Unique situation with I-130/I-485 concurrent filing.. help!

[Smudgeous 0]

Howdy reader, I'm a long term googler/forum browser but first-time user/poster. My wife and I find ourselves in what seems to be a fairly unique situation when it comes to the IR1/CR1 process, so I assumed asking question pertaining to our actual situation would be far better than all of the fruitless searching that I've been conducting over the past week or two.

To get started, I'm the natural-born USC, and my wife hails from Japan. We met last fall while she was at the tail end of her Q1 visa during her stint as a cultural representative at Epcot in Disney World, and had the whole love-at-first-sight thing hit us rather hard. She wound up staying until she had to return to Japan for school in March, with me all but living at her place during our time together.

During the time apart, I made full use of my international calling plan (with us missing less than 10 total days of not talking together on the phone and/or Skype). It became quite clear around the 6-month mark of our relationship that this was the woman I wanted to spend the duration of my life with. When I was finally able to visit her during my ~2 week vacation to Japan for her birthday over the summer, we were married near Tokyo. While we were still in Japan, she applied for an ESTA and traveled beside me on my way back to the US.

Our original plan was for her to visit for about a week and a half (spending time with friends from when she was here last year, plus spending time with me in our second country as a married couple). However, after spending a few days together in the US, we decided to push back her return visit closer to the ESTA's expiration in early November.

We were all set to file the I-130 last month, knowing that the process usually involves 4+ months of waiting to be approved and that she would have to return to Japan for at least a couple of months while waiting to be able to come here on a CR1 visa. Then I discovered that a lot of people concurrently file the I-130 with the I-485, and it looked like a much better option, both in terms of minimizing the long-distance heartache and overall price (due to the number of international flights we would need to see each other). She currently has no classroom schoolwork left in her Master's degree before graduation next fall, so she can complete the rest of the work from anywhere, geographically speaking.

Since finding out about the extra paperwork involved with I-485, we've been filling out everything we can, and she is currently scheduled to have her medical examination and vaccine cocktail this coming week. We already have everything required for the I-130 ready to go. In addition, we have ridiculous quantities of phone logs that we can provide, she's a co-lessee of the condo we just moved into last month, she's a joint account holder of our savings/checking accounts and an authorized user of my credit cards, and thanks to her love of photos, we have a few boatloads of those together from when we first met (and including photos with my immediate family during last Christmas).

This brings us up to the present, and my questions are as follows:

1) Since she is here only on the ESTA (with more than a month left until expiration), is this concurrent filing of the I-485 overly risky?

2) From what I've read elsewhere, it appears she is legally allowed to overstay her ESTA expiration date, provided our paperwork is received by the USCIS and being processed. Is this understanding completely correct?

3) If for whatever reason, we are rejected, I read she immediately begins accruing days of unlawful presence from the date we are informed of the rejection. At that point, is there any recourse for us besides finding plane tickets to Japan for her (appeals I have to file, paperwork that exempts her from any negative impact due to the overstaying, etc.)?

4) Besides the I-130 paperwork, is it accurate to list her home address as the condo we're both living in here in the US (and that I will be remaining at regardless of whether she has to return to Japan)?

5) When submitting the multiple photos of my wife for each of the various forms, is 1 photo printed multiple times sufficient, or are we supposed to take different pictures for each form? I know this is most likely a retarded question, and I'm sorry for any induced cringing I caused, but I'm sure most of you can relate to the concern we have of not missing/screwing up anything.

6) The office for the civil surgeon with whom she has an appointment with this coming week has stated that the cost for everything to complete the I-693 will be $350. Is this exorbitantly high, and/or has anyone found any ways to reduce the overall price through health insurance? She's covered as a beneficiary under my Cigna HMO, and it seems as if the majority of the requisite vaccinations should be able to be covered by it.

[Anh map 2,098]

Very common situation. Follow the guide here on VJ http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

The passport style photos can be the same photo. Be sure to include the proper number of photos required for each form.

Civil surgeons are expensive. And you must use an approved one. Just pony up the $$$.

