Catt

Thank you for your reply.

I am aware of all this, and that was not really the question, the question was about timing and possibility to change biometrics appt. date.

Hi everyone,

I haven't posted in a long time - after the adjustment of status procedure, I really needed to take a break from the American immigration red tape. A year and a half, and a baby, later, I guess we are back.

The ROC procedure is coming up, and I am interested in hearing your advice, especially from the VJ veterans around here.

My Green Card is expiring mid June, so we need to file soon. Issue is that we are set to travel abroad (for one week) to attend a family function. They are still planning this, and are asking us when would be a good date between May 1st and July 1st.

We haven't booked our trip yet, and I am trying to figure out when would be the best time to file to avoid any issues with conflicting dates for biometrics and/or interview.

My husband suggested having our trip just before my green card expires, and holding off with filing either just before we leave or after we get back. I personally feel uneasy about this - I do not like leaving the country so close to the deadline, plus I definitely do not want to wait until the last moment of the 90 day window to file. Because what if something happens (like it gets lost in the mail, or other issues I can't imagine at this time. It is good to have extra time, just in case things have to be resent.)

So I'm thinking filing mid March, as soon as I can, and planning our trip/having them plan the event at the end of June.

We will be filing at the Vermont Service Center, and if I can get a rough idea from the recent timelines, it looks like the NOA1 come fairly quickly and biometrics are usually done at least within 3 months from filing.

And I read on here a few days ago that interviews for ROC are rather rare.

So what would you do if you were in my shoes? When would you file, and for when would you book the trip?

And I know from personal experience with AOS, that changing interview dates is very very hard to do (my husband was deployed, I couldn't change the date but they let me go to the interview by myself) but that was at a different local CIS office). Is the same true for a biometrics appointment, or has anyone here already changed that date successfully?

Any thoughts (apart from postpone the trip, yes, I know that would obviously be easiest, but that is not an option) would really be appreciated, I want to be as prepared as I can.

Thanks in advance

Katrien

Means nothing. emails are easily faked. Send me an email saying anything, I will change it and send it back to myself and make it say something entirely different and it will appear to come from you. You can't be serious. This is the United States. You MUST PROVE what you say in court. She is INNOCENT until after you PROVE she is guilty. The threshold of proof in civil court is less than criminal court, but not much and much more is disregarded in civil court. You need PROOF that you had a contract for her to re-pay the money.

Not to mention that the email does not seem to mention any money at all.

Her statement that she was acting, could mean anything and nothing, and does not constitute an admission that he gave her/she received cash for the purpose of arranging the marriage/certainly not that she stole anything.

Landing her in jail with this, is out of the question.

I also don't see any possibility of a civil case being successful. Any halfway decent attorney will blow this "proof" right out of the water, even if it could be proven the lady really sent this email to begin with.

What kind of memorandum does my husband need from his XO?

The letter from his CO should be brief and to the point:

Name/rank of soldier, unit, job description.

Your name - immigration case number - what you wanted expedited.

Furthermore it should just state that the soldier needs to be able to fully focus on the job at hand.

The uncertainty of knowing if/when his fiancee/wife will be able to join him in the US is hindering that.

So it is therefore of the utmost importance (DOD national interest situation - look up the thread 'Expedite Tips' I mentioned and do some research, it really is all in there ...) that your case be handled/approved immediately.

Hi everyone... Just introducing myself here and hopefully getting some advice

My fiance is currently deployed in Iraq, we are planning on getting married in May over his R&R then following the correct steps for a CR-1 (me returning to Australia). I have a few questions that I hope someone can answer for us

1) Can we try for an expedite seeing as he's deployed til Oct this year? If so, can we send this along with the I-130 Package and request the military expadite in the cover letter? Should we also attach a letter from command as well as copy of orders as proof of service? If so what should this letter say, should his commander/s know what to write for this?

2) If the expadite is approved I may receive my visa before he returns from deployment. In this case we would like for me to travel to the US and get us an apartment before he gets home. I understand we will need a POA with special conditions for this, can we write one up ourselves and have it notarized/certified or whatever it's called? What's the best way to get a POA? Go to JAG right after we marry and get them to do one up or can we have one done while he's in Iraq?

