CMJuilland

I totally agree with @mam521! We did the K-1 and absolutely regretted it. It was such a stressful, depressing start of our marriage. We got through it, but 8 months sitting at home in a new country with no friends, no job, no driver's license, while my husband worked extra hours to support both of us, was just miserable. 
 
You have a chance now to get married and file the I-130 online. Weddings are just a bit different when immigration is involved. We just did a courthouse wedding and keep saying that some day we'll do a big celebration to renew our vows, but we've been married for over 6 years now and haven't done anything. Maybe for our 10 year anniversary... 🤣

Which happened first? The baby or the naturalization? 

You seem a little overwhelmed and confused, and I don’t blame you. Here is what people have been trying to tell you: 
U.S. citizens petitioning for minor children or step children (minor = under 21 here) don’t have to wait for a visa number to become available. That is why it will be faster for the twins to be issued their visas if you as a USC file. You don’t have to do it, but if you want the kids to be able to move to the U.S. sooner, you filing is the way to go.  Since you haven’t filed for them before, your filing would be an additional one, not a refile. Within your family, it might seem like it, but as far as USCIS is concerned, those are two separate filings per child. Terminology can be very important when dealing with USCIS (which can be a hassle anyway, so it’s best not to add to said hassle with terminology issues).  Since the twins are two individuals, you need to file two separate petitions (two I-130s, one per child). The issue there is always that one might get processed slightly faster than the other (we see the same thing and question when people file for both of their parents), but the difference in time (if there is one) is usually so marginal that it’s not an issue for them to interview together. Approved petitions are valid for some time.  Currently, USCIS processing times are listed for between 13 and 14.5 months, depending on what service center it will go to, in the IR2 category (U.S. citizen filing for minor children - step children count here) vs. 32 to 36.5 months for the F2A category (permanent resident filing for spouse or minor children). However, even if USCIS approved your husband’s petition earlier than what is projected, a visa could only be issued after the priority date becomes current (which you can look up in the visa bulletin). In contrast, your petition can go straight to the embassy or consulate, and the twins can apply for an immigrant visa right away because there are no quota for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. 
Please don’t take this as lecturing, patronizing, or as condescension. I just remember how overwhelming the process can seem and wanted to spell it out for you as clearly as possible. 
Best of luck to all of you! 
 

Like others have stated, K1 and B1/B2 are different, and the key difference here is that the K1 is a so-called “dual intent” nonimmigrant visa, so you don’t have to overcome the presumption of immigrant intent (as that’s the whole point of the visa if everything works out). For a B visa, immigration intent is automatically assumed, and it’s on the applicant to overcome that. 
Also, cultural background and language skills do not factor in and COs have to be U.S. citizens. I used to be a language instructor for foreign service officers for a few years, and we often talked about the differences in visa categories and how you would interview as they needed to acquire the skills necessary. So, yes, the official language(s) of any country will be covered, but not necessarily by a native speaker. The reason we often find native speaker COs in some countries is that when a CO already has language skills, especially in “hard” languages (the State Dept has a scale of difficulty for languages), it makes sense to send them to a country where that language is spoken as you don’t have to train them in that language from scratch. COs complete a number of region-specific classes beyond their language training as well, and in their training they also learn the ins and outs in terms of how you interview and decide for what visa. 

Like others have stated, K1 and B1/B2 are different, and the key difference here is that the K1 is a so-called “dual intent” nonimmigrant visa, so you don’t have to overcome the presumption of immigrant intent (as that’s the whole point of the visa if everything works out). For a B visa, immigration intent is automatically assumed, and it’s on the applicant to overcome that. 
Also, cultural background and language skills do not factor in and COs have to be U.S. citizens. I used to be a language instructor for foreign service officers for a few years, and we often talked about the differences in visa categories and how you would interview as they needed to acquire the skills necessary. So, yes, the official language(s) of any country will be covered, but not necessarily by a native speaker. The reason we often find native speaker COs in some countries is that when a CO already has language skills, especially in “hard” languages (the State Dept has a scale of difficulty for languages), it makes sense to send them to a country where that language is spoken as you don’t have to train them in that language from scratch. COs complete a number of region-specific classes beyond their language training as well, and in their training they also learn the ins and outs in terms of how you interview and decide for what visa. 

