SPOUSE VISA VS FIANCE VISA

[Tota 2]

How did "they" know this figure? Both the I-864 and I-134 state minimum requirements are 125% of poverty level. No number is provided. The only documentation I was able to find was for the I-864 stating the $18k for household size of 2, $23k for size of 3, ect. I'm not understanding how the I-129F for fiance K1 could have a minimum of $15,130 on the I-134 form, but when you do an AOS after marrying it becomes a minimum of $18k on the I-864. Shouldn't they both be the same, or do they think a company gives you a $3k raise right after you marry someone??

Do you know if you can have an affivdatadfjads;lasdl support for the spouse visa??

[NY_BX 397]

I'm lost. Confused. Nearly hopeless. This middle east unrest has gotten me sick.

I see that most people follow through with the k1 visa. Yet i talk to this lady who helps fill out forms for visas & she recommends me to go with the spouse visa. WHYYYY? IT SEEMS SO MUCH MORE DIFFICULT? Then i spoke to a lawyer, just to see his point of view. ( i didnt pay anything ) and he says spouse visa is guaranteed usually.. it just all depends on how much you want to pay or how much time u want to save?

Then i look at the plus' and minus' here for each visa and compare. It just winds up being about the same thing really.. youre on the same boat really right?

My fiance is in egypt and he wants to get married in egypt. he has his family and friends there and he'd really like to fufill that dream wedding of his. Me on the other hand, I see that most ppl go through the k1 visa route. Which im more towards. I just need some feedback here. I almost want someone to make the decicion for me!

I would've never done it any other way for many reasons. Yes, it is expensive, but somehow it gave me a sense of protection that the spouse visa doesn't. One of the things most fraud victims complain about is that some beneficiaries abandon their significant others upon arrival into the US. That- TO ME and JUST ME- was enough. Why? spouses get a green card upon arrival, whereas fiance(e)s must MARRY the petitioner and ONLY the petitioner within 90 days of arrival then adjust status. That makes it a lot more difficult, if not impossible, to stay here legally while claiming a fraud victim by abandoning him/her immediately upon landing in US soil. I'm not saying it prevents fraud, no. A scammer is a scammer, period. I'm saying, if you're a victim of fraud or a victim-to-be (i.e. you're abandoned prior to marriage or end up being a domestic violence victim god forbid!) there's more hoops and loops the beneficiary has to overcome.

Why do I say this? Egypt is a high fraud immigration country; top 5. No visa is garanteed, so that's a lie. Many spouse visas have been denied, again, because is a MENA/ Africa country. An overwhelming amount of fraud cases come from that region.

Good luck and please note, this is my exclusive experience and personal opinion. Many may disagree with me; that's ok.

[NY_BX 397]

Yes it is..!

Haaa, my Grandma's from both side of the family aren't very thrilled about it. Unfortunately. My grandmother on my dad's side is American from the Midwest, she thinks he is after me for papers. My Grandma from my moms side is Armenian Christian, originally from Iraq. She isn't thrilled at all because he is Muslim & she is veryyy Christian. Also, when my mom told her that i will be getting married to an Egyptian man, She had yelled out something like... "OUT OF ALL PEOPLE, OUT OF ALL MEN... WHY EGYPTIAN". Wait till Grandpa finds out. I'm saving that part for last.

I don't mean to be intrusive, but I believe you somewhat answered the question here. If I was in this situation, I'd file the K-1. You have "89" days to have your family get to know him better and let go of any preconceived judgments they may have against him. I'm not suggesting it'll be easy, let alone that they will change they're mind. However, it's an opportunity to bond. Then in the 90th day you can get married legally and figure out how the celebration will be. Just a suggestion if it's important to you that your family is comfortable- if not happy- with your decision. Some people don't care about what their family think. That's up to you.

We got legally married- meaning we had a brunch and signed papers. We will have a beach ceremony in Puerto Rico in December. Granted, my family couldn't careless about his background. That said, it was his family who was accepting, yet somewhat skeptical about our alternate lifestyle living. We drink, we party... alot, we are strong supporters of the LGBTT community and so on. To make matters complicated, my mother is a strong activist against religion mixed into politics. Oh yes, they know this. So, when I was Egypt, I drank wine in front of them- for example. Of course, I did that in reastaurants, not at the home. But I did it so they "experience me" first hand. They may not like it, but they also recognize my now husband is happy and that's all that matters.

Maybe that could happen to your family. They may think there are some unacceptable traits, but when they meet him, they'll feel the love and respect- more importantly- your happiness.

