US Immigration from Germany

Hello there!

I am new to the forum but have been a quiet reader so far. Actually, it is my first time posting in any kind of forum, so I hope things will go okay and please forgive me if I make any "newbie mistakes"! I know there have been some threads about the Adam Walsh Act Waiver already but most of them are older ones and I am hoping to find some people who are in this situation right now to maybe connect and share some information and experiences with!

My story: I met my US boyfriend in 2012 while we were both studying for our BA degrees in the US. We started a relationship, he followed me to Germany (on a student visa)... but we broke up eventually because I felt not ready to marry him/do all the paperwork and effort it takes to either live together in the US or in Germany permanently. Fast forward to today, we re-found our love for each other, got back together, and I am finally ready to take that next step with him. He is the love of my life! We plan to marry in Germany and then file for a CR1 visa to start our life together in the US where he has just built a new house and whatnot. So far so good, right?! Well, no! I knew about his juvenile criminal record and we had talked about it during our relationship. He was open about it and told me everything. However, we did not think it would matter regarding me immigrating to the US on a family-based visa since it was a juvenile record. We were so wrong! When we first talked to an immigration lawyer about our plans she said yeah, it is a juvenile record, won't matter... but when she looked at the charges she noticed that one of them may trigger the Adam Walsh Act. It is a sensitive topic but I can say that it involved consensual sex between two teenagers (same age) who were friends at the time. The friend's mom found out about it and my boyfriend got arrested. It was argued that his friend had a mental disability and therefore was not able to give consent. My boyfriend noted that he did not know about the mental disability of his friend since it was not noticeable, he entered a plea deal and got charged. We got referred to another lawyer who knows both criminal and immigration law and just got off the meeting with him via Zoom: He grilled and intimidated us. I liked that he was upfront about the whole process and made clear it takes a lot to build a good case to possibly get a visa approved. But overall, I feel devastated. Yes, there is the possibility to move to Germany together, but due to many personal reasons living in the US together would have been our first choice.

My questions:
- Does anyone know a good lawyer besides Allan Lolly regarding Adam Walsh Act cases?
- The lawyer told us that it is impossible for my boyfriend to i.e. move to Germany and start the whole CR1-visa process from Germany including the possibility of an AWA waiver. Is that true? Do you then basically have to live separately in two countries even if you are married until a decision is being made by USCIS? I can't find it anymore but I think I read about a case on visa journey where the couple filed for the CR1 from abroad...?

Thank you so much to anyone who took the time to read my post!

Hey guys,

I just wanted to give a little positive feedback on how my K1 process has been going. I have a very unique backstory that some may still remember because I made several posts on it back in 2022.

In March 2022, I was denied entry to the U.S. in Chicago (ORD) while attempting to enter on ESTA. I came to the States for the first time in August 2021 on a J1 as a exchange student. That is where I met my now fianc e. After leaving in January 2022, I wanted to visit her. In Germany I just had finished my bachelor's degree and didn't put too much thought into how ESTA, non immigrant visa and especially CBP officers work, as everything worked seamlessly up to that point. In Chicago I was pulled into secondary inspection after mentioning I was going to visit my girlfriend. I had no idea what was going on and expressed too much intent to possibly work / study / stay in the U.S. I know better now, but back then I had no idea that the officer was trying to build a case for refusing my admission right from the start of our conversation. For me, everything just sounded like a general convo about a hypothetical future. For him, everything I said he directly connected to my upcoming stay on ESTA (as he should, its his job). Once I realized it was looking bad, it was already too late. I tried to clarify that I had no intention to work or start studying while being on ESTA. I truly had not any of these intentions. In my perspective it was just obvious, that I would need a visa for a certain purpose in the U.S.

Long story short, I got refused and had to go back to Germany. I was not particularly asked if I want to withdraw my application for an admission, however I also was not removed. As I was assured at the end, after signing a Sworn Statement that I never should have signed as it was simply inaccurate, that I would just need a visa for the next time, I went ahead and applied for a F1 after getting admitted for a masters program in the U.S. In the following, I was denied at the embassy solely based on my refused admission. Then I hired an immigration lawyer. All they did was filing an FOIA and a DHS Trip redress inquiry. That's also about everything they were able to do, so no blaming that law firm. Another two denials for the F1 followed. It was devastating. I honestly am still traumatized in some way from everything that has been happening since the Refused admission. My life in germany kind of was on hold for around 2 and a half years, as the future was so uncertain. In 2023, I went for a J1 (internship) and also was denied, although the officer almost issued me the visa. My girlfriend and I then decided to go for the K1.

Without a lawyer, but thorough preparation and INCREDIBLE help from some people in this forum, we managed to obtain the K1 visa in October. Our filing of the I-129f was end of march, so pretty fast from initial petition to entering the U.S. on November 20th. Of course, the K1 has it's cons. Everyones situation is unique and for this just seems perfect with how things went so far.

