Chocobo

2 hours ago, Crazy Cat said:

There is no reason to wait to file for a spousal visa if you have been married and you have consummated the wedding.  The sooner you apply, the sooner the visa will be issued.  Good luck.  I hope you have a smooth journey. 

^^ This!

As a side, you can get married on a tourist visa and then file for AOS.  You cannot plan to use a tourist visa to get married and file for AOS.  That is immigration fraud.  Be very careful on that.  

20 hours ago, Rocio0010 said:

So roughly 16 months. My PD is Fbr 1st, 2022. So this gives me hopes that my case will be touched on February-June next year.

What was VJs prediction? Yesterday mine said Dec 2023! (Last week in was February 2023!)

VJ's prediction was all over the place.  At times it was pushing it a year or more out, at times it was "any day now", they even had it as "overdue" on occasions.

Timeline:

02/10/21: I-751 package sent

02/12/21: Delivered to Phoenix, AZ

03/22/21: Money order cashed

03/24/21: Text notification rec'd (Assigned to LIN)

03/25/21: NOA rec'd

04/30/21: Case updated: Fingerprints taken

06/27/22: Approved!  Card being produced!

2 minutes ago, Mr Genuis said:

Congrats msc?

Thanks!  LIN

OMG, woohooo!!!  I just now got an email from USCIS saying that hubby's card is being produced!!!!!  I couldn't believe it so I had to go to the site and check it for myself.  YAY!!!!!!!

@Mobius1 - I am so sorry that you are going through this.  Hopefully some of what has been said will give you some peace, as I do think (based on the letter of the law), you will be ok going forward with the N400, even if you have to face extra scrutiny.  Start preparing for all of that NOW.  Make yourself a very nice binder which is tabbed and has a TON of information and documents to explain and prove what occurred.

Thinking out loud here and very curious to hear what others have to say on this...  What does someone do when they are faced with a highly contested divorce?  My DH is my second.  First husband and I divorced in 2015 and it took over two years to finalize... that was pre-COVID.  If someone dealing with a ROC in that type of situation, that would be horrible!  (Toss in a requirement as some states have it where you must have a 6 month separation prior to divorce.)  I think this is why the prior legal advice was given to OP.  This also lines up with @mindthegap was saying - until you have the final divorce decree, you're not divorced.  Until the judge puts his/her signature on that final order and there's an "entered" file stamp, anything can happen - it can drag on for YEARS, or the couple can reconcile, etc.  Makes me think the USCIS should establish some kind of third option for this, like a pending divorce waiver.  Something that covers people when they are in the place that their divorce isn't final.  Maybe make it that you are issued another conditional green card, or have to bring in your divorce paperwork so that the IO (or someone) can review for status and let that factor into a final ROC decision.  But until you have that final divorce decree, there is no divorce and the marriage is still valid.  (LOL, just ask the IRS.)

USCIS redid their "check status" page... Now you enter in the date of your receipt and it tells you when you can talk with them....

The earliest you can submit questions is April 30, 2023. Please do not contact us before this date. We will notify you if we need any additional information. We appreciate your patience while we review your case. 

🤬🤬🤬🤬  (LIN is 17.5 months avg processing time...)

23 minutes ago, Rocio0010 said:

Yeah, I get that. It's just that I think I-751s are completely unnecessary given that the bar for approval is really low. So why even bother with a form that is not high priority for them?

^^^  All of this.  Just AAAAAAALL of it.  Yep!!!!  

.... BLARG!!!  🤬

Pretty sure only the Texas office is working...

On 5/31/2022 at 11:50 AM, nolightintunnel said:

I'm a fellow February 2021 filer, and my service center is Nebraska (LIN receipt number). I just noticed that the processing time for Nebraska is now updated to 17.5 months for 80% of the cases, which is bit of a good news and gives some hope, but I'm still anxious.

Did anyone's status get updated recently? Mine is still "Case Was Updated To Show Fingerprints Were Taken" as of April 30, 2021.

Nope! Still sitting in the exact same spot you are.  

1 hour ago, mam521 said:

You guys have demonstrated effort.  But I do agree, there isn't a ton of difference at the moment between GC & Citizenship and there would be much less hassle proving he's good for the support now versus if it's paid off soon enough.  

 

My understanding is once it's paid in full and everything is current, the house is in order so to speak, there won't be any bar in place and he should be free to move forward with citizenship. 

