Question About the K1 Process for someone who already had a stay here

[amm7s@mtmail.mtsu 1]

Hi everyone!

 

I live in the United States, and my girlfriend lives in the Philippines. I plan on proposing to her soon, and we have made a decision to go with the K1 visa process to bring her over here permanently. I don't have any real concerns about our visa being approved or not, because she was already here when I met her, on a tourist visa to visit family she has over here. It was actually her 2nd time here, so she has already had approval to get here.

 

Her story is basically, she came over here to visit her family, but got stuck with the COVID epidemic locked down the United States, her flights were cancelled and she couldn't go back, and she ended up filing for an extension of her 6 month stay. She stayed beyond her original expiration due to her inability to get a flight back home, but returned to the Philippines before her extension would have expired. But she still has not officially received word on whether her extension was approved or not.

 

On the form to file for the K1 visa, it asks for her physical addresses for the past 5 years, including any American addresses, so I want to include the address where she lived while she was here in the United States. But she was here beyond her expiration date, and without an official approval yet, I can't use the expiration from her extension.

 

When I submit her information, should I give the original expiration date of her visa, or the pending extension expiration? And if the former, how do I explain that she submitted for an extension and stayed past her extension legally? I don't see anyplace on the I-129 for written explanations of any of the information there. Can I submit a separate writing along with the form to explain it?

 

I appreciate any information people may have. Thanks!

[Adventine 3,206]

A couple of points:

 

- US address: you'll have to be completely truthful and indicate the exact dates she lived in the US. Yes, it will become obvious that she overstayed the original 6 months stay that she was given. No, you cannot use the date of the pending extension request, because, as you said, the extension hasn't been approved yet.

 

- You can include a separate sheet of paper explaining the situation why she overstayed and that you filed for an extension that is still pending. 

 

[Greenbaum 12,259]

3 hours ago, amm7s@mtmail.mtsu said:

Hi everyone!

 

I live in the United States, and my girlfriend lives in the Philippines. I plan on proposing to her soon, and we have made a decision to go with the K1 visa process to bring her over here permanently. I don't have any real concerns about our visa being approved or not, because she was already here when I met her, on a tourist visa to visit family she has over here. It was actually her 2nd time here, so she has already had approval to get here.

 

Her story is basically, she came over here to visit her family, but got stuck with the COVID epidemic locked down the United States, her flights were cancelled and she couldn't go back, and she ended up filing for an extension of her 6 month stay. She stayed beyond her original expiration due to her inability to get a flight back home, but returned to the Philippines before her extension would have expired. But she still has not officially received word on whether her extension was approved or not.

 

On the form to file for the K1 visa, it asks for her physical addresses for the past 5 years, including any American addresses, so I want to include the address where she lived while she was here in the United States. But she was here beyond her expiration date, and without an official approval yet, I can't use the expiration from her extension.

 

When I submit her information, should I give the original expiration date of her visa, or the pending extension expiration? And if the former, how do I explain that she submitted for an extension and stayed past her extension legally? I don't see anyplace on the I-129 for written explanations of any of the information there. Can I submit a separate writing along with the form to explain it?

 

I appreciate any information people may have. Thanks!

You missed a terrific opportunity to marry while she was in the US and then after she returned filed the I-130, Petition for Alien Relative which would have saved you time and a bunch of money. With the I-130, Petition for Alien Relative she would have received her GC and SSN once she arrived back in the states. That would have allowed her to begin working almost immediately. Now the wait for a EAD is about eight plus months. "your mileage may vary" Good luck and stay engaged in the process. 

[payxibka 10,047]

3 hours ago, amm7s@mtmail.mtsu said:

 I don't see anyplace on the I-129 for written explanations of any of the information there. Can I submit a separate writing along with the form to explain it?

 

I appreciate any information people may have. Thanks!

What do you think Part 8 is for?  Anytime you need to explain something additonal you can use the addendum sheet.

[Greenbaum 12,259]

4 hours ago, payxibka said:

What do you think Part 8 is for?  Anytime you need to explain something additional you can use the addendum sheet.

