yoda one for me

I expected you to be telling us you were flying this Friday given the way you started this thread 😅 I'd expect a delayed piece of tracked mail to arrive after a few more days. You should be fine if your trip is still weeks away.

Well, on that one I disagree… it’s not hard to get joint bank accounts or joint utilities. Having a child is just one evidence. We don’t have kids and I’m very confident of the package we put together. Bank statements, utilities, health/ vehicle insurance, title to our home, etc etc. Agree. Mine is at LIN. Just got myself a comfy chair to sit and wait I'm with Rocio on this. The thing is, they only want two years worth of evidence anyway. I grant that it's easier for folks who are in a good financial position to be able to include things like vehicles and property ownership, but even folks who are living rent-free with family can still comingle their finances through bank accounts and shared credit cards (or authorized users on one), can get individual wills written up, and can try to make sure both names (and the shared address) are on as many other incidental bills throughout the period as they can. Me and my spouse are childfree, we sent a pretty chunky packet and have no concerns because we knew we needed to collect this kind of thing even before we got married. I realize it may not have been the intent by Morbius1 here, but I think it's dangerous to suggest that having a child is a kind of gold standard of irrefutable evidence. I worry it could give people the wrong impression and lead to some folks taking on even greater hardship by having a child before they feel ready to, all under some belief it will make any immigration problems go away.

How does one find out about these webinar sessions beforehand? Do they announce them somewhere? I had no idea that was even a thing.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not condoning them sitting on our files and you both illustrate examples of where USCIS deprioritizing (or worse) removal of conditions has a profound negative impact on people who just want to carry on with normal life. Ultimately I agree with Rocio that the i-751 should just be scrapped, but I expect it brings in too much money especially when they can get away with just putting things in a box til someone triggers an N400 combo.

Yep, but I can kind of see why. We have status, we're not in the same 'authorized stay' limbo anymore as AOS folks are. It seems like once people start putting in their citizenship applications things start moving, so I'm pretty much assuming that's going to be the case for most of us unless they really do, across each processing center, start approving without interviews at volume.

Yep, there's always a biometrics fee that has to be paid with the application fee. No refunds if they use old ones.

I hate to say it but you and your husband need to have a very serious conversation about your future because right now it sounds like there are three people in the marriage. Whether it's jealousy, narcissism or what, your MIL is trying (and succeeding if husband won't stand up to her) to drive a wedge between you and your husband. You didn't ask for relationship advice but I strongly suggest you talk to your husband about getting mother in law settled into her own place. It's been two years since her spouse died? That should be plenty of time for her to 'get over' needing the immediate emotional support a close family member provides - if not, then support her seeing a therapist and encourage her to move out anyway. She should not be in your home making you feel unwelcome. Her behavior is not befitting a guest, so it's time to show her out. If your husband refuses to take any action whatsoever then I highly recommend you undertake couples therapy and that he does some individual therapy to sort out his issues with his mother (sounds like she might be an overbearing sort and he's learnt to just let her have her way?). Otherwise, despite whatever best intentions he may have had when you got married, your relationship will be in jeopardy long term.

Contact someone at the clerk's office of the county you got married in. Don't use any online marriage certificate copy services - talk to an actual human. That way someone may be able to send you a scan or (at extra cost) courier you a certified copy directly from their records office even if it's not a regular service you can get on their website.

Quick update: got my letter in the mail today saying biometrics were reused. Nice to have the hard copy notice to file anyway.

If you're going to immediately honeymoon together why not just have a destination wedding (i.e be married in person by an in person officiant in your honeymoon country) in the first place? That might quell your worries about online marriage legality. You don't need a US-issued marriage certificate to be able to apply for a US spousal visa. As long as the wedding is performed legally it 'counts' under US law.

I got a LIN case number, so Nebraska. It's almost 2 months to the day since they got my initial application.

Just got a notification that fingerprints were taken which meeeeans biometrics waived and reused from AOS. Woo!

I mailed mine via USPS priority mail and it arrived within a couple of days without issue. I paid for it online, printed a label, and then booked collection online so they picked it up from my home. Super easy.

Wisconsin DMV accepted mine with zero comment and zero hassle. I made sure to specify that I was giving them my green card and the 24 month extension letter when I handed it over so they knew why I was giving them a sheet of paper in addition to the card they asked to see.

It sounds like you and your husband have really been through it. If you can, try and lessen the responsibilities you're piling onto yourself. It's OK to say that you're struggling to cope and ask for help - from your school, perhaps? Are your colleagues close enough to you that you can ask for some extra support while you deal with everything you have going on? Are you able to access any kind of counselling (or other mental health services) just so you can have a safe space to offload on someone who may be able to give you some strategies for coping better? I know the NHS can take a (long) while for referral, but in the past I've at least had luck getting a 6 week spate of in-house counselling from my GP surgery while on the actual therapy waiting list. I really hope you can get yourself to a good headspace, finish your last contractual obligations here, and go into 2023 as your complete fresh start in the US because you absolutely deserve it. You are worthy of happiness. Sending internet hugs of love & support. ❤️

Given what you wrote here it truly sounds like you should just work your notice period and then close the door on the UK until a future time that you are ready to return. It is absolutely admirable how much you want to help your school and how much you care about the kids you teach, but it also sounds like you've been through a lot and really need to be able to put this chapter of your life behind you. You will not be able to move on mentally and emotionally if you keep putting off breaking away 100%. No one here is suggesting you be rude or purposefully awkward to your school. You're working out your contract to Christmas and that's as much as they can reasonably expect. In 10 years are people going to hum and haw and be all "well, she only worked her long notice period, what a useless teacher - let's not hire her!"? No, I don't think they would. So, given what you posted above, I truly think you should plan to be moved 100% by Christmas. For your own good, for the good of your family. Life in the UK will move on without you, the school will manage, and the kids will cope. Please don't hamper your chances of a fresh start and mental wellbeing by hanging onto UK life with threads of self-imposed guilt. Ultimately you are not responsible for the jobs, lives, actions, responsibilities of everyone else in this scenario. Your priority should be yourself and your family. Please give yourself permission to put yourself first.

I had to look up this 6 month rule thing as I was only aware of 12 months needing a re-entry permit, but it seems like 6+ months may lead to scrutiny. I think the fact it is to finish out employment beyond what your contractual notice period requires might be the issue here. I would certainly wonder if this person is legitimately maintaining US residency if they're still living and working in their home country. I am not a CBP officer though, ofc. As much as you'll feel guilty, I think you should work to your contractual notice period and move then. It's your school's responsibility to pick up from there and everything will be ok. It's wonderful that you're a teacher who clearly genuinely cares about your students, but I think you should put yourself first in this instance. They'll be OK, I'm sure! One of my teachers disappeared off on maternity for our exam year and my class turned out alright Life happens, you know?

Came here to say the same. I included bank statements for the joint account & joint credit card showing both our usage (for every month). Might be an idea to put at least quarterly in just to add more even weight to the shared finances aspect.