Marriage is going well but living separately -- how does that affect my status?

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

Inconvenience aside, I couldn’t put it on my conscience to do that much travel. In a personal vehicle anyway. That’s a lottt of emissions. The cost of gas and car repairs also, I can’t image that runs cheap. If I found a nice bus/train route that worked with my schedule, maybe?

 

Since you are currently living together and already filed for the removal, I don’t actually see how this will practically impact things. How far away is next year, exactly? Depending on your service center and processing times, it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility that you may be approved before the move even happens, leaving it sort of.... irrelevant?

 

And even if not, they are going to be adjudicating your application based on the evidence you sent them based on the last 2 years, when you were living together, I assume?

 

Even if you do get an interview after you have moved, if you both appear together and are honest about the situation, I don’t see that as a reason for denial. I’ve heard about cases where couples file a joint petition, actually separate (in the sense that their relationship breaks down) during processing, don’t switch to a waiver because divorce wait times make the timeline impossible, and still go to the joint interview together an explain things and get approved. If that’s been okay in the past, why wouldn’t your situation be?

 

The approval rate for I-751’s is something like 97% last time I checked. Seems like a non-issue.

 

 

Edited February 23, 2020 by MorganandMichael

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

If you’re going back every weekend (and assumably on spring/holiday/summer breaks) you may actually see more of your husband than I saw of mine when we worked opposite shifts and opposite days off. That was rough.

Edited February 23, 2020 by MorganandMichael

[Moe428 129]

6 hours ago, JFH said:

If 1.5 hours was all I needed to drive each way to live with my husband then I would do it. I wouldn’t drive 1.5 hours to buy a loaf of bread or get my car washed but this is something more important. Bear in mind that before we got our spousal visas many of us travelled thousands of miles to be able to see our spouses and during those times if long-distance I would have laughed at anyone that wouldn’t even consider driving 1.5 hours each way to be together. I used to drive further than that each day to work and back.

 

Living apart for school is not uncommon but that’s usually where there are a couple of states between home and school. Not 1.5 hours on the freeway. If school was in California then of course they would live separately. 

The IO or the person adjudicating the case will have to look at things not from one perspective but multiple.  For me personally, I would prefer to stay separately (assuming its temporary) rather than having to commute 3 hours  a day.  3 hours a day in commute for me might put me near suicide.

[Moe428 129]

5 hours ago, Charming12 said:

I'm in kind of similar situation. My wife (US Citizen)and son move to another state just recently because of her job and family live in that state and  and we are expecting second child soon so my in laws could baby sit both of our kids. My I751 case is in process and I recently filled for N400 and I will move there permanently as soon as I'm done with immigration process (probably takes 6 to 9 months). I did not want to move now two reason. mainly because of my job assignment and secondly, I moving to another state while my paperwork in pending would further delay immigration process. Do you think that would be problematic?

I doubt it.  You can tell them you are planning on moving there as soon as your case is done.  Having 2 kids on top of that is really good evidence of a real relationship.

 

Couples living separately (temporarily) is really common in 2020.  My situation was the same (although it was AOS, not ROC) and the IO didn't care much about it.  It comes down to what other evidence you have to support whether your marriage is bonafide.

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

6 hours ago, Moe428 said:

The IO or the person adjudicating the case will have to look at things not from one perspective but multiple.  For me personally, I would prefer to stay separately (assuming its temporary) rather than having to commute 3 hours  a day.  3 hours a day in commute for me might put me near suicide.

That brings up a good point for me, that if roles were reversed I can’t imagine putting my partner through that. I would also be worried about them being on the road that much in terms of safety. It would be hard, but in either side of this I think temporarily separating M-F would be the best bet.

Edited February 24, 2020 by MorganandMichael

[Moe428 129]

55 minutes ago, MorganandMichael said:

That brings up a good point for me, that if roles were reversed I can’t imagine putting my partner through that. I would also be worried about them being on the road that much in terms of safety. It would be hard, but in either side of this I think temporarily separating M-F would be the best bet.

Agreed.  For USCIS adjudicator, I hope they are not looking at "how I would do something" and rather what makes sense all things considered.  3 hours driving each work day is not for everyone and just because some people do it, it's not reasonable to expect others to do that, even if that means living separately from their spouse.