iampatricias

Any advice at all? I haven't had my interview yet, and don't know much about your consulate, but it's my understanding that if one of the required documents is missing the day of the interview because of some unforeseen delay or emergency, and the interview goes well, they hold on to your passport, and really do just wait until the missing document arrives. If it jives with all the other stuff in your package, they issue the visa, and it gets sent without further trouble from the applicant. Of course, they are not likely to say, "well sir, everything looks great, as soon as we get that I134, we'll get that visa to you right away" but from what I've read around here, in the 'best case scenario', that is basically what happens.

Wishing you lots of luck!

It sounds like a great idea in theory, one that I tried to vigorously convince my own priest of too, but in practice, it is quite risky. If you have to swear you are not married, when you've had a religious ceremony and you do, on the one hand, consider yourselves married, that's kind of a problem, no? Especially if you are repeating any kind of vows, if there is any kind of 'handing over of the bride' even without a legally binding marriage certificate.

Like Kathryn said in her point #4, the interviewer won't give you a chance to convince them that since you didn't *actually* sign a wedding certificate, you're not *technically* married. An engagement party, like a wedding shower or something of the like, is much less likely to arouse suspicion, and if something like an engagement ceremony is expected in the beneficiary's culture, it's even less of an issue.

Nevertheless, since the distinction between a 'legal' and 'religious' wedding in a Christian/North American context anyway (I'm only speaking for myself, folks, sorry for any offense!) is so fine, the instinct to feel like you have to hide something to still be allowed to immigrate should be a pretty good indicator of the risk involved, even though you are legally complying with the requirements of the K1 visa. In any case, my priest wouldn't go for it, so we've made alternate arrangements.

We'll do our best (we've got some extremely helpful members around here!)

Firstly, it sounds like your fiance is the Canadian?

1. The DOS is the Department of State - you can call them with your new case number after your petition goes through the NVC (the National Visa Center), and they can tell you whether anything has been sent to you or received by the consulate. Some agents are more helpful than others, but it's nice to have a place to go for updates. This is their number: 202 663-1225

2. You book the interview through this website: https://usvisa-info.com/en-CA/selfservice/login - the CSC visa information website. I guess it's down this minute, but the Canadian should sign up with his passport, etc after his Packet 3 documents have been submitted (though you may not book an interview until Packet 4 has been sent to you).

3. He does not need to submit anything else besides what's listed on that site to the consulate in Montreal, anyway (I haven't read much about Vancouver lately). When he submits the checklist, and all the DSXXX forms, he should check off all the other paperwork he has originals of (the certificates and pictures) as a sort of declaration that those documents will be turned over at the interview. We do not need to attach the paperwork to the form as requested.

If you're writing the letters for the I129f petition, it's usually expected that you'll write a little something about how/where/when you met and the basic timeline of your relationship in less than a page. If the adjudicators are reading 20 of these a day, and determining your eligibility for a visa (ie. have you met in person in the last 2 years, and do you now intend to live together in the States), originality is good, I was told.

On the other hand, when submitting the Intent to Marry letters at the interview stage (at least at my consulate), they really just need you to declare that you are free and willing to legally marry within 90 days of using the K1 visa.

:thumbs:

I think that people keep hoping there is a special loophole........

... but I guess there isn't? Haven't we found one yet??

It sounds like you've done your research! Well done!

I enter the US on a fairly regular basis using the VWP (albeit, from Canada...which may make a difference) and I've only been hassled once, when I had no solid ties proving my return. Having a return ticket in hand helps (I couldn't prove I had it because I hadn't printed an itinerary - just the boarding passes for that day), plus the things SophWeb suggested. It's helpful (but not essential) if he has a job to go back to, school to finish, or appointments to keep, but for a longer stay, something like a rental agreement or even sometimes a letter from a parent saying, "my son/daughter lives with me and I expect him/her back at xx date" is enough to satisfy the CBP.

