Need Some Good Advice

[birch2013 4]

Hello fellow sufferers of this joke of an immigration system,

 

Some advice please.

 

My wife is a K-1 immigrant who came to the country in 2014, then marriage, conditional green card, etc. The usual process.

 

We are still waiting on the removal of conditions. We filed in November 2017. We finally got an RFE in March 2019. We filed the response in May 2019 with much more information like mutual medical and legal power of attorneys, etc. I will say my original I-751 was a little light but come on, we've already filed probably 1,000 pages with them over the years about our marriage from the K-1 to the green card to the I-751. Our response to the RFE was quite solid though.

 

We got a letter for a second fingerprint appointment in July 2019, probably because the fingerprints from almost two years were already expired. We had to postpone it due to travel but we did the second biometrics appointment in August 2019. That's all we've heard since filing the response to the RFE in May.

 

This is getting ridiculous, we're almost at the 2 year mark.

 

Should we:

 

_ Contact my congressman

_ Hire an immigration lawyer

_ Do nothing

_ Request an I-551 stamp in her passport

_ Call and wait 4 hours on hold before making a complaint

_ Something else?

 

Current status online says "Fingerprint review was completed"

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2019 by birch2013

[theresaL 408]

Fill in your timeline.

 

Are you eligible to file N-400 yet? Without your timeline filled in it will be difficult for the people here to help you.

[SalishSea 17,505]

26 minutes ago, birch2013 said:

Hello fellow sufferers of this joke of an immigration system,

 

Some advice please.

 

My wife is a K-1 immigrant who came to the country in 2014, then marriage, conditional green card, etc. The usual process.

 

We are still waiting on the removal of conditions. We filed in November 2017. We finally got an RFE in March 2019. We filed the response in May 2019 with much more information like mutual medical and legal power of attorneys, etc. I will say my original I-751 was a little light but come on, we've already filed probably 1,000 pages with them over the years about our marriage from the K-1 to the green card to the I-751. Our response to the RFE was quite solid though.

 

We got a letter for a second fingerprint appointment in July 2019, probably because the fingerprints from almost two years were already expired. We had to postpone it due to travel but we did the second biometrics appointment in August 2019. That's all we've heard since filing the response to the RFE in May.

 

This is getting ridiculous, we're almost at the 2 year mark.

 

Should we:

 

_ Contact my congressman

_ Hire an immigration lawyer

_ Do nothing

_ Request an I-551 stamp in her passport

_ Call and wait 4 hours on hold before making a complaint

_ Something else?

 

Current status online says "Fingerprint review was completed"

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

Not surprising.  The LFOs are very behind from sheer volume.  Unlike when you filed, now all K-1 AOS applicants are interviewed.  Here in Seattle it is taking up to 25 months just to get an interview.

 

Sure you could contact a congressperson or lawyer, but they cannot do any action to speed up your process.

[birch2013 4]

I updated the immigration timeline on my profile, TheresaL, if that helps.

 

No, we have not filed the N-400 petition and we don't intend to. I've talked it over with my wife. We don't see any major benefit to her becoming a US citizen. And there are significant long-term financial reasons for her not to become a US citizen. So we don't intend to file an N-400 at this time.

[theresaL 408]

7 minutes ago, birch2013 said:

I updated the immigration timeline on my profile, TheresaL, if that helps.

 

No, we have not filed the N-400 petition and we don't intend to. I've talked it over with my wife. We don't see any major benefit to her becoming a US citizen. And there are significant long-term financial reasons for her not to become a US citizen. So we don't intend to file an N-400 at this time.

The citizenship matter is definitely an individual decision. My husband is not (at this time) planning to do it either due to our long term plans. For us there is really no reason for him to, but there is for me to obtain dual US/French citizenship. You (wife) will need to go thru this process every 10 years to renew her GC, so one advantage to becoming a citizen is you don't need to do it again. 

 

As frustrating as it may be, there's really not much you can do but keep track of your status online and wait. 

[birch2013 4]

Thanks for the reply, thanks to you and Jorgedig.

