Keith & Monica

Just standard stuff. First we went through the application just to make sure it’s still accurate and some of the YES/NO security questions. Then stuff like Where do we live? Is it just us? Some of her family’s and mine’s names.  Do we have any nieces or nephews? Her birthday. How did we meet? When did we meet in person? Has she met any of my family? Then a little of my travel history throughout the years as a student on student visa. Like I said, these were all questions he knew the answer to before he asked them by talking to my wife first or just looking through my passport. It was seriously nothing that would be difficult for any married couple to answer tho. I know it’s easier to say than do but dont worry about it. Just tell the truth; there was nothing that required a books worth of detail. It’ll be done before you know it. For evidence, even though I wasn’t sure we had enough, I had brought so much more than he even wanted to see that it took me by surprise when I heard the words, “ok, well you’ve met all the requirements to be approved”. I kept thinking “but I have more stuff to show you”. LOL

Hey everyone, checking in to say we had our interview yesterday and we were APPROVED on the spot. I will say, we were not interviewed together at the outset so be prepared for the possibility as it can be surprising. My wife (sponsor) was interviewed first and then she was brought out and I was brought in to be interviewed. No hard questions, just a conversation (how we met, meeting of family members, our living situation, a little travel history and some of the I485 YES/NO security questions, etc). But I did find out later that most of my questions were already asked of my wife in some form so I assume the interviewer was double checking me for any inconsistencies. She (the sponsor) was asked more questions on various things (my job, our wedding) than I was though and according to her, he had marked approved on some sheet before I ever came in (no clue what that was). At the end, she was brought back for us both to, TOGETHER, present our joint evidence materials. The interviewer even complimented us on our paperwork organization. lol All in all, about 30 minutes and we were reminded to reapply in 2 years - 90 days for ROC. We were a little nervous at first but everyone in the office was nice throughout the entire process so that was calming.
 
Received this via email and text message this morning: 
Your Case Status: Card/ Document Production 
On August 28, 2018, we ordered your new card for Receipt Number MSC#, and will mail it to the address you gave us.
 
Feels good to have a 2 year-ish break that we can just go on and enjoy our lives instead of worrying about paperwork. lol Good luck to everyone still waiting. It feels like a long road but God-willing, your turn will soon be ahead. Blessings
 
By the way:
I485/765/131 NOA1 was 01/19
EAD/AP approval was 5/31

They seem pretty understanding from what I hear and would speak slower if asked.  Too bad I do not leave nearby I would interpret. My french is decent enough. HA My husband had a coworker who asked him when he went to pick me up last October if I spoke English. She was serious too. lol My husband said he just looked at her dumbfounded because I was coming from Canada. I work in that office now and so I ran into her the other day. She says very slowly Hi my name is Paula. Chris told us all about you. HAHAHA I replied in French just to see what she would do. I said "Bonjour, je m'appelle Rebecca. Je suis sûr qu'il vous a dit que les bonnes choses." She looked at me with wide eyes and I said "Just kidding. English is my first language and French is my second language sorta." I told her that my French was pretty poor because I just took it for 8 years in school and we are only taught the basics. lol Then I said Hi my name Rebecca. I am sure he told you only the good things." 

I think officers are aware of that and don't speak particularly fast, at least mine was easy to understand, but I get your concern.
Have you thought of contacting any local non profit working with immigrants, if finding an official translator is not an easy task? Check the rules about who qualifies as a translator, because I'm pretty sure any individual with the knowledge can do it, so you can always look for help in the French speaking community there.

Just an update we got our green card. One week and a day after our interview. We were approved via text and email alert 20 minutes after we left our interview. Now finally we have a much needed respite. Now just wait a year and 9 months to apply to remove conditions. The IO stared male sure to wait until the year and 9 months pass before you apply or they’ll return your packet. 
Good luck to everyone still waiting. Also we enlisted our congressman as her combo card was outside normal time lines. They pushed to have the green card expedited and it worked. Combo card was received less than a month after their inquiry

She's the best. 

I always LOL at @Roel. Blunt, straight and to the point. But always truth!☺️

It's always great to get others' opinions and advice, but ultimately it will come down to what works best for you and your partner, and what things are deal breakers. Personally, in hindsight, I wish we had done a CR1 versus K1. Yes, I have my husband here now, we're married, we're happy. But the wait for him to get a green card and be able to live "normally" (drive, work, etc.) can be frustrating. With CR1, your spouse has these benefits immediately. No waiting.
 
