When do we need to file for adjustment of status?

[bencarlson66 7]

I know that her Visa will be good for six months from the time she receives this. And before this expires, we will need to file for adjustment of status. My question is do we only need to have filed for adjustment for 6 months have elapsed? Or do we need to have received a decision before 6 months have elapsed?

I hope this question makes sense.

 

[payxibka 10,045]

3 minutes ago, bencarlson66 said:

I know that her Visa will be good for six months from the time she receives this. And before this expires, we will need to file for adjustment of status. My question is do we only need to have filed for adjustment for 6 months have elapsed? Or do we need to have received a decision before 6 months have elapsed?

I hope this question makes sense.

 

Visa validity date and authorized stay after arrival are two very different things.   Upon arrival she will be given 90 days authorized and the marriage MUST occur before the authorized stay expires if you want to adjust status based on the k1

[geowrian 22,337]

1) Enter the US before the visa expires.

2) Marry within 90 days

3) File for AOS.*

 

* You can file for AOS after the 90 days from POE just fine. But to maintain lawful presence the entire time (preferred!), you would need to file for AOS within that 90 day period as well.

[bencarlson66 7]

What time frame do we have to schedule the interview?

The reason I ask is that my fiancee is trying to finish college before she comes her. 

Her paperwork is currently on it's way to the interview, but I think I might need more time because I dont want her Visa to expire while she is finishing school, and I dont want her stay to become illegal because she had so little time left on the six months of the visa. 

My assumption is that you have to receive a response on adjustment of status before the visa expires to be legal?

[geowrian 22,337]

1 minute ago, bencarlson66 said:

What time frame do we have to schedule the interview?

The reason I ask is that my fiancee is trying to finish college before she comes her. 

Her paperwork is currently on it's way to the interview, but I think I might need more time because I dont want her Visa to expire while she is finishing school, and I dont want her stay to become illegal because she had so little time left on the six months of the visa. 

My assumption is that you have to receive a response on adjustment of status before the visa expires to be legal?

The K-1 interview? You can generally schedule it at your convenience within a year, although keep in touch with the consulate to ensure they will renew the approval of the I-129F. Some do this automatically while others are more strict and need a solid reason why to extend it.

Her 90 days of legal status have nothing to do with the 6 months of the visa (really it's 6 months from the medical).

 

Once AOS is properly filed, she will have an authorized stay while the case is pending. It almost certainly will not be adjudicated within those 90 days...some field offices are a few months but many are taking over a year just to get the interview.

[payxibka 10,045]

2 minutes ago, bencarlson66 said:

What time frame do we have to schedule the interview?

The reason I ask is that my fiancee is trying to finish college before she comes her. 

Her paperwork is currently on it's way to the interview, but I think I might need more time because I dont want her Visa to expire while she is finishing school, and I dont want her stay to become illegal because she had so little time left on the six months of the visa. 

My assumption is that you have to receive a response on adjustment of status before the visa expires to be legal?

Visa validity is for entry into the USA ONLY

 

Your understanding would be wrong.   Many i485s are taking a year or more to interview.   Since the i94 expires after 90 days of entry it is nearly impossible to have happen what you think 

[bencarlson66 7]

1 minute ago, payxibka said:

Visa validity is for entry into the USA ONLY

 

Your understanding would be wrong.   Many i485s are taking a year or more to interview.   Since the i94 expires after 90 days of entry it is nearly impossible to have happen what you think 

Thank you,

I am very happy to have been wrong.

[Pitaya 2,577]

Your wife's K1 visa was invalidated the moment she handed her paperwork over to the CBP officer at her US Port of Entry. Her I-94 then becomes the document that governs her legal status in the US. Due to current enhanced immigration inforcement, it is generally recommended that she submits her AOS paperwork as soon as possible after marriage. There are reports of mobile CBP checkpoints along the southern border states, and ICE immigration enforcement at egg farms in Minnesota. It you are married, have an expired I-94, and have not filed your AOS paperwork, you are technically out-of-status. ICE agents and CBP officers can detain you, until you are have hearing before an immigration judge. Look at the situation about detention and waiting for an immigration hearing, and associated time frames. 

