Civil Judgement against me...

[Chavonia 4]

Hello there!

First I would like to say that I am so grateful for this website. So many of my questions have been answered and some of the stress going into this process has been lifted with the help of all of you. However, I didn't see my particular topic posted anywhere and I will see if anyone has any advice for me.

Here is the dilemna. I am from the USA and my SO is from the Dominican Republic. We have been together for 3.5 years and have known each other 4 years. We are finally ready to be married. At first it was very exciting and then reality set in and we realized all the work that goes into these marriages. Lol, well, I realized it. He sorta had an idea of how things can be. Anywho, I have been working extra hard at work to make sure I am well over the income requirement for him to come here. By the end of the year I will have made $24,000. I also had a few bills with credit agencies (old hospital bills I didn't know exsited), one of which is a cell phone bill of $1600 that I am still paying off! I know that sounds crazy but it use to be $5000 and I have been paying it off for quite some time now. That was a result of me calling my SO in his country every night. I haven't let him help me with the bill and we argue about that constantly.

Two months ago I lost my wallet and my bank offered a free credit check to make sure there was no fraudulent activity on my account. To my surprise there was. My ex boyfriend signed my name on an apartment lease in 2006 (and don't even bother to ask me how he was able to turn this in with us being very broken up and me being 6 hours away). So, he didn't pay the rent on this apartment and the rental company took me to court back in May of 2007. They served him my court papers and I had a day in court. I had no idea any of this was going on so of course I wasn't in court and that butthole didn't bother to inform me of any of this. I just so happen to find out about this 2 months ago by getting the credit check. My ex owes these people $3000!!! #######!!!!!!!!!! I am sooooo pissed about this. Especially since my SO and I were getting things together to submit out K-1 application. I was so devastated by this and I still am. I immediately filed a police report but the case is at the state's attourney office and it will be a few months before this is all settled. I can't really afford to pay a lawyer in order to get the civil judgment taken care of. I need advice about this. All my joy in getting married has been taken away because of this ####### with my ex. I was working so hard toward getting this started and now I have this holding me up. My SO has been soo supportive and is still excited about out life together. I on the other hand an depressed about my financial situation.

So, my questions: does having this civil judgement against me affect my application? Will my credit score of 600 affect my application and affidavit? I really don't know what else to do now. Will be get denied because of my debts? Also, I live with my sister and her family now. Would it be better to have a place of my own before applying for the K-1?

Thanks for reading and any advice would be great appreciated. Have a great day!!

Tracie =)

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Hello there!

First I would like to say that I am so grateful for this website. So many of my questions have been answered and some of the stress going into this process has been lifted with the help of all of you. However, I didn't see my particular topic posted anywhere and I will see if anyone has any advice for me.

Here is the dilemna. I am from the USA and my SO is from the Dominican Republic. We have been together for 3.5 years and have known each other 4 years. We are finally ready to be married. At first it was very exciting and then reality set in and we realized all the work that goes into these marriages. Lol, well, I realized it. He sorta had an idea of how things can be. Anywho, I have been working extra hard at work to make sure I am well over the income requirement for him to come here. By the end of the year I will have made $24,000. I also had a few bills with credit agencies (old hospital bills I didn't know exsited), one of which is a cell phone bill of $1600 that I am still paying off! I know that sounds crazy but it use to be $5000 and I have been paying it off for quite some time now. That was a result of me calling my SO in his country every night. I haven't let him help me with the bill and we argue about that constantly.

Two months ago I lost my wallet and my bank offered a free credit check to make sure there was no fraudulent activity on my account. To my surprise there was. My ex boyfriend signed my name on an apartment lease in 2006 (and don't even bother to ask me how he was able to turn this in with us being very broken up and me being 6 hours away). So, he didn't pay the rent on this apartment and the rental company took me to court back in May of 2007. They served him my court papers and I had a day in court. I had no idea any of this was going on so of course I wasn't in court and that butthole didn't bother to inform me of any of this. I just so happen to find out about this 2 months ago by getting the credit check. My ex owes these people $3000!!! #######!!!!!!!!!! I am sooooo pissed about this. Especially since my SO and I were getting things together to submit out K-1 application. I was so devastated by this and I still am. I immediately filed a police report but the case is at the state's attourney office and it will be a few months before this is all settled. I can't really afford to pay a lawyer in order to get the civil judgment taken care of. I need advice about this. All my joy in getting married has been taken away because of this ####### with my ex. I was working so hard toward getting this started and now I have this holding me up. My SO has been soo supportive and is still excited about out life together. I on the other hand an depressed about my financial situation.

So, my questions: does having this civil judgement against me affect my application? Will my credit score of 600 affect my application and affidavit? I really don't know what else to do now. Will be get denied because of my debts? Also, I live with my sister and her family now. Would it be better to have a place of my own before applying for the K-1?

Thanks for reading and any advice would be great appreciated. Have a great day!!

Tracie =)

None of this matters for a K1. They look only at your gross income. The only judgements that could affect you, and not always, are past child support and IRS tax leins.

However these things WILL affect your life and you really ought to get them straightened out. My es=x abused my credit after our divorce also and I handled it thorugh civil action and got the credit cards removed from my responsibility. Something you should do but will not affect the K1.

