FluffyBalls

3 hours ago, Cathi said:

People in this forum are not anonymous and it isn't fearmongering when they're stating fact. More often than not we see attorneys give incorrect advice. 

The OP abandoned AOS by leaving the country. USCIS can and will deny at the interview. 

 

OP: never under any circumstances misrepresent yourself at any point during the immigration process. It's best to tell the whole truth than to lie and be found out later(and they will find out). It isn't worth it. Let us know what you decide and what happens at the interview.

People are telling him to cancel the interview and I485 because it may cause him to be deported if he applies for citizenship. This is fear mongering. I don't see any downside (neither does the lawyer) to going to the interview, admitting to the USCIS officer that he screwed up and misunderstood the rules, and hoping for a hail Mary.  All while being prepared to refile in the event of a denial.

This is a very rare situation that I'd bet only a handful of people find themselves in. Tons of doom and gloom on this forum if someone doesn't do something exactly "by the book" yet somehow everything usually turns out okay...

18 minutes ago, ultrasurf said:

I'm kind of in a bind then. It seems like there are two parties:

1. Some people think that if I get approved at the interview, I should just accept it and go on my merry way.
2. Some people think that even if I get approved, I can get it revoked later on, so I should just cancel and refile right now.

Tough decision.

Go with what the lawyer said over an online anonymous fearmonger.

Is this for the initial I-130 submission? I don't recall that being required: https://www.uscis.gov/i-130

Lucky that you were admitted. This makes all the difference. If you were denied entry to the US you would've been looking at 1+ year under the CR1 route. And that thread from 5 years ago is legendary LOL. Just shows how much leeway CBP has, I guess.

If I were you I would attend the interview, claim this happened because of your misunderstanding of the AP extension, and hope for the best. I think there's a non-zero chance they'll let it slide. Be ready to file a new I485 asap if this one gets denied. And be ready for a long wait and don't leave this time. 

12-24 months AOS in some offices, 6+ months to get 1-year AP, 6+ months to renew it, nearly impossible to get emergency parole.... absolutely ******* ridiculous. And this is on top of the 7-11 months pre-AOS if going the K1 route.

On 3/5/2019 at 6:19 PM, Pera82 said:

I feel the same way. I’m from Milan, Italy and now I live in a small town in the middle of nowhere in Central Massachusetts (I call it “the bush” lol). I’ve been here for almost 4 years and it hasn’t been easy. My husband works remote for a nyc company and he owns a house here. When he bought this house he commuted 2 hours one way by car to Boston (crazy, huh!).. I sure can’t do that.. I drive 45 minutes one way (not too too bad during warm months, but hell during winter) for a job that feels just like a job, nothing I care about keeping long term.

Before getting married I visited him here 4 times and we agreed on moving to the Boston area (the plan was to find a place like 30-45 minutes train commute to the city) for a better quality of life and more work opportunities for me. Unfortunately, the house market in the Boston area has been crazy for the past few years. What makes me sad is that my husband doesn’t want to compromise on any other city. I understand that the Boston area is out of our financial possibilities right now, we both don’t want some crazy high mortgage on our shoulders and he says he can’t live in a "tiny" condo because he works from home and he needs some space (his words lol). It’s understandable, but there are countless of other options out there. He doesn’t want to move out of state because of his family, he is very close to his siblings. Our relationship is good, we knew each other for 5 years before getting married. but yea, I’m kind of miserable here and sometimes I wonder if I did the right thing. I definitely miss having more of a social life and living in a more "vibrant" area, it gets lonely... hopefully it will get better

Being able to work 100% remotely is the holy grail of mobility! Can you split time between the US and Italy?

One of my friends works 100% remote and his wife is Chinese, they spend 3 months in China (when it's winter here) and 9 months in Chicago in a condo near downtown. 

1 hour ago, dentsflogged said:

I am actually in almost the same boat (with the exception of the child) - I lived in Melbourne for years and LOVED it.  Now we live in a town of less than 8,000 people in Wisconsin. There are some nice homes, but many of them are run down, no one seems to take any pride in upkeep and maintenance (if I want to walk anywhere I have to do it on the road because despite there not even being that much snow, very few people bother scooping and salting the sidewalk in front of their houses).  It's MARCH and the majority of homes around us have still got their christmas light up because apparently the effort of taking them down is far too high. 

I love my husband. I really like his family. But I miss Australia, I miss the variety and quality of food (Wisconsin has many nice things, but good quality foods from various cultures is not one of them), and I miss being able to go outside without wearing 5 layers in order to not die.  

Oh, and I miss Medicare.  SO MUCH.  I'm sick to death of working out if I have just enough of my medications until a friend or family member comes to the US next to get through, or working out if I can get a years' worth of birth control and asthma medication next time I go home to visit - a years' worth of each costs less than a single MONTH here in the US. 

