Category: Fiance Visa

Employment authorization fiancee visa

After arrival on a Fiancee visa, how long must your new spouse have to wait before being permitted to work?

Many couples rely on two incomes, so knowing how soon your spouse may work, should she or he want to, or need to, is a critical part of your financial planning.

 

So lets start with where you are. You found someone from outside the USA. You fell in love. You got engaged. You applied for the K1 Fiancee visa, and now at long last, your fiancee has arrived to the USA.

After arrival, you two have 90 days to get married.

And you get married.

So now you have a foreign born spouse, who has a visa that is expiring soon, unless you take action, should leave the USA and return to home country.

Of course, the action that you must take, is to apply to USCIS to obtain permission for your new spouse to become a permanent resident.

Continue reading “Employment authorization fiancee visa”

Eligibility for Visas

Visa Eligibility Requirements: For Fiancee + Spouse Visas

Eligibility for a K-1 Fiancee Visa

To be successful to obtain a Fiance Visa the following K1 Eligibility Requirements must be met.

Sponsor is US Citizen
U.S. citizens ONLY, can sponsor an Alien Fiancee. Legal permanent residents are NOT eligible.

Free to Marry
You and your fiancé(e) must both be free to marry, at the time you submit your petition. This means that both of you are unmarried, or that any previous marriages have ended through divorce, annulment or death.g

Face to Face Meeting
You must also have met with your fiancé(e) in person, “face to face” within the last two years before filing.

Planning to Marry 
You must affirm that you both intend to marry during your fiancee’s stay in the USA

Bona Fide Relationship
You must be able to convince immigration that your relationship is genuine.

Financial Eligibility
To meet the K1 visa financial eligibility requirements, you must be able to prove your annual income is enough to support your entire household at at least 100% of the Federal poverty Guidelines..

Eligibility for a CR-1 Spouse Visa

To be successful to obtain a Spouse Visa the following Spouse Visa Eligibility requirements must be met.

Continue reading “Eligibility for Visas”

How to Prove Bona fide Relationship

How to Prove “Bona Fide” Relationship

The hardest part for any couple who is embarking on applying for a fiance or spouse visa to understand, is that at the end of the day the decision made by the consular officer reviewing the case, by the interviewer who has the absolute power to approve or deny, is that he or she is making a SUBJECTIVE decision bases on the APPEARANCES of your situation. Does the officer FEEL that in his or her OPINION, you APPEAR to be a bona fide couple?. Does he or she feel you appear to have followed a similar path that other couples in your partner’s country have traveled before?. Does your courtship APPEAR to follow normal and reasonable practices, timing, and so on?

 

Sad but true, What is expected by the officer, may not match what YOU want to do. Continue reading “How to Prove Bona fide Relationship”

How Denied B2 effects K1 Fiance Visa

Denied B-2 Visa: How it affects your K-1 Fiancee Visa Application

“I met this great gal online. She lives on the other side of the world. we haven’t met in-person yet. and I want to meet her face to face.” BUT…… “I am: too busy, afraid of flying, got no time, don’t like travel, don’t travel well, too expensive, It is better that she should come to me, ….”

Unfortunately there is no such thing as a “girlfriend” visa.

The closest alternatives are a B2 Visitor visa (sometimes called a tourist visa) or a K1 Fiance Visa.

But a fiancee visa requires that the couple has already met in-person, and not only that but that they are serious and want to marry. Often the guys most eager to pursue a visitor visa, aren’t quite ready to commit.

This leaves the B-2 Visitor visa.

 

Continue reading “How Denied B2 effects K1 Fiance Visa”

Visitor Visa for Fiance or Spouse

Obtaining a Visitor Visa for your Fiance: Avoid spoiling her chances?

 

Visitor Visa for K1 Fiance

“I met this great gal online. She lives on the other side of the world. we haven’t met in-person yet.  I want to meet her face to face.”

BUT……

“I am:  too busy,  afraid of flying, got no time, don’t like travel,
don’t travel well,  too expensive,  she should come to me, ….”

There is no such thing as a “girlfriend” visa.

The closest alternatives are a B2 Visitor visa (sometimes called a tourist visa) or a K1 Fiance Visa.

But a fiancee visa requires that the couple has already met in-person, and not only that but that they are serious and want to marry. Often the guys most eager to pursue a visitor visa,  aren’t quite ready to commit.

