Received K1 Visa how do we rent an apartment?

[evapaula 230]

5 hours ago, Boiler said:

Depends who you are dealing with, I know people who that has worked with.

 

Lots of people rent who have no status, can be done.

Boiler is right, at least in Oregon, all rental offices told us that we would just need a bigger deposit, which is what we did. No issues whatsoever. 

[Ontarkie 14,493]

~~Moved to Moving Here and Your New Life, from K1 P&P - this is not a visa processing question.~~

[George & Roth 1,485]

Screw them and live elsewhere.

 

 I’m renting, told the landlord the situation and they added her to the lease already. Still no social security number and yet she’s added and approved. They did check me though.

Edited April 6, 2018 by George & Roth

[Umka36 781]

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

One of the downsides of a K1, a loooong wait before he can work.

Work is overrated. Wish I didn't have to.

[dawning 212]

This is interesting... A couple of weeks ago someone posted claiming that she and her husband couldn't rent an apartment when she  first arrived, and they ended up living in a motel.  Many people posting told her she was lying or crazy, that no discrimination towards immigrants exists in the rental market. 

But in this thread today everyone is offering helpful advice that seems to imply that yes, it can be a problem, even a post suggesting the OP and her fiance consider a long term stay in a motel.  I know some didn't like the other poster's tone, but surely that shouldn't alter the facts of life for a new  k1 arrival and their fiancee?  Also perhaps we should charitable when evaluating the "tone" of non-native English speakers?

 

Just a thought!

[Boiler 46,108]

Op is the USC.

[*Snowdrop* 604]

Actually pretty much the same advice is being offered this time to last time. 

 

The USC gets the lease and the spouse without the SSN or credit history is not added to the lease until they get those things. 

 

 

[N-o-l-a 7,168]

I wonder if you'd have more luck in a college town with lots of renters with no credit history?  It seems they are usually pretty lax with who they rent to, especially private owners.  

[j&ana 378]

Quote

 

I agree with other posters don,t add him on the lease until later or look for another apartment

I put a hold on apartment  a month in Austin before my wife came to the U.S and told the manger I did not how long it will be before my wife had social security number they told me it will be no problem just inform them  when she did and  they will have my wife sign lease papers and add her on the lease Me and my wife stay there for over a year until I moved back to Denver

Some apartments are way better then others when it coming to treating and helping people

Edited April 7, 2018 by j&ana

[TBoneTX 46,121]

Look for "apartment locator" services to advise you.  Even if they can't suggest specific complexes, they should be able to offer helpful pointers.

[Alabamak1 688]

On 4/6/2018 at 10:21 AM, noraliz73 said:

I don't have the money to rent another apartment on my own.  I used the money to attend the interview, which I really believed helped decide whether or not he receive the visa.  Over the past year, my fiancé is the one who has been saving for our first year together, but his income is in Egyptian currency.  He is in the process of buying dollars, but there is no way to transfer money from one country to another without losing a very substantial amount of it in fees.  I have more than four times the amount of income needed for most apartments and good credit.  We'll see what happens.  This will only be my second time renting an apartment and I am going to be learning how things work along with my fiancé.  I think that @Boiler must be right because I'm pretty sure my downstairs neighbors are criminals and if they could get an apartment, anyone can, lol.  We might just have to rent from a regular person who owns a house with apartments to rent out rather than from a complex.  We're laughing because the K1 headache is over and now there are new challenges that could have been prevented if only we knew about them.  That is sort of why I posted this topic.  Hopefully, someone will read this and be aware of the issue and rent the larger apartment ahead of time! 

you just have to ask around. i had a landlord that didn't do background checks and/or credit check. ...and NO...it wasn't a dump either. The landlord had just bought that House and i was the first tenant there. Literally after the sign went down, i rented the upper unit. With good credit, references in some places, and enough money you can find almost anything. 

[noraliz73 243]

Final update:  I found a very large apartment in a much nicer town than the one I am in now.  It is not in a "development" but is the first floor apartment in a two story house that a nice couple bought for an investment.  My income and credit qualified, they were impressed that I work for law enforcement, the landlady "saw" my fiancé on the tour (Skype), and she looked at his Egyptian credit score which is above 750.  She also took his bank statements (in dollars) into account because that is our savings.  Overall, the landlady recognized that we are trustworthy.  I offered to have his police clearances from Egypt translated and given to her upon arrival and I still will just in case.  It seems that regular people who are renting apartments that they own have more room for their own discretion than a real estate corporation does.  We could not have been luckier.  It will be nice to deal with this landlady and I am looking forward to living in this town.  If we decide to stay in the USA forever and buy a home (vs. returning to Egypt in a few years), I always wanted it to be there.  The apartment is 5x bigger than my current apartment and I can see it being a wonderful first home for my future (ok, very soon) husband.

[TBoneTX 46,121]

You must feel great, and deservedly so.  Thanks for returning with the happy update.