wazzujoel

32 minutes ago, K1visaHopeful said:

Gotcha!

Editing your timeline might be of benefit to you so you can get the correct category of help and also follow the correct VJ processing time stats for AOSing. 

It might also benefit other K1s who read this so they are not ultimately confused by your submission of an I134a like I was. 

I tried editing the timeline but it wasn't obvious to me on how to change the timeline from K1 to something else (and if there was something else to even change it to). 

Edit - I just looked again and I see I can select a different category, however our category isn't an option. Additionally if I did that then all my K1 timeline goes away. I feel like it's best to leave it as is. 

4 hours ago, K1visaHopeful said:

Your timeline says you're a K1 and you've posted this in a K1 forum but...you're not???

We started out with K1. Met my Cuban fiancée in 2017, had a 5 year friendship, that turned to a romance, and I filed i-129f on Oct 18 2021. On January 6th 2023 I submitted an application to support her via Biden's Humanitarian Parole program (i-134a) that was made eligible for Cubans on the day I filed. On February 10th 2023, USCIS approved our i-129f without an RFE. While waiting for USCIS to send our case to NVC, we were approved for i-134a Humanitarian Parole, and she arrived to the states on 4/7/2023. Once that happened, we abandoned the whole i-129f application because we no longer needed the marriage obligation for us to be together. We are still planning on getting married, however we are planning something a bit bigger and more to what we desire, versus trying to rush a 90 day wedding. She's also seeking i-485 PR based on Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 which has a lot easier burden of proof than marriage based applications. 

So yeah, technically I am not K1 anymore. But this site doesn't really have spots for this form of immigration and we started out as K1 so some of my questions are related.  

1 hour ago, Boiler said:

I 134 is unenforceable There is no financial obligation under HP. Actually HP provides benefit not open to others like Medical care.

 

She can also adjust under the CAA after a year and not need a Sponsor.

 

HP  is not an Immigrant Petition

 

Thank you @Boiler and @Crazy Cat! 

Yes she is filing under CAA 1 day after the 1 year anniversary of arriving in the US. She arrived 4/7/2023, and it will be post marked 4/8/2024. 

Hopefully this is my last i-485 question and I hope I am asking in the right area.... I couldn't find any other area where this fit better. 

Cuban national arrived on Biden's Humanitarian Parole via a i-134a application. I don't really know if i-134a would count as a an Underlying petition. i-134a (online version of i-134) is a request from a USC to be a financial supporter of the Cuban for 2 years. That request contains lots of information about me, and just the name of the Cuban. Would this count as an Underlying petition? or do those coming on Humanitarian Parole not have an underlying petition? 

Adding this for those looking on wait time estimates. This is for those applying for work authorization with Biden's Parole program (i-134a)

Just now, Crazy Cat said:

The answer is "No" if she has never submitted a DS-260. 

Thank you! 

In Part 3 it states the following : 

"Have you ever applied for an immigrant visa to obtain permanent resident status at a US Embassy" 

My partner is Cuban. I applied for i-129f for her in Oct 2021, USCIS accepted that application in Feb 2023, and sent the application to NVC. In Jan 2023 I filed an application for her with Cuban Humanitarian Parole, and that application was approved and we are living together in the US now. This i-129f application was just abandoned, and she never filled out any paperwork with NVC. She is now filing i-485 to get permanent residency via Cuban Adjustment Act. 

My question is - Do I answer "yes" or "no" to if she has ever applied for a immigrant visa to obtain permanent residency? I believe the K1 visa is a non-immigrant visa which she never even received, so I would answer "no" based on that. Additionally, since she never filled out any documentation with NVC, she also technically didn't apply for anything. I requested with USCIS a non-immigrant path for her, but that wasn't her request, it was mine. 

Note - I am not trying to hide the i-129f, I am really just trying to make sure I am answering the questions correctly. 

On 10/23/2020 at 3:28 PM, Mike E said:

https://www.uscis.gov/I-918

 

That guidance is absent from https://www.uscis.gov/i-485

Let me speculate. According to https://www.uscis.gov/I-918 , this form is used for:

 

Often such people don't have their documents. They've been kidnapped, enslaved, trafficked, etc.