Continue reading “Visitor Visa for Fiance or Spouse”

90 Day Fiance Visa

90 Day K1 Fiancee Visa Rule

By now you may have come across a reality TV show called “90 Day Fiance”. This show is about couples who after surviving a long distance romance, have received their fiance visas, and are now together in the USA.

The rules for a Fiance Visa is that the couple must marry before the foreign fiance has been in the USA for over 90 days. If not, then the fiance must leave returning to his or her home country on day 90.

 

Continue reading “90 Day Fiance Visa”

2026 Income Requirements for Marriage Based Immigration

2026 Income Requirements for Marriage Based Immigration

Usually about 12-18  months in after applying for a fiance or spouse visa, or at the get-go when applying for green card and permanent residency, you will have to provide clear evidence of your income to convincingly demonstrate your future family will not need welfare or other public benefits. It is best to understand what the exact dollar requirements are early, before moving forward, so that you can make sure you have all that is needed, or if you are lacking so that you have time to find a financial co-sponsor.

In order to successfully petition for your spouse or
fiancee to come to the USA, or obtain a Green Card after marriage,
in the USA, you the US sponsor must demonstrate to US Immigration that you have
enough income coming in, to support your new spouse, and whole household.

The minimum financial requirement is that you must have income
equal to and preferably more than 100% of the poverty
income level where you live to be eligible to sponsor a
Fiancee Visa, and over 125% of the poverty level to be
eligible for Spousal Visa or Adjustment of Status.

And often, even when applying for a fiance visa the consular officer might
apply the higher 125% range, at his/her discretion. So its best whenever
possible to aim to exceed the higher standard.

Each year the Department of Health and Human Services
publishes their Poverty Guidelines.

As of March 2026, for residents in the
continental US the Financial Eligibility requirements
are as follows.

Required Annual Income (For Fiancee Visa)

$21,640, if 2 Persons in Family or Household
$27,320, if 3 Persons in Family or Household
$33,000, if 4 Persons in Family or Household

For each Additional person add $5,680

Required Annual Income (For Spousal Visa or Green Card)

$27,050, if 2 Persons in Family or Household
$34,150, if 3 Persons in Family or Household
$41,250, if 4 Persons in Family or Household

For each Additional person add $7,100

The Financial eligibility thresholds are lower for
active military, and higher for residents of
Alaska or Hawaii.

Proving your Income.

Normally you provide your most recent Federal Tax Return,
3 pay stubs showing ‘Year to date’ earnings,
plus a letter from your employer confirming your
job, and what your expected annual pay is.

If your income might be low, but you have
‘money in the bank’ your cash assets, can be used as
a alternative for annual income.

‘Cash’ assets are assets which can be easily converted
(sold) to cash. For example: stocks, bonds, certificates of
deposit, cash in the bank

You may have a lot of other assets such as your car, boat, coin
collection, business or investment property but because these
can NOT be easily turned to cash immigration will not accept
them as alternatives to annual income.

The one exception to an asset that is hard to convert, but
CAN be counted is your home. If the market value of
your home is higher than your mortgage you may use
the equity just like a cash asset.

$5 cash assets is the equivalent of $1 annual income

For example, a retired Fiancee Visa sponsor living in California,
with NO income, and no dependents would need to have
5 times $21,640 or $108,200 in cash assets to quality for the Fiancee Visa.

Alternatively a combination of income and assets can work.

For example, if the sponsors income is $10,000 per year,
then his annual income is short by $11,640 so he should have 5 times
that amount or $58,200 cash or convertible assets
to qualify.

This is calculated by subtracting $10,000 from the annual
requirement of $21,640. And then the difference of $11,640
times Five equals $ 58,200 of cash assets needed.

What if you don’t have enough income OR assets?

In that case you could ask a relative or friend to act as a co or joint-sponsor.

Just like buying a car, your joint-sponsor could ‘co-sign’ your loan.

When a joint-sponsor is used the size of the household increases.
The combined household (for the financial calculations) would include
the household size of the sponsor combined with the household
size of the co-sponsor.

For example, a college student petitioning for his fiancee,
asks his father to joint-sponsor.

Both the college student and the father would each complete an
affidavit of support. The student’s household is just 2 persons,
himself and his fiancee. The father’s household would be father, mother, and the two siblings
still living at home.

Thus the combined household would be 6 persons,

and the combined income of both sponsor and joint-sponsor
would have to be $44,360 or more.

