Help me bring my wife home!!!!

[mastin 0]

Hi everyone..

I am James, my wife is from Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

We are applying for a marriage visa for her to come home, I live in Minnesota.

Honestly I dont even know what visa I am applying for anymore!!!!!

I talked to an attorney and he said the best thing to do was to marry right away and apply for the K-3 visa.

So we filled out the I-130 and mailed it in on December 17 to the Chicago Lockbox with a $355 money gram.. they recieved it on the 19th according to the usps confirmation.

I mailed copies and kept the originals because I read to do this somewhere... I hope it was right.

I am awaiting for the reciept still, and we are trying to figure out what is the best thing to do next.

We figured that we have to fill out the I-129F and send it once we recieve the receipt number for the I-130. I this correct?

I have learned alot about her city and neighborhood and really dont like for her to be there longer then she has to.

So if this process takes too long I am considering moving there with her for as long as I have to, though we prefer to live here in the US.

Can anyone help?

[SusieK 3]

Hi everyone..

I am James, my wife is from Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

We are applying for a marriage visa for her to come home, I live in Minnesota.

Honestly I dont even know what visa I am applying for anymore!!!!!

I talked to an attorney and he said the best thing to do was to marry right away and apply for the K-3 visa.

So we filled out the I-130 and mailed it in on December 17 to the Chicago Lockbox with a $355 money gram.. they recieved it on the 19th according to the usps confirmation.

I mailed copies and kept the originals because I read to do this somewhere... I hope it was right.

I am awaiting for the reciept still, and we are trying to figure out what is the best thing to do next.

We figured that we have to fill out the I-129F and send it once we recieve the receipt number for the I-130. I this correct?

I have learned alot about her city and neighborhood and really dont like for her to be there longer then she has to.

So if this process takes too long I am considering moving there with her for as long as I have to, though we prefer to live here in the US.

Can anyone help?

James there are many great people here that can give good solid advice, my only advice to you is this, once you have your receipt go ahead and file the I-129F immediately - but as far as getting her here quickly, I wish I could say there was a positive answer for this but for right now - NO - there are so many of us waiting for our SO's to be with us, and some have wives pregnant overseas, some have concerns what you are speaking about, but there is no real quick way to have her here without doing what we all are doing right now, giving support to each other with this horrific situation in the wait times, and knowing that one day soon, our other half will be here.

Tis not easy, each day feels like it won't end, but if you can afford to go there and be with here and have an agent of choice here in the USA and can maintain your level of support guidelines or have a good Co-Sponsor, then you should try that route. We are not talking five months here and I dont mean to flip ya out over this, but some people from AUGUST of 2007 are still waiting to JUST GET THEIR notice (NOA1) from filing the I-130. Apparently it looks like August, September and forward were caught up in the jammy backlog.

It's going to be a long road, and once you accept that (it took me five months to finally have that little goodie sink deep into my mind) then you can make a plan to overcome your concerns.

I wish you luck as I do to all of the fellow VJ's - tis a crime for sure, but there is no one punishing us harder than ourselves in the sense of beating ourselves up each and everyday with sadness. This we can not help, but what we can do is continue to build our relationships and prepare for the next step wherever we may be in the process. I can think of no other answer for you at this time.

Cheers

Susie

[N360 0]

Sorry James, but SusieK is right. There's no easy way.

I filed my I-130 back in May and I just now got my approval. Our K3 is still pending. My wife is still abroad, and from the looks of it, will remain there for at least few more months.

I'll visit her next week but that's all I can do for now. Just visit her once in a while. If you can afford to live abroad while the papers are processing then you're luckier than most of us.

Good luck to us all.

[MargotDarko 0]

Hi everyone..

I am James, my wife is from Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

We are applying for a marriage visa for her to come home, I live in Minnesota.

Honestly I dont even know what visa I am applying for anymore!!!!!

I talked to an attorney and he said the best thing to do was to marry right away and apply for the K-3 visa.

So we filled out the I-130 and mailed it in on December 17 to the Chicago Lockbox with a $355 money gram.. they recieved it on the 19th according to the usps confirmation.

I mailed copies and kept the originals because I read to do this somewhere... I hope it was right.

I am awaiting for the reciept still, and we are trying to figure out what is the best thing to do next.

We figured that we have to fill out the I-129F and send it once we recieve the receipt number for the I-130. I this correct?

I have learned alot about her city and neighborhood and really dont like for her to be there longer then she has to.

So if this process takes too long I am considering moving there with her for as long as I have to, though we prefer to live here in the US.

Can anyone help?

Hello there! Congrats on starting the journey. As long as the forms had original signatures on them from you and your wife, everything else is fine (and should have been) as copies.

