Shawn & Emi

I am a generally patient person I think but this is driving me mental... How do you guys deal with your stress? The wait is taking its toll on our relationship. It's hard to spend all this time on the phone and online and keep up a normal schedule.

This month the time changes here in Wisconsin and I will be an hour AHEAD of Carlos in El Salvador and that makes it even harder!! I work 6a-2:30p and 10 hours of mandatory overtime per week.

The worst part about this whole thing is his dad is the Deputy Chief of the USCIS Forms Center West and he can't even help us expedite anything.

Give me your ideas on how to get thru this trying time...

Sorry but you have all of 1 hour time difference to contend with? Try 7 or 8 hours!

Before we were together in the US, we spent almost 2 years being long distance. Our minimum time difference was 7 hours, maximum 8 hours. We still managed to keep in touch every single day: we would video chat on Skype (I would get up early, he would stay up late), we would talk on the phone, email and text each other. Yes, it was difficult being apart - it is for any couple - but love is what gets you through it. We knew the waiting would pay off, and it did.

I sympathise with you because I remember all too well how difficult it was to be apart (it's only 6 months since I moved to the US) but I don't think a 1 hour time difference is really that big of a deal! Most people on this forum would love to only have a one hour time difference!

As for your fiancé's dad working for USCIS and not being able to expedite anything for you... well, that's just tough. It's not fair of you to expect special treatment - everyone else in this situation has paid the same filing fees as you, and some people have been waiting a lot longer than you for their NOA2 (e.g. people waiting since August and September). You just have to hang in there, I'm afraid.

Hey hey...what you mean by PLUS SHE IS FILIPINA? u are making it sound like we Filipina got a bad reputation. you dont need advice in that area..weather your family accepts her or not should not be an issue because at the end of the day its gonna be you and your filipina fiancee thats gonna be living together not your family. And you should be the one standing up for her..if i am your fiancee, reading your post will make me real mad.

Good luck to your Filipina fiancee!

I don't think OP meant to come across that way - I think he means that his fiancée being Filipina might be an issue for his family, because of the way they are. He knows his family and it's not nice, but if they're likely to have a problem with him marrying a foreigner then I can understand his anxieties.

OP - I think you should do whatever you need to. If you think your family will give you loads of grief over this, then leave them out of the picture for now. If they're too small-minded to accept the woman you love, that's their problem not yours! Don't let them guide you in your decisions, because it's your life to live. Also, if you hardly ever see your family then it shouldn't be too much of an issue. If they really have that big of a problem with your wife to be, then if I were you I probably wouldn't want to include them in my life until they can be civil. You want your family to be supportive - if they can't do that for you, then give them time to cool off. I'm sure given time they will come round to the idea - they won't want to lose you over it!

Good luck and try not to stress too much

Is the physical NOA 2 required for adjust of status, or will a picture of the noa2 that was taken with a digital camera work?

You're supposed to have the actual NOA2 with you for the adjustment of status interview, if you're called for one. With our AOS package we sent a copy of the NOA2 and we took the original to the interview. We weren't asked for it anyway!

Have you lost yours?

How about do a fancy engagement/betrothal in England now so that she can at least see that?

It sounds as though OP is the petitioner (already in the US) - I don't know where the beneficiary lives, but nobody said it was England!

My mom was recently diagnosed with a terminal illness and I'm afraid she may not be able to make it to our wedding if we waited until July.

I'm really sorry for everything you're going through right now. If I were in your situation I would certainly try to expedite - as Twocats said, someone else in the same situation was successful with their expedite request.

I wish you all the best and hope that you can get an expedite so your mom can attend your wedding. Good luck!

We were convinced that it was not a big deal for her to overstay her visa as long as she was not breaking the law in any other way. We were unaware of the consequences and blinded by our love. After about 14 months of overstaying she voluntarily returned to her family in Argentina on 12/6/08.

I started the petition for the K1 visa as soon as I got home. five months later the petition was approved and everything seemed to be going well, however recently we have been preparing the papers for the visa application and the hard questions came up about visa overstays. and now after everything when we were seemingly so close to being together again, we are being told that it is not even worth finishing the application because it will be denied, and that she is barred from the U.S. for a total of ten years! I have never felt so helpless and broken in my entire life, this country is suppose to be about freedom. and now because of something so harmless, I will be pushed out of my own country for the next eight years in order to marry the only woman in this world for me, the woman I love. There must be something I can do. Appeals, wavers, some kind of exceptions. Please help us. We are desperate.

