Tore

Ok, at least I know it happens often. For whatever reason they want another, I'll send it.

We submitted our marriage certificate to the USCIS with form I-485,  but they're asking for another. I really have no idea why it was not accepted, I believe this was an error on their end. That's because we submitted the application for my wife's permit to work, and permit to travel -  both were received and accepted. She got her Work Authorization card and also got her travel notice. Before we sent these three applications ( I-4895, work authorization, and travel permit) we scanned each of them. I have proof that the an original copy of the marriage certificate was in each packet. We signed all three the day we sent them. I signed my marriage certificate again, essentially, but if that was wrong then my other applications would need to have been rejected. Two were approved, one was not. What am I doing wrong here? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, do we sign the RFE when we send it back?

The title pretty much says it all, but I'm wondering if there's special instructions now that my wife is approved to work. She's applying to a job and we are wondering if there's additional documentation she'll have to bring to the employer, and/or there is an extra step or website we have to go to report a new job to the USCIS?

18 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

1.  To be perfectly clear, she will be considered a resident alien for tax purposes if you file a joint return. 

2. The 1099s must come from the investment income source.  You can't make your own. 

3.  Did she generate income from the property?  If not, there is noting to report on the 1040.

For IRS reporting, you include/report income, not wealth.   Foreign assets and bank accounts are reported via an FBAR, if applicable, to the Department of the Treasury.  

Thank you. On your 2nd point, then how do I file all of the stocks she traded? Form 8938 (FACTA)?

We've decided to select married filling jointly as a "Non Resident Spouse" , and she has a SSN. We're awaiting our AOS interview confirmation and she just recently got approved to work!

Non Resident Spouse IRS Info: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/nonresident-spouse

The article reads "Each spouse must report their entire worldwide income for the year you make the choice and for all later years unless the choice is ended or suspended."

Here is a list of what is included in worldwide income: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-earned-income-exclusion-what-is-foreign-earned-income

(International Taxes: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers - extra link)

So that means my wife should include:

• Her Salary When She worked in Her Country For The Beginning of 2021
• All Bank Accounts (FBAR?)
• Property (She doesn't rent, she just has a small plot of land)(?)
• Stocks (1099 Equivalents)(?)
  • She traded stocks but didn't receive 1099s so do we make them on our own? What document suffices for this?

We're using TaxAct and it's working so far... any advice would be greatly appreciated.

On 11/28/2020 at 10:52 PM, Babu Frik said:

You only need to report what you earned for 3 years.

You only need to provide transcripts/returns for the most current year, 3 years is optional as per the form.

So then for the other two most recent years what do you put in the "2nd most recent" and "3rd most" recent tax years, "N/A"?

6 hours ago, NancyNguyen said:

If you can prove your job is stable and sufficient now, that’s all matter.

This seems to be the consensus. I can too, I have the letterhead they require from my supervisor stating it's my role is permanent and that I make above the poverty level.

My cosponsor no longer wants to sponsor my fiancée and we have our interview set for January 26th. I only made ~12k in 2019 working temporary jobs and for the first 3 quarters of this year, 2020, I worked a temporary job but got a permanent job in the 4th quarter which has put me above the poverty level. Now in my new role I will be making enough money, 40k, and the role is permanent. I'm concerned that the lack of money I made in 2019 will reject our request for a visa. I wanted this cosponsor as a safety measure and now that they are not willing to do it I feel that our visa might get rejected. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I've been reading this forum and I see many comments saying that it is optional to include your bonds/investments and that your annual income should suffice. In both the embassy email (packet instructions) & the i-134 instructions I do not see it being optional. Attached below are a screenshot of the email I received and the supporting evidence section of the i-134 instructions.

My fiancée and I are concerned about our safety in the US. She is particularly concerned about the death rate and increasing amount of people who contract the disease, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried either. Her country has handled the situation much better and less people have it.

Do any of your fiances feel similar? Do they have any reservations coming to America at this time?

I'm in a tough spot. We decided it would probably be safest for me to move back to her country because of COVID and I do have a contract on the table, but yesterday I was offered a job here in America that's 7-12k more than the position in her country.

I'm not sure if the money is worth my safety and we'd be apart even longer. Surely we're not overreacting because of the virus and I assume you guys feel similar. Let me know how you guys have discussed this. Thanks.

