MrsB2012

I've been searching on here for a thread to confirm what I believe to be correct, but would like to get some feedback.

My co-worker's fiance has been coming to visit her on a B-2 visa (actually from a VWP country) and staying for very long visits then returning home and then coming back again. He's basically been living in the US and CBP seems to have caught onto this. During his last entry to the US in January, he was taken aside and grilled with questions by CBP (to be honest, I'm surprised they allowed him entry). At the end of the interrogation, he was told that they've flagged him and he can't adjust status. They did not stamp is passport or write anywhere "NO AOS".

I have advised my co-worker that I think it would be in their best interest to get married and start the process for a spousal visa instead of trying to adjust status. If her fiance applies for AOS, can USCIS deny him based on CBP stating No AOS in their system? I've been getting conflicting information...

Thanks for your thoughts...

Well actually had she still married her petitioner it doesn't matter that it was outside the 90 days. It would only mean that they would also need to file the I-130 as they couldn't AOS based off the approved I-129F. As she didn't marry her petitioner of course this is all moot. She should have left, as she was previously advised, long ago.

Thanks, you're correct, I should have been more specific in my response!

I would be interested to see what a lawyer could do to help in this situation. You entered the US on a K-1 visa and were supposed to marry the petitioner within 90 days. When you didn't marry the petitioner before the 90 days were up, you needed to leave the US. You are not allowed to file for AOS and I'm nearly positive that you'll need to leave the US. Seeing as you have more than 180 days of overstay, you're going to incur a ban once you leave the US. You can file for a marriage visa from abroad and file a waiver for the overstay if you can prove that it's a hardship for your spouse to have you living abroad.

I'm not sure how difficult the process is to get approved for a marriage visa, but as an outsider looking in, I have to say that your case sounds a little fishy to me based on the fact that you had someone petition you for a K-1, he went to jail and you married his brother? Maybe everything about this is genuine, but common sense makes it hard to believe.

You know I might have said tourist visa, not sure why...must have been on my mind. He came in on VWP :/

Not to alarm you further, but the fact that he entered via VWP and then filed for AOS is a big difference from him entering under a Tourist visa and filing for AOS. If your husband is denied AOS and he's adjusting from VWP, you will not be allowed to appeal the decision or re-file for AOS. If your AOS is denied, he will have to leave the US and you will need to file for a spouse visa. Also, if he has overstay, there is a chance he could incur a ban once he leaves the US.

I hope that you get some more information about your case status via the infopass appointment. From what you've mentioned here, it looks like they will likely deny him based on the fact that he abandoned his AOS by leaving the country. Keep us posted on what happens and Good Luck!

I might have missed a post that states this, but your husband is from England, did he enter the US under a TOURIST visa or via VWP (Visa Waiver Program) when you decided to get married and file for AOS?

Now the I-485 has changed from "Card/Document Production" back to "Decision" and the I-130 says, "Post Decision Activity" (the I-130 has now been approved.)

I want to be relieved, but I'm worried about the change on the I-485 - is that normal?

Yes, it is normal, same exact thing happened to us.

Sounds that way! It took a few days after the I-485 being approved for the I-130 to show as approved. Congrats!!!

Yep, it's the discretion of the border agent whether he wants to admit your fiance into the US. Typically they want to see that you're spending more time outside of the US than inside of the US. The fact that he was just here and stayed the full 6 months and is returning again so soon might raise an eyebrow...

Hey Jedfe, my husband is also from DK. I'm sorry to hear that you guys had such a rough time at your interview. Hopefully once you get the proper divorce documents submitted, you'll get the approval. I understand your anxiety as the whole VWP no appeal rule was always stuck in the back of my mind throughout our process. I was also married once before but the officer never asked anything about my divorce or to see my original paperwork. I guess it just depends on the officer and what they personally want to nitpick about. I'll cross my fingers for you guys, keep us posted!!

You didn't state what country your wife is from. By any chance is your wife a citizen of any of the VWP (visa waiver program) countries? If you're not sure, look online. If she IS from a VWP country, it could make things a lot easier.

If I were you, I would find a better lawyer. There's a number of problems you're going to run into trying to adjust status. First of all, you may not be eligible to adjust based on the fact that you've been working in the US illegally. Have you read the guidelines for adjusting status?

