CoffeeMuse

I am going to go ahead and send in the initial K1 Visa application package in a few days. I have the I-129 form completed (mostly while my fiancee was visiting in September). While she was with me, we got a passport style photo and completed the G-235 forms also. We did our letters of intent and signed them etc. All I have now to do is assemble the package and mail it out after reviewing the contents a few more times.

I"m going to list items below I have included as proof we met in the last 2 years, and proof we have an ongoing relationship. I'm sure there is a more that could be provided but I want to simply include the basic nessessary proof in this package and if needed, more can be brought to the interviews etc later on.

Proof we met in the last 2 years:

-Photocopies of my flight boarding passes from the US to England on December 1, 2009. (I didn't keep the return flight boarding passes).

-Copy of my travel itinerary printout from the airline agency.

-Photocopy of my stamped passport showing December 2 and 7 dates (to England, and returning to the US)

-A photograph of me and my fiancee together in her house in England taken December 6, 2009

Proof of ongoing relationship (additional to above):

- Three photographs taken of me and my fiancee in Washington DC during an April 2-15, 2009 visit (in front of the Capitol, the White House and at my sisters house on Easter) (I do not have photocopies of her boarding passes for that trip but will later, they were retained.)

- Print out log of emails sent by my fiancee and to her between meeting online 8/2009 to the present. (We relied heavily on instant messaging, voice over internet for daily contact)

- Photocopies of my fiancee's boarding passes on her Amsterdam to Washington Dulles airport leg of the trip.

- Photocopy of her flight ticket receipt printout showing the flight schedule/itinerary.

- Photocopy of her Visa Waver that was stapled in her passport showing entry date to the US.

- Three photographs of us together in Washington DC (Capitol, Washinton Monument) and in Syracuse, New York. Another showing my fiancee and her son outside the Washington Dulles airport terminal on the day of departure.

So with pictures of us on three separate visits, photocopies of boarding passes on two separate trips, and passport stamps, itinerary etc, I'm hoping this is plenty of proof to provide on this initial package going out. It would be nice to have the boarding passes from the middle trip, but if I were to wait for those to be sent over from the UK, then the passport photo we took of her in Walmart in late September will be more than 30 days old. We can certainly provide additional proof with email printouts, more photo's, actual passports with stamps, and boarding passes from all three trips for the interviews later on.

So bottom line, am I pretty solid for this initial package? I have a brother-in-law who is an attorney handles work Visa applications every day who I am going to have review my package before mailing also.

Thanks!

Its been a while since I replied to this topic.

I am going to go ahead and send in the initial K1 Visa application package in a few days. I have the I-129 form completed (while my fiancee was visiting in September). While she was with me, we got a passport style photo and completed the G-235 forms also. We did our letters of intent and signed them.

All I have now to do is assemble the package and mail it out after reviewing the contents a few more times. I"m going to list items below I have included as proof we met in the last 2 years, and proof we have an ongoing relationship. I'm sure there is a more that could be provided but I want to simply include the basic nessessary proof in this package and if needed, more can be brought to the interviews etc later on.

Proof we met in the last 2 years:

-Photocopies of my flight boarding passes from the US to England on December 1, 2009. (I didn't keep the return flight boarding passes).

-Photocopy of my stamped passport showing December 2 and 7 dates (to England, and returning to the US)

-A photograph of me and my fiancee together in her house in England taken December 6, 2009

Proof of ongoing relationship (additional to above):

- Three photographs taken of me and my fiancee in Washington DC during an April 2-15, 2009 visit (in front of the Capitol, the White House and at my sisters house on Easter) (I do not have photocopies of her boarding passes for that trip but will later, they were retained.)

- Print out of partial list of emails sent by my fiancee with late 2008 and more recently in 2009. (We relied heavily on instant messaging, voice over internet for daily contact)

- Photocopies of my fiancee's boarding passes on her Amsterdam to Washington Dulles airport leg of the trip, and a photocopy of her flight ticket receipt showing the flight schedule/itinerary.

