JE57

As A&L said above... Make sure that your Engagement Party doesn't look anything like a wedding...I don't think I'd include a contract for the party or receipt.. It could too easily be construed as an early wedding followed by a Honeymoon. Keep in mind what you are trying to prove. The I-129 requires proof of having met in the last two years. Boarding pass is enough for that. The rest is front loading the application for proof of real relationship to make the interview easier. A good idea for sure but what your trying to show is a real relationship exists. To that end I'd suggest structuring it like a small book with a cover page that shows the milestones in your relationship and how your relationship has grown. Some pictures from first meeting with Family, vacation pictures of the two of you having fun. Some chat logs that that show how you work things thru as a couple. And send copies of everything, keep the originals. w.u. receipts i think are only helpful if they accompanied by an explanation as to how the two of you agreed to spend the money and how that relates to your relationship.

Best of luck...

Your case is strengthened by showing that you intend to return to India. You make your case stronger by convincing the Visa officer that interviews you that you will in fact return to India. SO.. how do you make your case stronger? Not in any particular order...

A) Develop some travel history to show that you can travel and return. Short vacations to other countries are good.. These show that you enjoy travel/tourism and that your interest in USA or Canada is solely for a short visit for tourist purposes.

B) Get a job in India.. Ideally a job that pays well and for which you have compelling reason to return to..

C) DO NOT apply immediately to the USA for a tourist visa... If the USA and Canada do share information or you are asked about other refusals your (presumed) lack of travel history could make you look desperate to get to the USA anyway you can.

D) Savings..Likely only helpful if those funds are somehow tied to your presence in your home country or so significant that you could afford an investment Visa in the USA (absolute minimum of US $500,000 and likely more than $1 Million USD)

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Honestly the way you present your case it sounds like you are looking for a way to move to, live and work in the USA. If this is your true intent please say so... The members here are happy to help advise you on legal (though limited) paths to obtain your dream...

To OP, you have some serious research to do about a K-1 Visa... Read thru the guides here in detail. It won't be fast figure a mimimum of 3 months before she can interview. You don't apply for a K-1 at the Embassy, *YOU* apply for her by sending all the documents into to USCIS lockbox... You'll see that when you read thru the guides. You don't need a lawyer for this and as was said above as long as she did not mis-represent her relationship with you when she applied for a B1/B2 that will have no effect on the K-1. As to where she applies.. she will have to attend an interview prior to departure to the USA. If she'll be in Thailand at the likely interview time with valid residency there that is the embassy I would choose. If she were to go thru the US Embassy in Manilla there are additional requirements... St. Luke's does a through medical which if she's living in Thailand at the time would require additional trips to the Philippines. There is also the matter of CFO clearance from the Gov. of the Philippines. Once she has a VISA to the USA she will need to complete the CFO counseling if she travels to the USA from the Philippines... No such requirement if she interviews and departs to the USA from Thailand. Good luck on your Journey sorry she won't be able to join you in the USA for Christmas.

This is interesting. I would like to clarify some things before the thread gets muddy with those who would want to nit-pick about proper terminology. This is an open forum and as such many topics are discussed in casual English and not specific immigration terminology. It can cause issues and misunderstandings when they intersect.

For the K visa you use the 134. Its a non enforceable aff of support. Its basically a worthless sheet of paper. However it is needed. Its suppose to be evaluated at a lower poverty rate but the embassy does have discretion and some ask for and use the higher rate that the 864 for AOS uses. Some also demand a higher burden of proof, some are more relaxed since it is non enforceable and expires in 90 days. Depends on the embassy. So you will find varying info about the 134 through out the forum and there is no set standard of how it is to be applied. You can not complain and demand it be evaluated a certain way or moan about why did so and so get through with X proof and I am being hassled.

There is no requirement with the K visa to establish domicile period. In a weird twisted way the Officer can interpret the requirement of having a source of stable income to include showing you have an established domicile because well with out one it may be hard to have a stable income- or at least that could be the line of thinking...

From the OPs postings he seems to have bank accounts in the PI- these will not count for purposes of aff of support. He has an account in the US. That will count. He has assets. They will count as long as they are liquid and not deemed a hardship. He has an online business. Not sure if the income is enough based on his tax returns- but I assume he has thoroughly reviewed the forms and feels he surpasses the poverty guidelines.