Firstly, please don't be offended but did it not occur to either of you that by overstaying her visa, your fiancée was in fact breaking the law? You may not have been aware of the consequences of her overstaying, but just because "she wasn't breaking any other laws" doesn't mean in the slightest that what she did is acceptable!

The way your post comes across is kind of childish if I'm honest - "this country is suppose to be about freedom. and now because of something so harmless, I will be pushed out of my own country for the next eight years in order to marry the only woman in this world for me, the woman I love" - the US government don't really care if you are in love, your fiancée grossly violated the terms of her last visa by overstaying a very long time (14 months) and yes, that is going to count against you both! There would not have been any problem if she had returned home before her visa expired, but she didn't so now you've got problems. USCIS will not view her overstay as "something so harmless" - immigration law is just as important as every other law. Just because you say she didn't break the law in any other way doesn't mean that they will overlook her breaking that law! It may seem ridiculous to you, but this is definitely not a case of "rules are there to be broken"! Don't mess with US immigration!

You could try to get an immigration attorney to take your case but I doubt that they will be able to undo the damage your fiancée did by overstaying. Also, an overstay of 14 months isn't considered minor - the length of ban one receives for overstays depends on the amount of time they overstayed: anything over 180 days but under a year means an automatic 3 year ban, and more than a year of overstay equals an automatic 10 year ban.

Hello everyone, I am so excited, today I got an email from USCIS saying that my husband was approved and that we should be receiving his green card in 30 days. I just have a question, ok well first of all we applied Dec 29, 2010 for adjustment of status (he came here on a k-1) and we were expecting his ead first but instead we got approved for green card which is great without an interview or anything it took just 2 months after applying for him to get approved. My question is so does this mean the EAD is useless now?

Yep - the EAD is only to be used before you have your green card. The green card is the only thing your husband needs to legally reside and work in the US. Congratulations on such a speedy AOS approval!

My name is Andy, I met my fiancee three and a half years ago here in Mpls. Her name is Sole, She is from Argentina and she was here on a J1 visa as an Au pair. We met while she had about six months left on her visa, and before we knew it we were in love.

It soon dawned on us that she was here on a temporary visa and we would have to make a decision. we couldn't stand the thought of loosing the best thing that has ever happened to us. Getting married was one option, and now i wish we would have, but at the time It didn't feel like it would have been for the right reasons. We asked our selves would we be getting married right now if it wasn't for the immigration issue? The answer was no. We were not ready. I thought we were doing the responsible thing. So the way we saw it, we had two options. She could leave or she could stay, and our relationship was too young to let her go back home and make the transition to a long distance relationship. We were convinced that it was not a big deal for her to overstay her visa as long as she was not breaking the law in any other way. We were unaware of the consequences and blinded by our love. After about 14 months of overstaying she voluntarily returned to her family in Argentina on 12/6/08.

We talked every day while we were apart (thank God for Skype). I worked and saved my money for nine months until I finally had enough money to sustain us for a while. I quit my job and went to visit her. we traveled around south America for seven months before I ran out of money and was forced to return home. Before I left, I proposed to her and we were more motivated than ever to spend the rest of our lives together.

I started the petition for the K1 visa as soon as I got home. five months later the petition was approved and everything seemed to be going well, however recently we have been preparing the papers for the visa application and the hard questions came up about visa overstays. and now after everything when we were seemingly so close to being together again, we are being told that it is not even worth finishing the application because it will be denied, and that she is barred from the U.S. for a total of ten years! I have never felt so helpless and broken in my entire life, this country is suppose to be about freedom. and now because of something so harmless, I will be pushed out of my own country for the next eight years in order to marry the only woman in this world for me, the woman I love. There must be something I can do. Appeals, wavers, some kind of exceptions. Please help us. We are desperate.

Thank you, Andy & Sole

I think you need to start a new thread instead of posting in this one - you'll get more replies!

This absolutely IS visa fraud. A fiancee visa is for a fiancee. A fiancee is NOT MARRIED anywhere whether it is in the Philippines before she arrives or in the US when she arrives. If she gets married before she enters the US as a fiancee, then she is fraudulently using a visa issued to a fiancee with the full knowledge that she is not a fiancee but a wife. There is a totally different visa required for a wife - a spousal visa called the CR-1/IR-1.

If there was a non-official ceremony that did not make the couple married - and some religious services in some countries fall into that category - then this isn't fraud as the marriage is not a legally recognized marriage. Any foreign ceremony that results in a legal marriage makes a fiancee visa unusable for the person to whom it was issued.

