I-130 February 2018 filers

[anayazhere 3]

How is Texas Service Center processing time?? Slower or fast? 

[Taffi111 17]

8 hours ago, anayazhere said:

How is Texas Service Center processing time?? Slower or fast? 

Here is the link for processing times of all the service centres:

 

http://www.uscisprocessingtimes.org/uscis-service-centers/

 

The date shown is the priority date of the application they're currently working on so it gives some idea of the backlog. They update the details every 2 months around the 15th so we're due an update next week. 

Edited March 10, 2018 by Taffi111

[mrsgeorge1 43]

congrats anayazhere!! i sent mine to chicago on feb 28..was received on march 2nd.. check cashed on march 9th.. am still waiting for a text.. email.. anything

[tmby1045 2]

I was notified yesterday when I called USCIS that i am eligible to do an Adjusment of Status. I scheduled an interview with a lawyer today at 1:30pm because before i was told that AOS was taken away when the new immigration laws hit last year in september. The guy i spoke to yesterday from USCIS said to get my husband back in the states using his tourist visa and to call back USCIS to then be told what to do next since i already sent in an I-10 petition but it was not for the AOS option. He said that even when we got married in December in the states he could have legally stayed and i was able to file a workers permit for him right away. So completely lost with this because everyone keeps telling me something different and I dont want to do anything illegal. 

[Taffi111 17]

1 hour ago, Dalis said:

I was notified yesterday when I called USCIS that i am eligible to do an Adjusment of Status. I scheduled an interview with a lawyer today at 1:30pm because before i was told that AOS was taken away when the new immigration laws hit last year in september. The guy i spoke to yesterday from USCIS said to get my husband back in the states using his tourist visa and to call back USCIS to then be told what to do next since i already sent in an I-10 petition but it was not for the AOS option. He said that even when we got married in December in the states he could have legally stayed and i was able to file a workers permit for him right away. So completely lost with this because everyone keeps telling me something different and I dont want to do anything illegal. 

Our attorney said if my daughter and I had stayed in the US after getting married (29th Dec 2017), we could have been greencard holders by July - simply because you file Petition and AOS (I believe) at the same time so the processing time is halved. We were also told that once we were married my daughter and I would be denied entry because I was married to a US Citizen and can bypass immigration laws (so I needed to not have left but we didn't know that until after i was back in the UK!). Once you've been denied entry into the US (for your hubby) his visa application will be REALLY difficult to get approved. We were strongly advised against trying to get back in on a tourist/ESTA visa.

 

It turns out the same applies to the UK - in that my husband will be denied entry on a tourist visa into Britain, now that we're married, so we're apart for the next 10-14 months until our greencards are approved

[tmby1045 2]

18 minutes ago, Taffi111 said:

Our attorney said if my daughter and I had stayed in the US after getting married (29th Dec 2017), we could have been greencard holders by July - simply because you file Petition and AOS (I believe) at the same time so the processing time is halved. We were also told that once we were married my daughter and I would be denied entry because I was married to a US Citizen and can bypass immigration laws (so I needed to not have left but we didn't know that until after i was back in the UK!). Once you've been denied entry into the US (for your hubby) his visa application will be REALLY difficult to get approved. We were strongly advised against trying to get back in on a tourist/ESTA visa.

 

It turns out the same applies to the UK - in that my husband will be denied entry on a tourist visa into Britain, now that we're married, so we're apart for the next 10-14 months until our greencards are approved

Hello Taffi, 

 

I just spoke to my lawyer and she said as long as he has a return flight and nothing shows he will be staying that he is able to come and visit with his B1/B2 visa. He will just have to show that he is not here to stay and she said that once he is here in the United states you would file the I-487 with a letter from our lawyer stating the revision for the currently pending I-130 and that we just have to do this before this current I-130 gets approved which by the looks of it will be 9 months in itself and then transferred to NVC. She states he will have a work permit within  months of filing and 9 months until he physically has the green card. Much shorter process. She saw his documents of his last entry and even with that it approved for him to still be here until July. Sh did let us know that i need a representative for the interviw because he does not speak fluent english. She was confident in the process and says she is currently dealing with the same type of case. 

