Ian H.

They ask for proof of current employment even if you have a joint sponsor. It happened to us and to my cousin more recently, so I would submit those, or the letters of employment. I for example, had to submit a letter even though we had a joint sponsor. I didn't submit it because I assumed it wasn't required, I sent just the taxes, especially since I'm self employed, but we got a checklist.
As for the I-864, the petitioner always has to submit one, regardless of income and/or employment status. You submit two separate I-864's with separate documentation, one for yourself and one for your mother.
For part 6, I would put the jobs in which you make the most since the form has room for two employers. I would write in no. 1, job title and job title, and then list the employers in the boxes below. It's unnecessary to list yourself as a student if you have at least one job, even if it's only part time. A student status typically means you have no job because you only go to school.
If your mom is going to be the joint sponsor, how many people are part of her household according to the I-864?
Does she claim you in her taxes? Does she have other dependents, or a spouse? If so, she has to make enough for any of those people, herself, and your husband.
Assuming it's only her, she would be a household of 2 including your husband and has to make at least $19,662 a year. If she doesn't make that or has a bigger household and doesn't make enough she can't be your joint sponsor.
If she doesn't make enough, but lives with you, you would be able to combine your income with hers if she submits an I-864A, and it may bring you above the poverty level.

She's enrolled in school and today will be 1 full week that she's been attending.
It was a tad bit of a nightmare getting her enrolled because we had to argue with them - they did want proof of immigrant status, but after I told them they're not allowed to ask and I showed them the information about Plyler v. Doe (thanks everyone for that btw), they called the school district office and then came back to us and apologized profusely - they didn't ask anymore questions about anything - they just enrolled her. I did bring her school records from the UK, but they never even looked at them.
Anyhow, her take on the US vs UK school system after 1 week is this:
English classes are easier here and everything else is a lot harder.
All in all, she seems to be adjusting well and making new friends - so far so good.
Her birth certificate should arrive any day now and we can get started on the visa.

Well, our case was approved on 12-3-12 by USCIS, it reached the NVC on 1-3-13. My cousin's case was approved March last year and the NVC received it in April. I don't know how they do it or in what order, but it can take a month just to get to the NVC in my experience.

Hi all,
Thank you for all your replies. I've called NVC to verify if I need to provide a marriage certificate from a previous marriage and they stated that I do. As to why, I was told they are working off of a requirements list. So, even though me and my mom are under the same last name and I am divorced, I still need to provide a marriage cert. Divorce papers won't be sufficient in place of the marriage cert. Just clarifying for anyone that might have the same question in the future. Thanks again.

I think you're missing some facts. There are plenty of non-British citizens who live in the UK and want to travel to the U.S. either for tourism or to move there. My wife happens to be Polish born. She and I, came to live in the UK, for two reasons. The main one was because I was able to file my petition for her through the quickest route possible - DCF. This could not be possible in her native Poland. It doesn't matter what country you're in, there are plenty of people out there who are trying to get visas for all the wrong reasons. The Embassy staff in London just happens to be very professional and there's no reason to be rude or cold in order to follow their procedures.

Ok, got it. So if your father sent in the I-864, he has to submit proof of his current income. So that would be a letter of employment or the most recent paystubs (you can send the most recent stub, if it has the YTD amount).
If you can send both, even better, but it really can be one or the other since some employers take time to give an employment letter.
He also has to send the full tax return or transcript for 2013. He has to include a copy of his w2 or 1099's as well to prove his income for last year. All of this I mentioned proves your father's income so that they won't require an I-864A for anyone else.
As for the the I-864 that he filled out, did he list everyone in the appropriate boxes?
Meaning in part 5 of the form, no. 1 should be "1" for your spouse, no 3 should be "1" for your mom, no 4 should be "2" for your siblings, no 5 should be "1" for you if he claimed you as a dependent in 2013 otherwise it should be blank, no 6 should be empty unless your father has sponsored others before, no 7 should be blank, and no 8 should be "6", or "5" if he didn't claim you in 2013.
Do you still have a copy of his I-864, was the household size in part 5, filled out how I explained?
As for your I-864, you would only list yourself and your wife in part 5, so only enter "1" in no. 1, yourself is already there, and leave all the others blank, no 8. should be "2". You have to write the letter explaining why you didn't file taxes, as I mentioned earlier.
Again, make sure that your dad's I-864 was filled out how I explained and that you submit the docs I mentioned otherwise they will continue to ask for an I-864A and/or ask for more evidence.
If your dad's I-864 wasn't filled out how I explained, then he would have to submit a new one. It would have been much easier if you had done the I-864 for yourself and the I-864A for your dad.
If you discover that your dad's I-864 was improperly filled out, then you could do an I-864 for yourself and the I-864A for your dad along with the required evidence.
If it was properly filled out then you would just need your I-864 and the other docs that I mentioned that you didn't submit (ie 2013 taxes, letter of employment/paystubs, letter of not filing taxes, etc).

The divorce decree should be sufficient proof that you were married at one point since the decree usually specifies the date and place of the marriage. You should contact the NVC and ask if it is really necessary to include the marriage certificate, especially if you are no longer married.
I would at least understand that they require a cert from your current marriage. If they DO require the marriage cert then you would have to get that.
Also, I'm not sure if some countries work differently when it comes to divorce, but the fact that one gets a divorce doesn't cause the marriage records to disappear. For example, my mother and father are divorced, but if they ever need their marriage certificate for some reason, it would still be there.
It would be a pain in the ** for some people if they can't get those docs from here, but they still should be available.

