Question regarding proof of funds

[Dewald & Brittney 46]

Hi everyone, I'm a little new here and trying to get everything straight.

 

My fiancé (petitioner) and I (beneficiary) are moving back to South Africa from Thailand to start the process of applying for our K1 visa. She will be heading to the US first for a friends wedding and also begin the process for the K1 visa through Rapid Visa.

 

While working here we have managed to accumulate a decent amount more funds than needed to satisfy the poverty guidelines. This is a combination of assets and cash in both our names. Since we plan on living in South Africa together and move to the USA together that means that she won't have a stable form of income in the US until we leave. 

 

Would this situation cause some issues for us in the application process?  Any advice would be welcomed.

 

Kind regards,

Dewald & Brittney

[Crazy Cat 42,073]

If you are together, why choose a K-1?

 

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
     
    More expensive than CR-1    
    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)    
    Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 5-6 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 5-6 months)    
    Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period    
    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.
    A denied K-1 is sent back to USCIS to expire
  

CR-1
    

    Less expensive than K-1    
    No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required.    
    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
    Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
    Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.

    Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
  �

 

[Dewald & Brittney 46]

31 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

If you are together, why choose a K-1?

 

Every couple has their own priorities, and each couple must decide which visa is better for their situation.

K-1
     
    More expensive than CR-1    
    Requires Adjustment of Status after marriage (expensive and requires a lot of paperwork)    
    Spouse can not leave the US until she/he receives approved Advance Parole (approx 5-6 months)    
    Spouse can not work until she/he receives EAD (approx 5-6 months)    
    Some people have had problems with driver licenses, Social Security cards, leases, bank account during this period    
    Spouse will not receive Green Card for many months after Adjustment of Status is filed.
    A denied K-1 is sent back to USCIS to expire
  

CR-1
    

    Less expensive than K-1    
    No Adjustment of Status(I-485, I-131, I-765) required.    
    Spouse can immediately travel outside the US    
    Spouse is authorized to work immediately upon arrival.    
    Spouse receives Social Security Card and Green Card within 2 or 3 weeks after entering the US    
    Opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, etc. are very easily accomplished with GC, SS card, and passport.

    Spouse has legal permanent Resident status IMMEDIATELY upon entry to US.
  �

 

Thank you for the reply.

 

We looked into the CR-1 visa. The biggest issue is the timeline for us. It seems like the CR-1 visa takes about two years to get issued and that comes with it's own difficulties. The K-1 visa would allow us to get into the USA faster due to the shorter average processing time (about 1 year if my research is correct). 

[NandV 87]

2 hours ago, Dewald & Brittney said:

Thank you for the reply.

 

We looked into the CR-1 visa. The biggest issue is the timeline for us. It seems like the CR-1 visa takes about two years to get issued and that comes with it's own difficulties. The K-1 visa would allow us to get into the USA faster due to the shorter average processing time (about 1 year if my research is correct). 

The K-1 is no longer the faster option. Most of the apps have been waiting due to the covid lockdowns. You're probably looking at about the same timeframe. Of course this depends on the embassy. 

[Nitas_man 3,100]

9 hours ago, Dewald & Brittney said:

Hi everyone, I'm a little new here and trying to get everything straight.

 

My fiancé (petitioner) and I (beneficiary) are moving back to South Africa from Thailand to start the process of applying for our K1 visa. She will be heading to the US first for a friends wedding and also begin the process for the K1 visa through Rapid Visa.

 

While working here we have managed to accumulate a decent amount more funds than needed to satisfy the poverty guidelines. This is a combination of assets and cash in both our names. Since we plan on living in South Africa together and move to the USA together that means that she won't have a stable form of income in the US until we leave. 

 

Would this situation cause some issues for us in the application process?  Any advice would be welcomed.

 

Kind regards,

Dewald & Brittney

The USC will need to be comfortably over 3x the poverty guidelines to meet the asset requirement for an I-864 and it is common for expats to immigrate back to the US with their spouse/family under these circumstances.

 

I dont know how they treat the immigrant’s assets on an I-134.   It is normally expected that the USC sponsor park their assets in the US which is one part of “intent to establish domicile”.  Not sure how to pull off a K1.  They gonna wonder why you aren’t already married since a K1 is for the purpose of allowing a couple to be together and get married.

Edited April 26, 2021 by Nitas_man

[Dewald & Brittney 46]

19 hours ago, NandV said:

The K-1 is no longer the faster option. Most of the apps have been waiting due to the covid lockdowns. You're probably looking at about the same timeframe. Of course this depends on the embassy. 

Thanks for the heads-up. Most of my data is gathered here by looking at the wait times for South Africans who are completing the process in South Africa, specifically at the Johannesburg consulate. I also look at the charts supplied by VJ, but I think the times will start to become longer as more people start applying in the near future (as the vaccine starts to roll out globally) which will probably make the wait times about a year long. 

 

13 hours ago, Nitas_man said:

The USC will need to be comfortably over 3x the poverty guidelines to meet the asset requirement for an I-864 and it is common for expats to immigrate back to the US with their spouse/family under these circumstances.

 

I dont know how they treat the immigrant’s assets on an I-134.   It is normally expected that the USC sponsor park their assets in the US which is one part of “intent to establish domicile”.  Not sure how to pull off a K1.  They gonna wonder why you aren’t already married since a K1 is for the purpose of allowing a couple to be together and get married.

