The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the Nationwide Consumer Reporting organizations (Equifax, TransUnion and Experian) to provide you with one free credit report every 12 months per your request. This means that you are entitled to three free credit reports per year, if you deem it necessary. You can stagger the requests or order all of them at the same time.

Each of the National Consumer Credit Reporting bureaus have a unique credit report format, but in essence they provide you with the same information. When you receive your free Experian credit report use the following guidelines to read your report

Personal Header Information

This section lists your full name, report number and report date. You will need to reference the report number, if you wish to contact Experian regarding your credit report.

Potentially Negative Information

Any information that may lead creditors to view you as a credit risk will be listed here. The following details will be listed: the name of the creditor, their address, your account number, account status, claim filed date, claim amount, claim resolved date and who bears the responsibility of resolving any claims or issues against the account.

In addition, this section will list any bankruptcies, foreclosures, judgments or liens in your credit history.

Credit Items

Here you will find all the credit accounts that you have or have had in the past. It will list the name of the creditor, their address, your account number, the type of account, the status of the account (e.g. paid or past due), the date on which the account was opened, the credit limit, payment terms (e.g. 12 months/year), monthly payments, recent balance and recent payment.

You will see a summary “credit history” for each of your accounts. The summary will indicate, whether the account has been to collections or was delinquent. In cases, where you are disputing items against the account, you will see a note indicating your dispute status.

Accounts in Good Standing

This is the good part. Every account you have listed here works towards a good FICO Score. You will find the name of the account creditor, their address, your account number, the type of account, the status of the account, the date on which the account was opened, the credit limit, payment terms (e.g. 12 months/year), monthly payments, recent balance and recent payment. If you closed the account, you will see a note indicating so.

Requests for your Credit History

Any inquiries against your credit file will be listed in this section. This section is divided into two subcategories: (a) Requests Viewed by Others (b) Request Viewed by You.

“Requests Viewed by Others” are inquiries against your credit report from creditors with whom, you have applied for credit lines or loans (e.g. mortgage loan or credit card application). Some inquiries may have been originated from potential employers. Each request will have details identifying the name of the requesting company, their address, the date on which they made the request and any comments regarding the request.

“Requests Viewed by You” are inquiries against your credit report by yourself or persons who have permission to review your credit file by law (e.g. creditors wanting to offer pre-approved credit, employer about to extend an offer of employment or consumer credit reporting bureau processing a request made by you). Each request will detail the name of the requesting company, their address, the date on which they made the request and any comments regarding the request.

Personal Information

This section will detail your personal information. “Names” will reflect all variations of your name (e.g. Sam J.Doe, Samuel J. Doe, S.J.Doe). Additional information will inclue your date of birth, social security number, current address, previous address, phone number, current employer and any personal statements that you have made to Experian regarding your credit report.

Note: By law, Experian cannot disclose medical information, therefore any accounts of the medical nature will be listed as “Medical Payment Data”.

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Many folks are troubled by debt these days.  It’s no secret and not something you should be ashamed of .. life is what happens when we are making other plans.

First, Take Stock of Your Credit:

But failing to take steps to help yourself is something to be ashamed of.  No matter why you are ‘in the hole’ right now (and you may be deeper in the hole than you think, that’s why I recommend getting a free credit report from our trusted partner  Free Credit Reports Made Easy!… you can be sure the government well look at your credit, and if it looks bad to them you may be disapproved and never even know why).

You Can Get Professional Credit Rating Assistance:

if there are errors on your report I recommend you use our trusted partners, LegalHelpers.com…Over 100 Years Of Combined Experience! Put Our Experience On Your Side! or Use Your Rights! Repair Your Credit Today! Let Lexington Law.com Help! to get the errors removed now!  These problems will not get better with time, they will only fester and grow worse.

Or Fix Your Debt and Credit Rating Yourself:

However, there’s a small charge involved with these services, and maybe you don’t want to pay yet another bill.  Or, perhaps you want to do it yourself strictly for the learning experience and the self-satisfaction.  That’s a worthy plan as well.

