OldUser

Is there a credible lawyer she can hire to do legal analysis and put explanation in writing citing relevant laws etc? This may be something US officials could give at least some weight. Please keep us updated. It's not every day that we see such cases. Your report will be super valuable regardless of the outcome.

Interesting... typically birth certificate is the main identity document a person has and all other docs in life derive from it... Why can't she get corrected version? This is a big problem. DOS may think she's impersonating somebody / faking her ID.

Whenever backlog is growing, USCIS starts processing newer cases faster to imrove stats for processing times (at least in my opinion). I've seen this with everything: AOS, I-751, N-400, asylum. I-130 is no different

UK allows holding multiple British passports AFAIK. Why not just apply for second one? Waiting for visa with international trip lined up is a valid reason to apply for second passport. The first can stay with US embassy however long it needs.

3 weeks doesn't seem long for US immigration and especially in 221g land. AFAIK there is no set timeline. Do you need passport urgently for travel? Can't you apply for second passport, many countries allow it. If you want to get passport back because you want US visa in it... You can try inquiring, pressuring embassy etc but they have the key to the kindgdom and will take however long they need.

How big is the difference? Is it: 1) John Smith vs Ben Afflek 2) John Smith vs Jon Smith 3) John Smith vs John Smiths 4) John Smith vs John Brown ? Does she have a good explanation why the name is different? How did she get other docs in different name, like passport? Usually to get one, people show birth certificate. Will she have new birth certificate?

Why is this a surprise? F2B never moves linearly. It's not to do with vacations. There is a cap on number of visas available. If there was an influx of people petitioning foreign relatives in the past and they all came to get visa, DOS ran out of visas, the queue grows and nobody filing after is able to get visa for the timebeing.

I was under impression service centers don't process N-400s. Must be NBC?

Good point

That is really kind of her. Many would have issued RFE instead delaying everything. Tax return transcripts and statements are vital for marriage based I-751 / N-400 combo IMHO. Thank you for sharing !

Well, they approve after interview, right? You got conditional approval. Looks like approval can only happen when somebody is on US soil, but I may be wrong. Please keep us posted.

I don't know how they work, but ask them to give you a chance to review everything before sending. Triple check everything. If some answers they put don't make sense, ask VJ community here to review them. If your gut tells you there's something incorrect, trust it. In the past, you had a chance to correct answers during interview. Nowadays, majority of interviews for AOS are waived. Meaning if you get approved on the wrong premise and get your GC, any serious discrepancy in answer can get you in trouble later during I-751 or even when naturalizing. The worst nightmare is for USCIS to accuse somebody of misrepresenting themselves at late stage of immigration and potential of losing GC after having it for 3-5 years.

Makes sense. Good luck!

No surprise, K3 is dead. Are you a US citizen or GC holder?

CR-1 is cheaper. And once you enter the US you'll have right to work, travel and GC in hand. You'll be better protected as an immigrant too. K-1 is longer if you consider entire time to get GC. You will be restricted more, unable to work or travel outside the US for 6-9 months. Also, if your fiance changes mind and doesn't want to marry you, you'll have no path to stay in the US and generally will have fewer rights compared to LPR when entering on CR1. Not to say this is a major item, but there's nothing wrong in choosing the best for yourself. Of course, the trade off is temporary separation while waiting for CR-1. Though, if you happen to have visitor visa before you start going this route (I-130 etc), then you most likely will be able to visit the US. And of course, your fiance will be able to visit you at your home country.

If you leave the US and get immigrant visa through counsular processing, there is no fraud. Plans and 2 and 3 are OK. Marrying in the US is OK and allowed, but if CBP suspects you're marrying, they may deny entry on H2B.

Question: why didn't file I-130 online? It's supposed to be cheaper this way? I can understand mailing AOS as a whole (I-130, I-485 etc).. But for standalone I-130???

Good luck! 8-10 weeks is between November 4 to November 18

30 day is optimistic, this is a normal timeline. Lately it's been taking up to 8-10 weeks.

H2B is inconsistent with your immigration intent. You cannot lie on visa application and to US embassy personnel saying you're coming to the US on temporary basis for work while planning to stay and adjust. This is called immigration fraud.

I'd file FOIA to get all immigration files from USCIS, so there's no guesses on how the questions were answered on N-400. You should get all of this information and know for sure what's in USCIS file on you.

Oh I missed the part your son was outside of the US. I always thought GE can only be approved while in the US? If true, this explains it.

I have a bad (personal) opinion on RapidVisa and other online services that hire people who do not have relevant education to file cases. It's a big factory where the low waged unqualified people toss files together in a short amount of time to keep productivity going. In reality, they are not liable for your application and they have low interest in your case. It's much better either spending good time to file it yourself properly OR hiring a real immigration lawyer. Even lawyers make mistakes (my did, but I caught everything before we submitted paperwork). As to medical... No civil surgeon is going to look at your DS-3025 for free and won't sign it completed for sure. Every now and then somebody on VJ asks if some local civil surgeon is going to do it. No, forget about it. Their time is too valuable and their hourly rate is too high to deal with this. Either check whether your medical is completed (there's check box) or do medical for I-693 to be bulletproof. In theory if your DS-3025 is completed, you can just send it. Worst case, USCIS will issue RFE or NOID for missing medical. It's time consuming, if you want GC approved fast without questions, might as well pay for fresh exam. I hope this helps!

Smart choice

Employment Authorization Document. A plastic card allowing immigrant to work while waiting for green card. Can be obtained by filing I-765 (separate fee). I highly recommend it as it will serve as identity document and will allow the immigrant not only to work, but open bank accounts, credit cards, get driver's license and more. The more immigrant settles in the country and comingles finances etc, the more evidence of bonafide marriage they're going to have for their GC approval. Also recommend filing I-131, Advance Parole. Separate fee applies. Also serves as ID document and allows travelling outside the US without abandoning adjustment of status application. Sometimes emergencies happen. It's not rare to hear on VJ when immigrant has to decide between visiting their sick parents back home and staying in US to get GC. This solves thr problem.