juliabean

49 minutes ago, K1visaHopeful said:

All K1 AOS concurrently filed AP (and EAD) are processed at the NBC and not at any other Service Center. Their timelines will not apply to him as a K1 AP filer.

The current processing times are 8 to 10 months which recently (as in the last two weeks) went up from the previous 6 to 8 months. This is likely due to the pandemic.

When it was 6 to 8 months you could expect as low as 4 to 5 months but still up to 8. 

A guestimate for now would be 6 to 8 but still up to 10.

He could request an expedite with proof from his facilty in the form of an official letter. Talk to his advisor and ask them to make a more strict guideline to when he must return and get it in writing. 

Good luck!

Thank you so much, this is so helpful! I think what we're going to try to do is get a signed letter from his advisor and department head confirming that he needs to defend in person before October. Hopefully that would count as proof enough.

My husband and I filed his 1-485 (adjustment of status) along with his I-765 (employment authorization) and I-131 (advanced parole request) in January, as soon as we got married after he came on a K1 visa. We want the advanced parole document because he's still enrolled in a PhD program in Spain, and it's likely that he'll have to return to Spain sometime between July and October to defend his thesis. Unfortunately, we don't know exactly when the defense will be because there have been some hang-ups with his advisor, but October is the absolute latest deadline that his doctorate program will allow him to defend. We live in New Mexico, and thought that his case would be processed through either the California Service Center (which is where his I-129f was processed) or the Texas Service Center, both of which still list wait times of 2-5 months. All of the research we had previously done indicated that the advanced parole request typically takes around 3 months to process. However, it now appears that his case is being processed at the National Benefits Center (the service center listed on the receipt says "NBC")  which has a currently estimated wait time of 8-10 months. If his travel document really takes 8-10 months to process, he's unlikely to be able to travel back to Spain before the October deadline, which could cause big problems for his PhD and could theoretically get him kicked out of his program with no degree. If his case is at the National Benefits Center (with the 8-10 month processing time), is it possible we we would be eligible for an expedite request? Based on the expedite criteria on the USCIS website, I think maybe we could make the case that missing his PhD defense - and getting kicked out of his program after 5 years with no degree to show for it - would cause severe financial loss, especially since we've submitted and responded to everything ASAP. But I don't know how strictly these guidelines are interpreted or how generous they are with these expedite requests. Does anyone have any advice or experience with this situation? Do travel documents really take 8-10 months to process at the National Benefits Center, when the estimated wait times are only 2-5 months at all other service centers? Is he likely to be granted an expedite request based on his circumstances? Any help at all is appreciated.

My fiancé (Spanish citizen) just got his K1 visa approved. Woot woot! His planned arrival date is around January 16. We're planning to have a courthouse wedding soon after his arrival and submitting all his paperwork so that he gets his green card ASAP. I have two questions, one pertaining to the I-131 and the other to I-184. 

• Can the I-131 Application for Travel Document be filed even if the immigrant doesn't yet have definite plans for an international trip, but thinks that one is likely in the near future? My fiancé will likely have to return to Spain in summer of 2020 to defend his dissertation, but that isn't a concrete plan yet, so we don't know that the exact date/specifics of that trip would be. Can we go ahead and file the I-131 on his arrival as a precaution, or will we have to submit specific evidence of a planned trip (i.e. plane tickets) before submitting it?
• Are joint sponsors allowed on the I-184 Affidavit of Support? We used my dad as a joint sponsor for the I-134 Affidavit of Support for the  K1 interview, and had no problems. I currently make about $47,000 a year, which I think should be enough for a couple with no children, but I've only had this job for about a month so I don't yet have any tax returns reflecting that income. For that reason, it would be nice if my dad could serve again as joint sponsor on the I-184.

Thanks everyone!

