Mel and Rudy

Just to add, I am currently employed by the state for an admin position and I have an idea how the processing works.

They scan all documents into a web software and typically every employee has a quota they have to meet per day both for approving and for flagging as insufficient evidence.

We call approving 'clicking through' as we literally click our way through tens of pages of documents.

We are not allowed to look at subjective evidence at all so photographs and affidavits have little value.

We also do not have the time or liberty to sit and discuss the merits of each individual case and if a case doesn't have the required weightage of proof, they are simply sent for review to higher-ups. Nobody is emotional about disapproving a case as we rather be cautious than approve a faulty case.

Basically, I know for a fact that if I was working at USCIS and I was looking at my own ROC package, I would be forced to disapprove my own application.

We are stressed out enough already trying to make ends meet and this whole documentation thing is now starting to weigh on me.

Hello everyone,

I got my conditional green card August, 2013 from K-1. Our marriage was almost a year ago. Nov, 2012.

We are expected to file for ROC in May, 2015.

Here are the details. When I came to the U.S on a K-1 we rented an apartment but only my wife was on the lease. They would NOT allow me to get on the lease for whatever reason. There are NO utility bills addressed to either of is. They were made to the landlord.

After 3 months, (In Feb) I had to go back to India to complete school. I was in India for 4 months and I returned in May. During this time my wife got laid off.

We live in the tri-state area and it's criminally expensive here to rent an apartment. A 1 bedroom apartment in a very average development will cost at least $1,500 a month after utilities.

I have been here 6 months now and I have realized we will not be able to rent an apartment of our own for some time.

Most young people live in shared accommodations around here for the same reason. We currently live in a room that we rented in a house and before this we used to live in another room a few miles from here. They will NOT put both our names on the lease document unless we pay double or close to double the rent. That's how it works here I have inquired in a lot of places. In fact we are not even allowed to live 2 people in the same room but because people with jobs are hard to come by, the landlord simply overlooks the fact that there are two of us.

We cannot leave the tri-state area and find a more affordable place as her parents are getting old and she visits them everyday. She's been unemployed for 9 months now and she needs something to do when I'm at work.

I don't own a car, have no car insurance or health insurance either as we simply can NOT afford it. She is on her parents car and health insurance.

Once her unemployment runs out, we will be living solely off of my income and I make very little. I am a fresh grad with no experience and they know they have us by the lobes.

Here's what we currently have and will have

Joint-account to which MY paycheck is deposited. She doesn't have a job.

We will be filing taxes together this year (2013) and next year (2014).

Since Obamacare is going into effect, health insurance is compulsory so we'll be getting it jointly effective Jan 1, 2014.

We have tons of pics. We travel a lot locally almost every week to beaches and zoos but no flights.

We have some friends here but not the types that would send stupid greeting cards every holiday.

I find that requirement ludicrous.

In my entire life, I have probably sent a handful of greeting cards and they were all invariably for birthdays.

I could pointedly ask some friends to send us cards.

EVERYTHING they seem to want has to do with money. It's not our fault that the economy is so messed up that two educated hardworking individuals are unable to keep a roof over their heads.

Also one thing I forgot to mention is, due to our literally make-shift living situation, both of us use her parents home address for our official documents. We have never lived with her parents though and we would NOT live there in the future either.

Can anyone help us with this situation? (Donations towards a new apartment will be most welcome )

November filer here. Don't bother with the service requests. You will get the GC when you get it.

Check the immigration timelines if you want something to do while you wait. I check it everyday and feel happy for all the people that got their GCs.

Currently I see a lot of Dec filers getting approved, fewer Nov filers. So maybe you'll be approved in the next few weeks?

Hang in there.

I don't understand where some people get their attitudes from. Maybe moving to a new country makes them stressed out?

People are here to ask for help. If you have something to say that is not going to be helpful, at least have the good grace to be courteous about it.

You could get a re-entry permit and stay out for up to 2 years if I am not wrong. You would have to come back to file for removal of conditions 3 months or so before the expiry of the conditional GC or you basically start from scratch. Check on the specifics.

Yes, GC is for living in the U.S. but tons of people get re-entry permits and leave for extended periods. The period you are away won't count towards your citizenship requirement though.

It's different with the Canadian permanent residency. From what I heard, the Canadian residency is a matter of right as opposed to the US GC which is a privilege that can be withdrawn at INS's all merciful discretion.

As far as I know the New Delhi embassy allows DCF. You could get married, live together to fulfill the residency criteria and then file. I think the minimum is 4 months, I am not sure.

But at any cost, you would need a lot more evidence this time around unless you don't mind risking another denial. For starters, you could visit his family. Or have them come down to see you. You can include affidavits from his parents and yours, too.

