Ben&Zian

1 minute ago, iamthebest6 said:

Are they allowed to keep his passport for years?

They can. Or they may return it, or he can ask them for it back also.  They aren't holding it 'hostage' 

5 minutes ago, EffyEngland said:

Hi, I’ve seen this mentioned before but was just wondering if the date you put and they also ask at your interview when you’re planning on entering.... does this affect how quickly your case is processed? I put a date towards the end of July and also said the same thing to them! (Working out notice at work) I’m just a bit baffled as now stuck in NI Administrative Processing for nearly 7 working days now with no case updates since last week. Just curious to if this could slow down the process! 

No impact. They don't work on your schedule, you wait on theirs.

5 minutes ago, iamthebest6 said:

My fiance interviewed at the embassy in Paris this morning. They didn't explicitly tell him if he was or wasn't approved, but they kept all his paperwork and his passport and told him to expect mail. 

I'm quite frustrated because I was anticipating an end to all of the wondering today.

Can anyone give me any insight into this? I'm inclined to think it's a good sign that they kept his application material.

 

❤️

Keeping passport can be a good sign. It's not uncommon to not hear an approved or not. Your fiance will end up in AP (administrative processing), which is completely normal for everyone. It can take 2-3 days, 2-3 weeks, 2-3 months, or years. Yes, years. Just depends on them completing their paperwork, background/security checks, verification of information, ect. Just be patient now.

I don't think a lot of people even fill that portion in honestly haha. Most just put their income and provide evidence of it. Any bills (mortgage, rent, car payments, ect) are kind of expected.

They may ask you to turn it in and they destroy it, or because it's Canadian they may allow you to retain it. In the US anyways when you renew your license in person they generally take the old one and dispose of it. 

55 minutes ago, JFH said:

We did the spousal visa and it's not $2000. Well maybe if you include the cost of the air fare. No AOS fees on top of it. But in my situation, not being able to work would mean I would have 'lost' $6000 a month in salary. I started work here less than 2 weeks after my arrival. I make a lot more than my husband so being able to work was important. We all have our priorities. Some think things long-term and consider the cost of a non-working adult in the home for several months and some think short-term and compare the cost of getting married in one place vs another.

 

Perhaps they used a "lawyer" or a service who charged a nice fee. Do agree, $800-900 is a lot for a marriage license, but even a basic US court house wedding is about $100 so. Plus then yea, $1225 AOS fees and some extras so. Still cheaper to do it in Cuba, plus extra time spent together before hand.

Sooner the better.

F2A is about 24 months for processing so you have awhile to go before you hear from them.

6 minutes ago, Don4593 said:

Hello, 

We live in Russia. I am an American citizen, my fiance is a Russian citizen. As I understand, if you live abroad you can take all documentation to the USCIS office in your country. However, the USCIS office in Russia closed in February 2019. I've read conflicting things on what I need to do. One website says I need to send it to Lockbox in Chicago. I am not sure what that means. How long does this take? I read from here before that if you do it abroad at a USCIS office, it's generally quicker, like 2-3 months as opposed to 7-10 months. Another method I read was to use a different USCIS office in Europe, I believe the one that services Russia is located in Athens. 

So, which is it? How long does the lockbox method take if I live abroad?

Thanks

~Moved to What Visa Do I Need as OP is unsure~

You're referring to DCF, but that has been slowly going away from alot of countries lately. 

First is this your fiance or spouse? If fiance, you file for the I-129f, eventually being the K-1 fiance visa. If you're married, you file for the I-130 for spousal (CR-1 visa). Look at the guides on the top of this page under the "guides" tab. Plan a head, don't rush into it, take time and make sure everything is well planned out especially financially.

K-1 visa processing is taking anywhere from 6-9 months to process, and CR-1 is about 12-14 probably. Timelines vary a bit though.

If a prenup won't be signed, you could always make a will and directly specify that those certain assets/items are only given for the child. If it's monetary also you could always "lock" them in a trust until the child reaches a certain age/adulthood.

2 minutes ago, Missloneli said:

We stated the previous marriage in the ds160. And during the interview he was asked if he was previously married and he answered yes. They asked a lot about it but I’m not sure if they didn’t notice that we never state it in the I129f. 

Oh I'm sure they did. They review the petition heavily so noting any major change of information like that is a big deal.

1 minute ago, Miss_UKR said:

could you pls share link?

 

 

https://www.visajourney.com/content/guides/

A little bit is usually good. We just showed joint lease and joint savings account in our packet. Didn't bother with photos or anything.

