General questions specific to me

[Cali_D 43]

Hello all,

This my first post in these forums. I have been reading this site for weeks now. I'll give a little synopsis of my story, then ask my specific questions. Nothing is urgent.

Last year I meet my girlfriend online. She is from Moscow Russia. I am from California, USA. We finally meet in Barcelona Spain earlier this year and I'm going to Moscow to visit her and her family next week. I will go and visit her in Moscow at least 2 or 3 more times in the next few months. We are absolutely getting married, but I have not officially proposed because I have a divorce that is pending. It should be finalized next week. In California it's not uncommon for divorce to take 2 years. Once the divorce is official I will propose and we will apply for the K-1. I'm worried about a few things though.

Questions (with context):

1. Do I need to be worried about income? I pay a lot of alimony and child support, but I have over $200,000 in income.
2. Will my previous marriage complicate things?
3. Will my kids from previous marriage complicate things? I have 2 kids with my (soon-to-be) ex-wife.
4. Does my criminal background matter? I have no record, but 11 years ago I had an encounter with the police. A police report was taken, nothing more.
5. Is it more difficult to get a K-1 for a Russian woman then most other countries? I have heard this because of the "mail order bride" nonsense.
6. My girl friend was denied a tourist visa to the U.S. in early 2015, will this hurt us during the K-1 process? I didn't know her then. She wanted to come alone for vacation.
7. Should I just pay an immigration lawyer to handle the K-1? I'm not worried about the money, but I have heard it's actually not always a benefit because they don't care as much as you do.

Additional information (not sure if it's all relevant):

1. She speaks nearly perfect English.
2. I speak zero Russian.
3. She has a bachelors and masters degree from a very prestigious university in Russia. This may be relevant to show she is not just looking for a rich american.
4. She has traveled all over the world, just not to the U.S
5. She works as an accountant for a large international cooperation.
6. She will not work in the U.S., I will support her.
7. She has no previous marriages and no children.

I just want to be prepared for the entire K-1 process before we start it. I know we need to take pictures and keep plane ticket, yada, yada, yada. I would love some information on my 7 questions above.

Thank you in advance for all your help. I'm sure in the coming months I will become a regular on this site.

Regards,

Darryl

Edited October 24, 2016 by Penguin_ie

[Penguin_ie 5,997]

1. No, you have plenty of income.

2. Probably not, unless she was also a foreign spouse you brought on a visa. It is common with long divorces to start dating before the divorce is final.

3. Not really, other than it ups the affadavit of support number, but you have plenty of income. It may help your case if the kids can meet your new wife-to-be, but it is not a "must".

4. No; as you are the petitioner, there is only a small number of crimes that would matter (domestic violence, sex crimes)

5. A little, but it is not as much of a High Fraud country as, say Nigeria. Having a longer relationship and meeting several time before and during the visa process helps.

6. Possibly, why was she denied? If she simply didn't have enough ties to home, it should be fine, but if she lied in any part of the paperwork or interview, it will cause a problem.

7. You have nothing in your case that I can see that would need a lawyer and yes, lawyers can delay the case as there is an extra step and they are not as invested in your case as you are. That being said, if you are not good at filling in detailed forms, a lawyer or visa prep service can be beneficial.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Don't forget to wait until you are "free to marry" to file. I know California has a period ( 2 weeks if I remember correctly ) that you have to wait after the divorce is final to marry

[A'n'L 735]

Penguin gave you a good answer. Seems like you have a not to complicated situation.

Some other questions to think about?

- Do you have a large age difference?

- Did you meet online? If so, prepare to demonstrate that it was not a mail order bride service (this is for everyone, not just Russia)

- If she has an excellent education, why won't she work?

[baron555 934]

Penguin gave you a good answer. Seems like you have a not to complicated situation.

Some other questions to think about?

- Do you have a large age difference? This is not necessarily an issue. It depends on each case and the ages of both parties.

- Did you meet online? If so, prepare to demonstrate that it was not a mail order bride service (this is for everyone, not just Russia) There is no such thing as a mail order bride service. Do you think there is?

- If she has an excellent education, why won't she work?

