rks_emelander

Hi all, I'm starting to put together the long document of evidence for the K-1 consulate interview. I'm wondering a couple things-- 1) I'm currently organizing it in a timeline format, Year > events during that year that we have evidence for like trips, etc. Is this an acceptable idea or should I do it another way? 2) We've got thousands of photos of ourselves from several different countries we've live in and traveled together. However, I've also screenshotted many social media posts from ourselves and friends that include date/time stamps on them. Would these be preferable to include over normal photos of us together? 3) We have lived together in several apartments, but neither of us still have the lease documents from those and since we're not married yet and currently live in separate countries, we don't have a joint bank account, etc. Will this be any problem? Thanks!

Hi all, we received our NOA2 today (NOA1 April 30) and listed the Guangzhou consulate as our interview site. This came much sooner than either of us expected and wondering what exactly the dates on the NOA2 mean in relation to scheduling an interview at the consulate? We had planned on doing the interview sometime after the New Year originally with me making a trip to China for that. I already have a 3-week trip to China planned for late Sep - early Oct, but not sure if we'd be able to get the interview that soon. The NOA2 is valid until 21 Nov, so does this mean the interview has to take place before then? Or, is it an option that we can request to have it pushed back to the New Year period?

Hi all, we received our NOA2 today (NOA1 April 30) and listed the Guangzhou consulate as our interview site. This came much sooner than either of us expected and wondering if anyone knows the wait time for the GZ consulate? Should we plan on doing an interview sometime before 21 Nov (the validity date on the NOA2) or is the wait time there longer and likely to be pushed back?

I am an independent contractor. My main income is paid from a US client through a monthly wire transfer, which I can certainly provide a long back record of as well as the annual 1099. However, no traditional payslips.

Thank you for that input and glad to know that past returns won't affect it. But, is there any reason to think that this year's might if I also use the FEIE? I can demonstrate well above the required income, but following the FEIE adjustment, the Adjusted Gross Income essentially becomes 0. I don't know if it's AGI or just demonstrable income that is counted for the requirement? Regarding your edit point, we do not plan to live apart. I will be returning to the US fulltime at the end of this year.

Hi all, had a question regarding how the foreign earned income exclusion might affect our K-1 application? Just a quick overview: - Filed I-129F in April 2024 - I lived abroad between 2012-2021 - Filed taxes every year, filing taxes - Claimed the the foreign earned income exclusion each year - Lived in the US mostly fulltime in 2022-2023 - Paid normal taxes those years - Will be out of the country most of this year and likely to claim foreign earned income exclusion My income is well over the requirements needed for K-1 sponsorship. Just wonder if either the past use of this tax feature or possibly using it this year will affect the income levels required for the K-1? If so, would the 2 previous years of normal resident taxes offset this? Thanks!

Hi all, I'm trying to plan ahead for obtaining some of the K-1 required documents. My fiance is Chinese, currently living in China and can easily get her police certificate there. However, we lived together in Thailand for 3 years as well. We're wondering-- 1) Is there a simple process for non-Thai citizens who no longer are in Thailand to get this report w/o having to visit the country? 2) How far ahead of time should we begin such a process? 3) Is this something I can handle on her behalf from the US? Thanks!

Ok, thank you. The change in terms from "Beneficiary" and "Applicant" was unclear to me.

Just to clarify, is the "Applicant" on this linked page the same as the "Beneficiary" on the I-129F form? If so, does that mean that only the foreign fiance Beneficiary requires the police records (it appears so), or is that something that both parties must obtain?

The I-129F form is mostly self-explanatory, however additional information pages proved to be a bit tricky for formatting. Additionally, this list from my cover letter may help, it is what I included in the envelop when I submitted the I-129F form last month-- Contents include: - Form G-4150 authorizing credit card payment in the amount of $675. - Form I-129F - Passport style photo of (Petitioner) - Passport style photo (Beneficiary) - US Passport copy of (Petitioner) - Foreign Passport information page copy of (Beneficiary) - Letter certifying intent to marry from (Petitioner) - Letter certifying intent to marry from (Beneficiary) - Proof of having met in person the past 2 years. For us, this included scans of her boarding passes to and from the US, the receipt for her domestic flight. Hotel reservation receipts, and several pages of photos of us together with my family labelled with location, date, and a brief description of the photo

@lesnicole This comparison list is very helpful and my fiance and I referred to it a lot before submitting our I-129F. A couple points on the K-1 side that the immigration attorney we met during her visit to the US last month brought up-- - the EAD approval has sped up significantly in the past few months and is currently averaging around 3-4 months now - he was very adamant since she currently works remotely for a foreign company serving foreign clients and is paid into a foreign bank account, she wouldn't have any issue if she were to continue that same position after entering the US while awaiting the Adjustment of Status/EAD. I'm still investigating this a bit more, but he reassured us several times that is not a problem at all.

What about if the Beneficiary makes a job change?

