December 2015 I-130 Filers

[LookyWhatIFound 38]

Hi All;

Am Jordanian and My Wife is USC; But unfortunately due am working in Saudi Arabia i had to send my i-130 to Chicago while in Jordan (My Home country) will take 1 month process for approval and start interviews

i received below email and received the hard copy receipt; Now what is next? and when i'll start interviews in US embassy in Saudi Arabia?

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Hi Majed, welcome, I'm a little confused, your wife is the USC so she had to file the I-130. So do you mean your wife filed the I-130 from Jordan? The reason I ask is cause we've been seeing quicker approvals from people filing from abroad.

You said 1 month process, unless your case is a direct consular filing case, its certainly not a 1 month process, although your case is being processed at the California Service Center which is a bit faster than the average 5 month process for the NOA2.

Good luck.

Edited February 8, 2016 by LookyWhatIFound

[majed8584 0]

Hi;

My Wife was living in Jordan (has Jordanian Nationality as well), and as US citizen in Jordan she is Authorized to file i-130 in Jordan if she stay for 6 months at least; but due we moved to Saudi Arabia we lost the opportunity to apply in Jordan although it's my home country;

regarding the time in Jordan, they have USCIS office (international office), and the process time is 1 month, see attached

[LookyWhatIFound 38]

Hi;

My Wife was living in Jordan (has Jordanian Nationality as well), and as US citizen in Jordan she is Authorized to file i-130 in Jordan if she stay for 6 months at least; but due we moved to Saudi Arabia we lost the opportunity to apply in Jordan although it's my home country;

regarding the time in Jordan, they have USCIS office (international office), and the process time is 1 month, see attached

Ok thats good, so your case is a DCF case and so that is correct. But are you saying that you cannot go to Jordan to do the interview there?

I can't tell you about the timing for your interview in Jordan, and also since its a DCF its very specific to Jordan.

You might want to post this question in the consulate and/or DCF discussion, cause there will be knowledgeable people that can give you a knowledgable answer.

Edited February 8, 2016 by LookyWhatIFound

[LookyWhatIFound 38]

Hi;

My Wife was living in Jordan (has Jordanian Nationality as well), and as US citizen in Jordan she is Authorized to file i-130 in Jordan if she stay for 6 months at least; but due we moved to Saudi Arabia we lost the opportunity to apply in Jordan although it's my home country;

regarding the time in Jordan, they have USCIS office (international office), and the process time is 1 month, see attached

Also, just a thought, if its the address you are worried about. If you or your wife have a parents address in Jordan that you can use. You could give the consulate and USCIS that address change. Your Saudi address is just temporary right so why even bother them with that address ?

Either that or just transfer the case to US Embassy in Saudi Arabia but in that case it'll probably be a longer process.

Edited February 8, 2016 by LookyWhatIFound

[sanil1986 26]

hi all

new here

i (USC ) applied for my wife in Canada ( on a student visa there ) in December . got my noa 1 on dec 23 . heard nothing back from them yet

i have a question

my wife has been here several times on a visiting visa . in april she wants to stay here with me for 2 months . can she stay with me while out petition is being processed ?

its just that usually she used to stay 2 weeks this time she is staying for 2 months so wondering if immigration at the airport will allow that ?

Thanks

[Reggie182 0]

hi all

new here

i (USC ) applied for my wife in Canada ( on a student visa there ) in December . got my noa 1 on dec 23 . heard nothing back from them yet

i have a question

my wife has been here several times on a visiting visa . in april she wants to stay here with me for 2 months . can she stay with me while out petition is being processed ?

its just that usually she used to stay 2 weeks this time she is staying for 2 months so wondering if immigration at the airport will allow that ?

Thanks

Hi Sanil, congrats on your Citizenship!