Thank you!  This is good info to have.  It sounds like our best course of action then is to re-evaluate as we get closer to paying the arrears in full (or have already paid it in full.)  Until then, just stay the course w/the GC.

51 minutes ago, mam521 said:

If DH has an agreement in place and is actively paying down that owed amount, the worst case scenario is a temporary bar.  It sounds like he can demonstrate extenuating circumstances for why it went unpaid for so many years.  With that in mind, how many years has he been paying?  USCIS will look at the history of payment as part of the proof of "moral aptitude".  If he's been gainfully employed, filing taxes consistently and paying the amounts as per the court order and can demonstrate that history, they may not issue that temporary ban. They will definitely look back the 3 years. 

 

If it hasn't been that long, I probably wouldn't even bother.  You've already paid for the AOS process, the new GC will be good for 10 years, so wait until that history and debt are paid down and lessen the risk of the temporary ban.  

He has been repaying it since he was notified that Canadian child support enforcement was going after him, while he was employed.  Obviously when he came here, he couldn't work until he got his green card, so I was sending in funds in his stead as best as I could.  He is working steady now and has been continuing to pay it.  So, maybe steady payments for 3 years and then spotty until he got a job here, then it went back to regular again.  (Side note: it is SUPER difficult to send money to the Canadian Child Support Enforcement when in the US!!  They wouldn't give us account wiring instructions so we had to mail a money order in until the case was adjudicated in the US.)  

The part I was worried about was the possibility of a bar.  With him having the GC already, there's not a huge difference between naturalization and GC (with the exception of voting), so we weren't sure if it was worth it.  If there is a risk of a bar, then it definitely is NOT worth the risk.  

Any idea what the outcome may be if he can show that the outstanding balance is now paid in full?  With tax refund garnishments, it won't take TOO too long to pay off the arrears.  Wondering if he can show that it is all paid off, and of course can explain what happened as to why it wasn't paid for so long, that it will be seen as OK since he did eventually pay in full.

(Thank you for reading my rambling!)

Hi all,

I had posted something about this previously, but as more time has gone on and the situation has changed, I need to post/ask again.  My hubby is currently waiting for his ROC.  We are getting close to being able to file for his citizenship, however, we are not sure that is a good idea at present due to prior child support issues.

Background:

Hubby and his ex-wife had a very contentious divorce 22 years ago (Canada) when their daughters were about 2.  Short of it, ex wife took the girls and hid them from him.  Being 22 years ago, the internet was still in its infancy, dad's didn't know they had rights, and he lived across the country from them, he couldn't find them and gave up.  (Please, no judgment.)  No child support was paid.  Fast forward 15 years, one of the girls finds him, they try to have a relationship after all that time, and the ex decides to go after him for back child support.  Fast forward to now, there obviously is still a large amount in arrears but the case has been adjudicated to the US (to our county in our state).  Regular payments are deducted from his check and tax refunds are garnished to aid in bringing him current.

The kids are over 18 now.  He will not be petitioning for them at any time in the future.  We've spoken to a couple of attorneys in Canada re: going after the ex about this and it will be a very difficult case to win.  As he is here in the States, he does not have the desire to go back to Canada just to litigate, especially if he is unlikely to win.

Questions:

1) Are we better to wait until the child support is paid in full before we move forward with his citizenship?

2) If he is denied citizenship, does that put his green card into jeopardy?  (The whole moral, upstanding person thing.)

Waiting for a 751 to process at LIN is kind of like waiting for a pot of water to boil...  

I do wonder why USCIS doesn't offer an option to pay more money for expedited processing for this.  

I'm so sorry that underwriter was such a piece of work to you.  Grr!  I would absolutely raise a stink over that with their supervisor (higher if necessary).  It is absolutely unacceptable.  To be shocked about the processing times - fair.  To insinuate that you're lying?  Not acceptable.  AT. ALL.  

On 5/11/2022 at 10:14 AM, Marieke H said:

During my AOS interview, my husband got our wedding date wrong. I corrected him, and the officer couldn't stop laughing. She said my husband was in so much trouble now!

I always forget my anniversary date.  It's St. Patrick's Day...but I never remember the actual calendar date!  🤣

Provided she can produce documentation showing strong ties to Canada, it shouldn't be a problem for her to come visit for up to 6 months.  (My now husband, then fiancé, was able to be admitted even with saying that he was coming here for the birth of our son.)  😊  Having a return ticket in hand can help!