For his specific income- if it is an online based self employment income- domicile is not usually an issue since he can reside wherever he likes and operate the company. When you are self-employed they review your income differently. They look at Sched C, how long youve been self employed (needs to be atleast 1 year) what kind of work it is, projected income/pending contracts, overall stability etc. It really depends on the type of work- how you present it best to show its stable.

I agree.... It is not clear that proof of or intent to establish Domicile is specifically required for a K1. The Hong Kong Consulate at the time required an offer letter from my manager in the USA who would absorb me on return from a temporary International assignment before they would issue the VISA. Hopefully under the circumstances of OP they would accept savings/assets in the USA as sufficient to meet the needs of the affidavit of support *if* it is even requested.

Hi,

Best of luck to you and your future wife... I know it can work.. My now wife was denied a tourist visa and we applied for and were granted a K-1, got married in the USA and then were able to return to our home overseas. Subsequently she was granted a tourist visa.. So it can work.. A couple of things to consider....

She was delayed getting the K-1 because the Embassy required proof of my intent to establish domicile and have a future income in the USA... Not saying this will happen to you but it did happen to us. In our case our intent really was to remain in the USA and we were blessed with the opportunity to return to our home overseas after we arrived in the USA.. In my opinion you won't be denied for K-1 because you can't show proof to establish domacile may need to provide further evidence which can be hard to do if it isn't true.. Catch 22 there. Although we didn't go thru the Manilla embassy instead going thru Hong Kong. Ideally you'll have an interesting interview and walk out with a tourist visa instead of a K-1.

The strength of your argument for a subsequent tourist visa (and subsequent B2 entries to the USA) depends then on your ties to the Philippines after you get married and return. We assume she does not have strong enough ties to satisfy the requirement to prove she will return. You then become a strong tie in so much as you also will stay. So my advice would be make sure all your ducks regarding your residency in the Philippines are in a row before the interview. That you have legal status in the Philippines and that you can show strong reason that you will continue to reside there.

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I'll note that while others have said that being married to a USC is a big red flag I think actually that marriage to a USC that resides overseas and can show that they plan to continue to do so is not a negative.

The last consideration is that once she has a US K1 VISA in her passport that she will not be allowed to LEAVE the philippines without a CFO sticker. It's hard for me to imagine that CFO is going to put up much of a fuss but be aware that you also will have to pass this hurdle.

Do let us know how it goes please.

Maybe I'm reading your #1 wrong. Are you saying once she arrives in the USA on her K1 they do not HAVE to get married in 90 days? If so, that is very very incorrect

Yep, you're right.. While it seems legally possible to stay longer than 90 days and marry the original partition after 90 days and adjust is seems that the risks of this would far out weigh the potential benefits. Sorry to the OP and the community for not so well thought out suggestion.

As for the CFO sticker... Hank has assured me that others that are still married legally in the Philippines have received a CFO sticker when they were divorced elsewhere. But like mentioned above a non-issue if you journey to the USA directly from Hong Kong. Once you return your residence (green card for US) or other foreign residence negates the need for the CFO sticker on a subsequent exit back to your place of residence.

To OP.... It isn't easy... Divorce granted in Hong Kong will allow you to file for a K-1 Visa as you will be seen as free to Marry by the US. However, getting to the point where you are eligible to file for Divorce in Hong Kong is not as easy. 1) To file for a divorce in Hong Kong the minimum requirement is that you must have a 'substantial connection to Hong Kong'. The interpretation of that varies but is unlikely to include a 14 day tourist visa. Further Philippines are only allowed 14 days as a tourist here and that is defiantly not long enough to accomplish a divorce. To pursue this your best bet is to be hired in Hong Kong on some type of work visa.. If Female then Domestic helper visa is an option.. If male it's harder but driver, or perhaps Gardner landscaper is an option. Further I'll point out that if you are a female without a strong job in the Philippines and no work visa for Hong Kong it is very possible that on your attempt to leave the Philippines that you'll be denied exit by Philippines immigration. So called off-loading... In short, your best bet if you want to go this route is start pursuing overseas employment via an Agency approved by POEA. Hong Kong would not be your only option other countries may be available that would also enable divorce as mentioned above but the whole process is not simple unless you have a 'substantial connection' to Hong Kong meaning basically that you are allowed to stay in Hong Kong for longer than the 14 days.

