AnnaMaria

Well, like Hypnos said, you're going to encounter some incredible challenges if you attempt to do this.
1st - Unless you plan on moving back to the Philippines and marrying your ex, you can't apply for a spousal visa because guess what, you are married right now to a U.S. Citizen. So for the spousal visa, you have to LEGALLY marry your ex again, either in the Philippines or here if he can get a visa, but again, if he goes through a Fiance visa, you have the interview where they'll see you were divorced and all the red flags will start popping up.
2nd - At your adjustment of status interview, if your husband doesn't know about this and you LIE to gain citizenship to go through with this, you're going to be hit with fraud. You need to talk to your husband about this, because if at your interview someone sees two completely different people, one happy and the other miserable, they are going to do some hardcore interrogating.
3rd - I know this website is about visa advice, but i'd like to think the people who ask for help have good morals. Reading your post, it seems like he loves your kids and you didn't mention any marital problems with the U.S. citizen himself, just that you want your ex back. I'm assuming at this point you have not told your husband, otherwise you wouldn't have stated that you wanted to divorce him after you got your citizenship. Think about the hurt and pain you may cause this person and the time and emotion he put into helping you come with him here and bringing your children, and loving them as you said. Again, this isn't a judgement, I just hope you considered how this is going to affect another human being who seems to love you and your children as his own.
You really need to consider the situation you're facing. If you want to go through with this, you need to be honest to your U.S. husband so that if you do proceed with the citizenship procedures, everyone is on the same page with what is going on. To be honest, it does sound like you tried to evade immigration as Hypnos said, therefore i'm not sure how much constructive advice you may get as people do not want to assist someone in fraudulent activity.
But, good luck to you, and I hope the best for your U.S husband, no one deserves this.

What does pre-trump have to do with anything? Leave the president out of this because it is at the sole discretion of the uscis officer on your case whether or not you should be recommended for the status or not. Your lawyer can send in a million pieces of paperwork, but if hasnt satisfied the reviewing officer...you're out of luck.

Thank you. I am also retired, so my Tricare will cover me, thankfully. It may mean being reimbursed in certain instances, but if I need to get sent to like Germany, I will be good to go. 

Stay on topic or they will close this thread.
 
Also OP, my VA healthcare did not cover outside the US. So if you plan on living on Ghana that is something you might want to consider.

If he gets a B visa, have him come here and meet your family. Don’t get married till you go back to Ghana. The rest is confusing because you talk variously about living there and getting him citizenship, mutually exclusive factors. I come from a country where polygamous tribal marriages are legal, it’s not Ghana, but I’m sure there are parallels. Just be sure you know where in the hierarchy you’ll be. And why. Why does this Ghanaian chief want to import a US bride?
 
—
and yes, perceptions about Ghana matter, maybe not here but certainly at the consulate. 56% of Ghanaian applicants for B visas are refused. It also has one of the highest refusal rates for DV visas (which are more often than not a slam dunk for those being selected). There are forums where Ghanaians talk openly about falsifying documents, lying at interview etc. different culture about a lot of things,not just marriage, but a lot of that falls foul of US immigration law.

If he doesn't intend on living here, he is some kind of chief with wealth, what US benefits are you trying to get him? I'm a married veteran with a 100% disability, and my wife (who I've been married to solely for almost 6 years), doesn't get some kind of extraordinary benefits. Spousal benefits for veterans are typically a benefit payment increase, educational opportunity (roughly 1000 a month or so), an average option of supplemental healthcare (if approved), and I think that's the most noteworthy. I dont think that's a good reason to want your marriage to he recognized here, seems like a sketchy use of government funds in my opinion.
 
So my question is, if you plan on living in Ghana indefinitely after your illegal US marriage, the only benefit that would remotely serve that kind of marriage is a benefits increase assuming the US government pays citizens living in Ghana. (Some countries they will not pay benefits if you reside there, check their website to confirm your situatuon).
 
