C&AH

Yes,the closure is frustrating. Our stepchildren petitions are now documentarily qualified through NVC and in line for the interview. Now it is a waiting game as to when the interview is scheduled in Santo Domingo, DR. The Dominican president just extended the state of emergency for 25 more days. The immigration process is certainty not for the faint of heart. One has to have lots of patience. As a German philosopher said, "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."

My husband, from Brazil, who has been in the US on a CR-1 for 8 months, has been working hard at learning English and I help him as much as I can.  He was not comfortable in ESL classes, because none of the instructors spoke Portuguese, only English or Spanish (the vast majority of the students spoke Spanish), so it was only frustrating him and he did not want to go back after the first time.  I found a really good ESL online teacher who is native Brazilian and her English very fluent, initially for three one-hour lessons a week.  His English has improved so much this way that now he is only doing one lesson with her per week.  We speak mostly Portuguese together because I worked hard to learn it and visited Brazil 9 times when we were in a two-year long distance relationship.  It was easier for me to learn Portuguese than it was for him to learn English because I also speak fluent French and they are very similar languages.  With the virus situation and we're both at home all day now, I ordered a really good ESL set of books, "English for Everyone," and I use them to do one or two lessons per day with him, to supplement his weekly online lessons.  That has been something fun to do together.  I especially love to help him with sounds that are difficult to pronounce correctly.  I speak English more in the home now, and we watch English movies all the time, and news coverage in English of the virus every morning.  English can be a real challenge to learn, but we have found with regular lessons and hard work, improvement can be steady and significant.  We're not doing this for the US citizenship test, but for his job prospects in the future, and to strengthen our relationship even more.  Good luck!

Good deal. Do update later. 

Yes. Same day, but you have to be at a fax machine to receive it while the agent is on the phone. They have to confirm that is is you who is receiving it. Keep in mind that the wait to reach an agent may be around 30 to 45 minutes depending on the time of day. Best of luck.

My question to that so called tax professional would be “if one can file a joint filing with the spouse abroad with ITIN number, why can’t one amend it for same thing just with the SSN?”
 
Anyway if it helps, i did even mention in the “Reason for amends” box of 1040X that my wife was abroad for entire year (2015 in my case)and was never present in the US for that whole year so i don’t need to pay healthcare penalty for not having my wife’s insurance for that year. 4 months later, my face was sparking for the refund i got.

Every embassy is different it it taking Ghana 3 to 4 months after case complete so you need to look at timelines from your country and ask people who have had interviews from that embassy.

My wife just arrived a couple of days ago. While we are not concerned about her green card arriving,  we are worried about the shutdown affecting her getting her social security card.  She can't work, I can't refile an adjusted tax return, nor put her name on the banking account until she has her number. 
 
We marked yes on the DS260 that she wants her SSN sent automatically. I'm not certain if this shutdown will affect her getting it. Does anyone know?

It doesn’t seem to be affected. Just received SSN.

My opinion is that she really needs to make a concerted effort to accompany you at the interview. 

Her stamped passport with I-551 stamp will serve as her Green Card until the plastic one arrives..  She will be eligible to work.  

As far as documents are concerned,  I think the other posts have some great suggestions.  The only thing I would add is you might consider putting him on your bank account as POD (paid on death) since you obviously cannot add his name to the account without him coming into a branch to sign. That is pretty strong evidence that you trust him. 
 
The language barrier is something that you might watch out for. I've read that it could be a potential red flag though I'm unsure. In our interview, the CO asked if we want our interview in English or Spanish. I said, "Either for me but my wife doesn't know English." Perhaps not hearing me clearly,  she responded,  "Then how do you two communicate?" I responded in Spanish,  "Because I'm fluent in Spanish!"  So the interview was completely in Spanish for both of us from that point and we were approved.
 

Congratulations!!!  It's been quite a journey, huh?   

https://www.uscis.gov/forms/uscis-immigrant-fee
That the last fee you need to pay.

