jeffreyhy

fb,

And where's the border between The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland?

Regards, JEff

Fatmike85

Thanks for all the help. We put London down in the end to avoid any time stalling. The application was received in California on June 10th (2009). Estimated processing time is approximately 5 months. Is is realistic to be planning a wedding for May 2010? I have no health concerns, criminal record and my fiancée makes more than the minimum required to support me.

Noorah101

It's OK to make some initial plans for a wedding, but certainly don't do anything that you can't get a refund or change the date on in the future. You never know what could delay the issuance of your visa. Don't make any final plans until you have your visa in hand.

Rene

meauxna

YOu understand that it's a petition (not application) that you put in, and that the 5 months is just for that part, right?
Once the petition is approved, a visa application can go in.

I know it seems pedantical, but the lingo makes a difference.

But all things being normal, yes, you should be able to get it done and moved within a year. Rene's right too though, be careful about putting money down.

Fatmike85

Ha, sorry I know it is a petition, I forget the correct terminology for these things, I need to study up more. I know that this is only part one also and I have to do a lot more for the K-1 application(?). I'm expecting that to take an additional 2-3 months. I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions about things I don't understand between now and then. I'm tempted to set something up on MS project for this, to keep me on schedule! haha.

MandyNi

Hi Mike

Just to say I'm going via London Embassy too, I think when I checked on Dublin they said you had to prove residency in Ireland (that's south of the border for those who aren't clear on the difference between Ireland and Northern Ireland ) for some period of time. But, in any case I know you're further along the path now.

Vermont have had our I129F since 3 March and we're still waiting the initial approval for the petition. We are not planning for a specific date but thinking that if the USCIS get their fingers out I'll be heading over some time in the first quarter of 2010. Like everyone will tell you here, I doubt that it's wise to plan too far in advance until you get that stamp in your passport.

So far our petition seem to be lagging a few weeks behind compared to others experience here. I guess there are no hard and fast rules and that's what makes in hard/inadvisable to plan too much.

Fatmike85

Hi Mandy,

It's good to hear from someone going through the same thing at almost exactly the same time. As you are a little ahead of us in the process you may become a valuable resource! I see you have recently been approved

Have you started with the wedding plans? How are you going about that? My fiancée is pushing for a date, but I'm hesitant to commit to one just yet. we are thinking late May early June, which would be a year after we started the process.

I have another question for everyone; I want to go and see my fiancée within the next couple of months, I still have to fill in the ESTA which I'm not looking forward too because I have had a visa refusal (E-2 last September have visited since on VWP). If I am approved and get to travel I still have to go through immigration which always worries me, as I am unemployed and living at parents home since graduating uni last year. I know I need to prove ties to the UK etc. Long winded build up, but is there anything I should be worried about regarding the k-1 application process if I were to get turned away at POE?

ian-mstm

No. One will not affect the other.

Ian

Noorah101

No, getting turned away using the VWP will not affect your K-1 eligibility.

Rene

dharrisonrand

I did the K-1 thing 11 years ago, so things might be a little different since then, but I the visa was initially denied after the interview in London due to a VWP refusal that I had had in the past.

We had already had a pretty bad experience with the INS as we had to resubmit some documents which they had misplaced (more than once). Our time line from submitting the petition to the K-1 interview was around 2 years.

Apparently the border agent had recorded that I was deported instead of refused (as it said in my passport). I was told that I needed an I-212 to get this removed.

We wrote a letter to Nancy Pelosi's office (we live in SF) and one of her staff members, Harriet Ishimoto, had words with the U.S. Embassy in London.

About a week later I received a call at work from the embassy, apologizing for the mistake and asking when I wanted to come down to collect my K-1. There is a notation on my K-1 that states "I-212 not needed".

After getting to the U.S. in 2000 (entered through Atlanta as they were the only PoE that was always issuing work permits at the airport back then) and getting married we went through the AoS process to get me a Green Card.

Getting the green card took a further 2 years, and I had to have my fingerprints taken 3-4 times. A couple of times they were unclassifiable by the FBI. Another time they were lost by the INS and I received a letter telling me that I hadn't kept the appointment, and so my Green Card application was being denied. Luckily I had kept the letter that they stamp when you go to do the fingerprints though. I sent this into them and I had to have my prints taken one more time before we were scheduled for the green card interview.

