Marieke H

An important lesson I have learned during my immigration process is that in order to be successful you just have to carefully read instructions, follow them exactly, and just do as you are told. Don't waste time wondering why they are asking for documents or a second interview or a translator. Don't bother trying to call the consulate to ask why a second interview is requested. They have reasons to ask what they are asking, and they likely will not share with you what those reasons are. Just follow the instructions.

So any letter from a religious leader that you can provide will only say that a chaperone is required. You chose to not find a different chaperone; there's no way that there is only one approved chaperone. Forget about trying to get this waiver for the meeting requirement; your case is very, very weak. Get married and file for a spousal visa.

It's not fair of him to expect you to wait around until he is ready to be in a relationship. Who knows how long that will take? And what if you don't want him anymore by the time he is finally ready? You are young, and there are plenty of other, less complicated guys out there. Take some time to figure out what YOU want to do. It makes sense to want to stay in the UK where you probably have more support from friends and family. But if you want to see what it's like to build a life in the US, you can totally do that. You have not been outside of the US that long yet, you can easily fly back.

The K-1 seems like an odd choice in this situation. It would probably be easier to get married in the beneficiary's country, following all the cultural and religious requirements, and then apply for a spousal visa instead. If you do want to continue to pursue the K-1, you will know best who could write the needed letter; it depends on the culture and/or religion that prevents you from meeting in person. Make sure that the letter includes why even a chaperoned meeting would not be allowed. It will be incredibly hard to convince USCIS, so any official documentation that you have about your customs and culture might help. There really isn't a template for such a letter; it is very specific to your circumstances.

Yes. And it is likely that they will waive the biometrics and re-use the biometrics from her AOS. However, that does not mean that they will waive the fee...

Your wife's receipt notice for the I-751 should include a sentence about her LPR status being extended by 18 or 24 months. She can travel with the expired green card and the extension letter (if the extension is still valid). But yes, she can also have someone else go to the interview with her child if she prefers.

None of these things may have come up during previous interviews, but granting you US citizenship is kind of a big thing, and they tend to look at your entire immigration history before approving that. I think there are several things in your immigration history that could cause issues. We can only guess what they are wanting to talk to you about; it can be one or more of the things that we brought up in this thread, or it could be something completely different. All you can do is get your facts straight (for example, make sure you remember your marriage date) and be honest. I do not think they will have you redo the civics test if you already passed that. Good luck.

It depends... Have you already filed for divorce and/or did you withdraw your application like you said you were going to do in your last post?

Okay, here is some more insight from your past posts: While on your F-1 visa, you worked off campus for 3 years. Your wife is 15 years older than you are. This usually is not an issue, but could be a problem in combination with everything else. The timing of your marriage and AOS application was right at the end of your F-1 visa. My guess is that all of these things combined, and a re-entry in 2010 where you may or may not have been honest about your immigrant intent, are cause for the officer to want to talk to you some more.

So you re-entered the country on your (non-immigrant) F-1 visa in 2010, while you already had a child in the US and you likely had intentions to marry the child's mother and apply for AOS. In other words, you had immigrant intent. When you entered the country in 2010, did you say anything to misrepresent yourself? Were you asked about the purpose of your visit, about family in the US, etc?

I think your list of evidence includes a lot of "fluff" that may make it difficult for the officer to find the real, strong evidence. Focus on things that show: 1. That you live together in marital union; 2. That you comingle your finances. So anything that shows both of your names (bills, subscriptions, insurance, etc) and anything that shows joint financial responsibilities (bank statements with both of your incomes, household expenses, etc) should be included. Things like evidence of his business or an insurance claim don't really prove anything. Focus on quality, not quantity. Go through your evidence and ask yourself what each piece of evidence is telling USCIS. Get rid of the fluff, and focus on the strong evidence. You have plenty of good evidence. For my ROC, bank statements were my main evidence, because it showed two incomes coming in and all of our expenses (rent, groceries, utilities, etc) going out. I added some utility bills that were in both of our names, and some insurance policies and a copy of our lease. That's it. No pictures, text messages, affidavits, or other fluff. Just some strong documents that clearly show that we live together and that we share our finances. My ROC was approved without an RFE and without an interview.

You went to visit family and are coming back after the holidays. That's really all that matters. My husband and I had cheap wedding rings; mine broke a month after our wedding, and my husband lost his a few weeks later. We never replaced them, and no one cares. You are a legal permanent resident coming back from a family visit. Relax.