[baron555 934]

1. Do I need to be worried about income? I pay a lot of alimony and child support, but I have over $200,000 in income. Your fine. They only want income, not debt.
2. Will my previous marriage complicate things? No
3. Will my kids from previous marriage complicate things? I have 2 kids with my (soon-to-be) ex-wife. No
4. Does my criminal background matter? I have no record, but 11 years ago I had an arrest for a embezzlement and it's been expunged. No
5. Is it more difficult to get a K-1 for a Russian woman then most other countries? I have heard this because of the "mail order bride" nonsense. No, Moscow, these days, is considered an easy Embassy.
6. My girl friend was denied a tourist visa to the U.S. in early 2015, will this hurt us during the K-1 process? I didn't know her then. She wanted to come alone for vacation. No affect on the K-1
7. Should I just pay an immigration lawyer to handle the K-1? I'm not worried about the money, but I have heard it's actually not always a benefit because they don't care as much as you do. No, save your money.

Additional information (not sure if it's all relevant):

1. She speaks nearly perfect English. Great
2. I speak zero Russian. No issue
3. She has a bachelors and masters degree from a very prestigious university in Russia. This may be relevant to show she is not just looking for a rich american. Maybe
4. She has traveled all over the world, just not to the U.S Great for a tourist visa, virtually no affect on the K-1.
5. She works as an accountant for a large international cooperation. No affect
6. She will not work in the U.S., I will support her. Fine
7. She has no previous marriages and no children. No affect

I just want to be prepared for the entire K-1 process before we start it. I know we need to take pictures and keep plane ticket, yada, yada, yada. I would love some information on my 7 questions above.

Thank you in advance for all your help. I'm sure in the coming months I will become a regular on this site.

Regards,

Darryl

Move on over to the RUB regional forum for more Russia specific info and insights. PM me is you like.

[A'n'L 735]

Did not say it was an issue, but definetively something that might be questioned at the interview. So, as I said, something to think about.

You're naive if you don't recognize that mail order bride services exist. However, I'm only referencing that all K1's that initially met online are requested to submit evidence of non-IMBRA. Sorry if my choice of words got you confused.

[baron555 934]

Did not say it was an issue, but definetively something that might be questioned at the interview. So, as I said, something to think about.

You're naive if you don't recognize that mail order bride services exist.

Please do send some links of these services.

However, I'm only referencing that all K1's that initially met online are requested to submit evidence of non-IMBRA. Sorry if my choice of words got you confused.

[Tricked 33]

Why exactly would they have the IMBRA act if 'mail order brides' weren't in existence in some form, while this may not be the hollywood portrayal of such.

Why also would someone have to provide links to what I assume is an illegal service in their country to prove what is widely accepted/known as fact.

To simplify, Mail Order Bride = Marriage Broker Company.

Or if you want to consider the depth that this could go to, you would be talking human trafficking, which most certainly happens.

[Cali_D 43]

Penguin gave you a good answer. Seems like you have a not to complicated situation.

Some other questions to think about?

- Do you have a large age difference?

- Did you meet online? If so, prepare to demonstrate that it was not a mail order bride service (this is for everyone, not just Russia)

- If she has an excellent education, why won't she work?

Thank you for your reply. My answers:

- I am 37 she is 28

- Yes we meet online, just a normal dating site.

- We didn't think she would be able to work on a K-1 Visa. Also, it's going to be a big culture change for her, eventually she will work, but not at first. We both thought she should have some time to adjust. And we don't need the extra income.

Edited April 6, 2016 by Darryl_F

[Cali_D 43]

1. No, you have plenty of income.

2. Probably not, unless she was also a foreign spouse you brought on a visa. It is common with long divorces to start dating before the divorce is final.

3. Not really, other than it ups the affadavit of support number, but you have plenty of income. It may help your case if the kids can meet your new wife-to-be, but it is not a "must".

4. No; as you are the petitioner, there is only a small number of crimes that would matter (domestic violence, sex crimes)

5. A little, but it is not as much of a High Fraud country as, say Nigeria. Having a longer relationship and meeting several time before and during the visa process helps.

6. Possibly, why was she denied? If she simply didn't have enough ties to home, it should be fine, but if she lied in any part of the paperwork or interview, it will cause a problem.

7. You have nothing in your case that I can see that would need a lawyer and yes, lawyers can delay the case as there is an extra step and they are not as invested in your case as you are. That being said, if you are not good at filling in detailed forms, a lawyer or visa prep service can be beneficial.

Thank you for your answers. My responses:

3. Impossible for my kids to meet her other then on Skype as she can't come here and I am not taking my kids out of the country.

