kj007

Hi,

I'm looking for some general advice regarding timing the filing of my wife's N-400 application. My wife and I were married in December 2009. We went through the I-130 process and she successfully came to the US in July 2010. We also went through the ROC petition I-751 without any issues.

Unfortunately just as I was preparing to file her N-400 for naturalization, she was charged with a DUI in November 2013. In June 2014, the charge was reduced to reckless driving, and the sentence deferred for a period of 24 months - after which the charge will be completely dropped and apparently wiped from the record. My cousin is the criminal defense attorney managing this case for us, and he will be filing an motion in May to have the charge dismissed early (in June 2015) after a period of 12 months on the basis of her immigration status. While nothing is guaranteed, he seems fairly certain that the court process can be concluded in June. She has no other criminal history or traffic citations - just the 1 DUI (reduced to reckless driving). The fine was reduced because she completed 60 hours of community service within 12 months of the sentencing, and we have paid the fine in full.

As a result of the reckless driving charge, I have delayed filing the N-400 paperwork because I know this incident could complicate her application, and I don't want to take any unnecessary chances that could jeopardize her eligibility. I've done some digging on DUI's on VJ threads, and the general consensus seems like the 1 isolated DUI shouldn't be a deal-breaker.

The deferred sentence status is throwing me off however, because technically the charge hasn't been dismissed. The other factor here, is that my wife is in a rush to apply for citizenship asap because she wants to sponsor her mother's application for a green card. I'm trying to convince her to minimally wait until June to see if we can get the charge dismissed and more importantly dismissed on paper but I'm having trouble winning this battle though, as she really wants to file ASAP.

If I file the application before the charge is (hopefully) dropped in June, should I consult an immigration attorney to file the paperwork, or should I file by myself? Financially we are a bit tight at the moment, so I am trying to avoid paying the attorneys fees if it can be avoided. However, if going through an attorney is going to be the quickest and most efficient way to getting her citizenship given this incident, then i'll do so.

Any advice on this would be really appreciated - thanks so much

actually one more question - she didn't receive a Social Security # until she moved here in early 2011...come to think of it, this is actually why I didn't file jointly in the first place (I couldn't). Do I still amend, regardless of the fact that she didn't even have a SSN # until 2011? I've found the forms in TurboTax and it seems fairly straight forward. I don't have a ton of time before the RFE evidence is due back though (April 5th, 2013). Is there any way to request USCIS for an extension or is this a big no-no?

@Darnell & Saylin...thanks a lot guys, missed your replies before posting! Darnell - I'll try that...

thanks so much for the reply Saylin. That makes sense. Would you happen to know the quickest way to amend those returns? Should I contact an accountant or go to the IRS directly?

All - haven't been on the site for some time, but I've received an RFE I-797E in the Adjustment of Status process (Petition to remove conditions on residence - I751) that I hope you guys can help with (apologies if i'm posting in the wrong forum).

The RFE is asking for additional evidence of a good faith marriage. I think I've gathered most of the things I can from browsing other topics on this - but a question I have is on the tax returns/transcripts I submitted. The RFE says:

"The joint tax filings cannot be considered as evidence at this time because not all required documents to show joint filings were submitted. When using joint tax returns as evidence to establish joint finances, the USCIS requests all filings from the time of adjustment be submitted. Please send the missing years statements."

My wife and I were married in Dec 2009, and she received her conditional greencard in July 2010. She moved to the US in Jan 2011. I submitted tax transcripts for our 2011 tax returns which we filed together, but not for 2010 because I didn't file her taxes that year as she did not live here. Does anybody have any idea of what "time of adjustment" means so that I can resubmit the tax documentation properly?

Thanks!

craziness - wifey got a call from the american express office yesterday evening. visa in hand 2 days after the interview! good luck to all the week 4 folks coming up...

VISA APPROVED!!!

sorry for the late reply - i flew into pakistan to be here for the interview, and we got back to karachi from islamabad pretty late last night. interview went really well, only lasted about 3-5 mins (after waiting 4 hours). only questions were:

- How did you guys meet?

- What does your husband do in the US?

- Where do you plan to live?

- Do you have any other family in the US?

- Do you plan to work in the US?

After that my wife called me back to the booth and the interviewer asked when we planned to return to Seattle. i said as soon as we have the visa - to which he replied you'll have it in 7-10 days!

Paperwork seemed to be the biggest thing in Islamabad. prior to the actual interview, the did some sort of 'pre' registration at different windows during which they basically checked all the paperwork. marriage certificate, affadavit of support, medical, etc... We heard quite a few folks getting rejected for some form of incomplete paperwork, including photograph size, and whether or not the photo had been touched-up.

Thanks to everyone here for all their help. the whole process went really smooth for us, and there's no way it would have without VJ and everyone here. best of luck to everyone else, and congrats to those who also have happy news!

we're in for July 14th!

just got my email too - july 14th for me!

hey all, i'm hoping to hear from NVC this week with a July interview date also! quick question for RabRiz or anyone else with a Pakistan interview already assigned - is your interview in Islamabad or Karachi? my wife told me that apparently they are sending some immigrant visa interviews to Karachi at the Consulate General's office, but have no idea if this is true. NVC Operator told me all cases are sent to Islamabad...i'm actually hoping it can be done in Karachi...would save me from some more travel

haven't checked in for a few days, but am hoping everyone in here keeps up with the SIFs and case completes! no news of an interview date yet on this end yet...am hoping to hear this week according to the NVC Operator.