Thanks for any advice!

Hi,

1) Yes, you should be able to. I would NOT include the expedite request in the initial package, since chance is high it will get overlooked and then you would be stuck waiting with everyone else, or have to resend it later on.

What I would do is send your I-130, then once you get your NOA1 (notice of receipt, you will get your casenumber), you immediately file your expedite request, with a copy of this NOA1.

We worked through a Senator and it very much sped things up as well.

My husband wrote a letter, stating the reasons for the request (DOD national interest situation - soldier has to be able to fully focus on the job at hand and the uncertainty of when/if wife/fiancee can join him in US is making that difficult).

He did not have actual deployment orders in hand, so we did include a letter of his CO.

In your case, the copy of the depl orders should be sufficient but it cannot hurt to include the CO's letter.

It should include a similar reasoning: mention of where/with what unit your husband is deployed, what his job is, that it is essential he can concentrate on his mission so it is therefore essential that your case is handled/approved asap.).

Do check out the thread 'Expedite Tips', also in the IR-1/CR-1 Forum, for more precise info.

2) POA: you can draw up your own POA, go to a Notary Public off post and have it notarized there (should you spend your R&R away from your husband's base). Or you can take advantage of services on post (doesn't have to be your husband's base, if another one is near), go visit JAG (I would recommend this, they also know more precisely what the POA needs to contain, they have several versions there as well) plus then you would not have to pay for the POA.

If you get married in the US, I would just get the POA taken care of then.

He should also be able to get one drawn up downrange. However, how fast/easy that is, will depend on where he is stationed exactly. For example, on my husband's base (he is deployed to Iraq right now), they don't have anyone available to draw up POA's. So they either have to fly in legal staff for that, or have the soldier flown out to another base, which costs time. I am an FRG leader myself and we have had issues with that for one of our families that needed a POA fast.

On top of that, mail back to the US is not always reliable (some mail he sent back here got lost - this might be exceptional but why take a chance?).

So save yourself the aggravation and just get your paperwork done during R&R, if you can (plus I would also try and get put in DEERS already, if possible, so you can get started on getting your medical coverage. You might not need it in Australia, but once you arrive in the US, you would want that medical coverage asap. So do prepare for that, as you might not be able to do all that by yourself, at least not without a POA - check with JAG and the DEERS people what you need to do to get that sorted out as well).

When you see JAG, I would also tell them you want to find an appartment/sign a lease agreement while waiting for your husband to return from deployment. They might have good info for you to take into account, when doing this.

I hope this helps.

thanks guys... my husband was advised to expedite our case and he called the NVC about it and he was told that they only expidite cases if a soldier is on deployment..so i guess we have to wait then..

That is incorrect, because I know for a fact NVC has already expedited military cases without actual deployment orders.

On the phone they can tell you no matter what though...

I remember we had called USCIS (earlier stage) and they had also said: no expedite without deployment orders. However, we did file it - with help of our Senator - and the expedite request (and subsequently our I-129F and I-130 petitions) got approved within one day. We did not request expedite at NVC level, since we were going for K3, but other people have already done so successfully.

Luckily these days NVC seems to be moving quite fast, so you might not lose too much time if you just wait it out with NVC (check out the threads about NVC stage to see how long the average wait time is these days).

If you do want to file the expedite request, then I would advise your husband contacts his Senator/Congressman. Some are extremely helpful and should be able to help you (some are not, but if that happens, just contact someone else). They can also help you at the next stage, at Embassy/Consulate level.

you can do it at any and every stage. Have you already sent the 230? if so, it probably wont help to send an expedite request. Most of the time they want to see deployment orders. That is what I sent...deployment orders, proof of service letter, and a cover letter asking to be expedited.

Yes, it would definitely still help/be possible to send an expedite request!

The same goes for the Embassy/Consulate stage.

