meauxna

Since you had heard about the Fiance Visa (used it in the subject line) I'm not sure why it is such a surprise to you.


http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...7&postcount=12

I know it's frustrating.

andiclare

Well we got some half-baked advice from the get-go and thought that the whole thing would be quicker, and about 1/3 the cost, of what it actually is. It's ok though, I think we'll be fine.

Thanks for the catch earlier, btw, I did mean 'adjustment of status' and not 'change of status'.

yorkieuk

Have you and your fiancé researched properly how much the visa costs wether you do the K1 or spousal visa route?

As was mentioned earlier the $460 filing fee is just the start of all the costs you will entail, to give you a rough estimate of what me and my fiancé have spent so far on the K1 :

$460 I-129f filing fee
$40 on photos, courier, photocopying of I-129f package
$ 60 on two police certficates
$ 50 on two birth certificates
$ 40 on fedexing evidence of support from US to UK
$ 30 on photos, photcopying and postage of forms to embassy
$ 270 on the medical exam
$ 100 on 2 extra vaccinations needed
$ 131 on the visa fee
$ 200 on rountrip to london for medical and interview
$ 20 on the embassy courier service

Total = $1401 and that is not including the money for AOS once you and your fiancé are married. So roughly $2500 for the whole thing.

I had no idea when starting the visa process that the whole think would be so expensive and frankly if it had not of been for our parents there would be no way on earth we could have afforded it.

I don't mean this post to alarm you buy I think you should be aware of how much you will need to budget as I would hate for you to save up for the filing of the I-129f and not realise the other costs that it incurs.

Sophie

andiclare

Sophie, thanks for replying. We've researched it some, obviously not "properly"...Just being on this forum today has been an education. We don't have as much as $2500 budgeted for the Immigration process alone, at least not yet.

Right now we are leaning towards my fiance coming here on his visa waiver in Nov., we get married, and then he goes back to Durham to work and save up more money to replace the huge chunk of savings we've spent on the I130 AOS petition (plus the other fees) which I'll be filing in the meantime.

At the moment this seems like the best option. What do yall think?

Noorah101

I think this doesn't quite make sense.

1. Are you leaning towards doing an I-129F now, so that your fiance can immigrate in (hopefully) November on the K-1 visa? If that's the case, he shouldn't go back to Durham to work for any great length of time, and in fact will be landlocked in the USA for several months until you file AOS and get his AP (advance parole, travel document).

2. Are you thinking of just waiting separately until he comes on the VWP in November, get married, and then do an Immigrant Visa? If so, you can't file the I-130 or anything else until you are actually married. So you'll be doing nothing between now and November, while just waiting to get married. If you wait until November to get married, he won't be immigrating to the USA until summer 2010, and there is no AOS involved in that case.

You seem to be confusing the two processes....

Rene

yorkieuk

From a financial perspective if the money is tight then I think the immigrant spousal visa (the CR-1) makes more sense the reasons for this being:

1) I think overall cost is cheaper than a fiancé visa. I saw on the other post ballpark figures were around $2000 so this is $500 cheaper than the fiancé one.

2) Your fiancé can come over in November on the VWP marry you and then return to the UK while you file the spousal visa on his behalf. This gives you more time to think about saving up as you won't have to pay the filing fees till November and the other fees (i.e medical, visa fee, trips to London etc) until some months after. As you said during this time (when your now husband had returned to the UK after the wedding) he could be working which would help considerably towards to cost.

3) The spousal visa is an immigrant visa which means after it has been approved, your husband enters the US and becomes a permanent residence from day 1. This means he is eligible to work from day 1. The fiance visa does not offer this as once you enter, you get married and then file the adjustment of status package (AOS) which includes the application for EAD (work authorization). After submission of the AOS package the EAD takes roughly 90 days to arrive and your now husband would not be able to work until he receives it.

So all in all the spousal route for you seems a better option. The only downside is that once you are married in November your husband has to return to the UK. However, he is still able to use the vwp during this time to visit you so you would not have to be apart for the whole time it takes to be approved.

Hope this helps

Sophie

andiclare

Sorry...yeah I am confused lol. We were thinking of possibly NOT doing the I-29F, just getting married as planned on his VWP in November and then he goes back to the UK and we begin the Immigration process to bring him here for good. In the meantime he would continue to work in Durham until he's allowed to come back here legally. I was thinking that this, too, would involve an AOS but apparently it won't?

Does he just apply for a regular immigrant visa at that point?

andiclare

Oh I posted too soon. Thanks Sophie, you answered my questions.

Noorah101

Yes, now you got it right!

meauxna

Well put, Ms Sophie!

yorkieuk

It's amazing what a year on this forum does to your knowledge of US immigration!

Noorah101

I closed this thread since the OP is no longer doing a K-1 visa.

Rene
Moderator