There are certain things in the K-1 Fiance Visa process that might discourage marrying one of the beautiful ladies we see in Rio.

Does anyone know someone who has married one of these ladies, and brought them back to the states?

If we can get past maybe that it might not be the smartest thing to do, can anyone add some light about the following questions:

1. Has anyone gotten their favorite one into the country to marry them from Brazil?

2. Hopefully, they did not have to do anything illegal in this process (this one should be interesting), and

3. Did they stay, or are they at least up unitl now still married to the favorite one?

Just a thought. I would not do anything illegal to bring one of these ladies back to marry. When I read the process of what needs to be done, it seems like the chances of bringing back you favorite one are slim to none.

what if you had to pay someone to get her a legal Visa...would that make you feel bad???

I would pay for a legal visa. I just want the feeling before I hire an attorney that it is something that is really doable. I am not into running my head into a brick wall, or paying an attorney for something that will really not happen.

Maybe, as Layne suggests, someone might know someone who used an attorney to get their Brazilian chica friend into the country.

I've filed for a K-1 visa for a lady in Thailand before, it's very doable by yourself, a lawyer isn't necessary, really. You have to keep in mind though that you must prove you've met her i.e. take photos of you two together, that you have the means to support her and such.

If you go to the INS website, they have very nifty Adobe PDF files for all the forms you need. The instructions are quite clear on what to do. Just fill in all the blank boxes on the website, and print them out on your printer; it will look very neat and polished this way too. Be very sure that all spelling is correct, though. There isn't even the need to ever wait in line at the INS. After you have filled in all the forms, gotten her's and yours birth certificates forms done, both of your biographical forms done (she has to sign her name in ink, so this could require you sending her the completed form you've done for her back to her by postal to be signed and then sent back to you causing about a four week turn-around delay, unless you have her do it there and just send it to you or better yet do it there together, your statements of income and other assets, several copies of immigration style photos of you and her as described on the INS website, then you just submit a check for $95 and send off your K-1 fiance visa application.

It took me about a month to get all these forms together but it could have taken about four days if I didn't have to send the biographical form back to her so she could sign it.

You should get a response from the INS that they received it in about 5 weeks. Then it took another month to get another letter stating the application had been approved. She'll still need to be interviewed by the agent assigned to your case in the American Embassy in Brazil and she'll also have to get a complete medical check up plus have a passport. If all that goes well, often I'm told she gets her visa that very day.

Now the sticky point is how you two met. My former fiance and I met outside of a bar, so we just said we offically met the next day while we both went to see a movie and we kept the movie stubs to prove that. There is no way the INS can disprove that story because essentially it's true.

Hiring a lawyer for $1000 to fill in forms that you can easily do yourself is wasteful and would be better used by you to buy her the plane ticket to come here. Trust me, it's doable.

Lastly, the fiance visa allows her to stay in America for 90 days, at which point you will then have decided to either marry her or not, if not, she must return to Brazil. The main advantage of the fiance visa is that it is quicker than a spousal visa and it allows you and her more time to evaluate whether marriage is right for the both of you.

Canonperdido,

The process is complicated and frustrating, with a lot of documentation and paperwork that must be submitted and processed through both the INS and the U.S. consulate in Brazil. Additionally, your fiancee will need to obtain documents from Brazilian authorities.

The good news is that if you have the patience to deal with the bureaucracy, you are almost certain to get approved, provided your relationship isn't a sham and your fiancee doesn't have a criminal record.

There are a lot of resources on the internet. These links will get you started and give you a lot of information.

1. http://www.txdirect.net/users/mike38/faq_index.htm - This is the granddaddy for links and information from usenet filings by people who have actually gone through the process.

2. http://www.k1homepages.com/ - Country-specific stories, including Brazil.

3. http://www.usaimmigrationattorney.com/fianceartl3.html - One of many U.S. Immigration attorneys who advertise on the internet. I included this link because he has some information about recent changes in US immigration law and procedure. (Direct consular filing and the new K-3 spousal visa).

Obviously, this isn't something to be done on a whim. It is a long, involved, expensive process and you must assume full legal responsibility for your fiancee once she arrives in the U.S.

Good Luck,

TG

I don't know any particulars about getting K-1 visas for girls from Brazil but I know that the main difficulty always involves hiding her working background (this has to be done or else, she'll be rejected). I guess this is more difficult in some countries than others (ie in Mexico, if the INS discovers that your girl has a health card, then she will be rejected). It sounds like if you are able to hide her background then one should not have any real problems (maybe some frustrations with dealing with a slow bureaucracy though).

If I have to do something illegal, I will not do it. That is why I wonder if what the experience of others has been.

it is not difficult to obtain the k-1-fiance visa, only time consuming. i did mine on my own and worked with my senator's office.

you will need pictures of the two of you together, you can say whatever you want about how you met as long as both agree.

the only down side is you have only 90 days to marry once she enters the us.

i have been married 4 years now with no complaints.

Youngtom is right. I should have mentioned that in my earlier post. In addition to a criminal record, if your fiancee has ever worked as a prostitute that's also grounds to deny an entry visa. Of course, if she's an amatuer with no official record of sexwork history, it shouldn't be a problem. Otherwise, you have to get a waiver before applying for the visa. So, if this is her situation and you are serious about proceeding, you need a good immigration laywer (not one over the internet).

