pulteseller

23 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Could be 15-20 years at this point.

In other words, we should have applied 15 years ago when we got the K1, lol!!  Can't believe 15-20 years is even a reality.

Hi Everyone,

It's been 15 years since my wife came to the US on a K1 visa, and we couldn't have done it without the visajourney community!  Now, in 2021, we're thinking about bringing my wife's sister to the US so we can open a restaurant together.  My wife now has her US citizenship, and her sister is Thai by birth, but has Swiss citizenship.  

Questions:

1. With our sponsorship, can she immigrate here, work legally, and have a path to permanent residency?  
2. Can you share a link to this process on visajourney.com?
3. How long does the process take?

Thank you!!

Thanks for the replies everyone! We'll be submitting N400 tomorrow!

Thanks for all the replies. It's apparent we need to do this (N400) quickly.

One follow up question:

Suppose we go to Thailand for 5 years and she loses her green card status. Do we have to go through the whole green card nightmare to get her back in the US (peramanently)? Or is there some kind of easier reinstatement?

I know, hoping for an easy way out with the US Government is wishful thinking...

Hello,

My wife is a 10 year green card holder, which she obtained through marriage to me almost 7 years ago. She received her green card in 2008. We spent the last 5 months in Thailand, and the immigration officer in Boston recommended we get a reentry permit next we're out of the US for so long. The immigration also mentioned it might be easier to go ahead and become a US citizen. What we didn't tell the immigration officer is that we are planning on moving to Thailand permanently in May. We always planned on moving to Thailand later in life, but a recent life event has caused us to accelerate our plans. Hence, I was caught off guard with the whole Permanent Resident not really being permanent if you don't stay in the States.

Looking at N400 timelines it could take 6 months to go through the whole process, and our house might already be sold!

My questions are this:

1. Can she become a US citizen while living in Thailand?
2. Can we start the process here, and complete it in Thailand?
3. Is there a way to maintain permanent residence status while living in Thailand full-time?

Thank you,

David

Well,the results are in....

I submitted my wife's I751 with a check for my daughter's biometric fee. I explained in a letter that my daughter followed my wife but wasn't in her 90 day window yet, yada yada yada.

About two weeks later the check for my daughter's biometrics was returned with a letter explaining that we need to submit a seperate I751 with full fees.

So, if you're in the same boat, I can say that it won't hurt to try, but it didn't work for us.\

Thanks for all the replies.

To follow up to my own post:

I made an infopass appointment to speak to an immigration agent about this. While they did confirm the "rule", and said I would "probably" have to pay two seperate fees....the officer told me to go ahead and file them together and include a letter explaining the situation. She said there was a 50/50 chance that it would sail through.

I guess that's better than nothing

Hello All!

My wife came to the US in May of 2007 on a K1 Visa, and her daughter followed in October of 2007 on a K2. Both have their conditional green cards now. It's almost time to file I751 and I see that if they file at the same time, I only have to pay $80 for my stepdaughter's biometrics. However, my stepdaughter is not and will not be in the 90 day window to file until after my wife's 90 day window has expired. We filed for the green cards about 6 months apart.

$545 for my wife and $545 for my daugther, that's a lot of money. I know, I know....I'm preaching to the choir:) LOL

D.

Congratulations, you are now a permanent resident of the United States. That's how the immigration officer in Charlotte put it after our interview. At least, that's how I remember it. The whole experience kind of seems surreal looking back. I can't believe it's finally over! Pu is ecstatic and so am I. We've already made our first attempt at a learner's permit! It's so nice to know that we can finally settle in to our new home and life together.

I have to say that the interview was in depth and it was a very serious atmosphere. I've heard many say that their interviewer was light and cordial. Our interviewer was a US Immigration Officer through and through. He was very serious and more like a police officer, but he was only doing his job.

I don't understand why some get their approvals in the mail without ever going to an interview, why others go to an interview and are given their approval without question, or why people like myself are scrutinized. This guy had gone through our entire file with tooth and comb, it seemed. No complaints, he was never rude or unprofessional. Luck of the draw, or red flags, I don't know. But, it is what it is (or was), and now it's over.

Good luck to all, and please email me if there is anyway I can help you in your VISAJOURNEY!

David

well VJ members...tomorrow is the day. We are getting up early and heading to Charlotte for our interview. We could have moved it to Raleigh, but that would have delayed us another month. 3 hours in the car, printing some additonal marriage photos, and making a couple of backup copies is all that's left of our AOS journey....we hope!

I just can't get over the fact that there is an outside possibility that we may have a hiccup or something. All the "what ifs" are in the forefront of my thoughts as we prepare for our journey. Not that there is any reason for us to be worried, it's just that the fact that there is another person that doesn't even know us that will be passing judgement on us. What if they are having a bad day, or something?

Oh well, I know we'll be fine, and I'll post our interview results upon our return to Raleigh tomorrow night. Wish us luck, and thanks for all of your support.

