K-1 Questions

[thomasj 0]

Dear Group,

I am a British citizen who got engaged to a US citizen during a

recent holiday and we will be sending in an application for a K1

visa during the next couple of weeks. We dated for several years

when I was at University over in the States before ending our

relationship when I returned home. We stayed in contact though, and

after a couple of years it was clear that we were meant to be

together! I have a few issues that I would appreciate any advice on;

(1) My fiancee lives at home with her mother and is only earning

minimum wage at the moment whilst she looks for a job in her chosen

career field post-university. I don't think that she would meet the

financial levels required as a petitioner, so would her mother be

able to act as a co-signee?

(2) I studied in the US from 1999 to 2005 on an F-1 visa, then

received the OPT visa when I completed my degrees. However, I

returned home to the UK 3 months into the OPT period and unwittingly

voided the terms and conditions. Whilst I didn't attempt to return

on the OPT visa (I came back on the visa waiver program for 3

months), would this have any bearing on any future visa applications?

(3) I also received a J-1 visa to do some summer camps during the

summer months of 2006. Again, would this cause any issues with the

application?

(4) I am hoping to visit my fiancee over the Xmas/New Year period

during which time the K1 application will hopefully be in the middle

of being processed. Will the immigration officials at my point of

entry kick up a fuss if I try to enter on the visa waiver program

whilst a K1 application is ongoing?

(5) Assuming that the application is approved and I pick up the

visa, is JFK still the only point of entry where I can get an

employment authorisation stamped into my passport so I could

essentially work straight away?

(6) What are the likely processing times for British citizens?

(7) During my time at university in the US ( it would have been

during 2002)I was sent to court for underage drinking. I pleaded no

contest and received 3 hours community service and ordered to pay

court fees. I was tried at the same time as my friend from Northern

Ireland who recently married a USC. During his interviews there was

no record of this offense having occured. Is this incident something

that I should declare on the forms or is it a non-issue? Also, do

speeding convictions in the UK need to be declared? I recently

received 6pts after a court hearing for excessive on the motorway.

(8) I was issued with a social security number when I entered the US

as a student on F-1 status in 1999. Is this still a valid number and

should I include it on the forms that need to be submitted?

Thanks in advance for any advice that you could give me, and sorry

for the amount of questions!

Regards,

Tom.

[Big Papa Zone 93]

Dear Group,

I am a British citizen who got engaged to a US citizen during a

recent holiday and we will be sending in an application for a K1

visa during the next couple of weeks. We dated for several years

when I was at University over in the States before ending our

relationship when I returned home. We stayed in contact though, and

after a couple of years it was clear that we were meant to be

together! I have a few issues that I would appreciate any advice on;

(1) My fiancee lives at home with her mother and is only earning

minimum wage at the moment whilst she looks for a job in her chosen

career field post-university. I don't think that she would meet the

financial levels required as a petitioner, so would her mother be

able to act as a co-signee?

(2) I studied in the US from 1999 to 2005 on an F-1 visa, then

received the OPT visa when I completed my degrees. However, I

returned home to the UK 3 months into the OPT period and unwittingly

voided the terms and conditions. Whilst I didn't attempt to return

on the OPT visa (I came back on the visa waiver program for 3

months), would this have any bearing on any future visa applications?

(3) I also received a J-1 visa to do some summer camps during the

summer months of 2006. Again, would this cause any issues with the

application?

(4) I am hoping to visit my fiancee over the Xmas/New Year period

during which time the K1 application will hopefully be in the middle

of being processed. Will the immigration officials at my point of

entry kick up a fuss if I try to enter on the visa waiver program

whilst a K1 application is ongoing?

(5) Assuming that the application is approved and I pick up the

visa, is JFK still the only point of entry where I can get an

employment authorisation stamped into my passport so I could

essentially work straight away?

(6) What are the likely processing times for British citizens?

