Redro

Wife can change her name on AOS paperwork and request your name for her green card. Her name won’t change in her country passport though. Unless you have sufficient savings USCIS will most likely reject your I864 as insufficient because of your last 3 tax returns. I would get a joint sponsor for ease of process. Things will likely be fine but I would maybe consult with a few immigration lawyers to look over your wife’s prior paperwork to double check her ability to adjust. I don’t know if we can advise you correctly without knowing if her prior EWI will be an issue or not. either way you should disclose the history on her i485 paperwork. Maybe request a FOIA so you know what her history in the US says.

If your partner is from Australia and has an Australian passport or is otherwise eligible for ESTA. AND you haven't met yet: They can organize to come visit you on the ESTA visa, get married, then return to the Australia. You can then file the I-130 and I130A and wait for the petition to be approved. If you cannot get married before your partner moves over for various reasons, your partner can still research visiting you in the US before you file the K1. Is there a reason why you are focusing on meeting in Australia and not the US or a third country? You should file either petition as soon as you have the paperwork in order (and have met and/or married). Timelines are only a guideline so no one can tell you precisely when your partner will be able to move here.

Very happy to be corrected!

How soon after you entered on the B1/B2 did you marry and adjust? OR were you already married the last time you entered? How much marital evidence did you submit? How long did you know this person before you got married? Unfortunately, adjusting status from B1/B2 when married to a green card holder requires a lot more proof of not entering purely for a green card. And can be a little more tricker when it comes to showing you did not intend to adjust before entering... Although @Family is probably right and you should follow the advice of your lawyer and submit the motion to reopen... but then again looking at the cost of filing the motion you might want to also lay low until your spouse becomes a citizen and you can adjust as an immediate relative...

Piggy backing off this comment. You might have received 2 RFEs one for “proof of valid status”(I485) and one for “updated marital status”(I130)… As your denial received was because of proof of status not proof of bonafides… What visa/status did you adjust from? In your response, you’ll have to show proof of maintaining status as well as bonafides…

They should ask you during the interview for any updated information on travel between submission of DS260/Ds160 and interview date. You can inform them then. If they don’t ask you, tell them.

Where are you in the process? Trying to figure out which visa to apply for? Applied for K1/ CR1? Had petition approved? submitted DS160/ DS260?

There are no priority dates when it comes to immediate relatives. The priority date is always current. If you’re talking about interview dates. No one knows when interview dates will be scheduled for any of the visas. You need to speak to people going through the same consulate to know when an interview could happen after DQ. Some consulates have short DQ To interview of about days while some are longer 1.5+ years. Which country are you going through? We can give you more precise information. Otherwise you’re looking at 18-24 months from submission of I-129F OR I-130. Although I believe K1 is going faster these days.

How about the previous 2 years? Were they sufficient? Did you make a similar amount of money (above the limit) or was the amount below the limit? Also, are you able to take on full time work to improve your financial situation? Final question: which consulate did your husband interview at? Is there a big age gap or is he a similar age to you? If a similar age do you think he would be able to secure a good job?

Some consulates are super receptive to DCF with job offer while others aren’t… Where are you currently located? Which consulate will you go through?

Double proxy is when neither party is present for the wedding. Many military folks based overseas go this route to marry their foreign partner so they can live together and take advantage of various dependent benefits. (Plus it is a U.S. based marriage as opposed to navigating a foreign system where neither spouse is a citizen/resident). USCIS recognizes proxy marriages where one or neither of the spouses was present as long as the marriage was consummated AFTER the marriage/wedding.

There have been some instances of K1 AOS applicants receiving and RFE for the medical. But, this sounds like a RapidVisa issue and most of us on VJ DIY the immi process or use a lawyer. if you use a file preparation service you get what you pay for… RapidVisa is a big company and you can’t verify the skill level of the people you’re working with… they’re probably just sending you a form letter with a list of requirements and the people you are talking to don’t know anything about the immigration process. ETA don’t do the medical and if your receive and RFE for medical your wife can got to a civil surgeon here in the US and send in an updated medical… PPS your wife can get titre tests or show proof of vaccination from her home country

Read this and then contact the embassy in Brussels asap and explain your situation to them: https://be.usembassy.gov/immediate-relatives-i-130-filing-in-brussels/

We had Nebraska as our first center! I was so excited because that meant 3-6 months at USCIS… found out later we were at Vermont. Processing times at that point was 13-14 months and getting longer. Check out the VJ processing times Vermont is currently at an average of 360 days… so people “in a similar situation” are waiting about a full year… I would expect your I130 to be approved in 12-13 months.

Are you planning on moving to the US once the petition is complete or are you based overseas for the foreseeable future? Do you have to move quickly to the US? I ask because as USAF you might be able to go through the DCF process and you don’t really need a lawyer for that… which country are you currently in?

Then the marriage should be legal for immigration purposes. But, lawyers do not like complicating the immigration process so a double proxy marriage does not sound like a strong case. Check page 2 of the I130 filing instructions. Who may not file:#4 You should be good to go.

When was the last time you saw your wife? Before or after the double proxy marriage?

Have you met your wife since the double proxy marriage? And do you have proof of the meeting?

Do you know which service center your application is at? I know you have Texas Service Center on your timeline but have you double checked and asked Emma where it is? or is Texas Service Center on your NOA?

Work permission document is called EAD= employment work authorization and you file form I-765 with the I485. The cost will be an additional $260 on top of the $1540. Basically, GC can take up to a year or more to be issued. EAD gives your wife the ability to work and a SSN (unless you applied for one when she enters). In preparation for the next part of your journey. I suggest you read the AOS from K1 visa for any potential pitfalls and current timelines so you know what to expect… while still reading K1 forum for updates on current processing times. Finally the Philippines forum for updates on what’s happening out of Manila…

I should add in Michigan you have to SIGN your marriage certificate with the name you intend to use in the future. If you sign the certificate with your maiden name you have to go through the regular name change process. it is the same for my home country- name change has to be recorded on the marriage certificate.

Depends on the state. Some states/ countries will allow First Name Maiden Name Husband Name or any variation that uses both last names or just one. Other states have stricter requirements on what type of name change is allowed with a marriage certificate… Generally the main thing you cannot change with marriage certificate is first name.

Late to the party I apologize. I would liken your wife’s situation to the “too married for K1 visa, not married enough for spousal”. Consulates have denied K1s because the couple had a ceremony (but didn’t sign any documents) or one partner referred to the other as “husband/wife” on social media. The only remedy was for the couple to actually marry each other and go through the spousal process. Explaining they hadn’t formalized their nuptials and/or saying wifey/hubby is just a petname made no difference. I really hope you’ve succeeded with your response though… I understand what you’re trying to do but wife already admitted to her wrongdoing and USCIS and consulate recognize the first marriage even though it never happened. And they want proof it was terminated. If your wife was in the US and the fake husband was real… she could probably file for divorce in the US ( @Family on a scale of 1-10 how wrong am I?)

I’ve been doing some quick reading and common law marriage/ informal marriage is different to regular marriage license/ certificate route. Why do you want to go the informal marriage route and not the formal marriage route?

Do not call it an informal marriage. It is a legal marriage. If you call it an informal marriage on any of your documentation your AOS might be denied as they could believe you are ineligible for the green card. You are getting legally married. You’re just not having a big wedding. ETA congrats! I wish you a speedy process.