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Andy N

Please help me know where to start!

By Andy N in Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, & Tourist Visas

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Andy N Rookie

Andy N   0

Posted
Filed: Timeline
Posted

So me and my spouse got married a few weeks ago and we're trying to figure out how she can stay here with me. I'm a natural born citizen and she is from Vietnam. I believe she came here as a student. Has passport & SSC. I've heard from people that I should file a I-130 form. Is that correct? Is this the fastest route to getting everything done? I read somewhere on here that you have to adjust the status at some point. Can someone please clarify on that? If I do fill out a I-130, what do I put in for the part that asks when did she arrive and when does her stay expires? I'm guessing I just go with the expiration date on the passport? I have no idea what a I-94/95 is. Thank you all for your help.

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Inky Grand Master

Inky   1,110

Posted
Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Canada
 Timeline
Posted

Please see the guides and example forms.

If your spouse is in the USA you need to file more than just the I-130.

http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

She needs to have a full immigration medical included in the packet, both must be filed together at the same time.

Expiration date of stay is NOT the passport date. It is the date on her visa or her I-94 which would be a paper stapled to her passport.

-------------------------------------------- as1cE-a0g410010MjgybHN8MDA5Njk4c3xNYXJyaWVkIGZvcg.gif

Your I-129f was approved in 5 days from your NOA1 date.

Your interview took 67 days from your I-129F NOA1 date.

AOS was approved in 2 months and 8 days without interview.

ROC was approved in 3 months and 2 days without interview.

I am a Citizen of the United States of America. 04/16/13

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Ryan H Grand Master

Ryan H   3,791

Posted
Filed: Lift. Cond. (apr) Country: China
 Timeline
Posted

I have no idea what a I-94/95 is. Thank you all for your help.

I-94 is the form foreign citizens fill out prior to entry to the US.

Our journey:

Spoiler

September 2007: Met online via social networking site (MySpace); began exchanging messages.
March 26, 2009: We become a couple!
September 10, 2009: Arrived for first meeting in-person!
June 17, 2010: Arrived for second in-person meeting and start of travel together to other areas of China!
June 21, 2010: Engaged!!!
September 1, 2010: Switched course from K1 to CR-1
December 8, 2010: Wedding date set; it will be on February 18, 2011!
February 9, 2011: Depart for China
February 11, 2011: Registered for marriage in Wuhan, officially married!!!
February 18, 2011: Wedding ceremony in Shiyan!!!
April 22, 2011: Mailed I-130 to Chicago
April 28, 2011: Received NOA1 via text/email, file routed to CSC (priority date April 25th)
April 29, 2011: Updated
May 3, 2011: Received NOA1 hardcopy in mail
July 26, 2011: Received NOA2 via text/email!!!
July 30, 2011: Received NOA2 hardcopy in mail
August 8, 2011: NVC received file
September 1, 2011: NVC case number assigned
September 2, 2011: AOS invoice received, OPTIN email for EP sent
September 7, 2011: Paid AOS bill (payment portal showed PAID on September 9, 2011)
September 8, 2011: OPTIN email accepted, GZO number assigned
September 10, 2011: Emailed AOS package
September 12, 2011: IV bill invoiced
September 13, 2011: Paid IV bill (payment portal showed PAID on September 14, 2011)
September 14, 2011: Emailed IV package
October 3, 2011: Emailed checklist response (checklist generated due to typo on Form DS-230)
October 6, 2011: Case complete at NVC
November 10, 2011: Interview - APPROVED!!!
December 7, 2011: POE - Sea-Tac Airport

September 17, 2013: Mailed I-751 to CSC

September 23, 2013: Received NOA1 in mail (receipt date September 19th)

October 16, 2013: Biometrics Appointment

January 28, 2014: Production of new Green Card ordered

February 3, 2014: New Green Card received; done with USCIS until fall of 2023*

December 18, 2023:  Filed I-90 to renew Green Card

December 21, 2023:  Production of new Green Card ordered - will be seeing USCIS again every 10 years for renewal

 

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Anh map Grand Master

Anh map   2,098

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
 Timeline
Posted

If she entered the US legally then you will be filing for an adjustment of status. Follow Inky's link posted above and do some studying of the process and forms involved.

I-864 Affidavit of Support FAQ -->> https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/support/i-864-frequently-asked-questions.html

FOREIGN INCOME REPORTING & TAX FILING -->> https://www.irs.gov/publications/p54/ch01.html#en_US_2015_publink100047318

CALL THIS NUMBER TO ORDER IRS TAX TRANSCRIPTS >> 800-908-9946

PLEASE READ THE GUIDES -->> Link to Visa Journey Guides

MULTI ENTRY SPOUSE VISA TO VN -->>Link to Visa Exemption for Vietnamese Residents Overseas & Their Spouses

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Anh map Grand Master

Anh map   2,098

Posted
Filed: IR-1/CR-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
 Timeline
Posted

* Moved from K3 forum to Adjustment of Status from Work, Student, Tourist forum. Both spouses are currently in the US. *

I-864 Affidavit of Support FAQ -->> https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/immigrate/immigrant-process/documents/support/i-864-frequently-asked-questions.html

FOREIGN INCOME REPORTING & TAX FILING -->> https://www.irs.gov/publications/p54/ch01.html#en_US_2015_publink100047318

CALL THIS NUMBER TO ORDER IRS TAX TRANSCRIPTS >> 800-908-9946

PLEASE READ THE GUIDES -->> Link to Visa Journey Guides

MULTI ENTRY SPOUSE VISA TO VN -->>Link to Visa Exemption for Vietnamese Residents Overseas & Their Spouses

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Little_My Proficient

Little_My   463

Posted
Filed: Lift. Cond. (pnd) Country: Finland
 Timeline
Posted

If she arrived in the US any time before February 2011, she should have an I-94 card. Since February those have started to go paperless so people don't necessarily get them anymore, but assuming she has been here for a while, she should have that.