When we were finally in front of Officer Cox for our interview she looked at the pile of documents that we had, and saw that it had already been 4 years since we began this process. She apologized for all the delays and said that because it had taken us so long to get to this stage she was going to issue us a full 10-year Green Card, instead of the provisional one (which I think is only valid for 3 or 5 years).

However, even though I am a green card holder this hasn't stopped me from being held-up when returning from trips abroad. The Visa Waiver refusal is always picked-up and sometimes I have to wait in a holding room while my status is confirmed. This has caused us to miss some connecting flights in the past.

I'll probably begin the N-400 process later this year as I have been told that having a U.S. Passport would be the only way to avoid these delays in the future.

I'm sure I'll be asking questions of the members here at that time.

So, that's my experience of having a VW Refusal and getting a K-1 & green card. I hope your experience is not as slow. If they try to jerk you arround at the embassy you should have your fiance contact her Congressperson & Senator as they can help a lot.

MandyNi

Hi Mike

No, we haven't even begun to think of a date, all we've agreed is that it's likely to be in the first half of next year assuming all goes according to plan with the Visa. Even if I assume I'll have the all important stamp in passport by say, January, I still have my house to sell and all that practical type stuff.

I'm not to bothered about fixing a date, but I suspect if you've just graduated that you and your fiancee are significantly younger than Michael and I. Maybe because I've been married before etc. I'm not getting overly anxious about the need to plan it too far ahead. I'm already accepting that it will be something pretty small and that most likely not too many of my friends or family will be able to travel to the US, so, for us something small, quiet, not too much hassle to arrange but tasteful and meaningful will be the key. Also as we're going to be on the West coast rather than the East when I arrive, it's unlikely that many of Michael's family will be there either. We're both thinking maybe a beach, a couple of friends, nice dinner then a bigger bash when we hit the East coast again, perhaps a special Thanksgiving celebration. So I guess it all depends of what type of ceremony and celebration you want but no doubt your fiancee wants her special day and you might have to just settle for only confirming/buying things that are not date specific.

Sorry for that lengthy ramble!

Mandy

Fatmike85

We have put a small deposit down on a reception venue, target date is May 21 2010. If we don't make that date we will just have to absorb the cost and plan for a later date. We are holding off paying for anything else until we are sure and telling people to wait to buy plane tickets until I get the visa to avoid undue costs to anyone else.
We are planning for a small wedding, I say small but the numbers keep adding up, hopefully around 50 people of immediate family and friends.

I have a few more questions for everyone;

I am planning on visiting my fiancee on the VWP soon as my ESTA was approved. If asked who I am visiting is it best practice to say fiancee straight away and calmly answer the following barrage of questions?

I am also starting to wonder about technicalities with my fiancee being able to support me. I'm sorry that I won't be using the correct terminology I couldn't find the section in the relevant wiki or website, bear with me.

She earns approximately $23k/yr, I have read she has to have income at or above 125% of the federal poverty level for the number of people in the household, including the immigrant. The problem being that she currently lives at her parents house. Her dad was made redundant at the start of the year and her mum doesn't earn much. So including me the household would be 4 people. Would this mean my fiancee would need to earn $22,050 at 100% or $27,563 at 125%?

Her parents support themselves and own the house, and a cabin. My fiancee is staying with them to save money, we intended to stay on a little once I move (not ideal, but it will allow us to get ourselves set up).

Would it be adviseable for my fiancee to find a place on her own, or with less people (how does this work if two working professionals rent together?) I know the other alternative is to find a co-sponsor.

jeffreyhy

Fm,

Read the instructions for I-864. It sounds to me as though your fiancee's household size will be 2 (although, prior to the final rule that was issued just a few years ago, your math would have been correct).

Regards, JEff

Fatmike85

I see, thanks for the name of the form JEff. People only count towards household numbers if they are listed as a dependent on your federal income tax return.

jeffreyhy

Fm,

Not quite. If a person is listed as a dependent on the income tax return then they must be counted, but there may be other dependents that are not be listed on a tax return.

In any case, it does not appear that your fiancee should identify her parents as her dependents.

Regards, JEff