Filed for AOS ( I-485 ) back in December - is it really suppose to take this long before he can work?

[JunkTardis 183]

22 hours ago, Jen&Cal said:

We had K1, got married November 27th., filed I-485 Form I-864 Form I-131 Form I-765, in December. In late January they summoned us to the local building where all they did was take fingerprints. We haven't heard anything since then. Is it really suppose to take this long for him to be able to work? Seems like they would want him being a productive member of society not at home for months... also he can't even get his license yet ? ( north carolina ) What do they expect him to do in this time? Are we doing this right?

 

Thank you

I've been waiting since mid November. Unfortunately you just gotta wait it out, trust me I know it sucks. I desperately want to get back into work as I haven't worked since September...and I've worked since I was 16 and always had my own money and independence. I just want to do my part to support my wife so we can buy our first house in the fall. Be patient, we'll all get there. 

 

If you haven't already, go ahead and download the USCIS 'Case Tracker' app from the Play Store (Android) or App Store (iOS). 

[JunkTardis 183]

1 hour ago, USS_Voyager said:

Create some projects for him to do: clean the garage, fix the bathroom, remodel the house, start a garden .... I don't know. 

 

And you live in Wilmington, NC. If he can't find things to do in a college town located at a beach, he has issues... I used to go to Wilmington all the time when I lived in Raleigh.

Try living in Iowa like I do now, we had snow last Saturday, 3 inches.... 

^ This. 

I've taken it upon myself to do a lot of repair work around the apartment and to our cars. I'm lucky enough to have jumped straight onto a MO Drivers License within a month of moving whilst I had a valid i94 document so I have the freedom of driving. With this comes the benefit of exploring my area and seeing what's around. Develop some new skills, learn a language. Get a project, anything like that! (But keep it cheap ofc). 

[kanderson101 131]

3 hours ago, Jen&Cal said:

 

Thank you - he is doing fine and we are staying busy but I just wanted to make sure we did everything correctly and that its normal to not hear anything for this long and such ! Didn't want to wait 6 months then find out we did something wrong... ! ( we relied on rapidvisa this time ) 

 

Thanks everyone for the reassurance. 

I think a lot of us went through the same thought process that you're going through right now. I keep kicking myself for doing K1 instead of just sticking out a CR1, but of course hindsight is 20/20. Nothing we can all do now but wait, and enjoy the time we finally have with our partners! My husband has found it helpful to maintain a steady routine - waking up the same time I do, working out, and doing a LOT of work to build up a network of professional contacts, so that when the combo card actually comes, he's ready! Wishing you the best of luck with your process, it's long and frustrating but in a few years it will be just a blip in time!

[VegasJohn 29]

6 hours ago, geowrian said:

Yes it does.

If you don't make the return flight, be sure to cancel it at least a few days beforehand. Sometimes the carrier will submit the flight manifest beforehand, resulting in an RFE/NOID/Denial letter from USCIS saying they left the US without AP and therefore abandoned AOS. Instead of dealing with that hassle and delay, avoid it altogether by cancelling beforehand.

Wow, I would have never thought of that... great advice, thanks! 

 

I am going to make a request to expedite it...I'm not sure whether we fall under the stated grounds to have the request reviewed and approval to travel granted quickly, but she does have a family wedding to attend in June, and that's why we bought the return trip for then. Of course, we hoped that we could get the marriage done and apply but it looks like even had we gotten married the day she arrived in the US, normal processing time would have made June doubtful.  All I can do is make the request that they consider her circumstances (purchased flight, family wedding, etc.) as potentially causing significant economic losses, and hope for the best. 

[geowrian 22,335]

4 minutes ago, VegasJohn said:

Wow, I would have never thought of that... great advice, thanks! 

 

I am going to make a request to expedite it...I'm not sure whether we fall under the stated grounds to have the request reviewed and approval to travel granted quickly, but she does have a family wedding to attend in June, and that's why we bought the return trip for then. Of course, we hoped that we could get the marriage done and apply but it looks like even had we gotten married the day she arrived in the US, normal processing time would have made June doubtful.  All I can do is make the request that they consider her circumstances (purchased flight, family wedding, etc.) as potentially causing significant economic losses, and hope for the best. 

No problem!

 

Yes, you can request the expedite. And I do wish you good luck.

That said, there is no financial loss criteria here...the financial loss has to be related to losses as a result of not being able to travel. What you have are sunk costs - you aren't losing more money by being unable to go.

[aaron2020 11,651]

18 minutes ago, VegasJohn said:

Wow, I would have never thought of that... great advice, thanks! 

 

I am going to make a request to expedite it...I'm not sure whether we fall under the stated grounds to have the request reviewed and approval to travel granted quickly, but she does have a family wedding to attend in June, and that's why we bought the return trip for then. Of course, we hoped that we could get the marriage done and apply but it looks like even had we gotten married the day she arrived in the US, normal processing time would have made June doubtful.  All I can do is make the request that they consider her circumstances (purchased flight, family wedding, etc.) as potentially causing significant economic losses, and hope for the best. 

The US Government advises not to make any travel plans without the appropriate travel documents.  They are sticklers for following their advice.

Buying a return plane ticket without the appropriate travel document is not an emergency for the US Government.  They consider that your poor planning which ignores their warnings.

 

A family wedding is not a reason for an expedite.   Planned events do not qualify for expedite.

 

There is no potential significant economic loss.  The money has been spent.  It's gone whether she goes or not.  Getting to travel will not prevent a financial loss.

 

Sorry.  They only way for an expedite is to actually get a job offer and expedite base on that.  

 

 

Edited March 21, 2019 by aaron2020

[VegasJohn 29]

56 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

The US Government advises not to make any travel plans without the appropriate travel documents.  They are sticklers for following their advice.

Buying a return plane ticket without the appropriate travel document is not an emergency for the US Government.  They consider that your poor planning which ignores their warnings.

 

A family wedding is not a reason for an expedite.   Planned events do not qualify for expedite.

 

There is no potential significant economic loss.  The money has been spent.  It's gone whether she goes or not.  Getting to travel will not prevent a financial loss.

 

Sorry.  They only way for an expedite is to actually get a job offer and expedite base on that.  

 

 

Yeah, that all makes sense. I'm aware that they warn you not to make any travel plans... but it is what it is. I realize it's not what they would consider a serious economic loss, but it's all I've got to go off of.  Kind of beside the point, but I really don't understand why they make it so hard for immigrants to be able to leave the country briefly to visit family or go on a vacation then return. I get that there are likely security concerns for some applicants, but like everyone here that's trying to do things the right way, it's quite a hardship and does not seem to serve any legitimate purpose to keep people trapped at home in a the country as some kind of test to prove they really want to be here. But I digress... lol 

[geowrian 22,335]

47 minutes ago, VegasJohn said:

Kind of beside the point, but I really don't understand why they make it so hard for immigrants to be able to leave the country briefly to visit family or go on a vacation then return. I get that there are likely security concerns for some applicants, but like everyone here that's trying to do things the right way, it's quite a hardship and does not seem to serve any legitimate purpose to keep people trapped at home in a the country as some kind of test to prove they really want to be here.

Immigrants can travel fine. AOS applicants are not immigrants yet.

If travel is important, there was another option available to you (CR-1 visa). There wouldn't really be any reason to get a K-1 visa if it offered all the benefits of a CR-1 but took less time. The K-1 path is there for speed (although it's not much faster nowadays anyway).