A joint-sponsor can be used for any Spousal Visa or
Adjustment of Status petition, and can be used for MOST
Fiancee Visa petitions.
However, not all consulates allow the use of a joint-sponsor for a Fiancee Visa.

For example: Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Nigeria do not.

If you are applying for a Fiancee visa and need a joint-sponsor,
before filing the petition, best is to contact the consulate directly and
confirm whether the consulate’s policies permit the use of a
financial joint-sponsor or not. If they won’t allow a co-sponsor then
switch plans, marry then apply for a spouse visa, and your co-sponsor
can be used when needed.

This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach

How to get Social Security Number during Covid 19

You don’t realize how important it is to have a social security number until
you don’t have one. The SSN is required to open up bank accounts, get medical insurance, get a drivers license,
work, and even to be able to be charged lower income tax on a filing as married tax return.

It’s important, it’s necessary, but has been nearly impossible to get during the Pandemic.
Social Security requires an in-person meeting, to apply for the number. And as
Social Security closed offices to the public back in March, this puts your new
immigrant fiance or spouse in between a rock and a hard place.

Fortunately, I recently went through this process with a client of mine, and in this
video will teach you what I found out, so you can get an SSN for your fiance or spouse.

Now, lets talk about “How to get that elusive Social Security number while Social Security offices
are on Covid 19 lock down.”

Normally to obtain a Social Security number (SSN), after immigrating to the USA on a spouse,
relative, or fiancée visa, one goes in person to the nearest Social Security Administration
(SSA) office presents identification and receives the SSN a month later.

Unfortunately during the COVID-19 pandemic most Social Security offices are closed and not
allowing in-person visits. This has caused a lot of frustration and delays for new immigrants
who need a social security number in order to open up bank accounts, get insurance, and apply for work.

Fortunately, you can still get the SSN. Here’s how.

The procedure is not publicly described at their websites, so to find out exactly what to do and how,
you MUST make a few phone calls to SSA to find out how and what to do in your area.

That’s exactly what I did recently and now I will share my experience with you.

K1 Fiance Visa

A recently arrived K-1 fiancée visa traveler, is eligible to obtain a Social Security number
by applying between day 15 and day 60 after arrival. Even though publicly and officially SSA
is closed to the public and not conducting in-person interviews, in practice they are conducting
some interviews and currently WILL do so for your Fiance Visa partner.

The way to do this is as follows:

Step 1: Google search for the telephone number of your local Social Security office, Call them. Identify yourself
that you need a first time, Social Security number for a recently arrived K-1 fiancée visa holder.

The key words to emphasise are “FIRST TIME”. The first operator you call probably can’t help, but should redirect you to
another number, at another office. You may need to make a series of phone calls. Rinse and repeat until you
finally reach the single, there is always one, actual office in your area that is handling First Time cases.

Step 2: Over the phone, provide detailed information about your fiancé including his/her local contact information and telephone numbers.

Step 3: Eventually, few days, or weeks, you will be called back and your Fiance provided a date to come in for
an in-person interview. The caller ID will says “US Government”‘. But it is not a spam call. It is Social Security.
I almost blocked the call cause I get many spam calls claiming to be something they are not. But this is legit.

An appointment date will be set, usually for a few days later. Your fiancé should bring passport, a filled in SSN application
(https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf) and I-94. The I-94 is available online. https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/,

It’s also a good idea to bring original and a photocopy or a certified copy and photocopy of your Fiance’s birth Certificate.
Eventually the Social Security number will be issued.

If you are already married, and if your new spouse has changed last name to yours, also bring the marriage certificate and a photocopy.

Social Security may or may not issue the SSN in the married name. Either way is OK, but is worthwhile to ask as it would save
you another trip later.. If they prefer to issue in the maiden name, and they regularly do insist on this because they
often only will issue the SSN to the name shown on the passport and I-94.

It is not a problem. Later once you get green card or work authorization return to Social Security, hopefully by then the pandemic is past,
and update to the new married name.

Regular Immigration (Spouse or Relative)

In the case of regular immigration, such as your spouse arriving on a CR1 or IR1 visa or a family member,
or diversity lottery winner, the process is similar.

Step 1: Google search for a local Social Security office’s telephone number Call and identify yourself that you
need a first time, Social Security number for a new immigrant. Emphasize “FIRST TIME”. The first person you call
probably can’t help, but should redirect you to another number, at another office. Rinse and repeat till you are
talking to the office in your area assigned to handle such cases.

