Ebunoluwa

This is what I send, some is overkill but that's my thing. I attached the other documents/evidence 
for each separate application form and clipped them together with a cover letter.
When they receive your submitted renewal forms you will get an automatic 180 day extension so you do not have to stop working should 
it take longer (which it will) to receive your new combo card.
 
* G-1145
* Form I-765
* 2 passport photos
* copy of bar code sheet provided with last EAD/AP mailer
* copy of I-94
* copy of I-797c, Receipt Application to register for Permanent Residence
* copy of I-797, Approval for current EAD/AP 
* copies of front and back of current EAD/AP 
* copy of K1 visa in passport
* copy of passport bio page 
* copy of marriage certificate
* copy of driver license
  * G-1145
* Form I-131 * 2 passport photos
* copy of bar code sheet provided with last EAD/AP mailer
* copy of I-94
* copy of I-797c, Receipt Application to register Permanent Residence
* copy of I-797, Approval for current EAD/AP 
* copies of front and back of current EAD/AP 
* copy of K1 visa in passport
* copy of passport bio page (passport renewed)
* copy of marriage certificate
* copy of driver license

This is what I send, some is overkill but that's my thing. I attached the other documents/evidence 
for each separate application form and clipped them together with a cover letter.
When they receive your submitted renewal forms you will get an automatic 180 day extension so you do not have to stop working should 
it take longer (which it will) to receive your new combo card.
 
* G-1145
* Form I-765
* 2 passport photos
* copy of bar code sheet provided with last EAD/AP mailer
* copy of I-94
* copy of I-797c, Receipt Application to register for Permanent Residence
* copy of I-797, Approval for current EAD/AP 
* copies of front and back of current EAD/AP 
* copy of K1 visa in passport
* copy of passport bio page 
* copy of marriage certificate
* copy of driver license
  * G-1145
* Form I-131 * 2 passport photos
* copy of bar code sheet provided with last EAD/AP mailer
* copy of I-94
* copy of I-797c, Receipt Application to register Permanent Residence
* copy of I-797, Approval for current EAD/AP 
* copies of front and back of current EAD/AP 
* copy of K1 visa in passport
* copy of passport bio page (passport renewed)
* copy of marriage certificate
* copy of driver license

It is always better to be on the premises at the day of the interview whether allowed in or required to wait outside.
Your fiance can inform the CO that you are waiting outside if they would like to speak to you.
It shows support for your fiance, it is another visit under your belt and you can troubleshoot if things go wrong.
 

I would wait. If the vaccs sheet was marked complete and if AOS was filed within one year of the medical then you don't need another one. You can show the requirements to the IO if he is a newbie. If he won't budge then either request a supervisor or get it done then. K1's don't need another medical form unless the vaccs were incomplete and a year has past from medical to filing ( not to approval).

Yes, it's possible. But I'd be willing to make a wager that a couple that has spent time learning about each other for a fair amount of time has a higher likelihood of lasting longer or being more amicable if it doesn't. Certainly not always, but usually that's the way it tends to go. At the very least, it makes sense to have a healthy dose of skepticism for a relationship that is very short.
 
At the same time, a couple that has been together for too long before getting married has also shown a shorter duration of marriage, on average. I forget the exact statistics, but for a 30+ year old, it was something like over 2 years without getting engaged fell into this group.
 
I'd disagree with this, too. Or at the very least, there's not data supporting this claim (especially when it comes to immigration). Obviously there's honest and wonderful people everywhere, and scammers and cheats everywhere, too. The major challenge with migration is that they must (at least in theory) look at every case by hand, and treat them on their merits. But there are certainly cultural differences between countries that are more tolerant of scam and fraud as a fact of life. Street smarts are always important, but they're a daily necessity in some areas.
 
How many "fixers" do you know for fraudulent visas, passports, birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc. do you know in the US? They certainly exist everywhere, but you can find them just hanging around barely outside government buildings in some countries. Records are not well maintained and corruption is rampant in some countries, so the opportunity for fraud and personal gain drive some people to do bad things.
 
Nope. You can petition as many people as you can show a valid relationship with and can financial sponsor (directly or via a joint sponsor). There's a multiple-filer waiver required for the I-129F for some conditions (a previously approved I-129F within the past 2 years, or 2 prior I-129Fs ever), but nothing's required for the  I-130.
 
Actually convincing an IO and CO of a bona fide relationship the 3rd, 4th, etc. time is definitely the hard part.
 