Send me in coach. I can make the big play. 

[carmel34 3,650]

By how many days did your girlfriend overstay her I-94?  Not the pending extension, but the I-94 or date stamped in her passport when she entered the US for the most recent visit?  If the overstay was less than 180 days, there will most likely be no problem with the K-1 petition or visa application.  When you complete the I-129F, which is mostly about you the petitioner, there is no place on the form to indicate her previous visits to the US, only name and addresses as you pointed out in your post.  Later in the process, after the I-129F petition is approved, she will be asked about previous visits to the US on the visa application, DS-160, and she will put her B2 visa number and passport number, but it does not ask about overstays.  They will look up her record and see that she overstayed and by how many days.  They could also look her up at the I-129F stage, but that is doubtful.  So right now there is nothing for you to report on the I-129F except for the required information.  No need to provide anything more than what they ask for on the form, plus required documents and evidence of meeting at least once in the two years prior to filing the I-129F.  The issue of her overstay will come up at the DS-160 stage when prior visits to the US are reported for the beneficiary.  She may be asked about it at the K-1 interview especially if the overstay was more than 180 days.  180 days to one year overstay is a 3-year bar, longer than a year is a 10-year bar.  Even if the overstay was less than 180 days, she may not be allowed to visit you again on the B2 because of the overstay, it is up to the CBP officer at the POE.  Good luck!

Edited January 10, 2021 by carmel34

[amm7s@mtmail.mtsu 1]

10 hours ago, Adventine said:

A couple of points:

 

- US address: you'll have to be completely truthful and indicate the exact dates she lived in the US. Yes, it will become obvious that she overstayed the original 6 months stay that she was given. No, you cannot use the date of the pending extension request, because, as you said, the extension hasn't been approved yet.

 

- You can include a separate sheet of paper explaining the situation why she overstayed and that you filed for an extension that is still pending. 

 

 

Okay, thank you for the information about the extra sheet. I was wondering if I should do that or, as another poster mentioned (in a quote below) that I should just leave it and let it come up at her interview.

 

7 hours ago, Greenbaum said:

You missed a terrific opportunity to marry while she was in the US and then after she returned filed the I-130, Petition for Alien Relative which would have saved you time and a bunch of money. With the I-130, Petition for Alien Relative she would have received her GC and SSN once she arrived back in the states. That would have allowed her to begin working almost immediately. Now the wait for a EAD is about eight plus months. "your mileage may vary" Good luck and stay engaged in the process. 

 

Ya know, we both had talked about that, and although there was a part of both of us that wanted to do it, we had determined that it was going to be best for her to go back. Part of that was because, it seems from your post, that I may have had some incorrect information. I was actually under the impression that it was quicker and cheaper to go the fiance visa route rather than the spousal visa route.

 

7 hours ago, payxibka said:

What do you think Part 8 is for?  Anytime you need to explain something additonal you can use the addendum sheet.

 

From what I saw, it looked like Part 8 had additional space for specific questions, not for additional information that I would want to add to our case (such as her overstay and still pending decision on her extension). I take it that I missed a spot?

 

1 hour ago, carmel34 said:

By how many days did your girlfriend overstay her I-94?  Not the pending extension, but the I-94 or date stamped in her passport when she entered the US for the most recent visit?  If the overstay was less than 180 days, there will most likely be no problem with the K-1 petition or visa application.  When you complete the I-129F, which is mostly about you the petitioner, there is no place on the form to indicate her previous visits to the US, only name and addresses as you pointed out in your post.  Later in the process, after the I-129F petition is approved, she will be asked about previous visits to the US on the visa application, DS-160, and she will put her B2 visa number and passport number, but it does not ask about overstays.  They will look up her record and see that she overstayed and by how many days.  They could also look her up at the I-129F stage, but that is doubtful.  So right now there is nothing for you to report on the I-129F except for the required information.  No need to provide anything more than what they ask for on the form, plus required documents and evidence of meeting at least once in the two years prior to filing the I-129F.  The issue of her overstay will come up at the DS-160 stage when prior visits to the US are reported for the beneficiary.  She may be asked about it at the K-1 interview especially if the overstay was more than 180 days.  180 days to one year overstay is a 3-year bar, longer than a year is a 10-year bar.  Even if the overstay was less than 180 days, she may not be allowed to visit you again on the B2 because of the overstay, it is up to the CBP officer at the POE.  Good luck!