Bank statements aren't required unless he is using money from his bank account as an asset to meet the income requirement.

Bank statements aren't required unless he is using money from his bank account as an asset to meet the income requirement.

They can apply for student visas. They have to qualify for the visa and have to prove ties to their country as well as financial ability to be in the US while they are going to school. Having a pending petition wouldn't affect their visa if they are otherwise eligible. Here is a link with info about student visas:
http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/study-exchange/student.html

There's absolutely no reason for the OP to put Jordan on his application... he wasn't born there... Jordan likely didn't administer the area when he was born (I'm taking a wild guess at his age) and Jordan doesn't administer the area today. It would be like asking a Ukrainian born in 1995 to list USSR as his place of birth.
But it's not even an issue of arguing with the State Department since their rules clearly allow the OP to list West Bank or his city of birth, so that's what he should do in compliance with their guidelines.
There's no risk or hassle involved.

Refer to page 11, part g and onwards on the link below. The dept of state has procedures regarding the status of certain countries, territories, and other jurisdictions. You may be able to have your city of birth listed instead, but they do warn that you may have problems entering some foreign countries.
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/94675.pdf

The I-485 is only to adjust status within the US.
You can use whomever would agree to be your joint sponsor, they do not have to be related to you. They do, however have to make the 125% of the poverty level on their own or with an eligible household member that is willing to combine incomes. You cannot combine any income you have with a joint sponsor, unless they are part of your household.
About filing directly from China, I am unfamiliar with the process, but hopefully another member will comment soon.

A minor child of an LPR is F2A. The priority dates are about 2 years currently. They were current last year, but have since retrogressed. The petition itself can take anywhere from 6 months to 2 years to be approved based on the PD's. Add anywhere from a few months to a year or more for NVC processing, interview scheduling, administrative processing. Here is a link with the PD's:
http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/law-and-policy/bulletin.html

Hi,
You don't have to wait for the actual GC to arrive in the mail before you can do anything you need to as an LPR. They should have either stamped your passport with a temporary I 1551 form or stamped your visa. Either one serves as a temporary green card for one year until you get the actual card. Feel free to get your SSN card, begin working, open a bank account, petition an eligible family member, etc. The actual card can take usually about a month to arrive, but I've seen it take up to 3 months. Of course in your case I would check with USCIS customer service or your elis account should have your case number, I believe so you can track the status of it there.

The child would have a claim to US citizenship, so you should find out with the Dept of state about claiming citizenship for your child. If the child is eligible for citizenship at birth he would be able to get a US passport.
If for some reason you don't qualify to transfer your citizenship to the child, the child can be added to your fiances case as a K2. Then when you do the AOS here, the child would automatically become a USC.
Here are links regarding citizenship via birth abroad to USC's:
http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/abroad/events-and-records/birth.html
http://travel.state.gov/content/travel/english/legal-considerations/us-citizenship-laws-policies/citizenship-child-born-abroad.html

No you'll be fine. It doesn't delay the case whatsoever. It's actually a good thing, because it's further proof that your relationship is genuine.

Primarily, timelines are used to update the visajourney estimates. By keeping a timeline, you are adding to the data kept on VJ to estimate when an approval could be made.
Also, if a user comes to the forums asking a question, it helps for everyone to be able to see that user's timeline so that we can assist them. Factors include the persons country from which they are applying for a visa, dates of filing, RFE's, Notice of assessments, and entry dates. Among many other things.

Immigration has always been a problem way before Obama & Daca. Sure we would always like to put the blame on someone, but to put it on one person is not right. I brought my father to the United States more than 15 years ago way before Obama and way before Daca and I can assure you the wait has ALWAYS been a long process. All we can hope for is that we will be approve and be with our love ones.

Immigration needs to be fixed, but blaming your wait times on Obama is just silly. Honestly, he probably doesn't even know the immigration process like most people in government or USA in General. Run for office, fix things. Don't try to make the most unproductive congress in history even more awful by cockblocking the president.
Good wishes for the rest of the process!

The President has to work with both sides of the house on these issues so blaming the problem on one individual is ignorant of the system of government we enjoy in this wonderful country.
The real problem lies in the fact that these Congressman and Senators have done nothing for over 60 years about immigration reform. This means there has been quite a few Presidents in that time so I see no reason to blame Obama now. The system has failed the people because the citizens have allowed these lazy politicians to do what the lobbyists demand not what is best for the people. We need to ask how these same politicians have remained in the same office for so many years. The answer is simply apathy and ignorance. I read recently read the 87% of the citizens say they are tired of the inability of these politicians to affect any significant change in any of the serious issue we face in this great country.

What a bunch of nonsense. Seriously, blaming Obama for this is silly and childish.

I am looking for help, not to be scrutinized or judged, thank you.

It took my cousin's husband like 2 months to get his GC, even though the fee was paid prior to entry. Also they chose the option to have the SSN applied with the DS-260, it never came.
You should be able to go in to the SSA and apply for it with the stamp on your passport from POE.
This stamp serves as a temporary GC, for all intents and purposes, for one year until you receive your actual card. So feel free to use it for anything you would need to do as an LPR.

It's not what your husband made last year, but rather how much he is making now. Is his income above the poverty level of 125%?
And what exactly do you mean you can't "afford" a joint sponsor? You don't pay for one, you just ask someone you know that is willing to sign the I-864 and be responsible.
What will happen if you send everything as is without meeting the sponsor requirements, is that your AOS will be denied based on the likelihood of becoming a public charge.