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YecaCruz

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Everything posted by YecaCruz

  1. Same. I'm the paralegal of the Cruz home lol. Good luck in the process and if you think of it, let us (or me know) how it goes. It would be nice to have someone to compare notes with especially since we both are from Nicaragua...well my husband is anyway...I'm 100% chela!
  2. Congrats on getting them through the parole process. Marriage to a US citizen or asylum are probably the only ways the will be able to "stay" although the former is not a guarantee unless you can argue a strong, positive case. Right now, I don't see that there is a renewal option after the 2 years are up. That would be nice as things probably won't change in 2 years. I helped out friend/husband's brother-from-another-mother submit his asylum application last weekend with several 3rd party documentation supporting country conditions and a 2 page declaration. I helped him write out the declaration and translated anything that was in Spanish. Before you do so, I suggest the "political asylum lawyers" youtube channel. There are a TON of great guide videos and tips; and it is worth spending a few days acclimating yourself with the different parts of the process. Asylum doesn't seem DIY and it's probably totally worth getting a lawyer to help out but neither us nor our friend has thousands of dollars to drop but with enough research it is possible. If this is the route your family will take the application must be submitted within 1 year of them being here.
  3. This guy gives zero fluffs today; it's not like he pays the mortgage!
  4. agreed. MX primary language is Spanish so it makes no sense that they would need anything translated from Spanish. I just wanted to answer if they need a professional to translate docs, which they don't and can save money.
  5. I can't even compare to why we chose K1 in 2016 due to the current circumstances, and it obviously worked out for me with a miraculous processing time of barely 3 months and an equally miraculous processing time for his green-card (see signature) Given that processing times right now really yield no difference between the 2 options I would echo what many others are stating; get hitched now! You already know that you guys want to take that step and you have a huge advantage of being together now. Having to involve yourselves in immigrations will of course complicate things a bit and certainly take the luster off of something that is so wonderful. Try to zoom out and get the bigger picture which are the many previously listed disadvantages and costs of the mandatory steps to be taken if you go with a K1. I looked at everything with USCIS glasses on for a while because that's just what I had to do with citizenship as the end goal. My wedding ring is a cheapo stainless-steel thing and while its nothing to look at but it's very significant for me. I would think your family will be thrilled to celebrate your marriage no matter how much later it is from the ceremony. Save even more money and splurge on a nice ring for your 5 year or 10-year anniversary if that is something of importance to you. Good luck in coming to a decision!
  6. Made turkey first time ever. I think I left in the oven too long as it was just starting to dry up. Lesson learned! but people went back for seconds so must not have been too bad. All the lefse is gone and they compared it to a very similar Nica treat (though not made from potatoes). Ate up a huge cauldron of rice in less than 24 hours and fried up some beef and leftover-turkey Nicaraugan tacos with a repollo salad and sour cream (and ketchup which I chose to not put on mine). Finished off the weekend by cheating and ordering pizza...we were all tired of the kitchen at that point hehe!
  7. It will be a very gringo Thanksgiving at casa Cruz in good 'ole NoDak to give our Nicaraguan friends a taste of the upper Midwest festivities: turkey, stuffing, cheesy/creamy hashbrown taters, veggies, apple & mini pumpkin pies, along with lefse or as I describe it to them - the Norwegian tortilla. I gotta include part of the ND food traditions thanks to overwhelming majority of us having German or Norsky roots. Turkey stuff on Thursday followed by a weekend of gallo pinto, Nica tacos, pollo a la plancha, rice up to our ears and all the Nicaraguan foods we can manage to churn out of the kitchen in a limited amount of time. Pics to follow!
  8. get a family member/friend with sufficient salary and legal US status to be your wife's sponsor for the CHNV program. When you ask them, make sure they understand that they are not committing to sending a monthly check or anything like that since you will be the one providing for her - you basically just need them since he/she would fulfill the "living in the US" requirement as a sponsor. Relatively speaking, this will be the quickest way to get her paroled into the US legally; quick meaning months and not years. From there you can then file to adjust status/green cards et al. The sooner you get the ball rolling on that, the better the chances are to maybe have wife's sponsor approval by Feb. No promises but get it done asap. Have you approached your employer and explained the situation? Perhaps they could reconsider renewing your contract in the current country given the circumstances?
