H & T

A bit old, but for what it's worth, I ended up waiting until after our 2 year anniversary and have received the 10-year green card and SSN. It was worth it because it turned out okay, but before our flight, I was a bit worried as the new strain of COVID had started surfacing and it could have affected our flights. Thankfully, it didn't, but these are uncertain times.

A bit old, but for what it's worth, I ended up waiting until after our 2 year anniversary and have received the 10-year green card and SSN. It was worth it because it turned out okay, but before our flight, I was a bit worried as the new strain of COVID had started surfacing and it could have affected our flights. Thankfully, it didn't, but these are uncertain times.

Thank you for the additional responses, VJ community! Your stories about the difficulties associated with the delay in ROC processing (rather than the difficulty of the process in and of itself) are making me lean the other way of waiting a bit despite the uncertainty of the pandemic. 
 
For whatever it's worth, I'll update this post when I arrive to the US, whenever that will be, in case other people in the future will find this topic.

Thank you for the additional responses, VJ community! Your stories about the difficulties associated with the delay in ROC processing (rather than the difficulty of the process in and of itself) are making me lean the other way of waiting a bit despite the uncertainty of the pandemic. 
 
For whatever it's worth, I'll update this post when I arrive to the US, whenever that will be, in case other people in the future will find this topic.

I went into my DMV few months ago with conditional GC, expecting them to issue me a new license (old had expired) that would expire with the GC. The extremely nice lady at the counter said 'if you have a GC, you have a GC. We don't care when it expires, we give 5-year licenses for GC holders'. 😊
 
Had I known this beforehand, I would have applied for a Real ID but oh well, at least I might not have to renew it during ROC assuming it takes normal time to complete.

ROC itself is simple but currently, processing times are crazy in many cities and no way to know what it will be like in 2 years. There's the issue of having to prove permanent residence status once the 2 year card expires and the 18 month extension expires after that while you wait for adjudication. Also the extension letter used to be for 12 months then processing times increased and now it's for 18 months. 
But of course you need to consider the State of traveling and that immigration policies are very unstable currently with many bans and changes happening...and no way to know what's going to happen in a few months. Consider all and make the best decision for you. 

You can check the processing of times for naturalization here:
 
https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/
 
You can estimate how fast or slow your local office will be. And of could, timelines on visa journey 

I would suggest to wait till mid january and book a flight very next day from your two year wedding anniversery. I was in same situation and entered USA one month before my wedding anniversery and it costs me more than just money. I applied for ROC and did not get my extension letter due to pandemic situation that waa nerve racking. During this period my father died overseas and I waa not able to attend his funeral because my green card was expired and extension letter was delayed. when I got my visa i thought its just fine to spend extra $680 but its not just $680 its more than money. its pain to collect evidences, its hard to move out and think what if uscis send something to my older address etc. so wait till january. 

It's about as much fun as a root canal. Not really painful but not pleasant either.

Why would you ever volunteer for ROC if you have the option to avoid it?

Some of the drawbacks of ROC (vs straight to the 10 year card)
- Costs more money. Fees, sending the petition, printing and copying, extra appointment at the field office (time lost and travel costs)
- Takes a long time. You would not be the first one that is still waiting on ROC while the N400 window opens up.
- more changes of your file going missing or pieces getting lost.
- running into people/offices that view the 2 year card as a temporary card and therefor not seeing you as a LPR and denying you things (it's not correct but it happens).

The advantages of going the ROC route
- ............Yep, got nothing here for you!

These are all true possibilities and I've thought of all of these when I went through the process. Immigration in any way shape or form is probably one of most stressful, expensive, confusing, tiring experience a person can go through. I have had my fair share of sleepless nights of all the "what ifs" scenarios and it mentally destroyed me. With all the adversities an immigrant has to go through to get to where they need all I can say is if you know everything is legit and you have all proper paperwork... ROC process or any other will go fine. Waiting and the unknown definitely is hard and sometimes impossible....but that's part of what we sign up for when we do this stuff unfortunately.

Honestly, everyone has hit the point - It's a mere hassle that currently costs $595
But if I were you, with the way pandemic is going and the fact that everyone expects a second wave come this winter, I'll move now
We don't know how the world will look in a few months- we might get another shut down where travelled is banned yet again and your visa will for sure expire then. Good luck!

It took me a couple of hours, but I kept a shoe box and drop my documents as I got them during my first two years in the US. 
 
I've traveled extensively with the extension letter (I would have to check my passport, but many trips, to about 10 countries, and I never had an issue).
 
In your shoes, with the pandemic, I would travel sooner, rather than later.  If you're certain you will be able to travel after your second wedding anniversary, and you hate paperwork, then maybe consider coming later.

It's a very simple process, but takes a long time to put the package together and then there's a crazy long wait for most to have their applications adjudicated. Who knows what it'll look like 2 years from now. 
 
Since you're coming on a CR-1 you're most likely going to have an interview for your ROC too.

