I134 questions

[melchieor 0]

By the way, I just noticed that the form expires on May 31st but I checked the site and they dont have a new one yet. Can I go ahead and send this one?

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

If I fill out the property owned estimate section would it matter? Do I need receipts of everything to show that I have these things or no?

It will make no difference IF you earn more than the pverty guidelines. None. It is a waste of time.

If you want to have it considered as part of your assets and expect to qulify using this property, you need to have professional appraisals of the NET value. The net value is then divied by three (IF they accept the property as an asset) and the result is added to your annual salary.

Again, IF you make more than the 125% filling in any other part of the form is a waste of time and ink.

I will also clarify that neither the state department NOR the UCIS could possibly care less if you have enough money to feed your fiancee. You can both starve to death in a refrigerator box for all they care. They want to know that you make enough money and have enough assets to COLLECT from you if your fiancee ever files for welfare.

For the visa interview, the consulate only needs to reasonably assess that your fiancee will not become a public charge during the period she is in the USA and before she files for the AOS. When she files for the AOS you will repeat this process with the I-864 and THAT is a legal contract between you and the government.

The I-134 is nothing more than a pre-printed cover letter for what you attach.

By the way, I just noticed that the form expires on May 31st but I checked the site and they dont have a new one yet. Can I go ahead and send this one?

Yes. If you read the consulkate website carefully you will find that the form is not needed at all for the K-1 process. Only the "affidavit of support" You can write your own affidavit of support if you want. The I-134 is a convenience.

[melchieor 0]

So if my fiancee shows the I-134 (that I signed today) at the embassy they won't return it cause it will be expired by the time she hands it to the officer will she? My signature will be there before the expiration date.

[baron555 934]

So if my fiancee shows the I-134 (that I signed today) at the embassy they won't return it cause it will be expired by the time she hands it to the officer will she? My signature will be there before the expiration date.

You are obessissing over nothing. You use the form from the USCIS website, regardless of its date. What else are you supposed to do, wait? That's silly. Stop worrying; worry about other things, like where you will take her shopping when she arrives or when can she get her drivers license or where will she work or what will you cook for her or what will you do when she starts to change your life for the better!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

So if my fiancee shows the I-134 (that I signed today) at the embassy they won't return it cause it will be expired by the time she hands it to the officer will she? My signature will be there before the expiration date.

No. The expiration date printed on these is often the OMB date anyway, not the date of the form and normally they will accept all older forms even if it is the form expiration date.

The OMB (office of management and budget) date is the date by which the OMB must review the form and determine the approximate time needed to fill it out. This was implemneted some years ago to employ more government workers and allow the government to confiscate even more money from your paychecks.

Don't worry about it. The fact is she doesn;t need an I-134 form at all.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

You are obessissing over nothing. You use the form from the USCIS website, regardless of its date. What else are you supposed to do, wait? That's silly. Stop worrying; worry about other things, like where you will take her shopping when she arrives or when can she get her drivers license or where will she work or what will you cook for her or what will you do when she starts to change your life for the better!

I suggest "Bed, Bath and Beyond" I took Alla there 3 days after she arrived and she wouldn;t leave! They closed, turned off half the lights, turned off ALL the lights and she was still dodging them wanting to stay a little longer. Next day I took her to Micheal's Crafts where they made her a "member of the club" and gave her a 40% off coupon and I couldn't get her out of that place either.

I took her to Lowe's and she burst out laughing when she saw the "toilet aisle" and wondered why on earth Americans needed so many different kinds of toilets. She still won't stay out of that place. She is well known by ALL the Lowe's employees and buys all sorts of heavy stuff for me to go and pick up later. They see me walk up to the desk and say..."Oh yeah, we have Alla's stuff, we will bring it up to you" When she went in to buy her "machine for washing dishes" she had no less than 3 guys helping her choose the machine, I think one of them was from the lumber department.

You'll be having lots of fun...stop worrying about the form. Worry about if you have enough to support her AND take her shopping.

[melchieor 0]

Thanks alot guys I appreciate it!

[slim 1,525]

Actually, Slim, if you read the fine print, the requirement for the CONSULATE is 100% of the poverty income. The qualification for the AOS is 125%. However consulates have wide latitude on this and can apply the rules for the I-864 (125%) if they so choose. I wouldn't feel comfortable unless my income was 125% or more.

