Master Semaj

If you have a digital copy just use the government website to size it correctly and have it printed here.

Dept of State Photo tool

I used this for the NVC stage as my husband sent me ones not even in size. Worked great!

It would be generally cheaper for you to use this website. If you have a decent working printer at home or with a friend, grab some glossy photo paper and just by following the guides you can print your own. You can print off as many as you want to send off or keep as spares without having to make a trip to the nearest photo booth or drug store and paying their extortionate prices.

Alright, thanks for that everyone.

So we have finally sent off our package today to start this process! My fiancée is wondering though, when do they usually cash the filing fee check? Just so she knows roughly when to expect the money to be taken. Thanks!

Yes, you will need the I-134 form, to be completed by the Petitioner (as well as by a co-sponsor if it is required) and the completed and signed form is to be physically mailed to the beneficiary to take to their interview, along with the supporting documents for the I-134, such as tax transcripts, financial/employment information and records.

Hope you get to the next stage soon, you're almost there!

It is just a secondary form of relationship proof, there's no need to print out page upon page of transcribed chat logs. You can take screen shots of chats or chat logs, most chats display the names of the people talking and a date and time. Just a screen shot or two of some chats is acceptable.

Just don't send in any chats that are inappropriate or negative in nature

The $340 is only the filing fee for the I-129F petition form. The petition approval's only connection to the actual K-1 visa is that it grants permission for the foreign fiance(e) to apply for the K-1 visa. There is a $240 visa processing fee for everyone applying for a K-1 visa at all consulates. It used to be $350 and went down to $240 on April 13, 2012.

From the London Embassy site: "K visa applicants - $ 240.00" : http://london.usembassy.gov/immigrant-visas/iv_fees.html

Ah I see, that makes sense. Once again, thank you for your help and knowledge.

I'm not sure that information is entirely correct, I don't know if it differs from country to country. The affidavit of support and its respective documentation and evidence is required when you attend the interview at the American embassy for the K1 Visa, it is mentioned many times in guides and by people who have been through the whole process.

Going by what other members have said and experienced, for the K1 process the petitioner doesn't necessarily have to supply a passing I-134 if there is a valid co sponsor available (typically a close member of the family, someone who does meet or exceed the financial requirements)but obviously the best and simplest situation would be that the petitioner is able to qualify for the affidavit of support.

Once the K1 has been used and the beneficiary moves to file for Adjustment of Status, an I-134 is required from the petitioner as well as a joint sponsor if it is needed. The result of which must also meet or exceed the financial requirements.

I would find and research information regarding this part of the process and the specifics tied to your country and then call back again if you have more questions you would want to ask someone directly.

No, they only use their individual income. She will list her own individual current income on the form and provide proof of her own income with a letter from employer and recent pay stubs. A tax transcript from the IRS does not break down who earned what, so you either need to provide a copy of the complete tax return with all the forms and W-2s and/or 1099s, or provide the W-2/1099s for the mom with her transcript so they can see what her individual income is.

OK that's great, thank you for clearing that up for me. Much appreciated!

Isn't the K1 (fiance) visa a non-immigrant visa? Regardless, we'll be prepared with the extra funds just in case.

Now it seems the thread I got the information from the OP was misinformed or misunderstood the news, but yes it apparently doesn't apply to K1. At least not yet anyway. If they are adding additional fees to things these days, best stay on the look out for any more.

NO. There was misinformation posted in this thread. The new $165 fee is for immigrant visas. The K-1 is a non-immigrant visa and that new fee DOES NOT apply to those getting a K-1.

The fee to file the I-129F petition is $340. The visa processing fee at the consulate is $240. The fee for AOS once in the US and married is $1070.

I see. Strange though, either I have not been able to find it or I have completely not seen it, but I have not read about this $240 dollar fee to pay at the consulate. All I've seen people talk about is paying a courier fee nowhere near that much. I thought the filing fee at the start of the petition was for the K1. :S Oh well, at least I know now rather than later.

From what I can gather from another thread, there is now an additional fee that needs to be paid as part of getting the K1 visa as well as other Visa types, the New USCIS Immigrant Fee.

The fee seems to differ between countries, but for the UK it is said to be $165

http://london.usembassy.gov/visa_news_iv_fees.html

It'd be best to add this to all relative guides and tips, this would be something you don't want to be unprepared for.

Best make sure to save up another 'ton' for that fee, guys.

