Should we apply for the fiance visa?

[Swederica]

I totally understand your problem.

I say destroyed when finding it so hard to get a visa.

But one advice is to see if there's any colleges or universities close to him you can consider applying for.

 

I've done that and i've been accepted and the college is just 15 mins away from where my girlfriend lives so i'm superexcited and happy about finding a way to make it all work and come together.

 

Otherwise i would be slowly dying.

 

 

 

No money, no honey. The Consulate has no problem denying people who do not meet their specific guidelines.

 

He doesn't have to have thousands of dollars in the bank but he DOES have to show that he makes at least 125% of the poverty guidelines, which is, as I stated is $18,212 for a household of two. He MUST make at least that much money or YES you will be denied.

 

Is that also for if you get married and then apply for a well spouse visa or i guess it's a green card?

[Rollercoasterr]

Yep, it's the same for both the fiance visa and the spousal(CR-1/IR-1). You have to be able to show that you can support your fiance or spouse first and foremost.

[SarahRose]

I was told that if you make the slightest mistake on your forms they get sent back, and you have to make corrections and then wait in line for months to be processed all over again. So if you get an immigration lawyer to cross the t's and dot the i's, your paperwork is less likely to be sent back because of errors. I'm no expert though

 

If a person isn't that bright or very careful with filling out documents meaning you can't do your own taxes, then you probably should pay for an immigration person.

 

I have done several visas. 2 of them with and one without.

 

Pretty much all this immigration person did was send me a list of things. They didn't really explain it and they were hard to get a hold of to ask them for anything. They basically just took my docos and put them in an envelope and sent them off and charged a hefty fee to do so.

 

I did get the 1st visa BUT had to leave the country as they were so slow getting it approved that they withdrew my job offer and I couldn't find another job in the 30 days I had to remain in the country.

 

The 2nd visa I used the immigration person. I had to both times because the company sponsoring me said I had to. It was slightly better because that is I knew what to expect and IIII with a double capital I made sure I had everything. I didn't count on the agent.

 

The 3rd time I had to choose between a perm employer sponsored visa and a spouse visa. Again I had to use the agent to even get the visa. Their fee was $8000! Yes to put a couple stamps on an envelope and send the crap off 8k plus the medicals, fbi clearance, and the actual visa fee etc. which was another $4000.

 

So I went with the spouse visa and did it myself and it wasn't easy and there was still several thousand in fees but it went so much easier and faster when I did it myself.

 

My advice would be for you bf to move out on his own and start making some money and you go over on a work visa. The work visa will last a lot longer than the fiancé visa. Now if you don't have the university or other qualifications to get to the US then you are SOL.

 

You bf will have to prove he has sufficient income to support you for the 2 year period until your visa becomes permanent. He will have to prove he has suitable housing for you live in too. His parents isn't considered suitable.

 

You will have a chance to spend a lot of time together before marriage and see if you are really compatible long term. Good luck.

[strongertoday]

We got an immigration consultant... cost us $3,000 AU... we did it for 2 reasons.

 

1) no win no fee

2) our time was running short and IF we didnt get a reply in 6 months we had to apply for bridging visas and the like.

 

In the end the immigration consultant rang and the lady handling our case said bridging documentation would take longer to process than the whole spouse visa so we got hubbys permanent visa in exactly 7 weeks from lodgement.

 

Was worth every penny

 

(BTW - hubby is Welsh, moved to Australia on a working holiday visa, then we married and applied for the spouse visa. He also has 2 degrees and had over $10,000 in the bank. I still had to agree to support him for 2 years)

[FitChick]

There are a few British expats forums that you should join to ask members who have been in your same position. It could save you a lot of money and time.

 

I've been in the reverse position of being engaged to a Brit and found American expat forums very helpful. UK immigration is just as strict or even stricter than US. Yet, annoyingly, both countries allow loads of illegals in for free benefits! Those of us who try to do everything legal are penalized.