Lynkali

We weren't expecting anything to happen in this week between Christmas and New Years, assuming everyone at USCIS was taking a break ... but I randomly decided to check our status on the web page this morning, and amazingly, INTERVIEW IS SCHEDULED!
 
Interview scheduled for February 13 in San Diego, notice mailed 12/28 (two days ago). Regular 5-year filer. Even though we signed up for text and email notifications, we didn't get any sort of notification - I just happened to check the site this morning!  Given San Diego is one of the slower offices, I'm quite happy, I was expecting more like April or so. Yay!

We weren't expecting anything to happen in this week between Christmas and New Years, assuming everyone at USCIS was taking a break ... but I randomly decided to check our status on the web page this morning, and amazingly, INTERVIEW IS SCHEDULED!
 
Interview scheduled for February 13 in San Diego, notice mailed 12/28 (two days ago). Regular 5-year filer. Even though we signed up for text and email notifications, we didn't get any sort of notification - I just happened to check the site this morning!  Given San Diego is one of the slower offices, I'm quite happy, I was expecting more like April or so. Yay!

I had the same issue about 12 hours ago (late Monday night) and it wouldn't send the code at all, even by morning it had not sent anything. But I tried just an hour ago and it sent the code right away, as it usually does. I wouldn't worry - I think their 'send code' feature is malfunctioning sometimes, but it does work sometimes! Try again in a few hours, I'd suggest.

Is there a reason every single thread grappling with the proposed changes to Public Charge definition is being locked?
 
These reports are coming from the White House itself, it isn't just speculation, and it is something that will affect many (most) of us, since Health Insurance was not only legal but mandatory.
 
The whole point is that the admin is trying to make this change retroactively, so why is discussing this matter not okay?

Kept tabs on this topic during the day and I'm glad to see it didn't disappoint, since I got through at least three bags of popcorn reading all this.
 
My two cents:
 
It's a basic tenet of law in America (and much of the western world) that you cannot punish someone in the future for actions that were legal and approved of in the past. Given that Obamacare subsidies, TANF/food stamps, even EIC on your income tax returns (yeah, they're going after this... seriously) have never been subject to public charge concerns, I don't think it's possible or probably even legal to retroactively punish those people by holding it against them today. Certainly, this administration can, by executive order alone, redefine 'public charge' so that from this point onwards those programs are included, but retroactively to the past? I doubt it. This would be one sure fire way to be able to challenge this policy in the courts.
 
A second way would be how they plan to consider family members' use of these programs, including US citizen relatives, for public charge considerations of the alien. It's yet another central tenet of law that you cannot punish person X for the actions of person Y. This might be an even stronger argument than the one above about how to challenge such a policy, if it were to be enacted.
 
Fortunately, since Drumpf and his administration are largely incompetent, and he has hacks and white-supremacist-adjacent-people like Stephen Miller coordinating policies like this, it's a virtual certainty that this would be challenged in court. At a minimum, it will be delayed for months, perhaps years, until the Supreme Court eventually rules on it. And by then, if sanity returns and a Democratic (big and small d) president is elected in 2020, they could render the whole thing moot by yet again redefining 'public charge' with the stroke of a pen on day 1.
 
And to re-iterate what was already said, these changes would apply to AoS and immigrant visas only, not naturalisation. To make them apply to naturalisation would require an act of Congress, and there is zero chance of anything like this getting through the Senate; no Democrat would vote for it. That's largely why Trump's trying to use his executive authority to make this change.
 
Additionally, this policy likely wouldn't apply to pending cases. It would instead take effect on some arbitrary date the administration would choose, and so any case filed on or after that date would be bound by these new rules, and cases filed or pending before that date would be bound by the existing rules.
 
It's just the latest example of anti-immigration policies and rhetoric espoused by Trump and his supporters. As I said, with someone like Stephen Miller at the helm, a man who would cut immigration to zero if it were possible, with the use of this chart as his second choice, it's going to be a constant rut of things like this churning through the news over and over and over again until Trump leaves office. Or is, ahem, made to leave office.

Using the federal exchange and state exchanges is legally available to an LPR by law. It's not considered public charge assistance either. So I hope that those posting in this thread realize that there are many currently on this forum who utilize this legally available method (as millions of others in the US do) to obtain health insurance. Their spouse may have had the plan, and then added them (legally) to their plans. This would threaten that, by penalizing immigrants and their families for utilizing something that the federal government told them was legal for them to do so to begin with. Lawsuits will happen, and it will be a fantastic pushback.
 
