What Are My Chances? K1 Visa?

[thailandicr]

I have only 2000 in my bank account. I have three letters stating that I have 3 different jobs I could take when I get back to the states. One pays 35000 a year and has insurance. My parents did the form for support along with a letter stating that they have 3 homes in which we could live. I own a truck. I have a child (1) here with my fiancee. I have about 40 pics of us over the last 2 1/2 years. I used a lawyer so all my paperwork is neat, checked over and complete. My fiancee has no crimanal history and a perfect med record. She was married before and visited England without overstaying there. We have traveled to maylasia and Burma together so she also has those stamps on her passport. She was never a bargirl. She had to get a job to finish High School at a resort. Her English is pretty good but not perfect. Our interview is coming up next month. How can I tell when the interview is. Someone told me there is a web site and all you do is enter your USCIS 13 diget number in and you can find out quick when your interview is. Is this true? What are my chances? What should I expect from the interviewer? Should she bring the baby in the interview? Please someone tell me I have a shot here. What do you think?

Thanks for reading this, I'm sorry to bore you with my frustrations.

P.

[mmcsusnret]

If you have a case number (ie BNK ####) you can go to the US Emabassy web site. When it opens, click on visas at the top, then when it opens click on immigrant visas, then on the left column click on scheduled appointments. It will open a page with a link to the PDF file of current appointments as of April 10th. There are about 19 pages of appointments listed. Scroll down looking for your BNK case number and it will give you the date/time of your appointment. The USCIS receipt number will not help you.

Just make sure that you have all of the documents (original, copy for the interviewer, copy for you fiance and one for yourself) in order listed on the form that was mailed back saying that you have all of the documents, and that all are within their validity period. I know the police cerificate cannot be more that 6 months old. Not sure about any others. When you get to the embassy (arriving early for your appointment time is best) and enter, a clerk will review your paperwork and possibly remove any thing not needed or reorganize the order for the consular officer. It is okay to have more than is required in your wife's and your copies, tabbed for easy retrieval.

Personally, I would recommend against having the baby with you as a birth certificate proves the baby's parentage. You will both be nervous and don't need any distractions. The baby will not get you any sympathy points, so treat this as an important business meeting (it is!) and leave the child behind. Be as calm and organized as possible. Be straight forward and honest. Be prepared. Present the orginals only when requested. I think (but not sure, since I am about to go through the same thing for my wife) that the interviews reputation for being difficult is far worse than it actually is. I did personally attend my US nephew's Thai girlfriend's fiance visa interview and it was over before she realized that it had started since she had every document in order and was able to answer some pretty basic questions about the relationship. How did it start, differences it religion and culture, etc.

Having only the prospect of a job may be a little troublesome. It would be better if you have a definite job offer in hand or even better a contract stating that you will be employed when you get there. You shouldn't have any problems with your parents being cosponsers and providing you a place to live.

Is your lawyer going to assist in the interview process or prepare your fiance for the interview? I would recommend that you be aware of everything that the lawyer tells her to say, as some interviewers can spot an "off of the shelf" or "canned answer. (ie Q: How are you today? A: I'm fine thank and you?.

Try to relax and prepare yourselves mentally. Good luck!

Just reread your post and realized that you aren't married yet, but the same info should apply. I changed wife to fiance in the edit

Edited May 17, 2009 by mmcsusnret

[wasabi]

Excellent advice from mmcsusnret. I agree with everything he said. I think your prospects of passing are very good. If your parents meet the income requirements than your own income is irrelevant though it can't hurt to mention you have job offers with salaries above the income requirement. I also agree do not bring the baby this will seem like a ploy to get sympathy, the baby won't be allowed in and the officer will be annoyed. Pics and a certificate are plenty. There are sample interview questions floating around on the internet. These aren't meant to be a cheat sheet but to give the candidate a sense of what the interview will be like. If your relationship is real and she answers accordingly she has nothing to worry about.

[thailandicr]

I would just like to thank wasabi and mmssusnret for their wonderful comments and help in my time of stress and frustration. It's very helpful to know you have friends like these that offer their time and support. I hope their comments help others with the same questions. Thank you very