Ragingbull,Cooper, thanks. As one new to this and that I claim to be wise, I have shyed away from any woman who contacted me who had 'grown' children or teens. Especially teenage girls. I saw it as trouble waiting to happen. Same thing happens here, boy has no father, gets into trouble too messy for me. I lived it. Thanks for your honesty and it is good advice even if not meant to be advice.
Question Ragingbull: Let's say I meet someone and decide to go for it. We get the K-1. And after she is here she is thinking, "Oh my God! What am I doing here?" The whole thing dissolves and she goes back to her happy place in Ukraine. Me, not to be discouraged, find another who is willing to leave it "all" behind. What is the embassy view on these situations. My name will obviously be involved in the process once again - one that had no positive reusults. Cooper, same for you. Is it more difficult the second time around? I will promise myself one thing for sure. If I get married again and it dissolves. I am going to enjoy myself immensly without a woman. Thanks
K-1 is the quickest and surest way to get permanent residence in the United States. This involves marriage. This has been exploited. Many get married just to get permanent residence, some getting paid. USCIS is aware of this. If they can ever prove this, it is criminal.
I don't know the exact numbers. Maybe someone knows or can look it up on the USCIS website. After three, possibly two times you use K-1, you are banned for many years from doing so again. If your woman went back to Ukraine, she may have gotten permanent residency, but did not stay in the US, so USCIS should be tollerant of this.
Julian35, all that I have read indicates it is no different the second time around. You go through the same steps. USCIS will simply record your name in a database to comply with IMBRO (to keep track of how many K-1, K-3 visa's you file over a 10 year period). No big deal.
A thread that deals only with USA immigration processing times of I 129f invitation application and fiance k1 visa is http://www.zaokeanom.com/forum/topic768.html. But if you do not understand Russian you will need to go to http://translate.google.com/translate_tools?hl=en and drag and drop the button for your language into the toolbar of your browser. You can then click that button to translate the webpage you are viewing into your language. Another good resource for time frame is https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processTimesDisplay.do where you select the applicable service center for your document and submit and it will display the the date applications were received that are being presently processed. Visitors visas do happen but are not a straight forward process like the fiance and immediate family visas are. I have a friend that got a multiple entry visa and has visited her boyfriend in the states twice already on it. She is a 20 some year old single but had successfully obtained a tourist visa to Japan previously. Cris has an 800 number and very helpful people there but you almost have to have a case number that has been entered into their system to get through the maze to a live person(if you have the case number and it is not in their system it is invalid on their help line and it may take months to enter your number into their system).
The right visa is the one you choose that works for you no matter what hear say you get.
Technically if you bring a lady in with a k1 visa, get married and file an I-485 adjustment of status she has no documentation authorizing her to stay in the United States. So anyway in Kansas if you do not get her a State issued ID changing her last name to yours after marriage and before the 90 day visa runs out they will not issue it for lack of this authorization. So then she will have to use a combination of her passport with expired visa and the marriage license to prove her identity until the I-485 is approved giving her legal documentation again.
Mr. Land of oz, I assume you are from Australia. You did not state where this friend is from: Australia or FSU? I have a cousin from Australia and she has come to the US several times on visitors visa. She told me the US does not mind much people coming from Australia, but there are many countries which they do. FSU are some of them.
Interesting state, Mr. Land of oz. Many years ago, 1982 to be exact, I just got out of the service and was going to drive cross country to get home. I asked my sister to come over and help me drive. We drove through Kansas. Lots of farmland, then my 1974 Cadillac's transmission went out. There was only one mechanic in town and he took his time. We were stuck on this old town for two days. It was an 1800's town where they film many westerns and the movie, Paper Moon. When I got to Victorville, California, my transmission went out again. The mechanic told me the Kansas mechanic put something on backwards.
Your story puzzles me, Mr. Oz. I thought that you have to prove your ties to your home country, like a job or property that you will have to go back to. Then, what job in Ukraine will be worth to go back to? So, your 20 year old friend must have property, or it is as you state, (s)he was already in the system. I don't doubt you, because I have seen visitors from countries that are supposed to be not favorable.
Come to think of it, my cousin is a college professor. She said that it's easy for a working visa as a professional, not visitor as I previously stated. She already came three times in the last six years. Her colleagues from the Philippines with the same credentials cannot come as easy to the US.
I might know that mechanic :-)) (just kidding) I think that Cris uses criteria to try to screen people who will not return to their home country. Having successfully obtained visas to other countries gives them a confidence level the person will again return. So probably telling them that you want your girlfriend to come on a visitors visa is hard to justify with with criteria that ensures that they will return to their country.
Cris does not have enforcement resources if a person stays unauthorized. Here if the sheriff catches 15 illegal aliens and calls immigration they will refuse to take them because they will not make the effort for less than 30. Therefore they are simply turned loose. So the law enforcement agencies quit bothering with them in the first place and just ignore them.
So with their own rules cris tries to weed out those with a high risk of staying. And of course humans (sometimes barely human) decide after a short interview who comes and who does not. If we have a friend who wants to come we think the rules are too strict. Watching nationalities immigrate and cause problems we think they are too lax.
That is the key to the visitor's visa. After getting all the necesary requirements you can, it is still in the hands of personnel deciding subjectively to allow you to the country or not. All you need with the fiance visa is the intent to marry, whether or not you ultimately do.
MCooper: Go to the Visa Journey website and check out the Immigration Timelines. That will give you a better idea of how fast USCIS is processing applications at the present time.
Julian: Here is the language from the I-129F instructions:
If you have filed two or more K-1 visa petitions at any time in the past or previously had a K-1 visa petition approved within two years prior to the filing of this petition, you must apply for a waiver. To request a waiver you must submit a written request with this petition accompanied by documentation of your claim to the waiver.
So the first K-1 lady returns. No problem there. If you file another K-1 within two years of that first filing, then you must include a waiver application with your forms. The waiver is just a statement from you describing your situation. If you go to the Visa Journey website and do a search you'll find example letters that others have sent in. Should not be an issue.
I am thinking having a lawyer involved in the process is a good idea. And what about pre-nups'
Anyone marry an FSU girl - I still don't know what the term means by the way - without a pre-nup?
I used Visa Journey as my guide. Their guides and example forms tell everything you need to know. An attorney will only take your money and may make the process go slower. You will still do all the work; they have not secret short-cut, regardless of what they may say.
Now, if you immigration situation has very unique problems, then a good immigration attorney may be warranted.
I have been communicating with a girl in Russia and she gave me a different surname when it came down to sending her money via western union....waddaya think? Scammer? Help!
I guess you haven't done much reading on this site, or elsewhere. Almost EVERYONE will tell you (it has been said many many times in this forum) ... including the US Dept. of State, etc. etc. etc.
So are you saying if they have applied for a K1 visa with another man say 7 years ago it would be very hard for her to apply for another with some ne else. . This poor girl is in the Philippines and she married a Japanese man and when the place called to make sure she would be living in japan with him his mother answered the phone and said she wasn't going to stay in her house. They denied her Visa and the guy never returned he left on there wedding day after they got married and she has never seen him again. So she wouldn't be able to apply for another one with me is this what I am reading here. I live in Arizona and we get many people crossing the Mexican Border and they come and have kids and we pay and they make it this hard for me to bring one lady here from the Philippines . I just don't get it at all.
They also have scammers list and if you think you are getting scammed check the list and if she isn't on the list you mite want to start one with her two names. I know I was talking to a girl I thought in Ghana and when she called me you could tell it was a guy so like its been said don't send nothing until you meet them in person . save your money and go visit them first
They also have scammers list and if you think you are getting scammed check the list and if she isn't on the list you mite want to start one with her two names. I know I was talking to a girl I thought in Ghana and when she called me you could tell it was a guy so like its been said don't send nothing until you meet them in person . save your money and go visit them first