Affidavit of Support

[Baloobear]

My American fiancee and I plan to apply for the K1 visa but we're having a tough time finding a co-signer. His family isn't of much help and a friend of mine bailed out last minute. My fiancee is a student and has no earning capacity at the moment. But after Dec 2012 this year he is able to work for a year. Since the affidavit of support is only needed close to my interview at the consulate in Malaysia, we were thinking he can work first and by the time of my interview, he would be able to show some pay stubs. Can anyone tell me how much he needs to make and if this plan is a workable one?

We're very much in love and it is very painful waiting and struggling to find a solution without the help of anyone. I would appreciate any feedback/advice. Thank you.

[wavedom]

The required income seems to vary a little bit with each embassy. Some sources suggest that you only need 100 % of the poverty line, while some say that you need 125 % (just as for the I-864 that you will file with the AOS application). It seems like some embassies have set their own limits regarding how much income that is required. If you file the K1 application within a month or two, you will probably have the visa interview in Malaysia in the beginning of next year and the AOS interview at some point during 2013. For the visa interview, you might need a letter from his employer showing his current income. According to the instructions for the I-134 (which you will need if the embassy asks for it) such a letter should also mention if the position is permanent or temporary. I don’t know how much their decision is based on this detail, but if it’s only a temporary job that will end after one year they might see it as an issue. Except for that part I don’t see any problem with doing as you describe. Also, you probably know that financial assets also can be used for the affidavit.

Current poverty lines:
http://www.immihelp.com/affidavit-of...uidelines.html

[Baloobear]

Wavedom, Thank you for taking the time to reply. I appreciate that very much and the link is really helpful. The interview at the embassy also requires me to provide a tax form from my fiancee. He is supposed to have filed a tax returns form, but how can he do that considering he won't be working a year when I am called for the interview. I am unsure how the tax system works in the US but in Malaysia, we fill out the tax forms at the end of every financial year (12 months).

Also, does anyone know the cost of an immigration lawyer? and if it increases the chances of getting a K1 visa?

[wavedom]

The taxes in the US are filed in mid-April for the previous year. Even if he works for the whole year of 2013 it won’t show up on his tax return until he files the taxes in April 2014. If you have your interview in the beginning of 2013 the latest tax return will be for 2011 (or 2012 if the interview takes place after April). However, the tax return is only one piece of the affidavit and some people claim that the embassy cares a lot more about current income than income in the past. The income requirements are just referring to present income. I have never seen any information suggesting that income in the past has to reach up to the same level as well. As an example, let’s say your fiancé has been a student for the past four years with almost no income but then after graduating he gets a well paid permanent job. It’d be awkward if the embassy denied everyone a visa if they are in that situation. It’s more or less expected that students don’t have a ton of money. The affidavit is more about providing the immigrant with financial support when he/she moves to the US and for a certain time period after that, and less about how much the sponsor made as a student last year.

The cost of hiring a lawyer varies. It could probably be everything between a few hundreds up to thousands, depending on how much you want to do yourselves. The K1 process is simple enough to handle yourself and usually there’s no reason to hire a lawyer. The chance of getting approved doesn’t increase with a lawyer either. The only advantage would be that you wouldn’t have to dig into the paperwork since a lawyer handles that part and (usually) keeps track on everything. Some people with complicated cases (such as overstay, illegal entry etc.) might want to hire a lawyer, but if your case is normal I would suggest that you don’t waste money on doing it.