(7) During my time at university in the US ( it would have been

during 2002)I was sent to court for underage drinking. I pleaded no

contest and received 3 hours community service and ordered to pay

court fees. I was tried at the same time as my friend from Northern

Ireland who recently married a USC. During his interviews there was

no record of this offense having occured. Is this incident something

that I should declare on the forms or is it a non-issue? Also, do

speeding convictions in the UK need to be declared? I recently

received 6pts after a court hearing for excessive on the motorway.

(8) I was issued with a social security number when I entered the US

as a student on F-1 status in 1999. Is this still a valid number and

should I include it on the forms that need to be submitted?

Thanks in advance for any advice that you could give me, and sorry

for the amount of questions!

Regards,

Tom.

You have come to the right place to have all of those questions answered, however, I'm only going to advise you on the points that I'm 100% on, those being:

1) Yes - her mother or any other U.S. citizen for that matter. Provided at least 125% of the poverty line (which for just the 2 of you is about $18,000 I think, although I stand to be corrected on that) can be met, it matters not one jot who you use.

4) Nope, no problem with entering on the VWP whilst the K1 is pending. Contrary to popular myth, the immigration official at the POE will have no knowledge of your K1 application. There are a million and one threads about this particular subject on here - just search for them using the key words.

(8) I too was issued with a SSN whilst on a student visa. Yes it's still valid, and yes include it on any correspondance.

I'm sure plenty of other peeps will help you out on the other 5 points.

Edited October 13, 2008 by Damian P

[KimandRuss 0]

Dear Group,

I am a British citizen who got engaged to a US citizen during a

recent holiday and we will be sending in an application for a K1

visa during the next couple of weeks. We dated for several years

when I was at University over in the States before ending our

relationship when I returned home. We stayed in contact though, and

after a couple of years it was clear that we were meant to be

together! I have a few issues that I would appreciate any advice on;

(1) My fiancee lives at home with her mother and is only earning

minimum wage at the moment whilst she looks for a job in her chosen

career field post-university. I don't think that she would meet the

financial levels required as a petitioner, so would her mother be

able to act as a co-signee?

Yes

(2) I studied in the US from 1999 to 2005 on an F-1 visa, then

received the OPT visa when I completed my degrees. However, I

returned home to the UK 3 months into the OPT period and unwittingly

voided the terms and conditions. Whilst I didn't attempt to return

on the OPT visa (I came back on the visa waiver program for 3

months), would this have any bearing on any future visa applications?

As long as there was no overstay you will be ok.

(3) I also received a J-1 visa to do some summer camps during the

summer months of 2006. Again, would this cause any issues with the

application?

You will need to be certain there is no HRR (home residency requirement) which would require that you must return to your home Country for two years. Although, even if there is, I assume you would have met that requirement by now.

(4) I am hoping to visit my fiancee over the Xmas/New Year period

during which time the K1 application will hopefully be in the middle

of being processed. Will the immigration officials at my point of

entry kick up a fuss if I try to enter on the visa waiver program

whilst a K1 application is ongoing?

POE officers will not know about your K1 unless you tell them. However, with the new ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization), it may be required that you give more details before travel. This is not set to be 'mandatory' until January of 2009 but it may be something you will need to apply for/contend with.

Also, whether you get into the Country or not has everything to do with the POE officer. So, unfortunately, nobody can tell you whether there will be issues. Bring ties to your home Country, tell the truth, don't offer anything more than asked. My fiance was denied entry over a year ago but we took advantage of the VWP for several years as it was our only way of being together. Being denied entry (aka, allowed to withdraw your petition to enter the U.S.) will have no effect on your K1 as long as no laws were broken.

(5) Assuming that the application is approved and I pick up the

visa, is JFK still the only point of entry where I can get an

employment authorisation stamped into my passport so I could

essentially work straight away?

JFK is not the only POE that stamps with EAD. Find a current/ongoing list here. I can tell you that MOST do not stamp the passports because the stamp is only valid for the length of your I-94... 90 days from entry. Therefore, it is very likely you will have a period of time in which you are not authorized to work from the DHS.

