Next: Bringing My Girl From Colombia

[Osa]

well, its time to move this to the next stage.   Soon I will begin filling out paperwork to bring my Lady from Colombia. 

I'll fill in a few questions here in a little while

[Osa]

ok a few questions:


1) so from what I gather the k-1 process takes about six months?

2) so from what i gather, as a fiancee, she has to marry me within 3 months to stay in the country?

3) if I am a conscientious and smart person, can i do all the paperwork myself without a lawyer?  cause I'm on a budget, and a lawyer isnt in it.

[william3rd]

1- 6mos. is about the average time at present which can vary based on needs of the government
2- the marriage must occur within 90 days of her entry into the united states and then you must file for her adjustment of status'
3- nowadays, it is a pretty simple process and the process has become very user friendly.

[bcc_1_2]

Maybe William can answer this. Are you less likely to have roadblocks and redtape put up if you go with an attorney? I'm asking because I had one and it went off without an issue.

My personal opinion is that getting engaged after just one visit is a bad idea. But regardless of what I think might only one visit lead to more questions and more potiental for scrutiny?

I've never been audited after having a tax preparer sign off on my taxes. The whole reason my dad pays for a CPA is to avoid audits. Can the same be said with this process?

[william3rd]

I think it depends. we had an RFE rate of under 3%. If you dont have the right stuff, you are not going to pass anyway.

The lion's share of my cases were from 1994-2008. We use a format so all of our petitions were set up the same way. No cover letters, limited document submittals, same order of presentation. essentially the same declaration for each case. The one thing for sure is that when they see the G28 from a particular office, they already know what they are going to see. They never know what they are going to see with a pro per case.

If you go with an immigration attorney you have someone who has done the case many times. In my case, I have married a couple of aliens already.

Can you do it yourself? you sure can. Does it make a difference to use an attorney? I dont think there are any statistics in the area.

Getting married after one trip is pretty risky. Almost all of my clients from 1997-2004 are divorced. I only know a couple folks who are still married.  I did a little survey over some of my clients- pretty dismal results.

[robert angel]

Regarding:

>>My personal opinion is that getting engaged after just one visit is a bad idea.<<

It's really hard when you go off to some exotic land, meet some knock your socks off -- she's so beautiful sort woman, one who treats you far, far better than any AW ever did and then not want to bring her home and hopefully keep that feeling forever. You're punch drunk in 'love'--or at least you think so. There's probably real love there, but also at least a bit of infatuation going on.

Whether you're a level headed gentleman or a roving rake, it's easy to think 'damn, she's good to me' and not realize that there's thousands of others you haven't been able to compare in real life in that same country--other excellent women you haven't met. I'm not saying you should date 100's of women--just sort of thinking along the lines of the old saying 'Fools rush in where angels fear to tread'.

Getting to know someone online, webcam and telephone for an extended period --I'd say as least a year--hopefully longer--makes this situation a little less risky, but a whole lot of guys still get hooked by the first woman they go to see and all too often, she's a woman they've only had relationship via remote, for those months.

To avoid either person getting hurt and to give the decision of marriage the objectivity it deserves, it's probably a good idea not to ask a woman to marry you in her country after you've only spent a few weeks at best with her. She should discuss it with her family and you should seek the counsel of your own as well. There's a good chance that the both of you will largely ignore any naysayers, but you should give them the chance.

You might think about explaining to her that while you feel deeply for her, you don't want her to make the decision under pressure, in the passion of the moment--that you want it to be forever and to do it rightfully and fairly, not while emotions are running so hot and high.

If you take the time and deliberate your steps and actions, things might just turn out better in the long run--you might just feel better about the whole process later on than if you went and got married in a whirlwind romance. God forbid it doesn't work out--if it doesn't--you'll feel a lot less stupid later on knowing you at least tried to use your brain.

I wonder if they're are any statistics on how many marriages where the guy married the girl after one visit have lasted five or more years, versus how many marriages where they had two or more visits lasted five or more years?