You are limited to 2 fiance visa petitions in your lifetime, after that it requires a waiver.  I just had my 4th petition approved (one of them never made to visa issuance as I cancelled it between petition approval and arriving at the foreign consulate).  My fiance now is scheduled to interview next Tuesday.  My first foreign spouse wasn't a scam, we have 2 children together and were married 5 years when she decided it wasn't what she wanted.  I currently have custody of the kids but she's very much a part of their (our) life.  My second foreign fiance, after nearly a year online and 15 days together admitted she had another boyfriend, only after she get pregnant by him - petition approved but cancelled.  Third foreign fiance happened while I was still emotionally ransacked by the second.  We were a horrible fit, realized it after getting married (ok, in fairness, there were signs prior to marriage, I was just blind to them).  Not saying she was a scammer but ultimately our relationship (me) couldn't withstand her dishonesty and jealousy.  Fourth fiance was a friend long ago.  We became friends, lost contact when we both had marriages that fell apart eventually, reconnected and realized we could be more than friends so we decided to venture down this path, yet again.  I wouldn't do this again with someone who wasn't already a friend first.  It's too hard when you can't tell what is what because during the "dating" period everyone wears a mask.
 
Side note, my sister and her husband lived together for 3 years prior to marriage.  Both at different times have commented to me how much things changed after marriage.  They both felt the other changed significantly, even after a 5 year relationship with 3 years living together.  Sometimes marriages fail not because of scams, but because things change, people change.
 
Yes, I do believe there are scammers.  Yes, America is perceived by many as the land of milk and honey.  Many of us (primarily those from 3rd world countries, not necessarily western Europe and other wealthy countries) would fight to get here if we weren't already here, yet we judge others who do.  Whether a person is from the USA, Africa, Asia, or anywhere else money has an allure and people are attracted to it.  It doesn't mean they're a scammer.  Wealth is power, generally people are attracted to power.  People almost universally would prefer more money over less money.  It's when they lie, cheat, and steal that it's an issue.  Just because someone is from Thailand, Philippines, Ethiopia, or Sudan doesn't make them dishonest.  Just because someone is from the USA, Canada, the UK or Japan doesn't make them honest.  Good and bad can be found anywhere.  Unfortunately the money difference causes a lot of problems, but desire for money doesn't make someone bad; lying, cheating and stealing do.
 
My $.02.

As a Belgian immigrant with much better healthcare and social security in her home country and who paid for everything herself and submitted everything herself (and I know I am not the only one), I think this is awkwardly aimed at very specific people from certain countries? Haha.
 
Anyone can be a victim of abuse .... or an abuser, even people like me (obviously not saying I am one).
 
I agree with the other tips: you need to see each other plenty, and try to live with each other in a non-vacation style. Vacation makes everything more fun and you are much less likely to have a fight. You need to have a few arguments to see how the other person reacts to an argument: do they suddenly get hostile, or super-subservient? Red flags. Cook each other dinner, or make your own lunches when you go somewhere to get to know eachother's likes and dislikes. Someone who just happens to like EVERYTHING you like (for food, clothes, movies, ...)? Red flag. No two people are alike, so there will be differences. 
 
Make sure you talk about money, job, and children before you start this as well: do you both truly want kids? If you do, how will you raise them, and will someone stay home or not? What are your big achievable dreams in life? Are they more or less able to line up with each other (cf if someone wants to climb the highest mountain, and the other person does not even like any activity at all, that is going to take a lot of sacrifice from one person)? Is the current job the job of your dreams or do you want to do something else? What were some big things in your life that made you into the person you are? Are you a or an ### when you are drunk/sick/angry/sad/...? What are your weak points? Are there household chores you love or detest? How will you divide the household work? How will you arrange the money issues while the other person is not allowed to work (or does not have a job yet)? How will it be arranged once you both have a job? What about expectations about sex? Every day, a few times a week, once a week, once a month, longer? Who will do most of the cooking and why exactly? What of these things will change once both of you have a job?
These are all details that need to be talked about and talked about. This is the rest of your life, so you need to make sure you are compatible; does not need to be 100%, but about 70-80 is achievable (that includes the areas where you just don't care as that means you don't care what the other person will decide for you). Red flags: they do not seem to be interested to talk to you about these things, they avoid these talks at almost all costs, they get hostile with most of these things, they have not seemed to have thought about any of this before, they tell you whatever you decide is fine (no it is not. Ever met a person who truly meant that?)
A lot of these things can be discussed without seeing each other, but often are not talked about. Note that some of these may change once you are about to make the transition, so make sure to talk to them about it again after a year or so.
Don't focus on the pleasant things like your heart wants you to. These boring practical things are suddenly important once the initial buzz fades a bit (which is a normal development in any relationship), as they make up most of the structure of your day and week and months and years.
 
