Some embassies don´t allow co-sponsors (El Salvador)

[Skyler 0]

I´m posting my experience with the US Embassy of El Salvador below so that the rest of you can avoid having the same problem we did. I realize that most embassies do allow co-sponsors for the K1 visa, but you should check directly with your embassy before assuming that they allow it. Here was our experience:

The embassy ranks well as far as responding to emails and mailing Packets 3 and 4 by email. As far as the interview, the first person my fiance talked with (the first interview) was EXTREMELY rude and seemed like she was looking down to him. When she reviewed his financial info (well, my financial info) she told him that the K1 visa can´t have a co-sponsor and that I don´t qualify to sponsor him because I have lived in El Salvador for 2 years and haven´t filed taxes (which is why we had a co-sponsor...). She kept opening her eyes really wide and saying ¨You CAN´T be a BURDEN to the STATE¨ and ¨We need PROOF that you´re going to WORK.¨ Even though he has worked him whole life and I have too and neither of us have ever had any troubles with the law or drugs. She told him he had to get an ORIGINAL letter fom an employer in the States saying that they were offering him a job, the position, number of hours per week, and salary.

We spoke with the Department of State on the phone twice, and both people told us that the information given by the embassy was INCORRECT and that we COULD have a co-sponsor for the K1 visa (or that someone from my family could be the primary sponsor). My fiance went back to the second interview with a letter from MY employer in the States saying I was rehired, my salary, start date, etc, but they still stated that it was not sufficient and he needs a letter of employment for HIM. The second woman he spoke with, the actual Consul, he said was much nicer and took the time to listen to him and explain, but she still held firm that I couldn´t have a co-sponsor and the letter from my employer was not sufficient. They also did not care what we had been told by the DOS. The Consul stated that the K3 can have a co-sponsor, but not the K1, because on the K1 he could in theory go to the States and not marry me, so the family member would have no obligation to follow through with supporting him. But, according to that logic, he would not be able to apply for AOS if we didn´t get married and could not have work authorization anyway, so, then what good would an offer of employment be in that situation anyway? Basically they want him to work without work authorization? Well, they don´t care about logic, they stood firm with their requirement of a work offer letter for him.

This would have been fine if they had given us enough time to get the letter, like if the information had been on their website or in any of the forms they had sent us. But the interview was the first we heard about it. So getting the letter on short notice has caused a lot of delay and expense in an otherwise smooth process. Luckily, however, they did not deny the visa, and as soon as we get the letter we were told to sent it via Cargo Expreso and they would send us the visa. So, anyone applying for a K1, DON´T PLAN ON USING A CO-SPONSOR, IF THE USC DOESN´T QUALIFY TO BE THE SPONSOR YOU SHOULD INSTEAD PLAN TO GET A WORK OFFER LETTER, ON LETTER HEAD, WITH THE POSITION, SALARY, AND HOURS FOR THE NON USC FIANCE. Although the USC still needs to provide all their financial info and fill out the I-134.

[Otto 83]

Thank you for sharing.

Just to clarify - you petitioned for a K-1 and are living in El Salvador? (Or used to live there?)

(As an aside - an USC is obligated to file an income tax return even when living abroad and regardless if his/her foreign earnings would/would-not be taxable.)

Double Post: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=166192

Edited December 9, 2008 by Karin und Otto

[Skyler 0]

Yes, I am the USC and have been living with my Salvadoran fiance here in El Salvador for the past 2 years, which is why I don´t qualify to file the Affidavit of Support. But I held the same good job for 7 years in the States before moving down here, and they gave me a letter that they had re-hired me to start in a few weeks (after I move back), but it wasn´t enough.

[pushbrk 12,894]

Yes, I am the USC and have been living with my Salvadoran fiance here in El Salvador for the past 2 years, which is why I don´t qualify to file the Affidavit of Support. But I held the same good job for 7 years in the States before moving down here, and they gave me a letter that they had re-hired me to start in a few weeks (after I move back), but it wasn´t enough.

Just to clarify for others, your advice relates to El Salvador only, though a few other Consulates have similar policies. Those policies often tend to vary as a new Consul General takes over so it is best to check these things out in advance and plan accordingly.

[toma1 10]

(As an aside - an USC is obligated to file an income tax return even when living abroad and regardless if his/her foreign earnings would/would-not be taxable.)

You do not have to file an income tax return if your gross income does not exceed certain limits.

[Otto 83]

(As an aside - an USC is obligated to file an income tax return even when living abroad and regardless if his/her foreign earnings would/would-not be taxable.)

You do not have to file an income tax return if your gross income does not exceed certain limits.

Just an FYI to the OP and future readers (as we don't know the OP's financial situation so it would not be prudent to suggest offhand she doesn't need to file a tax return). Often times people do not file tax returns simply because they are misinformed. Most people should file tax returns (emphasis on most).

U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad - Filing Requirements

If you are a U.S. citizen or resident alien living or traveling outside the United States, you generally are required to file income tax returns, estate tax returns, and gift tax returns and pay estimated tax in the same way as those residing in the United States. Your income, filing status, and age generally determine whether you must file a return. Generally, you must file a return if your gross income from worldwide sources is at least the amount shown for your filing status in the Filing Requirements table in Chapter 1 of Publication 54, Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad.

Source

[toma1 10]

(As an aside - an USC is obligated to file an income tax return even when living abroad and regardless if his/her foreign earnings would/would-not be taxable.)

You do not have to file an income tax return if your gross income does not exceed certain limits.

Just an FYI to the OP and future readers (as we don't know the OP's financial situation so it would not be prudent to suggest offhand she doesn't need to file a tax return). Often times people do not file tax returns simply because they are misinformed. Most people should file tax returns (emphasis on most).

Source

I never suggested that the OP should not file. I was responding the the comment that I quoted.

[Skyler 0]

I think this info is important for all embassies, although I filed with the embasssy of El Salvador, which is why I posted it here. My advice is to not take the fact that you can have a co-sponsor for granted, as most people here on VJ do. There was even info on the embassy website that said you could have a co-sponsor and I just assumed it applied for K1. So I suggest others contact your embassy directly or find somewhere in writing where it says SPECIFICALLY AT YOUR EMBASSY that you can have a co-sponsor. I guess most applicants won´t haev this problem, but you should still double-check.