Abrha

My question is on prior marriages and if any of you have been through same the same situation and that is, I was married back in 2011 and filed for I130 for my spouse at the time and we were approved it was in Ethiopia , but things didn’t work out within our marriage and we decided to file for divorce in 2015, I met my love now 2 years ago who is also from Ethiopia and we are planning to file for a K1 visa, I’ve traveled to Ethiopia 3 times to see him and we instantly fell in love! We met through mutual friends on Facebook, my concern is will USCIS give us a hard time because of my previous marriage? We are truly in love and we wanted to get married here in the U.S. once he gets approved at his interview for his visa to come, that’s if he gets approved.. Thank you! 

31 minutes ago, geowrian said:

2 issues...

1) It's arguing out both sides of your mouth. It's a strong tie...but we also have a plan when he immigrates. Strong ties are not something one can easily or quickly alter.

2) As noted, it's not something they will ask about on the DS-160 and usually the decision is based on the information on the DS-160.

Thanks.. looks like K1 is our best option 

19 minutes ago, millefleur said:

The minute he tells the IO that he's going to the US to visit his fiancee, his chance of getting rejected for a tourist visa is extremely high. They will most likely tell him to go apply for the K-1 and wait it out. In general, a fiance is considered a stronger tie for an adult than their mother or sister in their home country.

 

US immigration officers take the word "fiance" very seriously because there's a visa for that - the K-1. If he truly is your fiance, getting a tourist visa will be extremely difficult. 

K1 visa will be.. thanks

2 minutes ago, geowrian said:

Makes sense. But then realize it's not really a tie to return home since there is somebody else who can do it (and would actually be the ones to do it in the somewhat-near future).

But in different city..his sister lives in Addis (Capital), he lives with mother in another region in Ethiopia, it’s far to drive, but easier to fly, 30 min flight.. 

5 minutes ago, Cathi said:

You still haven't clarified whether or not he is your boyfriend or your fiance'.

Fiancé..sorry 

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

How will he be able to stay and take care of his Mum and his Sister and if you file a K1?

At this time he lives with his mom, his sister and her family live in the capital city of Addis Abeba, he stays in north Ethiopia in the Tigray region with his mom, due to his sisters job and her kids schooling in Addis Abeba , he’s with his mom, if all goes well in the future after we apply for I129f, he will come to U.S. and we will marry, and his sister and her family will move to stay with their mom.. 

26 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Well - first, he’s obviously not going to be able to visit you until all this is over, or mostly over. No US embassies are issuing routine visas at present. 
 

Then, when he can, he is going to need to convince the interviewing officer of his intent to return to Ethiopia. A good job will help a lot; you are a tie to the US, so he needs a strong “offset” if you see what I mean. Caring for his mom is not a real tie if he not only has siblings there who can but has an intent down the line to emigrate to the US. Unfortunately I can see a fair chance of denial (not certain, I don’t know job etc). Second best option might be to see if he can get a visa to Canada & your family can maybe meet him in Vancouver?
 

With the current travel bans none of this will happen anytime soon though. 

3 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Let’s also take a deep breath here guys. I know poster has asked about before it but let’s face it, not everyone is comfortable planning getting married after meeting just 3 times, or filing k1 just because getting a B visa is hard. which it is for Ethiopia, 45% refusal rate. 
 

@Abrhacan you clarify if this is “boyfriend” or “fiancé” and whether you have actually filed, or are planning to file, a K1? That will help us figure out if we should be answering your question at face value (in other words, what kind of factors will be helpful and what won’t, though all will be to do with your boyfriend’s situation and not what you can do). 

 

26 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Well - first, he’s obviously not going to be able to visit you until all this is over, or mostly over. No US embassies are issuing routine visas at present. 
 

Then, when he can, he is going to need to convince the interviewing officer of his intent to return to Ethiopia. A good job will help a lot; you are a tie to the US, so he needs a strong “offset” if you see what I mean. Caring for his mom is not a real tie if he not only has siblings there who can but has an intent down the line to emigrate to the US. Unfortunately I can see a fair chance of denial (not certain, I don’t know job etc). Second best option might be to see if he can get a visa to Canada & your family can maybe meet him in Vancouver?
 

With the current travel bans none of this will happen anytime soon though. 

Thanks for sharing this info..yes I realize with all that is happening now in the world with COVID 19, no ones going anywhere anytime soon, it’s just the reality at this time.. his sister lives in another city due to her job and kids, but my boyfriend lives with his mom, she depends on him for everything..he had to wit his job to care for her, if he’s able to come on a tourist visa, his sister would then fly to stay with her until he returns, I appreciate the information from all of you out there in this forum! Stay safe and stay home.. 