[sara..... 371]

i dont think they check your credit as far as i know they are only interested in your income

sara

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I am sure others will chime in as well here, however you don't have to worry about USCIS checking your credit score or your debts - unless your debts are with the IRS. For the K-1 you hand in your tax transcripts or complete tax returns showing your gross income. As long as you meet the required minimum of 125% of the Poverty index (which you should with $24,000) you Affidavit of Support will be fine. You might want to take a look at the I-134 form as well as the I-864 forms - the first is the Affidavit of Support used for the K-1 and the second is the Affidavit of Support required for the AOS (Adjustment of Status from K-1 to immigrant) that you need to file after you are married. You will see exactly what the requirements are.

The court case shouldn't have an impact on your K-1, and no, you don't need to have your own place for the K-1 either. A lot of young K-1 couples just starting out lived with family members when they first got married until they could afford a place of their own.

Good luck with your application - and the court case.

[pushbrk 12,878]

I am sure others will chime in as well here, however you don't have to worry about USCIS checking your credit score or your debts - unless your debts are with the IRS. For the K-1 you hand in your tax transcripts or complete tax returns showing your gross income. As long as you meet the required minimum of 125% of the Poverty index (which you should with $24,000) you Affidavit of Support will be fine. You might want to take a look at the I-134 form as well as the I-864 forms - the first is the Affidavit of Support used for the K-1 and the second is the Affidavit of Support required for the AOS (Adjustment of Status from K-1 to immigrant) that you need to file after you are married. You will see exactly what the requirements are.

The court case shouldn't have an impact on your K-1, and no, you don't need to have your own place for the K-1 either. A lot of young K-1 couples just starting out lived with family members when they first got married until they could afford a place of their own.

Good luck with your application - and the court case.

Judgments of concern include the IRS and more importantly, child support. The child support issue doesn't directly impact the approval of visas but does get passports revoked. The impact is indirect by either preventing the in-person meeting or subsequent visits that bolster the relationship bona fides.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I am sure others will chime in as well here, however you don't have to worry about USCIS checking your credit score or your debts - unless your debts are with the IRS. For the K-1 you hand in your tax transcripts or complete tax returns showing your gross income. As long as you meet the required minimum of 125% of the Poverty index (which you should with $24,000) you Affidavit of Support will be fine. You might want to take a look at the I-134 form as well as the I-864 forms - the first is the Affidavit of Support used for the K-1 and the second is the Affidavit of Support required for the AOS (Adjustment of Status from K-1 to immigrant) that you need to file after you are married. You will see exactly what the requirements are.

The court case shouldn't have an impact on your K-1, and no, you don't need to have your own place for the K-1 either. A lot of young K-1 couples just starting out lived with family members when they first got married until they could afford a place of their own.

Good luck with your application - and the court case.

Judgments of concern include the IRS and more importantly, child support. The child support issue doesn't directly impact the approval of visas but does get passports revoked. The impact is indirect by either preventing the in-person meeting or subsequent visits that bolster the relationship bona fides.

Yes, as Pushbrk mentions, that is also an important consideration if you are in a situation involving payment of child support.

[endoftheroad 1]

So if the IRS says I owe them money it will affect the visa application? Is their a remedy besides paying them off immediately?

[sara..... 371]

So if the IRS says I owe them money it will affect the visa application? Is their a remedy besides paying them off immediately?

I dont remember what vj person it was that had a problem with the IRS it was some years ago but it seems to me as long as there is a satisfactory agreement between the IRS and the person showing support it is not a issue......that it only become an issue if the IRS is garnishing the wages of the person or the person is not cooperating with IRS to rectify the situation

sara

[pushbrk 12,878]

So if the IRS says I owe them money it will affect the visa application? Is their a remedy besides paying them off immediately?

It's not as simple as owing the IRS money. If they have a lien against you, then a consulate can consider your income reduced by the amount of the lien until you show them you have and are keeping a satisfactory payment arrangement. No lien, no problem.

Remember, this thread is about judgments, not simply debts.

[endoftheroad 1]

So if the IRS says I owe them money it will affect the visa application? Is their a remedy besides paying them off immediately?

It's not as simple as owing the IRS money. If they have a lien against you, then a consulate can consider your income reduced by the amount of the lien until you show them you have and are keeping a satisfactory payment arrangement. No lien, no problem.

Remember, this thread is about judgments, not simply debts.

Good, no lien here.

[ms_jinga_lala 0]

This has nothing to do with a K-1 but now that you know he's done this and could do it again, you can put a freeze on your credit. I know in the state of NC this is free to do with all 3 credit agencies. You should check into it. There is nothing like knowing you are protected. A freeze will keep anyone from doing anything with your credit until you remove it.

[Carlawarla 1]

So if the IRS says I owe them money it will affect the visa application? Is their a remedy besides paying them off immediately?

It's not as simple as owing the IRS money. If they have a lien against you, then a consulate can consider your income reduced by the amount of the lien until you show them you have and are keeping a satisfactory payment arrangement. No lien, no problem.

Remember, this thread is about judgments, not simply debts.

Good, no lien here.

Be sure you have a payment plan in place and a confirmation letter from the IRS showing acceptance of this.