Robert and Masha

Hello,

Being there at the interview doesn't make a difference in the minds of the consular officer for approval. Most importantly when I read your timeline is that you took your time, traveled down there twice then became engaged. Just make sure your K1 has all the supporting documentation you need to show sincerety and you should be fine.

My Masha spoke no English, had never travelled on a plane before and had a 3 year old son with her in tow. Despite me having flown over there twice she let me know she would patiently wait up to a year if necessary until I could travel to Russia and accompany her back. Money wasn't the primary issue as was simply time off from work which I had used up in 2004. When I look back on the whole situation however I don't regret making the 4 day trip. I only spent 3 days in Russia before we left but alone I'm not sure how she would have navigated the ENTIRE journey (taxi to airport, checkin, flight to Paris, connection to Houston, customs, etc.) In fact we spent 2 hours in customs in Houston and it helped that I could go get her something to drink etc.

So if one could accompany thier loved ones back I say go for it. If money is an issue then compromise and meet halfway or don't fret and do your best. Each situation is different.

Regards,

Robert and Masha

Sorry to hear of the problems...

You should have no problems filing a second K1 petition but make sure you document the details of why you could not marry w/in the 90 days which is the primary purpose of the visa. Save any details and correspondence regarding the lease, school for your child etc.

On a secondary note if your problems are with society issues and not your fiance then it is possible to marry and fulfill the K1 visa requirement and then either get an advanced parole document via the infopass feature with the local US office or have the AP requested on your behalf and sent for pick up at your US local embassy in Germany.

As a last resort you can always adjust status at the consulate level (not recommended) but understandable if you MUST return to your home country to deal with such serious issues.

Point is you have options, not just redoing the K1 which is possible.

Regards,

Robert and Masha

Hello,

Can you obtain proper up to date SSN documentaton from the Mexican government?

Also prepare her for the interview very well. Here is list of sample questions:

--How did you meet your fiance?

--When did you meet in person?

--How long have you known each other?

--When was the last time you met him, and where?

--When did your fiance propose marriage to you?

--What do you love about your fiance? What type of personality does he have?

--Have you ever been to the U.S.?

--When is your fiance's birthday?

--Where was your fiance born?

--What kind of job does your fiance have?

--Where does your fiance work? What is his job title?

--Does your fiance have any brothers and sisters? If so what are thier names?

--What do your parents think about your engagement? Do they approve of it?

--has your fiance been married before?

--Does your fiancee have any children? If so what are thier names?

--When and where will you have your wedding?

--How much time have you spent together?

--Did you have an engagement party? Did you announce your engagement to family and friends?

--What are your fiance's hobbies?

(Sample listing)

While not every question may be asked key is sincerity and preparation. The consular officer needs to be convinced that your relationship is sincere and will result in marriage. Make sure she has a full copy of all docs submitted during the K1 process as well as the financials which come later.

Regards and best of luck,

Robert and Masha

Hello,

You only need one or the other if filing for the K visas, either your birth certificate or your passport. I advise placing as much info into the birth certificate fields as you have AND use your passport to show citizenship. Don't forget the Service Center requires a copy of EACH page of your passport in the supporting documents part of your petition. The BC field of the I-129F was modified last year IIRC.

Regards,

Robert and Masha

Greetings all,

In regards to fair disclosure we are new to this site. A client of ours suggested we look into it and we have. Of course I wish this was around back when I did my first K1 in 2000. No matter, despite owning our own agency I am here to list some pros and cons to lawyers per the topic.

First of all the Cons:

1) Expensive

2) Difficult to reach/phone and email

3) Can be slower and/or slow down the process (at least by first appearance)

Now the Pros:

1) Hefty insurance in case something goes wrong.

2) Great advice at navigating the K1/K3 process (if experienced)

3) Proper filling which can 'speed up' the process by not receiving any RFE's.

While anyone can file the K1 visa on their own and research indicates that about 2/3rds of the Russian/Ukrainian visas are done by the fiance himself there are times when help can be crucial and necessary depending on the petitioner. For those who file without incident (and I was one of them) then we can pat ourselves on the back and say 'job well done'. Unfortunately what I don't see here so far in a couple of weeks of lurking are the stories of petitions that have gone terribly wrong.

I've seen missing signatures, missing fields, missing documentation, false info given to the fiancee (was told this was the first k1 when it was the 2nd) inaccurate translations, inability of the fiancee to answer crucial interview questions etc.

Masha's interview of about 18 fiancee's had about 10 of them unsuccessful. I asked her how she knew that about 10 fiancees had issues with their visas. She said 5 of them were crying and about 5 of them were slamming things around (angry). Her and about 7 others seemed to be pretty happy. Part of this was preparation.

Masha spoke no English so naturally when the consular officer asked how she could have a meaningful conversation with a future husband to be she calmly stated we speak in Russian and provided my DD214 showing my honorable discharge from the US Army and my 98G MOS as a Russian Voice Intercept Operator and my Russian language training at the Defence Language Institute in Monterrey CA. Stopped him in his tracks.

Another issue they like to bring up is the Affidavit of Support or I-134. The US embassy in Moscow actually responded to my email by telling me that the AofS or I-134 was not 'on the list of required documents' but research shows that in about 50% of my sampling when they doubted certain issues regarding financial documentation they almost always asked for this document. Normally the fiancee would NOT show up with this document if one followed the consulate's own advice but as the old saying goes, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" and so one should know to have this for thier fiancee 'just in case'. Turned out I had everything but my tax returns and they asked for it, and we were ready.

Finally how does one know when the father's permisson is necessary for a k2 to leave the country? I spent months researching and sweating that one fact alone as the Ukraine and Russia have different policies and procedures regarding this situation. It may be worth having a good firm that can answer these questions and suggest proper documentation to prevent the mother/fiancee from receiving the k1 visa but her dependent child not receiving his/her k2 visa.

So if someone feels comfortable with the process, isn't worried about potential delays, is fairly well organized, can handle the document translations and loves to research matters such as this then they can easily file the K1 petition, handle the interview process, deal with the AOS conditional, then AOS unconditional and once you do most of these forms the EAD work authorization as well as advanced parole and other forms will seem easy by comparison. Add in a great site like this, advice from those that have 'been there and done that' and a successful K1 can be achieved.

On the other hand don't knock anyone who sought help and for good reason. While many in the business embarass us all there are good folks and good people that are trying to make a difference and not just collect a buck.

I'll figure out a way to do our timeline but our petition was approved in only 58 days thanks to the many do it yourselfers who failed to file the increased filing fee from $110 to $170 dollars (IIRC) back in summer of 2004 allowing us to jump to the front of the line. Moral of the story check and recheck everything before submitting, fee, photos, forms, supporting documents, etc. Get it right the first time!

Regards,

Robert and Masha

Thank you for your replies!

About Holmes & Lolly....I actually read some other reviews on Holmes & Lolly and seems that we we're not the only ones who've been getting bad "service" from them.....

God bless you all!

Not to dredge up an ol post (1 week) but we are new to this forum and plan to stay a bit and wanted to get my two cents in here...

Despite the horror strories of which most are true the lack of action on our friends behalf caused my wife, I and a different friend of mine who is an attorney to start our own agency regarding k1/k3 visas. Our friend Leroy had to wait 15 months for his petition to be approved and could not get any recourse. Of course the good news to this is the motivating counter actions that have transpired since that time back in 2004. Masha was actually 'called in' by the russian fiancee to see if her american fiance was legit or not. Bad situation to be sure. In the end it got worked out but not by H&L.

Our suggestion either do it yourself or do your homework before hiring an agency.

Robert and Masha