 

Thus, USCIS is saying to U visa petitioners:

 

"Help us out here. Tell us all the information you know about you since you don't have documents"

 

Whereas those applying for an I-485 better have their documents. If they don't they are getting an RFE at best, and a denial at worse. With documents, USCIS can tell if the petitioner has a middle name or not. If the birth and passport documents have a middle name and the I-485 doesn't list it, well that's an RFE.

 

The danger to an I-485 petitioner putting "none", "N/A", "NA", "MNU", "NMN", etc. in the middle name field is that the petitioner ends up with a green card that has something NONE as a middle name. 

 

As a former green card holder, I would rather risk an RFE or denial than have NONE on my green card and deal with the I-90 mess of correcting it.

 

So while I cannot guarantee that you won't get an RFE, my reasoning is that you will not. If you do get an RFE, then fill out the form with N/A, and plan to file an I-90.

 

Remember that while every USCIS petition is view skeptically, the most skepticism is for petitions like those for visas like the U class.

 

 

 

 

 

This was helpful. Thank you. We will be submitting i485 with a blank middle name. I agree I'd rather get an RFE for not putting "NONE" or "NMN" and then having that be a middle name on the green card. 

On 3/11/2024 at 12:02 PM, ZephyrMoon said:

Has anyone been approved a K1 after meeting twice? Some period around 11 days total. I’m really stressed out I don’t think that I can afford more time any soon 😭 He’s from Cuba

You can get a K1 approval with one "in person" meeting at the airport for 1 minute before you reboard and fly home. The meeting doesn't have to be substantial to pass the USCIS i-129f "in person" meeting requirements.  Additionally USCIS does not require you to prove you have a real relationship with the initial i-129F application packet. This is a mistake many people make in my opinion because they get so hung up on proving their relationship is real versus reading the directions carefully and providing everything they asked for exactly and nothing more. 

On personal note - You should really reconsider your path where you want to move forward with someone you have only met in real life 11 days total. I also have a relationship with a Cuban. I met her randomly on my first trip to Cuba in 2017 and I wasn't looking for love but a friendship formed from a spark I noticed. We remained online friends for 5+ years and during Covid a romance developed online. I traveled to see her again in Sept 2021 during the height of covid which at the time all flights from the Americas were canceled. I had to fly from NY to Spain, and then from Spain to Havana, and then had to be locked for 5 days in a "quarantine hotel". I then spent the next month with her. After that I traveled to see her for 1.5 weeks in Nov 2021, 2 weeks in January 2022, 2 weeks in March 2022, 1 weekend in may 2022, we both traveled to Trinidad and Tobago for two weeks in June 2022, and then I came back for a week in July 2022, and then two weeks in September 2022, and then a weekend in Oct 2022, 1.5 weeks in Nov 2022, and then two weeks in Jan 2023, and finally she arrived to the states on April 7th 2023 on i-134a. Why am I telling you all this? This is important - Even with all of this in person visit, it's a huge change going from "full time long distance romance" to "full time 24/7 in person living together". We talked often about how our relationship would change when we were finally living together full time and it did, it was as we thought it would be. In my situation the transition has been quite successful. We are still in love and we are living a good life together, however I'd be lying if I said there aren't difficult times where we need to work through relationships. A long distance foreign relationship is no different than any other relationship, the only difference is you aren't spending enough time together in person to really discover the potentially real deal breakers. 

I'd highly encourage you to find some way to see your partner more. Borrow money from friends or family if that's what you need to do.... but without spending substantial time together you are really sitting yourself up for failure and heartache. 

On 3/15/2024 at 4:03 PM, ZephyrMoon said:

If I submit I-134a soon for a Cuban do you think it could get accepted before next year?? I’m terrified that if a republican wins that this program will end

I successfully brought my Cuban fiancée and her direct family (and one friend) to the USA on i-134a. I applied on January 6th 2023 and they were approved late March 2023. I have additionally applied for one of her first cousins in May, and that application remains untouched. 