If I'm out of the country for a prolonged period of time, there's a change my main US phone number might be paused or cancelled. Is putting my Google VOice number an acceptable entry since it is a US number usable anywhere in the world and didn't expire?

My fiance and I are filling out the 1-129F form this week before I go abroad. A couple questions came up-- 1) The most important one is regarding my fiance's parents. She is estranged from her biological mom, who left when she was a young kid. She doesn't know the mother's birthdate and can't contact her for this information. Her dad had sole legal custody and remarried. The stepmom raised her, but did not legally adopt her. Is it sufficient to put the stepmom in the parent information section, or do we need her biological mother (perhaps omitting the birthday info)? 2) I'm technically self-employed as a contractor, but have worked remotely for the same company as a main client since she and I lived in China 8 years ago, through me living in Thailand, US, and traveling through multiple other countries for prolonged periods. Should I just (a) write Self-employed and use my home address in the US for the whole 8-year period, (b) write self employed and do a new section for each place I lived, or (c) write this client's info as employer? 3) Less important, but does her China address on the letter of intent need to be in US address formatting or can it be its normal Chinese format? Thanks!

She is estranged from her birth mother since childhood and not in contact with her. I'm not sure if we could get her date of birth or current city. Her dad had sole legal custody and remarried, her stepmother raised her but never legally adopted her.

Hi Wildbug, you seem to have misunderstood the situation. I started filling out the PDF form that I directly downloaded from the USCIS site. Following me saving the file with my progress, it was locked with as password I didn't initiate.

No, she's Chinese. The DS-230 is in the assorted documents in Visa Journey's set of downloads for the K-1 process. The form itself say nothing about nationality, time to submit, or relevance to K-1 visa.

Hi all, filling out the PDF in Preview and the document is suddenly locked and inaccessible. I didn't activate a password? Is this some flaw in the file or something done intentionally by the USCIS? Any way to access the form I've already mostly completed?

Hi all, my fiance just returned home after visiting the US 2 weeks ago. I am filling out the I-129F file this week before leaving the country for a period for work. I was surprised that this form isn't available to fill electronically so in filling out the paper form, some additional questions that came up in the process I hope to get some help with-- 1) Other than a passport-style photo (she will email and I'll print here), letter of intent (she will scan, email, and I'll print here), and her info for me to fill in the I-129F, is there anything else she needs to provide at this time? 2) Does her passport-style photo require any name or signature on the back? 3) At what time are Form DS-230 (Application for Immigrant Visa and Alien Registration) and Form I-134 (Affidavit of Support) required, if at all? 4) Does Certificate of Citizenship (Item 41) apply to US citizens born in the US? Do they require a birth certificate here or is it a different document on for those born to US citizens abroad? 5) For a dead parent, should I put "deceased" in Item 31a and 31b (City and Country of Residence) 6) For the beneficiary's parents info, does it require her birth parents, or will her step-mother who raised her be sufficient? 5) If she changes job or address (she is thinking of spending a few months in her hometown during the processing to be with her sick grandparent) -- 5a) Is a change of address necessary to be submitted? 5b) Can this be submitted electronically if I happen to be out of the US? 6) I am filling out the PDF version of the document from the USCIS site, typing most fields. Since I can't duplicate Part 8 easily in the document, is there any issue if I handwrite those pages and mix with the typed pages? 7) In Part 8 for Additional Information, she and I have both had at least 4 different addresses (I work remotely and spend long periods out of the US and she has moved to jobs in 4 different cities) since we lived together 4 years ago. Can I use 1 box in Part 8 for the entire address info section for each address? For example: 3.a.: page 2 3.b.: part 1 3.c.: items 11.a.-12.b. 3.d.: <whole address>, <dates lived> Or, does each individual number-letter item point need it's own section of 4 boxes in Part 8? Thank you all very much for this and the previous help

Is that situation acceptable in the eyes of USCIS - marrying while visiting on a tourist visa (whether spontaneous or planned), returning to home country, and then the USC submitting an I-130? Or could that cause problems during the CR-1 process?

If the EAD is applied for on its own in addition to AOS, is it more likely to be granted sooner?

Even with current delays in Adjustment of Status, I've not heard anyone quote up to a year for AOS or EAD completion. Where is that number coming from?

Are updates on the process available online, or is the whole this done entirely through physical mail?

Thanks for adding that context, I wasn't aware that UK specifically has different requirements. I've flown through 40+ countries only in transit and never had to enter the country other than to change to a new airline/different flight. However, if there are UK-specific regulations, that's certainly worth the OP looking into more.

Hi @JeanneAdil, I'm sorry but I meant my original comment/question to Kryssie1067, not as a reply to you. Sorry for the confusion. A single-itinerary flight booked all together, whether 1 stop or 3 stops along the way, will almost never require you to go through immigration/customs in any layover country until you reach the destination country. Instead, you will always be in the international terminal and never actually be "in" the country where the layover is taking place. It's true that you might need to pick up/re-check bags or get additional boarding passes in those circumstances, bu those will always be at service desks in still within the international terminal.