On a side note to any Pakistan members - my wife tells me that apparently they can now conduct immigrant visa interviews at the Consulate General's Office in Karachi (instead of Islamabad)...the NVC Operator seemed to know nothing of this, so i'm not sure. Anybody know? It would be far easier for us to interview in Karachi. appreciate any insight....

SIF and Case Complete through AVR...just checked it...WOOT!!

big shout out to everyone here and the LingChe shortcut...we got through NVC much quicker than i thought we would. Best of luck to everyone!!

thanks for the replies!

do have another question for the masses my wife had a new passport made after our wedding with her new last name. when sending in copies of the passport biography page, should i include her old passport as well as her new one?

hey VJ'ers, hoping for some help on a couple questions for the DS-230 package, as I received NOA2 last week and am trying to prepare as quickly as possible:

1) I'm completely confused on the 'original' vs. 'certified' birth certificate requirement. My wife has her original birth certificate - do I need to send this in as well as a Certified copy? LingChe's shortcut mentions "Annotation by the appropriate authority indicating that it is an extract from the official records" needs to be provided. Could someone help explain where my wife could obtain such an annotation?

2) Along similar lines, do we need to provide an original marriage certificate?

3) Also on the marriage certificate - we got married in Karachi, Pakistan and were given originals in both Urdu (local language) and English. I was told that the English version was NOT a translation, but would be considered an original. During the USCIS process, i only submitted an attested copy of the English marriage certificate and got through fine, but i understand that the NVC and consulate needs more than an attested copy. Would it be smart to send in originals of both the Urdu and English versions?

Thanks!!

I also got a happy text message yesterday...NOA2!! Hoping that the Feb approvals continue to roll in for everyone...best wishes and luck!

hey all - seems like feb filing is going more slowly. looks like we have a few lucky people with NOA2, but is the majority still waiting? i know i am...

awesome, thanks for the feedback! i think that pretty much settles it my mind - i'll go for the CR1 and hope for the best. good to know they put the I-130 on hold while filing the I-129F, it seems logical that another application would complicate the process, but obviously the way they write it on the USCIS site is that the K3 is supposed to provide a quicker way to bring a spouse to the US while waiting for I-130.

@Tara - thanks for the advice, but i'm so sorry to hear you guys are still in AP, especially with the baby on the way. inshallah you'll hear back from the embassy soon.

Hi VJ'ers,

hoping to get some advice from those who have been thru this rat race. I just submitted my I-130 petition to the Chicago lockbox yesterday, and was also considering applying for a K3 after the NOA1 in order to gain some time. My wife and I were married on 12/12 in Pakistan, but knowing we would have to wait a while for the visa processing...decided to do a small legal ceremony this year, and are planning a much larger reception in December 2010. the thinking is that ideally she'll be able to come home with me to the US by January of 2011.

given that we have planned for about a year (she's also finishing up her MBA), is that enough time to give the CR 1 process, or would it be less risky to go for the K3 also? From reading VJ, i've seen many people discourage the K3 because of the cost and AOS hassle after entering the US. my primary consideration is time - i know islamabad is a risky consulate when it comes to AP, and am worried that if i wait for the CR 1 to go thru then we might miss out on getting thru this in 12 months.

from researching similar Pakistan timelines on VJ, it seems like the CR 1 should be the way to go for us (males seem to get the brunt of AP in islamabad), as it takes about the same time as the K3...but what's the general consensus here? i dont mind applying for AOS on a K3, but it would be much nicer to have the greencard in hand right away.

also, for the sake of argument - in case we are lucky and get a visa early (K3 or CR1) is there a time limit she has to enter the US on that visa?

thanks!

thanks for the info all!

thanks for starting this topic, i'm actually in the exact same situation as a newlywed filing for IR-1/CR-1. I had a related question - if providing a sworn affidavit as supplemental proof of the marriage, does it need to be provided by a US citizen (the example forms on this site seem to state this as a requirement...), or do I also need to provide an affidavit from someone in my wife's country (pakistan)?

and i certainly echo the thanks for all on this site providing advice from their experiences...it is truly appreciated!

appreciate all the responses...i'll have her resign the typed forms in blue ink to be on the safe side...

thanks again!

this may be a stupid and nitpicky question, but am trying to avoid any silly RFE's down the line. i'm new to VJ and getting ready to submit the IR-1/CR-1 petition for my wife (who's currently in pakistan):

while in pakistan during the holidays i downloaded and completed the G325-A form and asked my wife to sign 4 copies. The form gives the option of typing the information directly in Adobe Acrobat which is how we completed it.

My handwriting is terrible and this may be more legible for the officers handling my forms, but I'm worried that since my wife's signatures are in black ink USCIS may think the forms are photocopied and delay the processing....

do most people here fill in these forms requiring signatures by hand? (note to myself is to use blue ink next time!). i could always ask my wife to send me new copies of the completed forms if consensus here is to do it by hand...

thanks!!

thanks for this thread and the reply on signature - i had the same question.

hi all - this is my first post on VJ. i'm just getting ready to file this month for my wife also - this site has truly been a lifesaver after all the different pieces of advice i've had from various people. it's nice to have 'real', tangible info in 1 place!

i may post some specific questions in a different thread, but wanted to wish the best of luck to all the jan filers out there. hopefully we all get through this pain-free and quickly