US Immigration from Brazil

Sharing this to whoever is confused if Missouri lets you have a DL under K1 visa.

For start, I always thought I was not going to be able to drive here under my K1 visa. I researched this topic a lot on VJ and other immigration forums and groups and only heard of one successful story when it comes to obtaining a limite-term DL in MO and managing to extend it after the I-94 expired (MO doesn't accept AOS NOA1/receipt as proof of lawful status). I didn't think I would be successful, but guess I was lucky and I am glad I tried I ended up never being unable to drive in Missouri.

I already have a driver's license from my home country (Brazil) and a driver's license from Canada (I lived there for a few years). Before my arrival, my then fianc contacted the Missouri Department of Revenue about it and they pointed him to the Missouri Highway Patrol. The highway patrol stated that I could drive with my Brazilian or Canadian license for the first 30 days, and I would need to also carry my passport and visa with me.

On day 5 after my arrival, we went to the best rated license office nearby with the list of documents that the MO Department of Revenue provides for one to get a non-real ID/DL. I had a foreign passport with unexpired visa/I-94 (that counts as both ID and proof of lawful status) and a proof of residence (the receipt the SSA gave me saying I applied for a SSN). But they needed the SSN card as well (I still had not received the card). I was glad they didn't say right away I wasn't able to get one under K1.

Once I got my SSN in the mail, I went back to the license office. They told me they would issue me a state ID so I could go to highway patrol and take the written and road tests. Once they gave me the temporary state ID, I went straight to the highway patrol. They made me take a vision test and a written test, and I passed both. For the road test though, there is no scheduling, and they told me it was pretty busy so I would need to get there early. 2 days later, I arrived there at 6:30 AM and... I was the 9th in line! They opened at 8 am and then told me my test would be at 11 am. I went back there at 11 am, passed the road test, and then went straight back to the license office with the test results. They finally were able to issue me a limited-term driver's license that same day. My license expiration was the same as my I-94. During the validity of this license, I also went there to update my license to my married name. All worked well.

One week before my limited-term license expired, I decided to try my luck and ask for a renewal with only the AOS NOA1/receipt. It was not listed on their documents accepted for proof of lawful status. They tried inserting my case number in the system, passport, expired I-94, etc, and nothing worked. I thought I would be unable to drive while adjusting status, but they called the state to check on my situation and, out of the blue, the state faxed the license office a 30-day "temporary driving priviledge" in my name. It's a piece of paper saying I am allowed to drive for 30 days even though my license was expired. I counted that as a huge win.

During those 30 days, I received the approval notice/NOA2 for my combo card (EAD/AP). Since my 30 days were about to expire, I went back to the license office with the NOA2 trusting that was enough as proof of lawful status. Their own checklist of documents says that I-797 notices of approval are accepted. They didn't accept it, I still do not understand why, but my guess is that the system checks the case status with USCIS and that was showing it as "case is being actively reviewed" even though I had my approval notice with me. They said they needed the card and then told me to call the state. After an hour waiting, state told me there was nothing they could do when it came to the NOA2, but I should go back to the license office the next day that they would issue me another 30-day driving privilege.

That same day, late in the evening, my AOS was approved and my EAD status changed to "card was produced". I went to the license office in the morning the next day and thought that I would get a license now since the online status had changed. No deal. They wanted the card. And then I got the privilege paper again, more 30 days.

I decided then to only go back there with my GC since it was a good timeframe, between the 30 days. 2 weeks after approval, I got my GC in the mail and that same day, went to the license office and finally was able to get a 6-year driver's license in Missouri. It was the 7th time I went there, the agents even knew me by name. Glad that I won't have to go back there for 6 years! And even more glad that I was never unable to drive here.

Hope that helps anyone looking for info on MO DL's under K1/AOS.


