UK citizen living in Dominican Republic applying for K1 fiance visa

[BelzMark 14]

Hi everyone. I am a UK citizen having had temp residence for the past few years in the Dominican Republic.My bf and I have no criminal record.I have visited the US before with a visa waiver ESTA and have no outstanding stays. We would like to do it without a lawyer but I don't know if it is more complicated because I don't live in the country I am a citizen of.With the change of government has any of the forms or process changed?

Do I need a police certificate and medical certificates from the UK as well as the Dominican? 

Do I as the beneficiary need to send a copy of my birth certificate too? Or only Mark?

Do all the documents need to be notarized?

Does he send the I129f form and then once that gets sent to the consulate I fill in a k-1 form?

Do the original statements of the intent to marry need to be printed and signed? So I would need to send my statement after signing to him?

With the G325A and statements that I as the beneficiary need to fill out, can I fill them out, sign them then send a digital copy to include in the petition?

Does Mark need to give his financial information for proof of being able to support me for fiancé visa or is that when filing for the I-130?

Does Mark need to give his financial information for proof of being able to support me for fiancé visa or is that when filing for the I-130?

If we start the process now, would it be unwise to take a trip to see him for a month from end of april -end of may? As in will I need to be here in that time to do an interview or give any documents or will that be toward the end of the 6 month process?

Thanks for the help.

[Unlockable 7,314]

Hi,

 

First things first... only US citizens can apply for K1 visas. 

 

Second, having ESTA from the UK and temp residency from the Dominican Republic doesn't give you grounds to immigrate to the US.

 

Third, you won't be able to proceed with any marriage based immigrant visa for your BF until you have at least gained US permanent residency.

 

Best to learn about options for you to gain permanent residence in the US first.

 

[BelzMark 14]

@NuestraUnion  Thank you for your reply. I know that I cannot apply for it.He is the US citizen from Austin. He will be the petitioner and I (Uk citizen resident of Dominican) will be the beneficiary. We are going to apply for the K-1 fiance visa I-129 which he will do.

I am sorry that I did not make this clear. 

[geowrian 22,337]

1 hour ago, BelzMark said:

Hi everyone. I am a UK citizen having had temp residence for the past few years in the Dominican Republic.My bf and I have no criminal record.I have visited the US before with a visa waiver ESTA and have no outstanding stays. We would like to do it without a lawyer but I don't know if it is more complicated because I don't live in the country I am a citizen of.

 

With the change of government has any of the forms or process changed?

No (Edit: New forms have come out as old ones expired, but nothing related to government leadership changes)

 

Do I need a police certificate and medical certificates from the UK as well as the Dominican? 

You will need the police certs in both, as well as anywhere else you have lived for at least 6 months.

 

Do I as the beneficiary need to send a copy of my birth certificate too? Or only Mark?

Only the USC with the I-129F. Your information will come into play later with the embassy.

 

Do all the documents need to be notarized?

No. Only very specific documents need this....none of which are explictly for the I-129F (albeit some embassies may have their own requirements, I don't think UK has anything requiring it AFAIK).

Follow the guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide

 

Does he send the I129f form and then once that gets sent to the consulate I fill in a k-1 form?

Yes. He sends that and waits 2-3+ months for approval, then it goes to NVC, then it goes to the embassy. Once it's at the embassy, you can file for the K-1 visa.

 

Do the original statements of the intent to marry need to be printed and signed? So I would need to send my statement after signing to him?

Yes, they both need to be signed. You may print, sign, scan, and send yours to him. Then he can print that and use it. It doesn't need a true "wet" signature.

 

With the G325A and statements that I as the beneficiary need to fill out, can I fill them out, sign them then send a digital copy to include in the petition?

Yes (same as above).

 

Does Mark need to give his financial information for proof of being able to support me for fiancé visa or is that when filing for the I-130?

There is no I-130 for the K-1 visa. The I-134 (Affidavit of Support) will need to be completed by the USC for the interview (not with the I-129F).

 

Does Mark need to give his financial information for proof of being able to support me for fiancé visa or is that when filing for the I-130?

See above...?

 

If we start the process now, would it be unwise to take a trip to see him for a month from end of april -end of may? As in will I need to be here in that time to do an interview or give any documents or will that be toward the end of the 6 month process?

The K-1 process is taking 6-8 months on average now. Some sooner, some later. You may visit at any time up until you get the visa. Once you get the visa, you must use it when you enter the US. That said, be upfront with the CO or CBP as to why you're visiting. You will need to show your ties to return back home. I wouldn't worry about the timeframe as the NOA2 is taking 3+ months on average right now, so even if you filed today, it likely wouldn't even get to the embassy to schedule the interview until roughly July.

 

Edited March 7, 2017 by geowrian

[BelzMark 14]

Thank you so much @geowrian I don't know how to give 'reputation' to you. Does he need to add my police certificates in with the i-129 package? Or do I file them once I get the forms from the consulate here?

 

 

[geowrian 22,337]

2 minutes ago, BelzMark said:

Thank you so much @geowrian I don't know how to give 'reputation' to you. Does he need to add my police certificates in with the i-129 package? Or do I file them once I get the forms from the consulate here?

