meauxna

If she gets a new job, can she take a month+ off?

USCIS doesn't care if she travels; I lived overseas during the entire visa process for my DH. I was able to show I had sufficient income and assets to meet the financial requirements. Other people have returned from living overseas so they could make certain they could meet them.

I do think it's a very good idea for her to spend time in your home environment. There is really no rush for you to finish the visa part 'fast'... you've got a whole beautiful life in front of you both.

CAdreaming

Hi - good luck with all your plans..just want to pick up on what others have said re tiime lines however cos it really helps if we are realistic..makes it easier to manage expectitions. It took me 10 months and i was pretty speedy in getting all of my info together etc

FearlessxRin

The month part was if she didn't get a new job, if she did then I said a couple of weeks maybe just for a short visit like I did when I went to see her.

As for the financial part, do you mean you were able to show you had enough income to support your fiance(e) when they moved over there or show that you had enough financial backing to move over there? It is just at the moment I'm pretty much the one in the better financial situation. When she finally gets a fixed address, I'm going to be the one paying the $350 for the I-129F because at the moment, right after moving, she doesn't have the money to spend right now... Which doesn't bother me, end of the day I'm the one with a constant income.

Sorry for late replies, managed to get those extra 10 hours a week at work finally. Apparently all I needed was a good enough reason to be a royal pain in the ass to my manager and look what happens ^^

meauxna

I was able to complete a satisfactory I-864 (we were married & living overseas) so that my husband could get his visa to immigrate.
Dept of State did not mind that I was living overseas because I could evidence that I had enough money so that my immigrant would not become a Public Charge.

While it's generally not USCIS' business how I afforded to move overseas, I did demonstrate that as well.

Zap-Robo

To weigh in here, I met my wife in a similar way - via a gaming site (not X-Box Live, cos I'm a PC gamer).

I've been in the USA for around seven months now on a K1 Visa, and only got my Green Card approved (at an interview, still don't have it in hand) this week. My Adjustment of Status actually involved the EAD (employment Authorisation Document) being produced before my card has arrived, so I've been employed for around 3-4 weeks (though I count myself extremely lucky I found a job that fast).

I could not move here with my savings. Wage-wise I was in a similar position to yourself in the UK and the current Poverty Guidelines state that a two person household must earn $18,212pa. Which, when multiplied up the 3x for doing it with savings instead means you'd need to have a minimum of $54,636 when you get to the AOS stage. Let alone all the costs beforehand.

Taking your wage at $200pw and giving the processing time at 8 months... assuming four payweeks in each month you'll come out with $11,200 (this is including your $1,600 in current savings).

I hate to say it, but you're short by $43,436 if you wanted to fly completely solo on the financial aspect.

At the end of the day, realistically, you're going to need either your fiancée to get a job at more than $18,212pa or you'll need to use a co-sponsor/household members.

In my personal case, we had to use household members to meet the financial requirements as my wife's wage was just a little short (by an order of a few hundred a year!)

I know how difficult that might be to hear - possibly being denied living with the woman you love because of not meeting certain income levels is awful - but you need to be realistic.

Get a co-sponsor lined up now, so that it can be shown for your K1 Interview. I did, and here I am in sunny(!) Ohio with my green card soon to be in the post.

A more detailed account of my K1 and AOS journey is linked in my signature block, and I'd be happy to talk more if you have any questions.

FearlessxRin

Hmm, Well from my financial point of view, I never intended to base it solely on myself, because I figured that wouldn't be possible anyways... I just wanted to have enough to satisfy the interviewer that I have enough to get there, and hold on whilst I'm there until I can get to the point I start making an income as well.

In regards to the Household members, I already have an I-134 printed off (with several copies as well, I don't take chances) for her mother seeing as she still lives in the same household, and I'm pretty sure she will meet the income requirements (I will double check that later tonight, if not then I might have to go with plan B and line someone else up which I think might be possible, I have someone in mind should it become necessary) so hopefully that will cover any financial doubts they have about me living there or running out of money while I am.

