Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

Lifestyle Wedding, Fashion & Beauty
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Hi all,

I’m not sure if this thread has already been discussed somewhere, but needed some info on nikkah/fiance visa. (if it has, please direct me to the link)

Background info: Guy is in Pakistan, Girl is citizen in US. Guy is working in Pakistan, Girl is in grad school so timing is very important. Guy will come to US.

  1. Which one is faster to process from US? Nikkah or Fiance
  2. Which one would be better to do?, take in account of money & time. (travel costs etc) & how long is waiting period until visa is granted.
  3. Better to consult a lawyer or file yourself?

Any previous stories or advice from those who recently went through this would be greatly appreciated! :slight_smile:

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

Fastest, I believe, is husband. So it would be a nikkah. They'll need to see pictures of the ceremony to prove its real and not a scam though, from what I've heard. Waiting period is usually 6 months to a year, isn't it? I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure thats it. I'd say if you want faster service with all the red tape taken care of, invest in a good lawyer who specializes in this area.

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

do NOT go for a fiance visa. They hardly give them out anymore, because people abused that system so much. Your best bet is to do you nikkah, take pics, have a video as proof, and apply for him as your husband. You could talk to a lawyer, but they are just going to charge you money for whatever is being told to you here.

Our family friend is engaged to a guy in the states (we are in canada). without telling anyone, the guy went ahead and tried to sponsor her on a fiance visa. its been 8 months, and they have not heard any news back about it, and now she cant travel to the states either cause her visa application is still in process. They also had to postpone their wedding because of it, because she cant travel to the states.

Trust me, dont even try with the fiance visa.

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

I would encourage you to go for a nikkah ceremony as well. We had our nikkah in pakistan and then I came back and applied for my hubby and MasAllah everything went very smoothly. THeir is a lot of paper work but once you r done with it then it goes pretty smothly as they update you throughout about the procedure.

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

I am a Lawyer in the UK o i can give you information with what you require (as per UK standards but its the same principle).

the fiance visa was discontinued a few years ago as saimab33 stated due to pakistanis literally abusing the system.

your best option is to do the nikah. you dont necessarily need a lawyer to do everything apart from attestation.
heres what you need.

Nikah certificate (also done with english translation which costs about 50 rupees outside any courts in pakistan).

6 months worth of bank statements

residency details (this is crucial - if you are livign with parents and the house is bought outright or your parents have a mortgage and you plan to live with parents when your husband comes over then you need a letter from your parents to say that they are happy with you and your husband staying in their property. if you live with your parents and the house is rented then you would need letter from your parents and a latter from your landlord saying that he will be ok with it)

you need a solicitor to attest your passport size photographs and also to get a solicitor to come to your house and take measurments (this is to prove to the decision committe that the house you are living in is big enough for x amount fo people to live in).

you need atleast 6 months worth of wage slips to match the income coming in as shown on your bank statements. if you have ANY additional income (i.e. state benefits, rents, etc) then you MUST declare it else they will show you the door.

you need pictures of the wedding

nowadays the other party in pakistan needs to complete a knowledge test (that is for UK i am not sure if they require one for the US but its best to ask. if he/she needs to do that then get him to revise on american history such as what year the women got the right to vote, who was the xth president of the US, how many states are there etc etc etc)

also.... one main thing How old are you? sorry to be rude but both parties have to be atleast 21 now in order to apply for a visa. you said you are grad school (i dont know what age people in the US graduate) but its definately 21 now.

the whole process (if done correctly) should take no more than 3 months. howveer if they object to any information then they will refuse and you have to reapply. once yu get in the process of reappling, then it can take years.

ill ask some friends and if i hear anythign else i will post some more info.

best of luck

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

Nikkah.. it takes about 1 year if everything goes well.. about 2-3 months from USCIS approval, then 2-3 months at NVC, and then the interview date followed by Administrative processing.. almost every Pakistani guy goes through that and it infact is the most dreaded part because it can be from 3 weeks to infinite!!

You have to have pics of not only the wedding but the fact that you two spent time together.. consider going to Pakistan for winter/summer break and live with your husband.. sometimes they interview both the husband and wife separately with the same questions (rarely but happens) to find the loop holes!

lawyers are a rip off.. I was told $1500 just to file the application but he also told me that you are educated enough to fill out your applications.. so yes I did the process all by myself... I had everything ready een before they asked for it such as tax statements (if you don't have enough income, you will need to find a sponsor), police clearance certificates for your husband for every city and country he has lived in for more than six months (this can take long so start getting these as soon as you file) It;s a lot of work but you can do it!