Sorry guys, I should’ve been clear about my situation with my boyfriend, I haven’t filed the I129f application yet due to finances and the COVID 19 pandemic, plus I wanted to read up on both K1 visa, and B2 visa... I would love to have him come visit and meet my family before coming on a K1 visa in future, he definitely would return home to Ethiopia due to he and his sister caring for their mom who has some health issues, him and I understand the importance of being totally honest and up front about everything and anything regarding our relationship if we are able to do B2 visa.. we want to spend time together before he goes back home to Ethiopia..much needed vacation given all this COVID mess.. and him taking care of his mom with his sister, I work in healthcare the ER department to be exact.. and guys, I’ve seen and been through a lot with my fellow coworkers, I work in admissions in ER and it’s times like this that I truly miss my boyfriend and wish he could come visit me, spend quality time together and just enjoy each other’s company!

I live in Washington state and my boyfriend is from Ethiopia, he wants to come for vacation and visit me, since I’ve traveled to visit him already a total of 3 times within the last 2years, is it hard to get a B2 visa for him to come from Ethiopia?  

Thank you! 

On I-129f application is it ok to use P.O. Box for my mailing? 

1 minute ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

No.

 

Nothing every really goes away online, so out of date guides and videos are all over the internet. But the biographic info form is not needed for I-129F petitions and has not been for years.

So glad I asked! Yes, as you can see what I’ve been referencing online is outdated! Can you tell me where I can get a more up to date I129f checklist please 

17 minutes ago, SmallTownPA said:

You can get an RFE for *anything*.  But TOS from a dating website is just  they will never read.  There are a few interviews with USCIS agents and they all say they same thing:  be complete but cut out the cruft.  I mean some people even though that putting pre-punched holes for the binders would help the process.  lol no.  

 

And please get rid of that gif.. its like half the screen.

 

 

Appreciate all the info..I can tell you are very knowledgeable on all this..while I got you here..is form G325a still needed for both of us? Thx 

1 minute ago, Ben&Zian said:

 

Or risk an RFE and a delay. People do get RFE's for these things. Hence why specified if it's a non well known site. Something like Facebook, OkCupid, or whatever are known places. But there are some not so known sites or even religious sites that raise eyesbrows.

Good to know..appreciate the info👍

3 minutes ago, SmallTownPA said:

 

Don't ####### up your application with useless things.  If they really wanted it they would require it.

 

 

Ok thx! 

17 minutes ago, Ben&Zian said:

 

The "How we met" can be a seperate sheet if you want it to be. Just put "See attachment #". On the sheet itself just can say like "We met online in 20**.. We chatted for so long until we met for the first time at _____ for so long. The we met again a year later or whatnot".

 

That's all it needs to be really. If you specify a dating site, it it isn't a commonly known one, you may want to attach that sites TOS right off as people have gotten RFE's for the TOS of some sites that aren't well known.

🙏🏻 Thank you 

11 minutes ago, payxibka said:

If your answer is longer than can fit on the space provided on the form, maybe you should rethink your answer

Got it..thx 

10 minutes ago, Ben&Zian said:

 

That should be okay for now. Some beneficiaries might not even have passports at the time of filing so.

 

But ensure your fiance get's a new passport because when it comes time, if issued a K-1, the passport has to have at least 6 months validity on it.

Thank you 🙏🏻 

On the application part 2. #38...my fiancé passport expired..does it matter? Or just put it down with expiration date? 

I’m filling out application and needed help with question #53...we met twice within the past year and so I just needed to know when typing up my statement as to when, where etc. of our meetings..it doesn’t need to be too long right? Or just when, where and receipts of hotel and flight itineraries? 

52 minutes ago, Cyberfx1024 said:

We just sent in our marriage license and some pictures we took that day during and after the ceremony. 

Good to know, thank you so much!! 🙂

On 3/20/2019 at 2:26 PM, Cyberfx1024 said:

Court weddings are perfectly ok to do on a a K1 visa. My wife and I got married at the courthouse when she came here in her K1 visa. There  was no issue during the AOS at all for us doing that.

Thank you for that info!! So good to know..so since we don’t know (if) and (when) we may get approved, what should we send (if anything) to reference court marriage? 

7 minutes ago, MeghanK said:

Nothing at all. This is a very common occurrence with K1s. All you need to do is prove you got married when you file AOS. 

🙏🏻 Thank you

17 minutes ago, C90 said:

Nothing. They just want evidence that you met within the last 2 years.

 

When my now husband and I filed K1 we didn't even have a date or any arrangements for a wedding. The only requirement is that you get married within 90 days, how or where they don't care about.

 

At my K1 interview or POE they never asked for it, and we ended up doing a self uniting marriage about 3 weeks after I arrived with a party 3 weeks later.

Thank you for the info, really helpful 👍

My fiancé and I are planning to just get married through the court when he comes with a few friends, due to our financial situation we are limited and don’t plan on having a huge wedding, very simple..what do I need to send (if anything) to show that’s what we intend to do? We definitely will get married within the 90 days, but it’s just through the court here in Washington state.