Has anyone else applied for the Uniting for Ukraine program?

[RnJ2021 59]

1 hour ago, RnJ2021 said:

What are people doing about health insurance? 

Never mind - I saw the several suggestions on pages 9&10 - thanks to all.

[ac777 1]

Hello all,

 

This thread has been extremely helpful thus far, thanks to all for their information and input. I have a few questions regarding my current situation and would be very appreciate if anyone can provide any info:

1. Would bringing my Ukrainian fiance through U4U count against us if we marry and attempt to file an I-485 for adjustment of status later down the line? We're concerned it could be denied due to preconceived intent if we get to that stage, and then she would have to leave once her 2 years of parole are up.

2. Although the less desirable option, would filing the I-129F and pursuing the K-1 Visa be the safest bet in the long run? (Hopefully with expedite)

3. Are Ukrainians in the USA through U4U eligible for Advanced Parole?

 

Thanks in advanced!

[JIK 0]

10 hours ago, ac777 said:

Hello all,

 

This thread has been extremely helpful thus far, thanks to all for their information and input. I have a few questions regarding my current situation and would be very appreciate if anyone can provide any info:

1. Would bringing my Ukrainian fiance through U4U count against us if we marry and attempt to file an I-485 for adjustment of status later down the line? We're concerned it could be denied due to preconceived intent if we get to that stage, and then she would have to leave once her 2 years of parole are up.

2. Although the less desirable option, would filing the I-129F and pursuing the K-1 Visa be the safest bet in the long run? (Hopefully with expedite)

3. Are Ukrainians in the USA through U4U eligible for Advanced Parole?

 

Thanks in advanced!

I went through K-1 visa process 15 years ago. So please treat my response with a grain of salt.

 

I would say that either K-1 or I-129F are much safer than UFU program. Because that's a straight path to green card and citizenship, while under UFU it's not at all clear. With K-1, you'd have to apply for your fiance and wait for her to be approved overseas. 15 years ago that took a year.

 

Under I-129F, she/he can enter US right away and can wait for AOS in the country.

 

But my main recommendation is to pay a couple of hundred of $$$ to a good immigration lawyer for a consultation. Filling out paperwork is easy on your own, but knowing which path to take is worth spending the money on the lawyer.

[Boiler 45,733]

K1 is taking a lot longer than U4U, couple of weeks seems to be the norm.

 

What is not clear, you enter the US and file to adjust, just like a K1.

[ac777 1]

On 5/22/2022 at 9:11 AM, JIK said:

I went through K-1 visa process 15 years ago. So please treat my response with a grain of salt.

 

I would say that either K-1 or I-129F are much safer than UFU program. Because that's a straight path to green card and citizenship, while under UFU it's not at all clear. With K-1, you'd have to apply for your fiance and wait for her to be approved overseas. 15 years ago that took a year.

 

Under I-129F, she/he can enter US right away and can wait for AOS in the country.

 

But my main recommendation is to pay a couple of hundred of $$$ to a good immigration lawyer for a consultation. Filling out paperwork is easy on your own, but knowing which path to take is worth spending the money on the lawyer.

 

Thank you, I was also thinking of consulting with a lawyer to get a more clear idea of how to proceed and it seems that's probably the best/smartest option. 

 

On 5/22/2022 at 9:25 AM, Boiler said:

K1 is taking a lot longer than U4U, couple of weeks seems to be the norm.

 

What is not clear, you enter the US and file to adjust, just like a K1.

 

Right. Although the U4U is a much better option timewise, there's too many "ifs" right now and we're concerned it can be a problem say, 1 to 2 years from now. Thank you for the response!

[uapilot 70]

Hey all,

 

Can anyone confirm that they used Gmail for the email address of either themselves or their beneficiary and got notifications?

 

It's been 20 days since the declaration of financial support was approved, and I never got the notification about it and my beneficiary never got the email explaining how to create the account. Both of us use Gmail.

 

I'd be surprised if this is the case since it's such a popular service, but I just want to confirm it's not a glitch before I do any more sitting around.

[Boiler 45,733]

3 minutes ago, ac777 said:

 

Thank you, I was also thinking of consulting with a lawyer to get a more clear idea of how to proceed and it seems that's probably the best/smartest option. 