5 minutes ago, MC Ramirez said:

My Mom and her companion are from the Philippines and are traveling to the US on a tourist visa. They will be staying here for a month in July and would like to visit my brother and family, who are permanent residents of Canada. 

 

Can they apply for a Canadian tourist visa while in the US?  

I don't believe so. Would say it's much easier to apply and get it from the Philippines.

https://mrandmrshowe.com/lifestyle-blog/canada-tourist-visa-application-fiipino

7 minutes ago, Missloneli said:

We have been in AP for almost 3 months now. On the embassy website it says most AP should be processed within 60 days. Should we contact them about our case status?? Ceac website shows AP since the interview. Also do most cases in AP get approved ? Do they put cases under AP for this long mainly for background checks and verifications or is there other reasons? Me and my fiancé were not sure if we’d get approved so we wanted to meet next month and take a lot of pictures and evidence so that if we do get denied we can reapply for k1 visa. But part of me just wants to wait for another month or so but If I do then I won’t have a chance to see him until next year due to university! 

What embassy is this for? AP is open ended, it can be 2-3 days, 2-3 weeks, 2-3 months, or even years. There is no actual timeline.

This is like 3rd one in last week about Chinese police reports. Others are same as you, stuck until they can provide the report

Can't specifically answer about the RFE information, but don't send extra stuff, just send in what they ask for.

2 minutes ago, not-so-clueless said:

what are the aos fees? and I know there are expenses and have saved up for almost everything I am aware of such as medical fees plane tickets and document fees and such

fiancée is in brazil and we think we can have the process done quickly from what I read online so far it would take a few months I know

what is the threshold? are you talking about the poverty line or is there a different threshold for the visa specifically and are they super picky about it or are they lenient?

 

Oh it will take more than few months. The AOS fees, I-485 and biometrics and such are $1225. Then there's the months of your fiance not being able to work and you are responsible for supporting them, that isn't cheap. 

Average time for K-1 visa process start to finish is probably 7-8 months. USCIS phase alone is 4-6 months. It varies but it is more than just a few months.

Yea think it would be rare to see a GC before EAD/AP, but I suppose it has happened here and there by some lucky ones.

Yea loans are debt, not income.

What country is your fiance from? 

As above, this is not a cheap process even if you do everything on your own. This takes a lot of planning. Don't do what some do and not plan a head.

It isn't just the I-129f filing fee, there's medical and interview/visa fee, other expenses, then AOS fees in the US, plus all the other general costs that are needed by someone moving... it adds up really fast.

7 minutes ago, shatay said:

Dear House 

Thanks for all the advices you give to us we appreciate your times and supports

Please has anyone traveled recently with the combo card and come back after one month what is the experience when entering back into the US 

Is it easy to enter back ?

With the current immigration situations right now is it advisable  to travel with this combo card? or to wait 

is just that i don;t know what will be my faith when i"m coming  back into US 

If is easy entering back into US then i will travel next month 

Thanks to you for your best advise i will forever appreciate your good works

 

It's relatively straight forward. Can't say I've seen anyone have issues with it. 

Don't believe the "immigration situations right now", most of it is hysteria and untrue. You're legal and have AP and are legally able to travel.

USCIS does misplace things once and awhile also, keep that in mind, an RFE might not just be for wrong paperwork or lack there of, but just because they need a new copy of it. Doesn't mean it's your fault, they are humans over there too.

Agreed. Difficult embassy already to deal with. Then marriage on first meeting? And no other trips since supposedly? Fear of flying is not a reason to not see eachother honestly. I know the trip is pretty long as I worked in Angola and flew back and forth a lot, but face time is crucial when dealing with the embassy there......

Probably shouldn't ask, but is there any other "issue" such as large age difference??

12 minutes ago, Blackhawks_Fan97 said:

He is from Canada. All I have at the moment is pictures and a few flight itineraries. 

Canada is not that bad, as in you don't have to overkill the evidence. But you can add as little or as much as you wish to again. Key thing is the "how we met" part, that's primarily asking about how you met physically. It can be 1-2 lines or you can use an attachment if you need more space and wanted to give a brief timeline and all. Photos are secondary evidence but still good to put in some. Also can use chat logs/emails to show an over all timeline of the relationship, even if you don't have them from years prior, can still use what you have.

17 minutes ago, Blackhawks_Fan97 said:

I would like to know how much evidence is needed to submit I-129F? 

Is it only evidence of the past two years? Or can I include evidence from our entire dating time period (5 years)? 

You can include as much or little as you like honestly. Main thing is evidence of meeting within the last two years physically. (passport stamps, hotel receipts, any other receipts from there, ect).

What embassy/country is the beneficiary? This can dictate how much evidence you should submit.