Marriage Visa Attorney BlogThe filing fees for various Family Based Visas have increased as of April, 1, 2024.
The new USCIS filing fees are as follows:
The USCIS filing fee for a K1 Fiance Visa, form I-129 is now $675.
Articles Posted in CR1 Marriage Visa
Protecting Yourself Against Fraud When Hiring Your Immigration Attorney on the Internet
Today, many Immigration clients search for and hire an Attorney from the internet. In my case, I would say that many if not most of my clients don’t ever meet me in person. They live or work all over the United States and around the world. Use of the internet has made the process of searching for and hiring an attorney so much easier and efficient, but in some unfortunate cases, it could lead to Fraud. Of course, I hope that everyone who contacts my office for a Fiance Visa, Marriage Visa or Family Based Green Card, ultimately chooses my law practice, but if not me, then I want you to find somebody else that is also honest and will do a good job for you.
There are some simple steps that you can take to make sure you are hiring a reputable and honest Lawyer:
1. Call and discuss your case with the Lawyer who will be doing the work. If you can’t speak to the Attorney, without charge, move on.
2. Make sure the Attorney you choose has an office address.
3. Check for length of service and years of practice on the internet. Google or the Attorney’s website should identify the number of years of practice and length of presence on the internet.
4. Check for your Attorney’s Bar Number and Good standing. This can be done by asking for your lawyer’s Bar Number and contacting the State that he or she is licensed in. Immigration Attorneys only need to be licensed in one state to practice throughout the county. So check with the Attorney’s state of license. My Bar number is on my Home page and there is a link directly to The Ohio Supreme Court. I welcome checks.
5. Be wary of service providers who claim they can speed up the Governmental approval process. Once done correctly and filed, the Attorney does not have special influence over USCIS or the State Department during the approval process.
6. Your lawyer should never guarantee a result. Making a guarantee that your Fiance Visa, Marriage Visa or Adjustment of Status will be approved is in my opinion, unethical. Sharing past successes or promoting a general success rate is fine.
7. Memberships in Immigration organizations or being recognized for good service in your area of practice is always a good thing to look for.
These simple steps can be very helpful when choosing an Attorney for assistance with your application for a K1 Fiance Visa, a CR1 or IR1 Marriage Visa or Adjusting Status to obtain a family based Green Card.
You are always welcome to call me if you have any questions or would like to discuss your Immigration matter. I can be reached toll free at 1-888-515-3529.
Attorney Jeff Pettys
1-888-515-3529
The Corona Virus and its impact on the K1 Fiance Visa, Marriage Visas and Family Immigration Matters
As best as I can tell, with the various Embassy and USCIS office closures, I expect processing times for K1 Fiance Visas, Marriage Visas, Adjustment of Status to Legal Permanent Residency and other Family Immigration matters to increase by at least a few months. At this time, some Embassy interviews have been canceled, but those interviews will be rescheduled as soon as possible. For those who have visas issued, but cant travel to the US because of a travel ban, that too will pass.
Our office is still working every day to help our clients and we are continuing to work on and file all Visa applications. As always, you are welcome to call me with questions. You can reach me toll free at 888-515-3529.
Stay safe and healthy for your loved ones and family.
Call it an “Engagement Ceremony”
Many of my clients who file for a K1 Fiance Visa, also wish to have a wedding in their fiance’s home country before using the K1 Fiance Visa and traveling to the US. Its understandable that your fiancé would like his or her family to participate in this joyous occasion, but technically, this cannot not be done. The reason you cannot get married before using the fiancé visa is because once legally married, your fiance is no longer a fiancé, but now a spouse. The K1 Fiance Visa can only be used by a fiance. However, there may be a compromise that you might consider. Instead of a wedding, have an engagement ceremony. Your engagement ceremony can look and feel a lot like a wedding, it just can be a legal marriage. Your family can attend, celebrate your expected union and be a part of your great moment.
So you don’t make any mistakes, I recommend that you determine what legal steps you would normally have to take to become legally married in the country of your finace and make sure you don’t follow those requirements. For example, if a marriage license is required to get legally married in your fiance’s country, don’t apply for one. If becoming legally married requires ceratin paperwork to be filed after the ceremony, don’t fill out the paperwork and ceratinly dont file it. Remember, to qualify for a Fiance Visa, you cannot be married.
How Does a Prenuptial Agreement Affect The Validity OF An I-864 Affidavit Of Support?
To begin with, a prenuptial agreement is a contract made between a couple getting married which typically sets forth how they will divide assets, property and income in the event the marriage breaks up. Many couples elect to enter into a prenuptial agreement before getting married.