  9. no, relationship is not a factor as long as the sponsor and beneficiary kind of know each other - aka no human trafficking going on, if you are still talking about the CHNV program. My parents sponsored a friend and her family that they've known for 20 years.
  10. They may have changed the CNHV program since we did it; though I am not sure since I am not following it too closely anymore. Back when we did it for my brother-in-law in March, it was 30k total for all 4 countries. 1/2 to be processed in order and 1/2 to be processed randomly. the I-134a follows the poverty guidelines so there is indeed either minimum income based on the household size OR minimum amount of assets needed from the sponsor. There is no income requirement for the beneficiary/you wife and you can put $0 for her. There is also the option to have numerous co-sponsors if needed.
  11. Processing time was about 1 month when this program first came out. I saw people getting approved within 2 weeks - it was absolutely mindblowing. Now it is taking much longer due to the huge, growing backlog but definitely not 2 years. If you are looking for something relatively quick this program would probably be the best way to get her to the states legally and then legally adjust via marriage. Make sure her Nica passport will not expire during that time. As someone mentioned you will fill out the i-134a online for her as her primary sponsor, upload supporting documentation, and wait! Another option is send her to Spain if you have to go back and then lose the residency. Nicaragua and Spain have this funky reciprocal agreement that they don't need visas to go to each other's countries. If she would want to work she'd have to go through whatever the process is. Avoid going back to Nicaragua at all costs; the country is such a mess politically and economically right now. I feel so bad for the people that have no option but to live under the Ortega regime right now.
  12. A THREAD ABOUT CATS!!??? YES!!! PLEASE allow me to join this thread. Cats have been in my life throughout my short 34 years of life. I was the cat-lady at the farm that cared for the all the barncats, walked in the shelterbelt with a whole gang following me, found most of the new litters, and had names for all of them...even the un-tame ones. Here are our two doofuses Mac and Minino. Hand raised since 5 days of life after their mother died.
  13. echoing what many others are stating. File the N400 to get that process going since that is your ultimate goal. You'll have at least a month's notice if not more between receiving the notification and the interview. You'll also be able to see the interview notice from your USCIS account in case you are out thus you'd be able to plan accordingly and fly back.
  14. no problem. The first things I did with my then-husband when he got here was add him as an authorized signer (to help build up his credit) and add him to as many bills and accounts I could think of: banking and retirement accounts, apartment rental lease, phone & utilities, car insurance,. If they questioned why I would state that it was for immigration purposes as proof of shared finances to support his change of status. We also created notarized durable and medical power of attorney documents. Good luck! If all else fails, take your accounts elsewhere and let them silly bankers know you are going to find someone who better serves your needs. Get them where it hurts lol. Would be even better if it was a bank across the street or something!
  15. Wiiiierd. I've worked at a bank since 2011. Unless the banker was a having a bad day there should have been a reason that they couldn't open one for her and you SHOULD have been told that reason(s). Can you add her on any of your accounts, or add her as a co-signer or authorized user to any of your credit cards? That way when the next statement cycles, her name would be listed along with the address. The only reason we wouldn't open an account at the bank I work at is if the person has unsettled charge-offs with other banks. No credit history is not a factor where I work but I supposed that doesn't mean other banks may look at that. Bad credit is another story, which I'm sure she doesn't have anyway.
  16. it wouldn't be her that files the petition, but the church or religious organization that would be sponsoring her from the states. However, you mentioned that she is not going to be working with/for the organization state-side which defeats the purpose of a religious organization petitioning or sponsoring her. She would have to demonstrate proof of self-support as part of an established missionary program or proof from the organization on how it will compensate, denominational membership, and evidence regarding her prospective position according to USCIS website. This is not an option for her based on what you've shared. R-1 Nonimmigrant Religious Workers | USCIS
  17. If you are fluent in Spanish, as someone earlier suggested, save the $ and do them yourself. I translated my husband's birth certificate myself for his green card application. We had zero questions or issues with it.
