Fiancee visa app. Do I need a job in the states?

[Ron in Thailand 0]

Hi;

I have worked in Thailand for 10 years, and have decided to return to the states for a USA wedding ceremony (already had Thai ceremony, unregistered), and live there for a while before I retire. The papers to apply for a fiancee visa have already been mailed to the states (my mom and sister will forward them to homethe Texas center).

HOWEVER, this means I will be getting a fiancee visa to bring my wife to my mom's place in the states (81 years old and living alone in a big house since my dad died), and I have no job in the states. I will look for one when we get there.

Will this be a problem for our fiancee visa, being unemployed (left my job in Thailand to liquidate furniture and other assets as well as some traveling, just some part time work now)? I don't want to go first and break up our family here, and I would really want to be here for the interview (strong recommendation from others that have been thru the process).

From what I read on the net, the affidavit of support is not mandatory, and we have lived together for more than a year. I have supported her during this period, and will continue to do so when we get to the states (living with my mom initially at least, maybe longer depending on her condition).

I have several letters of recommendation from ex employers, uniformly positive, and I have a Ph.D. so getting a job shouldn't be THAT dificult when we get there.

Not a lot in the bank due to a business failure and divorce a couple of years ago.

As I have been living overseas for 10 years I would hope this stateside employment problem would be ok, but I don't know. Anyone know the policy here?

Thanks for any guidance

[heathius 0]

The affidavit of support is in fact mandatory. The only question is, will you be the support provider or will you need to get a sponsor?

If you want to be the support provider, you will indeed need a job to be able to show steady income. Without a job that carries a salary over the acceptable levels, you will need a sponsor.

My situation is somewhat similar. I have lived in China with my fiancee for over 2 years now, and have heald a steady job. Logically, if we leave for the US then the job will end. So, in order for me to be the support provider I have to show both a letter from my current employer as well as a letter from my future employer in the US (along with all other evidence needed for the affidavit). That way they can see evidence of past income, and evidence that you will have steady income in the US. Other people may have done other things, but this is they way we are handling our situation.

You will definitely need a job if you want to be the support provider. Best advice is... If you aren't sure about your employment situation, then get a sponsor.

[rebeccajo 14]

Read up on the requirements for non-immigrant visas with the Thai consulate. Including the affidavit of support. And including whether or not you are really married.

[Ron in Thailand 0]

Hi;

I did read the website that they referred me to, and it says the affidavit of suport MAY be needed, but it is not one of the documents that they necessarily require. We are NOT married as far as the Embassy is concerned at this point, this is a fiancee visa. We had the ceremony in Thailand but no registration.

Thanks for the reply

Read up on the requirements for non-immigrant visas with the Thai consulate. Including the affidavit of support. And including whether or not you are really married.

[john_and_marlene 162]

You mentioned that you are retired. Is your retirement income adequate to meet the support requirements?

[Ron in Thailand 0]

Hi;

Thanks for the reply. That is what I feared, but I was hoping that there was some procedure or recognition that I have been living and working out of the USA for the last ten years.

I am hoping someone in the same situation found a way around it, perhaps the sponsor idea you suggest, but that could only be my retired 81 year old mom who we will stay with I guess.

Thanks for the reply.

The affidavit of support is in fact mandatory. The only question is, will you be the support provider or will you need to get a sponsor?

If you want to be the support provider, you will indeed need a job to be able to show steady income. Without a job that carries a salary over the acceptable levels, you will need a sponsor.

My situation is somewhat similar. I have lived in China with my fiancee for over 2 years now, and have heald a steady job. Logically, if we leave for the US then the job will end. So, in order for me to be the support provider I have to show both a letter from my current employer as well as a letter from my future employer in the US (along with all other evidence needed for the affidavit). That way they can see evidence of past income, and evidence that you will have steady income in the US. Other people may have done other things, but this is they way we are handling our situation.

You will definitely need a job if you want to be the support provider. Best advice is... If you aren't sure about your employment situation, then get a sponsor.

[Yodrak 7]

Ron in Thailand,

Someone needs to be able to support your fiancee when she comes to the USA, because the US tax payers are not going to do it. Since you seem to be lacking in both income and assets that can be liquidated to pay living expenses, you will need to find someone who has a sure source of income that they are willing to put on the line for your fiancee in the event that you do not find employment as quickly as you might like. Immigration requires a bird in the hand, since the two in the bush often fly away before they can be captured.

If you can pursue some job prospects in the USA from Thailand, or your mother can qualify as a Joint Sponsor for an I-864 affidavit of support, you may want to consider registering a marriage and having your wife apply for an immigrant visa. If you've been living and working in Thailand for 10 years you probably qualify to submit your I-130 petition to the USCIS in Bangkok (a process known as DCF) and your wife could possibly have an immigrant visa in hand faster than your I-129f petition for fiance(e) will be approved. And she would enter the USA as an LPR - no adjustment of status.

Yodrak

Hi;

I have worked in Thailand for 10 years, and have decided to return to the states for a USA wedding ceremony (already had Thai ceremony, unregistered), and live there for a while before I retire. The papers to apply for a fiancee visa have already been mailed to the states (my mom and sister will forward them to homethe Texas center).

HOWEVER, this means I will be getting a fiancee visa to bring my wife to my mom's place in the states (81 years old and living alone in a big house since my dad died), and I have no job in the states. I will look for one when we get there.

Will this be a problem for our fiancee visa, being unemployed (left my job in Thailand to liquidate furniture and other assets as well as some traveling, just some part time work now)? I don't want to go first and break up our family here, and I would really want to be here for the interview (strong recommendation from others that have been thru the process).

