rbv_shard

Bribes benefit someone personally. Taxes go to the government. This is the latter. I'm not saying selling visas for cash ethically different than soliciting bribes.... but anti-bribery statutes do see a difference when the recipient is the government.

Jeanne is sharing the rules currently in effect, which doesn't mean they will still be in effect when OP's petition gets processed. There's already a change that has been proposed.

I thought you can't check status on CEAC until you receive a welcome letter. Is there a way to check prior to that?

And it's not just the chance of being detained while out of status -- OP would forever have to answer YES to the question "Have you ever been in the USA without authorization?". Even though a short overstay doesn't prevent marriage-based adjustment of status, answering that question wrong would make everything afterward null and void -- even conferral of citizenship is no protection against being deported for making false statements for immigration benefit.

For you, since you the visa beneficiary are the main breadwinner and travel both directions is visa-free, you definitely want the spouse visa (CR-1/IR-1) not K-1. Longer waiting time before permanent entry, but the ability to work immediately after permanent entry weighs heavily in your situation -- you won't need to have any significant gap in your employment. K-1 visa would be 5-12 months unable to work. Evidence of financial co-mingling shouldn't be necessary until removal of conditions. What you cannot do while visiting on ESTA is work, and that includes remotely for your European employer.

And why does your timeline indicate an NVC welcome letter if you don't have your case number assigned yet?

The official instructions are about the online system -- https://ceac.state.gov/GenNIV/Common/Instructions.aspx?U60ATkEsp0%2fpQMdXAcZygQ%3d%3d about the DS-160 form -- https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/forms/ds-160-online-nonimmigrant-visa-application/ds-160-faqs.html There's nothing about that question but it's been discussed extensively here, concluding that either answer will get your application processed and for either answer the embassy is going to ask for the medical documentation. The embassy is going to ask for the medical documentation in any case.

Your timeline says you got the NVC welcome letter Nov 18th, is that correct or are you still on the "Sent to Department of State" status? According to the processing time statistics, it would be about 5 weeks from NVC welcome letter until NVC processing completes and it is ready to send to embassy. BTW your case wasn't transferred from Texas Service Center to California, it started processing at California Service Center. It passed through the Texas mailbox, which is different from Texas Service Center. Having that wrong on your timeline may mess up estimates (although I think you're past the stage where that would have an effect)

The 90-day deadline for marriage comes from the K-1 visa. The 90-day deadline for filing I-485 to adjust status doesn't come from the K-1 visa rules. It comes from the 90-day I-94 you got when you entered with the K-1 visa. As others have said, being past 90 days doesn't prevent you from filing the I-485 but starting day 91 you have legally zero right to be in the USA.

Has your case status on the USCIS website changed to "Sent to Department of State", and if so, what date? The NOA2 says that, but it's a lie. We had two full months (from Oct 2nd NOA2 until Dec 3rd) with our case languishing at USCIS before they finally sent it to NVC, and now it'll be about another week until in-processing and welcome letter, and then possibly another month or more before they send to Manila. The government probably prefers to have a backlog (which they can control by how they assign personnel to different visa types) in order to stress relationships and make sure they are genuine. They don't want "fake getting engaged to an American, get K-1 visa, paper-only marriage" to be a fast path for every foreigner with a bit of cash to get a green card. That's why they require so much relationship evidence, and possibly also a reason for long slow process.

It's normal not to have any change in status between NOA1 and NOA2. Refer to the "Processing Times" page to know how long to expect. Right now it's showing 228 days between NOA1 and NOA2.

Is what's on the I-129F a reasonable plain language description of what you do, even if it's not the official title? For example, if your title is "Tour Specialist Grade II" and your fiance wrote "Tour Guide", no worries. But if you are actually a tour guide and your fiance wrote that you are an "Investment Banker", you should prepare to have your relationship questioned, and provide not only proof of what your job title actually is, but also proof that your fiance knows. For example he could work it into his updated intent to marry letter by saying something about you taking a vacation from your position as (insert correct job title here) to spend time together when he met you person. There are lots of anecdotes of being asked about the American's job at the document check stage of the interview, which is to make sure (a) the American has been forthright and (b) you know him well. In your case, you could have to prove you've been honest with your fiance.

And if the "expert" gives you bad advice, you're the one who suffers, not them. Answer the questions literally and rely on the official instructions.

Seems like a good idea to be prepared to explain the mistake (did he copy from the wrong entry on your CV?) and bring (to the interview) written proof of the correct information.

That's currently true but the 2022 Biden rule that prevents considering SNAP is being rescinded. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/11/19/2025-20278/public-charge-ground-of-inadmissibility That said, Trump's first term rules (eventually withdrawn) only wanted to look back for 3 years, so benefits while growing up should have no effect.