Are we too late?

[videodziner 0]

Hi all, I'm new to the group.

My wife came to the U.S. on a K1 visa and we were married 30 days after her arrival. We want to adjust her status and file the I-485, but we heard some stories yesterday and now we are worried.

The thing is, I was under the impression that there was no time limit in filing the I-485 as long as we got married in the 90 day time frame on the K1. So now, 2 great years and 2 kids later, we were preparing to file and heard a story of a couple being denied the chage of status and the wife ordered deported for 10 years because they did not file right after their marriage.

I contacted an attorney today and asked, and he said we could file anytime. Of course he offered to help us with the paperwork for a fee. I had planned to file everything myself.

Anyone else wait a looonng time before filing for the change of status? What were the results?

Thanks,

Vid.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Their is no time limit on when you can file for AOS from a K1 visa..... as long as you were married within 90 days of entry you should have no issues....

The only thing I would say is your wife has been out of status for some time so its not a good idea to leave the USA until she has her Greencard... so save yourselves some money and dont file for the AP....

Good Luck

Kezzie

[videodziner 0]

Their is no time limit on when you can file for AOS from a K1 visa..... as long as you were married within 90 days of entry you should have no issues....

The only thing I would say is your wife has been out of status for some time so its not a good idea to leave the USA until she has her Greencard... so save yourselves some money and dont file for the AP....

Good Luck

Kezzie

Thanks Kezzie, we were both horrified at the thought of our family being seperated for a long time. No plans yet on traveling outside the U.S., as our kids are just infants.

Anyone else with any thoughts or insight?

[calvin 0]

Their is no time limit on when you can file for AOS from a K1 visa..... as long as you were married within 90 days of entry you should have no issues....

The only thing I would say is your wife has been out of status for some time so its not a good idea to leave the USA until she has her Greencard... so save yourselves some money and dont file for the AP....

Good Luck

Kezzie

Thanks Kezzie, we were both horrified at the thought of our family being seperated for a long time. No plans yet on traveling outside the U.S., as our kids are just infants.

Anyone else with any thoughts or insight?

I agree that, in the end, you won't have a big problem adjusting status. They may, however, ask you some rather pointed questions about what took you so long. Be ready with some good answers. In any case, don't put it off any longer. As long as your wife is out of status, she is in a legal limbo of sorts. And as you have already been advised, do not let her leave the U.S. until she has her green card. You'll be starting all over again.

[LastSurvivor 0]

I just want to know why you would put this off? Extremely irresponsible is my guess. If your wife happened to be in a traffic accident or get into any kind of trouble with the law she could be deported and where would this leave your kids? Why would you even take that chance. Yes, the process is time consuming and tedious as hell but what were you thinking? Others may pat you on the back and say don't worry it'll be okay but I'm not that generous. You owe her this greencard so get off your a$$ and take care of it.

LS

[Kez/JWolf 6]

LastSurvivor that is a bit harsh..... you dont know what reasons they have for not filing until now..... and to be honest we dont need to know.. they came here looking for some answers....we are not here to judge people... we are here to try and help...

Kezzie

[LastSurvivor 0]

LastSurvivor that is a bit harsh..... you dont know what reasons they have for not filing until now..... and to be honest we dont need to know.. they came here looking for some answers....we are not here to judge people... we are here to try and help...

Kezzie

Yes it is harsh and it is also honest. Very irresponsible not to take care of this for 2 years. I am not thinking of him or his wife for that matter but the kids who would be without a mom if she got deported for 10 years. He should expect some criticism because there is no "good" reason to wait 2 years. If you want to add sugar to the problem and assure him it's okay then fine but do not judge me for being honest.

LS

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Well yes you are entitled to your opinion.... lets just hope that nothing ever happens in your life that may mean you cant do something at the time you know you should.... but cant.

Kezzie

[LastSurvivor 0]

Well yes you are entitled to your opinion.... lets just hope that nothing ever happens in your life that may mean you cant do something at the time you know you should.... but cant.

Kezzie

[videodziner 0]

Well yes you are entitled to your opinion.... lets just hope that nothing ever happens in your life that may mean you cant do something at the time you know you should.... but cant.

Kezzie

LS, my, our only defense in putting this off was our lack of knowledge regarding the out of status situation. We believed she was/is legally in the US as we fullfilled the requirements of the K1 visa. Since we believed the change of status was primarily to exit/leave the US and allow her to work we always thought we oculd put off the expense another month. With the expense of new babies and building a home/life together there were alot of another months. I don't know where you live, but here in Michigan things are tough now. A lot of families are in a lot worse shape than we are. I'll take your criticism because I can, and because I deserve it.

With the knowledge of the seriousness of her status, we are doing what we have to do to make it happen now.

Thanks to all with your replies. If I could take a poll, should we get an attorney to help? I went through the K1 process with info from the USCIS web site, and I'm confident I can put together the AOS package with no problem. But because of the length of our present status I wonder if having an attorney would help.

I would still like to hear the experiences of anyone in the group who went through the AOS process after an extended time out of status.

This is a great group, I wish I had found you sooner.

Thanks,

V.

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Save your money dont bother with a Lawyer... you can do it yourself... do a search on here for "out of status" I am sure you will find posts about people who have waited to file.... your wife is not illegal... she is just in limbo... and she wont get deported because you did not file before the I-94 date... unless of course she had done something that is deportable...

Kezzie