Will my AOS be denied ?

[Alex&Brittany 1]

Hi All

I'm in the US on a K1 visa, and we married within the 90 days no problem

However since then, alot of personal events have occured which I wont detail, but all in all, due to financial difficulty, we havent been able to apply for my AOS and EAD yet

Here's the biggy, we have been married almost 1 year in Feb.... but we still havent been able to afford the AOS and EAD>

I spoke to a paralegal who advised me they never heard of an AOS being rejected from length of time taken to apply, but she had only seen cases up to 1a couple of months after the marriage.

Anyone have any advice for us ?

We are basically wanting to get me eligible to work, however we can do that, should I still go after my AOS and EAD or is there some other method ? or is it all together fubar'd ?

Thanks for any time anyone gives to this subject.

[SisJ 13]

There's no other way to be able to work except through AOS. There's no time frame for you to file for it, but the sooner you do it the sooner you'll be able to work.

[YuAndDan 153]

No way to apply for EAD without first filing AOS.

[Alex&Brittany 1]

but given the timeframe its taken me to apply for my AOS, is that going to be an issue ? should I get myself an attorney ?

[Anh map 2,098]

but given the timeframe its taken me to apply for my AOS, is that going to be an issue ? should I get myself an attorney ?

No, there is no requirement that you file for Adjustment of Status within a certain time frame. Filing now would not cause any problem for you.

[Alex&Brittany 1]

thankyou for all your replies, you have made 2 very worried people very happy today

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Let me be a bit more specific.

The K-1 expired the moment you were "admitted" to the US. Its sole requirement was that you got married within 90 days of arrival in the US to the US citizen who petitioned for you. If you did, you can take a deep breath.

At the airport, you received an I-94 form. It gave you 6 months of authorized stay. This I-94 is now expired so if you get in trouble with the law or encounter a CBP or ICE officer, you can and probably will get detained. Not fun.

The worst case scenario that could happen, but it's not very likely, is that you will find yourself in front of an immigration judge afterward. Since you are eligible to apply for Adjustment of Status, he'll set you free and remind you that you have to file for AOS ASAP. Whatever that means.

Truth is, there is no time limit spelled out in the immigration law, so you can file after a year, no problem. The worst that can happen here, however, is that your husband will be asked to provide an I-130 in addition to the I-485 and the (optional) I-765. That should be no problem.

You are not authorized to work before your AOS petition has been adjudicated. However, if you did work, it will not be made an issue of at the AOS stage.

[Alex&Brittany 1]

thanks just bob,

Im guessing my original medical and police certificates will have expired by now too huh ?

Will I need to get new medical and police records, like when applying for the K1 ?

[trillium13 84]

The medical is only good for one year. Don't know about the police records.

Edited January 11, 2011 by trillium13

[YuAndDan 153]

Let me be a bit more specific.

The K-1 expired the moment you were "admitted" to the US. Its sole requirement was that you got married within 90 days of arrival in the US to the US citizen who petitioned for you. If you did, you can take a deep breath.

At the airport, you received an I-94 form. It gave you 6 months of authorized stay. This I-94 is now expired so if you get in trouble with the law or encounter a CBP or ICE officer, you can and probably will get detained. Not fun.

The worst case scenario that could happen, but it's not very likely, is that you will find yourself in front of an immigration judge afterward. Since you are eligible to apply for Adjustment of Status, he'll set you free and remind you that you have to file for AOS ASAP. Whatever that means.

Truth is, there is no time limit spelled out in the immigration law, so you can file after a year, no problem. The worst that can happen here, however, is that your husband will be asked to provide an I-130 in addition to the I-485 and the (optional) I-765. That should be no problem.

You are not authorized to work before your AOS petition has been adjudicated. However, if you did work, it will not be made an issue of at the AOS stage.

Correction Bob, K-1 gets 90 days stay on I-94, not 6 months.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

At the airport, you received an I-94 form. It gave you 6 months of authorized stay. This I-94 is now expired so if you get in trouble with the law or encounter a CBP or ICE officer, you can and probably will get detained. Not fun.

Just a correction to Bobs otherwise entirely correct post, you were given 90 days on your I-94, not 6 months.

Also, your medical is now expired so you will need to go to a CS and pay for that. It's likely it will be a few hundred dollars.

If you wait more than 2 years then your husband will need to file the I-130 with the AOS papers (and add the fee for that). The bonus there is you will get a 10 year GC and won't need to ROC. Still, like you said, it's not nice being unable to work AND unable to return to the US if you leave for any reason.

It sucks but you should file ASAP. Get a small loan, file for AOS, get a job when you get the EAD and pay back the loan OR with tax time coming around hopefully you'll get a good enough tax refund to pay for AOS (that's what we ended up having to do). You might want to start calling CS's in your area though to find out how much more money you need to save.

Good luck.

thanks just bob,

Im guessing my original medical and police certificates will have expired by now too huh ?

Will I need to get new medical and police records, like when applying for the K1 ?

Medical yes, police no. Police records aren't needed for AOS... BUT if you wait till 2 years after you were married then I think you need police records for the I-130.. but I can't be sure 'cause I never filed one.. I just assume it's the same as the for the K1

Edited January 11, 2011 by Vanessa&Tony

[JoannaV 173]

You will also have to consider the financial sponsorship aspect: if your spouse is not earning a sufficient amount then you will need a co-sponsor.

[SisJ 13]

Medical yes, police no. Police records aren't needed for AOS... BUT if you wait till 2 years after you were married then I think you need police records for the I-130.. but I can't be sure 'cause I never filed one.. I just assume it's the same as the for the K1

No police record needed for I-130 unless you have a criminal record.

[SuperDuper! 230]

No, there is no requirement that you file for Adjustment of Status within a certain time frame. Filing now would not cause any problem for you.

Hello Anh. Forgive me for using your comment as an example, no offense intended. But I want to use it to make a point.

If I had a nickle for every time I heard someone saying, " there is no requirement that you file for Adjustment of Status within a certain time frame", I would be rich indeed, so I have to call foul on this.

Because, if 5 years go by, and still no AOS filed, I can't imagine that this is OK, and any sane person barely familiar with immigration of a spouse to the US will have to agree. Go ahead, put it 10 years and no AOS. THis still isn't OK.

After one year, the immigrant's medical exam is no longer valid, and then the civil surgeon gets to make a monthly payment on his Lexus, courtesy of ya.

So realistically, there is a time frame: It is called common sense. The common sense time frame is: "As soon as you can file for AOS, then do it." Preferably within the 90 days of the K1 Visa period, in order to protect status.

I'm sorry to say, but if a couple did not plan ahead, and have the AOS fee in the bank and ready to go at the time of POE, then that couple did not think this process thru thoroughly,

I have long said that the man needs to have $10K in the bank on POE day, in order to do things right and not scrimp and scrape for pennies between the seat cushions to pay for his new immigrant wife's expenses.

Instead, wait an additional year to bring wifey here and save up more dollars until you have a comfortable cushion to do things proper.

Am I such a madman from another planet in my thinking here? Be sure to let me know!

OP, best wishes, and no offense to you as well. I just hope you follow Larry The Cable Guy's advice and......"Git R Done!"

Edited January 11, 2011 by Boing!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

No police record needed for I-130 unless you have a criminal record.

Thanks Now I know.