They use gross income.

This is a pretty simple hoop to jump through and as you've pointed out, you're either over the line or you're not. I wanna say it was 120% back when I did it but it may've been 125%, I don't remember. Either way, it wasn't a matter of "Oooh, I'm 125.1% so I should be OK" it was a matter of "well, it's easy enough for the CO to see that I can sponsor my fiancee and we'll be fine. They don't need to break out their calculator." (Although I did break out mine just to be sure.)

If I fill out the property owned estimate section would it matter? Do I need receipts of everything to show that I have these things or no?

I wouldn't do that. You don't want to go "bragging" about your big screen TV you're going to use to pay the rent, do you? Show income over the 125% level and that'll be good enough.

If you're only just barely close to 125% or not over at all, maybe you should rethink this whole process. Or have her transfer all her money into your account before she comes over because, seriously, it's going to be tough! I don't say that to be a ####, I say that from experience. I wasn't too far over the level when my fiancee came and with all the expenses of shipping her over here and setting up a home together, there wasn't much left over. She's still not too happy with our income level and financial situation and she's been here for 3.5 years.

Consider that heavily. I can't say it enough... love isn't going to pay the bills.

If you're just scrimping by on money as it is, you may want to hold off on the whole process. At minimum, encourage her to bring all the money she has and also have a realistic conversation about her expected responsibilities after arrival. If she's on an all-expenses-paid trip to the U.S. to finish her degree and sip coffee with her friends, that's great and she should know that prior to arrival. However, if that's her expectation and she arrives to find out she's going to have to work 40+ hours a week and contribute to household expenses, her golden K-1 experience may not be so golden. - Once again, only talking from experience here, not saying that's your situation at all. Just trying to illustrate the point that if money is tight... it's not going to get much better for a while, and she should know that.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

This is a pretty simple hoop to jump through and as you've pointed out, you're either over the line or you're not. I wanna say it was 120% back when I did it but it may've been 125%, I don't remember. Either way, it wasn't a matter of "Oooh, I'm 125.1% so I should be OK" it was a matter of "well, it's easy enough for the CO to see that I can sponsor my fiancee and we'll be fine. They don't need to break out their calculator." (Although I did break out mine just to be sure.)

I wouldn't do that. You don't want to go "bragging" about your big screen TV you're going to use to pay the rent, do you? Show income over the 125% level and that'll be good enough.

If you're only just barely close to 125% or not over at all, maybe you should rethink this whole process. Or have her transfer all her money into your account before she comes over because, seriously, it's going to be tough! I don't say that to be a ####, I say that from experience. I wasn't too far over the level when my fiancee came and with all the expenses of shipping her over here and setting up a home together, there wasn't much left over. She's still not too happy with our income level and financial situation and she's been here for 3.5 years.

Consider that heavily. I can't say it enough... love isn't going to pay the bills.

If you're just scrimping by on money as it is, you may want to hold off on the whole process. At minimum, encourage her to bring all the money she has and also have a realistic conversation about her expected responsibilities after arrival. If she's on an all-expenses-paid trip to the U.S. to finish her degree and sip coffee with her friends, that's great and she should know that prior to arrival. However, if that's her expectation and she arrives to find out she's going to have to work 40+ hours a week and contribute to household expenses, her golden K-1 experience may not be so golden. - Once again, only talking from experience here, not saying that's your situation at all. Just trying to illustrate the point that if money is tight... it's not going to get much better for a while, and she should know that.

Yes, it is good if they know the money situation in detail ahead of time. It is really hard for them to comprehend the level of income we make and compare it to their life. If you say you make $5000 per month, wll, come payday they are going to expect to see 50 $100 bills in your hand. The entire concept of finances here is something they do not understand and it took many weeks to get this through to Alla and she had to do the banking with me for many weeks to understand it, which she now does and wants nothing to do with it.

The concept of our monthly pay AND the afct that you have flown airplanes across the sea to be with them, which is crazy expensive and beyond the reach of the average fiancee in the FSU, instills an unrealistic expectation.

Suffice to say, Alla was SURE she would be a "Rich woman" and there was no convincing her otherwise, and while we are hardly poor, she now concedes that "we are just really normal, aren't we"?

