Is AOS really this complicated??

[Firstenburg 0]

My lovely wife and I have been together for a month now. This whole month I haven't wanted ANYTHING to do with immigration - so tired of dealing with the whole process. But tonight I figured I better start preparing for AOS, and I went to the GUIDES section and read up on the process...

IT LOOKS JUST LIKE K3!!

Have I missed something here? Am I reading correctly? Do I really need to pay $1010 just to file???? Our I-130 was approved at the same time as the I-129 and is currently sitting at NVC. What would be the cost/process if I proceeded with the I-130 now instead of the I-129?

Hope someone has better news for me than I have to fill out all the same forms and get all the same translations, etc, AGAIN!!! AND PAY $1010!!

[dj1206 0]

My lovely wife and I have been together for a month now. This whole month I haven't wanted ANYTHING to do with immigration - so tired of dealing with the whole process. But tonight I figured I better start preparing for AOS, and I went to the GUIDES section and read up on the process...

IT LOOKS JUST LIKE K3!!

Have I missed something here? Am I reading correctly? Do I really need to pay $1010 just to file???? Our I-130 was approved at the same time as the I-129 and is currently sitting at NVC. What would be the cost/process if I proceeded with the I-130 now instead of the I-129?

Hope someone has better news for me than I have to fill out all the same forms and get all the same translations, etc, AGAIN!!! AND PAY $1010!!

According to the guides, you would have to also submit all of the AOS paperwork (it's a big headache...I wish it was just one or two forms), and yes, sadly the $1010, too. Fees are exhorbitent, but in the end, it's worth it. Just budget for it all you can.

D

[Old Dominion 26]

My lovely wife and I have been together for a month now. This whole month I haven't wanted ANYTHING to do with immigration - so tired of dealing with the whole process. But tonight I figured I better start preparing for AOS, and I went to the GUIDES section and read up on the process...

IT LOOKS JUST LIKE K3!!

Have I missed something here? Am I reading correctly? Do I really need to pay $1010 just to file???? Our I-130 was approved at the same time as the I-129 and is currently sitting at NVC. What would be the cost/process if I proceeded with the I-130 now instead of the I-129?

Hope someone has better news for me than I have to fill out all the same forms and get all the same translations, etc, AGAIN!!! AND PAY $1010!!

No choice is given in the matter. Perhaps the good news is that if it's filed with the AOS, there is no fee for an EAD (work permit) application.

[Urge To Race 2]

You do have the option of still pursuing the CR-1 visa to get permanent residency. Since your I130 is already at NVC, if you pay the IV fee bill, Affadavit of Support fee bill, send appropriate docs when requested, etc. Your wife would have to go back to Brazil for the interview. If sucessful, she would get a CR-1 (if married less than 2 years) and a Green Card shortly after arriving on the CR1 visa. This might save you some $$, but then your wife would have to fly back for to Brazil for the interview, so may end up costing more. If she is planning on going anyway to visit, might just work.

My lovely wife and I have been together for a month now. This whole month I haven't wanted ANYTHING to do with immigration - so tired of dealing with the whole process. But tonight I figured I better start preparing for AOS, and I went to the GUIDES section and read up on the process...

IT LOOKS JUST LIKE K3!!

Have I missed something here? Am I reading correctly? Do I really need to pay $1010 just to file???? Our I-130 was approved at the same time as the I-129 and is currently sitting at NVC. What would be the cost/process if I proceeded with the I-130 now instead of the I-129?

Hope someone has better news for me than I have to fill out all the same forms and get all the same translations, etc, AGAIN!!! AND PAY $1010!!

Edited July 23, 2008 by Urge To Race

[rin and john 71]

My lovely wife and I have been together for a month now. This whole month I haven't wanted ANYTHING to do with immigration - so tired of dealing with the whole process. But tonight I figured I better start preparing for AOS, and I went to the GUIDES section and read up on the process...

IT LOOKS JUST LIKE K3!!

Have I missed something here? Am I reading correctly? Do I really need to pay $1010 just to file???? Our I-130 was approved at the same time as the I-129 and is currently sitting at NVC. What would be the cost/process if I proceeded with the I-130 now instead of the I-129?

Hope someone has better news for me than I have to fill out all the same forms and get all the same translations, etc, AGAIN!!! AND PAY $1010!!

Does your wife plan to work? My wife did not, so we waited until almost our 2nd wedding anniversary to apply for AOS. If you file now, your wife will receive a 2 yr conditional GC and you will deal with USCIS again in 2 yrs to lift conditions. If you can wait until you are almost at your 2nd wedding anniversary, your wife will be issued a 10yr GC and your next dealings with USCIS will be for naturalization (and it saves the cost of lifting conditions).

