lindseyparker12

Thanks!

Do you know if you need to attach proof to the I-134?

For example do you need the letter from an employer/ bank statements/ tax returns? Or is all of that just for the interview?

This question has to have been answered before, but which form(s) need to be filled out if you need a joint sponsor for your K-1 visa?

I'm a student currently and only work 1 day per week and would like my father to be a joint sponsor for my fiance.

Do we both fill out a separate I-134? Or is there another form for this?

Thanks,

Lindsey

Thanks so much everyone! That was extremely helpful.

I had another question about the K-1 Visa. I'm a pharmacy student and have no income because I'll be going on full time rotations soon, but I live at home and my father's income more than satisfies this requirement. I'm worried that it might look bad submitting an I-134 with 0 income, and I don't want to waste all the time and money starting this process if I'm inevitably going to be denied.

I'm not sure how well-received having 0 income is going to be even though when my fiance comes here he won't have to pay for any rent or food (since we'll be living at my house), his family in Ireland is willing to send him any money he needs, and hopefully he'll also be getting a job as soon as possible. My father also wouldn't mind pitching in if necessary.

Has anyone else had this problem?

Does my father just have to fill out his own I-134 to submit along with mine and we should be alright? Does anyone know if applications like this are normally approved?

You can get misinformation here as well, this is an example. Many people visit during the process on the VWP, I did.

Ok that's good to know. I've been reading some of that book DUB2BNA posted and it mentions that sometimes it can look suspicious because they're worried about people coming over and marrying/ coming over and staying. It's clearly not a dealbreaker for everyone though since you were fine! I get the impression that as long as you follow the rules they wouldn't hold you accountable for just visiting.

I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it!

Hi Lindsey,

My name is actually Lindsay as well and my fiance lives outside of Dublin. We've also been together nearly 3 years so your post hit close to home!

I've done extensive research on the visa options... we were first going to pursue the K-1 fiance visa, then decided to go with the spouse visa. I was in Ireland for Christmas and we'd planned to give the 3 month notice but then decided to get married in the U.S. instead because it was less expensive and less of a hassle. I live in Nashville and in TN you can apply for and receive a marriage license on the same day.

I spoke to a lawyer friend for about an hour this evening just to pick her brain on all the options. No matter which route any of us take, the unfortunate truth is that it's just not that easy to move to the U.S., even when you are married or related to someone here. It's a MINIMUM 9 months from when you file for a visa petition to when they get the paperwork confirming they can move to the U.S. This applies to both the fiance visa as well as the spouse.

My advice is to do a lot of research to determine the option best for you BEFORE you get married, whether it's the K-1 fiance visa or the CR-1 spouse visa. If I were you, I'd pursue the K-1 and bring him over as your fiance. It will take anywhere from 6-10 months from when you file the petition for a visa (aka Form I-129F) before he has the visa in hand and is able to move over. Once he gets the visa, he has up to 6 months to move. Since he's still in school, you can begin this NOW and it should be fairly painless. He'll be finishing school while the paperwork is in process.

One crucial thing to remember: once you file the I-129F, your fiance can't visit the U.S. at all (even on tourist visa aka visa waiver program) until he is moving over, visa in hand. Doing so will void the application and you'll have to start all over again with the filing fees and starting at the back of the application queue. You can, however, go visit him. I have a friend whose fiance (now husband) was a Canadian and this is what her lawyer advised.

I highly recommend this book for anyone trying to understand all the options and the red tape of the family visas. I checked it out from my local library more than once, I think it will answer all of your questions. It's a "dummies guide" type book, written by an immigration attorney. http://www.nolo.com/products/fiance-and-marriage-visas-imar.html

As others said on the forum, USCIS is unfortunately not the best resource for questions. Everyone you ask is likely to have a different answer, and they aren't personally liable for the accuracy of the information they provide. Best to do all your homework first, especially if you aren't working through a lawyer (we're not planning to hire one, either).

Good luck with everything, let me know if you have any questions and maybe I can help!

-Lindsay

Thank you so much!!