Senior members can chime in here, but I believe that once you're in removal proceedings and you file for AOS, you must submit the I-130 to USCIS and the I-485 must go before the Immigration court/judge. It is the court that determines whether you can adjust status. You'll need to provide a lot of documentation and I believe a waiver.

And while your marriage might very well be in good faith, it's going to be pretty tough trying to convince a judge that that is the case, especially considering that you got married AFTER you were already in removal proceedings. Again, find a better attorney.

Ignore the first reply. Harpa is correct. AOS is Adjustment of Status for people already inside the US who plan to remain and reside within the US. Seeing as you currently reside outside of the US and have no intentions of living in the US, AOS is not the proper route. Your wife will need to apply for a tourist visa. I would give the tourist visa a shot. Just bring plenty of evidence to show that your wife has strong ties to her country. Good luck!

Just to clarify, one of you is a US Citizen, correct? One of the posts above made it seem like both of you are here on visas.

You can file AOS as soon as you have all the paperwork together. We filed 13 days after getting married and we worked our butts off to get everything organized and in order. We also had to wait on the "official" marriage license, meaning the one that is recorded and stamped by the country clerk. I'm surprised you were able to obtain this on the same day. The petitioner will also need to complete the physical exam. Try to include any and all solid evidence that you can. Do you have documentation of your ongoing relationship prior to marriage? If so, include it. Include everything you can after marriage that shows joint assets. You can work on gathering more info to bring to your interview over the next few months, but try to send as much as possible from the get go.

I thought I would share our interview experience yesterday as it might be helpful to others with a similar background or situation. First, thank you to everyone on this site for your candid and helpful insight and guidance. I'm grateful that I found this forum early on in our process.

Quick Background-

Husband and I met in May 2009, randomly in a bar. He was living and working in the US on an L1-A visa. Shortly after we met, he lost his job and had to return to Denmark as an L1-A visa is not transferable to another company. For three years we traveled back and forth from Los Angeles to Copenhagen to visit each other. I think I visited him in Europe close to 10 times. He visited me in the US a number of times under VWP.

In June 2012 he came to visit me in the US for 3 weeks to attend my brother's wedding. Long story short, when the 3 weeks was up, neither of us could fathom saying goodbye to one another yet again. He extended his ticket an additional 2 weeks, then once that was up, he decided to stay and give up his job in Denmark. We got married in September and filed for AOS two weeks after getting married (he became out of status one week prior to us filing).

We were nervous about filing for AOS from VWP because we read some things on line that scared the living s*** out of us, however, in the end it wasn't an issue at all.

Interview-

Our interview was in the San Fernando Valley office. We submitted tons of proof to document our ongoing relationship prior to marriage and everything we had in the short time between getting married and filing for AOS. I brought all the documentation that was asked for on the interview notice plus extra. For whatever reason, my stomach was in knots all day yesterday. I had read so many different experiences on here that I had an idea of what to expect but in reality you never know how things will go until you're actually there.

We waited for about 1 hour until we were brought back. It was late on Friday afternoon and we were the only ones left in the waiting room. We were not asked to swear in. Our officer was young, really laid back and easy going. He told us to sit down and asked to see any documentation showing joint assets and photos. We gave him our joint bank acct statements, joint mobile phone statements, car insurance, health insurance + print out of claims for both of us and life insurance. I also provided him with my last 3 months of paycheck stubs & work contract, which I had also included in our original application. The only thing he really paid much attention to were my paycheck stubs and he commented about how fortunate I am to work for the company that I work for (he has friends that work there as well). He asked if our lease statement was included with the stack of documents I handed him and I said no, that we currently live with my parents. He asked how long we've lived with them and if we lived together prior to marriage (yes). He also asked us to tell him about our wedding & reception. He punched holes in everything to add to our file and didn't give it much notice. He asked for our ids so he could make photo copies and he took the i-94 that was attached to my husband's passport from when he entered the US in Jan under advanced parole. He did not ask to see originals of our marriage license or birth certificates. I also gave him print outs of itineraries from recent trips we have taken together to Denmark, Mammoth, New York and an upcoming ski trip to Wyoming. He actually looked at the itineraries, which were about the only thing he really even bothered reading. At the end I remembered to ask him if he wanted our 2012 tax return and he said that would be great if we had it. He asked how me met. He asked if this was a first marriage for both of us and I said it was my second. He did not ask anything about my first marriage. He asked my husband if he had ever been arrested here or in any other country (no), if he had ever received any sort of ticket (no) and that was it. Pretty much the rest of the interview consisted of he and my husband talking about motorcycles and him telling us about the case that he had right before us that involved 2 hours of interrogation, which ended in the couple finally admitting their marriage was a sham. He said that he was happy to end the day with an "easy" case. He also started telling us about things that trigger red flags and told us that about 30% of cases are fraud.