A couple things to consider... Assume you would prefer the wedding to be the wedding and not have to do a legal thing before the real thing for immigration purposes. In that case I'd suggest your options are:

1) Apply for a K-1 visa.. Plan the wedding about a year after the application... Generally the K-1 takes about 5 months.. A year gives you a buffer... Once the K-1 is approved it is valid for 6 months from the date of the medical and then you get an additional 3 months in the USA to accomplish the wedding so timing wise you should be fine. Another consideration is that if it happens early then you don't actually HAVE to get married in 90 days.. While after 90 days you would be out of status you can still adjust status if you get married and then the overstay is forgiven. The potentially HUGE disadvantage of the K-1 is that once you enter you must wait an additional amount of time (3-4 months after filing your AOS) to leave the USA or to work in the USA. For this reason you may wish to consider a CR1 visa. If for some reason you don't get the K1 in time for the wedding you may still go get married but will need to return to Canada and start a CR1 (about a year)

2) To do the CR1 visa you would have to get married first.. If you wanted that marriage to be the REAL thing.. the dream wedding as it were your best option may well be to use your Canadian privilege to take short trips to your desired wedding location, do all the planning and then go ahead and get Married in the USA. Once you are married in the USA you WILL have to return to Canada and file the CR1 but assuming you and your husband maintain residence in Canada until you get the Visa all should be well.

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A couple things to protect yourself.... 1) NEVER EVER LIE or intend to deceive immigration officials. 2) Do not enter the USA on tourist visa with the intent to remain and adjust status. 3) Maintain and bring strong ties (reasons why you must return to Canada each time you cross the boarder) 4) Bear in mind that your privilege to enter the USA is subject to review each time you use it, thus the reason you should bring proof of intent to return to Canada until you have immigration visa (K-1 or CR1) in hand.

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Again, the key to planning your dream wedding in this case is your presumed proximity to the wedding venue and your flexibility in terms of when you intend to actually move to the USA.

I guess my advice would be a bit different... I find that Asian culture differs significantly from American culture. And these are vast generalizations so only you know if it applies to you or not...I have observed that while Americans seem to want to talk things out that Asian culture seems not to be that way. I think perhaps you may need to spend some time explaining gently and carefully why you care and re-assuring her that you love her no matter what skeletons she may have in her closet. You don't necessarily need to exhume those skeletons and you certainly don't want to cause her pain reliving past hurt or shame. You simply want to be sure that there is nothing in her past that is going to haunt the two of you going forward. Definitely you can explain about the TB test as she may not be aware of it. You also can let her know that you love her and that you want to make sure that she gets the best care possible. If she can't talk about past medical conditions cured or not then the next disagreement could well come when she gets to the USA and you suggest that perhaps she should have a Pap smear.. Naturally there are many logical reasons for her to do this but she could easily see this as an indication from you that you think there is reason for risk. I don't think this is a single conversation but I do think you need to reach an understanding that it's perfectly valid for some things in each of your pasts to be off limits but that secrets that could affect the course of your future need to be discussed without a feeling that if might cause fissures. Not sure how you asked her but asking if she has any diseases may have been interpreted as lack of trust on your part. Her saying don't ask me about this again may not have been a complete closure of that door but definately requires further communication. I'd say you may need more time to work on getting past these hurdles. Imagine how this would play out had she been in the USA and you tried to have this conversation and neither one of you can get the space to separate from the issue. I think this is a GREAT opportunity to practice how the two of you deal with a difficult issue. Good Luck to you!

As a backup plan for her to have 'representatives' at the wedding start looking around for video people who might have knowledge and skills video conferencing. If you found the right people if should be possible to do the whole wedding with a live two way video feed. You might need to have your fiance in the Philippines start considering renting out an internet cafe or similar in the Philippines to make it work well. We toyed with that idea and found that some of the places in Vegas might be able to set up something like that. - Good Luck. As others have said a tourist visa may be difficult depending on rather your future mother-in-law has very compelling reasons to return to the Philippines after the wedding. Proving such ties or being allowed even to explain such ties could be difficult.

