Lex Specialis

If you are talking about siblings, you can sponsor only after you become a US citizen, which is about 3.5-4 years after you got your K-1 issued, and after you file the petition, 10+ years later your sibling can get their immigrant visa.... and that's ASSUMING the current reform bill doesn't pass during the decade and a half, which eliminates the sibling category altogether. If you have common parents there is a way to somewhat shortcut the process, but I wouldn't tell your brothers or sisters to start packing just yet.

Very happy day. 9 1/2 month long wait finally over today. I am abroad with my fiancee and we fly to the US in a few days. Great news all around. P.S. Dear moderators, if you could add "Macedonia" or "Skopje" on the list of consulates which are accessible on the timeline, that would be great. Thanks. Will post a review soon.

Try Senator Hagans office, talk to a young lady there named Jennifer. She was extremely helpful in my case.

Why would a North Carolina Senator help a Texan?

Unfortunately some times you will get that. I got the same brush off from Dianne Feinstein's office when mine was pending, but Barbara Boxer's staff was much better.

I would try calling Cornyn's people since you are not likely to get another staffer at Cruz's office except the one you are dealing with. And keep in mind, you probably have a bunch of Tea Partiers who are doing Cruz's case work. While I wouldn't swear my name to it, I wouldn't be surprised if they are less than thrilled to bring another foreigner into the country more quickly. If you know anything about Benghazi though, I am sure you would go to the front of the line

If you go there and marry her, as she is asking, her K-1 will become null and void and no longer valid. You cannot enter the US with a K-1 visa if you are already married.

Absolutely correct. If she wants a wedding in her home country, she doesn't understand the conditions of a fiancee visa. She needs to be single when she enters the US, not married to you (or anyone else). As far as what her short temperdness says about her, that's a personal choice you have to make, but she is wrong on the law.

Plane tickets, recent pictures, common passport stamps if you went to a third country, etc. I have my fiancee added as an additional user on a credit card account and I have western union-ed a couple of times to her so I keep copies of those transactions. Receipt for the engagement ring, records of calls or text messages back and forth, affidavits at the bottom of the pile but still useful. Anything else you should check the guidelines. There is no "magic combination" of documents that will get past USCIS. they are all specific to your relationship but there you will find the most common.

Financial situation is not your issue. Your husband has given an affidavit of support to the US government and will be on the hook if you become a public charge even after you divorce. Proving that your marriage was entered into in good faith is because you divorce before the conditions are removed. So if you have kids, joint assets, etc. this will be important to your application, not your employment status.

What country is she is a citizen of if she is getting Spanish citizenship soon? Where was she born? To recap, she shouldn't overstay if she will go back. If she overstays and you don't get married, she will be denied entry even if from a country that is eligible for a visa waiver, so she will need to obtain a tourist visa. If she travels frequently to the US, this is an unnecessary hindrance. If she overstays and you get married, you will need to file an I-130 plus AOS but it shouldn't be a problem unless she gets picked up by Immigration before you guys get your green card (low likelihood but possible). If she leaves and then comes back on a tourist visa with the intent to get married, she is committing visa fraud which will compound the USCIS' skepticism when you file for her green card because you married someone here on a tourist visa within 90 days, and you previously sponsored her for a K-1 but decided not to marry.

On a personal note, as someone who is engaged to be married, and someone who has gone through a divorce, I married my first wife because we were good couple as boyfriend and girlfriend, we were both of marrying age and the finances for us seemed to make sense, but I honestly couldn't see myself growing old with her. Not before we married, not after. That this ended in divorce is no surprise at all. With my current fiancee I could picture our future children by the end of the first week I kissed her. There may have been more convenient or less convenient times to marry her in our lives, but there could never be a wrong time for it. If your relationship is closer to the first example, I would advise you both to walk away before you invest more into this and make your lives more miserable. If it's closer to my second, I would say get married because if she is the right person you will figure it out as long as you are together no matter what the obstacles. If you feel like marrying her will somehow set you back or prevent you from doing something in your life, it's a red flag.

The first category is where you belong on the I-485 checklist. I hope you realize you need to file an I-130 along with the I-485 form, and you should file for an I-765 because it is a one page form and the feel is included in the I-485 fee, so why not get a work permit in 90 days while you wait for your green card. The overstay is not a problem as long as you don't get put in removal proceedings before you come to the interview so as someone said above, get that filed as soon as possible.

If it's an RFE, the "request for evidence" circle would be lit up, which normally isn't presence. "Post-decision activity" means a decision has been made. I bet it's an approval but make sure the caption for your case says so. Congrats if it's true.

I know how you feel. Congratulations. Make sure to update your timeline so Igor's list keeps tabs on USCIS trends.

