Eddie & Yana

2 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

And a totally different experience, especially for a teen - social circle, experience of living elsewhere etc.  It is a wonderful opportunity for her if it works out. She can also spend a year maximum at a public high school as an alternative - you’ll need to pay the cost of attendance for that, but it will likely work out significantly cheaper than a private school.

Thank you for that link! Our school in central PA is certified for the F-1! So I’m hoping that works out and that I’ll be able to get a discount, haha! I’ll check for the public school too! Does anyone happen to know if there is a certain level of TOEFL examination or something like that to be able to attend?

1 minute ago, James120383 said:

why would you not apply for visitor visa that allows for 6 month stay ?

the private school would allow her to stay until she finishes school. That is definitely an option though!

Hello! My wife and I have been married for about 10 years now. She's from Thailand, and became a citizen about 4 years ago. We have a niece who we have always loved and supported back in Thailand and are looking for ways to have her spend some time with us here in the US. We're thinking maybe a student visa (she'll be coming into her senior year in 2021) or a work visa. I work at a church that has a private school attached and so she may be able to attend school here at a discounted rate that we could help cover. I'm working with them right now on the English requirements and all of that. We've also thought about work programs, but aren't sure on the process of bringing someone over for work. Is that difficult? I know we have done it for our Spanish pastor at our church, but how difficult is it if they aren't in ministerial work? 

Just some thoughts and looking for some guidance. We aren't looking to cheat any systems or overstay visas. Thanks everyone!

So sorry for the confusion! I meant she was approved for a 10-year visitor visa, not a green card  Thanks so much guys!

So we ended up filing TWO I-134, one for my wife, her daughter, and me, her son-in-law. She was approved for her 10 year green card! We were thorough in our records, and we taught our mom the Thai phrase for “everything you need to know, my daughter put in these papers” she literally answered almost every question with that phrase. They went back and forth for a while, then they allowed my sister-in-law, who speaks Thai, to come in and answer a couple of basic questions in Thai. 

It it sounds like we were extraordinarily blessed in this situation. We are grateful!!!

Her language is not super common, it would be like finding someone who spoke Navajo in America. There are lots of people, but not around everywhere. There is a slightly higher chance, because there are more tribal people around Chiang Mai. We are sponsoring her trip over here, but her husband, her kids, and her house are in Thailand. We live in a little two bedroom apartment, and entirely different culture and language. She is later in years (60), why would she stay?

Hello everyone! Just wanted to say thank you, because you guys helped me get my fiancé over here 7 years ago! Since then she's become an American citizen, we have a beautiful baby girl, and she is amazing. We've been back once to visit her family in Thailand, and now her mom wants to come and stay with us for a month. Here's the situation though:

My mother in law is from a hill tribe in Thailand. She has a common-law husband, and three other children in Thailand, none of which are dependents anymore. She has never had a tax paying job, literally living in a village surviving in a community. Her husband isn't applying or coming to visit, because he is not the father of my wife (whose father died ~10 years ago). She also speaks the tribal language Lisu, and very little Thai.

We've filled out the I-134 information, and believe that's going to be sufficient, however what we are concerned about is her language ability to communicate with the interviewer.

Do they speak English to her? Do they speak Thai? Do we need to hire a translator to translate? If so, to what language? She has super limited Thai.

I also hope the fact that she's leaving her husband and her house in Thailand, and maybe that she comes from such a dramatically different culture, and the majority of her children are in Thailand will show that she's going back (which she will).

Thanks so much for the help and insight here!

The only reason our niece really needs to come is because she's too young to take care of herself (she's the youngest) and her mother isn't willing to watch her. It would probably be years until our mother-in-law would be willing to come visit without her. Is there no way of presenting the story that would circumvent this issue? It's annoying that the people with mal-intent have made this such a difficult problem. :\

Also, how do we deal with the Neice situation, would there be any stipulations to her coming with her since it's not her daughter, but it's her grand daughter? We would consider legal domestic adoption as an option if that would help the situation, since she pretty much is her mother, albeit not her biological.

Hello!

I'm looking to get my mother-in-law a tourist visa to come visit us in the United States. My wife has just gotten a job, and won't be able to leave on vacation anytime soon to go visit her family, and her mother has never really traveled, so we thought it would be an awesome thing to have her come visit. There is a couple stipulations, however:

1: She takes care of her grand daughter, our niece. So our niece would need to join her (she's 7 years old).

2: My wife is a green card holder, I am USC.

3: My mother-in-law is from the Lisu Hilltribe, she was born and raised with no education. She's 60 years old. Her native language is Lisu, and her Thai is poor. She takes care of two of our other nieces as well, but their mothers are willing to watch them while they are on visit.

4: She will be staying with us the entire time, but American life definitely would not suit her. She has strong ties back to her Lisu village. She could barely speak the native language of Thailand, let alone be in an entire country speaking a language that is completely foreign. She is a farmer.

5: She receives support from us and her other daughters, and we could give her the financial support to show that she would have enough money to spend while in America, though all her expenses would be paid by us, is there an estimate of how much she would have to show in her bank account to be approved?