So today I want to introduce a new sponsor who can help you do exactly that … fix things yourself … for free.  read their advice and then follow through, on something, to make sure that debt is not an issue that prevents you getting that K1 visa for your bride to be that means so much to you today. 

You can consolidate your own debt. If we can do it for you, most likely you can do it for yourself. In case you don’t find it comfortable to deal with the creditors directly, we will ">’>help you find the most reliable ">’>Debt Consolidation Company.

Suppose you decide to do the debt consolidation yourself, this will save you approximately $20 each month that you are in a program with some company. Usually the debt consolidation program might last over 12 months to make you ">’>debt free. So over a period of 12 months this might save you $240. It is advisable for you to make this choice after careful introspection.

In this section of the website, we provide you with a listing of steps. We tried to break the intricate process of ">’>debt settlement into easy steps. We also have a Creditors Database containing facts about creditors and collection agencies. Our wide range of information on creditors after a thorough research will provide the much needed help to the debt struck community. We are updating and adding new information to this database everyday. And since this is just a beginning we look forward to your active participation in enriching this section. We have following resources for your help:

• ">’>Creditors Database - list of creditors and collection agencies, incorporating their contact details along with standard creditor’s debt settlement policies.
• ">’>Sample Letters - long list of letters containing standard formats written to Creditors on different occasions, for you to choose from. Follow the mailing guidelines while contacting your creditors.
• ">’>Calculators - advanced & interactive calculators to solve intricate debt related calculations with a few clicks.
• In our Debt Consolidation Forum">Debt Consolidation Forum’>forum you can discuss your situation with other fellow visitors to the site. Some of our most experienced counselors also answer questions in the public forums whenever they have time.

Whatever you decide to do, I can’t emphasize enough the importance of doing something rather than just throwing up your hands in despair.  Your credit is an essential component of getting a visa issued and keeping your marriage alive as you travel on through life.  Take action on your debt and credit issues now!

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But there is one problem I am seeing more and more that many don’t think about until they are deep into the K-1 visa process … their finances.

Remember that to bring a fiance9e) to the US you must have meet income requirements before the Feds are going to approve your application.  In reality?  Those limits are really small, not many people in today’s world are going to be able to live on them, even if they meet the bottom line.

You need better than bare bones and in today’s world, that means you need good credit.  You have that, right?

Hmm don’t know, do you?  Let me give you some personal, direct and free advice that is directly related to the future success of your visa application … and more importantly your life together with you new partner.  Find out how good (or bad) your credit is now, today.  If your credit reports are accurate and your credit scores are decent, then great, you just completed an important step.

If your reports have errors (and a massive percentage do) and these errors ‘tear down’ your score, it could have enormous future implications.  Fix it NOW, not later when you and your new spouse are trying to set up house.

How can you fix bad credit?  isn’t that some kind of snake oil or hocus-pocus?  Nope.  Here’s exactly how my partners, LexingtonLaw.com can help.

What We Do

Lexington is a law firm focusing on repairing credit reports. We have helped over 300,000 Americans repair their credit reports by removing inaccurate, misleading, or unverifiable information (in other words, "questionable" negative credit.) From bankruptcies to charge-offs to tax liens, we have challenged virtually every credit problem under the sun - and deleted over 600,000 items last year alone.
We’re good at what we do because we believe in our work, because we enjoy what we do and we’re committed to our clients. And that means we have obtained amazing results. Results that can literally turn a person’s life around.
Our service is engineered from the ground up with credit report repair in mind. We offer two levels of service. First, Lexington’s results-tested regular service utilizes the Fair Credit Reporting Act to remove inaccurate and unverifiable items from your credit reports. Second, our Concord upgrade incorporates additional legal interventions which may expedite your results. Whichever service level you choose, we will leverage our entire arsenal of credit experience and powerful strategies on your behalf.