Now the bad news. As far as your wife goes, I'll tell you what my immigration lawyer told me: 19 out of 20 times, when a person who currently has an I-130 application being processed tries to cross the border into America, they'll be turned away. The border patrol seems to operate on "guilty until proven innocent", assuming that your wife will intend to stay in America and not leave again. They tend to only allow potential residents into the country under specific, drastic situations such as if someone in their family who lives in America just died, and the potential immigrant wants to go to the funeral, or other events of that nature. Once in a very long time, you might be able to convince the border patrol that your wife doesn't intend to stay by establishing her obligations to return, such as payments for a college semester she'll attend in the future, and children living out of the country that she'll need to return to, and a job that she has that she'll be returning to, and an apartment or house that she is paying for that she'll return to, and return plane tickets already booked and paid for, etc.

I've read similar advice online, so as far as my research goes, the general consensus is it is a bad idea to try to get your wife into the US while her I-130 is being processed. You should almost certainly wait until she has the visa given to her after the green card interview before trying to get her into America again.

Trust me when I say I've been in your position before. My wife and I were married in America, and left the country on our honeymoon. If we would have stayed there, we could have happily continued living in the US without any problems, but we left, and when we tried to return home, my wife was stopped at the border and refused entry. She had to stay in her country, Ireland, and was not allowed back into America again until she filed for a green card and was accepted. This is because by trying to enter America with me with the intent of staying, she established a desire to live permanently in the country, and is now forever suspected to never intend to leave the country if she is allowed in again, from the US Border Patrol's point of view. By filing the I-130 for your wife, I believe that you have done the same for your wife - establish her intent to stay in America permanently. The border patrol will be unlikely to let her in until she has her green card visa, and I would caution against planning on her coming to stay with you in the US for any period of time. If you planned on her flying in, she will be turned away at the airport, your plane tickets will not be refunded, and she / you both will be in a LOT of distress the whole time. Take it from someone who has been through the same thing before - you don't want to have to be turned away, it's very painful.

I know this isn't the news you'd like to hear, and I'm sorry, but it seems like that's just the way things are. You'll still be able to come and go from the US yourself without any problems, and you should be able to visit her as much as you like, but I doubt she'll be allowed in for any period of time, much less an extended stay like 2 months.

At the very least, trying to get into the US and being turned away will NOT hurt your wife's chances of getting a green card, or affect her I-130 in any way, and at the end of the day, it is 100% up to the discretion of the Border Patrol officer working the border at the time your wife tries to enter. I wouldn't count on being able to persuade them, but maybe, maybe, you might. If you planned on going through a land border checkpoint, such as on a road into the country, then I suppose it might be worth a shot. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Just prepare for whatever might happen.

I'm sorry for the bad news. Good luck though, and I hope things turn out for the best.

-Reg

[sanil1986 26]

Hi Sanil, congrats on your Citizenship!

Now the bad news. As far as your wife goes, I'll tell you what my immigration lawyer told me: 19 out of 20 times, when a person who currently has an I-130 application being processed tries to cross the border into America, they'll be turned away. The border patrol seems to operate on "guilty until proven innocent", assuming that your wife will intend to stay in America and not leave again. They tend to only allow potential residents into the country under specific, drastic situations such as if someone in their family who lives in America just died, and the potential immigrant wants to go to the funeral, or other events of that nature. Once in a very long time, you might be able to convince the border patrol that your wife doesn't intend to stay by establishing her obligations to return, such as payments for a college semester she'll attend in the future, and children living out of the country that she'll need to return to, and a job that she has that she'll be returning to, and an apartment or house that she is paying for that she'll return to, and return plane tickets already booked and paid for, etc.

I've read similar advice online, so as far as my research goes, the general consensus is it is a bad idea to try to get your wife into the US while her I-130 is being processed. You should almost certainly wait until she has the visa given to her after the green card interview before trying to get her into America again.