Just trying to work through all of this, but it's a strange situation. Especially since we are looking at how she is going to do at the interview with poor Thai skills. Anyone have any experience with a hilltribe in-law?

Thanks very much, I've been reading through articles for days trying to find a comparable situation.

Just wanted to say you guys were totally right. I ended up going to the doctor's office, got her a flu vaccine, and got all the paperwork, then never used it in our interview . Better to be safe than sorry though!!!

Approved!!!

I'm reading here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/142657-i-693-for-people-tha-have-already-had-the-complete-medical-overseas/

That it says I still need a Civil Surgeon to complete parts 1, 2, and 5 of my i-693.

However, they reference the i-693 instructions, which seem to have changed. They now state:

2. What if I am a K nonimmigrant visa holder and already had a medical exam overseas?

If you were admitted as a:

A. K-1 fiancé(e) or a K-2 child of a K-1 Fiancé(e); or as a

B. K-3 spouse of a U.S. citizen or a K-4 child of a K-3 spouse of a U.S. citizen; and

C. You received a medical examination prior to admission, then:

1. You are not required to have another medical examination as long as your form I-485 Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, is filed within one year of your overseas medical examinations, and the medical examination did not reveal a Class A medical condition, you received a waiver of inadmissibility and have complied with the terms and conditions on the waiver.

2. Even if a new medical examination is not required, you must still show proof that you complied with the vaccination requirements. If the vaccination record (DS 3025) was not properly completed and included as part of the original overseas medical examination report, you will have to have the vaccination report completed by a designated civil surgeon. In this case, you are required to submit the vaccination record and page 1 of Form I-693.

But, how do I know that my DS-3025 was filled out properly? Should I go to the Civil Surgeon just in case?

Okay, so I've been researching and researching this through here, and it's very confusing with all the different answers. Here is my situation.

My wife had a full medical done in Thailand.

We didn't fill out another one when turning in our AOS paperwork.

I have her vaccination records, but they are from the hospital in Thailand.

Now, my interview appointment letter states that I need, "A completed medical examination (Form I-693) and a vaccination supplement in a sealed envelope (unless already submitted).

Now, I'm pretty sure that we already turned that in at the POE or straight from the doctor in Thailand or something already. Do I need to do anything? Or go to a civil surgeon? What's the deal? Thank you so much for your help!

I would download or rip a movie and send it to my wife. Then, we'd both load up our laptop movie players, set our skype to "always stay on top" and we'd click play on the movie at the same time. That way, we'd watch a movie together, and be able to see each other's faces and hear each other's comments all throughout the movie.

Also, sometimes, (our difference was 12 hours), so she would send me to sleep while getting ready in the mid-morning. I would do the same for her as well.

Send each other packages as often as you can. Those things are precious.

Hang in there, I agree with what someone said, after you're together, it'll all melt away as you realize how worth it it was.

Plus, once you've been through this, imo, you can make it through anything.

Awesome, thank you so much! That's a huge worry off my chest. I can't imagine a more horrible thing to happen is for a legitimate marriage to be denied by missing something unavoidable. I've met so many people through conversations that know people who did the illegitimate marriage thing to get into the country, and I've told them how hard they're making it for people who are legitimately trying to do this. Thank you for all your help and encouragement!

Hello all! I have an upcoming interview in Memphis that I'm a little concerned about.. only for these reasons:

My wife doesn't have her driver's license yet.

My wife doesn't have health insurance yet.

Are these things going to be a problem? She's on my lease, and she's also in a joint bank account.

However, we've been trying to get her license for like 3-4 months! The Tennessee DMV people say it's because the terrorists got their licenses from Tennessee that the process is so hard and that they have an extensive searching through Homeland Security. We've been in there 4 times already. She's never been able to be issued an ID or even take the driver's test until she gets her Green Card.

However, we do have MOUNTAINS of photos. I'm a pastor, and she can't have a job until she gets her greencard, so she is there with me at everything we do with the youthgroup. So we have mountains of photos from our wedding, honeymoon, camping, church camp, rock climbing, inflatable things, with us and with groups of people.

Also, I work two part time jobs at the church, but I'm guaranteed to go full time (it's just been passed in the budget) January 01, where both I and she will get health care through the church. However, mine is still through my parents right now (mom is a government employee, and I'm 24). Do you think this will be an issue? Our interview is two weeks away. I could get upwards of 10 affidavits from people claiming the legitimacy of our marriage.

Doh! Thanks guys.

Hello, sorry I know this is probably on here, but I'm posing from my cell phone and couldn't find it. I'm on the I-485 from the K1 and just got my application sent back because I paid the wrong amount? I didn't apply for early work permit or anything, just straight up. I paid 1010. Was that the wrong price? I thought I read it like 100 times! I also made out the money orders to the us department of homeland security. I read from here that this was the best to make them out to. Could that be the problem??

Thanks!

Hey, my fiance is going back on Monday with all of the information that we collected regarding our relationship contact between 2008-2009 as well as some more employment records/tax sheets/ bank statements from the company in 2009.