There is no appealing the decision when a person enters on the visa waiver program.

If you two are living here in the US, this is her home address.

[Smudgeous 0]

Very common situation. Follow the guide here on VJ http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

The passport style photos can be the same photo. Be sure to include the proper number of photos required for each form.

Civil surgeons are expensive. And you must use an approved one. Just pony up the $$$.

There is no appealing the decision when a person enters on the visa waiver program.

If you two are living here in the US, this is her home address.

I completely forgot to mention that I've read through that guide a number of times in my post. Thanks for providing the link again though, as it is a rather important read for anyone who hasn't bookmarked it already.

As far as the uniquness, it seems most people filing for CR1 while visiting on ESTA get married in the country that they're visiting. Our case is actually the opposite. I was the one who was married abroad, and she came back here with me via ESTA within a week of that.

While the idea of adjusting status didn't occur to us until several weeks after we got back, I'm just a bit worried about testing untrodden ground with our case.

[Anh map 2,098]

I completely forgot to mention that I've read through that guide a number of times in my post. Thanks for providing the link again though, as it is a rather important read for anyone who hasn't bookmarked it already.

As far as the uniquness, it seems most people filing for CR1 while visiting on ESTA get married in the country that they're visiting. Our case is actually the opposite. I was the one who was married abroad, and she came back here with me via ESTA within a week of that.

While the idea of adjusting status didn't occur to us until several weeks after we got back, I'm just a bit worried about testing untrodden ground with our case.

Married is married. Entering as a visitor with the intent to immigrate (single or married) is against the immigration laws. The intent part is question. Lots of people do it successfully. There is no appeal process when entering via the VWP.

It all comes down to your circumstances, preferences, and risk tolerance.

[Moomin 292]

Iøm just going to refer to the second post. It's very short and precise.

..and then mention that adjusting from VWP(ESTA) won't usually cause a problem. The only thing about it is that visitors using ESTA signed away their right to appeal a denial of AOS. On the bright side, most cases get approved. Please - if you have googled info about it - pay attention to when the info was posted. Some is outdated.

Your wife and you will have an interview so buckle up, submit AOS and read what you can expect to bring with you to AOS(examples) on Visa Journey in the forums.

The other thing is that the overstay won't be an issue unless your wife's AOS is denied, in which case she will have a ban depending on the duration of the overstay. But put that in the back of your mind furthest away from your situation right now. Overstaying visa is forgiven as the spouse of a US citizen after AOS is approved.

Congrats on marriage and happy journey together!

[Penguin_ie 5,994]

*** Moving from CR-1 visa forum to AOS from Tourist visa as this is what OP is now planning ****

[ValerieA 350]

Many people on this forum adjusted status from VWP, with no issues. Most important is proving a bonafide relationship, and it sounds like you probably have that covered.

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

You will very likely be just fine. From your story it seems that you were not planning to AOS on this visit (in fact, your situation is similar to mine, in that you did not even know at POE that such process was available to you).

Don't sweat it too much, but be thorough. Do you need a joint sponsor, or are you able to fulfill the sponsorship requirements?

Good luck!

Edited October 8, 2012 by EM_Vandaveer

[Xanax 349]

Your situation isn't unique. It's very common. Anh Map's explainations are correct and should answer everything you asked

Good luck and congratulations.

Oh- and you can file for AOS even with an overstay so even if you file in November/January/ next November overstay is forgiven for the spouse of a USC (though it's not recommended to accrue overstay especially since if AOS is denied a ban may be implemented).

Edited October 9, 2012 by Xanax

[Smudgeous 0]

Thank you to everyone for your replies!

I was getting rather nervous about everything, as obviously I want the end result to be an approval for temporary green card, and didn't want to waste money on the medical and AOS fees if it was near impossible to get approved. I feel confident in my knowledge of what to file for the bundled paperwork, but now the peace of mind everyone provided allows me to focus exclusively on finishing the filing of the AOS paperwork.

Once again, thank you!

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

You're very welcome!