The interview was a breeze and once we were in there I actually felt at ease. I could sense from the get go that everything was going to be fine. At the end he gave us a print out of the approval notice and explained the ROC procedures. We shook hands and that was it. When we got to the car I already had a text message that notified us that his card was in production. The officer never asked or questioned anything regarding the VWP entry, which is something that worried me. Pretty much everything that I fretted over and felt could come up, never did. All in all it was a very positive experience. We feel very relieved to be able to put this behind us and now we can concern ourselves with much more fun things

Good luck to everyone else with an upcoming interview!

You will need your most recent pay check stubs. I think the interview notice asks for the past 2 months. We had our interview yesterday and the officer did want recent check stubs. He also took my work contract, that I had submitted with our initial packet. The paycheck stubs were one of the only things he actually paid much attention to. Also, bring your 2012 joint tax return.

Good luck!

We had our interview today... Approved on the spot! Doing the happy dance and already have a bottle of wine cracked open to celebrate

Thanks to all the candid feedback and advice on here!

Our interview is tomorrow! Yikes, feeling a little nervous but looking forward to getting it over with! Praying that it goes smoothly!

Thanks for the reply. I hope that you guys hear something soon about next steps. I'm crossing fingers and toes and praying that our interview goes smoothly. I guess there's really no way to know or predict until you're actually there. I am a little concerned that our interview is 2 days away and my husband can't locate his original birth certificate. After his father mailed it to us, he took it and put it in a "safe place" so "it wouldn't get lost" and now he can't remember where that safe place is. Lovely. Keep us updated when you hear something from USCIS!

This makes me nervous. We have our interview on Friday and my husband is also adjusting from VWP (he's from Denmark). Can you please elaborate on what types of questions you were asked? What kind of proof did you submit in your AOS application packet and what did you bring with to the interview? Also, where are you located/which USCIS office did you have to go to?

Our case went into the Testing & Interview Stage around Dec 1st and we received the letter notifying us of our interview around mid-February. Our interview is on Friday. You might get your interview sooner. Check the wait times at your local office to get a better idea.

You just sent in your application on January 19th. Be patient. We sent ours in on Sept 29th and we're finally going for our interview on Friday. So our process has taken just under 6 months. Obviously some people experience shorter wait times, others longer, I'm not sure there's any way to really know how long yours will take. Try checking the current average wait times for your local office. EAD/AP will probably be approved soon though. Hope you won't have to take leave!

Wow your whole process was really quick!!! Congrats

Wow your whole process was really quick!!! Congrats

We must be the only ones left as September filers who have not received any info re. interview, etc.

If I were you, I would call USCIS to see what the heck is going on. Are you able to check case status online? Make sure that you weren't sent an interview letter and somehow didn't receive it. Not sure if you're outside of the normal wait period, but I would definitely make call to check up on things. If you have to, ask to be transferred to a tier 2 officer.

I had my interview today, and got approved.

The whole process took about 9 weeks too! Only 2.5 months. I know of people who have been waiting forever! I am not on a k1 visa, but it was still super fast.

Wow, that was very fast! Congrats on getting approved! We filed the very end of Sept and have our interview next week. I think it sometimes depends on where your local office is. Ours is Los Angeles (San Fernando), which seems to be pretty slow.

It seems everyone in September got their GC, we didn't get interview date or anything yet. I'm starting to worry

I would strongly advise you to call USCIS to find out what's going on. You should have received a letter by now regarding your interview. Where's your local office? We filed AOS on Sept 28th and received EAD/AP on Dec 12th. Our interview is scheduled for March 15th and we were NOT K-1 filers. Sometimes K-1 AOS filers don't have to go to an interview, maybe this has happened to you, or perhaps a interview letter was sent and you didn't receive it. Just call right away to get some clarification.