Centenarian

Visa type: K-1
Consulate: Mumbai
Visa issued (if applicable)? Yes, no questions asked.
Second interview? N/A
AP? No
221 g issued? Can't remember what that is.
Gender of beneficiary: Male
Religious difference? Yes, but we're both irreligious.
Religious background of beneficiary: Hindu but agnostic.
Age Difference? My wife is 7 years older than me. (At the time I was 24, she was 31)
Method of meeting (online, in person, etc): At my law firm. We were both interns.
Engagement Ceremony? None
Traditional (Indian) Wedding Ceremony (N/A if going through K-1)? N/A
Has beneficiary ever been to the US? No
Does beneficiary have relatives in the US? Yes
Family approval? Yes from hers, I was kicked out of the house after revealing my relationship to my family. 3 years later my mom still won't talk to my wife. Dad and sister are are now very supportive. They'll be visiting us this winter. (They've never met her!)
Co-Sponsor required? No
How much time has petitioner spent with beneficiary in person? 4 weeks at internship in India, She came back for another week and we traveled around India, met in Thailand for a week a few months later, she visited me again in India for 2 weeks all over a span of 15 months before applying for K1. She came down to the interview (I had to threaten the hotel manager with a lawsuit before being allowed to check into the same room in Mumbai but that's another story!) and was baking outside in the hot May, Mumbai sun; ended up getting severe burns and nearly got run over by a truck when she ran toward me wildly after seeing me emerge from the building with the most relaxed expression she'd seen me wear.

Petitioner Married?: Both unmarried at the time of application.

Just sent in my packet for ROC. They cashed my check. Yet to receive NOA or Biometrics appointment. Moving to the U.S. and being estranged from everyone I know took a toll on me. We plan on moving to India and then Thailand or China or Japan or the UAE or wherever for a few years once I get my US citizenship which I will be applying for August of 2016.

It was a crazy ride; getting the PCC in time in India in a city I wasn't domiciled in was probably the worst nightmare (it took countless trips to various police stations, agents etc) as also making all the submissions to the Mumbai consulate prior to the interview after they repeatedly denied getting my stuff. When I get depressed I just think back to all the we had to do for me to get here and that makes me feel instantly better.

My package was delivered.

So to anyone else thinking of using FedEx, go ahead!

I went to one of India's top business schools, have an undergraduate degree in business administration and finance. Most of my friends from school are working for Fortune 500 companies, traveling abroad for leisure on a quarterly basis, buying homes and buying their 2nd or 3rd cars (larger, nicer ones) Some of them are even working in the U.S. for Wall Street and other financial firms after being moved here by their companies.

I have been in the U.S. for 2.5 years now,I live in the NYC metropolitan area and I have even applied to jobs in Philly. Here are the list of jobs I have done so far.

1) Dishwasher at a very high-volume buffet that couldn't pay more than $7.25/hr because they had very low margins. They had to hire illegals to do the job at times as the turnover rate was very high. It's incredibly hot and damp inside and some days you worked 16 hours straight because one or more of the guys wouldn't show up. I would come home with a raging fever and I'd get up and go to work again the next day. I had to quit after 5 months because I developed arthritis in my fingers and wrist. They shut down a few months after I quit because even the managers decided to stop the madness.

2) Admin work for the State of NJ. I was able to get a break and work for the state for about 9 months in a rather easy admin job that paid $15 an hour. It was a job that even an 18 year old could do but boy, was I glad I wasn't destroying my body. I ate well, took the train to work in style, every day seemed like a blessing. But once the project ended I was out on the streets, again driving to every employment agency in a 60 mile radius with my new resume that had American experience. After 3 months of relentless 16 hours-a-day job search (This was right after the sequestration and spending cuts) I realized I had to go to school.

3) Cold calling people for the CDC about vaccinations. I would have to say this job was worse than the dishwashing job. We would make maybe 500 or 600 calls a day and 95% of them would hand up on you after cursing at you after you read from the script.

