Petulc

Trips do cost money. Obvious statement is obvious.
But a one-week $1000 trip across the border to Mexico doesn't make it less than a $2,000 one-week trip to the Philippines. The amount spent doesn't change the legitimacy of the relationship.
Relationships take work and effort to maintain. Many wealthy people have poor relationships. Many poor people have wonderful relationships. The amount of money you spend adds no legitimacy to the relationship...not to be confused with the amount of time you spend together.

Who takes pictures holding dated receipts? That certainly would bring up a red flag? It's as if you are trying too hard not to appear fraud. Sometimes trying too hard not to appear fraudulent can bring unwanted attention.
 
By the way, fraudulent cases do sometimes involve big money. Some people will go to extremes to get a green card. Also, you could have receipts and then return the expensive items within 30 days. people do that all the time.
 
 

In an effort to confirm what others have already mentioned, and to shed new light on a few concerns, let me share.
 
1. It is an ABSOLUTE requirement that you meet physically at least once within two years of filing for the K1.
 
2. Ghana is a country rich in fraud. All other hurdles aside, you have a severely intense ride ahead of you even in ideal conditions. Perfect K1's have been denied many, many times simply because of the beneficiary's country-of-origin. 
 
3. Waivers are extremely rare. While I would never discourage somebody from trying, be prepared. That means do your homework. If you are asking if it is a requirement to visit physically, then you are in the baby stages of researching. You're not prepared...yet. Read. Read some more and then read again. Ask questions. Visit forums relevant to his country and your situation. Talk to folks who have already gone through the process. Learn from them. 
 
4. Your medical condition will likely not warrant a waiver of any sort. I'm not trying to discourage you, but simply to guide you to find a successful alternative.
 
5. If all else fails, wait. If you are both in love then waiting another year won't matter. It will be challenging, but not impossible. I waited five years for my fiancé. It is a tough sacrifice, but well worth it.
 
6. Ask him to apply for a visitor visa to the U.S. or meet him in Mexico or Canada. Doing so keeps you close to home and still allows you meet K1 requirements. If you do meet, document it. Evidence is paramount to a successful K1. Visit the forums here for guidance and direction on applying.
 
Good luck to you both.

Sorry you need surgery, but  I'm glad you kicked cancer in the butt.
unfortunately yes, that is a requirement. Honestly, why wouldn't you want to meet before taking he very big step of marrying someone? I know you've been dating online for a year, but it is very different once you're together, in person. Like others have mentioned, if your fiance can travel to you then that is what you should do. it will be difficult or relatively easy depending on the country of origin. Filing a K1 without at least one meeting would be a waste of money and time, and depending on the country, usually more than one visit is usually advised. 
 
 

Some finer points for the OP to consider:
 
People come to the US to get married all the time.
Do not lie in any way about your intentions to an immigration officer. There is no land of white lies when it comes to the government. You either answer questions truthfully or do not. One is illegal and one is not. Anyone advising you to lie on this forum is also breaking the rules of this forum. You do not have divulge info to an officer if they do not ask it however, but you must be careful and truthful in every answer you give.
However, while people come to the US to get married all the time, there are officers that routinely attempt to warn or scare gf/bfs/fiancés etc into not marrying in the US. This leads many a frightened individual to lie and cause themselves many headaches. My then-fiancé visited me in the US numerous times. He answered all questions truthfully. They usually asked him if he intended on marrying me here. He informed them we were in the K1 process and that we would marry once he had an approved visa. He brought proof of returning home. They had no problems. They always knew we were engaged and our relationship status.
 
That's the important thing when facing an immigration officer. In their minds a person may be coming here to marry and simply stay illegally, subverting a grey area of immigration law. They've seen it time and time again. So what burden of proof do you have to offer them, that your intentions are honorable? What is your proof of returning home? Consider all of this carefully before proceeding. Come armed with evidence. Is there a risk they may not believe you and send you back home? Sure. But there's a risk every time you visit your fiancé. If you should be denied entry, while you won't be able to visit again, it has no bearing on filing for a fiancé or spousal visa successfully.
 