How We Do It

Step 1: Forward your credit reports.

You begin each cycle by forwarding to us copies of your credit reports from all three of the major credit bureaus. Keep in mind that the credit bureaus will only correspond directly with you, not your law firm. Without receiving these updated reports we have no way of knowing which items were removed successfully. Updated reports should be mailed to our office, not faxed or emailed. (Click the Lexington Law Banner in the sidebar for more information.)

Step 2: Choose which items to dispute.

Once your credit reports are received our staff enters the information into our database. Using our online Dispute Valet service you then choose which items to dispute, and how. Sound complicated? Not to worry. The service comes with an easy-to-use wizard that makes this step a simple matter of pointing and clicking with your mouse.

Step 3: Lexington works your case.

Lexington begins the dispute process by drawing upon its vast arsenal of credit report repair strategies and experience to challenge questionable negative items directly with the credit bureaus. Depending on the number of question able items on your credit reports this step will be repeated for each subsequent loop through the cycle. (Clients who have selected the upgraded Concord level of service receive additional legal interventions such as account history investigations pursuant to several consumer protection statutes.)

Step 4: Sit back and relax.

The credit bureaus have 30 days to investigate your dispute. After that, they must inform you of the results of their investigation, update your credit report and send you a copy of the updated report. It usually takes 60 days between the day we send a dispute and you receive an updated report. When you receive a response from a bureau, make a copy of the updated report for your records then send the original to Lexington to move your case forward. Thus the cycle begins anew, this time hopefully with fewer questionable items on your credit report.

That’s it.  Simple, effective, honest and Important.  Get busy now, not later, believe me, when you’re happy in your new, married life, you’ll thank me for this! Don’t struggle alone, Stop living with bad credit! Let LexingtonLaw.com show you how!

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Here’s a list of my opinions on this matter … remember that I am a lay person and not qualified to give legal advice.

In the vast majority of cases you do not need an attorney, nor do you need any third-party non-legal entity to help you with the forms.  However, there are certainly times you should consider competent legal advice:

1. You Can’t Read: Hmm, does that sound harsh … I mean if you got this far you certainly must be able to read, yes?  Well yes, but.  A lot of people can’t decipher the myriad of legalese that governs the submission and processing of the many pieces of paper you’ll have to deal with in this proce3ss.  If this includes you, better seek professional guidance sooner rather than later.  Mistakes avoided are much easier than mistakes that must be corr4cted.
2. Your Intended Has Any Connection With The Sex Trade: This one is much broader than it might first sound.  The US government seems almost paranoid about preventing any person entering who has been a sex worker.  Your fiancee worked in a bar, but only as a hostess, your fiance got arrested once but the case was dismissed, etc.?  If this resembles you in any way, run, do not walk to a competent legal practitioner.  His or her billing will be a lot less than the financial and time penalties you will pay otherwise.
3. Your Intended was previously Denied a Visa: It does not matter why.  This is a 100% indicator that you need an attorney.  It’s possible your intended may still be able to win a visa, but you need competent legal guidance before you submit even a single form.  You can’t say I didn’t warn you.
4. Your Intended has a record of Drug Use: Doesn’t matter if you feel the charges are true or trumped up, this is a big no-no.  nearly as big as the sax worker issue.  Again, no question, get legal advice before you submit anything.
5. Your Intended has Prior USCIS Unfavorable Actions: Say, she was previously denied a visa, was deported or some such offense.  Absolutely no question you need legal guidance here.  never, ever try to sweep these things under the rug … “they” will find out.

Okay, that’s the big five as I see them.  If you do need an attorney, please don’t try to use cousin Billy Bob who promised you to do the job cheap.  An attorney needs to be a specialist in the immigration field … not a jack of all trades … it’s your money, your visa, your life … choose wisely.  Here’s the USCIS’s own advice.

