Applying for K1 Canada to US some questions

[mrstevenl 1]

Hello and first thank you all for all the wonderful advice I have gathered so far just from reading all your posts and all the information put together on this site. By far the most well put together and informative I have found. I hope I am not "that guy" who is asking questions that have been answered over and over, but I did do searches on this site and others before I came up with these questions and while I found many answers I still have some confusion on some. If ?anyone has any experience or answers to the questions below that would be greatly appreciated.

A little background first to help you answer the questions better.

Me and my Fiance have been in a relationship for a few years, about 3 years ago or so I attempted to go to canada and immigrate there but was denied at the border and told I had to return for a hearing with the magistrate etc because of some issues (her not being able to meet financial requirements and my job skill not one of the ones they were accepting) we had to scratch that idea and now she is moving here. We originally were going to move me to Canada because we thought it would be easier because she has three children who will be coming with her. The story with the kids are there father is actually a US citizen, (however the kids are only Canadian citizens) and he is perfectly fine with them coming to the states so getting permission is not an issue. But i do have questions as to what I need from him to let them come.

So here are the things I have questions on.

1. The k1 Fee. I see the fee to file the k1 is $340. Am I correct that I only have to pay 1 of these fees? I will not have to pay this fee for my fiance plus 1 fee for each child correct? The children will be coming through her K1, on k3 (I think) visas. They are included on the 129f form.

2. About the income requirements. I have a daughter of my own who lives with her mother (that I pay child support for but have no court order/agreements with her mother we did this ourselves) So I believe when calculating my income requirement I have to include her as well right. So when doing the numbers I have to include myself, my fiance, her 3 kids and my daughter. So the total is 6. According to the income scale for 6 people it shows about 43k. My confusion is it says 125% of this. So do i need to make 43k + 25% or 43k +125% ? I make roughly 65-85k/year (as a contractor my income can vary) so I am wondering about what range I need to be in to make sure we do not have an issue, or if I need to add a co sponsor.

3. In regards to the kids. As I said above the father is a US Citizen (But im not sure we can get them citizenship through him because that would require them to live with him) so they will be getting in through the K3 visa. What kind of forms/papers/documents will we need to send in with our initial paper work (the 129f) if any and what paper work will we need to gather later down the road to prove we have permission to bring them to the US, and that we can make that decision for them. With one of the children she has a court document that grants her complete and full custody, but with the other two she does not (the other two children were born after that original court case and they had got back together and then broke up again I know confusing). I do not forsee us needing to go through court though as the father is willing to fill out/sign whatever is needed.

4. She currently lives in Ontario (Oshawa) just outside of Toronto so we will be using the Montreal office for the interview. My question is, would it be beneficial for me to be there? Or does it not really hold much weight either way?

Those are the biggest questions I have at the moment I thought I had more but I will have to think about it some more.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[TBoneTX 45,329]

*** Unanswered duplicate thread removed; this thread moved to the Canada regional subforum for general and country-specific answers. ***

[Udella&Wiz 325]

First things first - technically her kids are US citizens already - they (Your Fiancee and their dad) should work on getting them their US passports. You shouldn't include US citizens on an immigration VISA application because well...they're US citizens.

[gwenstar 66]

2. About the income requirements. I have a daughter of my own who lives with her mother (that I pay child support for but have no court order/agreements with her mother we did this ourselves) So I believe when calculating my income requirement I have to include her as well right. So when doing the numbers I have to include myself, my fiance, her 3 kids and my daughter. So the total is 6. According to the income scale for 6 people it shows about 43k. My confusion is it says 125% of this. So do i need to make 43k + 25% or 43k +125% ? I make roughly 65-85k/year (as a contractor my income can vary) so I am wondering about what range I need to be in to make sure we do not have an issue, or if I need to add a co sponsor.

Poverty Guidelines - this shows the USCIS requirement of 125% Poverty Level for Household Size.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864p.pdf

Based on the information you gave - you would not need a co-sponsor.

