juliava

If I can be blunt, you don't know what you're doing, and you have a very limited time in which to do this and do it correctly if you want your wife to not banned from the US.
Think very carefully about the ramifications of this. You would have to move to the UK. For the next 10 years, you could not visit your family with your wife. You might have a greater fight in 10 years to get her visa, if you and your wife wished to live in the US.
If you file for the CR1, your wife can stay until the 15th. She can even visit you other times while her case is pending (though the "90 days in / 90 days out" guideline would be best to follow). She'll have time to close up her life in the UK -- something she cannot do under the option (as she cannot leave the US while a concurrent I-130/I-485 filing is pending).
It really seems like it's in your best interests to go the CR1 route rather than adjust off the VWP.

The intention of the language in INA 212(a)(9)(B) is that you are barred only for 3 years if your overstay is between 180 days and 1 year, and if you leave voluntarily before removal proceedings have begun. It was never meant to imply that you can avoid the bar if removal proceedings are started while you're within the 6 month window, and then skip out on the removal proceedings, and I've never heard of USCIS interpreting it this way.
By the way, failure to appear for a removal hearing results in a FIVE year bar. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, so to speak.
If you really wanted to test that theory, you'd have to find a way to get USCIS to start removal proceedings while you're inside that six month window. Here's the problem - you entered using the VWP. If USCIS decides to remove you then there will BE NO REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS. The "no contest" clause means you are immediately deportable upon the order of any immigration officer. This is effectively the same as if an immigration judge had already ordered your deportation. The decision of the immigration officer is not subject to review or appeal. Instead of USCIS starting removal proceedings, you would be taken into custody and immediately deported. You would never get a hearing in front of an immigration judge.
You've earned the 3 year bar. An I-601 hardship waiver is the only way around it. If you play Russian roulette with deportation then you'll get a 10 year ban, and need an I-212 waiver as well.
The 3 year bar makes you inadmissible. You can't receive any sort of visa during the bar unless you receive a waiver. An investors visa would be no different.
You can't get a waiver unless you're an immediate relative of a US citizen. You apparently are not, but if you were then it might be possible to get the bar lifted while you're still in the US. An I-601 waiver request can be filed with an adjustment of status petition. Most in-country I-601's are denied.

It's not that important how many affidavits you get as WHO signs your affidavits. Obviously the "friend" whose GC was denied would not be a good candidate.
We had 4 affidavits as well : 1 signed by my husband's parents (he is the USC), 1 signed by the owner of the apartment that we were renting at that time, 1 signed by a neighbor and another one done by an employee of the leasing office located in the same apartment complex, who used to see us every single day.

If I had any say in this, I would allow a sponsor to step in for a visitor. The sponsor has to be a USC and put a $1K refundable deposit down for getting a B2 visa issued for the beneficiary. If the visitor leaves in time, the deposit is returned. If the visitor does not leave as promised once the I-94 expires, the sponsor is charged with a $20K fine, payable to the United States Government. If the sponsor fails to pay, he or she is going to jail until the visitor is found and has been deported.

I don't mean to rub any salt in your wounds, but I think you went into the interview without a reasonable understanding of what could happen. In truth, it could have been much much worse. If you had been selected for a Stokes interview then you would have been separated and subjected to such questioning for several hours.
The IO obviously thought you had lied about something at some point in the process, and he was trying to shake you up and get you to admit it. You did precisely what you were supposed to do, which is to be consistent with your answers. He is allowed to ask any questions he likes. He is allowed to accuse you of anything he likes. This is a common tactic used by law enforcement officers in the US (yes, an IO is a law enforcement officer), and it's been repeatedly upheld in court.
Feel free to sue USCIS or the IO in particular, but I doubt your lawsuit will get off the ground. First, everything he did was within his legal authority. Second, even if you could prove he was biased by race, religion, or culture, you can't show how you were injured by his bias because you were approved.
You were unfortunately selected for close scrutiny. You should probably try not to take it personally.
They do sometimes take the EAD. It isn't of any use once the green card has been issued. You won't need to get it back.

Ok, it sounds like you did indeed have a Stokes interview, but it sounds like it wasn't an intensive one, else it would have taken much longer.
They rarely select people for a Stokes interview randomly. They simply don't have that sort of free time. That sort of random fishing is a grossly inefficient way to try to uncover fraud. There are key factors they look for that can trigger a Stokes interview. Unfortunately, we will never know what those factors are. They won't tell us because that information would be immensely useful to a true visa scammer.
They do conduct investigations prior to the interview. They collect information from various law enforcement and government agencies in the US. They may also access any available public records. It's difficult for you to know exactly what they know about you and your spouse when you show up the for the interview. Sometimes people know about a situation or circumstance in their case that might trigger a Stokes interview. Sometimes they get a clue from the line of questions asked. Sometimes they are hit completely unaware, as it appears you were.
As I said, you shouldn't take it personally. You know that your relationship is sincere, and that you are innocent, but the IO doesn't know you or your spouse. All they know is what they see in your file. Something in your file set them off. At this point, it probably doesn't matter what it was - you were ultimately approved.
A word of caution: Since you were subjected to a Stokes interview, it is distinctly possible that you are still under suspicion by USCIS. It is possible that sometime in the next couple of years, prior to removal of conditions, a couple of ICE officers could show up at your house to conduct an "investigation". They would be looking for evidence of cohabitation. They will go through your personal effects, dirty laundry, etc. I'm not saying this will happen. I'm only saying it might happen. Knowing this in advance might help you be better prepared to deal with it if it should happen.