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However, I did work for some years investigating claims of sexual harassment and other related crimes … the one alleged in this article is called ‘quid pro quo”,and sadly, I was witness to a number of cases where such activity absolutely did take place … so a word to the wise is in order:

(CNN) — A U.S. immigration screening officer faces felony charges for allegedly demanding and receiving oral sex from a woman seeking a green card, according to authorities and court documents.

A spokesman for the Immigration agency says the agency “has absolutely no tolerance for employee misconduct.”

Isaac Baichu, 46, was arrested last week. According to charging documents filed in Queens County, New York, criminal court, Baichu met with the woman and her husband regarding her green card application and initially told her there were no problems. However, he asked for her telephone number in case he needed to reach her.

The woman told authorities Baichu soon called her and said he wanted to meet with her alone, in a location other than his office, to “discuss matters,” court documents said. He also informed the woman that “she needed him and that she had to work with him.”

The two met in December in the man’s car, and during that meeting, the man told her that “in return for assisting her in her green card application, the complainant must have sex with him at least two times,” according to the documents. The woman said she tried to leave the car, but, documents said, Baichu grabbed her and forced her to perform oral sex on him…. read the full CNN quid pro quo article here.

yes, it is true that Officer Baichu is innocent until proven guilty, but the type of evidence that has already been released … plus some facts about the status of the woman involved and her experience/interaction with law enforcement prior to the alleged incident makes me pretty darn suspicious that this will shake out to be true.

Regardless. There is never a reason a federal officer should invite a subject of USCIS/INS processing to any private or clandestine meeting. Period. Anything an officer needs to explore with an applicant can be dome openly and above board.

Many women hail from countries where there is an active police state and are mind-conditioned to the thought that government officials have near-unlimited power.

Make sure your loved one(s) know that getting a Green Card or citizenship is a process. Any problems in that process can be worked. A woman should never meet alone this way, much less allegedly put up with a physical assault because of the supposed power of the officer. A lot of things have gone wrong, constitutionally since 9-11, but federal officers can not assault citizens or non-citizens in this way and escape unscathed. Forewarned is forearmed.

I frequently opine on the need or lack of need for an attorney on these pages. This would be a 100% indicator that you need a real immigration attorney, right away, quick.

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There are probably more delays and “gotcha’s” caused during the visa process by this simple document than all the other forms combined .. and the birth certificate can be a thorn in the couple’s side far into the future, log after the visa process, permanent residency and even citizenship are filed away in memory.

First, it is essential the applicant have a legible, certified true birth certificate. In some countries this is a more complicated venture than in others, but no matter which country s/he hails from the time to work this issue is now, at the very beginning of the process.

Many people find out farther down the paperwork trail that the birth certificate has some simple clerical error … often a wrong birth date, wrong middle name, etc. Fixing these issues under the host country’s rules may involve some degree of complexity, but I guarantee it will be better, faster, and cheaper to get the clean, correct copy in hand before you process any other paperwork.

Also, some countries (the Philippines being one I am intimately familiar with) often have customs of giving extra names that people don’t use in normal life. All the girls in a family may have had Maria (or Ma. as a common abbreviation) appended to the girl’s names. Since a majority of women ignore this extra name by the time they reach adulthood it’s easy not to think of it.

But you better think of it … for two reasons:

First, each and every official US government form you submit, start to finish needs to have the same name … and that name must correspond with the intended’s’ birth certificate. Do not get caught in the trap of filing forms using the name “Eveline Joan de la Cruz: when the birth certificate says “Ma. Eveline Joan se la Cruz”. At the very least it will cause delays, at the worst in can cause stacks of paperwork to be rejected.

Second, if the couple decides to go ahead and use that birth certificate name as written, even though the really don’t care for the “Ma.’ (as just one example), that decision is to a large degree irrevocable. That lady’s visa will read Ma. Eveline … her US Social security card will use the Ma., likely her driver’s license and anything else official from the US is going to reflect that birth certificate name. The only safe way to change it after the fact is to petition for a legal name change after she becomes a US citizen … it’s the right of a citizen but it takes time, money, and she’ll live with that birth certificate name for years, like it or not.

