A common question in immigrant visa interviews is whether or not you have adequate financial resources to succeed after your arrival in America. This can be tricky, as some countries do not require proof of money before granting citizenship, so it is best to be prepared with all of your documents!
Many immigrants are able to stay in this country by living off their savings or receiving significant income while they are waiting for approval. If you fall into one of these categories, then there is nothing wrong with having less than $5,000 per year in savings!
However, if you do not fit either of those two scenarios, then it may be difficult to remain in America without investing more money. You should definitely factor that potential cost into your decision making process, but only once you are certain that you want to live here!
This article will go over some basic questions about your finances that most immigration officers ask during an interview. But first, let us talk about what kind of information they need to evaluate when determining if you can survive in the United States.
A business trip or vacation can easily become more expensive if you don’t have enough money to travel. It costs money to book a flight, find an inexpensive hotel, and take public transportation to get around, not to mention buying food and exploring the area.
In fact, it is very common for people who are traveling for work to run into significant expenses of transport, accommodation, and meal costs. Because of this, many professionals carry large amounts of cash so they do not need to spend too much money on groceries, hotels, and rides.
This is totally fine and understandable, but it also creates another problem. Due to all of the extra money that travelers carry, their homes back in the country often remain empty because there is no one home to stay for. This breaks down community bonds and helps fuel the vicious cycle of loneliness that we mentioned earlier.
A dependent can only live in the country as your companion for two years unless you have an extended stay or immigrant visa. So, it is important to be clear about what time frame you will be traveling with this person before coming to America as their partner.
It’s also important to remember that even if you both hold valid passports, your dependent may not be allowed into the United States without you! This could potentially end up costing large amounts of money to reenter or repatriate.
So, make sure you don’t break up just because you won’t get along after two years! It’s better to leave early than spend thousands of dollars trying to bring your ex back.
A non-immigrant K-1 visa is only granted to individuals who will act as a spouse or dependent child of the applicant. This includes unmarried heterosexual partners, married couples where one person has children from a previous relationship, and same-sex relationships.
There are some exceptions to this rule. If you’re an eligible family member (sibling, parent, grandparent) then you do not need to be certified as an accompanying relative for the K-1 visa holder. However, if your relation to the principal alien becomes closer than that after arrival in the U.S., like being his/her roommate, they may request you to certify as an accompanying relative for immigration purposes.
This article will go into more detail about what kind of documentation must exist to prove eligibility as a K-1 dependent. But first, let us look at some common reasons why someone might qualify as a dependant under the K-1 visa classification.
Being approved for a K-1 visa does not mean you are automatically granted permission to enter the United States as a tourist or visiting scholar. You must still meet the criteria for that visa!
The process of being admitted into the U.S. as a nonimmigrant student usually goes something like this: You submit an application, which is reviewed by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials. Then you go through an interview where more detailed questions are asked.
After passing both those steps, your application is sent off to a university or other sponsoring organization in the U.S. That organization reviews your documents and forms, and makes sure they match what we have on file. If everything checks out, then you’re done!
Your new card will say “student” instead of “nonresident alien” and may even carry some extra benefits such as health insurance. But remember, it takes time for us to review applications so there can be a delay before that happens.
After you have completed all of your application processes, you will be contacted to schedule an interview with USCIS at their office or via phone call. Your interviewer will go through several questions regarding your intentions while in America, whether you will marry here, and if there are any other family members that will help take care of you while you are here.
They may also ask about how much money you will have coming from home and what kind of job you can find while living here. This is so they know if you will easily afford the life you promised or not!
Lastly, they will make sure you understand the process for staying in America as a fiancé/spouse and working here.
The next step in process is to gather all of your documents, make sure they are in order, and be ready to show them during your interview.
You will also want to have some notes that include things like your name, address, phone number, etc. This way you do not forget anything important when you go to look it up or find it.
Make sure to check out our article on how to prepare for an F1 visa interview before yours!
The timing of this meeting is usually set several weeks ahead, so being prepared at least two weeks prior is adequate time.
Even though you have been given permission to enter the country, it is still important to dress properly for your visa interview. If you do not, it can look bad on your part!
You don’t want to be wearing something that does not fit you or your clothes, or no shirt under your jacket, etc. These are all things that can hurt your image so try to be relaxed and comfortable in what you choose to wear.
It is also helpful if you bring along some form of business related material such as an email, brochure, flyer, or note about yourself/your company. This helps prove that you will use the income from this career moving forward which makes your application more legitimate.
If you have a visa prequalification form, you can just print that out and take it with you during your visit. Otherwise, you will need to bring two copies of each document you signed at home as well as two photocopies of this article!
That is not very practical since we are telling you about k-1 visa interviews now. So what you should do is go through our list below and make sure you have all the necessary documents before the meeting.
We also recommend bringing an appointment reminder in case you get lost or there is a delay in the meeting.