- Four photographs of us together in Washington DC (Capitol, Washinton Monument) and in Syracuse, New York.

So with pictures of us on three separate visits, photocopies of boarding passes on two separate trips, and passport stamps, itinerary etc, I'm hoping this is plenty of proof to provide on this initial package going out. It would be nice to have the boarding passes from the middle trip, but if I were to wait for those to be sent over from the UK, then the passport photo we took of her in Walmart in late September will be more than 30 days old. We can certainly provide additional proof with email printouts, more photo's, actual passports with stamps, and boarding passes from all three trips for the interviews later on.

So bottom line, am I pretty solid for this initial package? I have a brother-in-law who is an attorney handles work Visa applications every day who I am going to have review my package before mailing also.

Thanks!

My fiancee from England will be here only a few more days before she fly's back home and it will be a few months before we see each other again. Since I plan on sending in the initial K1 package, is there any thing that I should think about getting from her or she should do or write while she is still here that will make things easier? I had her go ahead and compose a short "letter of intent" by taking the sample and having her fill in the person specific things like name, address, date and she signed it in ink. We simply used the basic letter, not embellishing it or anything. We also went to Walmart and she made a passport type photo for the biometrics sheet and she filled out and signed it too. I only have to fill in a birthday she couldn't remember for her parents.

Suggestions? Hints?

Thanks. I'm just chewing though this stuff now putting the package together while my fiancee is here visiting with me.

I also want to include:

Proof we met in past 2 years and proof of ongoing relationship. My fiancee has saved her plane tickets from her April 2009 trip but they are in England. She has ticket stubs from her trip over and I have my plane ticket stubs from my trip over to England (lost my stubs from the return trip).

I don't want to flood them with stuff but want to have sufficient proof. What is considered sufficient? If I submit out stubs from my trip to England and hers from her trip her in August is that sufficient for proof we met? As for ongoing relationship, other than actual visits, most of our communication has be via the internet so proof would be not much other than a few cards mailed.

I am trying to fill out the G325A form. I looked at the example form and it appears that the info at the top is for the foreign financee because the country is listed as Australia. If so, that means the form also needs the names, addresses, birthdates, etc. of the fiancee's parents? The form doesn't clearly state who's information is to be listed but the check list in the guide says the G325A form is to be filled out by the US citizen.

Can anyone just confirm what/who's info goes on this form?

Thanks!

Wait. CoffeeMuse is NOT your real name? I feel somehow...violated.

Your pulling my leg right?

Your friend's experience is exactly correct/ You must have satisfacory income or assets at 3x the value to qualify OR a qualifying co-sponsor.

Retirement benefits CAN be counted as assets BUT they must be able to be liquidated within 1 year. Also many retirement plans are subject up to 40% penalty for early withdrawl (usually before age 59-1/2) So you wqould need to provide a statement of account and the early withdrawl policies and penalties. The amount of savings would be reduced by the penalty amount and divided by 3. Current family of TWO requires minimum 18,212 per year or that amount x3 in assets. If you make $15,000 per year, then you only need to "make up" for $3,000

I am still a little shook up by the name thing. But thanks for being honest about it.

Shook up by the name thing? Well, I'm 50 and been on the internet for the past 15 or 20 years and have always felt its a good general policy to use an alias just because the net is a wild and wooly place. I guess its called being safe. I have a 14 year old daughter and I have always advised her to be careful with the information she gives out, especially because she is a child/teen. I notice others on Visa Journey aren't always using their names but intials or other aliases - so it is common that people often don't use real names on forums which are public.