As someone who is not used to failure, a 95% failure rate (which was the average) was incredibly emotionally damaging. Some anti-vaccine people would curse you out in the foulest language. Some would curse you out cause they hate the govt. Some of them would get personal and say I am a loser for not getting a real job. Some of the other workers who had different accents have had to put up with racial slurs.

4) I then found an Indian couple in construction that now employ me for $12 an hour for admin related work but really what I mostly do is send mails, bring coffee and food, open and close the office after everyone leaves etc. I am happy for this job because it's not stressful and pays for the basics while I am in school.

I have been in school now for a year getting my master's in information systems. I reckon it's going to take me another year.

My advise to you is do not stay at home. It gets very depressing and takes you down. Go out there and do whatever you can because that's the only way to meet potential employers. You seem to have a great background in education and I know it's hard to settle for jobs that can be done by 15 year olds but I highly recommend going to school for a master's. If there are no schools near you, you can always do an online program. You will be watching the same lectures and writing the same exams as the in-class students so there is absolutely no compromise in the quality of education.

It's possible that you may get a good job that pays well and is emotionally satisfying but in this economy you really need the best education you can get to have a safe job that you can rely on. Especially, when you are very particular about where you want work. If you were ready to relocate there are far more opportunities that open up for you but for most of us who are married, that is not an option at least when you are starting off.

I have done months of research on schools around the country and various graduate programs they offer. Feel free to drop in a message if you need any help deciding.

FedEx told me if there's a street address, they WILL make the delivery regardless of whether it's a P.O. Box.

Of course, I didn't think about there being security to get in the building. Maybe the guard will let them in?

I am sure of the several tens of thousands of packages being mailed every year, at least a few people end up using FedEx especially when there are NO explicit directions anywhere on the web to use USPS alone.

Hello,

I mailed my ROC package in yesterday to the Welden Street PO BOX 200 St. Albans VT place which is my service center.

BUT

I mailed it with FEDEX! Yes, I know it's a PO Box but the Fedex lady told me as long as there's a street address Fedex will deliver it.

Now, the question is WILL USCIS accept it? I didnot use signature confirmation cause I remember it actually delayed delivery for us the last time around during the AOS process.

ALSO, I forgot to scribble (Attn: I-751 etc) on the package. Is that a problem? I google the address and it seems like that exact address is only used for I-751 packages.

I only have 30 days left on my GC! I know I know we should have sent it before but we just moved to a new apartment and I was waiting on the stupid utility bills with our names on em!

I also screwed up with another thing! I sent the original IRS tax transcripts!! Should I put in a request with the IRS to mail me another copy just in case?

Thanks!!!

Haha that's funny because I was jokingly telling my wife we should just have the cashier at the grocery store, the fish girl at the pet store and bartender at the local watering hole all subpoenaed so they can testify instead of wading through all this mess.

If push came to shove, I guess they could do that which is why I am not too worried about the ultimate outcome. It's just all the stress we'll be put through in the meantime.

I can estimate that we will have at least the following documents

1) Tax returns for 2013 and 2014 with my in-laws address

2) Joint bank account with my in-laws address

3) Driver's licenses with my in-laws address

4) Loan document with my wife as co-signor.

5) Rental agreement from our first apartment with my wife's name on it

6) Letters from both landlords stating that we lived in their property

7) Affidavits from family and friends

8) Marriage photos with her family

9) More photos of us with her friends and family

I did some more research and it turns out you are granted an interview in most cases after an RFE albeit it might take up to 15 months. I would just hate to be denied without interview.

I know it's the most pessimistic thought but that's not surprising after what the economy has put us through the last year or so.

Thanks for your reply!

I understand you need evidence but every single one of those evidentiary documents is based on your finances and not ACTUAL living together.

You need finances to buy a car, you need finances to get health insurance, you need finances to fly to SF for your winter vacations, you need finances to become a club member.

