Noorah101

I agree, this site sure helped me when we did our K-1 process back in 2003/2004!!

She can get private health insurance, although it's pretty expensive. Once you're married you can get some kind of joint health insurance, and that will be helpful to show at the AOS interview, too, to prove your joint life together. Start asking around about premiums and coverage.

Yes.

Smart! And, also, once you're married and maybe both working, if you end up earning the right amount of income together by the time you have your AOS interview, you can do a new I-864 to bring in and maybe get mom off the hook. Once you're married, the interviewing officer can approve the aliens income and yours together on a new I-864. It's up to the officer, though, but worth a try if you make enough by that time.

It's good that you're looking ahead at AOS, but don't forget that's the second part of the whole big picture, and is about a year away from when you first start the I-129F petition for the K-1.

Rene

Pantifilus

Now you've officially confused me again, ha!
I thought the K-1 took 8-10 months? Gah, so confusing. All these blasted numbers and forms and regulations and blah. Correct me where I get things wrong:

We start with:
129 from me. I fill that out, etc. Send it in, do all the stuff needed for that.
I goes through the process, the government does whatever it is that takes them forever to process it, and then it gets approved (in theory). From there, it ends up with the NVC, which eventually means paperwork and information is sent to my girlfriend (who will be my fiance at that time).

Once that happens, she fills out the K-1, gives all the requested documentation, send it in, does whatever is needed, gets an interview, gets approved (in theory), and then at some point she gets approved.

Then what? Where doe the AOS fit in? Is that after she moves? That's what it seemed like you meant, but that doesn't make sense to me. Wouldn't they want the financial side covered before she came over? Correct me here so I know exactly where the AOS fits in. Is that during the actually process for the K-1? That's what you meant by in the second half? The 129 being the first half, the K-1 the second? That's what it says in the wiki, so I'm assuming the AOS is done way before she gets here. What do you mean by the AOS interview :S.

ian-mstm

Once she has the K-1 visa in her passport, she will come to the US, you will marry her within 90 days, and once you have a certified copy of the marriage certificate, you file for adjustment of status (AOS).

By the way, to help avoid your further confusion, there are two things which use the acronym AOS. 1) Adjustment of status - the process of changing from "some type of beneficiary" to a US permanent resident; and 2) Affidavit of support - paperwork that must be completed to demonstrate your financial ability to support the non-US citizen.


Yes. It is in filing for AOS (and another bunch of forms and stuff) that her status changes from "K-1 beneficiary" to "pending adjustment". This status is sufficient to allow her to live/work in the US and travel abroad without jeapordizing her adjustment. She will not become "fully adjusted" until after she has successfully passed an interview with an immigration officer. Only then, will she actually receive a green card (which isn't really green, but that's a whole different story!)


It's important to know that when talking about financials... we're talking about two different forms (both called "affidavit of support) with two different purposes: the I-134 (not legally binding, completed as part of the K-1 process); and the I-864 (legally binding contract between US citizen and US government, completed as part of the AOS process).


The entire K-1 process is the first part... the entire AOS (adjustment) process is the second part.

Ian

Tracym

Actually, it's practically impossible for a K-1 to get "standard" medical insurance. Or perhaps I should remove the practically.

If you're working, and can add her to your group policy, that probably would work. However, many (most? all?) insurance companies require a permanet residancy and/or having lived in the US for 6 months to issue an individual policy.

This is one that will work - not "standard" but it will issue a policy for a K-1:

http://www.imglobal.com/

It appears a sort of travel insurance, but they do expect people on their policies to stay in the states for years - it is NOT the sort of travel insurance that requires the trip begin and end in the UK.

Noorah101

AOS on this forum usually means "Adjustment of Status".

The first part of the complete part of the K-1 journey is getting the K-1 visa in hand, which you described pretty well. You file I-129F, eventually your fiance files for the visa, she goes to an interview, it's approved, and she uses the K-1 to come to the USA. During that process, there is an Affidavit of Support form I-134, which you will provide to her to take to her interview. However, London is relaxed about this form, and sometimes it's not required, if your fiancee has enough cash or assets to sort of self sponsor. Or, you can still use your mom as a joint sponsor on the I-134 if neither you nor your fiancee have much in the way of cash and assets, or if your income is very low. The I-134 is ONLY used for bringing a non-immigrant to the USA, as in the K-1 visa. And yes, this first part of the process can take around 8 to 10 months.

The second part is after she arrives in the USA on her K-1 and you get married. THEN, you need to file for her adjustment of status to permanent resident (AOS). This involves a whole new set of forms, a whole new fee ($1,010), and a new Affidavit of Support, this time form I-864. This affidavit of support is a legally binding contract between the USC and the US government, and the guidelines are more strict, as in you must meet certain financial requirements...I sent you the link to that before. Eventually, after filing for her AOS, you and she will both attend an interview at your local office in your city, and if approved, she will receive her green card. This second part of the process can take anywhere from a few months to many months.

So...what I meant when I said you have a year or so to think about the I-864, that means from the time you file the I-129F, until the time you need to submit her AOS paperwork, it could be around a year or so. 8 to 10 months for the first part, another couple of months to get married and file the AOS forms.

Rene

Bob

Just to clarify, to not abandon the AOS, the AP - Advance Parole has to come in first, but you'll be applying for that with the AOS. To work, you'll need the EAD, which again you'll apply for in the AOS.

meauxna

One of my favorite lines from The World According to Garp.
http://www.gumbopages.com/gradual.html

Pantifilus

Oh, okay, yeah, I got confused with the acronym. Thanks for clarifying. I "think" I got it now. It's still a little confusing, but my girlfriend and I will sit down, print out all the paperwork and talk about it when she visits for three weeks this summer.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know what the process is like in comparison when wanting to move to the UK?

Tracym

Harder.

Pantifilus

Harder as in it's harder to get into the U.S. or harder to get into the U.K.? (I'm assuming the former since it seems like the U.S., my beloved little country, is a turd when it comes to immigration).

I imagine I'd need to find an AmericanExpats site to get the details on that. Ha!

Noorah101

It's MUCH harder to immigrate to the USA.

Getting either a fiance or a spouse visa and immigrating to the UK can take less than a month.

There is a good website floating around out there for those interested in immigrating to the UK, I can never remember the site address.

Rene

FlyergirlUK

That would be uk-yankee.com. Very helpful for those wanting to connect with others who wish to move to the UK for whatever reason.

Bob

To get to the UK...a few hours in the consulate, or a few weeks by mail, same sort of money, but a lot quicker, less b/s, you get to live and work as soon as you land....compared to the US....you get the idea...

penguinbar

My mom is a joint sponser for the I864. She is a teacher and does not get pid durin the summer. Her salary is over 76K but it gets condensed during the year. She will get me a letter of employment from her school . I probably will be getting married in October or November. If they ask for 6 months worth of paystubs and there is a gap do I just right a not of explenation when filing and do they usually ask for that much?

penguinbar

Check out Atlantis for health insurance. I pay $336 for a single and I believe it is $536 or so for husband and wife