129-f or 130?

[martinbr 1]

Hello everyone, I am brand new here. I have met a wonderful woman from a friend a work who lives in the philipines. We have been corresponding for almost 6 months now. I wan't to go out in mid Sept to meet her and the family. So if things work out, I will ask her to marry me.

But here is the catch. I have been divorced for four years now and have living on my own. My ex and myself went to court for the child support payments and custody, ect... but we never had it finalized thru the county records due to I wanted to keep my ex on my heath insurance at work. She is pennyless so to speak and I wanted to make sure she is covered to take of our daughter.

So obviously I can't get married yet until i go down and have this done. Which brings me to the question, would it be better to file for a 129-f fiance visa and have here come over to the US after it is finalized? From what I have been seeing it takes a long time to have this done. The other alternative would be to get the divorced finalized and go back in Jan 2008 and get married over there. But then it's still going to take around 13 months and another trip back to get my hopefully new wife.

I am not a rich man so I am trying to do this as cheaply as possible. With all the new increases in fees and everything i can see where this could really ad up.

Any suggestions would be appreciated,

thanks,

martinbr

Edited July 30, 2007 by martinbr

[Jaseball 0]

Hello everyone, I am brand new here. I have met a wonderful woman from a friend a work who lives in the philipines. We have been corresponding for almost 6 months now. I wan't to go out in mid Sept to meet her and the family. So if things work out, I will ask her to marry me.

But here is the catch. I have been divorced for four years now and have living on my own. My ex and myself went to court for the child support payments and custody, ect... but we never had it finalized thru the county records due to I wanted to keep my ex on my heath insurance at work. She is pennyless so to speak and I wanted to make sure she is covered to take of our daughter.

So obviously I can't get married yet until i go down and have this done. Which brings me to the question, would it be better to file for a 129-f fiance visa and have here come over to the US after it is finalized? From what I have been seeing it takes a long time to have this done. The other alternative would be to get the divorced finalized and go back in Jan 2008 and get married over there. But then it's still going to take around 13 months and another trip back to get my hopefully new wife.

I am not a rich man so I am trying to do this as cheaply as possible. With all the new increases in fees and everything i can see where this could really ad up.

Any suggestions would be appreciated,

thanks,

martinbr

I'd do this. Get the paperwork she has to do ready for your trip. She needs to fill out the biographical's and provide a 2"x2" passport photo for your package.

Leave your situation with the ex as it stands for now.

Take the trip and keep everything. Boarding passes, schedules, hotel bills, take plenty of photos, etc., This is to document you meeting her in person in the past 2 years.

See how things go in person. Get to know her and do everything together you can as a couple. If you want to propose and feel it is best for you, then do so. Leave about 2 days to have her fill out paperwork and sign the starting documents and get photos.

Come back to the US and finalize the divorce. Finish the I129F paperwork and send the packet in.

[pushbrk 12,881]

Hello everyone, I am brand new here. I have met a wonderful woman from a friend a work who lives in the philipines. We have been corresponding for almost 6 months now. I wan't to go out in mid Sept to meet her and the family. So if things work out, I will ask her to marry me.

But here is the catch. I have been divorced for four years now and have living on my own. My ex and myself went to court for the child support payments and custody, ect... but we never had it finalized thru the county records due to I wanted to keep my ex on my heath insurance at work. She is pennyless so to speak and I wanted to make sure she is covered to take of our daughter.

So obviously I can't get married yet until i go down and have this done. Which brings me to the question, would it be better to file for a 129-f fiance visa and have here come over to the US after it is finalized? From what I have been seeing it takes a long time to have this done. The other alternative would be to get the divorced finalized and go back in Jan 2008 and get married over there. But then it's still going to take around 13 months and another trip back to get my hopefully new wife.

I am not a rich man so I am trying to do this as cheaply as possible. With all the new increases in fees and everything i can see where this could really ad up.

Any suggestions would be appreciated,

thanks,

martinbr

I'd do this. Get the paperwork she has to do ready for your trip. She needs to fill out the biographical's and provide a 2"x2" passport photo for your package.

Leave your situation with the ex as it stands for now.

Take the trip and keep everything. Boarding passes, schedules, hotel bills, take plenty of photos, etc., This is to document you meeting her in person in the past 2 years.