Even if she plans to work, you could file for EAD ($340) now and wait to file AOS. It would still cost $1,010 for AOS, but the cost of lifting conditions is $545, so it would save you $205 in the long run.

Edited July 23, 2008 by rin and john

[pushbrk 12,092]

Yes, that's a viable option but only less expensive if you can combine the interview trip with one you are planning or would have planned anyway.

You do have the option of still pursuing the CR-1 visa to get permanent residency. Since your I130 is already at NVC, if you pay the IV fee bill, Affadavit of Support fee bill, send appropriate docs when requested, etc. Your wife would have to go back to Brazil for the interview. If sucessful, she would get a CR-1 (if married less than 2 years) and a Green Card shortly after arriving on the CR1 visa. This might save you some $$, but then your wife would have to fly back for to Brazil for the interview, so may end up costing more. If she is planning on going anyway to visit, might just work.

My lovely wife and I have been together for a month now. This whole month I haven't wanted ANYTHING to do with immigration - so tired of dealing with the whole process. But tonight I figured I better start preparing for AOS, and I went to the GUIDES section and read up on the process...

IT LOOKS JUST LIKE K3!!

Have I missed something here? Am I reading correctly? Do I really need to pay $1010 just to file???? Our I-130 was approved at the same time as the I-129 and is currently sitting at NVC. What would be the cost/process if I proceeded with the I-130 now instead of the I-129?

Hope someone has better news for me than I have to fill out all the same forms and get all the same translations, etc, AGAIN!!! AND PAY $1010!!

[Urge To Race 2]

We thought about doing the samething, but the true goal is to get her citizenship, and waiting to file for AOS means delaying getting her citizenship by the time waited. It was not worth it for us in the end. Something to consider.

My lovely wife and I have been together for a month now. This whole month I haven't wanted ANYTHING to do with immigration - so tired of dealing with the whole process. But tonight I figured I better start preparing for AOS, and I went to the GUIDES section and read up on the process...

IT LOOKS JUST LIKE K3!!

Have I missed something here? Am I reading correctly? Do I really need to pay $1010 just to file???? Our I-130 was approved at the same time as the I-129 and is currently sitting at NVC. What would be the cost/process if I proceeded with the I-130 now instead of the I-129?

Hope someone has better news for me than I have to fill out all the same forms and get all the same translations, etc, AGAIN!!! AND PAY $1010!!

Does your wife plan to work? My wife did not, so we waited until almost our 2nd wedding anniversary to apply for AOS. If you file now, your wife will receive a 2 yr conditional GC and you will deal with USCIS again in 2 yrs to lift conditions. If you can wait until you are almost at your 2nd wedding anniversary, your wife will be issued a 10yr GC and your next dealings with USCIS will be for naturalization (and it saves the cost of lifting conditions).

Even if she plans to work, you could file for EAD ($340) now and wait to file AOS. It would still cost $1,010 for AOS, but the cost of lifting conditions is $545, so it would save you $205 in the long run.

[rin and john 71]

Agree with your assessment if you are pursuing the fastest path to citizenship. The OP seemed most concerned with the cost. We considered filing AOS right away too, but we could not file AOS for Rin until after her children "followed to join" on K4 visas. That was October 2007, so our delay was about eight months (Oct '07 to Jun '08). In the OP's case, his 2nd anniversary is in June 2009, so he could conceivably file March 2009 and be reasonably confident of getting a 10yr GC; an 8 month delay to citizenship, but at a lower cost and one less "filing" with USCIS.

If the fastest path to citizenship is the goal, the CR-1 visa would have probably been the path I would have chosen.

John

We thought about doing the samething, but the true goal is to get her citizenship, and waiting to file for AOS means delaying getting her citizenship by the time waited. It was not worth it for us in the end. Something to consider.

My lovely wife and I have been together for a month now. This whole month I haven't wanted ANYTHING to do with immigration - so tired of dealing with the whole process. But tonight I figured I better start preparing for AOS, and I went to the GUIDES section and read up on the process...

IT LOOKS JUST LIKE K3!!

Have I missed something here? Am I reading correctly? Do I really need to pay $1010 just to file???? Our I-130 was approved at the same time as the I-129 and is currently sitting at NVC. What would be the cost/process if I proceeded with the I-130 now instead of the I-129?

Hope someone has better news for me than I have to fill out all the same forms and get all the same translations, etc, AGAIN!!! AND PAY $1010!!

Does your wife plan to work? My wife did not, so we waited until almost our 2nd wedding anniversary to apply for AOS. If you file now, your wife will receive a 2 yr conditional GC and you will deal with USCIS again in 2 yrs to lift conditions. If you can wait until you are almost at your 2nd wedding anniversary, your wife will be issued a 10yr GC and your next dealings with USCIS will be for naturalization (and it saves the cost of lifting conditions).

