rodrigo79

You know what? I don't think this site's for me at all.

It's a frustrating process for everyone involved, and it seems to me that a lot of posters simply use it to take out their frustrations on others who aren't as hard-done-to as they are.

There are an awful lot of patronising, snooty so-and-so's on here whose attitude towards those who are just starting out leaves a lot to be desired. Back when I was simply researching rather than posting, I noticed a lot of quite aggressive posts targeted at new people, but ignored them.

I am sure there are places online which are a little more helpful, and where the posters are a little less tightly-wound. We're all frustrated, but nothing gives you the right to patronise me like that, when you know so little about me.

"Good luck."

don't take it the wrong way, it seems you ARE in fact going thru a bit of both, the "puppy dog love" phase and the very real outlook that your UK live has its days numbered, but not having a certainty of "when" that will happen can of course be upsetting.

Like other poster suggested, motivate yourself by thinking that you have something to look FORWARD to, stop thinking about what you're going to leave behind. And you're right, it could be 3, 6 or more months, but you have to be strong for her and for yourself. If you keep looking at what you're going to leave behind it will start showing, at work and on your fiancee's view as well. Toughen up a bit, cheer up, and when you really get down too much, go out with friends, have someone to talk to, go out running, anything that will keep you distracted, don't stay at home moping around, that will make it worse. Again, you should be looking at what lies ahead, and be happy about it. Just an opinion.

Not easy choice but, your Fiancee comes first. that's who you will spend the rest of your life with your dads an adult. he will understand or should. move forward just my opinion

I agree with ironman on this too, sorry to hear about your situation Josh. In my case, for other reasons; my father was unable to be at my wedding too, but as ironman said, and specially since you're saying you guys have been apart already for too long, I would move forward with the wedding. It's great to see that your father turned his life around in such a great way, and being a father and a minister, he probably will understand why you chose your wedding first.

***** Moving from K1 to Effects of Major... forum as the OP's fiancee is now his(soon to be ex) wife. *****

No issues for her, you have the marriage a good shot, these things happen. She can apply 90 days before the 5th anniversary of her greencard.

thanks for your reply, and for moving the posting to the correct area.

I am assuming that she did apply to remove conditions on her residency and now has a 10 year green card?

Hi Kathryn41, yes, she's a full, regular resident already

She cannot apply "now" anymore. She'll have to wait until the 5-year residency trashhold has been passed. At that time, she will not have any problems whatsoever.

Hey JustBob, thanks too for the reply, appreciate you guys's help

Hi everybody, I thought I'd drop by here again and ask a question that I've gotten different answers to, even from a couple of attorneys; maybe you guys can clarify this for me.

I brought my (then girlfriend) to the US in 2006 with a K1 visa, we got married that year, and by the end of last year it was pretty clear the marriage was not working. She already has her permanent resident card, we remain in good terms, it's just one of those things that changed too much over time and unfortunately is over. I know she could have applied for citizenship already as of last year, since she came on a K1 visa; as far as I know she only had to wait 3 years (of permanent residency) instead of the regular 5 for everybody else; but at the time neither of us thought of it and we didn't think of ending the marriage, although it was already deteriorating.

My questions are: if we divorce now, (we've been separated for 3 months now) will she have any issues AT ALL with her citizenship paperwork except that she'd have to wait another year to comply with the 5 year rule? Since we've been separated, if she sends the paperwork NOW, will that change/complicate things for either of us?

Thanks for any insight you may provide

regards

another update, a little late but better than never. On sept 29, biometrics taken, all OK just waiting now for her permanent resident card to arrive, we're together, wife's back at work, eveyrthing going great!

another small update, no problem at all with re-entry, wife's on her way from Miami to Boston right now.. waiting until 09/29 for her biometrics appointment

Yes, keep us updated. I think, if they don't intend to give you a grace period, they will send back the application and not start processing it. It would be interesting to see how this turns out.

Thank you for your reply and interest. I'm not posting the exact timeline because I feel it's unnecesary (no disrespect intended to those who do) but the timelines vary so much from one processing center to another that I don't think they serve as a reference for anybody, and people who want approximates timelines can rely on the postings the own USCIS makes available, they seem fairly reliable.

On to our progress so far. As I posted a few weeks ago, I received an NOA stating that the application had been received, that the letter was a document that allows her to travel and work here in the US, (the usual stuff). As another great poster stated, all I had to do is send her the letter, she went to the US embassy in Peru, got a second letter, this one from teh embassy; confirming she's OK to travel back to the US, she's returning this weekend!

The best news is that two days ago I got another letter from teh USCIS, this one is the appointment for biometrics! This is great, everything's going along just fine, her appointment is for september 29, and we sure as hell will be there for it!

I hope this shows that when there's nothing to hide and you can get HUMAN BEINGS that work at the USCIS, do their job and go beyond being mere "paper reading drones" and take into account all the circumstances surrounding your case, everything can go OK. I will keep updating you guys about how things go from here...

rodrigo, my heart goes out to you. I am in a similar position. We did file on time, but I made out the check incorrectly to USCIS instead of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or Homeland Security. We sent our package back with payment but no one seems to know what happened to it. We're sending everything back tomorrow and getting and Infopass. We've received nothing from them other than the threat of deportation. We are beside ourselves. I will keep you and your wife in our thoughts and prayers. Please keep us posted.

Hello, thank you for your kind words, and for sharing your experience. I hope everything works for you, I really hope your case is resolved for you, sorry to hear that just the check writing format is enough to null the paperwork, but so is life...

my prays will be with you too, please also keep us posted about your results, best of luck

Anyway, I decided to go with the filing even though we are extremely late, I'm sending about 100 pages worth of proof that our marriage is not a sham . . .

