Sarah&Facundo

My 24 yo son met a girl from Malaysia online that he's being talking to for two years and I am going with him on his first trip to meet her (he asked me to go). They are serious about their relationship so I am traveling with him so I can meet her parents and get to know her a little, as well. My son trusts me and he values my opinion, I also get a vacation to a country I've never been to. It's a win win. If they like each other IRL, he plans to go back again next year and spend a longer amount of time with her. If your mom doesn't want you to go alone, she can always go with you.

Thanks for mentioning this. 
 
Many members of the forum have met online and it is no longer a "weird" thing, but one has to take many precautions when meeting in person, particularly someone like the OP, who is still a teenager. 
 
@Kokoro_Minora, the whole thing now might seem super romantic, dreamy, movie like, but you have to be wary, protect yourself and think in a practical way. 
 
Obviously the safest choice is him visiting but even then, having a stranger in your house? Not the best idea. And if he stayed in a hotel, who would pay? That of course, if his tourist visa application was approved.
 
As others have said, visit him, but DO NOT TRAVEL ALONE. 
Make your mum, relatives or friends go with you or join a group and meet him just for movies or coffee. And definitely do not stay with him. 
 
Or go old school and hold a lovely epistolary relationship until you're both fininancially sound and old enough to meet in person without asking your mum.
 
 

The wait time for an EAD card/travel permit could be 8-12 months (sometimes more) after filing AOS. Therefore your wife could not leave the US or work during that period. If you did consular processing, she could work and travel immediately once entering the US with her visa. 

Hi! I wasn't too much older than you when I met my then-boyfriend-now-husband, so I totally understand your mom being nervous about the situation. It is also completely understandable her preference would lean towards him coming to the US, just so he is on her "turf" so to speak. My mom was nervous about all this as well, even though my boyfriend and I had actually met in person not online (which I can imagine my mom would have FREAKED out about!).
 
Given your boyfriend's situation, as others mentioned, it is a very, very slim chance he will get a visa to the US. If your mom is nervous, would she be willing to accompany you in going to the Philipines to meet him with you so you aren't alone? My mom ended up going to my husband's country twice and meeting his family, which was really special, despite no one speaking the same language.
Or perhaps, if you can all financially swing it, your family can pay for all of you to meet in another country (mom included if it helps) that may be easier to get a visa for?
 
The others above are 100% right in that a lawyer would be a complete waste of time and money since there is absolutely nothing they can do to help. All you do is fill out the forms, and the officer decides if he is approved or not. There is literally nothing else that can be done. Best of luck!!
 
And if you do decide to go there--don't go alone.

Hi! I wasn't too much older than you when I met my then-boyfriend-now-husband, so I totally understand your mom being nervous about the situation. It is also completely understandable her preference would lean towards him coming to the US, just so he is on her "turf" so to speak. My mom was nervous about all this as well, even though my boyfriend and I had actually met in person not online (which I can imagine my mom would have FREAKED out about!).
 
Given your boyfriend's situation, as others mentioned, it is a very, very slim chance he will get a visa to the US. If your mom is nervous, would she be willing to accompany you in going to the Philipines to meet him with you so you aren't alone? My mom ended up going to my husband's country twice and meeting his family, which was really special, despite no one speaking the same language.
Or perhaps, if you can all financially swing it, your family can pay for all of you to meet in another country (mom included if it helps) that may be easier to get a visa for?
 
The others above are 100% right in that a lawyer would be a complete waste of time and money since there is absolutely nothing they can do to help. All you do is fill out the forms, and the officer decides if he is approved or not. There is literally nothing else that can be done. Best of luck!!
 
And if you do decide to go there--don't go alone.

I think you are getting yourself in a very deep situation for someone you met online (I'm assuming you haven't met him in person?). Why not go there, have a holiday, see if you are happy together? THEN, spend a few years seeing each other back and forth. You are still so young. You have time to do that. 
 
In any case, I agree with your mom. But his chances of coming to the US are almost none. If you decide to go to his country (and you've never been and never met this person in real life), please don't go alone. 

The wait time for an EAD card/travel permit could be 8-12 months (sometimes more) after filing AOS. Therefore your wife could not leave the US or work during that period. If you did consular processing, she could work and travel immediately once entering the US with her visa. 

We were looking at homes, but ultimately we did not go through with it. I am the USC and the advise I was given by several realtors/lenders was that I should not get a mortgage with my husband. Having my husband's name on the mortgage would increase the interest rate since he had no credit score coming into the country nor could he contribute financially (since he could not work) or possibly not get approved at all. They recommended my husband's name could be on the deed to the house, but I should not apply with him for the mortgage.  Keep in mind that interest rates have gone up a lot in the last couple of years as well. 

We were looking at homes, but ultimately we did not go through with it. I am the USC and the advise I was given by several realtors/lenders was that I should not get a mortgage with my husband. Having my husband's name on the mortgage would increase the interest rate since he had no credit score coming into the country nor could he contribute financially (since he could not work) or possibly not get approved at all. They recommended my husband's name could be on the deed to the house, but I should not apply with him for the mortgage.  Keep in mind that interest rates have gone up a lot in the last couple of years as well. 