That I-94 card should be stapled in her passport. It has a stamp, and in the middle of the stamp it most likely says "D/S" which means "duration of stay". That means she is legally allowed to stay in the US for as long as her current visa is valid - which, in the case of an F1 visa, means for as long as she is a full time student in the program the visa was issued for. After her graduation she would have a 30 day grace period to leave the US.

Is she still a student? Or has she graduated and overstayed her visa? If she is still a student and has school left, you can choose to either file for AOS now, or you can do it later. I'd say better now than later to get it out of the way. If she has already overstayed, it is better to file as soon as possible. And, it is important to know that if she has overstayed her visa, she cannot leave the US until she has her Greencard in hand. The overstay won't affect your AOS, but if she leaves she would risk incurring a ban to the US.

Passport expiration date has nothing to do with her authorized stay. Even her visa expiration date doesn't really affect that. You need to look at the I-94 card to find out the duration of authorized stay. You will need copies of and information from the visa she arrived with (the F1) and you should have all her I-20 forms at hand.

You'll be filing the I-130 and the I-485 concurrently - so start by reading those guides here on VJ as well as the instructions for those forms from USCIS website.

Adjustment of Status from F-1 to Legal Permanent Resident

02/11/2011 Married at Manhattan City Hall

03/03/2011 - Day 0 - AOS -package mailed to Chicago Lockbox

03/04/2011 - Day 1 - AOS -package signed for at USCIS

03/09/2011 - Day 6 - E-mail notification received for all petitions

03/10/2011 - Day 7 - Checks cashed

03/11/2011 - Day 8 - NOA 1 received for all 4 forms

03/21/2011 - Day 18 - Biometrics letter received, biometrics scheduled for 04/14/2011

03/31/2011 - Day 28 - Successful walk-in biometrics done

05/12/2011 - Day 70 - EAD Arrived, issued on 05/02

06/14/2011 - Day 103 - E-mail notice: Interview letter mailed, interview scheduled for July 20th

07/20/2011 - Day 139 - Interview at Federal Plaza USCIS location

07/22/2011 - Day 141 - E-mail approval notice received (Card production)

07/27/2011 - Day 146 - 2nd Card Production Email received

07/28/2011 - Day 147 - Post-Decision Activity Email from USCIS

08/04/2011 - Day 154 - Husband returns home from abroad; Welcome Letter and GC have arrived in the mail

("Resident since" date on the GC is 07/20/2011

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JimVaPhuong Veteran

JimVaPhuong   4,863

Posted
Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
 Timeline
Posted

Before you file anything with USCIS, open up her passport and have a look at her visa. Some types of visas will not permit her to adjust status through marriage to you. Examples would be if she came with a K1 visa and didn't marry the original petitioner, or if she came with a J1 visa that had a two year home residency requirement.

12/15/2009 - K1 Visa Interview - APPROVED!

12/29/2009 - Married in Oakland, CA!

08/18/2010 - AOS Interview - APPROVED!

05/01/2013 - Removal of Conditions - APPROVED!

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Rittle Rabbit Newbie

Rittle Rabbit   0

Posted
Filed: F-1 Visa Country: Vietnam
 Timeline
Posted (edited)

Hi Andy,

I wanna say hi first. I'm a Vietnamese, came here on F-1 student visa and married a US citizen. Sounds just exactly like your case, is that right? The difference is, I found this site VJ only AFTER I already filed all papers, by myself. Well, it was a little hard work reading through lots of details and instructions on USCIS website and putting it all together. I didn't regret or wish I could find VJ earlier tho. I learned a lot of things from the preparing process.

I have a list of organized documents that I sent. I believe you can find a similar list here on visajourney

visajourney step-by-step guide

and here on uscis website

uscis website

Edited by nathan&thuyen

03/24/11: Package I-130 and I-485 sent out via UPS

03/24/11: Found visajourney. Cool, right after I have struggled to get those paper done all by myself.

03/25/11: Package received, signed by Bush :)

03/29/11: Text message/Email notification from USCIS, that my application was received

04/02/11: NOA for both received in mailbox. Notice date 03/28

04/05/11: Biometric appointment letter received for I-485. Notice date 04/01. Appointment scheduled for 04/29

04/11/11: Just realized that I can file I-765 for free. Did it right away

04/22/11: Received receipt for I-765. Notice date 04/15

04/25/11: Bio appointment for I-765 received. Notice date 04/20. Appointment scheduled for 05/16

04/29/11: Biometric done for both I-485 and I-765

05/17/11: Text message/Email notification. EAD in production :)

05/18/11: Text message/Email notification, interview notice for June, 22th. Yay! (Day 55)

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Andy N Rookie

Andy N   0

Posted
Filed: Timeline
  • Author
Posted

Hi Andy,

I wanna say hi first. I'm a Vietnamese, came here on F-1 student visa and married a US citizen. Sounds just exactly like your case, is that right? The difference is, I found this site VJ only AFTER I already filed all papers, by myself. Well, it was a little hard work reading through lots of details and instructions on USCIS website and putting it all together. I didn't regret or wish I could find VJ earlier tho. I learned a lot of things from the preparing process.

I have a list of organized documents that I sent. I believe you can find a similar list here on visajourney

visajourney step-by-step guide

and here on uscis website

uscis website

Thank you.

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