Hi, everyone. I’m writing this in hopes that I can get some feedback/help from all the wonderful people on this subreddit. I apologize in advance for how lengthy this will be.
Context: Me (28) and partner (28) have been together for almost 3 years now, we met online and have since seen each other 3 times in total so far. I was supposed to go visit them again in July but of course once this pandemic happened all travel plans came to an indefinite halt. I’m Egyptian and because we are a same-sex couple, we can’t get married here because it’s illegal and I’m also not out to my parents. So we had decided to try the route of the K1 visa so that we can get married in the US.
(I have read about the possibility of the CR1 visa but I don’t know when I’ll be able to see them again (considering the current circumstances) so we can get married first and then apply after I go back to my hometown, and I honestly don’t want to wait any longer even though I know pretty much everything is being processed at a slower rate and there are no interviews until the embassies open back up again. This long distance has really taken a toll on us especially because we have not been able to see each other for several months now so we’re trying to go with whatever will help is close the distance faster.)
My questions will pertain to the K1 visa process, however if anyone has any other possible solutions to be together besides this route then I would love to hear it.
Also if anyone has successfully gone through this process recently and would not mind me communicating directly with them to get more specific feedback to make sure we have everything compiled correctly before submission, I would be forever grateful.
Questions:
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Regarding the letter that needs to be written detailing the circumstances of me and fiancé meeting and basically detailing our “love story” in short - do each of us need to write a letter or is just one letter from either of us okay?
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How can I send my passport photo in a way that can be printed in the correct dimensions over there?
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Does my partner (the petitioner) need to be employed at the time of the paperwork submission? They recently quit their job and are waiting to hear back from other places. So should we wait or can we possibly have them state that they are self-employed?
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Part of the evidence to support our relationship that we are including is text messages throughout these 3 years but I don’t know exactly how much of that to include. Should I take like 1-2 screenshots for every month since we started talking?
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Is there any fear of me being outed when we finally do come to the part of the interview at the embassy/consulate? Also if/whenever I’m granted the visa and attempt to leave the country might I run into any risks?
Feedback regarding this last point from any person in a same-sex relationship who is also from a country where it’s illegal and have went through this would be highly appreciated as this specific part is causing me a lot of anxiety.
Thank you all.
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/comments/j1xniw/k1_visa_help_2020/