6. They didn't give a reason. They just sent her a letter telling her she was denied. But we assume it was being she didn't have enough ties to her home. Though she own's a home and has a good job in Moscow.

[Cali_D 43]

Did not say it was an issue, but definetively something that might be questioned at the interview. So, as I said, something to think about.

You're naive if you don't recognize that mail order bride services exist. However, I'm only referencing that all K1's that initially met online are requested to submit evidence of non-IMBRA. Sorry if my choice of words got you confused.

Evidence? How do we do this?

We both don't have our dating profile anymore. We completely deleted it. I have no way to prove how we meet. We didn't even send emails in the beginning. Our communication was like 3 messages through the dating site (and I have no way to get those messages). Then we moved our conversation to whatsapp/skype.

Will this hurt us?

[baron555 934]

Evidence? How do we do this?

We both don't have our dating profile anymore. We completely deleted it. I have no way to prove how we meet. We didn't even send emails in the beginning. Our communication was like 3 messages through the dating site (and I have no way to get those messages). Then we moved our conversation to whatsapp/skype.

Will this hurt us?

No. My wife is from a "mail order bride" online service also. I picked her out of an online catalog, paid my $99 and voila she came over and we were married.

If anyone believes it was as simple as that....then....

What many many folks don't understand is that USCIS defines IMBs differently than what they think is the definition. If you read the 129f form instructions, they specifically mention that an IMB (by their definition) is an online service that charges a fee for contact information and facilitates the communication. I understood that and wrote the name and address of the service we used and had no problems. Now is this service providing marriage brokering? No. But this did charge a fee for her contact information. Many folks interpret this differently (and you will see them surface again once I hit the send button on this posting) and don't put anything, but do mention that they first met online. In the old days, nothing was heard about it. In recent years USCIS is RFEing a lot for this.

So, if you were charged a fee for contact info, then write the name down. If not, then you still could write the name down or provide specific information from the service stating that they are not an IMB. Remember USCIS defines IMB differently than the commonly thought definition should be.

For some sites they state this in their T&C conditions. Some will provide a statement and many will not do anything. There is no harm to listing one as an IMB even if they are not.

It never was an issue for us.

Edited April 6, 2016 by baron555

[baron555 934]

Why exactly would they have the IMBRA act if 'mail order brides' weren't in existence in some form, while this may not be the hollywood portrayal of such.

IMBRA has nothing to do with mail order brides. It has everything to do about informing the potential immigrant about the criminal background of their potential spouse.

Why also would someone have to provide links to what I assume is an illegal service in their country to prove what is widely accepted/known as fact.

If it is so widely known then send some links. Send them to me as a PM. I'm not saying that there is no global human trafficking and that these perverts don't communicate and that there are not scam sites that front as mail order brides, but that many of these sites are actually legitimate dating services. I met my wife on one and she surely was bought!....without a voice in the matter!!

To simplify, Mail Order Bride = Marriage Broker Company.

Or if you want to consider the depth that this could go to, you would be talking human trafficking, which most certainly happens.

[Tricked 33]

IMBRA has nothing to do with mail order brides. It has everything to do about informing the potential immigrant about the criminal background of their potential spouse.

If it is so widely known then send some links. Send them to me as a PM. I'm not saying that there is no global human trafficking and that these perverts don't communicate and that there are not scam sites that front as mail order brides, but that many of these sites are actually legitimate dating services. I met my wife on one and she surely was bought!....without a voice in the matter!!

IMBRA by its own definition deals with entities called 'International Marriage Brokers' their services, are what are interpreted as mail order brides, and those that delve more into illegal trafficking.

How you describe your meeting in your profile, is a dating webpage of mutual interest, it does not sound like a Marriage Broker as defined by IMBRA

Definition of an International Marriage Broker. “International marriage broker” is defined as an entity (whether or not U.S.-based) that charges fees for providing matchmaking services or social referrals between U.S. citizens/permanent residents and foreign nationals. The definition also exempts non-profit religious or cultural matchmaking services, and dating services that do not match U.S. citizens/residents with aliens as their principal business and that charge comparable rates and offer comparable services to all clients, regardless of gender or country of citizenship.

At any rate, choose what you wish to believe, if you say they don't exist, then fine, I'll continue to believe they do. The world will carry on spinning.

Good luck with your journey.