Unless he divorces, stay in Ghana. A B-2 is a tourist visa, the moment they find out the intent is to marry on it, it is game over and a denial.
 
Enjoy being a chieftess or whatever the spouse is called and enjoy his wealth with him, if he doesn't want to give up being some kind of ruler, then he has no desire to respect the rule of law here in the US, thus trying to marry him here under false pretense, or illegal way is futile. 

If he doesn't intend on living here, he is some kind of chief with wealth, what US benefits are you trying to get him? I'm a married veteran with a 100% disability, and my wife (who I've been married to solely for almost 6 years), doesn't get some kind of extraordinary benefits. Spousal benefits for veterans are typically a benefit payment increase, educational opportunity (roughly 1000 a month or so), an average option of supplemental healthcare (if approved), and I think that's the most noteworthy. I dont think that's a good reason to want your marriage to he recognized here, seems like a sketchy use of government funds in my opinion.
 
So my question is, if you plan on living in Ghana indefinitely after your illegal US marriage, the only benefit that would remotely serve that kind of marriage is a benefits increase assuming the US government pays citizens living in Ghana. (Some countries they will not pay benefits if you reside there, check their website to confirm your situatuon).
 
Unless he divorces, stay in Ghana. A B-2 is a tourist visa, the moment they find out the intent is to marry on it, it is game over and a denial.
 
Enjoy being a chieftess or whatever the spouse is called and enjoy his wealth with him, if he doesn't want to give up being some kind of ruler, then he has no desire to respect the rule of law here in the US, thus trying to marry him here under false pretense, or illegal way is futile. 

10 year card received in the mail yesterday 12/7.
 
Turns out our case was transferred from CSC to Vermont at some point I guess due to backlog.
 
No RFE and No Interview for us.
 
Seeyou all in the N400 thread soon!

Horde players have a 97% chance of instant approval. Alliance players get stuck in administrative processing...until they roll Horde. 
 
Link your fiance achievement or no visa for you! MUST have ilvl  915+

Horde players have a 97% chance of instant approval. Alliance players get stuck in administrative processing...until they roll Horde. 
 
Link your fiance achievement or no visa for you! MUST have ilvl  915+

Horde players have a 97% chance of instant approval. Alliance players get stuck in administrative processing...until they roll Horde. 
 
Link your fiance achievement or no visa for you! MUST have ilvl  915+

Somebody has to do it. . . FOR THE HORDE!!!!! 

We just went through this exact same situation. We needed to travel back to Romania to attend to some urgent family issues. We had been hoping while we were there her 10 year green card would have been ready, but after we had been gone about 3 1/2 months, they were still a few months away from us. Our total time abroad was 4 months 5 days. We didn't encounter any issues at all at our pie, he only asked if we were together the whole time and stamped us good to go.
 
We did a ton of research on this issue as things weren't in a stable position for us to leave yet, but there was no way we were going to abandon our hard work to get this far. Here is what I came up with regarding going abroad for an extended period of time.
 
1) The one year rule is pretty much set in stone unless you have the travel waiver which can extend it up to two years, but that is only for very exceptional circumstances.
2) While being gone over a year pretty much guarantees abandonment, they say that border control officers can pull you in yo secondary screening at any time and you should be mindful of this even if your trip is 3-5 months. It is 100% at the officers discretion.
3) In order to file for naturalization, you MUST be on US soil three months prior to filing, we could have filed by now but we are now delayed three months.
4) The definition of physical presence means you maintain a domicile and address in the US you live in. Physical presence is still established for trips of up to 6 months (this is the 6 month rule thing). If you are gone longer than 6 months you have lost your physical presence and it will make getting citizenship very challenging in the future.
5) Your *1 year* starts on the date your passport is first stamped going abroad. The theory is that you MUST be physically in the US for at least half of the year to avoid big issues. Also, it is VERY highly unadvised to take a long trip abroad, return for a short time, and then leave again for a long trip. From what I've read this is a HUGE flag to immigration officers as it looks like you are living abroad and only coming here for brief periods, they have an honest right to assume you've established a new residency abroad.
 
