k1 or k3 visa? please help.

Gator says on Feb 7, 2008, 21:18:

1. Both take about the same time though some say the K-1 is a little faster
2.,Photographs together, e-mail, letters-in 4/5 years you should have sufficient evidence.
3. The K-3 visa is a visa that will allow her/you to file for AOS, adjustment of status, immediately upon entry and you have two years to do this process. The K-1 must be "validated" with in 90 days of entry into the USA by marriage-no exception or extensions.

Good site here: http://www.visajourney.com/faq/k1faq.htm

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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goin_south says on Feb 7, 2008, 22:07:

"not having the receipts' won't hurt you..
but,...likely having them would help.

Where do we go from here?

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Albatross says on Mar 26, 2008, 08:24:

Contact the Airline and Hotel... maybe they still have a record.

“Democracy - a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H.L. Mencken

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rjstuff says on Mar 26, 2008, 09:15:

I didn't use any receipts, just my itinerary from the airlines and some pictures of us together. Good Luck

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ColombianoGringo says on Mar 26, 2008, 09:31:

If you decide to go with either a K-3 or CR-1 spouse visa, the evidence requirements are pretty lax. many people are just sending in their marriage certificate and getting approved without any problems. However, it is probably best to include as much evidence as you consider reasonably necessary.

We sent in the marriage certificate, photos with captions printed four to a page on a color laser, boarding passes, hotel receipts and a insurance beneficiary documents. Our petition was approved without any Requests for Evidence or any other problems. Everything we sent were photocopies of originals. You will need to present originals at the interview, but they are unnecessary for the petitions.

The logjam at USCIS has let up considerably, but you should still expect to wait around six months for USCIS to approve your petitions and another two to three months to get an interview. This is assuming that your case does not run into any issues during processing. Our petition package was flawless and was actually processed and approved in a few days. However, due to the massive backlogs at USCIS, it took them nearly eight months just to look at it. Many people have fared far worse. I don't say this to discourage you, but for you to have realistic expectations about the process.

Finally, I would highly recommend that you visit and join VisaJourney.com if you haven't already. That site is much better suited to provide accurate and up to date information about the visa process. There are a few people here on PBH that can help, but there are thousands on VisaJourney.

Let me know if you need any additional information.

Good luck,
CG

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lpdiver says on Mar 26, 2008, 17:16:

If you show up at the interview that will trump any and all photos.

If you can arrange enough time there to meet the requirements...Direct Consular Filing is the only way to go!

t

"cook some rice!"

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chester says on Apr 16, 2008, 19:30:

just make sure you show up at the embassy with her for the interview whichever way you go.

i went the k-1 route and basically just filled out the paperwork, a couple of photos and went to the interview with her.

oh, did i mention?...go to the interview with her.

also, visit visajourney.com website for good, goodtips and guidelines fro either visa.

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Albatross says on Apr 18, 2008, 09:49:

I'm sure I already know the answer, but is there anyway to chose your own date for an interview ?

It will be difficult both for her and I to get time off of work (and for me to buy a last-minute airline ticket) if the Embassy notifies her of the interview date a week or two before the actual interview.

“Democracy - a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H.L. Mencken

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ColombianoGringo says on Apr 18, 2008, 09:57:

"If you show up at the interview that will trump any and all photos."

Based on recent experiences of various VJ members, it does not seem critical for the petitioner(US citizen) to be at the interview. I know of several K visa applicants who went through the interview alone and had no problems. In fact, all recent reports have been of short interviews and the USC spouse is usually not even asked any questions.

The most important thing is to have all the documents that the embassy requests. If you are missing anything or it is incorrect, the applicant will be asked to reschedule an appointment.

I will be attending my wife's upcoming K-3 interview because it is easy for me to get off work. Also, she is not familiar with Bogota whereas I know it well. However, I am sending her copies of all "my" documents such as Affidavit of Support with evidence, etc. just in case I am not able to make it for some unforeseen reason.

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ColombianoGringo says on Apr 18, 2008, 09:59:

Albatross,

You can't ask for a specific date, but you can at least aim for a particular month. Supposedly, the cutoff for interviews in a given month is the 15th of the previous month. So, if you sent your packet 3 forms(essentially your interview request) to the embassy between 4/16 and 5/15, you would most likely get an interview in June. They received ours on 4/14 so we are hoping to squeak by for a May interview.

Make sure to check out the "Colombia Club" thread in the Foreign Embassies forum on visajourney.com

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rjstuff says on Apr 18, 2008, 10:23:

I agree with ColombianoGringo. My fiancee's (now my wife) and several others we know of (her friends and others she met in Bogota) had no problems with their K-1s without having the US fiancee present. (Two of her friends had their fiancees at the interview and several others didn't.) She told me that it seems that those who get denied (or delayed) all seem to fall into two categories 1) Not enough financial support 2) Not having all the paper work that's required - they all seem to get approved on the next go around if they can show what they were missing the first time. That said, be prepared to go to the interview if there are questions with previous visa applications. Good Luck

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lpdiver says on Apr 18, 2008, 13:41:

Agreed...If you cannot make it for what ever reason I wouldn't fall apart about it. I do know of a few personally (3 to be exact) that had the fiancee/spouse been present it would have saved having to file an appeal.

In my case I was able to correct a misinterpretation that would have delayed my wife another six months sorting out. However, we had a very complicated case.

t

"cook some rice!"

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