Need help from experienced UAE VJers

[Crazy Rabbit 1]

My fiancee is filipino and I am the US citizen. I am about to file the I-129f petition for my fiancee to apply for the K1 visa. However, her friends in the UAE have told her that they have failed twice at the US embassy in Abu Dhabi for the same thing. Now she is concerned that the same thing might happen to her. Since I haven't filed yet, we still have some options.

If money and time weren't an issue, I would file the I-129f anyway and hope for the best. If she got denied (which I don't think would happen, but anything is possible), we would then get married and file the I-130 petition for her to apply for a CR1 visa. That just takes too much time. Not to mention the added expense.

Another option is for us to get married in the Philippines and then apply for the spousal visa. The only problem with that is she won't go back there until October or november for her annual leave. The good thing about that is that we can have the wedding we both want, and all of the paperwork will be mostly completed before then, we will just be waiting on the marriage certificate after the wedding. She could go back to the Philippines early and we could get started early, but she would have to leave her job and go back to live with family.

The reason I posted in this forum is I am looking for someone with K1 experience in the UAE. If I am the sole sponsor (I make more than 125% of the poverty level for my situation), and all of our paperwork is in order, we should be ok, right? I know this sounds pretty straight forward, but her friend tried for the fiancee visa and failed twice. From my limited knowledge of what happened, I take it they were trying to use a co-sponsor.

Any help will be appreciated. Really this decision is going to come down to what my fiancee and I think is best for us, but I'd like to make an informed decision.

[aamirpearl 47]

My fiancee is filipino and I am the US citizen. I am about to file the I-129f petition for my fiancee to apply for the K1 visa. However, her friends in the UAE have told her that they have failed twice at the US embassy in Abu Dhabi for the same thing. Now she is concerned that the same thing might happen to her. Since I haven't filed yet, we still have some options.

If money and time weren't an issue, I would file the I-129f anyway and hope for the best. If she got denied (which I don't think would happen, but anything is possible), we would then get married and file the I-130 petition for her to apply for a CR1 visa. That just takes too much time. Not to mention the added expense.

Another option is for us to get married in the Philippines and then apply for the spousal visa. The only problem with that is she won't go back there until October or november for her annual leave. The good thing about that is that we can have the wedding we both want, and all of the paperwork will be mostly completed before then, we will just be waiting on the marriage certificate after the wedding. She could go back to the Philippines early and we could get started early, but she would have to leave her job and go back to live with family.

The reason I posted in this forum is I am looking for someone with K1 experience in the UAE. If I am the sole sponsor (I make more than 125% of the poverty level for my situation), and all of our paperwork is in order, we should be ok, right? I know this sounds pretty straight forward, but her friend tried for the fiancee visa and failed twice. From my limited knowledge of what happened, I take it they were trying to use a co-sponsor.

Any help will be appreciated. Really this decision is going to come down to what my fiancee and I think is best for us, but I'd like to make an informed decision.

No, her friends are wrong it really depends on you and your fiance's case. From my experience i believe Abu dhabi consulate is a easy one for getting interview. You can read the interview reviews and see for yourself. My advice is go on with filing the petiion as it will take a long time if you wait it out..

[reem 11 1]

it's better she go back philippines and you married there.like me i work arab country and my bf decide to go to philippine to married, its very hard you apply in arab county..

[biaobiao 40]

i think its better in abu dhabi. go ahead and try. its a case to case basis..

are you in UAE too? from what i read. its not DCF but if you file with a foreign address there MIGHT BE A POSSIBILITY that you will have an expedited process without even asking one.

that's what i read here in vj.

goodluck.

ps

UAE is a beautiful place. Oh how i miss dubai

[Crazy Rabbit 1]

No, I'm not in UAE right now, but I miss Dubai, too. Not just because that is where my fiancee is right now. I do get to see her this week on my way back to the US, though, so I'm excited about that.

I have read a lot of the Abu Dhabi embassy reviews, and I have to agree, it seems like the interview is pretty straight forward. I have a lot to think about. Really it would be so much better if it was easier for mixed nationality, mixed-religion people to get married in the UAE. We could do it, but I don't think I can stay in Dubai that long to get everything done we would need to do.

[Crazy Rabbit 1]

Can the US Citizen attend the interview in Abu Dhabi? I think that would alleviate some of her fears.

[Carie_Azan 35]

Yes. USC can attend. Abu Dhabi is one of the better embassy's in MENA. Good luck!!

[Mike&Maryann 5]

My fiancee is filipino and I am the US citizen. I am about to file the I-129f petition for my fiancee to apply for the K1 visa. However, her friends in the UAE have told her that they have failed twice at the US embassy in Abu Dhabi for the same thing. Now she is concerned that the same thing might happen to her. Since I haven't filed yet, we still have some options.

If money and time weren't an issue, I would file the I-129f anyway and hope for the best. If she got denied (which I don't think would happen, but anything is possible), we would then get married and file the I-130 petition for her to apply for a CR1 visa. That just takes too much time. Not to mention the added expense.