Edit: Example -

Poverty level for 6 person household = $31,590

USCIS requirement is 125% of Poverty Level

$31,590 x 1.25 = $39,187

As long as your previous years taxes meet or exceed that amount you are fine

Edited August 13, 2013 by gwenstar

[NikLR 13,227]

Hello and first thank you all for all the wonderful advice I have gathered so far just from reading all your posts and all the information put together on this site. By far the most well put together and informative I have found. I hope I am not "that guy" who is asking questions that have been answered over and over, but I did do searches on this site and others before I came up with these questions and while I found many answers I still have some confusion on some. If ?anyone has any experience or answers to the questions below that would be greatly appreciated.

A little background first to help you answer the questions better.

Me and my Fiance have been in a relationship for a few years, about 3 years ago or so I attempted to go to canada and immigrate there but was denied at the border and told I had to return for a hearing with the magistrate etc because of some issues (her not being able to meet financial requirements and my job skill not one of the ones they were accepting) we had to scratch that idea and now she is moving here. We originally were going to move me to Canada because we thought it would be easier because she has three children who will be coming with her. The story with the kids are there father is actually a US citizen, (however the kids are only Canadian citizens) and he is perfectly fine with them coming to the states so getting permission is not an issue. But i do have questions as to what I need from him to let them come.

So here are the things I have questions on.

1. The k1 Fee. I see the fee to file the k1 is $340. Am I correct that I only have to pay 1 of these fees? I will not have to pay this fee for my fiance plus 1 fee for each child correct? The children will be coming through her K1, on k3 (I think) visas. They are included on the 129f form.

2. About the income requirements. I have a daughter of my own who lives with her mother (that I pay child support for but have no court order/agreements with her mother we did this ourselves) So I believe when calculating my income requirement I have to include her as well right. So when doing the numbers I have to include myself, my fiance, her 3 kids and my daughter. So the total is 6. According to the income scale for 6 people it shows about 43k. My confusion is it says 125% of this. So do i need to make 43k + 25% or 43k +125% ? I make roughly 65-85k/year (as a contractor my income can vary) so I am wondering about what range I need to be in to make sure we do not have an issue, or if I need to add a co sponsor.

3. In regards to the kids. As I said above the father is a US Citizen (But im not sure we can get them citizenship through him because that would require them to live with him) so they will be getting in through the K3 visa. What kind of forms/papers/documents will we need to send in with our initial paper work (the 129f) if any and what paper work will we need to gather later down the road to prove we have permission to bring them to the US, and that we can make that decision for them. With one of the children she has a court document that grants her complete and full custody, but with the other two she does not (the other two children were born after that original court case and they had got back together and then broke up again I know confusing). I do not forsee us needing to go through court though as the father is willing to fill out/sign whatever is needed.

4. She currently lives in Ontario (Oshawa) just outside of Toronto so we will be using the Montreal office for the interview. My question is, would it be beneficial for me to be there? Or does it not really hold much weight either way?

Those are the biggest questions I have at the moment I thought I had more but I will have to think about it some more.

Thanks in advance for your help.

You have two options - either get married and do the CR1 route or the K1 route. Look into both (CR1 is more money up front, K1 is more money overall.)

You really need to look into getting the CRBA done on these children so that they're USC as well. This is really important and saves you about 3 grand in AOS fees! http://www.travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_5199.html He would have to agree to support them (you guys could decide to not do this in actuality) and he has to agree that they're his children. However if you don't want to do this despite it's enormous benefits, he would simply need to have a notarized affidavit saying he's allowing the children to move with their mother to the USA. She likely has to get a travel document each time they go across the border to the USA as well if she already doesn't have full custody of all 3 children.

As stated the 125% of the poverty guidelines for the household of 6 is $39,486. You are correct that you'd have to include your daughter in the I-864.

As for being present at the interview, it doesn't matter either way but as all 3 children would need to be there if they do not become USC, it would be beneficial to, at the very least, have you there to help look after them.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

To echo the above: You really need to look into getting the CRBA done on these children so that they're USC as well

Their father is American, they are too likely - just because they never reported the births or never got their American passports doesn;t mean they aren't American

#4 - it doesn;t really matter if the USC petitioner is there - many hear have gone with or without to the interview. Never hurts tio ahve a little moral support at the end though!!!!

[mrstevenl 1]

First things first - technically her kids are US citizens already - they (Your Fiancee and their dad) should work on getting them their US passports. You shouldn't include US citizens on an immigration VISA application because well...they're US citizens.