Are you insane?

If I was the IO, and I got a package the size of a phone book from you, I would deny working on the case just because I don't appreciate someone trying to drown me in totally unnecessary paperwork. If you can't prove that your marriage isn't a sham by providing the usual documents, I'd be suspicious, very suspicious. Your problem is not proving that the marriage isn't a sham; your problem is for USCIS to accept your extremely late filing. It won't help to piss them off. Less is often more.

1. No, I'm not insane, I simply love my wife.

2. I'm glad you're not the IO, because I didn't send unnecessary paperwork to drown anybody, I just did what the form calls for. "attach any and all documentation that I deem necesary to support our case" (not verbatim).

3. I'm happy to say that I have received the NOA that will allow her to continue working and should allow her to travel in and out of the US until she gets her biometrics/permanent residency card. (and they still state that I may need further documentation). I mailed that to my wife, she's going to Peru's US embassy for an additional piece of paper authorizing her to travel back to the US (they needed the NOA first)

4. I'm hoping she's back here in the next 2 weeks, she's still dealing with a lot of things that need to be taken care of in Peru.

5. I don't see why you have to be so pessimistic and hard with your comments, I've dealt with the INS/USCIS for many years now both for my own case and now my wife's, and I know the outcome of ANY dealings you have with them unfairly depends mostly on who receives/reviews your case. The worst thing that could've come out of this was that I got denied, and I was short $500. I'm not rich, I'm not saying $500 means nothing to me, but it means nothing if I can't get my wife back with me. Either way, what could I have lost by trying except those $500?

I will keep posting as I get more updates, I'm sure we're not the first couple that has gone thru this or a similar set of unusual circumstances, and I think it's fair to leave all options open, this is a forum for sharing experiences and throwing ideas at people looking for solutions for their problems, not to chastise them for making mistakes.

If they start all over the process again, doesn't she get 10 years card since they were married more then 2 years?

yes she would, it wouldn't be conditional anymore AFAIK, but I don't want to be 6-12 months without my wife!

Anyway, I decided to go with the filing even though we are extremely late, I'm sending about 100 pages worth of proof that our marriage is not a sham, and a very honest and to the point letter explaining why we didn't file in due time. I talked to customer service (on the phone) with USCIS, made infopass appointment, consulted with as many friends who've been in the same position as possible and even talked to a couple of immigration attorneys and have spent countless hours on this website and googling in general.

We'll take our chances and see how it plays out. Worst case scenario I have to file for I130, have to be without the love of my life for about 6 months (hopefully no longer than that) and will be out of almost $600 (for this filing, not counting I130 which I think is about $350 now), but worst things have happened in life. We'll see.

I want to thank you ALL who took the time to respond to my post and share your knowledge and experiences, I will post my results as soon as I know what's up.

Don't rely on hope or on what we, simple mortals, tell you. Schedule an Infopass appointment as soon as possible. Have you contacted the Lima Consulate yet? What did they say? You need to move fast.

I know, I just don't want to feel so lost. Embassy said if she shows the letter (with the 12 month extension) she can get a letter authorizing her to travel. but since our troubles are two-folded (with the change of address thing) I'm not sure about what to do next. I'm about to head out to see an attorney

In some other reading - have read some explanations that could offer some hope.

One thing I read was that filing the I-751 immediately will generate and extension of the PR status (1 year) automatically - this doesn't mean the petition will be approved or denied since that will depend on the reason(s) for filing late. If this is correct - it is good news.

One thing I'm concerned with is you've not let them know where you live so you could potentially have missed some important correspondences - an Infopass appointment would be prudent for sure.

i had read about that too somewhere, so hearing it here from you gives me a little more hope! thank you

the exact expiration date was 03-06-09. I know we should've kept on top of this, life happens though. I'm not making any excuses, and I know this is probably going to be both an expensive and lengthy process. The way I see it, worst case scenario would be me having to start a brand new petition, this time putting as my wife though, correct?

Hello guys and girls, I hope I can get some guidance from you. I'm a naturalized citizen. I brought my wife on a K1 visa back in late 2006, we got married in december 06 in FL, and she received all her paperwork, SSN and "green card" there.

We moved to MA at the end of 07, so we have been living here since 07 and never notified immigration. Now I have been through all the steps to become a naturalized citizen and am aware that this is something you have to keep up at the top of your list, but we just simply forgot, honest mistake. Now the problem is this. Not only didn't we notify them of the move, but we also missed the deadline for sending the i751 form. We should've mailed it before 03/06/09 and didn't.

We traveled to Peru together in february of this year (her "green card" was still valid), and she went to Peru just 2 weeks ago to visit her family, (green card was already expired at that point) nobody in immigration/security said anything here in Boston nor in Miami. She was stopped last week at the airport in Lima (when trying to return) because her papers are expired.

I'm going crazy right now, We fought so hard and waited so long to get her here, and now because of our stupid omission she's unable to return. Only now we realize all the things we should've done and didn't, and we're really scared of our prospects for now.

Should I file for the change of address first? Will that make any difference at this point? Should I just send the i751 form and explain that this was an honest mistake (I mean, it's up to us to keep up with it, I know that, but we honestly thought she still had one more year and that we would receive notification of what needed to be done next) plus why would she willingly leave the country if she knew she couldn't return?

We've known each other since high school, we waited, literally years; so I could become a citizen and then bring her with me. I'm heartbroken and so upset at our lack of diligence, but I don't know where/what to begin with to fix this.

Any help would be really appreciated.

Thank you