Wedding Blog
… hardcore. I was wandering around VisaJourney.com and checked out the flow chart that they have for the fiance visa (K1). In reviewing the documents for the next step of the K1 Visa process, I came to the brink of a panic attack. The visa process is so incredibly bureaucratic and I’m just so frustrated with this entire thing.
While I’m in the UK I can’t work, and the 1-134 form says I need to have a statement from my “current employer” and a statement from a bank officer saying how much has been deposited in the past year and what my current balance is. The purpose of this form (as far as I can tell) is to ensure that Mr. D and I won’t be on welfare in the US. I’m hoping that gathering my previous tax returns will show that while I’m in the US I am capable and willing to make money, but I just don’t know if that will be enough.
I feel like I’ve been caught in a Catch 22. I’m in England to be with the man I love, and while I’m in England, I can’t work. It’s looking like I need a job to marry him, but I can’t have a job while I’m in England. Am I supposed to go back to the US and get a job so his visa will be approved? I’m starting to feel like the US Government is privy to more private details than anyone else we’re close to. They’ve practically become a third party in our relationship!
I’m so upset that we’ve started this process and so much of it comes down to some immigration officer’s discretion. I knew all along that our future hangs in the balance of a stamp, but now that reality is hitting so much closer to home. If we’re not approved we have a few options, but all of them are expensive, and none of them are exactly the way we hoped things would turn out. I know there is nothing to do but gather all the data we can and hope to prove our relationship and my ability to have a job, but it really doesn’t make me feel any better about it.
What legal snags have you hit on your path to the aisle?
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Share this post: I Am Freaking Out…
I’ve only ever dealt with UK immigration - which although difficult - is supose to be 100% easier than US immigration. Good luck with it all - and don’t forget to breath! The best site I’ve seen for immigrating to the US is http://www.diveintoamerica.com/
Good luck….
I really feel for ya Miss D! One of my neighbours in was caught in a similar catch 22 with her husband (we’re in Canada, he’s in the US). It took two years (AFTER they got married) for her immigration and citizenship stuff to be cleared up so she could legally move to the US and live with him finally! I know it was the US side that caused a lot of the head aches. Also, FYI, one of the other reasons why they want to confirm your finances, and where you get your money is to make sure you have a legal source of income and aren’t moving to the US as a hiding mob boss or drug-lord from afar.
OMG you’re freaking me out, too! My husband and I are both poor students…with the hope to find jobs once stateside! Please update us on what you find out:)
I have just recently gone thru the process, but the other way around. I am American and my fiancee is British. I have loads of advice but not sure if would apply in your case. We ended up heading to Gretna Green for a quick wedding to satisfy Uk immigration and now are planning a real celebration in the states with family and friends. I wish you the best of luck. If you have q’s feel free to contact me.
Tara
Hey Ms. D’orasy… My fiance works on Capitol Hill and a friend of his called him with immigration issues…. the friend’s wife was deported until their paperwork went through (6+months) because they didn’t fill it out as soon as they got married… there were more details but whatever…. the Point is:
1. Make sure to do all the required paperwork and jump through all the hoops regardless of how annoying it is
2. Call your US congressperson–House or Senate and they might be able to speed things up for you or put you in touch with someone who can help. That’s actually part of their job.
3. There is some trick about coming to the US on a tourist VISA and then just leaving before it’s up and the flying back….it’s just you can only do this so many times before they get suspicious and catch you. (that’s what happened to the previously mentioned couple.) It’s not 100% legal…but it’s not illegal either… it’s kind of a weird loophole in the law…
Sorry you have to go through all this when you should just be having a blast wedding planning and being in love! But know that I’m guessing your a US citizen so you’ll eventually be able to get married and live in this county… (is that the plan? or is it you in England?) . It’s just that the gov’t has tightened up everything after 9/11.
don’t worry! every case is different but in a nutshell: you can always have joint sponsors! I don’t do any fiancee visas with my cases but with a lot of our adjustment of status cases (usually recently married folks!) they don’t have a large income (they are just starting out after all!) so they have a parent be a “joint sponsor” and they just state if anything happened they would support you before you got on welfare…… joint sponsors are used in all kinds of cases
I wish I had any information that could help you but I dont, so I’ll just say that I’m sending good thoughts your way for sure!
That must be incredibly frustrating Miss D, I’m so sorry :-/
@Miss Popcorn: I second the call your Congressman idea….we did this for my husband’s passport, and they went out of their way to help us.
are you working with an immigration lawyer? it might simplify things.