[utopiacowboy]

I got engaged after one visit and married on the second visit. We are still married seven years later.

[Capstone]

If you can read and write at a reasonably good level then there is absolutely no reason why you can't fill out and submit a successful I-129F petition for a K-1 visa on your own. The petition paperwork is pretty straight forward and there are a lot of good online resources that can walk you through the process step by step. Whether you submit the I-129F yourself or hire an attorney to do it for you it will be YOU and not the attorney who will need to gather up all the required information & documentation and it is YOU who will need to verify that all the information on the forms have been entered correctly.

Hiring an attorney will also not speed up the process at all and in fact will actually slow things down a bit because you will need to pass things on to them and then wait until they get around to filling out your paperwork and then they will need to pass them back to you to verify and sign. Hiring an attorney will also not guarantee a positive outcome as there are scores of people who have used attorneys and in the end were not successful in obtaining a visa (just check out some of the stories over on visajourney). I am not anti-attorney but having gone through the visa process successfully myself without an attorney I see no reason why anyone would actually need to use one unless they have a very complicated case (have petitioned for previous foreign fiancee/spouse, multiple divorces, etc).

As far as getting engaged after the first trip goes, I would definitely advise that you make at least 1 or 2 more trips to visit your girl before her visa interview. I too decided to get engaged soon after returning from my first trip but made 2 more trips to visit my fiancee (now wife) before the visa interview. I think that only having made 1 trip before the visa interview will probably throw up a red flag for the VO who handles the interview.

[bcc_1_2]

I think that only having made 1 trip before the visa interview will probably throw up a red flag for the VO who handles the interview.

This was my line of thinking. Forget the debate of how many trips to take... what does the government bureaucrat think?

[utopiacowboy]

This was my line of thinking. Forget the debate of how many trips to take... what does the government bureaucrat think?

When we went to the interview at the embassy, they didn't ask us any questions. All they wanted to do was match up the kids with their names and documents. I guess if you marry a widow with three kids, you get a free pass.

[Ray]

Osa,

If you do your own tax returns then you should be able to complete the paperwork for a visa petition on your own. You will need to spend considerable time researching the process and carefully studying all the forms and instructions before you start making any submissions.

You can ask for help right here and many of the members who have gone through the process will gladly help you out if you are putting in the effort on your end.

If you don’t have time for all of this, or are worried that you can’t do it on your own, then hire a competent, experienced immigration attorney who is a member of AILA. Keep in mind that an attorney should be able to put together an error-free package for submittal, but otherwise having an attorney on the case will not speed up the process.

I ass-u-me that you have already studied the visa flow-charts posted here on P-L, so you should have a pretty good idea of what you are getting into.

However you decide to do it, I recommend that you begin by downloading the visa petition forms and instructions from the CIS Website and study them carefully before you do anything.

I will not give you any lectures on how many trips you should make before getting engaged or married because you already seem to be getting lots of input in that area.

But I will strongly recommend that you NOT SUBMIT ANYTHING until BOTH you and your lady are 100% committed to marriage and neither of you have any substantial doubts about each other. DO NOT attempt to get a jump on the waiting time by running out and filing the petition now while you continue to make up your minds for certain!

Take your time, be absolutely positive that this is what both of you want to do, and then file the petition. Keep in mind that the IMBRA limits on K-visa petitions includes your petition as soon as it is received by CIS, even if you decide to cancel before the visa is issued.