With K1, yes, she can APPLY for travel and work permits as soon as she gets here, but right now that is taking several months to approve as well. Currently, people are looking at around 6 months for EADs and APs to be processed. So if things like working/traveling internationally/etc. right away are important, consider this difference.
 
I think I read that you have only met twice. We aren't here to judge morality or personal choices, this is an immigration lifeline. As long as you have met at least once within the 2 years prior to when you apply (for K1, at least), you are technically meeting requirements. Some countries, depending on their rate of immigration fraud, can be a bit stricter with things like age differences or how many times you've met in person. Consider these as well. I recommend doing LOTS of researching and reading on other couples who are further along than you in both visa options, particularly from your partner's country, to get a better understanding of what you can expect. It is ALWAYS best to take the time to do research and better prepare yourselves and what you will be bringing to the table when applying, even if it means you aren't filing right away. This is time well spent, and is still much better than acting quickly/incompletely and risking a denial, which takes you right back to the starting line several months (or years) later.
 
More importantly - go ahead and mentally prepare yourselves for a long wait and a lot of money. Immigration is not quick or easy. But it is absolutely worth it.
 
Good luck to you!

I'll just reiterate that visiting for 6 months has risks. Namely, she would unlikely be granted another visit before the visa is issued due to suspected use of the tourist visa to live in the US. It's better to have shorter visits, staying outside the US at least as long as the time spent in the US (twice as much being preferable).

Hello,
Happy Monday, I hope y'all had a great weekend. Today was day one on the new job (yaye) and I came home to my gc in the mail (double yaye) exactly one week after interview. I got the welcome letters and approval notices last week! Good luck to everyone!!!

In our case, I traveled there and did the marriage license requirements (CENOMAR, Affidavit in Lieu of Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage, other paperwork...).  My Embassy appointment was on Thursday.  Our Family Planning Seminar was on Wednesday.  We were able to get out of that since we both have two teenage and grown children but we still had to get the completion certificate.  We did most of the paperwork on Wednesday and since my Embassy appointment was Thursday morning, we were able to complete the marriage application Thursday afternoon.  At that point they tell you when the license will become active.  There is a 10 day wait for the marriage announcement to be posted and put in the paper in case there are objections.
 
I came back to the states and went back to Phil 2 weeks later.  If I had enough PTO I would have stayed.  I have an acquaintance who stayed and did all the paperwork.  If you have a couple weeks you can do it all in one trip.
 
Make sure you check with the local registrar to see if they accept the affidavit.  I believe most do but there are a few provinces that may not.
 
Also, if you are looking at a civil wedding, opt for the Mayor's office and not the Hall of Justice.  Judges are harder to schedule and usually cost more too.
 
PS:  Make sure you schedule the appointment with the Embassy before you go.  There were not a lot of openings for the notary and we had to book our time about two weeks out.

This is from Zhang and Associates Law Firm:
"
Limitations or restrictions of a K-1/K-2 Visa
For the K-1 Visa Holder:
The K-1 visa holder has six months after the date the K-1 visa is issued to enter the United States. The K-1 visa holder’s status cannot be adjusted unless he or she married the person who originally filed the petition, within 90 days of arrival to the US. If the K-1 visa holder meets someone else, they will be required to return to their home country and start the process over again. If for some reason, relationship with the U.S. citizen petitioner does not work out, the K-1 visa holder will not be allowed to adjust their status to a permanent resident status or change to any other non-immigrant status. Marriage to the U.S. citizen petitioner must occur within 90 days of entering the United States of America in order to apply for an adjustment of status without the need for additional immigration filings. If the marriage and filing for adjustment of status do not occur within 90 days, the K-1 visa holder will be in unlawful status. If the couple still intends to marry after the 90 day requirement, the US citizen spouse must file form I-130 concurrently with the intending immigrant’s adjustment of status application. If you have applied for two or more K-1 visas (does not matter when) or received K-1 visa approval within a period of two years prior to filing the current K-1, then you must file an additional waiver. This can be done when you submit your I-129F form by providing a written statement detailing your reasons for requesting a waiver.

We make well over the poverty line and we brought updates tax information and employment letters, which they asked for at the interview. 
 
 
We filed in July 2017 of last year and didn’t have an interview date until March 2018. Each office is different but many aren’t moving much faster than my local office.
 
Also if you wait longer than a year since your K1 medical was completed to file for AOS, it will expire. According to policy which means you have to spend money on a new one. 

That is a great point, but I often wonder why anyone would inject the risk of being detained and put in front of an immigration judge?  Sure, the judge is going to simply say file the 485 and most likely set a time limit, but why risk that potential and any stress and expenses a visit to an immigration court may cause.
 
