Am I running too late?

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

I don't know what the situation is for the OP either.

I imagine it's the same situation of many people. Poor planning.

My husband gave up all his friends and family, his career, his house and his country to come live in the US with me. I thought that was rather serious. So I had the money saved up and earmarked for his status adjustment. After all he did for me, I didn't think it was fair to have him in any kind of situation where he could be detained, no matter how minimal the odds might have been. It didn't strike me as the loving thing to do. And it still doesn't.

I'm happy everything worked out according to your well laid plans.

For everyone else, sh!t happens. They carefully budget their money, setting aside exactly what they're going to need for immigration fees down the road, and the transmission on their only car blows out. Or they need an urgent root canal and their dental insurance won't cover it until next year. Or their employer cuts their hours. Or their landlord jacks up their rent. Or they get laid off. Or a close family member has any one of the previously mentioned emergencies, or maybe an entirely different one. Sometimes life rolls boulders at you, and you have to dodge them as they come.

Plan for the future. Deal with the present. Not much more anyone can do. If there was a deadline to file the AOS then someone would certainly take that into account when deciding whether to pay USCIS or fix the car, but since there is no deadline...

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

I'm happy everything worked out according to your well laid plans.

For everyone else, sh!t happens. They carefully budget their money, setting aside exactly what they're going to need for immigration fees down the road, and the transmission on their only car blows out. Or they need an urgent root canal and their dental insurance won't cover it until next year. Or their employer cuts their hours. Or their landlord jacks up their rent. Or they get laid off. Or a close family member has any one of the previously mentioned emergencies, or maybe an entirely different one. Sometimes life rolls boulders at you, and you have to dodge them as they come.

Plan for the future. Deal with the present. Not much more anyone can do. If there was a deadline to file the AOS then someone would certainly take that into account when deciding whether to pay USCIS or fix the car, but since there is no deadline...

*shrugs*

Sure, there is no "deadline" - if you mean a deadline like removal of conditions where the application must be filed before the conditional card expires. Heck, even that "deadline" can be moved IF the late filing occurs very shortly after expiry of the card; IF the application is covered with a beg letter; and IF the AO finds everything else in order and is feeling charitable.

An immigration friend of mine is fond of saying that the US isn't a Gulag thus the Service responds accordingly. In other words don't sweat the small stuff. But this same friend advises filing to adjust before the I94 expires in order to preserve the integrity of the aliens legal footing.

So yes - it's all part of having a plan. Just like planning to have enough money in the household because the foreign partner isn't legally authorized to work. Would we advise readers that it's OK for the alien to work without authorization because illegal work is forgiven based upon adjustment of status? I don't think we would. IMO that's on the same legal plane as telling them it's OK for their foreign partner to be out of status because it's "forgiven" based upon the status adjustment. "If" this and "if" that. Plan so you don't have to deal with "ifs".

[GnBnL 50]

I don't know what the situation is for the OP either.

I imagine it's the same situation of many people. Poor planning.

My husband gave up all his friends and family, his career, his house and his country to come live in the US with me. I thought that was rather serious. So I had the money saved up and earmarked for his status adjustment. After all he did for me, I didn't think it was fair to have him in any kind of situation where he could be detained, no matter how minimal the odds might have been. It didn't strike me as the loving thing to do. And it still doesn't.

That's great that your planning worked in your favour, but unpredictable things happen, and it doesn't help to tell people what they did wrong after the fact. Not helpful. Just sayin'.