K Jewels

I am currently living with my fiance in Australia and can tell you (coming from the US) everything is so damn expensive here lol... I think the easy ballpark figure is about 2x what I normally pay for items in the US, sometimes as much as 3-4x.

We share a house in Melb CBD with housemates simply because it was convenient to get to. I was lucky to get a job even before I landed ( I didn't think I was lucky at the time) but it seems like jobs are harder to get here.

You gotta take into consideration the population in the US is about 14x the population of AU and could lead to less demand and increased prices. We would buy things shipped from China to the US for less cost and faster timing than from China to AU even though AU is a lot closer to China.

If it makes things easier look at things in percentages and compare things within the local economy vs cross comparison. I've lived here for almost 2 years now and still find prices appalling when comparing between the two countries. That said, we've managed to save money here based on my full time work and her part time work. Quality of life does feel a little better in the sense that there are a lot of holidays over here ( like a whole month off for xmas lol).

If you need assistance to get off your feet there is always Centrelink. We just manage and budget within range and still enjoy going out. There are ways to get things from deals (like paying $10 for movies thru Optus vs $20 at the door)... I think if you go on expat forums it would be more helpful.

I'm still looking into this but I think as Americans working in AU there is a $97k exemption on taxes, of course conditions apply.
Hope this gives you another perspective

The I-864 allows someone like you working abroad who wants to return to the US with a new spouse to count any income that will continue after you return.
Since your AU income will continue after you come back to the US (since the income is from the same company), then you will be able to count it.
The reason others cannot not normally count the foreign earned income is that they usually leave their jobs when they return to the US. Since the income will end when they return, they can't count them.

My fiancee completed interview on late Feb 2014 with these questions:
How did you met? (F: facebook, add friend, become friend, chat, talk, etc)
How many time(s) your fiance was married? (F: once).
Why did he divorce? (F: xx yy reason, issues started in 200x)
Do you remember the date he divorced? (F: he asked me to memorize the date, it is xx/xx/201x)
Why divorce in 201x instead 200x? (F: I don't know, he might have mentioned the reason but I can't recall at this time).
Overall my fiance said the officer is so friendly, nice & handsome & speak Vietnamese perfectly :-) By her descriptions, I think I might have met this officer during my previous trips to HCM consulate.

Hello I am very happy to tell you that our visa has been approved!!!! Originally we had a blue sheet due to my fiancee forgot her police report and 2 5x5 pictures. We came back in the same afternoon to give the two require materials. And we were issued our visa. I will submit my detail review in a few days. We are very busy to prepare everything for the departure.
Another positive note is that the immigrant visa chief came out to congrats us. We are the first same sex visa approval in Vietnam. She was asking if we are willing to share our story. Good luck to everyone that have interview! It is very positive to same sex couples.

Lý Lịch Tư Pháp số 2 = Police Record # 2.

**Post moved from K1 to Australia & NZ.
I moved your post to the Regional Forums, because your question is specific of your embassy. As a general rule, and as suggested by the previous poster, your best bet should be to contact the Embassy and present the situation directly to them.
Other peoples's experiences can be taken as references, but the embassy always has the first and last word.
Good luck

I would contact them, and just be honest. It shouldn't be a problem. They probably know that it'll take that long to get the documents, and won't have a problem adjusting your interview date.

Alrighty. This is very state dependent, even after you get divorced. Check if there's a waiting time from divorced until you can get married. I think it has been mentioned but it's important concerning the timing of you filing the petition.
Sorry you found out you have to go through the divorce now but am glad you located the ex-wife.

Hi again, you are welcome - always happy to help (or try to help)

I would not contact a lawyer at this stage to handle the visa. It is all relatively simple, if not time consuming unless some issues arise.
That sucks about your accountant! I would get everything in order with your tax first, I am sure you want to anyway for piece of mind.
I have NO idea about the divorce no idea how to check if you are divorced. Can you search public records for divorce? Presumably she would have filed where you lived? Start there, checking with the county clerk there first as the previous poster said, then if no luck, I would go to where she first lived (home town), then I would try to contact her, find her, try family, friends, try to find her. Then if no luck I would contact a lawyer or get some free legal aid advice. HELL, why not even do it all at the same time??
As moomin said, people have been approved with less but, have more, protect yourselves, save yourselves for RFE's refilings and denials by having the utmost evidence!
As I said no way to expedite unless you are actively serving - I know it sucks!
My ultimate advice is , 1) fix tax, 2 ) find out about divorce and refile if needed , 3) once tax and divorce issues are settled, then file k1 as you cannot file for k1 if still married or not free to marry (well you can but it will be denied.

