motoperpetuo

On 2/9/2023 at 7:39 AM, nelmagriffin said:

Note: 

Tip: Please make sure to let her know your Governor's name, state representative and senator's name.

Good point. She struggles with those too. I think she'll get them if asked, but she has a disturbing tendency to think that James Madison is our representative in the House

I'm helping my wife study for the civics test right now. Does anyone know if she can give just last names for the historical figures? For example, just "Wilson" instead of "Woodrow Wilson" or just "Hamilton" instead of "Alexander Hamilton"? Or maybe "President <Last Name>" would be acceptable if the answer is a president.

I imagine she can because the answers have the first names in parentheses, but I was wondering if anyone knows for sure. She struggles to remember first names sometimes, especially ones that are hard for a native Spanish speaker to say, like "Woodrow," and she gets the first names of our US senators mixed up sometimes. 

Just to make sure, is this the correct link to the current 100 possible civics questions for the citizenship interview:

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/questions-and-answers/100q.pdf

Thanks!

Hello, everyone. Just wanted to give you all an update. We had our immigration interview here in Colorado last week, and we should be getting my wife's permanent residency in the mail in a few weeks. I'm not as knowledgeable about immigration as many of you, so I'm not even sure how to update my timeline, I just wanted to let you know that yes, we were able to adjust my wife's status with the help of our attorney and she did not have to go back to Honduras for an embassy interview.

Thanks very much for your help to everyone who replied. Except for that one guy. Heh.

By the way, if anyone in the Denver area needs a referral for an immigration attorney, contact me. Ours is awesome, can't recommend her highly enough.

It's the weekend so I have time to look into immigration again (I just landed a good job, which I guess is part of this puzzle). I just wanted to thank everyone who's replied in the last two weeks or so, as well as the mods for intervening in the unexpected unpleasantness when I first started this thread. It's encouraging that it seems highly possible my wife won't have to go back to Honduras. For those who haven't been following along from the beginning, if she were from a stable, developed country, We'd probably have her go back but the political situation in her country is very tense right now and could explode again at any moment, as it did last year when we were living there. There was a fair amount of violence, the capital was shut down for days, and it will likely be worse next time. That's my main concern but there are others, like her travelling on her own pretty shortly after delivering a baby by C-section and my somehow taking care of two small kids on my own while working for a week or two.

I'm not concerned about my wife not being able to work or get a driver's license for a bit longer because she wasn't planning on doing those things anytime soon, but I appreciate some of the replies mentioning that. It could be a concern for other couples following along.

She talked to a friend of hers from Honduras earlier this week who had applied for residency while in Germany with her husband, who is in the US military but was suddenly transferred back to the US. If I understood correctly, her friend and her husband were able to have their paperwork sent from the embassy in Germany to the US and get her an interview for residency in the US, so hopefully we can do the same with my wife's paperwork at the embassy in Honduras.

As someone above suggested, next step is probably to find a good lawyer. I looked at the guide several of you mentioned and while it looks like it should be doable, I'm not opposed to spending some money to get professional help. I should probably do that soon. If anyone happens to have any recommendations for good lawyers in the Denver, Colorado area please let me know.

Thanks again!

9 minutes ago, TM92 said:

I feel you about the perilous situation back in Honduras (Maras, etc.) but you also mentioned financial reasons (specifically airline tickets). Below is a recent thread that talks about using round trip tickets as one way because it is cheaper in some situations:

IDK if this also affects tickets to/from Honduras.

I appreciate it. Crime is always a worry in Honduras, but I'm even more worried about political instability and the possibility of riots shutting down the capital. Happened while I was there late last year, and there's still a lot of potential given the political situation.

15 minutes ago, TM92 said:

@Orangesapples: Since the file containing the approved I-130 is at the Tegucigalpa Embassy, will USCIS just simply ask the embassy to transfer it back? I could not find a resource that addresses this, only semi-relevant links: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/should-i-wait-for-nvc-to-send-back-my-case-to-usci-3294746.html and https://www.***removed***/forum/showthread.php/97921-I-130-approved-but-case-was-sent-to-NVC-by-mistake

@geowrian: thoughts? 

Excellent point, and one reason I'll probably consult with a lawyer. Our case is unusual in many ways and ultimately it's possible that sending my wife back to Honduras in a few months, difficult as that will be, may be the best solution.

8 minutes ago, iwir said:

OP just do what you plan to do and come back to us with the result. Someone else here might learn from it

I'll do that. I definitely appreciate all the help we've gotten on this forum and would like to pay it back in some small way.

