templeton

I'm going to stop just to be safe, even though you and other have said there is no medical coming up for me.

Another medical exam isn't part of the standard AOS process, but just remember that the medical you did for the K-1 expires is valid for one year. If your first medical expires before AOS is processed, USCIS will make you do another.

Yes, get used to paying driver's license renewal fees. Many states will only issue a driver's license for the duration of your current DOCUMENTED legal status (I understand pending adjustment does count as legal status, but most DMVs don't take that into account). I went and got a DL soon after arriving, and like you, it was only valid until my I-94 expired (had I known, I just would have stuck with my foreign license until I got my EAD). Then had to go back once I had EAD/AP to renew it (and pay the renewal fee again), making it valid for one year.

Then when it expires you will need to go back again to renew it with your conditional green card (and likely pay the renewal fee again), which will extend it another two years. When that expires, you get to go back again with the added stress of hoping someone there understands that the NOA for removal of conditions extends your legal status and allows you to renew for another year (and likely pay the renewal fee again). After that year is up, you go back with your shiny new 10-year card (and likely pay again) to renew it. After that you shouldn't have to worry about it for a while.

Sleep better knowing you've helped a lot more than most towards paving local roads.

well I don't know if I was different to everyone else for some reason...but my visa issue date was 22 Sept, and my expiration was 11 Nov 2015. As someone said, maybe that was my medical 6 months?! Either way, still better check

Yes, people incorrectly state the K-1 is valid for 6 months after issuance all the time on this site (or they just say it's valid for 6 months but don't specify from when, leaving people to assume it's from the date of issuance).

The K-1 visa is valid for 6 months from the DATE OF THE MEDICAL EXAM. Now usually that doesn't make for too big of a difference, but it has in some cases.

Another important factor for the OP to keep in mind is that the Medical is only valid for one year, so if you delay AOS too long, you may be required to pay for another medical exam.

I love beating dead horses. You don't have options here. Report what? And to Who? There's no "I suspect someone I know might be getting into a relationship with a foreigner who is just using them for immigration purposes" tip line. Even if you called up USCIS and told them about it, they would send you on your way without a "thank you" or a pat on the head. At this point there isn't even an immigration case to report on, and it's not like they're just keeping files full of unsubstantiated third party allegations on random foreigners that they can cross-reference down the road in case those people ever happen to apply for a visas. Even once someone becomes an immigrant, unsubstantiated allegations against them are ignored because jilted spouses, exes, family members, etc., threaten to report legal immigrants for fraud all the time for various nefarious reasons.

In other words, before there's anything you can do, there first needs to be a marriage, then there needs to be an immigration case, and then there needs to be tangible evidence of fraud. So far you're zero for three.

As others have mentioned, simply being married to a US citizen doesn't automatically grant him any rights to a life in the US. It is a long and costly process. If and when the time comes the relationship will be scrutinized and judged on it's merits.

Your friend is not the first person to make questionable relationship decisions, and for better or worse, that's her right to do so...and live with the consequences of her actions. You've given her your thoughts, and that's all you can do. She now has to choose her own path.

OP, you are getting mixed answers because you are all over the place with the explanation of your situation. First you state you are in the US with your wife, then later you say you and your wife are in Germany. People reading can't tell if you're asking hypothetical questions or stating what the situation actually is. The answers to your questions are different depending on these circumstances.

The essential question is this: Is your wife currently in the US or not?

If she is still in Germany, then your plan is illegal. It is fraud to travel to the US as a visitor with the intention to stay and immigrate, which seems to be what you're wanting to do. The proper path to get her here is a CR-1 visa.

If she has already legally entered the US as a visitor and you are now deciding you want to her to stay and become a permanent resident, then technically she is allowed to stay while you apply for the green card.

Well, depends what you mean by "travel paperwork". If you mean he applied for and has received his Advance Parole card, then like Boiler says, there's no problem.

If he doesn't have that, then he'll be abandoning the green card process if he leaves before it's been approved.

To the guys that did court house - did it make your proper ceremony any less special knowing that you were already legally married?!

Only less stressful.

Assuming there's nothing barring your aunt from marrying you in the jurisdiction/county where you plan to get married, and as long as you have a valid marriage license from that county, then there should be no problem with her officiating your marriage.

Just remember, your fiance will arrive with basically no status, so the sooner you get married, the sooner he can apply for the green card, and the sooner he'll be able to work, get a driver's license, apply for credit, travel again, etc.