To the OP, in my opinion, if you and your spouse meet the income requirements, I would file as I don't think there will be any more or less weight put on having more money.  Waiting in my opinion only has one pro and that is the potential to avoid the ROC step, but the risks are there.
 
Good Luck!

Why would you wait? There is absolutely no pro in waiting. You will be out of status and it doesn’t matter who you are, if ice catches you, you’ll be in trouble before you can say married to USC. There will be more paperwork and if they deport you, more wait and more money because you will then have to file a CR1. If you file for AOS now, you’re not likely to get your interview before January, then just bring new tax returns then. 

https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/dateCalculator.html   -  a date calculator to know the earliest you can file
 

Yes, they ask all of the questions that are on the I485 to make sure that you answer the same in person as you did on the form.  It is just the Yes/No questions.  

Yes, they ask all of the questions that are on the I485 to make sure that you answer the same in person as you did on the form.  It is just the Yes/No questions.  

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Interview at the Detroit office for AOS from K1 visa to the 2 year green card.  Arrived 30 minutes earlier. Were were called shortly after our appt time. 
I had 2 3” binders with all of our paperwork. One with all originals and one for us to follow along.  Sworn in and the questions began. About 35 minutes later it was over. Only took longer because the officer took her time rewording questions so my wife understood. Copies made of drivers license and passport and SS cars and we were walking out. 
Officer told us she would try to have our case wrapped up by the end of the week. Received the email and text 20 minutes later that her green card is in production. She passed and is getting her two year green card. We have a year and a half to rest before starting up the removal of conditions process. 
Process was straight forward but very in depth. 

Hello y'all,
Its been a while since I've been on here. Been bz job hunting and keeping bz trying to have some time with DH before he goes off on Deployment in a couple weeks. I had my interview this morning everything went well and we were approved on spot.
We used a lawyer to file concurrently I-175, 130, 485 we didnt file for AP as I didnt think I'd need it or that it wouldve taken this long. Adjusting from H2B visa
01/12- package sent
01/16- received 
02-14 -AOS biometrics done
03/07- EAD bio done
06/29- EAD mailed
06/30- updated ss card received 
07/02- EAD received
07/02- interview scheduled
08/13- interview date 
08/13 - status card is being produced. 
 
Interview appointment was 8am, we got there around 7:25am. Parking was a little difficult to find downtown. We were in the building by 7:40am we took our mobile devices becuz we forgot to leave them in the car. It was not an issue most people had their phones but the signs on the walls just said be curteous and no loud talking on phones we turned ours off and drop them in my purse. We went through security and was checked in by 7:50am. We got Called in at approximately 8am. We were escorted in a nice private office no glass. She told our attorney to sit over in the corner and instructed us to remain standing, raise our right hand and took the oath to tell the truth. She asked for original documents, births, marriage, divorce, passport, IDs, etc. She asked us our full names and DOB. Verified information and signatures, asked my husband to verify that he was still active duty Marine. She then went into my immigration timeline from the very first time i entered the country, how many times I've entered and left etc. She asked abt each visa (I had three other usa visas at different times) i had entered the usa several times prior to my h2b visa since I was a teenager) so im guessing she wanted to verify becuz she had a separate list with different times I entered and why, as i talked abt each, she would tick. I had a b2 visa and the others were work visas and was used for such. She then asked about my jobs where I worked each time and dates she confirmed, if I was currently working to which i answered no. Next she went into the yes and no questions. Then she went into our relationship. How, when and where we met, how did we end up exchanging numbers, when did the relationship got serious, what was our first date like? What did we do after? Did we meet each other's parents, When did we decide to get married, what was our wedding date,  what was our wedding like, who was there, what did we do after the wedding, did we go on a honeymoon, why did we have a small wedding instead of a big one to which we explained we both wanted to keep it small and sentimental, as well as we were saving up for the move as he was stationed cross country, she asked if both of our parents knew each other and if they're in total agreement with us. She asked for pics and as she went through our album which was labeled and had notes of what was taking place in each pic she would take out a pic she wanted to keep and asked us if that was ok. She kept a few wedding photos, family pics, friends, she took two other pics with me pinning my husband at his promotion ceremony. She commented on some of the pics and asked a question here and there. She asked us where we see ourselves in 5yrs each of us had the opportunity to respond, then she ask if we plan to take any trips together in the near future and where we wanna go, and if we wanted children and how many, She asked for joint documents, the ones we presented were ( bank, lease from 2012 when we just moved in together, current lease, insurance, joint tax, phone bill) she said she didn't need anything else as i was abt to pull out more joint documents lol) i had a bunch of other documents and joint evidence but she didn't need them. She then looked at us and said she have every reason to believe our relationship is well established based on everything she's seen and heard she has no doubt approving our case, she said welcome to the united states, explained how the conditional gc works gave us exact dates to renew for the 10yr, told us to start making plans to travel, have us sign the paper that we understood, then she said she highly recommend for me to apply for citizenship at the 3yr mark becuz it is cheaper and easier than renewing the 10yr gc. She welcomed me again to the usa and asked if we have any questions to which we said no in unison. It seems like a long process but in reality it was only 45mins, we were done at exactly 8:45am and by 9am my online status changed to card in production. She was pleasant, and the whole interview was more like a casual conversation with laughs here and there. We had our documents well organized and didnt give or offered anything that wasnt asked for. Our answers were short and to the point, DH and I tool took turns filling in the answers. She emphasized keeping all our joint documents and we can get more if we wanted to, she said the more the merrier for when we are removing the conditions.
Sorry for the long post i just wanted to be as detailed as possible. So glad this is all over for now! Time to get settled into my new job and start moving on with life 😁😁😁 good luck to those who have upcoming interviews and pray dates come quickly for those still waiting especially December and January filers.