Nevertheless this subject has been a topic I've been warning about on this forum for several months now, when it first leaked out.

This is all normal: you will never need that CD with your xrays, no one (except you) needs to see it.
For AOS, since you had your vaccination shot AFTER your medical forms were completed, you will need to see a civil surgeon to get your vaccination records transcribed onto the I-693.
To do so, you'll need to provide proof of your prior vaccinations: you should have gotten a copy of the DS-3025 from Knightsbridge, and you will need to take proof (a receipt or something) from Walgreens showing that you got the MMR completed here. The civil surgeon will hand-copy those dates onto the new I-693, give you a sealed packet to submit to USCIS, and hopefully give you a copy of the I-693 for your own records.

150 years ago racist conservatives were Democrats. Today racist conservatives are Republicans. So what? It's the most feeble (and inevitable) of conservative arguments, any time the discussion turns to race.
Most people are familiar with history. Most people know about the Southern Strategy, the Dixiecrats, and Strom Thurmond. You can tell me next that the Republicans were the party of Lincoln. Sure they were. But Lincoln was no conservative, and neither were those Republicans.
It was conservatism that fought to keep slavery in the 19th century. It was conservatism that fought against the expansion of civil rights and voting rights in the 20th century. Whether those conservatives were Democrats or Republicans makes no difference to me. It is what it is, and an argument that ignores that is either uninformed, or purposefully misleading.

Yes she would, and it has happened before.

Are you sure he's telling the truth?

Yep, VWP is fine for visits but you are talking about residency in the USA. If you come to visit friends on the VWP (by the way, it's the VWP you are using, ESTA is just the electronic screening process) then your residency is still your home country. But you cannot become a resident in the USA during that 2-year period without a waiver if you are subject to the 2-year rule. And you most certainly cannot use the VWP as a means to immigrate.

There is no such thing as a backlog at this point. You filed 2 months ago - barely. Official processing times for the I-129F are 5 months. I doubt you have a reason to expedite.
Last year, when my cohort filed, we waited for up to 12 months for approval of the I-129F out of the Texas Service Center. I was lucky escaping after 5.5 months, others waited a year. Just for the I-129F. Actions taken by members of this forum have led to the present situation, where all cases are processed in California and a backlog is history.
Your are due to get your I-129F approval within a month and - if you get all your ducks in a row - your actual visa maybe another 2 months thereafter. Relax.

Today I had my biometric appointment in Boston for removal of conditions on my green card. It's about the fifth time I've had to do it, just another of the apparently mindless hurdles they make us jump through. It's not like my fingerprints have changed since last time, but sure, whatever. My appointment was at 11, so I showed up at 10:45 and found a huge room full of people, all with the same "appointment". It took over two hours to get down the queue to me.

While I was sitting quietly fuming over the inefficiencies of bureaucracies the world over, I had a brief conversation with the bloke next to me. He didn't seem to mind the wait much. I learned that he moved here five years ago, and was proudly on the last leg of the immigration process - naturalization. I learned that he moved here from Iraq. He didn't talk about it, and I didn't ask, but he had what I took to be scars from acid burns all over his face. I learned that he worries about his family back home, for reasons very different to my own.

People want to move to America for all kinds of different reasons. I think we're all running from or to something. Me, I needed desperately to be with the woman I love. But today I got a glance at a real reason for desperation. Maybe I've got it wrong, and he had an accident at the burger flipping job his Iraqi medical degree got him. But his eyes when he talked of home said otherwise.

I worried less about the queue after that. Every single person in front of me has a story.

Your fiancee has a full house, so that complicates things to make this "as fast as possible". I suggest you post about the divorce issue on the Ireland forum for better answers.
Regarding visa shopping, overstays, AOS through visas other than K1... nobody here will advice on the best way to commit fraud.
Mods should close or lock this thread.

Exactly. We had three joint bank accounts, two joint credit card accounts, and four different joint utility bills (cable, electric, water and cell phone). That's 9 different bills. Each monthly bill was at least 2 pages and often 6 pages long. That's 18-40 pages EACH MONTH for 24 months. I did weed out what I thought was completely unnecessary, but since we have seen many reports of RFE requests for "complete" copies of bills, I didn't want to leave out too much. Our stack was 3 inches high and weighed just under 7 pounds. It was extremely well-labeled with tabs at the bottom, punched for ACCO fasteners and cross-referenced with 'see page X' notes. Better safe than sorry, but of course we are still waiting ... so we'll see if we made the right choice or not!

