pushbrk

What exactly does the notice say?

Pay the fee online ASAP. Ask when you get to the POE, but stay together, so it is clear she is not entering before you.

It's clear you understand exactly what they want you to do. Do it. Understanding why is not required.

I want to just add that the subject line requests "legal advice". Legal advice is not available in this forum. Legal advice comes from attorneys licensed to practice law.

The fact is that assets alone are accepted. Not always on the first attempt, but when the assets are the kind that DO qualify, they do work. It's also a fact that people with plenty of liquid assets are understandably reluctant to involve and obligate another responsible adult relative or friend unnecessarily. "Get a joint sponsor" is much easier for an uninvolved VJ member to type than it is for a petitioner to actually accomplish.

Not enough context. This document was issued by which government authority and for what purpose?

Key issue here is how they see each other in person, once the proxy marriage is complete. Without that, there is no path for the foreign spouse to immigrate. A "conjugal visit" is not required, but being together in person is. In other situations, evidence of being in the same country at the same time is the primary evidence with any photos as secondary. So, does the intended foreign spouse have a way to get to the USA? Depends on country and circumstances not yet mentioned. Then there is the issue of the affidavit of support. Presumably the inmate has no income. Who will be the joint sponsor?

Boarding passes and passport stamps are the primary evidence of time spent together in person. Sounds like you were in the same place together during the online ceremony. Photos are secondary evidence. If by "tickets" you mean boarding passes, great. I haven't see an actual ticket in decades.

You'll be together much faster on a company arranged work visa than through family based immigration. About four years for F2a from India.

The OP is the Canadian Beneficiary in an overstay situation, preparing to adjust status. To the OP, the fact you've lived together so long is the strongest evidence you have of a genuine (bona fide) marriage relationship. No need to worry more about that.

Not an issue. No need to notify.

This is a visa forum, so USCIS doesn't see any tax returns. If adjusting status they do, but when the spouse is already here, the W7 is no big deal. The same discussion happens every year for my 20 years here. Everybody gets their say, and then people do whatever they decide to do. Not a lot of minds are changed.

This subject comes up at least once around this time every one of the 20 years I've been a member here. While the above is absolutely true, it's also true that many in your situation DO file as single, then later amend their return after their spouse arrives. I'm one of the many. If you are employed by the IRS you would not be asking this question. To my knowledge, the only people who would pay any consequence for filing with the "wrong" filing status are IRS employees. For the rest of us, filing as single when married means we will (at least theoretically) OVERPAY OUR TAXES, for which there is no "penalty". So no, it is not a negative for your spouse's immigration to have filed as single. Consular Officers see this all the time and understand the reasons why. For example, I used my refund to finance my second visit to my (now former) spouse in China. Amended the return once spouse and step daughter had SSNs.

You seem to think the issue is "proof" that you "filed" a tax return. This is about the public charge issue. The concern is whether you have qualifying income. Tax returns are about the past. So, unless you are self employed, it is a current pay stub that is the proper evidence of qualifying employment income. Tax returns are required from all sponsors who file them, but only the self employed use a tax return as proof of qualifying income.

Hard to say whether they've checked already or not, but if you sent what they asked for, it really doesn't matter.

If your income will continue from the same source, you have no reason to involve a joint sponsor. Six months of pay stubs is a decades old artifact. Pay stubs have year to date income on them now. One current one is enough. Remember, tax return/transcripts are about the past. Current income does not come from them. It comes from the pay stubs.

Yes, Utah marriage and Mexico Celebration with our without non-legal ceremony is a completely viable plan.

I'm not clear on your income. If you are employed and your income will continue from the same source in Canada, then your current income comes from a pay stub. Formula is gross for a pay period times the number of pay periods in a full year, then convert to US dollars. US income sources are calculated the same way. Please clarify your income. The way I read it, you are making 110k USD. Or has the 80k stopped. You and your kids are not counted in your brother's household.

You won't get a receipt notice unless they cashed your check. Check your online banking to confirm. At intake, your file gets a cursory look. If something is wrong, there will be no receipt notice. In a month or so, you get your whole package back telling you what was wrong. (Not necessarily a clear explanation, but something.)

Read more carefully. For petitioner, it's marriage termination documents only. For visa applicant (foreign spouse) it's marriage certificates and termination documentation. In practice though, the need for marriage certificates for prior marriages relates to tracking name changes, so it's best to provide them. If you submit a birth certificate for Mary Smith, who later became Mary Jones, but when she divorced Mr. Jones her maiden name is not mentioned in the divorce decree (sometimes yes and sometimes no) and Mary is now Mary Adams (wife of John Adams, petitioner) the marriage certificate is how the name change gets tracked. Petitioners don't have that problem at the NVC stage, but sometimes they do at the petition stage. It depends on the details in the Documents.

Immigrant visas for immediate relatives of US Citizens usually takes about two years. Naturalization should be faster than you get your wife's I-130 approved. Being a citizen has no impact on the I-130 adjudication timeline. The impact is at NVC. You can file for your parents the same day you hold your Naturalization Certificate.

No, and I wanted to add, that "using" your husband's income is not a "thing" in this context. If your income was over the threshold, you would need to file because you are a US Citizen. Your husband is not a US Citizen, or Permanent Resident yet, so he is not required to file. Only foreign income that will continue from the same source is considered for the affidavit of support. You do what is correct and proper under the circumstances. There is no choice left to you to use or not use any income. Joint sponsor or not, your husband should be ready to explain how the two of you are going to support yourselves once in the USA. I'm sure you already have a plan, so be ready to articulate it.

It is neither "theoretical" or "theatrical". IR1 and CR1 are both visa categories and resident status categories. You can be issued a CR1 visa after for example, after 23 months of marriage, and enter the USA after 24 months of marriage and receive IR1 resident status. Depending on the actual timing, the correct visa will be issued, and the correct status will be granted. Sometimes there are mistakes, but they can be corrected after the fact.

The correct immigrant visa will be issued, based on how long you have been married on the date it's issued. Then, the correct green card will be issued based on how long you've been married when the immigrant enters the USA using the visa. CR1 and IR1, are both visa categories, and resident statuses.

I'll just chime in and say there is no point in your wife even filing the petition until she can come spend some significant time with you there in Nigeria. It's useless to even count all the red flags. Nobody can see through them anyway. People do what is important to them. They find a way. That she hasn't even found a way to start the process in four years, is really all that matters.