Step 2: They will give you their mailing address and instruct your immigrant to mail them, passport and the filled in
social security number application form.

Step 3: Send to the Social Security Office,the immigrant’s passport, it show have his/her arrival visa,
and the social security number application form. https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf
Use certified mail with tracking. You don’t want to take any chance that your passport gets lost.

Step 4: Eventually the Social Security office will call, and schedule a time to go to the
designated office, meet with the clerk and be approved for the SSN. There the clerk checks your passport id page
matches the applicant. Passport is returned at that time. And social security number is issued by mail a few weeks later.

This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach

Effects of Biden Presidency on Fiancee, Spouse + Green card Immigration

President Trump promised a “Wall” to reduce immigration. While only partial progress on a concrete and steel wall was accomplished, great strides were made in limiting legal immigration via a paper wall of stringent policies that greatly increased the complexity and difficulty of passing through the immigration process.

President-Elect Biden has yet to take office, however I do expect that within the first hundred days of his taking office, deliberate executive action will be taken in an attempt to unravel the “Trump effect” on immigration.

This is GOOD news for Applicants.

Today I am going to forecast how I expect the Biden Administration’s occupancy of the White House to affect your application.

President Trump vowed to reduce immigration. And he was successful.  Over 450 executive and administrative adjustments, both major and subtle, were made to toughen immigration rules and procedures. He instituted extreme vetting, where all applicants are more highly scrutinized than ever before, Banned entire countries from being allowed visas to the USA, added tighter Public Benefits eligibility requirements which created a virtual “wealth test”, and instituted a pervasive organization wide culture change in the way that USCIS views and treats immigrants.

United States Citizenship and Immigration service (USCIS), once viewed immigrants as its clients, to be served. It’s officers traditionally believed they were following a pro-immigrant, humanitarian mission. The mission was to help refugees escape persecution, American Companies bring in needed talent, and reunify families with their loved ones.

Many officers initially joined USCIS in order to pursue that noble mission. In the recent four years many of these same officers, disillusioned, have resigned, as under Trump, the priorities changed from helping eligible immigrants come to the USA,  to finding ways to keep them out.

In 2018, under the Director selected by Trump, USCIS’s official mission statement was drastically altered. Removed were references to a “nation of immigrants” and to immigrants as “customers” whom the agency serves.  Now the mission statement basically reads “enforce immigration laws”. Immigrants are no longer customers, now they are suspects. USCIS’s Budget for fraud prevention and detection doubled between 2016 and 2020

Here’s my forecast of what’s going to happen after President-Elect Biden takes office..

#1 New USCIS Director

To reverse the current “anti-immigrant” culture at USCIS will require a top down management change. That will start when President-elect Biden  chooses a new director of USCIS, and assigns him or her the mandate to return USCIS to it’s prior mission of treating immigrants as clients, not adversaries, and working towards assisting them navigate lawful, and proper immigration. With new top down guidance, USCIS should relax it’s restrictionist “extreme vetting” and move to return to its earlier, more Humanitarian mission.

#2 End of Immigrant Harassment

While detailed and proper screening of applicants is reasonable, unfortunately in recent years the application review process has deteriorated from normal and expected due diligence into in essence, in many cases, deliberate  harassment. Requests for evidence ( RFE’s) were frequently issued for non-material reasons.

Cases were denied for similarly trivial issues such as leaving fields that were not applicable, blank. Or incorrectly writing not applicable as NA vs N/A.

Revised Forms with no real modifications,  would be announced and instead of giving adequate time usually one or two months for applicants to change over to the new versions, only One, single,  day notice was given. And the applications that were already in the mail which had used the earlier nearly identical version, and which was the correct one to use on the day of mailing,  were rejected.

Cases that previously would not require an interview, would be held and delayed many months awaiting availability of already overworked and limited interviewing staff.

For a few months this summer, even cases which had successfully gone through the entire tedious process, including interview and official APPROVAL, were put on hold, waiting many months for the printing of their approved work, travel and green cards. A long term contract USCIS had with the printing company had expired. And even though the contract’s expiry date, and need for replacement was known, long, realistically years in advance, no action on USCIS’s part to replace the contract and obtain alternative printing was taken, at least not until a court order forced USCIS to take proper action.