Of even greater concern is recommending anyone to hide information that affects their eligibility for an immigration benefit or to misrepresent the truth of a situation - which is what you recommended doing when you said to enter the US on a fiancee visa even though she is no longer a fiancee. This is called misrepresentation and it is taken so seriously by USCIS that a charge of misrepresentation is often enough to bar the individual from entering the US for life.

To use a fiancee visa the beneficiary must be a fiancee when the application is made, still be a fiancee when the K-1 is issued and still be a fiancee when she crosses the border into the US. Having a second marriage does not make the fraudulent use of a fiancee visa for a wife to enter the US legal - it just compounds the illegality.

If you have done this, your wife is not safe from immigration. Whenever this is discovered your wife - even if it is 25 years from now and she is a US citizen - she will be deportable and probably banned for life unless the 'marriage' you had before you left was not legally recognized by the Philippines government.

Agreed on all points. Also, presumably their marriage in the Philippines was a legal marriage as they were going to apply for a spousal visa based on it. It can't have been for 'ceremony' only because that wouldn't be sufficient.

FYI:

The K-1 interview was before we got married. We didn't know it would be an issue to marry in two different countries.

Of course it is - just because a marriage takes place outside of the US doesn't mean it's not a legitimate marriage in the eyes of USCIS. Otherwise, the spouse visa wouldn't exist! The K-1 is designed for bringing your fiancé(e) to the US for the purpose of getting married in the US.

Hello everyone. My fiancee' lives in China. She has just recieved packet 3. She has a previous debt to a bank or credit card there totaling almost $3,000 U.S. Can this stop her from being issued a K-1 visa and prevent her from leaving the country to travel to the U.S.? We have this much money saved for her and her daughters airline tickets to the U.S. and want to keep the money for that. We can not come up with the money to pay the bank back right away. My fiancee worries that the bank will report her to the police and then she will have her photo or i.d. card blacked out and thus have a bad mark on her i.d. We worry this will throw a monkey wrench, so to speak, in our endeavors to get the k-1 visa. Does anyone know how the Chinese government handles these situations? Can they put bad things attached to her i.d. no., and will this affect her getting a visa? If anyone can help or knows about this, I would appreciate your input. Thanks.

Hi,

I don't about China, but having some debt in my home country wasn't a problem for me. I don't know of anyone else who's had an issue obtaining a visa due to debt either. Hope this helps at least a little!

Yes, There are lessons to be learn for us and to other here. Another lesson being; although the VJ is very helpful, it has its limits. I.E.. I read in VJ that we would likely not get an K1 appeal and to start over with a K-3. Yet, we were granted one. The irony here is that we are starting over. Agreed. Haste makes waste.

Thanks again all.

Regarding the appeal thing - I think it really would depend on the reason for the denial. In certain situations, it might be difficult to lodge a successful appeal. However, maybe the advice should be to enlist an attorney if unexpected problems are encountered with obtaining visas. I really do wish you all the best in the future - sorry you had to learn the hard way.

Thank you,

Yes, it would have. But at the time, I hadn't found a successful way of talking to a person from the embassy by phone. Its pretty screwed up. I don't suppose we could get an annulment under our circumstances so she could be single again.. I know..it Sounds outrageous, but so is waiting another 9 months !

I know it sucks, but I really can't see any other way around it. You could try talking to an immigration attorney, but since you're already married the K-1 isn't appropriate for your wife to use.

For other people who may read this thread at some point, I think it's worth pointing out that when appeals are filed it's unrealistic to expect the issue to be resolved within such a short space of time. OP says they married a month after filing the appeal - this story goes to show that if you appeal, you shouldn't rush into something that will invalidate the visa process until you know for a fact that the appeal was unsuccessful.

01

Thank you for the replies all:

We didn't find out about the K-1 approval until after we were married. If we apply for a CR1 we would be looking at 9 month $$. Can't it be worked out with another way, or with a lawyer ? Sound like it won't be overlooked... hmm.

As iampatricias said, no, there's no way around it. The K-1 is a fiancé(e) visa, which means you need to be engaged to use it but definitely not married!

It's too late now, but I'm surprised you didn't follow-up with your K-1 appeal before rushing to get married. That would have saved you both a lot of trouble.

This is NOT what anyone would have done. She's married. She's no longer eligible for the K1 visa. The Cenomar is the least of your worries. You're going to have to get MARRIED in the United States AFTER she arrives or she won't be eligible to adjust status. That means you're going to have to LIE when you tell the county clerk that you're not married!

What you should have done is withdrawn the petition when you got married. The best course of action now is to return to the consulate and get the visa canceled, and then apply for a CR1.

