K1 - Adjustment of Status - Military

[Leah88 192]

Good day everyone,

I am currently waiting for my adjustment of status, after coming to the US this year on a K1 visa. 

My husband will be in officer school (a military training) starting January until end of May 2021. He has orders and I have a copy, which state how long he will be gone. 
He will also be deployed by the end of June, and we will both move to Germany together. We have a letter with a date for that as well.
I am trying to find out, if it would be possible to go to the Adjustment of Status Interview by myself, because he will not be able to go there with me.
Does someone on here know/ has been in a similar situation and can provide me with some tips, I am also trying to get an expedite so I will have a Residency card before I leave the US with my husband.

 

So far, I have done some research and called the USCIS Military Hotline twice. I have received some contradicting information regarding my first question - if he has to be there during the interview. 
After I pointed out that it says on their website that the USCIS office can conduct the interview without my spouse being present, if he is deployed, they said, oh yes it should be possible, but I would need to have proof that he is not able to travel to the interview.
I asked, if it is possible to get a written confirmation, or if I should send an official email to get a written statement that I can attend the interview, but I was told that would not be necessary (I kind of want to have a written statement though...).
What is your take on this, should I write an email, so I have a confirmation? He will not be deployed, he will be on a training, so I would like to make sure that I am going to be able to attend that interview.

I asked, if it is possible to get an expedite, and they read out a couple of categories, which I had to choose from. I chose "humanitarian reasons" with the reasoning that I am a dependent of military personnel, who will have to leave the country on official orders in June 2021. 
And that I would not be able to pay rent if I had to stay behind. The lady put in the expedite request, and I will see, if it will go through. If not, she said to ask for another expedite once I receive my biometrics.
The officer was really friendly and nice, but of course there are a lot of questions in my head, which she can't answer, because the USCIS decides on every case individually.

If anyone has been in a similar situation, or knows, if there is any additional form of support for military personnel, I would be really grateful for any help. I would have thought that the Army would be able to help out somewhat, but so far, we have not received any help, the JAG office (Army lawyer) was not able to help us in the past either (I received 2 rejections for my paperwork).
Maybe it would be an idea to contact them again?
Thank you very much for your help! 
 

[Chancy 6,233]

1 hour ago, Leah88 said:

Does someone on here know/ has been in a similar situation and can provide me with some tips, I am also trying to get an expedite so I will have a Residency card before I leave the US with my husband.

 

Check the threads below for the experience of @ashmed246, a VJ member in the military with a wife in a similar situation to yours.  He was able to get expedited approval for his wife's EAD/AP, but not for the GC.  His wife was interviewed without him physically present and her AOS was approved.  I think you have a good chance of getting your EAD/AP approval expedited as well, given that your husband will be deployed soon.  Good luck!

 

 

Also, VJ has a sub-forum for military-related topics.  You might get more advice there.  I'll request mods to move this thread for you. -- https://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/152-military-immigration-related-discussion/

 

[Ryan H 3,791]

Moved from K1 Process & Procedures to Military Immigration-Related Discussion.

[Letspaintcookies 2,214]

You PCS to Germany don't you? Cause for an deployment you probably won't be on his orders and then you'll have to deal with reentry permits ( is this the right term I'm thinking of? ) to make sure you don't loose your status while being overseas. Sorry different topic, just came to my mind 😊

Plus it might be harder to prove the need for an expedite if it's 'only' a deployment cause family usually doesn't follow for deployments, it would be your choice.

 

Try to email, I'm kinda afraid they won't give a solid answer but you have nothing to loose.

Edited January 1, 2021 by Letspaintcookies

[Ed&Midori1031 330]

On 12/29/2020 at 3:11 PM, Leah88 said:

Good day everyone,

I am currently waiting for my adjustment of status, after coming to the US this year on a K1 visa. 

