K-1 from abroad / working holiday (& intro)

[captal 2]

Hi everyone- first off, what a fantastic forum! I was searching around on google for some visa information and stumbled upon visajourney. I've read a lot of the information and guides on the K-1 visa but thought I'd see if anyone else was in my particular situation. Both my girlfriend (not fiance yet!) and I are on working holiday in Australia right now, and in less than three months we have to leave as our visas will expire. I met my girlfriend in Japan (she is Japanese) while I was living there back in 2008/2009 and we have been traveling and living together since Dec 2009.

I did a search on applying for a K-1 from abroad and noticed there was another couple in a similar situation (she was from the UK and he was from the US, doing working holiday in New Zealand) and it sounded like it is possible to start the visa paperwork from abroad in order to shorten the time apart.

In short, I would put in the paperwork from Australia (well, I'd send it to my mom, who would send it to wherever it needs to go, and use her home address) as soon as we got engaged. Then my girlfriend would head back to Japan to spend time with her family and wait and I would head back to the US to job hunt. (I also considered getting married here and trying for the DCF, but after some searching it sounds like people on working holiday aren't considered residents, so that's a no go).

Has anyone done something similar and been successful? Anything I should be wary of?

Thanks!

[C and Lore 3]

I say you have a pretty sound idea. Sending back the paperwork for your mom to file is smart. Make sure you land something quickly when you return as it will be important for the I-134 form required before the interview to show that you can support her. Also make sure you save the leases or documentation for where you and your girlfriend have lived together. They will come in handy for showing a true relationship. Make sure you send your mom a copy to file with your I-129F petition.

[captal 2]

I think it's a reasonable idea as well and I can't think of any reason it wouldn't work. Maybe someone else can? As long as my gf makes it back in time to schedule an interview...

As for leases- we do have one with both our names on it, but our current lease is in my name only as that's the way the real estate agent wanted to do it. We have plenty of plane tickets that I've purchased on my credit card and pictures from when we first met up to the present, so hopefully that'll do.

I think the trickiest part will be what you mentioned- showing financial support. I'm not certain what is required for that, and I'm worried I won't be able to find something quickly given the US economy.

[JlovesA 109]

You don't need to send it to your mom to send to the Dallas Lockbox, the package can be sent from overseas. However, you should use your mom's address as yours so that she will receive the replies from USCIS and NVC.