Wow… Honest to God (and probably TMI): this made me cry, even though I don’t even know what he looked like. His family and mine were on very similar timelines and trajectories for our respective visas, and I very much appreciated his contributions and help, especially at the time… 

I don’t recall ever seeing an extension for an RFE, and I personally wouldn’t risk it. Sadly, your best bet is to either delay your travel plans on the front end (i.e., traveling later) so she can complete her medical, or shorten your plans on the back end (i.e., having her come back early and book the medical with ample time for everything to be sent). If it were me, I would want it out of the way and sent before I left the country, just to be sure. 
Why don’t you try for her to walk into the USCIS-approved clinic today or tomorrow and see what happens? As far as immunization is concerned, I had lost my vaxx pass from when I was a child, and I just had them give me all the shots again. It wasn’t a big deal at all. 
Best of luck to both of you!

Invalidation of EAD/AP and triggering a bar are very good points I hadn’t even considered. You do want to be careful here. Also, given that USCIS sent you an RFE, they seem to be almost ready for your interview. You may very well get a notice of interview between now and February. Just something else for you two to consider. 
I don’t know your exact circumstances, but it seems safest to maybe just travel for the Christmas/New Year portion… Not much happens in most (if not all) government agencies during that time anyway, and it would give you about two weeks, potentially making the trip worthwhile. Don’t jeopardize what you have achieved so far, even if it seems almost unbearable for your wife right now. Little side story on that: when I was in that situation, my EAD/AP didn’t get approved within normal processing times, and it got to the point where I had to involve my congressman in order to get any kind of response from USCIS. While his office was contacting them, my grandma passed away, and the funeral was scheduled. My EAD/AP was still not on the horizon, and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to go to the funeral to pay my respects (grandma were VERY close) and keep my family situation here in the States on track. So, I talked to my mom, and she implored me to stay put and to not travel. She said that the last thing my grandma would have wanted for me is to delay my family further and prolong the time apart. It was hard, but I did, and I don’t regret it. I know it sucks, but in the long run, it will pay off. 

Invalidation of EAD/AP and triggering a bar are very good points I hadn’t even considered. You do want to be careful here. Also, given that USCIS sent you an RFE, they seem to be almost ready for your interview. You may very well get a notice of interview between now and February. Just something else for you two to consider. 
I don’t know your exact circumstances, but it seems safest to maybe just travel for the Christmas/New Year portion… Not much happens in most (if not all) government agencies during that time anyway, and it would give you about two weeks, potentially making the trip worthwhile. Don’t jeopardize what you have achieved so far, even if it seems almost unbearable for your wife right now. Little side story on that: when I was in that situation, my EAD/AP didn’t get approved within normal processing times, and it got to the point where I had to involve my congressman in order to get any kind of response from USCIS. While his office was contacting them, my grandma passed away, and the funeral was scheduled. My EAD/AP was still not on the horizon, and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to go to the funeral to pay my respects (grandma were VERY close) and keep my family situation here in the States on track. So, I talked to my mom, and she implored me to stay put and to not travel. She said that the last thing my grandma would have wanted for me is to delay my family further and prolong the time apart. It was hard, but I did, and I don’t regret it. I know it sucks, but in the long run, it will pay off. 

