Filed I-130 from Sweden, but can I file the CR-1 from within the US?

[spacetofu 8]

3 hours ago, NikLR said:

Actually no they have not already filed for the CR1.  The USC has only filed the I-130 petition which puts them on the CR1/IR1 path.  The ds-260 is actually the visa application and is not filed for until the NVC stage by the beneficiary. 

However as I mention in an earlier post, i agree that AOS is not currently viable for the OP's path as visiting the USA with the intent to live here and AOS is illegal.  The CBP would deny entry and it would be a very long flight back to Sweden.  

Yeah I don't want him to live there illegally. I was just confused and received conflicted info from others which I wanted to clear up. So thanks for your help. 

[NikLR 13,220]

12 minutes ago, spacetofu said:

Yeah I don't want him to live there illegally. I was just confused and received conflicted info from others which I wanted to clear up. So thanks for your help. 

Oh he wouldnt, they would deny him entry, which would suck.  

Im glad you understand better. 

[dreru 1]

18 minutes ago, NikLR said:

Oh he wouldnt, they would deny him entry, which would suck.  

Im glad you understand better. 

Is that necessarily the most likely outcome?

 

YMMV and all that, but while I was the beneficiary of a pending I-129 petition I traveled back and forth to the US several times (usually together with my then fiancee), without any issues or questions raised by CBP. Maybe it helped that I'm from a visa waiver country, as I believe is OP's husband. But does the fact that there's a pending petition really preclude the beneficiary from setting foot in the US while the petition is pending?

[NikLR 13,220]

Just now, dreru said:

Is that necessarily the most likely outcome?

 

YMMV and all that, but while I was the beneficiary of a pending I-129 petition I traveled back and forth to the US several times (usually together with my then fiancee), without any issues or questions raised by CBP. Maybe it helped that I'm from a visa waiver country, as I believe is OP's husband. But does the fact that there's a pending petition really preclude the beneficiary from setting foot in the US while the petition is pending?

Thats not what i said.  I said they would deny him entry for intent to immigrate.  

[spacetofu 8]

5 minutes ago, dreru said:

Is that necessarily the most likely outcome?

 

YMMV and all that, but while I was the beneficiary of a pending I-129 petition I traveled back and forth to the US several times (usually together with my then fiancee), without any issues or questions raised by CBP. Maybe it helped that I'm from a visa waiver country, as I believe is OP's husband. But does the fact that there's a pending petition really preclude the beneficiary from setting foot in the US while the petition is pending?

We are planning to visit in April and will leave in May and he will travel on the ESTA, which I heard is OK even if he has his petition pending? 

[dreru 1]

Just now, spacetofu said:

We are planning to visit in April and will leave in May and he will travel on the ESTA, which I heard is OK even if he has his petition pending? 

That's basically what I was confirming worked just fine in my case (where circumstances were otherwise similar). Obviously when questioned at the border I would state that I'm just traveling to the US on a visit. I would not say "well, we got sick of waiting for the petition to be approved so we figured I'd just move to the US already".

 

By the way, the processing timelines on this site proved extremely accurate in our case, so thanks to everyone for contributing to those!

[NikLR 13,220]

9 minutes ago, spacetofu said:

We are planning to visit in April and will leave in May and he will travel on the ESTA, which I heard is OK even if he has his petition pending? 

Visiting during the process is generally fine. I visited several times.  I had a return ticket, a job to return to etc.. 

Have you looked further into the process like the affidavit of support? 

[spacetofu 8]

2 minutes ago, NikLR said:

Visiting during the process is generally fine. I visited several times.  I had a return ticket, a job to return to etc.. 

Have you looked further into the process like the affidavit of support? 

I have read about the Affidavit of Support and since I am not living in the US, I can't be my husband's main sponsor (also my income is from Sweden and I heard that won't count at all). So a family member in the US that has a good income has agreed to be a sponsor luckily for that. I don't want to move to the US before him since we have a 6 month old as well... so it might be difficult for us financially to be separated. =/ I know I have to wait like everyone else, it is difficult! 
I have read more about the process but have refrained from doing more since I want us to get approved first. But maybe it is best to do as much as I can now so we can just mail in the information as soon as possible? 

[dreru 1]

Don't know if this is helpful or just a pure long-shot distraction - especially at this stage of the process - but I figured I'd throw it out there: since you as the USC are resident outside the US, maybe the DCF route is (or was) an option. It doesn't look like the US embassy in Stockholm allows DCF ordinarily, but exceptions are possible on various grounds (see https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/2012/May/DOS-I130May1412.pdf), with some success stories posted in the DCF forum.

 

Anyway, filing a second I-130 to your local embassy with one already pending at USCIS may well be a non-starter. But if there's a way to swing it, the processing time becomes shorter by about an order of magnitude...

 

[NikLR 13,220]

The OP really doesnt have extraordinary circumstances for dcf.  No one is being deployed or is under extreme duress and Sweden really is a fantastic place to live. 

Op you have to just proceed through the process as it goes.  You cant send in anything else after the I-130 until a decision is made on that.  If you have not sent it yet I highly suggest you do.  An IR1/CR1 process is about 12-14 months. 

Domicile seems to be the one thing you'll want to look into since you have a joint sponsor already.