K-1 and Marriage

[meauxna 15]

I *do* have some extra FF miles laying around

grrrr--that's right, I was grinding over your FF mile thread! (go for the long weekend!)

Bah, all of mine are spread around too much to be of use!

Is there anything you need to do before you can get an interview? Is there any paperwork you need to submit? I'm sure we'll be calling the Auckland consulate to clarify all this, just from reading purpletruck's post, I thought I had to be there at the end of the process, and now it looks like you're telling me I need to be there at the beginning. Or is it just that NZ is -that- accomodating?

I believe PT's story had them notifiying the Consulate before the wedding, getting packet three, getting all the docs together and making one appointment/interview after the wedding. The beginning and the end of the process are all together.

What I AM saying is: The USC must be there in person to file the I-130. The USC does NOT have to be there for the visa interview.

There's really no need to do your planning privately--members are usually very willing to follow up on their DCF posts, and you can see that having the info posted in a thread is beneficial to many others who you might never meet. We ALL appreciate you posting your experience as you're going thru, adding your updated discoveries as you go.

If you've picked an awkward time for the wedding.. er, change it? Hope there's no Bridezilla hiding outside for me...

You can always have a US-based ceremony when you both get back. All problems are solvable.

[Hannah and Grant 0]

Oh my, how disappointing.

Being the 'Kiwi' part of the Kiwi & Me equation, I'm a little sad to see such rude and impatient replies to a valid question.

Is this site not for learning and making sense of our less-than-pleasant situations?

I can honestly say, I've read every guide and every forum here, and in other locations, that relate to mine and my partners' situation.

This comes with being so worried about the visa process, timing and most of all, just being with my partner.

I'll get info anywhere and anyway I can.

However, reading through an 'FAQ' or 'GUIDE' (no matter what point size you remind us with..) isn't helpful for everyone.

Personally, I find people with their own experiences, etc far more helpful. Especially when plans have recently been changed and time isn't necessarily something we have a lot of.

The visa process, whichever any of us happen to be undergoing is not an easy one, as everyone here almost definitely knows

Experiences vary and its not always as easy as a flowchart.

I was very excited when i stumbled upon this site and these forums a couple of months back.

Its a great resource and were both ecstatic to find a community of people enduring the same things as us.

Were all mature adults or we wouldnt be making the choices were making with our significant others. To suggest that we didnt do any research before we filed is absurd. Of course we did. Also, we DO understand the 'concept of a fiancee visa'. Another thing we have come to understand is that not every situation is just black and white. Things differ.

I'm totally amazed at how this has been treated, and the multitude of intolerant, rude replies that make us sound as though were completely stupid.

I use this site for support. My partner and I joined to gather information and learn of peoples real experiences.

We did NOT join to be treated poorly by people who perhaps know more about the process, are further into it or are just totally intolerant of other peoples queries.

Personally, I learn the most from reading through questions other people have asked.

This question may have in fact been useful for someone down the line with the same situation.

Id always offer up any info I had and id try to answer any questions anyone asked. I had expected the same in return.

Were all in the same boat. Try being nice about it.

Oh and...if a question doesnt appear to be relevant to you, dont click on it and read it. Then maybe your time wont be wasted.

If you cant say anything pleasant, dont say anything.

P.S: thanks for the great information, everyone who offered it.

[SirLancelot 1]

Some comments.

Yes, some posters have been rude and impatient. Some do seem to only want to post CONGRATS posts for each other. I also get annoyed at posters who only post with a "see FAQ or search for it with SEARCH" smart ####### reply. Those posts are very annoying and completely useless. I don't need their post-count-padding msgs to tell me to search for it. I can self myself thank you. When I post, it's because I'm truly in need of someone answering a question that I'm confused about.

Ok, so I offer some sympathy to you and your US partner.

HOWEVER, where I draw the line is when posters don't use some critical reasoning skills to think through matters before asking questions. The K-1 Visa is a fiancee visa, and you two admit to understanding that part. If you do, then where's the confusion? If you two get married, who is the fiance? How do a married person enter on a fiance vias then? Just because your plans changed, the K-1 visa adapts for you? If that's the case, why doesn't everyone "change" their plans so they can enter on a K-1 visa as well? Some critical reasoning would have yielded you the answer. Most likely it can't be done or others would be doing it as well.

You two keep on harping on this "our plans changed" factor. SO WHAT! Everyone's plans change all the time. Does that change the rules from the government? NO. Everything remained constant on the part of the US government. The rules applied equally for when you considered applying the K-1 visa to when you considered DCF. Only thing changed is that you want to get married in NZ now. So obviously you have to apply for another kind of visa. That should be clear as day, even without any FAQ. It's called critical reasoning skills and it's massively lacking on this website!

Harsh post? Perhaps, but then I'm not known for lollipop and cotton candy posts.

Oh my, how disappointing.

Being the 'Kiwi' part of the Kiwi & Me equation, I'm a little sad to see such rude and impatient replies to a valid question.

Is this site not for learning and making sense of our less-than-pleasant situations?

I can honestly say, I've read every guide and every forum here, and in other locations, that relate to mine and my partners' situation.

This comes with being so worried about the visa process, timing and most of all, just being with my partner.

I'll get info anywhere and anyway I can.

However, reading through an 'FAQ' or 'GUIDE' (no matter what point size you remind us with..) isn't helpful for everyone.

Personally, I find people with their own experiences, etc far more helpful. Especially when plans have recently been changed and time isn't necessarily something we have a lot of.

The visa process, whichever any of us happen to be undergoing is not an easy one, as everyone here almost definitely knows

Experiences vary and its not always as easy as a flowchart.

