how do they do it? No job yet bring wife or fiancee to america.

[Sayha or bust. 71]

I've read a lot of post about people trying to bring there loved one back to the states with no job. I understand there is co sponsoring but how are these people affording trips to see the beneficiaries and pay for the visa process. I work 2 jobs, make decent money find it real hard to save the money and get the time off to see my loved one. I have every little receipt or money trail to prove its my money. Explain to me how you do it, I want in on it.

[Dana-Mića 51]

I don't have a job right now because I am in school with expectancies of graduating in September. As of now I have money saved up for the visa applications but the rest of the stuff my parents are supporting me with at least till me and my husband (once he gets here) are settled in

[HeatDeath 430]

You will need to find a cosponsor, a US citizen, ideally but not necessarily a family member, who does make enough money, and has a paper-trail to prove it. That will solve the money problem.

As for the visiting problem, no one can solve that for you but you. USCIS will deny a fiancee visa petition unless you provide them with proof that you two have met sometime in the two years immediately preceding the submission of the petition. You will need to find the time and money to visit your fiancee. Nothing else can happen until you two have met.

[belinda63 3,052]

I understand your pain but maybe you can find a better paying job. I was a waitress (granted at a nice restaurant) and used my tax return money to travel to see him.

[Sayha or bust. 71]

I understand the cosponsoring and Ive been overseas now 2 times,will go over as many times as it takes. I just wanna know how people can afford it and not worry about where the money comes from,yada yada yada. Granted I'm going through a difficult Consulate but so many worries how to prove a legitimate relationship, I would find it much harder to prove under those circumstances.

[Sayha or bust. 71]

I understand your pain but maybe you can find a better paying job. I was a waitress (granted at a nice restaurant) and used my tax return money to travel to see him.

I'm not complaining about the money or working 2 jobs, I now make way over the amount needed for my case, that was a concern to me at one time.

[HeatDeath 430]

Well, that's more a general life management question. I don't think anybody except the super rich can do this "without worrying about where the money comes from." It's about setting financial priorities, setting a budget and sticking to it. "What do I need more, an iPod or a nice set of rims, or 1/4 of the airfare to visit my honey?" Literally save your pennies. Tightly optimize every last cent you spend. A good tip i heard is budget a certain amount for lunch every day, and every day you get change back from lunch, put it in an envelope or jar. It can add up substantially quicker than you'd think.

The other half is making life choices to upgrade your education and skills to the point where you can upgrade your job to the point where you have some disposable income - getting to the point where a trip is only months of savings instead of years. It's about figuring out where you want to be 5 years from now and making a plan to get there that doesn't involve lottery tickets

Edited August 21, 2010 by HeatDeath

[HeatDeath 430]

Further to "worrying about where the money comes from", that never actually goes away. Heck, I lucked into an insanely great job here [actually, luck had nothing to do with it. Prayer FTW!], and I'm still worrying. My Removal of Conditions is a year+ away, but I've already started carefully saving $100 per pay period into an envelope for it, because I want the cash for that next step safely socked away and completely taken care of before any major new expenses [like the kind that start crying and need to be fed at 4 in the morning ] come into our lives.

Edited August 21, 2010 by HeatDeath

[candn 17]

I understand the cosponsoring and Ive been overseas now 2 times,will go over as many times as it takes. I just wanna know how people can afford it and not worry about where the money comes from,yada yada yada. Granted I'm going through a difficult Consulate but so many worries how to prove a legitimate relationship, I would find it much harder to prove under those circumstances.

My fiance came to visit me because at his own expense. We split the costs on other things. Right now, we are splitting up the visa fees, wedding expenses, etc. Our families will help, if needed.

[Liltiggster 0]

Same here, unfortunately my Fiancee lost his job that he had for almost 20 years back in January, so I am paying for myself to come to the US to visit him, and if he doesn't find a job by the interview date then we will just have to get a co-sponsor.

I think a lot of people can get help from friends or family, or perhaps the fiancee from the non-us is paying for there own trips, or currently has enough savings to help support themselves for the few months while they are waiting for EAD and AOS.

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

If you sign up to some discount airline ticket websites, you can get alerts when there are good deals staying with your loved one costs little to nothing. So visiting when unemployed can be easier than when employed, especially in the USA where you get so few vacation days!

[Justine+David 218]

I make a decent amount of $$, but I also lived a pretty simple lifestyle for about a year. I rode my bike to work every day, didn't get a car, lived in a very cheap studio, and basically didn't do anything that cost $$ except to see my now husband.

[Damian&Kelly 16]

I didn't have a job at the time I applied for a fiance visa for my now husband. I worked off and on for the 3 years before filing the visa, same with my husband. When we were in England together, he worked a temp warehouse job to support us, and to also afford a plane ticket back to the US and we did the same in the US except I was the one working. My father co-sponsored for us and let us live with him, until we get fully on our own two feet. We also had a lot of support from our parents, both letting us stay/live with them. I was pretty lucky as I found a job that fit 3 months on and 3 months off.

[Boiler 46,323]

We took it in turns visiting sort of. I am not sure we actually counted it out, there were some times it was better for me to travel, other times it was better for her.

It was probably cheaper than taking a conventional vacation/holiday. No need for hotel rooms.

[magdasal 19]

I don't know how anybody else does it...but I'll tell you my story so you have an example about how and why it is done:

I've been single my entire life and have lived a very frugal lifestyle. I had accumulated significant savings when the company I was consulting for (I'm a software engineer) filed for bankruptcy. I had been so busy all my life, moving from city to city while chasing contracts, that I realized that I had to do something about my love life or I was going to die alone.

So, after my last contract vanished in January 2009, I decided to change my priorities and spend all of my time searching for my soul mate. I got very lucky and found the perfect woman for me. I courted her from May 2008 to July 2009, when I met her in her country. I proposed and she accepted. We were married in February 2010.

Now, I never looked for a job after my last contract expired. Since I had saved my money for several years, I could easily afford the 2 trips to see her (I never took unemployment as I never intended to find a job until I was married)...1 to get engaged and the second to marry her (and we had a really nice wedding too, but weddings in her country are about 1/5th the price of comparable weddings in the US).

I always planned to bring her over based on my assets, since I've been an independent consultant for years and have no W-2s or employment letters. My cash assets had just fallen below the 3 X Poverty level last month. Well, I got a gift 2 weeks ago...the company I last contracted for emerged from bankruptcy and asked me to come back as a contractor (very good hourly rate). So now, I will go back above the minimum asset level within a month.

It can be done, under the right circumstances. I think there are a lot of people like me too.