You know that by seeing it. USCIS doesn't know that, they haven't seen it.
Hey, it's your petition packet, you do what you want. I am just relating my recent successful experience with the ROC approval process at CSC.
It helps everyone that uses, or is helped by the forum.
YMMV.
Good luck on your immigration journey.

There are people in the world who do not see childbearing and childrearing the be all end all. Some people do not want children.

I don't see how this is any different then any other couple who divorced.
They have been married over a year, she has her 2 yr gc and can file with a divorce waiver like any other couple.

Just want to clarify what that means to the original poster, since he's new to the whole visa process: if you get married in July (while she is visiting on a 90-day visa waiver) and you file for the CR-1, then she still HAS TO GO BACK to the UK and wait out the process for the visa to complete. That can take a year, but she CAN still visit during that time. She just has to keep returning to the UK, she cannot live and work in the USA until the visa process is over.

She cannot come over on the Visa Waiver Program (I assume that's what you mean by "vacation visa") nor any other visitor's visa with the intent to stay. That is immigration fraud. Your lawyer was absolutely right about that.
If you file the K-1, she HAS to interview at the consulate in her own country (in London for the UK). The process requires her to do a medical exam in London and an interview at the consulate there. Those things CANNOT be done from within the USA.
She CAN visit you during the K-1 process while it is pending, but she HAS to return to the UK for the final stages of getting the actual visa. After she gets the K-1 visa, THEN she enters the USA to stay.
She cannot get a job in the USA until long after she enters on the K-1 visa (3 months at the earliest). She enters on K-1, you get married, she stays in the USA but does not work, you file for adjustment of status, and after 2-3 months she gets her employment authorization and can start a job here.
Other people can advise you more on time frames; our K-1 in 2012 took almost a year to complete, but they're moving much faster these days so it may only be 3-4 months.
You may wish to consider marrying in the UK and then filing for a CR-1 visa instead, which takes much longer to complete but gives her a greencard and the right to work the moment she enters the USA. Take a look at the guides here on VisaJourney: http://www.visajourney.com/content/compare
You should not need a lawyer, most people do not. Lawyers can slow the process down, and if neither of you has any criminal history or previous immigration overstays, then the process is very straightforward.

I like HFM's solution conditions and all, but I cannot help but feel that the OP's reason for wanting an alternative solution was because his wife, who had a valid visitor visa, entered and overstayed. Essentially he is saying please forgive us for breaking the law and let her come back in, we won't break the law again I swear. This in and of itself already falls into one of HFM's clauses, where when they overstay their visa is revoked, never to be issued again, and their IR1/CR1 receives a 6month obey the laws next time penalty. His wife had no problem coming and going until she broke the law.

Hello again VJers,
Our i130 got approved yesterday without an interview!
After the transfer to the CSC, and another 3.5mo withou hearing anything more, I decided to enlist our local congresswoman's office to try and find out anything about the case earlier this month.
I'm pretty convinced that is what moved things along to the finish line. Next step, we will try and ask the IJ to close the case without us coming back to court again in March. 50-50 whether the judge would get to our written request before said court date. If not, we ask for closure on that date so we can go ahead and file adjustment of status.
Again, I hope this thread helps someone who is in the same boat

It's extremely likely that when he gets the K-1 visa, his tourist visa will be cancelled. He won't be able to re-enter the USA if he leaves before getting Advanced Parole, which takes about 3 months after your wedding in the USA. Really, it is dangerous to do what you're planning -- the likelihood that he would be refused entry after your religious ceremony in Mexico is extremely high, and you would have to start all over and file for the CR-1, which is a much longer process right now than the K-1.
Wait a few extra months: get married in the USA, file for his travel documents after that marriage, they'll arrive 2-3 months later, and THEN you can travel freely and have whatever ceremony you like. What is a few months' wait in this whole process? Much better than the chance of having to start all over again and wasting an entire year or more!

The other possibility is to pack your laptop in your checked baggage. I did that often, both on international and domestic flights, because I wanted a laptop later but didn't need to carry it on the airplane with me. If it's in your checked luggage, it's fine -- it doesn't need a battery or need to be turned on.

The other possibility is to pack your laptop in your checked baggage. I did that often, both on international and domestic flights, because I wanted a laptop later but didn't need to carry it on the airplane with me. If it's in your checked luggage, it's fine -- it doesn't need a battery or need to be turned on.