AnaMaria&Andrew

The NVC finally gave my Colombian wife a date for her visa interview, and we are looking at the pre-interview checklist. It says the following: The appropriate Form I-864 Affidavit of Support for each financial sponsor along with a photocopy of the sponsor’s IRS transcript or most recent U.S. federal income tax return, and any relevant W-2s. Do I have to send her the original of the I-864? I ask because Colombia doesn't have a reliable postal system anymore, so it costs over $100 USD to send documents by international courier, such as FedEx (and that's with a membership) or DHL. Thanks in advance!

Summary: My cousin (Venezuelan/Colombian, female, late 30s) and I (Colombian/American, male, also late 30s) fell in love during 2020. What was supposed to be her short, spontaneous vacation in the US turned into an unexpected, 10-month stay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Not having grown up together or seen or talked to each other in over 25 years, we were more like strangers; but over the course of weeks that turned into months, we got to know each other, and we discovered to our astonishment that we are very compatible emotionally, intellectually, and in the context of living together. Now, two years later and two continents apart, after many long-distance video calls and messages via WhatsApp, we realized that we want to spend the rest of our lives together in marriage (although without children, as neither of us wants any). Naturally, we would like to advance to this next stage of our lives as soon as possible. Our respective parents and the rest of the extended family have come around to our decision, as that is not so uncommon in Latin America. But due to several complicating factors, we are struggling to figure out which visa to petition for, whether the fiancé or the spouse visa. The lawyer that we consulted said what most of us here know already, which is that the fiancé visa is faster, at least in theory, but was hesitant to fully recommend it due to the aforementioned complicating factors. And, so, we are hoping that someone on this website or on these forums, ideally someone with similar circumstances, can offer us some guidance, because we don’t want to have to wait a year only to have the fiancé visa rejected, and then to have to wait yet another year after that when following up with a spouse visa. The complicating factors: We are both first cousins. However, our marriage would be legal both in Colombia, where she has been living, and here in California, where I live. She already has dual citizenship: Venezuelan by birth, and Colombian from both of her parents. I have dual citizenship too, but American and Colombian. Because of the international COVID lockdowns, she both overstayed her visa and exceeded the total time that she was allowed to stay in the US (though it was less than 180 days) before she could return to Colombia. She had petitioned USCIS very early for an extension in order to not overstay her visa or exceed her stay in the country. They responded almost 12 months later, a couple of months after she had already returned to Colombia. We filed all the appropriate paperwork and corresponding evidence of her departure with USCIS, and they closed her case/file. Thank you in advance for any advice or insights offered. -Andew & Ana María