Questions about AOS (& Adv Parole & EAD)

[Orangesapples 1,954]

3 hours ago, David and Anna said:

 

 

3) So my question is to then confirm that the beneficiary cannot work or travel back to her home for 4 months after we file AOS and those forms (on average of course)?

 

[That is awful if true...they want our fiance's here in the USA but sitting on the couch rather than working here or at their country or at least seeing their family?  So weird...]

Yep, that's why the K1 is not that great. I waited for only 4 months to get my EAD and it was pretty bad, apparently it's taking longer now. 

 

I'm pretty sure it's not deliberate that it happens this way. In the past it used to be much faster from what I've heard. It's just that the system is overloaded and the organization and resources are lacking, so huge delays are the result. An immigration reform is past due but that's too complicated for political reasons. 

 

If you could go for a CR1 instead, it will be much better but I don't know how far you are in the process. 

[Zach2015 211]

To each their own. The k1 one worked perfect for us. I started this process about a year ago with the K1. She already has her EAD/AP card and we have our interview scheduled for next month for her green card. Btw she wasn’t a mail order bride or arranged marriage. She also didn’t just sit around for months watching the clock tick. She went out and did things in the community as well as starting her own garden. 
 

Everybody has different priorities. Ours was to be together again faster. She was previously here on a J1 visa and had to go back home, due to her visa expiring. Also, remember some of these wait times are guesstimates. 

[France to US 2]

Hello, I wanted to share my husband's timeline to give you an idea of the AOS, Advanced Parole and EAD.  We went the K1 Visa route as a personal preference. I consulted with an immigration attorney to discuss options and she said it basically comes down to what's most important to both of you.  Being together sooner or being able to work right away upon arrival.  For us being together was more important and we are trying to have a baby.  we are making due with the lack of a second income. Thankfully I have a good job and we have been able to live on my salary alone for the past few months but it is challenging. 

 

June 2018  ..........K1 application mailed 

December 2018 ........received notification of approval for K1

January 2019.........medical evaluation 

February ..........interview at Paris Embassy

March 2019 ...........received VISA 

April 2019........arrived in US

May 2019.........married in US to satisfy the 90 day requirement

 

July 2019.........mailed AOS along with Advanced Parole and EAD applications (save money by mailing all 3 at the same time) 

January 2020 ....... received approval for Advanced Parole and EAD with card and temporary social security number for work purposes only (right about 6 months which was expected) 

 

We are still waiting on the AOS/Greencard but at least now he is able to work.  I agree with your statement that the system is terribly broken and allowing people to immigrate and then giving them no means to begin working makes no sense to me. Also trapping them here with no option to visit their home country also seems ridiculous. We did the expedited Advanced Parole in the event my husband needed to return home to France urgently as his mother was diagnosed with Colon Cancer the same month he left for the US.  Thankfully it wasn't needed and he didn't have to face that decision of leaving to be with her and risk voiding our entire application.  

 

The decision between spousal and fiance Visa is a personal preference so do what makes most sense for you and your partner.  

 

Best of luck! 

[geowrian 22,336]

10 minutes ago, France to US said:

  I agree with your statement that the system is terribly broken and allowing people to immigrate and then giving them no means to begin working makes no sense to me.

K-1 is non-immigrant (that permits applying to become an immigrant).

Immigrants can work right away.

Edited January 23, 2020 by geowrian

[carmel34 3,537]

Unfortunately, with long distance, cross-national romantic relationships, there is no fast or easy way to be together in most cases.  My now husband and I went through all these choices two years ago and looked at the various legal US immigration options (K-1 vs CR-1), as well as Canada, Brazil, even EU countries, trying to find the fastest way to be together.  All these countries had bureaucratic hurdles to jump over and time apart was a necessary part of every country's legal process.  In the end, we chose to get married in Brazil and file for a CR-1, mainly because my husband wanted the freedom to be able to travel back home if he wanted to at any time.  Being able to work and drive a car on arrival were important factors too.  Our process took 11 months from petition to visa issued, and I went to visit him every two months during that time, to make the long wait easier to bear.  Good luck!

[Crazy Cat 39,622]

15 minutes ago, France to US said:

The decision between spousal and fiance Visa is a personal preference so do what makes most sense for you and your partner.  

Agree.  Knowledge is power.......the immigration process requires a great deal of knowledge, planning, time, patience, and money.....

Edited January 23, 2020 by missileman

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,079]

5 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

I have been hearing 5-7 months lately.  In fact there are several stories of folks getting their GCs prior to the EAD/AP.

