I-129f Spanish Documents

[CrisBR 30]

16 hours ago, Oatmealgoat said:

My fiance is from Ecuador so most likely her ID and birth certificate would be in Spanish. Do we NEED to get this stuff translated or can I just photo copy them? Also, she doesn't have a passport. It's been months since she applied for one but they won't get back to her. No updates whatsoever. Do I really need to copy this for the i-129f too? It would be much simpler if I could just give them an ID or something. Not everyone is willing to spend money on a passport they might not be able to even use after all.

 

In any case, if I do need to get all of this stuff translated to send the packet in, where should I go to do so? Keep in mind I'll only have photo copies of this stuff to turn in to them, not originals since I'm all the way in the USA and don't have the time or the 300$ to travel for some paper since the government already wants me to spend over 1000$ on this visa. I literally don't know. She can translate herself but they're so picky so that's not an option.

Hello! In the instructions they say any document in a language other than English needs to be translated.

Some people with great command of English do it themselves. Some others look for a professional and get a sworn translation.

One thing is for sure: translation MUST be done when it comes to any document that’s not in English.

 

[sa_niw 2]

21 hours ago, Oatmealgoat said:

From what I heard it raises every year. Last time I did the math it hit just under 2k. Though that doesn't really change the fact that it's expensive xD. 

As for income, I'm sure I can meet that, it's just that I'm not too keen on spending so much at once when they can deny us simply because "she's dating a female and that's again her country's religion".

I've heard the horror stories and whether they're true or false, I'm not sure, but it's still a scary thing to think that we can get denied and automatically lose out on all of what we saved up for due to stupid reasons. Especially when her country isn't too kind to gay couples to begin with. Speaking of Ecuador, I don't think her place of origin helps since she not only latino(which America seems to hate now more than ever), but she's also from a very poor county, which people say they're VERY suspicious of and that doesn't help my fears much.

Oh thank God. That helps a lot then.

You will not be treated differently by USCIS because you are a gay couple or because she is from Equador. I'm sorry all this misinformation and horror stories are causing you and your fiance such anxiety. Stick to the guidelines on gov websites and you can confirm if you're unsure about something here on VJ. Best of luck

Edited May 10, 2021 by sa_niw

[JKLSemicolon 418]

23 hours ago, Oatmealgoat said:

My fiance is from Ecuador so most likely her ID and birth certificate would be in Spanish. Do we NEED to get this stuff translated or can I just photo copy them? Also, she doesn't have a passport. It's been months since she applied for one but they won't get back to her. No updates whatsoever. Do I really need to copy this for the i-129f too? It would be much simpler if I could just give them an ID or something. Not everyone is willing to spend money on a passport they might not be able to even use after all.

 

In any case, if I do need to get all of this stuff translated to send the packet in, where should I go to do so? Keep in mind I'll only have photo copies of this stuff to turn in to them, not originals since I'm all the way in the USA and don't have the time or the 300$ to travel for some paper since the government already wants me to spend over 1000$ on this visa. I literally don't know. She can translate herself but they're so picky so that's not an option.

For the K-1 (or CR-1/IR-1, which I would suggest that you look into), the beneficiary (i.e. the non-US citizen seeking the visa) will eventually need to present their passport and birth certificate, but not right away. For the K-1, these can be brought to the interview. For the CR-1/IR-1, these are uploaded to the NVC's CEAC website. This happens only after USCIS approves the initial petition (I-129F for the K-1 or I-130 for the CR-1/IR-1). At the time of initial filing, the only citizenship evidence required is for the U.S. citizen (aka the petitioner).

 

Also, even once they are needed, a translation would not be required for documents that are on the Department of State list of Civil Documents for Ecuador. Full disclosure: for the current CR-1/IR-1 process, I did translate my wife's Ecuadorian birth certificate anyway, since I do all the translations myself and I had already included the birth certificate translation in our (abandoned) Adjustment of Status application. However, for the K-1 process we did not translate the birth certificate and had no issues.

 

There is no need to translate the biographic page of the passport since an Ecuadorian passport already has English translations for the different sections.

 

And to

7 hours ago, CJPinEcuador said:

It may seem odd to some, but we have chosen to do the K-1 as we do not want to marry in Ecuador and intend to live in the US (we have been dating about 1.5 years and only recently got engaged and applied). I will be returning in a few months while the process is ongoing (I was just waiting out the school year as I teach, as well as dealing with some custody arrangements with my son's father which have been slow moving with the pandemic) as I had previously decided to leave for many personal reasons and we would like to start our married life together in the US. 

 

I can't tell you what's best for you, but I would encourage anyone else reading this thread who might be considering their options to look carefully at comparisons like these (ignoring the K-3 portion) before making a decision:

 

We initially did a K-1 from Ecuador and started the Adjustment of Status process, but the limbo period of being in the U.S. without the ability to work, travel, etc. was very difficult for my wife, so we abandoned that and started over with the CR-1/IR-1. Because of that experience, I would caution that the K-1 is not for everyone.

 

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by JKLSemicolon

[CJPinEcuador 396]

1 hour ago, JKLSemicolon said:

I can't tell you what's best for you, but I would encourage anyone else reading this thread who might be considering their options to look carefully at comparisons like these (ignoring the K-3 portion) before making a decision:

Thanks for this. We did take some time to decide and had looked at many of these documents (and stalked this forum a bit, haha) before we decided to go with K-1. Many of the reasons being personal to us as a couple and our decision not to live together until we are married as we both have very young children and are trying to limit too much upheaval moving countries/houses/people in the house on top of the marriage. 

 

1 hour ago, JKLSemicolon said:

We initially did a K-1 from Ecuador and started the Adjustment of Status process, but the limbo period of being in the U.S. without the ability to work, travel, etc. was very difficult for my wife, so we abandoned that and started over with the CR-1/IR-1. Because of that experience, I would caution that the K-1 is not for everyone.

We definitely talked it over for quite a while and while it is less than ideal in many, many aspects, given the current situation here in Ecuador (political, economical, health wise, vaccine availability, etc) we ultimately decided that we'd rather move forward with the K-1 and spend engaged time apart, and some married time on just one salary as opposed to married time apart as I have firm plans to relocate back to the US later this year. 

 

Thanks for your comments! This forum is such a huge help!