worried about I485

[philippine jimmy 0]

I was worried some about filing the I485 because some people are rejected after all the turmoil of bringing their fiancee to the states.

Even though there is more written about money and making sure you send the money correctly it isnt all about the moulah.

Apparently there are some police types waiting to make sure you dont roll past the stop sign.They are looking to boot you out of this country. A factor that worried me from the start was how I went through many months of reading and preparation of all the numerous forms and sending money to the philippines for different forms etc to ensure she was getting all done. Then the 600 dollars to send to qtar to have a man translate her police clearance plus several months waiting while he stared at the paper I guess. How me and her read on here many times how tough the manila embassy was on k1 visa and all the forms had to be perfect and they wont accept co-sponsor. That almost killed me waiting for her interview. So she was very careful in her interview to watch exactly what went on. Several hundred women are interviewed in that embassy each day just to come here on the k1 so maybe they just rush them through and let the folks here handle them. Anyway, what was supposed to be horrible was nothing in manila.They never opened the packet I sent, they never even looked at the I 134 I worked on so hard. They asked her 2 short questions at teh first station in her language. The guy acted lost and stumbled through his words and then the next station was an American man that asked when will you marry and then he swore her in and thats it.So then after all trhe happiness of finally having the woman I love here with me it was a shock to see it starts all again and even more strict and difficult. Either someone is illegal or legal in this country. Many cities still have the rule to not ask immigration status because of profiling but wher I live in AZ many people live in fear of being asked. I would not want to live where we are afraid every day that some one will ask for papers like watching an old cold war era film. It is tempting to wait to file this 485 because it is not illegal to wait even up to 2 years but what is her status once this k1 visa expries? I think this is a legitimate question because it could have affected each of us.

[Darnell 8,478]

she has 'no status' between I-94 expiration date and 'I-797-C, Receipt Notice of AOS'

I'm terribly sorry, I can't write stuff to allay yer fears or lessen anything.

I'll suggest this, instead -

want to remain in USA? File for AOS. Anything that happened prior, with paperwork? Forget about it, this is 'new game' and you 'play by new rules'. Or Choose Not To -

it really is yer choice, what to do.

Do I sound harsh? Probably...

Just remember - you can't win, if you don't play.

[Nik+Heather 121]

Don't want to be nervous about being asked about status? Well, then stay in status. Apply for adjustment of status before the expiration of the I-94.

Are you thinking that you'll somehow save money if you apply for AOS so that you can get a 10 year card? is the savings of 500$ worth the heart burn above? Worth not being able to work for 2 years? It just doesn't make any economic sense, WHATSOEVER. Also, I'd look for some of Jim's posts in this forum lately. Some K-1s have reported issues with adjusting after 2 years of marriage because they get caught in a no-solution zone. K-1s adjust to conditional residency, but conditional residency is only for people married less than 2 years. The immigration process is a stupid giant, and you don't want to throw any wrenches into the works that you don't absolutely have to.

Her status after the I-94 expires is overstay. (regardless of visa expiration date) if you two are married she is eligible to adjust, so if caught they won't deport her, but they could hold her for a few hours or a few days (think about what that means. The words sound clean and sanitized, but that idea scares the ####### outta me!), and will likely order you to apply for adjustment immediately. If her I-94 expires and she is unmarried, she is not eligible to adjust, and any marriage which takes place after deportation proceedings have been initiated is assumed to be fraudulent.

I don't understand where the reluctance comes in here. You say it's not about the money, but it seems to be because you feel like you spent a lot of time on the K-1 and then they didn't ooh and ahh over how well prepared she was? Just because one worker out of THOUSANDS in the immigration machine didn't APPEAR to scrub your submission carefully, doesn't mean they take a lax view overall. Also, I would point out that they don't review all of the files right in front of you. They do processing between window 1 and window 2, AND sometimes do more review between window 2 and the actual issuance of the visa. I wouldn't be so sure that no one looked at your documents.

[Darnell 8,478]

oh - I want to address one other thing.

Jimmy - you are asking for 'reasons to wait'

I know of no 'reasons to wait'.

Can you please list, what YOUR reasons to wait, are?

[LDG 2]

another reason NOT to wait is that filing fee for AOS filing is going to go up another $60 in November

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Yep,

I too heard it's like the during the cold war in Arizona right now. KGB agents on every street corner, a giant space ship hovering over the capitol. People live in fear and stay at home when it gets dark. Incredible crimes are being committed every day, people are being dragged out of busses and asked for their papers. Scary, especially for K-1s.

Paging Doctor Phil!

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

Jimmy,

You're right that you can wait and she will simply be out of status until you file. Here are some of the flaws with that plan:

1. Life in general happens with asking our consent. While she's out of status she can't travel back home for any reason and return without getting another visa.

2. Again life happens, if she is picked up by immigration she will have to be bonded out or sit in jail until she sees a judge. Sure you can file AOS after she's jailed but why go through the worry, stress & expense.

3. I'd bet she wants to have a life, without that green card there will be no working, driving or continuing education for her legally and doing them illegally puts her in peril of #2.

Just get it done with and file for AOS...

[newlyweds2010 208]

The only reason why you could possibly wait is that at the moment you don't have enough money to pay for AOS fees or to sign an affidavit of support and you don't have anybody else co-sponsoring.

Other than that, there is no reason to wait. As others said, you won't risk deportation as a K1 holder who married a USC within the 90 days of the visa, although you may spend some time in detention (= a filthy cell and bologna sandwiches). But the longer you wait the longer you can't work, travel abroad, drive. Additionally, AOS fees will only increase in the future, surely not decrease. And the time before you can apply for naturalization starts ticking when you become an LPR (= green card holder).