Sarah&Facundo

That is state-dependent and also depends on your salary. I was on Bronze for years up until 2023. Bronze plans available to me were never under $300 per month when I was single and they were over $500 per month when I was married with deductibles around $8,500 and $17,000 out of pocket max. These were the cheapest plans and we are both young and healthy. Still grateful ACA is an option though! Healthcare was completely prohibitive before that and not an option for many (and probably wouldn't have been an option for me had I been old enough to purchase my own healthcare pre-ACA).

In their eyes, that courthouse wedding IS the real wedding. They don't care about any religious ceremony/party/etc. you may have after that. They just want to know you'll get married within 90 days of entering on the visa. Most people don't have a solid plan.

You do not need an engagement ring, formal proposal, or wedding plans (other than the obvious plan to marry somewhere in the US within 90 days of entry). We had none of those.

Granted this was in 2019 and it was for AOS and not naturalization, but we had a scheduled trip to my husband's home country and of course, we received our AOS interview date which fell during that time we would be away. We opted to postpone the AOS interview and we attended it at a rescheduled date later. As long as you have a green card, there really isn't a rush to naturalize since it doesn't really change anything anyway. If you are okay with waiting a few weeks or months, I'd try to just postpone the date.

To piggyback off of this, my now-husband traveled to the US during the K1 process multiple time on his B2 visa (not a student visa). Traveling to the US is okay if you have an appropriate visa (and there is still a question if your fiancé can use the same F1 visa, even though it has an expiration of 2025 since she will be attending a different program--but I don't know as much about that aspect). HOWEVER, the border patrol has to believe your fiancé intends to return home. In our personal experiences, my husband (then-fiancé) wasn't asked any questions any time he entered with his B2. They never asked for a return ticket, proof of returning home, and I don't even know if they even asked him how long he would be staying. He went through multiple airports as his point of entry (Chicago, NYC). That isn't the same for everyone, just HIS experience. I know it turns out differently for many. The point is, even if you intend on doing everything correctly and your fiancé truly does intend on returning home at the appropriate time, it all depends on what the border agent decides. There is NO ONE here who can tell you which way it will go. It's the luck of the draw of who she encounters, what questions they ask, and how the agent is operating on that particular day. So no one can give you an exact answer. What YOU BOTH need to decide is if this is worth a potential risk. Yes, it may work out very well. But what if it does not? This is what people here are saying. And on another note, DO NOT DO ANY KIND OF TRADITIONAL CEREMONY BEFORE ENTERING WITH A K1. None. Nothing in her country, nothing in the US. NO Traditional ceremonies or you just went through the whole K1 process for nothing and will need to start all over again. Good luck!

Definitely at least several hundred dollars a month per person plus a very high deductible on the ACA/Obamacare. Edited to add: You can actually go to healthcare.gov right now, plug your parents information (birthdate, expected state/city) in and see exactly what it would cost. Keep in mind it goes up every year. I was on ACA for years until very recently, but I am so thankful it exists because without it, we would not have had healthcare.

If she is unable to travel to the interview location, you can try to reach out to them. We postponed our interview for reasons that were way less serious than the one you are describing just to delay travel and we had no issue.

You can still work and travel with your expired green card and the extension letter. We traveled many times with these documents. The wait time for the new card will likely be a while, but it varies by state/jurisdiction. For reference, we waited 18 months from the time we applied and my husband received his 10 year green card over the summer. Some wait 2+ years. We were also randomly selected for an interview, but it was super simple and less than 5 minutes since we had no red flags.

What? My husband and I are extremely frequent travelers and do multiple international trips per year. We would never declare anything like what was listed by the OP. If you bring back something worth thousands of dollars, than sure maybe. But food and inexpensive jewelry? Never.

They don't care how or where you marry as long as it is within 90 days of entering the US on the K1 visa (not before or after). We were never asked about specific wedding dates or plans.

You don't need to naturalize if you don't want to. My husband has chosen not to, even though he was eligible a year ago.

Steps: 1. Get a second job or a new job. Perhaps you will need to study something to make that happen. Your income is very low for US standards and you will not be able to support a future spouse (never mind also proving your ability to sponsor an immigrant and handling what you owe for your current child(ren) you are responsible for). 2. Pay back your child support. 3. Apply for a passport. That takes a few months. You also can not sponsor an immigrant without a passport (or without meeting them). 4. Save up money to travel to Kenya. 4. Travel to Kenya, not just once, but multiple times. Get to know this woman, her family, etc. You do NOT know someone unless you spend time with them face-to-face. Anyone can appear "amazing" online. 5. Apply for either K1 or CR1 whenever that time comes. Timeline would be about 2+ years to get to the US (by today's wait times, which are increasing). Or, as stated above, tell her you would like to move to Kenya. If you truly want to be with her, that will be your easiest solution. Also, Kenya is known for high fraud for a reason. See if she is using you to get to the US. Would you still be in the picture if you decided to move there? Let's see what she says... Good luck! I hope it all works out!

Lots of misinformation here: 1. No, you can not come to the US with a plan to marry and adjust status. That is immigration fraud and not legal. 2. The "91 day rule" is an internet myth and not a thing. 3. Yes, if someone leaves the US and they are not a permanent resident (green card holder) and do not hold an Advanced Parole document, they can not re-enter the US. If you choose to marry, they must file in the correct legal way. You can petition them for either a K1 (finance) visa or a CR1 (spouse) visa. With a Cr1 visa, she would be able to go and come to visit her mother/home country as she wishes.

Hi! I wasn't too much older than you when I met my then-boyfriend-now-husband, so I totally understand your mom being nervous about the situation. It is also completely understandable her preference would lean towards him coming to the US, just so he is on her "turf" so to speak. My mom was nervous about all this as well, even though my boyfriend and I had actually met in person not online (which I can imagine my mom would have FREAKED out about!). Given your boyfriend's situation, as others mentioned, it is a very, very slim chance he will get a visa to the US. If your mom is nervous, would she be willing to accompany you in going to the Philipines to meet him with you so you aren't alone? My mom ended up going to my husband's country twice and meeting his family, which was really special, despite no one speaking the same language. Or perhaps, if you can all financially swing it, your family can pay for all of you to meet in another country (mom included if it helps) that may be easier to get a visa for? The others above are 100% right in that a lawyer would be a complete waste of time and money since there is absolutely nothing they can do to help. All you do is fill out the forms, and the officer decides if he is approved or not. There is literally nothing else that can be done. Best of luck!! And if you do decide to go there--don't go alone.

The wait time for an EAD card/travel permit could be 8-12 months (sometimes more) after filing AOS. Therefore your wife could not leave the US or work during that period. If you did consular processing, she could work and travel immediately once entering the US with her visa.