Question about howto start the K-3 Visa Process.

[Fatima and Syed 0]

Ok, first off due to being misguided by friends who had married prior to me I have delayed filing my cases for my husband. I suppose if I had applied my visa paperwork by now we may we may already have gottenan approval. We married in 11-07 and still have not started the papers. We are eager now to get the ball rolling. I got a few questions: how to start? do we need a lawyer? will a lawyer speed up the process? what do i need from him or he need from me to establish proof of a bonafide relationship? I need any help you can provide. Thanks!

[sydkym 0]

First, take a deep breath, then go to the USCIS website and download the I-130 and the directions.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

If you want a K-3 visa, after you send in the 130 and get your NOA1 back, you can send the I-129f to "speed up" the process.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...00045f3d6a1RCRD

However, I started as a K-3 and never got I-129f approval in time, so our case proceeded as a CR-1 visa. Now, I´m happy about it because with the K-3 you don´t get permission to work upon entry, with a CR-1, you can work right away. You also get a SS card and a greencard with the CR-1. It also costs less in the long-run. It just depends on if you want it to be fast or not, although that´s not completely in your hands.

I would not recommend wasting money on a lawyer. You can learn everything you need to know about a smooth process right here.

[jeffmich2007 0]

Ok, first off due to being misguided by friends who had married prior to me I have delayed filing my cases for my husband. I suppose if I had applied my visa paperwork by now we may we may already have gottenan approval. We married in 11-07 and still have not started the papers. We are eager now to get the ball rolling. I got a few questions: how to start? do we need a lawyer? will a lawyer speed up the process? what do i need from him or he need from me to establish proof of a bonafide relationship? I need any help you can provide. Thanks!

My husband and i hired an attorney to file the K3 for me and my son but i seen a lot of K3 applicants getting both I-130 and I-129F approved at the same time so in reality the K3 is not faster somy husband filed an I-130 for my son just in April this year which has joined up with my I-130, mine was filed Oct 2007 so we are going the I-130 route which is a lot easier in the long run. We no longer use our attorney to be honest we have done mostly everything ourselves all he did was check typos and posted it ( the K3 that was) The I-130 we did ourselves so really you can do this yourself. The people on this website will help you because there are many people going through the same thing and all are glad to help out.

We have had confirmation from Vermont Service Centre saying that my I-130 wil get adjudicated in 2 to 3 months and my sons will be done same time as mine. My son is a minor (12yrs)

Anyways...while K3 is an option for you it will only cut the time of about 2 months and then when u arrive in US you have to adjust status which is fine if thats what you want to go through....it makes sense to just file I-130 and not have to deal with extra costs and long waiting before you can work or even get a driving license but it's entirely your choice which route you take.

This process is not easy and can be frustrating ! I have not seen my husband in 9 months so be prepared....I don't see me getting approved till August at the earliest and then i will have to wait 2 or 3 more months before i get interview in my country which will be US embassy in London.

My advice would be to go the I-130 route it is better in the long run

Good Luck whatever you choose

Michelle

[MAO36 30]

For me the K3 route is the fastest and best in terms of being together quicker with my husband. Nigeria has a 7-8 month wait for interviews so the $1000 to adjust and dealing with not working for 3months is obsolete for us in this situation. Find out the waiting time for interviews in you're spouses Country first before you make the decision. I got approved for both as well but my K3 is on it's way to the embassy and the interview is 2 months for the k3 oppsed to 7-8 months for the CR1. If I could stand being apart from my husband for close to 2 years then the CR1 would have been my choice but a marriage couples should not be apart for this long or else the strain on the marraige willbe more detrimental than paying 1k and waiting 3mths to work. Acarefully consider the Country youre spouse is from and the interview timefram.

[Fatima and Syed 0]

Ok, thank you so far for your posts. So, it is okay to do it without a lawyer? What about these so-called immigration attorneys and visapro.com? Are these scams or are they the real deal? Please I need to know. Thanks.

[jeffmich2007 0]

Ok, first off due to being misguided by friends who had married prior to me I have delayed filing my cases for my husband. I suppose if I had applied my visa paperwork by now we may we may already have gottenan approval. We married in 11-07 and still have not started the papers. We are eager now to get the ball rolling. I got a few questions: how to start? do we need a lawyer? will a lawyer speed up the process? what do i need from him or he need from me to establish proof of a bonafide relationship? I need any help you can provide. Thanks!

Opps ...forgot to say...An attorney does NOT speed up any processing !!!! Beleive me i know it sounds like a lot of paperwork but its not really, you can do this yourself plus it is good to know how to do it. It gives a better understanding of what your filling out.

proof of a bonafide marriage is..... e-mails, photo's of you together( your wedding pics) and with family members helps to,if you have that , letters written as sworn statements from family members or friends that know you both saying u have a bonafide marriage, joint bank accounts, joint credit card statements, Life insurance showing your husband is benificiary, lease in joint names really anything that you can have your husband on is great it shows commitment as husband and wife.

