sarah86

See Butterfly,
Everyone. Not just me. But everyone is here to support you. We all want you to get through this. Do not do this for us, but do this for yourself and your love. We yell "I support you!"
You yell "ALL IN!"

i havent seen my fiance since february 8 and i am 6 months pregnant if i can take it anyone can,trust me

Hi butterfly, if you submitted your petition in march you are still very much within the 5 months processing time line stipulated by USCIS. You would be giving up a few weeks shy of an approval.

Each application is different on its own. Each form must be accompanied by;
1. I-94
2. Bio page and visa page of passport
3. Birth cert
4. 2 passports photos
There isn't any cause for alarm. You will receive an RFE asking for what you didn't add.
item 4a: doesnt apply since we filed all three together.
item 4b: already in the packet with Form I-485 and EAD and AP. Should I have attached a copy of the I-94 to each of the applications separately?
item 4c: not applicable
item 4d: and there goes the photos requirement again
Im sorry, i might be being a bit paranoid, and I should have asked these before hand but at least I'll know what to expect 1 Payment as required by USCIS. Use a personal check so you can track the payment. Money Orders are also accepted. Read the Guide to Paying USCIS Immigration Fees.
Note: Applicants filing for this benefit at the same time or while an Adjustment of Status (I-485) application is pending are not required to pay any fee as it was included in the "total cost" of the I-485. 2. Form I-765: Application for Employment Authorization properly filed out with correct filing category selected (see example for AOS applicants ©(9)) 3. If Filing as a category (a)(6), K-1 Nonimmigrant Fiance(e) of U.S. Citizen then: 3a. Copy of evidence of admission such as an Electronic I-94 Copy or (for older entries) a copy of a valid paper I-94 (front and back of form), passport, and K-1 Visa. Use as many of these as possible (I-94 is required); including a copy of the K-1 is recommended. Make clear copies. 3b. A copy of your last EAD (front and back) if any 3c. Two passport-type Photo's (see specification) 4. If Filing as a category ©(9), Adjustment Applicant then: 4a. Copy of the receipt notice or other evidence that your Form I-485, Application for Permanent Residence, is pending. If filing at the same time as AOS (in the same package) then you do not need to provide proof of filing (how could you)! 4b. Electronic I-94 Copy or (for older entries) a copy of a valid paper I-94 (front and back of form) 4c. A copy of your last EAD (front and back) if any 4d. Two passport-type photo's (see specification)

There are several ways to expedite an I-765, they are by no means guaranteed but there are ways to try.

At an absolute minimum you are looking at 30 days before even trying an expedite.

There is not a process for expediting the EAD. I'm sure these folks wish there was:
http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/486269-eadap-pending-for-113-dayshelp/

Good luck.

For a K-1 visa the A# is usually on the NOA2 right above the beneficiary's name--for us that was the only place it was. Some have it written or printed on the K-1 visa and others have said it was written on the I-94 when it was still paper. Check the NOA2 and see if there is a 9 digit number that begins with 'A'.
You only submit the AOS for the foreign spouse or beneficiary so only one G-325A and all questions are in regards to the applicant or foreign spouse.
Good luck,
Dave

Come on now, the poster never said that they filed the k1 to buy time to get to know her. You are just putting words into his mouth. I know you must be upset that they are at the end of their journey and they are expressing doubt but it cant be great for them either. They have been through all the waiting we have, finally got to the crunch and they cant decide if they are doing the right thing. Imagine the disappointment for their family and friends.
Im willing to guess they dont want your "empathy/patience" they just want impartial advice. YOU dont know the details of what has happened or what they are going through. Its better they have their doubts now then after the wedding.
Good luck to you guys whatever your choice

Well speaking about turkish family. I think we have a lot of responsibilities since they are the ones to live in a different country. Turkish man are the ruler of the house. somethings he would not like you to do since he is here. Believe me some days you will have a fight for any stupid reason but remember he left to be with you and have a family. Therefore, you will have to be patience and love . GOOD LUCK

Congratulations I can only imagine how you feel - my fiancée will be here in 38 days and I also am feeling happy , scared , nervous , excited ..; I'm trying to fix up my home to make things perfect - found him a job etc ...
Just take a deep breath remember all that you love about him - how far he has come to be with you
And enjoy every minute - this is the day you have been dreaming of
God willing all will be well
Jen