(6) What are the likely processing times for British citizens?

The USCIS adjutication part of the process is the same for everyone regardless of the beneficiaries Country. Timelines are now 4-5 months from NOA1-NOA2. If you are interviewing in London you can check with others (Embassy Info link above) to see how long it is taking from approval of the petition to interview. I believe it's a couple of months at the moment. So you are looking at a total of perhaps 6 months for the entire process (k1 in hand). That being said, you must consider that there are security checks at every stage of this process. Any one of those can hold you up for quite some time... even with a clean record/past.

(7) During my time at university in the US ( it would have been

during 2002)I was sent to court for underage drinking. I pleaded no

contest and received 3 hours community service and ordered to pay

court fees. I was tried at the same time as my friend from Northern

Ireland who recently married a USC. During his interviews there was

no record of this offense having occured. Is this incident something

that I should declare on the forms or is it a non-issue? Also, do

speeding convictions in the UK need to be declared? I recently

received 6pts after a court hearing for excessive on the motorway.

You need to answer as honestly and completely as possible on all forms. Anything else can and will be construed as misrepresentation and that would leave you with much bigger issues. Just answer honestly when asked on the forms and if additional information is needed you will be asked for it. If the event happened in the U.S. they are going to know about it. I can't imagine your driving record would have any bearing at all but I'm not as familiar with that in the UK.

(8) I was issued with a social security number when I entered the US

as a student on F-1 status in 1999. Is this still a valid number and

should I include it on the forms that need to be submitted?

Yes, once you have a social security number from the U.S. it is yours for life.

Thanks in advance for any advice that you could give me, and sorry

for the amount of questions!

Regards,

Tom.

Do yourself a favor and read through all the guides at the top of the forum. View the example forms and familiarize yourself with the process. Best of luck to you!

Edited October 13, 2008 by KimandRuss

[thomasj 0]

Thanks for your replies, they've helped a great deal! I've printed off the guides and read through them all afternoon and the whole process is beginning to become a little clearer. I just hope everything goes smoothly with the filing!

Does anyone reccommend using an immigration lawyer or do most people tend to just get on with the process themselves?

Edited October 13, 2008 by thomasj

[Big Papa Zone 93]

Does anyone reccommend using an immigration lawyer or do most people tend to just get on with the process themselves?

Thomas, I can safely say that the overwhelming response you'll get to that question is NO.

Trust me, those of us that did go with a lawyer (myself included) sincerely wish we hadn't - it's totally uneccessary. They're more of a hindrance than a help, and they most certainly CANNOT speed up the process. If anything, the exact opposite occurs.

All you need to get through this process is right here on VJ - simple as that.

Edited October 13, 2008 by Damian P

[KimandRuss 0]

Most here will tell you not to hire a lawyer although it is against the TOS to do so.

Consider this... you will need to gather all documentation and fill out the forms to provide for the lawyer (or usually his assistant who actually does the work) anyway. Many here have found that a lawyer has slowed them down more than anything.

If you have unusual circumstances, overstays, or simply can not understand the process then hire a lawyer. If you are reasonably intelligent (which it seems you are) then save your money and use it for your future instead.

The guides here and the support available from those who have done this are invaluable tools.

[LuckyDucky 0]

Consider this... you will need to gather all documentation and fill out the forms to provide for the lawyer (or usually his assistant who actually does the work) anyway. Many here have found that a lawyer has slowed them down more than anything.

If you have unusual circumstances, overstays, or simply can not understand the process then hire a lawyer. If you are reasonably intelligent (which it seems you are) then save your money and use it for your future instead.

The guides here and the support available from those who have done this are invaluable tools.

I agree with this sentiment. I also echo the fact that you seem compentent enough to do the paperwork yourself. It just requires meticulous attention to detail.

[thomasj 0]

Again, I would like to extend my thanks to you guys for offering your advice and help. There seems to be a really strong sense of community on this site! I'll keep everyone upto date with how the process is going.

tom.

Edited October 14, 2008 by thomasj