If you're doing DCF, you have to find a co-sponsor unless your job in the States will wait for you.

I am sorry you were denied. I have heard of a lot of couples getting rejected at the New Delhi embassy especially if they're interracial.

You should have tried the Mumbai one if that was an option.

From what I can tell, the decisions are already made before they interview you. In my own case, I had a ton of evidence and the lady didn't bother looking at any of it. She asked me to sign some papers, there was some unrelated chitchat regarding work life in India and we were done.

One more thing. In my opinion, just one meeting is NOT enough. The process is expensive and you cannot afford to think about money. My wife and I probably spent over $20,000 between us just to make sure we had enough evidence before the K-1 interview and we've spent at least another $20,000 since.

She would take off work (which was extremely difficult) and I would take off school so we could meet every few months.

We had met thrice in India and once in Thailand by the time I was at the interview and I had included the boarding passes, hotel receipts, pictures with family and more in the evidence.

You can get married and go the CR-1 route but you WILL need more evidence. Spend time together. If you can live with him, do it. If you can't right now, at least add 2 more meetings in addition to this one by the time you're at the interview again.

Interview in Iraq won't be easy either as far as I know as MENA counties have higher scrutiny.

If you're heading back to the States right away, try your senator and congressman.

I know it sucks to be denied. As if we owe anyone proof for how we feel for another person but it's not over. It will take time but if you're both really determined, you can do it.

All the best

Jeez. Stuck out for three years and then dumped ya eh? Tough luck.

There's nothing you can do about her now. Even if you hadn't filed for ROC, she would still most probably get to stay and you'd still be on the hook.

You can sponsor again so long as you meet the income requirements but now she will be considered a dependent.

I have had similar issues. Three prospective employers terminated all communications with me as soon as I told them I had an EAD with an expiry date.

It is illegal to discriminate on those grounds and I am planning to change my strategy now.

I just substituted 'Authorized to work in the U.S.' with 'Permanently authorized to work in the U.S.' in my resume. It would not constitute misrepresentation as I can always renew my EAD until the mandatory approval of my I-485 application marriage subsisting.

Only desperate employers for labor-intensive and minimum and near-minimum wage jobs seem to be ready to hire work-authorized individuals. NJ has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and that could be playing a part, too.

I suggest you refrain from explicitly revealing that you do not yet possess a green card in those words.

Most online job applications for unskilled jobs require the SSN. Unless the employer is someone you know personally, I doubt they would hire you before your documents are ready.

In fact, employers are even reluctant to give you qualified jobs when you don't yet have a green card even though it's illegal to discriminate based on work authorization type.

I have been abruptly turned away by 3 employers as soon as I told them I had no green card even though they seemed very interested in me until that point.

If you haven't even started the K-1 process and he's already feeling jittery, I honestly suggest you wait till he takes the initiative himself.

It takes an impossible amount of patience and perseverance to go through with the whole thing which consists of multiple stages each seemingly more daunting than the other and it is only possible if you guys are nothing less than absolutely committed and cannot imagine a life without each other.

There have been days when I've asked my wife if she'll move to India and the thought is still at the back of my head. I finally got my SSN and driver's permit and I have started looking for jobs.

For a year or two as an immigrant fresh off the boat, I know I may not get a job as good as one I would have gotten back home and so in the short term it takes a lot of sacrifice on the part of the party that is moving and that inevitably takes a toll on the relationship no matter how strong it is.

Oh and I highly recommend, you spend more time together before deciding to file. In my opinion, the 5 year relationship notwithstanding, a month and a half of live-in time is still a bit less.

Good luck.

Oh, I forgot the most important point.

If you leave before your AP is approved/dispatched, your application is deemed abandoned.

You will start over with a CR1 spousal visa. It's similar to K1 but I think it takes a little bit longer but on the brighter side, you get the green card within weeks after entering the US without having to make another I-485.

But if your wife wanted to stay with you in Australia during the waiting period and she had to quit her job for that and you didn't have co-sponsors then the affidavit of support would be a problem.

There's another method called Direct Consular Filing. If you lived together for a certain period of time (4 months for my consul) and your consulate is a participating member to this visa class AND of course you can furnish a valid affidavit of support, you could cut down the time to less than half. (4-6 week processing time in my case plus the 4 month live-in period to a total of less than 6 months)

I did all this research over 2 years ago so my memory is really sketchy and procedures may have changed, too. Kindly check everything yourself.

The AP takes 60 days on average to be delivered to your house. Check the timelines for AP. You can even narrow the results based on current average turnaround time.

I was in a similar situation this January. I had to leave real bad and I didn't have my AP. I called up USCIS, expedited the process and even set up an Infopass appointment but luckily I got it the very next day.