Hopefully TNJ17 isn't right, but he may be so I'll probably consult with a lawyer first. I have no problem with his telling me that this Ukrainian we met was wrong and that it would be illegal for us to apply for AOS in our situation, but he could have done that without the hostility and in just a few sentences, preferably with evidence.

33 minutes ago, TNJ17 said:

How are my assumptions incorrect? Are you or are you not wanting to file for AOS on a tourist visa? That’s not an assumption. You mentioned that when you came here asking for advice. Again, you came here asking for advice and just because you don’t like the advice you were given doesn’t mean it’s not real. And no I will not go away because it’s people like you who make this path to immigration much longer than it should be. 

No, that is correct and yet you're still being disingenuous. You made many other false assumptions about my intentions in your long, needlessly hostile reply. Next time you might try something like "No, applying for residency from the US on a tourist visa when you've already started the CR-1 process would be considered fraudulent." You could even present concrete evidence that what you're saying is correct if you really want to be helpful, rather than "I spoke with immigration officers who told me it was illegal."

Regardless, blocking you.

7 minutes ago, TNJ17 said:

There are millions of lawyers out there who will suggest it is just fine to do so but that doesn’t make it legal. Just because someone says they’ve done it or it’s possible that doesn’t make it legal. Any simple google search will come out saying it’s fraudulent. But just because something is fraudulent it doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Which is why you have heard your friend saying it’s ok. Shoplifting isn’t legal but a lot of people do it and get away with it. Doesn’t mean it’s not fraudulent to do so. It just means that people do it and some get away with it and some don’t. I personally don’t think you’re gonna get away with it because you already have a CR1 in progress. USCIS knows of your wife’s immigrant intent. Even if they approve your request by some slim chance they oversaw the CR1 process, what happens when you get caught in a misinterpretation charge because you lied about your intent. That will ban your wife for LIFE from ever stepping foot on US soil all over again. And you will have ruined your chance of having a life together on the US. Not really worth the risk for just a few months of bliss is it? I’m not asking you to believe me. But I did extensive search and studied a lot about immigration law before we decided to take this route. I spoke with immigration officers who told me it was illegal to do precisely what you are wanting to do. You’ve come on this website asking for advice and this is what we have to say. Just because it doesn’t turn out to be the way you want it to be doesn’t mean it’s not true or has no back up base. We have all been in the same position as you. Everyone wants to be with their loved ones as fast as the speed of light but we all chose to do it the legal way. It takes long dure but we all survive. We all had families we wanted to be with and not a lot of money to spend and would have taken the fastest route possible if one was available. But truth is this is immigration you are dealing with. It takes as long as it takes and it costs as much as it costs. It should come as no surprise to you that this is a long and expensive route and you know that from the start. If you don’t think you can handle the pressure of the consequences that come from it maybe immigration route isn’t for you. You’re no different than any of us and your case is no more special than any of us. Do it right like the rest of us. 

Your hostility and incorrect assumptions are neither necessary nor helpful. Please go away.

3 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

So what? All of us K1s went through this

Yes, I was confused as to how giving up a tourist visa for residency could possibly be a bad trade. Seemed like he was throwing that out there as a last attempt to discourage me after you called him out on his first post being wrong. Why he would do that, I have no idea. Thank you again for your helpful responses, I really appreciate it. I'm going to continue to look into this.

1 minute ago, TNJ17 said:

Just because you say it’s not fraud and you have no intention of committing fraud doesn’t make what you want to do any less fraudulent. The truth of the matter is what you want to do IS fraud. You are very well likely to find a lawyer who will say you can do it and be successful at it because they want your money and nothing else. Your point now is if you think you can get away with committing visa fraud. However, there is no guarantee for that but it sounds like you are dead set on committing it whether you believe it’s fraud or not. You may very well succeed in it but that doesn’t make it any less fraudulent. 

3 minutes ago, TNJ17 said:

Also it may be worth mentioning that the fact that you have a pending CR1 in progress will heavily weigh on the decision for her AOS and proving intent to commit fraud. 

It's very frustrating that you're accusing me of intent to commit a crime when I simply came here to ask if what the Ukrainian I met suggested would be legal. I don't know. I'm not very knowledgeable about immigration law, and I would just like my family to be together. Some people have replied suggesting that it would be fine. You're saying it would make me a criminal and that any lawyer who were to tell me otherwise would also be a crook. I don't really know who to believe. Do you have a specific statute or something like that to back up what you're claiming about how the law works?