From what I read on the net, the affidavit of support is not mandatory, and we have lived together for more than a year. I have supported her during this period, and will continue to do so when we get to the states (living with my mom initially at least, maybe longer depending on her condition).

I have several letters of recommendation from ex employers, uniformly positive, and I have a Ph.D. so getting a job shouldn't be THAT dificult when we get there.

Not a lot in the bank due to a business failure and divorce a couple of years ago.

As I have been living overseas for 10 years I would hope this stateside employment problem would be ok, but I don't know. Anyone know the policy here?

Thanks for any guidance

Edited October 31, 2006 by Yodrak

[sakurasama 0]

I lived in Japan for 10 years and most people I know who intended to take someone back to the U.S. with them married them in Japan and did a Direct Consular Filing (DCF) of the petition. Everyone did need a sponsor because they were in the inbetween work situation you are in. If you want to file a K-1 your situation will be the same- you will still need a sponsor. Unfortunately, the USCIS/Embassies don't take into consideration employability or work history as proof, explanation or a substitute for a job; they most want you to demonstrate your ability to support right now.

[Ron in Thailand 0]

Hi;

Sorry to have slipped off the radar, but a lot of personal situation changes that I will mention from the first senario that I was living when this thread started, and ask for opinions if what I want to do will work (or if I will just screw myself!).

1) My mom was going to sign an affadavit of support, and I was using her address for the fiancee visa. She died suddenly and unexpectedly, which is why I lost touch for a while. I was upcountry when she died, and did not find out until it was too late to attend the funeral.

2) My sister will sell the house as quickly as possible to divide the assets so no more mailing address in the states. I don't know what will happen to any future mailings from the USCIS there. The receipt for the I-129 petition was received at her house during the funeral arrangements. It was transferred from Texas to California.

3) My visa is now a 60 day tourist visa, I went to Peneng to get a new non-imm B with all the correct paperwork as of a couple of weeks before, but they now require a receipt from the ministry of labor for your old workpermit before they will issue a non-imm B visa. I do not have this as my old employer kept it when they turned in my work permit (the same one that wants to sell me my teachers license for 150,000 baht).

4) I will receive a letter from the executor from my mom's estate stating that the will stipulates that the three kids (I am one) will share equally the proceeds of the estate, this will be over $100,000 each. I also have my old tax forms from when I was working in the states showing a healthy income, and several letters of recommendtion. I hope this is enough to satify the affadavit of support requirements.

5) I sent two faxes to the Bangkok USCIS (Emails bounced, bad addres on their website) director asking how to proceed, and there was no answer.

I want to :

a) Get married in Thailand, and register it in the embassy. With my mom gone, there is no more need to wait.

B) File for the DCF or whatever it is called in Bangkok USCIS.

Questions that I am not sure of:

1) Now that I have a tourist visa, am I screwed? I am a resident of Thailand for the last 10 years, do not have a home in the states, not even a bank acount. My passport was even renewed in the Bangkok consulate in 2000. I have been on a non-immigrant visa for many years here before now.

2) Will the letter from the executor of my mom's estate (and my tax forms with references) be enough for the affadavit of support?

3) How does the pending I-129 filing need to be stopped? Or, does that leave me with no options at all?

Thanks'

Ron

Ron in Thailand,

Someone needs to be able to support your fiancee when she comes to the USA, because the US tax payers are not going to do it. Since you seem to be lacking in both income and assets that can be liquidated to pay living expenses, you will need to find someone who has a sure source of income that they are willing to put on the line for your fiancee in the event that you do not find employment as quickly as you might like. Immigration requires a bird in the hand, since the two in the bush often fly away before they can be captured.

If you can pursue some job prospects in the USA from Thailand, or your mother can qualify as a Joint Sponsor for an I-864 affidavit of support, you may want to consider registering a marriage and having your wife apply for an immigrant visa. If you've been living and working in Thailand for 10 years you probably qualify to submit your I-130 petition to the USCIS in Bangkok (a process known as DCF) and your wife could possibly have an immigrant visa in hand faster than your I-129f petition for fiance(e) will be approved. And she would enter the USA as an LPR - no adjustment of status.

Yodrak

Hi;

I have worked in Thailand for 10 years, and have decided to return to the states for a USA wedding ceremony (already had Thai ceremony, unregistered), and live there for a while before I retire. The papers to apply for a fiancee visa have already been mailed to the states (my mom and sister will forward them to homethe Texas center).

HOWEVER, this means I will be getting a fiancee visa to bring my wife to my mom's place in the states (81 years old and living alone in a big house since my dad died), and I have no job in the states. I will look for one when we get there.

Will this be a problem for our fiancee visa, being unemployed (left my job in Thailand to liquidate furniture and other assets as well as some traveling, just some part time work now)? I don't want to go first and break up our family here, and I would really want to be here for the interview (strong recommendation from others that have been thru the process).

From what I read on the net, the affidavit of support is not mandatory, and we have lived together for more than a year. I have supported her during this period, and will continue to do so when we get to the states (living with my mom initially at least, maybe longer depending on her condition).

I have several letters of recommendation from ex employers, uniformly positive, and I have a Ph.D. so getting a job shouldn't be THAT dificult when we get there.

Not a lot in the bank due to a business failure and divorce a couple of years ago.

As I have been living overseas for 10 years I would hope this stateside employment problem would be ok, but I don't know. Anyone know the policy here?

Thanks for any guidance