Apply for green card while wife is in US on tourist visa?

[TBoneTX 43,057]

A post has been removed, along with one quoting it, for violation of this provision of the site's Terms of Service:  "Attempt to bypass the Forum's language filter through the use of alternative characters to spell profanities or through the posting of images containing profanity."  For this and for badgering/attacking, administrative action has been applied.

 

Folks, it's fine to feel intensely about certain issues (all of us do), but we need to show restraint in our posting behavior.  This is a stressful process.  The OP of the thread is simply trying to learn, and in such cases, intensity in our opinions can cloud the content of what we post.

 

TBoneTX

VJ Moderation

[geowrian 22,335]

1 hour ago, TM92 said:

@Orangesapples: Since the file containing the approved I-130 is at the Tegucigalpa Embassy, will USCIS just simply ask the embassy to transfer it back? I could not find a resource that addresses this, only semi-relevant links: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/should-i-wait-for-nvc-to-send-back-my-case-to-usci-3294746.html and https://www.***removed***/forum/showthread.php/97921-I-130-approved-but-case-was-sent-to-NVC-by-mistake

@geowrian: thoughts? 

An I-130 does not expire (unlike an I-129F). As long as one remains in contact with the embassy, they should keep the case open. Otherwise it should be sent back to NVC, who will then send it to the NRC. After a retention period has passed, the I-130 may be destroyed. Before it is destroyed, an I-824 can be filed to have the approved I-130 retrieved and sent to NVC again for processing.

At least that's my understanding of the process.

 

Edit: Sorry if I missed the mark on what you were asking...I haven't been following the thread and I'm not going through 4 pages to answer 1 question. At least not at this time of night!

Edited August 2, 2018 by geowrian

[Alejandro_B 26]

Since you have a CR1 with just the interview pending I'd recommend to go back to your country and follow up for the interview. If anything you'll just have to wait a few weeks till interview and then you can come back to the U.S and have your green card delivered to you, instead of having to file again, pay the fees, wait 12-14 months, and having to explain yourself. I mean.... I think it is pretty obvious that the best option is to go back and finish CR1

[A&H2018 146]

The key peice of information I gathered. Was OP petitioner is the bread winner, OP worked in honduras and had I take a good job for this reason the desire to live in the USA did not exist. Fast forward, OP is visiting the USA and loses his job in Honduras which probably had some form of armed guards or so, Now the breadwinner decides to look for a job while in the USA and now the family speeds up their entire future plans.

 

No way what I am seeing is fraud, the dude legit had a job in Honduras, he got laid off not in his control. He now needs to move his whole life away to find a similar job in the USA. If he works someone must take care of the kids etc...Am I sure if he had a job in Honduras currently he wouldnt care about any of this.

 

Also we sure of the interview is a slam dunk? Does he not need a whole new job and i864? 

Edited August 3, 2018 by A&H2018

[NancyLyz 58]

Ah I think consulting with multiple attorneys may be a better idea before OP makes up his mind. OP obviously is not worrying about financial burdens from his responses so he may as well hire an experienced and reputable immigration attorney to work on his case. OP's original intention of bringing his wife to the US on tourist visa has been determined by CBP that they did not intend to commit visa fraud. Therefore arguing whether that behavior will affect his current application somehow seems a bit irrelevant. However, considering how USCIS gets stricter and more suspicious, it's not completely impossible for them to frown upon the records and to give OP headaches. 

 

In addition, once OP files for the AOS, the wife won't be able to travel abroad until she receives her AP (4-6 months wait). Without an EAD, she is not very likely to get her Driver's license either.

 

But anyway hopefully OP will keep us updated.

[TNJ17 1,329]

On 8/2/2018 at 12:14 AM, SteveE said:

I originally arrived in the US on a B2 tourist visa. I later filed AOS to to adjust my status after marrying my then USC girlfriend, we filed the paperwork, had an interview and I received a conditional green card. Things didn't work out in the marriage and we separated and I never filed for removal of conditions, because to be honest I was not even aware you could do so if you were no longer married. I remained in the US and was out of status. I later met my current wife, also a USC. We filed AOS and our case was approved in under 6 months and I received my 10 year green card due to the length of our marriage.