You've gotten some good advice, so far!
They won't deny your AOS solely for preconceived intent. They may suspect it. They may even be able to prove it. They just can't use it as the sole basis to deny your AOS. This was established by precedent BIA cases way back in the 1980's. On the other hand, if they have evidence you had preconceived intent, and they further have evidence that you lied about your intent to any US immigration officer, then you'll be denied for misrepresentation. The evidence of preconceived intent can be as simple as bringing things in your luggage that would be required to adjust status but not required to simply visit the US. The evidence of misrepresentation could be any statement you made when you were being screened for entry. Think about the questions you were asked to determine if this might apply to you.
I don't necessarily agree with Payxibka that this would be determined at the time you entered, or that you would necessarily have been denied entry if they suspected it. At least one VJ member was recently set up by CBP on entry. She was placed in secondary inspection, where she was bullied into lying about her intention to get married. This set a trap for her - if she tries to adjust status she'll have confirmed the lie, and she'll be denied and banned.
Myopia and Harpa Timsah laid out the VWP ground rules pretty clearly. If your AOS application is accepted by USCIS after your 90 days authorized stay expires then there is a good chance the AOS will be denied. The policy is not yet uniform throughout all USCIS field offices, so a lot will depend on what your local USCIS field office is doing. Some USCIS field offices are denying ALL AOS applications from VWP overstays. If your AOS is denied there's also a good chance you'll be ordered deported. As the others have said - no review or appeal - the order would be effective immediately. If you are deported then you'll receive a 10 year ban.
This is too complicated to write a long winded post about it (again). Consult with a local immigration attorney and find out how the USCIS field office where you live has been handling AOS cases for VWP entrants. Do this quickly - you don't have much time left. If they have been denying them, then don't send the AOS petition. Yours will also be denied, and you'll probably be deported. Go the CR1 route instead - there's no risk if you don't overstay by more than 180 days.

That's actually not what the law says. It says that you must not have worked illegally or have unlawful immigration status at the time you submit the AOS application, but that specifically does not apply to an immediate relative of a US citizen. There is nothing about penalties being waived or anything being forgiven. If that were the case you could marry a US citizen after years of unlawful status, and then leave the US without facing any sort of ban because your overstay "penalty" would have been waived. Of course, that doesn't happen. They simply cannot use the overstay as the basis for denying AOS to an immediate relative of a US citizen. It doesn't affect any other aspect of immigration law.
The AOS in these cases is not being denied because of the overstay, so there's no conflict in the law. What is happening is a change in policy and not a change in law. USCIS has always had the authority to order the deportation of anyone who overstays a VWP entry. Up until relatively recently, they were using their discretion not to do so when someone submitted an AOS application after marrying a US citizen. This is changing.
Whether or not this is unwanted probably depends on who you ask. Many people, myself included, think that allowing an immediate relative of a US citizen to adjust status while merely visiting the US has too much potential for abuse. I also believe it provides an unfair advantage to people who happen to be from countries where it is relatively easy to get a visa or other entry pass to the United States, while forcing everyone else to go through the process to obtain a fiancee or spousal visa. USCIS, and their prior incarnation INS, has always taken the same position. Prior to precedent cases in the 1980's, they would routinely deny adjustment of status if they believed their was preconceived intent to immigrate. Those precedent cases took that option away from them. Now they need evidence of material misrepresentation to go along with the preconceived intent.
As I mentioned before, the VWP provides the highest possible potential for abuse because it allows someone to skip the visa process entirely.
Personally, I would like to see the law modified so that an immediate relative of a US citizen can only adjust status in the US if they've already obtained the appropriate type of visa, or if there is a compelling humanitarian reason not to make them return to their home country and go through the visa process.

Go ahead and file for AOS in NEW JERSEY. Your wife came on a tourist visa, not on VWP and she is still in status. The court case mentioned above has nothing to do with your situation, you have absolutely nothing in common with it. Bradley's AOS application from VWP was initially denied because of failure to appear at the interview and after that everything fell apart. Things are not that complicated in your case, but they could be if you want them to be (per example, filing the application in New York). A lot of people on this forum applied for AOS from a tourist visa. Good luck!

So basically you got married for the 2nd time sometimes between the divorce decision and the hearing for removal proceedings?I am afraid I doubt you are eligible to re-apply for AOS or at least your chances to get approved are close to 0, especially if the answer to my question is "yes". Your 2nd marriage will not attract a lot of credibility. Anyway, you need a very good immigration attorney!

You can not get your marriage license until your fiancee arives in US. The marriage license is the document that authorizes you two to get married.You will both have to go to the court house to apply for it. Both of you need a picture ID and your fiancee's passport will be a satisfactory form of identification, you don't need a "State ID" for her. Once you get married, you will get a marriage certificate that you will submit when you apply for AOS.