We decided to make this page to share our experience of filing for a K-1 Fiance visa.
When we set out upon this journey we had no idea what to expect. We had heard rumours that a fiance visa from Tanzania would be impossible. We searched and searched hoping to find actual accounts of others who had filed for the K-1 via Tanzania. We found nothing. This lack of information made filing unnecessarily difficult. For that reason, we want to demystify this process as much as possible.
For those that will be filing for a K-1 visa through Tanzania or another African nation, we hope reading about our experience will be helpful to you on your journey!
VisaJourney.com
Before we go any further, we want to tell you about a website that provided an enormous amount of useful information and support. Visajourney.com is an indispensable resource and anyone going through the K-1 visa process should definitely make use of its features.
To lawyer or not to lawyer...
Should you hire the services of an immigration lawyer? In my opinion, the services of a lawyer are not needed to file a K-1 petition, unless you have a special case, such as overstaying a visa or if you or your fiance/e have a criminal record, etc. There are good, knowledgeable lawyers out there who can help folks with complicated cases...be sure to get a good referal if you do use one. There are also Do It Yourself Kits for the Fiance Visa that may be useful for folks who need more step-by-step guidance. They are not that expensive and I've heard they can be helpful.
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Our General Timeline
K-1 - Tanzania
Filing through the Vermont Service Center (VSC)
Feb. 2007 -- Sent out I-129 F package
March 8, 2007 -- Petition Approved by Vermont Service Center
April 24, 2007-- Interview at Embassy in Dar es Salaam, TZ (Approved)
April 27, 2007 -- Pick up Passport with K-1 Visa
May 04, 2007 -- Arrive at JFK airport
The I-129f was approved in 28 days. The interview took 75 days from filing.
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Detailed Timeline
January 2007 -- Compiling the I-129 package
This can be challenging but also a lot of fun. Here's an outline of what we included in our package:
- Payment in the amount of $170
- Cover Letter which included a table of contents (listed everything in the packet).
- Form I-129F: Petition for Alien Fiance
- Statement of how we met in person in the last two years. Response to question 18 of the I-129F, this was about half a page typed with general details of how we met, when we got engaged, etc.
- Original statements from each of us certifying an intent to marry within 90 days of entering the US on a valid K-1
- Proof of having met in past two years: boarding passes, flight itineraries, credit card statements, visa entry/ exit stamps from passport, pictures, etc.
- G-325A (all four pages) filled out by the US Citizen signed and dated
- One passport-type photo of the US Citizen.
- G-325A (all four pages) filled out by the foreign fiance(e) signed and dated *
- One passport-type photo of the foreign fiance(e). *
- Copy of the Birth certificate for the US Citizen, used to establish citizenship.
*items sent to J from K in Tanzania
Note: Strictly speaking, you are not required to show proof of ongoing relationship at this stage. Many people do include things like telelphone records, emails, letters, etc for the intial USCIS review. Some adjucators at USCIS have issued RFE (requests for evidence) however in my case and many others, proof of ongoing relationship was not included in the package and we were approved nonetheless.
Feb 8, 2007 -- Mailed 129-F package to VSC via USPS priority mail
The waiting begins! Eventually you will recieve a Notice of Action, which lets you know that your petition has been recieved by the Service Center. It will also include a case # from USCIS, which allows you to track your file online. Although dated for Feb. 13, the Notice of Action did not arrive until Feb 20th. On the same day, DHS cashed my check (finally!). When I used my case # to check the status online, I saw that the last time the file had been touched was Feb 19. Checking your case status every hour to see if there are any changes, often becomes an obsession of folks going through this process!
Feb 13 -- NOA1 dated (Notice of Action, the petition has been recieved)
Feb 19 -- Touched (Someone has handled our file)
Feb 20 -- Check cashed, NOA1 arrives snail mail!
Feb 22 -- Touched (Someone has handled our file)
Waiting, waiting, waiting...
My advice for the waiting period - relax and have faith! Do whatever it takes to keep your stress levels down. This is easier said than done, but worrying will not help.
One beautiful morning, I woke up and checked my email and saw that USCIS had sent me 3 emails! Our I-129 F petition had been approved, in only 28 days! (If you sign up for updates online, you can request to be notified by email when there is a change in the case status)
Mar 8 -- NOA2 email! (USCIS has approved our I-129 F Petition)
Why did it take only 28 days for approval?