David

The office is within earshot of I-40 off Miami Blvd. Not sure which exit that is, but you get off the interstate and head south on Miami. First group of buildings on your left. If you get to Hwy. 54 you've gone too far. It's right behind/next to a pizza place.

I got my infopass as a walk in. I didn't have to make an appointment. The office is pretty quiet, so no appointments are necessary right now.

First things first...

Today I went to the new USCIS Office in Raleigh/Durham. It's a nice brand new facility, and quite empty of customers! The staff was very friendly, but don't bring in your cell phone - you'll have to take it back out to your car. I didn't have an infopass or an appointment, and I was able to go straight to the window. Because I skipped over on my lunch break, I was alone and hadn't brought my wife. The infopass officer told me I had to come back with her, since she is the one adjusting status. I told her we would come back the next day. The point is that the Raleigh/Durham office is easy in/easy out, so I would recommend you stop by if you are in limboland. The officer did tell me that they had access to much more information than the phone reps, and it would most likely be a worthwhile trip. She seemed very interested in helping me.

Next....When I got home to tell my wife of the experience, she showed me her USCIS appointment letter! Looks like June 3rd in Charlotte! What a coincidence - the same day I go to the local office we get the letter we've been waiting for!

My question for Visajourney members is should we try to rebook in Raleigh and save the travel time, or just stick with Charlotte and go down June 3rd? I don't want to cause anymore delay.

Since the Raleigh office is so close, we'll probably go down there and ask them, but any replies are welcome in the meantime.

Thank you!

Not sure if the North Carolinians following the July Filers thread heard that the new office opened in Raleigh already. Durham/RTP is a better description of the location. What luck! Only a couple of miles from where I work! You can bet I'm driving down on Monday to see what is up with our AOS petitions! I'm sure I'll get the run around, but at least I can get an infopass or something. Anybody gone down to their local office to request info? What should I do/expect? I have a feeling that this new office opening is what has caused our delay. I'd bet the cases and agents working them were boxed up and moved. All the fun stuff that goes with moving an office, especially a big office.

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1049839.html

Looking forward to comments about seeking info in person, thanks!

UNBELIEVABLE!!! I can't believe they actually went backwards. That makes the notion of logging on to check processing times completely absurd.

Oh well.....sure makes checking the mail lots of fun!

My wife is currently awaiting an interview for her adjustment of status.

We are filing an AR-11, change of address form. In the top right corner "I am in the United States as a:",

should we check Permanent Resident or 'other' and specify I-485?

Thanks!

Thanks for the news. At least it doesn't feel as bad knowing others are in the same boat. It's bad for my wife because we didn't file for employment authorization because we knew she wouldn't be working for at least 6 months, and based on timelines in July we figured she would have her greencard by the end of 2007. Now, it's come to a screeching halt and she is a little bored staying home. We can't even get her learner's permit until she has her greencard!!! Bad decision to not file for employment authorization, I know. To file now would be a waste of money, since we could get the good news tomorrow, right? Ugggg!!!!

Having a Raleigh office will be great for us, since we live in the Triangle. Anybody have a timeline for that?

CHARLOTTE

"Can they go any slower?" Well, they just updated Charlotte's processing times, and it looks like they have progressed one day since last month!! Updated March 15th, now processing June 15! Last month it was June 14!!

Does anybody have some insight as to what the heck is going on with Charlotte??? A VJer I know personally applied for I485 in October and she already has her greencard in hand! Same office, only difference was she paid the $1010 and we got in before they raised the fee. Sounds to me like we should have paid more and waited. If there is a huge backlog of petitions, then shouldn't the cases still go in chronological order? My wife and I sent our paperwork in June 2007!

As a former airline employee, we used to check if the name on the ticket matches the passport. I would suggest she bring her passport and any evidence of name change - like a social security card, driver's license, or marriage certificate.

I'm sure there's an official answer, YuandDan is always right and here is what he has to say about it:

http://visajourney.com/forums/lofiversion/...hp/t101906.html

As a former airline employee, we used to check if the name on the ticket matches the passport. I would suggest she bring her passport and any evidence of name change - like a social security card, driver's license, or marriage certificate.

Good luck!

Looks like Frankfurt is the only US Mission in Germany processing K visas.

http://germany.usembassy.gov/germany/visa/districts.html

the case number on the back of our cancelled check for AOS turned out not to be the same as our I-797 number. I wasn't able to track it online until I input the MSC# from form I-797 Notice of Action.

If your birth certificate is not in english it must be translated.

I'm assuming you are referencing a USCIS form.

As long as your stated income from your 07 tax return is more than the poverty guidelines, you don't need to worry about it. State your income from your tax return.

In North Carolina, for instance, you may get a DL as long as your I-94 is valid. Once expired, you may not get a DL or learner's permit until you receive your green card or EAD. What the DMV is looking for is proof of residency, and permission to be in country. A k-1 gives you 90 days.

Make sure you check your state's DMV rules BEFORE your I-94 expires.