Even if she plans to work, you could file for EAD ($340) now and wait to file AOS. It would still cost $1,010 for AOS, but the cost of lifting conditions is $545, so it would save you $205 in the long run.

[Garu 0]

You do have the option of still pursuing the CR-1 visa to get permanent residency. Since your I130 is already at NVC, if you pay the IV fee bill, Affadavit of Support fee bill, send appropriate docs when requested, etc. Your wife would have to go back to Brazil for the interview. If sucessful, she would get a CR-1 (if married less than 2 years) and a Green Card shortly after arriving on the CR1 visa. This might save you some $$, but then your wife would have to fly back for to Brazil for the interview, so may end up costing more. If she is planning on going anyway to visit, might just work.

My lovely wife and I have been together for a month now. This whole month I haven't wanted ANYTHING to do with immigration - so tired of dealing with the whole process. But tonight I figured I better start preparing for AOS, and I went to the GUIDES section and read up on the process...

IT LOOKS JUST LIKE K3!!

Have I missed something here? Am I reading correctly? Do I really need to pay $1010 just to file???? Our I-130 was approved at the same time as the I-129 and is currently sitting at NVC. What would be the cost/process if I proceeded with the I-130 now instead of the I-129?

Hope someone has better news for me than I have to fill out all the same forms and get all the same translations, etc, AGAIN!!! AND PAY $1010!!

I don't know. I would feel uneasy about having her leave the U.S. and go back to deal with the embassy. I think common perception is that although a real pain in the behind, it is better to deal with immigration issues from within the U.S. than being at the mercy of some embassy official.

[LvivLovers 39]

For some reason, I always get the feeling that this whole process is really all about money. Hmmmmmmm.

[Urge To Race 2]

There are various concerns, and you have to priortize them. For us, #1 was being together. #2 is citizenship speed. So, K3 won over going CR1. We were not about to choose citizenship speed over being together. Cost was a consideration (I give the gov't enough money, paid enough fees and will pay more, if I can save that was great). So I thought about waiting, especially since my wife is not working. But with our original #1 done with the K3, in citizenship speed vs. cost of filing removal of conditions, we chose citizenship speed. Upon further comtemplation, I figured that was more important than the savings that could be achieved. So with our original #1 done with the K3, in citizenship speed vs. cost of filing removal of conditions, we chose citizenship speed. There are many reasons, but 1 thing to consider, is with a US Passport, she can travel visa waiver with me to many places that would require a visa with her passport and GC (visa's cost time and money) or she would have to stay home.

Agree with your assessment if you are pursuing the fastest path to citizenship. The OP seemed most concerned with the cost. We considered filing AOS right away too, but we could not file AOS for Rin until after her children "followed to join" on K4 visas. That was October 2007, so our delay was about eight months (Oct '07 to Jun '08). In the OP's case, his 2nd anniversary is in June 2009, so he could conceivably file March 2009 and be reasonably confident of getting a 10yr GC; an 8 month delay to citizenship, but at a lower cost and one less "filing" with USCIS.

If the fastest path to citizenship is the goal, the CR-1 visa would have probably been the path I would have chosen.

John

We thought about doing the samething, but the true goal is to get her citizenship, and waiting to file for AOS means delaying getting her citizenship by the time waited. It was not worth it for us in the end. Something to consider.

Does your wife plan to work? My wife did not, so we waited until almost our 2nd wedding anniversary to apply for AOS. If you file now, your wife will receive a 2 yr conditional GC and you will deal with USCIS again in 2 yrs to lift conditions. If you can wait until you are almost at your 2nd wedding anniversary, your wife will be issued a 10yr GC and your next dealings with USCIS will be for naturalization (and it saves the cost of lifting conditions).

Even if she plans to work, you could file for EAD ($340) now and wait to file AOS. It would still cost $1,010 for AOS, but the cost of lifting conditions is $545, so it would save you $205 in the long run.

Edited July 23, 2008 by Urge To Race

[SaysWho 3]

A K3 holder can still pursue the CR1? Everyone on the CR1 Forum seems to say that isn't an option. Has anyone actually done this?

Blessings!

Annie

You do have the option of still pursuing the CR-1 visa to get permanent residency. Since your I130 is already at NVC, if you pay the IV fee bill, Affadavit of Support fee bill, send appropriate docs when requested, etc. Your wife would have to go back to Brazil for the interview. If sucessful, she would get a CR-1 (if married less than 2 years) and a Green Card shortly after arriving on the CR1 visa. This might save you some $$, but then your wife would have to fly back for to Brazil for the interview, so may end up costing more. If she is planning on going anyway to visit, might just work.

My lovely wife and I have been together for a month now. This whole month I haven't wanted ANYTHING to do with immigration - so tired of dealing with the whole process. But tonight I figured I better start preparing for AOS, and I went to the GUIDES section and read up on the process...

