K1 visa , income requirement

[Rbtndtrl 2]

I wanted to share our case, I’m a little worried and maybe getting some opinions on it would be of help. 

 

My interview is scheduled for August 5 , 2019 in Juarez. My fiancé is the petitioner he is a military veteran who currently is finishing his CNA course and will be able to apply for a new job with this certification. 

He is currently employed at the federal work study at his college. 

 

Through out these past three years he worked part time jobs that were stable he left his first job in December and got a new job in January with better pay. He quit to be able to do the cna Course this summer. And is just working at the college now.

 

His total income for last year was 12,500 and well this is the part I’m worrying about. We have to meet 16K (estimate ) for the K1 visa. Our lawyer says we shouldn’t have any issues but I just don’t understand her certainty because from what I’ve read if you don’t meet income requirement it’s difficult to get approval. 

 

My fiancé is sending his GI bill and VA benefits to see if that covers the rest of the income but Idk if this will be enough. He will also be sending proof of his CNA certification and hopefully he will apply and get a job as a CNA. That way we can have something more to back us up financially . 

 

Id like some insight on this , what are your opinions any other similar cases?  Any approvals with this same situation. 

 

Thank you ! 

 

 

[payxibka 10,045]

5 minutes ago, Rbtndtrl said:

I wanted to share our case, I’m a little worried and maybe getting some opinions on it would be of help. 

 

My interview is scheduled for August 5 , 2019 in Juarez. My fiancé is the petitioner he is a military veteran who currently is finishing his CNA course and will be able to apply for a new job with this certification. 

He is currently employed at the federal work study at his college. 

 

Through out these past three years he worked part time jobs that were stable he left his first job in December and got a new job in January with better pay. He quit to be able to do the cna Course this summer. And is just working at the college now.

 

His total income for last year was 12,500 and well this is the part I’m worrying about. We have to meet 16K (estimate ) for the K1 visa. Our lawyer says we shouldn’t have any issues but I just don’t understand her certainty because from what I’ve read if you don’t meet income requirement it’s difficult to get approval. 

 

My fiancé is sending his GI bill and VA benefits to see if that covers the rest of the income but Idk if this will be enough. He will also be sending proof of his CNA certification and hopefully he will apply and get a job as a CNA. That way we can have something more to back us up financially . 

 

Id like some insight on this , what are your opinions any other similar cases?  Any approvals with this same situation. 

 

Thank you ! 

 

 

Last years income is meaningless,  next year as well.  What is important is current income.  Without a job that unfortunately is nil

[geowrian 22,337]

Future income cannot be used to support you now. Neither can past income. They will care about current income first.

At the time you present the I-134, it needs to show his current income...that is how much he is earning at that time. The past income may be considered for the public charge piece as well, but current income is king.

The CO looks at the totality of the circumstances.

 

It may be wise to seek a co sponsor for now. Then if he does land a job paying better by the time AOS comes around, he can qualify on his own. The I-134 is not binding, and he does not need to use the same sponsor (or any other sponsor at all) for AOS.

[Boiler 45,525]

Will he be employed when you interview?

[Rbtndtrl 2]

3 hours ago, payxibka said:

Last years income is meaningless,  next year as well.  What is important is current income.  Without a job that unfortunately is nil

He is currently employed. 

[Boiler 45,525]

Maybe a translation issue, I thought he was studying, does his current wage meet the requirements?

[Rbtndtrl 2]

1 minute ago, Boiler said:

Maybe a translation issue, I thought he was studying, does his current wage meet the requirements?

He studies and he works at the vet center at his college at the moment. But I’m looking at the i134 and his income says 12,579. I’ve read he can include the GI bill to compliment the income but i honestly have no idea. Our lawyer says we shouldn’t have an issue with it. But I keep looking at the numbers and I don’t understand her reasoning . 

[samnrong 52]

I would strongly suggest lining up a co-sponsor. It sounds like even in a best-case scenario his income will be barely above the "guidelines".

 

As others mentioned, these are guidelines, not hard redlines. The CO conducting the interview will make a determination based on the "totality of the circumstances". Being barely above the "guideline" DOES NOT mean that approval is a foregone conclusion. Plenty of people have income slightly above the "guidelines" and still get rejected and a request for co-sponsor.

