Can a CR-1 file for a K1 Visa?

[Adventine 3,196]

 

5 hours ago, PatrickMcC said:

Reason for not filing in May 2022 was financial as far as I know. I told them to do it as soon as possible but they ignored my advice  . Since they got married, they also have had a baby and so my daughter is currently living with us while she awaits her husband's immigration process. She is getting anxious as, initially her timeline showed that things would be processed by early 2024, but now she is seeing timelines a lot longer than that. Also, they have not filed their I-864 which we will be co-sponsoring it.  With the I-864, will I be able to keep my income details private from my daughter or will that be all viewable when I co-sponsor?

 

There is a disconnect between wanting to be a co-sponsor for the I-864, and yet at the same time wanting to keep income details private from the primary sponsor (your daughter) and the beneficiary (your son-in-law). 

 

As others have mentioned, consular officers can and often do ask for the sponsor's income information during the interview. 

 

And at any point, your daughter and son-in-law have the right to request a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) which will include the I-864 and all supporting documents, including your income information.

 

If you are going to go through with this, you will have to accept that they will eventually find out your income information. If this is something you really don't want to disclose, your daughter can find another willing sponsor, or eventually earn enough on her own to sponsor her husband.

[Jason and May 79]

In terms of filing the I-129F for the K3 process, it hurts nothing. It's just time and a little bit of money (to send an original packet to the beneficiary). In our experience, as many others experience, USCIS approved our I-130 petition before the I-129F, which then nullified the K3 petition. It took USICS 323 days to approve our I-130 petition. Many folks speculate USCIS purposefully lets K3 petitions sit until the CR-1 is adjudicated. Speculation. I don't know. Some USCIS service centers are faster than others, though, and some people get lucky. It certainly doesn't hurt to try. 

With regard to your AoS information as a co-sponsor: When the I-130 or K3 petition is adjudicated and it moves to the NVC stage, your daughter will need to upload all the Affidavit of Support information into NVC's consular electronic application center (CEAC). Your son-in-law will also have the login information, as he is the beneficiary. Inasmuch, he will be required to upload documents to CEAC, as well. Anyone who has access to that CEAC portal can view any of the documents uploaded to the system. Additionally, if he is granted an interview, he will be required to provide original documents that were uploaded into CEAC to the IO interviewing him. I suppose you could do the sealed envelope thing another member mentioned, which is a good idea if you're concerned, but, again, if he has access to CEAC--and he should--then he will be able to view any of those documents at will. 

I don't know whether there is truly any way to guarantee he won't have access to that information. 

[Dashinka 24,492]

20 hours ago, PatrickMcC said:

Reason for not filing in May 2022 was financial as far as I know. I told them to do it as soon as possible but they ignored my advice  . Since they got married, they also have had a baby and so my daughter is currently living with us while she awaits her husband's immigration process. She is getting anxious as, initially her timeline showed that things would be processed by early 2024, but now she is seeing timelines a lot longer than that. Also, they have not filed their I-864 which we will be co-sponsoring it.  With the I-864, will I be able to keep my income details private from my daughter or will that be all viewable when I co-sponsor?

Since you are living together at the same address, you can file the I864A.  (Sorry, not a good idea as this would need to be attached to your daughter's I864 and also signed by your daughter)  That being said, if you, as the co-sponsor, are married, your wife should fill out an I864A to go with your I864 as the co-sponsor.  Many consulates require this.

 

Good Luck!

Edited September 12, 2023 by Dashinka

[PatrickMcC 1]

Sorry for the delay in replying, I had reached my daily post limit yesterday  . I guess the issue overall I have with disclosing income information to our daughter's husband is that we really don't know him that well and we are doing it for our daughter and not him. She has no alternatives for a co-sponsor and so we are helping her out. As to folk saying she could wait until she earns enough to sponsor him herself, with a baby to take care of and not having the father in the same country, it is not just our daughter but also a baby needing his father (and yes, I don't know what they were thinking getting pregnant before having their immigration sorted first, but here we are, can't turn back time).
 

[Boiler 45,482]

Presumably you have read the I 864 and understand your obligations.