You have two options - either get married and do the CR1 route or the K1 route. Look into both (CR1 is more money up front, K1 is more money overall.)

You really need to look into getting the CRBA done on these children so that they're USC as well. This is really important and saves you about 3 grand in AOS fees! http://www.travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_5199.html He would have to agree to support them (you guys could decide to not do this in actuality) and he has to agree that they're his children. However if you don't want to do this despite it's enormous benefits, he would simply need to have a notarized affidavit saying he's allowing the children to move with their mother to the USA. She likely has to get a travel document each time they go across the border to the USA as well if she already doesn't have full custody of all 3 children.

As stated the 125% of the poverty guidelines for the household of 6 is $39,486. You are correct that you'd have to include your daughter in the I-864.

As for being present at the interview, it doesn't matter either way but as all 3 children would need to be there if they do not become USC, it would be beneficial to, at the very least, have you there to help look after them.

We'd love to go the east route and just get them citizenship through there father. But there are a couple problems with that. First from what I gathered/read he would have to "sponsor" them and under the law they would have to live with him and be under his care. Now I understand we can lie, and say he is and they just move in with us, but id really hate to be caught defrauding the government in something like that. Specially if say the father decided he wanted to be an ### and wanted to force the issue of them living with him. While we are on good terms with there father, we would not prefer to give that much power. Specially considering this is a person who has done nothing to support his children. Has not even bothered to try to see the youngest (as they split up when she was pregnant with the youngest) Has done nothing but constantly disappoint the kids with broken promises. We'd prefer they not have to go through more disappointment in life in regards to him.

She has a travel letter that is notorized, and that is what she has used when she has came to the US to visit. Never had any trouble at the borders. We will get another letter made from him notarized for each child, outlining him allowing them to move to the US. Would we need to send that letter with the 129f packet or have at the interview?

Thanks for the heads up on the interview and income.

[mrstevenl 1]

Poverty Guidelines - this shows the USCIS requirement of 125% Poverty Level for Household Size.

http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864p.pdf

Based on the information you gave - you would not need a co-sponsor.

Edit: Example -

Poverty level for 6 person household = $31,590

USCIS requirement is 125% of Poverty Level

$31,590 x 1.25 = $39,187

As long as your previous years taxes meet or exceed that amount you are fine

Thanks for the heads up on the income ya that is the website I used I was just confused if they did the math or if I had to do the math. So looks like we should meet the guideline plenty.

Thanks

[NikLR 13,227]

The more I look at it the odder the CRBA is due to the children being born out of wedlock to a USC father. It would be something expensive to do through a lawyer it looks like. I think all of those things are an "or" though on the page, not an "and." I think he just needs to admit paternity of the children using the DS-5507 not that they have to live live with him. He also has to submit to support them, which may actually give her more rights to child support than she was granted before.

But you guys do what you need to do. A CR1 and the CR2 visas take longer but would cost you about 2k less. But you'd have to get married first obviously.

I wish you all the best!!!

[mrstevenl 1]

The more I look at it the odder the CRBA is due to the children being born out of wedlock to a USC father. It would be something expensive to do through a lawyer it looks like. I think all of those things are an "or" though on the page, not an "and." I think he just needs to admit paternity of the children using the DS-5507 not that they have to live live with him. He also has to submit to support them, which may actually give her more rights to child support than she was granted before.

But you guys do what you need to do. A CR1 and the CR2 visas take longer but would cost you about 2k less. But you'd have to get married first obviously.

I wish you all the best!!!

Thank you for the response, I will definitely look deeper into the CRBA, it is a bit different because they were not married but a simple blood test (if required) and teh DS5507 form would establish him as the parent. What thorws me off is this part

1. While the person is under the age of 18 years --
   • the person is legitimated under the law of his/her residence or domicile,
   • the father acknowledges paternity of the person in writing under oath, or
   • the paternity of the person is established by adjudication of a competent court.

So the establishment of paternity is not a big deal but what does "The person is legitimated under the law of his/her residence" mean is what throws me off. If its just a matter of filing the papers and getting them US passports that would be great.

As far as the C1 and C2 visas go, about how much longer do they take on average? I do like the sound of saving 2k, where would we need to get married in the US? In Canada? I wonder how much of that 2k would be eaten up trying to go through the marriage before hand?

