leeen21

That's what I thought, and thanks for confirming! The language "dependent children" always trips me up because it means different things in different contexts (under 18 vs. not, living under your roof vs. not, etc.). In this context, I believe it to mean children who obtained resident status under the parent, whether they are a minor or not.

This was my experience too. I was able to take care of guardianship paperwork and "pre-enrollment" before my husband and stepdaughters arrived. They crossed on Thanksgiving Day, and the following Monday, I took them to their respective schools to register. It turned out they needed a few vaccines and a TB test before they could finish registering, but they were able to complete registration and start classes by that Thursday.

Yes! His social security card FINALLY arrived in our mail on 11/22/23, so it was 2 months from his entry into the U.S. to receiving it.

Yes! His social security card FINALLY arrived in our mail on 11/22/23, so it was 2 months from his entry into the U.S. to receiving it.

My husband entered the U.S. on his CR-1 visa on September 23. He had checked "YES" on his DS-260 to automatically apply for his SSN, but three weeks went by, and it hadn't arrived, so we went to our local SSA office on October 13. They said it was never generated, so he applied for his number that day with them, saying that it should arrive in 7-10 business days. The two-week mark just passed, so we went back to the office today, and they told him that it's still processing and his application is "under investigation." (actually said in Spanish, "bajo investigación," so I don't know what terminology in English is used by SSA). They said that SSA would call us if they need any additional documents, and it could be another four weeks.
 
On SAVE, it says there was a CaseCheck on October 13, and the case status is "Returned to Agency."
 
My husband is very eager to start working, and even though his CR-1 visa stamp gives him authorization, every employer is saying they can't until he gets his SSN. He does have an ITIN from when we did our taxes this year. And he's obviously spooked at the term "under investigation."
 
Has this happened to anyone else? Anything we can do?

Fellow TX/MX border resident here, though my commute has only been 45 minutes each way. Advantage of folks like us - we have the opportunity to see our spouses relatively easily during this process, while so many others don't. I tried to focus on that through our journey.
 
Just wanted to give you some hope - though understand that our timeline was much quicker than most others I've seen - and also echo others that have said to get your travel documents in order as quickly as possible.
 
We submitted I-130s (husband + 3 stepdaughters) on June 2, 2022. I sent off the I-129F for K3 a couple weeks after that. Our I-130s were approved on November 12 (5 months).
 
Our NVC stage was super drawn out and not because we wanted it to be, and here is where I will encourage you to always err on the side of caution when it comes to travel documents. We obviously did not expect our I-130s to get approved in 5 months (for most, it takes about a year at least), so my husband didn't have his Mexican passport renewed yet, and my stepdaughters still didn't have Mexican passports -- we (naively) thought we had plenty of time! We also (naively) thought Mexican passports would not take that long to get -- we were wrong. By beginning of April, we finally submitted everything to NVC. At the time, we were kicking ourselves for not getting the passports done right away and wasting precious time.
 
End of April 2023, we were DQ'd at NVC and expected it to be about a year to get our interview scheduled at NVC. Three months later in July, we got the email that our interviews would be in September (5 months from DQ to interview). My husband and one stepdaughter got approved on September 18, and we'll back at CDJ this week for another appointment for the other two stepdaughters (administrative processing).
 
All that to say:
1. Yes, expect it to be a 2+ year process, but also know that it IS possible for things to move more quickly. I have no idea how our I-130s were approved so quickly or how we got an interview scheduled so quickly at CDJ, but it can happen. Be prepared for things to happen at any point. Keep going day by day, and eventually, you'll get to have your family with you on the US side of the border, and I promise you, the wait is so worth it.
 
2. Never assume the length of time it will take for a travel document (in any country) to be processed.

Just the postage to send the packet to USCIS (unlike the I-130s, there’s no electronic option). There’s no application fee when you’re filing the I-129f for your spouse as K3.