My fiancé (Spain) finally got his medical exam and his embassy interview scheduled. Yay! I'm a little nervous about his medical appointment and am hoping someone can put my mind at ease. He was diagnosed with Type I diabetes about two months ago. He has it very well controlled now, and his endocrinologist even wrote him a doctor's note to bring to his interview stating that he is healthy and in fit condition to leave the country. Once we get married, I'll be able to add him to my health insurance, and we'll be able to afford the cost of insulin and doctor's visits. Is any of this likely to cause problems with his visa? Most of what I've found says that the doctor's appointment is only to check for contagious disease, and that something like diabetes shouldn't be an issue. Even so, he's planning to bring his doctor's note and and, if they ask about cost of treatment, tell them that he'll be on my job insurance. (The embassy already approved our I-134, for which my parents were joint sponsors, so they already know about income.) Is there anything else we should know about or bring to the appointment/interview? Thanks!

This is not directly about the visa itself, but I'm hoping somebody can help. For context, my fiancé (Spanish) and I (American) are currently in the midst of our K1 process. As of now, the NVC has sent our packet to the embassy in Madrid, but the embassy has not yet contacted him about setting up his interview. As soon as he gets here (probably January), we're going to have a courthouse wedding so we can file for his adjustment of status, with a more formal wedding celebration later in the year.

Meanwhile, I'm in the process of applying to PhD programs for fall of 2020, with the applications being due in December of 2019. Almost all of the programs are in the US, but I was considering applying to one in Canada. However, would this present problems for his green card? I know he has to be physically present in the US when he files the I-485, and I saw that if we travel internationally before his green card has been issued, we have to file a form requesting permission so his case doesn't get cancelled. How likely is it that his green card would be issued by September, presuming he applied in January? Also, even if his green card is issued on time, does it have any minimum residency requirements attached (i.e. would a move to Canada put his legal status in jeopardy)?

Canada allows work permits for spouses of internationals there on student visas, so I'm not worried about it from their end, only the American side. In any case, I'm not dead set on applying to this program, so if it could pose any danger to his green card I won't risk it. Thanks!

About 2 weeks ago, I (US citizen) got notification from the NVC confirming that my petition for my Spanish fiancé has been sent to the US embassy in Madrid. He hasn't yet received his letter from the embassy but we are expecting to receive it fairly soon...in the meantime, we've started gathering his documents for the interview. Our plan has always been for him to come to the US in the beginning of January if possible. We recently saw a ticket for January 3rd at a great price and are thinking of going ahead and buying it, but I'm wondering if it's worth the risk. Based on how quickly everything has gone so far (sent in our I-129F in May, received NOA2 in August), it seems very unlikely that he wouldn't have his visa by January 3rd. Still, I know that things can always go wrong or slow down unexpectedly. What is a typical time frame from this point on? How far in advance does the embassy usually schedule the interview for? Is it better to wait until the visa is actually issued to buy tickets (and risk having to pay more), or is it safe to buy them in advance? Thanks!

On 9/3/2019 at 12:14 PM, Hank_ said:

Yes, each complete an I-134 and include copies of supporting documents.

 

Do you file your own tax returns?

My parents' accountant files our family's tax returns. I believe he has filed ones for me separately in the past when I've had part-time student jobs. However, my dad said he double checked and has always claimed me as a dependent. Will there be any problems with our Visa if my dad lists me as a dependent? (He won't have to in the future because I'm about to start full-time employment, but any previous tax returns that we include as evidence will show me as a dependent.)

My fiancé (Spanish citizen) and I (US citizen) recently got our I-129f approved. We are still waiting for his notification from the US Embassy in Madrid, but are trying to get together some of the paperwork we know he'll need to bring to the interview in advance. I am about to start a new job that will theoretically pay enough to meet 100% of the poverty line for a 2-person household, but since I'm still a student and the position is likely going to be temporary (~1 year), my parents agreed to co-sponsor us just in case. Do my father and I each need to fill out a separate I-134 form and attach separate documentation? I believe this is the case but I couldn't find any recent information on the subject. Also, my parents have always claimed me as a dependent on their tax returns. However, I read somewhere that my dad should NOT claim me as a dependent when he fills out this form. Is that true? Will claiming me as a dependent cause any problems? Should I not include as evidence any tax returns in which they have claimed me as a dependent?