See how things go in person. Get to know her and do everything together you can as a couple. If you want to propose and feel it is best for you, then do so. Leave about 2 days to have her fill out paperwork and sign the starting documents and get photos.

Come back to the US and finalize the divorce. Finish the I129F paperwork and send the packet in.

That might work but I had a friend who visited his girlfriend before her divorce was final. She was the foreigner/beneficiary. The visa was delayed by about three months due to this and he had to write a letter explaining why he went to China to visit and become engaged to a married woman.

A common fraud scenario includes a recent divorce of the USC, to facilitate the fraud. There will be extra scrutiny no matter which way you go but making the visit before you are divorced, complicates matters further. With the PI, like China being a high fraud country (immigration fraud) I would want to be a careful about the bonafides as possible. At the very least, you will probably need to have your then ex wife's SSN available and proof she has a separate domicile. (utility bill, etc.)

My friend also visited his fiance again during the process but still had these issues to deal with. It's all a judgment call but you want to be as informed as possible before making it.

[martinbr 1]

Hello everyone, I am brand new here. I have met a wonderful woman from a friend a work who lives in the philipines. We have been corresponding for almost 6 months now. I wan't to go out in mid Sept to meet her and the family. So if things work out, I will ask her to marry me.

But here is the catch. I have been divorced for four years now and have living on my own. My ex and myself went to court for the child support payments and custody, ect... but we never had it finalized thru the county records due to I wanted to keep my ex on my heath insurance at work. She is pennyless so to speak and I wanted to make sure she is covered to take of our daughter.

So obviously I can't get married yet until i go down and have this done. Which brings me to the question, would it be better to file for a 129-f fiance visa and have here come over to the US after it is finalized? From what I have been seeing it takes a long time to have this done. The other alternative would be to get the divorced finalized and go back in Jan 2008 and get married over there. But then it's still going to take around 13 months and another trip back to get my hopefully new wife.

I am not a rich man so I am trying to do this as cheaply as possible. With all the new increases in fees and everything i can see where this could really ad up.

Any suggestions would be appreciated,

thanks,

martinbr

I'd do this. Get the paperwork she has to do ready for your trip. She needs to fill out the biographical's and provide a 2"x2" passport photo for your package.

Leave your situation with the ex as it stands for now.

Take the trip and keep everything. Boarding passes, schedules, hotel bills, take plenty of photos, etc., This is to document you meeting her in person in the past 2 years.

See how things go in person. Get to know her and do everything together you can as a couple. If you want to propose and feel it is best for you, then do so. Leave about 2 days to have her fill out paperwork and sign the starting documents and get photos.

Come back to the US and finalize the divorce. Finish the I129F paperwork and send the packet in.

That might work but I had a friend who visited his girlfriend before her divorce was final. She was the foreigner/beneficiary. The visa was delayed by about three months due to this and he had to write a letter explaining why he went to China to visit and become engaged to a married woman.

A common fraud scenario includes a recent divorce of the USC, to facilitate the fraud. There will be extra scrutiny no matter which way you go but making the visit before you are divorced, complicates matters further. With the PI, like China being a high fraud country (immigration fraud) I would want to be a careful about the bonafides as possible. At the very least, you will probably need to have your then ex wife's SSN available and proof she has a separate domicile. (utility bill, etc.)

My friend also visited his fiance again during the process but still had these issues to deal with. It's all a judgment call but you want to be as informed as possible before making it.

I like the first idea, but if what your saying is true then maybe I might be better off just going over there for a visit and if things work out go back next year after i finalize the divorce and get married then. But then that would take about another year for the 130 petition? Is that right?

martinbr

[Jaseball 0]

I think the problem is the length of time for either 129 or 130. It's like 6 months to over a year for either one, although K1 is supposed to be a little faster. If you wait and do a LTR and another year passes and you feel you want to marry this woman, then you just start either process then and an entire year has already gone by.

My own take is if you are 80% sure of the intentions of your partner, have a real relationship, truly want to be married again, and have spent enough time getting to know each other and grow a relationship the faster you start the process, the better.

