cculbertson81

I'm pleased to update you guys, our visa has been approved! @TaKane @jmcl10

That tracks with the language for a denial under section 221(g).
In general it means that the consular office does not have all of the information required to determine whether they should issue a visa. Normally this would be due to missing documentation or forms on the applicant's behalf. Nothing new to most posters here.
 
Based on the denial letter @jmcl10 shared, it would appear that they are refusing visas where the public charge changes are muddying the waters, hence "pending until further guidance." That would imply more of a stall than an outright denial. I believe that is good cause to remain optimistic until they get their policies sorted.
 

I think saw that post as well. If I recall correctly the Consulate Officer made it sound like this was a boilerplate response and they were trying to hash out policy interpretation or actual written policy on their end. Sounds like the applicant was not at fault. At least that's my optimistic interpretation. 

Let's be positive. We just march forward and do what we can 💪💪 to make it happen.

The visa process is very difficult and I find it's best to focus on the positive. Eventually it will work out for us!

That tracks with the language for a denial under section 221(g).
In general it means that the consular office does not have all of the information required to determine whether they should issue a visa. Normally this would be due to missing documentation or forms on the applicant's behalf. Nothing new to most posters here.
 
Based on the denial letter @jmcl10 shared, it would appear that they are refusing visas where the public charge changes are muddying the waters, hence "pending until further guidance." That would imply more of a stall than an outright denial. I believe that is good cause to remain optimistic until they get their policies sorted.
 

I could usually buy that they were lost, if, they didn't send me back the entire packet for a signature. Guess I'll call them. Thanks for the tips

Hers looks identical and so did our translation form. Guess I can call for further information or just resubmit them and cross our fingers.

To clarify...
The overstay / violation of status means she is in the UIS illegally. Being married to a USC does not grant any legal status or authorized stay.
She is subject to deportation at this time. She is not "fine" - if caught, she will likely have a very unpleasant (and possibly expensive) experience.
 
Being married to a USC makes you exempt from the requirement of having and maintaining legal status to be eligible for AOS.
This means she can file for AOS and not have the overstay held against her for that purpose.
If/Once she files for AOS, she will be in a period of authorized stay.

If she has overstayed and therefore violated the terms of her visa, she has no status.
 
No status = deportable.
 
Her overstay will be forgiven during AoS but until she has NOA1 granting her authorized stay, her marriage to a USC gives her no benefits and she can still be detained if unable to provide papers when asked by authorities.
 
 

This is accurate. CPB is performing rollouts of automated facial recognition (marketed as Simplified Arrival) to match up travelers with their travel documents. This was also rolled out at DTW at the end of September.
 
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-launches-facial-recognition-technology-detroit-metro-airport

Nope. Recent change .... last 1/4 of last year in DFW at least. No documents on scanner at all. Kiosk takes the photo, brings up your name , flight details etc ... usual statements about what your travel etc .. and then spits out the docket to take to the CBP officer 
 
ive entered through DFW 3 times now doing this 

Can confirm. The officer said the same thing to me during the interview.

I have a further clarification on the ROC period and using GE. My CR1 wife had her GE interview last month and I specifically asked the interviewing officer about the ROC period and GE and he said that you still can proceed to the GE kiosks and scan your permanent resident card, but you will get an X on the receipt and proceed to the nearest officer in the GE line so they can verify the extension letter. GE will still be worth having as you still bypass the general immigration line.

It will largely depend on the rules for the state you live in. I can only speak for the rules in New York. I recommend consulting the Department of Motor Vehicles website for your state for your specific requirements.
 
New York State is very strict when it comes to...everything, so my wife is required to get her learner's permit, take a 5 hour pre-licensing course, and the road test in order to get her New York State driver license, even though she has a current Japanese driver license and international driver permit. In contrast, when she was an international student in Texas some years ago she was able to take the written test and road test in a single day and get her Texas driver license.

