Need advice on financial side of K-1 visa

[willandnaz 0]

Hi, I have a few rather important questions regarding the K-1 visa, specifically the financial side of things.

I'm an Australian citizen, living in Australia with my fiancee, who is a US citizen here on a working holiday. I'm twenty-three years old and she is nineteen. By the end of March 2014, her visa here will have expired and we're hoping to move to the US via the K-1 route. We seem to meet most of the visa's requirements - we have plenty of proof that our relationship has been ongoing for over a year, etc. - but the financial requirements are concerning.

According to the visa outlines, my fiancee needs to prove that she can support me. In our present living situation, we support each other pretty equally, but neither of us could really afford to solely support the other. She's self-employed via the internet, but her payments aren't regular in that she earns a commission that varies from day to day, and is transferred into her account by her own accord. She'd be able to keep this job once she's back in the US, but the current earnings are technically international, and her income probably equates to less than 8,000 USD a year. This, according to the K-1 outlines, is pretty far below the poverty line, and though I earn around 30,000 USD a year here, I suspect this won't make any difference if she can't prove that she alone can support me.

I don't know if this makes a good deal of difference to the situation, but we do have a joint bank account with earnings regularly going in. We currently have about 2,500 USD saved, and we're expecting to have around 5,000 by the time we hope to leave in March.

With the amount that we earn, we could certainly live a very comfortable life in the US and support each other equally, but this doesn't change the fact that on paper, she can't support me solely. If there's no way around this, and we have to use a co-sponsor (which we could do via her family), what would this entail? If it's apparent on our application that my fiancee can't support me and her family would have do it, would it discredit our application in any way? Ideally we'd rather not take this route, but it seems likely that there's no other choice.

Another thing is that everything I read about the K-1 visa seems to indicate that my US citizen fiancee needs to be in the US while I apply here from Australia. Is this the case? It would be much simpler if we could both just arrive in the US together.

One last query is regarding the processing time for the visa. We've read that it can take up to eight months, and we were wondering if typically it really does take that long. Is there any way to prioritise it? Ideally we'd like to be able to travel in March, which would mean five to six months if we apply now. It's not an extremely pressing matter, and if it does take eight months we'll be able to get around it by extending her visa here, but the sooner we know, the sooner we can take appropriate action.

Thanks for your help!

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

She doesn't qualify and will need a co-sponsor. Simple as.

The process often takes longer than 8 months. One common problem is that people have unrealistic expectations and think that they will be the fast ones. Then when they aren't they are disappointed.

[willandnaz 0]

Thanks. If she were to earn an adequate income here, would she still disqualify on the grounds that her work is here in Australia and not in the US?

Also, could you forsee any problems with using a co-sponsor?

And finally, does it take substantially longer than eight months, or just thereabouts?

Thanks again

[Pitaya 2,577]

Welcome to the forum.

You pose some very often asked questions. (accessible at the top of the forum page). In particular, the step-by-step K-1 Visa Guide:

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

Be sure to check out the I-134 FAQs.

Harpa is very likely spot-on with regards to your financial situation, and your time expectations on the K-1 visa process. Review some recent forum threads for current timeline examples and details.

Good luck.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Yep. You'll need a joint sponsor. It can be any one over 18 back in the US who is a citizen. They'll need to be earning enough for their own household size + the intending immigrant. They simply complete the I-134 (+ supporting evidence) that the beneficiary presents at the consulate stage.

Also, as you are living abroad, you are going to need to make sure you can show you have either maintained a US domicile, or are working on getting one. The US half either needs to be in the US already when the fiancé arrives, or travel with them. You don't have to file from within the US.

As for timings - there is no way to predict with any certainty how long it will take, so you should look into the other visa extension as soon as you need to. Could be 6 months, could be 12. No way to predict.

[lost_at_sea 995]

Thanks. If she were to earn an adequate income here, would she still disqualify on the grounds that her work is here in Australia and not in the US?

Also, could you forsee any problems with using a co-sponsor?

And finally, does it take substantially longer than eight months, or just thereabouts?

Thanks again

The income needs to be that which will *continue* in the US and meet the poverty guidelines.

Co-sponsorship is very common. Should be no issue.

Some folks took a year+ to get through their journey, others took 6 months. The service centres fluctuate greatly in their processing speed, making them very unpredictable. Always prepare for the worst, and be pleasantly surprised if you get something better.

Edited September 6, 2013 by lost_at_sea

[mb69 4]

I would also like help with the affidavit of support. I have the I-134 from my fiance and he is well above the poverty line... Do I still need extra proof that he can support me, eg. Tax returns ans pay stubs? Or will the I-134 be enough on its own?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[lost_at_sea 995]

I would also like help with the affidavit of support. I have the I-134 from my fiance and he is well above the poverty line... Do I still need extra proof that he can support me, eg. Tax returns ans pay stubs? Or will the I-134 be enough on its own?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

The I-134 always needs to be accompanied with evidence such as tax receipts, pay stubs, employment letter, bank statements.

[stevie b 141]

I would also like help with the affidavit of support. I have the I-134 from my fiance and he is well above the poverty line... Do I still need extra proof that he can support me, eg. Tax returns ans pay stubs? Or will the I-134 be enough on its own?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

134 instructions list supporting evidence

more detailed supporting evidence is listed on vj guides at the top

if all they have is a 134 with no supporting evidence.. not a good idea

[mb69 4]

Thank you for your help, trying to get everything sorted for when I get to that stage ( if we ever get to that stage).... ?

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

Yep. You'll need a joint sponsor. It can be any one over 18 back in the US who is a citizen.

A co or joint sponsor does not have to be a USC. They can be a USC or LPR.

[lost_at_sea 995]

A co or joint sponsor does not have to be a USC. They can be a USC or LPR.

My bad. I forgot that was the case. It always confuses me that someone can be an LPR (and probably have an I-864 in effect for them) and yet they can still sponsor someone else.

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

My bad. I forgot that was the case. It always confuses me that someone can be an LPR (and probably have an I-864 in effect for them) and yet they can still sponsor someone else.

I agree. It is a little odd that someone can go through the process and still have an I-864 in effect for them, but be working and able to sponsor someone else. I find quite a few of the immigration rules to be weird like that.

[willandnaz 0]

Hey everyone, thanks so much for the advice, it's been a huge weight off my mind. I just have one more question, now that it looks like we'll be going through with this with a joint sponsor.

While waiting for the K-1 to be approved, am I basically free to go wherever I like (except for the U.S., of course)? I know eventually I'll have to be back in my city for the interview at the consulate, but do I have to be in the country when they contact me for this?

Thanks again

[willandnaz 0]

And another question!

In the hope anyone reads this, we're filling out the I-129f now, and have no idea whether to list my fiancee's current address in Australia, or her old American address (since the petitioner seems to already be in the U.S. in most cases).

Thanks!