Tereza

I think the instruction to include the back of the photo is an artefact of the paper form. I really dont see why they'd need that in the difgital format, but I guess sending it won't hurt

awesome thank you so much!

Congrats  
 
Don't worry...you'll wait just long enough to have some of the PTSD fade and then you'll apply for citizenship   At least that journey doesn't require a huge separation from your partner!  

Not Paris no. I think Frankfurt is the only pre clearance in Europe. Limited places in Canada and a couple of other countries. Your POE will be Minneapolis l

Only few cities in the world have the pre clearance, none in Europe. Only Dublin & Shannon in Ireland that’s closest 

And this underscores the reasoning behind becoming an "A" student of the entire immigration process, as recommended by pushbrk and others.

I think that depends a lot - do you already live with your spouse/fiance in another country? How long have you been together and what are your needs (some people handle the separation better than others)? do you have kids/ expecting them? Eg. Me and my husband have been long distance for 5 years (met online), seeing each other once or twice a year for 4 weeks on average (1/10 would not recommend). So waiting 7 extra months to save the ROC fee is ridiculous to us (nevermind I will hopefully make that money and more in the time I will already be in the states where my earning potential is higher than back home). Some people have aleady been living together, maybe they can visit each other more often so they wanna avoid the hassle of ROC. Others are maybe expecting a baby so its important to move as soon as possible. So I think it depends, people's life situations are the variable that matters, that even if at first sight certain type of visa "doesn't make sense" for most, it probably still makes sense to thousands of poeple with particular life situations that they're in.

I think that depends a lot - do you already live with your spouse/fiance in another country? How long have you been together and what are your needs (some people handle the separation better than others)? do you have kids/ expecting them? Eg. Me and my husband have been long distance for 5 years (met online), seeing each other once or twice a year for 4 weeks on average (1/10 would not recommend). So waiting 7 extra months to save the ROC fee is ridiculous to us (nevermind I will hopefully make that money and more in the time I will already be in the states where my earning potential is higher than back home). Some people have aleady been living together, maybe they can visit each other more often so they wanna avoid the hassle of ROC. Others are maybe expecting a baby so its important to move as soon as possible. So I think it depends, people's life situations are the variable that matters, that even if at first sight certain type of visa "doesn't make sense" for most, it probably still makes sense to thousands of poeple with particular life situations that they're in.

It's all relative. I'm sure there are also people in a similar position to you who would wait those 7 months, because in the grand scheme of things that is not a lot of extra time when you've been long distance for 5+ years already. But there is always a balance between what is best emotionally/mentally and what is best financially or otherwise. 
 
We chose to do K-1 in 2018 even though it wasn't the best choice financially (because of AOS). The reasons were mostly related to feelings instead of logic, and it all worked out fine in the end. 
 
As a side note though, the people that suggest waiting to enter on the CR-1 visa to avoid ROC aren't really doing so because of the fee (though that is part of it). It is because ROC is such a long, annoying process that leaves LPRs in a weird limbo especially if it takes over 2 years. For some, getting the 10 year green card and avoiding the hassle and stress of ROC is worth being long distance a little longer. 
 
 

Just remember that this is only a proposed increase, so there is a real chance the final numbers will be different. I hope that is the case because it certainly is unfair imo. 

And the whole purpose of it is just stupid. They say it's to prevent marriage fraud. But if they're really worried about marriage fraud, then don't take that long to dig into a case.

If this increase goes through ROC will be more of a racket than it already is. Most USCIS filings are optional. I mean you don't HAVE to work or study in the U.S. You don't HAVE to live in the U.S. just because you marry a U.S. spouse (in most cases). You don't HAVE to file for citizenship. But conditional LPRs HAVE to file ROC. And yet they make it an annoying, lengthy and expensive process. 😤

I watched a yt video on this earlier today and they made it sound like they changed the fees based on their perception of who might be able to pay more (eg. a us citizen who sponsoreed their spouse is likely going to be better off financially than a first generation immigrant who needs to pay whatever feeds for whichever process). Thats kinda effed up imo. It is insane that they will likely charge us this much and yet not much will change, we will still need to wait ages 😕

And the funny thing is that according to the proposed new rule it USCIS dedicates on average 4.7 hours to make decisions on I-751 forms....
 
just read the article in the CATO institute website and it says it takes only 1.54 hours to complete the I-751 form!!!  and we have to wait more than 2 years??
 
 
And I think it is unfair to base the fees on the supposed wealth of the petitioners, should be based on actual cost
 

I am immigrating in 2 weeks on CR-1 as our 2 year anniversarry is in 6 months. It is just sad that this will only incentivise couples to stay apart for longer. We have done 5 years long distance, so we're to a point where every extra day is just too much, nevermind I already have my plane ticket purchased. But I nearly about cried when I saw the proposed fee. They're putting arbitrary cut off for married couples for no reason and then jack the price up like this to remove conditions that didnt even have a reason to be there... for what? Gosh I'm so mad with this entire process, every time I think nothing can surprise me anymore, they come with something that totally flabbergastes me.

They tend to forget that not every USC lives on the coasts in a big city. We are in rural Iowa (I mean, my husband is and hopefully I'll be there in about 2 weeks lol), and the wages aren't that much better than here in Czech Rep. We think a dozen times before we spend a dollar and when I think how much this has cost us already and how much it will continue to cost us... makes me sick. It could have been many a nice vacation that we never had, to say the least

Exactly. My husband is from West Virginia, and we moved to Columbus for job opportunities. Thank God we both have good, stable jobs, but just like you, we count every single penny before we spend. 

That's horrible and borderline discriminatory! Yeah my husband is a USC but were are not "better off" than many immigrants!

Yet at least mine has been pending for almost a year now. The officer must be translating each page into Latin, that's why it is taking so long.

Because at least in some cases the use of the attorney is optional, meaning, you don't HAVE to have one. 
But you DO need to fill out these forms if you want to stay here legally.

I think fee increase is fine, just like inflation. I just find it hard to justify 751 for increasing from about 600 to 1200. 15% increase is understandable, 100% is not. It puts 751 to the pricy end of their forms, but 751 is still a low priority and takes ages for some. I have no opinion on premium processing. For me, I would probably choose a cheaper and slower option, and thus, 600 is a lot, even though I didn’t pay that. 

Haha, you know in your soul that they want to take however much they can get and do zero thing

101%. A steep and completely unjustifiable increase, and massively out of proportion to the other proposed fee increases. Speaking of which, the I-290B fee is also increasing, as is the N-400......and also the I-130 and I-485 for any possible future relative petitions.  
 
However, the biometrics fee is decreasing, from $85 to $30. How kind of them. 
 
Note that these are all proposed increases, not confirmed as yet. 
 
I look forward to getting rinsed by USCIS for my inevitable future filings.
 

You would think it'd be more logical to just say "starting on [x] date, all filing fees will increase 20%" (or whatever percentage makes sense), rather than picking and choosing certain forms to drastically increase filing fees for.
 
Which supports the thought that there is some other agenda involved rather than just increasing funding. 

<vent> All this amazing prompt service, and fee increases? Wow, how lucky we are!! </vent>