Iris M

UPDATE:

I crossed the Canada US border by land (through Buffalo, NY) with no issues.

CBP asked timeline of stay, and what was the purpose of the trip. I am filing for a divorce from my ex this week. Not looking to reconcile, or immigrate to the States.

I hope I do not experience any additional issues when trying to enter to the states, but who knows. BP can be unpredictable.

Thanks.

1 hour ago, aaron2020 said:

You will not know until you try to cross.

You will not be arrested or detained.  They would simply turn you away.

 

Here's the rub.  USCIS will likely presume that you are attempting to enter the US to start a new AOS with your USC husband.  The burden will be on you to show strong ties to Canada to overcome this presumption.

As long as you have a USC husband, then you have a strong tie to the US.  

Nobody can tell you when you would be okay to enter the US.  There is no set time.   

Makes sense - thanks @aaron2020

1 minute ago, missileman said:

I'd say that there is reasonable cause to suspect you have immigrant intent.....but no one knows what the CBP officer will do until you attempt entry.

I have planned on attempting it, but if I will be arrested/detained, of course I don't want to run that risk.

I've heard that this could be the case for a few years. What is a few years? 2 years?

Hi all,

I abandoned the US while my AOS was pending (EAD/AP included), and I'm looking for a general idea of how I would be treated at with immigration/border patrol if I wanted to make a trip to the US for a day (Toronto to Buffalo road trip).

I left the US at the end of July, and I have sent a letter to USCIS requesting a cancellation of my AOS application. I haven't seeked a divorce, as I don't know what my estranged husband would like to do in terms of reconciling or divorcing. I am not looking to immigrate to the US anytime soon (or ever if we don't reconcile), but traveling (to see my ailing Grandma) is on my mind.

Has anyone experienced any issues with any similar situation?

3 minutes ago, KozmicBlues said:

We tried it, but it's a tough situation because most jobs won't consider you without authorization to work and they won't expedite EAD without a job offer letter. So how do you get a job offer with no EAD? We requested an expedite and they sent an email asking for additional evidence (proof of financial hardship, job offer, etc). So my husband started inquiring with some small restaurants and such, but most people have already asked about the work authorization. We're struggling a bit for sure, but definitely not in financial hardship so I'm not going to submit anything based on those grounds. Now I'm realizing it wasn't such a great idea to request an expedite and I'm more worried that asking for an expedite took it out of the normal processing. So I just hope the EAD/AP gets processed in general. LOL. 

Ugh, that's rough. To feel so close, yet so far. I guess companies are just covering their butts. I understand, but sucks for us waiting around at the mercy of USCIS.

Ahhh. Well I guess it would be worth getting some feelers while I am waiting.

Thanks for your response!

Has anyone attempted to try and find a job out here in order to expedite their EAD/AP?

I am not sure if this is a risk worth taking, considering how long I have already waited.

1 minute ago, Jojo92122 said:

With an abandoned AOS, you will have overstayed your I-94 and this will create problems for you in the future with entry into the US.

 

With a divorce, AP is worthless.

I see what you're saying. I misunderstood, as I thought you possibly thought that I am a CR-1 filer. 

OK, well, I am hoping for the best, but I am looking at the options to limit my chances of being denied entry back into the states as I do have a lot of family here, including my Grandma. God forbid something happens to her and I am not allowed to come back bc of my marriage status. 

But I guess there are very little options.

Thanks for your reply. 

2 minutes ago, Jojo92122 said:

With a divorce, AOS is dead.  AP would be worthless without a marriage to a US.

 

Since you filed for AOS, you have shown immigrant intent.  This will make it harder for you to enter the US in the future.

 

How long have you been in the US?  If you have been here longer than 6 months, you have overstayed.  With a cancelled AOS, your overstay will count against you.

I came with a K-1 visa in early January, and married within the 90 days. Filed AOS a month later, all within the validity of I-94.

31 minutes ago, geowrian said:

If you get divorced, your AOS application will be denied as it is based on that marriage. There technically is an exception (see Matter of Sesay), but it requires him to be cooperative by continuing to provide an I-864 to support you, and is otherwise a very uphill battle.

How long it takes depends on why exactly it happens...if he pulls the I-864, then they will deny shortly afterwards. Otherwise, it would likely be denied when you either skip the interview or attend it without him (or attend it and tell them about a pending or completed divorce). You are not required to inform USCIS of your change in marital status beforehand, but that's only buying you a little time before the inevitable result.

 

I don't see how VAWA would apply here...it just sounds like a failed marriage. It happens. Sorry that it's not working out, and I highly encourage you to continue to try to work things out, but there's nothing suggestive of abuse here.

 

Assuming you filed for AOS within the 90 days of entry on the K-1, you won't have any overstay. You are free to seek entry as a visitor, although a recently filed AOS application usually means they will assume immigrant intent and likely deny entry (at least for the near future).

