badlo

Good job. The second application was definitely needed, though. The officer would have denied you right there without it.

Yeah I look at the second filing as a fine. Basically we broke the rules and were fined but luckily enough we weren't forced to start over.

I also think that if we had flown back to LAX directly instead of through SFO we wouldn't have been so lucky.

Cautiously optimistic is a good place to be... You might have gotten lucky... Thanks for sharing your story and updates and for warning others not to play around with leaving befoemAP... I have seen several posters lately contemplating doing stupid things and playing smart with the AP issue... Good luck.

Btw... For some tangible numbers to discourage others I am guessing this has been in total a few thousand dollars and priceless amount f stress...

So Numbers...this I can do! =D

Cost of re-filing an I-485 ~ $1100

Cost of hiring an immigration attorney ~ $2800

Being stressed out over everything and unable to relax: Priceless

Other good news today we had a call from the CBP officer in charge. He informed us that our case was closed as far as they were concerned. Which means our petition has been granted and my wife's green card is in the mail.

I still don't believe it completely until we have it in hand but seems like we're in the clear.

Update

We had received her Work Auth and AP card in the mail at the beginning of March.

We did nothing with it as we were advised by our attorney that it was from the first filing and not valid since the abandonment.

Then we got something we weren't expecting, a Marriage interview with USCIS. (just a week or two after filing the second I-485)

The date was set for April 25th. (same day as the next CBP check in and the day that her parole expired)

Then we got the bio-metrics notice for the second filing. (this we were expecting)

So here we have what appears to be a valid work auth. and a marriage interview. we are completely confused and oh so glad we had an attorney at this point.

Our attorney advised us to go ahead and apply for a SSN to continue the commingling process (Joint bank accounts, health insurance etc.)

The day of the interview the first words our the the officer's mouth after we were sworn in was "why do i have two files?"

Insert long ### story from previous posts here

He was satisfied that our marriage was legit and was only concerned with how to proceed. (this had me worried of course)

He essentially merged both filings in front of us (literally stapling pages together from both physical files)

He handed us the signed document saying that we would be notified within 30 days of their decision.

I'm cautious about all of this until she has her green card in her hand, but at this point he told us to ignore the notice for bio-metrics and that all communications would come as a Request for Evidence.

We then proceeded to the CBP check in where they stamped her passport for another 60days.

So i'm of the mind set that it looks like everything worked out for the best and that our original I-485 was never abandoned. and that the second filing was not necessary (my wallet sure feel like it wasn't necessary)

BUT I also realize that things may go differently in the next 30 days.

So please let this be a lesson...DO NOT LEAVE THE COUNTRY WHILE YOUR AP IS PENDING.

It has been painful and annoying and expensive. I don't regret leaving the country for my wedding. But if I had known it was such a nightmare I would have planned better.

UPDATE:

We had our Deferred Inspection on 2/26/14.

Based on your advice we retained an attorney. He told us that likely we will have a court date set and then the have to appear before a judge for deportation proceedings.

He was confident that this was not a big deal as we would just have to refile the I-485 and the case would be dismissed.

He also thought that there might be a way to revive the current I-485 and so at his advice we didn't refile right away.

We called the CBP office on monday 2/14 and were informed that her file had not been received yet from SFO. and that it can take up to 30 days to receive a file. (it had been 14 days).

We proceeded to the DI and were asked if we had refiled the I-485. We told them that we had not. The officer brought my wife and lawyer into the office and asked a few questions.

He asked if she had been told by the SFO CBP that she should have filed the I-485 and brought the Receipt with her. She said no.

He asked if they had taken her passport. She said no and produced said passport.

The officer rolled his eyes and looked frustrated. (quote from my wife on the officer's demeanor, as i was not in the room)

He then said that since they didn't have the file yet, there was not much else he could do to proceed.

He gave her a 60 day parole extension in her passport and told the attorney that she should bring an I-485 receipt next time and the case will be dismissed.

We are now refiling the I-485 and verified that my I-130 petition is still active.

Thanks for all your help

I'll keep everyone updated on our progress

Why would you book another flight to leave after the deferred inspection appointment? There is a chance she would be admitted. I would quick being so quick to leave the country, if she is trying to live here.

as a sign of good faith. while we hope they won't require her to leave the country if they do require it, we want to do it on our own terms to avoid any bans being placed. if she is admitted, and we really hope that this is the case, we'll be out 30k miles and $40. so not a bad trade imo.

