afrocraft

Sigh. I grew up outside the US. I still recall pleading with my mom to abandon her marriage, plotting one day to do untold harm to her abuser. Without getting into my personal story, I don't need to be told what domestic violence is, and what harm it does to partners, to children. I experienced it firsthand: the physical aspects, the emotional. I don't dismiss it; I abhor it.
 
But we don't really know what happened here. The circumstances matter when it comes to DV. And some of the naive suggestions here -- that merely making your partner "uncomfortable" or "yelling" at him/her is akin to DV -- make light of true abuse. Like the one that shaped much of my childhood. 
 
Anyway, this is an immigration forum. As I articulated earlier, USCIS policy favors approval of OP's case.

Have you ever yelled at your partner? Said something that makes them "uncomfortable"? Apparently, even you are a domestic abuser now. You should turn yourself in.

Sorry, I meant it is not suggested to file under the 5 year rule. Whoops~ Mind is running backwards today. haha

If you assume USCIS will receive your application on 12/1/2019 (the filing date), your SP is 12/1/2016 to 12/1/2019 but play it safe and assume it begins, say, on 11/15/2016. Make sure, then, that you'd completed your probationary period by 11/15/2016, or delay your application.

You know better. We just let them live their lives. But we didn't ask them for a health policy at Ellis Island.

Happens everyday. I applied for N-400 with a pending I-751 too, and I wonder why people wait. There are multiple threads on this, like the one below. There is no difference in the documentation compared to if you waited for the 10-year visa.
 
 

Last I checked, AOS is, in fact and by law, a legal path. Like CR1/K1/asylum. They're not just overstaying a visit visa: they apply for an immigration benefit and are subjected to vigorous scrutiny to assess if they qualify. If you have a problem with AOS, take up your fight with Congress. Stop bringing your personal judgments into your commentary.

Of course you can opine all you want, think that the sky is brown and the earth is blue, and consider DJT to be the Chosen One. Free country...
 
But you were factually wrong: AOS is the "legal way." And you were wrong because of your bias. So yes, I'll call you out on it. 

Sometimes I give negative opinions too lol. But this one -- about the timeline -- is an easy one to endorse.
 
You can take your "book" to your AOS interview, but you can't submit it with your application. Because your AOS application will be scrutinized closely, you'd want to "front-load" much of your evidence (i.e., put your best foot forward -- send as much favorable evidence with your initial application as you can). That's where the five-milestone framework I proposed earlier for gathering and presenting your evidence could help.
 
A warning, though: Be careful what you send. Anything you send can and will be used against you by USCIS. Any chat, email, receipt for an engagement ring, etc., that hints at prior intent to get married, or that introduces ambiguity about your timeline, will be a problem. So go through everything you send carefully. I often find many applicants try to tug at the heartstrings of USCIS officers using the sheer volume of their evidence -- if only they knew how much we are in love! -- and carelessly introduce negative evidence. Bad idea. Think like a lawyer.

Last I checked, AOS is, in fact and by law, a legal path. Like CR1/K1/asylum. They're not just overstaying a visit visa: they apply for an immigration benefit and are subjected to vigorous scrutiny to assess if they qualify. If you have a problem with AOS, take up your fight with Congress. Stop bringing your personal judgments into your commentary.

Of course you can opine all you want, think that the sky is brown and the earth is blue, and consider DJT to be the Chosen One. Free country...
 
But you were factually wrong: AOS is the "legal way." And you were wrong because of your bias. So yes, I'll call you out on it. 

Sometimes I give negative opinions too lol. But this one -- about the timeline -- is an easy one to endorse.
 
You can take your "book" to your AOS interview, but you can't submit it with your application. Because your AOS application will be scrutinized closely, you'd want to "front-load" much of your evidence (i.e., put your best foot forward -- send as much favorable evidence with your initial application as you can). That's where the five-milestone framework I proposed earlier for gathering and presenting your evidence could help.
 
