US Immigration from South Africa

Hi,

I understand that if you have spent more than 4 years outside the US you get a REP valid for 1 year. But considering that these applications take well over a year now, what happens if at the time of the application you're at 3 years aboard (and thus eligible for the 2 year REP) but by the time its approved you've been outside for 4 years?

Is the validity based on the time of the application or approval?

Hi there. I'm hoping someone will be able to answer my questions.

Background: we applied for the K1 visa in August 2024 and USCIS approved our petition in January 2025. USCIS sent our application to NVC and we're currently waiting for NVC to get back to us.

I know that a police clearance certificate is needed for the embassy interview stage, can anyone from South Africa who is currently going through this process please advise how long it takes to receive the police clearance certificate.

Also, will the interview be conducted at the embassy in Pretoria or will it be done at the consulate in my city (Cape Town)

Finally, can someone please provide a list of all vaccinations required. I've heard and read that some are required while others aren't depending on your age.

Much appreciated!

I recently filed for a reentry permit for a parent. The last time I did this, I filed the form and it took about 2 days to arrive and the payment was processed a day later - this was back in 2023.

This year on 2/15 I filed the application, USCIS received it on 2/18, but no payment has been processed, and I ve received no electronic confirmation (I filed a G-1450). Was wondering if it s taking longer lately OR my more paranoid mind thinks I made a clerical error with a date or didn t sign something. So just wanted input from the community on their recent I-131 submission timelines.

thanks!

Hey all, welcome to tax season:

Quick rundown of our situation, because I'm used to years of filing single so not only do I have the added pleasure of filing jointly now, but I have to factor in my husband's EAD/income. So here the situation: when my husband came to marry me on a K1, his employer offered to suspend his employment until he was authorized to work again. All pay was frozen and he used the hiatus to assimilate to life in the US, which allowed us to adhere to US law and wait on him earning income until his EAD was issued. He was approved for EAD at the end of November and with card in hand, contacted his employer and resumed remote work on December 1st.

So to summarize, he worked for a foreign employer on foreign soil from January-first week of September, suspended work/was unemployed September-November, and then was re-employed by his foreign employer with US authorization for the month of December. Questions:

1) Given the complexity of the situation (add to it that I am part-resident of two states in 2024 due to a move/change in positions), should I look into hiring a tax service? If so, are there tax preparers who specialize in international taxes as a whole, or specific countries?

2) If it's a filing that's completely doable by a person used to filing their own taxes, then what should I be looking for from my husband in terms of forms/documentation? Are there resources on the forums, because I have no idea what to search for. To this regard, if anyone has links to similar threads, hook me up.

If anyone is curious, I am a wage earner and have always qualified for free filing through third parties provided by the IRS. However, depending on what we have to file, we may or may not qualify (if it's just the one month from US soil, we're good. If I have to consider what he made back home for the whole year, not so much).

TIA.