EricAndOrn

Applied for ROC on 8/23/19, application went to LIN, received notice today on 7/28/20 that card is being produced.
No RFE, No interview
 
YAY!

Applied for ROC on 8/23/19, application went to LIN, received notice today on 7/28/20 that card is being produced.
No RFE, No interview
 
YAY!

Applied for ROC on 8/23/19, application went to LIN, received notice today on 7/28/20 that card is being produced.
No RFE, No interview
 
YAY!

Applied for ROC on 8/23/19, application went to LIN, received notice today on 7/28/20 that card is being produced.
No RFE, No interview -- Entered US on K1 Visa.
 
YAY!

Also, be careful what you wish for.
For arguments sake, lets say K-1 takes 90 days and IR1/CR1 takes 1 year.
You complain that K-1 unfairly takes less time than a IR1/CR1 and you go out to lobby congress for a change.
What will the most likely result be?
My guess is, that then the K-1 and IR1/CR1 will both take 2 years minimum, cost twice as much, require twice as much paperwork.
That's how government works.

I have been following this thread, but refrained from giving advice, because there are too many unknowns.
True, it is customary in thailand to support the parents, but often marriage with a farang (westerner) turns into a jackpot for the entire extended family and is abused.
I don't know how well you communicate. Since you said she must learn English, her English doesn't seem to be very good and I certainly don't know how well you speak Thai. I know nothing about where she is from, family background, experience with foreigners and their customs, education level etc. etc. Therefore I can only generalize, and please, nobody should take offense at that.
Generally, Thais are not very educated and lack critical thinking. (Thanks to their awful school system), they are taught that Thailand is the best and is the center of the universe. Often they expect the foreigner to comply with thai customs and traditions, because it is the only thing they know and it's an absolute no brainer to them. Thais have very little experience with what happens outside their world, and often don't care. Because of this, thai and western couples must try to understand each other's culture and compromise. Too often, the thai party insists on everything being done the thai way, not realizing that there are other ways as well. To them, we are often viewed as being incredibly rich, not realizing how high our cost of living is. A typical low paying job (e.g. cashier at a 7-eleven) earns about 9000 baht / month, someone with a degree might earn 25 - 30000 baht per month. A minimum wage person in the US earns about 42000 baht per month. Thats a lot of money to them. They don't realize, that you can't get a one room apartment, with air conditioning, 100 channels of cable TV and internet access for 4000 baht per month in the US, that you can't go to the doctor for 30 baht, no meals on the street for 40 baht etc etc. Again, understanding each other's culture and situation is very important, and being able to communicate that is key.
I don't know how much sinsod (dowry) you paid. It's an old tradition and often not practiced anymore. Often during the engagement ceremony money is only shown (to impress the neighbors and friends), but the money is returned to you (after deduction of the cost of the party, to which the guests should have contributed a good amount). In my case, I did not pay any sinsod at all. I do support my mother-in-law with a modest 5000 baht per month, I will not support any other family members. My girl and I have agreed to build a new house for mom and grandma with an extra room for us to stay in when we visit. (cost about 1.5 million baht), but we agreed to both contribute towards this effort, so it is mostly up to her how fast this will happen as she will have to pay as well. (Never mind the issue of property ownership for foreigners in thailand. Whole different story there)
I could probably go on for hours rambling away on this topic, but lacking information I can not offer specific advice. There is a book (available on amazon) about thai-western relationships and the cultural differences. The pages on the left side of the book are in english and on the right side is the thai translation. This allows for both of you to read it easily and perhaps discuss the issues presented and find a solution, or at least get a start on working out the issues.
The name of the book is "Thailand Fever"
The authors webpage: http://thailandfever.com/
The link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Thailand-Fever-Chris-Pirazzi/dp/1887521488/
If you send me a private message, I can send you a copy of the book very quickly.
I would like to help you in any way I can, feel free to contact me via private message if you would like to discuss your and my experiences in these matters in private.
Hope all works out in the end.
Eric

