K1 Visa and Employment

[Jaquelly 1,647]

5 minutes ago, iwir said:

There are many ways to build your own social network beside having a job and you don't have to stay at home doing nothing if that's what you want. You can go volunteer at food bank helping those in need or pursuing new hobbies and meet new people with the same interests. To be honest work place is not always the best place to find friends based on my experience.

Your co-workers are there when you're at work and they mind their own business. To me my self worth is not determined by my job. There are so many things to explore in a new place. I'm not worried I'll be bored

 

Even with the volunteering it's a touchy thing. Some people  on VJ say that If they are volunteering to do something that someone would normally get paid to do, it's a no go.

Edited July 20, 2018 by Jaquelly
clarification

[Jaquelly 1,647]

1 minute ago, LizM said:

I think the poster did not intend to be misleading but wrote that salary because of the previous discussion of how expensive a K1 is. Rather than the technical requirements of about 20k, a higher salary is preferable especially if you are to support a second person for X months. 

Right on. I just don't want someone to think that they can't apply if they don't make 50k a year.

 

This process is expensive. Save while you can - especially those of you still sitting on that NOA1. 

[Orangesapples 1,954]

9 minutes ago, iwir said:

There are many ways to build your own social network beside having a job and you don't have to stay at home doing nothing if that's what you want. You can go volunteer at food bank helping those in need or pursuing new hobbies and meet new people with the same interests. To be honest work place is not always the best place to find friends based on my experience.

Your co-workers are there when you're at work and they mind their own business. To me my self worth is not determined by my job. There are so many things to explore in a new place. I'm not worried I'll be bored

Yes, but it's still hard. Also, driving is not possible in many states without an EAD either which further limits your options. 

[iwir 337]

1 minute ago, Jaquelly said:

 

Even with the volunteering it's a touchy thing. A lot of people don't recommend it to those on a K-1 visa because it can be technically seen as work.  If they are volunteering to do something that someone would normally get paid to do, it's a no go.

If that's the case then you still can pursue your hobbies and meet new people. I don't know if feeding stray cats and do some TNR can be seen as work or it might seen as generating taxable income. But then again if it's not possible there are still so many possibilities to explore. To me it's practising yoga everyday and meet with local yoga community. For quite sometime I want to relax and don't want to worry about getting a job and earn some money

[iwir 337]

10 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

Yes, but it's still hard. Also, driving is not possible in many states without an EAD either which further limits your options. 

That's something you need to discuss with your USC fiance how to find something to do post POE and what's transportation available. Its their job to make your transition as smooth as possible. I always believe when there is a will there's always a way 

Edited July 20, 2018 by iwir

[clarkyzp33 3]

29 minutes ago, Jaquelly said:

You don't have to earn that much. The minimum is in the 20k area. Don't mislead people.

20k that low?  I don't think 50k is very hard to earn actually.

[Jaquelly 1,647]

3 minutes ago, clarkyzp33 said:

20k that low?  I don't think 50k is very hard to earn actually.

 

I don't engage with trolls. The majority of people earn well over the minimum guidelines, but I'm not going to sit here and make anyone feel bad about their salary.

[geowrian 22,337]

Just keep in mind those numbers are the minimums. The final call on the public charge decision is in the hands of the IO or CO based on the totality of the circumstances.

For instance, if one makes $22k and lives in NYC, that may be a considerable issue. If one lives in my area, $22k is still tight IMO but completely livable.

[Lsthorpe1 129]

11 hours ago, TNJ17 said:

That’s why you’re 7 months then. You’re not 7 months from filling though. That’s a little misleading. 

I never once said that I have been waiting 7 months

[Highmystic 234]

16 hours ago, Lsthorpe1 said:

We got married Feb 28th and sent off AOS, AP, EAD late March and our NOA1 was April 4th... the wait continues.

Our NOA was March 30th, 5 days before yours.  According to my time line, it should be adjudicated sometime after the 7th of next month, I am thinking any week now.  Patience is a virtue, but what other choice do we really have...

[TM92 527]

22 hours ago, Yvonne90 said:

I do appreciate the feedback, though, and I'll look more into the CR1 process.

Some more unsolicited info about the CR-1:

The marriage for the CR-1 can take place anywhere (US, fiancé's country, or somewhere else). Your fiancé can enter the US with a tourist visa in order to marry you and then return to his country to initiate the CR-1 process. Check out thread below:

 

Edited July 20, 2018 by TM92
or

[evapaula 230]

6 hours ago, jtrh said:

Could you provide more feedback on job searching while waiting for the green card? We went with the K1, because when we applied back in Jan, it was still a long wait for the K1 but the green card stuff was only a 3 month wait. It's now shot up to 5-6 months, which is disheartening beyond belief. 

 

It's not that we NEED the money, but my fiancé is not going to be happy sitting around for 6 months waiting for work. I'm hoping that he can at least do a lot of job searching during that period and say that he will have a green card by X date on his applications. I know that will deter some employers looking for someone immediately, but I'm thinking that if maybe there are employers who aren't in a rush, they might consider him and we could even use an offer from an employer to expedite his green card request. 

 

Any advice?

I got my GC in May 2015 after an 8 months wait. I had received the EAD/AP card in December and started applying to various jobs (try indeed.com), but most of them were for bigger tech companies and never heard back. It was pretty frustrating, I'll admit. I've worked from a very early age and I was expecting to love not working for a while, but after a a few months of bliss I started getting antsy  I'm sure I could've gotten a retail job, but I was afraid it would hurt my chances at a better job later. 

Sure enough, as soon as I got my GC, I was contacted for interviews by my desired employer, and I'm still working here almost 3 year later. 

I'm not sure if you can get an offer extended without the GC, but if you can, I guess it's worth trying to expedite. 

[Ontarkie 14,234]

~~Moved to What Visa Do I need, from K1 Progress Report - The OP has not started any visa process yet.~~

[MikeMc 38]

On ‎7‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 11:58 AM, Lsthorpe1 said:

The best advice ever!

 

I was a K1 myself (Now currently waiting for AOS to be approved)

 

If I could turn back time I would have 10000% done CR1. If I had only known what I know now! Please explore both avenues. 

 

In in my opinion CR1 is far superior. 

 

 

 

 

Not sure if it is, when you file an AOS, request an EAD (right to work and if filling AOS it's free) so that's usually granted fairly fast 30-60 days. Then you wait til you get GC.

[geowrian 22,337]

1 minute ago, MikeMc said:

Not sure if it is, when you file an AOS, request an EAD (right to work and if filling AOS it's free) so that's usually granted fairly fast 30-60 days. Then you wait til you get GC.

Current timelines are about 4-6 months for an EAD now.