US Immigration from New Zealand

Hi everyone!

My lawyer submitted my 1485 and i130 package initially back in December but it was rejected because she had used outdated forms and given us the wrong money amount to write on the checks. She ammended this and re-filed it in Jan. About a week ago we recieved a physical rejection notice, issued on Jan 30th, the reason being for 'missing pages'. However our lawyer has not received the package, and yesterday USCIS cashed all checks (i485, i130, EAD, AP etc).

Is there any possibility the rejection notice could have been in error? To my knowledge they don't cash checks for rejections, if they do I'm honestly not sure what we will do.

Thanks in advance for any help, I'm still confused and a little sad about two rejections, it has set our case back so much.

Applied for I-485 and I-765 simultaneously in December 2024 and recieved an NOA for the I-485 in early January.
Had my biometrics appointment for the I-465 in late January, now I am waiting for a decision (estimated time according to the USCIS is end of 2025)
So as far as I can tell, the I-485 application is going OK - 2 thumbs up.

However while my I-485 was being processed in January, I recieved my entire I-765 back because I did not send the correct fee (I didn't realise there was a charge for I-765 after April 1st last year - my bad)
So I re-sent the I-765 with a cheque for the correct fee in mid January, however I have not recieved any NOA for the I-765 and it has been a month since I sent the cheque and the cheque has not been cashed.

My question is, should I recieve an NOA for the I-765 seperately from the I-485 NOA I have already recieved?
Also is a month considered a long time to be waiting for any progress on the I-765? It looks like everyone else is getting theirs processed and returned within 2-4 weeks.

Thanks in advance.

Hi, I went for my biometrics appointment today which went as planned with zero problems. I got home tonight to see that my Biometrics Appointment has been marked as complete (as I expected) but also my Interview Appointment has ALSO been marked as complete (see attached screen grab). I know not everyone needs to attend an interview, but this was kind of unexpected. Am I one of the lucky ones who does not need an interview or am I misunderstanding what I am seeing? (I will be very glad if I can skip this step, but I just want to be sure I am seeing right) Anyone else have something similar?

Also another question, with the recent changes to the Keeping Families Together process, will that potentially speed up the decision for my application? I see in the last week it has changed from 15 months to 13 months till a decision is made.

I have an interesting situation. Apologies for the lenghthy text. I received a green card via marriage in 2010. I moved out of the USA back to my home country in 2013 but would continue to come back every year. A few times at the airport I was questioned as to why I'm only coming back for 4 weeks a year but was always let back in on my green card. When covid hit my flight was cancelled and I was actually looking to move back again full time in usa. Uncertain about Covid I decided to stay in my home country due to health care and family etc.... Shortly after covid hit, my mother had a massive stroke and I was stuck looking after her. My green card expired in 2020 so I thought I'll never be allowed to return to usa to live again. I was recently offered a very good job in usa from my brother so i reached out to an immigration attorney for options. He told me to apply for a replacement green card using I-90 form. He told me i might have a few outcomes. 1. I get denied.
2. I get an appointment for biometrics which can take months.
3. I get a new green card approved but the wait time is 20 months.
I decided to try option 3 and apply for a new green card. I applied on the 9th of Jan 2025 and on Jan 12th 2025 I got an update from USCIS that my new green card is approved and is being produced and will be with me in about 1 or 2 weeks.

Now. Here is my issue. I've been out of the usa for 5 years. I have a brand new 10 year green card but I fear that i will not be allowed entry once I fly to usa.

I can show evidence that I was my mothers caregiver from the hospital etc...

Any advice, similar scenarios or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

P

Hi All,

I am preparing to file my I-130 for my wife within the next day or two. We are currently residing in Istanbul, Turkey, and were married online with a Utah County online marriage. However, the marriage certificate says the following:

"I hereby certify that on the 22nd day of December in the year of two thousand twenty four in the city of Salt Lake City in said county of Salt Lake, I, the undersigned, a Reverend did join in matrimony according to the laws of the State of Utah [NAME] and [NAME]. The nature of the ceremony was according to Utah Law and was a present mutual agreement of marriage between parties."

I believe this is because the reverend who performed the marriage lives in Salt Lake City. So, is it correct to write the location as Provo in Utah County, Salt Lake City where the officiant was, or Istanbul where we physically were at the time?

Another question - I have made my wife the sole beneficiary on my brokerage and checking accounts at my bank in the United States. However, the only evidence I have of this is a screenshot, as unfortunately I don't have access to any formal documents stating this. Is this okay to submit? Overall, the amount of evidence of us being financially intertwined is quite low, for reasons I mentioned in my last post. All I have to prove this is the aforementioned screenshot. Does anyone know of any last-minute moves can I make to strengthen this? I have tried applying for instant life insurance but was rejected because I live outside of the US.

My sincere thanks in advance for any responses!