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... That's sort of expected and known... I do not understand and/or see what's the new piece of information you're sharing.

Sounds like someone got caught NOT knowing this, and just wants to post a cautionary tale. Thanks, OP, for reminding this community. Sukie in NY

Is this a question or a statement? Yes, typically a passport dictates whether visa is required. However, a good example is travelling to Canada with passport and Green Card. Even if passport requires appying for visa or eTA to enter Canada, green card waives that requirenent. US LPRs can enter Canada visa free. There's some other countries which simplify entry for US LPRs. Of course, passport is still required. Of course, the primary purpose of GC is living in the US and travelling to the US.

I saw that episode on National Geographic "Catching A Smuggler / Border Control – Italy" taking place mainly in Rome Fiumicino airport (FCO) with that unfortunate Filipino young woman who just landed and was detained because she didn't have a proper Schengen visa. She was traveling with her U.S. citizen husband and they were to catch a cruise throughout the Mediterranean for their honeymoon. She was a (probably conditional) green card holder with a Filipino passport and assumed that her green card would act as a visa. The Italian immigration police officer kindly explained to her that the green card is for U.S. only and bears no relevance in the E.U. and her Filipino passport required a Schengen visa. Although sympathetic to her pleading, they still denied her entry and was put on a flight back to the U.S. where, in tears, she was reunited with her husband who consoled her. It was a young couple who look nice and harmless, but well... dura lex sed lex. This is clearly a cautionary tale. Many people seem to think that a green card is the sesame that will open the door to the whole world in terms of travel...

Just a data point here that at the DS-260 stage the DOS changed the beneficiary’s last name in their system to match the passport (with both paternal and maternal last names) despite the I-130 being approved by USCIS with a different last name (in this case, the married name). As a result, the visa and green card were issued based on what was on the passport. We’re currently waiting until citizenship to do any name change because of this; your mileage may vary.

Anything is possible with CBP. Show up, if they want to deny you, then politely request that you be allowed to withdraw your request for entry into the US and go home. Go to FL, get married rather than just visit with FIL, go back to Canada and apply for CR1. The process is similar in timeline. The difference is you'll enter the US with a GC in hand, ready and able to work and travel. K1 makes less sense.

I think @Rocio0010 is pointing out this is a common knowledge? Outside of few exceptions for US LPRs, every country looks at the passport and doesn't really care about permanent residences elsewhere including the US.

Until the I 129f is approved, all correspondence is done through you the petitioner. The notices will be both mailed and emailed. Don’t delay filing. Use her address current at the time you complete the form. Changes of address are noted at later stages of the process

One must understand that the final decision related to the affidavit of support is made based on the totality of circumstances. If the sponsor clearly does not qualify, no other circumstance matter. If the sponsor DOES clearly qualify financially, on the the considered circumstances is the relationship between the sponsor, or in this case, "joint sponsor" that causes the sponsor to be willing to act as joint sponsor. When there is no clear relationship, a Consular Officer is not going to believe the sponsor will fulfil those obligations. Same problem with "elderly" joint sponsors who are not likely to be around to fulfil those obligations. The OP needs to understand that there are practical aspects to bringing a foreign spouse to the USA. One common way of expressing this is "No money, no honey!" The time to have seriously considered these practical aspects, was very early in the relationship, long before the marriage or I-130 filing.

Quick positive update and timeline info for those who are also waiting for mail. I finally got my i751 receipt in the mail, almost a week after it showed up on my Informed Delivery. - My package was accepted on Nov 1 at the Elgin Lockbox. - I received a confirmation text on Nov 6. - Check cashed on Nov 7. - Letters generated for myUSCIS account code, biometric reusing and i751 receipt on Nov 8. - USPS Informed delivery notice for all three letters on Nov 13. No tracking number for any of them. Biometric reusing letter + USCIS letter received. - i751 extension letter received on Nov 20. Got the California Service Center. Now the for the long wait.

I know this "Heard" person very well. They are usually misinformed. This is another example. What....IS....true is that when income is clearly sufficient, there is no need to complete the asset section or document your assets. However, when income is marginal as yours is, then it definitely DOES help to state and document liquid assets, like savings or investment accounts. Consular Officers are trained to consider "the totality of circumstances" in making the public charge decision. As an example, millionaires with no income have sponsored immigrants. Sure, they get a notice suggesting they.....MAY....want to get a joint sponsor, BUT when they clearly qualify, I advise them to ignore that message. It happens every time the last year's tax return doesn't show qualifying income, NO MATTER how many assets, or how much CURRENT INCOME from a NEW JOB is stated. You won't get such a notice as your income is more than the minimum. State and document your liquid assets.