[Adventine 3,196]

24 minutes ago, PatrickMcC said:

Sorry for the delay in replying, I had reached my daily post limit yesterday  . I guess the issue overall I have with disclosing income information to our daughter's husband is that we really don't know him that well and we are doing it for our daughter and not him. She has no alternatives for a co-sponsor and so we are helping her out. As to folk saying she could wait until she earns enough to sponsor him herself, with a baby to take care of and not having the father in the same country, it is not just our daughter but also a baby needing his father (and yes, I don't know what they were thinking getting pregnant before having their immigration sorted first, but here we are, can't turn back time).
 

 

The reason I said that it's an option for your daughter to earn enough to sponsor her husband on her own, is that if the relationship does not work out, their divorce will not release you from the sponsorship obligations. See the I-864 instructions:

 

How Long Does My Obligation as a Sponsor Continue?

Your obligation to support the immigrants you are sponsoring in this Affidavit of Support will continue until the sponsored immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen, or can be credited with 40 qualifying quarters of work in the United States. Although 40 qualifying quarters of work (credits) generally equates to 10 years of work, in certain cases the work of a spouse or parent adds qualifying quarters.  The Social Security Administration can provide information on how to count qualifying quarters (credits) of work. The obligation also ends if you or the sponsored immigrant dies or if the sponsored immigrant ceases to be a lawful permanent resident.  Divorce does not end the sponsorship obligation.

 

 You'll have to choose what's preferable: signing the I-864 and all the obligations that come with it, asking your daughter to find another sponsor, or helping her out with childcare until she can earn enough to sponsor her husband on her own.

 

 

 

[PatrickMcC 1]

Yes, I understand the obligations. I personally have moved from Ireland over 20 years ago and so I am well aware of what I agree with as a co-sponsor.

[Amunah 62]

Maybe it will help to see things from different perspective, seeing the bigger picture. May he be the best thing that happened to your family, since he already is a family and has access to your most treasured :  your daughter and your grandchild. 

[leeen21 27]

On 9/11/2023 at 7:00 PM, Jason and May said:

In terms of filing the I-129F for the K3 process, it hurts nothing. It's just time and a little bit of money (to send an original packet to the beneficiary).

I echo this. I submitted my husband and stepdaughters’ I-130s on June 2, 2022, and we sent the K3 packet (I-129f) 11 days later. We got the receipt confirmation from USCIS 9 days after that.

 

The I-130s were approved on November 12, 2022 — about 5 months after we sent them, which was much faster than what we expected. I obviously can’t say that sending the K3 packet helped, but it certainly didn’t hurt.

 

ETA: We received the I-129f rejection some time after getting approved, maybe a month or so later.

Edited September 14, 2023 by leeen21

[PatrickMcC 1]

2 minutes ago, leeen21 said:

I echo this. I submitted my husband and stepdaughters’ I-130s on June 2, 2022, and we sent the K3 packet (I-129f) 11 days later. We got the receipt confirmation from USCIS 9 days after that.

 

The I-130s were approved on November 12, 2022 — about 5 months after we sent them, which was much faster than what we expected. I obviously can’t say that sending the K3 packet helped, but it certainly didn’t hurt.

 

ETA: We received the I-129f rejection some time after getting approved, maybe a month or so later.

How much extra did it cost to file the K3?

[leeen21 27]

5 minutes ago, PatrickMcC said:

How much extra did it cost to file the K3?

Just the postage to send the packet to USCIS (unlike the I-130s, there’s no electronic option). There’s no application fee when you’re filing the I-129f for your spouse as K3.

[PatrickMcC 1]

Just now, leeen21 said:

Just the postage to send the packet to USCIS (unlike the I-130s, there’s no electronic option). There’s no application fee when you’re filing the I-129f for your spouse as K3.

I may tell my daughter to file it then. She filed in December 2022 and still no word or update showing for them. 

[leeen21 27]

4 minutes ago, PatrickMcC said:

I may tell my daughter to file it then. She filed in December 2022 and still no word or update showing for them. 

It’s worth a shot. There’s no promise or guarantee it’ll speed things along, but she’s got nothing to lose. It’s just more paperwork, but at this point, I’m sure she’s used to that.