Trust me when I say I've been in your position before. My wife and I were married in America, and left the country on our honeymoon. If we would have stayed there, we could have happily continued living in the US without any problems, but we left, and when we tried to return home, my wife was stopped at the border and refused entry. She had to stay in her country, Ireland, and was not allowed back into America again until she filed for a green card and was accepted. This is because by trying to enter America with me with the intent of staying, she established a desire to live permanently in the country, and is now forever suspected to never intend to leave the country if she is allowed in again, from the US Border Patrol's point of view. By filing the I-130 for your wife, I believe that you have done the same for your wife - establish her intent to stay in America permanently. The border patrol will be unlikely to let her in until she has her green card visa, and I would caution against planning on her coming to stay with you in the US for any period of time. If you planned on her flying in, she will be turned away at the airport, your plane tickets will not be refunded, and she / you both will be in a LOT of distress the whole time. Take it from someone who has been through the same thing before - you don't want to have to be turned away, it's very painful.

I know this isn't the news you'd like to hear, and I'm sorry, but it seems like that's just the way things are. You'll still be able to come and go from the US yourself without any problems, and you should be able to visit her as much as you like, but I doubt she'll be allowed in for any period of time, much less an extended stay like 2 months.

At the very least, trying to get into the US and being turned away will NOT hurt your wife's chances of getting a green card, or affect her I-130 in any way, and at the end of the day, it is 100% up to the discretion of the Border Patrol officer working the border at the time your wife tries to enter. I wouldn't count on being able to persuade them, but maybe, maybe, you might. If you planned on going through a land border checkpoint, such as on a road into the country, then I suppose it might be worth a shot. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Just prepare for whatever might happen.

I'm sorry for the bad news. Good luck though, and I hope things turn out for the best.

-Reg

thank you for the detailed information

appreciate

but while we started the petition in december she came to the US for two weeks and left and she wasn't asked anything on how long she is staying and all

so just wondering if things have changed

we would have to change our travel plans then

[LookyWhatIFound 38]

hi all

new here

i (USC ) applied for my wife in Canada ( on a student visa there ) in December . got my noa 1 on dec 23 . heard nothing back from them yet

i have a question

my wife has been here several times on a visiting visa . in april she wants to stay here with me for 2 months . can she stay with me while out petition is being processed ?

its just that usually she used to stay 2 weeks this time she is staying for 2 months so wondering if immigration at the airport will allow that ?

Thanks

Hi Sanil, welcome, oh I think that question has been asked on VJ a Million Billion times. and will probably show the same amount of answers. Theoretically yes! Your last sentence is where the road block comes in.

The border guards will ask her things like what is the purpose of her visit, who she is visiting, how long she intends to stay etc, Essentially show good compelling reasons why she needs to go back to Canada.

Not telling the truth can cause a ban on future entries. She will have to show good proof that she has reason to go back, possibly return ticket among other things. I don't know if having a student visa in Canada is any kind of proof.

Having a fiance in the US is certainly a reason for the guards to send her back to Canada.

Do a VJ search and you'll find tons of answers to peoples 'can I visit' questions.

Good luck!

Edited February 8, 2016 by LookyWhatIFound

[Reggie182 0]

Alright, well, you both seem to disagree with what I've been told, so maybe she can come visit you. I can't say my wife has tried getting into the US again because the plane tickets are so expensive and we'd lose all of that money. So maybe your wife can come into the country for a bit. All I was trying to say was that if the border patrol looks up your wife on their records, they'll see her pending immigration and that could raise some red flags. She should probably have a good reason to return to Canada with evidence, like a lease on an apartment or something, and that would give her the best chance to be allowed in.

Still, I'll confess that I don't know what US-Canada border patrol is like, so maybe they're less harsh than the ones I ran into. It would be a good idea to do what Looky suggests and look around on VJ for more threads dealing with being allowed to visit and such.

