London K1 (I-134 & I-864): Taking out a loan to meet requirements?

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

Foolish? Yes. But I'm desperate.

I'm looking for any way to make this work, at least for the visa.

At worst I want to try to get married over there and then file for CR1 later. That will give us time for her to either get a better job (which is very difficult) or find another sponsor / wait for previous sponsor to straighten out. I'd really rather not try the VWP to CR1 process either.

If you get the K1 or even when one enters on VWP and decides to marry & stay (I know you are not planning this), one does NOT file for CR1 inside the US. Visas are for entering. Once you are there & married, however that came about, you'll file for Adjustment of Status (to get you a GC), not any kind of visa. Semantics, but makes a difference. If you manage to get the K1, go to the US & get married, you may file for Adjustment of Status whenever you wish (some people file years later), but you cannot work in the meantime (and once your 90-day stay is up you are in theory deportable, but that is extremely unlikely to happen. Even in the unlikely situation that you'd be picked up by ICE, once they realize you can legally adjust, they most likely would offer you to do that, rather than deport you. Obviously, you'd want to avoid that whole situation.)

Missing something here / money for assests has to be in her savings / checking account / not yours / your income is not counted

The immigrant's assets can be counted. How long the Embassy would want the immigrant to have had the money in their possession is the question. Edited June 20, 2016 by EM_Vandaveer

[mallafri76 1,012]

We used assets to meet the financial requirements. All assets were in my name in Sweden. Since I came on an IR-1, we had to do the I-864 which is the one you need to complete once you AOS. But for both forms, you need to show proof that the assets have been owned for at least a year.

[Limey 551]

As I recall if you are sponsoring you have to show at least 12 months of bank statements, I assume this is precisely to try weed out people doing what you propose doing.

I found this link,

https://www.usavisanow.com/k-1-fiance-visa/k-1-visa-affidavit-of-support/

Q: What evidence of assets is required?

A: Evidence establishing ownership and the value and location of assets is required. Information on any liens and/or liabilities relating to these assets must be provided. For bank accounts, bank statements for the most recent 12 months, or a letter from the bank stating the date the account was opened, a history of deposits and withdrawals for the past year, and the current balance are needed.

Note that it not only says that 12 months of statements from bank are required, but also that you must give any information about liens or liabilities relating to these assets. Its a loan, you have to pay it back, thats a liability relating to all that cash you'd have sitting in your account. You could lie about that of course, by that's fraud and won't end nicely.

[Rob&Jen 14]

Missing something here / money for assests has to be in her savings / checking account / not yours / your income is not counted

Not from what I've read so far. I could send her the money to include in her assets but that solves nothing. Same conundrum of explaining where the money came from and etc.

[JFH 12,190]

If your job is better than hers, why doesn't she move to the UK?

[Rob&Jen 14]

If you get the K1 or even when one enters on VWP and decides to marry & stay (I know you are not planning this), one does NOT file for CR1 inside the US. Visas are for entering. Once you are there & married, however that came about, you'll file for Adjustment of Status (to get you a GC), not any kind of visa. Semantics, but makes a difference. If you manage to get the K1, go to the US & get married, you may file for Adjustment of Status whenever you wish (some people file years later), but you cannot work in the meantime (and once your 90-day stay is up you are in theory deportable, but that is extremely unlikely to happen. Even in the unlikely situation that you'd be picked up by ICE, once they realize you can legally adjust, they most likely would offer you to do that, rather than deport you. Obviously, you'd want to avoid that whole situation.)

The immigrant's assets can be counted. How long the Embassy would want the immigrant to have had the money in their possession is the question.

Perhaps I wasn't clear on that point.

What I meant was I would at least want the K1 to succeed so that I can legally enter the US to get married and then leave and file for the CR1. If I can't salvage this application I might be obliged to go down the VWP > Marriage > Leave > CR1 route but I'm a terrible liar so it would be a risk. And I'm fairly certain customs will know about my application attempt and draw their own conclusions as to my intentions.

Apparently a loan is out of the question for all the reasons stated by the good folks on this forum.

My only hope is another sponsor then. Bollocks.

[Rob&Jen 14]

If your job is better than hers, why doesn't she move to the UK?

I only earn £14,500 a year. She doesn't like England. I don't want to spend my life in England. We both agreed long ago we'd live happier in America.

Plus the rules for UK fiance visas are worse than the US so go figure.

And the weather here sucks.

[Mollie09 1,543]

Perhaps I wasn't clear on that point.

What I meant was I would at least want the K1 to succeed so that I can legally enter the US to get married and then leave and file for the CR1. If I can't salvage this application I might be obliged to go down the VWP > Marriage > Leave > CR1 route but I'm a terrible liar so it would be a risk. And I'm fairly certain customs will know about my application attempt and draw their own conclusions as to my intentions.