Invalidation of EAD/AP and triggering a bar are very good points I hadn’t even considered. You do want to be careful here. Also, given that USCIS sent you an RFE, they seem to be almost ready for your interview. You may very well get a notice of interview between now and February. Just something else for you two to consider. 
I don’t know your exact circumstances, but it seems safest to maybe just travel for the Christmas/New Year portion… Not much happens in most (if not all) government agencies during that time anyway, and it would give you about two weeks, potentially making the trip worthwhile. Don’t jeopardize what you have achieved so far, even if it seems almost unbearable for your wife right now. Little side story on that: when I was in that situation, my EAD/AP didn’t get approved within normal processing times, and it got to the point where I had to involve my congressman in order to get any kind of response from USCIS. While his office was contacting them, my grandma passed away, and the funeral was scheduled. My EAD/AP was still not on the horizon, and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to go to the funeral to pay my respects (grandma were VERY close) and keep my family situation here in the States on track. So, I talked to my mom, and she implored me to stay put and to not travel. She said that the last thing my grandma would have wanted for me is to delay my family further and prolong the time apart. It was hard, but I did, and I don’t regret it. I know it sucks, but in the long run, it will pay off. 

I know your wife is excited to travel, but it seems unnecessarily risky in this situation- especially to stay out for several months????    I certainly would not do that until the GC was issued.

Sounds like you have a day and a half to find an approved civil surgeon, do the medical exam, and get the results.

If I-485 gets denied, your wife likely get 3 or even 10 year bar on coming back to the US.
 
With overstay, the safest thing is to not travel internationally at all until Green Card is in hand. Nowadays, USCIS is aware whether somebody left the country, and the AOS decision (denial for example) may be "conveniently" issued while she's overseas.
 
You both seem to take immigration lightly. I'd be doing everything to submit response to RFE ASAP. As others mentioned above, she should try going to a clinic and complete the medical exam before leaving the US. There's no extension for RFE as far as I know.
 
She'll probably have the bar too.

Go tomorrow and send it before you travel otherwise you will be risking a denial of AOS which will automatically invalidate both EAD and AP, which if your wife is still abroad will mean that she cannot come back to the US and will have to go through the spousal visa process (2 years or so for completion)

You seem a little overwhelmed and confused, and I don’t blame you. Here is what people have been trying to tell you: 
U.S. citizens petitioning for minor children or step children (minor = under 21 here) don’t have to wait for a visa number to become available. That is why it will be faster for the twins to be issued their visas if you as a USC file. You don’t have to do it, but if you want the kids to be able to move to the U.S. sooner, you filing is the way to go.  Since you haven’t filed for them before, your filing would be an additional one, not a refile. Within your family, it might seem like it, but as far as USCIS is concerned, those are two separate filings per child. Terminology can be very important when dealing with USCIS (which can be a hassle anyway, so it’s best not to add to said hassle with terminology issues).  Since the twins are two individuals, you need to file two separate petitions (two I-130s, one per child). The issue there is always that one might get processed slightly faster than the other (we see the same thing and question when people file for both of their parents), but the difference in time (if there is one) is usually so marginal that it’s not an issue for them to interview together. Approved petitions are valid for some time.  Currently, USCIS processing times are listed for between 13 and 14.5 months, depending on what service center it will go to, in the IR2 category (U.S. citizen filing for minor children - step children count here) vs. 32 to 36.5 months for the F2A category (permanent resident filing for spouse or minor children). However, even if USCIS approved your husband’s petition earlier than what is projected, a visa could only be issued after the priority date becomes current (which you can look up in the visa bulletin). In contrast, your petition can go straight to the embassy or consulate, and the twins can apply for an immigrant visa right away because there are no quota for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. 
Please don’t take this as lecturing, patronizing, or as condescension. I just remember how overwhelming the process can seem and wanted to spell it out for you as clearly as possible. 
Best of luck to all of you! 
 

I don’t recall ever seeing an extension for an RFE, and I personally wouldn’t risk it. Sadly, your best bet is to either delay your travel plans on the front end (i.e., traveling later) so she can complete her medical, or shorten your plans on the back end (i.e., having her come back early and book the medical with ample time for everything to be sent). If it were me, I would want it out of the way and sent before I left the country, just to be sure. 
Why don’t you try for her to walk into the USCIS-approved clinic today or tomorrow and see what happens? As far as immunization is concerned, I had lost my vaxx pass from when I was a child, and I just had them give me all the shots again. It wasn’t a big deal at all. 
Best of luck to both of you!