Deployment orders are NOT necessary - since military expedites are also granted when the soldier does not have deployment orders. In that case, a letter of the soldier's CO helps. And on top of that, help of a Senator/Congressman can make things go even a bit faster.

All of this has already been covered at length in other threads. Search for the thread "Expedite Tips" in the CR-1/IR-1 Forum, and you should find all the info you would need.

Good luck.

Be patient you will have enough time to do everything but latter, your husband should stay put until the visa gets approved he will not be able to get in and that could put in jepardy your visa petiton.

Good luck on your journey,

Orlando....

This is not necessarily true!

While we were waiting for approval of my I-130 and I-129F petitions and ultimately for me to get my K3, I DID travel to the US for a few weeks, without any issue.

As one poster wrote, whether/how easily husband can travel to the US would depend on the country he is in now. If he lives in a VWP country, it would be easier than if he would have to apply for a tourist visa.

Should he live in a VWP country, he could in theory travel.

What is important when he does, is that he has "sufficient proof of home ties", to show to the officers at the US Port of Entry that his intent, during this trip, is NOT to move to the US but merely to visit for a short period of time.

Such proof would for example be: letter from his employer that he will return to work after x amount of time / proof of ownership of house/appartment or copy of ongoing rental agreement in the foreign country / utility bills for upcoming month etc.

If they ask him if he IS in the process of getting a K3 (or Ir-1/CR-1) visa, he should be truthful and give them the number of the case (he has nothing to hide).

They might not ask for this proof (they didn't ask me anything), but they can. And should he not have it with him then, he might be denied entrance, which would complicate your case.

Good luck.

First, your lawyer has given you bad advice. If you wish to maintain the long distance marriage then applying for a green card is just a waste of money. You have to reside in the US to have the green card and you are not in the position to do that right now.

When visiting the US, the onus is on you to reassure the border authorities that you are not an intending immigrant but a bona fide visitor. Your circumstances are unusual as you are trying to live two separate lives joined together by regular visits, but it isn't unique. I know of one Canadian married to an Australian who is doing the same thing.

You mention you have strong ties to the UK. What you need to do is to gather together proof of those strong ties and provide definitive evidence that you are not an intending immigrant for each and every visit to the US. Yes, you have been flagged right now so you will have to put together a very strong package that will reassure the border authorities that you have no intention of immigrating. That will include proof of property ownership in the UK, a mortgage or a lease for where you live. I am assuming that your children remain in the UK while you visit, so documents such as a letter from their school that they are enrolled in classes as permanent students, a copy of your custody arrangement with the children's father showing they either live with you or you have joint custody, and even a letter from their father stating he does not agree to them leaving the country at this time which supports your choice for staying in the UK for now. Bring proof of your financial responsibilities in the UK - proof of other property ownership; insurance; utility bills, things like that - all the most recent ones you have showing an ongoing responsibility to this issue. Bring a letter from your employer showing what you do and when you are expected back to work.

Also, prepare a list of all of your travel dates to the US showing when you travelled and how long you stayed and if you have supporting documents such as boarding passes proving your statement, include those with the document. This provides further evidence that you have established a pattern of visiting and returning. Also carry a letter from your husband outlining your current agreement that while you are married both of you are also parents and because you are not able to bring your children out of their birth countries, are currently living a long distance marriage until those circumstances change. Provide your husband with a similar letter. Have the signatures on these letters notarized (in the US) or certified (in the UK).

You should also provide a document that shows how often your husband has travelled to the UK to see you, again providing arrival and departure dates to show that this relationship isn't one-sided with you doing all of the travelling.

It will mean a bit of ongoing work for you to prepare and carry this package of information with you whenever you visit, but you need to do what you can to reassure the border authorities that you are trustworthy and not an immigration risk. With proper preparation you should be able to continue travelling with the VWP. If for some reason you are denied, then you can still try for a Visitor's visa at the US Consulate - again providing them with all of the above evidence and whatever else you can gather to prove your ties to the UK.

Good luck.