As for my personal financial forecast in regards to the figure you gave, I'll have roughly $7.500 (I just realized that 8 months of tax costs me about $620 which has now annoyed me somewhat lol) in 8 months, assuming of course the Visa process takes that long, though that being said once it is issued it is valid for 6 months, so if it does happen before then, I can always stay over here a bit longer before leaving should the need arise.

Number Crunch (I'll use $);

Weekly:
30 * $9.90 = $297 - $19.48~ Tax. = $277.52

Monthly:
120 * $9.90 = $1188 - $77.92~ Tax. = $1110.08.

Rent: $162.98
Phone: $56.83 (Never get an iPhone.)
Travelcard: $74.96
---------------------
Total Outgoings: $294.77 (Safe to say roughly $310-$320 though)

Monthly Income: $1110.08 - $294.77 = $815.31 (Yes, my pay is sh*t)

So basically I don't even make $18,000 on a full-time contract here, and I'm £0.17 above the NMW... That is quite depressing lol. Hopefully the I-134 will cover it because that is pretty much a "safety net" so to speak I figure... Where by if I do somehow manage to spend over $1000 a month when I get there, which I doubt (with the exception of the AoS which is a lovely $1070) there is proof that I won't become a public charge, so that will help a lot.

I'll have a read of your signature now, it is just the getting there part that I'm focusing in at the moment, once that is out the way, I'll do anything to make ends meet once I'm over there. Done it once before, I can do it again... Benefit of this time though is I know a lot more about how much crap you can/will have to go through to get started (well more than I did when I was 17 anyway), least I won't be alone this time though ^^;

Edit:

Something I might have overlooked and just now noticed, the G-325A... I must have clicked on it at some point because it is in my Firefox History, but haven't printed any off to send over... Take it that it would be a good idea to do that huh >.>?

Also the statement of intent, basically that you want to move over there, get married and reside their permanently? Any tips or pointers are welcome ^^

Noorah101

Pretty much the only way YOUR finances are going to count for showing you won't become a public charge, is if you have a *substantial* savings built up. Since it sounds like you won't have that, then your fiancee's mother can do an I-134 for you, assuming SHE can show substantial proof that you won't become a public charge.

I guess what I'm saying is, all your figures here don't really mean much. It will come down to how much you have in savings, and if it's not a lot, it will come down to how much your future MIL earns and has in her savings. Your potential isn't really taken into consideration by the ConOff.

Don't forget you'll also have the I-864 to complete for your AOS, so it might be a good idea to see if MIL would be able to cover that as well, when the time comes.

Rene

FearlessxRin

Yea, I did have a look at the I-864 and I'm under the assumption that my fiancee will have a job by that point. I'll find out what my MIL's income is in a couple of hours when my fiancee gets up, I guess when it comes down to it, $7500 won't be enough to impress the ConOff so the ball will be in my MIL's court on that one.

Thanks ^^

Zap-Robo

I'm afraid you're looking at this the wrong way, and you'll get yourself in serious trouble if you manage to get a K1 Visa and move over here.

If you have anything less than $54,636 in savings, then regardless of the amount you do have (and think you're comfortable with) you're considered to be a risk by the US government - a risk which they won't be willing take.

Look at form I-864P. This is the target they require for wages. Triple it if you want to do it with savings.

Focussing only on getting there is going to give you an issue in the long run - look at the long game.

You're going to have a problem. On a K1 Visa you are not legally allowed to work until you get your work authorisation (EAD). To apply for that (without incurring extra cost), you're going to be filing your Adjustment of Status paperwork at the same time.

This means you've got to have the finances required already in place. Since you can't be working by law, then you have no significant finances to contribute.

I'll say it again (as others have been trying to point out too) - you need your fiancée, member(s) of her family, or friend(s) to be standing guarantee for you. Look up forms I-864 (for sponsors) and I-864a (for household members)

Going over without this in place (if you can convince them without this information) is risky at best. At worst, well...

The financial side of this is a minefield - and sounds to be your major hurdle. Get the numbers to add up to what the US Government wants it to be, not what you think you can get by on.