Correct answer. Whether your liquid assets will be enough to overcome the denial depends on facts we don't know. Typically the MINIMUM for a spouse case is 3 times the income shortfall, but meeting the minimum is no guarantee. Need more details to provide any further advice, but there definitely is no way around the public charge issue. A qualified sponsor must provide and execute an affidavit of support. If your assets qualify, use them. If not, no visa.

Is it enough what? There's no question in your post. Yes, the joint sponsor makes enough money and the household size is correct. However, current income does not come from a W2 form issued for a year ending nearly 11 months ago. Take a recent pay stub, and multiply the gross earnings for a full pay period by the number of pay periods in a full year. Information from tax returns goes in a different section. Study the instructions to know what is "enough" supporting documentation to upload with the form.

Also, what surprised me the most was "how the hell was she able to board her flight into Rome from the U.S.?". Clearly the airline that issued her the boarding pass without checking her eligibility (Schengen visa) was bearing the responsibility and it was a clear case of it being legitimately fined for this situation.

Its I-129f. Theyre all processed at the California service center, with the exception of AWA criminal cases which are processed elsewhere and take significantly more time. Unless OP was transferred to Vermont, it's just the luck of the draw. https://www.uscis.gov/forms/all-forms/service-center-forms-processing

That what we called guys who thought they knew a lot about the law.

I know, Its very much important to choose the right lawyer, one of the Layer that i had a consultation session charged $450 for 30min an gave no information, by saying we will work on this and that and not even paid attention. Long story short if you are paying money, make sure you feel confident with the them, The one I hired asked me so many questions that I felt judged but also that gave me confidence that she knows what she is doing.

Congrats. I 100% understand how you feel. I applied for my passport October 1st through USPS. Passport came in the mail Nov. 10th. Certificate was in the mailbox exactly one week later. I was going to put them away, but I realized I still have to go to the SSA, the bank, and the DMV to update my status.

Divorce is not a reason for I-751 denial. Officially anyway. In practice, they absolutely do view it as a factor. Just concentrate on as much quality evidence together as possible. Pro tip: if you have correspondence/documents from you both attending couples counselling (appointment letters, receipts, or whatever), then include them... it's actually an excellent piece of evidence that shows it was a legitimate marriage that you were trying to save. Nope. I would not mention that at all, unless they specifically ask about it. That is of course a perfectly sensible and standard thing for many people when entering into a legitimate marriage, but in this context others may view it as suspicious, and given this process is completely subjective and half the time made up on the whims of whoever you are dealing with, it may cause issues.

You can update the beneficiary address on the DS-160 at that stage....a year from now. Don't delay filing.

I don't think you will have issues if you divorce and need to remove your conditions on your green card if you divorce. You seem to have solid proof, such as joint bank accounts, leases, health insurance, etc. I also do not think the postnuptial agreement is something you need to disclose. If they ask, of course you will be honest about it and explain what it is and why you did it, but if they don't, no need to say anything about it. And I doubt they will ask you about it, because how will they know? Ultimately, a postnuptial agreement does not mean the marriage isn't bonafide imho.

You can add the case number in case tracker app and find out if the biometrics appointment was scheduled or not.

Depending on her age, the probability of her sputum being positive is approximately from 0.4% to 2.4% if over age 50. I wouldn't worry about it, almost certainly she will be negative. However, you need to wait about 2 months for the results of the Sputum test!

Makes sense to post it here too since the whole story started on November 26th 2021, almost exactly 2 years ago! I got approved on the spot today and had the oath ceremony two hours later! A big achievement for me and I want to share my happiness here even if I don't know you personally but I'm sure we all feel the same way once we're out of the tunnel! Thanks for your time and help during this journey!

On his first trip to Baltimore, I took my husband to the inner harbor (Baltimore makes #16 on the list) and there on the street corner was a single dead roach and an uneaten orange. It was so amusing to us at the time we took a photo.. I don't remember roaches being a big problem when I was in Baltimore.. rats and other odd creatures sure. I hear bedbugs are sweeping Europe now.

