goobies

Oh, my. That doesn't good. I would definitely call the embassy. It usually takes just a few days.

1 hour ago, Mike E said:

IME, each connecting flight can check documents.  As a green card holder, my green card was checked most of time in Frankfurt coming from India on the way to the USA.  
 

At European airports CBP is known to have employees on site to provide guidance.

Aha, thanks for the insight. 

So that doesn't sound like a good enough bargain to me. 

Nairobi is severely backlogged, per their automated response to my email. I'm now in their queue, which could take months. 

I'm traveling to UG with our babies in September. 

If we go the IR1 route, do you think our not being together for 2+ years will bring a problem? 

34 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Yes.  That’s why CBP directs airlines to board people with expired 10 year green cards.  
 

No as per the CBP’s orders to airlines.  
 

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2019-Mar/2019 Carrier Information Guide - ENGLISH.pdf
 

Read the above document carefully. 
 

 

The I-797 you want to present is not an acceptable document per the link I gave you. 
 

He can certainly try.  I am certain the airline won’t board him.  I would love to be wrong. The only faint hope I can give you is that airline employees are poorly trained on alternate I-551 documents.  This is both my personal experience the my observation from dozens of posts from people with expired green cards or no green cards at all. If a n airline can falsely deny boarding  it can falsely permit boarding.  
 

So let us know how it goes.  
 

 

I'm very grateful for your responses. 

Is there only 1 checkpoint for documents before boarding the 1st flight, or do they check for each connecting flight as well?

6 minutes ago, Mike E said:

His current status is he is a lawful permanent resident.  Until he both gets a notice to appear and misses his appearance, he remains an LPR.  

This is very confusing to me. So the greencard can be expired but he can still be an LPR? 

Then doesn't this mean he has to be admitted on a flight, if he's still within status? 

Would presenting the (*)-797 to the airline, with a future date of interview suffice to allow him to board?

What about our current 797 Notice of Action? The biometrics appointment is on April 7th. Would this allow him to board a flight?

Do they continue to issue these even when the greencard and extension letter have expired? I'm wondering if we have some how been given another extension. 

Is there any way, apart from DS117 to get his current immigrant status? Like calling in to ask?

7 hours ago, Family said:

That is a good pragmatic “ think outside the box” recommendation. Get to a POE ( by foot via a friendly country , not stuck in airport at the mercy of ..) and they must let you in ( he will prevail cause newborn/ moms health  / COVID and a super star Wife! NO MATTER what they put him through..secondary/ little pressure/ NTA ) 

 

I also agree w @milimeloinasmuch as Nairobi seems to only have geographic jurisdiction for Kenya and all others are permanently closed..but they list a phone number , so maybe try calling.

 

Filing another I-751 from outside and trying to board in an airport STILL puts you at the mercy of …see above). 

Is it really a guarantee that they'd admit him at a land border? 

Can you explain what could possibly happen in the airport if they deny him entry?

Thanks, I have emailed Kenyan Embassy, and hoping for a quick response.

I appreciate all the guidance!

Greetings, 

I am an American citizen, living in Texas. My husband is a Ugandan, and he came to the US on a CR1 Visa in 2017.

In November 2019, we traveled back to Uganda together with our daughter to visit family and attend a burial, after submitting the request to remove the conditions on his greencard. Our intent was to travel back to the US after 3 months.

Covid19 of course broke out in December 2019. We had a very difficult time deciding what to do, as he was worried about leaving his elderly mother alone in Uganda, and I was 5 months pregnant with our 2nd child. 

We decided that I should return to the US In February 2020 for better maternity services, and better Healthcare overall, in case Covid were to strike us. My husband decided to remain for a few more weeks to make better arrangements for his mom.

Unfortunately, we didn't expect the lockdowns, and by the time he was ready to come back to Texas, the airport had locked down. He had a ticket, but when he arrived at the airport, he was told only US citizens were allowed on the flight.

From that point, we decided to wait Covid out, not realizing how long it would last. By the time travel restrictions had relaxed, he became so terrified of traveling, because he had been out of the US for more than 6 months. We were uneducated about re-entry permits, and so didn't realize it was still possible for him to come back.

I recently spoke to someone whose relative was granted a re-entry permit after an extended stay outside the US. They advised us to look into this possibility. 

Also, we have been receiving I-797C Notice of Action letters for his Biometric Appointment every 3 months or so. I don't know if that is helpful info or not.

And so now, here I am, seeking any advice or forms or direction you can offer us.

In summary, my husband arrived in the US In September 2017. We traveled back to Uganda in Nov 2019, after sending off his Removal of Conditions paperwork, with the intention of returning in February 2020. He got stuck there during Covid, and we just now found out about re-entry permits. We are seeking guidance on how to legally and appropriately bring him back to the US as a LPR.

Any guidance will be so greatly appreciated. 