We were looking at homes, but ultimately we did not go through with it. I am the USC and the advise I was given by several realtors/lenders was that I should not get a mortgage with my husband. Having my husband's name on the mortgage would increase the interest rate since he had no credit score coming into the country nor could he contribute financially (since he could not work) or possibly not get approved at all. They recommended my husband's name could be on the deed to the house, but I should not apply with him for the mortgage.  Keep in mind that interest rates have gone up a lot in the last couple of years as well. 

We were looking at homes, but ultimately we did not go through with it. I am the USC and the advise I was given by several realtors/lenders was that I should not get a mortgage with my husband. Having my husband's name on the mortgage would increase the interest rate since he had no credit score coming into the country nor could he contribute financially (since he could not work) or possibly not get approved at all. They recommended my husband's name could be on the deed to the house, but I should not apply with him for the mortgage.  Keep in mind that interest rates have gone up a lot in the last couple of years as well. 

We were looking at homes, but ultimately we did not go through with it. I am the USC and the advise I was given by several realtors/lenders was that I should not get a mortgage with my husband. Having my husband's name on the mortgage would increase the interest rate since he had no credit score coming into the country nor could he contribute financially (since he could not work) or possibly not get approved at all. They recommended my husband's name could be on the deed to the house, but I should not apply with him for the mortgage.  Keep in mind that interest rates have gone up a lot in the last couple of years as well. 

We were looking at homes, but ultimately we did not go through with it. I am the USC and the advise I was given by several realtors/lenders was that I should not get a mortgage with my husband. Having my husband's name on the mortgage would increase the interest rate since he had no credit score coming into the country nor could he contribute financially (since he could not work) or possibly not get approved at all. They recommended my husband's name could be on the deed to the house, but I should not apply with him for the mortgage.  Keep in mind that interest rates have gone up a lot in the last couple of years as well. 

You can get medical insurance, but it's an uphill battle to get it. Be prepared to do a lot of arguing, but yes you can. I highly recommend getting a social security number before doing that though (although I believe technically, you aren't supposed to need one).
 
No, you can not work until you have your EAD card (many months after you apply for it).
 
It is tough to open a bank account. Most banks won't allow it, although some will.  In our case, Chase said no even though I was already an account holder, but Wells Fargo let us open a joint account. Again, you need that SSN to get anywhere with most of them. 
 
Regarding buying property, it would be nearly impossible to get a mortgage without any credit. I don't know how that would be different if you were paying cash.

You can get medical insurance, but it's an uphill battle to get it. Be prepared to do a lot of arguing, but yes you can. I highly recommend getting a social security number before doing that though (although I believe technically, you aren't supposed to need one).
 
No, you can not work until you have your EAD card (many months after you apply for it).
 
It is tough to open a bank account. Most banks won't allow it, although some will.  In our case, Chase said no even though I was already an account holder, but Wells Fargo let us open a joint account. Again, you need that SSN to get anywhere with most of them. 
 
Regarding buying property, it would be nearly impossible to get a mortgage without any credit. I don't know how that would be different if you were paying cash.

I can't speak to the green paper or about Vietnam specifically, but yes the officers do review the cases beforehand and likely already have an idea on whether or not they are going to approve it. It makes sense since everything was submitted beforehand. It was clear our officer knew all about our case. The interview itself wasn't that long--just a few minutes,

SNAP does not count as public charge, but you MUST be transparent about your household at all stages. Am not familiar with the daycare subsidy or who funds it.  but it would make practical sense for your husband to care for the child while you are at work. …since he absolutely cannot work until he gets an EAD.
 
 
https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/joint-letter-public-charge

I also wouldn't include asking for a waiver. That looks incredibly suspicious. 
 
FYI: we included a ton of evidence, had absolutely no red flags or RFEs during the entire process, and we still ended up with an interview. It was really quick and they barely said anything to us though. So it CAN happen like it did to us a few months ago.

I realize this is regarding our experience with an AOS interview and not a N400 interview. We ended up in a situation where we were scheduled for our AOS while visiting family back in my husband's home country. We asked for a reschedule and we were granted one. There was no issue. 

Invalid choices.
 
Comparison should be "slow" and "extremely slow"

To be honest, I've never thought of the form as a way to incentivize immigrants to not work. It never crossed my mind and I signed that form 5 years ago!
 
It's just releasing the burden off the government/taxpayers. If you choose to bring someone foreign into the country, that's fine, but they are YOUR responsibility and not that of the US tax payers. I find it fair, personally. 

I can't speak to the green paper or about Vietnam specifically, but yes the officers do review the cases beforehand and likely already have an idea on whether or not they are going to approve it. It makes sense since everything was submitted beforehand. It was clear our officer knew all about our case. The interview itself wasn't that long--just a few minutes,

I can't speak to the green paper or about Vietnam specifically, but yes the officers do review the cases beforehand and likely already have an idea on whether or not they are going to approve it. It makes sense since everything was submitted beforehand. It was clear our officer knew all about our case. The interview itself wasn't that long--just a few minutes,

I can't speak to the green paper or about Vietnam specifically, but yes the officers do review the cases beforehand and likely already have an idea on whether or not they are going to approve it. It makes sense since everything was submitted beforehand. It was clear our officer knew all about our case. The interview itself wasn't that long--just a few minutes,

I can't speak to the green paper or about Vietnam specifically, but yes the officers do review the cases beforehand and likely already have an idea on whether or not they are going to approve it. It makes sense since everything was submitted beforehand. It was clear our officer knew all about our case. The interview itself wasn't that long--just a few minutes,