Don't ever go K-1

[Adraga 0]

I agree the k1 is a very long, stressful and expensive process. For us it took 10 months from the moment we applied untill my husband was here. We got married right away and send aos package a couple weeks ago. We have biometrics appt in 2 weeks. We are very happy now that we are finally together. I work full time, but when I am not working I spend every second with him. I do not feel that the paperwork it self is the expensive part specially if is done by the petitioner I think the expenses come when the now husband is here and unable to work but needs to eat and $$$ to spend and pay bills and the money gets very tight which can affect the relationship. I would recommend you to find free atractions in ur area where u can entertain you self and also maybe invest this time in your self and do the things u like to do. I feel like the real problem is that you do not trust your husband (I would not either). If he is already showing this kind of behavior maybe u should take this time to analyze your relationship and see if this is really where you want to be and the person you want to be with for the rest of your life. It would be best for you to realize this early in your marriage rather than down the line when it might be harder to leave and start a new life without your him. I hope ur ead & ap come soon so u can began to build your life in the US and that things get better between you and your husband.

[quitepainful 56]

wow is this for real? how about those who dont even get NOA2 for 9 months and dont even have the luxury of being with their significant other... i would GLADLY pay a premium to have my wife by my side... its easily worth a couple grand to start my 6 months - heck even a year quicker than the IR1 is running right now.... you value the time with your signficant other at a couple grand? really? comeon... at least you can plan your life. we cant go on honeymoon becuase she cant enter the states to go through to another country south of the us...

just remember... no matter how bad things are, the situation you are in, someone has it far worse... will always make you feel good about where you stand !

just be happy, and take it one step at a time, it can be overwhelming, but use the guides on the VJ and if it is too much, you can always hire an attorney who will handle all of it for you!

[Ketsuban 1,034]

he keeps saying "I'm not romantic, and I don't talk, I am not a teacher and have nothing to explain or say, you have to figure it out on your own"

Wow, what a charmer!

[dessndave 3]

I can agree that it is a bunch of BS, Time & Money we have to go through with the whole immigration Process. But look at it this way the first 2years of any marriage are generally the hardest. Which this can be a good thing. But then you have to file again within 90days before your GC expires. yay a whole 590 they milked us for again. Then the trips & gathering all the paperwork needed for it. And can't forget the long wait again lol.

PS I would suggest keeping all your documents together & start gathering for everything before it's time. This will cut down half the hassle.

Luckily we had everything together in 1-2 spots. I personally black out Account #'s as IMO they do not need that. as that is personal information you don't want just anyone to have.

Also doing the k1 route you can get citizenship in 3yrs time. which is better then some of the other ways. ( I plan on getting my wife to do it)

Every Location is different in the time it takes to process. California seems to be the fastest from what I have noticed.

We even had a interview before my wife got approved. They denied us At the beginning made us wait in the lobby to supposedly check to make sure they have enough documents so we didn't have to drive another 8hrs back & while waiting in the lobby we kinda cuddled. I believe they observed us & called us in & swapped papers with us saying we are approved. Talk about head games.

But all in all atleast we are together & My wife was approved. Now it's waiting for the new Approval & GC. I want my wife to study all she can now so we don't have to go through this in 10yrs. As It is such a pain to go through.

Just stay strong & remember nothing in life is simple. Every obstacle makes you stronger.

[Me_Theo 25]

you should be thankful you got a visa and are in the U.S. with ur significant other.......some of us would just about kill to have at least that

See my timeline. too.

[Aspen7 10]

No matter which road you choose, you're going to wait, spend a lot of money, swim in paperwork and stress out for ages.

[Me_Theo 25]

Edited October 8, 2013 by Me_Theo

[dessndave 3]

Unfollowing as I don't want my cell to blow up haha.

But remember just remain positive & try not to stress out over everything. Life will continue to throw you a bunch of curve balls & you will grow stronger over each and every 1 you conquer.

If someone needs us Feel free to message us and we will answer the best we can.

[Me&myBaby 10]

wow is this for real? how about those who dont even get NOA2 for 9 months and dont even have the luxury of being with their significant other... i would GLADLY pay a premium to have my wife by my side... its easily worth a couple grand to start my 6 months - heck even a year quicker than the IR1 is running right now.... you value the time with your signficant other at a couple grand? really? comeon... at least you can plan your life. we cant go on honeymoon becuase she cant enter the states to go through to another country south of the us...

just remember... no matter how bad things are, the situation you are in, someone has it far worse... will always make you feel good about where you stand !

just be happy, and take it one step at a time, it can be overwhelming, but use the guides on the VJ and if it is too much, you can always hire an attorney who will handle all of it for you!

