1HappyGuy

This is definitely a legal matter and you will need to find a competent Ukrainian attorney.  Tell your fiancee to advise the attorney that the father of her child does not provide child support, has not contacted the child in years and has abandoned his child and responsibilities.  If the father has married someone else, that should bolster her position.  She should contact a government agency that is responsible for monitoring child support by absentee fathers.  Overall, this is very possible to accomplish but it will take time and money.  Unfortunately, this is not that strange of a situation but as I said earlier, find competent legal help.  Once she can establish a complete right over her child, the rest should be easy.

Don't give up, but work with her to get this done.💼

Generally the AOS pertains to current income.  Unless your real estate will impact your income such as providing rental income, there is not much reason to include that.  However, as stated before, the AOS must be current when you file.  Depending upon your time line it is likely that the transfer and transactions necessary for building a home will not be completed before you file for AOS.  Remember, mostly the government is concerned that you have enough income to support you, your spouse and any family members.  Check the income guidelines to confirm you still have adequate income as the levels do change.  Best of luck.

21 hours ago, Chris Duffy said:

Passport?  Western Union doesn't ask for any type of ID to send money. 

If you read the original post you will see how much that person was concerned.  My response was intended to alleviate her concerns.

I have sent money by Western Union for years and only provided them with my name and address and of course the information about who I was sending money to.  I never had a problem with identification but then I am a U.S. citizen.  I don't believe your status matters.  What Western Union is concerned about is who is sending, who is receiving and if you have enough cash for the transfer.  Your passport should be sufficient to send money to the Philippines.  I have sent money to Ukraine for many years without a problem, even after Russia started a war with Ukraine.

My wife and I watched these shows from the beginning of the series.  At first it seemed pretty good but as time went on it seemed that the producers focused on the really odd or outrageous relationships.  If the couple was on the edge of breaking up, they got more coverage.  We have the series set up automatically to record on the DVR but don't know if they will have much about new people.

Everyone in a marriage has problems over time, but having the bright lights of TV focused on your difficulties is not going to help.  Also, it reflects on how many couples are mismatched in their relationships.  I believe that the people running this series are not looking for well adjusted and happily married people but instead want those with fire and scandal in their lives.  It is not a good reflection of the Fiancee Visa process and the real difficulties that all couples have.  My wife and I have been married for 12 years now and we both still remember the pain of waiting, the numerous bureaucratic requirements and continual costs and the overall frustration with a system that should work a lot better than it does.  But that does not make for good TV.

The police were probably suspicious of the tools as that is how thieves and burglars obtain others property.  But, since no charges were filed you are okay and just wiser for the experience.

Generally a K-1 visa is a quick process as the CR-1 can take longer.  If she is going to finish school, do that first.  You can apply on the K-1 while she is finishing up school and once that is done she can come with no problems.  It is best not to take advantage of her ability to come to the USA visa free since once they find out you have known each other for a while the "spur of the moment" marriage will probably not fly.  Don't take a chance of a fraud finding if she still has to finish school first.

We all understand about the desire to be together, but relax.  If you are doing this right, it should be for the rest of your lives.  So be patient, take advantage of the opportunity to visit visa free when possible but do everything legally.  You will sleep better at night.

Good to know what the time line is.  The processing site at the uscis only gives the Potomac center and it says 11 to 11 1/2 months to process a Form I-90.  My wife will travel back to her home country and we will start the process when she returns.  Assuming of course there are no restrictions on her traveling with her green card expiring in August 2018.

I gather from this thread that renewing a green card for a long time permanent resident is pretty easy.  My wife's green card is due to expire later this year but she wants to travel back to Ukraine first.  Does anyone know of any restrictions on her traveling before she files for renewal.  I haven't found anything yet but thought I would ask if someone knows. 

Thanks to all and glad to be back on VisaJourney.

Follow the directions given, make sure you have paid all fees, provided required documents, prove having met within past two years and wait. Attending the interview is nice but not necessary. You will not be allowed into the room with your fiancee during the interview.

I did not attend the interview, my fiancee passed with flying colors and she arrived with very little problems. We have now been married over 10 years. Pretty simple stuff in retrospect but frustrating as all get out while you are waiting. Don't try to overwhelm them with copies of conversations, but just give them a sample. Provide a narrative of your relationship listing the dates met, time spent together. It is not necessary to make any other changes in financial aspects for her or you until later.

Mostly relax.