Hope this helps. Plan your trips ahead. Last minute flights are pricey.

Six months is very much part of the official rules, and is in no way 'unofficial'. 
https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartD-Chapter3.html
https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-11261/0-0-0-30960/0-0-0-31016.html#0-0-0-19579
 
 
Nope. 
 
You must be resident in the state you are filing from, for three months preceding the filing.
You are permitted to travel overseas within that period, but not move states, or change ID to a different state. 
https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartD-Chapter6.html
 
"An applicant's residence during any absence abroad of less than one year will continue to be the state or service district where the applicant resided before departure. If the applicant returns to the same residence, he or she will have complied with the three-month jurisdictional residence requirement when at least three months have elapsed, including any part of the absence, from when the applicant first established that residence. "
"If the applicant establishes residence in a different state or service district from where he or she last resided, the applicant must reside three months at that new residence before applying in order to meet the three-month jurisdictional residence requirement."
 

We just went through this exact same situation. We needed to travel back to Romania to attend to some urgent family issues. We had been hoping while we were there her 10 year green card would have been ready, but after we had been gone about 3 1/2 months, they were still a few months away from us. Our total time abroad was 4 months 5 days. We didn't encounter any issues at all at our pie, he only asked if we were together the whole time and stamped us good to go.
 
We did a ton of research on this issue as things weren't in a stable position for us to leave yet, but there was no way we were going to abandon our hard work to get this far. Here is what I came up with regarding going abroad for an extended period of time.
 
1) The one year rule is pretty much set in stone unless you have the travel waiver which can extend it up to two years, but that is only for very exceptional circumstances.
2) While being gone over a year pretty much guarantees abandonment, they say that border control officers can pull you in yo secondary screening at any time and you should be mindful of this even if your trip is 3-5 months. It is 100% at the officers discretion.
3) In order to file for naturalization, you MUST be on US soil three months prior to filing, we could have filed by now but we are now delayed three months.
4) The definition of physical presence means you maintain a domicile and address in the US you live in. Physical presence is still established for trips of up to 6 months (this is the 6 month rule thing). If you are gone longer than 6 months you have lost your physical presence and it will make getting citizenship very challenging in the future.
5) Your *1 year* starts on the date your passport is first stamped going abroad. The theory is that you MUST be physically in the US for at least half of the year to avoid big issues. Also, it is VERY highly unadvised to take a long trip abroad, return for a short time, and then leave again for a long trip. From what I've read this is a HUGE flag to immigration officers as it looks like you are living abroad and only coming here for brief periods, they have an honest right to assume you've established a new residency abroad.
 
Hope this helps. Plan your trips ahead. Last minute flights are pricey.

We just went through this exact same situation. We needed to travel back to Romania to attend to some urgent family issues. We had been hoping while we were there her 10 year green card would have been ready, but after we had been gone about 3 1/2 months, they were still a few months away from us. Our total time abroad was 4 months 5 days. We didn't encounter any issues at all at our pie, he only asked if we were together the whole time and stamped us good to go.
 
We did a ton of research on this issue as things weren't in a stable position for us to leave yet, but there was no way we were going to abandon our hard work to get this far. Here is what I came up with regarding going abroad for an extended period of time.
 
1) The one year rule is pretty much set in stone unless you have the travel waiver which can extend it up to two years, but that is only for very exceptional circumstances.
2) While being gone over a year pretty much guarantees abandonment, they say that border control officers can pull you in yo secondary screening at any time and you should be mindful of this even if your trip is 3-5 months. It is 100% at the officers discretion.
3) In order to file for naturalization, you MUST be on US soil three months prior to filing, we could have filed by now but we are now delayed three months.
4) The definition of physical presence means you maintain a domicile and address in the US you live in. Physical presence is still established for trips of up to 6 months (this is the 6 month rule thing). If you are gone longer than 6 months you have lost your physical presence and it will make getting citizenship very challenging in the future.
5) Your *1 year* starts on the date your passport is first stamped going abroad. The theory is that you MUST be physically in the US for at least half of the year to avoid big issues. Also, it is VERY highly unadvised to take a long trip abroad, return for a short time, and then leave again for a long trip. From what I've read this is a HUGE flag to immigration officers as it looks like you are living abroad and only coming here for brief periods, they have an honest right to assume you've established a new residency abroad.
 