 

When you file your AOS/EAD/AP, you should receive the Form I-797C (NOA1) AOS receipt notice. This notice confers legal status for you to stay, and finish the AOS adjudication process. It is generally recommended that when you file your AOS, you should also concurrently file for Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and Advance Parole (AP) documents. The application fees for EAD/AP apps are waived if filed with AOS. Due to the current prolonged processing times, the ability to work and for international travel can be important while waiting for AOS adjudication. For further information, read some other threads in these AOS Process and Working/Traveling Forums. I will include a list of sites, that have information about filing AOS/EAD/AP.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/i-485 , see special instruction tab for EAD/AP concurrent filing.

https://www.visajourney.com/content/k1k3aos/

https://www.visajourney.com/content/k1aos/

https://www.uscis.gov/forms-filing-tips

https://www.visajourney.com/content/examples/

 

Good luck on your immigration journey.

(similar question asked earlier today in the K1/K3 AOS Process Forum, similar response  )

[bencarlson66 7]

According to my NOA2, my approved I-129F is good until November 4th. She needs to have her interview by this time, or only had filed her visa application?

[Penguin_ie 5,992]

**** MOving from K1 to AOS from K1 for more answers *****

[SalishSea 17,503]

You are getting a hodgepodge of answers here because your post is very confusing, or you seem to be confused about the K-1 interview vs the AOS interview.

 

You might get better answers if you clarify exactly where you are in the process - seems like your fiancé has yet to be interviewed for the visa itself?  Once she has her visa in hand, she has a period of time while it is valid, in which to wrap things up and travel.  Generally it is six months from the date of the medical exam.

 

Once she arrives on the single-use K-1 visa, you have 90 days in which to marry.  Her authorized period of stay (via the I-94) expires at the end of 90 days, but by filing the I-485, she can lawfully remain while the petition is being adjudicated.  In other words, marrying alone on a K-1 does not confer status.

 

The timing of the AOS interview is unpredictable and entirely based upon workloads at local field offices.  You can find the current processing times for your office on the USCIS website to get a better idea.

 

Also, you will want to concurrently file the (free) EAD and AP forms so that she could potentially work and be paroled back into the US if she needs or wants to travel before having a green card.

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

21 hours ago, bencarlson66 said:

According to my NOA2, my approved I-129F is good until November 4th. She needs to have her interview by this time, or only had filed her visa application?

The validity of the petition can be extended up to a year in 4 months increases at the embassy/consulate discretion. 

 

To be on the safe side, your fiancée's interview should happen before November 4th. If the visa is approved, it will be valid for 6 months from when she went through the medical examination. She has all those 6 months to enter the US.

 

Once she's granted entry, you both have 90 days to get married -and ideally, file for AOS to avoid any time of unathorized stay-.

 

From the time she enters to the time she receives an EAD/AP card or the green card -whatever happens first-, she will not be able to travel abroad and return. So, preferably, she should finish school before entering the country. 

 

[Emw2290 50]

On 9/8/2019 at 6:07 PM, bencarlson66 said:

According to my NOA2, my approved I-129F is good until November 4th. She needs to have her interview by this time, or only had filed her visa application?

You can email the Brazilian consulate saying you haven't interviewed or visa won't been issued prior to November 4th. Could they please extend the validity of the 797.

In our experience we had to do this. They extended for us no problem. It was actually very easy. 

The email is listed on the consulate website: 

immigrationrio@state.gov

 

I also want to let you know that the visa MAY be valid for 6 months once issued, but it's not a guarantee. My fiance's expires with a very odd number if days (74 days) meaning he must enter the US before then. The expiration date isn't 3 or 6 months from medical, lab results, interview or issue date. We never inquired as to why. Just glad it was issued and we didn't have problems with him coming to the US prior to it expiring.

Edited September 26, 2019 by Emw2290