Request to Expedita I-130

[oabdelra 2]

Hello All,

Before I ask my question let me give you some background on my case. I am an American Born male of Egyptian parents living in the US (I am a dual citizen). My wife is now in Egypt. The following is my timeline:

Feb 16, 2011: Submitted I-129F

June 2011: Held religious marriage ceremony in Egypt (Katb Ketab)

July 2011: USCIS Approvied I-129F

August, 2011: applied for I-130

After my my I-129F got approved I received advice that my religious ceremony in Egypt was indeed considered a legal marriage in the US. So I hired a lawyer and applied for the I-130.

As you all know there is chaos in Egypt at the moment and I would definitely loved to bring my wife here before anything gets out of hand especially since I had a cousin that was killed in January. I've gone through some hell these past few months and the blow that the confusion with the I-129F gave was a lot to handle. I am worried, scared, and frustrated now with all thats going on. I contacted my local congressman and they agreed to request to ask the USCIS to expedite our application. I talked to my lawyer and he advised against it. I dont know why he did, it doesn't make any sense to me and all he said was that "why did you get married with the I-129F still in process?" well my answer is clear, had I known this was a legal marriage I wouldn't have done it!

My question is: do you any of you see an issue with my application to be requested to be expedited? If it gets rejected will they red flag my application and will it take longer? What are the risks I have with requesting to expedite??

PLEASE HELP! Thanks everyone!

[Inky 1,110]

Really the only " risk " with it is that they say no we aren't going to expedite.If they reject the expedite it wont be expedited, its not going to slow anything down or damage anything. I would be more worried about the interview part really than being rejected for an expedite.

[nurse1967 287]

You can apply for an expedite but it is doubtful you will be approved. Expedites are save for the most extenuating circumstances. Yours does not fall into that category. However, I don't think it will hurt your future approval to apply and get denied!

[NY_BX 397]

Hello All,

Before I ask my question let me give you some background on my case. I am an American Born male of Egyptian parents living in the US (I am a dual citizen). My wife is now in Egypt. The following is my timeline:

Feb 16, 2011: Submitted I-129F

June 2011: Held religious marriage ceremony in Egypt (Katb Ketab)

July 2011: USCIS Approvied I-129F

August, 2011: applied for I-130

After my my I-129F got approved I received advice that my religious ceremony in Egypt was indeed considered a legal marriage in the US. So I hired a lawyer and applied for the I-130.

As you all know there is chaos in Egypt at the moment and I would definitely loved to bring my wife here before anything gets out of hand especially since I had a cousin that was killed in January. I've gone through some hell these past few months and the blow that the confusion with the I-129F gave was a lot to handle. I am worried, scared, and frustrated now with all thats going on. I contacted my local congressman and they agreed to request to ask the USCIS to expedite our application. I talked to my lawyer and he advised against it. I dont know why he did, it doesn't make any sense to me and all he said was that "why did you get married with the I-129F still in process?" well my answer is clear, had I known this was a legal marriage I wouldn't have done it!

My question is: do you any of you see an issue with my application to be requested to be expedited? If it gets rejected will they red flag my application and will it take longer? What are the risks I have with requesting to expedite??

PLEASE HELP! Thanks everyone!

I agree with the previous posters. I'd be more worried about the interview than anything else. Marriage visas are significantly slower than a k-1 visa. They are cheaper and you don't have to go through AOS. However, if you add up the costs associated with visiting your spouse in his/her homeland, it ends up costing more. It's just less of a hassle.

I must admit I'm in the same boat as the lawyer: why did you get married (legally or symbolically) during a k-1 visa process? Pretending it was symbolic and you brought pictures of the 'wedding' at your interview, it would definetely raise red flags to the CO. I don't believe asking to expedite your case will make or break. It'll probably bring your case into a limelight. I think your lawyers hunch is in the right path, I hate to say...

[oabdelra 2]

Well the issue is not a "symbolic" marriage, it is a marriage, but it is mentioned that a "religious" ceremony is not considered a legal marriage in the US for immigration purposes. That's why we got married on the K-1 Visa. I later learned that a religious marriage in Egypt gets legalized in the court and therefore is legal in the US. I don't know why that would raise any flags if I mention that?

I agree with the previous posters. I'd be more worried about the interview than anything else. Marriage visas are significantly slower than a k-1 visa. They are cheaper and you don't have to go through AOS. However, if you add up the costs associated with visiting your spouse in his/her homeland, it ends up costing more. It's just less of a hassle.

I must admit I'm in the same boat as the lawyer: why did you get married (legally or symbolically) during a k-1 visa process? Pretending it was symbolic and you brought pictures of the 'wedding' at your interview, it would definetely raise red flags to the CO. I don't believe asking to expedite your case will make or break. It'll probably bring your case into a limelight. I think your lawyers hunch is in the right path, I hate to say...

[NY_BX 397]

Well the issue is not a "symbolic" marriage, it is a marriage, but it is mentioned that a "religious" ceremony is not considered a legal marriage in the US for immigration purposes. That's why we got married on the K-1 Visa. I later learned that a religious marriage in Egypt gets legalized in the court and therefore is legal in the US. I don't know why that would raise any flags if I mention that?

Sorry I took long to respond. Under a k-1 visa, any kind of union ceremony would be cause for denial. You must NOT marry during the k-1 visa process.

Reasons for red flags in your case:

You started a k-1 visa process and half way through, you married in Egypt breaking the rules.

Now you are trying to expedite the process.

It sounds like you are trying to circumvent the system by hurrying up and getting the beneficiary in the US, making it look like a fraudulent transaction. To that, add the fact that Egypt is a high fraud country and they will scrutinize you and question your intentions. Being truthful will help, so yes, mention that if anyone asks. Let me make it clear, this is not my opinion. I'm just bringing up what a CO may think, worst case scenario.

So, if I were you, let the process take its course.