Make sure she is familiar with Canadian law on how much time she needs to reside in Canada to retain her health benefits.  

On 5/7/2022 at 8:30 PM, Takta said:

 

LIN Jan filer  - Green Card received!

 

It must be noted that we moved to a different state in Jan, and I changed the address through online portal.

Green card was indeed delivered to a new address! (I had little hope of that actually happening)

 

01/31/21 Date filed

02/03/21 Received by Lockbox

05/01/21 Biometrics Taken

01/18/22 a response to your request to change your address (I applied online)

05/02/22 Case approved - new card is being produced

05/06/22 Post office picked up a new card

05/07/22 New card delivered (to a correct address)

 

 

 

 

Wooooohoooooo!!!  Congrats!!!!

2 hours ago, Takta said:

Breaking News!

 

January filer here LIN center.

 

My online status just changed to: "New card is being produced!!!"

 

No information in mail yet, but I am really really hyped! It's been a while.

 

Wooohooooo!!!!!!  Congrats!!!!!

21 hours ago, sandmandr said:

Hey guys,

 

What do you think about sending in an e-request for "Outside Normal Processing Time"

 

For us February 2021 filers, the receipt notice was somewhere in Feb 2021 (for me, it was Feb 11th).

 

I was looking at the Service Center Processing times, and they're processing stuff from June 2021.

 

For me, it keeps saying "Ready to be scheduled for interview" as of Dec 29th 2021.

 

Do you folks think this e-request will help? Anyone tried it before?

For the heck of it, I tried to file an e-request and after filling out all of the information, it wouldn't take my request because for the LIN center, I'm still within the "normal processing time".  GRRRR!

If it shows that they are processing times from June 2021, I would absolutely go ahead and file an e-request.  Hopefully you get some movement on it!

I would call and escalate (tier 2?  Other wonderful people on here would know better which tier to escalate to.)  Hopefully it is just a glitch in the system.

When my husband got his conditional green card, we were interviewed.  It was super easy.  They asked some pretty basic questions - verify address, verify date of marriage, birthday, etc.  I think maybe she picked a few other things to randomly ask about like a prior address, what type of jobs he held in Canada, how did we meet, etc.  It wasn't anything difficult or grilling.  The longest time we had in the interview process was the waiting for our turn to be interviewed.  The interview itself was very fast and, if I recall correctly, we got a text about a decision not long after we left.

They also know that there's a certain amount of nerves with this kind of thing, so don't feel like "OMG, they see we're nervous, they will deny us!"  😉

Tip: bring extra copies of any new evidence with you, if you have new evidence.  If you have any originals you didn't submit previously, bring them with you.

Good luck!!!

It's not updated on the spreadsheet, but in looking at the timelines in VJ, I see that someone who is a LIN and filed in Feb 2021 got their approval!  

Please please please let this be a sign that LIN is getting going again!!!!

On 4/4/2022 at 9:22 AM, Rocio0010 said:

Yassss!!! I have been doing this, but it is nice to get confirmation that I was doing the right thing. Most cases seem to see some movement 2-6 months after biometrics. My big question is what happens after biometrics internally. The reason I am asking is because my AOS interview was waived, so I am pretty sure we will have a ROC interview. Therefore, I wonder if after biometrics the applications go straight to the FO. Or if I am not going to have an interview, do they just sit at LIN? 

 

I am honestly really curious about how the whole processing works. I know LIN is slow (well, USCIS is slow *sighs*). I am also a very curious person and I am just wondering where my file is physically. 

 

Don't want to make it too long, if you read my signature you can see it, but basically we were scheduled to go for an AOS interview on March 18th 2020, right when *#######* hit the fan with COVID. So we got a call from the nicest officer saying our interview was cancelled. Then, around two weeks later we got a letter RFE straight from the FO asking us to mail the evidence we were going to provide at the interview. We had everything organized in a binder with labels, so we just put the binder in a box and off it went. Approval came two weeks later. So we did not have an interview, but we did mail the evidence. Wonder if that counts as a waiver or not. I also wonder if my case is marked as waived or not. So many questions lol.

Not sure about some of it.  Some people who didn't have an interview before have to have one now, but that's not a hard and fast rule -- some still don't have to have an interview while some who had an interview previously still have one again.  Sometimes I wonder if USCIS just throws a dart at a board to see what they'll do next.