It's not the worst thing in the world but it's a hassle I'd rather not deal with it. I'm currently waiting and my life is just going on as normal but since I had an interview in the US, it's unlikely I'll get an interview for ROC but you probably will. Also, the people looking to get a stamp when they need it and being unable to... Plus the expense, not just for filing but for assembling the package. It's best avoided if possible but if you have compelling reasons to fly sooner, then I wouldn't let ROC stop me. 
 
If I were in your position, I'd wait. But it's up to you. 

Nobody was familiar with it. There was a lot of phone calls and googling going on, and I felt like I was trying to talk my way into something or ask for a favor to skirt the rules every single time. Airline check in, entering/exiting other countries, hell, even entering the US! The worst was probably during exit controls in Iceland where I had three people in this booth looking at my passport, expired card, and extension letter for about 20-25 minutes shaking their heads and speaking to each other in exasperated Icelandic. It really felt like they thought I made the whole thing up. I legitimately worked through it in my head what it would look like if I couldn't make it home on that flight. There was also the US immigration guy who didn't believe my ROC was still pending because "these things get processed in three months or less, unless there something really wrong with your application" paired with a suspicious sideways look. Or when I lost the letter and had to go beg (it's what it felt like) USCIS for a stamp, and they only gave me six months because "you shouldn't need more than that".
I have anxiety so that was probably worse for me than most people, but I wouldn't want to go through that again.

I would wait, it's a hassle collecting all the paperwork and putting it together and then waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting a bit more

We filed in early 2017 and it didn’t move until we filed N400 in 2018.  Wife had combo interview in July 2018 and approved both I751 and N400, oath in Aug 2018
 
wasn’t hard putting the package together and filing online but still feels like money wasted.  

I filed with a divorce waiver so slightly more nerve-racking than the normal process. It cost money to file, I also paid for a lawyer to help me gather evidence for my specific situation, and collecting evidence took A LOT of time and printing.
I filed December 2015 and was approved February 2017 with no interview. In the meantime I had an expired green card and had to explain ROC every time I traveled, which was a lot, and when I got a new job. I also had to deal with the uncertainty of not knowing whether it'd be approved, so I didn't buy a house when I had the chance, and made other decisions with an eye on having to leave. Mentally, it was way more expensive than monetarily.

It’s not a pain if you can read English and follow instructions. An Inconvenience? Maybe. Plus it costs money. I think a lot of people would say to wait until your second anniversary to immigrate since it’s sort of close- however that’s a decision for you and your husband. Who knows If countries will shut down come January and you can’t fly out And then you risk a visa expiring. There is so much uncertainty in the world and personally I think it will get worse that I wouldn’t change it and I would   Have left when the visa was issued.

imo With this pandemic, who knows what international travel will look like in January. It might be much better than these days but who knows? You don't want to be stuck overseas with only 2 weeks visa validity remaining. Maybe get a direct flight to the US or closest international POE just to activate the GC just in case you still want to travel in January?

I think it's $400 extra if you enter before 2 yrs of marriage and go through ROC vs getting the 10 yr. You'll basically have to gather evidence again like you did at the interview. I wouldn't want to do that again, so we're entering after 2 yrs of marriage. 

It all depends on you. You will read all sorts of experiences on this site but it won't determine how yours will go. In my experience, I filed May 2019 and completed the ROC process April 2020...no RFE or interview. I sent in a lot of evidence. Its a lot of patience and playing the hurry up and lets wait game. 

I would definitely wait if I thought I could fly out then........We filed my wife's I-751 in March 2019.  Waiting for an interview since May 2019.  I would avoid it.

Thank you so much for all of the responses!
 
Fair point. 
 
This is actually one of the things I'm worried about because we'd be cutting it close, especially as I heard Malaysia banned people from the Philippines from entering due to COVID last month. While spouses have gotten preferential treatment, who knows when that will change? Were COVID not an issue, I'd probably delay but now, my husband is leaning towards just leaving while we still can. 
 
Fair point. That's definitely a consideration too, in addition to @Lucky Cat's experience of the super delayed interview. 
 
Lol at first sentence. When I checked USCIS' instructions and the guide here on VJ, it seemed doable, but the stories of long interview wait times and how it can be a hassle to travel when you just have the stamp have been weighing on me. Obviously if my visa expired before I could enter, it would be a moot point so that's the bigger issue.
 
We're planning on traveling so thank you for sharing your experience regarding that. I'm a bit worried about explaining ROC. Did it take long to explain or were they familiar with it? I can only imagine the mental toll the whole process took and I'm sorry you had to go through it, though I'm glad you were approved and not have to worry about that aspect.
 
Thank you again for chiming in! Your responses have been very helpful. I think what I've gathered here is we should have moved our wedding up a few months lol we're probably going to move sooner rather than later.

Congratulations!! Because of your post, I checked our case status too and we've also been approved today!! 
PD: January 12, 2020
Date changes: February 23, May 1, May 8, then approved today as well!