Excellent advice!

it sounds like you both need to grow up a bit. you need to respect your husband, even if he tells you to leave him alone. your behaviour needs to accomodate his culture, because you have chosen to live in it. this means no bad temper and fighting. that may work in the philipines, but you ain't there anymore. this means leave him alone when he tells you to, and help him when he tells you to. he will respect you and care for you the moment you get your life and your children's lives under control.

you also need to be careful in your use of english language. each word in the Americanised english language has very specific meaning that may not correspond to it's use in phil. you need to tell only the truth, because giving false testimony is considered a very serious offense in America, in a legal sense, and in a relationship. misrepresenting the truth can cost you your relationship, and even wind you up in jail.

Actually, respect in a relationship needs to flow both ways, regardless of where either side is from.

Telling this lady to respect her husband and to accommodate his culture, seemingly simply because she is the foreigner, is quite rude IMO.

She did not just move to the US because she chose to live here, the couple is together because they decided to share their life, is as I see it. Having a relationship involving different cultures implies respect and compromise on both sides, not just the side that happens to be American.

Hi guys!

I hope someone can help me with this.

My husband and I just found out that he is being deployed in may.

We are in the middle of our journey ( at the NVC-stage) and have decided to try and delay my interview until july so I will be able to travel to the States in december when he gets back (it is 6 months you have to travel on your visa right?)

When he leaves he will not keep the house he has been living in, which is the adress that has been on all our paperwork so far. When he is getting ready to deploy, is it ok to do an adresschange and list his parents adress?

We are hoping to be done with NVC before he leaves ( incase there are any RFE's) and then just getting in touch with the embassy to push my interview back a month or two, depending on when NVC appoints the "original" interview. This should be doable right?

I hope someone has some answers or suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Take Care!

If I were you, I would try and go talk to someone at the Embassy right now, and ask their advice.

Since they would be the ones to delay your paperwork, it would be good to get a feel from the start of what they would be willing to do. Considering you need help because of a deployment, I would expect them to be lenient but you want to be sure and not just assume, right.

As for the address change, whatever you do, also make sure your husband has his mail forwarded to his parents by USPS. And could he ask his neighbors/new tenants/landlord to keep an eye on things as well, just so you don't miss anything?

Good luck.

Thanks bud.......I am not paying the lawyer anything, its suppose to be a wedding gift from my cousin. Apparently my cousin is good friends with this stupid lawyer and that's he forced me to use him. To make matters ever worst this lawyer does not even handle family visa's, he is more into employment visa's. I just hope that I don't have to depend on him from now on for any further paperwork.

I am just not sure what other papers will I have to fill out from now on that I have to use this stupid lawyer.

If your cousin is such good friends with the lawyer, then let your cousin help you in conveying your dissatisfaction. Seems to me that (apart from you contacting USCIS to inform them of the change) your cousin could be your safeguard for making sure you don't miss any paperwork after you release the lawyer from your case - again, if they really are good friends. Even though that should not be allowed to happen, in reality things do sometimes go wrong after (some) lawyers are taken off a case.

And furthermore, just because one lawyer (or a bunch of them) takes no pride in his/her work, doesn't mean we are all crappy. Stories like that never cease to anger me because some of us actually try and do a decent job, regardless of the money involved.

It is not all your lawyer's fault btw: You are a grown up, so no one forced you to hire this person, especially for something as important as an immigration case. You could have also done your homework and asked him/her about experience with your type of visa prior to filing. Let this be a lesson and do some research of your own from now on. This site, along with the USCIS site itself (which contains the most recent version of all documents and instructions), is a good start. People like Pushbrk can also give you useful and practical advice.

Sorry for you both that your marriage isn't working out.

However, from what you have written above (and with the remark that I don't know your complete story and am not up to speed on California divorce law or the national family law of wherever you were married), I see no grounds for annulment.

Okay, you had an arranged marriage. However, this happens quite often in some parts of the world and would in itself not be a sign of lack of a good faith marriage. Also, you knew from the start it WAS an arranged marriage and you went along with it.

