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S2N

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Everything posted by S2N

  1. S2N
    The other option is to see if you can get a representative or senator to work with USCIS to get the EAD expedited. This is an area where a strong constituent services team actually could help get you something. Slightly out of the norm, but a reasonable and sympathetic case. If you have a Republican in Congress, I’d have them make the request over a Democrat based on what I’ve heard. Democrat also works if it’s all you have.
  2. S2N
    VJ timelines tend to be slower than what is being reported through the API data by 2-3 months. My theory is we get the “trouble cases” so it skews slower. They’re currently processing December 4, 2024, so 13 months exact for around 50% of cases. Whatever is on the USCIS website is the 80th percentile. We were trending towards 11 months before the government shutdown, but October/November really slowed down. Speed looks to be picking back up again since we’re at 13 months exact, which is down two weeks from September.” If the current conditions continue I think people applying today will be in the 11-12 month timeframe we had in 2023 before Biden-era USCIS decided to focus on I-485 from overstays.
  3. S2N
    Congratulations and Merry Christmas! Seems like a good plan. We had our entire submission drafted and ready to go for the day the exit from the United States processed (he came here to marry in person, and we filed immediately when he left.) Honestly made it so much easier. Process took all of 30 minutes since everything was already drafted. You also have times to ask questions here to get it right when you do submit.
  4. S2N
    To say it a bit more bluntly: retirees marrying people of a similar age abroad are more likely to need joint sponsors now, which honestly doesn’t change much as they were already more likely to need joint sponsors. Going back to OP, though, a spouse/sponsor working an airline job is very likely to pass the public charge test even when considering health issues. This whole thread is honestly very confusing for both immigration and non-immigration reasons. OP should just continue on with their petition like normal. They’re likely to have a visa in hand within a few months if they do nothing. The more they do around this particular topic, the more red flags there are.
  5. S2N
    Like most things with this administration it’s likely to be targeted in implementation would be my guess. Argentina you’re likely safe if you have diabetes. Bolivia not so much. It’s also worth pointing out the elephant in the room here: for the overwhelming majority of people living in the US sponsoring a foreign spouse this won’t be an issue. The costs associated with maintaining a cross-border relationship are considerable, and to get to the point where you have enough evidence of bona fides, you’re going to have spent substantial money to the level that your income should qualify regardless of health conditions. We see a lot of the edge cases here, but just by its nature an international relationship tends to weed out people without sufficient funds. This will have more of an impact on people living abroad with spouses, retirees, and college kids applying for AOS than anyone else. Sponsor working a job in the US that can sustain an international relationship likely doesn’t have much to worry about.
  6. S2N
    Yes, that’s now explicitly part of the new guidelines, actually. We haven’t seen how this plays out in practice and I have a suspicion it will focus on countries the administration deems less desirable but not ban-worthy, but that is now part of the guidance.
  7. S2N
    The most recent executive action tightened the family-based exemption. I haven’t had time to read through it to see full impact, but the slip sheet the White House put out on it called out tightening restrictions there since family-based visas can be fraud prone.
  8. S2N
    I know in the Latin American context I have Venezuelan friends with passports from other countries that have no problem entering on those passports. Thats a CBP question over a USCIS question, but ideally DHS would be aligned internally on that. Who knows though.
  9. S2N
    Typically most favored passport is recognized.
  10. S2N
    1) I would strongly suggest not updating the foreign passport to the new name. You can, but the general consensus here is that legal name changes are a hassle until naturalization. It’d be easiest for her to get her ITIN in her maiden name. 2) The answer is no if you go by the letter of what the IRS wants, but except for extremely specific circumstances it single vs. married filing separately doesn’t have a material impact on taxes so this is largely unenforced. Which is to say many people file single. 3) No one here can give you tax advice. As we’re not in a professional relationship with you and/or aren’t licensed to do so. Married filing jointly is almost guaranteed to be better financially and for a high fraud country like Nigeria would also likely be positive evidence to present. You should consult a CPA with experience in the complicated matter of multi-jurisdiction taxes, foreign tax credit, and non-resident spouses. There’s likely a bunch in major cities near the Canadian border if you’re unsure where to start looking.
  11. S2N
    When did you submit? They definitely have the I-130 if you have a receipt number. No harm uploading the passport again as unsolicited evidence. Won’t slow anything down and might give you more peace of mind.
  12. S2N
    I signed as interpreter (not as preparer; I wasn’t paid.) Asks the beneficiary to certify they can understand English and my husband can’t. We didn’t see any downside to it, but I suspect @OldUser is correct you could likely leave it out. We did it because it was fairly clear from our overall package that he doesn’t speak English.
  13. S2N
    Worth noting that given the current political situation, it might not be a good idea to have minimal evidence for a red flag marriage in a high fraud risk country. You can still apply, but “marriage certificate and pictures” is less than what many of us on our first marriages from low fraud countries submit.
