mam521

These aren't red flags. People have worked on L1 visas before and people have to renew passports all of the time. Initially, it seemed the DS-5535's were targeted for people who were of a MENA background or had worked there or had a specific education type. Then, it seemed to turn unto a random number generator. Elderly parents who'd lived their entire lives on the farm on the Prairies, young children, just...random. Remember, too, that this thread is people who have come together to share their experiences. It's a concentrated number of people for a specific reason. There are plenty of other people who whisk through the process with no issues at all but they aren't here. Immi is hard. It's an emotional rollercoaster. But you gotta make sure that you don't get pulled into the hype and try to logic yourself through so you don't set yourself up for failure.

Your notification will come by e-mail. After you become documentarily qualified, an interview isn't instantaneous. London doesn't have a long wait, but I don't recall people receiving letters in less than a month of late.

Clearly not enough turkey vultures residing in the vicinity...

When you go through security and preclear at US Customs, you're "landing" in the US. Because you're activating your visa, you'll board the aircraft as a shiny, new greencard holder and walk off the aircraft in the US at your final landed destination. The whole preclearance thing can definitely create confusion. It's nice not to have to stand in a line on this end, but it's really a case of robbing from Paul to pay Peter - you stand in a line in Dublin or you stand in a line in the US.

You've stated you're doing preclearance in Dublin. As soon as you step foot into the US Customs area, you've technically landed on US soil. Make sure you get to the airport early so you can visit CBP and have your I-551 endorsed and activated and make sure you've already paid the $220 greencard fee.

Engagement and weddings, like the immigration process, are but a blip in time. Your marriage is intended to last a lifetime, irrespective of how you got there. I have a friend who, when planning her wedding, initially wanted a BIG ta-doo (her family is Filipino) but the cost of having the big wedding undermined what she actually wanted to achieve. She "curated" her guest list to include the people that she felt had been influential on the success of her relationship with her husband and would celebrate and support their life long marriage, through not just the happy times, but the challenging, tough times as well. Hubs and I never got engaged. We left work for lunch one day and he said "maybe we should go get a marriage license". I agreed and off we went. I still don't have an engagement ring. I have a beautiful sapphire and diamond platinum wedding band, though. Hubs and I still got dressed up to the nines - I had a wedding gown (with pockets, no less!), he had a beautiful custom Italian suit, my kids were in formal wear and we got married at a friend's place with him and his wife as our witnesses and photographer with the JP. We took them to a top, high end, local restaurant where I am friends with the chef and enjoyed a delicious meal and then the chef sent this ridiculous dessert tasting menu that was about 6 rounds long! It was planned and executed in 10 days and turned out beautifully. My point is don't get hung up on the engagement and the wedding. If you've met your person, that's what's important. Being together is what's important. Starting your marriage off on an equal footing is important. Bringing your person to the US and them being in a new country with no friends, no family, unable to work, unable (in many states) to drive and 100% financially dependent on you after having their own successful career will not create the most harmonious of situations in which to begin your marriage that's supposed to last a lifetime. Think bigger picture and what that looks like.

You'll have to check this thread out. DQ's from late August and early September got interview letters for January 2024. If you'd like to be included in the tracking spreadsheet, there's a link in my signature. Please follow the instructions at the top of the spreadsheet and tag Hawk Riders.

Kimberly really needs to get some help before she drags TJ down with her. I feel for him when he said he's stuck in the middle. She has a lot of narcissistic traits and the getting mad and screaming at the top of her lungs, even if frustrated, isn't appropriate. Yes, she's in a foreign country. Yes, it's challenging, but it was a choice she made. It doesn't appear that she spent any time researching the customs and expectations of Indian families, the wedding ceremony and the steps to it nor has she spent any time learning the language. Because she "saw TJ in a dream" doesn't mean it was meant to be. Yeah, there was some bait and switch on his part, but I still don't know how anyone leaves everything behind without doing some basic research on the country they are headed to and how the family dynamics will work. No one can depend 100% on their spouse for everything, which is why I always caution people to consider an IR/CR over a K1. Kimberly doesn't seem to want to make the effort to extend the olive branch to TJ's family. Yes, everyone is petty and she had her blowout with the brother, but guess what? You married the family. Your BIL could potentially be a huge ally if you'd leave some of the grievances with each other alone since he does speak English and could help you leave the house when TJ is working. Yohan lost me when he expected Danielle to buy him a new car because his friend's American wife did. I'da ran outta there so fast if my partner pulled that #######... Not surprised he's essentially a male prostitute.

There will be a certain number of interview slots awarded for people who DQ'd on a certain date. Typically, the Priority Dates are then used for prioritizing the order of the interviews for the specified DQ date. Does it make that big of a difference? Probably not. It's likely the difference between an 8am interview and an 11am interview.

Is there any reason you and she cannot meet in another country somewhere? Utah wedding then you go visit her to legitimize the marriage? You can get married in Malaysia, but there is admittedly a lot of work to be done to prepare to marry in Malaysia.

It was your case I was thinking of! Thank you for chiming in! What post office did you do your passports at, if you don't mind me asking? We're booked at The Woodlands Pinecroft USPS. Did they send just the photocopies of your documents? I have 2 kids, 1 naturalization certificate, so I'm a bit worried!