Ray

[william3rd]

Whether you submit the I-129F yourself or hire an attorney to do it for you it will be YOU and not the attorney who will need to gather up all the required information & documentation and it is YOU who will need to verify that all the information on the forms have been entered correctly. VERY TRUE

Hiring an attorney will also not speed up the process at all and in fact will actually slow things down a bit because you will need to pass things on to them and then wait until they get around to filling out your paperwork(this was the lame argument a certain paralegal firm used to spout) and then they will need to pass them back to you to verify and sign. THIS IS A LAME EXCUSE. ACTUALLY A COMPLETELY FALSE STATEMENT. . . NOT ANTI ATTORNEY, eh?  WE TOOK THE DOCS, CREATED THE PACKETS, AND SENT THEM STRAIGHT TO THE CLIENT TO SUBMIT. NO DELAY THERE AT ALL. ROTH'S OFFICE ALLOWED FOR DATA ENTRY ON LINE so the fiancee could start overseas.

Usually the visajourney folk and tehir adherents seem to be either excruciatingly cheap or rugged individualists and totally anti attorney. . . .  they are all at the tea party this weekend, though.

 Hiring an attorney will also not guarantee a positive outcome DOING IT YOURSELF MEANS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO MAKE MORE MISTAKES BUT THEN YOU CANT BLAME THE ATTORNEY AND STILL NO GUARANTEE OF A SUCCESS.

As far as getting engaged after the first trip goes, I would definitely advise that you make at least 1 or 2 more trips to visit your girl before her visa interview. I too decided to get engaged soon after returning from my first trip but made 2 more trips to visit my fiancee (now wife) before the visa interview. I think that only having made 1 trip before the visa interview will probably throw up a red flag for the VO who handles the interview.

 SAGE ADVICE. but that is not what redflags a case. It is a totality test- webcams can take the place of some visits, etc.

[Capstone]

THIS IS A LAME EXCUSE. ACTUALLY A COMPLETELY FALSE STATEMENT. . . NOT ANTI ATTORNEY, eh?  WE TOOK THE DOCS, CREATED THE PACKETS, AND SENT THEM STRAIGHT TO THE CLIENT TO SUBMIT. NO DELAY THERE AT ALL. ROTH'S OFFICE ALLOWED FOR DATA ENTRY ON LINE so the fiancee could start overseas.

It was neither a lame nor a false statement - sending paperwork back & forth between an attorney & petitioner will in most cases add a bit of time to the process. The petitioner has to gather up all the information themselves anyway so they are doing all the leg work, not the attorney. And no, I am not anti-attorney but I am someone who believes that the visa process is something that can easily be accomplished on one's own without the need for an attorney - it is not brain surgery.

DOING IT YOURSELF MEANS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO MAKE MORE MISTAKES BUT THEN YOU CANT BLAME THE ATTORNEY AND STILL NO GUARANTEE OF A SUCCESS.

Sure you could make mistakes if you are not diligent and do not double & triple check your work but so can an attorney and they often times do - using an attorney is certainly no guarantee that mistakes will not be made.





   

[Ray]

...sending paperwork back & forth between an attorney & petitioner will in most cases add a bit of time to the process.

How long does it take to send a FAX or e-mail across country? A lot of this stuff can be transmitted this way, or by overnight courier if necessary.

I guess if you factor in all the time you spend researching the process, studying the forms and instructions to figure out what they really want from you, surfing the Web for info and answers to your questions, etc., etc., etc…, then you could say that an experienced attorney could save you considerable time.

From the guys on here over the years who used an attorney to handle their immigration petitions, I would say that the number one reason was not because they felt incompetent to do it themselves, but that they thought that their own time was more valuable and they could afford to have someone else do the paperwork part of it for them.

I have also know guys who used a good immigration legal assistance center, where paralegals handled everything at a fraction of the cost.

For the guys who have the time, and want to save some money, doing it yourself is not beyond the ability of most.

Ray

[Osa]

well, I'm not in any particular rush, though I would love to have her here already, to have and to hold    

As it turns out, I am pretty strapped for cash right now, so I can't start the process anyway.  Just gives more time for things to cool down.  And who knows -- maybe I'll just use the extra time to plan a second visit.  It would be nice if I actually *proposed* before beginning the process of bringing her here as a fiancee. 

[michaelb]

It would be nice if I actually *proposed* before beginning the process of bringing her here as a fiancee. 

