vanityfair

Honestly, a timeline would be helpful as I'm totally lost as well.

The etc consists of general documents like proof of assets, bank account information etc...however if your sponsor's income meets 125% above the poverty level, then all they need to provide is tax information (either a tax summary for the past year or a 1040 from the past year) and w2s for a few months at least. Employment letters, bank account information and proof of assets are probably not really required.

Based on the information you provided, the case won't be easy for certain. However, that doesn't mean it will be impossible as well. Just don't rush the k1 visa and start building up a solid foundation for a strong relationship by gradually covering the red flags. I would start by finding ways to solve this language barrier issue as that will be the biggest case against you both.

Other financial information as in assets and insurance? Yeah it should be fine. I only put down the cosponsor's income and that's about it (at least in terms of financial information).

To be completely honest, this sounds like a fair number of red flags (though I don't know how significant age difference couples are treated in the Dominican Republic culture, but the language barrier will definitely be your greatest obstacle. Not to mention, knowing each other for only 6 doesn't help either). I'd highly recommend front loading and visiting a few more times with a fair number of photographs with her family and friends. Also maybe start collecting evidence of efforts made by one or both parties in learning each other's language (it couldn't hurt).

Actually, when it comes to language barriers, this case comes to mind:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/576753-interview-today-visa-refused/page-1

You should definitely be prepared and preemptively cover as many red flags as possible (relationship length, face time, and language issues will probably need to be covered).

That is correct. You are required to bring supporting documents to the interview (no tax/financial documents are really require or requested for the initial i-149f) along with the i-134

S.Korea generally contacts the beneficiary through email with a link to this pdf packet. However it is possible that they will call the beneficiary as well (I'm not 100% sure they do this with EVERY couple but they did call up my fiance to inform him about the email).

The beneficiary will need to first pay a fee online, then complete the DS-160 online, and then pick an interview date. Then you collect all the documents they request from you in the pdf packet and take it with you to the interview.

Good luck and happy new years

This is what we got for the K1 Visa in terms of steps for Packet 3

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/korea/187344/PDF_Dec09/iseo35k1.pdf

Just a heads up, when relying on a cosponsor, their entire income must be able to accommodate 125% above the poverty line (which diffrs based on how many dependencies are listed on their tax returns). Meaning you are not able to combine income between the sponsor and cosponsor. Either the sponsor makes enough above the poverty line or the cosponsor makes enough to accommodate for it.

We had the interview on the 29th as well and it seemed to go well. We had one hiccup with the police records which a LOT of other folks seemed to have issues with in Seoul (apparently the format on the police records changed so we had to get another one, but we took care of it after the interview and hand delivered the police certificate on the same day).

I presume we're in the clear as they kept the passport and indicated that everything appeared to be in order. The interview was surprisingly simple and straight forward. The CO asked us a few questions and treated us like a standard couple even though same sex couples are still kinda unconventional in this country (we got some pretty odd stares from the others at the waiting area). We conducted the interview in Korean even though I responded with mixed English and Korean which the CO also did the same with me (the petitioner).

Even though the CO seemed pretty chill with us (not to mention he laughed multiple times), apparently his tone changed with another couple that followed after us and seemed to scrutinize them a whole lot more than he did with us. I goofed up one or two questions and corrected them quickly, but he seemed to shrug it off. I do wonder how our case went so smoothly as I didn't feel as confident about it.

Since the CO kept the passport, I PRESUME everything went okay. I really hope so....

In that case, I can't see anything missing in particular. My guess is that it's probably something on the i-129f like forgetting to check a box or fill in a particular question; Or it could be clarification concerning evidence of your relationship/meeting. It's hard to say at this point and it's best to just wait and see what comes up.

If you didn't send your birth certificate, did you at least scan all the pages on your passport and sent that as evidence of your citizenship status?

I wouldn't fret too much about it. An RFE isn't a biggie as it would only cause for a potential 1-2 month delay if you get all your stuff in quickly. It's best that you get this all cleared out on an UCIS level rather than having it scrutinized at the embassy/interview level. After all, the UCIS wants to make sure you are fully cleared to get married without any lingering doubt of potential ties to a former relationship (especially since you did mention an "ex-wife").

IF you get an RFE, I would think that sending those two documents that you listed would be good enough. However, if you don't get an RFE, it will still be good to have those documents prepared on the interview level as they will most likely ask about it.

Hmmm I can see it being a potential problem on the UCIS level. They COULD request for you to provide evidence that you were not married (in that it was strictly a domestic partnership) since you did call her an "ex-wife". I heard a number of issues that occasionally pop up from submitted evidences of couples that accidentally refer to each other as a "husband"/"wife" (mostly in chat printouts) which caused RFEs with requests of proof that they were not actually married.

Technically, yeah you weren't married, but since you did refer to her as an "ex-wife" they might want more evidence (unless you already provided documents that proves the relationship was deemed as a domestic partnership). I'd be prepared just in case.