My fiancé (Spanish citizen) and I (US citizen) sent in our I-129F back in May. It was marked received May 9, and I got NOA1 a few days later. Just today I received NOA2 in the mail, notifying us that our petition was approved and our case will now be sent to the NVC. On the website it is still marked as "received" rather than "approved," but maybe that's just because they haven't updated the system yet or something. This is obviously great news, but it's way faster than we were expecting! Based on what I had researched, I was expecting a 5-7 month wait at minimum for NOA2. I'm also kind of confused because the USCIS website says that the California Service Center is still reviewing January cases, so I'm not sure how ours (a May case) was approved already. Has anyone else had their NOA2 come this fast? Any ideas on why?

Also, my fiancé won't be able to come until January anyway due to work. I read online that once his visa is issued at the US Embassy, he has 6 months to enter the country. I am expecting that between getting sent to the NVC, then the department of State, then making an appointment with the embassy, etc. he probably won't be issued the actual visa until October or so, so I don't think this should cause problems for our timeline. However, the NOA2 form I got says that it is only valid until December 8. What does this mean? 

Maybe I'm overthinking this, but just want to make extra sure. My fiancé's (beneficiary's) mother is deceased. What should I list for her city/town/village and country of residence on the I-129f? Should I list where she previously lived? Or just put N/A and explain that she is deceased? Thank you!

I have found conflicting information on this and I'm not sure what to do. The instructions on the most recent I-129F from the USCIS website say that if a field doesn't apply, we should write "None" or "N/A" unless otherwise instructed. However, most of the information I can find online says that fields that aren't applicable to me (names of previous spouses, etc.) should just be left blank. Also, I'm filling out the I-129F PDF that I downloaded from the website in Adobe Acrobat, and when I try to type N/A in some fields, it won't allow me to because a "/" is not an allowed character. All of this makes me think it's okay to leave non-applicable fields blank...but that's not what the instructions say. What's the right answer here?

Sorry for the second post in a short time frame. My partner (Spanish citizen) and I (American citizen) are still working on filing the I-129F for him to come to the US as my fiancé, so this isn't relevant yet, but I know that if/when he is approved in a few months time and gets his interview at the US embassy in Madrid, we will have to file an I-134 Affadavit of Support showing that I make enough money to support us. Unfortunately, I am currently a student with only part-time employment so I don't make enough by myself to meet the poverty line requirement. However, my parents do, and they have agreed to be joint sponsors for us on the I-134F. I did some research and it looks like in almost all countries, this is allowed, but that there are a few embassies that don't allow joint sponsors. Does anybody know if the US embassy in Madrid will accept joint sponsors, and if so, what is the process for doing so? Will my parents need to fill out and sign an additional I-134 for us?

For the 1-129F, are signed declarations usually accepted as sufficient proof of intent to marry? I am wondering because my boyfriend (Spanish citizen) and I (US citizen) have only recently decided to go the K1 route, so we don't yet have a ring or any official wedding plans booked. We have been together for over 2 years and have lots of proof of in-person meetups and our ongoing relationship (plane tickets, AirBNB receipts, passport stamps, text messages, handwritten letters, photos, we know each other's families and friends well, etc). We have long discussed getting married but almost all of those conversations have been in person, so there's not a lot of written proof. I have seen lots of websites suggest including things like engagement ring receipts as evidence of intent to marry, although technically our signed declarations should be proof enough. How important is this "extra" evidence of intent to marry? We plan to buy a ring but this will probably take several months, and we would prefer not to wait that long to file the I-129F since we want to get a head start on processing time. Thanks very much!