Dupont

OK this is very helpful and good to know. Thank you everyone!

Maybe I am confusing it and it's something people do with AOS and not ROC. I thought folks did it with ROC.

Hello, My husband's conditional greencard expires in August. We would like to take a vacation after that point and before he would most likely get his new 10 year greencard. Initially, I thought we would have to apply for advanced parole which I've recieved mixed messages on whether or not that can be used for vacation. However - now I think we can just take the NOA 1 from the i-751 which extends the greencard for another year. Is that correct? You can just take the NOA, expired greencard, passport and you are good to go? If that is the case - why would anyone ever apply for advanced parole? On the Visa Journey timelines they list the I - 131 as though it is a normal part of the process but it doesn't seem like it is necessary.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thank you!

Yes look at my timeline - we just got packet four with our interview date yesterday - so it will give you a sense of how they are trending right now. Let me know if you have any questions!

you don't contact the consulate, from uscis it goes to the NVC. you can contact then at 603 334 0700

Yes but after NVC it goes to the Consulate. I would contact NVC to see when it left so you can get a sense of where the hold up is. If it has left NVC, definitely contact the consulate.

It took a while for me too. We received NOA2 on May 8th. We didn't receive packet three from the embassy until 30 May (although much shorter than you). And that was after I called to follow up - they then sent it the next day. It's impossible to get through to them by phone. You get sent to a call center. Your best bet is to email them at SydneyIV@state.gov. I would definitely follow up - as they are probably just behind. Call them - and email them. The second time I called, my case was marked as a higher status - because it hadn't been resolved yet. And then I received packet three the next day. So it might take a couple of phone calls. Have you called NVC yet? Would be good to call them and get your case number (they assign it) so then you can mention that in your emails. The good news is that you can go ahead and prepare the docs needed for packet three if you haven't already - so go ahead and get your medical, police check, etc. Let me know if you have any questions! And good luck!

We received our NOA 2 today!! So exciting to see that things are moving forward. I have to give credit to Visa Journey because it said we would most likely get approved between May 8 and May 10th and we were approved May 8th! Best of luck to you all in your journeys!!

Yes you can, she just cannot return. You would have to start a new I-130 petition in order for her to come back. It currently takes 10-12 months to process.

You could also wait until after you have lived there for 6 months (you must be legally present in the country) and file for a DCF which goes much faster. That would probably be your best bet to time it as close to 6 months as possible

You can LEAVE any time, but with a K-1 you cannot enter, get married, leave and RETURN. Leaving is never a problem.

Very good point! I should have been more clear. You will be free to leave, returning will be the problem!

No, you cannot enter on a k1 and then leave the country. The k1 is for people that want to live in America. You can't leave the country until your temporary greencard comes through (I think). I know there is a waiting period of several months where you can't leave the country. And there are conditions for how long you can leave the country for. If they feel that you aren't "living" in America they will revoke your greencard. I don't know how long those period are but with a bit of internet research you can find out. There is no need to do a k1 if you don't intend to remain in America after you are married. Just apply for the spouse visa when you get to her country and then once it is granted, you can both move back to the States.

I would think if you don't have the intention to live in the States that she could just enter on a tourist visa, get married in America, honeymoon in America and then you could both return to her home country and live there for a while. Once you were ready to move back to the States, you could apply for a spouse visa. She would just need to make sure her tourist visa was for a long enough time to enter, get married and honeymoon.

Hello! I'm also new to this so I don't know how much help I can give you, but my situation is similar to yours. I'm an American citizen living in Australia and my partner is Australian. We are looking to move back to the States when I am done with grad school, which will be in May, with ideally a November wedding. So here are a few suggestions:

First thing is the timeline. If I was you, I would go ahead and file the 129 as soon as you can because that way the clock will start ticking. While, there is no way to completely tell how long it will take - as it varies with each processing center and embassy, however it seems like for the most part, it takes around six months, some longer, some shorter. A friend of mine from France was just granted hers (a K-1), and it took that amount of time. Although, I have seen some things on here that makes me think that it is slowing down, but then again, it really just varies from case to case. I'm banking on 6 months personally and figure I'll worry about that later if it doesn't work out that way! That is another reason why we are planning a November wedding, just so we can be safe and make sure it is approved by then. You should go to the timeline stats page on this site to look at how long it will take on average. There is a lot of good information on there, including trends, etc. If, it did happen to take six months, then it would be approved mid-July (assuming you file mid-January). From that point, he would have six months that he could enter the country, and then you would need to get married within 90 days of him arriving. So, if you planned to get married on October 15th, then, he should be able to fly over with you in August. The only problem, is that he would have to wait for authorization to work, which takes about three months. But if you can financially afford to have him hang around for a bit, then that timeline should work out OK for you. Also, if you file it now, and it takes longer, say eight or nine months for him to get his visa, then he would be cleared in September or October, and could still arrive in time for a (late!) October wedding. While I'm not an expert, it seems that it seems to be slowing up a bit, so it could take longer than six months to process. But the stats page will show you more. You could always hold off on planning your wedding until you receive your NOA2. That is what takes the longest generally (unless you have a really slow embassy) so once you received that (should be within 5 months) you would have a better idea of when he would get his visa, and it would still allow you several months to plan the wedding.

