Trying to prep for filing. Fiance is Guatemalan.

[ccocherell 0]

Not sure where to start. I've been researching for a few weeks now on the process. 

 

My fiance and I have been talking online for almost a year. We finally met and spent a week together the second week of Feb 2020 and that is when we became engaged. Everything was as amazing as we knew it would be! I met her aunts and friends and we enjoyed every second together. We both have a child each, she is 28 and I am 39. Just giving a brief rundown of things.

 

I have seen some people have really elaborate "packets" they file for their i129f and some more simple. We are trying to do this on our own and we don't want any hiccups. I have all of our WhatsApp conversations. We have all the pictures of our being together for the week.

 

Question 1, Is there a step by step walk through of each phase along with fee? I want to make sure I am at least one step ahead in preparation, paperwork and finances. 

 

Question 2, is our timeline substantial enough? We talk all day every day. Our jobs enable us to text throughout the day.

 

Question 3, I was previously married, when I filed for divorce my ex filed a temp restraining order, it was dropped, but I know somewhere it asks about this type of info. Any tips or advice on anything special with this?

 

Question 4, my fiance lives in Guatemala, they don't have mailing services there. How can we get the required signatures for filing? It doesn't sound like a signed form will be accepted if it's then faxed, or scanned and emailed?

 

I know I'm forgetting some other questions but these are the bigger ones that are on my mind currently. We want to get this ball rolling so we can start our life together as soon as possible! 

 

Thank you in advance.

[bakphx1 789]

There are instructions on this site. You can start here. https://www.visajourney.com/guides/

 

The first thing to get in order are documents.  Birth certificates, passports and divorce decrees.  Divorce decrees seem to be what can hang things up for not being the correct document.  I’m not sure what to look for but it must be court certified document.  Others may give better info as I didn’t have a divorce.  Also think about the expiration date on current passports.  If she doesn’t have one, she will probably have an option of a 5 year or 10- year passport.  Get the the 10 year..  If she has one replace it if it has less than 5 years left on it, if possible.  The same passport throughout makes life easier.

 

A restraining order without a charge or arrest is just that.  Only answer what is specifically true.

 

Your timeline sounds fine.

Packets shouldn’t be filled with useless information.  Some chat logs (not full conversations, just showing a snippet of conversations to show regular communication.  Date stamps are what they will look at.  Travel documents (flight info), pictures together.  No more than 10. Showing you with family members helps.

 

Also think about income requirements.  If you meet them, you’re good as long as you’ve filed your last three tax returns.  If you’re remiss, now is the time to take care of it.  If you’ll need a sponsor, start thinking of who can do it and letting them know.  That’s probably the thing that gets people messed up most in the end.

 

Personally, I would urge anyone to get a CR1 over a K1 unless absolutely impossible to get married first.  Reason being K1 means no green card for up to six months.  Makes it hard to add to bank accounts, health insurance, get state ID.  Also if a family emergency comes up she could be forced to leave and abandon the visa to start over ago.  It’s a cruel visa.

 

My husband lived in Honduras.  No mail.  DHL or a receiving agent typically holds packages for the person, so she can give you the nearest location to address it to.  It’s expensive but wasn’t difficult to work with.  About $60 each way, better to have her print out the completed document, sign it and mail it rather than you mailing it to her for signature.  You sign last.

 

Central Americans often don’t have addresses or know them if they do.  If she lives with family that owns the house, a bank document or deed may have an official address that isn’t used in practice.  Don’t be surprised if she says she has no address when asked.  If not then use the standard format “1k sur de Walmart” if you have nothing else.

 

 

[SalishSea 18,102]

1 hour ago, ccocherell said:

Not sure where to start. I've been researching for a few weeks now on the process. 

 

My fiance and I have been talking online for almost a year. We finally met and spent a week together the second week of Feb 2020 and that is when we became engaged. Everything was as amazing as we knew it would be! I met her aunts and friends and we enjoyed every second together. We both have a child each, she is 28 and I am 39. Just giving a brief rundown of things.  Will she bring the child as a K-2?  If so, you will want to consider custody/consent from the child's father.

