New costs on K1 starting April

[Rachel n Tyler 43]

Hi everyone.

 

My fiancé and I have filed our K1 in December (4th).  We got our first letter to say they've received it, which I believe is NOA1?, which states they received it on January 31st.  I am assuming that we should take the January date when researching how long it might take.

We recently saw the price increases on all the immigration forms etc, however I'm having trouble to figure out which fees will apply to us. I'm assuming that we will not receive our NOA2 before April, that would be way too fast, so I'm assuming the only fee we got 'lucky' with was the first filing fee. Does anyone have an estimate of which fees would apply for us and how much they would total after the increase?

[wildbug100420 115]

Fee's apply to 485, 765, 131 .previously all in one if sent with for 485. Effective April 1st Fee's paid separately and with separate checks. 129f fee already paid so no need to worry 

[powerpuff 6,715]

I-129f fee won’t affect you as you field before April 1, 2024.

 

once in the US, AOS fees have gone up significantly. Besides the $300 increase just for I-485 (from $1225 to $1525 - this includes the biometric fee as well), employment authorization aka EAD aka form I-765 and travel authorization aka AP aka form form I-131 will no longer be free when filing with I-485. You will have to pay extra for those now. So the cost for the package went from $1225 to $2540.

 

You can see a thread here discussing the fee increase:

 

[Rachel n Tyler 43]

54 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

I-129f fee won’t affect you as you field before April 1, 2024.

 

once in the US, AOS fees have gone up significantly. Besides the $300 increase just for I-485 (from $1225 to $1525 - this includes the biometric fee as well), employment authorization aka EAD aka form I-765 and travel authorization aka AP aka form form I-131 will no longer be free when filing with I-485. You will have to pay extra for those now. So the cost for the package went from $1225 to $2540.

 

You can see a thread here discussing the fee increase:

 

I honestly have been struggling with seeing what applies to us. But is that package all we'd need to do? There's removal of conditions, EAD, AP, and then adjustment of status. 
it says on boundless that a marriage green card with relative petition, ead and AP would be 3005 dollars.

I'm still looking into how everything works AFTER I land because I know I have time, but this is making me feel like I should already know which steps are relevant for me, ugh.

[powerpuff 6,715]

7 minutes ago, Rachel n Tyler said:

I honestly have been struggling with seeing what applies to us. But is that package all we'd need to do? There's removal of conditions, EAD, AP, and then adjustment of status. 
it says on boundless that a marriage green card with relative petition, ead and AP would be 3005 dollars.

I'm still looking into how everything works AFTER I land because I know I have time, but this is making me feel like I should already know which steps are relevant for me, ugh.

Removal of conditions won’t come until your 2 year conditional Green card is close to expiring. 
 

So it’ll be adjustment of status when you come to the US on K1. K1s don’t need to file the I-130 alien relative petition (that’s what the I-129f is for) as long as you marry within the 90 days of authorized stay that K1s get upon entry.
 

EAD and AP are optional - they’re meant to give you an opportunity to travel and work while you’re waiting for your adjustment of status (I-485) to be approved. They’ve historically taken a while to process. So if you’d like to apply for those, they will be at extra cost after April 1, bringing the total to $2540.

 

I find VJ guides more helpful. They can be found on top right when you click the 3 lines (if on mobile) under immigration guides.

Edited February 28 by powerpuff

[Rachel n Tyler 43]

3 minutes ago, powerpuff said:

Removal of conditions won’t come until your 2 year conditional Green card is close to expiring. 
 

So it’ll be adjustment of status when you come to the US on K1. K1s don’t need to file the I-130 alien relative petition (that’s what the I-129f is for) as long as you marry within the 90 days of authorized stay that K1s get upon entry.
 

EAD and AP are optional - they’re meant to give you an opportunity to travel and work while you’re waiting for your adjustment of status (I-485) to be approved. They’ve historically taken a while to process. So if you’d like to apply for those, they will be at extra cost after April 1, bringing the total to $2540.

 

I find VJ guides more helpful. They can be found on top right when you click the 3 lines (if on mobile) under immigration guides.

This is already super helpful though, I didn't realise they were optional because they're in the flowchart! That's making me feel a little more relaxed about the sudden jump in costs, thank you!

[powerpuff 6,715]

5 minutes ago, Rachel n Tyler said:

This is already super helpful though, I didn't realise they were optional because they're in the flowchart! That's making me feel a little more relaxed about the sudden jump in costs, thank you!

Do think about applying for at least the EAD. I’m not sure which state you’re in but a lot of them won’t issue a driver license without an EAD or GC. You can’t use your country’s DL as a long term solution since you’ll be treated as a resident and not a tourist. Also, think about if you’re okay being completely dependent on your spouse for potentially many months without the ability to work and travel and possibly even drive which is a problem if you do not live in a large metropolitan city with an excellent public transportation system. Just a heads up as I went through K1 journey myself. 

Edited February 28 by powerpuff

[Rachel n Tyler 43]

Just now, powerpuff said:

Do think about applying for at least the EAD. I’m not sure which state you’re in but a lot of them won’t issue a driver license without an EAD or GC. Also, think about if you’re okay being completely dependent on your spouse for potentially many months without the ability to work and travel and possibly even drive which is a problem if you do not live in a large city with an excellent public transportation system. Just a heads up as I went through K1 journey myself. 

