Postponing my husband's green card application? Life is currently better abroad.

[Nitas_man 3,100]

8 hours ago, kashmirklutz said:

Hi All,

I am new to this forum but I am happy I am here. Back in 2016 my husband and I filed for a Green Card (i130 and i485 ) in Houston back in 2016. As I am sure some of you know the Houston USICS is notoriously slow, and it took a while before we heard ANYTHING. In the meantime I furthered my education and was offered a great gig internationally. While on parole my husband and I took the job and have been temporarily living internationally ever since (10 months now) . Recently we were called in for an interview to adjust his i485...but we actually don't live there/ The address in the states is my mothers. We have no current bills or property from the U.S. in our name, just the same address on our visas for our host country. Additionally, given economic climate in the states our prospects of financial upward mobility are higher abroad. While we don't want to abandon the states, or 'give up' our application, it is clear we have no desire to live there at the moment. We would still like ties to the U.S ( I still pay taxes) and perhaps in the distant future live there, but not currently. I am asking 1. Has anyone every 'paused' or with drawn an application? 2. Our interview coming up fast and we still want to go, but we are not quite sure what to say or do. 3. We would still love to visit family during the summer, my husband is South Korean so he can stay Visa free for up to 3 months, but if we withdraw or 'pause' would they barr him from entering even on vacation?

 

Thanks in advance?

Suggestion is to withdraw your case in writing and visit the embassy to obtain a visitor visa for your husband while you are overseas.  

Circumstances change for families and for us a few years ago (2010) we had a pending ROC and were in your situation.  Rather than try to pull off the interview we went to the consulate and surrendered the (by then expired but on the one year extension) green card, stayed out of the US, then refiled a new I-130 later when we were ready to go back.

We (always) kept bills and bank accounts and cars and other ties so that we could do that.  That’s done at ruinous expense but in my view was necessary and that has always worked out for us.

I am afraid that cutting ties like you guys did is going to burn him badly on his AOS interview which is the reason for this suggestion.  

We interviewed AOS (2008) in Houston after entry on K3.  Those &@$&@s copied credit cards (different names same number) and compared keys on our keyrings.  He might be walking into an ambush trying to pull that off by driving up in a car you don’t own with insurance you don’t have together and trying to talk about how income and bills and insurance and rent / mortgage and cell accounts and and all that day to day business is jointly handled with nothing in his hand.

Your risk now is this:  he might just be denied that visit visa, or might not.  We were out 2014-2018 and we never tried to enter after the travel document expired (2016) then returned on SB1 (lucky break there) in 2018.  Wasting our vacation time in the US was getting old and there were lots more cool places to go anyway.

I know about those gigs - we’ve been married 12 years now and 8 of them were spent outside the US.  Trying to pull off in-US interviews while out of the country isn’t something we would have risked.  

Just my feedback.  Good luck to you guys.

 

 

 

[Boiler 46,202]

With his history a visitor visa is certainly not a given but no harm applying.

[Ontarkie 14,518]

Does the fact that the OP applied in 2016 for her husband keep him in an authorized stay even when AOS is abandoned?  Because if AOS doesn't go through that is more than 2yrs of over stay would he also need a waiver than? 

[Ontarkie 14,518]

Might be better to do AOS and get a re entry permit if he can't visit later or they need to go through a waiver. 

[NikLR 13,232]

5 hours ago, Ontarkie said:

Might be better to do AOS and get a re entry permit if he can't visit later or they need to go through a waiver. 

I actually agree. 

[HRQX 4,145]

8 hours ago, Ontarkie said:

Because if AOS doesn't go through that is more than 2yrs of over stay would he also need a waiver than? 

 

8 hours ago, Ontarkie said:

or they need to go through a waiver. 

Not an issue per the Foreign Affairs Manual: https://fam.state.gov/fam/09FAM/09FAM030211.html#M302_11_3 Waiver not needed.

Edited June 16, 2019 by HRQX