So I totally get it.   I'm hoping that when winter FINALLY dies and I can get out more and hopefully make some new friends around town that I'll feel less like I made a huge mistake by moving here.  It's just such a crappy situation - my husband has made it clear that living here is the one thing he WON'T compromise on (he's willing to compromise on everything else - our home & how it's decorated, having a cat - he hates cats - letting me chose the puppy we get AND give it a punny name, where and how we spend vacations, what we eat and basically everything else - just not where we live) so I either have to put up & shut up or divorce him and move home - which isn't an option for me.    I miss my friends and family.

Can't you move to Madison or Milwaukee? Chicago would be even better.  You moved to the US, can't he move within the same state?? I would be absolutely heartbroken if I knew my wife posted this message.

My wife sacrificed so much to come to the US from China. The difference is that we live in a reasonably large metro area (Minneapolis/St Paul). When we were looking to buy our first home, I wanted to live in a single family home in a quiet suburb, she wanted to be in a condo close to "the action". So rather than buy a single family home with a yard, we bought a small townhouse in a nice suburb that's right on a bus line that goes to the heart of downtown. There is a huge park/lake across the street from us that she can wander around in with the baby during the day, she can walk to Starbucks, the supermarket and several other stores, etc.

I don't love living in a townhouse, but she likes it and I can live with it. And FWIW we are an 8-hour drive away from my family in Chicago, and a 24 hour flight away from hers. As sick as this sounds I actually think it has a benefit in that "we're in it together" alone, and we both can't easily lean on our families, see them freely etc. - I guess a "misery loves company" type of thing.

Husband files the I130, she gets a 10 year GC in about a year (plus or minus some number of months...).

21 minutes ago, yesdrobledo said:

Hi, 

 

what did the letter of consent state?

I'm not sure what to include.

Our said something along the lines of "I am ____ , father of ____ . I give him/her my permission to permanently move to the USA".

You can get married and file for the CR1 (could be in a third country, doesn't need to be in the US/UK), or you can file for the K1 ASAP. Then come visit close to the birth of the baby for 90 days. When that's up, you should be pretty far along in the whole process. Unfortunately, as others have said, there is no real way to expedite based on pregnancy (seems like there should be but I don't make the rules...) Those are pretty much your only options, besides adjusting status.

4 minutes ago, millefleur said:

I can speak to erroneous stamps. My husband's passport has had the wrong date stamped in it twice on two different occasions of border crossing by CBP. It's better to double check on it and be safe rather than sorry.

Yes, I've heard this happen before too - hence the warning 😥

BTW according to the dates that OP gave, I used one of those online "duration" calculators and it looks like he stayed for 91 or 92 days depending on if you count the last day. He really needs to check the I94 online. I believe (but am not 100% sure) that is the official record, and if somehow CBP actually did give him until Jan 13 (94 days) then he would be okay. This needs to be verified , however!

1 minute ago, james9117 said:

No I didn't overstay! My passport was stamped until Jan 13th!

Just double check the I94 online. Just a word of warning every once in a while there's a discrepancy between the I94 (official) end date and the one that's stamped in the passport. 

34 minutes ago, Roel said:

It's really not. 

Thanks for that awesome, well reasoned response.

Somehow our attorney w/30+ years experience must have gotten it wrong her whole career. Same with the dozens of other immigration law websites you'll hit when you google "good faith marriage evidence". And the fact that RFEs list children at the very top of the additional evidence that the petitioner can submit... USCIS must have put that there randomly somehow. 🤭

There's no better or more efficient way to cheat your way into a green card than to bring another human into this world, who you'll be responsible for for 18+ years at a cost of several hundreds of thousands of dollar. Right? 🙄

Let me guess, sworn written affadavits by family and friends are even more powerful ? 

29 minutes ago, Gama said:

As someone who is from the UK and having been through the K1 visa process.. Dont do it. Go with the CR1 its cheaper and will allow you to be able to work as soon as you arrive in the US. and they say the K1 is faster but in reality its not. K1 visa used to take 6 months now its pretty much the same as the CR1 which is 10 months. 

 

Unfortunately you cannot expedite the process due to pregnancy.

 

Good luck.

The fact that the K1 requires going thru the full AOS process (including interview) makes it possibly absolute worst path. I agree, stick it out and do the CR1.

Having a kid together is about the best evidence you can provide for a legitimate relationship. You're from a low fraud country. You'll be fine.

Honestly, you probably should have stayed, married, and adjusted status. 

If the choice is between a K1/CR1, go the CR1 route. The K1 is a frigin raw deal nowadays. You can still visit while either of these are pending.

11 hours ago, tanzaniawinter said:

We filled in May 2018 and radio silence till now I was hoping my daughter she gets here at least May or June 

Did your case also get moved? Or was the petition approved?

I'm surprised anyone goes the K1 route anymore:

1. 9-11 months to get the K1.
2. Travel to US, marry file for AOS within 90 days.
3. EAD/AP in 6-8 months. If you need to leave the US before then for an emergency, return to step 1.
4. 1+ year for AOS (with a mandatory interview now)
5. 1.5-3 years for ROC just two years later

What a raw freaking deal. CR1 now takes 12-14 months but gets you to Step 5 directly. 