This change of attitude will rely on the New top management at USCIS. Their leadership will be critical to return USCIS to a culture of helping immigrants versus holding them back.

#3 Faster Processing

Less energy wasted by USCIS staff seeking excuses to delay individual cases, will result in more efficient, smoother and overall faster processing of cases.

#4 Lower Denial Rate

With restriction of immigration no longer being the guiding rule of the day, expect the cases that were previously denied due to trivial and non-material issues, or which were not given opportunity to clarify and justify misunderstandings now should receive a fairer hearing, and the approval rate should rise accordingly..

#5 Fee increase to be adjusted downwards

USCIS does not receive taxpayer dollars to pay for its operations. Instead it is self funded by the fees it charges immigrants. Originally to be effective on October 2, USCIS had requested an overhaul of its fee structure. The fees for some applications such as green cards and US citizenship went through the roof, they increased tremendously.

At the moment, this fee increase is temporarily on hold, halted by a court injunction.

The new fees requested are calculated based on what USCIS feels is needed to pay for its operations. I expect that under the Biden Administration the future, “user friendlier” USCIS, will find that since less time and energy is wasted, deliberately trying to obstruct the immigration process, that their operations will be more efficient, and less costly. Once the cost accountants do the math again, the fee increases needed may be found unnecessary, or only a smaller increase is needed.

#6 End to “Trump” or “Muslim” Travel Ban

The so-called “Muslim ban” that bans the issuance of visas to the USA from citizens of 15 countries, Chad, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela and Yemen will be lifted.

#7 Public Benefits “wealth test” Dropped

The most effective stumbling block to Legal immigration, to come out of the Trump administration was the broadening of the definition of what constitutes a public benefit. This new definition has been used to make it much more difficult for an immigrant to be deemed eligible to receive a green card and permanent residency in the USA. Not only are applicants required to prove that they never received public benefits, but must also convince the officer that in the future, no matter what happened, they would not possibly, conceivably, never, ever need public benefits forever into the future. This “wealth test”, and it’s extremely complicated resulting application paperwork will be removed or at very least greatly relaxed.

How Soon for these changes to happen ?

Immigration is not a hot-button issue for President-elect Biden as it was for President Trump. After the first few popular and headline grabbing executive orders are announced, namely dropping of the “muslim ban” and :”wealth test”, and appointment of a new USCIS Director, the rest of the job to reverse  the “Trump effect” will most likely be left in the hands of the newly appointed USCIS management.

We all hope President-elect Biden chooses the new USCIS Director well. This choice will determine how fast and how well the intricate unraveling of so many changes, procedures, policies and overall mentality that the Trump administration injected into US immigration takes place.

It’s going to take time. It may take years, and perhaps more than one administration to get back to where we once were.

Covid Vaccinations required for US Immigration

US requires Covid Vaccinations for Immigration

Starting October 1, 2021 Applicants for immigration visas to the USA such as CR1 spouse and CR2 Dependent visas and including those who arrive on a K1 fiance visas who after marriage apply for adjustment of status, to get Green Cards, must all have approved Covid vaccinations

Update: DOS has amended their policy. Now K1 visa applicants must show proof of covid vaccinations at their consular medical, not only after arrival when applying for adjustment of status.

And if multiple vaccinations are required,

all must be administered before the granting of Visa or Green Card.

Not only the Pfizer, Moderna Johnson & Johnson vaccinations approved for use in the USA will be acceptable but any covid vaccination that is approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO) will also be acceptable.

Alternative vaccines such as AstraZeneca,  Covishield and Covaxin, Sputnik, Sinopharm and Sinovac, among others are currently acceptable to meet the vaccination requirement.

If the appropriate vaccines are not available, or not age-appropriate, such as for children under 12, or are medically inadvisable due to allergic reactions or other medical issues, an automatic waiver is granted.

This will be handled by the Clinic providing consular medicals, or the USCIS civil surgeon in USA while confirming vaccinations.

If the application has moral or religious objections she or he will need to apply for waiver, which would be granted or denied at US immigration’s discretion

This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach,
here to personally guide you on this journey.

 

Spouse + Fiancee Visa Service for Ex-pats

VisaCoach’s assistance for American Ex-pats to apply for Spouse or Fiancee visas while remaining outside the USA during the process

If you are currently outside the USA, living together with your foreign partner and now are ready to relocate back to the USA and bring your partner with you.