The I-864 Affidavit of Support is a contract between the Sponsor of an Immigrant Visa and the US Government that requires the sponsor promise to provide whatever amount of financial support is needed to insure that the immigrant is financially taken care of by the Sponsor and that the Immigrant will not require government support. It is required for all CR1 Marriage Visas and when applying for an Adjustment of Status to become a Legal Permanent Resident of the US. Pursuant to the terms of the I-864 Affidavit of Support, if the sponsor fails to support the immigrant as required and the immigrant incurs debt or seeks financial assistance from the government, the sponsor can be held liable for the debt or the government’s assistance. In other wards, the government can sue the sponsor for reimbursement of any funds or expenses it incurs on behalf of the Immigrant.
The existence of a pre nuptial agreement does not affect or invalidate the terms of the I-864 Affidavit of Support. This is because the I-864 Affidavit is an agreement between the Sponsor and the US Government. It is seperate and distinct agreement from any contract the parties to a marriage may have entered into on their own.
In fact, the I-864 remains in affect until one of these factors occurs:
- The Immigrant is no longer a Legal Permanent Resident and has departed the US;
- The immigrant becomes a US Citizen;
- The Immigrant has worked for 40 quarters (10 years) of coverage under the Social Security Act.
- The Immigrant Dies
Using a Foreign Fiance or Spouses income when applying for a Fiance or Marriage Visa
The application for a K1 Fiance Visa and/or CR1 and IR1 Marriage Visa requires the Petitioner (US Citizen) to prove that he or she has the income to support the application. In the case of a Fiance visa, the Petitioner must file an Affidavit of Support using form I-134. For a CR1 or IR1 Marriage Visa, the form is an I-864 Affidavit of Support.
Unfortunately, in the case of a Fiance Visa, you cannot use the foreign fiancés (also known as the beneficiary) income to help meet the financial requirements of a Fiance Visa application. For this visa, only the Petitioner or a close family relative of either party, acting as a co sponsor, can be used to provide evidence of income to meet the Fiance Visa application requirements.
Meeting the Affidavit of Support requirements for a CR1 Marriage Visa or Adjustment of Status to Legal Permanent Resident
There are various sources of income and assets that can be used to meet the requirements of an I-864 Affidavit of Support for a CR1 Marriage Visa or Adjustment of Status to LPR.
The easiest and most commonly used source is income. The I-864 Affidavit of Support requires the petitioner to earn at least 125% above the Federal Poverty Guideline for your family size. When your income meets or exceeds the required amount, you qualify. There is no need to provide any further sources of income or assets. However, when the petitioners income does not meet the required level, you will need to provide other sources of income and/or assets to make up any differences. In lieu of the petitioners income, you may also submit evidence of:
- Sponsor’s assets
Changes to the CR1 Marriage Visa Process
Recently, USCIS made changes to the forms and procedures for filing an application for a CR1 Marriage Visa.
First, USCIS updated the I-130 form and it now requires far more information than the older version. The form itself grew from 2 pages to 12. For example, the new form now requires the month/day/year for all residential and employment dates, not just the month and year.
Another significant change to the I-130 form and process can be found in the instructions to the new form under the title “Biometric Services Appointment. This new section allows USCIS, at their discretion, to require petitioners to appear for fingerprinting, interviews, photographs and criminal background checks by the FBI. At this time, it is unclear as to when and if such additional steps will be required of the Petitioner. Rather, it appears that after filing the new I-130 form, USCIS will advise the petitioner if any additional steps must be taken.
How Social Media can affect the Fiance Visa and Marriage Visa process
Many people have taken to various forms of social media to share pictures and provide information about themselves. In some cases, its used to communicate directly with another person. Unlike emails and phone calls, a record of your communications are not so easily deleted or managed for privacy. Its important to keep this in mind when you apply for a K1 Fiance Visa or a CR1 Marriage Visa. Your pictures and statements reflect information about who you are and what you are up to.
Imagine filing for a Fiance Visa and stating that you are in love with your fiancé and yet having current pictures of a another boyfriend or girlfriend at home or pictures which strongly suggest a romantic relationship with someone else. Such information will likely be seen by USCIS or the US Embassy and in such a case could seriously compromise your credibility. If USCIS or the US Embassy does not believe you, you will not get your visa.
Trump Executive Order Temporarily Suspends K1 Fiance and CR1 Marriage Visas From 7 Countries
Effective January 27, 2017, a Trump Administration Executive Order suspended the issuance of all visas to nationals from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. This suspension includes K1 Fiance visas and CR1 Marriage visas for fiances and spouses who are nationals of these countries. At this time, it appears that the suspension is temporary until new safeguards can be implemented to make the vetting process more stringent for people wishing to come to the US from these countries. I am hopeful that new vetting procedures can be implemented within 90-120 days. This temporary suspension is intended to help protect all Americans from terrorism.
