I-130 Mistake and Advice for Path Forward

[Diego009 1]

Hi All,

 

I've been following https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-1-submit-a-petition.html and a few other guides. I submitted I-130 online in August 25, 2022. It is at the Texas Service Center. I am a USC and my wife is a Japanese citizen residing in Osaka.

 

So the problem is that in 62a - 62c, I put down Osaka, Japan for the location of embassy/consulate. Not sure where I had gotten the information from, but I thought there was one in Osaka that could be used for Visa interviews. Now the pages on Visajourney and https://www.usembassy.gov/japan/ only say the one in Tokyo. How big of a mistake is this? Any way for me to amend it without impacting my wait time on I-130? 

 

Also, I read mixed comments about AOS and Consular paths. For Japan, when I submitted, I was under the impression that doing the consular filing was better, but the more I read up on it the more it worries me that I might have made a mistake. Any insight on this?

 

Next is what are things I can do while I wait for I-130 approval? Should mail the I-864 and supporting documentation now (5 months into waiting), or do I wait to fill out after I-130 approval?

[Crazy Cat 41,864]

You need to familiarize yourself with the spousal visa process.  The I-864 is not submitted until the NVC part of the process.  NVC will route the case to the appropriate consulate.  

Where is your spouse right now?  If outside the US, then adjustment of Status is not available to you.

[SteveInBostonI130 3,454]

1. NVC will pick the consulate automatically based on the beneficiary's current address.

 

2.  There is only the consular path.  AOS is only if the beneficiary is already in the US and due to unforeseen circumstances decided to/had to adjust status.  You cannot plan for AOS - that is immigration fraud.

 

3. Read the guides.  Be very familiar with the entire CR1 process.

 

 

[Diego009 1]

11 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

You need to familiarize yourself with the spousal visa process.  The I-864 is not submitted until the NVC part of the process.  NVC will route the case to the appropriate consulate.  

Where is your spouse right now?  If outside the US, then adjustment of Status is not available to you.

Thank you for your reply. Knowing that the NVC will route it appropriately takes a weight off my shoulder. I guess since the time that filed I had forgotten about the AOS requirement and got anxious when I started seeing many posts about people going through AOS with their Japanese spouses. I do need to sit down and really understand the process.

 

12 minutes ago, SteveInBostonI130 said:

1. NVC will pick the consulate automatically based on the beneficiary's current address.

 

2.  There is only the consular path.  AOS is only if the beneficiary is already in the US and due to unforeseen circumstances decided to/had to adjust status.  You cannot plan for AOS - that is immigration fraud.

 

3. Read the guides.  Be very familiar with the entire CR1 process.

 Thank you. #1 was my biggest concern. Will definitely make time this weekend to brush up on the process. 

 

[SalishSea 17,829]

58 minutes ago, Diego009 said:

Thank you for your reply. Knowing that the NVC will route it appropriately takes a weight off my shoulder. I guess since the time that filed I had forgotten about the AOS requirement and got anxious when I started seeing many posts about people going through AOS with their Japanese spouses. I do need to sit down and really understand the process.

 

 Thank you. #1 was my biggest concern. Will definitely make time this weekend to brush up on the process. 

 

It is not legal for someone to arrive to the US with the intent of adjusting status, so if that is what you’re seeing, those people are committing immigration fraud.

 

You are early into this process, and reading and learning as much as possible about US immigration will help you avoid pitfalls.