V5712

We went ahead and did a new full medical, just out of caution. We had several bad experiences trying to do things with places that are listed as having civil surgeons, but ended up (thankfully!) with a guy who really REALLY knew his stuff and what was going on. He told us that USCIS actually changed their Hep B requirements this summer (it used to be a narrower age range; now it's everyone up to 60), and instead of grandfathering in everyone who had met the requirements as they stood at the time that they had their initial medical, they up and decided to just reject everyone and require them to go get new shots. Very strange that they didn't do this for the new COVID requirement, but did for Hep B (unless this was a stealth way of rejecting people who hadn't gotten a COVID shot without saying that they were rejecting people who hadn't gotten a COVID shot).
 
Concerning needing a full series or just one shot, what I've seen is that for every vaccine OTHER than COVID, the doc just needs to give you one dose, and you're good; you don't need a complete series. For COVID and COVID alone, you are required to have a "complete series" (not including booster). So, if you're someone with a pending AOS based on a K-1 medical done pre-COVID vaccine requirement and you don't have a COVID vaccine, I would recommend seriously considering finding a source where you can get one of the last few J&J shots floating around on short notice (if you get one of these letters) or just getting one of the doses of one of the other shots (so that you can get the other one on short notice). You likely won't have the requisite 28 days between shots to get both of them after you receive the letter and before it's due back to them.
 
Interestingly, the doc also noted that the CDC has changed the ages for the screening requirements on gonorrhea, but the current form doesn't reflect the changes. You might not have to do the gonorrhea test; perusing the CDC's website confirms the change, but of course, nothing on USCIS's website does. Let the battle for worst gov't agency continue forever!

Only the first shot in the series is required for US immigration purposes.  Note that you must submit a new, completed I-693 signed by a civil surgeon.  The new I-693 must indicate that the applicant completed all the required vaccinations, including Hep B.
 

USCIS just needs an I-693 that shows you completed all the required vaccinations.  The problem is whether you can find a civil surgeon who is willing to sign the I-693 without charging you for a full medical.  Ask around in your area.  The thread below may also help --
 
 

I haven’t had any updates since 7/20 (EAD approval and 485 went to active review). I did see a May filer just had their 485 approved without an interview. Hoping we see more of that or see interviews start getting scheduled. 

Heartiest congratulations, and thank you for returning with your update.  Everyone here can now celebrate with you.

Update! My husband’s I-485 was approved on 11/2/22 without an interview (I’ve been seeing a lot that interviews have been being waived) and the card was produced today on 11/5/22! Shouldn’t be long now

I never heard of a standard pay conversion.
 
Look at glassdoor or other sites that show typical salaries.  You should be able to filter it down to states and cities, and perhaps even years of experience.

Update: I ended up receiving the offer. Apparently they asked about visa category just to confirm I truly didn’t need sponsorship. I guess still illegal but hey. 

Update: I ended up receiving the offer. Apparently they asked about visa category just to confirm I truly didn’t need sponsorship. I guess still illegal but hey. 

Update: I ended up receiving the offer. Apparently they asked about visa category just to confirm I truly didn’t need sponsorship. I guess still illegal but hey. 

Update: I ended up receiving the offer. Apparently they asked about visa category just to confirm I truly didn’t need sponsorship. I guess still illegal but hey. 

Thanks for the information @Mike E! This is very helpful. I’m expecting an update tomorrow so I’ll see how it goes, but now I know to be more careful with how I answer questions.

For question 1 it should be No.
 
For question 2 EAD’s from a K1 is not any riskier than from any other visa or AOS route.
 
For question 3, that is up to them.  Did you provide a copy of your AOS NOA to show you are in process of getting your GC.
 
Good Luck!

Agreed , he does not and will not require sponsorship. 
 

This is illegal and legally they cannot ask this question. 
 
See https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2012/03/16/132.pdf

https://www.justice.gov/crt/file/867386/download  is a more recent letter on this topic which does let employers discriminate against F-1 students seeking employment Ed based on OPT but otherwise employers cannot discriminate hiring based on your class of visa. 
 
 
 
The correct  answer is “no”. Sponsorship  in  this context means employment based sponsorship.  You have family based sponsorship.  It has nothing to do with them. 
Of course  employers will see it as a risk which is why you should not be as answering  this question as it breaks the law.  
 
Yes.  That’s why it Juan illegal for them to ask such questions. 
 
 While some of these employment violations come from ignorance of the ale on the part of the employer, others comes from a desire to hire employees with a lower risk issues with employment authorization or a desire to hire only natural born Americans. 
 
If non citizens today  enable employers by sharing your visa status, eventually this will progress to discriminating against conditional LPRs, then LPRs  with extension letters, then LPRs with 10 year cards, and finally U.S. citizens whose only evidence of citizenship is a document that has an expiration date (such as a U.S.  passport).  
 