IT LOOKS JUST LIKE K3!!

Have I missed something here? Am I reading correctly? Do I really need to pay $1010 just to file???? Our I-130 was approved at the same time as the I-129 and is currently sitting at NVC. What would be the cost/process if I proceeded with the I-130 now instead of the I-129?

Hope someone has better news for me than I have to fill out all the same forms and get all the same translations, etc, AGAIN!!! AND PAY $1010!!

[Urge To Race 2]

Yes, it is still possible. While a lot of I130 and I129Fs get paired and approved together, then usually the I129F is the only petition sent to NVC, the I130 goes to storage for AOS. If this happens, you cannot pursue the CR1 unless you get your I130 sent to NVC (filing an I-824), then continue with the process for the CR1. Of course, it might take another 6 months to get the I-824 processed and the I130 to NVC. Therefore, many people now cannot simultaneously pursue both as had been done in the past where the petitions were both sent to NVC upon approval. So now, K3 filers feel that they are "locked in" to the K3. But getting a K3 does not preclude a CR1. Totally doable.

A K3 holder can still pursue the CR1? Everyone on the CR1 Forum seems to say that isn't an option. Has anyone actually done this?

Blessings!

Annie

You do have the option of still pursuing the CR-1 visa to get permanent residency. Since your I130 is already at NVC, if you pay the IV fee bill, Affadavit of Support fee bill, send appropriate docs when requested, etc. Your wife would have to go back to Brazil for the interview. If sucessful, she would get a CR-1 (if married less than 2 years) and a Green Card shortly after arriving on the CR1 visa. This might save you some $$, but then your wife would have to fly back for to Brazil for the interview, so may end up costing more. If she is planning on going anyway to visit, might just work.

My lovely wife and I have been together for a month now. This whole month I haven't wanted ANYTHING to do with immigration - so tired of dealing with the whole process. But tonight I figured I better start preparing for AOS, and I went to the GUIDES section and read up on the process...

IT LOOKS JUST LIKE K3!!

Have I missed something here? Am I reading correctly? Do I really need to pay $1010 just to file???? Our I-130 was approved at the same time as the I-129 and is currently sitting at NVC. What would be the cost/process if I proceeded with the I-130 now instead of the I-129?

Hope someone has better news for me than I have to fill out all the same forms and get all the same translations, etc, AGAIN!!! AND PAY $1010!!

[pushbrk 12,092]

Currently VSC is sending both petitions through but it's a moot point for the OP, as their I-130 is already at NVC.

Yes, definitely it's an option. When all is said and done, it's probably not going to be the preferred option except in very rare cases.

Yes, it is still possible. While a lot of I130 and I129Fs get paired and approved together, then usually the I129F is the only petition sent to NVC, the I130 goes to storage for AOS. If this happens, you cannot pursue the CR1 unless you get your I130 sent to NVC (filing an I-824), then continue with the process for the CR1. Of course, it might take another 6 months to get the I-824 processed and the I130 to NVC. Therefore, many people now cannot simultaneously pursue both as had been done in the past where the petitions were both sent to NVC upon approval. So now, K3 filers feel that they are "locked in" to the K3. But getting a K3 does not preclude a CR1. Totally doable.

A K3 holder can still pursue the CR1? Everyone on the CR1 Forum seems to say that isn't an option. Has anyone actually done this?

Blessings!

Annie

You do have the option of still pursuing the CR-1 visa to get permanent residency. Since your I130 is already at NVC, if you pay the IV fee bill, Affadavit of Support fee bill, send appropriate docs when requested, etc. Your wife would have to go back to Brazil for the interview. If sucessful, she would get a CR-1 (if married less than 2 years) and a Green Card shortly after arriving on the CR1 visa. This might save you some $$, but then your wife would have to fly back for to Brazil for the interview, so may end up costing more. If she is planning on going anyway to visit, might just work.

My lovely wife and I have been together for a month now. This whole month I haven't wanted ANYTHING to do with immigration - so tired of dealing with the whole process. But tonight I figured I better start preparing for AOS, and I went to the GUIDES section and read up on the process...

IT LOOKS JUST LIKE K3!!

Have I missed something here? Am I reading correctly? Do I really need to pay $1010 just to file???? Our I-130 was approved at the same time as the I-129 and is currently sitting at NVC. What would be the cost/process if I proceeded with the I-130 now instead of the I-129?

Hope someone has better news for me than I have to fill out all the same forms and get all the same translations, etc, AGAIN!!! AND PAY $1010!!

[000 0]

SO people that have have already had their K3 interview and been approved can go ahead and do the CR1 route as well? So pretty much even though you are stamped for a K3 visa your I-130 sits at nvc forever??

Edited July 24, 2008 by Guest