AOS after 5/6 years

[trevorp 0]

Hello,

I am from England, and went through all of the K1 paperwork in early 2007 to move to the USA and marry my now-wife. We were married in May 2007, well within 90 days. However, soon after that, the recession took hold, she lost her job, and the expense of the AOS was not able to be met... until now.

I've read that legally waiting this long is no problem - I have not worked illegally or left the country or anything like that. Is there anything we should know about filing the AOS after this amount of time? Will the service centers change their line of questioning towards this 5/6 year delay? Is there anything extra I will need now compared to 5 years back? Has anyone else filed after this long?

I am actually quite nervous about filing - I personally feel that the delay would raise eyebrows on their end, while my wife thinks everything will be fine and i'm worrying for no reason.

Any help, especially previous encounters with this timeframe would be helpful.

Edited December 27, 2012 by trevorp

[Hypnos 6,576]

Your wife is right, there is no issue after waiting this long.

I took longer to file than you did, and was not asked about it at my interview at all (though I'm still waiting on approval for other, unrelated, reasons). When filing as an immediate relative of a US citizen then any overstay by the alien is not held against you; immediate relative = spouse of, minor child of, parent of, widow/er of, a US citizen.

Provided you can demonstrate that your marriage is legitimate in the normal way then you will have no issue; you may even have no interview. Don't bother filing for AP using an I-131 though, since you have at least a year of overstay then you will incur a 10 year bar from the US as soon as you depart that AP will not overcome. Do not travel outside of the US until your green card is in your hands.

Edited December 27, 2012 by Hypnos

[KayDeeCee 4,893]

Hello,

I am from England, and went through all of the K1 paperwork in early 2007 to move to the USA and marry my now-wife. We were married in May 2007, well within 90 days. However, soon after that, the recession took hold, she lost her job, and the expense of the AOS was not able to be met... until now.

I've read that legally waiting this long is no problem - I have not worked illegally or left the country or anything like that. Is there anything we should know about filing the AOS after this amount of time? Will the service centers change their line of questioning towards this 5/6 year delay? Is there anything extra I will need now compared to 5 years back? Has anyone else filed after this long?

I am actually quite nervous about filing - I personally feel that the delay would raise eyebrows on their end, while my wife thinks everything will be fine and i'm worrying for no reason.

Any help, especially previous encounters with this timeframe would be helpful.

You will need a new medical exam from a civil surgeon to get an I-693. You should also include the I-130 form so you can get a 10 year green card. As stated above, do not bother filing the I-131.

[bigdog 376]

Good Luck and glad to hear things are better so you can file.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

There is no reason to worry at all, though you should submit different forms than a normal AOS from K-1 because it has been so long. You have been married well over two years, but the rules are that an AOS from K-1 must always result in a 2-year GC (some people have been successful getting a 10-year card this way anyway, but others get the 2-year GC). If you submit a I-130 as well, then you guarantee a 10-year GC and do not need to remove conditions in 2 years.

Follow this guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide2

In I-485 part 2, you choose option A.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Agree with everyone else. File the i-130 together with I-485. You will need a new medical. Don't bother filing the I-131 (advanced parole).

Also, you will need to show evidence similar in strength to filing ROC. You've been married long enough that they will expect to see a lot of relationship evidence.

You should be fine.

[trevorp 0]

Thanks everyone. I guess first step will be to get an appointment for a new medical in the new year.