We'd live around Dallas, so transportation would likely not be a big issue, but it's good to consider! 500ish bucks is probably a decent investment incase anything happens before the I-485 is done. Finding this platform is defintely helping me raise some questions I didn't think of, and knowledge like needing EAD for a drivers license!

[powerpuff 6,715]

1 minute ago, Rachel n Tyler said:

We'd live around Dallas, so transportation would likely not be a big issue, but it's good to consider! 500ish bucks is probably a decent investment incase anything happens before the I-485 is done. Finding this platform is defintely helping me raise some questions I didn't think of, and knowledge like needing EAD for a drivers license!

Glad it could help and shed some light on certain things. Good luck and wishing you a smooth journey 

[Redro 4,611]

19 minutes ago, Rachel n Tyler said:

We'd live around Dallas, so transportation would likely not be a big issue, but it's good to consider! 500ish bucks is probably a decent investment incase anything happens before the I-485 is done. Finding this platform is defintely helping me raise some questions I didn't think of, and knowledge like needing EAD for a drivers license!

Speak to your partner about setting you up with a good understanding of where you will live. Do they agree you don’t need a car to get around in your area? Do they think you don’t

 need to work for potentially 12 months/ you both can live off savings and one salary for a year? … You might want to cut costs and not pay all the filing fees BUT think about the potential of being able to work and travel while waiting for your GC. 
This is what you should be doing with your time. Thinking about the various scenarios when you move to the US. 
COL, occupying your time while he is at work… can you study with no EAD? 
Good luck! Moving to the US can be a struggle but with a supportive partner and realistic expectations you’ll be able to manage. 

Edited February 28 by Redro

[Rachel n Tyler 43]

5 minutes ago, Redro said:

Speak to your partner about setting you up with a good understanding of where you will live. Do they agree you don’t need a car to get around in your area? Do they think you don’t

 need to work for potentially 12 months/ you both can live off savings and one salary for a year? … You might want to cut costs and not pay all the filing fees BUT think about the potential of being able to work and travel while waiting for your GC. 
This is what you should be doing with your time. Thinking about the various scenarios when you move to the US. 
COL, occupying your time while he is at work… can you study with no EAD? 
Good luck! Moving to the US can be a struggle but with a supportive partner and realistic expectations you’ll be able to manage. 

Yeah we already established the 'living on his income' thing due to the fact the EAD can take a long time, it's doable thankfully! It's definitely a discussion I'm going to have with him in person when I see him this weekend, because it's good to know where we are at! Thank you for the advice!

[TexasRafael 134]

2 hours ago, powerpuff said:

I-129f fee won’t affect you as you field before April 1, 2024.

 

once in the US, AOS fees have gone up significantly. Besides the $300 increase just for I-485 (from $1225 to $1525 - this includes the biometric fee as well), employment authorization aka EAD aka form I-765 and travel authorization aka AP aka form form I-131 will no longer be free when filing with I-485. You will have to pay extra for those now. So the cost for the package went from $1225 to $2540.

 

You can see a thread here discussing the fee increase:

 

The good part is that it gives you time to start saving now if that expense will be an issue later.

[Rachel n Tyler 43]

43 minutes ago, TexasRafael said:

The good part is that it gives you time to start saving now if that expense will be an issue later.

Oh a 100%. I even discussed it with my parents and said that I thankfully have probably atleast 6 months until NOA, and if it comes sooner, you always have 6 months before you HAVE to be in the US. So I can thankfully save, and I'm glad I found out now because it makes me be a little more careful with my spending to save those extra dollars. Very glad wer're still at the beginning stage of everything

[Redro 4,611]

20 minutes ago, Rachel n Tyler said:

Oh a 100%. I even discussed it with my parents and said that I thankfully have probably atleast 6 months until NOA, and if it comes sooner, you always have 6 months before you HAVE to be in the US. So I can thankfully save, and I'm glad I found out now because it makes me be a little more careful with my spending to save those extra dollars. Very glad wer're still at the beginning stage of everything

It sounds like you’re doing everything right. And I just want to clarify you might not have 6 months AFTER the interview to prepare for your move. The visa validity date is based on the date of your medical. So, you will have 6 months from the medical to enter the U.S. 

 

After the I129F is approved you will wait for your case number/ for the case to reach the consulate. Then you can schedule your interview and medical appointment. You generally have 4 months from NOA2 to schedule the appointment. I believe you don’t have to worry of the interview is scheduled after the 4 months have passed- as long as you take some action on the approved petition (eg scheduling the interview or reaching out to the consulate if you cannot schedule the interview for various reasons). Generally, the petition is auto extended for another 4 months… 

[Family 4,015]

3 hours ago, Rachel n Tyler said:

Yeah we already established the 'living on his income' thing due to the fact the EAD can take a long time, it's doable thankfully! It's definitely a discussion I'm going to have with him in person when I see him this weekend, because it's good to know where we are at! Thank you for the advice!

If you are going to meet in person . consider getting married ( online Utah Zoom)…and file an I-130 spousal petition  online immediately. 
‘They are speeding through online filings , so getting it approved in less than 6 months is very realistic . He would come as an LPR and you would save BIG