Married with pending K1 visa

[Saragreen 0]

Hi! 
 

My husband (United Kingdom citizen) and I (United States citizen) submitted an I-129f in January, but decided to get married and apply for a CR1 visa since the London Embassy has not been processing K1 visas since March 2020, but have been processing spousal visas. We sent a letter to the NVC to withdraw our original petition, but have not heard anything for over a month. I received an email saying that our petition has been sent to the London Embassy now as well. We also learned that we can apply for adjustment of status and that he can remain in the United States; however, I am wondering if we can go ahead and apply for adjustment of status before our K1 petition is officially withdrawn. If not, my husband will have to return to the United Kingdom to avoid overstaying his ESTA. Please offer any advice, it will be greatly appreciated. 
 

Thank you. 

Edited December 2, 2021 by sarapardo

[kirilllazebnik 5]

I can't answer your question directly, but I can let you know it took quite a bit of time before I received any official correspondence that the "withdrawal" of my K1 visa was accepted (I withdrew it for the same reason as you did). I think I withdrew it in December and then received an official letter from USCIS saying they confirmed the withdrawal in June or July. 

[Saragreen 0]

5 minutes ago, kirilllazebnik said:

I can't answer your question directly, but I can let you know it took quite a bit of time before I received any official correspondence that the "withdrawal" of my K1 visa was accepted (I withdrew it for the same reason as you did). I think I withdrew it in December and then received an official letter from USCIS saying they confirmed the withdrawal in June or July. 

@kirilllazebnik Thank you so much for your reply! Did you apply for a CR1 visa or adjustment of status before you received notice of your petition cancellation or did you wait until you had received it? 

[kirilllazebnik 5]

I applied for a CR1 visa after withdrawing the K1 visa, so I'm afraid my situation won't help you. 

[Saragreen 0]

@kirilllazebnik

 

I’m sorry I do not understand. How did you know your cancellation went through before filing the I-130. I thought our petition would be automatically rejected if our withdrawal request for the I-129f was still being processed. Is this not the case? 
 

 

[kirilllazebnik 5]

I filed the I-130 and explained that I had withdrawn the K-1 application. Everything went OK (the I-130 was approved). Once you send the I-129 withdrawal (i.e. send a letter to the USCIS or whatever the procedure is) I think you can consider the petition withdrawn even if you haven't received formal confirmation of the fact (although I'm not completely sure about this). 

[EM_Vandaveer 2,408]

Your UK citizen spouse is in the US right now? If so, file I-485 with a copy of the acknowledgment of filing (NOA1) for the I-130 ASAP....

As soon as you receive acknowledgement of the I-485 having been filed, your spouse will be allowed to stay in the US until the adjustment of status petition is adjudicated!

Edited December 2, 2021 by EM_Vandaveer

[powerpuff 6,712]

~ Moved from K1 Forum to AOS from Work/tourist/student visas as the question is about adjusting from ESTA ~
 

2 hours ago, sarapardo said:

I am wondering if we can go ahead and apply for adjustment of status before our K1 petition is officially withdrawn

Yes, you can. 

[Dashinka 24,515]

3 hours ago, sarapardo said:

Hi! 
 

My husband (United Kingdom citizen) and I (United States citizen) submitted an I-129f in January, but decided to get married and apply for a CR1 visa since the London Embassy has not been processing K1 visas since March 2020, but have been processing spousal visas. We sent a letter to the NVC to withdraw our original petition, but have not heard anything for over a month. I received an email saying that our petition has been sent to the London Embassy now as well. We also learned that we can apply for adjustment of status and that he can remain in the United States; however, I am wondering if we can go ahead and apply for adjustment of status before our K1 petition is officially withdrawn. If not, my husband will have to return to the United Kingdom to avoid overstaying his ESTA. Please offer any advice, it will be greatly appreciated. 
 

Thank you. 

If you are married, and your spouse is currently in the US, you can file the I130/I485 either concurrently, or do the I130 first then file the I485 with a copy of the NOA from the I130 filing.  You do not have to wait for acknowledgement of the I129F withdrawal, and you may want to include a copy of the letter you sent to NVC formally withdrawing the I129F.

 

Good Luck!

Edited December 2, 2021 by Dashinka

[SalishSea 17,839]

8 hours ago, sarapardo said:

We also learned that we can apply for adjustment of status and that he can remain in the United States;

Yes, but be advised that AP/EAD is now taking 8+ months, so he will not be able to work or travel during that time.  Green cards are taking around 2 years.