I'm sorry if I'm sounding harsh, but I'm worried that you're missing the point here and I'd know how I would have felt if I had been booted out the country.

meauxna

I'm with Z-R---that statement = a recipe for disaster. We've seen a few here.

ian-mstm

Respectfully, none of this matters. The US isn't interested in how much you have leftover each month... they care only about gross income. Taxes, expenses, utilities... none of that matters. Gross income is all that matters.

Ian

Zap-Robo

However, he's citing his UK income, which won't be continuing once he lands Stateside. So it doesn't matter to the US Government at all.

FearlessxRin

As for the "focusing on getting over there" statement I made, I could have worded that better. I didn't mean it to sound like I want to just rush through all the prerequisites and jump straight there without thinking ahead, I intended it to mean the opposite actually, I'm focusing on the paperwork for now, which is part of getting over there, a key part. Tomorrow I have the day off, so I'm probably going to sit here and ideally get everything I need together and filled in. I will probably try to fill in her files as well, seeing as when it comes to paperwork I seem to be slightly more organized because I have better access to all the info I need.

In regards to the EAD, I am aware of the fact that I can't work in the US legally on the K-1 Visa. I also know that I need to file the AoS in order to get the EAD, which I will do when the time comes. The K-1 Visa has a requirement to get married in the US within 3 months of entry, and this will be met probably well before 3 months so that I can start the process of getting the AoS/EAD sooner rather than sit around for 3 months, then waste another however long it takes to get those (I have no idea about that, please feel free to let me know).

I have taken the pointers, I looked at the I-134 and have copies of those, but apparently it is the I-864/I-864a that you mentioned that I actually need as far as I can tell now, though I'm a little confused as to which of those three we have to file... So a bit of clarification or input would be welcome seeing as I would hate to end up filing the wrong form.

Seeing as I will be doing most of the paperwork or getting most of it together to send over to her sorted out tomorrow, can someone just check over the list of things I have and let me know if I'm missing anything, or if I have something I don't need in there, thanks in advance.

1x I-129F. (Step 1 in the grand scheme of things)
2x G-325a (Required with the I-129F, one each)
Proof That We Have Met. (Flight Booking Confirmation, Photo Of Us, ESTA Application, Bank Statements To Verify Dates)
Proof That We Both Have The Same Intentions (Statements)
Passport Style Photos Taken Within 30 Days With Names On The Back.
Filling Fee ($340)

This is all I need to send initially as far as I can tell, I did look at Zap's thread and it seems the same.

Question is, when do all the other forms come into the picture? After the I-129F is cleared and the London Embassy requests them? Silly questions like this help I find ^^

Also, from looking at Zap's thread, it seems that when it comes to gathering documents like police certificates is when I will need the evidence of support, so I'm assuming that my Fiancee/Sponsor's will have to send those over to me once they are signed and completed?

Thanks Guys~

meauxna

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Category:USA_Immigration

Read all of those.

* K1
* K1 Flowchart Visuals
* K1 London Applications
* K1 London Financial Support

After the visa, arrive in the US, get married.

This discusses the next step: Adjustment Of Status Help Guide: AOS from a K-1 Fiance or K-3 Spouse Visa

Noorah101

It typically takes about 90 days from filing AOS to getting EAD in hand.

I-134 is the one you'll need for your K-1 visa interview. I-864 is the one that goes along with AOS (once you're in the USA and married). I-864a is for a contributing household member, and is only used if the sponsor is using a household member's income to supplement his/her I-864.

Instead of flight booking confirmation, use photocopies of the actual ticket stubs, and/or include copies of passport pages showing entry/exit stamps.

By "all the other forms", do you mean the K-1 visa application forms? They come into the picture after the I-129F is approved, and London asks you to apply for the visa. Of course you can take a look ahead at them at your leisure, they are all on the London website.

You will need a copy of your police report to take to your medical exam, so make sure you have that first. Yes, your fiancee/sponsor will send you the I-134 & evidence of income later. I usually suggest getting the I-134 done and sent over when you find out your interview date, that way the information is as current as possible.

Rene