DaveAndAnastasia

What's your country of citizenship? From most countries, you don't need a visa to visit Spain or can get a visa on arrival.

Exceptions are basically some African countries, Russia, a few former Soviet Republics, and one or two others.

No specific knowledge about Poland here, but anyone thinking about a third-country wedding for immigration purposes needs to look into what's required for two foreigners to legally marry in that country.

In a lot of places, it's not a simple and straightforward process (in particular for this subforum, legally marrying a foreigner in Russia takes a while and is only really doable if the foreigner is also living in Russia or otherwise free to spend a month or more there or to make multiple trips to Russia with a span of a couple months), hence the popularity of the Utah zoom marriages here on VisaJourney.

On 2/25/2023 at 7:38 AM, JayFromTexas said:

We are doing Utah zoom. We need the apostilled copy for my fiancé to change her name back in Russia. 

FWIW, many Russians never do that (my wife is Anastasiia [my last name] on all American documents since we filed for AOS, but changing her Russian documents when she doesn't live there is just too much hassle; she renewed her Russian passport recently when the embassy did a day in LA and it's still [her maiden name] Anastasiia there). Granted, she didn't change her name until after coming here because that was on a K-1 back in 2019.

16 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

It is INFERIOR, si man!  We will sell you a top-of-line unit at a handsome 0.00000002% discount off full retail, $i man.

I don't think even NASA's toilet seats are $many,000,000, so you'll need more than a sub-$.01 discount to close the sale, man ...

It should be okay, but note that transcripts

1) Include everything you need in one document (if you use tax return documents, you need the 1040, all W-2s and 1099s, and all schedules)

2) are the final record of what was submitted to the IRS 

3) are considerably shorter than full tax return forms

so it's almost always better to use transcripts

12 hours ago, Cathi said:

CR1 is by far the superior (not to mention far less expensive) choice. 

Though at this point for the OP switching would also mean the application fees for the I-129F and the time since they flied (granted, only a month so far, but they can't file an I-130 until they meet in person again) are a sunk cost.

Not a major issue (the biggest reason why a K-1 is more expensive isn't the actual fees -- even at the forthcoming much higher ones if you apply for EAD and AP -- and unless AOS processing gets a lot faster than you certainly should apply for both; it's that the beneficiary can't work until EAD or green card), but worth mentioning.

26 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

Ciudadana Americana already spending your money profligately, what did we say just above man?  

Spending her money; PRG is highly skilled QA professional who has $many leftover after paying for mini-Dave's daycare, would not go out twice in a week (and rarely went out even once a week) for anything more than fast food (which she does not care for) if we were still living on just my money. 🤣

26 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

Your next mission is to fully equip your crib with Pre-Owned Toilet Seats, special naturalization price$ man.

Toilet seats it came with still work fine, man. May even convince mini-Dave to use them (and the rest of the toilet) someday. 🤣

On 2/8/2023 at 4:32 PM, Naterson said:

This is true, but a judge blocked it. What are the odds that happens again?

Quite low, I think; IIRC the previous proposed fee changes were blocked due to not following proper procedures, not due to anything inherently wrong with the fee structure.

Unless something has changed in the last few years (quite possible; I haven't been following things closely since we got past that stage and that was in 2019 for us), EADs and APs are all processed at the National Benefits Center in Missouri.

Your local field office matters for your actual AOS case if you need an interview (used to be all AOS from K1s did, but I think that may have changed recently), ROC if you need an interview (usually if you have an AOS interview you don't have an ROC interview), and for naturalization (you always have an interview there).

14 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

[Single -- ed.] Guys have a maximum of 6 things in their bathrooms:

 -- a toothbrush

 -- toothpaste

 -- a razor

 -- shaving cream

 -- a bar of

 -- and a towel from a Holiday Inn.

 

Chicas, conversely, have a minimum of 439 things in their bathrooms... very few of which a guy could identify.

Surely there's at least a bottle of Tylenol or Advil or generic painkillers too, at least if said guy is over 25 ...

11 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

She could have a lucrative export business...

International shipping only starts becoming reasonable when you're moving shipping containers full of stuff, which would defeat said plan even if Vlad didn't...

16 hours ago, Cheddy said:

My Russian fiancé has her interview in Warsaw on Feb 17th. We got a Spanish Schengen visa for her. Are there any issues flying into Paris instead, as it's easier for me to fly and meet her? or do I need to book a layover for her in Spain?

It's allowed (because emergencies happen and plans can change), but issuing countries tend to frown on it. If you get a Schengen visa from country X and use it enter country Y but not country X, it's not uncommon for country X to deny future visa applications or at least ask extra questions.

Back before Covid when traveling directly from Russia to the Schengen zone was a lot less complicated, for our last meeting prior to Anastasia coming to the US, she got a Schengen visa from Latvia because it was easy to get (having previously had one from Italy that expired a few months earlier), we spent a couple nights in Riga, and then the rest of the trip in Vienna. As it turned out, she'll (barring some unforeseen complications) be a US citizen before we're in the Schengen zone again, but we had no way of knowing that at the time (and if not for Covid and Vlad's adventure in Ukraine, that probably would not have been the case).

10 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

Another reason to naturalize might be the ability to qualify for jobs that require U.S. citizenship, and possibly also security clearances (others can confirm or refute this).

Yup. It's probably more of a thing in fields or areas with a lot of government or defense industry jobs, but even looking for entry level software QA jobs, Anastasia ran into some she couldn't apply to without US citizenship because security clearances would be required.

Especially with Vlad's adventure in Ukraine making things difficult for Russians outside of Russia, my wife filed shortly after she was eligible (her interview is next month).

