Windblown

I'm planning to mail my I-129 package in the next few days, believing that it's about 99% complete. The "checklist" at http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide has been invaluable, but there are some details that I'm not sure are important that are nonetheless nagging at me.

1) Somewhere I recall seeing guidance to assemble documents by two-hole punching the top and "pronging" the stack into a manila folder made for this - maybe the idea being that this is how USCIS assembles them, so this would be of assistance and at least give the impression of familiarity/efficiency and organization. Also seems to me like it might be annoying and apple-polishing, though. Is this "over the top" or just a plain bad idea? (I also on occasion fought off the urge to "tab" the package so that the organization is clear...I suppose rejection could be based on my being too #######-retentive, right?)

2) The "order" of documents in the package: this is inconsistent between that suggested by the sample cover-letter's list of enclosures, and the order shown in the "checklist" page. Is one or the other considered 'correct'?

3) There's an answer to an FAQ that I think might need updating (at http://www.visajourney.com/faq/k1k2visa-I129f.html#3.4.1):

3.4)...I filled out the forms, now where do I send them? Should I make extra copies of anything?

A..The American citizen should send the I-129F, G-325A (four copies of biographic page), and all supporting documentation to the USCIS (INS) service center having jurisdiction over their place of residence (ie: California or Vermont Service Centers). This is not the state or local USCIS (INS) office.

a) it's Texas now, not California...right?

b) Isn't it now the case that just one G-325A is to be submitted, not two or four? A note to that effect in the checklist would help.

Mahalo,

Dave

GREAT info - thanks!

My advice is to edit the PDF file so it is correct, print it and then type in the box for signature, "Will sign at Consulate". Really. This will be fine.

Thanks. That sounds too much like practical, common sense to possibly work, no? Is there precedent for that? Previous advice from VJ was to get original-ink signatures, thus our laborious process so far.

In paperwork to come, are there other situations in which a "we'll give you an original signature later" response is not going to throw a wrench in the works? Fiancee and I are very well connected by email, but of course that doesn't support original-ink.

So my Fiancee (beneficiary) has, on two occasions now, filled out G-325a's for the K-1 visa and mailed them to me, so as to have her required original-ink signatures on them. Well, there's always a lag time from when I talk to her to explain needed alterations, during which there are issues for her with printing the forms, then delays from international mailing, and then there's my own S**t-happens lag that keeps me from getting back into the paperwork...So anyway, the most recently-arrived edition of her 325a immediately preceded her move to a new part of her country - so now her address has changed, thus it doesn't match that on the revised I-129f I've done up. That's the only change now needed in the form, assuming I can just manage to get the whole package wrapped up before some other crisis intervenes. Options:

1) I'm thinking I could 'paper over' the addresses that she so carefully hand-wrote, with a note directing the reviewer to an addendum on the next page that would list all addresses with the most current appearing at top, as it's supposed to appear - seems consistent with recommendations for other addenda, though I have to cover or at least strike through the old info to do this right)

2) I could manually fill out a pre-signed blank she also sent me, but my handwriting is sloppy and looks nothing like hers and I wonder if it's likely to inspire some junior-detective-type questions about the difference between "her" handwritten entries as seen there vs. in other documents.

3) I could ask her for yet another revision...which will again reset our clock on this, as well as make her want to choke me...

Advice?

We're at square one, trying to be sure I-129F and G-325A are 100% correct, but have a basic name-nomenclature dilemma.

My Filipina fiancee notes that her passport shows her mother's maiden name under the description "middle name" (apparently Philippine standard.) And what I would call her "middle name" (as an American) is, on her passport, categorized as her second "given name," under local convention, apparently - so there are four names shown in total on her Philippine passport. So in completing USCIS forms, would we use her mother's maiden name has her "middle," or would we use her second given name as her "middle?"

This seems like one of those classic "it seemed so minor..." issues - that later get people hung up at airports and deported, etc...

Mahalo,

Dave

All good replies, well, almost all.

What isn't being included in the discussion is how your state laws may already protect your interests.

In the Western states, we are all "Community Property" states. Family law is BLACK AND WHITE regarding what is SEPARATE and what is COMMUNITY property and assets in a marriage.

Unless you have a complicated real estate or own your own business, you would be surprised how UNNECESSARY a prenup may be for you.

After you consider the awkward moments it produces, and then the expense of having 2 lawyers involved in signing it, you may realize how little it offers to "protect" you.

Plus, a judge has the discretion of just throwing your prenup out of court if he gets a whiff it is unfair.

You betcha!

Tantalizing reply, Hopp. OK, I'm convinced. I won't do it.

hey, wait a minute...you're not my FIANCEE, are you? d'oh!

Seriously, though, I'm not sure how to check into the key details you mentioned - specifics of state law, that is. No complicated real-estate or offshore accounts, just my half-done mortgage, some IRA and 401K holdings, etc.

As for sources of local specifics, I'm thinking an attorney who specializes in prenups isn't likely to talk me out of signing up for one...I suppose a divorce attorney might be a good POC. It seems like an issue worthy of more than just "asking around", really.

Dilemma:

My fiancee's addresses (current, past, employment...all of them) are so much longer than the available field sizes in the online pdf versions of the I-129F and G-325A, that there is serious question as to whether an abbreviated version would be of any use at all, perhaps requiring interpretation/augmentation by a local postman, which doesn't seem all that likely to happen. Seems USCIS encourages adding supplemental sheets for similar situations (I am doing this for the "how we met" section)... but then I also read that these address fields are scanned in order to process the forms efficiently - which of course wouldn't work if I put it all on a supplemental sheet. So is it better to try to squeeze a perhaps-undeliverable address into the available space to avoid derailing their system, or better to go with a 100% complete set of addresses (that actually will end up moving most of the G-325A info to the supplemental page)?

