Brit Abroad

Unless he's committed a crime (overstaying a student visa doesn't really fall in that category) and comes up on a watchlist or a no-fly list, he will have no problems leaving the UK. He's been issued a visa to enter the US, so he should be fine to either fly to America from the UK or from Morocco (if he chooses to go home and spend some time with family and putting his affairs in order before coming to live in the US).

Good luck for the future.

The visa was a single use, so other than needing to include a copy with your AoS documentation, you don't really need it anymore. Once you receive the NoA from your application, it will be time to get your passport replaced. Depending which country you're from you can probably do this via an Embassy in New York.

Don't worry too much, as USCIS issued the visa they can track it from your passport number, provided that's still legible in the passport.

Moving or visiting? If you are visiting another country on the Advance Parole document with the intention of returning to the US before your green card is issued then it is fine. This is exactly what the AP is for.

When you check in for your flight to return to the US just hand them your passport and the Advance Parole document. This is enough for them to verify that you have sufficient status to return and you will need to show the same to the CBP officers at the American airport you enter.

I've done it myself, and it really is quite pain-free.

Did you ask if you can apply for a permit, rather than a license, and whether you can drive unsupervised on it because you have a current foreign licence that states you have passed a test?

There is a recent question of this same issue - http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/449841-temporary-driver-license-in-ca/ Hope it helps!

Did your fiancee (now wife) present her sealed envelope at CBP? If so, she used her single use fiancee visa and the I-94 simply proves that she was cleared into the US.

If you have since married within the 90 days of arrival, and submitted your AoS paperwork the date on the I-94 is irrelevant anyway, as she is not subject to that entry condition any longer. It would've been relevant had you not gone on to get married and she decided to take a break in the US before returning to Poland. Not all fiance/e visas end in marriage.

While you are theoretically "out of status" the law allows for you to be in a transient state while moving from fiancee to spouse. As soon as your NoA arrives you can stop worrying.

I'm not sure on the specific requirements of a Philippine passport, but I didn't change to my married name in my British passport for 18 months. Provided you carry your marriage certificate showing the link between the maiden name in the passport and the married name on the green card, it isn't an issue for America.

http://transportation.ky.gov/driver-licensing/pages/non-us-citizens.aspx

Looks like you can drive on your British licence until you get your green card through, but in the meantime you must have your documents approved (this is probably a legal requirement for part of the insurance).

Unfortunately, you will still need to take the written, eyesight and practical driving tests before you get a full KY licence. If it's anything like Hawaii's, it's MUCH easier than a UK driving test. No three-point turns required!

The only history you need to have for the examiner:-

1.vaccination history

2. transmissible diseases or ongoing health issues like diabetes

3. any history of drug abuse

4. any history of depression or self-harm

Beyond these, they are not interested in general health as you will be examined and chest x-rayed.

If the green card has been issued, the AP is invalidated because it's no longer needed. Unfortunately, if you haven't received it that doesn't help.

Make an Infopass appointment with your local USCIS office, take your travel documents confirming the dates and ask them to put a stamp (basically a green card in temporary form) in the passport to cover the period until your return. That way you won't be panicking about whether the GC turns up in time or not.

NEVER lie to CBP. Very often they jot notes on your record and they can be pulled back up and used as Misrepresentation at a later stage. Misrepresentation doesn't have a time limit. It can happen before the visa is approved, it can happen when you apply for naturalization, it can happen when you are a citizen years down the line. It does not pay to lie.

You are legally married for the purpose of the visa, but you want a proper wedding ceremony for your families and friends. I see no problem in being truthful about the purpose of your visit. Of course, you will want to make sure that you have all the necessary evidence to prove that you intend spending a honeymoon period in the US and returning home to Canada to wait out the processing of your visa. CBP aren't stupid, neither are USCIS or the consulate staff at the Embassy. Start out with the truth, stick with it. Provided you plan ahead and get all your paperwork in order you shouldn't have a problem.

After all, how many people come and get married in Vegas and then leave? It's not unheard of.

I have a relative who is a LPR for over 35 years and ALWAYS has problems traveling through the US. Apparently their name is the same as someone of interest so it has a permanent flag attached to it. They now travel with at least an extra hour every time because they know they will be stopped. Maybe that is what is happening in your case.

You should have them contact TSA and join Secure Flight or get a Redress number if they have experienced mis-identification in the past.

Here's a link that gives details of what can be done to remove this horrid experience from their travel:-

http://airtravel.about.com/od/safetysecurity/qt/tsachanges.htm

In a case like this it's very often heart versus head. The heart wants what it desires, and it often finds a way to forget what the head may not be able to forgive in the long term.

The only person who can decide if you have enough of a relationship to continue into marriage, with confidence and faith is you. If you do go ahead, please make sure you take him at his word for counseling to get to the bottom of his actions. It isn't normal for people who get engaged to be looking for sex on free listings. It just isn't, and you know that.

Marriage is about many things, but honesty and fidelity are very high up on my list of requirements and I know that I would prefer not to marry the kind of guy who wants to justify his actions by saying "but I was lonely" .... weren't you lonely while you were waiting for your visa? Did you cheat? Were you out scanning sites for sex with strangers? I'm guessing that, like most of us, you were not.

At the end of the day, you get engaged to someone you know wants to be with you, and only you, with a view to making it a lifetime commitment. If you have any doubts that this is the case, go home. There's nothing to stop you guys from getting married somewhere in the future and going through the visa process again when you are both 100% sure it is the right decision and you are ready.

It's hard enough to move to a foreign country with no family, friends, work or anything else that gives you comfort without suffering an unhappy, untrusting marriage on top of it.

Think long and hard about what YOU need and what YOU want. At this stage, YOU are the one giving up everything for this relationship. He's merely adding a new member to his household.

I would try for a visitor visa anyway. The fact that she was previously resident in the US on an active green card and chose to leave should tell any logical CO that if she was someone who was simply looking to get into America that she wouldn't have given it up.

The likelihood of your being denied an IR1/CR1 is pretty negligible after so many years of marriage and shared US children, so ultimately she is going to be in the US anyway.

Although many people would have you believe that Embassy staff can be heartless and pretty rough, I'm sure that most of them have enough brain cells to see that someone who wants to ultimately reside with husband and children in the US isn't likely to jeopardise that by overstaying a visitor visa.

Go ahead and try. It's money, sure, but it's also your time and your family being together for part of the filing period. Isn't that worth a little risk?

The UK vaccination record is insufficient to AoS. You should've made an appointment with a US civil surgeon and had that transcribed onto the I-693 as requested on the AoS form's guidance notes. Very often the vaccs necessary to enter the US as a fiance/e are less than those required to adjust status. The appointment with the civil surgeon is designed to make up for the difference and ensure that you have all the required boosters.

I am surprised that they are intending to deny rather than issue an RFE, but in your shoes I think I'd be making an appointment with the civil surgeon pronto, and then making an Infopass appointment with your local USCIS office to provide the I-693 and try and avoid having to appeal or reapply. Better to stop the paperwork from being returned to HQ at this stage than have to go through the wait with a new application.

If you're under 25, please remember to register for selective service, too ... or if/when you come to the naturalisation to US citizen process you will be denied for failing to do that. It's also part of the requirement.

Why not try going to their website? USCIS.gov There is a green bar across the top. The first entry is Forms.

Others have pointed out the legal ramifications of getting married and trying to adjust status on VWP, so I won't rehash that, but here's another thought for you:-

You are immigrating to a new country which won't contain your family and your friends, much less your belongings. You know, all those things you've collected since you were born that have meaning to you and would need to be shipped halfway across the world. You're also going to miss all those people you love and spend time with now - even if it's just "hanging out" or going for a coffee.

Do it the right way, give yourself time to say long goodbyes to those you love because chances are it'll be a while before you see them again in any meaningful way. Visit by all means and take all those small, breakable items you want to keep in your hand luggage. Trust me ... something always gets broken or goes missing. Especially in military moves.

Remember that you are marrying into the military (presumably Army as it's Germany) and that you will have a whole new life to learn. The military is full of jargon, traditions and "habits" that you will need to adjust to.

Either get married and apply for CR1, or apply for K1 and wait it out. Spend the time you're waiting learning about your future and preparing for it, and putting your present life into "hold" mode. Teach your aging relatives how to use Skype or some form of video chat program, make sure you have a net-based email address and get everyone using it comfortably.

