Adjustment Of Status help!

[lizzy33 2]

Okay so, I came to the US on September 5th. At the airport I had my visa package checked by an officer. He then took my package, saying nothing other than "You have 3 months to get married" before stamping my passport. I married on November 22nd and am now in the process of submitting my AOS forms.

My first question is regarding the I-94. I was never given an I-94 but read somewhere that it is automated directly to the USCIS. I have checked online at http://cbp.gov/i94 and my I-94 information came up. The AOS requirements say they need the I-94 though, so should I request to have my I-94 sent to me, or will I be okay just sending a print screen from the cbp website?

My next question is about my police certificate. I left the original in the UK as I expected to always have the copy I made with me, but the officer took it when he took my package. The AOS requirements say they need a police certificate. Should I ask my mother to find the original and send me a copy? Or should I explain to the USCIS that the officer took the copy I had? The officer literally took EVERYTHING I had. The only forms I have left over are 2nd copies I made of the odd things I needed for my K-1, e.g. a copy of my birth certificate and the letters from the US Embassy in London.

My last question is about the AOS. I spoke to a young woman from the USCIS on the phone last week. She didn't seem to know much about what I was asking her and kept contradicting herself. She told me that there was no particular time in which I had to apply for my AOS as long as I got married within the 3 months for my K1 visa. That made me feel relieved, as my I-94 expires on December 3rd and my visa expires on December 6th. However, she then went on to say that I couldn't apply for the AOS whilst out of status. Will I be okay sending my AOS forms this week if my K1 visa expires this week?

I'm stressing out quite a bit. My husband's cheque book was stolen which is why the AOS is only just being filed (he had to buy a new cheque book), we've just moved house so everything is very unorganized and we have no internet access, we've been unable to get any help from the local immigration office or the USCIS as it's been the Thanksgiving holidays, and to top it all off I've just had to dish out $149 at the minute clinic to find out that I have the flu so now I'm completely bed bound, making it very difficult to get anything done. Any reassurance will be greatly appreciated.



Lizzy.

[Hypnos 6,578]

I-94s are now automated for most travellers. Print a copy of your I-94 from the site you already found and that will serve as proof of legal entry.

The AoS instructions do not say you need a police certificate; they do say that if you have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime then you need a certified copy of documents indicating the disposition of the case (i.e. if no charges were brought then a statement indicating as such, or if you were convicted or acquitted then a certified copy from the relevant authority stating what you have been convicted or acquitted of). There are exceptions for traffic-related arrests, also.

USCIS' tier 1 telephone line is known as the misinformation line for good reason. Your visa expired the moment you passed through CBP controls at the airport, since it's a single-use visa. Your I-94 governs your status, and provided you married your petitioner within 90 days of PoE, and are still married to them now, then you remain eligible to file for AoS. Once your I-94 expires, however, you go out of status. You begin to accrue unlawful presence, and could, theoretically, be detained or even deported by ICE should they somehow come across you. This is highly unlikely, but it has happened.

Once you file for AoS (which you can do at any point once you have gotten married and have a certified copy of your marriage certificate) this places you into a new period of authorised stay, independent of your I-94 expiry date, which will persist until your I-485 is adjudicated. You can file for AoS after your I-94 has expired (the USCIS employee who said you couldn't was wrong), but if at all possible you should do it before. Filing a few days or even weeks late is not going to make much difference one way or another.

Edited December 2, 2013 by Hypnos

[TBoneTX 46,200]

*** Thread moved from K-1 Process forum to the AOS/Family-Based main forum -- topic involves that phase. ***

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94

Fill out the online form and print your I-94.

[lizzy33 2]

I-94s are now automated for most travellers. Print a copy of your I-94 from the site you already found and that will serve as proof of legal entry.

The AoS instructions do not say you need a police certificate; they do say that if you have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime then you need a certified copy of documents indicating the disposition of the case (i.e. if no charges were brought then a statement indicating as such, or if you were convicted or acquitted then a certified copy from the relevant authority stating what you have been convicted or acquitted of). There are exceptions for traffic-related arrests, also.

USCIS' tier 1 telephone line is known as the misinformation line for good reason. Your visa expired the moment you passed through CBP controls at the airport, since it's a single-use visa. Your I-94 governs your status, and provided you married your petitioner within 90 days of PoE, and are still married to them now, then you remain eligible to file for AoS. Once your I-94 expires, however, you go out of status. You begin to accrue unlawful presence, and could, theoretically, be detained or even deported by ICE should they somehow come across you. This is highly unlikely, but it has happened.

Once you file for AoS (which you can do at any point once you have gotten married and have a certified copy of your marriage certificate) this places you into a new period of authorised stay, independent of your I-94 expiry date, which will persist until your I-485 is adjudicated. You can file for AoS after your I-94 has expired (the USCIS employee who said you couldn't was wrong), but if at all possible you should do it before. Filing a few days or even weeks late is not going to make much difference one way or another.

Phew! Thank you!

The woman I spoke to on the misinformation line also told me to go and speak to someone at the local immigration office to figure something out so that I wouldn't be out of status if I file late, but I read that you can't do anything to prevent going out of status when your I-94 expires. Was she giving me more misinformation?

I could have had my AOS package sent off yesterday, but my affidavit of support (my father-in-law) is taking his sweet time filling in the I-864 for me and we have minimal contact with him as he lives in Alabama and doesn't answer his phone much due to working all the time.

[Dave&Roza 748]

Phew! Thank you!

The woman I spoke to on the misinformation line also told me to go and speak to someone at the local immigration office to figure something out so that I wouldn't be out of status if I file late, but I read that you can't do anything to prevent going out of status when your I-94 expires. Was she giving me more misinformation?

I could have had my AOS package sent off yesterday, but my affidavit of support (my father-in-law) is taking his sweet time filling in the I-864 for me and we have minimal contact with him as he lives in Alabama and doesn't answer his phone much due to working all the time.

When the I-94 expires you are out-of -status unless you file the AOS and receive the NOA1 before then. Do not worry as being out-of-status is forgiven for the spouses of USC when the AOS is approved. It is not a really big thing unless you happen to find yourself near one of the US borders and are stopped by the CBP. As you have no proof of legal presence in the US, they may detain you. If you can show them the NOA1 from the AOS the whole detention will go smoother. There is no time limit to file the AOS, but the sooner the better as a lot of things cannot happen until you become a LPR and receive your GC.

Good luck,

Dave

[Hypnos 6,578]

Forget about going to the office, there will be nothing they can do to prevent you going out of status.

As stated, it's not a bar to receiving your green card. Just file ASAP.

Edited December 3, 2013 by Hypnos