How bad is removal of conditions?

[jackiegringa 419]

With the automatic extension of 4 years I'd say that it's a much more tolerable process. However it is still another step, another fee and another piece of paper to carry and explain to various people what it means.

 

Without such long extension letter I'd say 100% wait the best you can to enter with a 10 gc because ADIT stamps are sometimes hard to get (took me 4 months and I missed my own honeymoon). With the extension letters it's not so bad since you can travel and work for 6 years with no major hassle. So it's really up to you in the end.

[ElGrandeDoodel 37]

4 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

One more thing.  The I-751 fee is going way up, if I remember correctly.  

Crikey you are not wrong - almost doubling to $1,195 apparently.

[Crazy Cat 41,846]

2 minutes ago, jackiegringa said:

With the automatic extension of 4 years I'd say that it's a much more tolerable process. However it is still another step, another fee and another piece of paper to carry and explain to various people what it means.

 

Without such long extension letter I'd say 100% wait the best you can to enter with a 10 gc because ADIT stamps are sometimes hard to get (took me 4 months and I missed my own honeymoon). With the extension letters it's not so bad since you can travel and work for 6 years with no major hassle. So it's really up to you in the end.

Yep.  The 48 month extension letters will certainly help.  But Removal of Conditions still requires a lot of pre-planning, saving a lot of evidence, extra fees, and general stress....

[Crazy Cat 41,846]

Want to hear something wild?  My wife entered the US via her Cr-1 visa 30 days short of our 2 year anniversary.  We made a BIG mistake!!

 

The CBP officer even mentioned it at POE. 

Edited February 10, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[ElGrandeDoodel 37]

3 minutes ago, Crazy Cat said:

The CBP officer even mentioned it at POE. 

Really rubbing it in... 😕

[Crazy Cat 41,846]

15 minutes ago, elgrandedoodel said:

Really rubbing it in... 😕

I have learned a lot since then....LOL.

Hopefully, I can help others avoid this costly mistake (costly in terms of money, time, stress). 

Edited February 10, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[Olga&Jared 267]

I agree with everything said above. It's my least favorite stage, especially when you seem to luck out and have your case in the "fastest" USCIS office and then when it's finally your turn to get approved processing time starts increasing every few weeks. In your case 48 month extension letter will sweeten the deal (I still don't have mine) but this wait time is ridiculous regardless. It's also much more expensive now. I don't know which way is best for you but waiting extra 5 months sounds much better than this n-year-long eternity of uncertainty. 

[Loren Y 2,755]

Waiting 3 maybe 4 months to save 44 months of anguish and problems seems like a no brainier to me. My wife's only took about 13-14 months to process her ROC, and it was still a nightmare trying to convince airlines that the letter is good to travel on. Filed the N400 and 19 days later approved I751 and 10 year green card in the mail. But I agree with waiting to enter a few days after the 2 year anniversary.

Edited February 10, 2023 by Loren Y

[Dashinka 24,494]

1 hour ago, elgrandedoodel said:

Sounds like a whole lot of fun...

 

Thanks, good point to bear in mind.

 

This may be a London consulate specific question, but if at the consulate interview the visa is approved, would an effective delay tactic be to say I have immediate travel plans and so cannot surrender my passport at the interview, but instead send it in to the consulate, say, a month later? Or is the date of the visa the date of approval at the consulate, irrespective of when the visa is actually physically added to the passport?

 

Never thought I would be taking steps to slow the process down, but here we are...

Probably best to do the delay at the NVC stage (i.e. your USC spouse delays uploading the required documents).  That way you can maximize the visa validity period to work out entering the US after your 2nd wedding anniversary.

 

I agree with the others, best to avoid ROC/I751 if possible.

[Dashinka 24,494]

1 hour ago, Crazy Cat said:

Want to hear something wild?  My wife entered the US via her Cr-1 visa 30 days short of our 2 year anniversary.  We made a BIG mistake!!

 

The CBP officer even mentioned it at POE. 

Live and learn!  At least you can impart that knowledge on others coming after.   

[Rocio0010 5,579]

I filed for ROC a year ago and still no news after they reused my fingerprints in March. I just applied for citizenship and still crickets.

