sunshinelove

Thanks everyone!!

My wife just got her appointment letter in the mail yesterday and we're both super excited! We haven't received anything talking about biometrics though, which is what I was waiting for. The appointment is for about a month away and tells us what to bring to the interview but doesn't say much else. Is this the appointment where she'll be interviewed and the civics test done? I'm asking so she can know what to expect. If you've done it, how was your experience with this interview and what recommendations do you have on any additional evidence to provide? Also, is this interview followed by the oath ceremony or is that done on another day? Thanks so much!

I'm aware that this is a personal decision but I want to get a whole picture before making important decisions. My wife came to the US on a K1 visa and we made the decision to not change her name after marriage to make everything easier for AOS instead of changing it. In a month, she's eligible to apply for citizenship and we've been talking about changing her name. She doesn't have a middle name so she'd take her maiden name as her middle name and she'd take my last name.

Is it a real pain in the butt to get all the documentation switched over to her new name? 

And also, I've heard that the name in your passport has to be the name you travel with. If she had dual citizenship, she'd present her Belgian passport (old name) in Belgium but her new US passport (new name) when coming home. So which name would we fly with? Or would we just have to apply for a new Belgian passport in her new name to be on the safe side? Thank you for any input. I know this is ultimately a personal decision but it would be nice to get personal opinions from people who have done this. 

On 8/18/2020 at 7:42 AM, scabrera3175 said:

Yeah, with rising prices, K1 will definitely not be cheaper. You would think that K1 visas have more priority now that it will be a money generating machine for USCIS and legal immigration at it's core, is about the money. May I ask how your wife felt during that first year, not being able to work? I know for some couples, if they completely depend on the other financially, they can feel frustrated after some time. I know I personally like to work and generate my own wealth from my hard work. I am just worried about how my partner will feel once he arrives and he basically is limited by not being able to work, nor drive, nor travel outside -- but mostly, not be able to work. What did your partner do during this time, while waiting for her work permit and all that other stuff? Did she volunteer somewhere? Or travel within the state/country?

She came from Brussels Belgium to a small town in southern California where there's not much to do at all so she was very bored and went a little stir crazy because she wasn't allowed to drive and walking anywhere really wasn't a possibility. We did accrue debt from being a 1 income household (that we have since paid off thankfully). She just found things to keep herself occupied such as puzzles, art, or playing music when I wasn't home.  After work we'd try to get out of the house even if it was just going and sitting at the park. I felt so bad during that time frame. Since then though things are much better since she's allowed to work and has her own friends and I'm so glad that that period is behind us. 

We filed for the k1 back in 2016 and in early 2017 started gathering all necessary documents and the medical and everything. We noticed though that the NOA2 was expiring and freaked out. After calling and then emailing the embassy in Brussels repeatedly, we finally got a reply and all we had to do was have an updated letter of intent to marry and bring it to the embassy when she had her interview. She did just that and got her visa no problem. Now, I'm not sure if it's the case for every embassy, but that's what we had to do in Belgium. Hope this gives you a little piece of mind. 

I did all the K1 paperwork by myself and it was VERY easy. Any questions I had, I asked here on VisaJourney and got the answers I needed. 

Personally, my wife and I decided on the K1 because it was a little cheaper and faster and we wanted to be together. In hindsight though, I do wish we'd have done the CR1 because she'd have been able to work immediately. She wasn't able to work for a year after she arrived because I had to have a cosponsor and there were some bumps with that. Had she gotten her residency immediately, the first year might have been a little easier financially. That being said, everything worked out as it was supposed to and now everything is great.

For you, it all depends on what you want. You're already in the line to getting the K1 so you'll be together faster if you stay with the path you're on. 

If you're going to need more financial income, it might be worth doing the CR1 so he can work immediately but at the same time you'd have to repay all the fees associated for the CR1 and you'll end up having to pay more for airline tickets and travel. Also, with Covid, who knows when travel will open back up. 

If it was me, I'd stick with the route you're on. I think with the current situation, it's going to work out more in your favor. Best wishes!

When did you send in the paperwork for the removal of conditions? We filed in March 2020 and haven't gotten anything yet, other than a letter saying her application was received. 

I haven't been through the process myself, but from everything I've read and heard, it's very similar to the interview where you receive your residency and greencard. 

She should be fine! Just be honest and declare anything if it meets the criteria of what shouldn't be brought in (in your case it sounds like nothing). I personally think it would look weird if she didn't bring all her personal belongings because of the fact she's moving here. In my case, my wife brought over 2 huge suitcases with all her clothes and memories and also a guitar. No one batted an eye. 