@Miss Popcorn: re: miss popcorn’s idea about coming in as a tourist
obviously, this is not legal advice, but i would not suggest that route. once you get married, your husband will have a VERY hard time clearing US customs as a tourist.
it will be hard to prove that as the husband of a US citizen, his intention is to not overstay his tourist visa & to return back to the UK.
hopefully you won’t be put in this situation!
Miss D,
I’m much more familiar with the green card process than with the fiance visa process, but I was also stuck in France without real employment at the time. We got through the financial requirement by having my parents agree to sponsor my man financially while he was in the US (even if realistically they don’t). I imagine they must have that option for the fiance visa as well!
Also note that just consulting an immigration lawyer (short phone convo) is often free and can answer alot of your questions!
Megan
I just wanted to send positive thoughts out to you! I hope it all works out!
Good luck, dear! Hopefully you’ll have no problem clearing the job hurdle because they’ll look at the situation as a whole. But I definitely second (third?) Miss Popcorn’s idea of contacting your congressional representative if necessary. There were some legal hangups with a work visa for someone at Mr T’s company, and a letter to the guy’s Representative got the process moving.
First of all, give yourself a break! Take a day off and do NOT think about this- go shopping, to a coffee shop, see a movie- just relax and unwind and then you’ll be better able to deal with it tomorrow. (Always helps me!)
Secondly, take comfort in knowing that you are doing everything you can, and while life isn’t perfect and things don’t always work out like you hoped, it WILL all work out. <3
I’m in the same situation. I moved to Australia to be with my FI while we waited for his K1. And having lived abroad for 3 years, I have ZERO money in the US. Have you thought about having your parents co-sponsor him? Then they can provide all the financial proof. This is what an immigration lawyer told us we could do and the route we are taking.
I wish I knew anything about how this works to help you out but it looks like you are getting a lot of sound advice from the other commenters. Somehow it seems like the idea of pulling in someone who might know more about it (immigration lawyer? congressperson?) sounds like a good route to go to make sure you get your bases covered.
Regardless, I’m sending positive vibes your way. I’m sure you all will get it all straightened out. 
Best of luck!
i feel your pain, d’orsay.
my fiance’s working real hard to make sure that we meet the income requirements (he’s a photographer so it’s freelance work), but that also means that we have to be apart a lot.
like you, we’re also waiting on the outcome of our K1 visa.
good luck to all of us!
I’m sorry about your situation & I’m even more sorry that I can’t help! But I have to say: Thankyou!Thankyou!Thankyou! for showing the link to visajourney. My fiance & I are in the K-1 process and because he’s a lawyer he’s been completely against hiring an immigration lawyer (although he has NO immigration experience… ugh!)
I don’t know how I came across weddingbee or your post, but it was Heaven sent! Up until now I’ve been coming across really sketchy looking immigration advice sites… I cried a little when I realized I’d finally found what I was looking for. We were not nearly as prepared as we thought we were… eek.
I really, really hope you get this all settled! I know its extremely frustrating, but don’t get disheartened…
Yep, I freaked out about that little clause in the visa journey as well. FH and I will have been living abroad for 3 years by the time we move back to America or England which means neither of us will have been making money in either country, although we do plan to save up tons before we move, since we probably won’t have jobs right off the bat. If that doesn’t assure either government that we won’t need welfare, I think we will ask our parents to co-sponsor. I’m really interested to hear how this turns out for you, or for anyone affected by this clause really, but I wish you all the best!
A friend of mine who is EU citizen came to the US on turist visa, then married her US citizen fiance. Done. No need for fiancee visa and what not. They already submitted all her paperwork and she is well on her way to have things processed.
I am just curious why you decided to go down the fiance/ee visa path ? From what I heart when they talked to lawyer, he/she highly discouraged them to do it just because how much pain in the butt it is.
Miss D- I am an attorney who has practiced a specialization within immigration law. While I cannot give you any specific legal advice, what I can strongly urge you to do- if you have not already- is seek the assistance of an experienced immigration attorney. You do not want to screw up on the immigration process; you need a professional to guide you through these confusing issues!
Afternoon Miss D’Orsay,
First, take a deep breath. At least you are doing this correctly! Here are my thoughts (only because I’m freaking out about it as well…hopefully only 4 more months until the petition is processed!):
I might be going crazy, but haven’t you already contacted your Congressman? If you have, call the contact in the office again. Ask what you can do.