 

 

Right. Although the U4U is a much better option timewise, there's too many "ifs" right now and we're concerned it can be a problem say, 1 to 2 years from now. Thank you for the response!

Most people are getting Green Cards within a year, very few are taking 2 years and longer but that would be the same for a K1.

 

What ifs?

[JIK 0]

2 minutes ago, uapilot said:

Can anyone confirm that they used Gmail for the email address of either themselves or their beneficiary and got notifications?

My beneficiaries used gmail. It all worked. Tho USCIS can be very slow to send emails. But it was only a few days for us, not 20... 

[ac777 1]

14 minutes ago, Boiler said:

Most people are getting Green Cards within a year, very few are taking 2 years and longer but that would be the same for a K1.

 

What ifs?

I'm sorry, I think I misunderstood your initial response. I thought you meant to say that it is unclear whether people coming in through U4U are allowed to adjust. But now I think you're saying that people coming in through U4U are allowed to adjust, and people adjusting are currently getting Green cards in about a year. 

 

The "ifs" we were concerned about would be that if my fiance comes in through U4U, we marry, but she wouldn't be allowed to adjust her status due to being paroled in the US. I could also see this being perceived as "preconceived intent", and thus her adjust of status could be denied. Then she would have to go back home after parole ends, and that time would have been better spent going through the I-129F/K1 process. 

Edited May 23, 2022 by ac777
added word

[Boiler 45,733]

4 minutes ago, ac777 said:

I'm sorry, I think I misunderstood your initial response. I thought you meant to say that it is unclear whether people coming in through U4U are allowed to adjust. But now I think you're saying that people coming in through U4U are allowed to adjust, and people adjusting are currently getting Green cards in about a year. 

 

The "ifs" we were concerned about would be that if my fiance comes in through U4U, we marry, but she wouldn't be allowed to adjust her status due to being paroled in the US. I could see this being perceived as "preconceived intent", and thus her adjust of status could be denied. Then she would have to go back home after parole ends, and that time would have been better spent going through the I-129F/K1 process. 

I assume that most will stay either through   Marriage as in your case or on some other basis, Humanitarian Parole does not have a non immigrant intent element.

[uapilot 70]

18 minutes ago, JIK said:

My beneficiaries used gmail. It all worked. Tho USCIS can be very slow to send emails. But it was only a few days for us, not 20... 

Thank you. 😐 Not sure what's going on then. That's what I was thinking, too, that we got our CONFIRM notice around the same time or before some folks that already got their emails. And I wouldn't think one beneficiary would be different from another in UfU since I don't think they do any kind of background check prior to sending out the email.

[Kineo 93]

4 hours ago, uapilot said:

Hey all,

 

Can anyone confirm that they used Gmail for the email address of either themselves or their beneficiary and got notifications?

 

It's been 20 days since the declaration of financial support was approved, and I never got the notification about it and my beneficiary never got the email explaining how to create the account. Both of us use Gmail.

 

I'd be surprised if this is the case since it's such a popular service, but I just want to confirm it's not a glitch before I do any more sitting around.

Yes we have used Gmail for both the petitioner and beneficiaries in all 4 cases. Also the last 2 took <4 days start to finish.

-Kineo

Edited May 23, 2022 by Kineo

[Mrs D. 13]

5 hours ago, uapilot said:

Hey all,

 

Can anyone confirm that they used Gmail for the email address of either themselves or their beneficiary and got notifications?

 

It's been 20 days since the declaration of financial support was approved, and I never got the notification about it and my beneficiary never got the email explaining how to create the account. Both of us use Gmail.

 

I'd be surprised if this is the case since it's such a popular service, but I just want to confirm it's not a glitch before I do any more sitting around.

My beneficiaries used gmail and got theirs the same day. 
 

Sorry you are experiencing this - there’s nothing more frustrating.

 

Did they check their spam folder?

[Supernatural 19]

Will it be ok to fly from Poland to London to US with just the travel authorization? I’m not sure if it’s a big deal to transition through London

[uapilot 70]

21 hours ago, Mrs D. said:

My beneficiaries used gmail and got theirs the same day. 
 

Sorry you are experiencing this - there’s nothing more frustrating.

 

Did they check their spam folder?

Yep. 😕