14 minutes ago, Orangesapples said:

Keep in mind that if you file for AOS she won't be able to work for about 6 months. If she finishes the CR-1 process then she will have a green card upon arrival. Also, in some states it might be hard to get a driver's license before getting an EAD. I don't know if she plans on working or just taking care of the kids but it's one thing to keep in mind. 

 

You don't need an attorney BTW, save your money. You can easily AOS, it will just be a giant waste of money. 

She's a homemaker and not planning on working anytime soon, so it's not a concern for us, but good point, that might be a factor for someone following along.

Good news that it should be doable without a lawyer too. You guys are making my day. Thanks again for taking the time to read and understand what I was actually asking and being helpful.

48 minutes ago, pushbrk said:

The additional filing fee just to apply to adjust status is $1,225 and then you'll be paying 3 to $500 or more for a new medical exam in the US.  If all your wife goes back for is an interview and perhaps a medical, there's no reason for her to be gone more than a couple weeks.  Weigh it out and make your choice.

Under $2,000 sounds like a steal to not have her go back to Honduras. Taking care of two small kids for a few weeks by myself while working would be very difficult and expensive, and the other expenses involved in having her go back would come out to far more than 2k. Then there's the very real possibility of something going wrong in her country. People dealing with first world countries have no idea of the risk involved in traveling and trying to get things done in places like Honduras. 

Thanks again, and thanks to Mollie09. I'll definitely check out the guide she linked and likely talk to a lawyer soon.

4 minutes ago, Roel said:

Nope. Still doesn't make sense in my opinion. Instead of going to the interview of process you already finished  you're planning on starting this long and expensive process that is not 100% guaranteed to be approved. 

 

But good luck. 

Thanks. Like I said, WAY less money and the family doesn't have to be separated if you're right (I hope you are). Sure, she can't travel outside the US but with only me working and two children under three years old, we weren't exactly planning any European vacations or anything like that anytime soon.

1 hour ago, pushbrk said:

It's possible but it would be faster and less expensive to complete the visa process.  No, it is not fraud to apply for adjusting status, since it was certainly not her intent upon entry.  Doing so, would invalidate her visitor visa as well.

 

When entering the US, you dealt with Customs and Border Control agents, not ICE. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement)  Both part of Homeland Security along with USCIS but three separate agencies.

I appreciate your helpful answer. I'm surprised at how the others who've responded have attacked us. I suppose it's frustration at all the actual visa fraud out there, but I think my original post made it clear that we are trying to do this all legally and that was why I was asking the question. I think I'll talk to a lawyer and see what expense would be involved in applying while we're in the US. If we could avoid my wife's having to go back and leave me here with our children while I'm working, it might be worth it. Thanks again.

2 hours ago, Roel said:

You're already done with the process and according to your post all you need to do is schedule an interview... 

 

But instead you want to pay over 1.200$ for AOS and wait another 12 to 14 months for your spouse green card and about 6 months for her ability to even work and travel. I mean, you didn't think it's going to be free and fast process right? 

 

Yeah. Make sense. 

$1,200 is nothing. Chump change, less than a ticket to Honduras which is FAR from the only expense we'll incur when she returns for her interview. $1,200 and my wife not having to return to Honduras while we figure out what to do with our two small children while she's there and I'm here in the US working would be a godsend compared to the process and expense we're looking at here in the real world.

Make sense now?

5 hours ago, Rusty72 said:

YES

And I don't think you mentioned that bit of info when you entered the U.S. on her tourist visa

Of course not. It hadn't even occurred to us until we met this Ukrainian who suggested it might be possible. That wasn't clear from my last paragraph? There aren't many Ukrainians in Honduras, and I thought the fact that I mentioned talking to ICE first and then meeting the Ukrainian would make it clear, but maybe not.

These implications that we're somehow trying to commit a crime are very frustrating to me because we've been in this difficult and very expensive process for years, trying to do it legally, while all around me I see people both in my wife's country and the US profiting massively from openly and cynically committing visa fraud.

Are you saying that it's fraudulent for my wife to be here on her tourist visa while we're in the CR-1 process? We explained our situation and what we are doing to ICE  when we entered the US a few weeks ago, including the fact that my wife would eventually return to Honduras for her embassy interview. ICE allowed her to enter the US, so I doubt we're committing fraud. Or did you mean that it would be fraudulent if my wife were to apply for a green card while she were here on her tourist visa? If that's the case we won't do that. That's why I'm asking the question.

