Need Advice on timing

[Paul123 0]

Hi everyone. My fiancee and I have been kinda taking our time with this. Shes taking classes for interior design in brazil and shes finished next november. Ive been getting things ready for the i-129f and we planned to marry either next spring or next summer, but possible earlier, depending on the visa. Since shes is off for a month in July between semesters, she planned on coming up and visiting during this time so we wouldnt have to be apart for such a long time. My job is seasonal and im layed off in winters so im in brazil at the moment. I wont be able to come back down til next december to visit. I was going to wait til she arived in the states to send in the i-129f so she wouldnt be turned away at the gate. but that would postpone the start of everything til july. id really LOVE to get started asap but at the same time im terrified of the possibility of her being turned away and us not seeing eachother for a year. She doesnt have a whole lot of evidence on her intention to return to brazil, all her acounts are in her dads name. the only thing she can provide is a signed letter from her school saying she is due back to finish her last semester. would that be enough? Have any of you ever been turned away or know someone who has? The ticket is over 1,000 dollars too, so its taking a big chance of not only not being able to see her but losing 1,000 dollars.

Also, how much do dependable immigration lawyers cost for the k-1 process. I can handle the i-129f packet but im afraid when i go back to the states, that I wont have the time to get this done when I want to. I work alot of hours and dont have much free time at all.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, I know its kinda long. any help would be greatly appreciated. My wish is just to get maried as quickly as possible. Im sick of waiting. But her coming up this summer is very important too. These extended periods of time without eachother are just so hard.

[blackbettie 0]

Hi Paul!

A very important factor about how fast a k-1 visa is processed is the Service Center you're going through. Where in the States are you?

Sandra

[Paul123 0]

  blackbettie said:

Hi Paul!

A very important factor about how fast a k-1 visa is processed is the Service Center you're going through. Where in the States are you?

Sandra

Im in Pennsylvania

[chocolaterie 0]

I guess it depends on what you want more. Two years ago I was crossing the border (Canada to Phoenix) and I guess I was too honest (shame on me). They asked me who & why I was visiting and I said my fiance and I was interested in checking out a university campus. They asked if I had a k-1 visa (which I did not, I felt I was too young to get married). They turned me away and told me I had to enter with a k-1 or get an f-1. =(

[jkb919 0]

About the Laywer question, they can cost quite a bit, if you do not have divorces, criminal history involved you can do it your self, From what I have heard the laywer will give you all the papers to fill out and then they mail them for you.....Most peope on here did it ourselves and saved over a $1,000 by not using a laywer....My suggestion is to get the paper work filled out and get all the eidence together now while you have some free time...The guides on this site will pretty much walk you through all the steps of the process....It is not as hard as it seems....

To your other question if she is going to come visit you I would not send in your K-1 petition till she after she arrives in the US, so she does not get turned away...you can send in the petition once she gets here or send it in now and wait to see each other....I personally would not risk being turned away.

[motu 6]

A friend of mine used a lawyer as he doesn't have any time for this either - He paid $3000 for his fiance's K1 and her two kids (K2). I told him he can do it for free but he chose the lawyer route - who incidentally doesn't even live in the same state that we are in! Since losing a $1000 ticket is too much for you, you better take some time and learn the process as it doesn't seem like you have the money for a lawyer yet! I did it on my own and used the money for trips to Orlando. Good Luck

[Paul123 0]

Thanks for your help guys..What is the percentage of people who get turned away? like user experiences on here.. does it happen often? like half the time? i would like to wait til she gets here to send it in but im so scared this thing is gonna take too long then. If im in PA, what is the average time before the k-1 is approved?

[Paul123 0]

one more thing, i forgot.. Would you guys feel comfortable with you or your fiance visiting the US during the process if the only evidence they could bring was a letter from the school they are attending? Since they speak portuguese, my fiance would probably have to type the letter and have them sign it. but wouldnt that look forged or something? she really has no bills or accounts in her name. what should we do? plus we would like her to stay for about 4-5 weeks.. is that asking for trouble since its up to a month long visit? shes been here twice before.. once for 37 days and once for 90 days but didnt make any trips in the last year. weve been together for quite a while. I cant wait to finally be married so we dont have to do all this back and forth all the time.. thanks!

[MrMrsKnight 0]

Hi Paul, I'm going to tell you what happened to me.

My fiance (the USC) lived here in Brazil with me for two years before we decided it was time for him to go back to the US and start the K1 process. We didn't want to be apart for almost a year either... so, after he was already back in the US, we decided that instead of sending the petition to Nebraska right away, I'd try to get a tourist visa first so that I could visit while the K1 process was going on (we'd send the petition in right after I got the tourist visa).