My wife has always had to pay the 200 peso fee to get the exemption Certificate but last time she did not just present passport and residence card and they hand her the certificate. Glad to see happened to someone else as well. We've seen things change regarding travel such as the elimination of the OEC requirement in some cases so we are assuming that the exemption fee has been eliminated. That would be nice.. It's a small fee but paying a fee to avoid a fee never made a lot of sense to me.

Nope... She was traveling with her Philippines passport... She's paid the exemption fee of 200 Pesos on previous trips but not this last exit. She only had a Philippines passport and is a dependent visa in Hong Kong so perhaps she got lucky and should have paid the 200 Pesos?

Good Evening,

My wife (from PI) and I, USC reside in Hong Kong. Leaving Manila on 23 Oct. my wife presented Hong Kong ID and passport to the travel tax counter in the Airport expecting to pay the 200 Peso fee for her 'exemption' from travel tax as an overseas resident. Low and behold it seems the 200 peso fee has been removed as well now. No fee, no travel tax. Note however that the travel tax counter was looking for her entry stamp in her passport and it seems when we had entered a week earlier immigration didn't give her a stamp on entry. Not sure if this was an oversight or also a new policy. We were lucky because it had been less than 6 months since out previous entry but if you've been away for a while it might make sense to be sure you get that entry stamp if you plan to avoid travel tax thru exemption.

We didn't have nearly as tough a consulate as Ghana but we really enjoyed the process of putting together the evidence we used to front load the petition. Certainly I would not include 1000s of pages..Or even a random sample of a couple pages per month. I would suggest that you look at your relationship and see the 'milestones' of it's development. Create a outline of what those significant events were (ideally at least one per month but more or less depending on the actualities of it all). Then find conversations, pictures and 'evidence' to support that outline. Heck when we did ours we even had a table of contents with headings and page numbers that was based on out outline... I think doing so presents a compelling easy to follow story of how it was you and he to us. Examples of what you might include... How you first met, how you went from strangers to friends, when you first started considering visiting, when you first professed love for each other, what you planned to do when you visited, Pictures of the two of you together when you did visit, discussion post visit about what was good (and maybe what was not and how you dealt with it). How you will overcome culture differences, Etc. The idea is a theme of how the sampled conversations contributed to a growth of the two of you... I agree with others to be careful of ANY ceremonies/ Family meetings in Ghana etc as this website is littered with people who have been denied in that consulate for supposed marriages. You might even open a separate topic in the Ghana forum for anything that might be questionable in that regard. Best of luck to you and your future husband.

To OP... Rather you want to go the Marriage route or the Fiancee route all depends on how quickly you want to be together and how much you can afford to pay for various options. I would suggest the following approach... Assuming you want to be together ASAP and are willing to spend a bit more money on the process...Have your future husband file K-1 ASAP.. Pre-load that application with evidence to make it easier for you at interview... Have him Plan to be with you at the interview figure 6-9 months from the filling date. Have him plan to spend extra time in the Philippines on that trip. While you are waiting for the process to run it's course have your future husband search for and acquire a better job... Have him file income taxes for prior years even if the money he made would not have him have to pay taxes... Once he has a better job or is taking steps to secure a better job the chances of being approved with his dad as co-sponsor goes higher. Now... if you are NOT approved plan it so that he can Marry you if you are denied you can then file CR1 immediately... You will have lost only a few months time considering it would likely take a couple of months before you could get married anyway. The disadvantage of this approach is with the K-1 if approved you won't be able to work or leave the USA for 3-6 months after you arrive depending on marriage date and AOS application date and processing time for the EOS card. With CR1 it takes longer to get to the USA but when you arrive you can work immediately. Only you can balance those priorities. If you future Husband does not secure a better job (which should be relatively easy if he's in NYC where the minimum wage is I understand 10.50/hour for fast food) then perhaps his Dad can move him from what sounds like off the books to on-the books and pay him a legal wage with the prospect of future promotions. In any case the affidavit of support is an interview time thing so you can start the process now and work on the finances now to present a compelling financial future case at interview.