But it is a comparison they can't make when they dont live here. When you mention what we have to a Ukrainian, well, you are like Bill Gates or something, You have a house? And TWO cars? A dishwasher? A garage with a door that opens automatically? A TV? TWO TVs??? 3 computers????? Dude, you are rich! Fabulously, movie star rich! Add to that that now she is in Ukraine, having flown ALL THE WAY to Donetsk (for the second time in one year)and are you going to tell her friends in a two room flat they had when Brehznev was Chariman that Alla isn't rich? She handles driving like an American now, but when we bought her the first car she had, she sat looking at the title and the regostration, with her name on it and said "I never imagined I would own a car. I actually have a car?? It is mine...all mine" It is still her pride and joy and she keeps it very clean and looking good.

But there are some things that cannot be taught except by living here.

[slim 1,525]

Gary is spot-on.

My wife showed up here thinking she was about to be one of the Real Housewives of Los Angeles or New York or wherever the hell they're from. When she found out what a "real housewife" in Cincinnati does, she wasn't happy.

As time goes on she's becoming more and more accepting (and doing more and more of her part) but it was a pretty difficult concept for her to grasp, one that I'm not sure she fully understands all the way just yet.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

Gary is spot-on.

My wife showed up here thinking she was about to be one of the Real Housewives of Los Angeles or New York or wherever the hell they're from. When she found out what a "real housewife" in Cincinnati does, she wasn't happy.

As time goes on she's becoming more and more accepting (and doing more and more of her part) but it was a pretty difficult concept for her to grasp, one that I'm not sure she fully understands all the way just yet.

It ia a strange dynamic is all I can say.

Alla arrives and wants to drive right away. And have a car right away...like her dream come true. She wants to drive everywhere all the time...for several months she chaffeured me everywhere just to drive. Then...What? Oil change? Brake job? So, can we buy a car that doesn't need these things, maybe a more expensive car but it doesn't need to be "fixed" all the time? Fixed? Alla, you have to do this with a car and you are driving 100 miles every day, so you have to do it a LOT. "New tires, why? It is a new car!" Winter tires Alla, it is also Vermont. "So how much are winter tires?" $500 or more. VoooooooWHAT??????? Then they start to complain that they are spending too much time driving and can't do other things. So we move, and now driving is FUN again because it is 8 miles to school and not 48 miles. Now I say..."and if your car breaks, you can walk to the corner and take a bus to school for $1" VoooooooWHAT? "We maybe will just move back to Ukraine, what do you mean take a bus?"

So now Alla is back in Ukraine for a month and has been dismounted. Today she is at the bus stop with her friend Natasha and a man "completely drunk" offers them some wine from his bottle. Generous guy. "Um, no thanks" Then he offers to take both Alla and Natasha to his flat and make "wonderful love" to them. Friendly guy. "Um, no thanks" So she tells me..."See why i don;t want to take busses anymore?" The guy was last seen wandering down the sidewalk shouting "YANUKOVICH IS MY PRESIDENT!!!!!!" (it is EAST Ukraine) Natasha asked Alla "So when will you find ME an American man to marry?"

[slim 1,525]

The bus here is just as interesting. "Why every man on bus want to make for me invitation? He is man on bus... he event not have car."

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

The bus here is just as interesting. "Why every man on bus want to make for me invitation? He is man on bus... he event not have car."

Particularly pointed in America. Alla says that the only people here on busses are homeless people, mentally retarded and physically handicapped. DUH! Everyone else has a car!

[Martyshk 137]

only people here on busses are homeless people, mentally retarded and physically handicapped. DUH! Everyone else has a car!

Yeah, Vermont is like that. It's really really sad when you think about it...

If I could take a train/bus to work I'd do that instead of driving in a second.

I used to take a train when I worked at the other place before. It was damn nice. 40 minutes of peace and quiet instead of an hour sitting in traffic.

Buses are not bad in the city either. Used to take a bus to school, wasn't bad at all. I actually liked it for the most part.

[mendeleev 68]

I don't think they looked at my wife's I-134 either, but I did provide 3 years of tax returns. Ditto for the I-864 (or whatever it was) that we needed for the K3. If you unnecessarily provide them with detailed bank account information, be sure to blank out enough of your account number that they'll be guessing for a while. I'm not saying they'd take advantage of knowing your acct number -- but I'm not saying they wouldn't either!