So, before you start the paperwork chain, make darn sure the birth certificate is correct and that it reflects the name you want it to … mush, much easier to correct before the train starts from the station.

OPAD Day 4

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But one thing I do not recommend are the many ‘do it yourself’ kits out there for filling out the forms from non-professional sources.

The forms you need to fill out to get the process started are simple and need not intimidate anyone. Here’s atop corner example of the first form you have to fill out … the I-129-F Petition for Alien Fiance(e). It’s available here, at no cost, for online filling out and printing:

Let’s take a close look here. The top couple inches of the form clearly tell you “Do not write in these blocks … for USCIS Use Only”.

Not really too difficult, is it? Where it says do not write, just do not write. On to the hard parts.

OK following along you come to the section labeled Part A. Start here. Hmmm, are you puzzled yet? I’d say this would be a good place to start. Last name (in capital letters, they tell you that), first name, middle name … this is not really all that difficult, folks.

My suggestion is? Do not ket these forms throw you. Just call them up on your computer and take things one step at a time. I truly can not see paying anyone $60 or $100 dollars to fill out this form for you when you are going to have to find all the information (like your name and address, etc.) for that form filler-outer to begin with.

Even if you chose an attorney I would recommend you fill out the complete package and submit to the attorney for his/her advice rather than spending a lot of billable time hemming and hawing about how the form might or might not get filled out.

That way you’ll help the immigration attorney do a better job for you and you’ll also make sure you are paying the money for legal advice for just that. not simple clerical work.

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Most often it is the US Embassy for the spouse-to-be’s home country.

A question many sponsors have id should I make a trip back to his/her home country to attend the interview with my fiance(e)?  My quick answer is, no … but there are times you may feel you must, so let me give you a few of the pros and cos so that will help you make an informed decision.

Attend Interview Pros:

• S/he will get a warm fuzzy, knowing you care and want to help him/her over the tough spots
• There may be occasions when your presence before the interview can be a big help in getting last minute updates and organization for the paperwork required for the visa.
• According to a few people I have helped with this process, their presence seemed to help the flow of the interview.
• You do get a vacation from your regular cares and a chance to be with your intended and his/her family again before the big day that the visa comes through and they have to say goodbye to home, hearth and friends.

Attend Interview Cons:

• The US State Department does not care about you and the interview is not for or about you ,,, or the pair of you as a couple.  The interview is designed to allow the Consular Officer to make a judgement on the truthfulness, suitability and background of the spouse-to-be to begin the process of becoming a US citizen or long-term permanent resident.
• Attendance at the interview is strictly up to the individual Consular Officer.  S/he may allow you to sit in, may allow you to sit outside and say or do nothing or even instruct you to leave the building.  It has happened, believe me.
• At any interview it is perfectly normal to worry about saying the wrong thing’.  The Consular Officer deals with prospective new spouses day in and day out.  S/he will take their natural nervousness and confusion into account.  If you are there and are allowed to participate you have just doubled the chance that something may be said that can be misconstrued as something negative.  I don’t think it is worth the substantial expense to take that risk.
• Your intended is going to have to go through things more formidable than a simple office interview more than once in your life together.  Why not build his/her confidence by navigating this step on their own rather than running in to take charge in something you really can not control?

And as a final thought … it would be a much better expenditure of time and money to go for a visit after long-awaited visa gets issued, spend time with the spouse-to-be’s parents and friends and then be a helper and companion on the likely long and tiring flight back  home.

In the end, it’s certainly up to you, but think the process through carefully before you decide.

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If you plan on sponsoring a foreign national on a K1 visa … to bring him or her to the US for the express purpose … and only for the purpose … of marriage you absolutely must remember that the K1 visa is exclusively for the purpose of an unmarried person to enter the US for marriage. If the person seeking entry is married to the sponsor already, s/he can not use the K1 visa. Seems obvious, doesn’t it?