[Taffi111 17]

1 minute ago, Dalis said:

Hello Taffi, 

 

I just spoke to my lawyer and she said as long as he has a return flight and nothing shows he will be staying that he is able to come and visit with his B1/B2 visa. He will just have to show that he is not here to stay and she said that once he is here in the United states you would file the I-487 with a letter from our lawyer stating the revision for the currently pending I-130 and that we just have to do this before this current I-130 gets approved which by the looks of it will be 9 months in itself and then transferred to NVC. She states he will have a work permit within  months of filing and 9 months until he physically has the green card. Much shorter process. She saw his documents of his last entry and even with that it approved for him to still be here until July. Sh did let us know that i need a representative for the interviw because he does not speak fluent english. She was confident in the process and says she is currently dealing with the same type of case. 

Wow. How interesting. I suggested showing US border control my tenancy agreement, letters from my daughter's school, my employment, return flights etc etc as evidence that we wouldn't stay and he was 100% certain that it was not a good idea because they get very suspicious very quickly and will deny entry - which would obviously then go against us in any visa application. 

 

I really really hope it works out for you - this whole situation is horrible in lots of ways. Do let us know how you get on!! I will be keeping everything crossed for you and your husband. If your legal advisor has said you can try it then why wouldn't you take her advice - everyone's circumstances are slightly different so maybe in your case, it won't be a problem. Best of luck!

[tmby1045 2]

6 minutes ago, Taffi111 said:

Wow. How interesting. I suggested showing US border control my tenancy agreement, letters from my daughter's school, my employment, return flights etc etc as evidence that we wouldn't stay and he was 100% certain that it was not a good idea because they get very suspicious very quickly and will deny entry - which would obviously then go against us in any visa application. 

 

I really really hope it works out for you - this whole situation is horrible in lots of ways. Do let us know how you get on!! I will be keeping everything crossed for you and your husband. If your legal advisor has said you can try it then why wouldn't you take her advice - everyone's circumstances are slightly different so maybe in your case, it won't be a problem. Best of luck!

I know its just so scary. I had told her this same thing because i have heard of being denied at the port but she says this would be the case once you are approved for I-130 and your case is in the system and for mine i cant even look at my case status with my receipt number yet so she said that means they have yet to even look at the petition in itself. I really dont know what to think honestly because i dont want to mess up any chances for us. I talked to  different lawyers here and he talked to one plus spoke to USCIS and they all gave the green light to proceed but im also still scared of the possibility. 

 

Thank you so much. Him and I have a lot to decide but i will definitely keep you updated. 

[Taffi111 17]

19 minutes ago, Dalis said:

I know its just so scary. I had told her this same thing because i have heard of being denied at the port but she says this would be the case once you are approved for I-130 and your case is in the system and for mine i cant even look at my case status with my receipt number yet so she said that means they have yet to even look at the petition in itself. I really dont know what to think honestly because i dont want to mess up any chances for us. I talked to  different lawyers here and he talked to one plus spoke to USCIS and they all gave the green light to proceed but im also still scared of the possibility. 

 

Thank you so much. Him and I have a lot to decide but i will definitely keep you updated. 

I'm so excited for you - what great news! I'd love to be told we could shorten the process or be together sooner. I think if two lawyers, and USCIS have said go ahead, it sounds like a no-brainer! Eeek! I look forward to hearing an update

[Lillyandkip 26]

5 hours ago, Dalis said:

I was notified yesterday when I called USCIS that i am eligible to do an Adjusment of Status. I scheduled an interview with a lawyer today at 1:30pm because before i was told that AOS was taken away when the new immigration laws hit last year in september. The guy i spoke to yesterday from USCIS said to get my husband back in the states using his tourist visa and to call back USCIS to then be told what to do next since i already sent in an I-10 petition but it was not for the AOS option. He said that even when we got married in December in the states he could have legally stayed and i was able to file a workers permit for him right away. So completely lost with this because everyone keeps telling me something different and I dont want to do anything illegal. 

It’s only legal to adjust status from a tourist visa if you didn’t have the intent to stay at the time of entry. There are lots of people filing for AOS after spontaneously getting married in the States and then deciding to stay. So if your husband is coming to the US on his tourist visa and is planning on adjusting his status you would be doing something illegal. If he entered with the intent of vacation only and then later changed his mind and decided to stay you would be fine. However the officer at the interview will most likely have questions about that and you will need to be able to prove that he originally planned on going back to his home country. For instance they would get suspicious if he sold his home, quit his job etc. before visiting you.