An I-130 gives a CR-1, it's just that you usually have to file an I-130 when filing an adjustment of status case too, which is what you did initially. As I said, even once the I-485 is denied (which at this point is a near certainty) the I-130 will live on.

You can file an I-129F on top of the I-130 seeking a K-3, but as I said above it's highly unlikely you'd receive it; it might be best to see what happens at the deferred inspection interview first.

okay cool thanks again for being so quick tonight. everyone here has been really helpful and supportive. yeah i hope this can be a lesson to others in the future of what can happen if you don't listen and leave the country without AP.

ill keep updating on our status. thanks again

When did you file the I-130?

We filed on 12/23/13.

Brainfarted.

Since an I-130 has already been filed then that will continue, even if the I-485 is denied. I was thinking the adjustment was from a K-1, which usually doesn't need an I-130.

OK then we should file the i129f? Or the cr-1?

I second the poster who suggested asking another attorney (hey 2 opinions are better than 1) but k3 visas are rarely issued these days (a few randome ones sneaking by the system in the past few weeks) ... But at least you are preparing for if she has to go back... The. You will file the 130 for the CR1, after which you could also add the k3 application afterward at no cost... But she will wait over in Germany and interview over there. Process for cr1 has been in the 12-16 month range currently.... Sorry ur going through this, but a big lesson for,others .... Wishing you good luck and please keep us updated so we can advise better any others who end up in this situation... Again, hope you had an amazing experience to cherish out of the whole think... Looked pretty neat..

12-16 months...geez my night keeps getting better and better...where are you getting these times from? we have already filed the i-130 and the attorney said that we can file to have a change of venue for the i-130 to the US consulate in Germany. which is why i think she suggested the K3 visa. is the CR-1 that much different from the K3 that it would behoove us to start all over with a CR-1?

Someone did the maths and you have around a 0.3% chance of actually receiving a K-3. It's an inferior visa, since you have to pay more to adjust status and cannot work immediately upon entry, unlike a CR-1.

It's much, much more likely that you will receive a CR-1 instead of a K-3; once the NVC receives an I-130 and I-129F for the same beneficiary then the K-3 will be administratively closed and you would proceed solely along the CR-1 path.

Thank you for clarification =D and quick too

The K-3 is obsolete; you would be filing for a CR-1 immigrant visa.

We've already filed an I-130, and based on this information the attorney suggested the I-129F. would the CR-1 still be the better option in this situation? i think i understand the differences K3 - non permanent vs CR-1 permanent (w/ green card)

is this correct?

Indeed it is a big mess. we spoke with an immigration attorney just a few minutes ago. she advised that we continue to the deferred inspection appointment, and that they may let us refile the AOS. BUT most likely they will require my wife to leave the country and to file for a K3 Visa from here. its obviously not ideal but we booked a flight back to germany and will have the ticket in hand when going to the appointment at 8am. the attorney said that doing this will allow her to refile for a permanent visa without any restrictions on reentry (other than the visa of course)

well if refiling another i-485 is all it takes we're completely fine with that. yeah its expensive but it wouldn't destroy us in any way. It would be much preferred to having to leave the country and apply from Germany. but that raises another question..would i need to refile the i-485 along with everything else, the I-864, the I-130, I-131, I-693?

and yes that was the wedding we attended.

We went to Korea to participate in a mass wedding. where us and 2499 other couples were married in accordance to our religious beliefs. The appointment set up is an "order to appear deferred inspection".

My GF came to the US on an ESTA Visa. I proposed and we got married a week later. we filed for AOS and for AP on 12/20/13 she went to the bio-metrics appointment.

we were waiting for the advance parole to come through in time for our trip. it was a week before and she tried to apply for emergency AP which was denied. we were aware that leaving the country for our trip would cause her AOS to be abandoned. We came back yesterday 2/14/14, after a long detention by CBP she was let out with an appointment at USCIS in los angeles for 2/26/14. one thing the officer said was to not show up to the interview "empty handed". we're not sure what that means.

i was hoping that someone here might know what our next step should be. I know it was very risky leaving the country during this time and that she could have been denied entry. but by the grace of god she wasn't and now we have 11 days to figure out how to deal with our upcoming USCIS appointment. if anyone has any ideas or experience with this sort of things please let me know

thank for your time