Avoiding a conditional green card

[Newdad24 0]

My wife and I will be married for 2 years at the end of May, 2011. She is here with me in the US (I am a citizen) on an H1 visa. The i-130 I submitted has just been approved. When can we apply for adjustment of status to ensure getting the full green card, not the conditional green card so we can avoid having to pay again? I have no problem waiting the 2 more months before applying, but if the process will take 5 months anyway, then I'd like to know if I can have her apply now. Do they consider application date when looking at years married or final approval?

Thanks

Tim

[Wayne and Claudia 40]

My wife and I will be married for 2 years at the end of May, 2011. She is here with me in the US (I am a citizen) on an H1 visa. The i-130 I submitted has just been approved. When can we apply for adjustment of status to ensure getting the full green card, not the conditional green card so we can avoid having to pay again? I have no problem waiting the 2 more months before applying, but if the process will take 5 months anyway, then I'd like to know if I can have her apply now. Do they consider application date when looking at years married or final approval?

Thanks

Tim

At POE if they see you are past the 2 year mark they will adjust and she will be an IR immigrant. This has happened many times from the readings I have read. Some people have even received their CR visas and purposely delayed their POE so as to reach the 2 year mark. Just make sure you notify the CBP officer when you go through secondary processing.

[SunDrop 59]

At POE if they see you are past the 2 year mark they will adjust and she will be an IR immigrant. This has happened many times from the readings I have read. Some people have even received their CR visas and purposely delayed their POE so as to reach the 2 year mark. Just make sure you notify the CBP officer when you go through secondary processing.

How about your reading of this thread saying that she's already in the US. She won't have a POE.

To the OP, from what the IO said to us at our AOS interview, it will be dependent on the number of years you've been married at the date of issue (so approval), not the NOA1 date.

[pushbrk 12,136]

How about your reading of this thread saying that she's already in the US. She won't have a POE.

To the OP, from what the IO said to us at our AOS interview, it will be dependent on the number of years you've been married at the date of issue (so approval), not the NOA1 date.

Right. Just make sure the adjustment of status is approved after the two-year wedding anniversary. Some confusion arises when you post about adjusting status in a spouse visa forum. You'll be adjusting status, not applying for a visa. Somebody will be along later to move this to the correct forum.

[SunDrop 59]

Right. Just make sure the adjustment of status is approved after the two-year wedding anniversary. Some confusion arises when you post about adjusting status in a spouse visa forum. You'll be adjusting status, not applying for a visa. Somebody will be along later to move this to the correct forum.

Good catch, I'll move it (from IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures to AOS from Work, Tourist & Student Visas)

Edited March 25, 2011 by SunDrop

[Wayne and Claudia 40]

How about your reading of this thread saying that she's already in the US. She won't have a POE.

To the OP, from what the IO said to us at our AOS interview, it will be dependent on the number of years you've been married at the date of issue (so approval), not the NOA1 date.

No sense being short...as pshbrk said it is a common mistake.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

You are probably safe applying now as it will definitely take more than 2 months to process, however, if you want to be very sure, apply in a few weeks near the end of April. You should get the NOA1 notice of receipt by the time of your second Anniversary and possibly the notice for biometrics but it is almost impossible that you would get the AOS processed by the end of May. USCIS just doesn't work that fast. After you submit the application and get the NOA1, your wife will get another notice to do biometrics and they generally give about 10 days to 2 weeks notice for that. The biometrics need to be sent out for FBI review which adds to the processing time and then when they return, the file needs to be reviewed for relevance and completeness. All of this is going to take more than 2 months. The fastest I have ever seen any AOS processed on this site is just over 3 months and that was a rare event indeed that has not been repeated.

Good luck.

[Oshun 3]

Kathryn41, The fasted I have ever heard is 2 MONTHS! South Jersey couple. They couldn't believe it!

[Thai family 0]

You should be safe applying now, but I'd still wait a bit. You might want to look at the historical timelines at the office where the interview will take place.

We tried to do the same thing, but the processing went much faster than anticipated and the interview was scheduled a couple of weeks before the second anniversary. They didn't try to change the interview, as it fit well with my son's rigorous training schedule. He asked at the interview if they could delay the actual issue of the GC for two weeks, but the adjudicating officer said "no". For the past year-and-half they have been anticipating having to remove conditions, which of course adds to the expense, hassle, and anxiety. Mom has forever been in the dog house for trying to predict the USCIS time schedule.