Hope this helps. Plan your trips ahead. Last minute flights are pricey.

The fact that you speak Spanish is going to give you huge leverage in most states in the U.S. My wife got here and spoke Romanian and English fluently, and could comprehend most spoken Spanish. She landed a pretty great job, which she had only 7 months past experience, within 60 days and it's been good for us so far. At 23, she's already in a job that could lead to a potentially good paying salary career. Bilingual gets you far in the U.S.
I honestly feel like unless you're working on Wall Street or some super serious job, don't worry about all the diplomas, start building your confidence, because confidence impresses employers, and employers give those with confidence the jobs.

Hello, my wife will be immigrating to the US on Saturday this week on a CR-1 Visa. We have everything prepared and finished except the $165 USCIS ELIS fee which we are kind of confused on because on the welcome packet the embassy gave us, it says it MUST be paid before we arrive in the states, but everywhere else it says it can be paid AFTER we enter, and that it is just required to receive her physical green card.
The fee isn't a problem as much as the fact we have no way to pay it here since we don't have one of the payment methods available, and my mother who is our Joint Sponsor had handled all of the NVC/USCIS fees back home for us. However, on the ELIS fee it isn't as easy as entering your email and password and submitting a payment, you get a code every time you log in and it says to not let ANYONE have access to the website other than the immigrant. That is fine, as we can pay it as soon as we get home in the U.S., but will this be a problem at our PoE?
This is a direct quote from the USCIS ELIS page under "Immigrant Visa Fee"
"We strongly encourage you to pay this fee after you receive your immigrant visa packet from the U.S. embassy or consulate abroad (including Canada and Mexico) and before you depart for the United States. Paying before you depart for the United States will ensure that you receive your Green Card without delay. However, you can also pay the USCIS Immigrant Fee after you immigrate to the United States. We will send your Green Card to you after you pay the fee. "
So, are we ok to pay the fee a day or two after we arrive in the US or will this cause issues at the PoE?
Thank you!