If your partner wants to do some things so it does not feel like she is doing nothing while waiting she can; get her vaccinations that she will need during AOS; look into getting her police certificates for all the countries she lived in for 6 months or over after the age of 15-16 (not sure which), though with police certificates the Aus one is only valid for 1 year so it is time sensitive; gather evidence of your relationship; write her letter of intent; fill out the G325a and go over all the other things she may need to do for the process so at least on her end all she will need to do is give you the items or send when when the time comes and it is quick, quick, quick once your issues (tax/ divorce) are resolved.

I don't understand how you can file your taxes with a loss but still say you make over the threshold. They will look at your net self-employment income after expenses, not your gross receipts Maybe I have misunderstood and if so, I apologize. (I am both self employed as well as a tax preparer so I do have experience with filing for a visa and my taxes as self employed.) But it does seem you will need a co-sponsor. This is a helpful forum, I hope you find the advice you need. Read all the guides twice and the instructions to the forms twice. Good luck with your journey.

Welcome to VJ and congrats on engagement
1 - Owing money or similar shouldn't directly have an effect on you being a sponsor. It's owing money to the IRS that's a deal breaker if you haven't set up a payment plan. The i-134 only requires you to send the most recent tax return though it's up to the embassy. An Aussie can help you better here than I can.
2 - The divorce papers are crucial to submit in your petition. Go to the country clerk's office where the divorce was granted. I'd first look at the county your ex-wife lived in at the time of filing for divorce. It depends on the state however.
3 - People have been approved by less time spent together in person. You meet the one requirement of having met once within the last 2 years so the petition is not going to get denied because of it. It's up to the embassy to determine if it smells fishy, however you can make up for it through another visit to show ongoing relationship if possible.
4 -No. Not unless your fiancee applied dozens of times and out of sudden, she goes for a fiancee visa. This mostly applies to countries where fraud is high or the goal is simply to get to the US through any kind of path. It won't have a negative effect otherwise - at least it shouldn't.
5 - It help to be in active duty overseas when it comes to expediting a petition. Unfortunately no, your service doesn't have a benefit when it comes to immigration.

Hi,
Firstly, welcome to VJ. These forums are great and I hope you get a lot out of them!
I can't answer all your questions but I can give you a little advice from my own experiences/ what I know.
One thing I will say is when / if my visa is approved I will not be an "Ex-Australian" people might get funny if you call them that. Though I am moving to the US to be with my partner, I am still an Australian, I hope to have dual citizenship and I will always consider myself Australian and or Australian/American
1) I am currently working with my accountant to correct and bring my taxes up to date. Because of recent economic issues affecting my
business, I will be filing at a loss. I do have my parents business to co-sponsor if I need to meet sufficient income. However, even
operating at a loss, I still make more than the required income.
I do not see a question here.
In terms of income, all you need is to be above the threshold and prove that your fiance will not become a public charge. If you are above that threshold you will not need a co-sponsor. You will probably be asked to provide tax receipt for the last 2-5 years so make sure it is all up to date and above board.
2) I cannot locate my ex to see if the divorce papers filed years ago went through or not. If it did I do not know where to file for an
original copy of the divorce. If I have to file for separate divorce again do I need to file in the state I was married or can I file in
current state?
I believe you can file from anywhere. I would consult a lawyer to find out how to go about finding out if you are divorced or not.
You both MUST be free to marry when you start the K1 process so you need to know BEFORE you start the petition.Or it WILL be denied
3) Will the short amount of time we spent together affect their decision?
You need to have proof of an on-going relationship with intent to marry. It may look suspicious if you have been together for a short period of time. I would say 6-12 months is a good place to start. You started seeing eachother in September of 2011? That is 5 months so considering you need to get your tax in order and find out about your divorce before you file, this should add time to your relationship and you should be fine. You need to provide lots of evidence of you relationship, so be prepared, emails, plane tickets, letters, cards, tickets, skype, photos of you two together. If you have been together for a short period of time I would get more evidence- it cannot hurt!
4) Will her denials for student visa and recent travel visa affect their decision?
They may want to know why she was denied but this petition should be seperate and evaluated seperately.
** Why does your partner still need a "travel visa"? I am curious as to why your fiancee cannot travel on the VWP?
5) Does my veteran status help at all?
Nope.
Will writing to my congressmen help at all?
You do not need to do this and they will probably tell you to start the process first. Congressmen generally step in after the fact, during denials, AP, long waits on NOA2's etc , I believe.
I hope this was helpful, if I was incorrect I hope someone will correct me.

Welcome! I just joined this week and will be filing soon as well. Good luck with everything!

Welcome to the Party!
When are you hoping to send the I-129f away?
Make sure you read the guides and ask questions if you are unsure of things!
Good luck!

hi to you too! you are on the right site.

Some Basics
http://www.visajourney.com/content/examples