[Me&myBaby 10]

wow is this for real? how about those who dont even get NOA2 for 9 months and dont even have the luxury of being with their significant other... i would GLADLY pay a premium to have my wife by my side... its easily worth a couple grand to start my 6 months - heck even a year quicker than the IR1 is running right now.... you value the time with your signficant other at a couple grand? really? comeon... at least you can plan your life. we cant go on honeymoon becuase she cant enter the states to go through to another country south of the us...

just remember... no matter how bad things are, the situation you are in, someone has it far worse... will always make you feel good about where you stand !

just be happy, and take it one step at a time, it can be overwhelming, but use the guides on the VJ and if it is too much, you can always hire an attorney who will handle all of it for you!

I am sorry your process is taking that long! Of course I am not measuring my love with the amount of money I spent...but a lot of people says that k1 is cheaper and I don't think it is...maybe the forms, but in real life is different. As I said, I would have done the cr1 and wait with family and friends and keep working, and come here as a resident already.

Of course I might be totally wrong, I am just expressing my opinion.

Good luck and hope you get together with your love really soon!

[Ning 619]

I am happy, I am just frustrated! And believe me, you don't want my problems.

I don't want to offend anyone going through the process, remember that I have been on your shoes already. And you will all be here really soon.

In my opinion, I would have gone for the spouse visa. The waiting is pretty much the same, or a little bit more, but at least when you come here you are almost good to go. And at least you get to wait in your county, with your job, close to your friends and family. The waiting here it felt longer to me than it was while I was waiting for the visa, even if I am with my husband.

Besides, I am sure my husband has spent more money with me here not working, than what we would have spent with the CR1. So in reality, K1 wasn't really cheaper for us.

Three years ago I came on a tourist visa to visit my brother that lives in Miami, then I came to Washington DC to visit a friend, stayed a month, and a small company offered me a job. After almost 10 thousand dollars, and 9 months of my life, they decided to deny me the visa........6 months later I came back, to visit my brother and they denied me entry at POE because of a lawyer mistake on the work visa petition....so yes, I have the right to don't like this system, is like a waiting room, where you are just waiting for them to call you and you will never know when they will.

I am still happy hehe and wish you all good luck!

You should stop telling people they will be here soon because you have no idea of who or what you are talking about. They feel just as you did.

Your opinion about the mistake you made in choosing the visa you did is correct and should serve to allow you to be less frustrated with your situation because you are exactly where you choose to be. If you had chosen the C R 1 visa you would have be able to work much sooner ect.

You can feel any way you like of course about the system the allowed you to enter the USA. You can even express it but when you do don't expect others to feel sorry for you. They might be like me and could care less about the problems you caused yourself. I don't see the point in what you have to offer anyway.

[USC1961 251]

Keep in mind, your personal experience does not necessarily reflect the experience of the whole. Yes the system isn't perfect and it is frustrating. However things could have been much worse and taken much longer. Just read others experiences. Although I can sympathize with not being able to work.

You did mention two things that made some question marks come up. You said you have spent almost $10,000 in this process. I imagine this has to include other expenses (airfare etc etc) and not just the processing fees. Also you mentioned in sequence getting married and more papers. Did you apply for a working permit the day after you arrived? Some people overlook the fact that this is indeed an option.

[Umka36 781]

The work permit that you can apply for after arriving will take 2-3 month to get, and expires when the I-94 does. It's the main reason why people do not apply for it (not worth the cost/benefit), but rather wait to apply for it when they file their AOS.

[del-2-5-2014 1,339]

Keep in mind, your personal experience does not necessarily reflect the experience of the whole. Yes the system isn't perfect and it is frustrating. However things could have been much worse and taken much longer. Just read others experiences. Although I can sympathize with not being able to work.

You did mention two things that made some question marks come up. You said you have spent almost $10,000 in this process. I imagine this has to include other expenses (airfare etc etc) and not just the processing fees. Also you mentioned in sequence getting married and more papers. Did you apply for a working permit the day after you arrived? Some people overlook the fact that this is indeed an option.

The work permit that you can apply for after arriving will take 2-3 month to get, and expires when the I-94 does. It's the main reason why people do not apply for it (not worth the cost/benefit), but rather wait to apply for it when they file their AOS.

Please expand on this for the benefit of some of us that are unaware of this possibility.

[Umka36 781]

Immediately, before filing for AOS. As a K-1 visa holder you are technically eligible to file for an EAD immediately when you arrive. However, this EAD will expire when you K-1 expires (90 days) and because of this and the wait time (>90 days) it is a waste of both time and money to bother applying. You will file as category (a)(6), "Nonimmigrant Fiance(e) of U.S. Citizen". (Where to file: mail, efile, walk-in -- only if local office allows)

http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1k3ead