[Mithra 1,185]

For the CR1 you'll do the I864 affidavit. For K1 it's the other. We did the now obsolete K3 and did the other affidavit. However, when we adjusted status we had to do the I864 affidavit.

As far as fraud goes, fraud happens in both spousal and fiance cases. There is no safety net if someone is hell bent on committing fraud. The only thing is with a K1, if your fiance comes here and acts a fool before you get married then you don't have to get divorced. However, that doesn't mean he'll leave the country willingly and that fraud will already have been committed. People take off on K1s. If you're secure in your relationship and you think everything will go well, do the CR1.

Do you know if you can have an affivdatadfjads;lasdl support for the spouse visa??

[NY_BX 397]

For the CR1 you'll do the I864 affidavit. For K1 it's the other. We did the now obsolete K3 and did the other affidavit. However, when we adjusted status we had to do the I864 affidavit.

As far as fraud goes, fraud happens in both spousal and fiance cases. There is no safety net if someone is hell bent on committing fraud. The only thing is with a K1, if your fiance comes here and acts a fool before you get married then you don't have to get divorced. However, that doesn't mean he'll leave the country willingly and that fraud will already have been committed. People take off on K1s. If you're secure in your relationship and you think everything will go well, do the CR1.

I agree completely. Like I said, scammers are scammers. But like you stated, it's less of a headache to then go through a divorce and still be responsible of the scammer financially (i.e. I864).

I knew in my heart everything will go well. But I admit I'm just a little more skeptical than the average person, so that's why advice the way I did. I don't take anything for granted, even love.

[Rae Anne 44]

Yes it is..!

Haaa, my Grandma's from both side of the family aren't very thrilled about it. Unfortunately. My grandmother on my dad's side is American from the Midwest, she thinks he is after me for papers. My Grandma from my moms side is Armenian Christian, originally from Iraq. She isn't thrilled at all because he is Muslim & she is veryyy Christian. Also, when my mom told her that i will be getting married to an Egyptian man, She had yelled out something like... "OUT OF ALL PEOPLE, OUT OF ALL MEN... WHY EGYPTIAN". Wait till Grandpa finds out. I'm saving that part for last.

Well imagine how my Jewish relatives took to learning I had a boyfriend [later fiance] from Yemen. Wasn't pretty. But they know I have good judgement and want me to be happy so slowly they are accepting my decision. I know they'll all love him when they meet him so I'm not giving their remarks any credence now.

[Mithra 1,185]

IDK, I don't think her family not being thrilled is reason for doing a K1. My parents weren't happy (another Arab??, why??), my brothers thought I had lost my mind, my other family members probably thought a bit of both. 6.5 yrs and a baby later, they're ok with my decision and don't think I'm quite as crazy.

I don't mean to be intrusive, but I believe you somewhat answered the question here. If I was in this situation, I'd file the K-1. You have "89" days to have your family get to know him better and let go of any preconceived judgments they may have against him. I'm not suggesting it'll be easy, let alone that they will change they're mind. However, it's an opportunity to bond. Then in the 90th day you can get married legally and figure out how the celebration will be. Just a suggestion if it's important to you that your family is comfortable- if not happy- with your decision. Some people don't care about what their family think. That's up to you.

We got legally married- meaning we had a brunch and signed papers. We will have a beach ceremony in Puerto Rico in December. Granted, my family couldn't careless about his background. That said, it was his family who was accepting, yet somewhat skeptical about our alternate lifestyle living. We drink, we party... alot, we are strong supporters of the LGBTT community and so on. To make matters complicated, my mother is a strong activist against religion mixed into politics. Oh yes, they know this. So, when I was Egypt, I drank wine in front of them- for example. Of course, I did that in reastaurants, not at the home. But I did it so they "experience me" first hand. They may not like it, but they also recognize my now husband is happy and that's all that matters.

Maybe that could happen to your family. They may think there are some unacceptable traits, but when they meet him, they'll feel the love and respect- more importantly- your happiness.

My ex is Yemeni, my sons are half Yemeni. We haven't seen too many Yemen members on this forum.

Well imagine how my Jewish relatives took to learning I had a boyfriend [later fiance] from Yemen. Wasn't pretty. But they know I have good judgement and want me to be happy so slowly they are accepting my decision. I know they'll all love him when they meet him so I'm not giving their remarks any credence now.