Regardless, I don't see how the strong language or the implication that we're committing or considering committing a crime is necessary.

My Honduran wife and I started the CR-1 process in 2015. In 2016 I found a job in Honduras and moved there, after we'd already submitted the I-130. There was a problem with some of the supporting documentation but we finally got that cleared up and in May of 2018 received an embassy interview for 05 June 2018. Since we were planning on staying in Honduras for another year or two, we asked the embassy to postpone the interview indefinitely. 

Unfortunately shortly thereafter I lost my job, so now we're back in the US. We were unable to get another interview before leaving Honduras, so she is here on a tourist visa.

Is there a way she can apply for a green card while we're here in the US? We met an immigrant from Ukraine who was originally in the US on an H1-B and managed to get residency after getting married in the US and she felt that we could get my wife residency without her having to return to Honduras for an interview, but I'm thinking our process with the CR-1 is completely different. Does anyone know?

Thanks guys. I was pretty sure that was the case. We have all the paperwork in and had an interview date, but we're currently living in Honduras and thought we would be staying here for at least another year, so we recently contacted the embassy to postpone her interview. As luck would have it about a week after doing so, I was notified that my contract with my employer will be ending this month. Unfortunately there are no more interview dates until the date we need to leave to return to the US. I mentioned this within earshot of an obnoxious, know-it-all coworker and he loudly said "Brah, bad move, brah" (that's how he talks) and proceeded to claim that we could have delayed her entry into the US after the interview and getting her visa. I was pretty sure this was made up-on-the-fly BS designed to  make an insecure, little man feel like he was dominating the conversation (that's what this guy does) but I just wanted to verify that.

Fortunately my wife does have a tourist visa, so we'll be able to go back to the US together. She'll just have to come back to Honduras later for the interview. Inconvenient, but not the end of the world.

My understanding is that once my wife has her embassy interview and gets her conditional residency visa, she has to actually move to the US within six months. Is there anyway to extend that time period if needed?

My wife and I are currently living in Honduras. I work at a US military installation here. We recently received her appointment for her embassy interview but because we had planned on staying here for a few more years, we had the embassy postpone it indefinitely. As luck would have it, about a week after postponing the interview I was told that my job will be ending next month, so since there aren't any other realistic employment possibilities here I need to return to the US.

My wife is in the process of rescheduling her embassy interview, and we should have a new date this week. My company is talking about moving me to another position in Florida, but I have not received a formal offer yet. If I were to get proof of employment from my company right now does anyone know if that would be sufficient for evidence of income for my wife's interview? I also have well over 100k equity in a property I own in the US. Should I maybe have her bring evidence of that? What about maybe having my parents sign an affidavit of support? Whether or not my company really offers me the job in Florida, I should be employed soon. We just need evidence of income for her interview which will probably be pretty soon, possibly sooner than I have a formal offer.

On 4/20/2018 at 2:45 PM, Chalanero21 said:

Did you figured the process, just in case let me share with you that everything is done via NVC , they will send you an email when your interview will be scheduled or you can call them once per week to check, have you gotten an interview date yet? I am still waiting for case number.

The immigration specialist where I work actually told me that the embassy would contact my wife by email, not the NVC. I emailed the NVC a few weeks ago to keep our case open and got this response:

     "The NVC completed its processing of <redacted>'s visa petition.

     The petition is waiting for an appointment to be scheduled at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS. When an    interview appointment is scheduled, the petitioner, principal applicant, designated agent, and attorney of record (if applicable) will be notified."

I had understood that to mean that the embassy would contact us, but I suppose it's unclear. We haven't heard from whoever is supposed to contact us yet. I sent in our paperwork during November of 2017 and the NVC sent notice that they'd accepted it in December 2017. Seems like I've heard that it can take five months, so maybe that's normal.

Good luck on your case!

I sent our I-864EZ packet to the NVC quite a while ago and they replied asking for a "copia de folio" for both our marriage certificate and my wife's birth certificate. We finally have those documents and we're ready to send them to the NVC. One question, how does the embassy contact my wife in Honduras for her interview? I'm including a sheet with her current phone number (it's changed since I submitted the I-864EZ) and email address. They don't really have physical addresses in Honduras, just landmarks, and she was having trouble describing how to find her family's house, so decided not to include a physical address. I remember something about a Cargo Expresso service, but neither my wife or I were able to find any information tonight. Does anyone know?

Thanks again for all the awesome and very generous help I've gotten on this forum.