Hi everyone, sorry we have not updated the timeline since we arrived, but we've been very busy trying to get things organized and our sleeping habits are still a little off after moving from Romania. I'm writing this review on behalf of my wife (The immigrant spouse) and myself (The USC).
First, we had purchased our airline tickets the same day we received my wife's visa in hand on October 3rd 2014. We paid a little higher than we wanted, about $988 per ticket on Priceline with our carrier being Delta. We were supposed to fly from Bucharest -> Amsterdam -> Detroit -> Memphis all on Nov. 1st. Well, on the day of our flight we arrived at the Bucharest, Romania airport for our flight to Amsterdam at 8:55AM and we were notified we had been upgraded to first class for no reason whatsoever. I told my wife the moment we took off that nothing is ever free when it comes to flying and boy was I right...Upon landing in Amsterdam about three hours later at around 11:00AM local time, we immediately checked the flight boards for our connecting gate for the Amsterdam to Detroit Delta flight at 1:20PM. Our hearts sunk to our stomachs when we saw CANCELLED written beside the flight. We rushed to the KLM Transfer desk (KLM is in the Delta Alliance) and began to inquire what was wrong and what our options were. The KLM agent kept us there for over an hour and was laughing and joking with other colleagues, all this time people on the same flight were rescheduled and compensated within 10-20 minutes. We were tired, frustrated, displaced, and felt highly disrespected. This was my wife's first time every flying and her first time leaving Romania so it was a terrible experience for her. We had planned each layover carefully so that we had time to meet immigration procedures and catch our connecting flight. Finally, after about 1 1/2 hours of waiting we were rescheduled to Atlanta (instead of Detroit) with a 1 hour and 32 minute layover (Instead of our original 2 hour and 22 minute layover). We were panicked. I had read that Atlanta took at least 2 hours because of how busy it was. The KLM employee told us that if we missed our flight in Atlanta that we would have to deal with Delta at that point since it would no longer be there issue. They put us up in a rather nice hotel, in the middle of no where, with no travel vouchers or phone cards to contact family and that was that. The following day we boarded the plane and we were given the very, very ,very last seats in the plane next to the bathrooms (we were originally in the middle so we wouldn't be last in immigration line) and it was by far the worst experience with an airline I've ever had. Needless to say, if my options were to fly with Delta or swim across the ocean next time...i'll go ahead and just swim.
We Arrived at the Atlanta airport much earlier than the scheduled time (Flight landed at like 12:30PM and we had 2 hours until our next flight) and this was a God sent blessing. We were the final two people to depart the plane and I don't know how, but we were the ONLY Immigrant Visa people at the TRIPOD area. I've gone through Atlanta a couple of times during my military days and I think once after when I was returning from Romania, but it was very, very slow for the middle of the day on a Sunday. My wife and I approached the lady directing the traffic at immigration and she was very nice and escorted us to the TRIPOD area. When we arrived, we took a seat and waited for the only CBP officer in the TRIPOD area to call us. He was friendly enough, very short, didn't ask many questions at all. I think he just asked where we were living, who's house was it, and how long have we been married. He then asked us to sit down again after he took her SEALED ENVELOPE from the embassy. My wife offered him her X-Ray and Immunization Records from the medical exam, but he said he didn't need them. After maybe 10 or 15 minutes he called us back up, chatted for a moment (No real questions, just asking if we were familiar with the RoC procedures and such) and then stamped her visa. I was a bit sad because he didn't say "Welcome to America!", but the last thing he did before we officially crossed the border was give her a piece of paper talking about filing taxes, so I guess that was a "Welcome to America" in it's own sense Overall, it was just as great an experience as the embassy. Even though the CBP officer was not as personal or friendly as our interviewing officer, he was very professional and was not intimidating at all, just focused on his job. Well done to you sir and the CBP staff at Atlanta.
Next up, we hit Customs. We were given a customs form on the plane that Non-US citizens only were supposed to fill out. My wife filled it out and we barely brought anything other than clothes. Just like a few pieces of European chocolate and a small picture gift. We went up to the Customs officer, handed him our form, and were waved right on through. We then went to the luggage pick-up were we rolled our checked luggage to Customs and it underwent another screening, as well as another full body screening, and we went to re-check our bags again. I can't say it was a good or bad experience. It was rather neutral...just another security thing for me I guess. Anyway, Customs was over and done in less than 30 minutes or so and we were on our way to our final flight to Memphis.
Aside from our terrible experience with Delta Airlines, the Immigration and Customs aspect was really nice at Atlanta. I'm a southerner myself, so being welcomed home after over one year living abroad by southern hospitality was really nice. A+ for the government staff in Atlanta airport.
So, it's been a week and we've actually done quite a bit. My wife applied in the office for her social security card (Because like others said, it wasn't even in the system although we requested it on the DS-260 before she even had her visa interview!) and that should be here in about 5-10 more days. I got my wife her Tennessee Identification license so when she receives her Social Security Number we can start getting things jointly to help build her credit and establish our new bona-fides for RoC in a couple of years. We've spent the past couple of days working on her resume in English and she's sent out a couple of resumes so hopefully, someone will be interested in her and ONLY WHEN she receives her social security card, she can start working if she's 100% ready. Although she is struggling to find all the foods she likes here, I have to say, my wife is one hell of a woman. She is handling this transition like a true champion. I know she is homesick and scared, but she is strong every day and she is getting along amazingly with everyone. She has a very likable personality and people just seem to want to get to know her. I'm glad for both of us she's finding some happiness here, for my health and her sanity, it's been a blessing. If I had to offer any advice for any US Citizens who are struggling in helping their wives adapt, it would be to stay calm, give her as much love as she is willing to accept, support her and encourage her to chase her dreams, and remind her that no matter how good or bad things go, you are always there for her. Also, make sure you are supportive of her taking time to communicate with her family, my wife does it 2-5 times a day right now, and I know she needs it because no matter where you are from, there is no place like home.
Thank you VisaJourney for your help along the way. Sorry for the long post, but I just wanted to be thorough. I'm sure Ana will add to this if she has anything else to say. This may not be the end of our Journey, but the beginning was very pleasant and the Immigration aspect was nothing less than professional.