Since you did not already send in the I-129f (it is possible to send both rather than waiting for the I-130 receipt now), I would very seriously consider not applying for the K3 visa with the I-129f. If you continue to follow only the I-130, that will result in an immigrant visa, which has a lot of advantages, saves money, and is not currently taking much more time than the non-immigrant K3 visa.

Unfortunately, nothing can be done to hurry up the process. A word of caution on going to stay with her for an extended period - if you do, and if you cannot continue your US-based income, when it comes time to fill out the I-864 affadavit of support, you will need a US-based joint sponsor who earns sufficient income.

[supernova1 0]

Hi everyone..

I am James, my wife is from Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

We are applying for a marriage visa for her to come home, I live in Minnesota.

Honestly I dont even know what visa I am applying for anymore!!!!!

I talked to an attorney and he said the best thing to do was to marry right away and apply for the K-3 visa.

So we filled out the I-130 and mailed it in on December 17 to the Chicago Lockbox with a $355 money gram.. they recieved it on the 19th according to the usps confirmation.

I mailed copies and kept the originals because I read to do this somewhere... I hope it was right.

I am awaiting for the reciept still, and we are trying to figure out what is the best thing to do next.

We figured that we have to fill out the I-129F and send it once we recieve the receipt number for the I-130. I this correct?

I have learned alot about her city and neighborhood and really dont like for her to be there longer then she has to.

So if this process takes too long I am considering moving there with her for as long as I have to, though we prefer to live here in the US.

Can anyone help?

Hello there! Congrats on starting the journey. As long as the forms had original signatures on them from you and your wife, everything else is fine (and should have been) as copies.

Since you did not already send in the I-129f (it is possible to send both rather than waiting for the I-130 receipt now), I would very seriously consider not applying for the K3 visa with the I-129f. If you continue to follow only the I-130, that will result in an immigrant visa, which has a lot of advantages, saves money, and is not currently taking much more time than the non-immigrant K3 visa.

Unfortunately, nothing can be done to hurry up the process. A word of caution on going to stay with her for an extended period - if you do, and if you cannot continue your US-based income, when it comes time to fill out the I-864 affadavit of support, you will need a US-based joint sponsor who earns sufficient income.

Hi James !!

See my signature it is gonna give you AN IDEA about how long it can take to brasilian wives/husbands !

I just had my interview and approval last month after 252 days waiting ! ( of course each case is different ).

My husband decided to move to Brasil and live here with me to wait for the approval.

I agree with MargotDarko the affidavit of Support can be an issue.

In our case it wasnt because my husband works for an American Company here in Brasil plus he is retired.

If your wife wants to write me PM message in portuguese i would be glad to help her also there is an user NANDA she is from BH as your wife.

I am sure she can share her expirence with your wife too !

Welcome to Visa Journey !

[mbdesousa 0]

james,

this process requires lots of patience, but in the end you will be able to bring your wife here legally. unless you are financially affluent or can qualify for work, and you decide to live in brazil, you might face a different kind of depression during this process.

i would not worry too much about your wife being at the belo horizonte, she was born there and she probably knows how to stay out of trouble for another year (sigh, yes, this takes a year).... i understand your concern and frustration that you cannot just pluck her and bring her here where she will be 'safe' (with you!)

my husband lives in rio de janeiro, gun shots and machine gun rattling are heard from his windows in a nice neighborhood, friend got mugged in the daylight and killed, father got mugged in front of the bank, stuff like that....all of this worried me sick, i felt like i need to 'save' him immediately, until i decided to - relax and let the higher power lead. and, really, his life is going well, he goes to work, has his great family and good friends...life there is simply different than here. and, we can only do this much!

yeah, i agree, be careful about the support issue. co-sponsorship is complicated and a hassle. it can prolong your wait, too. better to make a good plan of often visit her and practice patience and endurance. we survived the wait by making baby-step plans. i went to visit my husband 3 times last year, and every time we made thorough plans of action. and we had a memorable time, that made us forget the distance.

and, see our timeline, and timelines for other people who applied for their spouses.

just today our documents left usa to brazil. this can be 1 or 2 more months before my husband arrives here...frustrating as hell, but on one fine day it will end soon.

good luck!

Edited January 8, 2008 by mbdesousa

[Alt name 1]

Hi, and welcome to VJ

You are going to want to file that I129F as soon as you get any sign that your case has been assigned a receipt number. We filed ours with the front and back of the cancelled check (your receipt number will be on the back), the I130 package copy, and the USPS delivery notice showing that we had an I130 pending. It took about 2 months for us to get a receipt notice and it's gotten worse since.

Once filed, the waiting begins. It's been taking 5-6 months to approval.

Regards, and good luck to you

David and Nitadyah

[christinejohn 0]

Hi David and Nitadyah,

I'm so glad for yo guys that she is finally on her way to the U.S.

