HalAndOlive

Thanks to all the denizens of this site.  Adjustment Of Status approved on the 5th.  I appreciate all the input I have received from this site and the people within.

Thanks Mike, Yes, the problem was the format of the data (I think).

Meaning... they wanted value of Assets (Bank Accounts) as monthly statements and I sent a banker letter with my balance, open date and total deposits for the past 12 months.  Now I am sending my last 12 statements for all my bank accounts.

As for stocks, they wanted Purchase date and purchase value of stocks.  I showed that information, but in an account screen shot - not a account statement - so I am guessing they are saying they could not make the leap from the screenshot to me owning it.

And lastly, I MAY have forgotten to add my last tax return to the package, I am not clear on that from the letter. 

I now have all that included in a new package I will send them.  But I do wish I could ask for clarification and I know that doesn't work.  I have called and the phone system re-directs me to the information I have already found on the USCIS site and if you try to "speak" to an actual person, it will hang up on you.

7 minutes ago, Mike E said:

My understanding is that SSI is not permitted income for I-864 
 

SSDI and SS retirement income are permitted for I-864.  

Yes sorry, I said SSI, but I meant Social Security RETIREMENT Income - which is accepted.  Either way, I am not concerned about that, I have more than enough assets to make up the difference.   My main concern is should I submit an amended 864 or not?

... now I have received a "Request for Evidence" letter...

"Based on the documents submitted, we could not determine that the petitioning sponsor, "ME" on form I-864 Affidavit Of Support, is qualified.  In order to be a qualified sponsor, the petitioning sponsor's form I-864 must be properly completed and signed, and the supporting documents must establish that the petitioning sponsor's income meets 125% of the federal poverty guideline for the sponsor's household size...

...for Further instructions and the latest edition of form I-864 visit the USCIS website..."

Apparently, I submitted information that was not in the format they want.  The request for information states how I should submit that information. 

I am using my assets and my retirement (SSI) income instead of a job - as I am retired.

My question is...  since I submitted the original AOS, the market has crashed and I lost a significant amount of money - not enough to no longer qualify, but an amount 15-20 percent different from the original AOS I submitted.  

The Request for Evidence does not say to resubmit the AOS, but it does mention where I can find the latest copy.

Should I submit a modified AOS (and how) or just supply the information they requested and let the original AOS stand.  I read on the USCIS site that "one" AOS (I-864) should be submitted.

I know this sounds elementary, but I am afraid of goofing and getting my wife booted from the country.

On 4/22/2022 at 5:19 AM, nastra30 said:

So are you suggesting that the govt should rather have the enforceable I-864 be done up front instead of the I-134? 

That will be detrimental to the USC because if the fiance comes to the US and the marriage doesn't happen, the USC will still be liable for the I-864 (if the I-864 is updated for non-immigrant petitions).

Sorry, I don't get that... How would it be detrimental to the USC?

On 4/22/2022 at 12:44 PM, JeanneAdil said:

seems to me that  only the couple can pull the rug out from under each other

as we have seen so many posts about divorce waivers to AOS

 

the AOS and ROC process is  needed to prove the income ,  the relationship is real and marriage took place in 90 days

on top of the fact many young couples could have birthed a child in the time and the income needed would increase /who could live on $18,300 as needed for the K1 for 2?

 

i think the alternative to doing away with AOS would be to do away with K1 visa and make all prove the 125% of poverty guidelines limit from the very beginning.

but then i would also like to do away with the joint sponsor 

 

I had to do an Affidavit of Support during the I-129 phase, and then another after.  It just seems to me that the first one should be a "final."

I see. OK.  Seems to me an odd policy though; to admit someone, allow you to marry, and then, have a mechanism to pull the rug out from under later.  Seems that should be done up front.  But I appreciate the input.

OK, I completed the I-129F 1.x years ago - along with the required I-134.

Now, my former K1 fiancee is here, we are married and I am completing the I-864.  Why?

Isn't this redundant?

The I-134 had all the information I am being asked for on the I864.

22 minutes ago, HalAndOlive said:

I can buy health insurance through the Healhcare.gov website.

 

She won't be eligible for Medicare?  I have read that this will not be a problem.  She will have to be in the US for 5 years before she can apply and we will have to buy into the program.

