jpidgley

So it says "Non-immigrant status visa holder filing for adjustment of status..." so because he doesn't have a non-immigrant visa, and he just wants to use a tourist visa to visit for a wedding, he can't appeal, and can't come??

have i read that right?

I'm assuming he would not be the one to do the ceremony in the States.

we looked into it extensively before and legally he can do it anywhere in the world, so he would've done it in the states.

If it means a lot to your dad then I would give him a little time to get the I-601 submitted and a decision made. If it gets within a month of your visa expiring then go ahead and leave for the US. You and your fiancee will have the rest of your lives together, but your marriage is a once in a lifetime event. It will probably mean a lot to your dad if you can at least give him a chance to try.

This is what i have been thinking, i know it means alot to him to be at his son's wedding, and it means a hell of alot to me as well. I just have no idea how long it would take for him to be approved, and thats the info i need to be able to make the decision. I've put a topic up in the correct area on VJ, but it hasnt even got 1 view yet...

If it was like a a 4 month thing, meaning i would need to be away from my fiancee for an extra month, then i could just accept it, and deal with it, but if it took any longer, i'm scared i would get resentful and angry towards him for not sorting it out sooner, and making me spend more time away from my fiancee....

hey everyone!

here we go.

Two days ago i was fully expecting to be flying out to be with my fiancee in a few weeks (my interview is in 1 week), but then yesterday i found out about the Immigration and Nationality Act. This act states that if you have been sentenced to any more than 5 years aggregated years then you cannot be given a visa.

26 years ago my Dad was given an aggregate of 6 years 9 months (for theft, burglary, and robbery, and would never have done more than 4 years because it was an aggregate sentence). He was released for good behaviour way before he got close the the 4 years. Since then has not had so much as a parking ticket, and for the last 20 years he has been a Christian Minister.

ok so first:

1. Can he actually apply for the I-601?? (to attend my wedding)

2. How long roughly does this take (i understand its every case on its merits, but any answer will be appreciated)

Thanks,

Josh.

Hey all,

I love this site, and appreciate all of the opinions shared by our VJ Family.

Sometimes people feel passionate about what they are saying, and can upset other users, but believe me when i say, i will not be offended by what you guys say.

Ok so the situation.

Two days ago i was fully expecting to be flying out to be with my fiancee in a few weeks (my interview is in 1 week), but then yesterday i found out about the Immigration and Nationality Act. This act states that if you have been sentenced to any more than 5 years aggregated years then you cannot be given a visa.

26 years ago my Dad was given an aggregate of 6 years 9 months (for theft, burglary, and robbery, and would never have done more than 4 years because it was an aggregate sentence). He was released for good behaviour way before he got close the the 4 years. Since then has not had so much as a parking ticket, and for the last 20 years he has been a Christian Minister.

Now i have to decide whether or not i should wait to see if he is possibly granted a waiver so he can attend his son's wedding, meaning i have to obviously add an unknown amount of months onto how long i have to wait to see my fiancee again. Or if i should just go ahead with the wedding, knowing my dad will not be able to be there with me.

I have been apart from my fiancee for a long time now (and you guys here are the only people who know how agonising it feels), and im feeling really angry that he didnt look into this back 8 months ago when i started my K1 application, so it would be sorted.

i really have no idea what i should do. I guess i'm just asking flat out, what would you do if it was you? (and why if you want extra credit )

( to the moderator people, please don't move this topic, i will post another one in the correct place regarding the process of the I-601, Application for Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility, but this one is purely to get info from K1 filers. thankyou, josh.)

hey.

i'm in england and my fiancee is in california. we skype everyday....and its still tough as hell.

after about 3 months i just resigned to myself that it was going to take forever, and i needed to just forget about the visa unless i was physically doing something with it (like filling in forms).

The 8 hours difference (7 at the moment due to DST) is a killer but this is what we do. I get up at 3am and we talk till i have to get ready for work. when i get ready for work she goes to sleep (btween 11-midnight CA time) i go to work and she sleeps, then when she goes to work and i come home i go to sleep at about 6-7pm. then she gets home form work and i wake up at 3am and repeat. Not much of a social life there, but its the way we have found it easiest.

Well if you wanna get technical, you are a contractor and your employer would be whoever you do work for. If you did work for your next-door neighbour for example, he is temporarily your employer.. employing you to do work for him so you WOULD be working for a US employer.

For example a friend of mine used to work for a secretary agency (lets call it X). She was employed by the company but worked for different companies (I'll call them Y) helping out when people went on maternity leave etc and was only paid when she actually worked. Technically she was never employed by the Y companies, her X company was employed by Y and she was the person sent to do the work. She could have continued to do work IN the US because the X company wasn't a US based company but she was working for US clients who would pay her foreign employer who would in turn pay her. This is perfectly legal.

Unfortunately being self-employed means you're out searching for people to do work for and those people would employ your services making them your employer... so no. Unfortunately don't think that could work. Sorry!