The Vermont Service Center (VSC) processes I-129 F cases petitioned by US citizens living in the following States: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, West Virginia. However, if you live in any of the other States, your case will be processed at the California Service Center(CSC). This means that CSC is overwhelmed with I-129 F petitions while VSC has a relatively light caseload. In fact at the time I applied 28 days was a relatively long wait for approval. Some couples going through VSC recieved approval in 3 - 8 days! In comparison, the wait at the CSC is about 3 months.
After USCIS Approval
After your petition has been approved, it will be sent to the National Visa Center (NVC) for what is usually a quick review. The NVC then sends the petition to the US Consulate you listed on your I-129F. Once your case has been approved, you can wait a few days and then start calling the NVC to see if they have recieved your petition. A live operator at the NVC will be able to give you your new case #, which will allow you track your case as it makes its way through the Department of State. Things move much quicker here...generally they seem to perform secondary security checks and pull aside a very small percentage of marked files for the dreaded administrative review (AR). You may also call into the NVC to check on the date your case was sent to the Consulate.
Mar 12 -- NVC recieves
Mar 15 -- NVC sends out
The NVC will send your case to the embassy through DHL. You might be able to see when its sent by tracking packages from the zip code of the NVC in New Hampshire on the DHL wbsite. Once the embassy recieves your case, they will send what is called Packet 3 to the foriegn fiance. Packet 3 contains the K-1 visa Instruction Letter, along with info about obtaining a medical exam.
Mar. 26 -- Packet 3 arrives in Arusha
The K-1 Visa Instruction Letter
Below there is a general outline of what the Instruction Letter contained, along with specific details about our experience in Tanzania in regards to each of the items.
- PASSPORT with at least six months validity beyond the issuance date of the visa:
K applied for his Tanzania passport a week or two after we submitted the I-129 F petition. We had no idea how long it would take but we wanted to be sure that it would come in time for the interview. He paid 150,000 Tz SH for expedited service and he recieved it about a week later. Apply for the TZ passport early, if you do not already have one. Its one less thing to worry about! Also very important:THE NAME ON THE PASSPORT MUST MATCH THE NAME ON THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE. The name on the petition must also match the name on the birth cert. and the passport, for both the beneficiary and any children, regardless of whether or not they are applying for a visa. This might seem obvious but its not uncommon in Tanzania for people to use a different name than that which is on their birth certificate.
- BIRTH CERTICATES Your original birth certificate plus one original or certified copy of the birth certificate of each unmarried child under 21, named in the application is required, even if they are not applying for a visa at this time. The certificate must state the date and place of birth and names of both parents.
K already had his birth certificate. When he applied for it in 2004, it took 6 months for it to come back because it's more difficult to obtain a birth certificate for Tanzanians who are over the age of 5 years old. We did have to get K's 3 year old sons birth certificate. K started the process in mid March however the lady he was dealing with was not serious - she was always out of the office, at the village. She was obviously stalling and this delayed us. However once he found somene who was serious within the office, it took only about 2 weeks to get the birth certificate for his son. Persistence and perseverence are so important. You can usually find a beauracrat who is willing to help, but you have to keep in constant contact, be polite but always persistent. The funny thing is that after all this, when we went for the interview at the consulate and handed K's son's birth cert. to the consular office, she returned it to us saying it was unneeded. In spite of this, we do reccommend that you go ahead and obtain the birth certificate(s) of child(ren) listed in the petition per the K-1 instructions because its better to be safe than sorry.
- PHOTOGRAPHS: Two (2) passport style photographs are required.
This is pretty straight forward. Make sure that the photographer uses a white background, does not retouch or alter the photos in any way, and that the size of your head in the photograph is according to the US passport size standards. We paid between 2500-6000 Tsh for 4 passport photos at different places. Some places just dont know what they are doing and you might have to argue with them to do it again, the correct way.
- EVIDENCE OF RELATIONSHIP: You will be asked to submit evidence that you have previously met your fiancé(e), and proof of a valid fiancé(e) relationship with your petitioner. It is, therefore, useful to bring with you letters, photographs, or other evidence of your engagement.
