FulanoDeTal

Yes, things are moving along! We arrived in Rio today for some "quality time" that we had previously planned, and because we have the case number we've been able to schedule the medical exam here for next week. One less thing to worry about before we go for the interview, which we think will probably be in December or January. Being together again is so nice, and reminds us that all of this paperwork is definitely worth the effort. Good luck to everyone as the process continues!

Peter and Bonieke

Hi all,

We are so happy! I just called DOS and learned that our case number has been assigned. TSC sent our file to NVC on September 27. We've scheduled the medical exam in Rio for later this month, so with the case number we're now good to go on that. Continued good luck to everyone as this process continues!

Peter and Bonieke

We're doing the fiancé visa so we'll have packet 4, which is basically the documentation that we have to bring to the consulate at the time of the interview. The spousal visa is handled differently because the spouse gets the GC upon arrival in the US, while the fiancé still has to go through the Adjustment of Status process in the US before receiving the GC.

VSN,

My understanding is that you are required to be your husband's sponsor because the petition would be based on your marriage. You would be required to file the I-864 along with the required tax returns, whether you had any income or not. Your husband could also file the I-864A so that his income and assets are included as part of your total household income and assets to the extent allowable. If this is sufficient to satisfy USCIS that your husband would not become a public charge once in the US then you would not need a co-sponsor.

Good luck!

If you hit the "Embassy Info" tab on this site's toolbar and then select "Brazil," you will find a detailed description and checklist for the consulate in Rio de Janeiro. Also, you can read the reviews for the Rio de Janeiro consulate by hitting the "Reviews: Embassy/USCIS & POE" button and then selecting the Rio consulate. There's a lot of helpful information there as well. Good luck with your interview!

The I-864A can be filed by you as the intending immigrant, because you are a member of your wife's (the U.S. citizen's) household. It allows your income and assets to be considered with hers in connection with her I-864. If you have an income and assets, it might be a good idea, because even with a co-sponsor you will want to make your best financial case to USCIS.

Good luck!

Good, get those returns filed. Unfortunately, if you owe taxes the unfiled return penalty is pretty stiff. Once the returns are filed and the exact amount due is known, you should be able to easily get an installment agreement if the total amount owed is in the range you're talking about. I don't think they ordinarily file liens for less than $10,000 unless there are extraordinary circumstances involved. Good luck and hang in there!

Allen,

You really have two issues here: the IRS issue and the immigration issue. As to the IRS issue, if you were on unemployment in 2010 and 2011 I would assume that you are not liable for any additional income taxes. You're only required to file a return if you owe taxes or you want to collect a refund of overpaid taxes. You didn't mention your 2012 return, but assuming that you got an extension your 2012 return will be due on or before October 15, 2013, and your 2012 return should be the tax return that you include with the I-864. So go ahead and get your tax returns filed. Make sure you keep copies of all of your returns, W-2s, and 1099s, because with the government shutdown affecting the IRS as well it may be many weeks before you could obtain a copy of a tax transcript.

As far as the immigration issue goes, USCIS is only looking at your financial status, and is using the tax information to determine your income. USCIS doesn't care and has no jurisdiction over whether you filed your tax returns late, it just wants to see the financial information. If you have a tax due balance with the IRS that is large enough, the IRS could file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien against you, but at most USCIS would deduct the amount on the lien from your annual income for purposes of calculating your financial position.

The bottom line is that you will probably still need a joint sponsor, but based on the information you've given the additional work that you'll need to do to get current on your tax returns should not cause you problems with the IRS (assuming that you do not owe any additional income tax) or USCIS.

Hi Vinn,

I received our NOA1 (Form I-797) about 10 days after the email notification. It doesn't say much more than what's in the email, but it does confirm that everyone's name is entered properly in the system.

I think there's at least one other couple here whose beneficiary is in the Philippines, although I don't know if he's in Manila.

Good luck with your visa process!

All,

Sorry to hear about the RFEs, but at least the requested evidence is easily obtainable and can be sent back promptly. I would expect that USCIS would want the petitioner to be specific about the state in which the same-sex couple is planning to be married, because that is directly relevant to the couple's ability to marry and therefore an important element of the I-129F petition. Requiring an actual copy of the applicable state law is certainly overkill and has not been stated on any USCIS or DOS communications that I've seen. I doubt that such a request would survive a judicial challenge were one made, but of course at this point it's just easier to give them what they want and keep the process moving.

For what it's worth, here's what we said in the beneficiary's letter of intent, and I received our hard-copy NOA2 in the mail yesterday:

I am writing this letter in support of the Petition for Alien Fiance filed by [Petitioner] of Washington, DC. I have known [Petitioner] since [date]. [Petitioner] has asked me to marry him, and I have accepted his proposal. [Petitioner] and I intend to marry, as permitted by the laws of [state], at [Church] within 90 days of my entry into the United States.

Respectfully submitted,

Beneficiary

Because I belong to an "open and affirming" congregation, I included a letter from my minister (who is himself in a same-sex marriage)stating that we intended to be married at the church, so I suspect that his letter may have been helpful in the process. In any event, it seems pretty clear that same-sex I-129F petitioners need to be as specific as possible about where and when they intend to marry.

Continuing best wishes to all,

Peter & Bonieke

Finally after 5 1/2 weeks of waiting since we received our NAO2 my application is now at the NVC and soon will be on its way to vancouver. Hoping things move much faster now

Susan,

Congratulations, that's great news! I hope things begin to move more quickly for you now!