 

 

No worries. I'm glad to help.

No, your police certs will come into play later...not for the I-129F. Best wishes.

[Unlockable 7,314]

58 minutes ago, BelzMark said:

@NuestraUnion  Thank you for your reply. I know that I cannot apply for it.He is the US citizen from Austin. He will be the petitioner and I (Uk citizen resident of Dominican) will be the beneficiary. We are going to apply for the K-1 fiance visa I-129 which he will do.

I am sorry that I did not make this clear. 

OK. That makes since then. You should be fine if you follow the guides here.

[BelzMark 14]

Do you think that it will be more difficult doing it through the Dominican US consulate instead of the UK US consulate.

[geowrian 22,337]

12 minutes ago, BelzMark said:

Do you think that it will be more difficult doing it through the Dominican US consulate instead of the UK US consulate.

UK is a fairly simple/easy one, I believe. The Dominican Republic one is a decently high fraud one. You would probably be fine with either as a UK citizen, but the UK would be safer IMHO.

[SparklePony 238]

You may also want to consider how hard it may be to obtain UK documents while in the DR, like the police certificate or your birth certificate, as well as the DR police certificate as a UK citizen. They may be fairly standard and easy to obtain, or not.

[BelzMark 14]

I am sure I can have the documents Fedexd. I have had a police document done here before so I can do it again, its very easy, and I have my birth certificate with me for when I did my Dominican residency process.

When I get my part of the forms k-1 visa do I need a medical exam/ history certificate done from here or from the UK?

[geowrian 22,337]

Just now, BelzMark said:

When I get my part of the forms k-1 visa do I need a medical exam/ history certificate done from here or from the UK?

You will need a medical exam in whatever country where you decide to do the interview.

[BelzMark 14]

I am loving this site! Thank you for all your replies. I am worried about doing just even one thing wrong. The part that he has to do I-129 doesn't seem too complicated but the part I need to do looks more complicated.

[BelzMark 14]

A few more questions - 

Does he put NONE or N/A in the A-number or anything that does not apply? 
As a widow does he put the date of death as the Date Marriage Ended?
On the I-129 form part 2.Information about your alien fiance - Mailing address;  Is this for the consulate in the Dominican to mail me the documents or for some documents to be mailed from the US? From the US i can get a shipping company to deliver. but within country mailing system is not reliable and I don't know if the consulate here would Fedex them.

In Part 3 of Alien Fiance info no4. Inidicate which waiver applies -we are not multiple filers as this is our first filing and can't choose not applicable as I'm not a spouse. So does this stay blank?

The USCIS instructions page says-Each petition must be properly signed and filed. A photocopy of a signed petition or a typewritten name in place of a
signature is not acceptable. So does this mean I can't sign then scan and send to him to print?

[geowrian 22,337]

46 minutes ago, BelzMark said:

A few more questions - 

Does he put NONE or N/A in the A-number or anything that does not apply? 
As a widow does he put the date of death as the Date Marriage Ended?
On the I-129 form part 2.Information about your alien fiance - Mailing address;  Is this for the consulate in the Dominican to mail me the documents or for some documents to be mailed from the US? From the US i can get a shipping company to deliver. but within country mailing system is not reliable and I don't know if the consulate here would Fedex them.

In Part 3 of Alien Fiance info no4. Inidicate which waiver applies -we are not multiple filers as this is our first filing and can't choose not applicable as I'm not a spouse. So does this stay blank?

The USCIS instructions page says-Each petition must be properly signed and filed. A photocopy of a signed petition or a typewritten name in place of a
signature is not acceptable. So does this mean I can't sign then scan and send to him to print?

1. Per the I-129F instructions: "Answer all questions fully and accurately. If an item is not applicable or the answer is “none,” leave the space blank. " (https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-129finstr.pdf)
2. I will defer to others as I'm not as familiar with window cases, but the general rule is answer all the questions completely and interpret them literally. By that logic, the date of death is the date that the marriage legally ended. Note that he will need to provide documentation as well:
   "12. Copy of final Divorce Decree(s) or Certificate(s) for the US Citizen and/or foreign fiance if either has been previously married. If the previous marriage of the US Citizen and/or foreign fiance ended due to the death of their spouse then include a Copy of Death Certificate(s) documenting that fact. "
3. This is for the embassy to reach you, not USCIS/NVC. I will defer to DR VJers to answer questions about mailing...I know what it's used for, but there are situations in some countries where mail is not reliable and am not familiar with how they resolve it.. If you can't find something in your country's portal on VJ (http://www.visajourney.com/portals/index.php?country=Dominican+Republic), I would suggest making a new thread with this specific question and putting it within the "Regional Discussion" subforum.
4. Correct - if none apply, then leave them all blank.
5. The I-129F petition must be signed by him. It's the USC's petition. The G-325A and letter of intent to marry from you must be signed by you, and can be signed, scanned, emailed, then printed just fine. There is conflicting information about this from various sources as a technical matter, but I have yet to see a single person even get an RFE for using a scanned version on these 2 documents. The I-129F petition itself must be a "wet" signature from the USC still.