It’s worth a shot. There’s no promise or guarantee it’ll speed things along, but she’s got nothing to lose. It’s just more paperwork, but at this point, I’m sure she’s used to that.

Correct - no need to register it in the U.S. Your original marriage certificate and certified translation to English is all you need.
 
What could get listed on your marriage certificate is each of your nationalities - Cuban and Russian. You'd have to check an example of a Cuban one, but on our Mexican one, it lists my husband's and my nationality (Mexican and U.S.), as well as the nationality of our parents and witnesses. But I can't see any reason why that would have any impact on your visa process. Your nationality is not the same as your citizenship, and you are a U.S. citizen, which gives you the legal right to petition your spouse for an immigrant visa.
 
It all might be moot because as a Cuban citizen, even though you reside and are a citizen elsewhere, you may have to use your Cuban passport in the marriage process. And if that's the case, I wouldn't stress about it.

I was in the same boat as you, though I live in the U.S. on the border, and my (now) husband lives in Mexico on the border. We got married last year in Mexico; there is no advantage/disadvantage legally to what country you get married, and it doesn't have an impact on your visa process.
 
Keep in mind that as a U.S. citizen marrying a Mexican citizen, you will need to have certain documents to get married - one of those being your U.S. birth certified apostilled by the state you were born in. You also need to have it translated into Spanish by a certified translator (aka you can't do it yourself).
 

It is very rare to have any kinds of problems with I-751. In my opinion, if moving six months earlier is worth the filing fees and extra administrative work on your part to file I-751 for you, I would do so.
 
Most people go to these forums after they run in to problems, so by browsing internet forums, you would probably get a skewed picture of how common it is to run in to problems with Removal of conditions.

I'm far less militant about avoiding removing conditions than some members you are hearing from.  It's fees and process.  If delaying your family reunification almost six months would break your heart, then don't delay it.  The problems people fear do happen, but not frequently.  
 
When it comes to costs, you husband working a few months will far outweigh any of those costs.

Not sure about the I751 question, but I believe if everyone enters together they can be included on one I751, but you may need to pay a biometrics fee for everyone.
 
As to traveling with the extension letter, yes it can be a pain especially if traveling by air.  My wife always kept a copy of the CBP Carrier Guide with her in case she needed to educate an airline clerk.  In your case, entering via a land crossing, it should be easier since you are only dealing with CBP directly and they should be familiar, but if not, show them their carrier guide page 13.
 
Good Luck!
 
https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2019-Mar/2019 Carrier Information Guide - ENGLISH.pdf

I might wait a few months not 6 months.

Thanks for your detailed response!
 
Re: paperwork + fees, understood - par for the course with U.S. immigration. I did just read that if dependent children enter with the parent (who is the spouse of the USC petitioner), they can be included on the same I-751 and pay one fee. We have four cases total, each being their own principal applicant - my husband, 18yo stepchild, 16yo stepchild, and 14yo stepchild. Any idea if those would be one I-751 and one fee? Would 18yo be on her own I-751 because she is an adult?
 
The major issue I'm getting is that the extension letters are not universally "recognized" in the way that they should be (re: DLs, air travel, etc.). We do live on the border and will be frequently making trips into Mexico (no farther than 10-15 miles in) to see family, so a potential worry every time my husband/stepkids re-enter. It seems like it's not so much a fear of getting denied, but a constant worry that something won't work out or go through correctly because it's conditional and reliant on an extension letter and USCIS not being at all helpful in those situations.
 
Appreciate your input - you've certainly given us a lot to think about!

Just echoing that you do need four separate I-864s! They end up being similar because it's a lot of your information, but do pay attention to Part 5 (the calculation of your household). Your household size should be the same on all four forms, but the way you calculate it will be different on your husband's vs. your stepkids'.
 