This way if you run into any problems you can correct them, you still have 6-12+ months to judge the relationship and cancel it if things are problematic, but if everything goes well then you should get the visa during the engagement period.

You do have the extra complication of the ex here. Need to get that cleared up ASAP.

[martinbr 1]

I think the problem is the length of time for either 129 or 130. It's like 6 months to over a year for either one, although K1 is supposed to be a little faster. If you wait and do a LTR and another year passes and you feel you want to marry this woman, then you just start either process then and an entire year has already gone by.

My own take is if you are 80% sure of the intentions of your partner, have a real relationship, truly want to be married again, and have spent enough time getting to know each other and grow a relationship the faster you start the process, the better.

This way if you run into any problems you can correct them, you still have 6-12+ months to judge the relationship and cancel it if things are problematic, but if everything goes well then you should get the visa during the engagement period.

You do have the extra complication of the ex here. Need to get that cleared up ASAP.

Okay, so what your saying is that the K1 is a little faster. More money, but faster. That means if I go there in Sept with papers for her to fill out and i go back to the states with the papers. I get the finalized divorce and send the papers in and they are approved, do I have to go back to the philipines to get her and her child or can I have her fly out here to to be married after k1 gets finalized?

thanks,

martinbr

[nane1104 146]

I think the problem is the length of time for either 129 or 130. It's like 6 months to over a year for either one, although K1 is supposed to be a little faster. If you wait and do a LTR and another year passes and you feel you want to marry this woman, then you just start either process then and an entire year has already gone by.

My own take is if you are 80% sure of the intentions of your partner, have a real relationship, truly want to be married again, and have spent enough time getting to know each other and grow a relationship the faster you start the process, the better.

This way if you run into any problems you can correct them, you still have 6-12+ months to judge the relationship and cancel it if things are problematic, but if everything goes well then you should get the visa during the engagement period.

You do have the extra complication of the ex here. Need to get that cleared up ASAP.

Okay, so what your saying is that the K1 is a little faster. More money, but faster. That means if I go there in Sept with papers for her to fill out and i go back to the states with the papers. I get the finalized divorce and send the papers in and they are approved, do I have to go back to the philipines to get her and her child or can I have her fly out here to to be married after k1 gets finalized?

thanks,

martinbr

As far as I know, you have to be divorced (unmarried!) by the time of filing for either one, 129F or 130. So I'd probably finalize the divorce asap so you are free when you want to file for the visa.

My husband had to include the divirce decree in his petition.

[Jaseball 0]

Nane1104 is correct. You can go in Sep and get the signatures, bio, pictures, and stuff, but you have to have the finalized divorce papers set before turning in the I129F. You also need the same sort of background for her kid, however if she is approved to come in on a K1 the K2 for the kid is pretty much guaranteed.

When you come back and file the K1 and when you get approved, she has to come to the US to get married legally. The K1 is a one time entry visa for the purpose of being married within 90 days of entry. Can't get legally married before or outside the US and once she is here and you get married you have to file for Advanced Parole to travel outside the US or Adjustment of Status to get a temporary green card.

[Dakine 26]

I'd get a clean slate before I'd do anything.

That'll give you the option of doing whatever you think is best [K1, K3 or I-130] if the shoe fits when you meet in person.

You will be limited to a K1 if you don't have divorce decree in hand when you visit RP.

Some pinay families want their daughters married there.

There are ways around that sometimes tho.

[lucho562 0]

As of now you are ineligible for either option. You have to get the divorce before you can do anything. Also, get it done before you fly out. It will not look right in the CO's eyes when they see an overlap of time. Such as you are still married yet corresponding with another woman. Just my 2 cents

[martinbr 1]

Thanks for everyones input on this matter I am having with my divorce finalizing. I think I am going to just call the embassy in my area and get some info from the horses mouth on what I can do and can't do before I get too excited about this.

By getting a divorce now is going to open a brand new can of worms for my daughter and ex-wife as well. I mean to get a divorce before meeting someone is not very logical. Also, if it works out I want to break the news to my daughter gently. Since this would be a major change in her life as well.