You can only get married once, but you can obviously have as many ceremonies as you want. My wife and I were officially married on paper at the courthouse within a week of me arriving, which allowed us to get the green card paperwork started. We then went on to have a full-blown ceremony months later with all the friends and family, going through all the motions of a real wedding. The only people that didn't know it wasn't a real wedding were the two of us and our parents. Even the officiant (a family friend) wasn't aware.

Sorry for your situation, OP.

At this point his journey to remove conditions can be stopped by direct evidence that he married you SOLELY for immigration benefits. Even if the marriage ends in divorce, he can still likely get a waiver by claiming he entered the marriage with good intentions.

If you have definitive evidence of fraud, you should present it to USCIS. But if all you actually have is evidence that he is/was a terrible husband (which seems to be the case based on what you've said so far), it won't change anything.

Realistically, the only decision for you to make at this time is whether you want to take initiative to file for divorce or not. At this point I would recommend talking to a divorce lawyer so you can plan the steps to protect yourself financially and ensure he doesn't do any more harm to your life.

Bank accounts, credit cards, bills, utilities, wills, property, lease etc.

Social media helps but is secondary

This.

Photos, social media, affidavits...none of those types of things are evidence of anything consequential. While they can help to reinforce your position as secondary evidence, what USCIS really wants to see are serious quantifiable commitments you've taken on together as a married couple, namely the sharing of finances and property - joint bank account history, joint credit cards, co-owned property, wills, insurance policies, joint tax returns, etc.

Leaving the US during the Green Card process without Advance Parole is considered abandonment of the Green Card application.

However, once you're married and he applies for the Green Card, he should also apply for Employment Authorization and Advance Parole. Check the guides up top. There are no extra fees if they are all submitted at the same time.

Within 60-90 days of submission, the EAD/AP combo card should arrive, which will authorize him to work, and return to the US if he travels, while waiting for the Green Card.

There's certainly nothing saying you can't do business with overseas clients, but I'm pretty sure you'd have much less paperwork to worry about in the long run if you form a business in the US once you are able and do business through that instead of through your foreign company. You have to declare your worldwide income to the IRS anyway.

Better to just shut your company in Spain down before you leave.

If your spouse has a credit card in good standing, get added as an authorized user.

You should just ignore it. The FBI has far more important things to do than worry about family bickering. Anyone in the world could email and say bad things about you to USCIC, why don't you wait until after it happens to worry about something that will likely not happen and even if it does end up in the garbage bin.

This. The authorities won't do anything at this point anyway.

USCIS knows that accusations against immigrants are often just domestic squabble BS. It happens all the time. Could USCIS investigate? Of course, but they're certainly not going to suddenly show up and deport you based on a "tip". If you haven't done anything wrong, as you say, you have nothing to fear.

Obviously there's more background to this. Parents don't normally threaten their kids, but regardless, he's probably just trying to scare you. Unless he really is dumb enough to threaten you in writing and then follow through, in which case you have his own words to use against him.

Just tell him the embassy is not going to happen. If he needs something notarized, you can get that done at almost any UPS Store in the country.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages. You'll have to weigh them for your own situation.

The biggest advantage to the K-1 for us was that you start your life together upon your arrival with the K-1. Biggest disadvantage is obviously you have to then start the AOS process once you're married. It takes a few months before you can work and travel.

With the CR-1 you get married, but since it gives your spouse no immediate legal status in the US, they must return to their home country until the process is complete. Being apart for a year (give or take) didn't seem like a great way to start a marriage to us. The big advantage though, is that your spouse is a conditional permanent resident on arrival, so no waiting to work and travel.

At least being from Canada makes it much easier to visit during whichever process you choose.

AoS on a tourist visa is a legal loophole; one I hope will one day be addressed.

Awesome. Most would agree. It also has nothing to do with this thread, so why do you insist on derailing it?

No one here can tell you for sure. I think you need to proceed under the pretense that what you're proposing could come back to haunt you later in the process. It's risky.

You're much safer planning something back in Canada AFTER the official wedding once you can travel again. In our case we held a big party for our one year anniversary.

While some of the crimes allegedly committed may fall into the U categories, I would think this visa is really only used to give or extend an alien's temporary legal status while aiding law enforcement to convict a big fish. I highly doubt they would offer it in the case of a mugging. Otherwise you'd have people staging muggings left and right.

