Job before filling for I-129F?

[GK&OW 2]

First post here. I've been a relatively long lurker on this site and forum and have found a lot of help simply from reading around, and consider myself very learned on the matter of this whole process, but there is one thing I need to ask.. With a bit of backstory.

My fiancée and I have decided to get married, we were together "officially" (since we first met in person) for over 2 years in Los Angeles, which was over 3 years ago, and we were together even longer before I first came over (study visa at the time), due to family issues I had to return to Denmark back in March, this year, and she came to visit for a month over the summer. We have now decided to start the K1 process, but as she is finishing up her college classes she is not in a fulltime job. (The evidence of our relationship is not a problem by a longshot I'd say)

While she is actively searching, we would like to ask that, since there's an estimated process time of 5 months for the CA/LA office, we thought maybe we could start the I-129F process now and count on her getting a job before the interview, instead of waiting a month or two for her to get a job, thus postponing the time where we can be together again..

We had discussed marriage before, but we didn't think we would be torn apart, so we weren't in a rush, but I have been away for about 9 months, and havent seen her in the past 4-5 months now (not counting Skype)..

But yeah, long story short, can she begin filing the I-129F before she gets a job? And will a job be a problem for us, we are both 24 years old at the time of writing this post, and I know they are more inclined to require proof of support for younger people.. And does anyone have any ideas about minimum monthly salaries?

Edited November 12, 2013 by GK&OW

[GK&OW 2]

Hm I can't edit the post to add this it seems, but:

A bit more info on my fiancée (who is the US Citizen), she has worked fulltime for about a year or two in the past 2 years, she just decided to take a semester of college classes after a feeling of being stuck at her previous job. If that changes anything.

[midge and isi 8]

First post here. I've been a relatively long lurker on this site and forum and have found a lot of help simply from reading around, and consider myself very learned on the matter of this whole process, but there is one thing I need to ask.. With a bit of backstory.

My fiancée and I have decided to get married, we were together "officially" (since we first met in person) for over 2 years in Los Angeles, which was over 3 years ago, and we were together even longer before I first came over (study visa at the time), due to family issues I had to return to Denmark back in March, this year, and she came to visit for a month over the summer. We have now decided to start the K1 process, but as she is finishing up her college classes she is not in a fulltime job. (The evidence of our relationship is not a problem by a longshot I'd say)

While she is actively searching, we would like to ask that, since there's an estimated process time of 5 months for the CA/LA office, we thought maybe we could start the I-129F process now and count on her getting a job before the interview, instead of waiting a month or two for her to get a job, thus postponing the time where we can be together again..

We had discussed marriage before, but we didn't think we would be torn apart, so we weren't in a rush, but I have been away for about 9 months, and havent seen her in the past 4-5 months now (not counting Skype)..

But yeah, long story short, can she begin filing the I-129F before she gets a job? And will a job be a problem for us, we are both 24 years old at the time of writing this post, and I know they are more inclined to require proof of support for younger people.. And does anyone have any ideas about minimum monthly salaries?

You can apply. I was in the same boat when we started the process just graduating I was 22 and he was 24, but most likely she will need a co-sponsor no matter when she gets the job as they look at 2-3 years of evidence for financial stability. They use the federal poverty line so if she works part time and made really good money she may not need one but from the sounds like she will. The person co-sponsoring will need to make enough to support their family and the intending immigrant. This can be a family member or it can be someone not even related to her as long as they agree to sign the support forms. I would suggest reading the guides and the guide for Adjustment of status to see what forms are required with a co-sponsor.

The requirements are the same if the couple is 60 or 18....

[GK&OW 2]

Hmmm.. Thank you for your guidance, its nice to hear a story similar to ours. Yeah I know there's the option of a co-sponsor, but we hope to avoid that. She did Work at least 18 months fulltime in the past 2 years, and only quit her job last spring (around the time where I had to return to Denmark), and is now actively searching for a new full-time job. She was above the 125% of HHS poverty line, and the jobs she has been applying to, will put her there as well. She is very qualified for them, but as with any job, its impossible to know the odds of getting them, and no matter how sure we are of her getting one, it is impossible to know if it will happen this week or in 4 months..

So I guess to follow up, should we go ahead and start the process without a job at hand? Count on her getting one before the interview, and just in case, have a co-sponsor or two ready and willing to sign?

Edited November 12, 2013 by GK&OW

[SparklePony 238]

The issue with the co-sponsor is that it will act as a back-up, a buffer of sorts, in case they're not happy with your fiancee's employment situation. I would suggest to go ahead and file. Once she gets her job situation stabilized, she can ask for a letter from her employer stating the nature of her job situation (permanent, full time, yearly earnings) and use that plus the most recent pay stubs as proof of current income. IF the newness of her employment status is an issue, then you can resort to the co-sponsor as back-up.

[GK&OW 2]

The issue with the co-sponsor is that it will act as a back-up, a buffer of sorts, in case they're not happy with your fiancee's employment situation. I would suggest to go ahead and file. Once she gets her job situation stabilized, she can ask for a letter from her employer stating the nature of her job situation (permanent, full time, yearly earnings) and use that plus the most recent pay stubs as proof of current income. IF the newness of her employment status is an issue, then you can resort to the co-sponsor as back-up.

Yeah I can imagine that. We would prefer to avoid it altogether, but I guess we could get it figured out "just in case". I think we will doublecheck our I-129F package and prepare it to be sent out in that case. Would it help our case if we have savings in our bank accounts? We have both been relatively frugal for the past few years as we knew money would one day come in handy..

Oh and to add to that, I do have an SSN as I worked for my last 6 months in LA. (on campus part time)

Edited November 12, 2013 by GK&OW

[SparklePony 238]

The SSN won't be of much use in the K1 visa process, though you should use it in the appropriate place in the forms. It just won't give you any processing advantage. The savings will be useful, yes, in particular those of the US citizen. At the Embassy stage, when filing the I-134 Affidavit of Support, if your fiancee doesn't meet the income requirements for the poverty guidelines, she can use assets to strengthen her financial means and do without a co-sponsor. This would need to be 5x the difference between her earnings and the poverty guideline to meet. That would just be further proof that you would be financially provided for, so yes, helpful.

[GK&OW 2]

The SSN won't be of much use in the K1 visa process, though you should use it in the appropriate place in the forms. It just won't give you any processing advantage. The savings will be useful, yes, in particular those of the US citizen. At the Embassy stage, when filing the I-134 Affidavit of Support, if your fiancee doesn't meet the income requirements for the poverty guidelines, she can use assets to strengthen her financial means and do without a co-sponsor. This would need to be 5x the difference between her earnings and the poverty guideline to meet. That would just be further proof that you would be financially provided for, so yes, helpful.

Hmmm. So it would be beneficial to combine our finances into her bank account, rather than have it split?

[SparklePony 238]

If I had that option, that's what I would do. The beneficiary's income/assets are usually not relevant to a K1 visa process.

[Camelot13 63]

I would suggest having a co-sponsor lined up just in case she can't get employment in that time frame. Some approvals are going quickly and some take longer, so it's hard to guess when you might be needed to show that she's got employment. I've been applying to jobs for over a month unsuccessfully (not that that's indicative of employment in the US or anything, just my personal experience) and with a co-sponsor that's one less stressor to deal with. Good luck!