Wow, why is it not possible to edit a post after a minute or so?

But to continue, she is currently fully covered by her home insurance program and we may have to go back and forth if there is medical needs.  I had assumed  (hoped) I would be able to get her coverage under my own work history.  Guess I will have to come out of my pocket for all of it?

I'm curious, how does a housewife who has never worked get medicare, are they also required to buy in?

Edit... worried, I just checked again... I am eligible for medicare.  Therefore my spouse will be too.  If you know this is not true, please point me to the right place to research further.

I can buy health insurance through the Healhcare.gov website.

She won't be eligible for Medicare?  I have read that this will not be a problem.  She will have to be in the US for 5 years before she can apply and we will have to buy into the program.

Do I have a problem?

I just completed the i-134 so that it will be available to my fiancé if they ask her for a Affidavit Of Support.  All along, I had been thinking that there would be no problems in that area.  Now I am not so sure.  

I have read on a lawyer website that the Philippines consulate does not permit Assets in Lieu.  Is that the same in Singapore?  And if that is so, what do I need to read to defend myself?

• I am 61 and retired for the last 7 years. My K1 Fiancé is 56 and will retire to move here to America.
• My assets are not fabulous, but also not bad at all.
• I own my home ($190K) and have no debts at all beyond monthly utilities. 
• I have $60K in various property including my cars.
• I keep 5K in checking accounts.
• I have a yearly income of about 17K - as filed in my tax returns. That income is random and based on the amount of money I have selected to withdraw from my retirement accounts.  In other words, all I need each year.
• I started living off my savings of $500K when I retired. Those accounts are now worth $1M.

Am I in trouble or will my assets carry me through this process?

Thanks to all.  And good luck to all.

15 hours ago, martinzl said:

Congratulations.  You reached the same conclusion I reached.  The lawyer wanted $4000 and I would have to do all the heavy lifting anyway.  So, I figured better to just do it myself. Unless you have unusual circumstances, especially legal ones, I see no real need for a lawyer.

A note here for those who felt they lost time with or without lawyers.  I lost a lot of time to trying to figure out what format the Proof Of Relationship should take.  I kept looking and hoping there would be a sample document somewhere on the USCIS site... But I never found one so I hemmedand hawed until I figured out a format I thought would work.

Interesting.  White typing, I pressed tab and the post was submitted with only a few sentences. And for the life of me, I see no way to edit it.  Anyway... This is what I planned to say.

Hello all.

I just wanted to come here to tell of my experience.  I am doing so because I have used this site in the past while gathering information, producing the I-129F application and while waiting.  This is not to say what I think is good or bad, but just how my I-129F was and is being handled.

My name is "Hal" and I am a retired American living in South Carolina.  "Olive" is my fiancé and she is from Singapore and soon to be retired.

Olive and I knew from the beginning that our end goal for our relationship was to be married and live together in the US.  So, with that in mind we started reading "how" and when and a lot of other information we collected this website (and other places on the web).  We knew we would have to meet in person within the two years of application and we also knew we would need to document our relationship.

Our 10,000 mile long distance relationship began and was sustained for all the time we have been together with an average of 5 or 6 emails exchanged a day for 8 months, followed by 2-3 hour conversations over the phone (whatsapp) every day since moving on from the emails.

In spring of 2019 we initially planned for our first meeting to be in Singapore where I would go meet her in January of 2020.  But as our conversations got more intense we decided we did not want to wait that long, so we planned a more immediate trip for her to meet me in Las Vegas in November of 2019.  For each of these trips we took a LOT of pictures to capture the moments for ourselves, but also for "proof of relationship" (POR) purposes.

All along this process we kept debating between ourselves when we should send in the I-129F.  At first it was to be right after our November get together.  But I wanted to wait because there was a personal matter that I thought had to be settled that would not be resolved until May-June of 2020. So, I thought it would be best to wait.  Then after the January get together in Singapore, I hesitated because the personal issue looked like it would not be resolved until later.  After the January trip, we decided that our two previous trips were good, but also that they should be backed by a longer time living together.  So we decided Olive should come to live with me for the month of March and part of April.  So, we put off the application again.

