AOS from Tourist - The Journey Begins

[euroyank 0]

Hello everyone. I've been reading the heck out of these boards for the last few days, so I thought it would be nice to share my experience with everyone as I climb aboard the immigration train.

I know a lot of people get hot and bothered about AOS from Tourist Visas so I'll give you some background before all the Negative Nancy's crop up:

****(skip this part if you're easily bored, just details of how we met and our relationship history)

My wife (Dutch) and I met at work in Belgium in August of 2006 during the last few weeks of my expat assignment. I returned to the US and we continued to visit each other as our relationship blossomed. I was able to secure re-assignment to Jolly Old England (London) in 2008 and I happily moved over to live closer to my loved one. She was able to move to London in 2008 and spend six months working there before the crisis meant she had to return home. Eventually I was offered a position in France and I moved to Paris, inching closer and closer to my girlfriend in Holland. I was able to secure her a job at my company in Paris in 2010. We lived together in lovely Paris until November 2012. In November 2012 we decided to quit out jobs and spend a year in Australia and South East Asia. We moved to Oz in January and spent the next several months travelling and working in Australia and taking some trips to Asia.

****(the interesting stuff)

After 9 months away from our families, we decided to take a trip to the USA to visit my family first, and then travel onward to the Netherlands to visit her family before returning to Australia as our visa is valid until Jan 2014.

Arriving in the US on August 15th, we bought a cheap car and set off on a grand adventure across the US, stopping by friends and national parks along the way. A few days later we rolled into Vegas. We'd always joked about tying the knot in Las Vegas since our families are on two continents and we're not sure how we could ever get them together without a lot of complications (and expense!). We decided after 7 years together, the present time was as good as ever so we happily eloped in Las Vegas before continuing on to Florida where my family lives. We definitely annoyed a lot of people with our surprise decision, but life goes on. After 7 years they knew we were pretty much de-facto married.

Half way through our road trip (now an impromptu honeymoon) we got a call that my sister was having some medical issues. Without getting into details, she was put on medical disability and it was important for me to hurry home to spend some time with her. I hustled home and have been in Florida since that time. As I learned more about my sister's condition it became apparent that she needs a lot of support and it would be best if I could spend more time with her. I spoke to my new bride and it was agreed that we would stick around until my sister recovers. We hadn't considered living in the US (we actually figured we would end up moving to Europe to start a family... free healthcare, wooo!) so we researched (Visajourney was a great help!) and found that we could petition for an AOS so we can stay near my sister during her recovery.

So, a few busy days later, we just filed her I-485, I-130 and I-765 via the Chicago Lockbox. In hindsight, the easiest thing would have been to get married in Asia or Australia (we've been effectively off work for a year) then apply for a fiance visa. I guess that's why there is AOS, things happen and sometimes everything can't be planned for ahead of time.

We've been together for 7 years and co-mingled funds/housing for the last 3.5 years so I don't imagine we'll have any problem with proving that the relationship/marriage is bonafide. Looking online here, people seem to have very complicated cases (which is probably why they want help!) e.g. "My girlfriend is an Iraqi refuge living in Moldova, visiting the US on an expired tourist visa and we met on Myspace in 2012" . Love is a crazy thing, you can't judge but it must be difficult for the USCIS to make the call on what is or isn't a real relationship...

Anyway, long ramble. I'll update my signature with our journey. Thanks if you stuck around this long

Edited September 11, 2013 by euroyank

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

Good luck on your journey! I hope your sister recovers soon.

[euroyank 0]

Ugh. Got a call from the doctor's office where we completed the sealed I-693 form. The doc neglected to write my wife's name on the 2,3,4, and 5th pages of the form (at the top). It's a sealed form so we didn't catch this. Since its sealed, I wonder if this is an issue.

I guess we will get another sealed I-693 from the doc. Do you think we should mail the updated form in? If so, what should we mark on the envelope? Is there potential to slow down her EAD because of this?

[mngoalie 10]

Ugh. Got a call from the doctor's office where we completed the sealed I-693 form. The doc neglected to write my wife's name on the 2,3,4, and 5th pages of the form (at the top). It's a sealed form so we didn't catch this. Since its sealed, I wonder if this is an issue.

I guess we will get another sealed I-693 from the doc. Do you think we should mail the updated form in? If so, what should we mark on the envelope? Is there potential to slow down her EAD because of this?

I'd wait and see if you get an RFE because of it.. mailing it in alone could create confusion. I'm assuming it'll all get scanned in together by the people in Chicago so they'll see its all for her..