Completely agreed - the K-1 was obtained fraudulently, as it's only available to people who are free to marry. Neglecting to tell the officer who did the K-1 interview doesn't mean it's alright! I really can't see how adjustment of status can be approved in this situation - and lying to USCIS is a very bad idea!

I don't understand how OP thinks what they've done is perfectly fine, it clearly isn't. It's going to set them up for a whole host of problems if she uses this visa.

It sounds as though the OP was going to apply for a spouse visa but then found out the K-1 appeal had been successful and his fiancée has been granted the visa already, because she didn't mention that they are already married. OP says the visa is in the mail now. I think with them already being married they will have problems when she is in the US because as part of the adjustment of status, which will need to be done as she's coming with a K-1, they will need to provide a certified copy of their marriage certificate. That's going to look a bit strange, as the date on their marriage certificate will be from before she even entered the US!!!

We were initially denied the K-1 Visa due to the income requirements and were recommended to apply for a K-3 spouse Visa. Most people we talked to responded with the same answer.

All the same, I filed an appeal with the embassy but got no response. Anyway, We married about a month later in a civil service with her family along side. It was very nice. However; I felt a bit perturbed that the US Embassy gave me no reply to our K-1 appeal. I miraculously found the correct extension to the Visa section.

I informed them that I hadn't received any reply and was unsuccessful at reaching them before. The Embassy staff person asked me for the case number, then informed me that the appeal was granted and I was given up to one year from the filing date to provide additional/updated evidence for the financial part of the K-1.

Of course, I was in a bit of shock. Well,.. it was great to be married but we had expected to go another round with a different Visa petition.

I did what anyone would due; I waited for my accountant to finish my latest tax return and Fed-X it to the Embassy. She was approved and the Visa "is in the mail" as I write this. Happy story ? We hope so. but questions came up with my spouse as I once we learned she is required to attend a CFO Guidance and Counseling seminar for fiancee':

Will she have to provide a Cenomar? ( She didn't report to any government agency (NSO), that she was NOW married ).

If so, can we use the one we have that's 8 months old when she was single ?

FYI: The US Embassy in the Philippines don't accept sponsors for the K-1 petition. If I had known this, I we would have properly married and filed a K-3.

I don't understand - you say you got married, and then found out afterwards that the K-1 appeal had been granted, and then your fiancée was granted a K-1 visa despite the fact that you were already married to each other?

Having been through the K-1 process last year, it is completely beyond me that people in this situation can be so petty! My fiancé didn't send me a Valentine's card or present, I knew he wouldn't because he's so not into commercial ####### like that, but I chose to send him something just because I wanted to. Was I furious that he didn't send me a card? Hell no! I didn't need him to do something like that to know that he loved me!

I've been living with him now almost 6 months and we married in October. We didn't celebrate Valentine's day this year either - big deal! In my opinion, for most people, it's not really a huge deal. We tell each other all the time how much we love each other, we don't need a commercial holiday to come along so that we can express ourselves!

Threatening to put a stop to the visa process was really, really immature. I can't believe that the OP could actually do that! How did he think his fiancée would feel? I can tell you, if my fiancé had threatened me with that, I would have had serious doubts about giving up my life and leaving my friends and family to move so far away for him! What was she supposed to think? She probably thought that if he could be so manipulative over such a non-issue, that he would only become worse after they were married. What would he be doing then, threatening her with divorce? Pathetic.

The thing that baffles me the most is that OP's fiancée DID send him a Valentine's present and he knows that because he spoke to the company who were to deliver it - yet because they failed to deliver it, he fell out with his fiancée who had clearly made an effort. How could she ensure that it would be delivered at the right time all the way from India? Sounds to me as though she had a lucky escape, if I'm completely honest.

The thing about her being nervous once the NOA2 came is NORMAL! Once the I-129F is approved, the pressure is kind of on for the beneficiary - there's the actual visa application to do, the medical to undergo and of course the interview, not to mention actually leaving her home country for a life on a different continent where she knows nobody but her fiancé. So yeah, she could be forgiven for being a little apprehensive! I know I was, even though I knew I was doing the right thing. She might not have acted as the OP expected, but did he ever try to put himself in her position? Likely not, by the tone of his post.

Seriously, I think that most of the time people in this situation (long-distance, awaiting visas etc.) appreciate each other more and the long-distance aspect should put things in perspective. Valentine's day shouldn't be the be all and end all of a relationship - certainly not a strong one, anyway!

Hi everyone! I've been reading up on the k-1 process the past two days and had the following questions:

I'm at the pre-engagement stage and trying am to get a good sense of what is ahead once I do propose and we apply for a K-1 visa.