There are so many things that we take for granted BEFORE we move internationally. It's better to think and plan ahead than regret it afterwards. Take a few words of advice from those of us who didn't quite get it right.

Good luck to you, Ms OP.

Marriage should be a lifelong commitment and it seems that neither of you are ready or happy to commence that. A fiancee visa is valid for a limited time and there's nothing to say it MUST result in a marriage. Send your fiancee home to have a think about what she really wants out of life and develop some better communication with you. If the relationship is meant to be you can always apply for another fiancee visa in the future, or get married abroad and apply for a spousal visa instead.

There's enough unhappy marriages out there, but you shouldn't start one in that state.

Google Skype Call Exporter. Try to download from the Skype forums page if possible.

The US Embassy has told you what it requires. As it is the authority that will accept or deny your visa request, I would be inclined to follow THEIR instructions and not the organisation that issues the police report.

Strongly suggest you get an updated police report, unless you want an RFE and a further wait until you provide what is requested.

I think it's great for the UK - as they are sick and tired of folk coming in on a tourist visa and overstaying, for years.

Not to mention the "health tourists" who arrive, get emergency care and leave.

How would you like to be presumed guilty until proven innocent, viewed with suspicion solely based on your nationality and forced to pay heavy fees for it? People are not statistics, they're human beings, just like you and me. Not chattel.

Correct. When they stay in their own countries and don't seek to immigrate into someone else's illegally. Where there is change, there is often a reason for it.

There is absolutely NO need to get married in a courthouse to fulfill any "time requirement". You have a wedding booked, one that you and your families are looking forward to - you don't need a quickie civil ceremony. Your K1 got you into the country. Your I-94 covers you until your marriage or 90 days after arrival. Yes, you will technically be out of status for a couple of weeks while you wait for your marriage certificate but that is fairly normal these days - as none of the government departments moves faster than a snail. USCIS know this and you're unlikely to have a problem. Just get your Adjustment of Status paperwork in as soon as you can AFTER you receive your certificate.

Well, let's see now. No doubt you registered for this site with your regular email address, which can be tracked to your individual identity. We know, for a fact, that USCIS check VisaJourney and Facebook and other social networking/self help immigration sites, so you've openly asked about entering and adjusting using the nice-n-easy but illegal method. Most US government agencies have shared access to a great many databases, both domestic and foreign, and are likely to be able to view historical data as well as current.

If you choose to go this route, good luck in your AoS interview. USCIS may not be the cream of the intelligence services, but they can certainly access a few internet records and pin a name to your posts. While it is possible to successfully sail through the "oh, I got married on the spur of the moment" adjustment, just remember that if they catch you out in a lie, you could be staring at a lifetime ban for misrepresentation. Is it worth it? For most of us, the answer to that is no.

Your risk, your choice.

...

depends on how long you will be overseas with her, she is only allowed for a year I think, after that she's considered giving up on the permenent residency,

This is not true for foreign spouses of military personnel posted overseas, as all US bases abroad are classed as US soil.

The only things they're interested in at the medical are:-

1. vaccination history

2. any significant diseases (anything communicable - TB, hepatitis, scarlet fever etc)

3. drug abuse

4. psychiatric history (depression, attempted suicide, psychosis)

Ask your GP to pull out anything relevant into a summary for you. If you have a history of depression or depressive episodes, ask the doctor to write a letter that confirms whether s/he believes you are a danger to yourself or others or not. Otherwise they'll write to the GP for clarification.

Other than that, don't worry - the medical is pretty easy stuff.

A little confusing there, Rakesh, but I think you are saying that you came on a spouse visa 8 months ago, but your former wife divorced you two months after arrival OR two months ago. You are now looking to remove conditions on your green card for the 10 year residence?

If so, you will need to file for your RoC (Removal of Conditions) with a waiver for divorce. The paperwork you need to provide will be proof that your marriage was in good faith, in other words joint finances, family or friend group photos with both of you in, a letter from your ex stating it was a genuine marriage would be helpful but isn't strictly necessary (depends on if you are on good terms with her) and any other requested evidence on the information sheet that comes with the RoC document; and you will probably receive an RFE pending the paperwork showing that your divorce is complete (ie decree nisi/absolute).

As you will be divorced from your sponsor, citizenship requires 5 years of green card residency before you can apply.

Hope this helps.