[Tota 2]

I would've never done it any other way for many reasons. Yes, it is expensive, but somehow it gave me a sense of protection that the spouse visa doesn't. One of the things most fraud victims complain about is that some beneficiaries abandon their significant others upon arrival into the US. That- TO ME and JUST ME- was enough. Why? spouses get a green card upon arrival, whereas fiance(e)s must MARRY the petitioner and ONLY the petitioner within 90 days of arrival then adjust status. That makes it a lot more difficult, if not impossible, to stay here legally while claiming a fraud victim by abandoning him/her immediately upon landing in US soil. I'm not saying it prevents fraud, no. A scammer is a scammer, period. I'm saying, if you're a victim of fraud or a victim-to-be (i.e. you're abandoned prior to marriage or end up being a domestic violence victim god forbid!) there's more hoops and loops the beneficiary has to overcome.

Why do I say this? Egypt is a high fraud immigration country; top 5. No visa is garanteed, so that's a lie. Many spouse visas have been denied, again, because is a MENA/ Africa country. An overwhelming amount of fraud cases come from that region.

Good luck and please note, this is my exclusive experience and personal opinion. Many may disagree with me; that's ok.

Yess egypt is a very high fraud country.. You have very good points here.. Thank you!

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

welcome to VJ! Well, there is no guaranteed visa so IMO just do what is right for you & him. I married my hubby there, filed for k3 spouse visa and when he came we flew out to my family in Houston & had a church ceremony -worked out perfect and we had both families at some point for our ceremonies.

[NY_BX 397]

Yess egypt is a very high fraud country.. You have very good points here.. Thank you!

Glad I could help!

[Rae Anne 44]

IDK, I don't think her family not being thrilled is reason for doing a K1. My parents weren't happy (another Arab??, why??), my brothers thought I had lost my mind, my other family members probably thought a bit of both. 6.5 yrs and a baby later, they're ok with my decision and don't think I'm quite as crazy.

My ex is Yemeni, my sons are half Yemeni. We haven't seen too many Yemen members on this forum.

Ahh well since he's an ex I hesitate to say "Oh wow awesome" but I suppose you know a little something about what I'm getting myself into! I suppose I have the benefit of being with a fairly unique Yemeni. He's a world traveler like me

I suppose if you do the K-1 visa versus spouse visa at least you are respecting your family's desire to meet the person before it happens. That was one of my fiance's deciding factors when we were choosing which path to go down. He wants my parents' permission (adorable). He tried really hard to get a tourist visa to come visit me and my parents but it was to no avail. So at least they will get to meet him before the big day (though not long before).

Edited September 27, 2012 by Rae Anne

[aws&ndd 103]

The minimum income eligibility is perhaps the same for both cases. For the I-864 form it is 125% of the federal poverty level for the household size, whereas for the I-134 it is stated it only requires 100% of the federal poverty level. In the example given, $18,913 is 125% for a household size of 2, and $15,130 is only 100% for the same size household. One thing to keep in mind is that many consulates will not accept 100% and want to see the 125%. This is because even though the K-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa, it is assumed that the applicant will eventually adjust status and will thus need the 125% when filing the I-864.

[Rae Anne 44]

I realized I wrote "supposed" like 4 different times in a span of 7 sentences. I SUPPOSE I'm tired and need sleepytime...

[Mithra 1,185]

Well my ex isn't a bad guy, we just weren't right for each other. The culture is a little extreme for my taste. Where is your fiancé from in Yemen? My ex is from Ibb.

Ahh well since he's an ex I hesitate to say "Oh wow awesome" but I suppose you know a little something about what I'm getting myself into! I suppose I have the benefit of being with a fairly unique Yemeni. He's a world traveler like me

I suppose if you do the K-1 visa versus spouse visa at least you are respecting your family's desire to meet the person before it happens. That was one of my fiance's deciding factors when we were choosing which path to go down. He wants my parents' permission (adorable). He tried really hard to get a tourist visa to come visit me and my parents but it was to no avail. So at least they will get to meet him before the big day (though not long before).

[Rae Anne 44]

Well my ex isn't a bad guy, we just weren't right for each other. The culture is a little extreme for my taste. Where is your fiancé from in Yemen? My ex is from Ibb.

Yeah I agree about it being extreme, especially the tribal people. My fiance is from Hodeidah and he definitely doesn't fit the typical Yemeni mold. He has an open mind and heart. I don't know where he gets it from because almost no one of his family is like that! He can talk all night about how frustrated he is with the "old world" people keeping Yemen in the dark ages.

Edited September 27, 2012 by Rae Anne