But I think I'm pretty much in the camp that if your home country allows dual citizenship and you intend to stay in the US indefinitely and/or want the right to come back to the US whenever you want, there really aren't many logical reasons not to.

On 1/13/2023 at 9:06 PM, Daphne . said:

I would say get married as soon as possible after your fiance arrives. The sooner you marry, the sooner you can file for AOS. 

Also, marriage is a qualifying event for changing employer-based benefits like health insurance, so if you're planning to add your fiancé(e) to your insurance and don't want them to go without insurance for very long that's another reason to marry ASAP.

/it's true that a lot of companies allow unmarried domestic partners to get benefits, but that usually takes some paperwork

18 hours ago, Jason and May said:

AOS, all in, filed together, will jump to I believe $2,880 under their proposal. 

That said, this proposed budget cleared the White House, so I can't imagine it will not be approved. 

I can only imagine the hardships some couples are going to face financially putting this money together for visas. Yikes. In our case, I think I am going to have to forego my third trip to see my wife while we are waiting for her visa. I'm afraid to spend any money out of savings with the enormous fee hikes that are coming. 

Though even at the much-increased rates, my argument that you shouldn't base your decision on what path to follow based on government fees still stands.

The biggest cost of an international relationship before your partner gets to the US for an American (presuming your partner is not in Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean and/or living in the same area as you overseas) very likely isn't USCIS fees, it's travel costs.

And the biggest reason why a CR-1 is "cheaper" isn't avoiding AOS/EAD/AP fees, it's that your spouse can work right away on a CR-1 and you're forgoing that income until EAD (especially if your spouse can expect to make significantly more than minimum wage).

15 hours ago, Ontarkie said:

How did it do? 

Not too bad, though much better warm than out of the fridge (I'd made it on Sunday, my birthday was Tuesday, and there's only the three of us so I didn't want to just leave it on the counter).

Coconut pecan frosting, despite using four different sweeteners (ran out of what I used for 80% and tried to finish off with remains of other almost-empty bags), tasted very much like the original especially when warm. Almond flour-based cake, less so.

6 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Bad gluttonous DA man!  Bad, BAD gluttonous GLUTTONOUS DA man!

PRG and I split one dinner; if we'd both had a full salad and a full thing of potatoes (or whatever other side PRG got), there would have been some leftovers (at the very least, we wouldn't have eaten all of that and what was left from mini-Dave's dinner, too).

6 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Sounds like a good Many'th birthday, si DA man.

Yeah. Even if (as per usual) mini-Dave really didn't want to take a bath afterwards.

Also update on the cake: much better after being microwaved for half a minute than fresh out of the fridge (still not in the same ballpark as the considerably higher in carbs standard German* Chocolate Cake mama-Dave used to make on my birthday -- and even did last year when Covid meant they stayed around a few days beyond what was already a pretty long visit and so held an early birthday party for me).

* non-Americans may not realize this is a reference to a brand of chocolate, not a country of origin; German Chocolate Cake is American.

21 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

Din-din report and leftovers expected, si DA man.

PRG & I split a steak & lobster combo, plus got salad and au gratin potatoes from Black Angus (picture is PRG's half of everything but the salad).

Mini-Dave got chicken tenders and rice (even a kid's meal portion is more than a toddler will eat, so PRG & I also had some chicken).

Oversized cookie and scoop of ice cream was free due to birthday (did not pay extra for balloons and cards).

Low-carb knock-off German Chocolate Cake was good, but nowhere near as good as mom's, so will try something else next time.

No leftovers from the restaurant. Still plenty of cake left (didn't realize we'd get cake and ice cream for free from restaurant, so ended up cutting very small slices and not giving out much mint chip ice cream).

2 hours ago, Lil bear said:

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/preclearance
 

i was wrong .. none in Europe   

Depends how strictly you're defining Europe; Ireland's in the EU.

There was some news pre-pandemic about Brussels trying to get preclearance but it seems like that didn't happen.

57 minutes ago, annab864 said:

Interview done! The oath ceremony is scheduled for January 25th!! Whew, one more week and my journey will be over! 

Congrats.

Quote

My I-751 was approved as well, however, when i check my status, only N-400 shows updates (last one - Oath ceremony notice was mailed). Is that normal?

I don't think it's unusual; the ways of USCIS online updates are mysterious.

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Also, DaveandAnastasia, happy birthday! 

Thanks.

6 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

Won't work, never does, oj nie.

Have lost many (2*2*2*2*2) pounds between diet, exercise, and medication since summer, though backslid a bit over the holidays, actually.

Some numbers said I was borderline diabetic when I had an often-delayed physical last summer, hence finally got serious about it.

6 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

Welcome to marriage and never too late to trade her in, si and no DA man!

Really, I like cooking (admittedly, I make the main course or pizza on weekends and dessert; PRG does all other cooking).

But I guess if someone's figuring out how to bake without using regular flour and sugar (I think I have Many different sugar substitutes in the pantry right now), it's me 🤣

Also, exactly one woman wanted to see me again after spending more than a few days with me, so I'm keeping her around. 🤣

FWIW, also in San Diego; my wife filed about two months before you, had interview scheduled two weeks ago (it took another week and a day for the letter to get here, but there was a PDF in her online account).

Filed on 2022-07-09 (online); don't remember when we got the notice of biometrics reused.

Interview scheduled on 2023-01-06 for 2023-02-13.

She applied under the three-year rule; arrived on a K-1 in March 2019, got her conditional green card at the end of September 2019, and got her 10-year green card last April.