Ellie_7

Welcome to America, @Karmo! Thank you for sharing your experience with us. God bless you.

The IRS does not state a passport is the only document one can use to apply for an ITIN. A passport can be used but the IRS states: "There are 13 acceptable documents, as shown in the following table" - see "Supporting Documentation Requirements" here: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/iw7#idm140054953680896

Thank you, @Ljubcasta, for updating the thread, and in such excellent detail.

@Liya S. I commend you for coming to Visa Journey to ask about this. I am glad to see that you are stating you are not in a rush. Many wise and experienced members have already brought up excellent advice and tips. I'm also wondering how easily he would be able to sponsor someone. If a US citizen's income is not enough to meet requirements, there is the avenue of joint sponsor. But we have seen parents posting on VisaJourney that they aren't comfortable being a joint sponsor for their son or daughter's spouse in cases and ended up refusing to do so... And these were situations where neither the son/daughter nor the spouse had committed any type of crime. It was just that the parents didn't feel comfortable signing up for the responsibility of sponsoring an immigrant. So yeah, I wonder if this young man has looked into the sponsorship aspect of what he was suggesting.

This is definitely a sad, messy situation with no simple, convenient solutions or path to closure. I would underscore that it is extremely odd that she was able to obtain a visa with that criminal history. If it were the case that a country's law enforcement/judicial system took such a long time to "process through" felonious acts that such history would legitimately not appear on the country's police certificate, then wouldn't the US consulate in such a country not be aware of the legal slowness? And in countries where fraud is so high that its citizens could pay off someone for a "police certificate" that hides criminal history, we see an abundance of examples on VJ of visa applicants waiting for months or even years until the consulate can make a decision on issuing the visa.

Does anyone happen to have experience with Austrian Airlines and how that airline handles green cards with the extension letter?

Another "vote", so to speak, for the parents' address on the husband's ID being a red flag. I would even go as far to suggest getting your own Real ID may be not worth it if the parents' address is still on the husband's ID.

I second all the excellent suggestions on how to show proof of address. Regarding the assertion, "by law you are required to have some sort of health insurance," this is inaccurate to my knowledge. Trump did issue an executive order requiring immigrants to have health insurance or show proof of how they would pay health costs, but Biden revoked the order in 2021. (If a law requiring immigrants to have health insurance now exists, anyone with evidence of such a law is welcome to provide it.) https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/553629-biden-revokes-trump-era-order-barring-immigrants-who-cannot-afford/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/05/14/a-proclamation-on-revoking-proclamation-9945/

Ditto. I have even more respect for him now... How a good deed shines in a weary world. God bless his widow.

Giving a shout out to @geowrianfor his helpfulness. Haven't seen him post for months; nonetheless, I want to give credit where it's due.

I'd be pessimistic in regards to the IO's decision, based on what the OP has stated so far. One factor isolated by itself -- separate sleeping rooms, or that bank statement problematic for the IO -- is one thing. Two (or more) factors are what makes it difficult to convince an IO of the bona fides.

@PGaffney Sorry to hear of this denial and praying for your success. (Kudos to you for screenshotting their website and keeping good records.) Please keep us updated on the outcome. Thank you!

@nerdcouple Thank you for the update. That is truly amazing. I also wonder whether Global Entry played a role. (Nonetheless, despite the amazing outcome in this case, I wouldn't recommend any LPR push his chances by intentionally trying to enter the US without the green card.)

@jundc Congratulations! Praise God! Thank you also very much for coming back to update the thread with the results.

Is there any official source or data backing up the notion that the I-751s approved in approx. 3 months is exclusively due to a military spouse being involved in those cases?

Simply creating an online account at myUSCIS does not create an online account number. USCIS issues the online access codes and the online account number for those who did not have one previously because their previous applications were not eligible to be filed online (i.e. I-129F, I-485). Conversely, someone who has filed for a spousal visa online would already have an online account number and would not need an access code. If anyone loses the online access code (or didn't successfully receive it, or the code expired) you can check page 1, Question 2 from this Question & Answer PDF published by DHS. https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/Question%20and%20Answers%20for%20USCIS%20Online%20Account%20for%20Attorneys%20Webinar.pdf

"Until I met an amazing woman in Brazil" "I'm going to meet her and her son in person in August" Making the acquaintance of someone via Internet is not meeting him or her. Not only do I chime in with others' advice about meeting in person, embassy location, etc, I'd say make extra sure, because there is a child. I've lost count of the threads on VisaJourney through the years about the challenges and stresses that a child entails when the child is only the man's or woman's child and not the mutual child. (Not to mention there's stresses when the child is the offspring of both immigrant and U.S. citizen.)

When we researched I-751 prep we found this very helpful: https://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/794232-sending-in-i-751-organization-tips/?do=findComment&comment=10781810 Wuozopo noted that their package was 75 pages (similar to Mike E's), and approved without RFE and without interview.

Spousal visa is better. Pregnancy will not expedite the process of getting an immigrant or K-1 visa. I know a couple who applied for the spousal visa & had a child before the visa interview. Not only were they able to successfully get their baby a U.S passport, etc., the consular officer made specific and direct comments about their choice to have a child and that it played a favorable role in his approving the spousal visa at the interview. Of course not all cases & circumstances are the same. You are right: "By the time a visa is given, it may be too late to start a family." Time is your enemy, not your friend, for having a child at this stage in life. God bless you in your journey.

In states with rules like these, wouldn't the license have expired on the end date of authorized stay on the I-94?

I'm also monitoring the news and the USCIS fee calculator. Curious if anyone knows how much notice in advance the USCIS has historically given when implementing a fee increase?

@MissLadyRea would you provide the link or source showing that the USCIS is increasing filing fees starting May 30th? I haven't been able to find anything yet on the USCIS website about fees increasing next week; if you have a link or source, that would be helpful!

Option 1. As to OP's reply, "Keep frustration and judgments to yourself" the OP should keep in mind the TOS: "By way of example, and not as a limitation, you agree that when using the Service, you will not: [...] Restrict or inhibit any other user from using and enjoying the Forums." https://www.visajourney.com/terms-of-service/

To emphasize what another user has stated about don't do nothing- "Doing nothing" is a misleading, if not mendacious phrase, for, far from accomplishing "nothing", it is breaking the rules for visiting the US, and it brings serious and unpleasant consequences. Overstaying a visa comes back to bite. Hard.

Yes, and a competent tax preparer can, and will, file. I know a couple who were in the middle of the spousal visa process and their tax preparer, an H&R Block franchise owner, filed their MFJ tax return for them, and everything turned out fine. It didn't matter that the beneficiary spouse wasn't in the U.S. IIRC, the US citizen spouse wasn't in the US either at the time of the filing.