SweetSimplicity

so we actually went today to try to get the marriage certificate but apparently they only issue the license the same day, you have to wait about 5 to 6 weeks for the marriage certificate

from what I understand you need the actual marriage certificate to be able to apply for adjustment of status... the marriage license is only a permit allowing you to get married

also we tried contacting the embassy as well as the consulate but were not able to reach anyone...

I think we're out of choices here...does anyone know if a certificate certified by religious authority would be acceptable along with a copy of the marriage license or do you really need the marriage certificate?..

She's says shes leaving in a couple of days... were both really disheartened at the idea of having to restart the hole immigration process that took us 1.5 years to complete...

I am so sorry you are in this situation, and I wish you the best of luck. But I'd really exhaust the whole "contact the consulate/embassy to reissue the K-1 visa" idea before sending off an AOS packet. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but to go from K-1 to AOS (pending) you need to get married. Some things to consider:

• *Do you have a marriage certificate yet? Many places in the US require a 3 day grace period before a certificate of marriage is valid. I.e., before a civil marriage can take place, or a priest/judge/whatever can sign it. Check if your state has a wait-period. Even if you get the certificate on Thursday (tomorrow your courthouse will almost certainly be closed for New Years), you may have to wait until a few days later to actually get married. However do you live close to a border? In my own state, for example (Florida), this 3-day wait period applies to Florida residents, but people traveling from outside Florida are exempt. Maybe you can travel to a nearby state to avoid a wait-period.

• *You need to have quite a bit of forms, papers, birth certificates, records, and proof of a bona fide marriage to send with your AOS. Hopefully you have those handy, since you're on a K-1 visa anyway so you knew you'd be adjusting status (though you probably didn't expect to do it this quickly, unfortunately ). But if you don't have them ready, you'll need time to gather them.

• *We sent our packet December 26th, and haven't received any response yet that they've even received it. This is normal, and the holidays season probably exacerbates wait times. Unless I don't understand K-1 visas correctly (very possible), you'll send an I-130 and I-485 concurrently, which means you'll send it in to the same place as us (the Chicago lockbox), so you're already behind 5 or 6 days worth of petitions, minimum. So maybe January 8th at the earliest they'll get to you, if you have all the documents ready and send your packet in tomorrow.

• *Add on top of that an infopass appointment, and/or a trip to the local USCIS field office, and you add a couple days more wait time. On top of the fact that you're crossing your fingers that they'll grant you an emergency AP in the first place (which admittedly sounds like something you deserve, and is worth a shot).

I want this to work for you. Based on the advice of others, it seems like contacting the consulate/embassy that issued the original visa is your best bet. However in the interim you can stay busy by getting a certificate of marriage (but don't actually get married until you hear from the embassy), and also you can gather and fill out all the forms/documents/records you need for your AOS packet. That way if the consulate/embassy is a dead end, you can get married and file your AOS packet pronto.

**IMPORTANT** I don't know a lot about K-1 visas, but I am pretty sure you can't be issued one or enter the country with one while you are already married. So don't rush and get married tomorrow or something planning to adjust status unless you are sure the embassy/consulate will not re-issue the K-1! If you get married then that option closes for you!

Thank you very much for that post, I had all of those thoughts flowing in my head, but it helps to see them in writing. I'll probably be rereading your post a few times.

-We tried contacting the consulate, but they were closed...we will try again today...(by phone). We emailed them as well. The only other way we'll be able to reach them is after she flies back to Canada, which will render option 2 impossible (marriage+aos..)

-we do have all the documents on hand, she organized all her documents for the interview in a big binder and brought it with her..

-there are quite a few reputable places here in California that issue same-day marriage certificates, so that would be okay

-The only issue is the infopass appointment, there doesn't seem to be any infopass appointments available any time soon..

Also, the risk of have our papers delayed as you mentioned once they reach the Chicago Lockbox is quite possible.

The only reason I'm leaning towards this more than the consulate solution is the fact that obtaining an AP before she leaves is safer than having her leave then find out if the consulate will/will not give her a K1...we will contact them today (if they're open) or tomorrow and hopefully they will give us some good news.

I looked at a few timelines, and saw that receiving the NOA1 for the AOS takes only a few days in most cases...

and then with an emergency infopass appointment, we might be able to get that advanced parole..I think it's worth a short

But do we file the AOS with CIS in Los Angeles, or in Chicago?

Take a look at this PDF http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/87391.pdf

Scroll down to page 5 "Reissuance of K-1 Visa"

Oh this is great information, I`ve searched everywhere online and didn't find anything like this, you're a lifesaver. we can even print it for extra proof...hopefully it'll help. With the short time limit we're on, seems like this will be the only option..

If you are married and your wife was in the US for six months before having to leave, that's a very different situation than what the OP is facing. There is a process to reissue a K1 visa if it's still within its 90 days validity, as several people in this thread and related threads have pointed out.

If she was here for 6 months..we could've applied for Advanced Parole no problem...but since she only arrived a few days ago, we didn't have time to do the AOS paperwork + civil marriage...etc.

And this unforeseen circumanstance just fell out from the sky.

Life is really unpredictable sometimes.

Thanks everyone for your help and support, it definitely helps us make an informed decision in the short time span we have.

Alright, so I just messaged the consulate (embassy is different, it's the consulate that processed our case...gosh I hope I messaged the right authority)..

We're going to call them now. I'll keep you guys posted, thank you for all the support, unfortunately, she really needs to return asap, so I don't think she will agree to stay for a month for the AP...she's really torn.

thank you so much ...^^

Ok, so I read the other thread entirely, and I guess it boils down to two options, maybe you guys can tell me what you think is best:

1) get married, apply for Ajustment of status + advanced parole...but she would still have to leave before the AP is issued (I read online it takes 60-90 days)...and I don't know if that' o.k...