Great news! Make sure to update your timeline to help the rest of us. It seems that our NOA2 dates are within a couple of days apart. Congrats!!!!

from the time I got my interview letter in my email it took almost 3 weeks for the CEAC to update to in transit, and another week or 2 for it to say READY this happened right before interview.

Have you considered the costs involved in filing with USCIS and then NVC along with travel expenses to visit your wife? I understand that face time visits is a major factor in the eyes of a CO. 
 
Have you considered living in the Philippines? The downside is that you would lose your SSI after 30 days but your sister is willing to help. You might also be able to teach English in the Philippines but it would involve social interaction. 
 
Since you were able to travel to the Philippines to get married and manage to get an approval through USCIS, I'm thinking you might be able to so something in terms of employment. 
 
As per online jobs, have you considered teaching English online? VIPKids and Italki are excellent sites and are not scams. 
 
You have a tough road ahead and I honestly wish you Godspeed as you press through this journey.

im calling them right now i hope ill have some good new very soon

I called VAC, changed to CR-1. Problem resolved. 

We received our letter today and it says that the petitioner isn't required to attend.  I'm not sure if that is a standard form letter portion or if it is in fact a positive sign. Anyway,  I called the embassy and the rep said I am not required to attend but would be welcome to be there.  Further,  it will be up to the CP officer if I'm allowed to come into the interview. Not sure about that one but we will obviously follow their directives without question. I do plan to attend and hope to be part of the interview. Either way, we just want this whole thing to be over and all to run smoothly. Prayers appreciated. 

I called NVC today and they gave me the interview date by phone. Nov 29: one year to the day of our NOA1!
 
They said we should receive our letter in a few days. The NVC rep said that I am not required to attend.  My question here is: Does the embassy in Santo Domingo allow petitioner spouses to accompany? The NVC rep wasn't able to give a definite answer. I really want to attend if possible because I'm almost afraid to not attend. And I need to know soon in terms of flight scheduling (the longer one wait, the higher the airfare). Advice?

I called NVC today and they gave me the interview date by phone. Nov 29: one year to the day of our NOA1!
 
They said we should receive our letter in a few days. The NVC rep said that I am not required to attend.  My question here is: Does the embassy in Santo Domingo allow petitioner spouses to accompany? The NVC rep wasn't able to give a definite answer. I really want to attend if possible because I'm almost afraid to not attend. And I need to know soon in terms of flight scheduling (the longer one wait, the higher the airfare). Advice?

Congratulations!  Yes, the Embassy in Santo Domingo allows the petitioner to attend the interview.   I was hoping for a November date as well, but I won't have CC til next week, and it looks like they are already at the the end of the month for scheduling. 

I was reading on the web and found this below. Perhaps it may help. 
 
At NVC
This means that your case is at NVC and is either ready to be reviewed or being reviewed.
Case was Approved
This means that your case is now being readied for transfer to the embassy or consulate.
In Transit
This means that NVC has mailed your application to the embassy or consulate, but the embassy has not received it yet.
Ready
This means that the embassy or consulate has received your application and they are “ready” for your interview.

My 2 cents is that, given the background,  you might consider getting married and applying for the CR-1 and not mention anything about wanting kids "as soon as possible" as you put it (anchor baby?... not my thoughts but who knows what might enter the mind of a CO.) If it were me, I would be wary about even applying for an F1 because a denial could complicate your CR-1 process down the road. I'd also be wary of a K-1 in light of the background.
 
You seem to be concerned about the time involved in a CR-1 but think of it this way. How much longer would it take if her K-1 is denied? Then you might consider if you are financially able to pay the additional fees that accompany the K-1 plus is she willing to not work or travel outside the US for several months? 
 
No one can tell you what to do but whatever you do, do not give a CO the impression that she is with you with the sole purpose of immigration intent. Wonder what she would say if you offered to move to Russia? Just my other 2 cents.  

I just got a CC, was told by the Agent that they will be scheduling the next round of interviews on the last week of September, first week of October for November.