Joe and Ann

I would not only be sure to notify the US Embassy, ICE, NVC, etc... - I would also do my research and notify the Swiss embassy - send them the full story and proof - copies of what he sent you with their pictures, his visa, etc... - and copies of all of your filings - Let them revoke his visa. These are the no good low lifes who hurt the process for others -
I am so sorry for what you are going through, and know it hurts - but I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and you are better off without him -

Sorry you're going through this.
Won't you be a smart girl and email Kingston embassy with this info - ICE as well (email is Immigration.Reply@dhs.gov) so he can't have a change of heart and decide to come to the US on his K-1 visa?

my dear you should dancing, because a wicked person like this, you should be happy that God has remove him from your life. let him be. cancel the plane ticket and also let the embassy know that this person will no longer need the visa which was issued, make sure to inform them so they cancel the visa. people like this are really not worth the time and effort. people that doesnt add value to your life, dont permit them to take away the value in your life. he will do the same to that new one also. what goes around always comes around. when you throw a ball to the wall it always come back to you. leave him in the hands of God.

Exactly, no to deal with these tossers from USCIS is well worth the money.

I can sympathize with you. My husband and I spent almost 2 years apart because of DOMA, but it's been easy to put that behind us from living in New York where both the federal and state governments legally recognize our relationship. I'm so sorry/angry that this stuff continues to this day. The lengths you have to go to in order to deal with the everyday ramifications your situation is criminal (well, it should be).

No personal experience here, but I'd bring the baby and your parents. If things go well, you can feed him a couple of times while waiting and hand him off to your parents while you go back for the interview. I'd just mention immediately to the interviewer that you have a six-week-old there and it's possible he will need his mother at some point if the interview runs long. Or, you might get lucky and have him asleep in a sling or wrap while you're called and they'd hardly notice him.
Diazy, of course immigration interviews are serious, but so is caring for a newborn, especially a breastfed one! I feel like the office should be able to work with the mother. Newborns are unpredictable, but generally happy in their mother's arms. And leaving baby with a bottle of pumped milk is not always possibly if baby is not accustomed to bottles. Anyway, it's not like bringing a rampaging toddler to the office. If you slip baby into a sling or wrap and he naps through the interview they'd hardly know he was there!

I have loved you since I saw your proposal video. Way back. You were always a sensible person who plodded along with positive determination and always seeking to learn. No whining and gritching. No sense of entitlement or attitude. One of the good guys. So glad to hear it is going well for you.
I loved that you mentioned the blue boxes. That's how I felt each time another got colored in. It was so exciting to get the first one. Now every single one of mine is blue and it feels awesome.

When you submitted the N-400, you had the option of completing a G-1145, which would have allowed you to receive an e-mail/text update indicating that your package had been accepted for processing. You can establish an account online at USCIS.GOV by following the menu path Tools --> Check My Case Status. You will see an option to register. After you receive the receipt number you can add your case to your account's portfolio. You will then have the option to request for that case a text update, e-mail update, or both, going forward.
Have a great day!
Joe

Statement from an officer of the bank/financial institution with your deposits, identifying the following: - date account opened; - total amount deposited for the past year - present balance Basically, your employer letter should state:"To whom it may concern: (first name, last name) has been employed full-time with (company's name) since (year) as a (name of your job), and is an employee in good standing with an annual salary of $XXXX. Signed, John Doe, Supervisor (or whatever title)" The letter should be on company letterhead.

And yes, I agree that your case will be scrutinized especially by US Embassy Manila (if it ever reaches that far).
Thru the consul's eyes, you have the burden to prove that you entered your first marriage in good faith:
1. Pinoy guy has a USC sister living and working in the US. Sibling petitions for Philippines takes 24 years to complete so filing this is fruitless.
2. You meet a USC guy who's willing to marry you.
3. You immigrate to the US (via K1 filed by USC guy perhaps???) and marry.
4. Pinoy guy "patiently" waits in the Philippines.
5. You get your GC and US citizenship then file divorce.
6. You marry Pinoy guy. While you're unemployed, Pinoy guy's USC sister comes to the rescue as joint sponsor for the affidavit of support.
7. Pinoy guy gets visa and GC and you all live happily ever after in the US.
This is how it will look to the consul. I'm not saying that's what happened but be prepared nonetheless.

Exactly. They scrutinize these cases very closely. In their eyes it looks like you wanted to live in the US with your boyfriend and kids, so you married an American, waited til you got your GC/citizenship, then got divorced to file for your ex. I'm not saying that was your intent, I'm saying that's how they will look at it until satisfied that your marriage to the USC was in good faith.

plus the scrutiny of him being the kids father with an immigration based on marriage to a uscitizen,
it all reads as 'full circle' with intent to re-unite. Sure, years have passed, but the intent will be read.

I am hoping and praying that the waiting time has not completely destroyed what you have together. Ann and I not only had to deal with the K-1/K-2 visa process, but had to go through the less than transparent Philippine court system to obtain an annulment for Ann before the visa process could even begin. Two years later, we knew it had all been worth it when she, her son, and I stepped off the plane together at Dulles International Airport. The waiting was hard and there were at times upsets and disappointments and trials, but we soldiered through. We have now been happily married for two and a half years, we are active in our local Eastern Orthodox Church, our son is doing well in school and flourishing, and we are expecting a new addition to the family in February 2014. I just want you and your fiancee to know that true love and patience will be rewarded if you keep your mind and heart set on why you started on the journey in the first place. May God bless you both, wherever life takes you.
Joe
P.S. Married life is also no endless garden of delights ... it takes a great deal of commitment, hard work, and understanding as well.