We created a 2 inch binder divided up into sections:
- Evidence of meeting within last two years, contained all the evidence submitted with the I-129 F petition, but with originals instead of copies;
- Emails section contained almost every email we had sent to each other over the course of our relationship;
- Chats section contained almost every chat session we shared on Gmail;
- Text logs contained logs of text messages I had sent to K using SMScountry, a very low cost text messaging service on the web;
- Phone records section contained logs of phone calls I had made to Tanzania using Pingo, an online calling card service.
- We also included letters and cards we had sent to each other via postal mail and about 30 $5 Bongo Africa calling cards.
- A separate folder with 10 pages of photos of us together, including pix of our engagement ceremony. For whatever reason, we didnt really have a lot of photos taken together. When I traveled to TZ for the consular interview, we took the time to take 2 rolls of photos with friends and most importantly with family! Take lots of pictures! You see all the evidence above? The consular office did not take one look at it (though I'm glad we had it) He asked to see PICTURES!!!!
Note: Most of the evidence came from the 4 month period of Jan-April 2007, as like normal couples we didnt think to keep evidence of our relationship! But once we started filing the petition we were aware of all the evidence we would potentially need at the interview and began keeping things like phone cards, signing up for services that would keep record of phone calss, text messages, etc.
- POLICE RECORDS: Each applicant aged 16 years or over is required to submit a certificate from the appropriate judicial or police authorities from the country of the applicant’s nationality or current residence where the applicant has resided for at least six months since attaining the age of sixteen
K went to the Arusha police headquarters, where he filled out a form and paid a small fee. They took his fingerprints and mailed them to the National Police Headquarters in Dar es Salaam. He paid for expedited shipping. There is a specific office in Dar that deals with fingerprint records and issues a document which states that they searched for the applicants records but with no result. ALL YOU NEED IS THE DOCUMENT FROM THE NATIONAL POLICE RECORDS OFFICE SAYING THEY SEARCHED YOUR FINGERPRINTS AND FOUND NO RECORD OF CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. You do not need anything from your Regional police station, other than to have them take your fingerprints and send them to Dar. The man in the national office held K's police report until he went to Dar for his medical exam. This all took about 7-8 working days. K was persistent and kept in constant contact with the woman at the Arusha police dept and the man in Dar.
- EVIDENCE OF SUPPORT: Evidence which will show that you and your children, if any, are not likely to become public charges in the United States. The enclosed information sheet. Form I-864, lists evidence which may be presented to meet this requirement of law. If an affidavit of support is to be submitted, Form I-134 should be used.
J did not meet the poverty guidelines and therefore needed a co-sponsor. J's father was kind enough to fill this role. Even if you do not meet the poverty guidelines, you are still considered the primary sponsor and must fill out the I-134 with supporting documentation. We organized everything very nicely, in separate report covers, with outline of contents and tabs for each section. The consular officer appreciated everything being well organized. Get multiple copies of all documentation. If you get 3 orginals of the employment and bank letters, you will have one copy to give to the embassy, one copy to keep for yourself and one for the I-864 form, when you apply to adjust the status of the foriegn fiance, after he/she arrives in the states
.The medical examination takes about 2 weeks to schedule and costs about 155,000 Tsh. You must arrive on time, no matter what, rain or shine or else they will cancel your appointment and you have to wait another 2 weeks. The office is next door to Best Bite in Dar. You will be examined by the doctor and tested for a number of diseases including HIV. You may also be drug tested. You will then be sent to another hospital for a chest x-ray. If you don' t already have immunizations, you will have to recieve them (the fee includes immunizations). Be sure to ask for copies of the reports. Once the foreign fiance arrives in the states, s/he will need the immunization report to take to a US Civil Surgeon, who will fill out I-693 A, the vaccination supplement (which is required for the I-485 AOS application).
