TAB2TAB

In spite of you stating that your marriage is failing, you've said that you are willing to stay married if it can deflect the financial damages from a "costly divorce" and the impact of the I-864. In other words, you're willing to sacrifice some personal considerations for financial considerations. If this is the case, why not extend that perspective further, and attempt to co-habitate and/or rehabilitate the relationship? Both of you would have a better quality of life (financially) if your living expenses were pooled, and if that is a top priority over the "inconvenience" of remaining married. You would no longer have to worry about half your assets being taken or ongoing support if you are able to agree on a minimally amicable relationship. The responsibilities of the I-864 eventually could go away as well in as few as 3 years depending on the outcome.

The consequences of marriage dissolution were there from the beginning of your relationship and have not/will not go away just because the possibility has become more imminent. Of course not every relationship works out, but I'm not sure how you can fathom that treating her with less respect and dignity will somehow benefit your situation. Even if your only consideration is your own financial self-interest, showing some level of empathy and cooperation towards her situation (she was the one, after all, who took the leap of faith to leave her life behind to start over in a new country) may prove the much better strategy than trying to orchestrate a legal checkmate against her.

We had a somewhat similar situation, where he went back home and we had considered the prospect of getting married while he was still in the states. We didn't know it was possible to do AOS in that way. When we really considered the "what ifs", we realized there actually were some benefits to us going through the "standard" K1 process:

1) I was able to better prepare for him to be here permanently (financially, homelife, friends family, wedding celebration, etc)

2) He was able to have a proper 'goodbye' with all his friends, gracefully end his work commitments, and take the time to go through his possessions and decide what things he wanted to bring with him to the states.

3) we didn't have to worry whether an unexpected marriage while in the states would be a cause for heightened fraud scrutiny in our AOS application.

These may or may not apply perfectly in your situation. The main point I'm trying to make is that we all have a CHOICE as to whether to be "disheartened" about having to do things the "long" way (the same way the vast majority of applicants do) or to make the most of our situation. We still used skype every day and spent as much time online as we could, but we also found we had many things to keep us occupied in wrapping up one chapter of our lives, and preparing to begin an exciting new one. Yes, life is definitely better now that we are permanently together, but take time to enjoy this transition as a journey, not just as a destination - it will definitely make a difference in the quality of your life until you are reunited. Best wishes to you.

Mail just arrived - green card in hand! Woo hoo! So wonderful to have this behind us... Many thanks to all of you for your advice, I'm sure we'd still be waiting without it. We'll be celebrating tonight for sure. Best wishes to all of you and enjoy the next two years before it's time to renew!

Rob and Adrian

Thanks for all the encouragement and support everyone... Today, (the day after doing the service request) our status on USCIS website has changed to: "My card was mailed to me" - with a Sept 3 mailing date. We know the website can be pretty unreliable but we definitely feel like that is a step in the right direction. Checking our mailbox daily and will keep you all posted!

Rob and Adrian

So it's been a few days since our online status changed to "My New Card Is Being Produced"; We decided to check if there has been any new status update. Well, there has been one, but not for the better... our status has gone back to "My Welcome Notice Has Been Mailed" but the dates are now later. They now say the notice is on Aug 28, 2015 (instead of our previous July 23, 2015) and that we should NOW receive our green card by October 27 (instead of Sept 21). Needless to say we are both in a state of disbelief...

So, no more patiently waiting - we've called 800-375-5283, asked for the "next level up" and put in our service request and got our service request reference number. They said we should expect to hear back within 2 weeks. We will do the infopass if they cannot produce concrete results (i.e. green card mailed status, or GC in hand) during these next two weeks.

We'll keep you all posted, thank you for the guidance.

Rob and Adrian

Ooooh, interesting new development... as soon as I sent my last reply a few minutes ago, we just checked the USCIS website and our status has JUST changed! We've gone from "My Welcome Notice Was Mailed" to "My New Card Is Being Produced". Any reason to get excited yet? Should we hang tight a little while now, or go ahead and still do the service request?

Thanks all!

Rob and Adrian

So grateful to hear from all of you! We will do the service request, wait a week or so, and do an infopass if still waiting. We'll let you know how this all goes! Thanks again everyone!