The non-disclosure of her mother's "mental illness" by your wife prior to your marriage will not be easily recognized as grounds for annulment, I would assume, otherwise it would be all too easy to get out from under a marriage. First off, she did tell you her mom is depressed, you mentioned. If the mother has a different mental condition, then you would have to prove that mental condition exist and - had you known this info prior to the marriage - you would not have married her. Simply any mental condition - of a parent in law! so not even the spouse - would not be sufficient to get an annulment. Maybe if the condition is severe and hereditary, meaning any kids might get it as well? You would definitely need an attorney to help you with this one.

You also write that after the marriage, you noticed you really don't like your wife. This seems a bit contradictory with your statement about the mental illness. Also, just because you noticed you do not like your wife doesn't in itself mean that there is any fraud going on or that the marriage was not entered into for good faith reasons.

Also, as others have said, you are not in a position to "send her back home". You are not the government.

As I understand, she has a green card so her status is legit until that card expires.

She now has a conditional green card, so she will need to remove conditions at the end of the 2 year period. However, if you divorce her, unless I am mistaken, she can apply for removal of conditions on her own.

It is not forbidden for you to visit the US in the meantime.

They can send you back at POE but this will depend on what the US authorities think is the purpose of your trip (abstraction made of other possible reasons for ineligibility): if it is just to visit your husband for a few weeks, that should be fine. If they are convinced you are in fact intending to immigrate and stay in the country indefinitely, then that will be a problem.

So make sure you bring sufficient proof that you still have ties in your home country and that you will indeed return after your short visit.

I went to visit my husband while we were in K3 visa processing and traveled on the Visa Waiver Program (so no tourist visa needed, you might want to check if that also applies to Sweden, also a European country).

Although prior to traveling I had worried about possibly being turned back at POE, this was in my case not a problem.

I had taken "sufficient proof of home ties", such as:

- letter from my employer that I was still employed and would return on date X

- proof of utility bills

- proof of Belgian bank account still active

And also my USCIS case info, NOA1 number.

Take this info in your carry-on, of course, since you will need it prior to getting your luggage.

In my case, no question at all was asked, except for "what is the purpose of your trip, business or pleasure?", as they usually ask with VWP. Nothing else.

If they ask you if you are in immigration proceedings, just tell them yes and give them the info needed. You have nothing to hide.

I'm just not clear about why she not be allowed to be in the US during the period? She is not trying to use the marriage on the tourist visa to become legal, we would be going through the same process as if she were in Italy, only she would be in the US until it came time to get the actual visa in Italy.

Thanks for your responses, the bureaucracy is just a bit confusing for me!

We married in Europe and then applied for K3. During the K3 processing, I visited my husband in the US (on the Visa Waiver Program) for a few weeks, and I did not have any problems entering the country.

I had taken lots of proof of "sufficient home ties" with me, such as a letter from my employer, stating I would return to work at X date. In my case they did not ask for any proof, but they could, so I would be prepared.

According to the I-94, I was allowed to stay 3 months, so I could have done that, had we wanted to.

I have also not heard of visa extensions, but the Embassy will know more about that of course. Thing is, with VWP you don't need a visa. So - assuming Italy also falls under the VWP (but I might be mistaken there) - what would they extend precisely?

Good luck.

P.S. I agree with Pushbrk and in hindsight we would definitely not go for K3 anymore... Either K1 and then get married in the US (since that seems faster than K3 on average) or just CR1. But that is of course a personal decision.

Does this girl friend live alone or does she have roommates or a boyfriend?

I don't know why precisely it's inappropriate -- I mean, I can't pin it down to one reason. It's a bit odd yes, a married man staying over at a girl friend's place for a week. But like you said, he can't really fly over for lunch or a movie. But if it's making you uncomfortable, then obviously it's an issue.

And my most important suggestion to you--become friends with this girl. Pronto. Email/chat/pick up the phone/whatever.

Keep your friends close. Your enemies, even closer.

I completely agree with Sachinky, and also with what Sundrop has posted.

It is not about not doing something because it would be "inappropriate" in general. However, if you feel bad because of it, that should be reason enough!