Applying for a marriage license while visiting is fine. It's validity is probably a moot point. The OP says they got married. If they have a certified marriage certificate, they're probably married. Do you have that, OP?

She entered the US legally, and as the spouse of a USC, the OP has the option of applying for residency. That's not in dispute, nor is it necessarily fraud.

The OP says she has the legal authority to relocate her children internationally without consent or notification of the father. Some are understandably skeptical, but that doesn't make them right. Hopefully she made absolutely sure that is the case before applying for AOS, but USCIS will obviously verify that when the time comes. The OP will have to deal with the consequences if she's wrong.

The biggest issue would be that since she came in on the VWP, the OP is also taking on some serious risks attempting AOS. Clearly there are some flags here. When the time comes she will likely have to answer some tough questions about how she was able to, supposedly on a whim while on vacation, up and leave her and her school-age children's life behind in Iceland with no pre-planning. Clearly she must have these answers, as that is what she supposedly did. Hopefully the interviewing officer finds them believable. OP, have you weighed the consequences of a denial in your case? Are you even aware of them???

The US is pretty strict about who can come into the country to work. To sum things up...

Through you, she has no claim to a visa at this time. If you were to marry, that would likely allow her to apply as the spouse of a professional visa holder (assuming that's what you have). Her validity and duration of her visa would be dependent yours.

If she had a degree (or the equivalent as described in the earlier link) in a profession on the TN visa list, AND has a specific job offer in that professional capacity from a US employer, she could qualify for that working visa. However, if the extent of her education level is as you said, that won't be enough.

One thing that nobody here has addressed yet is your "I file the I-129F about a year before the wedding date" statement. Be very careful with this. The way you wrote it sounds like you have a wedding date in mind. The general consensus on VisaJourney is to not make any wedding (or moving) plans until she has the visa in hand. You can never anticipate any delays in the process. You don't want to be in a situation where you've put down money for a wedding and end up having to cancel or postpone.

This too. If you're just planning to run to the courthouse once she arrives on the K-1, then there's no issue. But if you're trying to plan a big wedding soon after you THINK she'll have the visa, you're taking a huge risk.

A simple paperwork error can set things back weeks or months, and obviously you have zero control of the things that can happen on USCIS' end. Once you get to the consulate stage, you'll have a much better idea of how things are going and a little better control of your timeline. A little less risk at that point to start making solid plans, but even still, always give yourself some leeway in case there are delays.

I will just mention 2 things about going the K-1 route...

"Assuming everything works out she gets her K-1 Visa, which is valid for 6 months..."

The visa is actually good for 6 months from the date of the MEDICAL EXAM (not 6 months from when the visa is issued, which is a common misconception). Now, unless she lives in a city with an approved doctor, she'll probably just do the medical right at the final stage of the process along with the interview. But others have been caught in a tight spot because they went and had the medical done early thinking they were just knocking things off the list. Then their visa is issued and they find they have much less than 6 months to use it. So just be aware.

Second, as others have said, it is possible for her to cross the border to visit during the process. However, be sure she brings along proof of ties to Canada in case she needs to convince the US CBP that she does indeed intend to return after the visit. May not ever be an issue, or it might. They'll be aware she has intent to immigrate. Better safe than risk getting turned around at the border.

Wow, bad timing. I was in the same situation - plans to travel internationally right as the GC was in USPS limbo. Unfortunately, once the green card is issued, your AP/EAD card is no longer valid (whether you received the green card or not). So yes, you have a big problem.

Does the tracking number give you any idea where it is?

It should just be clarified that he will receive the combo card so long as he applies for it - it is not automatic. The EAD/AP application forms can be submitted at the same time as the green card application, in which case there are no additional fees. Then, yes, the card should arrive 60-90 days after applying.

For anyone reading this post for future reference, it ended up taking about 5 weeks for USCIS to acknowledge the card was returned to them and to submit a request to have it resent.

I had actually already submitted that request previously once the original tracking confirmation showed that it had been returned to USCIS. I attempted to resubmit a new request anyway, but was told it couldn't be submitted because there was already a previous request.

The card was then mailed a week or so later. A notification was received that it had been mailed, but there was no tracking information. The card arrived within a few days. So about 6 weeks altogether from the time it was originally sent to the time it was received.