Thanks!

Sometimes I cannot believe what I’m reading out here on this forum. Time and time again I see people asking questions on how to get away with fraud! Once you decided to wager your chances of bypassing the U.S. immigration laws, you are also gambling with the welfare of the person you love. Yes, I understand the hardships that we endure during this process. However, I for one I’m not willing to jeopardize a lifetime with a person I so dearly love. Waiting on an average of 77 days, plus or minus a few more days for most, for an EAD approval is a minuscule price to pay whether wrong or right! While I do not agree with every requirement specified by the USCIS, I have not and would never intentionally manipulate and attempt to blatantly break the law. If I was a CO and discovered that anyone had cheated the system during this brief period, I would wonder then what their intent was for entering the U.S. as a potential permanent resident. This practice might imply that the safeguarding of the relationship is not the most important aspect. In summary, I recommend sticking to the rules and never break the law no matter how minor you may consider the offense!

The whole reason i started this topic was so i didnt do anything illegal without knowing!

i think you need to calm down!

Without an EAD you aren't allowed to work for an American employer...

THAT is what i was trying to get at. is that the actual law? because if it is, and i work for myself, i'm not an american employer...no?

Cheques as "gifts" is bordering on income tax evasion. Best you start reading www.irs.gov to learn about paying in self-employment tax and the other requirements of reporting income whether it be cash, cheque, wages, foreign source, scholarships/grants, tips, gambling winnings, prizes.

yea, i see that now! i hadn't even thought about it appearing that way. I don't want to avoid taxes (anymore than anyone else lol) i just want to pull my weight, and help my fiancee/wife when we are together.

after the whole K1 process i feel like if they think you are fit to enter their country and marry their citizens, after all the paperwork, medical, and interviews, an EAD should be supplied with the K1...

Your question is justified. From a purely legal perspective, you would not be allowed to work with a K-1. In the real world, nobody cares if you do freelance work from home or while sipping a quint venti non-fat 2-pump vanilla carmel mocchiata at Starbucks. In addition, just like overstay, working without authorization is not being made an issue of at the AOS process, so when you guys sit it the hot chair at the interview, you would truthfully disclose to the Immigration Officer that you did some freelance work while waiting. It will be a non issue.

So just to clarify. Legally, you can not provide any service which is reimbursed with money during the K1 and AOS, even if you are not employed by a company, and the money is going to an international account?

(also just realised that your process took almost the same amount of time as my LIFE!! wow)

Just to clarify i'm not trying to "beat the system" and i will do everything properly if im not allowed to work. but seeing as i will be self employed, if this means i can work, then i will!

I have heard that finding an employer and working now may not seem to affect anything, but if you have done so illegally it can jeopardise future applications for citizenship etc.

Hey everyone.

quick discussion on working once i get out to America. Everyone has views on what is flawed with the immigration system, and for me, this is it. They require us to have sponsors, and to sign documents saying we won't become a financial burden to the government....and then say we can't work when we come over. just seems dumb to me.

anyway. i'm a graphic designer, and do my work freelance, so won't be looking for an employer. If i do freelance design work for clients, and the money goes into a british bank account, is that still not allowed? if it is allowed, would it be allowed into an american account? if neither of those are ok, could i do the work for free, and have clients make out cheques as "gifts" to my fiancee/wife afterwards?

thanks for any responses.

Josh.

Thanks. sent it off this morning. time to wait....again.

Hi all,

i got my poilce certificate today, so booked my medical for next week (almost at the end!) Now i just need to send off my DS-2001 form to london to say i have everything.

I know you need to add a cover letter to this, but i don't know how it should be worded/presented. is it an actual letter or is it just a piece of paper with some words and dates on it??

if anyone could copy and paste theirs (without the personal info) into a post for guidance that would be great. thanks!

Josh

Here here!!! I also wished I had found this site first... as it seems our application is lacking in further evidence (no pics, passports copies or proof of relationship included).

Since we didn't have a photocopier handy and needed to mail off the application before my future husband left to work overseas, we made sure to sign 3 of each document sent so that if required we would at least have that.

Now I'm working on gathering and organizing the documentation for the inevitable RFE notice ... in 6 months???

i thought id get an RFE, all i sent was photos. no passport stamp, boarding pass, or ticket photocopies. got my NOA2 after 5 months. no RFE

Ok thats what i thought.

Thank goodness for VJ, i think i would be screwed without everyone here!

Hey all.

So i didn't find out about this site until about 3 months after we had applied. As is the case with most people who have done the same, i wish i had known about it earlier!!

Anyway, i have a problem when it comes to the interview in London. Everywhere on here it says i need to take copies of my Application pack with me...... we didnt make any copies

so my question is: do i just make copies of everything from now on, and hope they don't ask to see any of the original pack, or do i attempt to recreate the pack we sent?

So what exactly is happening to the petition before it arrives at the adjudicators desk? Nothing? If that's the case, then when exactly does the background check occur and how long/how thorough of a check is it? Sorry if it seems like i'm directing this at you. I'm really not. I'm just confused about the whole 15-20 minute approval thing, if they actually need to do thorough background checks for the countries safety.

i think its basically loads of people wanting to get in. and only limited staff. so yea it just sits on the desk for months, and then goes through like a half hour screening to see if anything about you or people you may know gets flagged on their system.

i was planning the same, check this out: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/290023-are-visits-to-the-us-during-the-process-allowed/page__p__4395417#entry4395417

only the non US citizen receiving the visa can go into the interview. you can go for support and stand outside waiting.... im in the UK, my fiance is just waiting for me in california. instead of spending money on her coming back to the UK again, were just saving the money.

definitely send a few photos of the two of you (dated on the back) and then photocopies of your boarding pass(es), ticket(s), passport stamp(s)

if you have the other things, send them to him for the interview. if your only just applying, your proof on an ongoing relationship will expand, and you will need to prove you have kept in contact over then next few months, and unfortunately its going to be a few months yet

Like the screening process that kept the September 11 terrorists out? That one worked really well. And Baghdad looked like a resort compared to Manhattan on that day.

Like the underwear bomber? That terrorist was on the no fly listl, but the geniuses at USCIS didn't bother to read it and also blew off the phone call from his father that he was planning something. If they were doing their jobs, they could have revoked his visa in time to stop him.

When USCIS has a screening process that actually works, tell me about it. The one they have now is a joke.

ok your wrong about the baghdad thing.

september 11th 2001, the government learnt about holes in their security the hard way, the way none of us ever want to see again. thats why there are tonnes more policies and procedures being implemented every month. the terrorists change to get around the system, so they change the system again, this is going to continue.

your probably right about the system they have now, but at least they have one. one that none of us know how well is working. you only hear about the attacks the press get hold of. the only real way to probably improve it, is to triple the staff, and EXTEND the screening period to ensure they dont get in.

i think a cell phone bill is no good. same for skype. I cant see what your applying for, if its right at the start then you need proof that you have MET IN PERSON during the LAST TWO YEARS, not that you have a relationship. a cell phone bill and skype say you have spoken, not you have met. what they want is photocopies of boarding passes, passport stamps, flight itineraries. that kind of thing. save the cell phone and skype stuff for your interview, its THEN that you have to provide evidence of an ongoing relationship.

i think. someone may correct me here.

Protection from what? Terrorists aren't going to 'apply' for visas....criminals do not FOLLOW the law. Terrorists could easily come in through Mexico like all the other criminals (drug dealers, cartels) are doing right now. So, yea, this process is NOT about protecting at all UNTIL they enforce the borders.

the large groups of terrorists are done with wasting resources on smaller attacks that kill a couple hundred people. those kind of attacks are carried out by punks trying to prove something. The larger factions want to kill in the thousands. the only way to do this is to plan in depth. to do that they need access to the country first. that dosnt mean sneaking over the mexican boarder. that means getting men in legally so they can do whatever they want in the country without being questioned because they have the right documentation.

by providing a screening process, the government can stop anyone who remotely has any terrorist ties outside of the US.

Protect the country? From who? The underwear bomber, the shoe bomber, the Times Square bomber, the Oregon Christmas tree bomber, and the September 11 terrorists? You mean those guys, all of whom came here on legal visas? But a law abiding hard working Russian lady who met the love of her life in New York? Let's check her out and keep her and her fiance separated for months and months on end while we welcome all of these terrorists with arms open and eyes closed.

This is how the government "protects" us? Funny, I don't feel protected. Instead, I feel trampled upon, put out and violated. If this is "protection", no thanks, I don't need any.

To the OP: Check out this thread: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/291889-shout-out-loud-or-it-will-get-much-worse/

We are preparing a letter to send to the Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives so when the Director of USCIS appears before them in about two months or so, looking for his annual appropriation, he can be held accountable for his abject failure to run USCIS in a competent manner. The more of us who send the letter to our Congress Members, the more attention it will get.

are you so naive that you honestly believe those were the only attacks anyone has ever planned against the US? do you honestly think that the government hasnt prevented any? of course they have, and screening processes are just one of the many ways they get the information they need to protect you from having two policemen showing up at your door to tell you that after all the trouble you went through to get her there, your wife has just been killed in an attack.

yes its one of the many ways you are lucky enough to live in a country where your government actually tries to protect you. the fact that you are so ungrateful for this is astonishing. i have been separated from my fiance for months as well, but i can see past the hurt i feel now, knowing that there is a reason for it, and that it might just save my life without me knowing someday.

im sorry if this upsets you but sincerely from me, and i think i can safely say on behalf of anyone ever effected by terrorism, we dont give a damn if you personally feel trampled on, put out and violated. if you dont want the protection, save your fiance the hassle, and join her in Russia.

ah. good spot! thanks!