Ironically, I got news that they were expediting my AP AFTER I got my AP which means they're really not that coordinated intra se. Mine took 63 days for approval and 70 days to receive after the NOA date.

If you get news that your AP is approved and has been dispatched, you can risk leaving on the hopes that when the wife mails you the AP, you will get it. They are gonna take your I-94 on departure so they know when you leave.

If you wanna go the CR1 route, be ready for another year of paperwork and waiting. It's hell and I wouldn't do it for a million dollars. All the best.

Also, even with an AP, 6 months might be a bit of a stretch. If you get called in for an interview, you should be able to fly back and attend. There's a few horror stories about trying to postpone the interview and having ones application rejected for no show.

Look up the matter.

I have been out for 3 months now and I am heading back to Uncle Sam the day after. I have a whole bunch of evidence with me in case those burly immigration guys are not in a good mood and wanna give me a tough time for being absent for a lengthy period. Luckily, my center was Newark, NJ and they almost never have interviews for K1 entrants and also there seems to be a massive backlog of applications from Newark so I didn't have to fly back for an interview. (I was prepared to do it though!)

Lastly, if you try to expedite it, the call center lady will ask you if you have a medical emergency bla bla and if you say no, she will decline to expedite it. You gotta be a little pushy in case it's not medical. Worked for me.

I just waited for it to come. Who wants to mess with USCIS after all this, right?

Mange Tak!

The same FedEx that delivers to Denmark delivers to India so mail safety isn't the issue.

I was concerned about USCIS having a problem with my departure and assuming that I abandoned the petition.

So I need not worry about USCIS at all?

I am adjusting my status. Arrived on K-1. My advance parole got approved on the 25th of Jan.

I am in a terrible hurry and I want to leave.

Can I leave now that it is approved and have the wife mail it to me?

I know that they do not ask for it while you are leaving the country.

My Case Status for AP says, post-decision activity. They have just sent me the letter of approval. It might take another week to get it. But I really need to leave.

To leave or not to leave?

Thank you both for your replies. The problem was the address proof documents. My husband prepared the documents again and reapplied with the help of an agent. He just got his passport today. Now he needs to get the police clearance certificate.

I had a Bangalore passport and I got my Police Clearance Certificate from Pune as I had been living there for 6 years.

I tried to get one on my own but it was hell and I finally went through a passport agent.

If you need an agent, try the one adjacent to the passport office, in front of Baba food mall. If you're in a real hurry to get the PCC, you can message me. I spent a good part of 2 months to get the dreaded PCC.

All the best.

Both the BC and the affidavit are in English.

It's really confusing when the consulate accepts from evidence and issues you a visa but the same evidence is not accepted by Homeland Security.

They really need to coordinate with each other so they know what is required instead of making people run around.

I wanted to know if they issued an RFE would they still approve my Advance Parole application?

Cause in that case I could go back and fetch the document myself. It would be really difficult to get it done sitting 8,000 miles away!

When I went to the interview for the K-1 visa, I had to produce a birth certificate for the grant of the K-1 visa.

The instructions were that if there were any discrepancies in the birth certificate, we had to submit a sworn affidavit from a close relative vouching for all the details along with the BC which I did and my visa was granted.

Applying for AOS now and I'd like to know if it will suffice to just submit the same sworn affidavit in original along with the birth certificate?

My BC only has my given name and even that is misspelt.

I was born in India and it is next to impossible to get official documents corrected in a short amount of time and attempting to get one might prove very costly in terms of time and money if not futile.

What can I do?!

I found a civil surgeon who would do just the vaccinations.

I got a Titer test done to check for antibodies in the blood so I wouldn't need to take the vaccinations again.

He charged me $165 for the Titer test and the I-693. I got a sealed envelope for the AOS and one envelope for myself.

The turn around time was 2 days so I guess overall it's better than getting a full medicals again for $400.

I called up the hospital in India but they said I will not be handed over anything.

In any case I intend to include a letter in the AOS package stating that my medicals are already completed and that the forms are in the packet and that I am including an I-693 anyway transcribed by an American civil surgeon.

Thanks for your replies!

If anybody would like to know the name of the civil surgeon, it is Dr. Raafat Ghobraiel and his office is in East Brunswick, NJ.

I'm a K-1 applicant. We're about to file for AOS. We have everything but the I-693, vaccination supplement.

All my medicals and vaccinations are already done overseas by the panel physicians chosen by the Consulate but I was not handed a DS-3025 by the physician even after enquiry.

My medical and vaccination records were in the brown visa packet which I handed to the immigration officials at the POE and I was not given anything by them either apart from my passport with the I-94.