But like you said, there are horror stories of people who come entirely prepared and sincere and are humiliated and turned away (the lady border agent who questioned me threatened to send me back if I couldn't "do better than 'I think' or 'maybe'" in remembering the last time I'd crossed the border, and this was after she went through every little slip of paper in my wallet and my purse asking me the same school/work questions 3 times in 3 different ways...). Nevertheless, I have had many, many more experiences where I'm surprised they didn't ask me *more* questions or give me a bigger hassle, considering the stories I've heard. I think it's helpful too if he is well versed in the K1 process so that he can easily explain to the agent that he understands he's not allowed to get married and he's definitely returning home for the interview, which you guys expect to happen 'soon' or whenever. I don't know much about the B2 visa myself, so I can't comment on that, but I hope the border crossing experience goes well for you guys!

Just as a special note too, the K3 is not an option anymore.

For how you'd like to proceed through this relocation process, it sounds like the IR1/CR1 visa (a spouse visa) is more applicable to you. As everyone else has said, you may not apply for K1, marry, and then wait to receive the K1, and then enter the US. The K1 allows fiance(e)s of US citizens to enter the US, marry and stay legally. The IR1/CR1 visa does the same, except it allows a spouse of a US citizen to enter the US and stay.

This link probably has the best information on this site about what else you should be including as you prepare to send your I129 form away. If you don't prepare your initial package with the biographies, pictures, and letter of intent to marry, your package will either be returned as incomplete or else this information will be requested from you later, delaying the processing of your petition.

It's best to put the work in at the start, so the whole process can proceed efficiently and smoothly!

Welcome to VJ!

When you get your passport, and the visa is inside, you may travel immediately. That very hour, if you'd like

I heard it costs like $15 000 to have a baby at the hospital... I don't know if I would do it with no health insurance...

I was asking for stories about rejected cases to further reinforce my understanding that I made the right choice; and also for proof so I can better inform others that K1 is the way to go, especially those who ask me why I didn't just get married.

Man, whenever I'm chatting with people about how long this is taking and how terrible it is, I inevitably get asked, "why didn't you guys just get married in the first place?" and then I have to steel myself and remember we ARE doing this the right way and I end up explaining the issue of immigration intent to my friends and family... There are way too many risks to do it any other way but I'm with you - sometimes a little reassurance that we're not being masochistic about this helps.

I would try to get in touch with the consulate where you'll be interviewing to check about this issue - if the practice in your country of not including "family names"/surnames was not so unusual at the time of your birth, it might not be an issue. Even the practice of adding your father and grandfather's name seems more of a Middle Eastern practice than say, European or North American.

My feeling is that all the official documents should match and verify each other's information, but your consulate should be able to tell you whether your passport/birth certificate not matching will impact you getting a visa. Good luck!

ps... I sent my I129f to the Texas S.C. but I received my NOA1 from the California S.C. so I am not sure which service center I am actually being "serviced" through.

We didn't get any touches until our status changed online, and lots of people get "touched" 3 or 4 times and still wait 5 months for their NOA2s.

Anyway, about your question, everyone is supposed to submit their petitions to Texas, where they're sorted (presumably by the residence of the USC) and forwarded on to either Vermont or California. No K1/CR1/IR1 petitions are processed in Texas.

I am going to be submitting the papers for my fiance and we go to MN every june to visit my family. What kind of things should he say when we are in customs in the states? Should he tell them he is in the k-1 visa process??

There's no reason not to tell - basically, the border agents want to keep out travelers who they think might be misusing the tourist visa for immigration purposes. Usually, the advice here is to bring strong ties to home (rental/mortgage agreement, school enrollment, work contract/letter from work etc etc), and if your boyfriend is knowledgable about the K1 process, and produces proof paperwork has been filed, I'd say that looks like he's not likely to misuse the tourist visa since he's already pursuing legitimate means to immigrate. If he tries to hide the fact that he's got a significant other in the States, and is brought in for further questions and this 'avoidance' is uncovered later, it's much worse for him, so why not mention it up front?