You are going to get a million answers on this question. There are so many variables it's not even funny --------------

There used to be a special classification for nurses, but that appears to be gone now (the H1C, IIRC).
I found this (was just googling about): https://www.usimmigrationsupport.org/nurse-work-visa.html which suggests that nurses now apply as H1Bs (which involve getting a job offer first, capped number of visas etc.).
+1 Boilers suggestion of schooling also. Good option for trying the US way of life at the same time as improving personal skills for career advancement. You could try for the tourist visa - I know that it can be tricky for folks to obtain, but if she can show very good, strong ties back home etc. she stands a good chance and there's no real down side to trying other than the cost of the application being lost if it's denied. Obviously, she can't work on a tourist visa. Don't know how important the work aspect is to the OP?
I actually think it's nice to see a couple looking to try seeing/visiting the US first before committing to marriage plans, if they have the opportunity.

Appreciate your posts hope someone can add some real clarity around what i've asked, however
Since it has come up, I'm certainly open to getting married. I've lived all over the world and to be honest my biggest concern is that my girlfriend may not like living in the US. I'd love for her to have an opportunity to work here and see for herself if she likes it for herself. I am not persuing this to just have someone here to date. She is a talented person and there is no doubt if she were here she would be very employable, so why not seek this route.
If I was interested in discussing marriage visa's etc i would have posted in that forum. I don't feel it is anyones place to judge if I (or she!) should be ready to get married, to be honest. Thanks!

.
There is no reason to judge him just because he is not ready to marry after 10 months. My husband and I didn't get married until after we were in a relationship for 5 years. We still loved each other all the time, and missed each other a lot when we were separated by distance. But still I did not feel ready for marriage until after a few years. We would visit each other 2 to 3 times a year. And when we were apart, we would talk pretty much every day. Just because someone is not ready for marriage after a certain amount of time even though others have, doesn't mean he loves her any less, and it doesn't mean he never wants to marry her... But sometimes you need more time, marriage is a big decision in life, and you need to make sure it's feels like it's the right time.

if this was the first date on your first card -
4.20.2011
Then you (yes, you) have a calendar math problem and should be filing on or around 2/20/2014.
Regardless of the mistake, the date printed on the card is the governing date.

Well, just a quick update. We received the texts (6) and e-mails (6) yesterday afternoon confirming that USCIS had accepted the AP, EAD, and AOS packages for Ann and Daine. Will probably notice my checking account is $1,705 lighter come Monday, but well worth it. For the record it was exactly three weeks from the date that our FedEx package was received at the Chicago Lockbox mailroom (the texts even state July 13 as the received date).
Take care and God bless!
Joe & Ann

Bill, it sounds like you're the problem.
As a bartender, she will speak with customers, and they will hit on her. This is what life is like for every female bartender. You have to trust your wife to say no. If she didn't tell you about being hit on, perhaps you should be more suspicious. If she was a bartender in Thailand, and she did more than flirt with customers, you knew precisely what you were getting into.
If she were using you, she'd stay quiet until her status was solid, then leave you the day after she didn't need you. Instead, she's complaining loudly about the lifestyle and you. This would indicate that she did come with honorable intentions. She's also paying for you. Why would she do it if she didn't like you? She doesn't want to be here except for you.
Looking at it from her side, she's in a land she dislikes, paying for a jealous, deadbeat husband who's plotting to deport her.
You are the issue. You married a wife. You didn't buy an indentured servant. Educate yourself, get a job, and be worthy of your wife. All you have are jealous suspicions that would drive any woman into the arms of another.

Working illegally isn't a big issue when AOSing based on marriage to a US Citizen. If you lie about working illegally then you will always have to worry that they will find out and revoke your immigration benefits (even Citizenship).
What is the problem for you is that you probably marked that you're a US Citizen on the I-9 and that is a serious crime (actually the worst in USCIS's eyes) which carries a lifetime entry ban and makes you deport-able. No real chance of overcoming this with a waiver either, there are high profile cases where adults claimed a child was a US citizen and that child is now banned for life and every attempt to overcome it has been shot down.
Don't waste your money filing AOS if you marked US Citizen...

In the USA a social security number is YOU. You get it when your a kid and you die with it. And what you really need to worry about now is IDENTITY THEFT charges because if the number you made up is actually someone elses SS number and they find out you used it you are in a lot of hot water. And they will find out because whatever money you earned working is on their record now and when the IRS sends them a nasty letter for not reporting that income thats when your can of worms is going to open.

The question is far beyond Visa Journey. Your friend needs guidance from a qualified, experienced immigration attorney.

Nope, Russian women aren't any different than any other women. They may express themselves differently, but the psychology is the same.
What she wrote to him in that email was not an expression of anger or disappointment. She was not shutting him out emotionally. What she wrote was cold and matter-of-fact. The marriage isn't real. She thinks it's silly to pretend that it is. She believes marriage counseling is for people with real marriages, so it doesn't apply to them. She's willing to give up a little sex now and then in return for him basically leaving her alone. In her mind, this was an arrangement and she wants him to abide by it.
I'm sorry, but I've seen too many people get screwed by a foreign spouse because they kept trying to chalk up every obvious red flag as a cultural misunderstanding. This is no misunderstanding. She made herself quite clear.

There's a lot of conjecture going on, but I keep coming back to this one statement. This isn't ambiguous, and can't be explained away by cultural differences. "Nothing to restore"? "Artificial strain"? "Act like what we ware not"? She doesn't consider this marriage to be genuine. She never did. She apparently thought he understood this, as well. The deal, in her mind, was two years of occasional sex in return for a ten year green card.
If anyone still has any doubts, I ask you to pretend for a moment that the OP married the American girl next door, and she was behaving like the OP's wife, and she sent him the comment quoted above. Would you have any doubt that the marriage was a sham in her mind?