I have good news.

You do not need to leave him or her, return alone to the USA, then apply for them to eventually follow. Instead you can apply for the fiance or spouse visa from outside the USA.
You don’t have to separate. You can remain together for the entire process.

I was an ex-pat living in Asia myself for about 20 years. I did this for myself and my wife Joyce.

I can help you too.

Most couples we help are involved in long distance romances. They communicate via webcam and text,
and only get the once in a while, rare opportunity, to spend in-person time together after long trips over
international waters.

But some lucky couples, like you, are not separated by international borders. Instead they live together, outside the USA.
And once they are ready to relocate to the USA, they ask :
“Must the American return to the USA alone to apply for a fiance or spouse visa? Is there a away they can avoid long separations?’

The happy answer is they Can remain together. No long separation is necessary.

Your visa application can be submitted while they remain outside the USA. And once your fiance or spouse visa is issued,  you as a couple, hand in hand, can together can board the flight to your future lives in the USA.

I lived as an expat, living outside the USA, primarily in Taiwan and Hong Kong for about 20 years. I am very familiar with that lifestyle and the issue of bringing one’s spouse and family back to the USA. In my case when my oldest child was 6 years old I knew it was time to return as I wanted to enroll him in kindergarten and public school in the USA.

I regularly help expatriate couples prepare their petitions while they are living together outside the USA. We work together using email, Internet (I provide a password access page for you where I post specific instructions and documents for your case), and by priority mail or courier.
This is the procedure VisaCoach follows for Ex-pat cases, that allows the you to remain outside the USA for the whole process.

1. After I get to know you and your partner I set up an account page for you online at VisaCoach.com. There I post a personalized checklist of all documents and evidence needed for successful preparation of your case. I also prepare all the forms needed for the application which require your signature.

2. You follow your checklist and collect the civil documents, evidence, photographs and various proofs of bona fides. You print out the documents that have been prepared for your signature and sign them. You combine all into a single envelope, then send to my offices via international courier such as DHL or Fedex.

3. On receiving your envelope, I carefully comb through it’s contents to prepare your application. If you were living in the USA I would mail the application directly to you. But as you are overseas that is not convenient, as it means two more times passing through international customs, to send the application to you, and then for you to send it back to USA to USCIS’s offices. So what we do instead is scan the completed application package into a pdf and post it at your VisaCoach account page for you to review.

4. If you find anything you wish to change, you let me know, and these changes are made immediately, posted online. Again for you to review. Finally, once you are 100% satisfied, we mail the approved application directly to USCIS on your behalf.

5. Eventually your case will arrive to the US State Department’s National Visa Center (NVC). I will guide you through that stage. This one can be done all online.

6. NVC will forward your case to the consulate assigned for your partner’s interview. In the run up to the interview I will guide you on preparation for the interview. Such as practice questions, final checklists and how and where to arrange the interview.

7. On completion of the interview, I guide you through arranging for your partners green card.

8. That only leaves it for you to settle your affairs outside the USA, book your flights and return to USA to start this next chapter in your lives.

For an ex-pat there are two important issues that need to be planned for the interview.

How can you pass the financial eligibility requirement?

and

How can you demonstrate your “intent” to relocate to USA

Financial Eligibility

An ex-pat you probably are earning your living by working outside the USA. Well, that means that once your partner gets approved for her or his visa, you are going planning to quit your foreign job and find a new one in the USA. This means that as far as supporting your family the foreign income goes away. You will have to show you are financially eligible by some other way.

Usually this means already having enough cash assets in USA financial accounts or equity in a your home located in the USA, or asking for help from a friend or family member living in the USA to be your financial joint-sponsor. If none of these methods are available, then you will have to consider returning to USA early and find a job there.

Intent to Relocate to USA

US immigration takes immigrating to USA very seriously indeed. And when approving your fiancee or spouse’s visa must be convinced that the visa is going to be used for the correct purpose, for relocation and permanent residence in the USA. Some expat couples only want to visit the USA temporarily, perhaps for shopping, meeting relatives, for an occasional “home leave” and would like to have the “green card” to make that possible. Sorry, but for that is not considered acceptable by US immigration. They MUST be convinced you plan to relocate permanently.

