Help on visa

[dennis1964]

Well, I do believe congratulations are in order.  I've gone to Cebu and proposed to my beautiful future wife.  Fortunately for me, she said "YES!"  So I've been on cloud nine for the last week!  Now, it's time to deal with INS.  For those of you who know, I just want to see if I have the right details.  I've filled out both form I-129F and G-325A. We are getting the pictures taken (the one requiring 3/4 frontal view, right ear showing, etc.).  Neither of us have been married before or have children so none of those documents are applicable.  One question I have is, do I send my original birth certificate in with the petition or will a copy do?  If it's the original, is it safe to assume that I'll get it back?  The instructions on the two forms have different dollar amounts for filing, what should I pay?  Should it be two different checks/money orders?  Any help you all can give me is appreciated!

[Dave H]

... in response to Help on visa, posted by dennis1964 on Apr 5, 2002

Hi Dennis,

That is Great! Best wishes to you and your fiancee.

Dave H.

[Ray]

... in response to Help on visa, posted by dennis1964 on Apr 5, 2002

dennis,

Lori is correct about the filing fee. Send one check only for $110.

The birth certificate that you submit should be a certified copy from the applicable government records office where you were born. To be safe, I would request at least 3 certified copies to cover future needs. If you submit the original certified copy, the INS is supposed to return it to you, but I wouldn’t count on it.

You can submit a photocopy of your birth certificate. Include a signed statement that it is an unaltered copy of the original. For any photocopies that you submit, send the original to your fiancée before she goes for her medical/interview so that she can submit it then if they ask for it for verification purposes.

Ray

[dennis1964]

... in response to Birth Certificate, posted by Ray on Apr 6, 2002

Thanks to all of you for your help!  I can hardly wait to get the paperwork part over.

[Lori]

... in response to Help on visa, posted by dennis1964 on Apr 5, 2002

Congrats!! The I-129f costs $110. The  G-325a is free to file.
You can send in a copy of your birth certificate.
1)Make sure you have the letter of intent which declares that you two plan to marry once she is in America. Both of you must write one
2) Have all your letters that you have written eachother. Make copies for yourself in case the INS screws up.
3)plane ticket stubs
4) pics of you two together
5)phone bilss or copies of phone cards
6) I also filed the I-134, which is an afidavit of support, just to complete things, although I do not believe it is required.

[dennis1964]

... in response to Help on visa, posted by dennis1964 on Apr 5, 2002

OH!! By the way, she wants to get married there in the Philippines as well as here.  Would it cause any problems in getting the visa approved if we got married there before all the paperwork is completed or should we just hold off until it's all processed?

[Ray]

... in response to Re: Help on visa - one more question, posted by dennis1964 on Apr 5, 2002

Welcome to Planet Love dennis.

If you are going to get married in the Philippines, then you DO NOT want to file for a fiancée visa. After you are married, you can file an I-130 with an optional K-3 petition for your wife.

For the fiancée visa (K-1), she must be unmarried. If you marry before she comes in on a fiancée visa, you are committing visa fraud and could possibly find yourselves with some very big problems. I wouldn’t take the chance. The K-3 visa is probably just as fast or faster than the K-1 anyway (about 3 months).

Good luck!

Ray

[Lori]

... in response to Re: Help on visa - one more question, posted by dennis1964 on Apr 5, 2002

We did the ceremony and had the party , but nothing was leagal. It makes for good pics to send to the INS.

[DavidWT]

... in response to Re: I had a kind of "mock" wed..., posted by Lori on Apr 5, 2002

They kept our pic. I don't know if they were trying to determine if they were forged or what.