beloved_dingo

The fees for AOS alone make the K-1 a very undesirable option now, imo. (And this is coming from someone who chose the K-1 back in 2018) 

Choosing which visa is a personal choice but I suggest you do research to make sure you are making the best decision for your situation. Anecdotes from acquaintances are not valid sources of information. Additionally, there can be a lot of variables from person to person that can affect the process (red flags, high fraud vs. low fraud country, etc.). You can read through threads here from K-1 and CR-1 couples and get information directly from USCIS' website, etc. 

Also be wary of anything you read on reddit. 

8 hours ago, Demise said:

I'm guessing this is regarding the new fee schedule, you'll be fine:

 

I'd be concerned that the Ship Date is very clearly April 1st on the receipt posted here, so I'm not sure I'd agree. It seems that the bottom portion is what applies in OP's case (since it was sent via UPS). It says "The postmark date is the shipping date reflected on the courier receipt". 

15 hours ago, brushy222 said:

So, I am a 36 year old US citizen from Vermont and I met the sweetest, kindest Indonesian girl on OkCupid about four or five months ago. We talked for months, had an amazing connection, and I finally bit the bullet and took a trip over there to see if she was real and also to meet her in person. We hit it off instantly and fell in love very quickly. She is Muslim (28 y.o), and Indonesian Muslims take the culture and the religion very seriously. They also strongly encourage Indonesian girls who are Muslims to tie the knot and get married before the parents let them leave to the foreign country (United States in this case) and start their new life with their new spouse. And her parents are no exception; they are very traditional. I have been looking into getting the K-1 visa process started ASAP as I know there is a long Wait once the I-129 F is filed. In fact, we have already started the I-129F. The K-1 seems to be a much more simple and far quicker way to go vs. the CR-1. But, there’s a problem; her parents won’t let her leave to the USA (once the K-1 visa is approved) until a traditional muslim wedding ceremony is held with her and her entire family in Indonesia, so we can get the Buku Nikah (which is the official marriage certificate for Indonesian Muslims). This is a problem, it seems, because, from all the research I’ve done and everything I've read, you cannot apply for the K-1 if you’re already married, even if you don’t register your marriage with the Civil Offices in Indonesia (which you don’t have to do for Muslim weddings). We would not register with the civil offices, so I thought I would still be able to do the K-1 but I am now thinking that is not true…. You might ask me; why not just do the CR-1 visa after having the wedding ceremony in Indonesia? And the answer is; for several reasons. First, I can’t apply for that visa until we are married, which is not going to be quite yet, at least not in the next several months, so that’s gonna add a lot of time to the already long visa approval process. Second, I want to spend some more time with her before getting married!  But, perhaps the most important issue that I have with marrying there first and then doing the CR-1 is the fact that I will have to marry her, and then leave and head back to the United States, alone, without my wife. That just does not feel right to me and I don’t think I can do it. Can someone else provide insight on this? Any help or guidance would be much appreciated. I’m so sad about this.

I'm just going to address this part of your post in bold. Dealing with U.S. Immigration and deciding the best options for your situation often means taking emotion out of the equation, as hard as it can be. Being in a long distance relationship, especially with differing cultures, requires compromise and adjusting your expectations. In this case, the best choice for you and your future bride is the CR-1. This is a fact. Another fact is that both options (K-1 or CR-1) involve extended time apart, other than visits, for up to two years. 

If you are not ready to get married, then spend more time together in person and get married at a later date. However, I must point out that it is really splitting hairs to be okay with doing the traditional Muslim wedding ceremony but not be okay with getting married "on paper". 

Did you send the response with tracking? Does the courier info/tracking number show that it was delivered? 

1 hour ago, Hemutian said:

 

Wow, that's so fast!

Crazy that naturalization can be so fast, yet removal of conditions is dragging on for years. 

Naturalization, for most, is the easiest and fastest part of the immigration process. For us, it took slightly over 3 months. 

It varies, but I would definitely try to walk in. 

I agree with @Crazy Cat. The existing lease doesn't matter. To use an example, if you bought a house and moved into it, but your apartment lease wasn't up for another 30 days, does that mean you still live at the apartment? No, it's just still in your name until the lease is up. 

Further, USCIS understands that the beginning of a marriage has a lot of transitionary things happening. For example, my husband and I married in May 2019, but we weren't on a lease together until August 2019. It never came up during his immigration journey and wasn't an issue (he's a citizen now).

Regardless, talk to your landlord about getting him added to your lease. 

Sure, it's always possible that filing something might get someone to look at the case and get it "unstuck". It's also possible that it causes undue confusion, since it doesn't apply to your case, and instead just makes the process longer while they try to figure out why you filed a form that isn't applicable to your situation. 

We love Chewy but they aren't always the cheapest. We do get our cat food from there exclusively though. 

1 hour ago, TexasRafael said:

My spouse is 40 years younger than me and we never had any issues getting the K1 visa approved and then two years later the CR1 visa approved, the age is the least of your worries.  

