Experienced K1'ers

[Zeeshanish 9]

Hello friends!

I am new to this website and i am absolutely amazed at how much information this website holds and makes everything so easy. I have read alot of guides and examples on this website but i still have a few questions which i will post here and hopefully some of you can answer it, Thanks in advance!

1. How much is total expense of K1-VISA ( i know its 340$ but is there any hidden fees i should be looking at?)

2. What is the total expense of turning ur K1 to Green card to Naturalization in rough estimate?

3. No where in the guide or anywhere it says that you have to provide the proof of ongoing relationship but yet alot of people have posted that it's a necessity. Is that true? If so, what kind of proof should i attatch to my file. I don't think our skype calls and chat messages are decent enough to be shared for the public eye.

4. Since i am in Pakistan, do i have to send G325A and Letter of Intent by e-mail,fax or do i have to main physical original copy?

5. In K1 Step by Step guide it mentions "Declaration of how you met in person in the last two years. This should be a single typed page attachment regarding question 18 of the I-129F. Make sure to sign and date it." Does this mean to leave Question 18 boxes empty or type in "look at attachment" or something?

6. I'd like my family to visit our American Wedding, is there anyway they can issue a temporary visa on behalf of my K1 Visa and be able to attend our wedding?

Please, answer as much as possible. Really appreciate it!

[Zeeshanish 9]

Oops i totally forgot.

What is the average K1 VISA process time? We're thinking of having the wedding on 5th April. Do you think thats possible?

Also we're planning to have a small event in my home country before we both goto US for our actual wedding, you know, just to celebrate it beforehand with the lads back at home because they wont be a part of it. Do you think this could cause some trouble or is there a need to mention it anywhere during the interview etc?

[kitthekat 1,317]

Not experienced by any means, but here are my thoughts:

1. Depends on what you mean by hidden cost. $340 for the petition. There's also the cost of the medical examination (varies per country) and a visa fee before your interview. Plus all the expenses from mailing, getting photographs taken, etc. You will also have to do an adjustment of status after marriage in the US which is $1070 if I'm not mistaken.

2. Sorry, it's too late for me to do all that math right now but...it's not cheap, heh.

3. The evidence required for the I-129f petition is proof of meeting in person within the last two years. You can, but are not required to, "frontload" your petition with evidence of an ongoing relationship so that when it reaches the US consulate in the beneficiary's country, the officers there can look over the evidence before the interview. You will likely need this evidence for the interview so I suggest extracting chats that are less risque in nature, in preparation.

4. Send original, physical copy by mail. If you like, you can sign in blue ink to distinguish it from a photocopied signature.

5. We typed up 2 sentences on the first time we met in person (within the last 2 years) and wrote "Please refer to attachment for more details" with information on how we met (online) and how our relationship progressed.

6. Tourist visas for your family members have to be applied for separately from K1 visas.

Edited September 28, 2013 by kitthekat

[kitthekat 1,317]

Oops i totally forgot.

What is the average K1 VISA process time? We're thinking of having the wedding on 5th April. Do you think thats possible?

Also we're planning to have a small event in my home country before we both goto US for our actual wedding, you know, just to celebrate it beforehand with the lads back at home because they wont be a part of it. Do you think this could cause some trouble or is there a need to mention it anywhere during the interview etc?

Processing times for K1 vary widely, you never know if you'll be lucky and get a quick approval or be stuck waiting for a while. I wouldn't plan a wedding date till the visa is in hand.

Make very sure the event can't be construed as a wedding (off the top of my head - no exchanging vows, no officiant, etc) - I wouldn't mention it at the interview.

[Zeeshanish 9]

Thanks for the replies guys. Really appreciate it.

[Zeeshanish 9]

anyone else know the answer to #2?

[Avery Cates 1,141]

Oops i totally forgot.

What is the average K1 VISA process time? We're thinking of having the wedding on 5th April. Do you think thats possible?

Also we're planning to have a small event in my home country before we both goto US for our actual wedding, you know, just to celebrate it beforehand with the lads back at home because they wont be a part of it. Do you think this could cause some trouble or is there a need to mention it anywhere during the interview etc?

April 5th wedding gives 7 months to get everything done from I-129f processing and getting NoA 2, the case being sent from the NVC to the appropriate consulate/embassy, to getting the medical exam and interview scheduled, visa approved, and visa in hand.

In all honesty I wouldn't count on it. The I-129f processing along could take 6 months or more, nevermind all the other stuff. It's possible it would be approved sooner, mine for example only took little over 3, but again I wouldn't count on it.

There's really just too much unpredictable time consuming things that can happen between now and then to think about scheduling a wedding date.

[Zeeshanish 9]

April 5th wedding gives 7 months to get everything done from I-129f processing and getting NoA 2, the case being sent from the NVC to the appropriate consulate/embassy, to getting the medical exam and interview scheduled, visa approved, and visa in hand.

In all honesty I wouldn't count on it. The I-129f processing along could take 6 months or more, nevermind all the other stuff. It's possible it would be approved sooner, mine for example only took little over 3, but again I wouldn't count on it.

There's really just too much unpredictable time consuming things that can happen between now and then to think about scheduling a wedding date.

I said the same but my fiancee would like to send everyone "Save the date" card and really wants a rough estimate and everytime i tell her we should move it to some later date she gets mad lol.

[Avery Cates 1,141]

I said the same but my fiancee would like to send everyone "Save the date" card and really wants a rough estimate and everytime i tell her we should move it to some later date she gets mad lol.

No doubt she's excited, however now is the time you really need to lay the realistic time expectations on her. If she doesn't get it now, she's going to get more and more stressed as time goes by if she picks a date that's not feasible and it gets close to that date and the process is nowhere near done.

Any "rough estimates" right now would have a margin of error of months.

Edited September 29, 2013 by Avery Cates

[Zeeshanish 9]

I agree too, i guess we'll have to have a hard talk. Thanks for the replies!

I agree too, i guess we'll have to have a hard talk. Thanks for the replies!

[KayDeeCee 4,896]

There are other fees, like mailings, plane tickets, hotel stays, medical fees, etc.

These are JUST the immigration form filing fees:

I-129F petition fee: $340
Visa processing fee: $240
Adjustment of Status fee: $1070
Removal of Conditions fee: $590
Naturalization fee: $680

Total from petition to citizenship: $2920

Also, your question #5 above about the attachment sheet is actually for question 34a. It used to be question 18 on the older I-129F form edition.

Edited September 29, 2013 by Jay-Kay

[kmiami15 8]

and don´t forget.... fill in your timeline

[nobbie 105]

Took me 9 months, just over actually from posting petition to interview. It does seem we were a bit unlucky with timings, got transferred to Texas from Vermont but we had no RFE's, just how long it took.

That was through London, low risk country, you are in Pakistan which may be higher risk so could take longer. You perhaps should look on here for the nearest sub forum to Pakistan and ask people there about timelines and so on.

[nobbie 105]

maybe look here

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/91-asia-south/

[hnubno 9]

Since you are from Pakistan and you are a male I would factor in AP (administrative processing). Most males beneficiary in Pakistan goes thru that. You can do a search on VJ here and see how long people have had their interview then had to wait under AP for visa. Your fiancée should try researching Pakistan k1 processing time on VJ here then she'll see you can't plan anything ahead of time. Also don't do any celebration that looks like a wedding before coming to US (on a k1 visa) cuz if USCIS/embassy finds out somehow (which I don't know how they would unless you guys told them) you can be denied for k1 visa and have to start over on a cr1/ir1 visa.