K3 / K4 Visas For Wife and Daughter

[OnMyWay]

 

On 2/27/2019 at 4:05 AM, Yeochief said:

Olivia and I got married on 16 January 2017 in the Philippines.  Had all of the paper work ready to go before that (USCIS also the U.S Embassy web site in Manila).  She got approved and arrived at the end of September 2018.  Got her Social Security Card within 10 days of arrival and Green Card within two weeks.  But it took right at 20 months from the time we got married and submitted the paper work.  Very long process.

@Yeochief  @Reboot

As I mentioned in another topic, I'm thinking about moving the family to the U.S. in a few years.  My brief research tells me that my wife will use the K3 visa and my step daughter the K4 visa.  I read all the recent topics and searched, but I don't see K3 specifically mentioned.  I assume that Yeachief (and Reboot) used K3 so I quoted him from another topic.

Briefly, I understand the process for K3 spouse visa as this:

• Apply for the K3 non-immigrant visa at the embassy in Manila
• After approval, they give you a sealed packet, which you give to immigration upon arrival in the U.S.
• After arrival, you apply for the a permanent resident visa, green card, etc.

I'm not too worried about the specifics of those steps.  What I want to learn more about is TIMING.  As I understand it, the K3 visa is only good for 4 months.  How can we time it to coincide with a moving schedule?

Situation:

• Filipino step-daughter will finish 12th grade here Spring 2022
• 2 U.S. citizen daughters will finish 1st and 3rd grades here about the same time
• We need to prepare and sell our house here for sale.  If I start soon, it will probably take a year to make it look nice.

If I pull the trigger on a plan, I would like it to work something like this:

1. I will travel solo to the U.S. in spring 2021 and buy a house.
2. I will lease it for 2 years.  Available for us in spring 2022.
3. Get rid of things and decide what we will take with us.  Plan to ship some boxes.  Nothing big.
4. Get the house here sold sometime around the end of 2021, early 2022.
5. Get a furnished monthly rental here for a few months.
6. Kids finish school year in spring 2022.
7. Fly over as a family after school ends.

Can I time the K3 and K4 visas so that we can execute a plan like that?  I would need the visas to be valid around May/June 2022?  Am I totally missing something?

I'm inviting everyone to shoot holes in anything in the plan, but info about the K3 / K4 timing would be especially helpful.  Before I decide to pull the trigger on moving to the U.S., I would like to discover as many pitfalls as possible!

[Jack D]

I'm not understanding why you're taking the non-immigrant path if you’re married.

The K-1 visa is only for engaged couples, not married couples. It’s the whole 90 day fiancé scenario.

I filed for immigrant visas (an IR-1 for my wife and an IR-2 for my step-daughter), but that was during the days of having a USCIS field office open at the US Embassy in Manila, when Direct Consular Filing (DCF) was available and it took less than 2 months from initial filing to getting the two visas approved.

With the closing of the USCIS field office(s), you’re stuck with filing with the USCIS in the States by mail, and right now, anything to do with mail to the US government is extremely slow, since they've been backed up for several months.

All I can say is have all of the requested documents in order and be very patient.

It won’t be easy but I wish you and your family the best of luck.

 

 

Edited October 3, 2020 by Jack D

[OnMyWay]

4 hours ago, Jack D said:

I'm not understanding why you're taking the non-immigrant path if you’re married.

The K-1 visa is only for engaged couples, not married couples. It’s the whole 90 day fiancé scenario.

I filed for immigrant visas (an IR-1 for my wife and an IR-2 for my step-daughter), but that was during the days of having a USCIS field office open at the US Embassy in Manila, when Direct Consular Filing (DCF) was available and it took less than 2 months from initial filing to getting the two visas approved.

With the closing of the USCIS field office(s), you’re stuck with filing with the USCIS in the States by mail, and right now, anything to do with mail to the US government is extremely slow, since they've been backed up for several months.

All I can say is have all of the requested documents in order and be very patient.

It won’t be easy but I wish you and your family the best of luck.

Currently, the rules for IR-1 require that I be living in the U.S. when I petition them.  We all live in the Philippines.

K-3/K-4 does not have that requirement and in theory, allows us to move and enter the U.S. together.  After arrival, you start the immigration process.  K3/K4 is done at the embassy here.

It is covered here:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/immigrant-visa-for-a-spouse-or-fiance-of-a-us-citizen.html

Edited October 4, 2020 by OnMyWay

[OnMyWay]

2 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Currently, the rules for IR-1 require that I be living in the U.S. when I petition them.  We all live in the Philippines.

K-3/K-4 does not have that requirement and in theory, allows us to move and enter the U.S. together.  After arrival, you start the immigration process.  K3/K4 is done at the embassy here.

