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enter ahead of the U.S. Citizen petitioner???????HELP

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Hi,

 

So I (alien from UK) am travelling next week to the US to activate my I-551 and for a interview. I will be leaving the US 48hrs later and return to the UK. My wife (US petitioner) will not be with me at the time I enter the US for the first time with this new visa. I only just noticed this very troubling note on the UK-US embassy website. 

 

"You may not enter the United States to take up residence ahead of the U.S. Citizen petitioner"

 

 

What does this mean????????

 

 

My wife is still currently in the UK but has already began the process to relocate to the US. She has a job offer in the US. We were also able to convince the US Embassy that she had maintained her domicile in the US even though she was living in the UK.

 

 

Can I enter the US with my I-551 for the first time without my wife??????????

 

I only want to come to the US for the interview! 

 

 

Edited by visajourney1
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Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Philippines
Timeline
2 minutes ago, visajourney1 said:

Hi,

 

So I (alien from UK) am travelling next week to the US to activate my I-551 and for a interview. I will be leaving the US 48hrs later and return to the UK. My wife (US petitioner) will not be with me at the time I enter the US for the first time with this new visa. I only just noticed this very troubling note on the UK-US embassy website. 

 

"You may not enter the United States to take up residence ahead of the U.S. Citizen petitioner"

 

 

What does this mean????????

 

 

My wife is still currently in the UK but has already began the process to relocate to the US. She has a job offer in the US. We were also able to convince the US Embassy that she had maintained her domicile in the US even though she was living in the UK.

 

 

Can I enter the US with my I-155 for the first time without my wife??????????

 

 

It means exactly that...  You cannot enter before the USC petitioner.  What is the point of a two day stay?  

YMMV

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7 minutes ago, payxibka said:

 What is the point of a two day stay?  

:rolleyes: At a rough guess, for a job interview.

11 minutes ago, visajourney1 said:

I only want to come to the US for the interview! 

 

 

 

 

You cannot activate your immigrant visa without your USC spouse either being with you, or already being physically present in the US.

However, if you have a valid ESTA then you can still use that. 

Edited by mindthegap

CR1 / DCF (London): 2012 / 2013 (4 months from I-130 petition to visa in hand)

I-751 #1- April 2015 [Denied]

 

April 2015 : I-751 Joint filing package sent fedex next day 09:00am from UK ($lots - thanks). 
Jan 2017: Notification that an interview has been scheduled at a local office. Bizarrely still no RFE... 
Jan 2017: 2hr wait, then interview terminated before it began, due to moving my ID to another state 2 wks prior. New interview 'in a few months...maybe.'   Informed them that divorce proceedings are underway, but not finalised at this time. 
March 2017: An Interview was scheduled - marked as no-show as they didn't actually send out a notification of interview. FML 
April  2017: Filed an official complaint with the ombudsman, and have requested Senator & Congressman assistance
August 2017: Interview - switched to a (finalised) divorce waiver. Told that decision will be made that afternoon, but no problems foreseen with my case. 
October 2017: Letter of Denial received - reason given as 'I-751 petition was not properly filed'. Discovered ex-spouse made false allegations to USCIS in 2015. No opportunity given to review & refute allegations  - contrary to USCIS policy.

I-751 #2 - Oct 2017 - Mar 2021[Denied] 

 

October 2017: Within 72hrs of receiving denial notice, a new waiver I-751, divorce decree & $680 cheque, sent to Vermont via FedEx overnight 9am priority.  
Dec 2019: Filed FOIA request for full A# file
Feb 2020: FOIA request completed - entire A# file received as a .PDF; 197 pages fully redacted, and 80 partially redacted. Don't waste your time!
March 2021: I-751 #2 denied for lack of evidence. No RFE, no interview, and evidence in previous I-751 not reviewed - contrary to policy. Huge errors in adjudication.

N-400 - Feb 2018 - Apr 2021 [Denied]

 

February 2018: N-400 filed online.  $725 paid to the USCIS paperwork wastage fund

February  2019: Interview - cancelled after a four hour wait due to 'missing paperwork' on their end. Promised Expedited reschedule.

March 2021: Interview letter received, strangely dated after I-751 denial. No I-751 interview conducted. N-400 interview and test passed, given 'cannot make a decision at this time' paper due to the ongoing I-751 nightmare...

April 2021: N-400 denial received citing recent I-751 denial as basis for ineligibility, even though it should have been a combo interview 🤯

I AM JACK'S COMPLETE LACK OF SURPRISE

Service Motion - March 2021 [Sent via FedEx & COMPLETELY IGNORED by USCIS]

 

March 2021: Service Motion request sent overnight addressed direectly to field office director, requesting urgent review and re-opening, based on errors in adjudication - citing USCIS policy, AFM and memorandums as basis for errors. This was completely ignored by USCIS.

 I-751 #3 - June 2021 - Jan 2024 [Denied]

 

IT'S GROUNDHOG DAY

June 2021: I-751 #3 (30+lbs/5000 pages of paperwork) & another $680 sent to USCIS via FedEx ($300+..thanks) .... 

June 2021: Receipt issued, card charged, biometrics waived, infopass scheduled for I-551 stamp number ten.....

Feb 2022: RFIE (no, not an RFE, a Request For Initial Evidence) received, for copies of the divorce paperwork that they already have 😑

July 2022: Infopass for I-551 stamp number eleven.....

August 2023: Infopass for I-551 stamp number twelve....

January 2024: Denial received, ignoring the overwhelming majority of the filing, abundance of evidence, and refutation of a provably false allegation. The denial also contradicts itself in multiple places, as if it was written by someone with an IQ <50.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

2024: FML. Seriously. I'm done. 