I don't know the exact number of days, but it was less than 180 days. She was very adamant about making sure she could leave before the 6 month mark following her original expiration, because even if the extension were approved, she would still have to leave within 6 months. So she definitely left within 180 days of her overstay. I probably could do the math on it to find the exact number of days, because she has sent me all of her documents, but I know it's less than 180.

 

Thank you for the information, everyone. It sounds like I *can* add an explanation for her overstay to submit with my I-129, but that it wouldn't be necessary to do so, as she will have an opportunity to explain and show documentation of those things when she does her interview?

[CrisBR 30]

14 hours ago, amm7s@mtmail.mtsu said:

Hi everyone!

 

I live in the United States, and my girlfriend lives in the Philippines. I plan on proposing to her soon, and we have made a decision to go with the K1 visa process to bring her over here permanently. I don't have any real concerns about our visa being approved or not, because she was already here when I met her, on a tourist visa to visit family she has over here. It was actually her 2nd time here, so she has already had approval to get here.

 

Her story is basically, she came over here to visit her family, but got stuck with the COVID epidemic locked down the United States, her flights were cancelled and she couldn't go back, and she ended up filing for an extension of her 6 month stay. She stayed beyond her original expiration due to her inability to get a flight back home, but returned to the Philippines before her extension would have expired. But she still has not officially received word on whether her extension was approved or not.

 

On the form to file for the K1 visa, it asks for her physical addresses for the past 5 years, including any American addresses, so I want to include the address where she lived while she was here in the United States. But she was here beyond her expiration date, and without an official approval yet, I can't use the expiration from her extension.

 

When I submit her information, should I give the original expiration date of her visa, or the pending extension expiration? And if the former, how do I explain that she submitted for an extension and stayed past her extension legally? I don't see anyplace on the I-129 for written explanations of any of the information there. Can I submit a separate writing along with the form to explain it?

 

I appreciate any information people may have. Thanks!

Because she was prevented from leaving the country due to the pandemic, any supporting proof to be presented when appropriate is advisable.

If you have any notice from this extension she applied for, use that! 

It is recommended that you go online on USCIS website and try to get someone to keep you informed about her case. It does not hurt to try, right? 

[amm7s@mtmail.mtsu 1]

47 minutes ago, CrisBR said:

Because she was prevented from leaving the country due to the pandemic, any supporting proof to be presented when appropriate is advisable.

If you have any notice from this extension she applied for, use that! 

It is recommended that you go online on USCIS website and try to get someone to keep you informed about her case. It does not hurt to try, right? 

Yes, she has sent me documentation of her extension application, which was definitely before her original expiration date, and her overstay was less than 180 days after expiration. She also has documents showing her cancelled flights and her attempt to leave on time, and her attempts to leave before she finally was able to as well.

 

So should we just save that for her interview? Or should that be submitted with the initial I-129?

[Adventine 3,206]

20 minutes ago, amm7s@mtmail.mtsu said:

Yes, she has sent me documentation of her extension application, which was definitely before her original expiration date, and her overstay was less than 180 days after expiration. She also has documents showing her cancelled flights and her attempt to leave on time, and her attempts to leave before she finally was able to as well.

 

So should we just save that for her interview? Or should that be submitted with the initial I-129?

 

You can choose to proactively disclose it in the I-129F form (careful now, the I-129 is a different form), but it's not required. You can choose to explain it using a separate sheet of paper along with the supporting evidence showing filed an extension she attempted to leave on time, or you can use Form I-129 F, Part 8 as suggested above (but in my opinion, the space is on the small side to explain the overstay).

 

Or, your fiancée can save all that documentation for her interview. It's your call.

[Daisy.Chain 317]

13 hours ago, Greenbaum said:

stay engaged in the process. 

😂

 

Engaged in all senses of the word!