We've seen it many times on this forum... in situations where individuals lie to an officer.. it ends up making an already bad situation even worse. Other things to consider if you wanted to go the K1 route -- it's faster than the spousal route yes. However, once you marry in the US, you will not be able to work or travel without adjusting your status and obtaining work/travel permits. That works fine for some people, and not for others. Adjustment process can take up to an additional year. Being already married, and filing for a spousal visa, takes a longer amount of time yes - but once approved you can work and travel without extra waiting time.
 
There was as far as I know, only one service center handling K1 cases - which is California. Things have slowed these days, so expect a lot of waiting. But that's what LDRs are all about right? ;-)

Some people try to argue over what to carry rather than take the advice of those who were pulled out of line and had the experience. SMH.
 

As I've read thru your post I've seen absolutely nothing to indicate that you don't have a good chance of approval.  You can not actually file the 129F until you are both prepared to sign a letter indicating your intent to marry so after your Japan trip sounds fine.   The time you've been in a relationship will not be a problem from immigration point of view although only you know if it's too fast for you.   The language issue also should be no problem and she can request a translator for the eventual interview if required or it may be that her interviewer may speak spanish (likely in fact).  
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So what can you do.... To be sure you will want to 'front load' your application with relationship proof.  You should include pictures of you together as well as receipts, boarding passes etc that shows time spent together..   I would suggest you think about it as documenting your love story (focusing on the significant events and including pictures receipts etc to 'illustrate it' )
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As for Rapid Visa or Attorneys,  I have nothing against either one but if you are on top of things and are committed to the process you don't need either one and they can actually be a hindrance rather than a help.   Follow the K-1 guide here,  print it out as a check list, recheck everything on that check list.   
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The good folks here will be happy to help you along your way. 
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Be aware on your trip to Japan to be sure to save receipts, boarding passes, and take pictures together.   Don't go out of your way to stage pictures or do things specifically to gather evidence (you don't need that)  Just document all the fun you have.   
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Also bear in mind that her previous denial for a tourist visa has no relevance to the request for a K-1 visa.  (unless she misrepresented her reasons for wanting a tourist visa in the interview in which case let us know the details so you could help her deal with that)
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Do the letter of intent to Marry while in Japan so she doesn't have to send it to you and maybe look thru the process and see if there is anything else you can handle to avoid mailing it later. 
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Finally HAVE A GREAT TRIP to JAPAN!!!!  It''s such an awesome country in my humble opinion and her being from El Salvador you will give her the possibility of seeing snow.  My wife and I are going back for our second time in early January for our 'winter' vacation.   X-Country Skiing, snowshoeing and Onsens in Hakuba! 

I have a nanny in Philippines who has been with my family for 35 years, and I would like to get her a US tourist visa so she can come visit me in Texas. What documentations does she need to submit? She doesn't have money in the bank or any properties but me and my husband want to pay for all her expenses while she's here. 

Not really. Just focus on your life, hobbies, friends or time you have left in your country. The process will fly. There are immigration processes far longer than k1. 

If your wife is a USC and seems to meet the requirement of passing citizenship to her child then your child qualifies for a US passport . Only one parent needs to meet the requirement. 
   A USC must enter the US with their US passport.   Try looking for high school records.  I assume your wife completed high school .

Hello!
 
The visa will have the expiration date on it. You need to move before that date.
It's usually a 6 month window between the medical and expiration date.
 
Good luck!
 

This horrible, if this girl/woman is looking to get remarried really quick in order for her to stay in the U.S gives me the suspicion that the first relationship of marriage wasn't even legit to start with. These are the kind of things that put real people that truly love each other into difficult situations in being with one another because people like this!!! Me and my wife miss each other horribly it breaks our hearts. Every passing day without her is like an arrow piercing me and here are people trying to cheat the system. As much as I miss her I rather do the right thing and not take the easy way out.