Well, yeah, guess that would be nice. As a mater of fact, it is required. One of the documents which has to be included with the forms you send in is a written statement from her saying that the two of you have agreed to marry. If you look at la migra's website they will tell you what items are necessary. It isn't hard, lots of guys (myself included) have done it themselves.....but then lots of people hire an attorney. It's six one way, half a dozen the other. I did all of our translations also....but then I really am competent to translate between Spanish and English....if you're not, hire somebody who is. If you don't know anybody you think can handle the translations, the attorney most likely has a regular translator or two they can refer you to, particularly for a common language like Spanish. 

[fathertime]

ok a few questions:


1) so from what I gather the k-1 process takes about six months?

2) so from what i gather, as a fiancee, she has to marry me within 3 months to stay in the country?

3) if I am a conscientious and smart person, can i do all the paperwork myself without a lawyer?  cause I'm on a budget, and a lawyer isnt in it.

1. A little less than 6 months for me and I went through it in 2009
2.  3 months is correct
3.  You can do the paperwork yourself, but I felt real good about using a lawyer (William3rd), it wasn't that much money and everything was put together proper.  I could have easily fouled something up.

Fathertime!

[fathertime]

well, I'm not in any particular rush, though I would love to have her here already, to have and to hold    

As it turns out, I am pretty strapped for cash right now, so I can't start the process anyway.  Just gives more time for things to cool down.  And who knows -- maybe I'll just use the extra time to plan a second visit.  It would be nice if I actually *proposed* before beginning the process of bringing her here as a fiancee. 

  I am a proponent of moving fast but I would try to get to Colombia one more time so you lesson the chances of having your relationship getting questioned during the interview.

Fathertime!

[Osa]

hey all,

I'm back after having been away for a while.  There wasn't much to post; my girl and I have basically been in a holding pattern since I got back from Colombia, chatting online and talking on the phone every other day or so.

Well, I'm ready to start the visa paperwork. I have downloaded the I-129F file and have begun filling it out.  So far it seems pretty straightforward.

I'll keep you guys posted.

[Osa]

question:

are websites like latinamericancupid.com considered "International Marriage Brokers?"  Cause it comes on questions 18 and 19 on the 129F

thanks in advance for any help

[Osa]

okay.  i was wondering of the community could help me put together a checklist of stuff I need to get together for my girlie's K1 visa.

Here is some stuff I have together so far:

1) pics of us being all lovey dovey in Colombia

2) Screenshots of my phone log of us talking on Skype

3) Log of our MSN conversations

4) Various miscellaneous docs...airplane ticket stubs, etc

um...thats it for now


your thoughts?

[Ray]

question:

are websites like latinamericancupid.com considered "International Marriage Brokers?" 

How does that work? Do you pay for the ladies' contact info? Do you pay a membership fee? If so, does she pay the same fee?

[Osa]

no.  you pay a flat membership fee to be come a "gold member" who can contact anyone you want.  the girls can also pay the fee, but usually dont because guys can do the contacting.

in other words, its more like match.com than like an mail order bride service.

[Osa]

okay.  i was wondering of the community could help me put together a checklist of stuff I need to get together for my girlie's K1 visa.

Here is some stuff I have together so far:

1) pics of us being all lovey dovey in Colombia

2) Screenshots of my phone log of us talking on Skype

3) Log of our MSN conversations

4) Various miscellaneous docs...airplane ticket stubs, etc

um...thats it for now


your thoughts?

ok, I found a very good I-129F package checklist here

[Ray]

no.  you pay a flat membership fee to be come a "gold member" who can contact anyone you want.  the girls can also pay the fee, but usually dont because guys can do the contacting.

in other words, its more like match.com than like an mail order bride service.

Since they are charging you a fee, presumably for profit, to contact the ladies, then I would say yes, they are an IMB.

If you want a legal opinion, contact a lawyer or ask an immigration officer a USCIS.

Ray