Yes, you will need a co-sponsor for this who makes more than $19,912 a year based on their tax records (or more based on how many individuals are listed as dependencies on their 1040 tax return). So you and your cosponsor will both need to fill out an i-134 eventually with tax reports as supporting evidence (either a tax summary or a 1040+w2s for the past year). Even if you don't meet the poverty level, you still are required to submit an i-134 with supporting documentation as the petitioner. If you don't find a cosponsor you probably will be denied at the interview level and asked to return with a cosponsor.

Unless you have a substantial reason for not filing taxes, I would use the time now (while preparing your documents to submit with the i-129f and waiting for it to be processed) to file your taxes at least for 2015.

There are a lot of variables for what type of questions they ask based on the package you presented with i-149f/g-325 as well as other inquiries that might manifest from ds-160+supporting documentation (as well as any potential red flags that might be found within both), the country/embassy where the interview is taking place (whether it is a high fraud country), and the CO's general mood. The best way to prepare is to expect the worst and hope for the best by going over as many questions as possible which does help with confidence.

I'm asking this because I'm not quite sure what the requisites are for South Africa in terms of accepting Police Records (and whether they accept police records that are a year old) as this is a consulate specific inquiry. So I'm not sure whether this is the right subforum. Regardless, I would call the embassy in South Africa in advance and ask whether they will accept a police record that is over a year old.

If they are able to accept it, then that's fine. However, if they require a new one, then you'll have to get someone within South Korea to procure it and mail it to you as they do not provide police records for those residing abroad.

Wait, I'm confused. Are you filing for a K1 visa at a US Consulate located in South Africa or South Korea?

I haven't experienced this for myself (as we are going to have our interview in 2 weeks), but I think it takes 2-3 days for the passport to be delivered depending on the location (which I presume you opted for rather than picking up the visa at the embassy in person).

However, since it is still in AP rather than approved, it is hard to say exactly when it will be delivered.

I would say that the 20th is too close for comfort in terms of timing. In the best case scenario, your case will get approved today or tomorrow, you should still expect for the passport/visa to arrive on the 17th or 18th. You could try calling the consulate today and see how they are doing as I found them to be pretty effective and prompt in getting things done, but still the timing is cutting it way too close (especially since you plan on departing on the 18th).

To be honest, I would probably reschedule the wedding (or at least tell folks to be prepared in CASE you reschedule).

PS: Congrats on getting through the interview stage! I'm pretty anxious about it at this point.

Remarkably sorry to hear about this outcome .

I know the interview is done and over with, but I am curious whether it would have made a difference if the petitioner was present during the interview? If the issue was due to language restrictions and the petitioner was there to demonstrate the capacity of effectively communicating with the beneficiary in person, I wonder if CO would still have grounds to deny the visa?

Thank you for both for your responses. It does ease my mind though now I will need to figure out how to deal with the AOS when the time comes.

In terms of emailng my consulate....they are pretty odd with inquiries through email. They are prompt, no doubt about it, but their responses leave a bit to be desired based on the inquiries I have sent them in the past few months about certain issues. Hopefully it won't be a biggie.

Like usual though, stressing out a bit as my interview is approaching soon. Got a solid month left of anxiety.

I know there are plenty of inquiries regarding the i-134 and a cosponsor, but it seems I have encountered a tricky situation. My mother has agreed to be our co-sponsor so I managed to gather all the required documents (i-134, 1040 from 2014, w2s from 2012-2014, pay stubs, and employment letter). According to the 2014 1040, She has 3 dependencies but she makes well over enough above the poverty line.

However, this is the issue: in 2014, she joint filed her taxes with my father (who happened to be unemployed so all the W2s and pay stubs indicate that she is the sole provider of the family and makes over the poverty line). However, ever since more than half a year ago, my father disappeared and none of us can get in contact with him. Therefore, the i-134 has my mother's signature and details. Since, we cannot get in contact with my father (who filed the 2014 1040s jointly with my mother at the time), I am not quite certain what I can do.

Perhaps I should write a letter to bring to the interview that would provide an explanation for the situation?

I typed it up what I could and hand written whatever couldn't fit. Didn't get an RFE for it.

Though, if you are going to type it all up on a separate page, I say you should just put it all on one page and just list the corresponding questions.

Yeah the USCIS, NVC, and embassy will not look at any digital content. You will need to print out the documents and send it to them (I presume you got an RFE?).

However, you probably don't need to send all of it. Just pick snippits here and there and organize it on a word document before printing it out. Having all of it sent might be overkill.

No, it isn't going to ruin your chances of getting approved as long as you give them what they ask for (AGAIN presuming that you got an RFE from this.) I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Here is what is expected to bring to the Interview if that's what you are asking:

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/korea/1123115/IV_Packet/k1pkt.pdf

However, you are unable to get the medical done once you get the packet 3 confirmation email (the beneficiary will receive this). However, you can work on getting the birth certificates, police reports, I-134 (petitioner and Co-Sponsor's if required), and marriage/divorce certificates (if needed).

This should have all the details needed in terms of what documents they will be asking for such as with the police reports and birth certificates (also I am certain this is the most-up to date). I believe you will need police reports from both Korea and Philippines (presuming you were born there).