This time we put off the application because we did not want to be in a situation where we had already applied for a K-1 visa, and yet Olive was traveling to America to visit shortly after the application was submitted.  We were afraid that having sent the application in, the Agent might reject Olive entering the US thinking we  were trying to sneak something by them.  Knowing the process now - how long it takes and that the USCIS wouldn't even have looked at the application at the point Olive would be trying to enter the country, I now know we should have submitted the application immediately AND had Olive visit.  Anyway, that didn't happen and so we waited. 

BTW, we made this decision that we should not apply and then travel under advice from an immigration lawyer I had god to see to get a consultation about the immigration procedure and to inquire of his rates and process.  I won't say that his advice not to take a chance on traveling was bad - but I don't think it was good.  Another thing about the lawyer was that he wanted $4000.00 to do the application for us.  I thought about that, I thought about all the information I needed to gather and I thought also that every scrap of information the lawyer needed, I would have to get for him.  And so for $4000, he would essentially be typing up the application and putting the POR document into the right format.  Is that worth $4K?  

Also (unfortunately for US) as March approached, Covid was starting to getting more press and American started dying.  At the same time, Airlines and countries started to lock down.  So again we made a decision to delay the March 2020 trip a few months until Covid was better under control.  (I would be shocked if anyone called me stupid at this point.)

Then, after waiting far too long, we decided to forget the planned month or so living together and just to submit the application.

So, In September of 2020 I decided to eschew using a lawyer and completed the application using all the information I had such as sampling of emails, home/family photo exchanges, whatsapp phone logs, and pictures of us together traveling to create the "proof of relationship" document.  I submitted the application on 22 September 2020.

Yesterday, May 20th 2021.  I received the approval letter.  Now it is onto the next steps.

Hello all.

I just wanted to come here to tell of my experience.  I am doing so because I have used this site in the past while gathering information, producing the I-129F application and while waiting.  This is not to say what I think is good or bad, but just how my I-129F was and is being handled.

First:   

Second:Olive and I knew from the beginning that our end goal for our relationship was to be married and live together in the US.  So, with that in mind we started reading "how" and a lot of the information we collected came from this website.  We know we would have to meet in person within the two years of application and we also knew we would need to document our relationship.  We 

19 hours ago, missileman said:

Have you considered a CR-1 spousal visa?  or is your sole priority the speed?

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
     
    More expensive than CR-1    
    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)    
    Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 5-6 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 5-6 months)    
    Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period    
    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.

  

CR-1
    

    Less expensive than K-1    
    No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required.    
    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
    Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
    Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.

    Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
  �

 

Yes, I have considered this -- in fact, it is the path I am most interested in at this time.  Thanks for the suggestion and bullet points, it confirms what I thought.

4 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Absolute danger.  Guaranteed denial.  Read the requirements of the i129f.   You are not eligible to petition unless you have had a previous face to face meeting within the previous two years 

Yes, thank you... I have read that now.  OK. So, I will have to complete the F-F meet in January and then hope the process does not take too long.

Thanks for the input.

9 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Until you meet face to face there is no visa option for her other than tourist 

OK, If that's the way it is... I am also reading that a K1 can take 10 months. Do most people wait until after the F-F to apply, or do they jump the gun - so to speak and if so, is there a danger of getting rejected because the F-F has not happened yet?

EDIT:

OK... Nevermind... I see that Meeting in person is a requirement of the Ki. so I cannot "short-cut" that process.

1 hour ago, payxibka said:

Have you met face to face?

No.  Not yet.

When we first started writing it was very casual.  And so did not plan the F-F until the next coming January when I travel to Singapore.  Our plan then was to have her come to America and stay for about a month in June.

Since those initial plans were laid, we have accelerated our relationship.  I will still travel in January, but now our desire is to have her come to the US for the month of March.

Hello All,

As you can see from the user name this thread is about Hal and Olive.  We are both very new to this subject and interested in posting and reading to get information on what we will have to do, what hurdles will will have to jump and what processes we will have to complete and when.

I am hoping right now to get any general information from the forum members and delve deeper as I (we) learn more.  So with that said, perhaps I should start with the basics.

So, those are the basics Regarding Hal And Olive.  Any suggesting guidance will be most welcome. 

Thanks,

Hal