So you will be required as an expat to demonstrate your sincere intention to relocate to USA by presenting evidence of your plans to move home, such as correspondences on potential places to live, to work, or to attend school. US based bank accounts, proof of disposing foreign assets, transferring monies to your USA accounts, drivers licence, voting records and
quotations from moving companies are all useful for this purpose,

This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach

Trump Re-election: 2025 Effects on Fiance + Spouse Visa, Green Card Immigration

Effects of President Trump’s reelection on Marriage based immigratin, K1 Visas, CR1 Visas, and Green Cards

While President Trump’s specific immigration policies for his second term remain unclear, his past actions and statements give us a good idea on what to expect.

Our Country is Full

His 2019 tweet, “Our Country is Full,” and the numerous executive orders on immigration issued during his previous administration suggest there will be continued efforts to RESTRICT immigration.

While there is a lot of talk about building a wall on the border, deportation of illegals, changes to DACA and De-naturalization of Naturalized Citizens, and so on, this video is about the potential changes that may effect those applying for their fiancé‘s, spouses, and immediate family members.

I am Fred Wahl, the VisaCoach, I personally work with you preparing for you the forms and documents needed to bring your loved ones home to the USA, and unlike those common second rate services that abandon you once your application has been submitted I remain with you providing support throughout this complicated immigration journey.

I specialize in Marriage Based immigration. This is helping you get your partner, either fiance or spouse to the USA, and then obtaining lawful residency so that she or he can remain with you permanently in the USA.

This video is for those with a case in process or who plan to apply for a K1 Fiance Visa, a CR1 or IR1 Spouse visa, or a Green Card for your foreign partner. And please watch till the end, when I suggest proactive steps you can take now, to better weather any storm ahead.

Now, lets talk about the Potential Effects of President Trump’s reelection on K1 Visa, CR1 Visa, and Green Card Immigration

During President Trump’s last term, he signed 220 executive orders. Many on immigration.  President Biden revoked 71 of these orders, mostly right after he began his term of office.

I expect that most of immigration executive orders that President Trump had issued and which were revoked are now being dusted off, re-written in a way to make them less likely to be overturned (based on past experience) and readied to be reissued soon after his inauguration on January 20.

Travel Bans

Last time President Trump put a freeze on the issuance of visas for travelers from Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela and Yemen

If this happens again, and your partner is from one of these countries, you may suffer years of extra waiting before your partner can join you in the USA.

Vigorous Enforcement of Immigration Laws

President Trump mandated that USCIS vigorously enforce and administer immigration laws, take no short cuts.

“We have to get much tougher, much smarter, and less
politically correct,”   President Trump said.

What this means is that immigration officers will very closely examine
and scrutinize all cases looking for reasons to deny. This will cause
delays in processing, and a greater percentage of denied cases.

Increased Requests for Evidence (RFEs)

When a case is being processed at USCIS, the USCIS reviewing officer examines the contents of each application determining an applicant’s eligibility. Sometimes a required document might be missing.  If so, then the officer issues an RFE (request for evidence) asking for the missing item allowing the applicant 87 days to respond.

During the previous Trump Administration, USCIS issued two or three times more RFE’s than we had experienced at any prior time. Often these were for trivial reasons. The only apparent reason for such ‘nitpicking” was to cause
a systemic slowdown to all case processing.

Extreme Vetting

During the last Trump Administration, proposed Extreme Immigration Vetting, where during consulate interviews, applicants were asked to hand over their phones so that their contact list and photos could be examined by the embassy or consulate and to provide social media usernames and passwords for examination of an applicant’s private and public posts.

Proposed last time, but not put into effect then was to require applicants to provide 15 years’ worth of travel, employment and address history, up from the current 5 years, and to institute an “ideological test” on the applicant’s view of society, culture and the USA.

Stricter Public Benefits/Financial Eligibility Rules

To sponsor your Fiance, Spouse or other family member, you must demonstrate that you have adequate income so that your increased household size with the addition of your foreign partner will never need to receive government assistance, Welfare, so called Public Benefits.

In practice if you as a sponsor are currently receiving “cash” type welfare benefits, such as food stamps, or SSI, you are already ineligible to sponsor your family member.

Last time President Trump pushed to widen the definition of who was ineligible due to receiving Public Benefits. He proposed adding anyone receiving “non cash:” type welfare benefits, such as Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Medicare Part D Low-Income Subsidy Program, and subsidized housing programs such as Section 8.