Personally, I would NOT be okay with my husband spending that amount of time on his own with a friend every 6 months, be it a male friend or a female friend (but frankly, especially not a female friend). He does not have a lot of leave so it is nice to be able to spend it together.

From reading all your posts, it seems that the problem here might especially be that particular girl. You somewhere mentioned (if I remember correctly) that you wouldn't really want to go along and spend that time with her because she wouldn't like it....

Well, why not! And what does she not like in particular?

So it seems that SHE has a problem with your relationship. I would focus on that.

It will be interesting to see what her reaction is to your fiance suggesting she come visit you or both of you going over to her.

It might also be good to do just that prior to getting married, just to see how it feels and if you really feel comfortable with it all.

Good luck.

Im hoping i get all the paperwork filled in and signed and sent to hubby this month so we can get the ball rolling..

I was just thinking what if this whole process takes longer then planned..He is due to deploy in November. What happens if we get close to the final stage and he gets deployed or the deployment gets pulled forward? will we have any problems??

Hi,

Deployment getting pushed forward aside:

Unless your case has special issues that you have not mentioned and that would complicate it, or unless USCIS/NVC's policy has changed drastically in the past months, it should be possible for you to be in the US by November.

It indeed in general IS possible to get a case expedited for military reasons (though again, I don't know your particular situation obviously).

We did this as well, at a time my husband did not have deployment orders yet. They knew the unit would probably deploy within the next year, however it was not clear at that time when this might be. (This can be unclear until pretty close to the actual deployment date. The actual (paper) orders themselves, once it is certain deployment will happen, can come very late - in my husband's case they were handing out a copy to the soldiers the day the unit was shipping out to Iraq.).

So you do NOT need actual deployment orders or a set deployment date. A letter from his CO helps in that case.

Check out the thread called "Expedite Tips" (in this IR-1/CR-1 Forum) that deals at length with what you need to do to file this expedite. (you will have to do this via search, I don't think any recent posts have been made in this thread).

You can also look at the 'military spouse' thread, which also contains info on this in previous posts, although not as much.

Again, once you have filed your I-130 paperwork and you have your NOA1, you can file the expedite. Things can go really fast after that (we got our expedite request AND our I-130 - and also I-129F, since we were K3, but the same would apply for only I-130 - approved within one day of filing. Usually it takes a bit longer but still, it can happen.) So be prepared for that.

You can apply an expedite at USCIS level, and then again at NVC and Embassy/Consulate level.

I know of at least one case where the foreign spouse was from the UK and got a positive response on the request.

I would suggest that, as soon you have completed your research on I-130 petitions (to avoid an RFE) and have all the paperwork you need, to not delay applying. That way you can get things started. This Forum is great and can help you every step of the way. About the expedite part, feel free to ask me any info you need on top of that, I might be of help.

Good luck.

Hi,

This reminds me of what my sister went through a few years ago.

Their relationship wasn't working out and she wanted to end it, however each time she tried to, he started talking about suicide.

So she felt guilty and responsible ("what if he does something? It will be my fault. How can I live with that?") and stayed in the relationship, which wasn't working at all and which was making her more and more miserable.

People told her he was emotionally blackmailing her, even if he realized it or not, and she should get out before it got worse, but she just didn't dare to out of fear of what might happen.

Finally one evening she came to my house and told me she had left him. While she was with me, she started receiving text messages, very similar to yours. We contacted his family and with his father, we went over to his house. In his case, seeing his father helped defuse the situation.

That evening for her - luckily - was sort of the final straw and she decided that, no matter what, she was NOT getting back together with him. And she hasn't since.

I hope you don't back down now. Because if you do, next time (and there will be a next time) will most likely be even worse.

Your situation is more difficult, because he came to another country for you and has a serious medical condition (MS). However, you have your children and need to think about their and your health and safety. There have indeed been several examples in the media about a depressed parent killing themselves and their spouse and/or kids in the process. This might not happen in your case, but is that a risk you can take?

A good thing is that he is now already in psychiatric evaluation, so you do not need to take steps to get him counseling. I would go talk to whomever is treating him, and tell them clearly the relationship has ended, and he needs help dealing with that.

