Svadharma

Thanks. It just seems crazy that I just have to spend the next eight years not knowing if I have the obligation of the Affidavit of Support or not. It is his case, sure, but I am still a part of the process.....

No they do not notify you.

Is there a number I can call to check on this? Or a web site? Etc.

Hello all,

My ex and I were divorced in June. His green card expired at the end of July. He just told me that he will be leaving in December, but he has lied to me so often that I can't trust him. If he does manage to remove the conditions on his visa, will I be notified somehow? Is there a way I can track this? (I'm concerned because of the Affidavit of Support and my obligations.)

Thanks!

I suspect he is lying and not actually trying to get a work visa. I just reported him to ICE. Fingers crossed.

Even after his visa has expired? Is there anything I can do to prevent this? I'm not even sure the marriage was valid on his part....

Hello all,

I got divorced from my husband (who is from El Salvador) on June 22nd of this year. His visa (CR-1) expired a few days ago, on the 29th of July. He tells me that he is/was trying to get a work visa, but I suspect that he is lying. (This may be paranoia on my part because he has lied to me about SO many things during our relationship.) I have told him that I will not help with any information or documentation unless he tells me two things: 1. What kind of visa he is trying for (specific type); and 2. Who will have financial responsibility for him. He will not answer these questions.... which is I why I think he is still trying to remove the conditions from his visa. (He also just asked me to mail him pictures of the two of us together, making me suspicious.)

So, did my I-864 and hence my financial responsibility expire with his visa? Can he still remove the conditions and make me responsible for him even after his visa has expired?

Any ideas or advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

TBone, this is awesome. I hope we don't ever have to use something like this, but I'm going to review it before our next go around, which thankfully isn't until next year.

MJ, I believe that front-loading is sending a lot of proof at the beginning.... lots of photos, proof of joint accounts, emails, letters from friends and family, etc. I might be wrong though.... TBone?

Well, his temp visa in his passport is still good... so he should be able to fly (just found out, whew). I called DHS/USCIS and they said that all I needed to do was apply for a new one. Also, I was going to call the embassy, but they use a call center in Mexico that is never helpful. So, I emailed someone I know at my congressman's office and asked him if they would email the embassy for me.

Thanks for your help!

My husband just called me. He lost his green card while visiting his family. I know that if he can't find it he will have to go to the embassy and request a new one. Does anyone have any experience with this? Do you know what the charges are and how long it takes?

Thanks in advance!

Mi esposo acaba de llamarme. Perdió su tarjeta verde mientras está visitando la familia. Yo sé que si no puede encontrarla, que tiene que ir a la embajada y pedir una nueva. ¿Hay alguien con experiencia con esto? ¿Sabe cuánto vale y cuánto tiempo es necesario para obtener una nueva?

¡Gracias!

My husband came here on a CR-1 visa. He was here for almost 3 months before he got his welcome letter and green card. I had an infopass appointment and was told that they are a bit back-logged because of changes that were made with the green cards and that they have 90 days from when USCIS receives the case to get you this. (In our case, USCIS received the case about a week after he arrived.)

I hope this helps!

Another update: On Saturday, October 31st we received a welcome letter from USCIS, telling us to expect the green card within 30 days. On Thursday, November 5th, we received the green card. USCIS received my husband's case on August 6th (after his arrival into the country on July 31st with a CR1 visa), so.... almost 3 months exactly.

Now, we should have a break... until it is time to remove the conditions from his residency.....

My husband got his SS card a few weeks after arriving. He did not have to apply or go to the social security office to get it. He has been here for 3 months and just received a letter saying that his green card will arrive in the next 30 days.

I hadn't seen my husband for a mere 10 months because I didn't have the money to fly down there. We ended up having a fraud interview that I had to attend. I would recommend attending the interview.

I would take the last post..... but remember that the medical can cost a lot more. My husband had a skin condition that needed treatment and needed a lot of vaccines.... so we paid a lot more than $100. Also, we had to do a lot of translations of documents for the I-130 and we printed photos.

I then had to fly down to El Salvador for a fraud interview, so that was an extra plane ticket, 3 nights in a hotel, etc.

Also, his whole family wanted to see him off at the airport, which cost around $80.... and money for a good-bye dinner.

Does your spouse have a decent suitcase?

And, don't forget costs for when your spouse arrives. It has been costly to get my husband established. $100 for a driver's license (written test, driving test, and the fee for the license). A $45 deposit to put the electricity in his name. The first cell phone bill that had him on it also cost about $50 more than my normal phone bill.

So many incidentals.

Good luck.

An update: The Infopass appointment did not seem to do anything. They had access to the same info that I had on the internet. They said that USCIS has 90 days to get us the green card after they receive the case, which was on August 6th for us (a week after his arrival). They said this is because there is a new green card, causing many people to need to have theirs reissued, making it slower for some people who are getting their first one.

So, we are going to keep waiting.

Thanks for the ideas! My husband's documents in the brown envelope were fine and they did biometrics in the airport, so I'm not sure why we had to redo them.

I just scheduled an InfoPass appointment; we'll go next week (on the 16th). If that doesn't work, I will contact my Congressman.

Thanks again!

My husband arrived here on July 31, 2009 with a CR1 visa. He has already received his social security card. We also received a letter for him to go to the local Application Support Center. We went there on August 25, 2009 and they took a fingerprint and a photo and got a signature.

Now it is October 8th and we still haven't received his green card. USCIS' web site says that the case status is under Initial Review.