They're seriously adding on an additional charge to the K1 (as well as other visas) now? I hope this information gets added to our website in the guides and such. I thought when the time for the interview and successful granting of the K1 comes around, it was just the courier fee you had to pay out there... :/

Don't you mean, 2/3 years to get the 10 years green card?

Cause it is between 8 months and a year to get the K1 visa (usually).

Sorry, I guess it wasn't that clear lol, but by 2/3 I meant Two Thirds of a year. Again, as said, it's usually the trend but can differ.

I have a further question that someone can help me with hopefully. Just to clear things up.

So only one of my in-laws is required for co-sponsoring which is fine. Mom has stepped up since Dad decided to pay out for wedding expenses lol but in terms of getting a tax transcript, they file jointly. Is that an issue? Or does it not matter so long as Mom as the co-sponsor is the same person in the transcript?

Also, if they file taxes jointly, does the combined total of their taxes/income count even if it's just Mom filing as co-sponsor? Or will they break down the transcript to only count hers? Or would it even require both Mom and Dad to fill out co-sponsor forms? I don't know exactly how these tax transcripts work or the minute details of co-sponsoring.

The wait may seem long and painful, but remember you are not the only one going through it, everyone involved with this website understands.

As has been said, it's approximately 2/3 of a year for the whole K1 process to go through up to getting your Visa. Some people have got through sooner, some later, it's pretty much in the hands of the officials.

Just make sure you have studied the process and paperworks enough so you both know what to do and when, doing everything right 1st time and to the requirements is the best thing you can do to get through this wait as quickly as possible.

I have a further question that someone can help me with hopefully. Just to clear things up.

So only one of my in-laws is required for co-sponsoring which is fine. Mom has stepped up since Dad decided to pay out for wedding expenses lol but in terms of getting a tax transcript, they file jointly. Is that an issue? Or does it not matter so long as Mom as the co-sponsor is the same person in the transcript?

As has already been mentioned, timing a big ceremony with guests alongside the K1 process can be tricky, it can be a simpler method to just have a small ceremony at a registry office or whatever they call them in the US, just a simple contract signing to get the official/legal side of it taken care of in order to progress to the next stage in the immigration process.

Just go with what works best for you, there are options.

You will have to correct that. Birth dates are an important part of filing paper work as well as for identification and if they do not match up, that can raise issues.

I suggest in future, you read through a form completely first, then fill the form out, then re-read the completed form and check your information is correct.

No. Always put the most current info on the form du jour. If something changes by the time you interview, inform the interviewer or if you really, really want to be pedantic, take a newly filled out form with the updates. That would be embassy forms, not going back to the petition forms. Having a job doesn't really matter. Having a job making bombs might interest them and get you additional processing at the embassy level for security concerns.

Thanks for that. I only ask as, from what I can gather, the company I currently work for is looking at cutting down staff later in the year (what's new, eh?) and it would be a pain if I was cut while my K1 is going through the process and such. As long as it isn't crucial to the process, that's all I was mainly concerned about.

I have a quick question regarding some of these forms during this process.

With the sections regarding current and past employment. If for some reason, god forbid, that I (the beneficiary) lost my current job through one way or another while the whole process is going on, will that cause a problem? Would it require contacting the appropriate authority to notify them of the change?

Thanks for that, that's really useful and simple to read.

Other suitable proof of ongoing relationship can include phone bills and logs as you have already said and also things like online chat/instant messenger logs, emails, anything you have sent to each other through the mail like letters or gifts. Not to mention photographs of the two of you together.

So I have a question regarding using co-sponsors as part of the affidavit of support during this whole process.

In the rough time frame for when I would, hopefully, get my K1 visa, my fiancée will have been graduated for a month or two and hopefully have grabbed herself a better job than her low part time one she has now. When it comes to using a co-sponsor (which from what I have read, can be an uneasy subject for the K1), in general but mostly associated with the K1 process, if the parents of the petitioner (the in-law parents of the beneficiary) are willing and pass the requirements for support, would that generally be acceptable.

Also, is one co-sponsor all that's necessary, or would 2 be even more beneficial. Both in-laws have steady full time jobs that both pay well and are living fairly comfortably, so statistically 1 would be enough. But would having the both of them act as co-sponsors, if need be, be a valid proof of evidence of the relationship as well as solid co-sponsoring?

Alright, thanks for the heads up on those things, easily taken care of.

And in regards to the forms dated from August, does the same limit the photos have apply to them too?