randompan

First, the K-1 visa expired the day she arrived in the US. It is the I-94 expiration date that is important. When the I-94 expires she is out of status which is not a big deal as those days are forgiven when married to a USC. Then I would wait unitl you get the new job as the I-864 does have an income requirement which you do not meet given that you are currently unemployed. You do not have to file a change of address for the I-864 until after the I-864 is approved. All mailing should go to the address you put on the application. I would file the AR-11 on-line and then mail in the I-485 application that way you are covering yourself. Since she wants to travel, I am assuming you are filing for EAD/AP at the same time as the AOS? The fees are waived and they usually take less time to get. If she does go for AP just make certain she does not go over 180 days of being out of status as that would make her inadmisable to re-enter the US and you would have to start all over with the spousal visa. Always send in the electronic notification form so you get electronic notifications just as a back up to the change of address.

Good luck,

Dave

Dave, thanks for the reply. I've been waiting to respond to it until I had a firm idea what our plans were going to be. I ended up actually getting an offer here in town a couple weeks ago, so I'm now employed once again and therefore well-prepared for the affidavit of support (my mother was already planning on being a joint sponsor though, so the finances weren't really going to be an issue either way).

The address matter is still something that needs to be worked out though. We've been house-shopping around town and just decided on a place a few days ago. Assuming that we do come to an agreement with the seller over the course of the next week or so, we will probably be moving towards the end of September. My wife's I-94 is set to expire on September 11th though, so I feel like we really should get the AOS packet off before then. The other consideration is that we want to make sure she got approved for advance parole in time for a New Year's visit home (yes, we were planning on including it in the AOS packet). So, that would then mandate us changing the address via an AR-11 after we did move.

At least from this standpoint, we could still check our mail at the current address even after we move. The only kicker is that the house here is now on the market (we're living with my mother and she's downsizing to a new house this fall). If no one buys it in the next few months, it wouldn't be a problem at all to keep on checking the mail here in case something gets stuffed up in the change of address with USCIS. But if someone does, we'd really need to make sure that everything was updated to our new address.

So I guess the question is: is it better to send things now (and change the address after we move) or not?

If I were you I would submit a package after settling where you expect to be for however long the duration of AOS will be.

Although you can do change of address online and mail AR11, I have read in forums that there are instances where notices are still being mailed to originally provided address on application.

Of course you can file anytime and later file change of the address, but you have to consider the possibility that your case notices may be mailed to your old address.

Thanks for the input. For now I think we are just going to wait a little longer, hopefully until we know for sure where we're going to be. We still have some time before we really need to get everything sent off, and we can always include an I-131 so my wife can get advance parole for a visit home.

Sorry, I meant to post this in the AOS (Green Card) from Family Based Visas section. I accidentally clicked to start a new topic in the wrong tab. Hopefully a moderator can just move it. Anyways, if anyone has any advice, please let me know.

Hi all. My wife and I have just about finished assembling everything for the AOS package and were planning on sending it out last week. I've realized however that there's a bit of a complication. I moved back to the US from Japan in April and had to finish up graduate school, so I have not been employed since the end of March. I just had an interview up in Iowa with a strong potential for a job offer (I'll know by early next week, most likely), and if I get it, we'll probably be moving up there (from Oklahoma) in the next few weeks (the job would start in mid-August). My wife arrived in the country in mid-June (we got married about 10 days later), so her K-1 visa is valid until the middle of September. That gives us a bit of a buffer yet to get the package sent off, but given that she'd like to go back to Japan for a visit around New Year's and USCIS can take 3-5 months to process an AOS, we'd like to get moving on it as soon as possible.

I understand that we would use an AR-11 and I-865 to change our address through USCIS if we filed the AOS ahead of moving. But of course we'd also have to find a place to live up in Iowa before we could actually file for a change of address - something that I'm not sure would be taken care of within 10 days of us leaving Oklahoma. So, which would be the better route to go with? File now and change the address later or wait until we actually move to send off the package? And if we went for the latter, would we still need to file an AR-11?

I'm curious if one can travel to US after obtaining the K-1 visa as a tourist with the intention of returning in 1-2 weeks and using the K-1 at a later date.

I've been wondering the same thing. My fiancee's parents would like to come to the U.S. for a brief visit a couple months or so ahead of the wedding so that they can meet my family, see the venue, etc. If my fiancee were to come with them and enter on the K-1, she'd have to stay in the country from then on, and I don't think her parents would want to fly over without her.

Congrats! My NOA2 just came in as well (also from the Vermont Service Center). I only found out about it through my mother though, who lives at my permanent address back in the US. I confirmed it through the USCIS website after hearing from her. Like you, I did get an email for the NOA1, but not for the NOA2. Strange. . .

Hi, everyone. I'm currently in the middle of the K-1 process for my Japanese fiancee. The NOA2 for the I-129F petition just arrived (approved on Dec. 28th, about 100 days after the NOA1), so I'm now trying to get the remaining materials together for the I-134 affidavit of support. My mother, who resides back in the States, is going to be a co-sponsor, so I'm not really worried about demonstrating sufficient finances. I do, however, have a few questions regarding filling out the form.

I have been living and working in Japan for over eight years in total. I am still currently employed here, but I plan to move back to the US in the spring, with my fiancee then joining me in the summer, following receipt of the visa. My earnings here ($30,000-40,000 a year, according to the yen's exchange rate) definitely well exceed the US poverty line, but I do not as of yet have a job lined up in the States. I'm not sure if that will be an issue, given that 1) my mother is acting as a co-sponsor, and 2) the interview could well be scheduled ahead of my finishing my work contract at the end of March. But is there anything problematic about all recent earnings being from work overseas (despite an intention to marry and live in the US)?

Otherwise, my main questions are as follows:

1) I was planning on submitting copies of my last six paychecks here in Japan, as well as the previous year's tax return to the IRS. Would these generally be sufficient financial evidence? I also have savings in a bank account in the US that I was planning to include on the form. Would I need to include an actual bank statement to document them?

2) Regarding section 1 and the preceding statement on the I-134 form, what address should I use here? My permanent address in the US (registered to my bank and credit card accounts) or my residence here in Japan? And, if I enter the US address there, should I attach a separate document explaining my current residence? I just don't want there to be any confusion, given that my pay stubs will all be in yen and from a Japanese employer.

3) On the sample I-134 form available on this site, "N/A (K-1 visa process for permanent residence)" is given for question 11, with neither box checked. Is this the best way to fill this section out in my case? Should my mother, as co-sponsor, fill hers out the same way?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can offer some advice here.