Having no information about the details of your case, i would make an educated guess that your lawyer believes you should re-file because when you appeal, USCIS is only going to consider whether a legal error was committed in the original decision to deny your application. In other words, if your application was legally insufficient in evidence, they will merely affirm the decision on appeal and you will still be denied. They will not entertain additional evidence. The best way to submit additional evidence before the Service is by refiling the I-130.

Doing the happy dance and off to update my timeline. FYI folks, I contacted the customer service number, the ombudsman, my congresswoman and both my senators and I don't believe it helped much, but I can't say for sure. Either way, since you got nothing to lose, you might as well give it a try if you are still waiting. It can only help. Thanks for all your support. Igor's list and the whole concept behind this web site is awesome.

well, if you have questions, an ISO usually knows the answers.

a CSR, the first human that answers the phone? Not so much.

Hint: When calling, touch no keys after the first ring. You'll be transferred to the Spanish Line. Say 'English Please' and go forth, with a CSR (even if to ask the CSR to transfer you to an ISO)

Thanks for all your help guys. The case status this afternoon changed to approved. So I am off to update my timeline and post a new message.

Hi everyone,

I just got an email from USCIS and text stating the following: your Alien Registration Number was changed relating to your I129F, PETITION FOR FIANCE. does anyone know what this mean? I have been an US Citizen since I was a minor but I just applied for my US Citizen Certificate and received it a few weeks ago. Is this what it means?

FYI same boat as you. This morning I saw the alien registration change message. By the afternoon it was an approval notice. So I think that is a very good sign. Best of luck.

Hi everyone,

I just got an email from USCIS and text stating the following: your Alien Registration Number was changed relating to your I129F, PETITION FOR FIANCE. does anyone know what this mean? I have been an US Citizen since I was a minor but I just applied for my US Citizen Certificate and received it a few weeks ago. Is this what it means?

I just got that on my case status online today but nothing on text or email (and I am signed up for e-notification) Keep me posted as far as what you get and I will do the same.

why you not talk with ISO ?

ISO - http://www.dhs.gov/files/publications/gc_1305658440339.shtm

Already did. A few days ago they sent me the "Not before July 18, buh bye blow you off" email response.

FYI i just spoke to the USCIS after being on hold for 40 minutes. Still useless as always.

Just to be clear, this may have been the case before, but more recent filers are receiving their Alien Registration # right after acceptance of their petition and LONG before an adjudicator starts working the file for acceptance. I filed in February and received the A# for my fiancee right after the NOA1 and so have quite a few other recent filers.

Not saying that what you posted wasn't true at one time, just to let more recent filers know that this is common and no longer necessarily means that your case is being adjudicated.

I am definitely hoping for the alternative since I didn't get the A number right after my NOA1, which is back in Sep. Given the trends, it's in line to get adjudicated, but it's the unexpected that always keeps you up at night.

Well looks like they are working on it at least.

Thanks to everyone who responded. I am calling USCIS now because I was honestly not aware A numbers get assigned to K-1 applicants. I don't know why they would since K-1 is, despite the immigrant intent, still considered a non immigrant visa. My primary concern is that with all the approvals they are giving out, CSC may have mistakenly done something to my petition which will cause more delay.

Do they assign Alien numbers to holders of fiancee visas? I thought they do that only when you apply to an immigrant visa or adjust status. Either way, it sounds like they have been working on my application. I am a Sep 27 CSC filer. Has anyone experienced this? Or is this a fluke?

Thanks for your reply. Will it still be considered 'abandonment' even if I surrender the GC to the consulate in my home country? I am not technically abandoning, right?

How is you going to your home country and giving your green card back to an American consulate not "technically abandoning" your status as a permanent resident? Wouldn't that be the textbook definition of abandoning your residency in the US? If you are still married to a US citizen, you can apply for US citizenship within 3 years of the date on your GC. Once you get your US passport/citizenship, you can't have it taken away from you regardless of how long you are abroad. If you have already gotten your 10 year green card, you are at least 2 years into your residency and you can apply for citizenship 90 days before you are eligible. Seems to me you are months away from being able to naturalize.

I just check the USCIS site with my WAC# then I started to check 1, 2, 3 numbers after mine, How frustrated!! the 2 numbers after mine.. one filed on Oct. Approved, the next one filed on Nov. Approved!!!! how come!!!!!

GGGRRRR

I don't believe that the numerically subsequent receipt number is the same type of application as yours. The number after my receipt is a I-765 Application for Work Authorization and the one before mine a I-539 application to change or extend non immigrant status. They would be sent to different queues with different processing times.

They are discussing approvals by Visa Journey members who self report their approvals, which can be verified using Igor's list. http://www.visajourney.com/timeline/monthly_filers.php

The USCIS does not allow for such stats unless you look at their previous months using dashboard.uscis.gov.