Rob and Adrian

Hello all,

Just found this thread, and I realize most of you have finally gotten your green cards, but I'm hoping some of you might actually see this and provide some advice as we are really anxiously awaiting our green card.

We received our welcome letter on July 23, 2015 (5 weeks ago today). The letter states we need to wait up to 3 weeks to receive green card. On the USCIS website, our status is "My Welcome Notice Was Mailed" and states the green card should arrive by Sept 21, 2015. We have not seen a status of "Green Card in Production" or "My Green Card was mailed", at least to our knowledge. At the 3 week mark, we called USCIS and they told us (rather generically) that we should just wait and then call them again on Sept 22, 2015. Our Welcome Letter was issued from Lees Summit, MO, like many of you who have had delays.

Our AOS case is almost 15 months old - we filed June 6, 2014. We have a trip planned out of the country in early October, so we really can't afford to wait much longer. It seems that in spite of all the USCIS GC production delays, software problems, not enough employees, etc., it appears that most of you did get your GC's (in the end) at or around the 4 week mark after the Welcome Letter. We really don't know what we should do:

1) Call USCIS again and hope we get a different answer

2) Schedule an info pass

3) Call the 1-800-375-5283 that cococacao (post #28) recommends and ask for a "service request"

4) Do an e-request as bubblebubble (post#36 and #47) recommends. (We're a little wary of this, because it doesn't appear our card has been mailed, and the 3 option specifically says not to do the e-request if you are still in the "waiting" stage.

5) Call our congressman.

6) Keep waiting

We'd greatly appreciate any suggestions!

Rob and Adrian

Thank you Sweetswinks!!

After 13 months of waiting, (and having to re-do and re-pay for another medical exam because of their delays, grrrr) we just received our welcome letter - finally!!!

So glad - now just waiting on the green card in the mail!!

If there are any June 2014 filers still waiting, be patient and do EVERYTHING they ask for!!

Best wishes,

Rob and Adrian

Thank you Marco and Bettina!

Actually, I was estimating and got it wrong, USCIS approved our I-485 in just FOUR days once we sent them the "RFE" for medical and further relationship info!!

Not too bad once we got past the initial 13 month wait!!

Well, the good news is that we submitted our *new* medical (plus they also wanted evidence of our relationship.) Sent that off and we got our WELCOME LETTER ten days later!!! We should have our green card in the next 3 weeks. So I guess the thing is just not to question what they ask for and just get it done. So glad that we have completed the next step in our journey!

Rob and Adrian

Marco&Bettina, the good news is that at least we get to be annoyed and frustrated with our loved ones by our side...

Yes Duality, it seems a bit ridiculous that the medical exam that we have paid for is invalidated by the USCIS failing to meet its own published objectives. We are paying them more than $1000 to process our applications (above and beyond our taxes), and they are unable to, at minimum, review the time-sensitive portion of the application within a 12 month period?

Thanks for the helpful feedback Yuna! I figured they had access to our original I-129F but that would be too efficient wouldn't it? Been working on the response during the day today, and I've used a good amount of stuff from the I-129F as well as some new documentation they want - joint bank accts, insurance in both our names, utilities, etc. I'll be sure to give them plenty! Thanks again and best wishes to you.

Derwood, many thanks for your answer. As annoying as it is to have to do the medical again, my urge to rebel against the system is subsiding and we've gone ahead and gotten the appointment set up. I'm learning this thing is not over until it's over. Thanks for the hashtag as well; I'll refrain from commending you on it until we have the green card in hand... I'm not taking any chances. Best to you and your loved one on your visa journey!

Thank you for the link to the USCIS policy update - I was not aware of the update as the policy was only 5 days old on the date we submitted our I-485 application. That was helpful.

I don't know why you feel the need to diminish fellow VJ members with unnecessary comments like "It's not too hard to understand". The reason I was confused by your first response was a) that you used incorrect dates, "pre-feb" vs Dec 10, 2013 and b) you didn't actually post the relevant information - the link to the new USCIS policy - until your second response.

Regardless, the prevailing intent of my question is whether anyone on this site has had any success in challenging the USCIS when the medical exam expiration is clearly not the fault of the applicant. While the USCIS rarely acknowledges fault in most matters, it is not unheard of, and they have been known to concede in some instances where they were at fault. The documented USCIS' goal for I-485 completion is 5 months. In our case, it has taken them 13 months... not to complete the case, but to begin the process of looking at the basic contents of the file, (i.e. the medical exam). To hold me financially responsible for their inefficiency and delay is what I find "hard to understand".