1. No it's all electronic
2. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/collect-and-submit-forms-and-documents-to-the-nvc/step-5-collect-supporting-documents.html There's common documents, but each person may be asked more or just the common. 
3. You got a year from the last action to continue the NVC process so you can extend this years if you'd like. 
4. You can file the new one before the deadline. The old one is valid up to the date, but the new one is good now too, but file the new one if you want to avoid any issues might as well forget the old one exists anymore. 
 
 

Excellent, appreciated. I am glad to know this info. Thanks for the quick response. It should be a pretty easy transition.
 
Understood, YMMV indeed. I haven't started the process yet, so I appreciate the experience and info you've given on rapidvisa. There's not a lot they can do to make it go faster, besides set it up in an easy to read format, and make sure all the info is provided before filing with the FED. Most of the cost is for filling out the forms so we don't have to, and making sure there is nothing left out. The US government is notoriously slow on everything, especially immigration with the current admin. I will do further research as we have lots of time. Thanks for your assistance.
 
Cool, thanks for the link to the JP specifically. I appreciate the willingness to help out since you went through the same process with the same country. I'll keep that in mind. Neither of us have been married before, no kids or criminal records. It should be an easy process for us. I would imagine that Japan may get slightly expedited after NVC because of relations, low-risk, and low emigration into the USA. Cheers

My wife and I used RapidVisa, in my opinion, they did not improve our petition, offered little to no "advice" and "value", they organized my work in a format I would have done had I used the suggestions from here. The one or two times I had actual questions for them I got very soft answers not useful information. They did not hinder the process but they did not help it at all. YMMV

We did exactly what you're planning on doing. They didn't even ask for my husband's passport for the wedding. We got married in Maryland. He's visited in the US 4 times on esta since we started the CR1 process with no issues. 

She can absolutely visit. My husband is doing so right now. All he had for ties to his country though were a return flight (which they didn’t even look at) so they took him to secondary. They still let him in, though, after a lot of waiting and little questioning

Yes, she can visit........She just needs to be prepared to convince the CBP officer that she will return to her country at the end of her visit.  Many people visit their spouses in the US during the CR-1 process.
 
NOTE:  Every visit is at the discretion of the CBP officer.

I see nothing wrong with your plan.  Many people do that.  To get married here, she probably only needs her passport, but as noted above by @LilyJ, check your county requirements.  The CR-1 has several benefits imo.  Upon entry into the US, a CR-1 visa holder immediately becomes a legal resident with work authorization, and the ability to immediately exit the country if needed.....good luck.......

My fiance is from Japan, I am American. We are 35/36. She has an ESTA visa, and is coming back here in December for the 3rd time. We would like to get married here this time, and then she would return back to Japan after 15 days. I am curious what type of paperwork would she need from Japan to get married here in December? We plan on applying for a CR-1 next Spring after we get married. If this is in the wrong section, feel free to direct me. This is my first post. I did some reading but ultimately just hoped someone with experience could help me out real quick. Thanks for your time.

First off, welcome to the VJ community!
 
Your plan and the advice everyone has here is solid. You're looking to do it all by the book and I see no issues either.
 
Speaking as a fellow JP-US marriage with CR-1 status the visa process is relatively straightforward, especially if neither of you have been previously married. Japan is a very low-risk country when it comes to US immigration and things move very quickly once your case is complete at the NVC, but unfortunately that doesn't have any bearing on the wait times with USCIS and NVC. We filed our case by ourselves; the use of a service like RapidVisa or an immigration lawyer would have been a waste for us, though it is ultimately up to you to decide how confident you are in assembling the petition. I would also recommend consulting the All Japan Filers megathread as well for a little more targeted advice. My wife and I just completed the entire CR-1 process a few months ago so we'd be happy to answer any Japan-specific questions you might have as well.
 
Welcome again, don't forget to start your timeline, and good luck!

No, we didn't use a tax professional. I completed the original returns as Married Filing Separately back in February using H&R Block's software and completed the amended returns in the software as well. Because she was still living in Japan for the 2018 tax year we had to include a signed declaration that we wanted to treat her as a resident alien for the tax year and report her income in Japan. It was all covered by the foreign earned income exclusion so we had no additional tax liability.