Why didn't you file the I485 (and EAD/AP) right after you married? Depending on your location, you would either have the green card now or would be pretty far along in the interview queue. Our lawyer stressed getting the I485 turned in before the B2 expired to prevent any "lapses" in authorized stay.

Send the AP/EAD app with the I485 so they can get working on the SSN and so that you can travel abroad in the event of an emergency. It's taking 4-6 months nowadays.

San Francisco field office looks pretty bad - 17 to 35.5 months for the I-485. So you'll probably be waiting at least a year. That said, anything can happen - people have randomly gotten interviews a few months after filing the I485 in busy locations.

Just thought I'd provide an update on this if anyone sees this in the future. The case was moved from the Potomac Service Center to the National Benefits Center for "faster processing" according to the letter USCIS sent us. A bit demoralizing that after more than 5 months, it hasn't been reviewed yet. We were really hoping she could arrive in the US by August of this year (13 months after filing).

8 minutes ago, dentsflogged said:

FWIW we are AOS from ESTA.   I have considered if it's worth putting in some information showing that it wasn't my intent to AOS when I entered the country - proof of all the trouble I went to in order to quit my job (and the money I had to return to them since they over-paid me because of quitting without proper notice as per my contract)/arrange for my apartment to be vacated/cleaned and last-minute care for my pet but I've been told that it's overkill as intent isn't considered by USCIS?

I would not say anything about this unless specifically asked (whether at the interview or thru an RFE).

9 minutes ago, dentsflogged said:

Completed I-693 (Medical Examination of Aliens Seeking Adjustment of Status)

There's a good chance you'll have to redo this in some areas where AOS is taking over a year. Most people bring this to the interview.

I filed an I-130 for my stepdaughter which was received in July 2018. Radio silence for 5 months.

A few days ago I got a text saying that the case was being moved to another office. I login today and it says:

Has anyone else seen this recently? I've seen dozens of different possibilities as to what this means. They mentioned they'd send a letter, so I'll wait a week or so before contacting USCIS.

2 hours ago, EldestElderSon said:

Okay.

 

If anything goes wrong and she gets detained, is there any way for me to contact her or her to contact me? I just want to have a contingency plan. Is there any procedure at CBP at the airport?

There's a whole tread about visiting during the CR1/IR1 process in the other subforum. Don't recall ever seeing anyone have major issues. Keep in mind something like 1 in 1500 or so visitors are denied entry. And some of those have overstays, issues with the law, admit to CBP that they've worked or will work, try to bring in contraband, and so on. You'll be fine.

And they may or may not get a chance to contact you. Often times cell phones are confiscated and not returned until the deportee arrive back at their home country.

1 minute ago, Alabamak1 said:

the reason to get SS# is to be able to collect evidence for the AOS interview. Almost everything in this country is related to some degree as to having a SS# handy. My wife got one in 4 weeks after getting here. We didnt wait 7 months for EAD to get SS#. She had a bank account, credit card and other stuff almost immedietly, because I filed at SSA for her number. 

Good to know I guess. My wife didn't need one (she was pregnant) so we just waited for it to arrive. We filed in March 2017 and got the EAD/AP exactly 4 months later, 5-7 months seems high.

17 minutes ago, Alabamak1 said:

first thing first and go to social security office and apply for SS# as of right now. After you have applied for SS# then get married in the courthouse and file immediatly for AOS/EAD/AP, so you can get these documents sooner than if you wait pointlessly till February 16

Don't you need the EAD to get an SSN? My wife got her SSN along with her EAD/AP card. Saved a potentially lengthy trip to the SS office.

The whole K1 process is a total deal nowadays. 9-12 months to get the K1, 90 days to marry and file AOS, and then back of the line for the I485, which can take 12+ months in some areas. And then ROC two years later. Worst part is if someone needs to take an emergency trip out of the country before they get AP, the whole process will be reset. 

What irks me is that there is literally zero benefit to doing things the "right" way by going the K1 route (vs AOS-ing from VWP/B2/F1 etc.) At the very least EAD/AP should be issued with the K1 visa. Or K1s should be given priority in the I485 queue.  

Focus on small-time landlords. They are more likely to work with you. Lots of the huge property management companies have pretty strict cut-and-dry policies and no wiggle room to make exceptions.

My wife and I went to look at apartments a while back for fun while she was on a B2 visa. Even though I have great credit and decent income, one of the huge 300+ unit buildings near us was asking for an extra $1000 deposit + 2 months prepaid rent if we wanted to both go on the lease because she had a foreign passport. And they were acting like it was an enormous inconvenience for them and they were doing us a huge favor. 

The place we were living before (a one man operation) just wanted a scan of her passport and an extra $25/month to cover the increased utility costs.