 
In addition, I have talked to a few people in person who specifically look for a wife from a specific nationality because they have heard they "make great wives" (in both the domestic and sexual sense of the word). I just had to stand there and bite my tongue at the stereotypical and shallow comments of these male American citizens who had incredibly specific expectations of their future wives (they needed to become a caretaker, clean the house and cook, and have their children as fast as they could; it sounded like a slave).
To me, this sounds like men who are bound to attract women who will suddenly "change out of the blue" when they actually get to the US. It's easy to play into that stereotype of these desperate men, if you are desperate to get out of your country.
Note that I am not trying to imply that this is why US citizens become a victim of visa fraud. I am sharing another type of context wherein I can see fraud being easy.
 
 

I believe your topic title is against TOS as it specifically and negatively singles out a group of people, Nigerians in this case.

Your story does not read like you were scammed for a GC but like you chose to marry a man with red flags who has no integrity
and is a cheater and a big jerk. Happens here in the good old USA all the time, nothing exclusively Nigerian about it.

He could have divorced you and ROC'ed without you but he remained with you and you ROC'ed him through it all,
knowing he fell off the turnip wagon many times. No, he will not be deported for cheating.
When we risk taking chances with someone who shows his true colors, then we have to be big enough
to be accountable for our own choices and not "warn" people of an entire country of people. It goes without saying that there are
good and bad apples in every country, race and ethnicity, nationality.
I can tell you that nobody reading your 'warning' will end their relationship, because everyone thinks their
marriage will last a lifetime.
No one can take thousands of dollars of your money over the years unless you allow it and go with the flow right along with it.
Your friends who also have cheating Nigerian men chose to stay with them after the first offense...why do I ask myself ?!
Why stay with a serial cheater ?
Why do some women put up with so much ####### ?
Why would your friend not call the authorities when her man did the romance scam in front of her and the kids ? WTH ?
She didn't do anything about it immediately did she ? So why stay with him and cry about it later ?
Your FIL advises you that if you want a lasting marriage then you should have closed your eye to it.
That is a village mentality and an entitlement thinking which is more common in some African cultures
because the women are shamed for divorcing and often can not provide for themselves or their kids alone so they do close their eyes
to it. The modern city woman will not put up with it, there are exceptions to the rule of course.
I hope some day all women will discover their self worth and separate themselves from this nonsense.
Rather than telling people to run it would be more beneficial to tell them to investigate their potential partners at the beginning
of meeting them and not after being married already. That goes for all internet romances, home and abroad.
People leave digital tracks and trails all the time trolling the net.
It is not hard to find someone on dating sites at all.
You can send someone you trust ( church affiliated pastor, missionary, trusted friend etc. ) directly to his house unannounced and see what
pops up, anyone can keep up a pretense for a 2 week visit....except your ignorant ex ( I hope he is an ex now ) couldn't even pull that off.
Been there, done that and have the T-shirt many years ago and was successful in discovering real evidence and ended the relationship.
But no one will "run" having read that your marriage failed.
Last but not least, I truly am sorry that it didn't work out for you, I truly am.
We all must be accountable to our choices and decisions in life and regain our beauty and happiness through the consequences
and knowing the future will be better with better choices and setting higher standards for ourselves.
That is when real growth happens within ourselves and then we can truly move on and share our story with others who ask us for
advice.
We must become fruit inspectors and look deeper than the charm that is on display.

No. 

You can send the renewal 120 days before expiration. Once you have submitted the renewal you will get an automatic extension for 180 days.

Questions are asked almost daily about this, is it pinned somewhere ? If not mods please pin it !

Bad signs and facts are two different things. To advice anyone in AP to ditch their K1 and marry and file a CR1 is bad advice.
Many have received a visa while the C O didn't keep their passports 
after the interview. Until it is confirmed that it has been returned they need to wait. 

1. No religious ceremony for a K1.
 
2. AP stands for several administration processes : Background / security checks , when waiting for additional requested documents
and it is also used when a petition is being returned simply because it takes "administrative processing" to do so.
Hope to have explained your AP confusion.
 