Does anyone know how long this should take or why it is taking so long? I tried to call but they just say that if we have heard from them or we have done something for the case within the last 60 days that they are still working on it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Hola Rossana,

Pues, no te he escrito porque a veces estoy muy ocupada. Tengo dos trabajos y, como sabes, hay muchas cosas para hacer para empezar una vida aquí.

La tarjeta de seguridad social de mi esposo llegó después de solo dos y media semanas. Todavía no tenemos la tarjeta verde, pero creo que llegará muy pronto. Fuimos a la cita para la huella digital, la foto, y la firma. Hicieron todas estas cosas en el aeropuerto también, pero tal vez la calidad no estaba suficiente.

Él también tiene el libro para la prueba escrita para manejar. También empezará clases de inglés en septiembre y para el GED también.

Es una lastima que su familia no tenga internet. Tiene solamente una persona que le escribe correo electrónico... pero por lo menos unas personas han empezado de llamarlo. También tiene familia en los Estados Unidos y espero que pueda empezar de llamar a ellos para no sentir tan solo.

Todos los días hay cosas nuevas para explicar.... en los bancos, las bibliotecas.. y todo.

Vamos a Alaska in diciembre. Me dijo que a él le gusta el frío, pero... vamos a ver. Nunca ha visto nieve. También los días son muy cortos allá durante el invierno... solamente 6 horas de sol. Bien diferente.

¿Cómo están ustedes?

Saludos,

Valerie

Hola Rossana,

¿Cómo estás? ¿Todavía sola en el apartamento?

La tarjeta de seguridad social de Daniel llegó después de solamente dos semanas y media, pero todavía no tenemos la tarjeta verde. Tenemos otra cita para una huella digital, una firma, y una foto. Yo creo que los del aeropuerto no son suficientes para la tarjeta verde.

Él trabaja un poquito para la compañía donde trabajo y unas personas que conozco, pero es solamente un poquito y no cada día. La cosa difícil para él es que nadie en su familia tiene internet y solo un sobrino tiene correo electrónico. He buscado una buena manera para llamar a El Salvado, pero no he encontrado nada. Usé Skype, pero usó todo el saldo para el mes en unas semanas y ahora necesito una cuenta con paypal para comprar más.

Pues, ¿sabes una buena manera para llamar? Creo que es mejor enviar dinero para ellos para llamar, pero necesitamos esperar por esto. Empecé una cuenta para enviar dinero directamente a la cuenta bancaria de su hermana, pero no podemos enviar dinero por casi 2 semanas todavía.

Pues, le extraña mucha a la familia y siento triste porque no puedo ayudar. Gracias por cualquier consejo.

Cuidanse,

Valerie

Woops, sorry about that. He arrived on July 31, 2009. But he didn't apply for AOS because he arrived with a CR-1 visa.... So, I'm not sure why they need biometrics. We aren't trying for AOS and we don't need to remove conditions for 2 years.

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry if this is the wrong area to post this question, but I wasn't sure where to post. My husband arrived on August 31, 2009 with a CR-1 visa.

Today we received an ASC Appointment Notice (code 2) and I am wondering why we got this and what it means. He just had fingerprints done at the embassy and at the port of entry. Has anyone else had this experience? Is this normal?

Thanks in advance!

Hola Rossana,

¿Cuándo llegó el Green Card? ¿Fuiste a la oficina de Seguridad Social? Leí que es un buen idea ir a la oficina. El formulario dice que van a dar números, pero unas personas han dicho que todavía es bueno ir a la oficina. Vamos mañana por esto.

Me imagino que es duro estar en casa tanto. Nosotros vivimos en el centro de la ciudad, cerca de buses y unas tiendas. Daniel puede andar y salir... pero tal vez sea un poquito aburrido. Yo sé que es difícil para él.... más que nada por no estar con la familia. Pero, todavía estamos contentos. Es muy bueno estar juntos después de tanto tiempo.

Ya he empezado a reunir documentos para quitar las condiciones en 21 meses. Yo creo que es un buen tiempo para una vacacion.... sólo para dormirme.

¿Conoces a otras personas allá? Pues, tengo interés en como están pasando las cosas con ustedes.

Cuidense...

Saludos,

Valerie

Thanks so much! And did I mention that he is here now!

Hola Rossana, espero que estes bien. La verdad es que fui a El Salvador para una entrevista el 21 de julio. Aqui es la descripcion que escribi:

We went to our interview on the 22nd and the first thing they asked my husband for, before they even closed the door was proof of our relationship. Thank goodness I had followed your advice. I was able to just hand over an envelope that had emails, chat logs, photos, a photo book with pictures of our wedding that I made for his mom, 6 letters from my friends/family, proof that I had made him my beneficiary on my retirement account and proof that I had added him to my insurance.

He was in the room for over an hour and a half. Eventually only the guard, the janitors and I were left in this large room. Then I was brought in for about an hour... and then him again. Then they told us to wait and that we would be called to a window.

About 10 minutes later we were called to the window and we were told he was approved! Then we paid to have the documents sent to him and they already arrived on Friday.

Pues, el llegara esta noche, en 5 horas y 25 minutos.

Dices que no puedes salir sola hasta tengas tu green card. Porque? No he escuchado esto.

Tengo mucho interes en la adaptacion. Quiero ayudar a mi esposo con el proceso.

Saludos,

Valerie

Thank you so much to everyone! Muchisimas gracias!

It's a little hard to believe it is real.