How bad is ROC?

[H & T 7]

Hi Everyone,

 

How much of a hassle is the ROC process? I have my visa in hand but I'm debating if I should enter the US after our 2nd wedding anniversary to get the 10 year GC. My visa is valid until end of January and our second wedding anniversary is mid January so visa validity isn't an issue. My husband and I would rather move sooner, but I've also read how much of a pain removing conditions is, so it's giving us pause. 

 

Any experiences/insight/advice?

[Pats5415 97]

It all depends on you. You will read all sorts of experiences on this site but it won't determine how yours will go. In my experience, I filed May 2019 and completed the ROC process April 2020...no RFE or interview. I sent in a lot of evidence. Its a lot of patience and playing the hurry up and lets wait game. 

[user555 195]

59 minutes ago, H & T said:

Hi Everyone,

 

How much of a hassle is the ROC process? I have my visa in hand but I'm debating if I should enter the US after our 2nd wedding anniversary to get the 10 year GC. My visa is valid until end of January and our second wedding anniversary is mid January so visa validity isn't an issue. My husband and I would rather move sooner, but I've also read how much of a pain removing conditions is, so it's giving us pause. 

 

Any experiences/insight/advice?

I think it's $400 extra if you enter before 2 yrs of marriage and go through ROC vs getting the 10 yr. You'll basically have to gather evidence again like you did at the interview. I wouldn't want to do that again, so we're entering after 2 yrs of marriage. 

[xyz12345 260]

imo With this pandemic, who knows what international travel will look like in January. It might be much better than these days but who knows? You don't want to be stuck overseas with only 2 weeks visa validity remaining. Maybe get a direct flight to the US or closest international POE just to activate the GC just in case you still want to travel in January?

Edited October 2, 2020 by xyz12345

[SteveInBostonI130 3,319]

1 hour ago, user555 said:

I think it's $400 extra if you enter before 2 yrs of marriage and go through ROC vs getting the 10 yr. You'll basically have to gather evidence again like you did at the interview. I wouldn't want to do that again, so we're entering after 2 yrs of marriage. 

I-751 fee is $595.  To increase to $760 if the proposed fee changes goes through (was to be in effect today, but was enjoined due to lawsuit filed in CA).

[Crazy Cat 39,206]

I would definitely wait if I thought I could fly out then........We filed my wife's I-751 in March 2019.  Waiting for an interview since May 2019.  I would avoid it.

Edited October 2, 2020 by Lucky Cat

[Lucky2Lucky 2,526]

It’s not a pain if you can read English and follow instructions. An Inconvenience? Maybe. Plus it costs money. I think a lot of people would say to wait until your second anniversary to immigrate since it’s sort of close- however that’s a decision for you and your husband. Who knows If countries will shut down come January and you can’t fly out And then you risk a visa expiring. There is so much uncertainty in the world and personally I think it will get worse that I wouldn’t change it and I would   Have left when the visa was issued.

[Mollie09 1,543]

I filed with a divorce waiver so slightly more nerve-racking than the normal process. It cost money to file, I also paid for a lawyer to help me gather evidence for my specific situation, and collecting evidence took A LOT of time and printing.

I filed December 2015 and was approved February 2017 with no interview. In the meantime I had an expired green card and had to explain ROC every time I traveled, which was a lot, and when I got a new job. I also had to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing whether it'd be approved, so I didn't buy a house when I had the chance, and made other decisions with an eye on having to leave. Mentally, it was way more expensive than monetarily.

[jskibo 588]

We filed in early 2017 and it didn’t move until we filed N400 in 2018.  Wife had combo interview in July 2018 and approved both I751 and N400, oath in Aug 2018
 

wasn’t hard putting the package together and filing online but still feels like money wasted.  

[H & T 7]

Thank you so much for all of the responses!

 

3 hours ago, Pats5415 said:

It all depends on you. You will read all sorts of experiences on this site but it won't determine how yours will go. In my experience, I filed May 2019 and completed the ROC process April 2020...no RFE or interview. I sent in a lot of evidence. Its a lot of patience and playing the hurry up and lets wait game. 

Fair point. 

 

3 hours ago, xyz12345 said:

imo With this pandemic, who knows what international travel will look like in January. It might be much better than these days but who knows? You don't want to be stuck overseas with only 2 weeks visa validity remaining. Maybe get a direct flight to the US or closest international POE just to activate the GC just in case you still want to travel in January?

2 hours ago, Lucky Cat said:

I would definitely wait if I thought I could fly out then........We filed my wife's I-751 in March 2019.  Waiting for an interview since May 2019.  I would avoid it.

This is actually one of the things I'm worried about because we'd be cutting it close, especially as I heard Malaysia banned people from the Philippines from entering due to COVID last month. While spouses have gotten preferential treatment, who knows when that will change? Were COVID not an issue, I'd probably delay but now, my husband is leaning towards just leaving while we still can. 