If you need a copy of your 2014 and 2015 tax returns you can obtain an official copy from the IRS using form 4506. There is a $50 fee per tax return, so you will need to pay $100 for this service. You can also apply for a Tax Return Transcript which is done online and there is no cost. However you should read the instructions carefully about what the USCIS will accept. I do not believe that a transcript is sufficient.

You can find the form 4506 at https://www.irs.gov . You will want to select TOOLS to get the form. You can fill out the form in their pdf format and print out several copies. The address where to mail is in the instructions with the form. If you had your return professionally prepared, then contact your tax preparer. That will be much cheaper.

Best of luck!

Contact the U.S. embassy in Kiev and ask them directly. That is your best source for a reliable answer.

Hello there,

I never thought I would be here posting questions related to a divorce. I used this website in the past to guide through my K-1 journey and now I'm here. What a shame. Anyways, I arrived in the Us in February and got married to my US husband in April 2014. So I was his dependent during the entire year. Now we are getting divorced and I moved out before he filed for taxes and I have no idea if he filed and how he filed. ( married, jointly or separated. ) should I be concerned that I don't have a copy of this tax return? I'm going to file for a waiver based on divorce when I get my divorce decree but I'm afraid that my case can me hurt for lacking this evidence.

Your status is as a spouse, not a dependent. As said above, you need to contact your husband concerning if he filed a tax return or an extension. Of course obtaining a copy is necessary and possibly he had a tax preparer do it for him. You should be willing to pay for a copy from the tax preparer. There are other issues that are not discussed for you to understand. If he filed a joint tax return, did he obtain your signature on forms? If he filed jointly without your signature that is fraud and highly illegal. If you signed some forms before the filing deadline then you are entitled to copies of the returns. Next, are you in a community property state? If yes, then you are liable for any income taxes filed on a joint return but you are also entitled to report 1/2 of the income separately. No matter what the case is, you need to find competent help such as a CPA. You probably already have an attorney, but I doubt he is familar with tax law.

Good luck.

Can anyone tell me if the Ukraine Brides Agency is actually a broker or not? They do not do the IMBRA screening process upon sign up on the site. However you do pay a fee to send letters, chat or things of that nature. I am lost with this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am due to arrive in Ukraine on the 1st of November to meet with my future wife and need to know if this IMBRA stuff needs to be handled before I arrive there.

Thanks.

Understand that the IMBRA law covers U.S. based companies only. However, to protect yourself make sure your fiancee is knowledgeable about IMBRA and can answer any questions posed by the embassy staff or USCIS personnel if she is asked. You should check to see where the agency you used is headquartered.

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had experience with this.

When you receive an approved K1 visa in your travel passport and were ready to move to the US (or before you got the visa):

~ Did you return your Ukrainian passport? (and do all of the paperwork related to that)

~ Did you remove yourself from your address in Ukraine (Виписка)

As far as i understand when you receive your green card in US later on you have to apply for the Ukrainian consulate in your district so that they can stamp your travel passport saying you live in the US and not Ukraine. This way you can renew your passport in the States at the consulate.

Any experience with this is Greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

My wife still has her Ukrainian passport which should expire sometime next year. She has always used her Ukrainian passport and brought her marriage certificate and green card while traveling. She has never had a problem and I doubt your fiancee/wife will either. There are a lot of people looking to scam you out of money saying you need this thing or that or trying to convince you about something that does not exist. You have several good sources for information available to you starting with Visa Journey and then the U.S. embassy in the country of your fiancee and lastly the USCIS. Stay with those sources and you can't go wrong.

Do you have your KEV number? That is the number assigned to the case for the embassy in Kiev. If you do, you can write the embassy directly and put your number in the subject title. They can then respond directly to you concerning your specific case. Otherwise, they are slow to respond to general questions.

I have a friend that divorced his Ukrainian wife. She had left the USA and said she wanted a divorce. He filed here and managed to get the entire process completed while she was out of the country. She was in Ukraine and Israel at various times. He got the divorce. It seemed like everything was the same as a normal USA divorce. It seems that the problem may be proof of service. That should be easily taken care of by using a mail service other that government postal services. You need proof of delivery which those services provide.

As a side note, she was already a U.S. citizen, but I don't think that makes a difference. They were also married in USA.

Hey folks,

We have been sending small amounts of money to my MIL on a Walmart/GreenDot money card. It's a 'student pack' so there are two cards with the same #. It has worked well for the last 3 years.

