John & Rose

We were lucky as Chicago is much more humid than the Philippines so the heat was comfortable for me and for some reason they love the snow. It has only been a couple years. My guess is that will wear off and they will stop waiting for a good snow fall. That haven’t experienced a real blizzard yet. I am looking forward to see their reaction to 12 or more inches of snow in a single storm.

Bayview is nice. You definitely have stories to reminisce about during those cold evenings at the ski resort! How did she like the cold and snow? Thanks for sharing. Many of us old timers know that while the wait can be stressful, it means zero once you are together. All that self inflicted stress melts away once you are back in each other's arms. You had a longer journey than us. we were just 770 days total but you are 100% correct. If it is real, it will happen.

My wife has done this many times. Two more boxes are getting picked up this Friday. It includes gifts for family and many items to sell. They decide what to keep and what to sell, not us. As far as we are concerned they are keeping all of it.

Correct. While we are all waiting to see what AOS is like, they should stay the course and complete the K-1. I would have to think the AOS may have challenges but I am not sure DoS would ultimately deny the green card. It may be a battle but I believe the original filers and the OP can end up victorious.

The Philippines is tough with that. I took my wife and step kids to Hong Kong on a vacation. I could not board the flight back to Manila from HK without showing that I had a ticket to leave Manila.

If I remember this whole story, they may have filed the I-130 before consummation of the marriage and when they realized that, their lawyer withdrew the spousal (which would have been denied) and filed the K-1. It is definitely not a path others should try to duplicate but it is working for them so far. They had to withdraw the spousal and their option was to wait to meet again or follow the path their lawyer mentioned. It is very rare to hear about a lawyer that actually knows their stuff when it comes to immigration. Most just look at a quick buck for a very easy process. This lawyer impressed me once I really understood all of the details. At first I didn't think it was legit but looking at DoS guidance, they were legally justified.

I think the date of the marriage will be interesting as they were not “officially” married in the eyes of the state department until after the K-1(?) got to the states and they met again. For AOS the marriage certificate will show the date of the actual ceremony before arriving on the K-1. They are probably going to end up fine but I will bet there will be some head scratching going on at USCIS.

Agreed. I didn't think it would work in the first place but what may work for State may not work for USCIS. I am still watching this one. They are actually paying for AOS so they are not saving money. They may also get denied for adjustment so the lawyers will also cost them.

I am the one who talked with the couple. It was allowed because they did meet in person prior to filing and since they did not meet after the wedding they were not "married enough" to prohibit the K-1. It blew my mind but they are here now and we are all watching to see what AOS will be like. The State Department may look at things differently than USCIS. Online marriages were used to allow the US citizen to visit the beneficiary during Covid restrictions. Those have mostly been lifted so now US citizens can travel to visit the beneficiary. We don't hear too much about online wedding anymore unless they are military related.

All I see is "I struck "my filipina" and now she is upset". The cultural differences are huge and difficult to manage at times. As difficult as those challenges are, no man should ever strike his partner. It is interesting that the OP claims the 27 year old is the one who is immature. If I hit my wife, I would expect her to react the same way.

All he can do is resubmit what they already have. In my eyes that just causes a delay. Both ways can work but if they already rejected his affidavit why send the same info back to respond to the 221(g).

The I-134 is not legally enforceable so they would only be "on the hook" until you file AOS. I don't know what they see as the problem but don't waste the time or energy thinking about it. Send in a joint sponsor with their 2021 transcript and bring her to her new home.

100% my thoughts...scammer. Too many unrealistic things going on in the beneficiaries life...LOL

Did you use transcripts or the 1040? There must be something they didn't like but it sounds all good from here. I recommend using a joint sponsor for K-1 just to get past this roadblock. AOS will be with USCIS and a different form. You will be good there. The I-134 is not required at K-1 interview unless they decide to ask for it. Just do what you have to do to get past this point and AOS should be smoother.