I have been following this thread, but refrained from giving advice, because there are too many unknowns.
True, it is customary in thailand to support the parents, but often marriage with a farang (westerner) turns into a jackpot for the entire extended family and is abused.
I don't know how well you communicate. Since you said she must learn English, her English doesn't seem to be very good and I certainly don't know how well you speak Thai. I know nothing about where she is from, family background, experience with foreigners and their customs, education level etc. etc. Therefore I can only generalize, and please, nobody should take offense at that.
Generally, Thais are not very educated and lack critical thinking. (Thanks to their awful school system), they are taught that Thailand is the best and is the center of the universe. Often they expect the foreigner to comply with thai customs and traditions, because it is the only thing they know and it's an absolute no brainer to them. Thais have very little experience with what happens outside their world, and often don't care. Because of this, thai and western couples must try to understand each other's culture and compromise. Too often, the thai party insists on everything being done the thai way, not realizing that there are other ways as well. To them, we are often viewed as being incredibly rich, not realizing how high our cost of living is. A typical low paying job (e.g. cashier at a 7-eleven) earns about 9000 baht / month, someone with a degree might earn 25 - 30000 baht per month. A minimum wage person in the US earns about 42000 baht per month. Thats a lot of money to them. They don't realize, that you can't get a one room apartment, with air conditioning, 100 channels of cable TV and internet access for 4000 baht per month in the US, that you can't go to the doctor for 30 baht, no meals on the street for 40 baht etc etc. Again, understanding each other's culture and situation is very important, and being able to communicate that is key.
I don't know how much sinsod (dowry) you paid. It's an old tradition and often not practiced anymore. Often during the engagement ceremony money is only shown (to impress the neighbors and friends), but the money is returned to you (after deduction of the cost of the party, to which the guests should have contributed a good amount). In my case, I did not pay any sinsod at all. I do support my mother-in-law with a modest 5000 baht per month, I will not support any other family members. My girl and I have agreed to build a new house for mom and grandma with an extra room for us to stay in when we visit. (cost about 1.5 million baht), but we agreed to both contribute towards this effort, so it is mostly up to her how fast this will happen as she will have to pay as well. (Never mind the issue of property ownership for foreigners in thailand. Whole different story there)
I could probably go on for hours rambling away on this topic, but lacking information I can not offer specific advice. There is a book (available on amazon) about thai-western relationships and the cultural differences. The pages on the left side of the book are in english and on the right side is the thai translation. This allows for both of you to read it easily and perhaps discuss the issues presented and find a solution, or at least get a start on working out the issues.
The name of the book is "Thailand Fever"
The authors webpage: http://thailandfever.com/
The link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Thailand-Fever-Chris-Pirazzi/dp/1887521488/
If you send me a private message, I can send you a copy of the book very quickly.
I would like to help you in any way I can, feel free to contact me via private message if you would like to discuss your and my experiences in these matters in private.
Hope all works out in the end.
Eric

I have been following this thread, but refrained from giving advice, because there are too many unknowns.
True, it is customary in thailand to support the parents, but often marriage with a farang (westerner) turns into a jackpot for the entire extended family and is abused.
I don't know how well you communicate. Since you said she must learn English, her English doesn't seem to be very good and I certainly don't know how well you speak Thai. I know nothing about where she is from, family background, experience with foreigners and their customs, education level etc. etc. Therefore I can only generalize, and please, nobody should take offense at that.
Generally, Thais are not very educated and lack critical thinking. (Thanks to their awful school system), they are taught that Thailand is the best and is the center of the universe. Often they expect the foreigner to comply with thai customs and traditions, because it is the only thing they know and it's an absolute no brainer to them. Thais have very little experience with what happens outside their world, and often don't care. Because of this, thai and western couples must try to understand each other's culture and compromise. Too often, the thai party insists on everything being done the thai way, not realizing that there are other ways as well. To them, we are often viewed as being incredibly rich, not realizing how high our cost of living is. A typical low paying job (e.g. cashier at a 7-eleven) earns about 9000 baht / month, someone with a degree might earn 25 - 30000 baht per month. A minimum wage person in the US earns about 42000 baht per month. Thats a lot of money to them. They don't realize, that you can't get a one room apartment, with air conditioning, 100 channels of cable TV and internet access for 4000 baht per month in the US, that you can't go to the doctor for 30 baht, no meals on the street for 40 baht etc etc. Again, understanding each other's culture and situation is very important, and being able to communicate that is key.
I don't know how much sinsod (dowry) you paid. It's an old tradition and often not practiced anymore. Often during the engagement ceremony money is only shown (to impress the neighbors and friends), but the money is returned to you (after deduction of the cost of the party, to which the guests should have contributed a good amount). In my case, I did not pay any sinsod at all. I do support my mother-in-law with a modest 5000 baht per month, I will not support any other family members. My girl and I have agreed to build a new house for mom and grandma with an extra room for us to stay in when we visit. (cost about 1.5 million baht), but we agreed to both contribute towards this effort, so it is mostly up to her how fast this will happen as she will have to pay as well. (Never mind the issue of property ownership for foreigners in thailand. Whole different story there)
I could probably go on for hours rambling away on this topic, but lacking information I can not offer specific advice. There is a book (available on amazon) about thai-western relationships and the cultural differences. The pages on the left side of the book are in english and on the right side is the thai translation. This allows for both of you to read it easily and perhaps discuss the issues presented and find a solution, or at least get a start on working out the issues.
The name of the book is "Thailand Fever"
The authors webpage: http://thailandfever.com/
The link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Thailand-Fever-Chris-Pirazzi/dp/1887521488/
If you send me a private message, I can send you a copy of the book very quickly.
I would like to help you in any way I can, feel free to contact me via private message if you would like to discuss your and my experiences in these matters in private.
Hope all works out in the end.
Eric

