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I looked at the photo requirements for CR-1 spousal visas and compared it to K-1 fiancee visas, and it's the same.  If someone has better information, please let me know.  The photographer in Davao got it wrong twice...

To my understanding, we need pictures of both of us.  The print itself should be 2 x 2.  The head should be about an inch tall on the print.  The face should be turned 3/4, not full front like a passport photo, but with the right ear and both eyes showing.  White background, not smiling, wearing glasses.  Right?

We're talking about filing the application right before I leave in August, then when it becomes relevant that I be domiciled in the US I will have to take the return trip and get a job.  I know I should be living here when I file the application but I hope they will "understand" that I needed to attend to my pregnant wife, the birth of my child, and the first months of my child's life.  Under these circumstances it would be nice not to hear from the USCIS for a year.

Jovie and I feel that (as some of you have suggested) the green card is a top priority.  Of course the baby is THE top priority so as usual I have competing priorities.  There's no way to have the birth here.  Well I'm just thinking out loud.  It would be nice if I had half a brain, but when trying to match up human needs with government regulations, even ten brains wouldn't be enough.

We're also thinking of locating in Kansas.  The town where I went to high school there has four colleges including two technical schools, and the rent is half what it is in Colorado or the west coast.

... in response to visa application photos, posted by Luther on Apr 1, 2005

Luther,

ALL immigration photos are now standard passport type photos. The ¾ frontal type are no longer used. You can get the photos anywhere that passport photos are done.

http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/newsrels/04_08_02Photo_flyer.pdf

You know, you can file that visa petition now along with a K-3 petition. If she should get her visa before she is ready to travel, then she still has 6 months to use it and may even get an extension of the 6 months if needed. The financial requirements only need 100% of poverty level for the K-visa. Confucius say: ‘A visa in the hand is worth two in the bush’ :-)

Ray

... in response to Re: visa application photos, posted by Ray on Apr 1, 2005

I chose the CR-1 Visa once upon a time because it was supposed to be faster, now I want it to take some time so we can lollygag in the Phils with our baby before coming to the US to face the real world.  So you're saying that I can file both petitions simultaneously, K-3 and CR-1?  I never thought of that, if that is what you're saying.  So if one got approved too quickly I could let it lapse and wait on the other and hope it takes a long time?  Am I understanding you correctly?

And like you say, the financial requirement is 100% instead of 125% of the trailer trash line, so maybe I should just switch over to the K-3.  What if I purposely left something out or sent the wrong photos to slow it down?  I could send photos of King Kong and Godzilla and see if they notice.  I have nothing against living in the United States but I would like to get to know my wife and baby full time and learn her language before coming out of retirement again and getting on with goal oriented activities stateside.  Well I've been trying to retire since I was 19.  Now I have to get out that K-3 info that I've never looked at and see what I'm up against.  I think it uses the other affidavit of support too.  Doesn't she have to be here for 2  years before she's eligible for a green card, if we use K-3?

Thanks Ray for clearing my up on the photo requirements.  I better check for new forms before I sign my life away.

... in response to visa choices, posted by Luther on Apr 2, 2005

The K-3 is optional and is supposed to let you be together while you wait for her CR-1/SR-1 immigrant visa. You still file the I-130 petition for an immigrant visa first. When you get the receipt notice for the I-130 (1-2 weeks?), then you can file the K-3 petition. If the approved I-130 reaches Manila first, then you must use the CR-1 visa. If the K-3 petition reaches Manila first, you still have the option to wait foe the I-130 approval and use the CR-1.

If you are living there in the Phils, then “technically” she doesn’t need the K-3 because you are already together. You can still apply for a K-3 but the only catch is that you “may” have to return to the U.S. before they will give her the visa, so maybe the K-3 is not a good idea for your situation.

If you really want to live there first for at least a year or more, then maybe your idea to wait and apply later would be better. Just keep in mind that the rules and the immigration laws can change and it’s possible that it will get harder to get that visa approved. For example, it was much easier and somewhat faster to get a visa before 9-11.

Someone arriving on a K-3 doesn’t have to be here for 2 years to be eligible for a Green Card, but you need to wait for the I-130 approval and then apply for Adjustment of Status which may take a year or so before she gets her card.

If you sent pictures of Godzilla, it would be your luck that the petition would go through and she would be stuck with a Green Card that had a photo of Godzilla on it :-)

Ray