I-751: To file or not to file, and the ramifications thereof

[davidb79 2]

just wondering, if the reason for her being in Germany is to work on her Master's at a university there (where it's cheaper) could she arrange to do her course work/thesis work remotely on-line?

Bob, I have asked her about that possibility, but she has said there is a residency requirement for the programs she has looked at. However, I don't think she would view the master's degree as a stumbling block if we managed to work out a sustainable plan for her long-term presence in the US. The problem is, 1, our difficultly so far in doing that (not for lack of trying), and 2, the time that she has spent out of the country possibly making it a moot point altogether.

Hypnos, you have pretty much echoed our current thoughts. We are going to take the next few days to think on it, but we are agreed that the wisest course of action is to file an I-407 and abandon her GC, as symbolically heart-breaking as that will be. From what I have read, I believe she will still be able to visit me in the US, and even if not, it is just as easy for me to visit her, and I am free to move to Europe and eventually do a DCF, as you mentioned. Aside from the general negativity surrounding our situation, which is there no matter what we decide, I am hard-pressed to identify any negatives to going this route, whereas continuing to pursue ROC would carry significant risk and uncertainty. Since we don't have a plan by which to justify that risk, I feel better about her pursuing her goals in Europe and then revisiting a move to the US when things are more settled.

Again, thank you to everyone for your feedback. Feel free to continue to weigh in over the next few days if you see any problems with our current plan. We will probably begin the I-407 paperwork early next week.