Now it won't work since the US blocked a Russian bank. Not sure if it's Russia retaliating or other banks being careful, but they won't let her withdraw money. They can see balance, and charge for the privilege, but she can't withdraw. Called GreenDot and all they said was ty other banks. Did that and it didn't work.

Any ideas that are still easy? Western Union would probably work, but it's a hassle since neither of us have a convenient Western Union.

Thanks!

Adam

I have been using Western Union for years and it seems to have gotten cheaper. I sent $600 to my brother in law in Ukraine for $24 for the money in minutes service. He had to search for a bank that would accept in when he was in Odessa shortly after the invasion of Crimea. His money from Russia and credit cards no longer work and he was desperate. The whole credit card thing is intended to put a crimp on Russian uses throughout the world but Western Union still works as it represents real money to the bank. You should check the Western Union website for locations near you. I use the local Safeway market.

Yeah I doubt it will affect Family Visas, if anything maybe someone can get away with an expedite because of fears of the war, especifically if they lived in Crimea, Ukraine/Russia - I wonder if in a week Crimea becomes part of Russia if that will mean now they have to go to Russian embassy...

btw I am tempted to request maybe an expedite for NVC based on that conditions but my wife is from russia but she is closed to Ukrainian border, don't know what do you guys think. Normally I wouldn't since it feels a bit unfair to thers waiting for their CR1 but I was unlucky with transfers and am already getting behind than others with similar PDs so if anything it would catch me up.

If your fiancee was in Crimea, she might have a chance of expedited visa, but being in Russia probably will not give her any benefit. If Ukraine invaded Russia, that could have changed the situation instead of the other way around.

Transportation in and out of the Kyiv is going to be difficult. Today's additional violence is not helping. The government knows that the western part of Ukraine is very European leaning and therefore they are trying to limit access to the city from the west. It is probably best to contact the embassy for suggestions if someone has an interview scheduled. I'm sure that finding inexpensive lodging is going to be more difficult as the center of the city becomes more tied up.

Our prayers and hopes are with the people of Ukraine. We know that the current government does not care much about the people. The heavy influence from Russia is not helping the situation.

Pray for Ukraine!

Generally the visa was not available for about 5 days after the interview. Unless you want to stay in Kiev for that much time after the interview, go with her to Kharkov. Because of the current situation in the country, you should expect some delays over the normal processing time, but the embassy can give you better information. You can email them but be sure to include the new case number for the embassy as they will not generally respond quickly to questions that don't relate to a specific case. If you plan to stay in Kiev, you can pick it up, but only at the delivery service office. The embassy policy does not allow visas to be picked up at the embassy.

If you are looking to buy tickets early to get a discount, then give yourself a long processing time than the standard 5 days plus delivery service time. You don't need to be at the interview, but she does need to have all of the proper information and a good knowledge of your personal history and background. You should also compare prices for an early purchase with the cost of a change fee to see if the price difference would be worth possibly making a mistake in your plans.

Also, think about your fiancee. She will be leaving her family and friends for a long time considering the green card processing times and she might want to say goodbye to a lot of people. Give her some time to prepare to leave. We all know about the frustration and heartache of being apart, but have a little more patience. She will soon be coming to you and all of life will change for the better.

It isn't just in Kiev (Kyiv). There has been protesting in other cities, particularily in Western Ukraine. Two people were shot and killed by police on Wednesday. I saw video yesterday on FOX of a policeman lighting a Molotov cocktail to throw at protestors or their barricades. That shows you how it is finally starting to get to the U.S. news. We have been watching it on Aljazerra news daily. It is now the #3 story for that network. This is going to get worse before it gets better.

Pray for your family and friends in Ukraine and let's all hope that a peaceful resolution will be found soon. We are not optimistic that will happen.

You might want a more recent letter if you are looking that far off for an interview. Also, by that time you should have another tax return. Make sure you enclose the recent tax return with copies of the W-2's.

As to your previous question about bank statements, those are only needed if you are self employed.

My wife still travels internationally on her Ukrainian passport. She just makes sure she has a copy of our marriage certificate and of course her Green Card. For you, it is the Advanced Parole certificate that is important. You don't have to prove to Ukrainian officials you can leave, except for the ones checking authority to arrive in certain countries. That is why you have Advanced Parole. Take that with you and you will be fine.

Have a good trip!

I think you can expect the visa will be returned in less than a week. If she is in Kyiv (Kiev) it can be picked up. She would need to leave her phone number.

Congratulations, now get ready for her arrival. Also, consider her needs to say goodbye to family and friends and prepare a timeline for her to leave.

Time to celebrate!