I look at my timeline and can't help bursting into tears, we have been maried and separated for 9 months, our NOA 1 has reached 7 months and here we are still waiting for a sign from USCIS.

It is draining us and killing us.

I know a lot of people here are in the same boat, It's so hard.

[SusieK 3]

Hi David and Nitadyah,

I'm so glad for yo guys that she is finally on her way to the U.S.

I look at my timeline and can't help bursting into tears, we have been maried and separated for 9 months, our NOA 1 has reached 7 months and here we are still waiting for a sign from USCIS.

It is draining us and killing us.

I know a lot of people here are in the same boat, It's so hard.

not good and sounds strange, your waiting is longer than ours by far, your almost there, but being separated for 7 months almost now with my SO, tis so sad.

Hang on hang on hang on....

and David knows the not good was not for him, for that goodie I am beyond excited for their journey to be over for now!!!!!!!

Edited January 8, 2008 by SusieK

[Jamie&Dora 0]

James,

Everyone here knows how your feel, even though our parents who have known us all our lives, cannot. Please get a lawyer, at least to make sure you file the I-129F(k3) correctly. By the time you get your 130 and K3 processed, if you visit here you will slowly realize how large of a process this really is. But the IMPORTANT thing to do is get the 130 and 129 filled out perfectly.

As for the reciept notice, my lawyer uses here online bank. Listen to this.........

SHE SAW OUR CHECK FOR MY 130 WAS CASHED, SO SHE VIEWED THE CHECK ONLINE AND THEY STAMP THE CASE NUMBER ON THE BACK OF THE CHECK. Sometimes you can't read it, sometimes you can. I went to the uscis page and searched the case number and it was correct. We filed the 129 right away, even though i did not have a physical notice.

Sounds like is saved time? Well, that was 8 months ago and my case is stuck in "background check" for 3 months. I was adopted so i was born with one LEGAL name, but grew up with another. They have to check every possible variation to make sure i am "clean". It was not my fault that my father died, but i am now paying a differnt price for it.

James you will get upset like this more times in the future. READ the stories of people here. You will find great insight, mistakes, sorrow and complete joy. When i get depressed, (and i do), i try to make sure this suffering purifies my love for Dora, not destroys me.

I really hope you invest in a lawyer, at least initially. You can contact me if you want mine, or search your area. The great thing about immigration is that you do NOT need a lawyer next door. After all it is federal law.

-jamie

[mastin 0]

thanks everybody for your replies.....

I am really stressed now... haha. just the other day my wife bought an e-book, and she was reviewing the I-130 we already sent.. now we think we made some mistakes!!!

One thing I am pretty sure I did wrong, was not even think about sending with original signatures

I thought we had it all organized and figured out, made three copies of everything one for me, for my wife to take to Brazil, and one to mail, and to keep the originals because that is was we were told from an attorney we talked to.

I suppose this will put a damper in our process..

I feel for ya all that have been waiting through this for so long. hope it all works out for ya in the end (SOON).

[MargotDarko 0]

thanks everybody for your replies.....

I am really stressed now... haha. just the other day my wife bought an e-book, and she was reviewing the I-130 we already sent.. now we think we made some mistakes!!!

One thing I am pretty sure I did wrong, was not even think about sending with original signatures

I thought we had it all organized and figured out, made three copies of everything one for me, for my wife to take to Brazil, and one to mail, and to keep the originals because that is was we were told from an attorney we talked to.

I suppose this will put a damper in our process..

I feel for ya all that have been waiting through this for so long. hope it all works out for ya in the end (SOON).

I'm sorry to hear you were confused and did not send the petitions with original signatures. I would get new copies ready asap with original signatures so that you can return it right away when you receive a request for forms with original signatures on them. I hope it happens quickly for you.

I would like to repeat my advice to seriously consider not filing the I-129f. It will keep the process simpler for you and will cost less money overall. It will also mean that your wife would be a permanent resident upon entering and able to work right away. If you filed the I-129f and received a non-immigrant K-3 visa, it may save a couple months of time, but she would not be able to work for at least 3 months after entering the US as she would need EAD and she would also need EAD before applying for a SSN. Also, after her arrival you would have to file AOS (Adjustment of Status), which currently costs $1,010 USD and involves more forms and waiting. If you follow just the I-130 and receive a CR1 visa, it would probably take a bit longer, but she would be a PR right away and you would not have to worry about any more forms and fees until she had been in the US for two years and needed to file to remove the conditions on her green card.

Also, keep in mind that it's no longer possible to keep both the I-130 and the I-129f in the race and see which goes through NVC and to the embassy first. If you file the I-129f, it's almost sure to be approved at the same time as the I-130, but only the I-129f would be forwarded to NVC, leaving you without the choice of continuing the I-130 at that time without filing another form, paying more money, and waiting for several more months. I hope that's helpful rather than confusing!