You can still help him get back on his feet, at least in the beginning, but I would make one thing very clear: you are through and he cannot use the threat of suicide as a way to bind you to him, that is unacceptable.

Good luck.

but remember, as a USCIS investigator told me...illegal immigrants are like roaches....once you get them here it is difficult to get rid of them like a roach hanging out in your wall even if they have to hide out from USCIS...they wil find jobs to work for cash and such but fraud is fraud and they will never be given anmesty because of that fraud, it is a lifetime ban.

We are comparing people to roaches now?

Nice.

If his marriage was legally binding in Cameroon he wasn't free to marry you in the USA so you can probably get an annulment or divorce based on that?

You have a very good point!

I would focus on that: was he legally able to enter into this new marriage to begin with? If not, it might (I don't know US or Cameroon law on this) indeed be a possible ground for annulment plus this might also make things difficult for the immigrant, who got his GC based on this marriage.

Hey ladys, im also a military wife since 10.10.09. Hopefully we will be ready soon to file for CR1 just still a lil confused with it all. The military helpline S**ks!! We tried tog et help of them twice and both times they had no clue what they were doing. If there are any ladys out there filing for the CR1 i would love to hear from you..

Shaz

Yes Shaz, although the Military Helpline is already much better than the usual USCIS line, you are still sort of on your own. Even some bases aren't that great ... when we first started, we went to talk to ACS on post, and the woman was clueless. All she could tell us was "be prepared to wait a very long time"! She did not even know about the military expedites, which cost us several months.

If you have questions, don't be afraid to ask now. Best be prepared and avoid some of the mistakes others of us have made in the past.

Take care!

What personally annoys me in this type of discussions, is when people follow the "the relationship failed" (for whatever reason) message, with "put him on a plane back home asap!!".

It is not like in an immigrant is a bowl of spaghetti that you an send back to the kitchen if something is wrong. And it is not the US Citizen's job to put anyone back on a plane to wherever.

One can terminate the relationship, cut all ties, get a divorce, and - if there is indeed a valid reason to suspect fraud - notify USCIS. After that, the foreign national is on his own and it is no longer your concern where he chooses to reside. But the whole ship them back home reasoning is inappropriate.

Your initial argument that it fraud should not immediately be called when a relationship fails, I can only second. Some people will sue over/use anything to get back at one another in such situations, is the sad truth. Often it is through the kids. It is not far fetched that the fraud argument is sometimes used as another stick to beat the other person.

On the other hand, fraud does happen and it angers me, since such cases only make it harder for all the well meaning people stuck in this immigration mill, apart from the individual damage they inflict. It is also good that such cases are brought to the attention of other members on this forum, if only to serve as a warning.

Greetings all, I am in the Active Duty Air Force and my lovely esposa (wife) is from Colombia. She is coming over stateside at the POE in Miami on the 8th. Thats when finally we can be reunited after so many times apart. While that part is fine and dandy I have orders to PCS to South Korea in March/April and we naturally will want to go together even if the tour is unaccompanied. Now my question to you all is if you know of any way that they can expedite her green card before we leave the country *in march or april* and have it valid so that we have absolutely have no problems coming back from a 1 year tour in S Korea. I know that the green card is going to be conditional, she is arriving on a CR-1 visa. But as far as I know getting all her items lined up is going to be an extreme challenge and we need guidance. Please let us know anyone what is the best route to go or anyone have any similar experiences.

Thankssss

James and Adriana

Hi James,

I arrived on a K3-visa so I might be mistaken, but since your wife applied for CR-1, shouldn't she receive her green card in the mail shortly after arrival? You have a great advantage of not having to go through AOS, which would take longer.

Since you will be PCS-ing, I would go talk to JAG asap if I were you. They, or someone from ACS, might know what to do in case of a tour abroad. They might also have contacts with your CIS Field Office.

I did marry at the court house also back in the states. I didn't have the reception ceremony here in Thailand either. Like you said..wedding photos can be faked..but other evidences will prove. Don't worry..

Positive thinking..cheerful!! and wish you luck to be with your love one too.