Hi everyone, sorry we have not updated the timeline since we arrived, but we've been very busy trying to get things organized and our sleeping habits are still a little off after moving from Romania. I'm writing this review on behalf of my wife (The immigrant spouse) and myself (The USC).
First, we had purchased our airline tickets the same day we received my wife's visa in hand on October 3rd 2014. We paid a little higher than we wanted, about $988 per ticket on Priceline with our carrier being Delta. We were supposed to fly from Bucharest -> Amsterdam -> Detroit -> Memphis all on Nov. 1st. Well, on the day of our flight we arrived at the Bucharest, Romania airport for our flight to Amsterdam at 8:55AM and we were notified we had been upgraded to first class for no reason whatsoever. I told my wife the moment we took off that nothing is ever free when it comes to flying and boy was I right...Upon landing in Amsterdam about three hours later at around 11:00AM local time, we immediately checked the flight boards for our connecting gate for the Amsterdam to Detroit Delta flight at 1:20PM. Our hearts sunk to our stomachs when we saw CANCELLED written beside the flight. We rushed to the KLM Transfer desk (KLM is in the Delta Alliance) and began to inquire what was wrong and what our options were. The KLM agent kept us there for over an hour and was laughing and joking with other colleagues, all this time people on the same flight were rescheduled and compensated within 10-20 minutes. We were tired, frustrated, displaced, and felt highly disrespected. This was my wife's first time every flying and her first time leaving Romania so it was a terrible experience for her. We had planned each layover carefully so that we had time to meet immigration procedures and catch our connecting flight. Finally, after about 1 1/2 hours of waiting we were rescheduled to Atlanta (instead of Detroit) with a 1 hour and 32 minute layover (Instead of our original 2 hour and 22 minute layover). We were panicked. I had read that Atlanta took at least 2 hours because of how busy it was. The KLM employee told us that if we missed our flight in Atlanta that we would have to deal with Delta at that point since it would no longer be there issue. They put us up in a rather nice hotel, in the middle of no where, with no travel vouchers or phone cards to contact family and that was that. The following day we boarded the plane and we were given the very, very ,very last seats in the plane next to the bathrooms (we were originally in the middle so we wouldn't be last in immigration line) and it was by far the worst experience with an airline I've ever had. Needless to say, if my options were to fly with Delta or swim across the ocean next time...i'll go ahead and just swim.
We Arrived at the Atlanta airport much earlier than the scheduled time (Flight landed at like 12:30PM and we had 2 hours until our next flight) and this was a God sent blessing. We were the final two people to depart the plane and I don't know how, but we were the ONLY Immigrant Visa people at the TRIPOD area. I've gone through Atlanta a couple of times during my military days and I think once after when I was returning from Romania, but it was very, very slow for the middle of the day on a Sunday. My wife and I approached the lady directing the traffic at immigration and she was very nice and escorted us to the TRIPOD area. When we arrived, we took a seat and waited for the only CBP officer in the TRIPOD area to call us. He was friendly enough, very short, didn't ask many questions at all. I think he just asked where we were living, who's house was it, and how long have we been married. He then asked us to sit down again after he took her SEALED ENVELOPE from the embassy. My wife offered him her X-Ray and Immunization Records from the medical exam, but he said he didn't need them. After maybe 10 or 15 minutes he called us back up, chatted for a moment (No real questions, just asking if we were familiar with the RoC procedures and such) and then stamped her visa. I was a bit sad because he didn't say "Welcome to America!", but the last thing he did before we officially crossed the border was give her a piece of paper talking about filing taxes, so I guess that was a "Welcome to America" in it's own sense Overall, it was just as great an experience as the embassy. Even though the CBP officer was not as personal or friendly as our interviewing officer, he was very professional and was not intimidating at all, just focused on his job. Well done to you sir and the CBP staff at Atlanta.