13 minutes ago, Luckycuds said:

NVC is not sending any cases to embassies at this time because they are closed. 

Can you please show me where it says it's closed? I only see that they have decreased their staffing.

I'm looking at the flowchart here, and I'm on step 4. My NOA2 says my visa has been approved and the approval notice is from 06/09/2020 to 10/08/2020. I called the NVC but they are not picking up the phone due to the pandemic (fewer staffing).  4 weeks from June 8th was last Monday the 29th, and so I'd expect either my fiancée would be contacted by the embassy or I would be contacted by the NVC informing me that they have sent the petition to the embassy. Neither has happened yet. So is there any way I can find updated processing time numbers or are we all just in the dark and hoping for the best? Should I be concerned or is approval and contact times slower for everyone now with no real deadlines? Because if the USCIS is allowed to take extra time I feel like my validation date should be extended.

I would like to know what your experience has been with health insurance for your fiancée/fiancé. It is my understanding that we are unable to use any sort of assistance, like medicaid, so I'm wondering how that effects us. My fiancée has insurance in her own country and will likely keep it, but we are concerned about what we can purchase for her when she is here since she won't be working for 8 months. How did you or others you know handle this situation? Obviously we're a little concerned too because of COVID. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

2 minutes ago, Quarknase said:

This is only true if they stay in the US after marriage, to adjust status. People get married in the US on tourist visas all the time, and return to their home country before the I-94 expires.

Since you both live in your fiancées country you can book a round trip together and proof intent to return after marriage in the US.

Thank you, I didn't know this and I updated my profile too.

5 minutes ago, Quarknase said:

I don’t think that’s what a K1 is for.

Not sure of any implications down the road though, if you ever intend to move to the US together (maybe you can just go through the regular CR1/IR1 at that point.

May I ask why you didn’t apply for a visitor visa if the intent is only to visit for a wedding with the family?

CR1/IR1 - yes this what I'm thinking. Originally, we planned on moving to the US longterm, so at the time we chose the k1 visa path. Now, we just don't see the US as affordable. I've been struggling to get a decent paying job.

You mean a US tourist visa right? I was under the impression that when people get married on a tourist visa they have to prove to an immigration officer that it was spontaneous and premeditated, and that's why people use the  k1-visa path.

My fiancée and I are considering using the K1 visa just for the purpose of getting married, visiting my family, and then leaving. I am currently living in the US but am applying to jobs in her country. We've had a change of plans after I've been unable to find a sustainable income for us. Would there be any problem with me getting a job in her country, moving there, and then coming back to the US on vacation solely for the purpose of getting married? Besides the fact it's a lot of back and forth, are there any legal reason this might be a bad idea, like potentially getting our visa rejected? Can I simply use a foreign address on the USCIS website?

We just recently got our petition (I-29f) approved .

I'm the petitioner and I've been mainly unemployed for a little over 2yrs, and I don't want to use a sponsor.

Is this 2 year gap of unemployment grounds to reject our visa, even if I get a job this month?

I got the NOA1on  November 27th, and my fiancée is a Korean native. I expect my fiancée to go on the interview by the summer.

So would me working for 5-7 months prior to the interview be good enough assuming it's above the income requirements? Or have you seen many cases that have been rejected on those grounds?

Hi all, we're nearing the end of filing the initial petition, I'm so happy!

First Q - Using evidence beyond 2 years ago:

Should I be including information that goes beyond two years ago to show proof of our ongoing relationship and intent to marry? I proposed 2.5 years ago and my fiancee and I went on a trip to NZ, which is valuable proof of our relationship, but it's too old! I'm creating a timeline with photos, receipts, and travel document and I'm wondering if it would hurt to put a few things like our travel to NZ that go further back than two years?

Second Q - Using Airbnb itineraries with a nickname:
We're using Airbnb itineraries as evidence of our travels. When my fiancée created her Airbnb account she used a fake name - shining, so all of our itineraries don't have her real name. If i put the nickname "shining" on page 4 part 2 question 10 a-c , "Other Names Used" (see below) will that suffice, or do I need a legal document stating this is a nickname of hers? Mind you, she ONLY uses it for Airbnb.