Next, get your bank statement from your bank official (can your parents get that for you?) and your three years of tax returns. No, you can’t get the employer one, so explain why. That’s all you can do.
I am almost positive that the immigration officials are going to ask where you’re going to live once FH gets into the US. I am also guessing that it will be at your parents’ home until after the wedding/getting the work visa/etc. So maybe you may need to get statements from your parents as well. aloweha’s suggestion is good, so talk to your Congressman about that.
@petunka: My lawyer discouraged me from taking that route as this was what we were going to do. In order to get into the US on a tourist visa, you have the intention of being a tourist. Your EU friend’s intention was to become a spouse and get married. If at the interview for the temporary green card, they ask or they check records, then your friend could be deported for coming into the US under false pretenses. Then you have stay separated and file for the K-3 spouse visa (which takes as long as the K-1 with more paperwork), and there’s a mark on your friend for being deported, which will make things longer. I’m crossing my fingers that this doesn’t happen to your friend!!!
My fiance and I are meeting with an immigration attorney tomorrow. We think we have a pretty straight-forward case (we both currently live in the US and he is here on a J1 visa without the 2-year rule), but we’re going to meet with the lawyer anyway to go over our plans and timeline.
We’re getting married in a Catholic church in Italy (his home country), and the church paperwork and bureaucracy between here and there is almost as bad as the immigration paperwork! Transatlantic love is a pain in the butt!
I’m going through the same thing with my fiance, except he’s immigrating from the States to Canada. It’s a headache, but I look at it as a story we will laugh at five years from now. Keep us posted!
That sounds so crazy! I’m so sorry you have to deal with all that stuff. Let us know how the progress.
Ugggggh.
I am also dealing with this. It is frustrating and no fun! I am also not looking forward to then having more paper work to do after the fact for his green card etc. I would seriously consider having a co-sponsor, your parents would probably be best if they are willing. This will take the pressure off you and hopefully make it easier to be approved!
Good luck to you and I hope all works out.
Just an added note. I met with 2 immigration lawyers, one who I found in the paper and was offering a free consultation and one who is a friend of my brothers. They mentioned that technically we could sneak him in under the tourist visa, then get married and do the green card stuff and it would be done. But they also said that we would be “lying” to the governement about his intentions for coming to America which COULD cause problems down the road and to seriously think about it before we did that. We were advised by my brother’s friend that we didn’t really need to hire an immigration lawyer unless there were extenuating circumstances in our case. But if it’s pretty straight forward, they really only submit the paperwork for you, which you could do for free. My suggestion to all is to meet with an immigration lawyer for a free consult, they should go over the process with you and answer all your questions, and then you can do the filing yourself.
Deep Breaths! I can’t offer you any advice that hasn’t already been given, and I think if they look at me and MSD they would laugh at the idea of us co-sponsoring, but I think you should talk to an immigration lawyer since you’ll feel better to be doing something useful.
oh no, I feel crushed, me and my fiance just realized we needed a K1 visa, I already have the date and church and venue set; it dawned on him when he remembered they now need regular visas for regular tourists.
So, now I am crushed and disheartened, anywya to expedite this; In addition I am 38 turning 39 we want to have kids as soon as possible if we wait any longer I may never have kids. I dont want to walk down the aisle pregnant already in front of my family.
I feel very anxious and disheartened because it feels like our countries are trying to keep us apart.
Is there any way to speed things up???
I’m planning to move to the UK, I should be enjoying the bliss of planning a wedding instead we are stressing out because we will now have to reset the date, it’s a terrible disappointment
has anyone been through the process, what makes them speed it up????does more proof equal easier process , is there any way around this?
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Mrs. D'orsay, Baltimore/Lancaster UK
Age and Occupation: 24, Stay at home fiance (formerly in nonprofit communications)
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Web site developer and designer; co-owner of men's skincare shop
Engagement Date: August 10, 2008
Wedding Date: August, 2009
Venue: Oakland Manor
About Me: I'm a Maryland raised environmental policy wonk/activist/organizer and communications aficionado. In the past year I've lived in Baltimore, MD, Tucson, AZ, Miami, FL and Lancaster, England. In my not so spare time I enjoy planning trips with Mr. D' Orsay, visiting friends and family and crafting like a mo-fo. I also enjoy modern dance classes, rugby and soccer but have been banned by my mother, MOHs, and Mr. D' Orsay from playing till after the wedding. I have an unnatural addiction to cheese and shoes, but love Mr. D' Orsay more than either and can't wait to become Mrs. D' Orsay!
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