How soon after marriage on K1 Visa?

[KK11 1]

Hi all,

My fiancee and I filed our I-129F and received our official NOA-1 dated 1-9-14. We are waiting for further information. As we wait, we have of course been researching the next steps, like what I will need to get together to prove my ability to financially support my future wife, etc. I make enough money to support her, certainly (even more than by their definition), but with this visa process and paying for a plane ticket, money is really tight right now. I am young, and just starting out in life-- I haven't even held my job for an entire year yet. This all being said, I can certainly afford the process, but it would really help out to know how soon after she gets here (and after we marry) do we have to file for the AoS, and more specifically, pay the enormous fee that goes along with it? It would really help out if I could take a few months to rebuild my cache. I am also considering moving to another address (within the city, I know I would have to file a Change of Address which hopefully wouldn't screw up the process too much), but can only afford that dependent on when I must fund this AoS.

Additionally, my fiancee is anxious to work, get a car, etc. I believe I have read that it is an option to get a work permit, even if we have not filed that AoS yet? Is this accurate?

I really want to, first and foremost, make sure we have done everything necessary for her to legally and comfortably be here, and I would really appreciate any advice on this matter. Thank you!

Kay

[van1234essa 11]

Hi all,

My fiancee and I filed our I-129F and received our official NOA-1 dated 1-9-14. We are waiting for further information. As we wait, we have of course been researching the next steps, like what I will need to get together to prove my ability to financially support my future wife, etc. I make enough money to support her, certainly (even more than by their definition), but with this visa process and paying for a plane ticket, money is really tight right now. I am young, and just starting out in life-- I haven't even held my job for an entire year yet. This all being said, I can certainly afford the process, but it would really help out to know how soon after she gets here (and after we marry) do we have to file for the AoS, and more specifically, pay the enormous fee that goes along with it? It would really help out if I could take a few months to rebuild my cache. I am also considering moving to another address (within the city, I know I would have to file a Change of Address which hopefully wouldn't screw up the process too much), but can only afford that dependent on when I must fund this AoS.

Additionally, my fiancee is anxious to work, get a car, etc. I believe I have read that it is an option to get a work permit, even if we have not filed that AoS yet? Is this accurate?

I really want to, first and foremost, make sure we have done everything necessary for her to legally and comfortably be here, and I would really appreciate any advice on this matter. Thank you!

Kay

The thing is that there is no set time frame to file AOS. You can get married within the 90 days and not file AOS for a few months. On no uscis website does it say when you HAVE to file your wife's AOS. The only problem is that as soon as her 90 days are up she's out of status and the only way to give her a status is to file AOS. Now people are gonna tell you when she gets controller by police or anything they can deport her for being out of status.. Don't believe that #######.. If it really happens that your wife gets picked up by police or whatever after the 90 days are up they have to give her a time window in which she MUST file AOS. Then you can not wait any longer. There are people on here that are in the states for 1 or 2 years now with no AOS filed. It's your choice really.

BUT.. Your wife won't be able to work or leave the country in that time. You can apply for a work permit which costs 300 and some change $.. It takes 2-3 months to be approved and this work permit will only be valid as long as her I-94 is valid (90 days after entry to usa) so do the math. She'll get the work permit and then a few days later it'll be invalid cuz she's out of status. Makes no sense.

If you file for the work permit along with AOS the fees are waived just like for the travel permit and that will be valid for a year, and can be extended in case your AOS takes longer.

So it's really up to you what you decide on doing

Good luck!

[KK11 1]

The thing is that there is no set time frame to file AOS. You can get married within the 90 days and not file AOS for a few months. On no uscis website does it say when you HAVE to file your wife's AOS. The only problem is that as soon as her 90 days are up she's out of status and the only way to give her a status is to file AOS. Now people are gonna tell you when she gets controller by police or anything they can deport her for being out of status.. Don't believe that #######.. If it really happens that your wife gets picked up by police or whatever after the 90 days are up they have to give her a time window in which she MUST file AOS. Then you can not wait any longer. There are people on here that are in the states for 1 or 2 years now with no AOS filed. It's your choice really.