We have a joint bank account but we don't have jobs so there are NO deposits in them except for 5 months of MY deposits when I was working. I made very little money so we barely have any withdrawals as I would use the card to just pay for grocery bills and my monthly train passes, et cetera while she is using her savings to pay for the rent.

USCIS is assuming we have jobs to provide those evidences. Well, we don't and it's the government's fault not ours that educated, hardworking individuals cannot break into the job market for months.

We would have just moved to India until things got better here (if it ever will) but that would mean abandoning the entire process and starting from scratch. We just do not have the strength to go through that whole hellish process all over again.

Hello,

I have a question about USCIS procedures. Here's my details. My wife is the USC petitioner. I entered the U.S. on a K-1 in November, 2012. We got married within the 90 day period.

I received my advance parole and EAD in February, 2013. I left for India immediately to complete my final semester in school. I returned to the U.S. in May, 2013.

From November, 2012 to February 2013, we had rented our own apartment but the lease was in my wife's name. For some reason the development would NOT allow us to add my name in the agreement.

After I left in February, 2013, my wife moved back in with her parents as she lost her job. When I came back in May, 2013, we rented a room with an old disabled man and thought we'd stay there until she or I gets a job.

It's been 9 months now and neither of us have been able to get a job. I worked a labor intensive job for a month and got injured. I then worked on a federal government program for 4 months and it ended last month.

My wife's unemployment is going to end in March and at this point, we are living a hand-to-mouth existence.

We are both planning to go back to school for a master's in our respective fields. Since I have no credit history, my wife will be co-signing the part of my loan that requires a co-signor. (If my loan amount exceeds what the feds offer without a co-signor)

We are going to file our joint tax returns this year. We will also be filing it next year.

Needless to say, I do not own a car, have no health insurance or car insurance. I do not even have a driver's license but I can get one just for ID purposes. My wife got on Medicare this month as NJ expanded its Medicare. I am yet to get on any health insurance as I do not yet have my tax returns to prove that I am low income.

We are currently living in another room that we rented in a house. We simply pay the old man who owns the house and he pays for all utilities. My wife is actually not allowed to live with me as the rent we pay is only meant for one person but the old man overlooks it as we're polite, clean and respectful.

As such, we do not have a deed or utility bills or any of those other things.

My wife's parents live very close to us and all of our documentations show her parents address due to the literally makeshift nature of our living arrangements.

When we go back to school, hopefully this August, we could possibly get a loan for living expenses, too to cover the rent for our own apartment.

Considering the amount of evidence we have, I am fairly certain that we will get an RFE when I apply for removal of conditions next year in May, 2014.

If the petition gets denied, I am led to believe that removal proceedings are then initiated against me and the case is transferred to Immigration Court where an IJ will assess the case. I have also gathered that this process will literally take years.

My question is, if the i-751 is denied, will my work status also immediately be rescinded? If yes, how are we to make ends meet during the year or two it will take for us to see an IJ?

Also, is USCIS obligated to afford us an interview before denying our i-751?

Please understand that I am just looking at the worst case scenario.

Week after week, they upwardly revise the QoQ growth numbers and crow about how the economy is 'kicking off' but half the people we know don't even have jobs. The unemployment figure just fell a whopping 0.3 percentage points but of course we know it's because people simply stopped looking for work cause they're sick and tired of applying to jobs.

Apartments around here are criminally expensive and I do not want to take out an insanely large loan from private lenders only to take it to the grave with me. Tuitions for master's programs are expensive enough without having to pay for apartments and the like. If possible we'd just like to maintain our current living situation.

I'd really like to know more about what happens after an RFE in a situation where we simply do not have enough documentation?

Bear in mind though, if we were to be interviewed we have tons of photos. If the interviewer went through our phones, they'll find text messages from May, 2013 for almost everyday with the content having obvious inferences to a life together.

Thank you for taking the time to read through my post.