Next up, we hit Customs. We were given a customs form on the plane that Non-US citizens only were supposed to fill out. My wife filled it out and we barely brought anything other than clothes. Just like a few pieces of European chocolate and a small picture gift. We went up to the Customs officer, handed him our form, and were waved right on through. We then went to the luggage pick-up were we rolled our checked luggage to Customs and it underwent another screening, as well as another full body screening, and we went to re-check our bags again. I can't say it was a good or bad experience. It was rather neutral...just another security thing for me I guess. Anyway, Customs was over and done in less than 30 minutes or so and we were on our way to our final flight to Memphis.
Aside from our terrible experience with Delta Airlines, the Immigration and Customs aspect was really nice at Atlanta. I'm a southerner myself, so being welcomed home after over one year living abroad by southern hospitality was really nice. A+ for the government staff in Atlanta airport.
So, it's been a week and we've actually done quite a bit. My wife applied in the office for her social security card (Because like others said, it wasn't even in the system although we requested it on the DS-260 before she even had her visa interview!) and that should be here in about 5-10 more days. I got my wife her Tennessee Identification license so when she receives her Social Security Number we can start getting things jointly to help build her credit and establish our new bona-fides for RoC in a couple of years. We've spent the past couple of days working on her resume in English and she's sent out a couple of resumes so hopefully, someone will be interested in her and ONLY WHEN she receives her social security card, she can start working if she's 100% ready. Although she is struggling to find all the foods she likes here, I have to say, my wife is one hell of a woman. She is handling this transition like a true champion. I know she is homesick and scared, but she is strong every day and she is getting along amazingly with everyone. She has a very likable personality and people just seem to want to get to know her. I'm glad for both of us she's finding some happiness here, for my health and her sanity, it's been a blessing. If I had to offer any advice for any US Citizens who are struggling in helping their wives adapt, it would be to stay calm, give her as much love as she is willing to accept, support her and encourage her to chase her dreams, and remind her that no matter how good or bad things go, you are always there for her. Also, make sure you are supportive of her taking time to communicate with her family, my wife does it 2-5 times a day right now, and I know she needs it because no matter where you are from, there is no place like home.
Thank you VisaJourney for your help along the way. Sorry for the long post, but I just wanted to be thorough. I'm sure Ana will add to this if she has anything else to say. This may not be the end of our Journey, but the beginning was very pleasant and the Immigration aspect was nothing less than professional.

I'd wait it out a couple weeks and then go to an SSA office and ask to apply for one. It normally takes a while, but in some rare cases it never comes to you, so you have to go apply in person.

Applying for an SS card really isn't a big deal. The lines might be pretty long in the SSA building you go to, but just bring a coffee, hehe. As long as you have the documents required to apply with you then it goes fast. Quite painless.

Well you did as much as you could by checking Yes on the box for the SSN. Now it's just a game of luck. It works for some, doesn't for others. Hope you get it soon.

Hi,
You will not have any issues at POE. They recommend that you pay the fee before entering the US, so they only encourage, not require.
The thing is that some people wait months after POE to pay the fee, or don't pay the fee at all, and then wonder where their green card is. And yes some people are like that lol. You can pay the fee after POE, whenever you can.
The visa and entry stamp serve as a temporary GC for one year from POE date. Two cousins of mine paid the fee before POE and their GC's still took like 2 or 3 months to arrive, so I don't really see the advantage.

My wife just paid hers and she's been here 3 weeks. They gave here a note when she arrived saying to pay it to get her green card. Not a big deal to pay it here.