Damon G.

I have together the preliminary packets for submission for my fiance's
tourist visa and fiance' visa currently. I understand the requirements
for these visas, for the most part. The tourist visa is for her
submission in Munich, Germany, so that she and my son (an American
citizen w/passport) can come to visit and bring my son to meet his
grand parents. My first question (2nd in the subject, thanks to my
sleep-fogged mind), is how to go about making sure that the interviewer
knows that she is planning to return from this visit. She already has
a letter of invitation from myself as well as my parents stating that
she is coming here to visit, to let my son meet his grandparents, and
that she is to stay for a duration of 2-4 weeks. The length that she
is able to stay depends on how long her ex-husband can take care of her
other two daughters while they have time out of school.

Unfortunately she is living off of child support from her ex-husband
and myself while she is there. The only documents that we have for her
to bring to her tourist visa interview to prove that she will be
returning to Germany are documents proving that her daughters stay with
her, and that they are going to school where she is at. Then there is
the lease for her apartment; she does not have a job to bring proof of,
as she is on German Jugendamt monies for her daughters. Is this going
to be sufficient, along with the letters of invitation saying that she
is only going to be here for awhile, and that after this she will be
returning to Germany for the submission and processing for her fiance'
and permanent immigration packet?

My second and final question is about this fiance' and permanent
immigration packet. I know that I have all of the documentation
required on the US government websites for the submission of this. I
also know that when I spoke to a lawyer regarding this issue, he wanted
proof of my income, affadavits of financial support if my income was
below a certain level, and police reports from all countries that she
had been in recently. I believe there were also some documents
requested such as my high school/college transcripts and DD-214
military paperwork in order to establish my residence in certain
countries for periods of time. Could somebody give me a general
checklist of other documents that it would be helpful to include in
this packet, just to try to streamline the process a bit so that they
don't have to prompt me for submission of more things after I've sent
in what I have now? I want to try to give them everything that they're
going to need up front. I'm working with a JAG attorney on this issue,
but he has not had experience in matters of immigration, so I'm a
little bit concerned that he won't know what to put in with this stuff,
either.

Also, just to make sure that you all understand, I know that it's
illegal for her to come here on the tourist visa and marry me or
attempt to immigrate permanently at that point. She is not planning on
that, nor am I. She is not physically able to as both of her daughters
still live with her in Germany. So no, I'm not planning on doing that,
and I'm not planning on submitting both visa packets concurrently. I
know that this is not a viable option. The fiance' visa paperwork will
not be submitted until the tourist visa has been used for her visit
here or until it is denied (which I hope does not happen).

Thanks for your time and help!

-Damon

scrubbedexpat099

Germans do not need Tourist Visa's, they can travel on the VWP. They just fill on the form on the plane.

She should have available whatever she has to support her limited visit. Is she getting an open return ticket? For most people the return date will be set when they book.

www.visajourney.com has a good FAQ on the documentation required.

hcj1440

Agree with Boiler -- German citizens holding German passports do not need a tourist visa at all. However, since OP did not say she is a German citizen, it's possible that she is a citizen of a non-VWP country residing in Germany, in which case she would need a visa.

With regard to the tourist visa -- as you know the final decision will be made by the consular officer. She needs to prove as many financial and familial/social ties to Germany as she can. Not sure why you cannot submit both tourist and fiancee visa packets simultaneously -- never knew you couldn't. I would think the fact that you are engaged is going to come up in her visitor visa interview anyway, not like they aren't going to find out.

Noorah101

Hi Damon,

Whenever you refer to the "fiance visa paperwork" or "fiance visa packet", what exactly are you referring to? Are you talking about the I-129F petition which you submit in the USA, or are you talking about her visa paperwork that she submits to the consulate?

You can submit the I-129F now, if you have met the "meeting at least once in person in the past 2 years" requirement. That petition has nothing to do with her tourist visa application. However, if you are waiting until she comes on the tourist visa in order to fulfill the meeting requirement, then yes, you'll need ot wait and submit it after you've met in person. If you're talking about the consulate package for her fiance visa, then again it can be submitted, as long as she's back in her home country for the visa interview.

Rene