US K1 Fiancee Visa from Thailand

K1 Visa Requirements

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K1 Visa Requirements

K-1 Visa Requirements / K-3 Visa Requirements:

Affidavit of Support

K-1 Visa requirements and K-3 Visa requirements are essentially, Immigration officials want to ensure that the immigrant spouse or fiancé will not become a public charge (welfare recipient) once he or she enters the United States

When bringing a spouse or fiancé from Thailand to live permanently in the U.S, a petitioner must accept legal responsibility for financially supporting the spouse or fiancé. The petitioner accepts this responsibility and becomes a K-1 or K-3 sponsor by completing and signing a document called an Affidavit of Support.

K-1 Visa Requirements / K-3 Visa Requirements:

Income Requirement

Part of the K-1 Visa requirements and the K-3 Visa requirements is to ensure that the petitioner is able to meet the income eligibility requirement in the Affidavit of Support he or she must show that his/her income is 125% of the poverty line. The chart below shows the current poverty guidelines for 2012 along with the calculation necessary to determine if a petitioner’s income meets the 125% requirement. (Note: Active Duty military personnel need only show an income that meets the poverty guidelines level).

2012 POVERTY GUIDELINES FOR IMMIGRANT VISA PROCESSING (125% of Poverty Line)

Persons in Family or Household	48 Contiguous States and D.C. 100% of HHS Poverty Guideline (125% of HHS Poverty Guideline)	Alaska 100% of HHS (125% of HHS)	Hawaii 100% of HHS (125% of HHS)
2	$15,130 ($18,912)	$18,920 ($23,650)	$17,410 ($21,762)
3	$19,090 ($23,862)	$23,870 ($29,837)	$21,960 ($27,450)
4	$23,050 ($28,812)	$28,820 ($36,025)	$26,510 ($33,137)
5	$27,010 ($33,762)	$33,770 ($42,212)	$31,060 ($38,825)
6	$30,970 ($38,712)	$38,720 ($48,400)	$35,610 ($44,512)
7	$34,930 ($43,662)	$43,670 ($54,587)	$40,160 ($50,200)
8	$38,890 ($48,612)	$48,620 ($60,775)	$44,710 ($55,887)
For each additional person, add	$3,960 ($4,950)	$4,950 ($6,187)	$4,550 ($5,687)

SOURCE: Federal Register, Vol. 77, No. 17, January 26, 2012, pp. 4034–4035

Petitioner for a K-1 Visa who does not meet the K-1 Visa Income Requirement

K-1 visa requirements and K-3 visa requirements does not have a hard and fast formula for qualifying a person as a sponsor. The most weight will be placed on income from current employment and the total unadjusted income shown on the three most recent tax returns. In most cases, a sponsor who is employed and can demonstrate the ability to earn income at or above 125% of the poverty line for the number of persons who will be supported will be found eligible. Immigration will look at the “whole picture” with regard to financial status if a petitioner does not have sufficient income to meet the K-1 visa requirements. USCIS will look at assets such as stocks, bonds, bank account balances, real estate, and any businesses owned by the petitioner.

Assets such as these are only counted at 1/5th of their current market value after subtraction of any debt, mortgages or liens.

Calculating Assets and Income for Thai K-1 Visa Requirements or K-3 Visa Requirements

Let’s say a petitioner is single and makes $11,500 per year. He owns a home worth $100,000 with an outstanding mortgage in the amount of $50,000. He also has a bank balance of $5,000. The USCIS will likely compute this situation as follows for the K-3 Visa and K-1 Visa requirement:

. $100,000-$50,000=$50,000/5=$10,000

. $5,000/5=$1,000

. $10,000+1,000=$11,000

We now take this $11,000 and add it to petitioner’s yearly income of $11,500. $11,500+$11,000= $22,500

It is clear that this amount ($22,500) exceeds 125% of the 2012 poverty guidelines ($18,912) even though petitioner’s yearly income does not meet the necessary standard for supporting two people at 125% of the poverty guidelines.

US K1 Fiancee Visa from Thailand

K1 Visa Requirements

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