I was very excited when i stumbled upon this site and these forums a couple of months back.

Its a great resource and were both ecstatic to find a community of people enduring the same things as us.

Were all mature adults or we wouldnt be making the choices were making with our significant others. To suggest that we didnt do any research before we filed is absurd. Of course we did. Also, we DO understand the 'concept of a fiancee visa'. Another thing we have come to understand is that not every situation is just black and white. Things differ.

I'm totally amazed at how this has been treated, and the multitude of intolerant, rude replies that make us sound as though were completely stupid.

I use this site for support. My partner and I joined to gather information and learn of peoples real experiences.

We did NOT join to be treated poorly by people who perhaps know more about the process, are further into it or are just totally intolerant of other peoples queries.

Personally, I learn the most from reading through questions other people have asked.

This question may have in fact been useful for someone down the line with the same situation.

Id always offer up any info I had and id try to answer any questions anyone asked. I had expected the same in return.

Were all in the same boat. Try being nice about it.

Oh and...if a question doesnt appear to be relevant to you, dont click on it and read it. Then maybe your time wont be wasted.

If you cant say anything pleasant, dont say anything.

P.S: thanks for the great information, everyone who offered it.

[no name 1]

HOWEVER, where I draw the line is when posters don't use some critical reasoning skills to think through matters before asking questions. The K-1 Visa is a fiancee visa, and you two admit to understanding that part. If you do, then where's the confusion? If you two get married, who is the fiance? How do a married person enter on a fiance vias then? Just because your plans changed, the K-1 visa adapts for you? If that's the case, why doesn't everyone "change" their plans so they can enter on a K-1 visa as well? Some critical reasoning would have yielded you the answer. Most likely it can't be done or others would be doing it as well.

You two keep on harping on this "our plans changed" factor. SO WHAT! Everyone's plans change all the time. Does that change the rules from the government? NO. Everything remained constant on the part of the US government. The rules applied equally for when you considered applying the K-1 visa to when you considered DCF. Only thing changed is that you want to get married in NZ now. So obviously you have to apply for another kind of visa. That should be clear as day, even without any FAQ. It's called critical reasoning skills and it's massively lacking on this website!

Harsh post? Perhaps, but then I'm not known for lollipop and cotton candy posts.

OHMIGOD I actuallly agree with you!?!

Well said, SirL.

the OPs want us to hand all their answers on a silver platter, and that won't happen! You will get (maybe right, maybe not) answers here, but the bottom line is, DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.

And PS: Kiwi fiance - I (and others) tried to help your fiance & you guys don't seem to get that. Geez. Get over yourselves and read some guides.

Edited September 27, 2006 by devilette

[Kiwi & Me 0]

HOWEVER, where I draw the line is when posters don't use some critical reasoning skills to think through matters before asking questions. The K-1 Visa is a fiancee visa, and you two admit to understanding that part. If you do, then where's the confusion? If you two get married, who is the fiance? How do a married person enter on a fiance vias then? Just because your plans changed, the K-1 visa adapts for you? If that's the case, why doesn't everyone "change" their plans so they can enter on a K-1 visa as well? Some critical reasoning would have yielded you the answer. Most likely it can't be done or others would be doing it as well.

I swear, it's like talking to a brick wall...

YES...we understand what a fiance(e) visa is for. With our original plans, that was appropriate. Now, it apparently isn't. There were two points to my original question:

1) To find out what portion of the conditions for the visa make it specific for a fiance (thus (hopefully) finding any loopholes that may exist). This information isn't in the guides (or if it is, it's not easily found).

2) To seek advice from others who have changed their plans after originally submitting a 129F.

I understand that it wouldn't be what a K-1 is intended for, but, visas aside, as it doesn't make much sense that USCIS would allow someone to enter as a fiance(e), but not let the same person enter as a spouse, I was wondering if there was perhaps some technicality that would allow us to continue to use the K-1.

As for why others wouldn't "change" to a K-1 for the same reasons, I didn't realize (and still don't know how) that the K-1 would be advantageous in that regard. What would you gain by applying for a K-1 for a spouse?

You two keep on harping on this "our plans changed" factor. SO WHAT! Everyone's plans change all the time. Does that change the rules from the government? NO. Everything remained constant on the part of the US government. The rules applied equally for when you considered applying the K-1 visa to when you considered DCF. Only thing changed is that you want to get married in NZ now. So obviously you have to apply for another kind of visa. That should be clear as day, even without any FAQ. It's called critical reasoning skills and it's massively lacking on this website!

Before I even asked the question, I was pretty sure that we were going to have to re-apply. I just wanted to check with the people here who seem to know the process better to make sure this was the case, or to see if there was perhaps some alternative of which I wasn't aware. It was "critical reasoning" that made me ask the question. I wanted to be sure that the 129F was now a dead-end before going ahead and canceling it, only to (potentially) find out later that there was something else that could have been done.

the OPs want us to hand all their answers on a silver platter, and that won't happen! You will get (maybe right, maybe not) answers here, but the bottom line is, DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.

Research is fine for general, and fairly common questions. I was (trying) to ask about what I felt was a fairly specific aspect of the K-1. That's what forums are for...specific questions. If everything could be answered by FAQs and guides, there would be no point to the forums.

And PS: Kiwi fiance - I (and others) tried to help your fiance & you guys don't seem to get that. Geez. Get over yourselves and read some guides.

Others did help, and I thanked them for it. You seemed more interested in getting in a pissing contest, then became self-righteous the one time I responded in the same manner as you had been responding to me for several posts.

Once again...to all those who did offer help and advice on this topic - thank you! Your input was greatly appreciated.