Work harder to push to enter 1 day after that 2 year anniversary...it will REALLY simplify your life and save you guys some time and money. 4mo after this long - a blip in time!

You can get a good number of proper "British" things if you bump across the northern border. When I had to leave for the 18mo while my visa process was playing out, DH, a Brit, was delighted to find things like proper chocolate and reasonable dairy. He delighted in making sausage rolls while we were there, too. Unfortunately, he never did manage to perfect the Yorkshire pudding at altitude with a wonky oven that didn't seem to heat evenly. In the US, he's ordered from https://jollyposhfoods.com/ to get some proper sausages. Me, being Canadian - my kids just came back from visiting their dad and brought back their favourite granola bars and brought me some Moritz Icy Squares. I've commandeered a cookbook from an expat Canadian who wrote all of her recipes for expats, sourcing available local ingredients to mimic a taste of home. I will say that Nanaimo squares require Bird's custard and not vanilla pudding, irrespective of what any recipe says!

I know there was a thread about this before but I can't find it. I naturalized earlier this year. I got my US passport, no big deal. But, now I want to get my kids' passports and I see that the main passport office here only takes urgent or emergency passport applications. It's looking like I'm going to have to book through a post office. Unfortunately, my confidence with USPS staff is low. Are we going to have issues since I have a single naturalization certificate and 2 kids? Are USPS going to take their greencards and send them with the applications? I really don't want to have to pay to replace my naturalization certificate and greencards because of a screw up. Anyone care to share their experiences?

@Hawk Riders as per the instructions at the top of the spreadsheet.

To everyone here - if you've previously requested to be added to the tracking spreadsheet, make sure you tag and have the information updated. We had amazing statistics back in 2018, but as time has gone on, they've become less and less, so less and less helpful to people going through the process. It would be great to see a revitalization of the information!

Unfortunately, there is a reason the instructions from the DoS stay do not book any travel or make any moving plans until your passport with issued visa is in hand. Ontarkie has posted the thread for the extended AP people.

That's for I-130 approval. You still have to go through DOS for the DS-260 approval after that, plus medical and interview. 18-24mo is pretty accurate, start to finish, and will be dependent on the beneficiary's Consulate workload.

If you have imminent, required travel, you need your naturalization certificate in hand before you can call DOS and request an urgent passport service. The travel has to be in less than 3-5 weeks. You need to have proof of international travel - itinerary and confirmation number with the airline, hotel accommodation, etc. Be prepared - you could have to travel to somewhere in the US to attend the appointment and stay a day or 2 until you can pick the passport up after printing. There are no guarantees the appointment will be local. Expedited passports are taking 3-5 weeks these days, regular passports about 10 weeks. Requesting urgent service shouldn't be done unless you actually have confirmed travel plans that must be attended to. Just wanting a passport for the sake of having it in hand doesn't qualify. I had urgent travel for work which allowed me to obtain and urgent passport, but it wasted essentially 2 days of my life sitting in the passport offices. We planned my kids' travel so I will be applying for their passports now that they are finished travel for the year. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html

Until the immigrant puts in 40 quarters of work or until they become a citizen. So, last I checked 40 quarters is typically 10 years.

My question is do you fully understand the financial commitment of the joint sponsor? I suspect anyone who understands isn't going to simply accept a fee to take on financial responsibility for an immigrant for 10 years.

It will make little difference when the petition is within the published processing times.

Anything is possible with CBP. Show up, if they want to deny you, then politely request that you be allowed to withdraw your request for entry into the US and go home. Go to FL, get married rather than just visit with FIL, go back to Canada and apply for CR1. The process is similar in timeline. The difference is you'll enter the US with a GC in hand, ready and able to work and travel. K1 makes less sense.

Not sure. Quick google search says Canada naturalized 375,000 people in 2022 (unusually high number - usually numbers are about 175,000) while the US naturalized 967, 500 people, which appears to be a bit above average for the US as well.

You don't have to be denied entry. You can voluntarily withdraw your application for admission. Not a black mark, IF there was an issue. People stuck in AP have asked for their passports back and continued to visit their spouses like they did prior to interview and issuance of the DS-5535 or 221G in spousal cases and others have travelled for work, attending conferences and business meetings. That said, the Administrative Processing process applies to the visa case being adjudicated, so in this case, the EB visa eligibility is the case in question. Can CBP see if you're in AP? Likely, but that's USCIS's jurisdiction and CBP are typically primarily focused on customs violations and enforcing very fundamental laws that protect national safety and security. They aren't there to be the judge and jury on your case; that is USCIS and your consular officer's job. They are there to check that the paperwork you do have and the visa you're entering on is correct and valid, that you're not trafficking illegal substances and moving large sums of money, etc. L2 isn't family based. It's a dependent spouse and/or unmarried children under 21 of an L1 Intra-company transferee visa. Canadians are also a bit different in that they turn up to security, head to preclearance and petition for their L visa. The L1 petitioner had to meet the requirements of the intracompany transfer; that person could have equally been tossed into AP as well, technically. The L2 dependents have to meet the requirements of being a legitimate dependent of the L1 petitioner. Yes, they could potentially be tossed into AP as well. Anyone can though, irrespective of age, gender, background... If you're really curious, you could jump on Jim Hacking's weekly show and ask there.