It is covered here:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/family-immigration/immigrant-visa-for-a-spouse-or-fiance-of-a-us-citizen.html

 

6 hours ago, Jack D said:

I'm not understanding why you're taking the non-immigrant path if you’re married.

The K-1 visa is only for engaged couples, not married couples. It’s the whole 90 day fiancé scenario.

I filed for immigrant visas (an IR-1 for my wife and an IR-2 for my step-daughter), but that was during the days of having a USCIS field office open at the US Embassy in Manila, when Direct Consular Filing (DCF) was available and it took less than 2 months from initial filing to getting the two visas approved.

With the closing of the USCIS field office(s), you’re stuck with filing with the USCIS in the States by mail, and right now, anything to do with mail to the US government is extremely slow, since they've been backed up for several months.

All I can say is have all of the requested documents in order and be very patient.

It won’t be easy but I wish you and your family the best of luck.

Actually, I am half wrong on all of this.  As usual, government bureaucracy takes you in a few circles before getting to what you need.

I have to file an I-130 petition for immigration of spouse.  The K3/K4 is for if the I-130 is taking a long time and allows the spouse to enter the U.S. while the I-130 is still in process.  However, on the U.S. CIS website, they say that now the I-130 processing is now much faster than it used to be, so it is rare that someone needs the K3/K4.

So now I have to figure out the exact requirements for the I-130, especially as far as my domicile.

[OnMyWay]

6 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

 

Actually, I am half wrong on all of this.  As usual, government bureaucracy takes you in a few circles before getting to what you need.

I have to file an I-130 petition for immigration of spouse.  The K3/K4 is for if the I-130 is taking a long time and allows the spouse to enter the U.S. while the I-130 is still in process.  However, on the U.S. CIS website, they say that now the I-130 processing is now much faster than it used to be, so it is rare that someone needs the K3/K4.

So now I have to figure out the exact requirements for the I-130, especially as far as my domicile.

OK, I think I understand it now:

 

1.  Petition with form I-130.

2.  After approval, file form I-864, affidavit of support.

3.  Apply for the IR-1 for permanent resident.

 

The I-864 requires me to be domiciled in the U.S. or prove that I will be coming back.  I don't think that will be an issue.

 

The open questions I have are about timing.  Do I have to try and time the visa process to coincide with an actual move date 2+ years from now, or just start soon and the visa is still good later?

[OnMyWay]

39 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

The open questions I have are about timing.  Do I have to try and time the visa process to coincide with an actual move date 2+ years from now, or just start soon and the visa is still good later?

According to this article, most U.S. immigrant visas are good for 6 months.  Due to Covid, many people with visas are having problems because they expire, and the people can't travel before they expire.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/05/11/opinion/columnists/quarantine-expiring-visas-and-medical-exam/723997/

[Jake]

1 hour ago, OnMyWay said:

According to this article, most U.S. immigrant visas are good for 6 months.  Due to Covid, many people with visas are having problems because they expire, and the people can't travel before they expire.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/05/11/opinion/columnists/quarantine-expiring-visas-and-medical-exam/723997/

I must commend you for sharing your master plan with us.  The difficulties both in process and doing in a timely matter, especially when the procedure itself is confusing, takes a lot of patience and a lot more meds for your headaches.  I think I would go psycho. 

We sincerely wish the best of luck for you and your family Don.   

[OnMyWay]

21 minutes ago, Jake said:

I must commend you for sharing your master plan with us.  The difficulties both in process and doing in a timely matter, especially when the procedure itself is confusing, takes a lot of patience and a lot more meds for your headaches.  I think I would go psycho. 

We sincerely wish the best of luck for you and your family Don.   

Jake, I haven't pulled the trigger on executing anything yet.  I will give it a Yea or Nay after the first of the year.  I just need to gather as much info as possible before deciding. 

The financial hurdle is the biggest!  If I start a Go Fund Me, can I count on you?  

[Jake]

42 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

The financial hurdle is the biggest!  If I start a Go Fund Me, can I count on you?  

Besides the financial budget, I think the biggest hurdle for me would be packing and unpacking.  I would even hate just moving across the street.  

I will be more than happy to contribute to your Go Pund Me.  First round of San Magoo is on me.  We can both cry in our beer and howl to the moon.  
 

[Joey G]

I think from previous posts you have your financials in the right spot... are you selling a house and moving that $$ to the US?  I've always wondered about the difficulties people have come across trying to sell a house and transfer the $$$ of that sale to the US... i.e, if you have a house, who's name is the house actually in?  and does that money need to attached the the person who sold it, or can moved as a married couple?  I'll admit it kept me from "investing" in a house... and I have a few friends who are stuck in limbo trying to untangle the mess they managed to dig into.