I have been following this thread, but refrained from giving advice, because there are too many unknowns.
True, it is customary in thailand to support the parents, but often marriage with a farang (westerner) turns into a jackpot for the entire extended family and is abused.
I don't know how well you communicate. Since you said she must learn English, her English doesn't seem to be very good and I certainly don't know how well you speak Thai. I know nothing about where she is from, family background, experience with foreigners and their customs, education level etc. etc. Therefore I can only generalize, and please, nobody should take offense at that.
Generally, Thais are not very educated and lack critical thinking. (Thanks to their awful school system), they are taught that Thailand is the best and is the center of the universe. Often they expect the foreigner to comply with thai customs and traditions, because it is the only thing they know and it's an absolute no brainer to them. Thais have very little experience with what happens outside their world, and often don't care. Because of this, thai and western couples must try to understand each other's culture and compromise. Too often, the thai party insists on everything being done the thai way, not realizing that there are other ways as well. To them, we are often viewed as being incredibly rich, not realizing how high our cost of living is. A typical low paying job (e.g. cashier at a 7-eleven) earns about 9000 baht / month, someone with a degree might earn 25 - 30000 baht per month. A minimum wage person in the US earns about 42000 baht per month. Thats a lot of money to them. They don't realize, that you can't get a one room apartment, with air conditioning, 100 channels of cable TV and internet access for 4000 baht per month in the US, that you can't go to the doctor for 30 baht, no meals on the street for 40 baht etc etc. Again, understanding each other's culture and situation is very important, and being able to communicate that is key.
I don't know how much sinsod (dowry) you paid. It's an old tradition and often not practiced anymore. Often during the engagement ceremony money is only shown (to impress the neighbors and friends), but the money is returned to you (after deduction of the cost of the party, to which the guests should have contributed a good amount). In my case, I did not pay any sinsod at all. I do support my mother-in-law with a modest 5000 baht per month, I will not support any other family members. My girl and I have agreed to build a new house for mom and grandma with an extra room for us to stay in when we visit. (cost about 1.5 million baht), but we agreed to both contribute towards this effort, so it is mostly up to her how fast this will happen as she will have to pay as well. (Never mind the issue of property ownership for foreigners in thailand. Whole different story there)
I could probably go on for hours rambling away on this topic, but lacking information I can not offer specific advice. There is a book (available on amazon) about thai-western relationships and the cultural differences. The pages on the left side of the book are in english and on the right side is the thai translation. This allows for both of you to read it easily and perhaps discuss the issues presented and find a solution, or at least get a start on working out the issues.
The name of the book is "Thailand Fever"
The authors webpage: http://thailandfever.com/
The link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Thailand-Fever-Chris-Pirazzi/dp/1887521488/
If you send me a private message, I can send you a copy of the book very quickly.
I would like to help you in any way I can, feel free to contact me via private message if you would like to discuss your and my experiences in these matters in private.
Hope all works out in the end.
Eric

I'd be tempted to pull a senatorial inquiry on the situation to get an answer.

Jebus,
Look at the size of the package the Embassy sends your visa in...

I guess I am fortunate, my fiancee prefers pants...

Yes, that is a requirement as outlined in the Foreign Affairs manual.
Here is an illustration of what the envelope should look like:

This is the reason you keep getting refused. This is the key right here you need to overcome. Please listen to Ebunoluwa's advice. She knows what she speaks of. Begin preparing your rebuttal and contact your congressman. Collect any evidence you can to overcome the opinion that this marriage was arranged by your parents. Affidavits...anything.
Good Luck!

Yes, that is a requirement as outlined in the Foreign Affairs manual.
Here is an illustration of what the envelope should look like:

The problem you are running into is you have spend more time outside the US than inside. 6+ months a couple of times is less than half the time in the US verses out. Now you are a way for a short period of time--your words basically--and now you need a re-entry permit. Go back and see how many months you have been in the US verses out of the US since you became a LPR. If the time outside is significantly more than in, then the CBP warning is that they feel you are not living in the US and are using the GC as a tourist visa to come to the US for a short period just so you can maintain your GC.
The choice is yours. You have been warned by the people that determine to grant you entry or not. If you do leave the US for this wedding, I would take along lots of evidence to show you are maintaining ties to the US and the reasons for the other long absences from the US. I bet you will be asked to surrender your GC next time you try to enter the US. DO NOT SURENDER YOUR GC! Get an appointment to appear before an Immigration Judge (IJ) and get a good immigration lawyer and plead your case and see what happens. Only the IJ can revoke your GC.
I would not go to this wedding. There is no live or death situation or family emergency. Think about the inconvenience of loosing your GC and the cost and time associated with applying for another immigrate visa. Also think about how you will live outside the US while the visa application is processed. Consider all of this and then weigh whether the wedding and the airline ticket is worth it. IMHO it is not, but it is your life and the people here on VJ have given you the consequences of leaving the US after having been warned by the CBP--the choice is yours and you will have to live with the consequences of your discussion.
Choose wisely,
Dave