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

I agree. as long as your thorough with your paperwork, you dont even need a lawyer. lets face it, we rip people off. (i dont personallu :-) but i know people who literally clean some people out).

take your time, be organised and go for it.

they will see how much time yuo have spent together and they will only interview you both if they think this marriage is a hoax or something.

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

aww thank you guys!!! This was very helpful! :) We are both over 21 so that should be ok. I'm a student...so I guess my parents can sponsor in terms of income, b/c my part time job is a joke.

Inshallah this will all work out. Yay!!! I guess I should start planning my shaadi! :)

Thanks again!

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

would you like to update us on I-130 process?

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

yes what trend is going on for I-130 ,last time they call for interview in may , when again ?

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

did you file I-130?

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

ya ,do u have any latest info ?

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

alot of my cousins in usa have gotten married to girls in pakistan and sponsored them through fiance visa because it takes 6-8 months rather than the whole marriage process which takes 12-15 months and from what i know the fiance visas are still getting issued here in USA and are considered faster and better…i dont know where you guys are getting your statistics from that they are not issuing fiance visas?:smack: my first cousin is getting hers in a few days and they applied for her back in febuary so im sure they are still givin them.

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

processing times for Texas service center

https://egov.uscis.gov/cris/processingTimesDisplay.do;jsessionid=acbdnFSR36nOj6GFGeupt

looks like it takes 5 month in uscis .

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

hey guys

Sorry for the late reply, haven't been on ghupshup since the wedding. hehe brings back fun memories of staying up late nights to go through this forum and look at dresses. lol

Alhumdillah, I'm happily married now!! :) Wedding was in April of this year in Pakistan and it went really well even though there was huge drama with family issues but hey, that's common with us Pakistanis :) Crazy hectic to go there from the states and figure how to plan it all, but MashAllah, its all over. Whew. I enjoyed living in Pakistan for couple of months, had it's ups and downs but life with in-laws & hubby was great!

Now I'm back to my books and I just filed the form I-130 when I came back a month ago from Pakistan and the process Alhumdillah is going well.

It was very annoying to get help in Pakistan when I was trying to file, all these offices and the Embassy kept sending to me other people, so I thought it would be better to file once I got back here. Plus in order to file from Pakistan, you have to be living there for 6 months...which I did, but I trust the postal & admin system in the States more :)

I made a whole packet, with the I-130 application, Bio forms for me and hubby, copy of marriage certificate (notarized), copy of Nikkah (in urdu) and a translation of it!!! That is important!!! Also included pictures of the mehndi and baraat as well with our names and date labeled on back. Passport pics of both of us, labeled of course. I also included a copy of my passport and copy of citizenship.

I keep track of the application status online, and InshsAllah hubby will be here soon. It is getting really hard without him :( but we have our skype dates. :-D

Let me know if you guys want more info, I finally figured it out after a whole month of stressing and going all over Pakistan in order to file the paperwork. If you can, file back in your home country, it is a lot easier!!!!

xoxo

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

Hello there, could you advise me on how you actually filed your i-130 petition for your spouse in Pakistan ? We are planning on getting married in couple of months inshallah. Few things i’d want to know include;
1- Did you file for IR-1 or CR-1 ? (i think its got to be IR-1 if the petitioner is US-citizen, otherwise its CR-1)
2- As of new changes, i think you can now file your petition from Pakistan to USCIS Chicago Lockbox (Filing Immigrant Petitions Outside the United States)
3- If i have to stay with my US-citizen in rented house with her family, do you have to get written letter from your landlord in US ?

Good luck with your visa case :slight_smile:
Thank you.

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

someone here mentioned you need to show 6 months payslips and bank statements by this i assume they want to see if you can support ur partner… Ive gt one slight concern here i am planning on doing some serious shopping this year for the wedding :biggthumb: so I might end up with very few pounds in the account can this be an issue :bummer:

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

The fiance visa took a total of 5 months for someone I know. He had his visa and was here after 6 months of the entire process. It's not about abusing the system, you just have to provide all the correct information and be EXTREMELY organized. The problems arise when you make the slightest mistake, your form is sent back and you have to correct it and it starts over again.

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

I think you can fill out your I-130 form and drop it off at the Islamabad embassy, I read it on the Pakistani/US embassy website. But if not, the Chicago address is probs correct.

And no, you don’t need a landlord’s letter. When you provide evidence of the person supporting you in the US (I’m assuming it’s your fiance’s family), then they just have to be able to show that they’re financially stable and rich enough to support one more person. This is usually done through tax papers, propery documents, bank statements etc.

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Re: Nikkah & Fiance Visa information needed!

congratz: if your case is transferred to Vermont Service Center then you are lucky. they process case quickly.

USCIS Home Page

USCIS - Spouse

Read Page 5 of this pdf. http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-130instr.pdf

exceptional case. :@: