Not living together when filing for AOS/AP

[Tomsuzy 0]

Me (USC) and my fiancé are planning to get married in the coming weeks, filing for AOS and AP concurrently. We scheduled our religious ceremony for May 2, and family members on both sides bought tickets and made travel plans. I am 23 and this process has been a steep learning curve for both of us, and we realized after arranging all this that she needs AP to safely leave the country and return while waiting for AOS. She has to return to her country for her final semester of university from sept-dec of this year, and getting AP on that timeline seems unlikely. Our plan is to get civilly married now so that we have enough time to get AP so she can finish school. The problem is, we have signed a lease starting in May, and it would be extremely difficult to find housing in our university town from March-May, and to get out of our contracts so suddenly. Additionally, her family would not be able to attend our wedding if we moved it to March, and as our religious ceremony is far more significant for our families, it’s a priority for them to be there. For those 2 reasons, we will live separately from March-May. I understand this raises red flags, but can we feel confident because our relationship is real?

 

At the time of filing, we can provide the lease beginning in May, as well as joint credit card, bank, insurance, and other accounts. We can provide affidavits from family, friends, religious leaders, etc. and we WILL be living together at the time of the interview, probably our third apartment together if the interview is after we return from Korea. 

I will be going with her to Korea for those months, and we can provide proof of trips taken to visit family, vacations we took with each other, as well as photos and a timeline of our relationship (disclaimer: our relationship was relatively short. People in our religious culture get married younger and faster than average, but we will get married roughly 8/9 months after we started dating)

 

We thought about just staying in America and her quitting her university for now so we can live together from the start, but we felt that her degree is important, and worth the extra effort. 

 

will living separately for the first 2 months of marriage be a significant red flag? Can we provide sufficient proof that we do intend to start a life together? 

[horizon1245 3]

What kind of religious wedding do they do in Korea? 
Are arranged marriages a common practice there?

Edited February 13, 2020 by horizon1245

[Quarknase 1,072]

49 minutes ago, Tomsuzy said:

Me (USC) and my fiancé are planning to get married in the coming weeks, filing for AOS and AP concurrently. We scheduled our religious ceremony for May 2, and family members on both sides bought tickets and made travel plans. I am 23 and this process has been a steep learning curve for both of us, and we realized after arranging all this that she needs AP to safely leave the country and return while waiting for AOS. She has to return to her country for her final semester of university from sept-dec of this year, and getting AP on that timeline seems unlikely. Our plan is to get civilly married now so that we have enough time to get AP so she can finish school. The problem is, we have signed a lease starting in May, and it would be extremely difficult to find housing in our university town from March-May, and to get out of our contracts so suddenly. Additionally, her family would not be able to attend our wedding if we moved it to March, and as our religious ceremony is far more significant for our families, it’s a priority for them to be there. For those 2 reasons, we will live separately from March-May. I understand this raises red flags, but can we feel confident because our relationship is real?

 

At the time of filing, we can provide the lease beginning in May, as well as joint credit card, bank, insurance, and other accounts. We can provide affidavits from family, friends, religious leaders, etc. and we WILL be living together at the time of the interview, probably our third apartment together if the interview is after we return from Korea. 

I will be going with her to Korea for those months, and we can provide proof of trips taken to visit family, vacations we took with each other, as well as photos and a timeline of our relationship (disclaimer: our relationship was relatively short. People in our religious culture get married younger and faster than average, but we will get married roughly 8/9 months after we started dating)

 

We thought about just staying in America and her quitting her university for now so we can live together from the start, but we felt that her degree is important, and worth the extra effort. 

 

will living separately for the first 2 months of marriage be a significant red flag? Can we provide sufficient proof that we do intend to start a life together? 

As suggested in your other topic, have you looked into CR1 instead of adjustment of status? Your wife returns to her home country after the wedding and interviews abroad. Once her visa has been approved, she'll return to the US and become a greencard holder upon entry, without limitations regarding work and travel

[Moe428 129]

Me and my wife had lived separately for basically the entire time AoS was filed.  The IO didn't make much of a big deal about it.  It depends on why you are living separately.  In the year 2020, it is common for couples to live separately.  Work and school are common reasons, although you should show a plan/timeline for when you will be living together. 

 

In your particular case, I don't see a problem with the reason why you won't live together for a few months.  The evidence you are mentioning seems more than enough for AoS.  I personally think you have nothing to worry about in that regard.

 

As for the AP, I don't completely understand, is she planning on going back to university in September?  Will you be living together in SK for those 4 months?  If so, there's a good chance that might interfere with the timeline for AoS interview.

Edited February 13, 2020 by Moe428

[Tomsuzy 0]

7 hours ago, horizon1245 said:

What kind of religious wedding do they do in Korea? 
Are arranged marriages a common practice there?

No, arranged marriages are not common. We are both Mormon, so it’s a Christian wedding ceremony, but our faith places special emphasis and symbolism on marriage in our places of worship.

[Tomsuzy 0]

5 hours ago, Moe428 said:

Me and my wife had lived separately for basically the entire time AoS was filed.  The IO didn't make much of a big deal about it.  It depends on why you are living separately.  In the year 2020, it is common for couples to live separately.  Work and school are common reasons, although you should show a plan/timeline for when you will be living together. 

 

In your particular case, I don't see a problem with the reason why you won't live together for a few months.  The evidence you are mentioning seems more than enough for AoS.  I personally think you have nothing to worry about in that regard.

 

As for the AP, I don't completely understand, is she planning on going back to university in September?  Will you be living together in SK for those 4 months?  If so, there's a good chance that might interfere with the timeline for AoS interview.

Yes, she will return for Korea from September-December, and I will go with her and live with her for that time. We will then return to America together in January.

 

that is a concern we have, does the USCIS take AP travel dates into consideration when they schedule the interview? Or would they schedule the interview for while we’re in Korea, even though she has permission to be out of the country for that time frame?

[Tomsuzy 0]

7 hours ago, Quarknase said:

As suggested in your other topic, have you looked into CR1 instead of adjustment of status? Your wife returns to her home country after the wedding and interviews abroad. Once her visa has been approved, she'll return to the US and become a greencard holder upon entry, without limitations regarding work and travel

We have considered that, but the purpose of our plan is to avoid being internationally separated as a married couple. Should AP not come in time, we are willing to stay in America together, delay her degree indefinitely and simply wait for AOS in the states 

 

My understanding is by no means complete, is there anything I’m overlooking? 

[horizon1245 3]

3 hours ago, Tomsuzy said:

No, arranged marriages are not common. We are both Mormon, so it’s a Christian wedding ceremony, but our faith places special emphasis and symbolism on marriage in our places of worship.

That’s fantastic! I myself was a mormon in Korea. So I’m assuming y’all are getting married at the shinchon temple, congratulations! It’s such a beautiful place.

So long as you are ready to answer questions as to why you were living separately during that timeframe and had a legitimate reason to do so, you will be just fine. And the evidence you are planning on submitting seems enough to me. Make sure to bring more bona fides generated after filing to the interview.

Also, chances are you’ll get your interview notice while you guys are in Korea, USCIS doesn’t care whether you’re in the country or not. Make sure to have someone check the mail for you after you get the status update on the website.

I hope the best for you guys! Good luck!

[DELETEME1234 208]

4 hours ago, Tomsuzy said:

Should AP not come in time

Without any guarantees; you can ask for the AP to be expedited once the initial packet and such has been received by them and biometrics have been taken. 
 

Either way, all the luck to you guys. 
 

[Mollie09 1,543]

5 hours ago, Tomsuzy said:

Yes, she will return for Korea from September-December, and I will go with her and live with her for that time. We will then return to America together in January.

 

that is a concern we have, does the USCIS take AP travel dates into consideration when they schedule the interview? Or would they schedule the interview for while we’re in Korea, even though she has permission to be out of the country for that time frame?

They do not take the AP travel dates into consideration when scheduling interviews. Most people don't even provide any.

[Moe428 129]

6 hours ago, Tomsuzy said:

Yes, she will return for Korea from September-December, and I will go with her and live with her for that time. We will then return to America together in January.

 

that is a concern we have, does the USCIS take AP travel dates into consideration when they schedule the interview? Or would they schedule the interview for while we’re in Korea, even though she has permission to be out of the country for that time frame?

USCIS basically cares about nothing when they schedule the interview.  The interview date is based on the backlog in your local field office.  That's basically the only thing determining when you will have your interview.

[Tomsuzy 0]

2 hours ago, Mollie09 said:

They do not take the AP travel dates into consideration when scheduling interviews. Most people don't even provide any.

So, what happens if it’s scheduled while we’re away? Can we reschedule for when we are back or would we have to return to America for the interview? 

[Tomsuzy 0]

2 hours ago, Mollie09 said:

They do not take the AP travel dates into consideration when scheduling interviews. Most people don't even provide any.

So, if it’s scheduled while we are out of country, is rescheduling several months into the future possible? 

[Tomsuzy 0]

4 hours ago, horizon1245 said:

That’s fantastic! I myself was a mormon in Korea. So I’m assuming y’all are getting married at the shinchon temple, congratulations! It’s such a beautiful place.

So long as you are ready to answer questions as to why you were living separately during that timeframe and had a legitimate reason to do so, you will be just fine. And the evidence you are planning on submitting seems enough to me. Make sure to bring more bona fides generated after filing to the interview.

Also, chances are you’ll get your interview notice while you guys are in Korea, USCIS doesn’t care whether you’re in the country or not. Make sure to have someone check the mail for you after you get the status update on the website.

I hope the best for you guys! Good luck!

That’s great! We are actually getting married in America in Utah this May! We won’t be leaving for Korea until September. 
but we will be visiting the temple there often!

 

we are planning to file as much as we can, but bring more evidence to the interview. Do they typically allow extra evidence? 

[Moe428 129]

4 hours ago, Tomsuzy said:

So, if it’s scheduled while we are out of country, is rescheduling several months into the future possible? 

Theoretically yes, but it's dicey.  USCIS might decide to reject your case because you didn't show up for the interview.  I know, you can call them and tell them you won't be home.  There's no guarantee that will work.  I am not saying it won't work, however I also can't say it will work. This forum is littered with examples of people having their cases denied when they informed the USCIS they will be vacationing at the time their interview got scheduled.  Some of those people were able to get USCIS to re-open the case, however you probably don't want to go through that headache and risk.  Whats worse, since your fiancee will be outside the country, if the case is denied, she might not be let in and you'd have to go through CR-1 at that point.

 

Have you considered talking to the university and having her final semester pushed to the winter months, or the summer months next year?  I did that in my days at university (admittedly, not in SK, so I am not sure if the rules are different).

Edited February 14, 2020 by Moe428