On 9/5/2019 at 10:20 AM, EmptySeats said:

I have a question, too, in that case. In the extra information I put my current state as:

 

52.a. New Jersey

 

with an explanation that this is my current state, and my third state or foreign country I have lived in since my 18th birthday.

 

Because 50.a. and 51.a. are already used for the first two, and there is no 52.a.

 

I figure that's ok?

Let me clarify, are you confused about how to use the citation? I would not add any additional numbers to the form, so do not put 52.a or 52.b, because 52 isn't an option on the form. 

From what I've seen people usually re-write the second example (Residence 2) on page 8, and therefore repeat the numbers 51.a and 51.b, in the Item Number box on page 8. I would put 51.a - b: Residence 4, 51.a - b: Residence 5, 51.a - b: Residence 6 etc. 

I am unable to use "-"  in the document so I am going to print it out and write it by hand.

16 hours ago, Soon To Be Mrs. T said:

I think that there is.

 

For example, if one resided in the state of Washington in the United States and in Australia:

 

Residence 1

50.a. State: WA

50.b. Country: Australia

 

This may be misunderstood as Western Australia (WA), Australia.

That makes a lot of sense, I'll change it thank you!

Hello! I have a quick question.

For questions numbers 50.a. - 51.b. in section 1 on page 4, it asks for you to provide all of the foreign countries, not necessarily with any correlation, just simply the states and countries you've lived in.

For example I've lived in the following states: MA, CT, CA; and the following countries: USA, AUS, KR.
 

It looks wrong but I've listed my residence as the following:

Residence 1 ( page 4 )
50.a: MA
50.b: USA

Residence 2 (page 4 )
50.a: CA
50.b: Australia

Residence 3 (page 8 )
50.a: CT

Residence 3 (page 8 )
50.b: South Korea

I guess it's off putting because the states I've lived in don't correlate with the country. I'd rather be put VIC Australia; Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korea: and MA, USA, but I've seen no examples of this on visa journey.

Anyway, thanks in advance.

Hi all,

    This is my second post this week, so my apologies, but also thank you. This site has been so resourceful and it's very encouraging to see other people go through this process.

I have the following questions:

1. What is the best format for writing a Korean address given the criteria provided by the i-129f form?  (see format details below)

2. Should I use South Korea or Republic of Korea? 
3. How do I inform the reader when each section will contains more information on page 8?

4. What are the appropriate item numbers for multiple addresses and jobs? (see below)

5. Typing my complete address in Google Maps results in me being pinned to a different location. When I omit different combinations of information I can find my old address. Should I omit some information on the form?
            

- ITEM NUMBERS -
    Form i-129f contains no values for extra items if you have additional jobs or addresses. Page 2, part 1, items 9-12 (address item numbers) continue to item 13 and it's subset of letters. But if I wanted to add a third address what number do I start counting with? Do I start counting my items at 52 where part 1 ends, or between 12 and 13, or not cite them at all and put N/A?

- FORMAT -
The i-129f form has this order:
Street Number and name:
Apt./Ste./Flr.:
City or Town:
State:
Zip Code:
Province:
Postal Code:
Country:
Date From:
Date To:

but one of my Korean addresses, for example, looks like this:

Apt # & building name: 306 Neo Village
Street Number and Name:  37-10 Gonpyeong-ro 10 gil
Neighborhood: Samdeok 2(i)-ga
District: Jung-gu
City: Daegu
Province: Gyeongsangbuk-do
Country: Rep of South Korea

Here is my example

Hi @J&B I stumbled upon this thread today, I hope everything is working out well for you. I'm also having an address nightmare since my fiancée and I have moved around so much, but we're working on it. I was wondering if you did something like I did in the attached image:

Yes, we did. We decided with the k-1 visa option because we both enrolled in tech bootcamps in our respective countries and wanted for me to be settled in the US b4 she came. It's quite complicated, but thank you for bringing that to my attention. It is the cheaper options from what I understand.

@Pitaya (火龙果) thank you, yes I was looking for the section 2 title instructions. I'm working on changing the title to i-129F!
 

@DaveAndAnastasia Yes, it's section 2! Thank you.

I was confused because I lived in Korea and wasn't sure if I needed to put those addresses in Hangul or the English Alphabet, but it's pretty clear now that everything is in English except for that one section that asks for the beneficiary's name & address in their native language. Probably for the Consulate, I'm assuming.

Thanks guys.