Thank you again for the link to the updated policy.

If anyone has had a similar situation - an expired medical that resulted from an excessive delay in I-485 processing, I'd be interested to hear how the situation resolved. Did you just deal with paying for a new medical? Did you contact USCIS and if so, what was the resolution? Thank you for taking the time to read this!

Sweetswinks,

I'm confused by your answer... Adrian's medical was conducted on Dec 10, 2013 - therefore it should be valid through Dec 9, 2014 at earliest; we submitted our AOS on June 6, 2014, well before the 1 year expiry. In light of this, any other thoughts?

We just received a very disappointing letter from USCIS regarding our AOS from a K1 visa and could really use some VJ expertise. To give you some background on our timeline, Adrian’s K1 visa was issued Feb 26, 2014, he entered the USA on April 29, 2014, we were married on May 27, 2014, and we filed Adrian’s AOS I-485 (plus I-765 EAD and I-131 AP) on June 6, 2014; the USCIS notice date was June 13, 2014. EAD and AP were issued with no unusual delay.

We received the Notice of Potential Interview Waiver Case on Feb 25, 2015. Due to the increasingly long wait, we scheduled an InfoPass appointment on April 16, 2015 (the results were that we should “continue to be patient”.)

So the letter we received today, (dated June 26, 2015) says that the results of Adrian’s “medical examination have exceeded the one year validity period and are now expired. You must submit the results of a new medical examination by an authorized USCIS civil surgeon completed on Form I-693. The results must be contained in the original sealed envelope.” (Adrian’s original medical examination at Knightsbridge Doctors in London was Dec 10, 2013).

I am under the impression that as long as the medical examination was valid at the time of our AOS submission that we have met our requirements. Are we really responsible for having to get a new medical, considering it took USCIS thirteen months to advise us of this??

Is there any way to push back on this – contact our congressman, senator, or some other suggested path? If we have to do the medical, we will, but we cannot understand how this can be considered “normal” procedure – what if USCIS takes another 13 months to look at our file again? We are so frustrated about this!

Second question:

The second requirement in the June 26^th letter is that the USCIS “cannot determine the bona-fide intent of the marital relationship” and we need to submit evidence of such, pre- and post-marital. To my knowledge, this was not requested nor required in the AOS submission guidelines, and I also was under the impression that the original I-129F petition provided and established the evidence of our relationship – we presented substantial documentation at that time. To our knowledge, Adrian is not from a “high fraud” country, the UK. I can post the entire text from the letter of what the USCIS is requesting as far as evidence, but some is redundant to the I-129F, some is not. Again, we will submit the info they request if needed, but is this a normal request? Should we provide the same info from the I-129F, or must the evidence be new?

We have to submit all documentation by Sept 21, 2015, so we need to be timely in whatever we do.

Thank you everyone for reading and I hope you have some suggestions for us as we are really distressed by this- we were hoping that we would have completed the AOS hurdle by now…

Rob and Adrian

If the *primary* purpose of your visit to the US is to meet your family (i.e. more so than the ASU game and hometown visit, etc.), have you considered having your family visit the two of you in Vietnam? Then, when you are ready to move permanently to the US in 5 years, file the CR1. I'm not suggesting you give up scouring VJ for a way to arrange a temporary visit to the states, but if all else fails, you can have a plan B in your back pocket. Establish the married life you want in Vietnam, live together which creates stronger ties to Vietnam than you both have currently, then perhaps you have better chance of getting a B1 in a year or two so you can meet the rest of the extended family, see your hometown, and get in that football game.

gclhd - Did your fiance have the I-134 with her, and give that to the Embassy? In our London interview experience (see our review under our timeline) my husband was asked for the I-134 and income documentation *prior* to actually having the interview (he was called up to the window to provide his ID and documents, then asked to sit down and wait for his number to be called for the interview). Was your fiance asked for the I-864 during the interview, or before that when they ask for documents? Did she ever offer the I-134 paperwork instead? I don't know for sure if this could help, but it seems to me that her experience in London was very unusual, and if you were able to demonstrate that you DID have the proper paperwork (I-134) and that an Embassy error was made during her interview, it may give them some motivation to correct the oversight more quickly for you.