I scheduled my interview and had to wait for it for about 2 months. I really thought I'd get the visa since my parents have stable jobs (my mom has a federal job and my dad works for the government too), they have good income, I had a letter from one of the best schools in the country saying I had no intention to stay in the US, and a letter from my grandpa who was a Secretary of Transportation once, saying that he was giving me a trip to the US as a birthday present. I'm actually pretty much like your fiance.... I don't have anything to prove I'd come back to Brazil other than that(and trust me, a letter from her school is just not enough when you go for the interview in Rio, specially when you're a young girl ).

I went to Rio and my interview lasted about 30 seconds. Needless to say I was refused.

Waiting to get that tourist visa was the worst thing I've ever done.... I'd probably be in the US right now if we had sent the petition right away. It cost me months.... and $100

But hey if she already has the visa then forget about my little rant as you don't need to worry as much!

Maybe get her an insurance before she tries to visit (it's cheap.... about 60 dollars for 30 days coverage). A girl from my gym was turned down and the insurance helped making sure she was well taken care of before being put in the flight back to Brazil, paid for her food, and her flight back from Rio to Espirito Santo.

Good luck to you and message me if you need anything else!!

[flipside 0]

Paul,

Are you asking if she will get turned down for a tourist visa while you wait to get a K-1 fiance visa? Or does she already have a tourist visa?

You said she's been to the states before. What kind of visa does she have? If she doesn't have a vaild visa for the US she will get turned away at the airport in Brazil.

[C_S 0]

Hi Paul,

I’m the Brazilian beneficiary of a K1 visa. I’ve gone to US to visit my fiance when waiting for my interview to be scheduled in Rio. I took with me a letter from my employer stating that I was on vacation, and when I was supposed to be back to work. I entered US by Atlanta, and they asked me the purpose of my visit, when was my last visit, and if I had a job in Brazil. They didn’t ask for any proof that I was returning back to Brazil. I was in US for 5 weeks, and came back to Brazil a few days before my interview.

Simonne

[Paul123 0]

Thanks sooo much guys, you are awesome. I dont know many forums where the people are so helpful. This whole process really worried me before I found such a tight support group here at the VJ. As for your questions, yes she has a tourist visa, valid for 5 years. We are so excited about her coming up to visit in July, it would really be a heartbreaker if she was turned away. I guess we have to really bet on that letter coming through from her school.. but what should I do about it? should the school write it and then should I have it translated by a translator? or would it be okay if she wrote it in english and just had the school sign it? she has school letterhead. what do you guys do with your letters from your employers when they are not in english? I just dont want to wait any longer, I really want to get this process underway. the thought of waiting til she is here to send in the i-129f packet bothers me..but the thought of her being turned away scares me too. Does it depend on the person? nationality? do females have more luck than guys? I know it depends on the officer, she speaks really good english so could explain in detail any answer to their questions.

[C_S 0]

Paul, I wrote the letter in English using the university letterhead (where I teach) and had the director sing it. I also had the same letter in Portuguese signed by the director. I think that it’s always a risk when one goes to US in a visitor visa. I guess that the country where the person came from; his/her ability to show that there are no intentions to stay in US longer than the allowed period; the officer… there are many points in that equation! In my last travel I was aware that the officer could turn me away, but we wanted so much to be together for a while that we decided to take the chance. I forgot to add in my last reply that I was also carrying a copy of NOA2, and the letter from the consulate in Rio stating they were ready to process my visa application.

Good luck!

Simonne

[Paul123 0]

I noticed in another thread on this board that time in the US is a huge factor in determining whether they let someone through during the process.. my fiancee has been here twice, once for 5 weeks in 2003 and once for 3 months in 2004. Is that considered too much time and be worrisome to the POE officer? Also, I would like to hear any more personal experiences. I know its a judgement call but this is just a huge descision on my hands here. thanks for all your help guys, youve been great!

[happyimmigrant 0]

  Paul123 said:

Also, how much do dependable immigration lawyers cost for the k-1 process. I can handle the i-129f packet but im afraid when i go back to the states, that I wont have the time to get this done when I want to. I work alot of hours and dont have much free time at all.

From my personal experience with two separate (highly recommended) immigration lawyers, and from reading the experiences here of people who dealt with immigration lawyers, I would have to say that there is no such thing as a dependable immigration lawyer.

That said, because of the nature of what is done for immigration cases, the lawyers do little more than fill out some forms and send them in, while you end up doing all the legwork anyway. Save your thousands of dollars, do a bit of research on this site, and fill out your own forms. At least you will know it's done right, which you can't know if a lawyer does it for you.