Vietnam K-1 question

[aloram 1]

I'm an American man living and working in Hanoi for the last two years. My fiance is Vietnamese and we're trying to figure out the smoothest way to get married and live together in the U.S. My only income is from my jobs here (nothing coming from the U.S.). Based on the posts above, does that mean if we apply for a K1 visa I'll need to go back to the U.S. alone and get a job so I can put an American job on the I-134 form? We could, of course, get married over here, but my question would still be the same: What is the best way for us to get married and live in the U.S. together, while having the shortest amount of time apart? Thanks a lot for your help.

[Anh map 2,098]

I'm an American man living and working in Hanoi for the last two years. My fiance is Vietnamese and we're trying to figure out the smoothest way to get married and live together in the U.S. My only income is from my jobs here (nothing coming from the U.S.). Based on the posts above, does that mean if we apply for a K1 visa I'll need to go back to the U.S. alone and get a job so I can put an American job on the I-134 form? We could, of course, get married over here, but my question would still be the same: What is the best way for us to get married and live in the U.S. together, while having the shortest amount of time apart? Thanks a lot for your help.

The best thing is for you to marry in VN and then apply for the spouse visa, not the K1 fiancee visa. That will simplify your life a great deal. Especially as far as the affidavit of support. HCMC does not often accept joint sponsors for the I-134. For the spouse visa you submit an I-864 which does allow joint sponsorship.

You still need to establish US domicile, etc. Click the I-864 FAQ link in my signature below for more info.

With the spouse visa you can enter together and she has the green card done when arriving (actual GC comes in the mail after a bit) allowing her to work, etc. right away.

Do some reading in the guides as well as the VN regional forum. Lots of info there about HCMC. Given your circumstances you ought to have a smooth trip through the process.

[Brad and Vika 129]

Split from unrelated topic

[aloram 1]

The best thing is for you to marry in VN and then apply for the spouse visa, not the K1 fiancee visa. That will simplify your life a great deal. Especially as far as the affidavit of support. HCMC does not often accept joint sponsors for the I-134. For the spouse visa you submit an I-864 which does allow joint sponsorship. 

You still need to establish US domicile, etc. Click the I-864 FAQ link in my signature below for more info. 

With the spouse visa you can enter together and she has the green card done when arriving (actual GC comes in the mail after a bit) allowing her to work, etc. right away. 

Do some reading in the guides as well as the VN regional forum. Lots of info there about HCMC. Given your circumstances you ought to have a smooth trip through the process. 

Thanks. I've heard marriage in Hanoi/Vietnam is quite the pain; many people suggest going to Bangkok instead. My girlfriend is from Hanoi, so if we get married here, I guess that fact could at least simplify things a bit. We're really unsure what to do. We're both 31, college graduates, and have a lot of different work experience. She's completely fluent in English, too. We've been together for a year and a half, so I'm not concerned about having difficulty proving the validity of our relationship. But I am confused about the Affidavit of Support. I figured that have a joint sponsor would put you at a big disadvantage, sort of like you're formally stating you CAN'T do something you MUST be able to do (prevent your spouse from becoming a "public charge"). I'm an English teacher here, and all my work experience in the U.S. is in the non-profit field, so the reality of it is that I won't be earning a ton of money anytime soon.

As far as domicile, I've maintained an address in the U.S. since I've been here which I use as an address for my bank, credit cards, etc. Is that sufficient for domicile?

Thanks for our help.

[Anh map 2,098]

The best thing is for you to marry in VN and then apply for the spouse visa, not the K1 fiancee visa. That will simplify your life a great deal. Especially as far as the affidavit of support. HCMC does not often accept joint sponsors for the I-134. For the spouse visa you submit an I-864 which does allow joint sponsorship. 

You still need to establish US domicile, etc. Click the I-864 FAQ link in my signature below for more info. 

With the spouse visa you can enter together and she has the green card done when arriving (actual GC comes in the mail after a bit) allowing her to work, etc. right away. 

Do some reading in the guides as well as the VN regional forum. Lots of info there about HCMC. Given your circumstances you ought to have a smooth trip through the process. 

Thanks. I've heard marriage in Hanoi/Vietnam is quite the pain; many people suggest going to Bangkok instead. My girlfriend is from Hanoi, so if we get married here, I guess that fact could at least simplify things a bit. We're really unsure what to do. We're both 31, college graduates, and have a lot of different work experience. She's completely fluent in English, too. We've been together for a year and a half, so I'm not concerned about having difficulty proving the validity of our relationship. But I am confused about the Affidavit of Support. I figured that have a joint sponsor would put you at a big disadvantage, sort of like you're formally stating you CAN'T do something you MUST be able to do (prevent your spouse from becoming a "public charge"). I'm an English teacher here, and all my work experience in the U.S. is in the non-profit field, so the reality of it is that I won't be earning a ton of money anytime soon.

As far as domicile, I've maintained an address in the U.S. since I've been here which I use as an address for my bank, credit cards, etc. Is that sufficient for domicile?

Thanks for our help.

Get married there in Hanoi so you can have the wedding party with the family. That's a biggie for the CO's in HCMC.

For US domicile, check the I-864 FAQ link in my signature. It has the info you need to determine if you've got enough. Sounds like you do.

Don't sweat the joint sponsor. Done all the time, all over the world.

Go into the VN regional forum and you can get lots of input that is specific to the HCMC consulate.