Honduras is facing serious problems with gang violence.  I have been hearing that witnesses in murder cases are often refusing to testify for fear of retribution, so the idea that a rape victim not going to police is unusual, or casts doubt on the rape, doesn't follow.  (A lot of studies in the US have shown that the majority of sexual assault victims don't report to law enforcement as well). 
 
OP, people are offering a lot of well meaning advice that paint your fiance in a bad light, but as someone just said, none of us really have any idea what happened.  I think it would be great if you could make it down there to Honduras.  Even if you don't feel you need to investigate, your fiance can surely benefit from moral support and your presence might help to sway the embassy as well.
 
Good luck!

we all go thru so much for immigration, don't make your journey more difficult
you need to check out her story
It has happened here before
1. and 1 man was surprised when his wife got her gc and then divorced him and bought the child's father here
2 . dont take this as judgement as i feel for any woman and assault victims as i was myself (no pregnacy)
if assaulted, she will need consul,   / she will feel totally violated, she will feel guilt / she will never get over it / she will just be guided to live and move on if she gets proper help
either of the above situations is going to mean more work for you, more expense, and more for your application to pass immigration
now, about the assault, please feel free to have her contact me (while she is there or when she comes) as she needs people who understand the complete violation of her being 
let me know here and i will send my number in private message

I said nothing about the OP having to prove a valid relationship.  It sounds like the fiancee is close to receiving her visa already and has already had an interview.  the only further interview would be the child's and the fiancee isn't going to be drilled about this child other than the fact it's not the OP's.  She was raped.  We're not seriously victim blaming here are we?   While the CO will question this, and yes it will hurt for her to be questioned, I do hope they aren't victim blaming either and that she's hopefully prosecuted the person responsible.  I also really don't think it matter's if the rapist think's it's okay for the child to leave.  IMHO they don't have a right to think anything about this child. 
I've known MARRIED women, in the USA, who didn't want to tell their spouses that they were pregnant WITH the spouse's child.  I can fully see why a woman, who's been raped and ended up pregnant, would keep a pregnancy from a fiance in another country.  She's been traumatized.  She's scared and alone.  I give her kudos.

As others have mentioned it's not illegal. CBP can refuse entry if they think someone is likely to use social services programs (ie, Medicaid), did not declare intent to give birth in the U.S. during their visa interview (this mainly relates to Chinese people), or, like any other visitor, if they think the person is lying about what they intend to do in the U.S. 
 
It's also free - Medicaid will pay all the costs. When we find out someone has used medicaid to pay for their child's birth (and we do have ways of getting this info) it will basically become impossible for them to get a tourist visa again. It's not a reason to revoke a visa but we have lots of discretion to refuse people if we think they're likely to abuse their visitor status again. They have to wait until the kid turns 21 and then they can immigrate as an IR5. 
 
Chinese applicants have been known to show up at their visa interviews with wads of $100 bills to show that they will pay their hospital bills. 
 
I personally continue to support birthright citizenship, even with all of the abuse of this provision you see working in a consulate (rich families with no connection whatsoever to the U.S. will make their kids dual citizens and then demand the same level of attention we give to a U.S. traveler in an emergency). Congress could easily solve this problem by amending the Immigration and Nationality Act - make anyone that has entered on a tourist visa and given birth to a child permanently ineligible for an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa (with a waiver available if they can show there was an actual medical need). The State Department can easily match passport application information to visa records to get that info. 

OMG
people see matter of sesay
once again I NEVER advocated for lying, nor will I
what I said was if the petitioner does not pull the AoS there is a chance
also the petitioner can definitely still attend the interview, what they need to do of course is be honest regarding their relationship status, and in my very first post I also made it clear that as soon as the divorce is finalized the OP will need to apply to remove conditions on the GC

Did she come here on a visitor visa or as a family member? Either way - I'm not sure that she's allowed to work without proper authorization - I am sure others on VJ here will confirm or deny that. I know that on a visitor visa she is NOT allowed to work, but as you have the I-130 in your profile - maybe she can work with permission (???) - anyway - watching your kids is considered "work" - so would be getting a part time job. You say that you brought her here to help with the kids - was that your ONLY purpose for you bringing her here? They are your kids - she already raised her kids. I have been a single mom of 3 my whole life - I get that it is a difficult and sometimes a thankless job - however if you just wanted help with the kids, you could have hired a nanny or someone to help with you. If your husband was without a job for a year, I presume he has been helping you - so what did you need your moms help in addition to your husbands help? 
 
