TabeaK

Trying to figure out what my field office/proccesing center will likely be for N-400 to estimate timelines.
 
I looked up my USCIS field office based on my postal code, but will that be the one handling N-400? Planning to file online.

These don't really look like suspicious frequent visits to me. Short stays each time, you returned as planned. I think you are fine. I visited my partner more frequently back in the day...
 
But to cross your ts and dot your is, bring along evidence that you are returning (rental agreement, job contract, evidence of approved vacation time).

These don't really look like suspicious frequent visits to me. Short stays each time, you returned as planned. I think you are fine. I visited my partner more frequently back in the day...
 
But to cross your ts and dot your is, bring along evidence that you are returning (rental agreement, job contract, evidence of approved vacation time).

These don't really look like suspicious frequent visits to me. Short stays each time, you returned as planned. I think you are fine. I visited my partner more frequently back in the day...
 
But to cross your ts and dot your is, bring along evidence that you are returning (rental agreement, job contract, evidence of approved vacation time).

I came with a K1 visa in 2016 fro Germany for the same reasoning, to be together quicker. I would never do so again. The adjustment of status process after the K1 in the US is an expensive and timec-consuming mess during which you cannot work, drive or travel. For someone who lived a completely independent life prior to moving, being completely dependent on my spouse for months was pretty harrowing. And back then things were much quicker than they are now, I had my travel & work permit in about 3 months from filing and the Green Card 2 months later.

These days things take MUCH longer and you are stuck in this horrendous limbo. If you plan on getting married anyway, do so and file the CR1. It is cheaper in the end and will make your start in the USA much easier. 
 
Not sure what the point of the DV would be? As a US citizen spouse you are guaranteed a green card, no need for DV...

Sorry you had those issue - insist on having a manager look at things next time.
 
I traveled the world on my extension letter for close to 2 years - what else are you supposed to do when USCIS processing takes forever? You'll also likely have multiple extension letters in your future when you have to renew your GC.
 
I never had an issue, from small German airports to remote airports in Asia or South America. And yes, I used to carry a print out of the CBP guide linkd above.

I got global entry no problem immediately after getting my 2 year conditional GC in 2016. I have used it a lot those last two years - no issues. I am currently unable to use it as I am stuck in the ROC purgatory and extension letters won't work, but as soon as I get my 10y GC I will update and start using it again.
 
So it is not true that conditional GC holders cannot get GE, unless something changed very recently.
 
My GE interview was at EWR as well, and I do 90% of my international travel through that airport.

My recent experiences traveling on the extension letter have been good. I flew back to the US from the middle East (Doha, Qatar Airways) & Indonesia (Garuda) respectively. The check-in agents for both airlines were unfamiliar with the extension letter, but gave me no hassle after I explained the letter extends the green card for one year. In Doha, I had to show the letter about 3 times prior to boarding, but again, no hassle.
 
I entered the US via JFK - the border agents were their usual brisk (i.e. not the friendliest) self, but immigration took no more than 5 minutes with a quick glance at the letter & expired GC and taking finger prints and stamping my passport.
 
I have traveled 3 times on the letter now - no issues so far. I hope it stays that way as I'll probably have more internationally travels on it before I can expect my 10 year card given all the delays in processing.

Sheesh, I am glad I DIY'ed my admittedly simple visa journey, when I hear these attorney consults - you know, back in my day attorneys would also tell you that you should not travel on an advance parole or cannot travel while you have a visa pending. Utter BS, most of it.
 
Do you love & trust your wife and want to live with her in the US? File the damn AOS paperwork, gather evidence for a bonafide marriage between now and the inevitable AOS interview (do not forget to file for travel/work permits with the AOS) and stop overthinking. By virtue of being married to you she is now an immediate relative of a US citizen - intent, impossible to prove misrepresentation and all these other heresay issues nonwithstanding. 
 
Do you mistrust your wife and think she is trying to use you for a green card? Divorce and move on.
 
It is really not that complicated.
 

Sheesh, I am glad I DIY'ed my admittedly simple visa journey, when I hear these attorney consults - you know, back in my day attorneys would also tell you that you should not travel on an advance parole or cannot travel while you have a visa pending. Utter BS, most of it.
 
Do you love & trust your wife and want to live with her in the US? File the damn AOS paperwork, gather evidence for a bonafide marriage between now and the inevitable AOS interview (do not forget to file for travel/work permits with the AOS) and stop overthinking. By virtue of being married to you she is now an immediate relative of a US citizen - intent, impossible to prove misrepresentation and all these other heresay issues nonwithstanding. 
 