Nich-Nick, feeble thoughts well-received. We agree that most likely there is no need for the EIN now; we may want to get it in the future to distinguish personal/business tax liability, or if he were to get more employees.

Do you think there is any mileage in contacting USCIS about this, or do you think the local agencies will be knowledgable enough about immigration status to know whether he is qualified to proceed?

Thanks again!

Hi fellow VJers,

I am the USC and asking this question on behalf of my (now) husband of K1 visa.. We got married the end of May and filed AOS shortly thereafter. He is planning to start his own business in the arts/photography and he has been invited to attend his first arts festival in September (to have a booth and sell his photographic art).

We are still waiting on the EAD and hope to have this in the next 2-4 weeks. I have read many forum posts saying that it is perfectly legal/moral etc. to interview for jobs, even be hired for a job prior to getting an EAD; you just can't begin work/earn income. I am trying to verify whether it is similarly true that my husband can establish a sole proprietorship (i.e. 1. file his business name with the state Superior Court, 2. obtaining any necessary sales licenses/permits, and 3. obtain an EIN on the IRS website) *prior* to receiving his EAD, as long as he does not begin working/earning income.

From what I've read on VJ, it appears that working and earning income are the no-no's that USCIS cares about. Still, I can't help but be concerned that registering his business with the state and applying for his EIN with the IRS prior to receiving his EAD might not be something that USCIS will look upon favorably.

If we were to begin the process of establishing the sole proprietorship now, we should be able to complete the process and get his sales permits (another state) in time for the show's deadline in September. If we wait another 2-4 weeks until he (hopefully) has the EAD in hand, he will likely not have enough time to register his business and obtain the sales permits.

Can anyone shed any light on this?

Thanks very much!

Rob and Adrian

Nick Nich (and others),

Thank you so much for your very useful information. We have found a C.S. after many phone calls who will charge $50 for the transcription. Bingo.

We have two more questions, and have searched everywhere for answers:

1) per Question 57 on your link; we will go to the C.S. requesting only the vaccination portion of the medical exam be given and we only would get back page 1 and page 5 of the i-697. In the I-697 instructions, however, there is no explanation as to how the C.S. is to fill out the paperwork if only the vaccination portion is to be given. In light of this, how does the C.S. fill out Part 2 on page 1 of the I-697... leave it blank?

2) Does the C.S. still follow the regular I-697 instructions as if he were doing a full medical exam, i.e. making 2 copies of the I-693 for submission to USCIS, and providing the (us) with a sealed "Do Not Open, USCIS use-only" of the I-693?

Thank you very much for everyone's help!

Hi VJ'ers,

My husband and I are together and married at long last (hooray!) and now working through AOS filing (K1 fiance visa).

His vaccination document DS-3025 is incomplete (he's from the UK and the Varicella vaccine is not available to UK citizens); he was NOT asked by the Knightsbridge medical exam doctor in London whether he had Chicken Pox and therefore, like some others, he did not get "VH" (Varicella History) on his DS-3025 Immunization Record. Likewise, he did not get a MMR "complete" status on his DS-3025 because he's "unable to receive MMR due to government restriction on vaccine", per the form. I mention all this to see if any of you know whether there's any possibility of following up with Knightsbridge to get the DS-3025 updated, and avoid having to see a civil surgeon.(???) I suspect this is unlikely, but thought I'd ask.

So, my PRIMARY question is this: Assuming he only needs the Civil Surgeon to transcribe the DS-3025 records and administer 1-2 injections, how do we ensure/prove that 1) the Civil Surgeon only needs to do the Immunization portion of the I-693, and not the full blown medical exam, and 2) how do we ensure we are only being quoted prices for the transcription and not the full medical by the Civil Surgeon/staff? We have been making calls to C.S's in the Atlanta area and are being quoted $150+ presumably just to transcribe the DS-3025 data on to the I-693 (not including shots) and sign it... is that for real? We've seen lots of posts on VJ of people paying only $25-50, so we're beginning to think that these C.S.'s are assuming he needs a full medical... or we're being over-charged by the C.S.

Any ideas or similar experiences? We greatly appreciate any feedback.

Thank you!

Rob and Adrian