My husband will be in officer school (a military training) starting January until end of May 2021. He has orders and I have a copy, which state how long he will be gone. 
He will also be deployed by the end of June, and we will both move to Germany together. We have a letter with a date for that as well.
I am trying to find out, if it would be possible to go to the Adjustment of Status Interview by myself, because he will not be able to go there with me.
Does someone on here know/ has been in a similar situation and can provide me with some tips, I am also trying to get an expedite so I will have a Residency card before I leave the US with my husband.

 

So far, I have done some research and called the USCIS Military Hotline twice. I have received some contradicting information regarding my first question - if he has to be there during the interview. 
After I pointed out that it says on their website that the USCIS office can conduct the interview without my spouse being present, if he is deployed, they said, oh yes it should be possible, but I would need to have proof that he is not able to travel to the interview.
I asked, if it is possible to get a written confirmation, or if I should send an official email to get a written statement that I can attend the interview, but I was told that would not be necessary (I kind of want to have a written statement though...).
What is your take on this, should I write an email, so I have a confirmation? He will not be deployed, he will be on a training, so I would like to make sure that I am going to be able to attend that interview.

I asked, if it is possible to get an expedite, and they read out a couple of categories, which I had to choose from. I chose "humanitarian reasons" with the reasoning that I am a dependent of military personnel, who will have to leave the country on official orders in June 2021. 
And that I would not be able to pay rent if I had to stay behind. The lady put in the expedite request, and I will see, if it will go through. If not, she said to ask for another expedite once I receive my biometrics.
The officer was really friendly and nice, but of course there are a lot of questions in my head, which she can't answer, because the USCIS decides on every case individually.

If anyone has been in a similar situation, or knows, if there is any additional form of support for military personnel, I would be really grateful for any help. I would have thought that the Army would be able to help out somewhat, but so far, we have not received any help, the JAG office (Army lawyer) was not able to help us in the past either (I received 2 rejections for my paperwork).
Maybe it would be an idea to contact them again?
Thank you very much for your help! 
 

Hi there.  I'm in the Navy and I have had a similar experience before my wife and I went to Japan.  I made an expedite letter template asking to expedite our AOS case to help with our situation.  If you'd like, I can email you a copy of it.  Just PM me your personal email.  

Edited January 3, 2021 by Ed&Midori1031

[ECCK 211]

Hello, I'm in the same boat as you, although my timeline is a little longer. My husband is expected to receive orders for sea duty later in 2021 and I'm worried that I won't be able to join him if he goes overseas as there has been zero movement on my AOS application. I don't want to stay in the US as I have no family or friends here to stay with. I would be interested in hearing how you go and I will also try to find some more information on this issue. 

 

By the way, may I ask whether your name is on the deployment letter for Germany? 

[Leah88 192]

11 hours ago, ECCK said:

Hello, I'm in the same boat as you, although my timeline is a little longer. My husband is expected to receive orders for sea duty later in 2021 and I'm worried that I won't be able to join him if he goes overseas as there has been zero movement on my AOS application. I don't want to stay in the US as I have no family or friends here to stay with. I would be interested in hearing how you go and I will also try to find some more information on this issue. 

 

By the way, may I ask whether your name is on the deployment letter for Germany? 

Hello everyone,

 

thank you for your comments and help! I have received an E-Mail by the USCIS today, they have received my request and have told me that I will have to wait for my biometrics appointment.

As to your questions: My husband is getting deployed to Germany, and once I have had my overseas screening at the Army hospital, I will get on his orders, as I am a dependent. Unfortunately, they were not able to schedule me a screening so far (I hope I will be able to do it in April). Thus, so far, I do not have a document stating that I will be going with him. We do have a letter by his commander, which states that he is gone for the Army training right now, as well as his orders.

So, I hope that I will be able to attend the AOS interview without him (IF I end up getting an appointment before he returns from school). I am going to look into getting help from a military lawyer, because I believe it will only get more complicated from here on out. I believe that there should be some kind of special rule for military spouses, and I am determined of getting some help. @ECCK we can keep in touch if youd like to! By the way I love Australia, I would have never left if I were you

 

 

Edited January 5, 2021 by Leah88