 

3 hours ago, user555 said:

I think it's $400 extra if you enter before 2 yrs of marriage and go through ROC vs getting the 10 yr. You'll basically have to gather evidence again like you did at the interview. I wouldn't want to do that again, so we're entering after 2 yrs of marriage. 

Fair point. That's definitely a consideration too, in addition to @Lucky Cat's experience of the super delayed interview. 

 

2 hours ago, Luckycuds said:

It’s not a pain if you can read English and follow instructions. An Inconvenience? Maybe. Plus it costs money. I think a lot of people would say to wait until your second anniversary to immigrate since it’s sort of close- however that’s a decision for you and your husband. Who knows If countries will shut down come January and you can’t fly out And then you risk a visa expiring. There is so much uncertainty in the world and personally I think it will get worse that I wouldn’t change it and I would   Have left when the visa was issued.

Lol at first sentence. When I checked USCIS' instructions and the guide here on VJ, it seemed doable, but the stories of long interview wait times and how it can be a hassle to travel when you just have the stamp have been weighing on me. Obviously if my visa expired before I could enter, it would be a moot point so that's the bigger issue.

 

1 hour ago, Mollie09 said:

I filed with a divorce waiver so slightly more nerve-racking than the normal process. It cost money to file, I also paid for a lawyer to help me gather evidence for my specific situation, and collecting evidence took A LOT of time and printing.

I filed December 2015 and was approved February 2017 with no interview. In the meantime I had an expired green card and had to explain ROC every time I traveled, which was a lot, and when I got a new job. I also had to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing whether it'd be approved, so I didn't buy a house when I had the chance, and made other decisions with an eye on having to leave. Mentally, it was way more expensive than monetarily.

We're planning on traveling so thank you for sharing your experience regarding that. I'm a bit worried about explaining ROC. Did it take long to explain or were they familiar with it? I can only imagine the mental toll the whole process took and I'm sorry you had to go through it, though I'm glad you were approved and not have to worry about that aspect.

 

Thank you again for chiming in! Your responses have been very helpful. I think what I've gathered here is we should have moved our wedding up a few months lol we're probably going to move sooner rather than later.

[Soup Dragon 104]

I would wait, it's a hassle collecting all the paperwork and putting it together and then waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting a bit more

[Mollie09 1,543]

1 hour ago, H & T said:

We're planning on traveling so thank you for sharing your experience regarding that. I'm a bit worried about explaining ROC. Did it take long to explain or were they familiar with it? I can only imagine the mental toll the whole process took and I'm sorry you had to go through it, though I'm glad you were approved and not have to worry about that aspect.

 

Nobody was familiar with it. There was a lot of phone calls and googling going on, and I felt like I was trying to talk my way into something or ask for a favor to skirt the rules every single time. Airline check in, entering/exiting other countries, hell, even entering the US! The worst was probably during exit controls in Iceland where I had three people in this booth looking at my passport, expired card, and extension letter for about 20-25 minutes shaking their heads and speaking to each other in exasperated Icelandic. It really felt like they thought I made the whole thing up. I legitimately worked through it in my head what it would look like if I couldn't make it home on that flight. There was also the US immigration guy who didn't believe my ROC was still pending because "these things get processed in three months or less, unless there something really wrong with your application" paired with a suspicious sideways look. Or when I lost the letter and had to go beg (it's what it felt like) USCIS for a stamp, and they only gave me six months because "you shouldn't need more than that".

I have anxiety so that was probably worse for me than most people, but I wouldn't want to go through that again.

Edited October 2, 2020 by Mollie09

[Orangesapples 1,954]

It's not the worst thing in the world but it's a hassle I'd rather not deal with it. I'm currently waiting and my life is just going on as normal but since I had an interview in the US, it's unlikely I'll get an interview for ROC but you probably will. Also, the people looking to get a stamp when they need it and being unable to... Plus the expense, not just for filing but for assembling the package. It's best avoided if possible but if you have compelling reasons to fly sooner, then I wouldn't let ROC stop me. 

 

If I were in your position, I'd wait. But it's up to you. 

[Scandi 3,970]

It's a very simple process, but takes a long time to put the package together and then there's a crazy long wait for most to have their applications adjudicated. Who knows what it'll look like 2 years from now. 

 

Since you're coming on a CR-1 you're most likely going to have an interview for your ROC too.

[Lemonslice 4,550]

It took me a couple of hours, but I kept a shoe box and drop my documents as I got them during my first two years in the US. 

 

I've traveled extensively with the extension letter (I would have to check my passport, but many trips, to about 10 countries, and I never had an issue).

 

In your shoes, with the pandemic, I would travel sooner, rather than later.  If you're certain you will be able to travel after your second wedding anniversary, and you hate paperwork, then maybe consider coming later.