It was kind of a thing last year for people to get their EAD after their GC interview was scheduled; my wife was one of those.

[Ontarkie 13,957]

~~Moved to AOS Family K1/K3, from K1 P&P - the OP is asking about the AOS process.~~

[Mollie09 1,543]

AP/EAD depends on USCIS processing, it's roughly the same for everyone. The Green Card depends on your local office, so that varies wildly.

Back in 2014 I got my EAD/AP in 2.5 months, less than 2 weeks before my Green Card interview. Different times!

Edited January 23, 2020 by Mollie09

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

7 hours ago, David and Anna said:

Thanks for the replies.  Wow, I didn't realize she would be locked here and sitting on her butt for so many months...we may have a rethink on this.  Its as if this process doesn't have a goal of helping the USA economy (or anything or anyone) it seems.  Not feeling terribly proud of my government at the moment.  I'm going to start looking into plan b...(wrongly I thought the EAD and AP were quick processes given the way they were described before I found the actual data and got your input here. We didn't mind that the AOS could take awhile provided she could work and go home to visit family...).  This option just flat out doesn't work for folks with a job or that need or want a job.  So stupid.  Its like its designed for mail order brides and arranged marriages.  Not for productive, working folks that met someone overseas.  We gotta rethink this.  (sorry for the venting...I doubt I'm the first to do so on this topic!)

It’s a family reunification visa... not an employment/economic visa. Of all the issues with the US immigration system, this is a weird hill to die on. 

My husband and I did the K-1 and I would do it again. I’m extremely product and neither of us were mail-ordered, btw

Edited January 23, 2020 by MorganandMichael

[debbiedoo 2,339]

8 hours ago, David and Anna said:

This option just flat out doesn't work for folks with a job or that need or want a job.  So stupid.  Its like its designed for mail order brides and arranged marriages.  Not for productive, working folks that met someone overseas.

Which is why they have the affidavit of support to prove that the petitioner CAN support the immigrant. I personally think the threshold is too low, but thats another discussion for another day lol

[Just Paul 4,591]

9 hours ago, David and Anna said:

I'll post here after I speak to her tonight about the ~6 month "forced vacation" in the USA she must endure 🙂

That "vacation" starts after you file the AOS.   You have to get married and then get the marriage certificate filed.   Check out how long that takes based on where you are marrying.

 

Make sure you get a SSN within 75 of entering or the vacation time can be really painful.

[Tidus992 47]

With the AOS it all depends on your local branch,  if you live near a city where htey are lots of immigrants you will wait for months or even a year for your interview.  Places near NYC and LA or San Fran will take months to schdeual an appointment.   If your farther you should have an appointment in like 3 months after your bio appointment I was lucky soon after our Bio appointment on 10/08 we were schduled an appointment on 12/19.  

 

 

Edited January 23, 2020 by Tidus992

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,079]

2 hours ago, Tidus992 said:

With the AOS it all depends on your local branch,  if you live near a city where [there] are lots of immigrants you will wait for months or even a year for your interview. 

It's really more if there's a mismatch between USCIS resources in your location and the number of immigrants.

 

Not all relatively small field offices are fast. Some large cities with lots of immigration have fairly fast field offices (like here in San Diego). And in very large metro areas with multiple field offices (like LA, SF, and NYC) sometimes the individual field offices can be very different.

[Unlockable 7,306]

The K1 has it's place. It is useful for many people. I am aware of this yet I am still a veteran member of The -K1-Visa-Sucks! club. I recognize that it is a good option for many. Especially those from countries where same sex marriages are not legal. But the long time period of being in a void is what makes the K1 suck so much. If the EAD/AP were to be dropped down to less than 30 days to being issued, the K1 would be a lot better. 

 

I think we see the problem of having to wait on working and travel from those who get "sticker shock" when they find out after they have already filed the K1. Or when they have come to the US and got married and filed the AOS, but then are complaining that the long wait is unbearable. When you are in another country and culture and are limited on trying to assimilate, that honeymoon phase of "being together sooner" dies real fast for many. 

 

Seems the reasoning for choosing the K1 is 90% speed. Once people hear the K1 is faster, some become blind to the huge disadvantages of the K1.

 

Side note: Other members are correct that the family-based visas (fiance,spousal, children, parents, siblings) are not economically influenced. They were specifically created for family unification/reunification. The other visas like tourist visas, work visas, investment visas are economic based visas.