BUT.. Your wife won't be able to work or leave the country in that time. You can apply for a work permit which costs 300 and some change $.. It takes 2-3 months to be approved and this work permit will only be valid as long as her I-94 is valid (90 days after entry to usa) so do the math. She'll get the work permit and then a few days later it'll be invalid cuz she's out of status. Makes no sense.

If you file for the work permit along with AOS the fees are waived just like for the travel permit and that will be valid for a year, and can be extended in case your AOS takes longer.

So it's really up to you what you decide on doing

Good luck!

Thank you so much. So, to be clear, do those 90 days start ticking from when she enters the country? Obviously I'd love to be able to just have the money and afford everything; alas, abundant money is not an option for many of us I fear . Just trying to decide if I can afford a move!

On another note, also a timeline question, typically how long from filing does it get approved/can she start working? If we file the work permit cocurrently, is that still a 2 to 3 month until approval kind of thing?

Sorry for all of the questions-- we've been more concerned with these initial stages as of late, but I keep expecting all of these bad things like financial issues to pop up later because it seems like there are always hidden rules and fees to be wary of!

Thanks again!

[Darnell 8,478]

well, you do have to pay the fee for AOS, if'n you want your new spouse to get a green card and participate legally in USA society.

the rules:

1. get married within 90 days of arrival

----

That's It ! Doesn't get her anything,but ...

if you have financial difficulties,

you have up to 2 years to file the AOS without 'penalty'

and after 2 years, the 'penalty' is to file AOS with an additional form/fees, the I-130.

[van1234essa 11]

Thank you so much. So, to be clear, do those 90 days start ticking from when she enters the country? Obviously I'd love to be able to just have the money and afford everything; alas, abundant money is not an option for many of us I fear . Just trying to decide if I can afford a move!

On another note, also a timeline question, typically how long from filing does it get approved/can she start working? If we file the work permit cocurrently, is that still a 2 to 3 month until approval kind of thing?

Sorry for all of the questions-- we've been more concerned with these initial stages as of late, but I keep expecting all of these bad things like financial issues to pop up later because it seems like there are always hidden rules and fees to be wary of!

Thanks again!

Yes correct the 90 days start the day she sets foot on us grounds.

The 2-3 months stay the same, but keep in mind you only can file that once you're married. So if you plan on getting married lets say a month after she gets here then you gotta add that time.

It took me exactly 70 days to get my work permit approved. Not bad if you ask me and 2 months seem to be the regular time frame right now.

It depends on if your wife can sit at home for that long. It's been 3 months for me and it's really hard, even tho I go to school 4 times a week. So if she can wait out 6 months or so you're definitely within the legal boundaries. But you might get hell at home from a bored and frustrated wife. Better make sure in that case she gets involved with school or volunteer work, hobbies, anything that keeps her sane.

[KK11 1]

Yes correct the 90 days start the day she sets foot on us grounds.

The 2-3 months stay the same, but keep in mind you only can file that once you're married. So if you plan on getting married lets say a month after she gets here then you gotta add that time.

It took me exactly 70 days to get my work permit approved. Not bad if you ask me and 2 months seem to be the regular time frame right now.

It depends on if your wife can sit at home for that long. It's been 3 months for me and it's really hard, even tho I go to school 4 times a week. So if she can wait out 6 months or so you're definitely within the legal boundaries. But you might get hell at home from a bored and frustrated wife. Better make sure in that case she gets involved with school or volunteer work, hobbies, anything that keeps her sane.

Thanks Darnell and van1234essa. Yes, she came and stayed with me for three months last year and I know she was bored as hell. I hate to do that to her again. Luckily with this timeline it looks like she'll arrive at the beginning of summer, and I have summers off. So I can potentially delay her boredom a bit!

Thanks again for all of the information and advice. That will be very helpful to us!