 

I have seen some people have really elaborate "packets" they file for their i129f and some more simple. We are trying to do this on our own and we don't want any hiccups. I have all of our WhatsApp conversations. We have all the pictures of our being together for the week.  Pics and WhatsApp are not considered primary evidence.  Best evidence is passport stamps and boarding passes.  Keep it simple.

 

Question 1, Is there a step by step walk through of each phase along with fee? I want to make sure I am at least one step ahead in preparation, paperwork and finances. The guides on VJ tend to be outdated.  I would refer to the official checklist/instructions that accompany the petition on the USCIS.gov site.  Also, while the I-129f itself has not been updated, other forms related to immigration and sponsorship have, so it is best to always refer to USCIS.gov for the most current stuff.

 

Question 2, is our timeline substantial enough? We talk all day every day. Our jobs enable us to text throughout the day.  For the petition approval, the requirement really is as simple as the one in-person meeting within the past two years.  The "ongoing relationship" evidence is for the interview itself at the consulate.  Every consulate has different expectations in terms of preferred amount of time spent in person, etc.  So it is best to seek out folks who have gone through your consulate via the Latin America portal here.

 

Question 3, I was previously married, when I filed for divorce my ex filed a temp restraining order, it was dropped, but I know somewhere it asks about this type of info. Any tips or advice on anything special with this?  Domestic violence by petitioners is taken very seriously by USCIS.  If it was simply a temp restraining order, I doubt that would be an issue at all.  See the petition for the questions related to arrests, etc.

 

Question 4, my fiance lives in Guatemala, they don't have mailing services there. How can we get the required signatures for filing? It doesn't sound like a signed form will be accepted if it's then faxed, or scanned and emailed?  She won't need to sign the I-129f petition.  For the intent to marry letter, she can sign and scan.

 

I know I'm forgetting some other questions but these are the bigger ones that are on my mind currently. We want to get this ball rolling so we can start our life together as soon as possible! 

 

Thank you in advance.

 

[ccocherell 0]

Alright, in response to all replies so far. Thank you for the help.

 

I do have her address, I checked DHL and they don't have any service here. I did Global Express through the USPS delivers, or appears to, I will have to verify that. But it sounds like maybe I will be able to do everything electronically. 

 

Her and her son will be applying for passports and the father of her child is signing a release for him.

 

My income isn't much but from what I've researched, its twice that of what's required. My current job history is something else I had questions about. I was at my previous job for 8 years, my annual gross income averaged 30k I have been at my new place of work for 2 years with income 33k but work has become terribly slow and I'm fearing being laid off and have thought of possibly going back to my old job or finding something else. I'm not one to bounce around with jobs though and I also don't want it to be a problematic piece of our filing. Any thoughts on this?

[ccocherell 0]

Another question, she speaks no english, our conversation is 99% in spanish and I know all forms are English. Does everything need to be translated to English? I was going to take screen shots of our ongoing conversation, not a lot but at least a few to show we have an ongoing relationship and have talked about marriage for quite some time now.

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,096]

2 hours ago, ccocherell said:

Another question, she speaks no english, our conversation is 99% in spanish and I know all forms are English. Does everything need to be translated to English? I was going to take screen shots of our ongoing conversation, not a lot but at least a few to show we have an ongoing relationship and have talked about marriage for quite some time now.

Any documents you want USCIS to read have to be in English or have translations.

 

At most embassies/consulates (double check for yours), documents in the most common local language are accepted, but anything you'll need for AOS you'll probably want to translate or get translated anyway.

[bakphx1 789]

10 hours ago, ccocherell said:

Another question, she speaks no english, our conversation is 99% in spanish and I know all forms are English. Does everything need to be translated to English? I was going to take screen shots of our ongoing conversation, not a lot but at least a few to show we have an ongoing relationship and have talked about marriage for quite some time now.

I submitted our Spanish conversations with no translation.  Nothing more was said about that.  All other documents must be translated, though.  Fortunately Spanish is inexpensive in terms of professional translations.  I found it easier as for things like the birth certificate, they have nice templates for forms.

[ccocherell 0]

Bumping this up. I havent done anything since everything in the world has come to a halt. But it looks like things are slowly opening back up. 