Apparently a loan is out of the question for all the reasons stated by the good folks on this forum.

My only hope is another sponsor then. Bollocks.

Entering on an ESTA planning to marry and leave is perfectly, 100% legal.

What you can't do is enter with the intent to marry, stay, and adjust.

[JFH 12,190]

Perhaps I wasn't clear on that point.

What I meant was I would at least want the K1 to succeed so that I can legally enter the US to get married and then leave and file for the CR1. If I can't salvage this application I might be obliged to go down the VWP > Marriage > Leave > CR1 route but I'm a terrible liar so it would be a risk. And I'm fairly certain customs will know about my application attempt and draw their own conclusions as to my intentions.

Apparently a loan is out of the question for all the reasons stated by the good folks on this forum.

My only hope is another sponsor then. Bollocks.

I think you've misunderstood something.

It's perfectly acceptable to marry under the VWP and leave. We did. Many do. Virgin Holidays makes a fortune out of Brits going to Las Vegas and Florida to get married. I think Las Vegas is one of the top destinations for Brits getting married abroad. You don't need a K-1 just to get married and leave. Use the VWP for that.

I don't know what on earth you mean by "I'm a terrible liar so it's a risk". I never once lied to immigration in over 40 trips and got married on the VWP. It's not illegal so what's to lie about?

You do have another option - a UK spouse visa for her.

Edited June 20, 2016 by JFH

[Rob&Jen 14]

Entering on an ESTA planning to marry and leave is perfectly, 100% legal.

What you can't do is enter with the intent to marry, stay, and adjust.

I know. But with my luck I'll get an officer who takes exception.

[JFH 12,190]

I only earn £14,500 a year. She doesn't like England. I don't want to spend my life in England. We both agreed long ago we'd live happier in America.

Plus the rules for UK fiance visas are worse than the US so go figure.

And the weather here sucks.

Ok, I get it. You've decided you want the American Dream. But on $7000 a year between you (it will be many months before you can work if you are doing K-1) it's going to be tough. Much more to life than the weather. What about healthcare and its costs? On $7k a year between you that must mean you won't even have your own place?

Not sure where you're going in the USA but few places have "better" weather than the UK. Hotter, yes. But with that comes storms, hurricanes, tornados, drought, wildfires, earthquakes, etc. I wouldn't live in my husband's birth state, California, for all the tea in China!

Edited June 20, 2016 by JFH

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

That's really weird if you are getting a K1 just to enter, marry & leave. Waste of money and effort IMHO. It IS perfectly legal to plan to enter & marry on VWP as long as staying & adjusting is not part of the plan. No need to lie...

Not to mention that no sponsorship is necessary for a VWP getting married trip.

Edited June 20, 2016 by EM_Vandaveer

[JFH 12,190]

I know. But with my luck I'll get an officer who takes exception.

Takes exception to what? It's not even risky. It's the correct thing to do. Marry, leave and file. My husband has a lifetime ban from the UK so we married there when I was visiting on the VWP. How else would we marry?

[Rob&Jen 14]

I think you've misunderstood something.

It's perfectly acceptable to marry under the VWP and leave. We did. Many do. Virgin Holidays makes a fortune out of Brits going to Las Vegas and Florida to get married. I think Las Vegas is one of the top destinations for Brits getting married abroad. You don't need a K-1 just to get married and leave. Use the VWP for that.

I dint know what on earth you mean by "I'm a terrible liar so it's a risk". I never once lied to immigration in over 40 trips and got married on the VWP. It's not illegal so what's to lie about?

You do have another option - a UK spouse visa for her.

Brits can marry other Brits in the US no problem, of course. But when one half of the couple is a USC doesn't that set off a lot of alarm bells? The risk of me trying to file for AOS is something they would want to avoid, surely?

As for "lying" I refer to being coy with the officer. There are many on this forum who are of the opinion "Yes you can marry on the VWP and leave afterwards, but don't let on to the customs agent or he might suspect you of planning to stay and deny you entry". It's a long flight and lot of money just to get told to go home and come back with a K1.

Perhaps I'm being a little paranoid in that respect.

[Rob&Jen 14]

Ok, I get it. You've decided you want the American Dream. But on $7000 a year between you (it will be many months before you can work if you are doing K-1) it's going to be tough. Much more to life than the weather. What about healthcare and its costs? On $7k a year between you that must mean you won't even have your own place?

Not sure where you're going in the USA but few places have "better" weather than the UK. Hotter, yes. But with that comes storms, hurricanes, tornados, drought, wildfires, earthquakes, etc. I wouldn't live in my husband's birth state, California, for all the tea in China!

I was joking about the weather (sort of).

Yeah, her income is abysmal but I'll have enough savings to take care of us. But like I said before: not enough to meet the difference x 3. Which is why I need a co-sponsor.