Well running afoul of that rule is one of the most common problems couples have once they have the K1 visa in the prospective bride/groom’s passport. It is a number one thing that the immigration officer at the POE (Port Of Entry) is going to be checking for … and check they do.

It’s not my place to say what is “right” or what is “wrong” in these cases … the immigration officer’s job is to uphold the law and they are a lot smarter than most couples who seek to “sneak around” the law think they are. They can, and will ask ‘trick” questions designed to trap a prospective K1 visa entrant into admitting that a marriage already took place. Even if no real marriage did take place, it is entirely up to the discretion of the inspecting officer to allow or refuse entry. The K1 visa in the passport is not as some people think a ‘license’ to enter the US. Technically it is legal permission from the US Sate department that authorizes the immigration inspector to allow entry if s/he is satisfied that all is OK with the process. If the inspector is even suspicious that the couple may have secretly married the officer can turn back the K1 holder strictly based on his/her judgement. There is, of course, an appeal process, but the appeal can only be pursued from outside the US … the inspecting officer holds the absolute power of admission or denial of admission.

What usually goes wrong? Well, in the cases I have seen couple have often done something like this: In order to make the foreign parent happy they have booked a church, hired a priest or minister or mayor or judge and put on all the trimmings of a marriage. Sometimes they even exchange vows … but they don’t take out a license or record the marriage in the home country. Since they did not comply with the laws of the home country regarding marriage, then no marriage took place … open and shut, right?

If you think you and your intended want to roll the dice like this, be my guest, but do yourselves a favor and hire a good immigration lawyer first … because here’s how it has been explained to me by more than one person who should know.

If a couple appears to have married, especially before witnesses, and using a person empowered by the home country to conduct marriages, in the eyes of US law they very likely are married. The US does not enforce the laws of other countries … so the fact that their was no license issued may invalidate the marriage in the home country but you can expect the US to consider it a marriage. Do not take chances on this.

If you wish to marry in your future spouse’s home country, hey, that’s great … do it up right. But don’t try to use a K1 visa to then gain entry to the US. It’s morally wrong, it’s legally wrong, and in addition to denial of entry it can result in a finding of immigration fraud … typically punished by bans on entry to the US for perhaps 10 years … even for life. hell of a price to pay, in my view.

Use a K3 if you are already married, use a K1 only if there is no possibility you are already married.

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Marriage Validity:

The US recognizes legal marriages in most every country of the world.  virtually all other countries recognize US marriages as well, so there is seldom any legal reason to chose one country over another.

Divorce Issues:

May seem like sort of a heck of a note to be talking about divorce on a site about foreign courtships and marriage, but this is a question that pops up very frequently … especially when marrying someone from a country like the Philippines where there is no legal divorce.

Many times people will make rash statements like "Don’t get married in the Philippines because if you do you can never get a divorce."  Or, :be sure to wait to marry in the US because if the marriage ends in divorce you can be free to marry again."

Both those statements, though, are not really valid.

Divorce is controlled by the country (and state) where a couple files for divorce.  Sop even if a couple were to marry in the Philippines and then move to the US they could still get a legal divorce in the state they are living in … subject to any specific state requirements.  As long as the marriage was valid the place where the divorce is filed has the legal say.  (and of course if the marriage wasn’t valid, they don’t need a divorce, they aren’t married after all).

The reverse sense of the statement above holds true for couples married in the US and then going to live in a foreign country.  The fact that their marriage took place in the US has no real bearing on their ability to divorce.  If they meet the requirements of the country they are residing in, they can divorce … if that country doesn’t allow divorce, it matters not where they were married.

All Up To You:

So make your decision on where to marry based on the other important considerations of life.  the wishes of the couple, the wishes of the families, finances, desired living place after marriage and even the difference in tie between processing a K1 visa or a K3 … you can marry essentially where you wish.

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