321.adam

Hi,
I'm a brit about to embark upon the K1 visa road with my California girl.

Most of the process seems straightforward, but I could use some help with 1 or 2 things...

The most confusing - the Affidavit of Support. Can anyone put this into simple terms for me? What are they asking for here? Is this basically about showing we have savings/earn lots of money/have people who can promise money on our behalf? And so...how much money would we need?

Second, in your experience, how long does it take from the first filing to me getting the visa?

The forum has been great for info, just hope this isn't going over and over the same old story too much...
Thanks
Adam

TKO

K1 process took 8 months for me. Details in my signature. This was with no setbacks or Requests for Further Evidence - it all went smoothly, and I leave for the US on the 3rd of July. The answer usually given on here is that nobody knows, but prepare for it to take 6 - 10 months.

I'm not comfortable in my knowledge to explain the Affidavit of Support thing, but someone will. Does your Cal Gal have any children or other dependents? This will affect the answers.

Good luck - here's a good thread for later reading:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=533414

Knight

Have a read of K1 Wiki Article which will give you a good idea of the overall process. Then read the more specific article, K1 London Applications for a more detailed and relevant article for applicants in the UK.

The Affidavit of Support (I-134) is basically showing that either you (I think only London will let you use your own financial resources) or your sponsor (i.e. your fiancée) has the financial resources to support you when you move to the US. As long as your fiancée makes over 125% of the Department of Health and Human Services Poverty Guidelines, you'll be fine. The amount depends on the size of the household you are joining. Information can be found at DHHS 2008 Poverty Guidelines.

As for length of time with the US Embassy in London, between 8 and 12 months I think. It's been a little while since I did it though.

Rete

D/L the I-134 and have a read of the instructions. It is all spelled out clearly what is required.

Basically the I-134, which is not binding btw, and its binding affidavit of support which is required after marriage you file for adjustment of status is a promise that the person petitioning for you can financially support you and if at some date in the future you collected means tested benefits can repay the US government.

Your intended and later your spouse MUST BE your financial sponsor even if they do not meet the financial requirements. The requirement is income of 125% of the poverty guidelines and those guidelines are clearly shown on the USCIS website. For a family of two it somewhere in the area of $18,500 annually. If you are using assets it is 3X that amount.

If the intended and/or spouse cannot fulfill this requirement they still complete the form and submit it but they must then have a co-sponsor to pledge to financially repay the US government if the need arises. Your spouse and co-sponsors can be on the hook for your entire lifetime or less depending on whether or not you work 10 years (40 quarters of social security requirements), become a USC, die, give up or have your residency revoked.

penguinbar

Hi we filed at the end of December.Our I129 petition was approved the middle of March. My fiancee got all the packets and documents in April and sent them back toLondon.In May we got an interview date for June.Our interview for the K1 was the first week of June and we were approved.I think it all depends on a combination of how busy the service center is that you send it to and how quick you send back the paperwork and that you have all the proper info and enough documentation and proof that you have a real relationship and seen each other in the last two years. Make sure that you have the long form UK birth certificate with your parents names and not the short UK form. Also you could send away for your police certificate as well! I do not reach the poverty guidelines in salary but I did in assets.My mom joint sponsered but they weren't interested. Oh and I learned on here to make copies of everything!!!

321.adam

Thanks for so many replies...so quick...I'm impressed!
Info was very useful.

So, more questions. Could a co-sponsor for the affidavit be from my family (the UK side)?

Then, regarding waiting times etc, does anyone have experience with a K3 visa?

I'm thinking that the other way to do all this would be to get married in the UK, as getting my American girlfriend here on a fiancee visa appears to be quicker than getting a K1. Then, once that's done, applying for a K3 after we got married here, and moving out to the states.

Anyone know if K3 visas come through quicker than K1s, or would I just be putting us through a load more paperwork and waiting...
Thanks, and thanks again
Adam

TKO

Co-sponsor must be a US Citizen or permanent resident living in the US - your family are not suitable candidates.