3. Contact your senator to inquire where your case is to be certain it has been returned which I believe it has or is in the process to be returned due to the 
fact that you were told it was being returned.

4. Your next petition would be to marry and file for a CR1.

5. A returned petition for a K1 is dead. It will be purposely expired and there is absolutely no chance to revive it or to even change it to a CR1.
You have to start over. I don't know what you mean by "your paperwork being a CR1 interview."  Only with a new petition will you have a CR1 
interview, a K1 can not be converted to a CR1 but maybe I misunderstood what you meant by that.

6. You can immediately marry and file a CR1 if you want to. No waiting is required as was suggested by another poster.
 
7. It is a snowball's chance in hell to have them change their minds with a letter.
You can try, you have nothing to lose at this point, I have seen a few initially refused cases where the CO changed their minds but those are 
very few and that was while they still had the petition at the embassy within days.
In those cases the petitioner was on the premises and immediately took action and was allowed to present their request to the CO or section chief
after the interview. Once they decide which track you are on it is pretty much written in stone that your case follows that track. Outcome for a returned
K1 to USCIS is expiration, no exceptions, I have not seen one single K1 case resurrected here on VJ for over a decade. 
In the few threads where the petitioner thought they had it overturned and reaffirmed it was still a dead end with the petitioner being misinformed
about the same dead K1.
 
Yes, we all make mistakes even though we research. I am sorry for your situation. Better luck next time !






 

It is generally advised to bring a copy of the entire AOS package in case they lose anything.
The main thing is joint financial evidence such as joint bank accounts, joint credit cards, beneficiary listed of 401K and  life insurance.
Co habitation evidence of joint utility and phone bills, gym cards, joint lease or mortgage, health insurance from work if one is on the other's
benefit plan, joint car title, joint loan, joint car insurance....
Forget texts, you live together so proof that, they aren't interested in your texts. Trips and photos as you mentioned are good to add.
Don't bring just one statement of joint bank accounts but bring all since you got married and opened them. 
What should you know about your wife ? Everything a normal couple has shared including past relationships, hobbies, likes and dislikes and that's 
knowing things about each other not just you knowing about her. Siblings, places lived, color of curtains in the house, what did you have for 
breakfast, what side of the bed do you sleep on, work schedules. It really depends
on each couples specific circumstances what questions will be asked. If either of you had a past petition history then question will likely come up 
about that. If either had a short gap between divorce and your current marriage then they may ask about that.
They may interview you both separate or together.  Anything goes. If you get an interview letter, items on what to bring are listed.


 

If not issued a visa within days or a couple weeks after the interview it would mean you are on AP.
AP could take weeks or some months and it would be totally silly to marry and wait 12-18 more months
for a CR1 when a K1  visa would have been issued after a short AP time.
Unless a petition has been returned to USCIS there is no sense in marrying and filing a CR1.

 

No, she should not ditch the K1 and marry and file a CR1.
The CO requested more evidence and that is exactly what she should do, bring more evidence.
If the petition has been returned then yes, she can marry and file for a CR1.
Otherwise they could have been issued the visa in a couple weeks or months versus waiting 1 1/2 years for round two.
Once married a K1 visa that is hanging up in AP can no longer be issued. 

Bad signs and facts are two different things. To advice anyone in AP to ditch their K1 and marry and file a CR1 is bad advice.
Many have received a visa while the C O didn't keep their passports 
after the interview. Until it is confirmed that it has been returned they need to wait. 

If not issued a visa within days or a couple weeks after the interview it would mean you are on AP.
AP could take weeks or some months and it would be totally silly to marry and wait 12-18 more months
for a CR1 when a K1  visa would have been issued after a short AP time.
Unless a petition has been returned to USCIS there is no sense in marrying and filing a CR1.

 

I would wait for the RFE and then send in the copy of the DS3025 with instructions and hope they figure it out. 

Check the guides for a list on what forms are needed. Then post your cover letter if you are unsure you have everything.

Check the guides for a list on what forms are needed. Then post your cover letter if you are unsure you have everything.

You will need them if you have to renew the EAD like we had to because our AOS approval took 2.5 years. Also if you lose the combo card. 

You can expedite with  job offer based on financial hardship after 75 days. If accepted it still takes 4 weeks or so to get approved.

Send official tax transcripts that you order from the IRS, all schedules are attached.
Pay stubs (at least 6 months)
Bank letter showing deposits.
Bank statements showing deposits.
Letter from the employer (if self employed he will need other items).
Corrected page 4.