If you sponsored her to come here - isn't it also HER decision where she lives? I mean, of course, you dont HAVE to let her stay with you (well it's your in-laws house, so it's up to them if she stays there or not - not you). 
 
From the way you describe it, she sounds like she could be depressed. I'm sure there are a ton of changes that are difficult for her to deal with and maybe the adjustment has not been what she hoped. Have you made efforts to get her involved in community activities or anything where she can meet others perhaps more her age or her background? Have you taken to her a doctor if she has chronic pain issues? 
 
You probably had a hard time adjusting here, I'm sure it's not easy for her either - but it shouldn't arbitrarily be YOUR decision what happens to mom. 

OP, reading your post, it's not exactly clear on what you are really asking if anything. What I got from it was that you are afraid of being denied because of a decision you made a few years ago? What decision? Getting Married? What matters most to the CO is not getting married on the 1st visit but proving a bonafide relationship/marriage and facetime and based on your own info. above, you have multiple visits and proof of that much needed facetime. Provide all that supporting evidence (passport stamps, flight ticket stubs, hotel receipts from your trips together, etc...) all that is good evidence and will be in your favor even with a tough embassy. Good luck when you get ready to file. 

A real man is never abusive, never.  
 
I too, like you, lived with one and it started that first week we lived together and there were good months in which nothing happened over the years, but now I know from being with someone who isn't abusive that there should never even be one situation that could be classified as abusive.  That isn't normal.  
 
OP has a child and that changes the risk level with staying.  I know I left my ex when I was pregnant.  Children are always the most important.
 
 

My heart goes out to you and your daughter.
Good advice above... follow it.
There's no need to live for one minute like this.
Go back to Canada and hold your head very high, because you will have shown more strength and resolve than 99.44% of other women who find themselves in abusive relationships.

Hello , 
 
is there anyone that can write a statement from his side , his mom , sister, brother , neighbors, any reporterd police records. My waiver just got approved last week. Let me see how I can help you . I had no joint assests , ex husband credit was bad - we lived with my mom all bills were in her name she did a. affidavit of residence letter .  some banks would not even allow him to open a bank account credit score was too low ! The savings we opened to help him build credit, he cleared it the first month ! I was the only one working  . When I first met this man he was church going , but he had an anger problem which he tried to hide !!! It came out fully 6 months into marriage. Let me see what you have that I can work with ! Some ppl come on here to just judge and not really help ' this is not what this site is about ! 

As many others have stated a R/T ticket is not a requirement. A good reason to get one (especially if the price is similar or less) is that it gives the fiance' a little breathing room when they arrive. If it turns out they spend a couple months here and realize they just can't be apart from their family or friends, or really hate it here, or their future spouse turns out to be completely different when living together versus just dating, they already have a return ticket they can use. They're not forced to stay and continue with a marriage they're having second thoughts on.
 
When my fiance arrived I handed her an envelope with two thousand dollars in it. I told her if she didn't want to go through with our wedding she could take the money and use it to get back home. She didn't need to ask my permission. I wanted her to know there wasn't any pressure to stay if she didn't really want to be here. That was a couple years ago. Thankfully she never used the money and we're still happily married. In hindsight though, it would have been easier to have just bought a R/T ticket for 85 days out or so  

Hello! 
It won't.
 
 

in Russia still pregnant women have good benefits comparing to other countries. Many Russian ladies are travelling from USA back to Russia just for to get the Maternity pay $1.374.58 USD.
 
Please, continue telling your horror stories about not being able to survive in Russia with her own language and Russian skills and education