I'm in the same boat as you - petitioning my husband and three stepkids - and my advice is make sure that for each of their cases on CEAC, you upload the same financial documents! Even though we as the petitioners see them as "one case," NVC does not while they are reviewing. I forgot to upload one document to my third stepkid's case on CEAC, and the rest got DQ'd, and hers didn't. I had to resubmit and wait for hers to be DQ'd a month later. When their interviews were scheduled, the three who were originally DQ'd first got assigned interviews, and the third stepkid did not. She got approved an expedite, and then was scheduled an interview 2 weeks before the others 🤦🏻‍♀️. So now I'm having to hassle the consulate to move her interview to the same day.
 
All that to say, double and triple check each case before submitting!
 
PS. Happy to see someone else in my situation on here. I haven't come across many people with four cases going on at the same time!
 
 

We filed four I-130 petitions on June 2, 2022 - this is our timeline:
Received the notice of I-130 approval on November 14 (letter was dated November 12) Received notice via email of NVC case creation on November 19 Paid the AOS and IV fees on November 21 Submitted everything to NVC on April 13 (got way delayed getting passports for my minor stepchildren) 3 our of the 4 cases were DQd on April 26 by NVC; forgot to upload one document to the fourth case, uploaded that and it was DQd on May 26 Currently waiting for an interview If your case was sent to NVC on June 2, and you still haven't received any communication from them, I would submit an inquiry here.
 

We filed four I-130 petitions on June 2, 2022 - this is our timeline:
Received the notice of I-130 approval on November 14 (letter was dated November 12) Received notice via email of NVC case creation on November 19 Paid the AOS and IV fees on November 21 Submitted everything to NVC on April 13 (got way delayed getting passports for my minor stepchildren) 3 our of the 4 cases were DQd on April 26 by NVC; forgot to upload one document to the fourth case, uploaded that and it was DQd on May 26 Currently waiting for an interview If your case was sent to NVC on June 2, and you still haven't received any communication from them, I would submit an inquiry here.
 

Good idea. Just sent a public inquiry to NVC and an email to the consulate. Thanks!

Good idea. Just sent a public inquiry to NVC and an email to the consulate. Thanks!

I-130 APPROVED!!!
 
PD: 6/2/22
K3: 6/21/22
I-130 APPROVAL: 11/12/22
Texas Service Center
 
So far, the only approval notice we've received is for my husband. There are also 3 pending I-130s (submitted at the same time as my husband's) for my stepdaughters. I'm hoping because they were submitted together that their approvals won't be far behind - does anyone with experience petitioning multiple family member have any input on that?
 
The status on the USCIS website still says "actively reviewing," but I checked the documents tab, and there was the approval letter! I got two emails on early Sunday morning that said, "we have taken action on your case," and that's what prompted me to look. The approval letter just showed up under documents today.
 
 

Got the same email early Sunday morning. I checked the status of our petition, and it was still “actively reviewing,” as it has been since June/July.
 
I checked the documents tab today, and we had our approval notice 😊

I-130 APPROVED!!!
 
PD: 6/2/22
K3: 6/21/22
I-130 APPROVAL: 11/12/22
Texas Service Center
 
So far, the only approval notice we've received is for my husband. There are also 3 pending I-130s (submitted at the same time as my husband's) for my stepdaughters. I'm hoping because they were submitted together that their approvals won't be far behind - does anyone with experience petitioning multiple family member have any input on that?
 
The status on the USCIS website still says "actively reviewing," but I checked the documents tab, and there was the approval letter! I got two emails on early Sunday morning that said, "we have taken action on your case," and that's what prompted me to look. The approval letter just showed up under documents today.
 
 

Don't think thats an issue 

Yeah, I agree on the no shortage front. I think a lot of people not super familiar with immigration think that it's fairly easy to bring someone to the U.S. (whether it's as an employee, spouse, etc.), but those of us on here know that it's nowhere close to being easy. I think he's probably unaware of the high bar needed for employment-based visas (or seasonal situations, like you mentioned).