Congrats you guys
I am really happy and excited for you to start your new lives together.
I am in the same boat as you, he will leaving his family to come here and it is so bitter sweet because he has such an awesome family. As soon as he is able to travel after we are married and the waiting time to the OK for him to travel out of the country we will fly back and visit them as often as we can. It seems so easy and exciting thinking about our fiance getting here but when reality sets in i have to agree it is scary but a happy scary if that makes sence.....
I can't imagine what it is going to be like when my fiance gets here, I think i will run and jump on him and knock him over in front of everyone in the airport... LOL.
Keep me posted

Congrats you guys

I would say that situations like yours are the exception rather than the rule. Your husband must be exceedingly patient in order to be able to keep up the charade for so long. In addition, either his family was in on the caper or he had them fooled as much as he had you fooled. I've read lots of stories like yours on VJ over the years. Most people say there were signs prior to the marriage, but they wrote them off as cultural differences, etc.
I don't know what the ratio is of scammers to true love. I've heard anecdotally that marriages involving one spouse immigrating to the US end in divorce slightly less often than marriage between US citizens. I don't know how accurate that is because I don't know where that sort of data could be collected. The US government stops keeping track of the marriage after removal of conditions unless the foreign spouse applies for citizenship.
Anyway, I personally know a handful of people with foreign spouses who have followed the IR1 or K1 path to be together in the US. Some of them I've met through this site. They've all had to go through a period of adjustment, just as my wife and I had to, but they got through it. I don't stay in frequent contact with all of them, but they're all still married as far as I know. Granted that's a very small sampling of a very large group of people, but if the ratio of scammers to lovers really was as high as you indicate then I would think that at least some of the people I know would have been involved in situations similar to yours.
Regarding the comingling of finances, I added my wife to my primary checking account, opened a joint savings account with her, added her to my medical and dential insurance, made her beneficiary of my life insurance, and added her to any new bills we acquired. By the time we submitted the ROC we had also filed three joint tax returns. However, the majority of our bills were accounts I had for years before I met her, and I saw no point in adding her to those accounts for no reason other than to have her name on them. I also bought a home a few years before I met my wife. Not surprisingly, the mortgage is underwater. It would have been impossible for me to add her to the deed without the finance company calling in my loan and insisting on a new mortgage. That was out of the question. When we filed the ROC I provided everything I had, and explained what I said above. We got an RFE for two things; copies of our state issued ID cards, and more evidence of financial comingling. The only thing I had that I hadn't already sent was a new car insurance bill - once my wife's car was paid off I dropped the comprehensive coverage on her car and combined our car insurance policies to save a little money. The new bill had both of our names on it. That was apparently enough as they approved her ROC and she got her 10 year green card. I'm quite certain that she would have been denied if we had no evidence of comingled finances at all.

I can agree that it is a bunch of BS, Time & Money we have to go through with the whole immigration Process. But look at it this way the first 2years of any marriage are generally the hardest. Which this can be a good thing. But then you have to file again within 90days before your GC expires. yay a whole 590 they milked us for again. Then the trips & gathering all the paperwork needed for it. And can't forget the long wait again lol.
PS I would suggest keeping all your documents together & start gathering for everything before it's time. This will cut down half the hassle.
Luckily we had everything together in 1-2 spots. I personally black out Account #'s as IMO they do not need that. as that is personal information you don't want just anyone to have.

Also doing the k1 route you can get citizenship in 3yrs time. which is better then some of the other ways. ( I plan on getting my wife to do it)
Every Location is different in the time it takes to process. California seems to be the fastest from what I have noticed.
We even had a interview before my wife got approved. They denied us At the beginning made us wait in the lobby to supposedly check to make sure they have enough documents so we didn't have to drive another 8hrs back & while waiting in the lobby we kinda cuddled. I believe they observed us & called us in & swapped papers with us saying we are approved. Talk about head games.

But all in all atleast we are together & My wife was approved. Now it's waiting for the new Approval & GC. I want my wife to study all she can now so we don't have to go through this in 10yrs. As It is such a pain to go through.

Just stay strong & remember nothing in life is simple. Every obstacle makes you stronger.