I will tell you that it's a very frustrating process, and I feel that we were very lucky to have our applications worked on. You need to fill out the application correctly (read the directions closely and use common sense), but the process for selecting which applications will be processed is a literal luck situation. There are no timelines for processing, and it's possible your application will never be processed. Your application could be processed in 1 day after submission, or you could be waiting 1+ year of more. 

The i-129f fiance visa application was also frustrating, however at least that one has set timeframes which you can force them to process your case if you are outside of the established processing order. 

 my thoughts for you would be to apply as soon as possible and cross your fingers. Also I would recommend submitting your application around 10:59-11am EST on a Monday and not the last week of that month and not a monday that is a holiday. This advice is me being a little superstitious but I have watched approvals in various groups, and I've noticed unsubstantiated patterns in approvals and I feel the timeslot I just listed gives you your best chance of approval.  

As a side note - If you do end up going to Trinidad and Tobago you absolutely must get a rental car and drive out to the eastern coast and stay at the AcaJou hotel! Link below. They have super cute bungalows that are nestled between the beach and a rain forest. The food is locally grown, natural, and fantastic. The accommodations are are very romantic, and nice. And the most amazing part is the beach where this is, from like May-July these massive 2,000-2,500 lb leatherback turtles come onto this beach to instinctly dig a 4 foot hole, lay their eggs, and then head back into the ocean. They do this at night and to the early morning. The beach is protected but they sell passes where you can go with a guide and see all this first hand. Even baby turtles that were laid weeks ago might hatch and climb up through the sand. I helped a little guy get to the ocean, super amazing. And these animals are so massive! You really wont believe it. Probably about the size of a riding lawn mower, except maybe not that tall. 

www.acajoutrinidad.com

Here was one of the turtles in the morning. If you go, get up early and head down to see them in the morning... At night they are guided and give you all the information you need to know. Early in the morning you can go by yourself and still see a few. Most of the magic happens at night.  This turtle pictured below wasn't even one of the big ones. 

Hello friends! Long time no see. And before you offer condolences, this isn't a sad story but a happy one! We received NOA2 on I-129F in February 2023, however before NVC contacted us she was approved for Humanitarian Parole (i-134a) and she has been in the states since April! Things are going great. She's enrolled full time in the local community college taking English classes and ESOL classes. Although she's fluent, she wanted to spend time with her grammar and pronunciation. She plans to get her dental education sent to the states, and work at becoming licensed here which requires decent English skills. 

Here is the question - Since USCIS/NVC doens't make it easy to cancel an application, we just decided to let it resolve itself of it's on volition. However I've heard through the grapevine that when we go to apply for premiant residency (I-485) under Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA) that an open i-129F case could cause a denial or delays. Is this true? And does anyone have a nice form letter to sign and send to USCIS and NVC to cancel this case? Lastly I never even contacted NVC, is it easy to find their mailing address or can any of this be quickly resolved with a phone call? Thank you

Bonus pic : We claimed Mt Rainier up to Camp Meir last July. Not an easy hike, but we did it! 

On 1/14/2024 at 4:12 PM, Kitkat14 said:

Hi I have a question. I filed 6 months ago for Humanitarian Parole for my Cuban fiance and have not heard a thing. I saw that you travelled to Trinidad and Tobego and I want to plan a trip to go there with him. My question is how did your Cuban fiance book her ticket? Did she book online and pay in cash at the airport for the ticket? I have searched like crazy online and can't find any answers. My fiance lives in the country and hardly has any connection to look up the answers. I would greatly appreciate any information you could provide me. This has been very difficult on us as he is a nurse and had to quit so he could get a passport and file for Humanitarian Parole. We just need to be able to take a break together. Thank you!

When I took this trip it was June 2022 and at the time I was able to buy a direct flights from Havana to Trinidad and Tobego on CaribbeanAir. I booked this flight in the states for her. At the time there was Covid restrictions which almost derailed the entire trip however we were able to work around it with appropriate bribes to get her a WHO approve covid vaccine. This isn't an issue anymore though. So give CaribbeanAir a call and try booking his RT flight for him. T&T might require him to have cash when he arrives because otherwise it looks like he might be trying to commit illegal immigration. When we went, I met her there and arrived before her and explained the situation. Immigration just rushed her through when she arrived because they knew she was with an american and only on a vacation. 

