AOS timeline

[morocco4ever 63]

My husband's sister came to the US on a tourist visa to visit her daughter and grand daughter, then ended up remarrying her ex husband. He has been in the US for 20 years, and is now a US citizen. This is her first visit here. I have been gathering the papers they will need to file, and I guess she is intending to stay and do the AOS.

I looked at the timeline and they are processing with a priority date of 10/3/09 at the moment, so I figure that takes about 6 months. But since he is going to have to file the I-130 do they have to wait for that to be approved before they get a priority date for the I-485, or do they process them at the same time?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[sammills89 2]

They would have to file the I-485 before anything else, I think you said they were already married so therefore they would need to apply for a k3 visa. The process generally takes about a year, and the foreign fiancé isn't allowed to live in the US until the visa is approved. They wont be able to file the i-485 until the k3 visa is secured, depending on the processing times and if the visa is approved you would be able to file for the AOS in about a years time.

[besaangel 18]

Is she still in the US, if so then she just needs to do the AOS. I thought the USCIS was done away with the K3!

Guess I was wrong

[NBF 1]

I believe she came to the US and then remarried her ex-husband. Why do they have to file a K3 if she's already here and they married. There are exceptions to the rules and if there was no intent to immigrate into the US and the marriage is legitimate, they should be able to file while she is here in the US. But, the husband needs to become more involved in the process as it appears as though the sister-in-law is carrying most of the weight. The husband needs to make a determination whether or not he wishes for his "new" wife to remain in the US and to complete the AOS process. Not sure what the OP means about the "priority" date of October 2009.

Good luck.

They would have to file the I-485 before anything else, I think you said they were already married so therefore they would need to apply for a k3 visa. The process generally takes about a year, and the foreign fiancé isn't allowed to live in the US until the visa is approved. They wont be able to file the i-485 until the k3 visa is secured, depending on the processing times and if the visa is approved you would be able to file for the AOS in about a years time.

[morocco4ever 63]

Thanks everyone for your replies. She is still in the US, and her husband doesn't want her to go back. He screwed it up once, and is afraid to let go of her again. He believes that the process will only take a few weeks, whereas I don't believe that will be the case.

I believe she came to the US and then remarried her ex-husband. Why do they have to file a K3 if she's already here and they married. There are exceptions to the rules and if there was no intent to immigrate into the US and the marriage is legitimate, they should be able to file while she is here in the US. But, the husband needs to become more involved in the process as it appears as though the sister-in-law is carrying most of the weight. The husband needs to make a determination whether or not he wishes for his "new" wife to remain in the US and to complete the AOS process. Not sure what the OP means about the "priority" date of October 2009.

Good luck.

Your right, the husband does need to be more involved, but unfortunately they have some strange idea that I know what I am doing since I petitioned for my husband. This is, however, another beast. But I am very good at organizing papers, so I agreed to help.

When I called the USCIS on the forms I needed they told me to send in several all at once. The I-130 to establish that she is eligible for the 2 year visa, but the I-485 to change her tourist visa to a CR1. The priority date I am talking about is the date you get from the USCIS on the I-797 when they notify you that they have received the petition. I follow the USCIS website to see what petitions they are currently working on, and I believe that the AOS will be handled at our local office, whereas the I-130 would be done at the California Service Center. But then again since this isn't the usual route, I don't know for sure. So this is why I am questioning if they work on the I-130 and I-485 concurrently, or if they have to approve the I-130 before they begin processing the I-485.

[Y's_habibitk 2]

Did some googling(better than working right now )...Everything that I just read says that you wont have to wait for the I-130 to be approved before the 485 starts its process... in other words, they basically get processed together. Using the 485 timeline is the best way to estimate wait times. Some people reported touches on both petition and application on the same day. Looks like they process them together.

Hope that helps

[morocco4ever 63]

Did some googling(better than working right now )...Everything that I just read says that you wont have to wait for the I-130 to be approved before the 485 starts its process... in other words, they basically get processed together. Using the 485 timeline is the best way to estimate wait times. Some people reported touches on both petition and application on the same day. Looks like they process them together.

Hope that helps

Thanks Lisa! I had googled it, but didn't find out what I was looking for quickly, and I was hoping to find out ASAP. My job has been actually expecting me to work lately....lol

You understood my question perfectly!

[Y's_habibitk 2]

Thanks Lisa! I had googled it, but didn't find out what I was looking for quickly, and I was hoping to find out ASAP. My job has been actually expecting me to work lately....lol

You understood my question perfectly!

how dare they?!? lol

glad to help!

Edited April 10, 2010 by Y's_habibitk