Anyway, back on topic ... I do appreciate the information. It helps to know that I could use retirement funds as colateral for sponsership purposes. Some of my retirement funds are in a 401k stock account which would not be user friendly for this purpose. But others are in simple IRA CD's and could be accessed. The way it seems it should work is a "value" is assigned based on actual recoverable funds should they be needed (ie emergency) for survival. As it is between savings, CD's, EE bonds, IRA CD's, 401k, I have far more than is apparently needed to cover 3 people at the poverty level. I am currently only employed on a part time basis with a temp agency, but with a masters degree, bachelors degree and 16+ years experience, I am confident I will be able to find work in the next 6 months.

You do not need to wait. No financial information is required to file the petition. It all occurs at the interview 5-6 months down the road. Are you feeling lucky?

Well I have a little more than luck on my side. I have my finances. Its a matter of how those finances will be evaluated and accepted, along with any employment I have at the time of interview. So I will likely begin the application process and it will be more a matter of how I am presenting things in 6 months.

Sounds like I need to wait before filing which is a bummer. Double my job hunting efforts and minimize damage to my savings.

Just so you understand, the I-134 affidavit, and supporting evidence, are submitted at the interview, which is likely to be at least six months from now. After your fiancee arrives in the US, and you are married, you'll need to submit the application for adjustment of status. At that time, you'll need to submit the I-864 affidavit along with pretty much the same supporting evidence. If your income has not improved but your assets have decreased, you might not make it. This isn't dependent on your financial status at the time you submit the I-129F petition, but at the time you submit the affidavits.

Something to consider...

You mean the K1 could be issued, and she come over and marry me and they won't even ask to see the financial evidence until then? I can see where I'm going to need to fully digest the materials now. Regardless, I job hunting is priority #1. Maybe I shouldn't even bother starting the process until I'm employed regularly which means putting off getting married for maybe another year - could be rough to maintain this relationship indefinitely.

Laura -I'll sit down and read the material but it will take time to digest. I am just trying to get a "feel" for some of my options at this point.

Savings yes, retirement no.

From the sounds of things above, maybe. Right now I can make up the amount with out retirement if I only have myself, my fiancee and her son since I did not claim my daughter on my 2008 taxes. That means I need to show $69k which right now I can show that. 6 months from now may be different but I hope to have some kind of steady work by then, so it may be an either or situation or combined.

No, not as I understand it. They are not liquid and are contingent on you reaching a certain age.

Just so you know, the way retirement funds work is that you defer taxes to a time when you are "retired" and are in a more favorable tax bracket. There is no "age contingency" with my IRA CD's. I could take money out of any of them but if they are not mature, I would take a penalty against the interest and would have to pay taxes on the amount I pocket as if it were a "gross income" pay check. They are liquid in that sense.

What I am asking is if anyone has used retirement funds such as IRA CD's as assets which could be counted toward sponsership, even in part? At present I may barely have enough to sponser between cash in savings, EE bonds value and a standard CD.

You may need a cosponsor. What about your parents or close relatives?

My parents are old fashioned and think its wrong to marry someone who is not an American so they won't sponser. I am 50 years old and think they shouldn't dictate what is best for me. I have two sisters who could co-sponser but I dont' think they want to be put in that position. So its up to me probably. The lay off came at a bad time but the best defense is a good offense so work is probalby going to be key. But I want to get the ball rolling if its not totally crazy.

I recommend that you start out reading the guides at the top of the page and get familiar with how the entire process works an then deciding which is the best route for you and how to overcome sponsorship troubles.

Welcome to VJ and good luck.

I will begin reading the guides. I had been putting this process off a few months but now feel that it may be time to get started. I really would like to have this approved by Feb or March of next year and if people say average processing time is around 8 months or so, its time to get started. I thought being employed would be mandentory but if assets are sufficient, I may not have to wait umpteen more months.

I realize there are the guides btw, but I also was looking for feed back from people who have actual experience with how the approval process goes in practice as well as theory.

That's where the statement: "Only assets that can be converted into cash within one year and without considerable hardship or financial loss to the owner may be included" comes into play.

The affidavit of support does not come into play right away. That information is presented at the interview. In the meantime if you do get a new job and that annual income is sufficient then you are all set. If not then you would document the part time income and unemployment income and add assets (at the 3:1) enough to make up the difference.