1 hour ago, retheem said:

Did he have any brushes with the law? If he did, then he will be questioned anytime. Otherwise, he should be able to come in. It is very rare for LPRs to be denied entry. And, if he comes back before a year is over some custom officer may make some noise but he will get in. Beyond that, your husband can cross into Kenya and get an international flight. Figure out how to get through the border

Hi, thanks for your response. No, he's never had any problems apart from a failure to indicate with turn signal ticket that we took care of with defensive driving course.

Is Kenya's airport opened now? I called only 3 weeks ago to see and they told me still no flights. Do you know if this has changed? 

My LPR husband is still stuck in his country. It has now been 9 months. We are hopeful for a flight next month, but it isn't guaranteed to happen. 

I'm very worried that even once he gets a flight back, he might get problems in the airport. Every time he has returned before, they have taken him for questioning. 

Myself and our two babies travelled there with him in November 2019, and returned in February, but he remained behind to see our trade school through the end of their term. Well, everything got shut down before that was possible.

We do have his return flight info for the flight that he was supposed to come back with before the airport shut down. He also still has insurance, driver's license, a bank account. We don't have a lease together because we live with my parents. 

What is the likelihood of him being denied entry at the airport? Is there anything we can do to prevent denial? If he is denied, what happens? Will he be detained or allowed to come home to wait for a hearing or what?

Hello, 

We have had a bumpy ride so far. We applied in mid-July and didn't get the extension letter until October 4th, only after several service requests, expedite requests, and an infopass appointment scheduled (which we didnt need to go to. The same day someone called to say our letter was FINALLY in the mail.)

Anyway, we are now waiting for further action....either biometrics appointment notice or something to say we don't need it. We are MSC filers. 

Is this ok, or should i assume that we've once again been lost in a pile of paperwork?

Hello, any MSC cases gotten your biometrics letters yet? 

We are going out of the country for the next 3 months. I feel like a week after we leave we will get the letter. Hopefully changing the date is an easy process.

Hello everyone, 

We are the family whose I-797 was returned to USCIS for being deemed "undeliverable". That was on August 14th. 

We still haven't received it, and it is now beyond 30 days. We Will be calling tomorrow to ask for more info as they wouldn't tell us anything on previous calls since 30 days had not yet passed. 

I have two questions...during the I-130 process, I, the petitioner, could get info on my husband's behalf. Now they refuse to speak to me. Is it possible to register me as his agent over the phone so in future calls i can speak for him? 

What happens if you don't get the I-797 before the green card expires???

Thank you kindly, 

Two Worried Goobies

I've searched but can't find an answer....we still haven't gotten our I797 in the mail yet. Uscis told us to wait an additional 30 days before calling again. My husband's GC expires on the 17th of September. I'm worried we won't get the I797 before it expires! What happens if his employer finds out or he gets stopped by traffic police?!?!

27 minutes ago, Frida Major said:

Hello yes we had the kukyala and we had some photos taken that's all that happened 

Ok, that is perfect. Did you guys have the formal letters? Maybe you can have an LC also write one stating he knows kukyala happened and that your fiance plans to wed you and state reasons why you want to live in USA together. Ours were to get better jobs so we could make a better future for our kids and to have our kids in a stable environment.

6 minutes ago, Shatra takeda said:

Kampala

Lol, that is so unspecific. Well, the safest bet is to go to any large MTN agent. I say large agent because they should know by now how to do it. Smaller agents may not know the process. But MTN partnered with Safaricom sometime back, maybe 2015, so now you can send/receive Mpesa via MTN. 

• Dial *165#
• Select Send Money (1)
• Select International Transfer (3)
• Select Safaricom M-Pesa (1)
• Enter the recipient Number in format 254XXX

I hope this helps you and all others in UG. It's how we did it in 2017. We did it in Mbale at the bus park. The 1st MTN agent we went to didn't know it was possible.

2 hours ago, Shatra takeda said:

She is in Uganda going to kenya for the interview

Yes, I understand that. I'm asking which town in Uganda is she in so I can direct you to a local Mpesa point.

I would not take the gamble. We are from Uganda, been there, done that, it didn't get approved. Unless the Ugandan in question has a very high profile job in Uganda, sufficient (more than $5000 USD) funds in a Ugandan bank account, and owns property in Uganda, a visitor visa is not going to get approved. Many acquaintances have also tried and failed. Besides this, it is cheaper for US fiance to visit Uganda, and will make your case stronger as well. Plus, Uganda is amaaaazing. We are planning a visit home ASAP.

On 5/10/2019 at 2:39 PM, Terrell USA said:

Yes Calij, we have submitted the DS-160. However, we were given two methods of payment. That's our issue. The bank (Postbank) is only located in Kenya (fiancee in Uganda) or Safaricom MPesa (Kenyan Network sim) not sold in Uganda. How did you guys pay your application fees? 

Which town is your fiance in? 