So, am I to gather that upon entering the United States on a K-1 Visa I will not be able to work until married and have filed for/received my EAD? And to be clear, an EAD is the "work authorization card" I've seen mentioned?

Is it possible to apply for and obtain a work authorization card before being married? Seeing as my someday-soon-fiancee and I have not "lived together" before we would like to maximize that 90-day period upon entry on the K-1 visa to allay all of our concerns and ensure that we are doing what is best. However, the thought of being with her for up to three months and my not bringing in a single paycheck - plus might not be feasible.

One general question: what is the fastest way to gain work eligibility once in the States on a K-1 Visa?

Thank you in advance for your help! Glad to have this forum as a resource as I embark on this lengthy yet wonderful journey.

Hi,

You're correct - if you get a K-1 visa you will not be able to work until you have your EAD (which you can do for free at the time you file for adjustment of status - AOS- after you're married).

It is possible to file for the EAD right away when you arrive in the US, however it will cost $380 and generally takes 90 days or so to arrive - plus, the big downside is that the EAD if you do it this way will only be valid for your first 90 days in the US! So it's a complete waste of time and money to do that.

You can wait as long as you like to get married in those 90 days - you can do it on day 3, or day 89 - USCIS don't care! As long as you then submit the AOS documents it is ok. I understand your concerns about not having lived with your fiancée before, but the K-1 is a visa for those fully intending to marry the person who petitioned for them, not to "see how it goes" - as part of the process you will be interviewed and if the officer doing the interview doesn't believe you will get married, they likely will not issue the visa. However, if you have full intent to marry and for some reason you don't end up marrying her, you can always just return home again (just don't stay in the US past the 90th day or you will be in overstay which is not good!).

I came to the US in September on a K-1 and 6 weeks later we got married (Oct. 15th). It was exactly another month before we filed the AOS documents, and I received my EAD on Feb. 4th - I had my AOS interview Feb. 10th and received my green card in the mail on Feb. 19th, so I've never ended up using the EAD apart from one time for ID! What I'm saying is it was almost 3 months after filing for the EAD (along with the other AOS documents) when I received my EAD, and I haven't heard of many people getting them sooner. If you were to come to the US on a K-1, then wait almost until the 90 days are up before marrying and filing, you're looking at more like 6 months (possibly longer) before you can work.

Hope this helps!

Congratulations!

Thanks!

Emi

Emi had her interview today and she was APPROVED!

Are we the last of the February 2010 CSC filers?

May is on her way here!!! The only bad news is that I am sick. Got some medication today and hope to be OK for tomorrow's drive to Detroit.

Wish me luck

Adam & May

Good luck!!! I've got my fingers crossed for you!

Emi

Will one need a marriage certificate from a previous marriage during their interview for a K1 visa? She has the divorce certificate, and is not sure if she will need to take a copy of the previous marriage certificate along.

Thanks

In the UK you don't get your marriage certificate back when you file for divorce, so it's not possible to have it for the interview. As far as I'm aware the divorce certificate (decree) needs to be the original or a certified copy. Hope this helps!

Hi guys!

Sorry we haven't been very active on here for a while. We didn't have any news - until now!

Yesterday I phoned the embassy info line as it'd been 6 weeks since my packet 3 had been signed for and I hadn't heard anything, and they gave me a code to use to email the embassy because I'd been waiting over 4 weeks. Today I got a reply, and my interview date has been set for 10th August!!!! Such a relief!!!!!

We're both sooooo happy, things are finally moving along. Looks like I can actually send our wedding invitations out now - I hadn't dared write them until I got my date! lol.

Hope you're all doing OK!

Emi

Our application was received on 1/4/10. I have not received anything from USCIS since the first notice of action. My form was I129F for my fiancee and her children. Anyone know if there is a slow down at the VT Service Center or is it a reason specific to my application? How can I find out?

Please help and thanks very much.

You could try calling USCIS on this number: 1-800-375-5283.

They should be able to tell you what is happening with your petition (I129F). You will need your case number (it begins with 3 letters, probably WAC followed by numbers - it'll be on your NOA1).

You could also have a look online - register here: https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/jsps/selectusertype.jsp;jsessionid=abc9c8Vco3DE56TQ95mLs

I would have thought you should have received something more than just your NOA1 by now - even if only an RFE (request for evidence). It might be worth having a look on the January 2010 VSC filers thread (I'm assuming there is one!) to see if other people who filed around the same time have heard anything.

I would definitely phone USCIS in the first instance, because if they've sent something out to you and you haven't received it you need to know ASAP (especially if they're asking for more evidence).

Hope this helps!

Emi