TL;DR
With unexpired K1 I-94:

- Found the best rated DMV/License office nearby

- Went there with my SSN card, proof of residence, passport with visa, I-94

- They issued me a state ID (not proper for driving) and redirected me to the highway patrol for testing

- I went to the highway patrol, did the written and vision test on that same day, passed

- I was told I would need to be back for a road test. There is no scheduling, first come first serve

- I went there super early and stayed in line, told I needed to take a road test, they asked me to come back in a certain time, I did, took the road test, passed

- Went back to the license office with all the original documents + the proof from higway patrol I passed the tests

- Got a 90 day Missouri DL (same expiration date as my I-94)

With AOS NOA1/receipt:
- Tried my luck and one week before my license expired, went to the license office with my AOS receipt/NO1
- They couldn't insert me in the system due to no expiration date on NOA1
- Agent called the state to see what was possible

- They issued me a 30 day "temporary driving privilege" that I needed to carry along with my license

With EAD NOA2/approval notice:
- They didn't accept my combo card/EAD NOA2/I-797 notice of approval even though the DOR says they accept it as proof of lawful status
- They said the system still showed as pending (the case status was still as case being reviewed)
- They told me they needed the actual EAD/combo card
- They called the state and issued me another 30 day "temporary driving privilege" that I needed to carry along with my license

With GC:
- Conditional green card was accepted as my proof of lawful status
- They issued me a 6-year Missouri Driver's License

Hey guys-

My wife came to the US on a K1 visa and got her conditional 2 year green card March 2021. We filed the ROC about a year ago and it's estimated it'll take until March 2025 to process it.

However, since she hasn't moved in the past 3 months, has been married to me (US citizen by birth) >3 years, and has been a lawful permanent resident for >3 years, she's now able to apply for US citizenship.

Should we wait for ROC to process or just get started on the N400?

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

Just figured I'd share my experience regarding my Immigration process hoping it could help someone if need be. So I got here on a K-1, got married, got the EAD, got the green card with conditions and applied for the green card without conditions over the last 5 years. As I was waiting for the removal of conditions for my green card (I-751) to be approved, I became eligible for citizenship. I started to research online others' experiences about what happens if you get called in for your citizenship interview without actually having your full green card. The consensus was that it was based on the officer you got because they could either expedite the application and do the interview for the I-751 at the same time as the interview for citizenship or they could send you home and tell you to contact them once you receive your green card--there was no guarantee it would work.

I decided to go for it and applied. I received my citizenship interview appointment for August, 2023 in New York City and I got really lucky that the officer was fantastic; she was really helpful. I brought my wife, just in case the interview for the I-751 would be conducted right then, and told the officer about the situation. I brought all my documents regarding the I-751 and she went to the back to see what she could do. She came out maybe 10 minutes later and said she looked over our I-751, reviewed the application and checked the proof. She requested for it to be approved. She didn't need us to go back and interview since we gave enough evidence through our application, especially our tax returns as we file together.

Going this route, and with the luck of a nice officer, it did expedite my I-751 approval. After she requested approval for the I-751, she took me to the back and conducted the citizenship test. She asked me seven of the questions that were on the study guide as well as asked me to read a phrase out loud and write a phrase down in English. She told me I passed but couldn't officially congratulate me since my I-751 needed to be adjusted from pending to approved. She told me it takes about a month, which it did, for my I-751 status to update. Once that was done, I received a letter in the mail about my oath ceremony and officially became a US citizen a little over a month and a half after the interview in August!

Do you have to file for adjustment of status before the end of the 90 day period? Me and my wife are ready to file the I-485 but we ve had a lot of expenses getting married and it s a slow time of the year for my work. This is making it difficult to pay the filing fee at the moment. Her 90 days is over on February 3rd.

I ve heard some people say that it makes no difference as long as we re married. And others say that some people have been deported for not filing or that it can make the adjustment of status more difficult.

My brother had his interview two days ago in Rio and the immigration officer held on to his passport and the only thing missing is my brother's son (petitioner) original birth certificate. They said to simply submit that and he will be approved but how? Does it have to be mailed in since they are not accepting our attempt at submitting certified translated and photocopies? The travel.gov website says:

Sending documents to the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro  If you need to send us any documents, you can mail them to U.S. Consulate General, Immigrant Visa Unit, Av. Presidente Wilson 147 Castelo, Rio de Janeiro RJ 20030-020. 

Is this the way? Is there a way to submit this electronically?