K-1 to resident summary

[Cyclemad 0]

I would like to check that I have the process correct....

Firstly, I am a South African engaged to an American lady and we are aiming to get married next year in America, it wilk be mid-year, or perhaps even towards the end of the year as she will first come and stay with me in Soith Africa for 3 months in the first third of the year.

So, the process...

1. My fiancee applies for the K-1 visa and sponsors me into the country.

2. Within 90 days of arriving in the USA we must marry

3. Within 90 days of arriving in the USA I must apply for Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization (EAD). As long as I comply with the USCIS regulations I will get this without a problem. This is valid for 90 days

4. I am then eligible for an extended work authorization at the same time I file for permanent residence. That is Form I-485 and I send it through as soon as we are married

5. Once married we need to file a joint petition to adjust my status to Conditional Permanent Resident (CPR)

If I want to travel (I have two children and I doubt their mother will allow me to take them with me to America) while the CPR is pending, I can apply for an Advanced Parole. As I have never been in America illegally or worked illegally, I should be able to get one. It is valid for 1 year and is used in a similar way to a passport. However, on re-entry into America I would need to go through the same process as anyone on any visa entering the States. If they think I am up to anything fishy, then they might refuse me entry. The most common reason for being refused entry would be if I had worked illegally in America. The only real requirement on all this is that I am not out the country for any single stay of more than 180 days.

The process of getting my CPR takes up to 12 months. Once I have it, I can live, work and travel in the USA like a normal citizen. Once I have been there for 3 years (and they say that I would need to file within 90 days of the aniversary of getting my CPR) I can apply for nationalization. However, if I am out the country for a single trip of more than 180 during the 3 years, my clock is reset from the time I return to the USA.

Can anyone let me know if I have gone wrong anywhere in my understanding of the process?

Thanks so much.

[Hypnos 6,579]

#3 is pointless. Yes, a K-1 is entitled to an EAD as a matter of course, but given that it will only have validity until your I-94 expires (90 days after PoE) and will take around 90 days to obtain, you will have a few days validity at best, or, more likely, it will have already expired by the time you receive it. You should forget about this, and just file for an EAD when you send in your I-485. This "pending AoS" EAD will instead be valid for a year, and can be renewed indefinitely (for free) whilst your case is still pending.

[Harpa Timsah 13,260]

Yes, you have some misconceptions. Hypnos covered #3.

#4 isn't right. I-485 is not an extension of your work authorization. It is the application for permanent residency (there is no such thing as a conditional resident. A permanent resident can have "conditions" on their residency but they have the same rights and responsibilities as anyone else. They just renew their GC in a slightly different way.) So on your list #4 is #5.

Once you marry (yes must be within 90 days) then you send a big packet with a bunch of forms to USCIS. That is the application for residency, the work permit and the travel permission, plus other forms and documents (there is a VJ guide for this). The work permit and travel permission are meant to be stop gap measures. The GC, once approved lets you work and travel by itself, but it can take a year, so the temporary things are meant to fill the gap. The temporary permissions will be approved within 90 days of application).

Once you have your Greencard you are not a normal citizen. You are a Greencard holder. You can live in the US permanently and have many of the same rights, but not all of them, like you cannot vote or serve on a jury.

You will also have to remove conditions on your Greencard 2 years after you get it. Another form and fee.

Also, the travel permission is not a passport, it is just permission to enter the US. They can refuse you entry even when you are a GC holder. They won't, though, but if you became a super criminal, they could.

[ricnally 259]

And just to think about it more correctly, the first step is for her to PETITION for you with the I129F, which is the USCIS part of it, and then, once that's approved, YOU apply for the K1 visa, which is the embassy/consulate part of it.

[TBoneTX 47,504]

The above answers are all excellent. To add a little to them, here's a retrospective look:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/410945-k-1-journey-completed/