I looked up the USCIS website which says K-1 applicants who got their medicals done overseas need only fill Part-I and then Page 4 of the I-693 form which is to do with the vaccinations. (Vaccination supplement)

We're filing from New Jersey.

Now the problem is none of the civil surgeons here are ready to do just the vaccinations alone but they want us to get the entire medicals done again at a ridiculous price. (Cheapest was $400 with a 1 week wait for the results!)

When I say I only want the vaccination supplement, the receptionist tells me, and I quote "You don't know what you are talking about"

We think this is highly unethical and unfair and absolutely do not want to shell out so much money on a procedure that we have already completed.

Is there anyone here who knows a civil surgeon in New Jersey who will do just the vaccination supplement part without charging us an arm and a leg?

We have everything ready and this highly confounding part of the process has been holding us back for a few days now!

If some body can help us out here, we'd be really grateful!

Bribing is bad bla bla file a complaint with the authorities bla bla.

This is India. If you want your work done, pay them. If you wanna risk your hair turning gray, do the bla bla.

I spent upwards of 15,000 INR for my PCC which I believe I have a fundamental right to get since I have no criminal record, current or past of any sort.

Yet I had to pay. I had to pay 'charges and fees' not bribes. Well, what the hell!

Then I remembered the story about the self-righteous man who lost his entire career in the US because he declined to bribe the officials at Bangalore University to get a duplicate of his degree certificate.

He never got the certificate. He took a different job and eventually returned to India. Good man.

But no, not me, I ain't pretending to be him who is going to set everything right. I got only so much fight and I don't wanna be crying at my own plight.

If you have read the book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, you will need no introduction to the concept. The Earth is being destroyed for a hyperspace route by an alien race called the Vogons and when puny Earthlings feebly protest, they are told that the notice of demolition had been put up in the local affairs office at the Alpha Star System for 50 of Earth years and if they can not be bothered to check with local affairs, it's their lookout. The Vogon ends with "I don't know, apathetic bloody planet, I have no sympathy at all!"

That's how the Indian legal system works. Ask me.

My passport was issued in Bangalore. Tatkal, no adverse report.

I reside in Pune.

I got my PCC from Pune. It included a letter from the commissioner and a stamp at the back of my passport from the Pune RPO saying I am cleared for entry into the US.

It took 1.5 months and a lot of 'charges and fees' to get the work done.

Get the PCC from the place you have resided in for the last 6 months. Make sure you used this place as your current residence location in all your forms submitted to the consul. They want a PCC from the place you have been resident in for the last 6 months

Congratulations on your success. Praying my fiance has similar good fortune this Tuesday!

Do you happen to remember what questions were asked? We're reviewing our last bits of evidence and such. After 2.5 years together we're pretty confident, but reading some of the reviews, especially regarding interracial engagements and K-1 visa, had gotten us a bit nervous.

Thanks and Enjoy,

Erik

She asked me about how the courtship progressed apart from all the regular questions like name and how we met and how long we've been together.

I can not stress this enough as this is what worked in my case despite of all the red flags, be yourself, be honest, tell them what you've been through and why you need this visa so bad and I don't think they should deny the visa if your case is genuine.

Contrary to what I used to think they're human and they understand human emotions.

All the best

Our K-1 petition got approved!

I have no words to describe how I am feeling after successfully completing this hellish journey!

Many thanks to the CO who approved us. I know nothing about her but I pray the universe will keep her happy! She said among all the applicants I was the only person who convinced her 100%!

Some details.

Petitioner: Female, age 33 years old, white, never married, no kids.

Applicant: Indian, 24 years old, never married.

Met online. 20 months ago. Petitioner was present outside the consulate but the CO said it is not necessary to talk to her. Including present meeting, we have met 4 times each time for 7 days.

CO did not look at ANY of the evidence. She was busy with her paper work while I speed-talked for 10 mins (Proly due to my nervousness, I was nerve-wrackingly nervous!)

She was a very sweet woman in her forties. She also approved my friend who is also a K-1 interracial case although his engagement photos were put under the scanner. (No age difference with him and they met at work not online)

2 other girls who looked like CR1 cases were also approved judging by the smiles on their faces. One girl was proly put on AP cause she looked distraught. Another older guy was distraught too so I guess he was either AP or denied.

My advice to other K-1 applicants, try not to bullshit the CO. They seem to know what they are doing and they seem to appreciate honesty. Be honest and give out all information even if you think it might go against you. I did. My parents are not happy with our marriage and I disclosed the same to the CO and we haven't held an engagement ceremony either.

I also revealed other information which I would think would have gone against me but in the end the CO was completely satisfied.

They interview hundreds of people every week and they really don't wanna mess with you for the heck of it.

All the best to everybody else out there patiently waiting for the interviews!

Live long and prosper!