  18. I know each interview is unique but they didn't even ask us our wedding plans. We did a courthouse wedding the day my husband got off the airplane, wasted no time! Did another ceremony later that year to include family and friends.
  19. Exactly! They don't care about the beneficiary's income, if any. That is why you, the petitioner, had to prove that you have enough income to support her. My husband had a non-paying job as a pastor when we went through the k1 process. 0 issues, 0 questions. I echo that which has already been said. It's a non-issue. Good luck on your immigration journey!
  20. I don't have country-specific info but what I can tell you generally speaking is that the consulate officers at the US embassies conduct each tourist visa interview assuming that the foreign applicant is going to violate the conditions of the tourist visa by overstaying their allowed time. It is entirely up to the applicant to overcome this assumption with the totality of their circumstance to answer the rhetorical question: "what reasons will return you back to your country"? They only have the visa application and a 3-minute face-to-face appointment to do so. There is no magic formula as all have been left behind before: family, kids, businesses, education, properties/apartment leases, your precious doggo; they've seen it all. This can be hard to do when the applicant is a young 20-something with an American significant other (even if it's just a "friend"), no major source of income or stable job history (which was my husband's case). And no, a letter from a supposed sponsor does not help. The consulate officers rarely, if ever, take time to look at extra documentation or evidence you may have in the interview. Examples: 1. my husband attempted to get a tourist visa thrice. Nada. It was legitimately to come visit me and meet my family. 2. We invited my brother-in-law to our wedding - he was a young 20-something, top of his class university student with a full ride scholarship and full-time job. Nope. 3. A few years later my brother-in-law wanted to attend the gold cup soccer tournament that would take place in Ohio in which Nicaragua was a contender (first time for the national team in a long time). At that time, he had graduated top of his class, still had his full time job with Microsoft, and had travel history in his passport. NOOOOOOPE Is it unfair? Yes, i suppose it is; but there is a very good reason why the process is the way it is thanks to all the liars and cheats who ruined it for us in today's day. There is certainly NO HARM in trying if your brother has the $160-or-whatever to pay the visa fee as a denied tourist visa doesn't hurt their record or anything. I hope this tidbit helps. While I'm no expert with the bit that I've experience with the US immigration system I'm glad to say that I have haunted this forum long enough to glean from the true experts who post their knowledge and experience. Good luck to your brother and this female friend!
  21. Good luck! Hopefully you get an answer. N400 was a 600-some day process for us!
  22. File the I-131, application for travel, and the I-765 authorization to work, in the same packet with the adjust status/green card application. That way you can get authorization to work and advanced parole while you wait for the green card application and there is no extra fee to do this. I spent a around a month after my courthouse wedding on adding my spouse's name to as much as I could including utilities bills, bank accounts, credit card authorized signer, apartment lease, vehicle insurance. Anytime I was met with 'resistance' like 'we can't do that" I emphasized that I was doing this for immigration purposes to prove residency blah blah blah and that seemed to do the trick lol. So by the time I sent in the packet(s) I had a nice little pile of various documents that had both of our names on stuff. Double and triple-check everything before you send it in AND make a copy or 2 of everything in the packet. Practice filling out the form a few times, as I did, to avoid any mistakes or typos. Good luck and take your time! Application for Travel Document | USCIS
  23. just circling back to report that my friend was able to complete the steps with CBP One this past Weds the 3rd. Found out that CBP's info doesn't automatically update when USCIS does. Someone at USCIS has to click something to update the info with CBP for the app to also have the updated / corrected info which took a few days as you can see. Thankfully it didn't take another month! Now she just has to wait for her travel auth (her husband and kids have theirs already)!
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