Nevertheless, people in the middle of the K1 process with no intent to immigrate have been turned away for good reasons (carrying only a one way ticket, for example) or sometimes, for no obvious reason at all. The best you can do is be prepared and don't cast suspicion on yourself.

They told me to send a copy of my passport and Birth certificate to update my Birth date.

Send copies! Has your case been sent to Manila? That's where I would send your copies and be sure to put your MNL case number on every page you send them!

Click on your name in the top right hand corner of your screen and choose "Add/Edit Timeline" from the drop down menu

Wait... so you can postpone the interview date for up to 4 months and possibly a year?!

From everything I've seen on this site, it's not that big a deal to push the interview back once or twice. If you really want to drag it out, wait to return your P3 documents until a few weeks before the 4 months is up. The validity period will be automatically extended with no questions asked. When it's time to book an interview, check and see if you can reschedule with no penalty (for Montreal, for example, the system says appointments can be rescheduled as often as you'd like until a convenient time is found). And then of course, once you have the visa, you have 6 months to use it...

Usually, when you leave the US by air, you surrender the I94 on your way out - like Inky said, it should've gotten stapled into the passport on your way INTO the country...

I was going to suggest BoA actually, because when I was visiting my SO just before Christmas, we decided to add me to his checking account and get me a debit card so that we wouldn't have to pay to transfer money anymore (my car required 2 rather large and unexpected repairs within a month of each other).

When we met an agent at a branch in Washington state, she had me sign as much paperwork as she could but ultimately, because my SO opened the account in New York state (while he was working in Ontario, before we met) the paperwork had to come from them so she got in touch with another agent there, and a few weeks later, I received a few more forms to fill out and mail back. I had a bank card and pin number within a month of my return, in Canada, and I'm still living in Canada. I'm not even Canadian and I don't have a SSN yet. I wonder where this discrepancy comes from??

I don't honestly know how much the USCIS cares about the USC's place of birth being verifiable, but if I were in your position, I would file ASAP just to get the petition in line and if in 5 or 6 months you get an RFE for a new birth certificate, at least you're through the long wait time, and during that wait time, you might have been able to get a "better" birth certificate. If you wait another month or two or three now, and then submit the petition, you'll just be even further along. But that's just my opinion - good luck either way!

Ha! Since I'm not yet under Uncle Sam's jurisdiction, I will do as I please while I can!!

Well, it's my understanding that Montreal accepts neither phone calls nor faxes, though emails seem to have a somewhat better reputation (I wrote about changing my mailing address yesterday or the day before) but my Packet 3 was sent like 5 days after I submitted my proof of status, so at any rate, they DO open their mail and read what's inside... I guess!

If you decide to include a letter with his proof of status, I'd provide ever possible means of contacting either one of you (including email) and probably encourage the consulate to finish processing the visa application in Canada, to save you guys the trip down to Mexico. I don't know what the best or proper route to take is, but I do wish you lots of success!

Ah, that's a tough one... Did you send the paperwork for the Status in Canada request back yet? (I had to go through that too, by the way) If you haven't, maybe you can submit his RCD with a letter explaining that you'd like to complete the K1 process in Canada if possible but that his passport has already been confiscated etc etc.

If you have the whole thing transferred to Mexico, it will probably take a while... though it might not make much difference with how far ahead Montreal interviews are being booked...

while its all so "funny" for the rest of people (not all but still), we are over 6 months and it doesnt getting any better... So I agree with statement unacceptable.

Believe me, no one thinks this process is funny - I for one hate my life... well, ok, I'm being a bit dramatic but it took me 6 months to get through the USCIS too, and unless I can get in on someone else's interview cancellation, I likely won't get an interview until the end of July - that would surpass 1 year for us! It's a nightmare!

So, the case is getting processed in Montreal but he wants to pick the visa up in Mexico? Does he want to go home like, to see his family before you guys get married?