File K1 ourselves or get an attorney???

[Faisal-Christina 0]

Hello, need some advice....my boyfriend soon to be fiancae & I, are getting ready to file the K1 Visa papers (in Sept). We have a concern....long story short, my foriegn fiancae was living in the states for several years on a student visa. He got married was in the process of doing a change of status on his visa when the wife changed her mind about the marriage, they seperated...she stopped the status change process. He was unaware and uncertain of the outcome of the seperation, whether they would reconcile. She started talking divorce and later followed thru with. He was contacted by Immigration, fully cooperated, was voluntarily deported. The divorce was finalized after he left. The deportation all happened a little over two years ago. Will we have a problem? From everything I have read, I think we would be fine to file ourselves, however the encounter with immigration might be an issue??? He filed for another student visa about a year and a half ago and was denied. We have known each other for 19 months been in a totally committed relationship for 10 months and are ready for marriage to share our lives and love together! Please share any and all advice, Thank you in advance!

[me&him 2]

It depends how long he was out of status. If it was less than a year than there could be a 3 year ban, if it was more than a year than there could be a 10 year ban. My fiance was also on a student visa and took voluntary departure. He overstayed by 10 months and had a 3 year ban. Make sure u gather all his immigration record by the interview time because they will ask for it. Its ur decision whether u feel comfortable with,or without a lawyer. I will tell u one thing, that in order to get his immigration record he would have to file a FOIA request which can take months. My lawyer was able to obtain the same records for me in a week. In my case, I feel it was waste of my money to hire a lawyer to file K1 since it simple forms but he came in handy when I needed the immigration record,which I got way faster through him than I would have myself. I hope this helps. U can send me PM if u have anymore questions and I would help u as much as I can. Good luck.

[Xanax 349]

How long was your fiance out of status?

[Faisal-Christina 0]

How long was your fiance out of status?

3 months out of status...

[Faisal-Christina 0]

It depends how long he was out of status. If it was less than a year than there could be a 3 year ban, if it was more than a year than there could be a 10 year ban. My fiance was also on a student visa and took voluntary departure. He overstayed by 10 months and had a 3 year ban. Make sure u gather all his immigration record by the interview time because they will ask for it. Its ur decision whether u feel comfortable with,or without a lawyer. I will tell u one thing, that in order to get his immigration record he would have to file a FOIA request which can take months. My lawyer was able to obtain the same records for me in a week. In my case, I feel it was waste of my money to hire a lawyer to file K1 since it simple forms but he came in handy when I needed the immigration record,which I got way faster through him than I would have myself. I hope this helps. U can send me PM if u have anymore questions and I would help u as much as I can. Good luck.

Ty much....so if he was out of status for 3 months, then there is prolly a 3 year ban? how do we find out for sure? do we file the k1 paperwork or wavier first? same time? sorry so many questions... Appreciatte your help :-) Also the FOIA, is that required? Never heard of that....Can u give me a rough idea of cost for a lawyer to do that? Do you have any reccomendations of immigration lawyers?

[Xanax 349]

That should be fine then re: deportation/ possible overstay ban as he didn't over stay long enough to incur a ban. [180 out of status days will cause you to incur a 3 year ban longer than that 10 year ban I believe]

In regards to the denied student visa that will not affect the petition at all.

In regards to the actual K-1 petition you may have to try a little harder to prove your relationship is bonafide as your fiance has already had a petition by an USC , but you should not have too much trouble and should not need a lawyer, it is quite straight forward.

Do yourself a favour and make sure you have a lot of evidence of your ongoing relationship and research your fiance's consulate, to find out what they are like, what they look for etc etc.

Of course if any of this is incorrect I am sure someone will come along and correct me!

Edited July 3, 2012 by Xanax

[Faisal-Christina 0]

That should be fine then re: deportation/ possible overstay ban as he didn't over stay long enough to incur a ban. [180 out of status days will cause you to incur a 3 year ban longer than that 10 year ban I believe]

In regards to the denied student visa that will not affect the petition at all.

In regards to the actual K-1 petition you may have to try a little harder to prove your relationship is bonafide as your fiance has already had a petition by an USC , but you should not have too much trouble and should not need a lawyer, it is quite straight forward.

Do yourself a favour and make sure you have a lot of evidence of your ongoing relationship and research your fiance's consulate, to find out what they are like, what they look for etc etc.

Of course if any of this is incorrect I am sure someone will come along and correct me!

ok, that sounds good. thank you for the advice on the consulate, will do that! Really appreciatte the help....

[GlobeHopperMama 95]

I also would suggest consulting with an immigration lawyer. Not hiring one to do your whole case, it doesn't seem that would be necessary. But you do need to make sure you've got all your facts straight in "immigration-legalese". For example, the removal. He may have been ordered to leave, he may have even accepted voluntary deportation, and knowing the specifics of what happened will ensure that you are prepared for any questions about this on the paperwork. Also, as stated, more heavy scrutiny will apply to your relationship because of the prior marriage and immigration process. An attorney can help you look through your circumstances and decide how best to prove your relationship. Talk to a good one, though, because a lot out there have unknown reputations and such. It seems VJ doesn't have such a thing, but another immigration forum maintains a list of attorneys who are trustworthy for cases where there are immigration complications, both major and minor like yours seems to be:

http://immigrate2us....by-I2US-Members

Edited July 3, 2012 by Carlos and Amy

[me&him 2]

Ty much....so if he was out of status for 3 months, then there is prolly a 3 year ban? how do we find out for sure? do we file the k1 paperwork or wavier first? same time? sorry so many questions... Appreciatte your help :-) Also the FOIA, is that required? Never heard of that....Can u give me a rough idea of cost for a lawyer to do that? Do you have any reccomendations of immigration lawyers?

If he was out of staus for only 3 months then he probably wont have a ban since its for 180 days or more for 3 year ban. You can go to ur local ICE office and they might help you find out that information. You will have to file the K1 first and and ur fiance will be interviewed at embassy. My fiance was told that there is no waiver available for him. Also FOIA is a form that you file with USCIS to requedt immigrarion records. It will have all his information as to when he was in removal proceeding, when he was awarded voluntary departure and when he actually left. The embassy will ask that information to confirm his eligibility. Im sorry not sure wat state u in so cant recommend an attorney. Good luck.

[Faisal-Christina 0]

I also would suggest consulting with an immigration lawyer. Not hiring one to do your whole case, it doesn't seem that would be necessary. But you do need to make sure you've got all your facts straight in "immigration-legalese". For example, the removal. He may have been ordered to leave, he may have even accepted voluntary deportation, and knowing the specifics of what happened will ensure that you are prepared for any questions about this on the paperwork. Also, as stated, more heavy scrutiny will apply to your relationship because of the prior marriage and immigration process. An attorney can help you look through your circumstances and decide how best to prove your relationship. Talk to a good one, though, because a lot out there have unknown reputations and such. It seems VJ doesn't have such a thing, but another immigration forum maintains a list of attorneys who are trustworthy for cases where there are immigration complications, both major and minor like yours seems to be:

http://immigrate2us....by-I2US-Members

Thank you for your help! Also, thank you for sharing about your journey....you have a beautiful family! God bless you and be with you. Blessings

[A + M 29]

You don't need an immigration lawyer, you can do it yourself. Good luck!