I don't think I could ever stand being MARRIED and apart for a year or more. Being engaged is different. Right now, not being with my fiance, the love of my life, is already so hard. But I know it would be so much harder for me if he was my husband. Some people don't really think those two are any different, however. But I know I just wouldn't bear it. I'd love to just be with him, even if he comes home at 6pm or so. I'd love to be able to cook food for him, wake up next to him, welcome him home. Those things I could never do if we were apart. There are things you can do to speed up the process for the K1 -> AOS. For example, we will marry 2 weeks after I get to the US. Sure, it will be a little ceremony, but that speeds up the waiting time.
I guess if others are considering going a CR1 vs K1. My advice would be to be pro-active in planning AHEAD of time. Plan your wedding, if possible get married the week after (that was our initial plan, but it was too close to new year's). It will take a week or two to get the marriage license back. Have all your paperwork ready to send the day it gets back. All these help lessen your wait time for AP and EAD. I am hoping to have applied for AOS a month after arriving at POE, then I would have EAD and AP about 4 months after I get to the US. I could apply for jobs and just be waiting for my EAD to start. I can take classes or do volunteer work to increase my marketability. etc.

The process can be very easy or very hard. Some cases take longer then others, some things are just slow. If we were to get all that we ask for then where do we learn patience? I totally understand your frustration, but remember that you are here and you are capable of making calls and following up. Dont give up cause things happen in HIS (GOD, your higher power, ALLAH, etc whatever your choice is) time, not yours (everything has a reason)
I wish you the best of luck. Be Strong !

Having been down both the k-1 and the cr-1 path, I can say that they both suck equally.

I just got back from the embassy in London. What a straight forward process. Got told I was approved and that it will all be ready to collect in about 10days.
Has anyone else had experience collecting their passport/packet from the courier people? OR should I arrange it to be delivered? I don't mind really. Funnily enough the location of my collection point is Brent, same as my fiance's name. The lady at the embassy said it was fate and meant to be I agree!!!

My recommendation would be to get married and file your AOS/AP/EAD right away. We got married within 30 days of my wife's arrival. Filed the AOS packet 3 weeks after that at the end of October. The EAD/AP card came in the mail on 1/14/13 and we had our interview 1/15/13 and she was approved and had the GC within 10 days. Went back to visit her family in February with the GC. Roughly 2.5 moths from submission to approval. Good luck.

The guides here on VJ are very helpful. He will apply for his SSN, and there is a guide here about that > http://www.visajourney.com/content/ssn
After you marry, he will file for adjustment of status, and here is guide for that > http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1k3aos
You file for the EAD(work) and AP(travel) at the same time as the I-485 to adjust. The fees for those 2 forms are waived when filed with a pending I-485, so the total fee with or without those 2 forms is $1070. The EAD/AP takes 2-3 months after filing to receive. You use the EAD/AP to work and re-enter the US when traveling while waiting for the green card approval. Once the green cars is approved, the EAD/AP are no longer valid or needed. The green card works for both from then on. He cannot leave and re-enter the US without having his AP or green card first.
There is an AOS forum here on VJ with lots of information too. I will be moving this post there.
~ Moved from K-1 Process to AOS from Family Based Visas ~

Hi, Well after your marriage within the 90 days of his arrival (you can get ssn, and in some states a identification card or a driver license.)
Your next step is to start the adjustment of status process, employment authorization and advance parole. He can travel for a short visit to his parents when he obtain his advance parole and employment authorization card...but he is stil in the process for his conditional green card....
In my case i didnt even apply for the advance parole because our lawyer recommend us to wait until we get the permanent resident card. Sometimes the interview for adjustment from a k1 visa is waived... but some still need to go to the interview
For a detail process you should go to the adjustment of status from family forum...

Good morning,
So I called the Department of State this morning and found out that my baby's visa was ISSUED! I would like to thank God first and foremost! I am extremely grateful. Tomorrow will make 1 year since I received NOA1. This has been a long journey that's still in the making but now I am a step closer to the finish line. This journey has been far from easy, but through the midst of it all, I have learned that nothing happens on our time... God was teaching me patience and I overlooked it. The minute I gave in and left it in his hands, he came through. He's an on time God! I cried tears of joy, an I will cry greater tears once his visa is in his hands...
To all of those still in the process, don't give up! I know the stress and frustrations this brings! We are a VJ community which is the beauty of it all. We understand each others pain when no one else does. I think that the immigration laws President Obama is passing is forcing service centers to process petitions faster and I think the Kingston Embassy is attempting to catch up with its paper work in preparation for the heavy case loads they will be receiving. I promised to share my updated information with you all and I will continue to do so as my journey is not over. I hope everyone has a blessed day!

Answers:
The visa MUST be used before October 24th. If he attempts to use it after that date, he will be denied entry. No, you must get married within 90 days after the date of arrival.