Hello, fellow Ugandans here. You need to get letters from his family and yours stating they all know about your relationship and support your plans to get married. 

Also send screenshots of any messages between you about marriage, plans for your future. 

Do you guys have photos together? Did you have any kwanjula or engagement party?

Is fiance coming to UG anytime soon? 

Have you started planning the wedding, like found a dress, a venue, set a date, invited people? (I know you might say no because you don't know when you will get the visa, but you can make these plans and change the date later.)

I'm asking questions so I can know more to help you guys out. They really want so much proof that you guys are serious and steady.

Good luck, and we are here to help in any way we can. 

Also,please start saving EVERYTHING you guys have because interviews are tough. You need all the evidences you can possibly get. That means ask for receipts for any small restaurant to bus tickets, to even Shoprite receipts, and make sure it has both of you on the receipt. If you go to any clinic, have both of your names there. 

21 hours ago, ihaveadream said:

I am the one who heard nothing for almost a month after mailing and my application was seemingly lost.  So my file been transferred to National Benefits Centre and I have updated the excel sheet.

Strangely mail was returned for my children even though we have the same post box address.

I am in the same boat as your kids. Our letter was returned for being "undeliverable". After 16 days of waiting with the USCIS website saying it was mailed out, they finally changed it to state what was going on. Now it's been 1 week after the update and us calling. We still haven't gotten our letter.

Have your kids gotten theirs yet?

3 hours ago, agripa said:

I'm so sorry you had such a horrible time with USCIS customer service. In my experience, they are usually thoroughly unhelpful. However, the representative was right that you will need to wait 30 days before contacting them again. I suspect that even if your spouse calls, they will simply state please wait 30 days and call us again. 

 

Well, we just got a case update notification from the Case Tracker app at 10:04 pm this evening. It says the notice was returned to USCIS because they were unable to deliver it! How is that even possible? We live with my parents and have a single mail box. 

2 things I'm upset about:

1). How come after calling today and being told that they couldn't give me any info we suddenly get this notification? Does that mean if we never called we never would have found out?!?!?!

2). They must have got our address wrong or USPS delivered it to the wrpng address. Our address is up to date with USCIS and was written correctly on all paperwork and the envelope. I know because I checked everything multiple times before mailing it.

I knew, I got a spider sense feeling last night, that something was off. 

What a crappy way to end the evening.

2 hours ago, camerica said:

I received my text on the 29th as well. I received my I797 on August 4th. I think you should call someone. If your NOA was lost or stolen that is worrisome for other mail coming from USCIS. The one good thing is that your case file was sent to the National Benefits Center. They are faster there. My initial package when I started this was sent to MSC. I got everything quickly. People told me that filings sent there were always done more quickly.

I'm in tears...I spent 56 minutes on hold waiting just to be told they won't give me any info since I'm not the applicant. I informed them I just wanted to know if they had mailed out our letter yet and they still wouldn't even tell me that. He said it can take up to 30 days. Why on earth did I think they would give me anything useful??? 😭😭😭

Hi guys, we received a text notification that our package was received with MSC case number on the 29th. That was 16 days ago. We still haven't gotten the NOA1 in the mail. I'm getting really nervous that it was lost or stolen from our mail box. Has anyone else waited this long for NOA1?

My husband made a trip back home last week, amd unfortunately experienced a mental breakdown. He has bipolar disorder, and I think being home triggered a bad episode for him. 

1) We haven't filed taxes yet and they are due soon.

2) I dont know how long it will take for him to stabilize and come back.

3). He has pretty much lost his job unless he comes back within this week, which is possible, but not assured.

4) I'm extremely worried about him as he has no home there, no income, no source of food, no way to get medical help.

All of these combined are terrifying me that he will ruin the visa we have worked soooooo very hard for. 

Can anyone explain to me what happens if he doesnt get back in time to file taxes? And does him leaving like this have the potential of voiding our visa? He has spent a total of 5 months here since we got the visa. So he hasn't even finished half a year. 

He says he will come back next week, but he is also going back and forth on that. At the same time, he is extremely paranoid that having left, he will be arrested upon entry. (Part of his illness) So getting him here in time to do taxes and avoid losing his job is looking to be quite iffy. 

How long can he stay out without causing damage to the green card?

Thank you all in advance.

1 hour ago, josebalix said:

Hullo Guys.

Am Ugandan living in the states. i want to start my wife and son  process to immigrate.

the question i have is how many tax returns do they need to submit? as the affidavit of support.

this is my 2 rd year living in the US.

thanks

 

Hi there, 

What kind of visa are you here on? It will determine your ability to petition them. 

Also, will you have a joint sponsor or will you sponsor them yourself? 

If you have a joint sponsor, you dont need to worry so much about your returns. The joint sponsor's returns will matter more. They should include the past 3 years. 

Hope this answers your questions and good luck.