TG

Do garotas on the program have a record? I mean this is a legal job down there?
I know of several garotas who have been to the States.

They have ID books they carry that shows what jobs they have held in Brazil...program is not listed...Camila's show secretary work until almost one year ago when she went on the program...so they would be a bit suspicous I would say...unless you say unemployed but then no money or ties to make them come back to Brazil...

Canonperdido look for your inbox msg...

Here's the exact language from the INS regs:

"An alien convicted of, or who admits having committed, a crime involving moral turpitude or violation of any law relating to a controlled substance or who is the spouse, son or daughter of such a trafficker who knowingly has benefited from the trafficking activities in the past five
years; who has been convicted of 2 or more offenses for which the aggregate sentences were 10 years or more; who is coming to the United States to engage in prostitution or commercialized vice [or who has engaged in prostitution or procuring within the past 10 years]; who is or has been an illicit trafficker in any controlled substance; who has committed a serious criminal offense in the United States and who has asserted immunity from prosecution; who, while serving as a foreign government official and within the previous 24-month period, was responsible for or directly carried out particularly severe violations of religious freedom; or whom the President has identified as a person who plays a significant role in a severe form of trafficking in persons, who otherwise has knowingly aided, abetted, assisted or colluded with such a trafficker in severe forms of trafficking in persons, or who is the spouse, son or daughter of such a trafficker who knowingly has benefited from the trafficking activities within the past five years."

I put brackets around the key section. It doesn't matter if it was "legal" prostitution in their home country. If there is any sort of registration or other legal record of their having been a sexworker which is accessable by the US Consulate's office during their background investigation, they will be denied entry.

TG

It is practically impossible for the INS or Consulate in Brazil to prove that a girl was\is on the program. (don't worry if her work book has her unemployed...brazil isn't known for it's high employment rate)

The police certificate only checks to see if they had been arrested. The consulate also does an FBI background check. The blood work done for the medical portion checks for HIV and Syphylis (sp?) no need to worry if she happens to burn on occasion.

If (and most are) appoved she has 90 days to depart and then you are required to marry within 90 days. If not she has to return.

A tourist visa (non-immigrant) is a bit tougher and almost impossible for a good looking single girl to get. However if she or her family own a house, she has money in a bank account and has proof of a legitimate job (some girls actually pay to have a legit job appear in their work book) she may be able to get a tourist visa. The obstacle that one needs to overcome is "showing overwhelming proof that they plan on returing to their home country and not planning on staying in the U.S.)

All this of course IMHO.

Nomalhombre is correct...where have you been????

also visa can be extended another 90 days if the marriage has not taken place but good chance it will...

Joe- how long did it take for your K-1 to complete door to door???

the INS and the IRS don't use the same set of rules that other US courts use. The INS does not have to prove anything. If anyone applies for a K-1, the couple better have their stories straight and all their ducks in a row or they will be rejected.

Tampagringo, I must disagree, the forms to be filled out are not complicated at all, anybody with a high school education can understand what to do. The total amount of paperwork I submitted for the K-1 visa application, however, was nearly 3/4" thick when finally submitted. A lot of the information is dulplicated on several forms.

Bingo, I don't disagree at all. The forms aren't complicated, but the process can be very complicated and frustrating. Sometimes it runs smooth as silk, but other times nothing seems to go right and there are multiple requests for additional documentation, explanation, etc - no rhyme or reason to it. It depends on who's doing the review and the facts of the individual application.

The important point to understand is that very few applications are denied, but there are a lot that are never approved simply because people give up and let the process die. So, if you are serious about getting the visa you have to be prepared to deal with the process in the event yours happens to be one of the ones that doesn't sail right through.

TG

i knew many guys who got K-1 visas in the navy while in the Phillippines. The process is very simple and the percentages are very, very high you will be approved, from whati was told over 90%. All these guys married prositutes with no problems getting visas. No one hired a lawyer, you really don`t need one. But they did hire a phillipino travel agent who knew the process and would help the girl fill out the paper work if needed. Also these travel agents would coach and prepare the girl for her interview with the US consulate. It cost $50.Might be worth checking to see if this is available in Rio. What alot of guys did, was take their girl to the US Embasy in Manila and start the process in the girls country, this in my opinion is the best and easiest way to get started. I went with one friend when he applied, they lay everything out for you, tell you exactly where to go and what to get, it was very easy. When we left the Embassy we walked a couple of blocks to a doctors office and made the appointment for her blood test. She had to get police records but i can`t remember how that went, maybe the travel agent got those i just can`t remember. In 2 months she was approved.

Also, it is unlimited how many times one can apply for a K-1 visa, if you send the girl back within the 90 days one can reapply with another girl. If you marry , the girl has 2 years before she can apply for permanant resident, you can send her back any time in the 2 year period, if you send her back you can reapply with another girl as many times as needed to find he right one. Anyway, this is my understanding on how the K-1 visa works, i hope it helps.

Does anyone know which country has the most K-1 visas approved per year? Care to take a quess? How many visas do you think it would be? About a year ago i read a big article on the subject in the local paper and the number one country is Russia, 2000 per.