MalloryCat

my husband (then fiance) came through on his K1 visa in november he had a "do not open" envelope that he had to give to CBP, which he did. I believe he just offered it to the officer at the same time he handed them his passport. I'm not sure they asked for it either. the officer had to get someone higher up cause he wasn't sure what to do. his visa was issued by the Frankfurt embassy. maybe some of them are still choosing to do the physical envelopes?

it shouldn't it shows that you live together, thats what USCIS wants to see is she able to sign the lease after she arrives? thats what we did with my husband (then fiance)

imo it's better to put N/A wherever theres a blank box. I would rather it be filled with something than the USCIS officer thinking I missed the question and then i get an RFE for it.

if that is the case you will more than likely be required to have a civil surgeon fill out the vaccine portion of the I-693 (not redo the whole medical). a lot of civil surgeons don't do that so you would have to look around and find one that would.

please fill in your timeline here as well! https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/intro.php it helps everyone on visajourney!

as someone who was in almost the same situation (minus the ACA stuff) i had zero luck with any tax software working correctly and ended up just paying someone at H&R Block to do if for me the confusion of the foreign income plus filing as MFJ for the first time was not worth trying to get through myself. was 100% worth the like $250 i spent. probably not what you wanna hear, but for this year (next year will probably be easier as no foreign income to consider) it is probably just easier and less stressful to pay someone else to deal with it lol good luck!

the visa journey estimate is going to be very inaccurate as it only takes into account those who fill out their timeline. which is probably only 50-60% of accounts and lets be honest probably even less than that fill out their timelines. don't let that estimate effect you too much. ours has jumped from march 19th to any day now to past due to any day now back to past due and now it says may 12th. the USCIS processing times still say 3.5 months for the I-765, which i assume that timeline starts from when they get your biometrics. so you are still well within that timeline. don't lose hope yet! lol

awesome news!!

welcome letter is for immigrant visas K1 is technically a nonimmigrant visa the thing you will get from the NVC will be the K1-FTP letter. this will basically just tell you that the NVC sent your petition on to the embassy, after that, any communication you get going forward will come from the embassy directly the K1-ftp letter will also have your case number it is currently taking the NVC between 30-60 days to process petitions and assign case numbers. check with them again in a few weeks to see if they can provide it to you. once you have your case number you can track it here - https://ceac.state.gov/CEACStatTracker/Status.aspx?App=NIV just make sure you change the drop down the NONIMMIGRANT visa

if your partner has a credit card they might be able to add you as an authorized user without needing an SSN. the cards have the same number just with different names i know i was able to add my husband to my amazon credit card without having his SSN

my checks didn't get cashed until about 20 days after our package had been marked as delivered. don't worry too much

you should be able to get married over seas you can also get married online through Utah Online Weddings if you get married before filing a K-1 visa, you are no longer eligible for that one and will have to file for the CR1/IR1 visa (spousal visa) which is usually a better choice overall you will have to wait regardless for either the K1 visa or the CR1/IR1 visa if the K1 visa is approved (not just the I-129f petition, thats different) the B2 visa is no longer valid you would be submitting the I-129f petition. the application for the K1 visa comes later down the line after USCIS approves the I-129f petition. which can take anywhere from 6 - 18 months.

tax return transcripts is what they want

if he did it electronically it should be pretty quick he can check wheres my refund - https://sa.www4.irs.gov/wmr/ or the IRS2Go app. I find the app to be more accurate, as for me the app shows mine have been received, but the website doesn't show anything. also triple check over your I-864 to make sure everything matches up. i.e. the numbers from the tax transcripts and W2 match with what is on the I-864. seems that is a big reason people get RFEs for the i-864. I personally would, unless you can provide the most recent tax transcript. But if it hasn't been accepted and processed yet thats not really your fault. just make sure both the pay stubs and EAL are most recent as well. so EAL would need a recent date on it imo someone else (maybe who has also gotten an RFE and no issues after) might be able to say what they responded with

hmm the only thing i can think of would be something to back up the W2? like 6 months of pay stubs and an employment authorization letter thats what i included (along with the 2023 tax transcript) and as of now we haven't gotten any kind of RFE for the I-864 has taxes for 2024 been filed and accepted yet?

https://www.visajourney.com/consulates/index.php?ctry=Panama&cty=Panama there is an email listed for panama here - Panama-IVisas@state.gov (visa inquiries)

make sure you include a COPY of the DS-3025, and keep one for yourselves

we havent heard anything on my husbands EAD either USCIS processing has probably slowed down significantly with the new administration it is quite unfortunate

my husbands biometrics appointment was on march 18th and we have no had any updates for his I-765 either everything has slowed down with the current administration. so as of now, this seems normal, last i checked processing times according the USCIS for the I-765 was about 3.5 months.

well the point of filing it for most people is mostly for the reason i mentioned. theres a high chance of an emergency back in their home country that they need to attend to. i personally haven't, so im not sure you can see the timelines on this site for the advanced parole (form i-131) the most recent one, theirs got approved in a little over a month, the ones before that were more than 6 months https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/aplist.php?op5=3,6,9,10 most people don't file the I-131 because the processing time is so unpredictable. and it now has such a large fee associated with it.

1. if you are filing the 3 forms concurrently (ie, all in the same package) they all go to the same lockbox location. so which ever one is for your state, it all goes there. so since you are in SC, you would send it to whichever of the Chicago lockboxes, depends on which mailing service you use. you want to look at this chart, as you are filing for the family based forms https://www.uscis.gov/forms/all-forms/uscis-lockbox-filing-locations-chart-for-certain-family-based-forms 2.1. after receiving your entire package, the lockbox will determine where to send each form. these forms all get scanned in electronically so its pretty simple to get where it needs to go. usually the NBC (national benefits center) will process the I-765 and the I-131, and eventually send the I-485 onto your local USCIS office. Biometrics are done at an application support center, which is not the same as a USCIS office. when biometrics get scheduled, it gets sent to whichever application support center is closest to you. 2.2 that is up to you. if you feel like there is a chance you have an emergency back home (sick family member, etc) than you should file the form. if you believe the chances of that are low, than don't bother as it wouldn't be worth the money. We didn't file the I-131 personally. 3. no real way to know honestly. non-border states might have less applications there.

you don't need to include any additional proof of where they have been living, only the current address and the last 5 years worth of addresses. lease agreements and things are not required evidence for the beneficiary for the I-129f. the only evidence you need to provide for the I-129f is proof of relationship and having met in person within the last 2 years of the filing date.

it was my husbands interview I wasn't there, but ive heard of both people attending a K-1 interview, but i'm not sure how it went for them. its probably better if only the beneficiary attends imo

of course! no staples, no hole punches it should be in this order cover letter signed and completed form evidence and everything should be held together with 1 binder clip. you want to make it easy for the USCIS officer adjudicating your petition to do what they need to and not have anything hindering that

thats understandable lol i would say maybe stick with the most recent 4-5 trips. And you can include a 1 - 2 page explanation of how you met, how long you been together, when you first met in person, etc.