portorusa

Congrats to both of you!

Looked at your timeline. Had your wife waited for a month to arrive in the US, you could have avoided the ROC hoopla.

It's unclear where you are now - in your home country waiting for the interview for CR1? If yes, then at the time of the interview the officer will be counting the days based on the stamps in your passport. You don't need to send them anything. If at the time of the interview the number of days spent in your home country is less than 2 years, you won't be issued the visa - instead told to come back after the time is served. 

I did not have a personal experience with 2YYHR but I know someone who did. At the Consulate they do count a physical presence in your country - literally. And yes, they look at all the stamps in your passport and calculate each day.

If it's within 2 years since I-130 was approved, then OP can save $535 and just ask USCIS to re-start Consular processing based on the same initial petition for the immediate relative of a U.S. citizen. I-130 is valid 2 years.

Your immigration path will be based on the approved I-360 and not your marriage. Annulment or divorce, it’s termination of the marriage and it won’t reverse the I-360 decision or your GC approval.

I know of the case similar to yours. There was a family court decision of annulment on the grounds of fraud. By then there also was an approval of I -360. And a successful GC later. Do not worry, abusers often seek revenge claiming immigration fraud. Good luck! 

Count 3 years forward from the date of the GC and count 3 months back = the date to file N400.

The Consulate in Paris is notoriously bad about responding. What visa are you waiting for? I nagged them for weeks to get a response in 2020. Last month I sent an email to the Immigrant Visa unit, and got a robo-reply that they are severely backlogged with cases. Still waiting to get a response to my inquiry.

Thanks for all the responses! I contacted the Embassy three weeks ago, and received a robo-response that they are heavily backlogged with cases and slow in responses. 

If I petition him as my stepson, will it matter that he would be 18 years old? Also, will I have to file I-130 all over again even though he had been approved as my family member in 2019?

Hi! I am a US citizen. My husband is a green card holder, he has a 10 year green card. My stepson is in France, he will turn 18 y.o. in a few days. We want to bring him to the US to live with us.

The thing is, my stepson already had his IR-2 visa in 2020. He never used it due to the pandemic and family issues, so stayed in his home country with his mother.

The visa expired, of course.

Now, what do we do to bring him to the US as soon as possible? Do I have to start the process from scratch (I-130) again, or does his father (my husband) has to initiate it?

Please advise!

Thank you!

I am a US citizen, filed for my sister I-130 back in 2010. The Approval arrived 4 years later, in 2014. But the PD date is the date USCIS received my petition (2010). Hope it does make sense?

Were you notified of the reason for a LOC be placed on you at the time? And who was behind it? Did they tell you if it was temporary, and if yes, for how long?

You filed on the basis of a 5 year rule so it has nothing to do with your VAWA. They will not be asking you about abuse, do not worry! They will be asking the regular questions, i.e. periods of being outside of the US (travels within last 5 years), where you work, where you live, marital status, national security questions on prostitution/terrorism. It will be easier than you think. Good luck!

I130 for a sibling is correct for a normal situation. Afghan nationals fall under special circumstances now at the time of the political crisis in Afghanistan. Your wife should file a different form, I-131 for her sister:

https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/humanitarian-parole/information-for-afghan-nationals-on-requests-to-uscis-for-humanitarian-parole#:~:text=You%20must%20file%20Form%20I,131%20for%20each%20family%20member.

Good luck!

Another way to escape domestic violence is fleeing to Canada. I personally know a woman who suffered abuse from her ex-husband in Russia, and police failed to protect her there. She escaped to Canada, was placed in a shelter there, given a pro-bono lawyer and in a few months was granted a protected status, and eventually obtained residency.

Here's an article on Canada:

https://www.fordhamilj.org/iljonline/2019/4/28/canadas-asylum-policy-falls-short-for-victims-of-domestic-violence 

Interesting....In this article it says that it is possible to claim asylum based on domestic violence:

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/claiming-asylum-based-domestic-violence.html

So sorry for your wife's health, God bless her. You have to be strong for her and your child. 

As to MIL's visa, she will need two documents to request Emergency visa interview: Doctor's letter + proof of relationship to her daughter.

You can also send her your daughter's Birth certificate copy.

Hope it will help. Will be praying for you and yours..

Next step is to contact USCIS (as indicated in the Embassy's email). 

Depending on what your intentions are, it might be time to hire an immigration lawyer, as well.

Good luck!

Your US fiance can travel through Spain, then go to France by car. Nobody asks anything while crossing the border. In June I (US citizen) flew to Barcelona, rented a car and entered France through Jonquiera-Pertus. Much easier this way in order to avoid all the hoopla of the Paris airports. All I needed for my flight to Spain from the US was to fill in the Health Certificate online. For the flight Spain-USA they required a fresh COVID test which can be done within 48 hrs either in France or in Spain.

I would try their chat system "Ask Emma". On their website it says, "USCIS will conduct system maintenance to the Contact Relationship Interface System (CRIS) on Wednesday, Aug. 25, at 11:30 p.m. through Thursday, Aug. 26, at 3:00 a.m. Eastern".

Most likely Vermont did not have a chance to look at your submitted documents yet. The package is still sitting somewhere on the desk waiting to be reviewed. Don't worry, they will update it online as soon as they can..

VAWA petition CAN be filed from outside of the US provided the abuse happened in the US. The questions to OP regarding her intentions are unethical, IMHO. She asked if she can file VAWA, and the answer is YES.

The burden to prove cohabitation is still on OP though.

My husband had his interview for CR1 visa, and was placed in Administrative Processing due to a missing document. The required document was submitted the following day. However, it took the Embassy 4 months to issue the visa. By then my husband was in the States visiting me, corona arrived, the borders were closed and his return flight to France cancelled by the air company. He was stuck. So we were forced to make a decision to start the whole process from zero, this time in the United States.

In other words, my husband never returned to France to collect his visa.

And yes, we notified Paris about switching to AOS before submitting I-485. Though I don't think it really matters. If your file is currently with NVC, you notify NVC about switching to AOS.

Yes, we did notify Paris Embassy that we decided to AOS in the United States. They replied that we could not do it as adjusting from VWP not allowed. Good thing we did not listen to the Embassy experts:))

It took us 6 months to obtain the green card here in the US, and 16 months (with numerous emails back and forth and a threat to get our US Congressperson involved) to finally receive back our original documents from Paris Embassy.

I answered Yes, and then added a remark next to this question, "Abandoned CR-1". Hope this helps. Good luck!

2 hours ago, Ontarkie said:

Sweet talk his way back to you once he realizes he messed up and can only adjust with your help or VAWA.  

What about his filing I-751 with Divorce Waiver? Can't he do that?