  14. S2N
    Heh, sorry. Thought it was common knowledge. My bad. Because of the extensive information sharing between US/UK/AUS/NZ/CAN, most times the government has to vet foreign nationals from one of the other four, things go more smoothly. If a citizen of one of those countries was a threat, they’d be in one of the databases already.
  15. S2N
    NVC/London IV unit are unlikely to be an issue. USCIS could be, but the fact this is the UK means even if they’re confused it’d likely be easy to overcome. Citizens of five-eyes countries aren’t exactly subject to extreme amounts of scrutiny, even in the current climate.
  16. S2N
    Also with the current timeline, she’s likely going to have a CR-1 in hand before a B-2 or an expedite at NVC or the embassy would occur.
  17. S2N
    Argentina and Chile typically have equivalent dental and oral health standards and practices to the U.S. to the point where I’ve considered getting some work done down there. In the sense that the standards are pretty high. Your case might be very specific, but people familiar with the region are going to be skeptical that it’s really a need. B2 medical is the best bet here.
  18. S2N
    Please do. With the current state of politics in South America — Kast and Milei in the Southern Cone, crisis in the north on several fronts — I suspect your specific circumstances might become more common.
  19. S2N
    OP — my suggestion would be for your wife to file I-130 as quick as possible and if you haven’t file for your Argentine citizenship as quick as possible. If you’re still pending your Argentine passport in a year and it’s expected in a few months after I-130 approval, I’d hold on the DS-260 until you have the Argentine passport in hand. I know a lot of South Americans in the U.S. Argentines and Chileans almost universally have the easiest immigration experiences.
  20. S2N
    You fill out the DS-260. It’s your application. If a passport is renewed or changed after the I-130 typically it can be updated on the DS-260. I don’t think we’ve seen an example of someone getting naturalized during the process in a third country; but I presume it’d be the similar. @pushbrk: have you seen something like this? My assumption would be the best scenario would be: wife files I-130 using your Colombian passport. You naturalize in Argentina in the next 12 months, and then fill out the DS-260 as an Argentine national and interview in Buenos Aires. Colombia has historically had a decent relationship with the U.S., but it’s more strained now and there’s more fraud than in AR/with Milei and Trump being friends the U.S. and Argentina are on the best diplomatic terms they ever have been. I’m generally of the view that using the most friendly passport is always best in immigration.
  21. S2N
    If they live in AR and can naturalize if they don’t have Argentine citizenship already that might be the better option. Southern Cone is much lower fraud risk than northern LATAM so given all that’s currently going on, I’d personally prefer to apply from a lower fraud area. Northern LATAM isn’t Nigeria, but it’s still higher risk than Argentina/Brazil/Chile/Uruguay. Said another way: Trump isn’t likely to have issues with Milei anytime soon but there’s tensions with Colombia over the situation in the Caribbean, so having another option doesn’t hurt. The passport won’t really be needed for 11-14 months when they file the DS-260, so they have a year to do it. Colombia would also very likely work, just throwing out potential options and considerations.
  22. S2N
    Do you have an Argentine passport? It’s basically the easiest in LATAM to get because their naturalization law is so wonky vs their immigration law (i.e. it takes longer to get permanent residency than citizenship…) I’m friends with an Argentine/Venezuelan couple in the U.S. the Venezuelan is here on a research visa of some sort but under his Argentine passport. Government views him primarily as Argentine even though he’s Venezuelan by birth. I’m assuming it’d be the same with Colombia. Just mentioning Argentina as an example because I’m more familiar with Venezuelan-Argentines.
  23. S2N
    Agree with this, but also worth adding you need to pay the fee within the first year. Logging to the CEAC website also counts as an action, so doing that and sending an email should get it both automated and paper trail. I’d recommend setting a calendar reminder every 6 months to log-in and send the email on the off chance OP forgets it once a year.
  24. S2N
    It was created for frequent travelers who know the customs declarations rules to minimize time CBP officers have to spend asking questions — just like Nexus and Sentri, the focus has always been on customs. The information sharing it focuses on is also customs based — it’s why you have countries like Argentina, which has a top calibre customs enforcement agency, having GE but not ESTA. It’s a program to minimize customs screening, with security being a secondary focus — they primarily screen for security while you’re in the air, not at the airport, so a fast track on that doesn’t cut down on time spent with the officer. Its why people who travel to those high risk countries get sent to secondary but don’t have GE revoked, but people who order off-brand iPhone cases from Temu get it revoked. Same with my friend with a S clearance — he’s not a security risk at all, otherwise he wouldn’t be cleared, but he’s a customs risk. Obviously travel to non-friendly countries might slow it down, but unlike ESTA it’s not prohibited to have travelled there. You’ll pretty much always get an auto denial if you’ve ever had a customs violation, though.
  25. S2N
    Getting GE approved is mainly about customs and less about security. I know a guy with a secret clearance who gets denied GE every time he applies because he tried to bring back booze into the U.S. when he was 20. Security they do a decent job of vetting before arrival for everyone. I’m sure there’s some exceptions, but the main thing they care about is you’re not a customs risk.
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