In addition to making more CURRENT recipients of public assistance ineligible, it was also proposed to exclude those who had EVER in their lives previously received such benefits. After all, the theory went “those who had needed assistance once, are more likely to need it again”.

This proposal did not pass Congressional approval last time. However, last time it was a Democratic majority Congress President Trump had to deal with.

This time is vastly different. This time President Trump is entering office with a popular mandate and Republican control of both houses of Congress. What he could not get enacted last time has a much better chance of approval this time around.

Focus on “Best and Brightest”

Similarly, proposed but failed last time were plans to change eligibility requirements to include whether a prospective immigrant has the “education, experience and health to be a successful member of US society”

Mandatory Interviews

After your fiancee has arrived on his/her K1 fiance visa, after the wedding, for your partner to remain in the USA, we apply to adjust your new spouse’s status from a visitor to a permanent resident.

Officially this process ends with an in-person interview for both you and your partner to meet with an officer who asks potentially intrusive
questions about your private lives, to assess in his opinion whether your marriage is “bona fide” or a “sham for immigration purposes”. A similar interview is held two years later for those who were issued temporary
“conditional” green cards.

The official process is, each K1 Fiance couple is interviewed twice, a CR1 Spouse couple once.

In current practice, if an application contains the evidence that the USCIS reviewer requires and convincingly demonstrates a “bona fide” relationship, often the USCIS reviewing officer, uses his discretion, reduces his/her  workload,  by approving the green card,  outright, waiving the interview requirement.

Here at VisaCoach, it is our policy is to always “Front Load” our petitions with well chosen, good quality evidence. This has resulted in the majority of our cases having their interviews waived.  At this is our client’s experience when President Trump is not in office.

President Trump’s previous executive order to USCIS instructed USCIS to never, never waive any interview. USCIS was ordeed to conduct interviews in each and every case, regardless of the officer’s opinion that an interview would be unnecessary. This executive order, when issued again, will further contribute to lengthening of USCIS processing times.

USCIS Delays and slower, processing times

The combined effect of these various executive orders of more rules, more restrictions, stricter requirements, will result in slower processing, delays and denials.

Higher Eligibility Standard for US Citizenship

During the last Trump Administration the Civics Test that a prospective citizen must pass was revised to a more rigorous exam, additional questions were added and a higher passing score required.  This stricter requirement was revoked by the then Democratic Congress.  Expect this order to returned, and the application process to become a US Citizen made more difficult.

Restrictions on Family-Based Immigration

A very troubling proposal is to reduce who US Citizen is allowed to sponsor to immigrate to USA.  Today a US Citizen is allowed to  sponsor his/her spouse and children, and also parents and siblings. The proposal being considered is to REMOVE parents and siblings from the eligibility list. If issued, no longer can a US citizen apply to bring  his/her mother/father, brother or sister to immigate to the USA.

Stricter Financial Eligibility Requirements

To sponsor your family member to immigrate to USA,  you are required to demonstrate your Financial Eligibility for marriage based immigration, to prove you have sufficient income,  keep your family member and your household from needing any public benefits.  Usually the proof required is only confirmation of employment income,  by presenting Tax Returns, and Pay Stubs. Proposals have been made to also require the sponsor to demonstrate adequate financial assets as well as insurance coverage.

What can you do?

Submit Before Rules Change

If eligible for US citizenship, or residency, apply as soon as possible, preferably  prior to January 20. This ensures that your case is processed under current rules and regulations.

Same applies If you are planning to apply for a fiance, spouse, son, daughter, mother, father, brother, and or sister. Get that application submitted and in process, ahead of any potential policy changes.

Strengthen your Financial Evidence

Maximize your income, while minimizing deductions on your 2024 tax return.  USCIS focuses on the line on your tax return labeled “Adjusted Gross Income”. If this number is below the Financial Eligibility Requirement, you will be required to find a co-sponsor, or if unable to find one, denied your application.  Find ways to maximize your “Adjusted Gross Income”. Do not “over deduct”.  Save the deductions for future years after the immigration process is behind you.

Schedule Interview Before Rules Change

If you have a pending Consular or USCIS interview,  try to schedule it as soon as possible, preferably to take place before January 20. This may help you avoid potential delays caused by policy changes.

Hire VisaCoach

Don’t go it alone. Seek professional guidance. There are “complicated” immigration times ahead.  Allow me to personally guide you on this journey.

This was Fred Wahl, The VisaCoach,