[tmby1045 2]

37 minutes ago, Lillyandkip said:

It’s only legal to adjust status from a tourist visa if you didn’t have the intent to stay at the time of entry. There are lots of people filing for AOS after spontaneously getting married in the States and then deciding to stay. So if your husband is coming to the US on his tourist visa and is planning on adjusting his status you would be doing something illegal. If he entered with the intent of vacation only and then later changed his mind and decided to stay you would be fine. However the officer at the interview will most likely have questions about that and you will need to be able to prove that he originally planned on going back to his home country. For instance they would get suspicious if he sold his home, quit his job etc. before visiting you.

Thank you for telling me this. This was not something that either lawyers i spoke to nor USCIS stated. They made it seem like it was easy with no hesitation whatsoever and say that they have other cases similar as mine. I just contacted my lawyer and will bring this up to her tomorrow at our next appointment. Not sure why they wouldnt comment on any of this before. 

[Lillyandkip 26]

32 minutes ago, Dalis said:

Thank you for telling me this. This was not something that either lawyers i spoke to nor USCIS stated. They made it seem like it was easy with no hesitation whatsoever and say that they have other cases similar as mine. I just contacted my lawyer and will bring this up to her tomorrow at our next appointment. Not sure why they wouldnt comment on any of this before. 

From what I know they shouldn’t have advised you to do that! The people on the phone at USCIS are often not actual officers and from my experience some of them don’t know a lot about immigration but the lawyers should definitely know! Just search Google for “AOS from tourist visa” and you will find lots of information about the topic. I don’t doubt that your lawyers have other cases like that which will get approved but they should never advise their clients to lie to USCIS. Chances for getting through with it might be pretty good but it’s not the legal way to go and it would require you guys to lie to an immigration officer which can cause lots of trouble for your husbands case if they find out about it. I’m not a lawyer though! I only know what I read in other threads:)

 

Edit: https://www.soundimmigration.com/can-i-enter-on-a-visitors-visa-b-2-and-then-adjust-status-to-permanent-resident/

I think this article explains everything pretty well

Edited March 13, 2018 by Lillyandkip

[forfars 6]

4 hours ago, Taffi111 said:

Wow. How interesting. I suggested showing US border control my tenancy agreement, letters from my daughter's school, my employment, return flights etc etc as evidence that we wouldn't stay and he was 100% certain that it was not a good idea because they get very suspicious very quickly and will deny entry - which would obviously then go against us in any visa application. 

 

I really really hope it works out for you - this whole situation is horrible in lots of ways. Do let us know how you get on!! I will be keeping everything crossed for you and your husband. If your legal advisor has said you can try it then why wouldn't you take her advice - everyone's circumstances are slightly different so maybe in your case, it won't be a problem. Best of luck!

Getting denied entry into a US has nothing do with your visa application - you're not doing anything illegal, there are many many people on here who visit their spouse while waiting for their application to go through with no issues at all

[Taffi111 17]

23 minutes ago, forfars said:

Getting denied entry into a US has nothing do with your visa application - you're not doing anything illegal, there are many many people on here who visit their spouse while waiting for their application to go through with no issues at all

Wow, really? We were categorically told that if we tried to visit for a holiday, border control would assume we were attempting to bypass the immigration laws so we could adjust status once within the US. Therefore, they would deny us entry. We have been advised that if you have ever been denied entry into the country, it is taken into consideration when processing the application (which makes perfect sense) and can therefore jeopardise approval. 

[forfars 6]

1 minute ago, Taffi111 said:

Wow, really? We were categorically told that if we tried to visit for a holiday, border control would assume we were attempting to bypass the immigration laws so we could adjust status once within the US. Therefore, they would deny us entry. We have been advised that if you have ever been denied entry into the country, it is taken into consideration when processing the application (which makes perfect sense) and can therefore jeopardise approval. 

If you think about it it doesn't make sense though, if you are literally going on  holiday and can prove it what are you doing wrong? Also it's unlikely you're gonna spend all the money on doing form i-130 etc if you're just gonna come illegally on a tourist visa, why not just get a tourist visa and stay? I'm only going on what I've read on here I'm no expert, also there are a lot of lawyers that have no idea what they're talking about