When you file K3 or for I-130 remember to send copies of everything listed...marriage cert , Full birth Certs, etc...do NOT send the Originals at this stage because they may get lost or not returned.

I hope this helps you to get started also go to the US embassy website, i am sure this is correct link either type in google US Embassy and it will bring up official website then look under immigrant visas.

http://www.state.gov/

There will be other's come by and add thier info to help too

Michelle

[jeffmich2007 0]

Ok, thank you so far for your posts. So, it is okay to do it without a lawyer? What about these so-called immigration attorneys and visapro.com? Are these scams or are they the real deal? Please I need to know. Thanks.

Like i said we hired an Immigration Attorney of Law, he was not a consultant he was for real but we found we could do this ourself and save the $$$$because he really didn't bother with relying e-mails or even chasing our file when we asked him to and was dead against us filing an I-130 for my son , i guess if we went ahead with K3 he would have been getting more $$$$ when it came to AOS which to be fair is his job but we have managed fine without his services

So it's up to you just be careful if you are gonna get an attorney make sure he is who he says he is cause there are a lot of Consultants out there that use the words Immigration Attorney but are not really lawyers anyways it's up to you but make sure u understand the process so you can keep track of things.

Michelle

[Steve Y Jessica 1]

I did not use a lawyer. I used the resources on this website. Lots of information about the process on this site. There are also example forms to help you fill out the paperwork. And it tells you exactly how to put together your package for mailing. And when you have a question, just ask. as you can see, you get lots of help when you ask.

Without a lawyer, I had no RFE's and was approved in 29 days. This may not be the typical time frame, but the point is that i was approved with no RFE's by using the information on this website.

But you need to make the desision for yourself. A good lawyer is not a scam, but if you are not comfortable with filling out the paperwork youself, you might want to have some help. But if you are comfortable with filling out the forms and checking and triple checking everything, and following directions, then you can easily do it yourself.

Just make sure you read all of the help on this site and use the guides and example forms, because if you put "N/A" where you should put "none", it can slow down your process.

But, a lawyer will in no way speed up the process. The only thing the lawyer will do for you is fill out the paperwork, but you will have to find all of the information for yourself. And he will mail your paperwork.

[shiri 0]

I understand how you feel. We went through something very similar. I met my husband while playing a game online in August of 2005. We became good friends. Then things progressed. I met him in person in July 2006. He came here in March 2007 and we didn't realize there was an immigration thing for fiances and we got married at the Justice of the peace and he stayed with me for less than 6months and then went back home to Canada. I got really sick and he came back about 3 weeks later and once again stayed, but still less than 6 months. We had been told he could be here as long as he stayed less than 6 months.

... well to make my long story short, I am pregnant with his baby that is due to be born in about 11 weeks. We only started our immigration visa and k3 visa in May. We didn't realize or know half of what we do now about marriage and immigration stuff. I am hoping that he will be able to cross the border to be here for our son's birth, but am not sure how things will happen. We have been apart over 9 weeks now. It's hard to be separated. I am not using a lawyer. I called one locally and they told me that if I can do my own taxes, then I can do this and it saves me a good deal of money. Since we are married, I filed the I130 with all the documents required and then when I got the receipt for that, I filed the I129F (for the K3 visa) You can get all the information from USCIS.gov and click on the immigration forms. With the I130, you also have to have a G325a that both of you fill out separately, but you have to file with the I130. The filing fee for the I130 is $355 and I was told if I was filing for the K3 that I didn't have to pay the extra $455 for the I129F because we are filing it for them to come here while we are waiting on the approval of the I130. I hope my experiment with all of this helps at least a little bit. Good luck!

[Fatima and Syed 0]

So, it seems like a no go on the lawyer. Well, I am going to go to Pakistan looks like in the last week July to get things straight. Should I process the marriage papers over or go ahead and start now?

I did not use a lawyer. I used the resources on this website. Lots of information about the process on this site. There are also example forms to help you fill out the paperwork. And it tells you exactly how to put together your package for mailing. And when you have a question, just ask. as you can see, you get lots of help when you ask.

Without a lawyer, I had no RFE's and was approved in 29 days. This may not be the typical time frame, but the point is that i was approved with no RFE's by using the information on this website.

But you need to make the desision for yourself. A good lawyer is not a scam, but if you are not comfortable with filling out the paperwork youself, you might want to have some help. But if you are comfortable with filling out the forms and checking and triple checking everything, and following directions, then you can easily do it yourself.

Just make sure you read all of the help on this site and use the guides and example forms, because if you put "N/A" where you should put "none", it can slow down your process.

But, a lawyer will in no way speed up the process. The only thing the lawyer will do for you is fill out the paperwork, but you will have to find all of the information for yourself. And he will mail your paperwork.

[emt103c 10]

The only reason to hire an attorney for this would be if there are complications to the case like an overstayed visa or the like. Good luck!

My hubby is from Pakistan.