Delaying AOS with K-3 Visa

[neophi 5]

Hello guys,

We all know the AOS fees are jumping to a little over $1000 by July 30th. Even if by a miracle of God my wife is granted her visa within a month, she would not be able to travel as she is in her 7th month of pregnancy. So I'm pretty much screwed by the fee increase already.

Now, not only would these $1000 be better off in my money market savings account earning 5% interest, but I could definitely use them elsewhere, considering that once she arrives I will have to move to an apartment with her and our baby, buy furniture, start buying diapers, etc., etc., etc.

So, why not delay this process until next year or so, hoping that I'll have a better job/salary by then and still have the money AND, as pushbrk suggested in his "K3 Delay of Status Adjustment, To skip Removal of Conditions" post, maybe even avoid having to file for Removal of Conditions, depending on when she arrives?

If something were to happen to me before she got her green card, she definitely would move back home. Like pushbrk's wife, she is not moving here in pursuit of the "American dream," she is only moving here to be with me. My question does not regard whether or not we are risking her permanent stay in the U.S.

From what I understand:

1. She can travel to and from the U.S. and Colombia as many times as she wants.

2. She can work here if we wanted to with the EAD (but we're planning on her being a full-time mom).

3. To travel to other countries, she will need the respective visas.

So, except for #3, which is more an obstacle rather than a problem, what are the disadvantages of delaying the AOS? How much time could I buy by delaying filing of the AOS? What would happen if AOS is still in process and K-3 expires?

Thanks for your thoughts.

Edited June 21, 2007 by neophi

[YuAndDan 153]

1. YES the K-3 is a MULTI-entry visa
   
2. YES with EAD, K-3 can file for it as soon as they enter the USA, if the EAD is filed for based on K-3, and before filing for AOS then the EAD expire date will be based on the expire of the I-94 (2 year EAD)
   
3. YES if the other countries dont have some sort of visa waiver program with her country then she will need a visa to visit them. Delta has a handy tool to determine visa requirements, SEE: http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations...ation/index.jsp
   

Only advantage of delaying AOS is to wait for second wedding anniversary to file just before, so to avoid the lifting of conditions (I-751) filing.

Edited June 21, 2007 by YuAndDan

[neophi 5]

Thanks for the link. Helpful tool indeed.

However, my question really is for how much time can I delay AOS? I think pushbrk said 11 months before K-3 expires. I'm assuming this is to ensure AOS is completed before K-3 expires. Which then makes me wonder what would happen if AOS is still in process and K-3 expires?

Edited June 21, 2007 by neophi

[YuAndDan 153]

Thanks for the link. Helpful tool indeed.

However, my question really is for how much time can I delay AOS? I think pushbrk said 11 months before K-3 expires. I'm assuming this is to ensure AOS is completed before K-3 expires. Which then makes me wonder what would happen if AOS is still in process and K-3 expires?

No you can apply for AOS up to a few days before the expire date on the I-94 card stapled in the in the passport, much like K-1s having to file with in the 90 days of the I-94, K-3s file within the 2 years of their I-94 card, this date can in fact be well after the K-3 visa expire date.

Nothing happens to the AOS process when the K-3 expires, the AOS process just continues on it's way.

In fact you can file to extend the K-3 visa's expiration by filing I-539.

SEE post from earlier: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...st&p=999824

Edited June 21, 2007 by YuAndDan

[pushbrk 12,878]

Thanks for the link. Helpful tool indeed.

However, my question really is for how much time can I delay AOS? I think pushbrk said 11 months before K-3 expires. I'm assuming this is to ensure AOS is completed before K-3 expires. Which then makes me wonder what would happen if AOS is still in process and K-3 expires?

No you can apply for AOS up to a few days before the expire date on the I-94 card stapled in the in the passport, much like K-1s having to file with in the 90 days of the I-94, K-3s file within the 2 years of their I-94 card, this date can in fact be well after the K-3 visa expire date.

Nothing happens to the AOS process when the K-3 expires, the AOS process just continues on it's way.

In fact you can file to extend the K-3 visa's expiration by filing I-539.

SEE post from earlier: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...st&p=999824

Unless you want to deal with extending the validity of the K3 visa, you can delay the filing of AOS for up to about 21 months after her entry. I wouldn't have delayed that long. I wanted to file 2-3 months before our second wedding anniversary.

A disadvantage I see in your situation is that you'll have to file a W7 for an ITIN instead of getting an SSN for your joint tax return. You've already made your judgment calls on the other issues.

[neophi 5]

Actually, she already has an SSN from when she entered the country on a P-3 visa last year. It's not valid for work since she has no EAD, but it's still an SSN.

Unless you want to deal with extending the validity of the K3 visa, you can delay the filing of AOS for up to about 21 months after her entry. I wouldn't have delayed that long. I wanted to file 2-3 months before our second wedding anniversary.

A disadvantage I see in your situation is that you'll have to file a W7 for an ITIN instead of getting an SSN for your joint tax return. You've already made your judgment calls on the other issues.

[neophi 5]

Thanks for the link to the other post! I usually only peruse the K-3 forums and search for anything specific:)

I now understand that one thing is having your visa expire, and another is having your I-94 expire. The other post cleared it all up.

No you can apply for AOS up to a few days before the expire date on the I-94 card stapled in the in the passport, much like K-1s having to file with in the 90 days of the I-94, K-3s file within the 2 years of their I-94 card, this date can in fact be well after the K-3 visa expire date.

Nothing happens to the AOS process when the K-3 expires, the AOS process just continues on it's way.

In fact you can file to extend the K-3 visa's expiration by filing I-539.

SEE post from earlier: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...st&p=999824