I don’t recall ever seeing an extension for an RFE, and I personally wouldn’t risk it. Sadly, your best bet is to either delay your travel plans on the front end (i.e., traveling later) so she can complete her medical, or shorten your plans on the back end (i.e., having her come back early and book the medical with ample time for everything to be sent). If it were me, I would want it out of the way and sent before I left the country, just to be sure. 
Why don’t you try for her to walk into the USCIS-approved clinic today or tomorrow and see what happens? As far as immunization is concerned, I had lost my vaxx pass from when I was a child, and I just had them give me all the shots again. It wasn’t a big deal at all. 
Best of luck to both of you!

For I-485 RFE, only a medical exam and I-693 form completed by a USCIS-accredited civil surgeon in the US will be acceptable.
 

Having colitis does not prevent someone from traveling, let alone not meeting someone for over 10 years. There are medications that treat colitis very successfully. It's a fact. My son has colitis and there has never been a time in his 26 years of life that colitis ever prevented him from traveling, and we travel VERY often (at least 3 or 4 times a year), including internationally. We just traveled to Europe this summer for an entire month and we just came back from Bermuda less than a week ago, he had zero issues that taking his meds couldn't handle. Not only does he travel all of the time, he's an athlete who's played soccer since childhood, including high school and college, he skis, hikes, rock climbs, runs marathons, races cars, scuba dives and has his pilot's license, I could go on and on and on. All while living with colitis. Is he on a special diet to control his colitis? Absolutely. Does having colitis sometimes interfere with things? Sure, but never enough to put his life on hold for any extended amount of time, let alone for an entire decade.

You are looking for excuses and grasping at straws. Even IF it was a disease that prevents travel (it doesn't), why on Earth would you ever expect to get approved after having not seen your fiancé for an entire decade? No lawyer is ever going to get around that fact. Any lawyer from Catholic Charities is free of charge and most likely knows little, if anything about immigration. Any immigration attorney would have told you straight up that you had no chance.

You seem a little overwhelmed and confused, and I don’t blame you. Here is what people have been trying to tell you: 
U.S. citizens petitioning for minor children or step children (minor = under 21 here) don’t have to wait for a visa number to become available. That is why it will be faster for the twins to be issued their visas if you as a USC file. You don’t have to do it, but if you want the kids to be able to move to the U.S. sooner, you filing is the way to go.  Since you haven’t filed for them before, your filing would be an additional one, not a refile. Within your family, it might seem like it, but as far as USCIS is concerned, those are two separate filings per child. Terminology can be very important when dealing with USCIS (which can be a hassle anyway, so it’s best not to add to said hassle with terminology issues).  Since the twins are two individuals, you need to file two separate petitions (two I-130s, one per child). The issue there is always that one might get processed slightly faster than the other (we see the same thing and question when people file for both of their parents), but the difference in time (if there is one) is usually so marginal that it’s not an issue for them to interview together. Approved petitions are valid for some time.  Currently, USCIS processing times are listed for between 13 and 14.5 months, depending on what service center it will go to, in the IR2 category (U.S. citizen filing for minor children - step children count here) vs. 32 to 36.5 months for the F2A category (permanent resident filing for spouse or minor children). However, even if USCIS approved your husband’s petition earlier than what is projected, a visa could only be issued after the priority date becomes current (which you can look up in the visa bulletin). In contrast, your petition can go straight to the embassy or consulate, and the twins can apply for an immigrant visa right away because there are no quota for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. 
Please don’t take this as lecturing, patronizing, or as condescension. I just remember how overwhelming the process can seem and wanted to spell it out for you as clearly as possible. 
Best of luck to all of you! 
 

