Henry&Eliana

Thanks Lil Bear. The problem is question 20 needs to match what it says on the Tax Return ($113k), but I don't know how to make it add up from their salaries. On the PDF it automatically adds them up into the question 20 slot.

Hello, I am filling out the Affidavit of Support I-864 for my husband's Adjustment of Status and have a question I need your help with. 

I am the petitioner for my husband, and my dad is the joint sponsor. My dad is a self-employed business owner.

He and my mom filed taxes jointly and their total income was $113k.

However my dad's w2 says he made $40k and my mom made $38k in their salaries, which only adds up to $78k. The other $35k as I understand was earnings from the company which they own 50-50.

On the I-864 it asks me for each person's Current Individual Income (my mom will file I-864A) and then it also asks for the Total Household income which needs to add up to the number on their tax return ($113k). 

My question is then how can I fill this out so that my parents salaries add up to $113k? who does this $35k belong to- would it be 50% my dad and 50% my mom, on top of their salaries?

Here is a copy/paste of the questions on the I-864:

Part 6, Question 7 & 10:

"My current Individual Annual Income is:"

Part 6, Question 20:

"My current Annual Household Income (Total all lines from Part 6 item numbers 7, 10, 13, 16 and 19).; the total will be compared to federal poverty guidelines on form I-864P.)"

Thank you so much, any help with this is greatly appreciated.

We were at out interview yesterday and I think it made a huge difference that I was there with my fiance. Some people were asked many questions while we were barely asked any questions, the officer asked if I'm the petitioner and seemed really happy I was there. We were approved. But they are so friendly, if you have enough evidence I think you will be fine even if petitioner does not attend. You'll simply be asked more questions.

On 1/29/2020 at 10:21 AM, maleecka said:

Hello everyone!!!

Our visa was Issued last friday, and we don't know what to do now. We did not received any text messages, no email or no DHL tracking. So what's next for us?

thank you everyone for your help and support.

Hi maleecka congrats!! We are now in the same boat. Just waiting for the visa and not sure when we should book tickets. Have you recieved yours yet?

How long did it take everyone to receive their visa after approval? Would it be safe to book tickets at the end of February?

JCP the office isn't closed, we were there yesterday at 1pm. Approved. We made our appointment using the website they provised to us in packet 3 (you may need to call them for them to send it to you quicker)

Ledingham, no issues whatsoever. Very friendly staff. We waited for quite a while but the actual interview was quick and painless. 

Thanks everyone for your replies. We are still living in South Africa and are doing a k1 visa to marry in the states in April. Our interview is in 2 weeks. So luckily we still have time to correct things and get prepared to prove 3 years of payments. Getting a letter from the mediator is a good idea, thanks. His ex will not sign a letter for us so that's not an option. 

2 hours ago, Going through said:

 

So....what exactly has she been doing with the monthly payments sent to her, then?  

No idea. It gets transferred directly to her bank account, but she goes on vacation often. She is from a wealthy family and they provide most everything for her.

Quote

 

Unless he's been willfully sending an extremely low amount, or willfully not providing support to his child at all, if he has proof of the payments sent (ie. bank statements), that's definitely a mark in his favour. 

 

There was no official custody/divorce/support arrangement drawn up to show a set amount expected (and received) monthly to coincide with his proof of payment?

In the divorce agreement, it states that the matter will be decided in maintence court, then during the maintence hearing she withdrew the maintence request. So no there is no agreement, and we have bo way of getting an agreement as in South Africa the mother has to request for child support contract in court. 

He pays her the equivalent of $300 a month in Rands (south african money) which was what the mediator had advised was a fair amount. Life and income in South Africa is cheaper than in the USA.

Would monthly bank transfers be enough evidence at the citizenship interview? Even without an agreement of any form to show?

2 hours ago, NikLR said:

Court system. It's there for a reason.  

Unfortunately they won't allow the man to go to court to create a child support contract. The mother has to request it. At least in South Africa where the mother and son live.

My partner will be filing for citizenship based on marriage (3 year rule) after a k1 visa.

He was previously married and has a son. The mother is refusing to accept any child support. She wants nothing to do with him, so she wont sign any contract. She definitely wont write up a notarised letter for him.

My partner has still sent her money every month. Will simply proof of payment every month be sufficient in the citizenship interview?

Is there anything else we can do?

On 1/7/2020 at 9:21 AM, Kyle_274 said:

Hi 

 

Our case has been recieved by the US consulate in Johannesburg, as per the ceac.state.gov shows its ready. 

But we have not recieved an appointment letter yet. 

How long does it usually take for them to send it? 

Hi Kyle, it took about a week for us to receive the letter (we recieved it just 2 days ago), however we were able to book our interview without the letter. They basically just send a generic letter to everyone giving the instructions. Here it is if you want to tet started.  K1 Instructions (1).pdf I also heard some people get their letter quicker if they email or call the embassy.

On 1/6/2020 at 2:08 PM, maleecka said:

Good Morning,

Well he went to the interview, it went well..... but we still don't have police clearance from South Africa its been more than 8 weeks that we applied but that's the only thing missing at this point and they won't issue the visa if we don't submit the police clearance and that automatically delay everything. He might go back to Pretoria and see what's the hold up.

Oh no, that's so frustrating! They must be so backlogged with so many people emigrating. We also plan to drop by Pretoria at some point, but I fear it wont help much. Thank you for your reply and I would love to know if you do get yours or have any news about the delay. The other day at Home Affairs there was a lady who applied for her unabridged birth cert a year ago and they still dont have it, it's all she needs to leave the country...