16 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I have seen all sorts of odd processing times, I am not sure 1 month is normal, why it would be so quick for CAA. To my knowledge that is not how they operate.

I've seen two people approved with a 1 month processing time. I am not an expert on USCIS's process, however I would guess perhaps the reason for the quick processing time is because the burden of proof is so much lower for CAA. All the agent needs to verify is that it's been 1 years since they entered (i-94) and that they have a Cuban birth certificate. It's gotta be one of the easier AOS's categories right? That is a real question because I haven't looked at the i-485 for marriage or any other category. I just know the amount of evidence required for CAA i-485 is almost nothing. 

9 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Absolutely true but in the case and some others I can see competing interests.

 

Seems all her family is here so not likely there is anybody she wishes to sponsor.

 

Cuban Adjustment Act route means OP does not need to be her sponsor.

Yeah all of this is spot on with my situation. I have heard that marriage based i-485 AOS are taking 1-2 years for approval, and I have seen two cases where a Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA) based i-485 AOS took 1 month. So it's not clear what path would really be faster for citizenship if that was our main motivating factor (It isn't). Marry on day one, and then marriage based AOS in 1-2 years, or wait a year to qualify for CAA and then AOS in 1 additional month. 

Just now, Crazy Cat said:

Some couples choose a fast courthouse wedding and a big ceremony later.  

Yeah, I know that's an option for some, however I personally would prefer a 'good enough' wedding on a rushed 90 day timeline, verses a courthouse wedding with big ceremony later. My first marriage (to an American) was basically a rushed courthouse marriage and it's something I personally don't want to ever do again. I am not saying there is anything wrong with the idea, it makes a lot of sense for sure... but it's just not for me. 🙂 Regardless since my partner is coming on Humanitarian Parole there is a lot of things on our plate and now we will have the time to marry when it's an appropriate time for us. I sponsored her entire family so getting everyone integrated into American society will be a massive chore. 

51 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

What does that mean???

I was being careless with my words. The 90 days isn't enough time for us to plan the wedding that we both desire. I (we) want to have a "dream wedding". At the time of the year we desire, at the perfect venue we want, with the perfect dress, with all our close friends and family, and lots of planning of events/speeches/flower arrangements/photographers/etc. Had she traveled to the US under K1, 90 days is a little tight to really organize everything we really wanted. Lots of corners would have been cut with Venues and things like that. We would have settled for a "good enough" instead of "perfect". Certainly if this had happened the Wedding we would have planned would have been cute and great for us... But having more time for preparations would be nice. 

My last update to this post. The law I was worried about being enacted in Cuba is still only rumor and speculation. After a couple of months of daily action and analysis to find some way to get movement with USCIS, I am convinced there is nothing that can get this organization to process your application any faster. You best hope is to be patient and work on your own mental health to try and not go crazy over how unfair the system was. 

I received approval last Friday (really 11:46PM on 3/24) after I had submitted applications for her family on 3/20. It was one of her family members applications which triggered being confirmed on 3/24 which then caused all other applications to be confirmed. My partner will be coming to the US next week 🙂 Here is an update success thread I made 

1 hour ago, Ngillet said:

Good advise. Also, I am happy to know that your pending K1 didn't affect it. I was worried, that if USCIS saw we have an approved K1 then they wouldn't bother with the i134a petition. 

My best advice would be to remember what path you are arriving from, and make sure your honest answers are appropriate for the path you are traveling on. 

For example - If the CBP officer asks my fiancée - "Where will you be staying?", a decent answer to that question is "With my boyfriend who is my sponsor". A poor answer would be "With my fiancé, whom I plan to marry within 90 days, and so I could file an AOS". This might cause the CBP agent to say you are traveling on the wrong immigration path and send the beneficiary back to Cuba. In my current situation, we have no immediate plans to get married. Had we got to the embassy interview stage of K1 then we would have scrambled to make some sort of marriage plans, and had she traveled on K1 we would have married within the 90 days even though 90 days isn't nearly enough time to get married. i-134a is much more applicable path for us, as she really is traveling for humanitarian reasons. 