I don't know enough about your relationship but if you're gonna go through the CR1 route - if/when you decide to get married in the Philippines and file the petition at the US Embassy in the Philippines, the major requirements they look for are proof of marital relationship/Co-mingling of finances AND for the US citizen a minimum of 6 months of residency in the Philippines

This is very specific to Direct Consular Filing which does not appear to apply to the OP situation... They can then get Married in the Philippines and start the CR1 process and let it run it's course without meeting any of the requirements that you have outlined as being necessary for DCF which is not their case.

Hank, on behalf of the OP, Given that she is still married in the Philippines how does that get treated when it's time to get her CFO? Will CFO care? I know USEM will recognize the divorce decree but will she actually be able to exit the Philippines once she has a K-1 way down the road?

Yes if you may interview in your country of residence.

You have a choice... you can choose Manila or you can choose Manila... lol CEBU is not an option for the interview... Oh and your fiancee should plan that she'll have to take at least a couple trips to Manila.. She'll need the medical as well as the interview and somewhere in the process she'll also need the CFO. (For the CFO she does have a real choice... she can choose to do the CFO in Cebu or Manila).

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Cebu Pacific offers reasonably priced flights and they have a nifty little app too.

K-1 Visas are applied for by the US Citizen who would be sponsoring their foreign Fiancee. Are you a USC living overseas or are you engaged to a USC and asking what consulate your future spouse would list? A bit of background would help the community help you.

Plans change all the time... You say you want to travel the world. There is no reason you couldn't do that with a green card so long as you spend 6 months or more in the USA. Why not apply for AOS and AP and stay in the USA until you get your AP. Then there is no concern about re-entry with your AP. There is no penalty for abandoning a greencard in the future. So long as you maintain residency in the USA you can keep your green card. Generally that would mean spending more than 6 months of the year in the USA but there is also a lot of traveling you can do in the USA as well that would help you meet that 6 months. In the short term it sounds like your best option may be to apply for AOS with AP and EAD and wait for your AP (maybe about 3 months) before you leave. Later if you leave the USA to live overseas and establish residency overseas with your wife in a 'low fraud' country like France it would in theory be easy to turn in your green card and get a tourist visa or use ESTA again.

You have Advanced Parole Card. The purpose of this card is to enable you to re-enter the USA. You'll be fine. Adjusting status from a tourist visa is fine as long as you did not have immigrant intent when you crossed the border when you first entered the USA. Even in that case you would be denied at interview time rather than denied re-entry to the USA. I would suggest make sure you don't miss you interview and that you are able to return to the USA prior to your interview. God Bless your mother and prayers for the best for her.

Much of what she must submit will have to be submitted to the Embassy directly after the embassy obtains the case from NVC. This is unfortunately months down the road from where you are. There is no harm in having her determine how she'd go about getting that information when the embassy requests it but many of the documents may not pass thru her hands on the way to the embassy so she'll have to wait for Packet 4 from embassy. Things she will need in general... CENOMAR, Police clearances from any overseas countries she's lived/worked. Birth Certificates medical clearance. Also unique to the Philippines is the Philippines Gov. exit requirement known as CFO that your wife to be will be required to complete. That has some additional requirements as well such as the possibility of letters/advice from Parents if your wife to be is less than 25 years of age.. If your future wife is working and living ourside the Philippines then as you know you may choose to file at the consulate where she resides. That could be easier/harder depending on circumstances. Hope you front loaded your application to make her interview easier. Best of luck to you and your future wife!!!

I think it is interesting that the OP made a point that the entire decision appears to have been based on two questions without a chance to present any compelling evidence to the contrary making the decision appear arbitrary. The prevailing wisdom on Visa interviews is usually don't volunteer more than is asked but I think with a tourist visa since there is no opportunity to 'front load' the application that you have to make best use of the few words you do get to say need to be well thought out... Why do you want to go to the USA? 'Because my girlfriend invited me to go with her on her vacation' If you are lucky this leads to additional questions. Never lie of course but do think how to best present the facts. Often times here it is said that the tourist visa requires compelling reasons to return to your home country but it seems seldom is anyone ever asked by a CO about that compelling reason.