Well, about half or less of my retirement is in a 401k, the rest are in CD's and hopefully they will never need to be touched, but if I need to show it for purposes of K1 approval then that should work. My 410k tanked anyway but hopefully will bounce back. Also I did not claim my daughter on my 2008 tax statement so it sounds like I will only need to sponser 3 (myself, my fiancee and her son - who is 15 right now). For reasons I can't get into right now, my assets are most favorable right now so I want to take advantage of that. Naturally I will be looking for work and eventually expect to have some kind of imployment as a professional. I've been holding off applying for the K1 this spring due to employment sitiation, but maybe that is not necessary?

So assets may be considered in liue of income from a job for purposes of the K1? I intend to keep looking for employment and certainly will try to become gainfully employed as soon as I can - in fact I intend to relocate from central New York to Virginia (near DC) where there are more job opportunities.

Also, can anyone say if retirement accounts are considered assets for purposes of the K1 Visa approval? About half of my assets are in retirement accounts.

A little additional information: I have saved my airline tickets going over to England last year. I took a photo of us together during that visit. We have countless emails exchanged since last August thru the present, and my fiance came to visit me in April for 2 weeks. SHe has saved her ticket as well, and we took photos of us together in Washington DC and prominent places like in front of the Capitol and Niagara falls. We have started to gather information about the K1 fiancee Visa process but I have not applied yet.

My financial position in terms of assets is more favorable now than it might be 6 months from now, which is why I am wondering if it would be better to apply now than wait another half a year when I may be in a better position job wise. If my position now isn't sufficient for approval, I may have family members who may be willing to co-sponser me. I also have a brother in law who is an immigration lawyer in his regular job, although his specialty is handling work Visa's, not K1.

Any feed back regarding my situation would be greatly appreciated.

Hi, I'm new here and using a ficticious name here on Visa Journey.

I met a single (never married) woman with one child over the internet last August in the UK, went to visit her in December. During the time we have been getting to know we feel we have a lot in common personality wise and have felt we are a good match. After returning from my visit I was let go from my job as a professional geologist. Basically I have been unemployed and collecting unemployment benefits for the past 5 or more months now and but my fiancee from the UK and I wish to work toward imigration to the US in a reasonably timely fashion. I have the impression the process takes about 8 months give or take if all goes reasonably well.

First a little back ground. I am 50 years old and have a Bachelors and Masters degree in Geology but have never been a major salary earner. I was separated in 2000 and finally divorced in the spring of 2007. I have managed to save up significant amount of cash and also have saved up some retirement funds as well. At present I have only managed start working on temporary projects with a computer tech agency so I don't have regular employment yet. I have a single child who I am not the primary custodian but just have visitation rights and child support obligations.

My question to you who have perhaps been through this all is this: Would it be possible for me to apply now for a K1 VISA for my fiancee and get it approved based on my financial savings and retirement assets and only temp part time work? What I would like to do is sponser my fiancee and her son and get married next year.

I have talked to one other person I know who was a divorced woman who sponsered her fiancee from Sweden. Her story was that she had to show she had enough finances to support herself, her own child and her foreign (Swedish) fiancee - this translated to 3 times the poverty level for a year - which she stated was $22k each x 3 for a total of $66k. She had a very low paying job so that basically didn't help her case but her savings alone got her fiancee approved.

Are retirement funds counted as assets which the INS will count as credit in the above regard? Basically between a CD, cash in the bank and EE bonds current value, I exceed the 3 x poverty level alone as long as I don't have to count my own daughter as a dependent in this situation. Can anyone clarify how these factors work and are counted? I would assume I would count myself, my fiancee and her son at minimum as 3 people. What about my daughter who is full-time with her mother (who is worth about $900k in her assets). Does my part time child count or do I only count myself, my fiancee and her son? Would I stand a good chance of getting approved under this scenario?