 

I have no criminal record.

I entered the US with inspection on a visa that allows AOS.

I never had a deportation order issued against me.

My marriage is bona-fide 

 

In both cases I followed a legal path to immigration that was available to me as the spouse of a USC. You may not agree with that path or even like it, but it is nonetheless perfectly legal.

Your path was legal. What OP is suggesting is completely different than yours AND illegal. 

[mymarriagejourney 112]

On 7/31/2018 at 11:56 PM, motoperpetuo said:

My Honduran wife and I started the CR-1 process in 2015. In 2016 I found a job in Honduras and moved there, after we'd already submitted the I-130. There was a problem with some of the supporting documentation but we finally got that cleared up and in May of 2018 received an embassy interview for 05 June 2018. Since we were planning on staying in Honduras for another year or two, we asked the embassy to postpone the interview indefinitely. 

 

Unfortunately shortly thereafter I lost my job, so now we're back in the US. We were unable to get another interview before leaving Honduras, so she is here on a tourist visa.

 

Is there a way she can apply for a green card while we're here in the US? We met an immigrant from Ukraine who was originally in the US on an H1-B and managed to get residency after getting married in the US and she felt that we could get my wife residency without her having to return to Honduras for an interview, but I'm thinking our process with the CR-1 is completely different. Does anyone know?

 

 

Yes, you can apply for adjustment of status.  After reading the first few ridiculous replies, I didn't bother reading the rest of the thread.  So, maybe someone has already said this, but just follow the adjustment of status guide on this site.  Good luck.

[motoperpetuo 3]

It's the weekend so I have time to look into immigration again (I just landed a good job, which I guess is part of this puzzle). I just wanted to thank everyone who's replied in the last two weeks or so, as well as the mods for intervening in the unexpected unpleasantness when I first started this thread. It's encouraging that it seems highly possible my wife won't have to go back to Honduras. For those who haven't been following along from the beginning, if she were from a stable, developed country, We'd probably have her go back but the political situation in her country is very tense right now and could explode again at any moment, as it did last year when we were living there. There was a fair amount of violence, the capital was shut down for days, and it will likely be worse next time. That's my main concern but there are others, like her travelling on her own pretty shortly after delivering a baby by C-section and my somehow taking care of two small kids on my own while working for a week or two.

 

I'm not concerned about my wife not being able to work or get a driver's license for a bit longer because she wasn't planning on doing those things anytime soon, but I appreciate some of the replies mentioning that. It could be a concern for other couples following along.

She talked to a friend of hers from Honduras earlier this week who had applied for residency while in Germany with her husband, who is in the US military but was suddenly transferred back to the US. If I understood correctly, her friend and her husband were able to have their paperwork sent from the embassy in Germany to the US and get her an interview for residency in the US, so hopefully we can do the same with my wife's paperwork at the embassy in Honduras.

As someone above suggested, next step is probably to find a good lawyer. I looked at the guide several of you mentioned and while it looks like it should be doable, I'm not opposed to spending some money to get professional help. I should probably do that soon. If anyone happens to have any recommendations for good lawyers in the Denver, Colorado area please let me know.

Thanks again!

[motoperpetuo 3]

Hello, everyone. Just wanted to give you all an update. We had our immigration interview here in Colorado last week, and we should be getting my wife's permanent residency in the mail in a few weeks. I'm not as knowledgeable about immigration as many of you, so I'm not even sure how to update my timeline, I just wanted to let you know that yes, we were able to adjust my wife's status with the help of our attorney and she did not have to go back to Honduras for an embassy interview.

 

Thanks very much for your help to everyone who replied. Except for that one guy. Heh.

By the way, if anyone in the Denver area needs a referral for an immigration attorney, contact me. Ours is awesome, can't recommend her highly enough.