Moving Back to be with Family...

[Matthew49 2]

Hey friends! I have a question regarding my fiance'. She is a permanent resident in Australia with a Passport from Russia, as she is a Russian citizen. We have already filed our 129 Form in early december with her address from Australia. She was considering the implications of moving back to be with family in Russia while waiting for Visa Approval, and if that would be a problem. Does that compromise us? We have concerns about the address being different, and of course the consulate/embassy location being different. Thoughts? Advice?

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,079]

If she does, you'll have to request your case be transfered to Moscow (not exactly sure what the steps involved are) to interview there.

 

Last year, I would have said don't even consider that because from everything I read actually getting an interview in Moscow was very difficult until late last year. But it hasn't been bad this year so far, and it seems like they've largely caught up with the backlog for K-1 interviews (non-immigrant visa interviews are a whole different story).

[millefleur 5,035]

Just be sure that if she moves back to Russia that she takes care of local Australian documents like the police certificate (if she lived there for more than one year) and any other local docs that might be needed if they apply (such as divorce certificates), as I can imagine obtaining Australian documents from inside of Russia might be complicated.

[Matthew49 2]

19 hours ago, DaveAndAnastasia said:

If she does, you'll have to request your case be transfered to Moscow (not exactly sure what the steps involved are) to interview there.

 

Last year, I would have said don't even consider that because from everything I read actually getting an interview in Moscow was very difficult until late last year. But it hasn't been bad this year so far, and it seems like they've largely caught up with the backlog for K-1 interviews (non-immigrant visa interviews are a whole different story).

So, is there a phone number I could call to ask what the steps are for this? USCIS Website I suppose? We have considered her just traveling there in the meantime to be with family, and then coming back for the interview as well...I guess it all boils down to it as...is it worth it, or worth the hassle?

Lastly, what is the delay time once we get K1 VISA for her to travel and see family after she is in U.S.?

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,079]

3 hours ago, Matthew49 said:

So, is there a phone number I could call to ask what the steps are for this? USCIS Website I suppose? We have considered her just traveling there in the meantime to be with family, and then coming back for the interview as well...I guess it all boils down to it as...is it worth it, or worth the hassle?

Lastly, what is the delay time once we get K1 VISA for her to travel and see family after she is in U.S.?

I think you'd just request that the Moscow embassy request your fiancée's case be transfered; there's not a formal form for this; the embassy in Moscow does respond to emails (or at least did from my fiancée). My understanding is that it takes 2-3 weeks. FWIW, she has about six months to come to the US after getting the K-1, so she could visit family in Russia between getting her visa and coming to the US if that would work for you. What she can't do (without abandoning the entry to the US granted by her K-1) is leave the US without a green card or advance parole. I can't imagine there'd be a connecting flight in the US between Australia and Russia, though.

 

Whether it's worth it is a decision only you and your fiancée can make.

 

Going by the USCIS web site, it takes 4-6 months to process EAD/AP as part of adjusting status (getting a green card); AP (advance parole) will let her travel abroad and return to the US without a new visa. And you can file to adjust status as soon as you've got your marriage certificate.

 

At some field offices, there's a reasonable chance you'd get your green card before that, but going by your profile, it looks like the local field office for you is New Orleans. By the USCIS web site, they're averaging ~12 months for family-based green card applications. The VJ average for people going through New Orleans in the last 12 months is ~8.5 months, but that's only six cases so that's not a lot of data points.

[Ryan H 3,790]

Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures.