san diego

Personally, Under the circumstances I would try to answer the following questions yourself:
1) Do I have enough resources to bring her and her daughter here based on the associated costs?
2) Do I have enough resources to pay for the first several months of them being here and for medical insurance?
3) Is your wife's profession marketable in US, how quickly she can find a job and what is anticipated salary?
Then I would create your own financial plan, which assures that you will no go under. Once you do that I would decide:
1) Can I get Co-sponsor which will be safe from any financial liabilities based on my plan? If not, will this C-sponsor be willing to pay if there is a situation where financial assistance is needed?
This is just my view.

chrisnjill,
In this case I mis-understood your statement. I apologize. This is exactly what US government is rightfully asking you: provide your plan on sustaining 3 people family without reaching-out for additional benefits: either this is co-sponsor that will support additional members of the family or yourself. I am just not sure there is any other way. I agree some of the above statements are harsh though. No one is trying to put you down, this is just a reality. CR-1 visa is expensive. It is over $1,000. ROC is also costly. Medical insurance is costly. Bringing foreigner is a huge financial burden and they are trying to find out your plan. Co-sponsor is one way. However, under the circumstances this co-sponsor needs to be prepared to pay if there is shortage of resources. There is just no way you can afford medical insurance for 2 people and sustaining on your current benefits. They are trying to see your plan. This is all. I would develop such plan and then present it.

Personally, Under the circumstances I would try to answer the following questions yourself:
1) Do I have enough resources to bring her and her daughter here based on the associated costs?
2) Do I have enough resources to pay for the first several months of them being here and for medical insurance?
3) Is your wife's profession marketable in US, how quickly she can find a job and what is anticipated salary?
Then I would create your own financial plan, which assures that you will no go under. Once you do that I would decide:
1) Can I get Co-sponsor which will be safe from any financial liabilities based on my plan? If not, will this C-sponsor be willing to pay if there is a situation where financial assistance is needed?
This is just my view.

chrisnjill,
In this case I mis-understood your statement. I apologize. This is exactly what US government is rightfully asking you: provide your plan on sustaining 3 people family without reaching-out for additional benefits: either this is co-sponsor that will support additional members of the family or yourself. I am just not sure there is any other way. I agree some of the above statements are harsh though. No one is trying to put you down, this is just a reality. CR-1 visa is expensive. It is over $1,000. ROC is also costly. Medical insurance is costly. Bringing foreigner is a huge financial burden and they are trying to find out your plan. Co-sponsor is one way. However, under the circumstances this co-sponsor needs to be prepared to pay if there is shortage of resources. There is just no way you can afford medical insurance for 2 people and sustaining on your current benefits. They are trying to see your plan. This is all. I would develop such plan and then present it.

There is no such thing. "Expedited citizenship" privilege is given to active duty military and spouses of us citizens. After 3 years vs. 5

Easier said than done in case of Russian Embassy. Here is scenario for you and your fiance. Practical scenario.
Scenario 1: Embassy interview for Tourist Visa:
IO: Whom are you visiting in US?
Answer: My fiance. - Visa Denied
Answer: My friend. Male. Single woman. From Russia.. Visiting male Friend. - Visa Denied!
Answer: No one. Just travel. - Fraud which later on maybe discovered leading to lifetime ban.
The whole point is not even your intent. The main thing is that if answered thruthfully, she would never ever receive visa.
Is this worth it???

It is NOT even about lie. If she answers "Just to travel" than this opens huge can of worms. During adjustment of status they will ask how you met, and trust me, they may grill you on many details. They will even ask where you lived during AOS interview. How come that she did not live in the hotel? If with you, how come she did not disclose it at the interview? Is this worth it to risk?
Finally, single young woman without kids has about 0% chance of getting visa from Russia. So, it would never happen, anyway. So, you did not miss anything and this thread is absolutely hypothetical.

It is NOT even about lie. If she answers "Just to travel" than this opens huge can of worms. During adjustment of status they will ask how you met, and trust me, they may grill you on many details. They will even ask where you lived during AOS interview. How come that she did not live in the hotel? If with you, how come she did not disclose it at the interview? Is this worth it to risk?
Finally, single young woman without kids has about 0% chance of getting visa from Russia. So, it would never happen, anyway. So, you did not miss anything and this thread is absolutely hypothetical.

It is NOT even about lie. If she answers "Just to travel" than this opens huge can of worms. During adjustment of status they will ask how you met, and trust me, they may grill you on many details. They will even ask where you lived during AOS interview. How come that she did not live in the hotel? If with you, how come she did not disclose it at the interview? Is this worth it to risk?
Finally, single young woman without kids has about 0% chance of getting visa from Russia. So, it would never happen, anyway. So, you did not miss anything and this thread is absolutely hypothetical.

Easier said than done in case of Russian Embassy. Here is scenario for you and your fiance. Practical scenario.
Scenario 1: Embassy interview for Tourist Visa:
IO: Whom are you visiting in US?
Answer: My fiance. - Visa Denied
Answer: My friend. Male. Single woman. From Russia.. Visiting male Friend. - Visa Denied!
Answer: No one. Just travel. - Fraud which later on maybe discovered leading to lifetime ban.
The whole point is not even your intent. The main thing is that if answered thruthfully, she would never ever receive visa.
Is this worth it???

Meeting once just for a week and get engaged is a huge red flag, especially in a high fraud countries. I recommend going again, getting married, and meeting more often along.

Civil surgeon is out of pocket. This is not covered expense. Shots ARE covered.

So.. let me understand.. you are not paying taxes and asking help from people that actually paying taxes for you. Am I correct?? Isn't it against TOS A to help criminals?? Is there any way to remove the subject???? Obviously OP is a criminal and any help is unlawful!#

I brought my wife to US absolutely legal way on K1. I am getting increasingly annoyed with cases that I see here saying: "Oh, I came here on VWP to see my boyfriend and all of a sudden decided to get married and stay here". I know that my statement can be controversial but I WILL state this: This is a lie! There is no way someone is coming across the world here, for example from UK or Russia for 1 month, with all their stuff in their countries, active apartment lease, jobs, family members, without any prior preparation and deciding "all of a sudden" to stay! I state again: this is a lie. 99% of cases. USCIS should stop considering those cases! These people should be removed from US and banned forever. Because of people like that legitimate couples have to wait longer. Would like to hear your opinions. Especially, I would like to hear the ones that came here on VWP, stayed, and will have decency to tell me here that in fact that was spare of the moment..

The reason for long wait is number of USCIS employees. Can it get faster? Yes. If they hire more employees. Should they hire more employees? I don't think so. Why other tax payers have to pay for our desire for speedier approvals? There is no point in the petition because publoc will not approve it exactly because of this: increase in number of government employees. Our country budget is unbalanced as is. If you are unwilling to wait for 6-7 months than maybe you should look for someone in your own country.

If he is bright enough he will get scholarship. For example, originally I came to US on student visa by getting full scholarship from UCLA. This means bright. Anything short of this has to pay.

To make things most effective (I think I did it very effectively):
1) The next day go to social security office to get social security
2) Set wedding date (the sooner the better)
3) On the 2nd day I bought her a car and set Driver's license exam. This is crucial if you want her to drive before AOS. You have about 2 weeks window to do so otherwise they will not allow DL at DMV.
4) Apply for AOS

I brought my wife to US absolutely legal way on K1. I am getting increasingly annoyed with cases that I see here saying: "Oh, I came here on VWP to see my boyfriend and all of a sudden decided to get married and stay here". I know that my statement can be controversial but I WILL state this: This is a lie! There is no way someone is coming across the world here, for example from UK or Russia for 1 month, with all their stuff in their countries, active apartment lease, jobs, family members, without any prior preparation and deciding "all of a sudden" to stay! I state again: this is a lie. 99% of cases. USCIS should stop considering those cases! These people should be removed from US and banned forever. Because of people like that legitimate couples have to wait longer. Would like to hear your opinions. Especially, I would like to hear the ones that came here on VWP, stayed, and will have decency to tell me here that in fact that was spare of the moment..

So that everyone calms down. There are only hand full of reasons why someone can get denied at I129F stage:
1) Not free to marry
2) No meeting within last 2 years
3) Not responded to RFE (to prove above two points)
4) Already married to the beneficiary
There is no other possible reason for denial. I am sure it is one of the 4 above. Others: please, calm down.

To the moderator: I think this topic should be pinned. Recently, there were several topics discussing coming to US and getting married on VWP. People should know what type of risks they have. OP, no offence, I wish you all the best and hope everything will work out. However, this would be a good discussion for other people to see when they are deciding on coming on VWP and trying to adjust status. Best of luck to you!

She only needs to go as far back as the date on which she became a US resident; not all five years.

I would take the job and just file later. Get an AP and EAD within 90 days of arrival back in the US and all is well. Since you know when your contract will be over, you can probably even have her another GC ready to go upon reentry (and loss of another grand). Who knows, you both may really enjoy it and never come back.
Is the actual idea of citizenship the most important? Then I would say stay, but otherwise go for it. I understand LPR is significantly different than USC, but for all practical purposes of daily life it's basically the same thing as far as legal rights to live and earn a wage.
I'm sort of in a similar position and I'm personally just looking at emigrating permanently.
PS, don't forget about your US tax obligation overseas. A "very lucrative" pharma offer will almost certainly be over the deduction so you will owe a 5% marginal rate over whatever the deduction is in a certain year. It's somewhere near $100k at this point, so it can definitely trap a lot of people who do well but are certainly not wealthy. Penalties for non declarations of foreign bank accounts amount to half the value of the largest undeclared account per year. Basically, if you're not careful with the IRS they can legally bankrupt you if you live overseas.

If she goes overseas to visit with you while you are living there, but she maintains a residence in the US,as long as she's been at that address.. actually it's specific to "district" (visits outside the country don't count as not living there) for 90 days before filing, then she's good.
She will need to make sure she's in the country for biometrics, and also for interview and Oath. But there is nothing wrong with her holidaying with you at your overseas location while this is all pending. As long as she is maintaining her address in the US, and filing taxes, keeping a bank account etc, then she shouldn't have any problems.
In fact in the interview for N-400 I would tell them that she is anxious for an quick Oath ceremony so that she can join you overseas.
Also, living in "marital union" does NOT mean that she needs to be physically living with you. There are people who've filed their stuff (AOS etc) while living apart (for work etc) but they "maintain a marital union" by sharing bank accounts, filing taxes together... etc etc. I only mention this because you living overseas, and her having to "visit" you there, are not blockages to her naturalising.

I am not an expatriate but maybe you'll still read this.
1. It can. It doesn't necessarily. As long as she maintains her residence in the US, then "visiting" overseas is fine. Google maintaining residence. usually keeping her drivers license current, filing tax returns etc.
2. Again it can. Depending on how long she is "visiting" overseas.
Here's the thing. You didn't mention when the job would start, or more importantly, how long until you moved .
It is presently July, almost August. There are roughly 6 months between now and April 2014. She is permitted trips outside the US up to 12 months, but any time over 6 months can be use to determine whether she has abandoned her LPR status (which is why I mentioned the "maintaining" stuff above). Also, time outside the US of 6 months at a time is deemed to have "broken her continuous residence" when filing for N-400. This includes visits.
Personally (if I had the funds and my job permitted it) I would take the job and before she had been outside the US for 6 months, return to the US. She can actually file her USC stuff from overseas, but she will need to return to the US for biometrics, and also for the interview and Oath (sometimes those are done same day, depending on your office). You also need to have had your US address in the same district for at least 90 days prior to filing N-400.
It's totally up to you, but given how sort a time there is until she is eligible for USC, and the freedom that permits, I would accept the job and give them provisos about returning to the US for immigration matters. If they really want you for the position, they should be pretty flexible. Also, if you look at my timeline it's a relatively quick process (depending on your local office of course) so I'm not sure I would give up such a great opportunity when it is perfectly POSSIBLE to get your wife USC and yourself the job at the same time.

I would ask to talk to your prospective Employers Immigration Lawyer.