Hello everybody!

[myyid68 0]

I, like many others here, am new to this forum and just had a few basic questions.

Here is my situation:

My fiance (he's the American citizen, I'm Romanian) and I met online (on the IMDB boards:) 6 years ago and we've been together and in love ever since (together online, that is, constantly talking either through Messenger, or Facebook or email). In the summer of 2011 we met in person for the first time during my visit to the SUA (I was in a Work&Travel programme for students where you can basically go there during summer vacation, work and travel and get to see the States). I've stayed there for 4 full months and then, at the end of the programme, I returned to Romania. Our relationship continued as usual, "online".

Then, last year, in Nov 2012, my boyfriend came to Europe (Prague, Czech Republic) for a week long class he took and I travelled there to be with him during his stay. Afterwards, he returned home, I returned home and everything was as usual, again.

Finally, towards the end of September this year (2013) he filled the Alien Fiance Petition for me and just the other day, we found out by checking our case status online, that they approved the petition and that they already mailed to him the document with further instructions on the 15th of Nov.

We were both flabbergasted by how INCREDIBLY fast everything went so far (in our most optimistic scenarios we were expecting them to finish the initial review in no less than 3 months or so lol).

But anyway, I've been browsing through some of the posts and timelines of various people posted here and it looks as though we should expect everything to take AT MOST 3 months from here on until I'll be able to go to the Embassy interview and get my visa, right? If everything goes well, that is

Anyway, the question I have is about what happens after I get to the States and we get married. That is, we want to go to MExico for our honeymoon and I understand that it would be impossible for me to re-enter the USA until I have my Green Card. Is that true? Is there NO WAY whatsoever that we can travel outside the USA until we file the AOS thing and get my green card? And if so, how long does this take usually? It'd kinda suck if we had to wait 1 or more years before being able to travel abroad together...

wHAT do you guys think/advise?

[bigdog 376]

You will need an advanced parole to leave the country. Your K1 is god for one entry and expires the moment you arrive. You have 90 days to get married. We received an AP and wanted to go to Mexico but we choose to wait till the GC was in hand. I was at the Mexican Consul on business and they said it was better to wait till you get the GC, in their opinion. We took our Mexican honeymoon cruise immediately after she received her GC. Their are lots of beautiful places to see in the US in the mean time. Or, you can meet in Mexico first, then enter on your K1. As far as filing in the 90 days I would file promptly, then you are not out of status if you get stopped by CBP.

[Cathi 5,755]

If you travel out of the US without first receiving advance parole or green card you will not be able to re-enter.

[Pitaya 2,577]

Welcome to the forum.

[TBoneTX 45,309]

Welcome to the forums!

[myyid68 0]

Thanks for the replies everybody. How long does it usually take (best case scenarios, if there arent any problems, delays and if we file for AOS IMMEDIATELLY after I arrive in the US and get married) to receive the GC and/or AP?

And does an AP without a GC guarantee that I'd be able to re-enter the country?

[agrabs 241]

Thanks for the replies everybody. How long does it usually take (best case scenarios, if there arent any problems, delays and if we file for AOS IMMEDIATELLY after I arrive in the US and get married) to receive the GC and/or AP?

And does an AP without a GC guarantee that I'd be able to re-enter the country?

Congratulations! Yes, you can travel out of the country with the AP card, however, AP doesn't guarentee you entry back into the country. Most people will tell you they had no problems traveling with their AP card, however, my husband and I traveled to Mexico this past June with his AP card and Frontier airlines would not accept his AP card as proper travel documentation. They would not issue him a boarding pass for his return flight back into the country. It was the airline that was not honoring the AP card - we had no problems once he got to US customs. If you plan on traveling out of the US with the AP card just make sure the airline is familiar with it.

The time frame for AOS approval varies just like K1. You got lucky your K1 went so quick so maybe your AOS will too. It took us almost a year to get my husbands green card but we didn't have an interview. If you get selected for an interview it will be much quicker - probably just a few months. There is no way to predict who will get an interview. After filing your AOS you should receive your EAD/AP card 60 - 90 days after that.

[myyid68 0]

Thank you for the reply, agrabs! We're still a few months away until we'll be in the situation to apply for the AOS, AP and all that but it's good to know.

For now, I have something else that's kind of unclear. Like I said in a previous post, when we checked the status of our petition on the USCIS site, they were in the post-decision activity phase and said that they mailed further instructions to my fiance, on the 15th of Nov. My fiance received an envelope the other day with a paper but there were no instructions there. It basically didnt say much except that the petition has been approved and forwarded to the listed consulate. And that we should contact the consulate with any further questions about visa issuance or if we'd like the petition to be forwarded to another consulate. Also, that the petitioner can file form I-824. Which consulate are they taking about? The consulate in my country or what?

My fiance is going to call them on Monday and see what this is all about because from that piece of paper he got, we dont really understand what we should do next..

Oh, and it also says in the right side: Notice Type: Approval Notice, Valid from 11/02/2013 to 03/02/2014. Does this mean that by March 2nd, I should be called for an interview at the embassy in my country in order to receive the visa or what?

[agrabs 241]

The paper that your fiance got in the mail is your NOA2. He doesn't need to do anything except keep it - you will need it to submit with your AOS application. NVC will send your paperwork onto the embassy in Bucharest. - Your fiance doesn't need to do anything - it will be automatically sent there.

You will be getting a packet in the mail from them (what is refered to as packet 3 on my timeline) This will contain the paperwork you need to fill out ( form DS 160, DS 230 ) and will have instructions for you to follow (there are also examples of these on the K1 example forms) - my husband said it was very detailed in explaining exactly what to do. You will fill out the paperwork and send it back. It will also have instructions on where to go to get your medical exam done. When you get your medical exam - if they don't give you a copy of your vaccinations - ask for one - you will also need this for the AOS and you don't want to pay to re-do it when you get here.

So, after you get the packet from the embassy - fill out the forms and send it back. The embassy will then call you to set up a time for an interview.

All of this will happen in the next couple of weeks. If you look at my time-line the Bucharest embassy was pretty quick.

NVC Left : 2012-05-10

Consulate Received : 2012-05-14

Packet 3 Received : 2012-05-17

Packet 3 Sent : 2012-05-20

Interview Date : 2012-06-26

Interview Result : Approved

Visa Received : 2012-06-26

so the dates that are listed on the receipt your fiance received - Valid from 11/02/2013 to 03/02/2014 is the time frame that this next step must be done by. Unless you put it off for some reason - it will be done in the next couple of weeks

If you have more questions you can Private message me - I am happy to help

[myyid68 0]

Hi all!

I have another question. It's been already about 3 weeks since my boyfriend received the NOA2. Now, when we checked our case status on the USCIS website, it says there that on the 25th of Nov they sent everything to the Department of State.. Is that what should normally happen? And is it going to take any longer from this point until I receive the paperwork at the embassy in my country and get scheduled for the visa interview?