Apparently, when you're going to turn information in like this, you can only do it Mondays or Wednesdays between 1:00pm and 3:00pm. My question to anyone with experience is: How exactly does this work if I want them to look over our proof while my fiancée waits? Should she get there super early, and give them the paperwork then wait? Should she show up right at 1:00pm? 12:30pm? 7am? Just looking for a little guidance as to the best way to get this done and her in my arms asap .

Thanks for your help!

Wow, thanks for that little tidbit about the '2' at the end. I'll give that a try as well. And yes, there was a 221g. The things that were checked were concerning our conversation in 2008-09 (when we weren't in a dating relationship) and the thing about my tax records in 2008-9. I'm not sure what they need from me additionallyt though. I guess this is something I can ask them? Thanks for all of your help Karee!

And thank you Aaron. I'm sorry I'm still in panic mode. I honestly thought this part would be a breeze compared to everything else. I've slept well recently knowing she would be with me soon. Now, I just feel very lonely and worried. The hard part about it is, I don't know exactly what they want from me now.. School transcripts from 2008 & 9? I mean, there's about 20 emails between 2008 and 2009. Is that enough?? We weren't dating then, and she didn't have her own computer. She had to use the internet cafe, and I was focusing on my studies.. Thanks again Aaron, I really appreciate the comforting words. I pray we can stick with the April 9th date...

I'm sure. I definitely read elsewhere that I was supposed to have all three (which she had just in case, but I would have preferred not to use them).

Here is the direct quote from the Appointment Letter:

"EVIDENCE OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT: Your Petitioner should present evidence that neither you nor your children (if applicable) will become a public charge in the United States. A Form I-134 (Affidavit of Support) signed by Petitioner can be submitted with a copy of Petitioner’s US passport, an employment letter and a copy of Petitioner’s tax return (Form 1040) for the most recent tax year. The petitioner’s income should meet the poverty guidelines at the time of Affidavit of Support filing.

 Form I-134 is downloadable from http://www.uscis.gov (Immigration Forms)  If your Petitioning fiancé (e) or spouse submitted a Form I-134 with your petition,

only new evidence of updated income and/or tax return should be submitted."

I'm just a nervous wreck. I thought about it all day today, and was praying, and everyone I know was asking about it. And now we have to wait until Monday? ::Shudder::. I panicked and sent them an email with the items as PDFs. I just can't fathom how they want MORE information from our relationship??! We literally sent them package slips from packages back and forth to each other. Skype Call logs of a minimum of two hours a day, for almost a year straight, 400 pages of Skype chat, photos together with dates, and places written in pen on the back, placed in chronological order. A book that I made her from ShutterFly on our 6 month anniversary. Facebook pictures and comments from 2009, etc.

I think what has me the most in shambles is their inability to see the love that I have for this girl. I already told her that it's impossible for me to spend my life without her. I would give up everything I had and swim over there if I needed to. In a second. I mean, I couldn't really swim that far, but I honestly would give anything to be with her. She's that worth it, and that kind of Amazing. I wish I could talk to these people on the phone.

Hey everyone. I'm a bit down today. We've gone through this whole ride with the amazing help of everyone here at the forums. Unfortunately, my fiancée did not pass her interview today. I can't even believe it. I'm still in shell shock. However, I think it's just under administrative review. My fiancée said it was a terrible experience. They drilled her super hard, and started asking about how we kept in contact during the time we knew each other but weren't a couple (strange?). That's a bit hard to prove, because we did actually talk to eachother, but it was through Tagged (we met in real life while I was on a missions trip, and she was already a Christian helping out with the mission). Tagged experienced some glitch a little while back and deleted everyone's saved messages. So I took some time and took screen shots of some of the email messages from Tagged telling me that she sent me some messages on there.

Then, they wanted to know why my income was too low while I was in school (in 2008 and 2009). This is a really weird question for a number of reasons:

1) They only wanted the most previous year's tax return. (this is what it said on our appointment letter).

2) I put on there that I was a full-time student and only a part time worker.

Even though they need last year's tax income only (but want me to provide more?) I've been eligible since 2010 and provided clear proof that I will make even more this year in 2011.

I don't understand what to do? Anyone else have this trouble in Bangkok???

I'm 24, she's turning 21 next week.

Our wedding is scheduled for April 9th. Family has already bought their plane ticket. Do you think this is still doable? What happens now?!?! I think the rejection letter they gave her said she couldn't come back until Monday with the proof. Could they give it to her then? or set it up 3-4 days later???

Thanks so much for your help. I could really use some answers and some encouragement.

Thanks again, and Blessings.

Eddie & Yana

Okay, so I couldn't find an edit button for my last post, but I finally found a definitive source while looking for the answer, and found out that I don't need my I-134 notarized anymore (I'm not familiar with the notary process).

Thanks!!!

Thanks for the help. Last question, I've read some things about people getting certain pieces of paperwork Notarized. Is this something I need to be concerned with? What needs to be notarized. Sorry, just excited to get this all done and I don't want to miss a thing!

Thanks for your help

I put this in here as well, because I didn't know if they were particular about this on a country-by-country basis.

Thanks!