 

[Sukie 1,447]

Just so you know...if you own real property (a house/condo), your LPR spouse will NOT be able to take advantage of the Spousal exemption on the capital gains at the sale of your home.  And you will still have to pay attention to how long she is out of the country each year should she need to travel.

 

To each his/her own.

 

Sukie in the Hudson Valley

[Villanelle 4,121]

A good rule of thumb is to give USCIS 90-120 days as thats the general range of 'acceptable' processing time they post for themselves. So looking at what you posted: You got an RFE in March 2019. That means someone actually looked at your case (all that time it was just sitting since you filed) but someone did look at it in Mar 19 and sent the RFE. You took a while to respond, mailing it back in May 19. Allowing them 90-120 days to review this it makes sense that the RFE was reviewed and the Officer saw you also needed biometrics done in order to approve the case. So a bio notice issued in July 19 fits with in the timeframe of it being worked on appropriately. You didnt get to the bio until Aug unfortunately. So using that as the last date something happened on your case you should give them 90-120 days from the bio appt. You can probably put in a service request but its not going to make it go faster. They are only useful if you feel your case is being overlooked. But again IMO you have to give them a reasonable period of time after the biometrics to get back to your case and resume processing it. I would expect to either get a card being produced notification or an interview is being set one by December. If an interview is going to be scheduled it usually shows up as a case notification, however it can take a while for an actual slot to open. 

[birch2013 4]

Thanks for the info Sukie and Villanelle.

 

We have waited, it's been 5 months since the reply to the RFE was sent in. Two months since the biometrics were done. Hopefully we'll get some news soon.

[Philly2017 35]

@birch2013 Frustrating that you have to deal with this.  @Sukie and @Villanelle provided excellent advice.  If I was in your shoes, I would definitely put in a service request as your case is outside California processing times.  Worst case scenario, nothing happens.  The upside would be for the I/O to get back on reviewing your case and make a decision. 

 

Good luck and keep us posted!

[birch2013 4]

Thanks @NYCQueens2017, I may do that then.

[Liam2021 574]

One of the big benefits of U.S citizens is free to travel. Maybe one day something come up and you have stay out of U.S for 3-4 years. For U.S citizens this will not be a problem, but for PLR is a NO. So, which is the best, your choice.

[Villanelle 4,121]

While citizenship does have perks its not always the best choice for everyone. I dont know what country the OP was from but there are a few countries still that do not do duel citizenship. This is the case for my husband. Although he has met the 3yr and 5yr mark and would LOVE to be a citizen he just can not give up his Norwegian citizenship. Like the OP we would have long term financial consequences for doing so. He gets a military pension which he would lose + he would no longer be eligible for their free healthcare -which would make it no longer possible for us to retire there eventually. 

[birch2013 4]

Thanks for all the good input everyone. I really do appreciate the information.

 

The sad thing is that the US government has weaponized US citizenship. They'll use it against you, though having it will benefit you too.

 

For us, the green card is the best fit. I'm an owner of multiple businesses, so my financial IQ is pretty high. It's mainly financial reasons that push me in this direction.

[happiness268 14]

17 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Not surprising.  The LFOs are very behind from sheer volume.  Unlike when you filed, now all K-1 AOS applicants are interviewed.  Here in Seattle it is taking up to 25 months just to get an interview.

 

Sure you could contact a congressperson or lawyer, but they cannot do any action to speed up your process.

Thank you for this information. It is was truly very helpful. do you know when they started interviewing all K-1 AOS applicant?

 

I applied for ROC in May 2018. I received in a RFE in May 2019. I sent additional information in Aug 2019. I received a notice of transfer to NBC for interview in Sept 2019. I was a little frustrated because applicants in my timeframe with RFE were getting approved for their 10 year green card. 
My 18 month extension is up in Nov 2019. Therefore, i will probably had to schedule an Infopass appointment for a i-551 stamp. 

 

I am a NYC filer. According to @Villanelle great advice. I will probably look for some action late Dec - early Jan at the earliest.