Perfectly stated. 100% true. My wife says those are all Aquino lies! LOL

They completely removed the truth from text books there. I remember the news stories. My wife and step kids say that Marcos was the greatest President in the history of the Philippines. It wasn't martial law, it was cutting down on crime. When I ask why he left they said they didn't know...It is scary how propaganda can erase the truth and brainwash generations. They say Marcos never hurt anyone and he never stole anything and it was Aquino that made up all those lies.

That is false. I did two interviews there and most couples used joint sponsors. I know of hundreds in a K-1 group that were approved with a joint sponsor. Crapidvisa is clueless and I believe they are confusion joint and co sponsors.

That is just another lie that Crapidvisa says. It is 100% false like most of what they say. Manila excepts joint sponsors for K-1 and joint and co sponsors for CR-1. OP, as self employed they look at Adjusted Gross Income, not Total income. Many self employed take enough business deductions that they fall below the poverty level on paper. I know a dozen 6 figure entrepreneurs who on paper were not good sponsors.

Good for you. Not that I doubt that story but USCIS doesn’t issue visas. My arrest was expunged by a federal district court 30 years before I filed my K-1 and we were refused by the state department (not USCIS) for failure to disclose.

That is some great info! Thanks for the clarification.

As mentioned above, USCIS cannot give legal advice. They can look at your petition online (just like you can) and repeat that information. They can answer basic questions but only the adjudicator can say whether this will be an issue. Some may not care about it while others do. Failure to disclose is a refusal offense. The adjusdicaot will make nots and the CO will make the determination after the interview. I like what his lawyer said. Try to get any information he can and if none is available, get a signed statement as such. There is more to the story and some doesn't quite makes sense. I'm not sure if you can amend but if possible that is a safer way to go. The crime itself may have no impact on the case. Not disclosing its may. That is my only concern. A juvenile crime like this that was disclosed would have no impact at all. Odds of a challenge go up when out is not disclosed. The OP certainly can still have no problems at all but the odds are higher for challenges by not disclosing.

IMBRA doesn’t deal with criminal records. It has to do with marriage brokers. AWA requires a check to protect the unknowing beneficiary from a potentially dangerous petitioner. AWA does matter but for spousal it is much narrower. Sexual crimes and violent domestic crimes might still impact spousal but they will definitely impact fiancée. Not disclosing assault and battery can be a reason for denial.

OK. Excellent. Then we can all move on. I never gave a solution. If denied I do recommend that he gets married and files a spousal visa. That is much better than K-1. It is quick too since they already did the background checks. We were approved pretty quickly. It went so fast they were not ready to leave yet. They needed another month to get everything organized. Other than that, it is all up to the CO.

If you had ANY knowledge you would know that a signed and sworn petition cannot be amended. He already stated and signed that the petition was complete and accurate. I will gladly put my wealth of knowledge against yours any day. I lived this and I've spent the last 6 or 7 years helping others in this same position. I have dozens of cases like this under my belt. If the crime was underage drinking or shoplifting I would agree with you. I have seen convicted felons not mention the arrest and they were approved. This was assault and battery. That is different. It has some extent of violence so AWA will come into play. If a judge told him to do community service, there is a record available to the Federal Government. Period. Trust me, I have NEVER seen a CO laugh and sneer when they see a case where the petitioner was cited for a crime that contained a violent act and they decided that is was fine to lie on a Federal immigration application. Sorry. Been there, done that. There was not a single thread of evidence I could have found. My case didn't exist at the court or the police station. I hope that he gets through this without a problem. If he has a problem there is a path to fix this. So just when were you denied for not disclosing a dropped and expunged case that happened 30 years before you filed?

Item Number 4.a. Criminal Information. Indicate whether you have ever been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined, or imprisoned for breaking or violating any law or ordinance in any country, for any offenses other than those you have already outlined in the previous section. Unless a traffic incident was alcohol- or drug-related or involved a fine of $500 or more, you do not need to provide information on it. It wasn't adjudicated BUT he was sentenced to Community Service. Hmmmm Oh, does the quote above list ANYTHING about adjudication? Why did he do community service? Just for fun? That was a judgment and a sentence.