Rete

NO! The sponsor must be either a USC or US permanent resident and living in the US.

Again NO!. The K-3 is dead in the water for those from countries such as the UK. It takes longer than the I-130 and Immediate Relative Visa.

Noorah101

The joint sponsor MUST be age 18 or older, be a US PR or USC, and be living in the USA. It can be anyone...family, friend, co worker, stranger...but they must meet the above criteria. If your family member is not a US PR or USC and lives in the USA, then no, they can't be a joint sponsor.

K-3 visas are not the greatest visa to use anymore, for a variety of reasons. If you're going to go the marriage route instead, stick with the Immigrant Visa, and don't do the K-3. It's no quicker than an Immigrant Visa, and it's a LOT more hassle. An Immigrant Visa takes about the same as a K-1, around 8 to 10 months.

Yes, that's an option, but again don't go the K-3 route. If you want to do marriage, do the Immigrant Visa directly. Get married in the UK, then have your wife file the I-130 to a service center in the USA, then follow that route. It's about the same length as a K-1 process, except you (the UKC) become a US PR upon entry to the USA using you Immigrant Visa.

Don't do the K-3. It's a load more paperwork for the same long-term results as both the K-1 and the Immigrant Visa.

Rene

ian-mstm

Yes, but only if they are a USC or PR living in the US!


Not personally, but from all the rumors over the past few years, it's crap!


It would be about the same time if you simply filed for an IV (CR-1) rather than a K3. The advantage is that you would become a US permanent resident the day you enter the US rather than having to adjust your status back in the US... which is what you'd have to do if you filed for a K-3 visa. There's about a month or so difference time-wise, but a $1000 less expensive in the long run with many advantages and no disadvantages!

Ian

321.adam

Thanks Rete, TKO, Noorah + Ian for the latest info.
No doubt I'll be posting again soon with slightly panicked questions.

321.adam

Hi Ian - do you have any experience with the IV visa? When you say a month or so difference, how long would that make the total process?
I'll get onto the us visa site and take a look at that visa now...thanks for the tip.

Noorah101

Hi Adam,

Very basically, you have two good options. Forget the K-3.

1. K-1 fiance visa. USC files an I-129F, then about 8 to 10 months later you have an interview, if approved, you recieve the K-1 visa. After entering the USA on the K-1, you have 90 days to get married. After that you'll do more paperwork to file for your adjustment of status to permanent resident, and can live and work in the USA permanently. You and you wife will attend an interview and if approved, you'll get your green card.

2. Immigrant Visa. Get married first (either in the UK or the USA or a 3rd country). USC wife files an I-130 towards your immigrant visa. In about 8 to 10 months you have an interview, if approved, you receive a CR-1 Immigrant Visa. Upon entering the USA with this visa, you become a PR, with no more paperwork to do in order to get your green card.

I hope that helps make things a little clearer. Basically they are two routes to the very same goal...becoming a US PR and getting your green card. One route, you wait apart as an unmarried couple. The other route, you wait apart as a married couple. Both routes are approximately the same waiting time.

Don't go the K-3 route. Do some research on recent posts here (maybe look up posts by jeffmich) and see why the K-3 is no good compared to the Immigrant Visa (if you choose to go the marriage route).

Another important difference is your eligibility to work right away. If you enter on the Immigrant Visa, you can work from Day 1. If you enter on the K-1, you will have more paperwork to do before you can work...be prepared to be unemployed for several months.

Rene

Noorah101

Hi Adam,

Your two main concerns seem to be 1) the Affidavit of Support; and 2) the length of processing time.

The Affidavit of Support(s) issue will be there either way you go.

The length of processing time is about the same for both the K-1 and the Immigrant Visa. The only difference is that if you've met in person recently, the K-1 ball can get rolling *now*, whereas if you go the spouse Immigrant Visa route, you have to wait until you are married and have proof of marriage, before starting the visa process. So if you go the K-1 fiance route, you're shaving off any time it would take to wait until you can see each other to get married.

Rene