Thanks, I gather from some other threads that the TSC was slow in getting approved fiancé petitions to the NVC over the summer. Apparently someone applied a kick in the pants and the TSC has stepped up its game. It would be nice to have the file number soon because we'll be in Rio mid-October and could possibly get the physical done, but we'll see. Hang in there, this will work out and better days are ahead!

Hi Susan,

I received an email from USCIS last evening saying that our I-129F petition had been approved at the TSC, so today was indeed a happy day. Tonight I received another email from USCIS stating that our approved petition has now been sent to the NVC for processing. Of course, I haven't seen the NOA2 letter itself yet but the TSC certainly seems to have its act together in terms of keeping us informed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the process continues this smoothly.

We're happy to have some more good news to report. I received an email from USCIS earlier this evening saying that our I-129F petition has been approved by the TSC and the NOA2 was mailed 9/26. So, it looks like we'll be on our way to Rio de Janeiro! Thank you Edie Windsor and Justice Kennedy!

Sukie,

I would guess that because the I-130 involves immigrant visa, the processing is more "front-loaded" and takes more time. The fiancé visa is a non-immigrant visa and therefore more like a tourist visa, so the processing is more on the back end once the fiancé is in the U.S., gets married, and proceeds to adjustment of status. The bottom line is that if you're an I-130 filer I would expect a longer processing time based on the nature of the visa. And yes, I'm sure there are many cases that would prove me wrong! But be patient and hang in there, remember that even six months ago this was all just a dream.

It was reported on the site by member GayK1inTexas this afternoon. GayK1 says that it was 56 days from NOA1 to NOA2. So it appears that things may be looking up for us at the TSC!

I agree with what FulanoDeTal has said. We are also waiting for TSC approval, but I am sure that they will not discriminate. It will be exciting when we all start getting our NOA2 notifications!

Some great news today for same-sex I-129F filers at the TSC: a same-sex fiance petition has been reported as receiving an NOA2 from the TSC! Not ours (yet), but it's good to know that these petitions are finally starting to move down in Texas.

This is great news, and very heartening for all of us whose I-129F petitions have been sent to the TSC! Thanks for letting us know, and please keep us posted on your progress with the DOS.

Hi ivanalex,

The reassignment of many same-sex fiancé petitions to TSC in August was done as an effort to take some of the burden off of the VSC, which apparently had an excessive workload that was affecting processing times. Many opposite-sex petitions were transferred as well. Because almost all same-sex fiancé petitions would have been filed following the Windsor decision in late June, most if not all same-sex petitions would have been transferred to TSC as part of the general transfer of recent petitions. So to answer your question, this was an administrative move and same-sex petitions were not being singled out. I think the concern that some of us have is that because Texas is generally not viewed as a "gay friendly" place, there may be a tendancy among personnel in the TSC to view same-sex petitions somewhat differently than opposite-sex petitions, and I don't mean that in a good way. That is clearly not official policy, and I sincerely hope that it is not the case, but I will feel more comfortable when I see some same-sex couples receiving approvals from TSC along with the numerous opposite-sex couples whose recent petitions have been processed by TSC quite promptly.

Hello everyone

does anybody have any idea why almost all the same sex K1 cases got transferred to TSC?

you think there is some kind of discrimination?

i'm a little confused

Anyword yet on yours? So far still under "initial review" for us here! It shows our case was last "touched" on August 15th. Just checking. If I have not heard anything by Sept 15th I intend to call to check it out a bit more. Chaaaaaaau.

No, radio silence thus far. As I've said elsewhere, I'll be happy to see movement for ANY same-sex couple from the TSC, because Texas sure ain't Vermont. I'm going to Brazil next month for a visit, so I'm glad to focus on that for the time being!

Sorry, on the financial information I also should have referred you to the Form I-134 instructions for the financial and employment information. The instructions are fairly specific about the forms of documentation that are sufficient to verify your emplyment and income. Good luck.

^{I hear you about the "double standard" in many Latin American countries. The view on the street is often very different from the "official position."}

^{You will be expected to meet the same U.S. immigration standards (no less and no more) as an opposite-sex couple seeking a fiance visa. The political or religious stance of El Salvador regarding same-sex marriage is simply irrelevant to the process.}

^{You're correct that you should state your intent to get married in Massacusetts within 90 days of your fiance's entry into the United States. New Jersey (or any other State that doesn't allow same-sex marriage) won't cut it for purposes of a same-sex fiance visa.}

^{Your proof of income will be satified through copies of your recent federal income tax returns (plus W2s) or tax transcripts. Check the El Salvador embassy section of this site, which should give you more specific information on the documentation requirements at that embassy.}

^{Buena suerte con tu "viaje de visa" and keep us posted.}

Good luck with your visa process. Sometimes it's easy to take for granted the relative liberty and security in our relationships that we enjoy in the U.S. and Brazil. Your situation reinforces the importance of the Windsor decision on so many levels. Please keep us posted on your progress.

Did any July same sex filers receive their NOA2 yet?

One same-sex July I-129F filer reports that she has already received her NOA2 out of the California Service Center. A number of us have had our petitions transferred to the Texas Service Center. Several July opposite-sex couples are reporting that they have received NOA2s on their I-129F petitions from TSC within the last week. So it looks like things are moving, although I will be more comfortable when I see a same-sex petition receive an approval from TSC. It certainly doesn't have to be mine, but I just want to confirm that there aren't any "agendas" at work down there.