And once I do this, the ex's benifits will be cutoff permantley from my work. If she gets really sick it would be really hard for me to take care of our daughter by myself. We aren't married anymore but we are friends if this makes any sense.

martinbr

Hello everyone, I am brand new here. I have met a wonderful woman from a friend a work who lives in the philipines. We have been corresponding for almost 6 months now. I wan't to go out in mid Sept to meet her and the family. So if things work out, I will ask her to marry me.

But here is the catch. I have been divorced for four years now and have living on my own. My ex and myself went to court for the child support payments and custody, ect... but we never had it finalized thru the county records due to I wanted to keep my ex on my heath insurance at work. She is pennyless so to speak and I wanted to make sure she is covered to take of our daughter.

So obviously I can't get married yet until i go down and have this done. Which brings me to the question, would it be better to file for a 129-f fiance visa and have here come over to the US after it is finalized? From what I have been seeing it takes a long time to have this done. The other alternative would be to get the divorced finalized and go back in Jan 2008 and get married over there. But then it's still going to take around 13 months and another trip back to get my hopefully new wife.

I am not a rich man so I am trying to do this as cheaply as possible. With all the new increases in fees and everything i can see where this could really ad up.

Any suggestions would be appreciated,

thanks,

martinbr

[nane1104 146]

That's a tough spot to be in, but I honestly have to say, I don't think it is fair to the woman you have met and think about marrying.

You are not married anymore as you say, but yet you don't want to divorce because of your wifes benefits...umh, sooner or later you will have to do something about the situation, why not now? I think it is much harder to do it later, when you definitley know how you going to do the immigration thing.

I mean,do you really want the reason to cut your wife off of your benefits be another woman? I don't know, it just doesn't sound right to me....because I have been "the other woman" before and it is not a nice spot to be in.

When I met my now husband, he was separated from his wife and that because he wanted to keep her son on his health insurance. Yes, noble from him, but I am happy he realised that it would not be good for our relationship and already by the time we first met in person (we met online as well), he had the divorce in progess and it was finalized by the time I was visiting the first time.

That was a very big relief for me and definitley a sign he was serious about us. And it wasn't that he did it for me, he just realised he had to make a clean cut because I didn't want t come between his former wife and her kid and him. I didn't want to be the reason he would take them off the insurance and benefits.

It is a tough choice to make, but I think if you want to have a future with this woman, you should have a clean cut from your exwife first. I think, "let's see how things go before I do anything" is fair to anyone.

But that's only my very own opinion based on my experience.

[martinbr 1]

Jaseball, thanks so much for this. You were right on the money. I talked to someone at the NVC and they told me the same thing. As long as I take care of the finalizing the divorce when I get back I can then send the application in.

take care,

martinbr

Hello everyone, I am brand new here. I have met a wonderful woman from a friend a work who lives in the philipines. We have been corresponding for almost 6 months now. I wan't to go out in mid Sept to meet her and the family. So if things work out, I will ask her to marry me.

But here is the catch. I have been divorced for four years now and have living on my own. My ex and myself went to court for the child support payments and custody, ect... but we never had it finalized thru the county records due to I wanted to keep my ex on my heath insurance at work. She is pennyless so to speak and I wanted to make sure she is covered to take of our daughter.

So obviously I can't get married yet until i go down and have this done. Which brings me to the question, would it be better to file for a 129-f fiance visa and have here come over to the US after it is finalized? From what I have been seeing it takes a long time to have this done. The other alternative would be to get the divorced finalized and go back in Jan 2008 and get married over there. But then it's still going to take around 13 months and another trip back to get my hopefully new wife.

I am not a rich man so I am trying to do this as cheaply as possible. With all the new increases in fees and everything i can see where this could really ad up.

Any suggestions would be appreciated,

thanks,

martinbr

I'd do this. Get the paperwork she has to do ready for your trip. She needs to fill out the biographical's and provide a 2"x2" passport photo for your package.

Leave your situation with the ex as it stands for now.

Take the trip and keep everything. Boarding passes, schedules, hotel bills, take plenty of photos, etc., This is to document you meeting her in person in the past 2 years.

See how things go in person. Get to know her and do everything together you can as a couple. If you want to propose and feel it is best for you, then do so. Leave about 2 days to have her fill out paperwork and sign the starting documents and get photos.

Come back to the US and finalize the divorce. Finish the I129F paperwork and send the packet in.