Thank you for your reply @geowrian. My husband probably does not know the repercussions of filing for divorce, aside from the dissolution of the marriage, so these options will require some patience and some serious thought.

I am definitely open to counseling to hopefully resolve the issues at hand. 

Thank you! 

Hi there, 

My husband and I married in March, and we filed for AOS, EAD/AP at the beginning of April. Turns out, marriage isn't going the way we wanted it to, and he refuses to seek any help (ie. Couples therapy, marriage counseling) to possibly workout our issues. 

If he files for a divorce before my AP is approved (as the wait is getting longer by other ppls accounts), how long do I have before i am required to move back to Canada, and do I run the risk of not being allowed back into the US if we are divorced and no longer seeking permanent residency? 

Any help would be appreciated.

58 minutes ago, mytruelove18 said:

fo rajustment o fstatus you send the application to Chicago and they send your application to the uscis office near you, 

my office is Indianapolis, but i send my package to CHicago, so everybody go to diferent office.

my cousin is in Florida his office is Tampa for his interview on wednesday.

I should have been clearer. My local office is in California, where there is a long processing time vs the Midwest states (I know some applicants from those states already have interviews). 

I'm wondering if any applicants from the January thread, who have an interview date, have their local office in California.

3 hours ago, mytruelove18 said:

Well, i have seen many january fillers having interview on april , 4 months after file,

my cousin is a february filer and he will have interview june 6, 4 months after file,

So things look moving fast now

I wonder how many of those who have an interview date have their applications processing through the California Service Center.

25 minutes ago, Anatti87 said:

any news on your EAD? or AP?

Nothing, unfortunately. 

I check everyday (including weekends) for updates, but still zilch. 

I'm about 50 days into EAD/AP processing times. So I don't know whether to consider that half way through or a quarter of the way through. 

1 hour ago, Lana&Tyler said:

Just got our biometrics appointment today. It’s on 5/30. I got my NOA1 last week and it’s great to see things moving pretty quickly. 

 

Altgough our local uscis office is the one that has the longest processing times..... Baltimore. 

HI there, how are you checking your local office's processing times? Was your biometrics appointment held at your local office, or elsewhere? 

3 hours ago, ChristaandJosh said:

Hey people. I had my biometrics last week on Tuesday and today my case now says ready to he scheduled for interview. What does this mean? It's only the i485 that's says this. The other 2 case numbers are biometrics recieved and case recieved. Did anyone get any mail from this to confirm it?

I had my biometrics on May 4, and I haven't received any mail from USCIS regarding updates. 

I haven't seen anyone on this thread mention mail updates for their EAD/AP. 

1 hour ago, ChristaandJosh said:

April filers! I've looked on January filers and a few of them have had their interviews for green card already! That's super fast! 

How many? I wonder if any of those filers are in Southern California.

1 hour ago, Martella&T said:

Wow! That was fast!

Yeah, I'm very surprised. I was expecting another two week wait for any case change. 

I had my biometrics today, and I learned something... 

I had my passport for ID (of course, it has my maiden name), and all my paperwork includes my married name now so if you are also applying with your married name and have no other identification with your married name, take you marriage certificate to verify that you have some registered information. 

USCIS said they registered both last names but my paperwork will be registered with my maiden name. 

I was hoping to avoid that. 

17 hours ago, emekus94 said:

Guys,
I am about to start filing for AOS and wanted to ask:

My fiance and I are getting married in a church. Do people know/have experience with using their church marriage certificate to file?
Or does USCIS only take something from the courts?

Thanks!

It would be best to provide the county issued marriage certificate as it's a municipal certification.

1 hour ago, britishandusa said:

So we received our hard copies for NOA 1 but no letter for biometrics app. DOes that come separate?

I received mine with the NOA1 hard copies. The bio appointment letter is likely to come in the next couple of days. 

8 minutes ago, JloveN said:

Just done biometric appointment 30 minutes ago!. 

YAY! 

Can  you walk us through the process? How long did the appoinment take?

12 hours ago, britishandusa said:

Wow, a few hours after I posted this, I got two texts at MIDNIGHT from USCIS saying they received our case. Ugh. I'll never understand how USCIS works. At least we're in the process now. Good luck to everyone!

I received text messages at 10pm on a Sunday! 

When I was least expecting it. Ugh is right lol. 

9 hours ago, Josephine Ann said:

Same as me. Received the hardcopies today (April 20) and biometrics on May 4th which is our 6th year anniversary as a couple. Haha May the fourth be with us!

May the 4th be with us! Haha, yes! I can use this with SERIOUS context now! 

Received hard copy notices today, with my biometrics appointment set for May 4th.

Waiting for these bad boys....are torture!