Apr 17 -- Medical
Apr 23 -- Paid $100 at City Bank to Schedule interview
Scheduling the Interview
You need to schedule your interview in the same manner as other non-immigrant visa applicants. You go to the City Bank office in downtown Dar and pay the $100 fee. They are open M-Th, 8am-11am. Arrive early as a crowd begins to form prior to opening. You must bring 2 copies of the DS-156, non-immigrant visa application. This is an E-form which must be filled out online. Your responses will then be generated into a PDF. You must also bring 2 passport size photos. The $100 fee must be paid in Tanzanian Shillings. At that time, it was 135,000 TSH. We tried to pay with a $100 bill, at that time the equivalent of about 126,000 TSH. However, the cashier told us if we were going to pay in dollars it would be $130 dollars. Luckily we had just enough TSH to avoid that rip off. Once you pay the fee, you will be scheduled for the next available interview slot. This is interesting -- In Ghana, you have to wait 6 months for an interview date. In other places its about 1 month. In Tanzania at that time, the wait was 24 hours. We were scheduled for an interview the next day at 8:30 am! Of course, we knew this would be the case and we're grateful as I was only in Tanzania for a week in order to be present for the interview.
The Interview...
We left the house around 6am and arrived at the embassy around 7:45 am. (Traffic in Dar is horrendous). We went through security and entered the embassy. The guard asked us if we had filled out DS-157, the Supplemental Nonimmigrant Visa Application. We had, but there were extra blank copies for those who had not. When you first enter the embassy, you go up to Window 1 for the intial document review. If you don't have the appropriate forms and photos, you will be turned away.
As we made our way to Window 1, a minister came out of Window 2, where interviews take place and said "Ok you would like to hear us sing?" Just then, the man who was being helped at Window 1 stepped away. So we assumed it was our turn. As we stepped up to the window, we saw about 4-5 consular officers standing stogether, facing us. I was so shocked, wondering what is going on. K thought this was normal and started to hand them the documents. Still confused, I turned around. It was then that I saw about 30 people standing in the lobby in a formation. Then it occured to me: this was a choir group that wanted to travel to the US and the consular officers wanted to hear them sing. I grabbed K's arm and pulled him away from the Window, as we were blocking the view! He looked at me like I was crazy and asked what is going on? And I pointed to the choir and said theyre going to sing for the consular staff.
So we stood there with our front row view, and listened as this group of men and women sang the most beautiful Christian praise song in Swahili. We're not Christians at all but we couldnt help but be moved by this powerful performance. They were awesome. K and I looked at each other, like is this really happening? It really felt magical. Tears came to my eyes and the whole weight of this process began to release. There was no doubt, this was going to be a blessed day. The choir group finished up and everyone in the room applaused. The consular officers behind the window were smiling, looking very happy and pleased.
At Window 1, we were asked for DS-156, DS-156 K, DS-157, the passport, the birth certificate, the medical exam results (they didnt need the large X-ray), the police certificate, financial support documentation, and passport photos. She told us to sit down and wait to be called.
We sat and listened as all the various applicants were interviewed one by one. Most were applying for tourist visas and most were approved. Those that came with evidence that they had ties to Tanzania (married with children, owned property, had a well paying job) got their visas; those who could not show ties back to Tanzania did not recieve visas on the grounds that they might not come back. Most of the choir members recieved visas, but the younger members who were still in school or did not have good jobs did not. Listening to the consular officer, a young white man, it was clear that he was a very kind and reasonable person. He was very polite and courteous. He also told all the denied applicants that they could call him anytime if they had questions and he would be happy to explain immigration law to them.
So we waited, reading magazines and listening to all the interviews. One interesting interview was with an old mama from Moshi. She was called up to the Window, but took a while to go up as she looked very confused. The consular officer said "Shikamoo Mama". He apologized for the long wait. I really didnt think that she was going to be approved becuase she seemed very confused in her interview, but she got the visa.
As time went on there were fewer and fewer people in the room. As it got down to the last 5 or so people it was obvious that we were going to be interviewed last. Around 12 pm, we were the last ones in the room. We heard the consular officer looking through our paperwork and commenting that he had never done a K-1 before. He took some time to prepare and we were called up around 12:20 PM.
He aplogized when we got up to the window, explaining that there was a choir of 30 people who needed to be interviewed that morning. We said no problem. The interview lasted about 5-7 minutes and was more of a conversation then an interrogation. He asked to see pictures
Apr 24 -- Interview, Approved
Apr 27 -- Picked up passport
May 4 -- POE JFK