I have shared here on this forum how difficult the AOS process was for me after arriving on a K-1 visa, but this is something I never shared: I developed anxiety and depression during those months of sitting at home and not being able to do anything. It got so bad that my husband suggested that maybe we should forget about my green card and I should just move back to the Netherlands for a bit to get better, and then we would see what we would do. It was undiagnosed and untreated for a long time, and after I had finally started working and we had good insurance, I was diagnosed, received treatment, and I am doing okay now. Moving to a new country is hard. Not being able to work, travel, drive, etc, makes it even harder. Please don't make her go through that if she is already struggling with her mental health. Go visit her, spend time with her, talk to her about what would be the best thing to do for both of you. Maybe she will want to stay where she is and focus on her mental health first. Maybe you two will want to get married and file for a CR-1 instead so she will arrive as an LPR instead of being in limbo for months.

What are the exact words on the denial notice? If you already submitted your marriage certificate in your initial application and it was not requested in the RFE (the RFE seemed to be about taxes?), the reason for denial may not be the missing marriage certificate but lack of relationship evidence. When you resubmit, make sure to include your marriage certificate AND relationship and financial comingling evidence.

If her symptoms are so terrible that you needed to request an expedite, it may be difficult to convince the doctor doing her medical that she is healthy enough to move to the US. Severe anxiety and depression will make her immigration process very difficult for her, especially coming on a K-1. You may need to look at other options, like moving to her instead.

Several. It costs a lot of money, and there are hoops to jump through. Many people will have to give up the citizenship of their country of origin, which could in some cases cause issues with travelling back or owning property in their country of origin. There really are lots of pros and cons, and they very much depend on personal background and preferences, as illustrated in this thread. I can totally relate to anyone who posted here about their reasons for applying for citizenship or not applying.

I definitely see the benefits of getting US citizenship in your situation! I think the country of origin is a huge factor in determining if and when applying for US citizenship is important.

Yes, you will be able to keep your Belgian citizenship when you become a US citizen: https://diplomatie.belgium.be/nl/voor-belgen-het-buitenland/nationaliteit/verlies-behoud-en-herkrijging.

I have been eligible to file for naturalization under the 3 year rule for a while now, but I decided to at least wait until I am eligible under the 5 year rule, because that requires less evidence (we have nothing to hide, but we are kinda done with sending USCIS tons of information about our finances and marriage). I will be eligible under the 5 year rule in a few months, but I am not really in a hurry to get it done. It is a lot of money, and at this point I don't feel that it is worth it. I definitely plan to keep my Dutch citizenship as well, and I am glad we have that option as Dutchies. My main reason to apply would be to be able to vote, which also might help to feel more like this country is home now. Also, I sometimes see job openings that you have to be a citizen for. And my family has recently joined the Civil Air Patrol and we may be occasionally visiting military bases in that capacity; I am assuming that entering a military base would be a bit more complicated for me as a non-citizen. I still have 8 years left on my green card. I am sure I will apply for citizenship at some point in the next few years. I do want to become a citizen before my green card expires, so I can be done with USCIS, but it is not a huge priority at the moment.

It is good to bring a copy of the packet, just in case something got lost. Having a copy of everything with you may prevent delays.

Organize it in any way that makes it easy for the beneficiary to find something if they ask. They may not ask for anything. They may ask for a specific document. It helps if the beneficiary knows how everything is organized so they won't need to search through piles of papers. I have seen binders, folders, grocery bags, paper clips. Use whatever works best for the beneficiary.

It's 6 questions out of 100 questions that need to be memorized. In a new language for many people. I'd like to see you memorize 100 questions and answers in a language that is not your first language. Yes, you're allowed to have an opinion, and it's okay to be wrong.

It may seem too easy to you, but for someone who wasn't born here and didn't go to school here, these 100 questions can be challenging to memorize, especially if English is not their first language (although that doesn't apply to OP's husband). This test wasn't designed to be anything like your civics test in school. Saying it is too easy diminishes the hard work that many immigrants put into studying for their test.

If he literally said "religious freedom" that should have been correct. In your initial post you said that he answered "freedoms like religion" which is not one of the approved answers. He will need to memorize the exact answer as provided here: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/questions-and-answers/100q.pdf. Maybe try making some flashcards to practice with, to make sure he practices all questions?

While the practice test is great to test yourself, it only includes 20 random questions out of the 100. He needs to study all 100 questions and their answers, and not just hope that all 100 will eventually show up if he does the practice test over and over. The question about reasons to immigrate is probably the question referenced by @Family above.