At 160 days my wife finally got combo card being produced so happy 

Guys, 
 
It is my pleasure to report that yesterday my wife and our two daughters had our interview.
 
This is how it went down. 
 
The interview was for 9.30am. We got there at 9am. We waited for about 30 mins before we were called in by a middle aged woman. She took us into her office and was gracious enough to offer my kids coloring books to keep them busy while she attended to us. We swore an oath to tell the truth and then she began by confirming our personal details as stated on the i-485 forms.
 
Then she asked me how we met. I asked her if she meant how we met the first time or the second time (I was remarrying my ex-wife) and she said all of it so i gave her a brief summary of how we met the first time and how we got back together the second time. She then asked my wife if she ever married someone else while we were divorced and she said no.
 
Then she proceeded to ask the 50 or so 'yes or no' questions from the i-485 forms. My wife answered no to everything and was then told to sign at the bottom of the form. I was also told to sign the same thing for my kids. She asked my kids how they felt about school and what was their favorite thing to do at school.
She then asked us if we had any questions for her and we said 'hell no'...well actually we just said no...lol. Then she told us that she would need to review the files to make sure everything was in order and told us what would happen if we got approved and how the cards will be produced and sent to the address we noted in the form. The interview took about 30 mins. 
 
We left and I dropped my wife and kids at home and while I was halfway to work, I received 3 emails stating that our case has been approved. By the time I was seated at my job, another email came in stating that my second daughter's card was being produced. I was impressed!!!
 
I want to wish everyone who is still waiting for an interview Good luck and Godspeed. We were not nervous at all because we knew our case was very easy given that we remarried each other and our kids were ours.
Hang in there guys!!!!
 

We had our interview last week at the San Diego field office.  As I mentioned in a previous post, we have had no updates to our case past "Fingerprint Fee Received".  All of a sudden the appointment letter showed up.  We kind of scrambled to get everything together but we did it.  Interview lasted about 25 minutes.  We went in together and did all questions together.  The officer was very young and was very nice.  He asked a lot of questions about our application and then asked about our relationship (how we met, where we live, questions about our condo, etc).  Then he asked to see what documents we brought.  The letter said to bring copies of everything we submitted with our application and he didn't even touch it.  We showed him our joint account info (phone bill & electric bill) as well as my 401k showing my husband as the beneficiary and our 2017 tax return which we filed jointly.  We brought some photos of us since he arrived in the US and the officer asked us to tell him about each one (who was with us, where was it taken, etc).  He said that as of today (last Thursday) my husband is officially a US Resident and he'll get his greencard in the next couple weeks.  So glad it's done and we don't have to do anymore paperwork for 2 years.  For those of you with busy field offices or people who haven't had any movement on your case, have faith!  The processing times for San Diego are 12-16 months and we waited 8 and never received any case updates.  

So my case tracker just went off again with an update that my case is ready for my green card interview. I'm so suprised, I honestly didn't expect to hear anything regarding my green card until the end of the year as the San Antonio office was really behind. Is it a good sign that I'm having my green card letter before even having an update on my EAD/AP? 
 
Edit: I'm so nervous, I haven't mentally prepared for an interview lol any advise? Will the letter list what additional things I need to bring? Omg I'm excited but nervous 😂