 

Can you line-up a co-sponsor prior to your interview? It's better to have one and not need one than need one and not have one.

 

Good luck!

[Cramirez03 8]

Question, off topic, how long did it take for you to receive your interview letter from the complete date ?

[Rbtndtrl 2]

6 hours ago, Cramirez03 said:

Question, off topic, how long did it take for you to receive your interview letter from the complete date ?

Hello, like 2 months later ! 

[Rbtndtrl 2]

On 7/13/2019 at 11:40 PM, samnrong said:

I would strongly suggest lining up a co-sponsor. It sounds like even in a best-case scenario his income will be barely above the "guidelines".

 

As others mentioned, these are guidelines, not hard redlines. The CO conducting the interview will make a determination based on the "totality of the circumstances". Being barely above the "guideline" DOES NOT mean that approval is a foregone conclusion. Plenty of people have income slightly above the "guidelines" and still get rejected and a request for co-sponsor.

 

Can you line-up a co-sponsor prior to your interview? It's better to have one and not need one than need one and not have one.

 

Good luck!

Ya I see what you are saying. We are gonna take an employer letter from his new job. We are trying not to have a co sponsor , but if declined at interview for that reason we do have someone in mind who would sponsor us. 

But just a quick question do you know how much time it takes to have our co sponsor approved after we submit it online ? I read it take 4 to 7 days for them to review it and the another week or so to have the visa mailed to us. But I’m not sure 🤔 

[Cramirez03 8]

11 minutes ago, Rbtndtrl said:

Hello, like 2 months later ! 

Wow! Are you both in the US?

[Rbtndtrl 2]

1 hour ago, Cramirez03 said:

Wow! Are you both in the US?

Ya it took awhile but definitely less than the waiting time for i129f approval in between you should get a letter with your NVC case number. But that same day you can schedule your interview you don’t actually have to wait for the actual interview letter as long as you have your case number ! And no unfortunately I am in my country and he is in the u.s as we wait 

[SalishSea 17,836]

6 hours ago, Rbtndtrl said:

Ya I see what you are saying. We are gonna take an employer letter from his new job. We are trying not to have a co sponsor , but if declined at interview for that reason we do have someone in mind who would sponsor us. 

But just a quick question do you know how much time it takes to have our co sponsor approved after we submit it online ? I read it take 4 to 7 days for them to review it and the another week or so to have the visa mailed to us. But I’m not sure 🤔 

The timeframe for that is entirely unknown.  Could be weeks or months.  Better to go into the interview prepared with all documents than to have to respond to a 221g denial.

[samnrong 52]

8 hours ago, Rbtndtrl said:

Ya I see what you are saying. We are gonna take an employer letter from his new job. We are trying not to have a co sponsor , but if declined at interview for that reason we do have someone in mind who would sponsor us. 

But just a quick question do you know how much time it takes to have our co sponsor approved after we submit it online ? I read it take 4 to 7 days for them to review it and the another week or so to have the visa mailed to us. But I’m not sure 🤔 

 

1 hour ago, Jorgedig said:

The timeframe for that is entirely unknown.  Could be weeks or months.  Better to go into the interview prepared with all documents than to have to respond to a 221g denial.

Agree with Jorgedig on this one. Since your case is borderline, have co-sponsor documents prepared for the interview. If you’re approved without them then great. If you need them you have them in hand already.

 

Your timeline for processing if you have to send in subsequent to the interview is an absolute best case scenario and I WOULD NOT put much faith behind it.

 

At the interview there are only 2 possible outcomes, approval or denial. In this case you’d be denied for failing to have sufficient evidence that beneficiary will not become a public charge once in the US. You’d then be placed in Administrative Processing and given a chance to overcome this denial by finding a co-sponsor. Once you’re in AP it can be a black hole and there is NO GUARANTEE as to the timeline for how fast your documents will be reviewed. It may be 2 weeks, it may be 6 months. Take a read through the AP forums on here and you’ll see stories of simple issues taking months or years to resolve in AP. One read through those forums and it will become clear to you why you want to avoid AP.

 

I can’t stress strongly enough my suggestion to avoid AP at all costs. Take the co-sponsor documents with you to your interview and save yourself peace of mind.

 

good luck!