I don't know as much about getting married and then having him apply, because we're not going that route. I've heard from others that it takes a bit longer to get processed, but there isn't a waiting period for working (but I'm not 100% on that).

I also filed from abroad, and that is totally fine. You will have no problem with that and I've spoken to other people on this site who have also done that. You can use your parents address, that will be fine - although as long as you are living overseas, you should put that as your mailing address so you will receive the proper paperwork and then you can update your address once you move. They sent it to me in Australia no problem.

Regarding your salary/tax returns - that step doesn't come until later. So go ahead and fill out the 129 and get that sent in. Even when living overseas you are still required to file a tax return in America as a US Citizen (unless because you are a student, you were below the income threshold, not sure what that is). It sounds like you haven't done that since you've been overseas. If that is the case, then I would work to get all of the former tax returns filed so they are on record when the time comes. Yes, you do need to make 125% of the poverty line (125% is around 18,300 for two people - no kids) in order to sponsor someone, however, you could get a letter from your employer stating your salary, that you have been hired at this rate, etc. I've seen stories from other people on VJ in the same situation as yours that have done that, and they have been fine. You can call them closer to the time and talk to them about your situation and they will tell you if you need a sponsor or not. If it turns out that you do need to get a sponsor, that is an easy process (assuming someone in your family is willing to do that for you). You can also use assets to sponsor if you don't meet the salary threshold. They must be 5X the amount of your salary shortage. So hypothetically, if you needed 18K for the threshold, only had 16K in income, then you would need (2,000 x 5) 10K to avoid getting a sponsor. Or, if you wanted to do the entire thing in assets, then you would need 5x18,300 = 91,500 (that 18.3 is rounded). Not sure what your financial position is, but that is something to keep in mind. If you want to look into that, see this link as I'm pretty sure that is the form that you have to fill out later down the road.

We also decided to go ahead and file the paperwork before we were "officially" engaged just because we wanted to get the ball rolling. And then that takes the pressure off of your soon to be fiance and he can propose to you when the moment is right, without rushing it, just so it's done before you send off your 129.

Sorry for the long reply! I could just completely empathize with your post as I've had all of those thoughts as well. I will say that after spending hours on this site, it made me feel a lot better. I'm not really worried about the income anymore, or details like that, as it sounds like they are pretty understanding and as long as you, show that you have a job, and/or have assets or get a sponsor - you are fine and have nothing to worry about. There are quite a few people who apply from overseas and are in the same boat. Also, when you are looking at timelines, and you see that some have taken a really long time, I always check to see if the got any RFEs (request for more information) as that can really slow things down a couple of months. So, when do you turn in your packet, make sure it is very organized, you read the instructions, and include EVERYTHING! I also look to see how quickly they turned around things as some people wait a month or so before turning some of their packets in which can slow thing down.

Best of luck and congrats on your (soon to be) engagement!

Fantastic. Thanks so much for your help!

Hello,

I am an American citizen but currently live in Australia with my partner (who is Australian). We are looking to move back to the States next year and are getting ready to file for a K-1 Visa. I am currently employed in Australia, as I live here and have limited income in the United States. I do own two apartments there, both of which are rented out and I receive about 10K a year from those. In addition I did a consulting gig last year in the States and received about 12K. Is it going to be a problem that I have limited income in America? I know you have to show proof of income but didn't know how that would work since I live overseas. I have fairly substantial savings, probably around 75K. I own one apartment with a market value of around 80K, with 30K of equity in it and my other apartment is worth about 330K and has about 20K worth of equity in it. Will this help me? Our plan was to move back to the States and I would start looking for a job once we found out when his interview date would be. I have family that will sponsor us and sign the affidavit of support so that could be an option for us. However, I am concerned that they might not approve us (or it will slow down the process) because I don't have any current income in the States.

Also, are there any other issues I need to be aware of about filing from overseas?

Many thanks!