Stingbass

7 minutes ago, Adventine said:

I would just be patient. Your package is in Chicago and there isn't any guarantee that sending a brand new package would arrive faster than your original one. You are also right that there is possibility that you get charged twice OR get issued two different sets of case numbers because you sent two packets.

 

Your wife won't be in any kind of trouble as you have records of the AOS packet sent and postmarked before the 90 days are up.

 

In the future, it's definitely more prudent to consider FedEx, UPS or other private couriers when sending time-sensitive immigration documents.

Thanks for the input. I guess my previous interaction with priority mail working out well for the K1 colored my judgment on using it again. Definitely won't be doing that again... They just responded to the case and said it may have been delivered but not scanned. Which isn't much help, but I suppose we will simply wait it out. 

Hey guys,

Just wanted to get some feedback and thoughts about what my wife and I should regarding the situation we're in right now... She arrived in the states on her K1 on May 21st. We got married in early June and waited until late July to start the AoS process because I was in between jobs and my new position would be a much higher salary to use on the affidavit of support. I felt more comfortable waiting until after I started my new job to send the AoS package out with the offer letter+recent paystubs. We mailed the completed forms via USPS 2 Day Priority Mail (with tracking and insurance) on 8/4 with the delivery date set for 8/7. It is now 8/13 and the package has been stuck in Chicago with an "in transit, arriving late) status since 8/9. I've opened a case with USPS but haven't heard anything... My question is twofold:

1. If I just wait it out and the package arrives after our 90 days is up (which is 8/19) would the postmarked date/date of signing the forms be enough for USCIS to consider us in good standing with the K1 and AoS? I genuinely don't know if the forms MUST be submitted prior to the 90 days being up and whether my wife would be in violation of her K1 (i.e. overstaying) if USCIS hasn't received the forms by the 19th.

2. Should I just suck it up and re-print the entire package (including getting her passport style headshots done again) and send it via FedEx or UPS with overnight delivery to be sure? And if I do that, will we have issues when ANOTHER package from us shows up via USPS when they finally decide to mail it out? 

Sorry for the long post, but I want to make sure we're compliant and doing everything we can to get these documents submitted on time. I never even thought USPS 2 day priority mail (which I used for the K1) would even be CLOSE to our 90 day expiration date (mailed 2+ weeks in advance), but here we are... Thanks for your help! 

@RP&JE hi there, we were in fact approved on our second attempt! We ended up going a bit over the top to prove that she would be staying in the states permanently. I provided our application for a 1 year lease on an apartment which she had signed, the flight itinerary for her one way flight (which I really didn’t want to book until she got the exemption, but I thought it would help), a copy of her airbnb receipt to show that she had an expiring stay in Sydney and no lease/home in Australia because she was expecting to immigrate, the statutory declaration which we re-worded to be more specific about her intent to immigrate and what we’ve gone through during the K1, a copy of her K1 visa, a copy of her passport, a copy of the letter provided by the embassy stating that she would be gone for an extended period of time, a copy of our letter of intent to marry and a cover letter which I typed up to explicitly explain our intent, process and reason we qualify for both the 3 months or more reasoning AND the compassionate/humanitarian reasoning. We got our response within about 24 hours and she’s already arrived here in the US as of yesterday! I’d say if you’re looking to get an exemption, go over the top to secure it the first time. It’s a pretty easy process generally. 

4 hours ago, Charlie_SK said:

Hello! Fellow Aussie here who successfully got an exemption. I applied about 4 times with pretty much identical information each time and was finally approved on the last try. I definitely recommend trying some of the other things that people have suggested but ultimately just continue to submit a request until it's granted. For some reason they grant an exemption sometimes and not others even if it's for the exact same reason with the exact same information. It's about as efficient and logical as the K1 process.....

Congrats on your exemption! I wish I could say this made me feel better, but I'm not sure it does hahaha. We just re-submitted everything with tons of additional information. I'm hoping we get it on the second go with information on our apartment lease and a one way flight receipt. We shall see in a day or two... fingers crossed.

7 hours ago, AishaniA93 said:

I’m so sorry to hear  did you send the actual visa copy (as in a photocopy of the visa in the passport)? Try sending that again plus a copy of the NOA2 and also maybe visa conditions showing that she can’t leave the US as that will render the K1 process void. That has worked for a few people. The lease is a good option too. Did she talk to her former work about moving hence her reason for quitting? Maybe she mentioned it in her resignation letter? 
 

I’m still months away from the process but damn this exemption thing has me more stressed than the actual filing process. 
 

good luck  

Hi Aishani, thanks for your response! We did include a copy of the visa itself but the idea on the visa conditions might be helpful. We thought that indicating that it was intended to be a permanent immigration would’ve been enough but apparently not. Funny enough, we contacted the US embassy after being denied for guidance and they said that the letter that we submitted that they provided to us had been 100% successful in getting clearance... unfortunately we don’t have the resignation letter or anything she can use there but hopefully with some more clarification on our situation and more evidence of her intention to remain here, we’ll be allowed to get her on a plane. 

21 minutes ago, Adventine said:

I'm curious, did you make it explicitly clear in the initial application that your fiancée was leaving Australia to immigrate to the US? It could be a simple case of someone in the Australian bureaucracy not knowing exactly what a K1 visa is for.

Unfortunately we did specifically say she was intending to immigrate and she will not be returning. We even included some information on what we’ll be doing once she gets here to change status and eventually apply for a green card so they understood it was intended to be permanent. 

5 hours ago, Mike E said:

options:
 

1. Book  a fully refundable ticket for cash.

 

2. Book  a ticket using frequent flyer miles and then if the flight doesn’t work out, pay a fee to redeposit the miles.  
 

If don’t have miles it is pretty easy to get them.  United for example sells them for 40 percent off and will let you buy up to 175,000 of  them directly for $3675.  If that isn’t enough you can book a flight, then buy extra miles, then cancel within 24 hours.  Book a long distance itinerary to get the maximum miles.  

That’s a really good idea on buying the miles and then using those for the flights. Thank you Mike. 

Hello all,

My fiancé recently received her approved K1 visa last week (YAY!) and we've been intending to fly her over here ASAP as it has been 15 months since we've seen each other. We submitted the request for exemption to border patrol and were denied on the "traveling for 3 months or more" grounds (although they did say that we were reviewed for all options). We provided a copy of the visa, the letter from the embassy which states that she will be staying in the United States for an extended amount of time, and a signed statutory declaration which explained our request for travel. They told us we could re-apply with more information if circumstances change... I did not want to book a non-refundable flight without confirmation that she could leave but one of the documents that can be included for evidence is a flight itinerary. I'm debating booking a one way flight, including a copy of that itinerary which will also show that she has 3 checked bags to carry all of her belongings (we aren't shipping anything). Additionally, I just signed up for a 2 bedroom apartment for us so I will get that lease and have her signed on as a renter for a 1 year lease. Is there anything else that you would include or attach that would provide compelling evidence to border patrol? She has no job to show she's leaving because she's quit that ages ago while waiting for the visa... She has no lease or house in Australia because she has lived with family while waiting for the visa to be completed. She is truly fully dependent on me financially until she is allowed to come over here and eventually be granted work permission. 

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated! I'm still a little shocked that we were denied...

Hi everyone,

I sent our petition priority mail USPS on 5/12 and just got the text today saying it has been received. It says the date of receipt was on 5/14 when I check the receipt number on USCIS. Excited/nervous/hopeful all at the same time! Fingers crossed for easy journeys for everyone.