--Dave

thanks all for the replies - please don't get caught up in my hyperbole. I'd not seriously meant I would leave a prenup until the caterers arrive!

But if the I-864 trumps, then...why do a prenup at all? Or do you mean it trumps in specifics only?

When is the best time to be signing a prenup? Can this be done the day of our wedding, to make an extreme example? (I wouldn't choose that route, but just looking ahead to get a rough sense of when to deal with it.)

Also, I'd think that a prenup could easily conflict with I-134 provisions for support of spouse, yes? (I can guess whose law would trump there - probably why people don't draft these things themselves.)

Not to tempt fate, but I guess I would like to understand the range of legal ramifications that would exist with/without prenup as well as provisions of the I-134, for scenarios like the following:

a) "we were married for ten days before we decided we'd had enough," to

b) "we've been growing distant and I think this marriage won't last more than two years,"

c) "s/he fooled me into thinking it was true love until s/he became a permanent resident," to

d) "we were soulmates to the end" (OK, I guess I don't really need to know the legal ramifications in THAT setting...)

Anyway, I'm skipping the emotional component of this for now - just want the cold, legal 'bullets.' If it's not meant to be, I want us both to walk away with only regrets about our failed relationship, not about how we're going to make ends meet, etc.

Big difference between getting married in the PI and applying for a US visa.... the instructions you pulled refer on how to get married. Period.

No, that source - from the link that was apparently auto-broken by the forum-bots last time I tried to post it ( http://manila.usembassy [dot gov] /wwwhlove.html ) is official and right on point - if misleading by omission or outright error - summarizing itself with "This fact sheet will answer some of the most frequently asked questions about immigration to the United States for your Filipino fiancée/fiancé or spouse." It covers what it describes as FAQs for both K-1 and IR-1 visas. And it's misleading, if indeed the Manila embassy won't process an IR-1 because I'm not living in the Philippines, as there is no mention of this requirement. In fact, the same page implies the reverse concern: Q: "Can I file a petition if my permanent residence is in the Philippines? A: Yes, you may file a petition if you live overseas..." There's no mention of DCF that I can find. A phone call or two (or four) during business hours may get me the specific info I need, though I would rather have it in writing, on their website, at least.

I'll check with the Manila embassy directly to get the word straight from the horse's mouth. And JlovesA is surely correct in that I really should be digging/posting in the IR-1/DCF/Philippines forums to further my inquiry.

a little more digging led me to look belatedly at the US embassy website (Manila, Philippines - http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwhlove.html) - which also not only doesn't mention any residency requirement for petitioners, but does much to imply the opposite (I added bold emphasis to indicate these sections):

How do I get married in the Philippines?

STEP 1: Obtain an "Affidavit in Lieu of a Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage at the U.S. Embassy's American Citizen Services Branch Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. The U.S. citizen must present his or her U.S. passport. It is not necessary for the fiancée/fiancé to appear.

STEP 2: File an application for a marriage license at the office of the Philippine Civil Registrar in the town or city where one of the couple lives. In order to apply for a marriage license, you will need:

Your U.S. passport;

The Affidavit from the U.S. Embassy;

A divorce decree or spouse's death certificate, if previously married;

Proof that you have informed your parents if you are 22 to 24; or

Proof of parental consent if you are 18 to 21.

STEP 3: Get married!

According to the same instructions, from there, assuming the IR-1 visa petition is approved (at the New Hampshire NVC), there's still some unknown delays during which:

1) I submit an I-864 to swear financial support

2) NVC sends forms to spouse

3) I notify NVC that these docs are ready

4) NVC sends their relevant docs to the Manila embassy

5) embassy schedules interview with spouse

I'm guessing I really need to contact the US embassy in Manila to get a definitive answer & start the process. Is there a game-wrecking detail I have missed in all of this?

WB

or it could have been before the Sec State mandated adherence to the 6 mos. living in country rule a couple years ago

ah, I think this might be the case - my friend had not been to Japan at all until his "marriage trip," and I think it was more than a couple of years ago - I'm waiting to hear back from him now with more details.

Still, though, looking through the I-130, the summary page at USCIS website, and the "so you want to..." pdf they also provide, I see no mention of required petitioner residency time in the fiancee's country of residence. Where's that secretary of state rule documented? Is there something I didn't see in scanning through those forms that does make this possible foreign-residency requirement clear? I'd think a couple of years would be ample time to revise forms/instructions to make this clear...

Using the "advanced search," I haven't found a place on this forum where I-130 issues have ever been discussed ("No results found for 'I-130'") other than an FAQ page, which isn't really discussion, per se. Since it appears to me that the I-130 is an appealing alternative to the I-129F/K-1 route for my fiancee to immigrate, this seems odd - maybe I just haven't found the right place. Anyone?

Anyway, here's my current confusion: I was pretty far into completing paperwork for an I-129/K-1 with my Filipina fiancee when a friend told me that when he'd married his Japanese wife, he had simply gone to Japan and done the whole thing through the US Embassy there. It was relatively quick for him in Japan: they married one day, then went to the embassy to interview the next two days, after which she was allowed entry into the US. Since I don't really care whether we get married in the US or the Philippines to begin with, this seems to have significant appeal over the typical I-129F procedure as I understand it, though I suppose it's possible that embassy policy in the Philippines is different than in Japan. I also don't know for sure that he and his wife used the I-130, but I don't see any other process/form on the USCIS website that could possibly have applied, and he's not sure, since his wife took care of all the arrangements (lucky man!!)

Where should I be looking/asking about this route?

WB