As stated above, your i-864 is still valid though I'd bring a new one to the interview just in case. I'd also bring the most recent tax transcript as well. It's better to have too much than not enough. 

My wife had her interview in April 2016 and she said they were all very nice. They were all very professional, but friendly. 

Since it's clear that the check is made out to Homeland Security, you'll be fine. Don't worry about it. 

Everything is most likely correct. They do them all the time. Try not to stress. 

2 minutes ago, riahxoxo said:

@sunshinelove, your positive experience gives me hope ❤️ Thank you for your help.

 

Of course! If you need any specific questions answered, feel free to send me a message. I know how stressful it is and how much of a relief it is to get advice from those who've dealt with the same countries  

My wife is from Belgium I'd only visited her once before we applied for the K1 so I submitted the boarding pass, passport stamp, photos of us together, copies of letters/cards shared between us, as well as screenshots of our conversations/texts. We had thousands of messages so I just took a screenshot of a random set of messages (about 1 per week) and ended up having 3-4 pages. Fast forward 2 1/2 years and she's here in the US with her greencard. We had no problems acquiring the visa with just one visit before we applied. You should be absolutely fine  As for the translation, he can translate the ticket if you don't speak Dutch. He'd just have to type up and sign that the translation he provided was true and accurate (though I don't think you have to worry about translating this document at this stage. Some of the documents I submitted were in French and no translation was asked for).

21 minutes ago, Ella and James said:

Did you have to provide evidence of why you used a joint sponsor and why you didn't meet the income requirement? Did you have to provide your tax returns anyway?

 I didn't meet the requirements because I was in school full time and only had a part time job. They didn't ask about it to my knowledge, but I did include my transcripts to show full time enrollment. I also had all tax returns and other financial proof. 

A family friend was my co/joint sponsor for both the K1 and AOS process and I had no troubles at all. All that was asked was how I knew them. I also didn't make over $10,000 when my (now) wife came over and I'll admit it wasn't easy but we got through it and now have great jobs and are in a much better place. While being financially well off is a wonderful thing, don't let not being rich keep you from being with the one you love. Going through the financial hardship together was way better than being apart. That's just my personal experience though. Good luck!

I've heard that government shutdowns don't affect the immigration process because filing fees are what funds USCIS. 

Our NOA2 expired before our interview so we emailed the embassy and all we had to do was bring an updated letter of intent to marry to show that we were still together and that was it. She got her visa no problem.

11 hours ago, pushbrk said:

This is all wrong.  Marriage based visas are applied for an issued OUTSIDE the US, so he will need one in order to enter the US.  With a marriage based visa, there is no Adjusting Status.

I know they are issued OUTSIDE the US. I made a mistake regarding my statement about adjusting status (and I realize that) so no need to be rude. My experience was the K1 and I wasn't taking into consideration the detailed differences between the fiance and marriage visa (when I should have). That being said, I'm not ALL wrong. The point was a marriage based visa is needed in this case and they have to wait 3 years. 

My first thought is that the 10 year ban would have gone into effect when he left the country (due to being here illegally for so many years). That being said, it'll be another 3 years before he can legally come back into the United States. Since you are married, when he can come back to the US, he can apply for a marriage based visa and then immigrate legally and go through AOS. I don't think there are any good options for him coming now. Unless he's really qualified for a position, it'd be difficult to get an employment based visa. And since you are married I do think it would make any immigration officer suspicious of intent to stay for good (which is pretty much the goal) so the visa would get denied anyway. My advice would be to wait it out another 3 years and then apply for a marriage based visa.

I had mine returned due to a form having JUST expired. I left everything in the order they sent it to me. I just put the new filled out form on the top, but the green paper on top as requested, and sent it back and we had no further issues. And don't worry about the numbers on the bottom. Mine had those too. 

It all depends on where you live in California, though I would agree with you that the cost of living here is a lot higher compared to other states. Personally, I live in a small desert town in the Mojave Desert and the cost of living is very low compared to other areas. It ultimately just depends on what you're looking for. 

I've visited Belgium twice. The first trip was 6 weeks and the second was 85 days. I'm aware of how long I can be in the Schengen area but I didn't know if being married to an EU citizen changes anything. I know having a US spouse changes things for some people so that's why I was curious. Thank you!

I screenshotted one section of messages from each week from when we met and printed 4 to a page so it could be easily read. I took sections of messages where we were lovey towards each other and also ones where we talked about random everyday stuff. I also took screenshots of our skype call log and submitted that as well. I think there was about 10-15 pages, which was a lot, but I thought it was better to have too much than not enough, and still think that.