I knew he couldn't come over and live here on the VWP but I had no idea that he couldn't even visit for a couple weeks on the VWP after we file the I-129F. I'm definitely going to buy that book. I've only really started to figure things out this week. I've been getting a lot of misinformation so I'm glad I found this website.

We did the 3 month notice thing already but it seems like it's going to be such a long and difficult process bringing him over as a spouse that we decided tonight that it might be better to do the K-1 visa (Not that any route is really easy).

If it's not too personal, why did you decide to go with the spouse visa? Was it just the cost?

Good luck and thanks so much for taking the time to help me!

Great! Thank you so much! It all makes a lot more sense!

Thank you guys so much for this advice! It was extremely helpful; I'm not sure what I would have done without it, haha.

We already paid 200 EUR to get married in Ireland but after hearing this I think we might just cut our losses and go the fiance visa route.

Once more question (and I know this information is probably somewhere else on this site but I just joined today so I'm still getting the hang of it): if he comes here on the fiance visa, what type of visa will he be here on in between our marriage and getting a green card. Is it still known as the fiance visa even after we're married? I haven't looked into this route at all because we had been planning on getting married in Ireland.

Thank you so much again!

Yep, it's called immigration fraud.

What do you mean by this? I don't mean I was talking to friends I was calling government agencies and USCIS. USCIS did not tell me a specific visa name to come on, he just mentioned that he would be able to.

What about the I-131 for advance parole and the I-765 for work authorization?

Wow! I've talked to so many people on the phone and none of them mentioned this to me. They all mentioned how he'll be able to come over here on a non-immigrant visa and then we'll file the I-485 after he's here.

Have any of you gone this route or is that just what you've heard?

I think I'm more looking for specific names of a visa available to spouses waiting for their green card (or does he really have to sit and wait in Ireland for a full year?). He won't be able to come for 4-5 months anyways because he's still finishing his degree so it's not an issue that he has to be in Ireland for his interview/ medical exam. I feel like it's a bit impossible for him to wait until he gets his green card to come over because he'll need to be in the US for the green card interview, right? I understand the VWP and it's limitations, and we don't really plan on using it for anything other than visits to see each other.

I know a lot of people choose the fiance visa route, but does anyone have experience going through the consulate?

Wait does that mean there's no possible way for him to work here before getting the green card? I don't think it's realistic for him to just come here over and over on the VWP and sit around doing nothing. He's come over here a few times on that so I'm familiar, but I was hoping for a better solution.

Are you sure on the specifics? I was under the impression that there would be a way for him to come and work here before the green card is officially approved.

I've been with my boyfriend for 3 years, and we're getting married in Dublin, Ireland in March. Now it's time to figure out the green card process so that he can come live and work in the US (Connecticut) while I complete my final year of pharmacy school and hopefully a pharmacy residency.

Has anyone been through this process that can help me figure out what to do and a timeline of when I should do it? Has anyone gone through the process in the US embassy in their own country (He's currently living in Ireland finishing his degree)? Do you have any advice for someone going through the process?

I've looked into it and it's very confusing to me. Do I need to submit the I-130 along with the I-864 and the G-325A all at the beginning? Are there any other forms we need to fill out initially to get the ball rolling?

Since I'm in pharmacy school and don't have an income, I need my father to fill out the I-864 also I believe. Would he be a joint sponsor and fill out the I-864, or would he be considered a member of the household and just fill out the I-864A? My father's income is high enough (over 125% FPL) and he lives in the same house as me (the house that my fiance and I will live in). Is a joint sponsor the same thing as this?

Does the I-485 come into play? Will he need to fill out the I-765? Am I missing anything else?

He will be free to come over (hopefully) in the middle of July depending on whether or not he passes his exams. Will he be able to come before he actually gets a green card or will he have to wait? When will he be able to start working?

Any help would be very much appreciated!! We're on a budget so we cannot afford a lawyer and since we're not getting married until March we want to complete this process as quickly as possible so that he can come live with me as soon as possible.

Let me know if there are any other questions I need to answer!