LadyDavid

if you look under the guides for affadavit examples you will find it.

Maybe this link will work?

http://www.visajourney.com/examples/USCIS_I751_Affidavit.doc

Thank you for this info, it will be very helpful to me!

What visa do you hold, and are you in the USA now?

I am in the US and have a Gambian visa.

No need to register marriage. Why are you posting in the K3 forum. The visa you'll be wanting is the CR1. K3 is virtually no longer available.

I haven't figured out where to post, I thought I was in the right one, that's where I saw the post that made me ask the question. Have you no patience with newbies?

No need to register your marriage in the USA, they recognise foreign marriages.

Thank you for your kind response.

Married is married. Just have a certified copy ( and translation if necessary )

Thank you for your kind response.

Thanks for this post, I will try to do this at some point, soon. So much on here to learn and absorb, I want to do it right the first time...no stumbling blocks, if possible.

I have just read in a post about registering my marriage in the US. Don't know how to do that. I do have a SS card in my new name though and driver's license. Can anyone tell me what to do? I tried looking for this but couldn't find info on it. Thank you!

Everything above is correct except the numbers. You need 5X the difference between the petitioner's income and 125% of the poverty level for the household size. So, an $11,000 income represents a shortfall of $7,387, needing $36,935 minimum in liquid assets from the foreign spouse. Bear in mind also that while failing to meet the minimum requirement guarantees failure, simply meeting it does not guarantee success. The public charge issue is a judgment call, not a goal line. (unless you fall short) No money, no honey.

I just read this and am totally confused about liquid assets from the foreign spouse. What constitutes liquid assets and what if they have little or none? I'm just trying to gather info to start the process and this is overwhelming me, to say the least. So many new terms and forms that one is not aware of before hand and the info offered by USCIS, in my opinion, is very lacking. Thanks for all the help everyone offers. I hope to be able to do the same sometime in the future.

Thank you for this topic as I have had questions about them myself. My husband lost his birth cert and found an agency that said they can provide one to him that is legal. His parents are dead and the only sibling that was alive when he was born is in another country and was only 2 1/2 when he was born. Also am wondering how formal the letters regarding our relationship should be, or is there a particular format to follow other than the person's name, address, etc. I am assuming they must all be notarized. Thanks for the input, I too want to be sure of what I am sending, etc. beforehand.

You are laboring under multiple misunderstandings. Only the children who were under 18 at the time you married, will qualify for visas. Those visas, whether K4 was possible or not are NOT FREE.

First, you have to discard everything you have in mind with K3 and K4. It's just not going to happen. Even back when K3 and K4 were viable options, the children paid a visa application fee of $350 each, before the visa interview plus a fee for each medical exam. THEN, after they arrive in the USA, you have to file an I-130 for each of them $420 each, if not already, and pay $1,070 each to adjust their status.

Again, discard the K3/4 idea entirely and restart your plan and thinking based on CR1/IR1 for the spouse and most likely IR2 for the children if they won't come right away.

Not counting travel costs, expect the total direct costs of bringing four immigrants to the USA at about $4,500. If they all arrive after the 2 year anniversary of your marriage, that will be the total in direct costs. If any arrive before that anniversary, add about $600 each that will be paid 21 months after the arrival.

I wasn't referencing the K3 visa when I stated that I was told that the application for the kids visas would be free, it was the I-130, which I stated above was the original plan. Homeland Security, where you have to go here in Seattle told me that and gave me forms for all of it. I just haven't been able to find out which way would be easiest or most logical (?), but have decided to stay with my original plan of the I-130. If that isn't true then they need to get their act together as this is one of the most confusing things I have ever encountered! Geez! Thanks!

From what people have posted on this site, K-3 visas are slowly dying out. In my case, our lawyer filed both K-3 and CR/IR on the same day. Then, months later, both petitions were approved on the same day, (he was thinking one might come back before the other). We went I-130, immigrant visa, mostly all of the paperwork is filed before he gets here and the fees are less. Also he will have a green card as soon as he gets here, SSN shortly following.

Not sure about the kids, I think a lot of people petition children at the same time (for CR/IR, K-1, K-3), but of course it will cost that much more. This process is definitely a financial investment, at the beginning, middle and end.

It would help to know where your husband is, how long you have been married, and if the kids have a (living) mother.

Thanks for the reply. Actually the kids who qualify age-wise, at the time of marriage, don't cost anything visa-wise, it's the airfare and I was wondering if they have to be there for a interview. My husband is in Gambia, has ministered there for 20 years. His wife died. While my husband was in Benin, being consecrated a Bishop, his brother-in-law took the 2 young girls and brought them to Nigeria, their homeland, without my husband's consent/knowledge. The plan was for the uncle to bring the eldest son so he could go to medical school. My husband was in shock to see his daughters in Nigeria when he went to visit. We have been married for over a year now.

I was planning on going down the I-130 path to bring my hubby here, but am wondering if the K-3 is better route to go. Also, he has 3 kids eligible to come but we can't afford to bring them all now and they are actually in Nigeria, thanks to a relative who took them away while my husband was away. Am worried about that being a problem. They want to be back with their dad but no money to get them there. Anyone have any input? I am so thankful I was told about this website, it's awesome.

No timeline yet as I haven't all the docs to file yet. Am also still trying to figure all this out. Thanks!

Oh, thanks for the info , that really helps!

Get a credit card on your account with his name.

Put him as your life insurance beneficiary

Put him on your health insurance (if allowed)

Have him put you on his bank account when you visit him.

Get a magazine subscription in BOTH your names

Did you BOTH stay in a hotel or apartment. Get a lease or bill with both names

Did you rent a car?

Did you go out to eat.? keep receipts

Did he buy you gifts?

Did you send him western union money?

Did you buy him gifts

many more things you can do to show co-mingling of finances

No timeline yet as I haven't all the docs to file yet. Am also still trying to figure all this out. Thanks!

I noticed your said your husband is having to go to another country to work out his immigration things, is that because they do not handle these types of things at the embassy in The Gambia? Is he working with the embassy in Senegal? I'm just curios as my fiance in the Gambia has been trying to figure out the best way for us to handle his visa but has been getting mixed information. The whole process is quite confusing but we keep praying for the right direction to take. Good luck to you and your husband.

He lives in Gambia but Dakar, Senegal is where he has to go for interview, etc. regarding immigration. We should keep in touch and help each other out. I was told at the Gambian Consulate that all immigration matters have to go through Dakar.

OK, I have more questions! For evidence of a bonifide marriage they docs showing joint ownership or property, a lease showing joint tenancy of a common residence or documentation showing co-mingling of financial resources...

How is it possible to do any of these when the person lives out of the country & needs to sign lease agreements, bank account agreements & show proof of ID. My manager said, they can't do it. Can I register my car in both our names, or will he have to be there as well? Also the sworn to/affirmed affidavits...why don't they just say notarized and make it simple? Geez, the beaurocratic red-tape/paperwork is unreal! I realize that they need to be careful & understand that. If I had known how much we needed to do before hand I would have tried to deal with it then. That bad thing for him is he has to go to another country to deal with the immigration stuff and doesn't know anyone there, so it will be costly for him to go.

I see that they require either the original or a certified "long" birth certificate. What is a "long" cert, is there an example of one around, or can someone tell me what is required on it? He lost his original, doesn't live in his country of birth, & the only living relative alive at the time of his birth is a sister who was 2 1/2 at the time he was born. They are the oldest. He says he got a certified certificate done in Gambia where he lives but hasn't sent it yet. He does have his passport and visa from his country of origin. Can anyone explain this as I want everything right, we've been married a year now. Thank you.