NorthByNorthwest

While his I-94 is unexpired he has lawful status. The second the I-94 expires he moves to unlawful presence and is deportable, but once you file I-485 (in your case it would be concurrent filing of I-130 and I-485) and the filing has been accepted by USCIS he moves to being in a period of authorized stay and unlawful presence is no longer accrued. The I-797 is his proof of authorized stay at that point. Since he's in an immigration gray zone at that point he needs Advance Parole to be able to leave and reenter the US at that point until AOS is approved. Note that you will face questions at the interview about adjusting from B2 since it is illegal to enter on B2 with the intention to AOS.

As long as the TPS status of her country remains active (and she regularly re-applies) she is lawfully present in the US and does not need to go back. However, if the TPS status of the country is terminated she would need to leave while waiting for a visa to become available. Note that F1 availability for unmarried adult child will likely take at least 10 years at this point, plus if she gets married she moves to F3 which takes at least 15 years. All of that hinges on the fact that her last entry into the US was lawful (on tourist visa). The overstay timer is stopped while she is on TPS, and overstays are forgiven for immediate relatives anyway, but a lot of things can change during the 10-15 years the process will take, there are no guarantees.

A Haiti citizen needs a visa to visit the US, the allowed period of stay will depend on the visa. For a B-2 visitor visa the period would typically be 180 days.

What kind of petition is it, and are you the petitioner or beneficiary? Your timeline suggests that you would have been through biometrics before, but it's basically fingerprinting, photo and signature collection. Should take no more than 5 minutes once it's your turn. What form are you referring to?

I reentered the US over 20 times while on AP, no issues. The only realistic risk of not being admitted is if the I-485 was found to be abandoned while outside the country, for example by missing biometrics/interview appointment or not responding to an RFE in a timely manner. Being out for max 2-3 weeks should be no issue at all. You just need to be aware of the likelihood of ending up in secondary inspection every time you reenter on AP - if you're flying with domestic connections ensure you book flights with sufficient stopover. Personally I would not do anything less than 3 hours if traveling on AP with checked-in luggage.

If you want to play it extra safe bring at least this link to the CBP Carrier Guide and/or a printout of the relevant page in case you run into inexperienced airport staff: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2023-Nov/Carrier Information Guide ENGLISH.pdf

You can still get generic case info by plugging these numbers in here: https://egov.uscis.gov Only a USCIS account that has had the user identity verified can see detailed case info such as documents submitted, USCIS responses etc.

Usually a not-insignificant consideration would be insurance - do any of the quotes you've received include at least basic insurance (TVC - Total Value Cover) or coverage for individual items? Just as a data point I paid about $10k USD to move from Japan to US West coast 8 years ago with packing service on Japan side and only delivery on US side. I would absolutely not want to deal with the logistics myself for the container freight or customs clearance unless I was working in the freight industry. I can totally see costs adding up quickly for you to rent trucks on both ends, container storage space in port if you can't deliver/collect the container exactly when required etc.

The State Department page on returning resident visas has this paragraph that may be applicable to you, I have no personal experience though: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/returning-resident.html Spouse or Child of a Member of the U.S. Armed Forces or Civilian Employee of the U.S. Government Stationed Abroad - If you are the spouse or child of a member of the U.S. Armed Forces or of a civilian employee of the U.S. government stationed abroad on official orders, you may use your Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551, to enter the United States even if it has expired. Therefore, you would not need a Returning Resident (SB-1) immigrant visa, as long as you: Have not abandoned your LPR status; and Your spouse or parent is returning to the United States.

Should be no issue, I had a trip to the US on ESTA the week before my K-1 interview. That one was for work, but getting back to the interview was a very compelling reason for me to leave on time, CBP officer didn't even ask about it.

Passport timelines are much better now than a year ago, I'm hearing you can get one in two weeks or less with a standard priority filing. If not you can always get it faster if you live close to a passport agency and have proof of travel within two weeks - then you can get it in a day or two. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast/passport-agencies.html

As Lil bear noted there is no such requirement, when filing under the 5-year rule you don't need any birth certificate even for a current spouse. You just need all documents pertaining to your divorce, that's all.

To add to this, if your wife wants to be able to track detailed progress in the account she must have verified her identity in the system. Without that she can file the application but won't be able to see biometrics or interview notices until they arrive by postal mail.

Bummer, in that case your best bet is probably to call USCIS and see if there’s another way to verify her identity for the account. You can still see the latest update on the case status page using the receipt number, you just won’t be able to see the contents of notices like you can with a verified account.

I don't recall being asked about that when I created the account, but it was a while ago. Just to confirm - is the account in your wife's name? In case you were using an account created by you perhaps making a new one in her name from scratch will work depending on what verification steps they use these days. For naturalization she is the petitioner and beneficiary and you're not really involved.

Interesting, my account doesn't look like that and does not ask for an OAC to add a case. Have you gone through the Verify your identity step? That might be what's missing, it won't show secure case info without that step. https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-fees/uscis-immigrant-fee/identity-verification-and-the-uscis-immigrant-fee

To add to my previous comment, if you are in the correct online system where you did the actual N-400 filing there's no need to add the case manually, it will be listed under "My Cases" automatically as soon as you submit the form.

Are you actually looking in the myUSCIS account at my.uscis.gov where you presumably submitted the N-400 and not the old system at egov.uscis.gov? Those are two completely separate systems with different login credentials if you ever used the old one.

I'll also point out a standard reminder - don't get so caught up in interview prep that you forget planning for getting a US passport if you have international travel coming up later in the spring/summer. Keep in mind that you will hand in your green card when you take the oath and you have to leave/reenter with a US passport from there on.

Since your I-751 is already approved you can expect a decision (and possibly oath ceremony) the same day if there are no question marks. The timing is in line with what I saw a year ago for myself, about 4 months from application to interview.

You probably ticked the box on the I-485 that the person does not have a SSN and you wanted them to issue a card? All that does is generate a request to the SSA as soon as the form is received, it has nothing to do with the AOS or EAD approval process. It's pretty common that people need an SSN even before they are allowed to work in order to open a bank account etc - that's all the restricted card is useful for until you have the EAD.

Yep. The restricted SS card is what you get before your I-485 is approved, the EAD is the required authorization mentioned on the card. Once your I-485 is approved and you get your green card you can take that to the SSA office to update your record and get a new card without the restriction wording. As far as passing I-9 verification for work, the EAD card is sufficient.

Then there's nothing strange - that still requires the EAD card to qualify for work. I had an SS card like that months before my EAD was approved.

Is it an unrestricted SS card or one that still has the "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION" wording?

Everyone has different circumstances - if everything is in order she could have the visa the next day or weeks later if something is missing. Keep in mind that changeable tickets might not charge you a fee for changing, but you would still be on the hook for fare differences. If that's not of any concern, by all means go ahead and book a ticket, if not waiting until she has the visa in hand is obviously the safe option.