to a civil surgeon with this proof just to have them complete the form?

Here is some helpful info. I found: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/240422-k1-out-of-status/

Hi dear friends!

I would like to know till when I can start the AOS process after the marriage?

Do I have to apply as soon as we get married? Do I have a time to do that?

I am so worried! I hope someone can help me here.

Thanks in advice!

It is best to file as soon as possible, but some people choose to wait a little as they cannot afford the filing fee. What I've learned is that when you enter the US on a K-1 visa, the visa is good for 90 days. After that 90 days, you would be out of status unless you have a pending AOS case, but it's not like you have to sit down right after the ceremony and fill out the paperwork. You have some time. With your AOS paperwork, you need to send in a certified copy of the marriage certificate and get vaccinated (if needed for you) and it can take a few weeks to do all that.