Even with the K1, I still had so many doubts leading up to my visa appointment. And even after receiving the visa, it was the same leading up to my travels and going trough customs. Sleepless nights, anxiety, endless hours of research on every possible question I could face at the interview. & during PoE.

After all that, I can only say- I stressed myself out way too much. With the K1, as long as your relationship is genuine and you intent to marry, you will be fine. Never lie or try to sneak your way into grey areas. I can happily say I never did that, hence I am in the U.S. today.

Just wanted to share my thoughts and the backstory. Encouraging anyone that has questions about the process to always reach out, I want to help others and lift some doubts and fear off their shoulders.

Hello all,

My fiance arrived in the states on November 5th.

We are going to the SSO tomorrow (November 19th) to apply for his SSN.

We went based off the information that we needed to wait at least 2 weeks to go in and apply, which it seems like it really isn't the case anymore? but I guess it doesn't matter in our case anymore.

anyway, my confusion is whether or not we need an appointment for this? I've called the number on the SSA site to make an appointment, currently have my number waiting in queue as the wait time is over 40 minutes.

I tried to call the office directly and also was met with an insane wait time.

I guess this question pertains to the SSO in Flint, Michigan. For those who have dealt with this office specifically, did you need an appointment for getting an SSN on a K1?

Or where you able to make an appointment while there? or should we be able to walk in without an appointment?

For how much they push using the ssa website for things you'd think making an appointment would be a lot easier.

We are still within the 75 days of the I-94 validity (the 75 day mark is about 1/19/2025). But am trying to get his SSN before the end of the year.

I'm ready to file for removal of conditions on my marriage-based GC, have amassed a large stack of supporting evidence, from joint tax returns to leases to the birth certificate of our baby daughter. On the sheer evidence side of things, I am not at all worried about this. What does keep me up at night are the horror stories of I-751 applications being denied for "failing to properly fill out the form" by not putting an "N/A" or "none" into every single last correct place.

I'm just wondering if I'm going too far there. Let me walk through the individual sections because this drives my anxiety through the roof. Can someone pleas give me some advice on how to properly do this...

Page 1: Since it's ABOVE the "start here" line, I don't think I'll write anything into the attorney state bar number or attorney USCIS online account number fields. Those I leave blank.

I have not used any other names, so I fill the family name, middle name, and first name fields provided for other names with "N/A" (Part 1 2.a. - 3.c.)

And since my marriage is still ongoing, I also put an "N/A" in the "Marital Status 13." box that says "if the marriage has ended provide the date.

Page 2: Mailing address is our own, so I put "N/A" in the "In Care of Name" 15a field. I also put an "N/A" in the "floor" field in 15c since we are in a house.

I fill fields 17a-c with "N/A"s throughout since mailing and physical addresses are the same.

Page 3: Other Information on my spouse, field 5, she has no A-number since she is a citizen, so that gets an "N/A". I again put "N/A" in the "floor" field for her physical address. I also put an "N/A" in the A-number field for our daughter, who is a citizen.

Page 4: Part 5 field 6b for the physical address of our child, floor field, again gets an "N/A", and I fill every last field for the other children with "N/A"s since we have none. Here I also put an "N/A" in black ink into the "state" fields that have a drop-down menu in the digital form.

Page 5: Here the same "N/A" everything for children we don't have continues from Part 5 24.a.-30.h.

Part 6 4.a.-4.c. I leave BLANK since I do not check the boxes that I need any accommodations or have any disabilities. Now, SHOULD these fields also get "N/A"s? The boxes aren't checked, so the fields aren't really active, but the instructions say to put N/A into ANY field that does not apply....

Page 6: Petitioner's statement: I check box 1a, and leave the fields in 1.b. and 2. empty since those boxes aren't "live" - same question as for Page 5, SHOULD these still get N/A's regardless? I put N/A into the "petitioner's mobile phone number" since my daytime and mobile are the same.

Page 7: I repeat the same as on Page 6 for my spouse, who does not need an interpreter, so the Part 8 1.b. and 2. boxes aren't "live." Same question as above, SHOULD those still get N/As?

Page 8: In Part 9 I flood the zone with N/As throughout from 1.a. to 5.

Page 9: Here I put N/A's in every field except for the 6.a. for "interpreter's signature" - SHOULD that also get one?

Page 10: I add an N/A to the 8.b. "date of signature" field, but leave the signature field itself empty. - SHOULD that also get an N/A?

Page 11: I don't need additional information space, but do I need to flood that whole page with N/As?

Hello,

I received my K1 visa in October. My trip to the U.S. is coming closer and I am figuring out everything necessary for Port of Entry and the first days within the country.

If you follow the official information, you only need:

• the sealed package from the embassy,
• your passport with the visa,
• police certificate (original?)
• birth certificate (original?)
• and the documents from the medical exam.

Is that all that's required?

For the first steps after entry I have this as my focus:

• obtaining SSN (after 2 weeks of entering)
• look into how to obtain U.S. drivers license
• get married

Is there anything I am totally missing here? Feel free to provide some insight