Congrats on doing well at the interview by the way! That's one huge hurdle conquered. Now if only South Africa could do their job so we can get on with our lives!

Please let us know what happened. We are now in the same boat!

Hi guys,

How long did it take you to get your police clearance? We've been waiting 5 weeks now and hope to have it before our interview on January 30th.

If we dont have it by then, should we call the embassy a week in advance to reschedule?

I wish we had known to apply sooner. The wait is so long!

Hi everyone, i'm really thankful for this website and community so far during our k1 process. I am the US petitioner and my fiance is from South Africa. We scheduled our k1 interview for January 30th. Very excited! 

My question pertains to the financial support documents I134 for the interview.

I am using a cosponsor (my parents) because this year I only made 11k. I work part-time as a remote bookkeeper for my parent's company. My parents made about 90k last year so that should be more than enough (household size including fiance will be 6)

The problem is, I wont have my 2019 tax transcript in time for the interview. I may have my tax return but I'm not sure, it may be too soon. The previous year (2018) I did not have an income as I had a difficult pregnancy and could not work. The year before that (2017) I made 26k as a sonogrpaher.

I assume I must still report my income as 11k, but what if I don't have the documents to prove it yet? Should I state 11k but only provide my 2018 tax transcript with less than 1k income?

I would appreciate any insight on the topic. Thank you so much in advance.

Thank you @Greenbaum for that document, I found it incredibly helpful!

I recieved my case number from NVC Dec 16th. My fiance is from South Africa (Johannesburg), how can we find out if we can book the interview and medical before they receive the packet? You mentioned some countries allow it, but I can't see anything on the embassy's website!

Do we have to wait for the embassy to receive our packet before choosing our interview date? 

On 12/13/2019 at 4:20 PM, LuFlolady said:

congrats! Once you get your case number you will log onto the website to see if there are any available dates... Dont be surprised if the dates are well into the future... My husband and I received our case number in November they didnt release interview dates until December and the closet date was Feb.... Not sure of the pattern now maybe someone who has recently gone through that step will have more up to date info...... this was a year ago for us..... Good luck on the rest of your journey

Thanks for your response! We got our case number assigned. Which website must we go to for interview dates?

Hi fellow SA and US couples! My fiance and I had our i129F approved November 19th and are awaiting news from NVC. I had a few questions I hope someone here will be able to help us. 

1. After I get my case number from them will my fiance be able to book his interview? (We already have police clearance and UBC)

2. Does anyone know how long it's taking to get an interview date at the moment?

I'm here in SA with him and our 11month baby girl, my 90 days ends March 1st so I'm hoping I can be with him for the interview and fly to the US together! 

Curious about this as well

That's unfortunate that some people undergo the visa process uninformed. I fully agree with people needing to do their research and getting adequately prepared. It doesn't mean k1 is a bad choice for everyone in my situation though. 

2 hours ago, Going through said:

I didn't see "everyone" against it (well, only saw one person question the decision, it seems). 

 

Marriage can take place anywhere---doesn't have to be in the US.  Many couples have "second weddings" to satisfy the friends/family component.  A CR-1 doesn't automatically mean the marriage cannot take place inside the States, either (while on tourist visa), only that the foreign spouse would have to return to the home country to wait out processing rather than remain in the States.

 

Lots more pros to a CR-1 than a K-1.  If I were your the same boat, from what you've said the CR-1 makes a ton more sense.  Of course, to each their own....it's your visa journey.

Spousal visa is cheaper and you get PR (and thus citizenship) much quicker.  Those are definitely bonuses for many people. Are there others I forgot to mention? Please feel free to state them for any reader who may be considering between the two visas.

After considering those details, my fiance and I prefer the short timeline of k1, and the ability to have our actual wedding date amongst family, not just a celebration. My fiance was unable to get a tourist visa after two attempts so that isn't an option for us either. To each their own, I agree.  That's why I don't get why shame my choice of visa and that of the OP.

9 hours ago, Boiler said:

Time lines are not that far apart.

What are they then? 

Another reason is we want to get married in the US with my family. We have no family here. 

Is there a reason we would be prohibited from doing a k1?

I don't understand why eveyone here is so against it in my case.

4 minutes ago, JFH said:

This is another case where the K-1 makes no sense at all. 

It does for us because we want to get out of South Africa as soon as possible. We have been victims of crime and don't feel safe but want to stay together. Why would I choose a visa that would take a year and a half at best (spousal) rather than 10months (k1)? 

I'd be curious about this too. I've been "living" in South Africa as a tourist for 2 years. I keep going in and out every 3 months. We have a baby together. Except I am the US citizen as the female and my partner is a male South African. 

I sent my i129F from South Africa, got my NOA1 Aug 13. Flew back to the US Sep3. I am going back to South Africa Dec1 where I plan to stay for 5 months with a visa extension application. We hope to have the interview by then.

Hello, my fiance has a young child from his prior marriage in South Africa. His son lives with the mother in South Africa. My fiance would like to apply for US citizenship based on marriage, 3 years after our marriage date. 

There is no court order for child support. They have a mutual agreement contract signed by both, stating how much he pays monthly for child support. 

His ex-wife is unwilling to provide a notarized letter confirming his child support, as they are not on speaking terms.

What is the best method for sending the child support money to the mother in South Africa during the next three years?  We don't want his citizenship to be denied based on insufficient proof. I've seen people state that bank transfer is not good enough (his current method).

The mail is not reliable in South Africa so I wouldn't send checks or money orders.

Is paypal payment showing monthly transfers good proof for the IO?

Also, does he need to provide 3 or 5 years of evidence, if he is applying based on marriage (3yr rule)?

Thanks so much!