4 minutes ago, Ngillet said:

Wow! You got confirmed???? Congrats! I am hoping ours will come too. 

77 days waiting for me... I emailed/called congressmen regularly, senators regularly, filed application with ombudsman, emailed the President of USCIS, made duplicates that I regret I made, called USCIS often, was put in a queue to talk to a Tier 2 agent on 1/31 and never received a callback.  Analyzed this from every possible angle, trying to find some logical sense to why some are processed within days, while others wait 6+ months.... In my experience, everything I did was wasted efforts. And this is what I would suggest for anyone waiting on this process : 

Limit social media time. Accept this is a unfair random process, and there is nothing you could have done differently for your application to be accepted. I do believe that the longer you go in the system, the system does put some weight on those that are bumping up close to 90 days. This is pretty much all the advice I can offer. Be patient and try your best to not allow yourself going crazy over how unfair the process is. 

Tips for those about to apply - Submit your application at 11am EST on a Monday. idk why but I am superstitious a little and this was the submission time on the application I submitted that got approved. Note - it wasn't my fiancée who was initially approved but one of her family members that I applied for on 3/20 at 11am. They were confirmed at 11:46 pm on 3/24, and then everyone I applied to sponsor was then approved. 

14 minutes ago, Timona said:

Is she the Cuban dentist? I think I recall your story.

 

Nice video 👐

Yup. You remember correctly. We are in the process of getting her Cuban Dental degree sent to the USA and once she passes the dental boards here then she will hopefully enroll in a 2 year International Dental Program here to be a fully licensed dentist in NY. 🙂 

On 3/21/2023 at 4:31 PM, Boiler said:

Yes

 

Parole is temporary no difference to say visiting 

Unless you are Cuban. Cuban Adjustment Act (CAA) of 1966, allows Cubans Permanent residency after staying in the US for 1 year. Additionally I have seen Cubans receiving AOS via CAA in roughly a month. The amount of evidence you need to get Permanent Residency is I-94 showing when you arrived in the country, and your Cuban Birth Certificate. That's it which is why I think the approval is such a quick process. It's an amazing immigration path for Cubans. 

10 hours ago, Stook said:

Advice on Facebook AND advice on many "K1 Visa Tips" websites (including those from immigration services and lawyers) often has incorrect, terrible  advice. My advice is always to follow exactly what the USCIS website and the I-129f instructions and Checklist state.

I couldn't agree with you more. It's interesting to me how easily it is for "bad advice" to creep into widely followed practices. And I find it even more puzzling when actual immigration lawyers also follow these undocumented "bad advice" practices. Lawyers should really have no excuse. I know they are humans and can make errors too, but you'd think after studying law they have been very keen to following exactly what is being asked by the process and not reaching outside the scope of the instructions. But what do I know, I am not a lawyer... I only watch a lot of Judge Judy lol

4 minutes ago, Bh_sarah said:

I still think every case is unique, and some agents even approved cases where only one letter was sent/the couple signed only one letter instead of each their own. I wouldn't include our 2 years of messages to bore any and every agent, but I'm still a bit on the side of front loading your case with a tiny bit more of evidence, especially for online relationships or for high-fraud countries. We were very much into our relationship and with a marriage mindset from the start, but the fact we didn't meet personally for the first 2 years and then got engaged the first time we met in a 3rd country (our families weren't involved at all in this meeting and I know it can all sound a bit naive) made us a bit apprehensive to be fair, so we did include a bit more than USCIS asked for hoping we would avoid an RFE. 

Yes you are right that it does come down to the agents. I will even admit the two signed letters I sent were on the light side of evidence of intent to marry. Had they provided me an RFE then I would have followed up with my engagement ring receipt, wedding plans, chat exchange I had with pastor who will be marrying us. Things like that. I am not trying to discourage people from provided additional evidence of "Intent to marry" besides the two signed letters I sent which worked for me. Perhaps you might get one of those agents who want a little more evidence than letters of intent. 

I wish you best of luck on your journey. You will probably be okay, don't worry about it. If you do get an RFE though, read it very carefully and make sure you respond back with exactly what they are asking for.