bunnithunder

So.... I called the embassy again yesterday and asked if they accepted co-sponsors for the i-134 and got a very strange answer. The man basically told me that the i-134 for a K-1 visa actually has nothing to do with finances, but he couldn't tell me what it was really for. He said to me just to fill it out, and sign it and furthermore, he specifically told me NOT to bring any evidence of my income (i.e. Tax returns or bank statements). Then I told him "Ok. Just to clarify, I don't make 100% of the poverty level, and I don't want my fiance to get denied because of it." He interrupted me and said "Look, you're not listening to me. That form has nothing to do with money, but we still need it. Just fill it out and bring it."

Very strange.

I134 is essential for a K1 visa. Ask your mom to send it to you but make sure she couriers you the original signed copy in legible ink, printouts/faxed copies are not accepted.

Regarding the poverty requirement, if your mom has already listed you as a dependent in her tax returns, then they would be considering it a family of 3. The criteria for poverty requirement is actually 100%, however you will soon be filing for her AOS and that requires 125% so many of the Consular officers consider a 125% requirement during the K1 step itself.

Wish you all the best.

Thank you very much. My mother is working on the I-134 now and will DHL it to me here in Serbia ASAP (Unfortunately it will cost $125 to send. yikes!) She did not claim me as a dependent last year, but has in years before. It don't think it should make much of a difference though, considering she makes just under $200,000/year. Right now I am just hoping they will accept her as a co-sponsor period. From what I read on Visa Journey's consulate reviews, it seems to be pretty relaxed there, but I could not find any information whatsoever of them accepting or not accepting co-sponsors. I will call Tuesday and ask, and let everyone know after. Thanks you, and everyone, again. Once again Visa Journey has saved me from a mental breakdown!

Technically you only need 100% of the family size with the immigrants added in to determine family size for the K-1. So in your case the count would be you and him, so 2. But the embassy has a lot of discretion with K-1's and keeping them from being a public charge. Given 125% of poverty level is required to get through the AOS, they normally use the 125% number.

Get the I-134 from your mother, you do not know if they will reject co-sponsors at the his embassy. I'm assuming you still intend to try. And bring the I-864's to. Don't plan for failure, but plan to do everything you can to get through this. You can't go 100% on what someone on the phone said from the embassy. I've seen a lot of bad information given out many times.

Thank you so much, that is all very helpful information. I will try and get my mother to send me a copy of her I-134 (I'm in Serbia at the moment) and we'll see what happens. I plan on calling the Embassy again on Monday and asking what I can/can't do. Thanks again.

It is never a household size of 1. It will always be a minimum of 2, because your fiancé is counted in your household size with you. Also, generally they need to see 125% of the poverty guidelines.

I think it's 125% only if you're using the I-864.

The DOS website (http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/types/family/fiance-k-1.html)%C2'> reads as follows:

"The 125 percent of the federal poverty guideline minimum income requirement, the most recent year's tax return, and other requirements only apply when Form I-864 is needed. Applicants presenting Form I-134 will need to show that their U.S. sponsor's income is 100 percent of the federal poverty guideline."

Also, It just says "U.S. sponsors's income". Which is what made me think they were only wanting a household size of 1... It's not exactly crystal clear though.

Thank you for the information everyone. I must have overlooked that on the State Department website long ago.... I'm heart broken.

Can someone please tell me if I need to be at 100% the poverty guideline for a family size of 1... or are they assuming a family size of 2 (me and my fiancé). Hopefully I can come up with a large lump-sum of money in the next three weeks.... but I would need a miracle.

Hey Everyone,

I just got the list of documents I need to bring to the interview with my alien fiance (we are going together to the interview) and it only listed to bring form I-134. I called and asked if I could also bring forms I-864 and I-864a and was told they were not accepted or necessary. I am so scared right now of a denial based on my non-ability to support my fiance because I just graduated after 4 years of university and have an annual income of only $10,700. My mother agreed to be a co-sponsor long ago, and I have both the I-864 and I-864a forms ready to go, but now I don't know what to do!!! I know we can use the I-864's when we apply for his adjustment of status after our wedding, but how can I have a wedding if they deny us in the first place??? What is the point of having the I-864's if you can't use them to prove your fiance will not be a financial nuisance upon arrival? What can I do!???

Thank you so much!

-Sarah

We just got our NOA2 I-797 on August 7th. It took TSC 162 days to get from NOA1 to NOA2... sigh. The NOA2 said the same exact thing too, "straight to Consulate". Do you all advise that we should wait two weeks until August 28th to call NVC to ask for the new case number? Then failing that, ask the Embassy if they've received the file? Word on the street is NVC is really backed up... Thanks!

Yes, I would wait two weeks before calling NVC. The case is not forwarded straight to the embassy, they just say that. NVC will send you another notice when they actually mail your case to the embassy, then you wait another week or so and you can call the embassy to see if they received it.

Good luck!

Are you tracking your case through CEAC? Does it still say 'At NVC'?

Hey. I didn't know I was able to track my case through CEAC just yet, but I just went and checked it and it says:

"Your case is in Transit to the consular section. Your interview date was provided to you by the National Visa Center."

I have received no notice of an interview date... Should I call the embassy or call NVC again for my interview date?

Thank you, and everyone else who responded, very much for your help.

I received approval on July 9th and my application was forwarded to NVC the same day. After 2 weeks I called and spoke to an agent who just kept repeating "The NVC has no timeline" to me after every sentence. I asked if there were any problems and he said "No, we have your application, but the NVC has no timeline. We will notify you when your case has been forwarded to the embassy." So I got my case number from him and just kept waiting. It's been almost a month now and I can't help but notice that other people who were approved after me generally go through NVC in about 10 days. While I am happy and grateful I got a fast approval at CSC, this NVC business is really stressing me out.

