Question regarding current I-130 form and options

[meowmeowmeow 1]

hi all,

So, had a quick question. Pending a visa, of course, I am planning to go to the ME to chill and be with my hubby. I am pretty frustrated and annoyed with the job situation here in the area as well, and it would actually be cheaper for me to go there for a while than be here.... lol.

My intention is not to return here until my husband is able to travel with me....

With this in mind, would it be possible to change the current petition I have now into a DCF one? Please check my timeline as well to get a better idea of what I am concerned about. I guess, it takes around 6 months or so to get a residency permit in SYR, and from what I understand it takes an additional 1-2 months for this route to clear through.

My question here is: do I call USCIS and tell them this or do I just keep going with what I have? The other alternative that I thought about, as annoying as it is, was let's say USCIS gets their act together, sends me a NOA2 (according to their estimated schedule on their website, this is supposed to be in August or so..) and I just have someone here send my stuff to me overseas, I fill it out, (my brother is going to be my joint sponsor, we are ok with this already, etc.) then send it back and then wait? Or would that be too much of a headache or not cool for USCIS/NVC/whoever the hell can end this ordeal for us?

Which one also would be the quickest route, hypothetically?

I want to call them on Monday to discuss this, hence my question...and I don't really trust their reps anymore at this point, I have memorized their BS speech at the beginning of a call at this point...

Thanks...

[pushbrk 13,132]

hi all,

So, had a quick question. Pending a visa, of course, I am planning to go to the ME to chill and be with my hubby. I am pretty frustrated and annoyed with the job situation here in the area as well, and it would actually be cheaper for me to go there for a while than be here.... lol.

My intention is not to return here until my husband is able to travel with me....

With this in mind, would it be possible to change the current petition I have now into a DCF one? Please check my timeline as well to get a better idea of what I am concerned about. I guess, it takes around 6 months or so to get a residency permit in SYR, and from what I understand it takes an additional 1-2 months for this route to clear through.

My question here is: do I call USCIS and tell them this or do I just keep going with what I have? The other alternative that I thought about, as annoying as it is, was let's say USCIS gets their act together, sends me a NOA2 (according to their estimated schedule on their website, this is supposed to be in August or so..) and I just have someone here send my stuff to me overseas, I fill it out, (my brother is going to be my joint sponsor, we are ok with this already, etc.) then send it back and then wait? Or would that be too much of a headache or not cool for USCIS/NVC/whoever the hell can end this ordeal for us?

Which one also would be the quickest route, hypothetically?

I want to call them on Monday to discuss this, hence my question...and I don't really trust their reps anymore at this point, I have memorized their BS speech at the beginning of a call at this point...

Thanks...

The "F" in DCF stands for "filing". Since you've already filed, you cannot change HOW you filed. You would withdraw and begin again. At this point, I'd be expecting the petition to be approved any day, so withdrawing it would be unwise.

[meowmeowmeow 1]

alright, that sounds logical. so, should i just keep mum then about going and just have stuff sent back and forth to me? i was wondering if i could just deal with the embassy entirely and not have to deal with NVC and what not, that is...if we get "approved" of course...

i am going regardless because i need my peace of mind.

but i suppose it wouldn't really matter anyways in the end if i'm there, right? i haven't been able to secure proper work for months now and my brother is well more than capable of being my joint sponsor. well, maybe i am myself as well, from my tax returns for the past 3 years i made well over the poverty limit that is listed.

should i just have my contacts here send the paperwork i need to work on there, send it back, and that's it?

and do i even need to contact USCIS about this? mind you, i am also concerned about the fact that i'd be living there for a few months. my permanent address technically would still be here though. would i even need to let them know that i'd have a new address?

thanks again

p.s. i should note that i haven't seen my husband since september 2008. we were married in november 2007, but we didn't go this route sooner because we had hoped to move to dubai to live and work and this fell through. hence, why i'm here now. we will have been married probably 2 years by the time he even gets an interview it seems. i just want to know what would be the best way to go about this right now. i am of course going to call the embassy this monday to ask, but just wanted to know if anyone here knew of any tips or suggestions in my case. thanks again

[meowmeowmeow 1]

please...anyone. so no one has ever filed an i-130 for a spouse and then decided to go live with them and sort it out from over there? i'm trying to think of what i would need to do, i.e. a checklist of stuff, before i go out. i still need to get a visa anyways and i may or may not get it, but if i do, i'd like to know if this is a common occurence for some people and whether it would help things go quicker.

thanks...

[MsMariah 0]

I personally think it will be helpful for your case at the interview and approval level to be living together. It will be a little annoying to do the sending papers back and forth, but if I were you I would make sure I had all the papers you needed from your brother already filled out and signed and have the copies of all his financials, so that when you get to that stage at NVC he could just add a few more recent proofs when you mail it. You can send things express to NVC via aramex. There is the DS 3032 that you can email after you get your NVC case number and if you let the AOS package be delivered to your brother (US address) he can call you with the info so you can pay online and scan you a copy of the front page letter that you mail in with your AOS package to NVC

ps, I agree that the filing you already made is fine doesn't seem beneficial to attempt to change now, I've seen some people who had DCF's take forever and timeframe seems similar to USCIS filing anyway.

Best wishes..

Edited April 27, 2009 by MsMariah

[meowmeowmeow 1]

Does that mean that I do not need to inform USCIS that I am leaving the country to be with my husband? Thank you Mariah, you are awesome. I am totally freaking out here and I have exactly 2 weeks before I take off and want to make sure that I'm not going to be doing anything to jeopardize the situation. There's no way in hell I will be living in Syria. My life is here, my cats is here, and while I love my man, I want to get this over with so I can come back to NY and start my life with him....thanks so much.

[MsMariah 0]

The general idea is that you are maintaining a residency there in US, while having extended visit to Syria. So if you aren't keeping a place for yourself you should see if your brother would let you use his place as a point of residency for your mail and so forth.

I'm not sure but I think you want to have a place to say you'll be living when you and hubby return so that they'll mail his physical greencard there. So hopefully you're brother would be ok with you using his address if you don't have a permanent address. If you are changing addresses then you'll want to send in the change of address form to USCIS.

Edited April 27, 2009 by MsMariah

[meowmeowmeow 1]

that's good to hear. i do have a permanent address here that i want to maintain, but i didn't understand how ####### USCIS can be so that is why i was wondering about the calling in to say i'm going overseas, i guess it's really none of their concern at this point is it...

you've been a big help, thanks very much!!!