A warning, though: Be careful what you send. Anything you send can and will be used against you by USCIS. Any chat, email, receipt for an engagement ring, etc., that hints at prior intent to get married, or that introduces ambiguity about your timeline, will be a problem. So go through everything you send carefully. I often find many applicants try to tug at the heartstrings of USCIS officers using the sheer volume of their evidence -- if only they knew how much we are in love! -- and carelessly introduce negative evidence. Bad idea. Think like a lawyer.

Sometimes I give negative opinions too lol. But this one -- about the timeline -- is an easy one to endorse.
 
You can take your "book" to your AOS interview, but you can't submit it with your application. Because your AOS application will be scrutinized closely, you'd want to "front-load" much of your evidence (i.e., put your best foot forward -- send as much favorable evidence with your initial application as you can). That's where the five-milestone framework I proposed earlier for gathering and presenting your evidence could help.
 
A warning, though: Be careful what you send. Anything you send can and will be used against you by USCIS. Any chat, email, receipt for an engagement ring, etc., that hints at prior intent to get married, or that introduces ambiguity about your timeline, will be a problem. So go through everything you send carefully. I often find many applicants try to tug at the heartstrings of USCIS officers using the sheer volume of their evidence -- if only they knew how much we are in love! -- and carelessly introduce negative evidence. Bad idea. Think like a lawyer.

Why is everyone so negative about providing a timeline? The negativity seems to be driven more by disapproval that OP is "jumping the queue" than by reasoned, dispassionate analysis.
 
@jaguar89: I think the timeline is a great idea and could bolster your AOS application, but you have to do it carefully. A good timeline should suggest to an understandably skeptical USCIS officer that: 1) your relationship is legit, not just done to immigrate to the US, and 2) your original intent on entry into the US was to visit, not to get married and adjust status. But instead of providing unnecessary monthly supporting evidence,  I suggest you focus on five main milestones, and where possible provide evidence (pics, chats, emails, travel bookings, etc.) showing:
When/how you first met; When/how you became romantically involved; When/how you entered the US on a visit visa; When/how you decided to get married; and The plans/actions you've taken since marriage to integrate your lives as a couple. Literally, in your cover letter to USCIS, use those five headings, describe the circumstances, and refer to the supporting evidence. Good luck!

You're anxious after 2 weeks? Mehn, you just dey start o. This process is measured in months and years, not days and weeks.

You're anxious after 2 weeks? Mehn, you just dey start o. This process is measured in months and years, not days and weeks.

Rephrased:
 
Give me your tired, your poor, 
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me (with health insurance),
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

The answer to almost all of your questions is no, but why not start by familiarizing yourself with guides on the filing processes and requirements?
 
VisaJourney: https://www.visajourney.com/content/guides/
USCIS: https://www.uscis.gov/family/family-green-card-holders-permanent-residents

When you don't file jointly, you raise a presumption that your marriage was not legit and only happened to get you a green card (even though that wasn't your intention). To rebut that presumption, you should carefully present evidence in 2 areas:
 
Evidence of what happened before or at the start of the marriage, including evidence of:
- How you met
- How you stayed in touch
- The wedding
 
Evidence of what happened since marriage to date, including evidence of:
- Joint residence
- Joint finances
- Joint ownership of property
- Shared experiences (trips, events, children)
- Planning for the future together
 
The specific documents I'll leave to you (you already have a good number!) but just keep the above in mind and you'll be fine. You can even structure your cover letter to reflect these areas. Good luck!

You know better. We just let them live their lives. But we didn't ask them for a health policy at Ellis Island.

Ah. But this is who we are. We're the country that took in persecuted migrants from Europe.

You're wasting your time. These people have long passed reasonableness. Something else has consumed them.

If you exclude Medicaid and subsidized plans, you're very much closing the non-employer plans to many new immigrants.
 
So just say it: You only want rich people to come here. Just say it.

Certain incone-based commercial plans on the exchanges too. 
 
And here I was thinking you and Mr. Trump cared so much about immigrants.

But they pay taxes from Day 1: Sales tax, VAT, income tax if they work. We're not other countries; we have a unique legacy when it comes to immigration.