2) We don't get married, she leaves, then asks the consulate (or is it the embassy?) if they can reissue the visa BEFORE the 90 days.

Problem is, I don't know if she can be back in 90 days, it's a pretty serious situation and we don't know how long it will take. could be 1 week could be 3 months, I don't want to pressure her to come back,her family means everything to her..

Seriously, this website is amazing. Thank you guys.

Someone else just had a similar issue, but I can't find that post right now. I believe the conensus was that if she contacts the consulate which issued the visa and explains that she has to leave for an unforseen family emergency and fully intends to return to the States and get married, then they can reissue the visa at their discretion without having to restart the whole process. It's definitely not guarenteed or automatic, but she should contact them as soon as possible.

Ok, so definitely will contact them before she leaves. I'll read the other thread you posted as well, thank you so much for your help, means the world to us.

I couldn't find it, either! It's around somewhere, though....

But yes, there is a caveat somewhere about returning before using the K1. If your fiance would be able to re-enter the country and get married within 90 days from her original POE, look into having the visa re-issued. If she can't re-enter and marry within 90 days from the original POE, you will have to submit an entirely new visa application and start from scratch anyway.

I'd contact the embassy ASAP and inquire. As with everything, no guarantees on anything, but it's worth the inquiry!

The embassy or the consulate in which she did her interview? Thanks a million for your help..

Hi everyone,

I have a question.

My canadian fiancee entered on her k1, but she needs to leave asap due to an emergency situation.

We didn't get married yet (we could if that would help...but she still needs to be back in Canada asap).

What should we do?...We still love each other very much and want to get married, but she needs to be with her family right now..

Thanks.

Zee

p.s we read about 'automatic revalidation...' where you can leave for 30 days or in 90 days I believe, but I don't know if that's bullet proof..

You can check on the status here: https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx?eQs=WwjqOlbeRYzCYubaSQI+RA==

Oh thank you!

heello..

where did you guys get all that info (i.e AP Date, issued date, shipped date...)?...

It's been a week on my end and I didn't received an email or a phone call yet :S ...

thanks in advance

Congraaats !

hey thanks ^^ that's what I've deducted as well from the millions of threads I've been reading

I emailed the consulate, so hopefully they can shed some light on the correct procedure.

I'm leaning towards mailing only the form by itself, since there's no indication on the list that they want all the other docs (birth certificate, etc.) if it was a necessity, I'm pretty sure it would've been a separate category on the list, saying "photocopies of birth certif.,etc..)

SWEETSIMPLICITY please help by showing me where to get access to post a new topic by my self,am unable to see this menu on this site since i singed up with a user name and password,inituially i was able to post becuase i was not signed up but now NOPE.Please help me....

Hello, just click on "Start New Topic" in the upper right hand corner of your screen

Hey guys!

I've been looking around the net and Visajourney for hours now, and I finally decided to post a topic of my own, because honestly, the info I found is contradictory and out-dated ..

I'm filling up the DS-156K, and you've all read that famous phrase:

'' THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS MUST BE ATTACHED IN ORDER TO APPLY FOR A FIANCEE NONIMMIGRANT VISA.

* birth certificate, marriage certificate (if any), evidence of engagement, evidence of financial support, divorce decree (if any), death certificate of spouse (if any), birth cerificates of All children listed in number five, police certificate

Now, my question is, do I attach all those aforementioned docs to the DS-156K, and mail it out with the Package 3 (Montreal Consulate)...or do I simply bring them with me to the interview?

I'm having a hard time believing I'd have to mail out all my original docs...

ANYY help is greatly greatly (and another greatly) appreciated!

thanks darlings,

This is amazing, thank you soo much!!

thank you guys so much! ^^

The "expiration date" is meaningless. Email the Embassy, maybe they have it?

It hasn't even gone through NVC, so it's impossible for it to have reached the American Embassy in Canada...

We're going to email them to try to request an extension, thank you!

no, that's the same person.

Use a telephone, call, now.

We did, she told us to call back in a week since the person is still looking into it

^^^ we contacted the congressman and described our entire situation to them (by writing), they assigned our case to someone who works there...is an Immigration Liason Staffer any different than that?

Thanks for your reply, it really is a living hell.. we've tried all we could, but honestly, at one point, you just get so emotionally exhausted.

Hi guys,

I need some advice...because honestly, me and my fiancee have exhausted all (and I mean ALL) means of help, and here we are, a few weeks from the expiration date of our approved K-1 petition, with the actual physical file somewhere in this world; but not at NVC!

It was approved on March 13th, yet it was NEVER forwarded to the NVC!...three months later, and we've just recently learned that it's 'in transit' to the National Records Center to be archived It's expiring in a couple of weeks, and we're clueless as to what we can do now..

We contacted the congressman,

and went to infopass appointments,

we talked with tier two...

and NVC supervisors...

and now I pretty much lost all hope.

Any help guys, and I'd be forever grateful..

I really, REALLY don't want to start this process from scratch!...we filed last July, and to get to the point where we are now (approved but lost petition! ) has been torture.

Thanks darlings,

Zee

p.s additional info: we were approved at CSC, I'm a canadian citizen, my fiancee is a U.S citizen...

Hello...

we're on the same boat, we got approved March 13th....and till now, it has yet to reach the NVC..

it's been over 3 months, you guys cannot imagine the lengths we've gone through to simply find out where our petition is.

It's expiring in a few weeks, and still, we do not know where our petition is, I think it's on its way to the National Records Center.

We contacted the congressman, went to two infopass appointments, called NVC and USCIS and tier 2 and supervisors...you name it we did it. I'm honestly totally discouraged, actually, both me and my fiancee are totally discouraged..

:'(