-Reg

[LookyWhatIFound 38]

Alright, well, you both seem to disagree with what I've been told, so maybe she can come visit you. I can't say my wife has tried getting into the US again because the plane tickets are so expensive and we'd lose all of that money. So maybe your wife can come into the country for a bit. All I was trying to say was that if the border patrol looks up your wife on their records, they'll see her pending immigration and that could raise some red flags. She should probably have a good reason to return to Canada with evidence, like a lease on an apartment or something, and that would give her the best chance to be allowed in.

Still, I'll confess that I don't know what US-Canada border patrol is like, so maybe they're less harsh than the ones I ran into. It would be a good idea to do what Looky suggests and look around on VJ for more threads dealing with being allowed to visit and such.

-Reg

I didn't disagree with what you said reg. I just said it in a different way. Also of course I hadn't seen your post until after I posted mine.

Personally I wouldn't even try it with my wife. The last thing I would want is to have her turned back especially from a wasted 7 hour flight! That would be horrible!

Also the Border guard wanted to turn me around when I went to England. I had to tell him I was there to see my wife and for a month. That's when he took my passport and gave me a form telling me they may take my passport! Finally he called my wife and she verified I everything I was telling him was the truth. Boy those border guards can be nuts!

Edited February 8, 2016 by LookyWhatIFound

[RJS7 5]

Just called NVC. Not only were they able to confirm receipt of my file from USCIS but the helpful guy on the phone was able to tell me my case number and invoice number. He also took my email address.

My case was approved at USCIS on 6 Jan 2016 from CSC so I would suggest anyone in the same boat to give NVC a ring.

[Caleb J 1]

Mine was approved January 26th. I called them three times in different dates. They told me to give them a call at the end of the month. So far I haven't received anything in the mail. Not even my NOA1 hardcopy.

[LookyWhatIFound 38]

Congratulations RJS7 and Caleb!

Caleb Joshua, Blanche was having a problem receiving the NOAs. She found out the zip code she was using for Israel, matched a zip code in the US. So she changed the address to her mothers address in the US.

You can have USCIS resend them, but first call them and find out if they came back to them as undeliverable, it could be an address problem.

[Reggie182 0]

Just called NVC. Not only were they able to confirm receipt of my file from USCIS but the helpful guy on the phone was able to tell me my case number and invoice number. He also took my email address.

My case was approved at USCIS on 6 Jan 2016 from CSC so I would suggest anyone in the same boat to give NVC a ring.

Had you gotten an NOA2 or any indication that your I-130 had been approved by USCIS yet? I did a quick search back through this thread and couldn't find a time when you said you'd received indication that your I-130 was approved. I filed mine a while ago and it went to California and I haven't gotten any indication that it has been approved yet. Think I should give the NVC a ring tomorrow?

If you had already been told (with a NOA2 or otherwise) that you'd been approved, then I must have missed that. Thanks for the heads up though, I might try to find a phone that can do international calling tomorrow and give them a ring!

Good luck to everyone. I hope that you can get a bit more help the next time you call Caleb. I'm sorry to hear that you're being turned away so much. That's rough. Cheers!

-Reg

[RJS7 5]

Had you gotten an NOA2 or any indication that your I-130 had been approved by USCIS yet? I did a quick search back through this thread and couldn't find a time when you said you'd received indication that your I-130 was approved. I filed mine a while ago and it went to California and I haven't gotten any indication that it has been approved yet. Think I should give the NVC a ring tomorrow?

If you had already been told (with a NOA2 or otherwise) that you'd been approved, then I must have missed that. Thanks for the heads up though, I might try to find a phone that can do international calling tomorrow and give them a ring!

Good luck to everyone. I hope that you can get a bit more help the next time you call Caleb. I'm sorry to hear that you're being turned away so much. That's rough. Cheers!

-Reg

My timeline should be up to date. In any event, I got both hardcopy NOA1 and NOA2 in the post to Ireland. I'd say 8-10 days after the actual notice issue - which is normal standard postal time from the US to here.

I'd say if you haven't heard from USCIS that should be your first phone call. No point ringing NVC until your sure it's cleared USCIS first.