You seem a little overwhelmed and confused, and I don’t blame you. Here is what people have been trying to tell you: 
U.S. citizens petitioning for minor children or step children (minor = under 21 here) don’t have to wait for a visa number to become available. That is why it will be faster for the twins to be issued their visas if you as a USC file. You don’t have to do it, but if you want the kids to be able to move to the U.S. sooner, you filing is the way to go.  Since you haven’t filed for them before, your filing would be an additional one, not a refile. Within your family, it might seem like it, but as far as USCIS is concerned, those are two separate filings per child. Terminology can be very important when dealing with USCIS (which can be a hassle anyway, so it’s best not to add to said hassle with terminology issues).  Since the twins are two individuals, you need to file two separate petitions (two I-130s, one per child). The issue there is always that one might get processed slightly faster than the other (we see the same thing and question when people file for both of their parents), but the difference in time (if there is one) is usually so marginal that it’s not an issue for them to interview together. Approved petitions are valid for some time.  Currently, USCIS processing times are listed for between 13 and 14.5 months, depending on what service center it will go to, in the IR2 category (U.S. citizen filing for minor children - step children count here) vs. 32 to 36.5 months for the F2A category (permanent resident filing for spouse or minor children). However, even if USCIS approved your husband’s petition earlier than what is projected, a visa could only be issued after the priority date becomes current (which you can look up in the visa bulletin). In contrast, your petition can go straight to the embassy or consulate, and the twins can apply for an immigrant visa right away because there are no quota for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. 
Please don’t take this as lecturing, patronizing, or as condescension. I just remember how overwhelming the process can seem and wanted to spell it out for you as clearly as possible. 
Best of luck to all of you! 
 

You seem a little overwhelmed and confused, and I don’t blame you. Here is what people have been trying to tell you: 
U.S. citizens petitioning for minor children or step children (minor = under 21 here) don’t have to wait for a visa number to become available. That is why it will be faster for the twins to be issued their visas if you as a USC file. You don’t have to do it, but if you want the kids to be able to move to the U.S. sooner, you filing is the way to go.  Since you haven’t filed for them before, your filing would be an additional one, not a refile. Within your family, it might seem like it, but as far as USCIS is concerned, those are two separate filings per child. Terminology can be very important when dealing with USCIS (which can be a hassle anyway, so it’s best not to add to said hassle with terminology issues).  Since the twins are two individuals, you need to file two separate petitions (two I-130s, one per child). The issue there is always that one might get processed slightly faster than the other (we see the same thing and question when people file for both of their parents), but the difference in time (if there is one) is usually so marginal that it’s not an issue for them to interview together. Approved petitions are valid for some time.  Currently, USCIS processing times are listed for between 13 and 14.5 months, depending on what service center it will go to, in the IR2 category (U.S. citizen filing for minor children - step children count here) vs. 32 to 36.5 months for the F2A category (permanent resident filing for spouse or minor children). However, even if USCIS approved your husband’s petition earlier than what is projected, a visa could only be issued after the priority date becomes current (which you can look up in the visa bulletin). In contrast, your petition can go straight to the embassy or consulate, and the twins can apply for an immigrant visa right away because there are no quota for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. 
Please don’t take this as lecturing, patronizing, or as condescension. I just remember how overwhelming the process can seem and wanted to spell it out for you as clearly as possible. 
Best of luck to all of you! 
 

You seem a little overwhelmed and confused, and I don’t blame you. Here is what people have been trying to tell you: 
U.S. citizens petitioning for minor children or step children (minor = under 21 here) don’t have to wait for a visa number to become available. That is why it will be faster for the twins to be issued their visas if you as a USC file. You don’t have to do it, but if you want the kids to be able to move to the U.S. sooner, you filing is the way to go.  Since you haven’t filed for them before, your filing would be an additional one, not a refile. Within your family, it might seem like it, but as far as USCIS is concerned, those are two separate filings per child. Terminology can be very important when dealing with USCIS (which can be a hassle anyway, so it’s best not to add to said hassle with terminology issues).  Since the twins are two individuals, you need to file two separate petitions (two I-130s, one per child). The issue there is always that one might get processed slightly faster than the other (we see the same thing and question when people file for both of their parents), but the difference in time (if there is one) is usually so marginal that it’s not an issue for them to interview together. Approved petitions are valid for some time.  Currently, USCIS processing times are listed for between 13 and 14.5 months, depending on what service center it will go to, in the IR2 category (U.S. citizen filing for minor children - step children count here) vs. 32 to 36.5 months for the F2A category (permanent resident filing for spouse or minor children). However, even if USCIS approved your husband’s petition earlier than what is projected, a visa could only be issued after the priority date becomes current (which you can look up in the visa bulletin). In contrast, your petition can go straight to the embassy or consulate, and the twins can apply for an immigrant visa right away because there are no quota for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. 
Please don’t take this as lecturing, patronizing, or as condescension. I just remember how overwhelming the process can seem and wanted to spell it out for you as clearly as possible. 
Best of luck to all of you! 
 