So many choices and what really sucks is it is not easy (some case impossible) to change the choices you make now at a later date.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

The more I look at it the odder the CRBA is due to the children being born out of wedlock to a USC father. It would be something expensive to do through a lawyer it looks like. I think all of those things are an "or" though on the page, not an "and." I think he just needs to admit paternity of the children using the DS-5507 not that they have to live live with him. He also has to submit to support them, which may actually give her more rights to child support than she was granted before.

But you guys do what you need to do. A CR1 and the CR2 visas take longer but would cost you about 2k less. But you'd have to get married first obviously.

I wish you all the best!!!

I may not be remembering correctly but I had to put down my daughter's father's nationality on the K1/K2....will they not have to put US then for the children's father?

I am not familiar with CRBA - does it matter whether they were married or not?

[mrstevenl 1]

I may not be remembering correctly but I had to put down my daughter's father's nationality on the K1/K2....will they not have to put US then for the children's father?

I am not familiar with CRBA - does it matter whether they were married or not?

I believe we have to fill out a Biological (G235) for each of the children and on that it asks for Father and mothers information.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Is this link helpful?...It's not USCIS but you might get the gist

http://www.americanlaw.com/citabrd.html

Thank you for the response, I will definitely look deeper into the CRBA, it is a bit different because they were not married but a simple blood test (if required) and teh DS5507 form would establish him as the parent. What thorws me off is this part

1. While the person is under the age of 18 years --
   • the person is legitimated under the law of his/her residence or domicile,
   • the father acknowledges paternity of the person in writing under oath, or
   • the paternity of the person is established by adjudication of a competent court.

So the establishment of paternity is not a big deal but what does "The person is legitimated under the law of his/her residence" mean is what throws me off. If its just a matter of filing the papers and getting them US passports that would be great.

As far as the C1 and C2 visas go, about how much longer do they take on average? I do like the sound of saving 2k, where would we need to get married in the US? In Canada? I wonder how much of that 2k would be eaten up trying to go through the marriage before hand?

So many choices and what really sucks is it is not easy (some case impossible) to change the choices you make now at a later date.

[NikLR 13,227]

Thank you for the response, I will definitely look deeper into the CRBA, it is a bit different because they were not married but a simple blood test (if required) and teh DS5507 form would establish him as the parent. What thorws me off is this part

1. While the person is under the age of 18 years --
   • the person is legitimated under the law of his/her residence or domicile,
   • the father acknowledges paternity of the person in writing under oath, or
   • the paternity of the person is established by adjudication of a competent court.

So the establishment of paternity is not a big deal but what does "The person is legitimated under the law of his/her residence" mean is what throws me off. If its just a matter of filing the papers and getting them US passports that would be great.

As far as the C1 and C2 visas go, about how much longer do they take on average? I do like the sound of saving 2k, where would we need to get married in the US? In Canada? I wonder how much of that 2k would be eaten up trying to go through the marriage before hand?

So many choices and what really sucks is it is not easy (some case impossible) to change the choices you make now at a later date.

That line throws me off too. I think it's an "or" because to be legitimized is a big process according to the websites I looked at.

You can get married wherever you want. We had a small wedding in BC, my mom was the minister (she's normally about $200 but some ministers or JP run higher.) Ontario takes a month or two to get the marriage certificate back but in some states you can get it right away. The CR1 and CR2 visas generally take 8-12 months while the fiance visas take 6-10. However everyone would have green cards upon arrival vs having to do the AOS (that's 3 checks of $1070 right there) but without that AOS your "wife" won't be able to do anything, work, collect EI if eligible (yes Canadians can collect EI in the USA) or travel. Neither can the kids.

I may not be remembering correctly but I had to put down my daughter's father's nationality on the K1/K2....will they not have to put US then for the children's father?

I am not familiar with CRBA - does it matter whether they were married or not?

it does matter, there are more issues of establishing paternity if the children are born to a US father out of wedlock.

I believe we have to fill out a Biological (G235) for each of the children and on that it asks for Father and mothers information.

Children don't submit a G-325a as far as I know. At least for the IR1/CR1 process they do not.

[NikLR 13,227]

You might be better off with the K1 at this moment because Florida is VERY slow on the I-130s. You'll be together faster significantly IMHO with the K1.