Do you mistrust your wife and think she is trying to use you for a green card? Divorce and move on.
 
It is really not that complicated.
 

Do not underestimate the adjustment it takes for the immigrant to come in and go from a busy productive life to a homebound person without a purpose, rights to travel and stuck in an USCIS quaqmire of indeterminate length. If my husband at the time had told me "just use use break", I probably would have bit his head off. Thankfully he is very empathic and understood how bad that period of waiting for AP/EAD was for me - and back in my day you actually got the EAD/AP in 3 months. 
 
Attitude is critical, so kudos to everyone raising this with their partners early, but accept that this will most likely suck for your partner and is not a rose-tinted vacation period.
 
I wouldn't touch the K1 with a bargepole agin...

I can only offer advice in the sense that I have filed for obtaining a BBG (Beibehaltungsgenehmigung) recently - I am only in the US 4 years, so I had to provide a lot more proof and reasons for wanting it - and approval is not guaranteed - could still be denied.
 
However, you are right, if you have been in the US 20+ years you only need to show that you still have strong ties to Germany to file - again, no guaranteed approval, but the bar is much lower. Bear in mind that the BBG filing process takes 15-18 months these days, so I would get on it sooner rather than later. If your husband gets sworn into US citizenship without having the approved BBG in hand, he automatically looses his German citizenship.

Word of warning. Marrying is complicated in Germany, even when just one party is a non-domiciled foreigner. It gets exponentially more so if both are - you need months to prepare. Look at Denmark instead.

@TheRealKoda, note that the marriage process in Germany tends to be more bureaucratic than other countries. Some better alternatives include:
Iceland: https://guidetoiceland.is/history-culture/getting-married-in-iceland Gibraltar: http://www.visitgibraltar.gi/getting-married Denmark: https://gettingmarriedindenmark.com/getting-married-in-copenhagen/ Las Vegas Hong Kong: https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/681690-questions-about-k1-vs-k3-visa/?do=findComment&comment=9335082 After it's "consummated" USCIS accepts it: https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/AFM/HTML/AFM/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-3481/0-0-0-4484.html "the marriage has been consummated afterwards." After it's "consummated" the I-130 petition can then be filed.

That is something very personal to the couple - I (the immigrant) would have been very upset if my husband had that attitude. I have lived independently my entire life, spent years gaining advanced degrees to further my career, always made my own money and have a passion for what I do. So one of my first priorities was getting a job in my field. Otherwise I don't think I could have settled here. Took me about 3 months of full time job searching (started about 2 months before the EAD arrived).

I think it is very rational to have these discussions -  the benefit of being slightly older is having the life experience that tells you things sometimes go wrong. If a pre-nup is important to you, make sure you get one. Divorce laws are state territory, do your due dilligence.
 
I did the move in my 30s too, left a great job and, I'll be honest, the adjustment stateside on K1 was super-rough. I would never do a K1 again, that whole period of not being able to work/drive etc almost killed me and was rough for my now husband who still feels guilty about me missing home.
 
Back then, it took me about 3-4 months to get the work permit and green card - I hear it is much longer now.
 
That has been 4 years now, I have a 10 year GC and my career is thriving and my husband and I are happy - I still miss Europe, but can't imagine not living with him.
 
By the way, once you have your GC you don't have to leave even if you were to divorce - you can leave if you want of course, but you don't have to.

I think it is very rational to have these discussions -  the benefit of being slightly older is having the life experience that tells you things sometimes go wrong. If a pre-nup is important to you, make sure you get one. Divorce laws are state territory, do your due dilligence.
 
I did the move in my 30s too, left a great job and, I'll be honest, the adjustment stateside on K1 was super-rough. I would never do a K1 again, that whole period of not being able to work/drive etc almost killed me and was rough for my now husband who still feels guilty about me missing home.
 
Back then, it took me about 3-4 months to get the work permit and green card - I hear it is much longer now.
 
That has been 4 years now, I have a 10 year GC and my career is thriving and my husband and I are happy - I still miss Europe, but can't imagine not living with him.
 
By the way, once you have your GC you don't have to leave even if you were to divorce - you can leave if you want of course, but you don't have to.

I think it is very rational to have these discussions -  the benefit of being slightly older is having the life experience that tells you things sometimes go wrong. If a pre-nup is important to you, make sure you get one. Divorce laws are state territory, do your due dilligence.
 
I did the move in my 30s too, left a great job and, I'll be honest, the adjustment stateside on K1 was super-rough. I would never do a K1 again, that whole period of not being able to work/drive etc almost killed me and was rough for my now husband who still feels guilty about me missing home.
 