 

I've got some other questions.

 

What other forms need to accompany filing the I-129F? She has a son, so do I need other forms for the K2 process? I'm trying to make sure I do this all correctly. I saw forms for electronic notifications and also one to pay with a credit card, I believe? What other forms? Affidavit form now it wait until they ask? 

 

We're hoping we can file soon and possibly get her here before something else changes in the world. 

[Greenbaum 12,259]

2 minutes ago, ccocherell said:

Bumping this up. I havent done anything since everything in the world has come to a halt. But it looks like things are slowly opening back up. 

 

I've got some other questions.

 

What other forms need to accompany filing the I-129F? She has a son, so do I need other forms for the K2 process? I'm trying to make sure I do this all correctly. I saw forms for electronic notifications and also one to pay with a credit card, I believe? What other forms? Affidavit form now it wait until they ask? 

 

We're hoping we can file soon and possibly get her here before something else changes in the world. 

Use the guides to help you understand the process. 

 

 

[SalishSea 18,102]

On 2/27/2020 at 5:57 AM, ccocherell said:

I'm fearing being laid off and have thought of possibly going back to my old job or finding something else.

Get a joint sponsor lined up just in case.

[SalishSea 18,102]

10 hours ago, ccocherell said:

Bumping this up. I havent done anything since everything in the world has come to a halt. But it looks like things are slowly opening back up. 

 

I've got some other questions.

 

What other forms need to accompany filing the I-129F? She has a son, so do I need other forms for the K2 process? I'm trying to make sure I do this all correctly. I saw forms for electronic notifications and also one to pay with a credit card, I believe? What other forms? Affidavit form now it wait until they ask? Please read and research as much as possible.  This process requires you to be knowledgable. Being unprepared can lead to delays, denials, RFEs etc. I recommend printing the checklist/instructions that accompany the I-129F, from USCIS.gov.  That is what we followed - approved with no RFEs.

 

We're hoping we can file soon and possibly get her here before something else changes in the world.   Nothing about this process is quick, especially now amid Covid.

 

[SalishSea 18,102]

On 2/27/2020 at 9:55 AM, ccocherell said:

I was going to take screen shots of our ongoing conversation, not a lot but at least a few to show we have an ongoing relationship and have talked about marriage for quite some time now.

"Ongoing relationship" evidence is not required for the petition.  The best evidence you can submit is evidence of having met during the previous two years, i.e. boarding passes and passport stamps.  

[ccocherell 0]

Ive read the official guides and I've been looking at different guidelines and looking at YouTube videos and everyone has different opinions and ideas. I just want to make sure I get it right.

 

I see people using 3 ring binders and making their packets. Do they send that whole binder in? I thought it was suppose to be a 2 hole punch at the top of the page. 

 

When they forward the packet to the embassy in her country, since they have no mailing service there. How will documents get to her? This is also something I have been trying to figure out without breaking the bank or having it lost. They don't have much mailing or shipping services there and they are now on a very strict lockdown.

[Just Paul 4,595]

3 hours ago, ccocherell said:

I see people using 3 ring binders and making their packets.

Don't do that.

3 hours ago, ccocherell said:

I thought it was suppose to be a 2 hole punch at the top of the page. 

You can do this if you want.

3 hours ago, ccocherell said:

How will documents get to her?

They don't send her documents.

You should send her a complete copy of the K1 and the I-134 once the petition gets that far.   She can print it locally.  She should familiarize herself with the petition in cse they have questions.   The I-134 is taken to the interview along with the evidence.  Those do not need to be originally or a wet signature.

[ccocherell 0]

On 5/17/2020 at 5:35 PM, Paul & Mary said:

Don't do that.

You can do this if you want.

They don't send her documents.

You should send her a complete copy of the K1 and the I-134 once the petition gets that far.   She can print it locally.  She should familiarize herself with the petition in cse they have questions.   The I-134 is taken to the interview along with the evidence.  Those do not need to be originally or a wet signature.

What would your suggestion be for compiling my files neatly to send/submit?

 

I'm filling everything out digitally, so I'll be able to send the filled out .pdf files to her. The only thing we won't be able to do is have original or wet signatures.