Has anyone else had this experience? Any advice would be grateful.

My case has been at NVC for 3 weeks now and I still havent heard anything... I keep reading all these posts of people's cases getting forwarded to their embassy in a week or even less, so i'm getting nervious. Does anyone know what they actually DO at NVC? Do they have the ability to deny a case or is their job just to assign case numbers?...

I think if you can legitimately prove you have some sort of ongoing relationship with this person with evidence other than photos, and provide proof that you are unable to return to Armenia you might be able to get away with it. It can't hurt to try anyway... unless the $340 filing fee is too much of a hassle.

I'm going to sidetrack this ridiculousness for a moment to say that although my NOA2 arrived three weeks ago, I think there might actually be a delay at the NVC because my case still hasn't been sent to the Serbian embassy and the NVC website has a notice that is as fallows:

"The National Visa Center is experiencing a high volume of inquiries at this time due to the increased number of approved petitions the NVC is receiving from USCIS."

I'm assuming a speed-up at the service centers means a slow down at NVC... or at least it seems that way.

I am not being impatient at all, in fact the opposite (as I know I am very fortunate to live in a city that is processed by CSC). I would like to point out that this whole process is pretty much just a waiting game (whether you're waiting for TSC, CSC, NVC) so the best thing to do is just relax and be thankful that you managed to find someone you truly love on the other side of the planet (maybe), who is willing to uproot their entire lives and leave their family in order to start one with you. At least that's how I approach it. I wish the best of luck to everyone here and happy waiting!

I am confused because when contacting the NVC they tell you to have your case # ready.... but I don't know my case number yet. What is that all about???

It will be going to the right place lol so no worries! NVC then to the Embassy/Consulate. Make sure to get that Case # from NVC. Congratz!

How do I get my case number? This is the first I've heard of that! Oh boy, there are so many dang surprises in this process! Lol. If I didn't have visajourney I would be ruined!

Thanks again so much.

It's just written like that but it will forward first in NVC then to your consulate, congrats?

Oh ok. Haha! Thank you so much!

Hey, I just received my second notice of action (I-797) and was expecting it to say that my fiancés petition was forwarded to the National Visa Center, but it starts of by saying "The above petition has been approved and forwarded to the listed consulate" and to "Please contact the consulate with any questions".

What happened to the National Visa Center process? Anyone else have a similar experience? I'm excited that the petition was approved, but confused as to what happened! Is it possible I never received a previous I-797???

Thank you!

I also just received my NOA-2...

My question is, does the NVC need more documentation or evidence or do I just wait until they send me a notice that they have approved/denied and will/ will not send my packet to the Serbian Embassy???

Also, do they use email notification/phone or just regulat mail? Or do they have a website where you check progress?

Thanks everyone!

Just checked the USCIS website and our 129-f has been approved by CSC!!! (just under a month from when i filed) I haven't received anything by mail yet, but I assume since it was an approval I should be getting my NOA-2 hard copy by mail soon! Thanks to everyone on visa journey for your help up until now. Wishing everyone here fast approvals!

Now to figure out what happens now.... ??? Just more waiting?

Hey everyone,

I'm also a June filler. Our dates so far look like this:

• I-129F Sent: 06-12-2014
• Acceptance Confirmation E-Mail and Routed to CSC: 06-19-2014
• Alien Registration Number Changed: 06-24-2014

20 days so far from NOA 1 and counting. Hoping for a smooth journey and a fast NOA 2 approval.

Good luck everyone!

We have very similar dates! I've been waiting 23 days for my NOA-2 so far. Keep me posted on your process!!

Hi Sarah,

Your petition was routed to CSC...not transferred. Everyone sends their packages to the Texas Lock Box (not the Texas Service Center) and it is then routed to the center that handles the petitioners home of residence (in his case Washington State).

Please correct your timeline to reflect the CSC and NO for transferred as it really screws up TSC timeline estimates. Thanks in advance and congrats on your future early approval.

Whoops! Timeline corrected. Thanks and good luck!

FedEx delivered my i129f to the Texas Service Center on June 11th and I got my NOA 1 email on June 16th. My application was transferred to the California Service Center, although I don't know why.

Hope this helps. Best of luck to everyone!

Sarah

Just filed my 1-129f for my fiance. Any other June filers? I've read posts that say the processing time is only taking 3 months and other posts that say more than 5.

-Sarah

Hello! I am finally ready to file a K-1 Petition for my Serbian fiancé!!! I have the I-129F with a check for the $340 filing fee, two G-325A's (one for each of us with 2x2 passport photos attached), Statement we have met with evidence attached (airplane tickets, hotel receipts, 5 photos of us and a sample of the Facebook messages we sent to each other), a statement of intent to marry for each of us, and finally, a copy of my passport.

HOWEVER, after reading through all of websites for the 100th time to make sure I have everything correct, I am now confused about WHAT I need to send to WHO. In other words, Do I need to send ALL the evidence along with the K-1 petition or is that information only needed for the interview???

Can someone who has been through this process before please tell me exactly what I need to send to the USCIS office with my I-129F in order for it to be approved?

Thank you so much everyone! This website/forum is a lifesaver!

-Sarah

That does help! Thank you very much.

Hey there. Trying to file for my K-1 next month but I have no idea how to go about printing my Facebook messenger and WhatsApp conversations between my fiancé and I. People who have already filed: Did you just copy and paste? Take a screen shot? Also, we have sent over 5,000 messages to each other. Do they want them all???

The other problem is almost all of our conversations are in Serbian... Does anyone know how I go about translating these? Does it have to be professionally done? Where do I find a professional translator? Do I submit the conversations in both languages? I need some more information. If you have been through this process before please help!

Thank you!