I can't wait to be with my husband again and can't wait to have a completed family and grow our family together...

Cheers!

The language barrier was between myself and the judge and court employees - not between my husband and myself. He and I both speak English. However, I do not speak Arabic, and we were married in the UAE. Not only was our family not there (in these economic times it was not fair to ask them to pay $1200 and take so much time off of jobs now precious and rare to attend a short civil ceremony at a courthouse), and we did not have a camera (I had dropped it in water - I do have proof of taking it to get fixed under the warranty). So it really wasn't feasible to take pictures of the actual civil ceremony. It was mostly verbal - there was no physical contact between us during the ceremony, it was more like signing a contract. We have lots of pictures from before and after our wedding (honeymoon pictures) and lots of other evidence. In five months of marriage, I've made two trips to visit him and we've been in daily contact. I find the reason we don't have "marriage" photos very plausible and reasonable. What about you?

I would not worry too much about the photos.

In our case, I dragged two photo albums to the Consulate and then here in the US to the CIS Field Office (I was K3 so had to do AOS). At no time did anyone check the pictures (not even after I asked the Officer if he was sure he did not want to look at them - he had to laugh and said no there is no need, your case has been approved).

I am not saying that in your case this will also happen, since depending on the Consulate/Officer in question, the interview can be pretty tough. However my point is: the pictures are - as you have indicated yourself - not the only 'proof', and you do have photos, just not of your marriage ceremony.

One thing I don't get is, how could you understand what was being said precisely by the Judge and Court Employees if you did not speak the language? Was there no translator?

It was weird. A "translator" who spoke rather poor English (I can't complain as I spoke NO Arabic) explained to me in advance what would happen, and that I would have to answer in Arabic, so when the judge asked questions, my husband would answer, the translator would do a speed translation and tell me what to say in Arabic, and I would say it. I was a little worried that I was being asked and answering questions I had no idea of, and signing a contract (marriage certificate) in Arabic - but that was the way the system worked and I was in another country, so that's what I had to do to get married. If anyone else has been married in a court civil ceremony in Dubai or Abu Dhabi or another location in the UAE maybe they could explain better. We had the marriage certificate translated and it was pretty much standard stuff. Anyway, my husband's visa was approved!!!!! So, it's over!

Congrats!

I did marry at the court house also back in the states. I didn't have the reception ceremony here in Thailand either. Like you said..wedding photos can be faked..but other evidences will prove. Don't worry..

Positive thinking..cheerful!! and wish you luck to be with your love one too.

I can't wait to be with my husband again and can't wait to have a completed family and grow our family together...

Cheers!

The language barrier was between myself and the judge and court employees - not between my husband and myself. He and I both speak English. However, I do not speak Arabic, and we were married in the UAE. Not only was our family not there (in these economic times it was not fair to ask them to pay $1200 and take so much time off of jobs now precious and rare to attend a short civil ceremony at a courthouse), and we did not have a camera (I had dropped it in water - I do have proof of taking it to get fixed under the warranty). So it really wasn't feasible to take pictures of the actual civil ceremony. It was mostly verbal - there was no physical contact between us during the ceremony, it was more like signing a contract. We have lots of pictures from before and after our wedding (honeymoon pictures) and lots of other evidence. In five months of marriage, I've made two trips to visit him and we've been in daily contact. I find the reason we don't have "marriage" photos very plausible and reasonable. What about you?

I would not worry too much about the photos.

In our case, I dragged two photo albums to the Consulate and then here in the US to the CIS Field Office (I was K3 so had to do AOS). At no time did anyone check the pictures (not even after I asked the Officer if he was sure he did not want to look at them - he had to laugh and said no there is no need, your case has been approved).

I am not saying that in your case this will also happen, since depending on the Consulate/Officer in question, the interview can be pretty tough. However my point is: the pictures are - as you have indicated yourself - not the only 'proof', and you do have photos, just not of your marriage ceremony.

One thing I don't get is, how could you understand what was being said precisely by the Judge and Court Employees if you did not speak the language? Was there no translator?