Thanks for the reply. We are looking into whether we should instead apply for the CR1 visa due to all the benefits, especially if it takes around the same amount of time to process. As for the financial requirements, her parents also offered to sign the affidavits of support and to supply their tax returns to help. However, we are starting to consider the possibility of having her return to the US to establish a domicile and then come over to experience South Africa during the summer break.

 

The reason why we aren't already legally married is due to two reasons:

 

a) I need a document called a letter of no impediment from the South African Home Affairs which is easy to get IN South Africa, but the process to have it sent to Thailand takes about 8 months and is then followed by a large amount of paperwork in Thailand to get married here. My mother would usually visit here every year since both myself and my brother live in Bangkok and would be able to bring the letter, but due to covid that can't really happen.

 

b) She very much wants to get married in the USA and we were considering all our options before we bit the bullet. In the end we can always have a celebration and reception in the US and plan it like a wedding.

 

 

[aaron2020 11,651]

There are many downsides to a K-1.

Here is an example of one that is fairly common - leaving the US due to a family emergency without AP.  Getting a driver's license is another common problem.

 

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/762227-urgent-can-i-fly-back-to-home-country-before-aos/#comments

 

 

Edited April 27, 2021 by aaron2020

[SalishSea 18,082]

25 minutes ago, Dewald & Brittney said:

Thanks for the heads-up. Most of my data is gathered here by looking at the wait times for South Africans who are completing the process in South Africa, specifically at the Johannesburg consulate. I also look at the charts supplied by VJ, but I think the times will start to become longer as more people start applying in the near future (as the vaccine starts to roll out globally) which will probably make the wait times about a year long. 

K-1 interviews globally have been on hold for a year.  There are people who have approved petitions from March of 2020, still waiting for interviews.

 

So, the wait time advantage for the K-1 is no longer there.  And speaking of wait times, the wait for adjustment of status/employment auth and advance parole for K visa holders are wayyyyy up.  You'd be looking at 8-10 months waiting just to be able to work or travel, and a year or more after that for the green card interview.

 

Also, you may want to read up on RapidVisa.  They have a very poor reputation around here.  

 

[Dewald & Brittney 46]

1 hour ago, aaron2020 said:

There are many downsides to a K-1.

Here is an example of one that is fairly common - leaving the US due to a family emergency without AP.  Getting a driver's license is another common problem.

 

https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/762227-urgent-can-i-fly-back-to-home-country-before-aos/#comments

 

 

Thanks for the link. Honestly that sounds horrifying. You all are doing a good job at making us reconsider the K-1 visa haha.

 

46 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

K-1 interviews globally have been on hold for a year.  There are people who have approved petitions from March of 2020, still waiting for interviews.

 

So, the wait time advantage for the K-1 is no longer there.  And speaking of wait times, the wait for adjustment of status/employment auth and advance parole for K visa holders are wayyyyy up.  You'd be looking at 8-10 months waiting just to be able to work or travel, and a year or more after that for the green card interview.

 

Also, you may want to read up on RapidVisa.  They have a very poor reputation around here.  

 

 

I noticed that the trend has been moving upwards but WOW that AoS timeline is insane. I will troll through the forum now to find some reviews on RapidVisa. Do you have any recommendations on using another agent? Or would it be better to file everything on our own? 

 

Thanks for all the useful information everybody.

[SalishSea 18,082]

1 hour ago, Dewald & Brittney said:

Thanks for the link. Honestly that sounds horrifying. You all are doing a good job at making us reconsider the K-1 visa haha.

 

 

I noticed that the trend has been moving upwards but WOW that AoS timeline is insane. I will troll through the forum now to find some reviews on RapidVisa. Do you have any recommendations on using another agent? Or would it be better to file everything on our own? 

 

Thanks for all the useful information everybody.

Visa Journey is a DIY site.  Most of us have done everything on our own.

 

My husband's AOS interview here in Seattle was before COVID hit (1/2020), and it took 14 months of waiting for that appointment.  

[Dewald & Brittney 46]

1 hour ago, Jorgedig said:

Visa Journey is a DIY site.  Most of us have done everything on our own.

 

My husband's AOS interview here in Seattle was before COVID hit (1/2020), and it took 14 months of waiting for that appointment.  

I guess that settles it. We just spent lunch time discussing it and it seems like the CR1 visa might be the least stressful in the long term. There are a lot of benefits for us to going that route. Having had to sort out visas for myself in the three years I have been living in Thailand, I might not have too much difficulty navigating this process. Especially with all the help and advice available on Visa Journey.

 

Thanks a lot. This has been very helpful.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

On 4/26/2021 at 9:35 PM, Dewald & Brittney said:

Thanks for the link. Honestly that sounds horrifying. You all are doing a good job at making us reconsider the K-1 visa haha.

 

 

I noticed that the trend has been moving upwards but WOW that AoS timeline is insane. I will troll through the forum now to find some reviews on RapidVisa. Do you have any recommendations on using another agent? Or would it be better to file everything on our own? 

 

Thanks for all the useful information everybody.

Absent any flags you are always better off doing it on your own.  Have you read the application and instructions?  That’s the easy part.  The hard part is gathering the documents you need and you have to do that anyway.

[Dewald & Brittney 46]

6 minutes ago, Nitas_man said:

Absent any flags you are always better off doing it on your own.  Have you read the application and instructions?  That’s the easy part.  The hard part is gathering the documents you need and you have to do that anyway.

I started going through all the documents and instructions and it seems simple enough. Now we just need to get married and then start the process. Thanks for all the help.