Another option is for us to get married in the Philippines and then apply for the spousal visa. The only problem with that is she won't go back there until October or november for her annual leave. The good thing about that is that we can have the wedding we both want, and all of the paperwork will be mostly completed before then, we will just be waiting on the marriage certificate after the wedding. She could go back to the Philippines early and we could get started early, but she would have to leave her job and go back to live with family.

The reason I posted in this forum is I am looking for someone with K1 experience in the UAE. If I am the sole sponsor (I make more than 125% of the poverty level for my situation), and all of our paperwork is in order, we should be ok, right? I know this sounds pretty straight forward, but her friend tried for the fiancee visa and failed twice. From my limited knowledge of what happened, I take it they were trying to use a co-sponsor.

Any help will be appreciated. Really this decision is going to come down to what my fiancee and I think is best for us, but I'd like to make an informed decision.

When I started reading about your situation, I thought someone had posted the question on my behalf. This was/is our situation as well. Every detail, except my fiance , Mary Ann also has a Travel visa for the U.S. , so it added even more confusion to the fold. She came to the U.S. to visit in January not intending to get married , so we didn't. We probably would have been ok, if we had and did a AOS. The problem was trying to take a shortcut didn't feel right , and she didn't want to leave her job like that... and We didn't want to risk her getting deported . We tossed around the idea of a wedding in the Philippines, but there's a minimum 3 week wait. I can't spend more than that away from my job, so that was not an option.We talked about a Dubai wedding and about getting married while she was here in NY and then petitioning cr-1, but we don't want to be apart after being married. She would have gone back to Dubai and awaited the visa. So we filed the K1 petition and now we wait. It's the decision we made and now we're dealing with it. Make up your mind, for her sake and file . We all have to wait. Sidebar, she also has a friend that is having trouble getting approved, but it's financial...too few months on the job. They are gonna go with a co-sponsor. We hope and pray they will get approved. Just take the leap of faith and File. It will be ok...or it won't, but you will never find out debating it.

[Cathi 5,755]

it's better she go back philippines and you married there.like me i work arab country and my bf decide to go to philippine to married, its very hard you apply in arab county..

not true at all. Many MENA countries are relatively easy, UAE being one of them. And the beneficiary is from the Philippines making it that much more easy, no need to go back to Manila and certainly they don't need to get married.

[Love's JAA 100]

My fiancee is filipino and I am the US citizen. I am about to file the I-129f petition for my fiancee to apply for the K1 visa. However, her friends in the UAE have told her that they have failed twice at the US embassy in Abu Dhabi for the same thing. Now she is concerned that the same thing might happen to her. Since I haven't filed yet, we still have some options.

If money and time weren't an issue, I would file the I-129f anyway and hope for the best. If she got denied (which I don't think would happen, but anything is possible), we would then get married and file the I-130 petition for her to apply for a CR1 visa. That just takes too much time. Not to mention the added expense.

Another option is for us to get married in the Philippines and then apply for the spousal visa. The only problem with that is she won't go back there until October or november for her annual leave. The good thing about that is that we can have the wedding we both want, and all of the paperwork will be mostly completed before then, we will just be waiting on the marriage certificate after the wedding. She could go back to the Philippines early and we could get started early, but she would have to leave her job and go back to live with family.

The reason I posted in this forum is I am looking for someone with K1 experience in the UAE. If I am the sole sponsor (I make more than 125% of the poverty level for my situation), and all of our paperwork is in order, we should be ok, right? I know this sounds pretty straight forward, but her friend tried for the fiancee visa and failed twice. From my limited knowledge of what happened, I take it they were trying to use a co-sponsor.

Any help will be appreciated. Really this decision is going to come down to what my fiancee and I think is best for us, but I'd like to make an informed decision.

Did her friends say why they failed - what the reason(s) was/were?

[jetlagged 3]

When I started reading about your situation, I thought someone had posted the question on my behalf. This was/is our situation as well. Every detail, except my fiance , Mary Ann also has a Travel visa for the U.S. , so it added even more confusion to the fold. She came to the U.S. to visit in January not intending to get married , so we didn't. We probably would have been ok, if we had and did a AOS. The problem was trying to take a shortcut didn't feel right , and she didn't want to leave her job like that... and We didn't want to risk her getting deported . We tossed around the idea of a wedding in the Philippines, but there's a minimum 3 week wait. I can't spend more than that away from my job, so that was not an option.We talked about a Dubai wedding and about getting married while she was here in NY and then petitioning cr-1, but we don't want to be apart after being married. She would have gone back to Dubai and awaited the visa. So we filed the K1 petition and now we wait. It's the decision we made and now we're dealing with it. Make up your mind, for her sake and file . We all have to wait. Sidebar, she also has a friend that is having trouble getting approved, but it's financial...too few months on the job. They are gonna go with a co-sponsor. We hope and pray they will get approved. Just take the leap of faith and File. It will be ok...or it won't, but you will never find out debating it.

I am the fiance and I'm currently residing and working here in Dubai. We have the same dilemma as you guys before but we eventually decided to file k1 while I'm still here working at least I get to earn while waiting for the visa. And I believe filing here in UAE would be much easier than be processed in Manila.