Age gaps are viewed quite differently by different consulates due to culture, issues with fraud, etc. 

With that being said, a three year difference is so minimal that I doubt it will have much of an impact, if at all, for OP. 

7 hours ago, Legend of Summer said:

I just file single every year.  

Then you are filing your taxes wrong, every year. You should be filing as MFJ or MFS. There are some people who can file as HOH as well, despite being married, but that is not common. 

I don't have checks and haven't used checks in at least 15 years. I used a credit card for all USCIS fees. Never had an issue. I mainly chose to use credit card(s) for the convenience. Cash back is an added bonus.

On what basis are you "being advised" that an RFE is likely? The large majority of filings do not get an RFE. For those that do get an RFE, it is either because the filer made a mistake and/or left out necessary documents/information OR because USCIS lost documents on their end. The first situation is easily preventable by being thorough, doing your research, asking questions here if there's any confusion, and double-checking everything before the packet is sent off. 

40 minutes ago, Joyoussinger said:

To security. They're the first people we saw as we entered the field office. I wanted them to be sure they would let me in, since I wasn't essential for just the N-400 interview. 

I wasn't allowed in regardless of the fact my husband had a pending I-751 at the N-400 interview. Didn't matter though - he got approved and they barely acknowledged the I-751. 

@powerpuff is correct. Technically, K1 visas are a visa type where "work is allowed". However, to actually legally work, you still need EAD. In the days where EADs were processed quickly or given at POE, it was theoretically possible for K1s to work within those first 90 days of arrival. But now, there is no benefit to trying to get your EAD before filing AOS, especially since it is only free with the AOS package. 

At this stage, USCIS understands that it is usually not possible to have joint bank accounts/assets/etc. so your evidence of marriage (other than your marriage certificate) is largely your time spent together. Do you have photos together, evidence of trips to see each other (flights/hotel reservations/etc.), perhaps evidence of gifts you have sent each other while apart, etc? 

As @Dashinka said, you can gather more evidence while the I-130 is processing so that you have it to provide at the interview stage. 

How much time have you spent together with your spouse in person since the marriage took place?

4 hours ago, marigold said:

Prior to the online submission of the I-134 form, there was a larger margin for pilot error.  But this is considerably less now that it is online as each part of the form is validated.  I submitted the form correctly the first time.  It's been almost 6 months and nothing other than the initial receipt I received for filing to know that it was in the system.  In that time, we have heard of numerous people filing through immigration lawyers who filed after we did already receiving their next steps within 1-2 months.  It's not possible that it's a coincidence.  So either the government is unfairling giving precedence to forms that were filed by a practitioner, or there is something else shady going on.  If you have had a similar experience, please reply to this thread.

It absolutely is possible that it's a coincidence. 

This thread may be helpful to you: 

1 hour ago, Sam Burns said:

I wonder about this as other people in the group I was in (July 2023 filers for I-485) were getting processed quickly too

OP get could lucky and his spouse get her EAD in one month, but he should not count on it. There have always been cases that get approved lightning fast and there have always been cases that take far too long (with no good reason). I would always advise to hope for the best but expect the worst, as far as USCIS goes. Speculation regarding approval times does not address the OP's question.

Regardless of the breakdown of the marriage and the reasons for it, it seems that the relationship (and marriage) existed long before U.S. immigration came into play. Your partner would have a hard time convincing anyone that you played an 8 year con just to defraud him to get to the U.S. 

The advice you've been given is solid. Sure, your ex can make a complaint, but without any actual evidence, it won't matter. It's a common threat from spurned exes. 

Have the divorce papers been submitted to the court/judge? I would lean towards promptly converting your existing petition to a divorce waiver, if the final decree will be entered within ~4 months or so. 

I agree that it would be a huge help if your ex was willing to sign an affidavit. I would also try to get at least 2 more affidavits from others that knew you both and can attest to your relationship being legit. 

This is a "throw in everything and the kitchen sink" scenario where you need to look for every single scrap of evidence you can dredge up to bulk up your case.

You say that there "was not a lot of financial comingling" - so what financial comingling did exist? Were any bills in both of your names? Did you ever have any joint accounts? Joint loans? Authorized user on the other's credit card? If yes to any of this, get the statements or other proof you may have.

Did you ever share health insurance? Car insurance? 

Did you have her as a beneficiary on any accounts? If so, reach out to the relevant financial institutions/employers/etc. and see if they can provide you documentation of that. 

Did you ever go on any trips together during the marriage? 

I would find every single photo you have with both of you in it during the marriage and send them all, no matter how many there are. Put the photos in a Word doc with captions with the date, location, and names and any other people in the photos. (I don't think photos prior to marriage will help you any.)

Probably a long shot but did you and your ex every write each other or send cards or gifts to each other why you were separated? Could help show that despite the separation, the relationship was still bona fide when you left the state. 

You're going to have to explain that you were living apart for a period of time due to your marriage, why you needed to live apart, and that the separation largely contributed to the breakdown of your marriage.

Edit: How do you file taxes for 2022? Married filing separately?