Back then, it took me about 3-4 months to get the work permit and green card - I hear it is much longer now.
 
That has been 4 years now, I have a 10 year GC and my career is thriving and my husband and I are happy - I still miss Europe, but can't imagine not living with him.
 
By the way, once you have your GC you don't have to leave even if you were to divorce - you can leave if you want of course, but you don't have to.

I think it is very rational to have these discussions -  the benefit of being slightly older is having the life experience that tells you things sometimes go wrong. If a pre-nup is important to you, make sure you get one. Divorce laws are state territory, do your due dilligence.
 
I did the move in my 30s too, left a great job and, I'll be honest, the adjustment stateside on K1 was super-rough. I would never do a K1 again, that whole period of not being able to work/drive etc almost killed me and was rough for my now husband who still feels guilty about me missing home.
 
Back then, it took me about 3-4 months to get the work permit and green card - I hear it is much longer now.
 
That has been 4 years now, I have a 10 year GC and my career is thriving and my husband and I are happy - I still miss Europe, but can't imagine not living with him.
 
By the way, once you have your GC you don't have to leave even if you were to divorce - you can leave if you want of course, but you don't have to.

What issues might those be? Kept my name - changing it is a pretty archaic tradition in my book, but whatever floats your boat.
 
No issues at all and I can't even dream up any potential issues.

I think it is very rational to have these discussions -  the benefit of being slightly older is having the life experience that tells you things sometimes go wrong. If a pre-nup is important to you, make sure you get one. Divorce laws are state territory, do your due dilligence.
 
I did the move in my 30s too, left a great job and, I'll be honest, the adjustment stateside on K1 was super-rough. I would never do a K1 again, that whole period of not being able to work/drive etc almost killed me and was rough for my now husband who still feels guilty about me missing home.
 
Back then, it took me about 3-4 months to get the work permit and green card - I hear it is much longer now.
 
That has been 4 years now, I have a 10 year GC and my career is thriving and my husband and I are happy - I still miss Europe, but can't imagine not living with him.
 
By the way, once you have your GC you don't have to leave even if you were to divorce - you can leave if you want of course, but you don't have to.

That sounds fishy. It is probably jus a misunderstanding, but do your research. And most importantly, make sure YOU are prepared for all eventualities. 

I think it is very rational to have these discussions -  the benefit of being slightly older is having the life experience that tells you things sometimes go wrong. If a pre-nup is important to you, make sure you get one. Divorce laws are state territory, do your due dilligence.
 
I did the move in my 30s too, left a great job and, I'll be honest, the adjustment stateside on K1 was super-rough. I would never do a K1 again, that whole period of not being able to work/drive etc almost killed me and was rough for my now husband who still feels guilty about me missing home.
 
Back then, it took me about 3-4 months to get the work permit and green card - I hear it is much longer now.
 
That has been 4 years now, I have a 10 year GC and my career is thriving and my husband and I are happy - I still miss Europe, but can't imagine not living with him.
 
By the way, once you have your GC you don't have to leave even if you were to divorce - you can leave if you want of course, but you don't have to.

I think it is very rational to have these discussions -  the benefit of being slightly older is having the life experience that tells you things sometimes go wrong. If a pre-nup is important to you, make sure you get one. Divorce laws are state territory, do your due dilligence.
 
I did the move in my 30s too, left a great job and, I'll be honest, the adjustment stateside on K1 was super-rough. I would never do a K1 again, that whole period of not being able to work/drive etc almost killed me and was rough for my now husband who still feels guilty about me missing home.
 
Back then, it took me about 3-4 months to get the work permit and green card - I hear it is much longer now.
 
That has been 4 years now, I have a 10 year GC and my career is thriving and my husband and I are happy - I still miss Europe, but can't imagine not living with him.
 
By the way, once you have your GC you don't have to leave even if you were to divorce - you can leave if you want of course, but you don't have to.

Rountrip ist billiger. Stornier den Rueckflug wenn du da bist - zur Sicherheit, um nicht versehentlich auf der "ist wieder ausgereist" Liste zu landen - diese Geschichten sind schon passiert und die Person hatte dann arge Probleme mit dem AOS da sie nachweisen musste, dass sie das Land NICHT verlassen hatte sondern nur die Fluglinie Mist gebaut hatte bei der Uebermittlung der Passagierdaten. Ist zwar extrem unwahrscheinlich, dass sowas passiert aber sicher ist sicher.
 
Ich hab damals einen One-Way Flug mit Meilen gebucht - bei Meilen sind die Oneways nicht teurer; bei regulaeren Tickets schon...