The fees are also going to up soon, and no, their processing won’t be faster in the short term, so do yourself a solid and wait 5 more months.

[ElGrandeDoodel 37]

12 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

Probably best to do the delay at the NVC stage (i.e. your USC spouse delays uploading the required documents).

Thanks - we've already completed NVC submissions, but in any event the medical will take place less than 6 months before our second anniversary so we should have a buffer of a few weeks at least.

 

What I'd like to understand, however, is whether I could travel to the US immediately as the consulate approves under an ESTA, but before the visa is added to my passport, i.e.:

• I attend consulate interview
• Consulate approves in person
• I tell consulate that I have immediate travel plans, and that I will send in my passport for visa to be added once I have returned from that travel
• I travel to the US after interview, and enter under an ESTA
• On return from the US, I send my passport to consulate for visa to be added
• I then return to the US after our second anniversary and enter under the visa

My thinking here is that by doing this I'll minimise the length of time we can't see each other between approval and 'final' entry after our second anniversary.

[Crazy Cat 41,846]

16 minutes ago, elgrandedoodel said:

Thanks - we've already completed NVC submissions, but in any event the medical will take place less than 6 months before our second anniversary so we should have a buffer of a few weeks at least.

 

What I'd like to understand, however, is whether I could travel to the US immediately as the consulate approves under an ESTA, but before the visa is added to my passport, i.e.:

• I attend consulate interview
• Consulate approves in person
• I tell consulate that I have immediate travel plans, and that I will send in my passport for visa to be added once I have returned from that travel
• I travel to the US after interview, and enter under an ESTA
• On return from the US, I send my passport to consulate for visa to be added
• I then return to the US after our second anniversary and enter under the visa

My thinking here is that by doing this I'll minimise the length of time we can't see each other between approval and 'final' entry after our second anniversary.

I guess you could do that, but you take a risk if you do.  Some consulates are known to just sit on passports....while the clock is ticking   I would travel to the US prior to the interview, then return for the interview, visa issuance, final departure.   Just my opinion.

Edited February 10, 2023 by Crazy Cat

[mindthegap 2,590]

12 minutes ago, elgrandedoodel said:

What I'd like to understand, however, is whether I could travel to the US immediately as the consulate approves under an ESTA, but before the visa is added to my passport, i.e.:

• I attend consulate interview
• Consulate approves in person
• I tell consulate that I have immediate travel plans, and that I will send in my passport for visa to be added once I have returned from that travel
• I travel to the US after interview, and enter under an ESTA
• On return from the US, I send my passport to consulate for visa to be added
• I then return to the US after our second anniversary and enter under the visa

My thinking here is that by doing this I'll minimise the length of time we can't see each other between approval and 'final' entry after our second anniversary.

Yes you can do that…but there is a better way, and that is to enter using the VWP/ESTA once you have the visa in your passport, if you explicitly tell them up front that  that you are entering as a a visitor on that entry and and not immigrating on that entry so the visa is to remain unendorsed. 
Before you use that visa you are not a permanent resident, and it would avoid any delays/complications having to send in the passport at a later date. It’s one less link in the chain to go wrong. 
The visa would then remain unendorsed and then you can use it when you are ready to, as long as that is a) still valid, and b) within six months of the medical.

This is permitted. 

You can also do fun things like get a second passport and have one at the embassy while you are travelling using the VWP/ESTA/another visa on the other (I did this as I had two passports at the time I did the CR-1 at the London embassy).

[Scandi 4,166]

For me personally, the wait times and money spent on ROC wasn't bad at all. It took a year and that was it, never needed an interview since I already had one for AOS (this won't be the case for you since you won't AOS inside the US, you're very likely to get an ROC interview). 

The pain was all the documents needed, all the saving of "evidence" for two full years, copying everything, putting the whole thing together etc. OMG it was so much work and took me a long while. THIS is the reason I would totally wait until my 2 year anniversary if I were you. Just to not have to deal with all the collecting of evidence, thinking of ways to get more/new evidence, worrying you don't have enough evidence etc. Not worth it.