You seem a little overwhelmed and confused, and I don’t blame you. Here is what people have been trying to tell you: 
U.S. citizens petitioning for minor children or step children (minor = under 21 here) don’t have to wait for a visa number to become available. That is why it will be faster for the twins to be issued their visas if you as a USC file. You don’t have to do it, but if you want the kids to be able to move to the U.S. sooner, you filing is the way to go.  Since you haven’t filed for them before, your filing would be an additional one, not a refile. Within your family, it might seem like it, but as far as USCIS is concerned, those are two separate filings per child. Terminology can be very important when dealing with USCIS (which can be a hassle anyway, so it’s best not to add to said hassle with terminology issues).  Since the twins are two individuals, you need to file two separate petitions (two I-130s, one per child). The issue there is always that one might get processed slightly faster than the other (we see the same thing and question when people file for both of their parents), but the difference in time (if there is one) is usually so marginal that it’s not an issue for them to interview together. Approved petitions are valid for some time.  Currently, USCIS processing times are listed for between 13 and 14.5 months, depending on what service center it will go to, in the IR2 category (U.S. citizen filing for minor children - step children count here) vs. 32 to 36.5 months for the F2A category (permanent resident filing for spouse or minor children). However, even if USCIS approved your husband’s petition earlier than what is projected, a visa could only be issued after the priority date becomes current (which you can look up in the visa bulletin). In contrast, your petition can go straight to the embassy or consulate, and the twins can apply for an immigrant visa right away because there are no quota for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. 
Please don’t take this as lecturing, patronizing, or as condescension. I just remember how overwhelming the process can seem and wanted to spell it out for you as clearly as possible. 
Best of luck to all of you! 
 

You seem a little overwhelmed and confused, and I don’t blame you. Here is what people have been trying to tell you: 
U.S. citizens petitioning for minor children or step children (minor = under 21 here) don’t have to wait for a visa number to become available. That is why it will be faster for the twins to be issued their visas if you as a USC file. You don’t have to do it, but if you want the kids to be able to move to the U.S. sooner, you filing is the way to go.  Since you haven’t filed for them before, your filing would be an additional one, not a refile. Within your family, it might seem like it, but as far as USCIS is concerned, those are two separate filings per child. Terminology can be very important when dealing with USCIS (which can be a hassle anyway, so it’s best not to add to said hassle with terminology issues).  Since the twins are two individuals, you need to file two separate petitions (two I-130s, one per child). The issue there is always that one might get processed slightly faster than the other (we see the same thing and question when people file for both of their parents), but the difference in time (if there is one) is usually so marginal that it’s not an issue for them to interview together. Approved petitions are valid for some time.  Currently, USCIS processing times are listed for between 13 and 14.5 months, depending on what service center it will go to, in the IR2 category (U.S. citizen filing for minor children - step children count here) vs. 32 to 36.5 months for the F2A category (permanent resident filing for spouse or minor children). However, even if USCIS approved your husband’s petition earlier than what is projected, a visa could only be issued after the priority date becomes current (which you can look up in the visa bulletin). In contrast, your petition can go straight to the embassy or consulate, and the twins can apply for an immigrant visa right away because there are no quota for immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. 
Please don’t take this as lecturing, patronizing, or as condescension. I just remember how overwhelming the process can seem and wanted to spell it out for you as clearly as possible. 
Best of luck to all of you!