Someday it might  be you whose passport expires a week after your job starts and you’ve misplaced your naturalization certificate.  And you are denied the job because the recruiter “needs” to see your evidence of U.S. citizenship 

Nobody needs your sympathy. I fully support any immigrant who has gone through the trouble of applying for and obtaining a marriage visa following through and coming to America even if the American spouse changes their mind about coming.
 
Immigrants are not sacks of potatoes to be cast aside according to the whims and flakiness of the American spouse. Quitting one’s job, preparing to migrate, notifying one’s friends and family etc and then being told don’t come is not trivial. 
 
 

Thank you! Filing from Maryland. Not exactly sure which office but our EAD and AP notices say National Benefits Center. 

I also believe in grilling applicants the way consular officers will so they can cover all the bases and not get caught. I just thought some of the questions a bit much particularly since OP is not a newbie, having gone through the immigration process for a previous spouse and well aware she has a very significant age gap with her husband, that's all. No biggie.

Has this become a marriage inquisition/counseling forum or it remains an immigration forum? I fail to see the point of some of the personal intrusive questions being asked, but that is just me.
 
With that said, like everyone else I believe OP is in for a tough long-term slog to get her fiancée here.

I agree with the other suggestions--spend more time together in person, get married, and then file for a spousal visa.  My husband and I have a big age difference (27 years), so we didn't even bother with a K-1.  Although I did not visit him for 3 months as you did, I was able to take multiple short trips to Brazil so that we could spend time together in person (four trips before getting married and filing an I-130 petition), and four more trips prior to his visa interview a year after filing the petition (side-loaded evidence of these trips at the NVC stage).  The other thing we did, and I suggest that you do as well, is that we co-mingled our finances as much as possible while living apart (joint IRS tax returns as married-jointly, evidence of health insurance, beneficiary on retirement accounts, bank accounts, shared credit card account, will, living will, power of attorney, etc.).  Some of this financial co-mingling evidence was sent with the I-130 petition, the rest was side-loaded at the NVC stage.  All trips were documented with original boarding passes, passport stamps, hotel receipts, and a few photos.  The more quality evidence you submit, the better your chances to overcome any doubts about your relationship because of the large age gap.  It may be a long road, but you should eventually be successful.  Good luck!

In addition, take photos of injuries that she has inflicted on you.
Document time and date.  Witnesses are helpful.
File police reports every time.

I'm in an occupation (military) where leaders are relieved of manageral duty for gross incompetence. Sadly, the vast majority of federal employees, especially management, can be grossly incompetent and keep their job. They would have to physically assault someone or embezzle tens of thousands of dollars to lose their jobs. There is no nexus (link) between COVID and the inefficiencies  of USCIS. USCIS employees are processing applications in private offices or at their private residencies. There not restaurant servers or retail clerks frequently interacting with customers!
 
I believe one of the most effective things we could do to change USCIS would be to get a national online petition to get the current USCIS director Ur Mendoza Jaddou relieved of her position. A short time ago, several Soldiers stationed at Fort Hood were physically and sexually assaulted, murdered, etc. The US Army didn't fire Privates for the toxic environment. But rather, relieved Generals and Colonels at the installation from their command positions because upper leaders ultimately dictate the culture/climate/effectiveness of an organization. When USCIS upper management realize they can lose their jobs, USCIS will magically become more effecient.

This is the most important comment in these 99 pages.
 
This community is great at tracking USCIS efficiency. But what is it all for? Why do we come here daily? Is the knowledge of how bad the situation is actually helpful?
 
I would feel guilty to disappear once I get my approval. I would like to see every member who has commented so far, plus all the future heart broken filers (april, may june, july...) do something more effective.
 
I'm really tired of refreshing the chart. Now what can we collectively do.

Currently on the phone with congress representative, I no longer am interested in them submitting an inquiry on my behalf.  I want to know how else their office can help, If I can file a formal complaint against USCIS through their office, or what other steps can their office take for me.  I feel as if I am being retaliated against based on the amount of inquires, and denied expedite requests.  I have had so many terrible comments made by USCIS representatives about those things, that it makes it hard to believe they are not holding them against me.  They have made errors, and contradicting statements.  I am beyond appalled.  I am a public servant, and work in law enforcement - I could  never imagine treating people with the disrespect I have gotten from USCIS reps. I am so close to just giving up.

I mean the problem is that, not to be too much of a downer, but the world got “back to normal” months ago. Yet, USCIS has taken that time to take even longer with our petitions. Sure, March may be seeing great numbers now, but even *February* was processed with more force. 60-100 actual I-129F updates a day is, quite frankly, awful. This processing is not the fault of COVID. If it was, we’d have seen processing jump off a cliff early 2021. But it didn’t, it stopped in November, and USCIS has continued to avoid telling us why.