 

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Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Philippines
Timeline
3 minutes ago, visajourney1 said:

I want to enter because I have a interview. (no they will not do Skype etc). 

 

I though that since she has been able to prove her US domicile it would not be an issue?????

Domicile and physical presence in country are two different things

YMMV

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So it doesn't matter that she was in the US yesterday (she flew back to the UK today). She has to physically be in the US at the time of my entry! ? 

 

So if we got her a cheap flight somewhere to the US that would be ok? 

 

AND 

 

for some reason I was under the impression I could no longer get a ESTA if I have I-551 in my passport! 

Edited by visajourney1
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Thank you all for your replies. 

 

 

If you mean is she domiciled in the US?  Yes

 

When we initially applied for the visa, we were able to prove she has maintained her domicile in the US, even whilst she was temporarily living with me in the UK. She is still in the UK. 

 

When she entered recently, it was to visit family. But also to meet with her new employer (which never ended up happening). 

 

I very specifically asked the Immigration officer if “my wife is required to be with me, or required to be in the US at the time” they said no. I did not mention domicile or us both living in the UK however. I did mention that this would be my first entry into the US on this visa. 

 

By defualt the visa requires your partner to be either domiciled in the US, or have a supporting US citizen to form part of the afradavid of support such as her family. 

 

Since my my wife is also the afradavid of support, becuase she has proven domicile in the US, I would imagine I’m not technically going AHEAD of the US petitioner as she technically never “left” the US in the eyes of the government. 

 

 

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Filed: Lift. Cond. (apr) Country: China
Timeline

Moved from Progress Reports to Process & Procedures.

Our journey:

Spoiler

September 2007: Met online via social networking site (MySpace); began exchanging messages.
March 26, 2009: We become a couple!
September 10, 2009: Arrived for first meeting in-person!
June 17, 2010: Arrived for second in-person meeting and start of travel together to other areas of China!
June 21, 2010: Engaged!!!
September 1, 2010: Switched course from K1 to CR-1
December 8, 2010: Wedding date set; it will be on February 18, 2011!
February 9, 2011: Depart for China
February 11, 2011: Registered for marriage in Wuhan, officially married!!!
February 18, 2011: Wedding ceremony in Shiyan!!!
April 22, 2011: Mailed I-130 to Chicago
April 28, 2011: Received NOA1 via text/email, file routed to CSC (priority date April 25th)
April 29, 2011: Updated
May 3, 2011: Received NOA1 hardcopy in mail
July 26, 2011: Received NOA2 via text/email!!!
July 30, 2011: Received NOA2 hardcopy in mail
August 8, 2011: NVC received file
September 1, 2011: NVC case number assigned
September 2, 2011: AOS invoice received, OPTIN email for EP sent
September 7, 2011: Paid AOS bill (payment portal showed PAID on September 9, 2011)
September 8, 2011: OPTIN email accepted, GZO number assigned
September 10, 2011: Emailed AOS package
September 12, 2011: IV bill invoiced
September 13, 2011: Paid IV bill (payment portal showed PAID on September 14, 2011)
September 14, 2011: Emailed IV package
October 3, 2011: Emailed checklist response (checklist generated due to typo on Form DS-230)
October 6, 2011: Case complete at NVC
November 10, 2011: Interview - APPROVED!!!
December 7, 2011: POE - Sea-Tac Airport

September 17, 2013: Mailed I-751 to CSC

September 23, 2013: Received NOA1 in mail (receipt date September 19th)

October 16, 2013: Biometrics Appointment

January 28, 2014: Production of new Green Card ordered

February 3, 2014: New Green Card received; done with USCIS until fall of 2023*

December 18, 2023:  Filed I-90 to renew Green Card

December 21, 2023:  Production of new Green Card ordered - will be seeing USCIS again every 10 years for renewal

 

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  • 4 years later...

How did this play out? We were planning to do this too :/

Direct Consular Filing - Frankfurt

03/14/2016 I-130 Sent

03/15/2016 Check cashed

03/16/2016 I-130 NOA1

04/19/2016 I-130 NOA2 (took two! weeks in the mail)

05/17/2016 Got Case# after emailing the Frankfurt Consulate

 

Continued application in 2022…

 

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Filed: Other Country: China
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On 2/18/2018 at 8:00 AM, visajourney1 said:

So I just spoke with a immigration officer at US port of entry over the phone. I was told my US partner is not required to be in the country or required to be with me when I enter. 

 

 

If you ask the wrong question, you'll get the wrong answer.  If you ask if you can enter the US with a spouse immigrant visa ahead of your spouse, you'll get the right answer.  You "thought" wrong.  Your wife must travel with or ahead of you to the US for your first entry.  AFTER the first entry, it doesn't matter.

Facts are cheap...knowing how to use them is precious...
Understanding the big picture is priceless. Anonymous

Google Who is Pushbrk?

A Warning to Green Card Holders About Voting

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/606646-a-warning-to-green-card-holders-about-voting/

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Filed: Citizen (apr) Country: Ireland
Timeline
6 hours ago, texcal said:

How did this play out? We were planning to do this too 😕


***** 5 year old thread locked.  Please ask questions about your own case in your own thread, as policies change over time.

Bye: Penguin

Me: Irish/ Swiss citizen, and now naturalised US citizen. Husband: USC; twin babies born Feb 08 in Ireland and a daughter in Feb 2010 in Arkansas who are all joint Irish/ USC. Did DCF (IR1) in 6 weeks via the Dublin, Ireland embassy and now living in Arkansas.

mod penguin.jpg

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