Decided to run my app again to get updated numbers for November:
Nov 2 : 62% Approved, 26% Received, 4% outstanding RFE, 9% Evidence Received Nov 6 : 46% Approved, 7% Received, 42% outstanding RFE Nov 12: 58% Approved, 18% Received, 26% outstanding RFE Nov 17: 51% Approved, 48% Received, 1% outstanding RFE Nov 25: 38% Approved, 62% Received, 0% outstanding RFE "Received" basically means that there was no status update (untouched?)

When I called them they gave me the case number (BNK number for me) and the "invoice" number. As far as I know, the "invoice" number is not used for the K-1 process.
Also, I received my letter from the State Department giving me the above information as well. It took longer to get that letter than it took for my petition to arrive in Bangkok. (Looking at you, USPS)

Escalate to a supervisor. Both the law and regulations are clear on the mater.

Merry Christmas to all !!

I am curious as to why my November 25 filers are still at zero percent. I would have expected some movement around December 21. (Policy change or simply holidays?) We definitely still had movement in the November 17 and November 2 filers during that time period. The November 6 and 12 filers are still moving sideways, a pattern that was observed with the November 2 filers. (Possibly extra processing or waiting on results from investigations for more than half the filers.) More to come next week. Hang in there folks.
This is EricAndOrn reporting live from USCIS in california, back to you Bob.
(Yes, I feel like a weatherman trying to make a story out of a few numbers)

The thing that came to my mind when I read your post was a question that was asked on the DS-160 application
So, if I were you, I would look into what the National Board of Medical Examiners is about and if it applies to you. Apparently there is an exam she can take.

Wow, thats nice. Been looking for a place like this to go to. Will consider doing that with my fiancee.

I saw this B.S. coming in my state too. Went to the local DMV and they told me they would only issue a license for the period of the validity of the I-94.
I thought this was wrong, my fiance should be able to get a licence while filing for adjustment of status. Just because the DMV doesn't list the document, doesn't mean it isn't valid. The difficulty is getting them to accept your documentation.
Most states' law states that you can not be in violation of immigration laws in order to get a driver's licence. The problem is, the states' DMV is being asked to interpret immigration law to determine if someone is here illegally. Obviously it is not their area of expertise.
K-1 filers, that are adjusting for status, are legally present in the United States by authority of the Attorney General. In those states that try to deny a licence to an AOSer based on "being in the country illegally", they are wrong and/or not informed properly.
Remember, state regulations are not allowed to violate state law. Just because the regulations or DMV policies say something, it does not mean that it is legal and correct. Often these regulations/policies are based on an incomplete reading of the law.
You have two options, roll over and accept what the DMV says or fight it not just for yourself, but for future K-1 fiancees coming to your state.
I fought. Now when my fiancee arrives, I know she will get the driver's license she deserves.
Example for Arkansas: Arkansas gives licenses to DACA beneficiaries (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). These DACA kids were here illegally, filed some paperwork with USCIS and upon approval, they enjoy legal presence in the US under the authority of the Attorney General. Hey, that sounds just like the situation a K-1 beneficiary is in while adjusting for status, doesn't it? Actually it is. So if Arkansas issues licenses to DACA kids (and they do), they should issue them to K-1 beneficiaries too. Otherwise it is a 14th amendment violation under the equal protection clause.
I can also state other reasons and provide evidence.
Bottom line: Roll over or fight
P.S. I would love to join up with like minded people who are willing to fight for this.

Who are you to determine if this is FAR more important and to shame people in here? The only person able to make that determination is the OP's wife. Other people in the thread have been attempting to help, whereas you have not really contributed much to the issue other than criticising other people.
I realize my posts are off topic too and I will keep my mouth shut and not reply to anything that simply increases the noise level in here.

Chart Update

Not sure how useful this is in predicting when you will get NOA2.
Basically all I can read out of it is that the earliest you can expect NOA2 is 3 weeks after NOA1, you have about a 15% chance of getting NOA2 4 weeks after NOA1 and about 45% after 5 weeks. If you don't get it by then, there will be a delay of which the average duration is yet to be determined.
In other words, 45% of folks get their NOA2 within 3 to 5 weeks.