JayMain626

Hello VJ,

i know many people must of asked this but is there any point us putting affidivits into our i-130 petition? also if we do do they have to be a US citizen and noterised?

many thanks

Jamie

another question??

i am currently serving in to armed forces, for my mail i use a corrispondence (parents house) address as the army mail system is poor. on the petition should we use my barracks address or my corrispondence address?

thanks jamie

Hello,

i am a british citizen and have recently married a US citizen ( 29th August 2014)

we are wanting to start the whole process to get the ball moving so we can actually start our married life together.

the main question i have is what should we do first? is there anything we have to send off with our intial application that my wife needs to change her name with the state. or should we wait for that to go through before filling? or vise versa

i have read allot of information and it is all a little confusing to me.

many thanks for any replys

Jamie

Thanks,

It's just normally when they ask what your doing the then ask who is your friend and so on and so on. I haven't had an issue before it's just cos I am getting married, so if the questions do come up I want to be prepared.

Also if I say that I'm visiting friends then it comes out I'm getting married then it will look bad I suppose.

Hi I posted a while ago about my situation.

I am a UK citizen currently serving in the army. My fiancé is a US citizen living in Michigan.

We are planning our wedding for the summer in August. I am aware that it is perfectly legal to enter the US as part of the VWP and get married and me return home. Then apply for CR-1.

I was just wondering if any one has done this. And how there entry was for example. Best way to answer the questions at passport control. I understand that to lie is an offence I'm just a little worried about being denied access.

If I was to answer the what is the intentions of your visit with visiting my fiancé. I assume they would move on to the are you getting married question quite quickly. They didn't however do this the last time I was there.

Does anyone have any advice on what evidence I should take with me to prove my ties to the country. I suppose me still serving in the armed forces would be a good start.

My intentions are obviously legal I am just scared after we have planned our wedding me getting denied access.

Thanks for any replies

Jamie

On the petition should it have my partners current address or should it be our future address?

I guess what i'm asking is should we get our house before we file the petition or can it wait till after the process is finished. she is currently living with family.

Many thanks for any replys

Do you know if there's any strange laws in Michigan the would mean our marriage in the UK would not count

Just for the speed of getting a GC and being able to travel and work.

Dont worry at all about travelling on an ESTA while the process is going on, all I had was a return flight, mainly because i never gave it a thought. Would do no harm to have something else but i never needed it even when the CPB bloke could see on his computer I had a K1 petition ongoing.

Planning a wedding is a bit of a nightmare on a K1 if you want family over as I did/do. So we did what many K1's do, quick ceremony in the park with 1/2 dozen people there then we are doing the family and friends thing in the spring.

Thank you

Does anyone know if it makes any differance to the CR1 application where you get married for instance UK or in the US

Also I was reading the CR1 forum would it be advise able to get a housing lease or buy a house before filing the I-130

If you get the CR-1 visa, you'll have 6 months to use it (enter the USA) from the date you have your medical. You don't technically have the GC until you've entered the USA on that visa.

Once you've entered the USA, the visa will get stamped and will act as a temporary green card (your physical plastic one will arrive a month or two after you've entered so long as you pay the IV fee) and you can leave the USA the same day if you like - you can travel and work straight away. You don't get caught up being stuck in the USA until AP or GC comes through, like K1s do.

Would I be able to travel on the temporary one you mean?

How long after the issue of green card do you have to travel is it 6 months like the K-1?

Yeah that was one of our ideas. Thank you

K1 is extremely quick at least in my case it was.

Your I-129f was approved in 28 days from your NOA1 date.

Your interview took 91 days from your I-129F NOA1 date.

The interview will be in 16 days from now.

How are you doing with planning the wedding on that time frame?

Not unless:

1) neither party has the time for the paperwork,

2) both of you don't understand the paperwork or have comprehension problems

3) the beneficiary has a bans or needs a waiver

5) beneficiary has a criminal convictions

7) history of petitioning multiple people for spousal or k1 visas

6) petitioner has a criminal conviction that goes against the Adam Walsh Act

I'm going to bet you have none of that and can probably do all of this on your own. No one else will look after your case like you will, and all those companies do is fill out the forms with the information you give them. You can do that! I wouldn't spend the money unless you have some serious red flags and then you'd best get a good immigration lawyer.

My husband told me he wanted to pay a lawyer about 3k to do everything and I ixnayed that. I did most of the paperwork and research, and he paid all the bills as well as got the paperwork I needed from him. The process is expensive enough without adding extra costs. A lawyer or visa help company will not make it faster.

Thank you again I really appreciate it. Do you have a rough guide to total cost? Sorry to keep bothering you.

Having gone through the K1 process I now think I ought to have gone the other way. It would have been better to get married in the UK then file for a spousal visa then come to the US when it's all done and get a GC straightway. Pretty sure it's cheaper that way too.

It may take a year for a spouse visa but it took 9 months for a K1 anyway and I am still waiting for EAD and AP although it's been approved I just do not have the bit of paper yet.

My opinion only.

Plus i work offshore and was doing month on month off so we just travelled to see each other every month or so, most people cannot do that.

But yes it is OK to travel on an ESTA while your petition is going through, they know at CBP and it was mentioned to me by the officer once but it was no problem.

Thanks Why would you have gone the other way? Just so you could plan the wedding how you wanted it? Or just the fact you can go straight to work and don't have to adjust your status?

It is a good idea to bring proof of your ties to your country such as a letter from your employer stating when you are due back (letter from your CO would suffice, most likely saying you're British Army with your ID would work as well) as well as any leases, bills, etc... things the average human being doesn't just up and leave behind. Also pack appropriately for your trip. And always be honest, friendly, and polite.

Many people file the petition right away. You still need to send some proof of relationship, but as you're from the UK, the bar isn't very high. This is a basic fast guide (with some incorrect forms due at the NVC due to some new changes in the process) but there is a great list at the bottom of ideas for proving a genuine relationship: http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/EZGuideSpouse

Would you recommend using one of the many company's that are out there to help with the process?

Thank you so much I was getting a little overwhelmed with all the information that is flying around, knowing I would still be able to travel during the process is a great relief.

Also would it be frowned upon if we where to get married then file the petition soon after. I know I would not qualify got the IR1 and would have the CR1

Thank you so much for the advice, I understand the issue with travelling to get married. I there is surely no reason to not accept you into the country if you have a return ticket what other proof would they require?

Hi,

Just wondering what peoples general advice would be. Im currently serving in the British army recently proposed to my girlfriend who lives in Detroit Michigan. we are trying to decide what the best route is for us to be together for example should we get married then file for a K-3/ IR1/CR1 visa or apply for a K-1 visa.

Basically what would be the quickest/ best process if we wanted to plan the wedding accurately and time everything.

looking at the general time frames its disheartening with the over 12 months before interviews.

the whole process seems very confusing also during the application for either of the visas could i travel on an esta for a visit or would i not be aloud entry because of my ongoing application.

Many thanks for the reply's

Jamie