I feel it

Our rescheduled interview would be whichever earliest one we can take in the new year, with the medical expiring at the end of May. VJ posts about recent reschedules at the London embassy seem to indicate average availability being quicker than 5 months (closer to 1 or 2), though with all averages it's a risk we should consider. Thank you for the reminder.

Six months is a proper expectation, for receipt and then some months for the Notice of intent to Revoke NOIR to arrive. You will then have the opportunity to respond. In these situations, the actual reasons for denial you already know about, should be used to determine whether to wait and respond, or to withdraw and file again now. Without knowing those facts, no further meaningful advice can be provided, except to have the applicant write a detailed report (verbatim) of everything that happened or was said (both ways) by anybody, while at the Consulate.

Update to our timeline: Biometrics reuse letter received on 11/17, dated 11/10 No extension letter in the mail yet, but it is showing up as a document on MyUSCIS account. It looks like we have Vermont Service Center for our processing. Now the wait begins!

It's worth reposting this one at this time: A man walked into a lawyer's office and asked about the lawyer's rates. "It's $900 for three questions," replied the lawyer. "Isn't that awfully expensive?" asked the man. "I don't think so," the lawyer replied. "And what is your third question?"

My time has finally come to share some news! My interview has been scheduled! 😁 Such a relief to be honest! Field office Colorado, Denver (I haven't seen anyone from Colorado so far) My timeline: August 10th - applied August 10th - actively reviewing November 20th - interview scheduled for December 29th, it's would be the best xmas/new years present in my life to enter the 2024 as a citizen! Also regarding my case, i don't know if this matters but, my timeline dropped from 6 months to 4 on November 1st. It increased a few days later to 6 months again. Then a couple of days ago it dropped again to 4 months when a day later i received interview notice.

Just wanted to update here. Yesterday my AOS is approved. status updated to Case Approved. just waiting on the card arrival now. Thank you everyone. Timeline is below. didn't include I-130 because we have our I-130 approval back in 2019. when my wife was PR.S She became a citizen on 03/15/2022 and we filed 485. AOS (485-765-131) Filed: 04/04/2022 765 and 131 approved: 01/13/2023 combo card arrived 01/21/2023 I-485 interview scheduled: 03/30/2023 interview date: 04/27/2023 Actively Reviewed: 08/12/2023 Approval: 11/19/2023

Did you have to re-do the Biomedics?, or did they just use your previous ones? We are at Houston also.

Based on my observation there are two forms of "denial": They keep denying/ or making the process take long in the hope that they will tire you out.Usually these are like the majority of the denials. They have very concrete evidence that the marriage was a sham and deny based on that knowing the judge will also vote in favor of the marriage being a sham. Most people who have plenty of evidence and are/were legit couples fall into category one as category 2 is usually for more organized stuff where a lawyer tried to organize something or it was part of a major scam/operation.The only caveat is sometimes people in category 1 end up in an interview and say too much or get nervous and say something stupid which will push the officer into category 2. That being said unless there is very explict evidence the whole thing was a sham the denial becomes a question of how much you are willing to dispute it and provide evidence to prove the agency wrong. The only thing I would add to your list of documents is ID's showing you live together.

My question is do you fully understand the financial commitment of the joint sponsor? I suspect anyone who understands isn't going to simply accept a fee to take on financial responsibility for an immigrant for 10 years.

Lucky you, congratulations!

Exactly correct! I think on my entire time on this forum I can recall maybe 2 that had to get treatment. Don't waste energy even thinking about it until you find out. One more thing that you need to be aware of @RA_PH1 is that the 6 month validity of the visa started the first day of her medical. So this means you will now only have about 4 months after she completes sputum testing to get to America.

Same boat! Filed ROC on October 2022, Potomac - and N-400 last September with Tampa FO.

On what basis do you intend applying to remove conditions, It does not sound like you have a Good Faith marriage.

I submitted my application on October 16. It was 10 months wait time before a decision is made. It then came down to 9 months and on November 8, I got scheduled for intervie. My interview date is December 14.

I'm not aware of a way to request such a change. Dropping the maternal name on the I-130 does not remove the requirement to have the name on the DS 260 match the passport resulting in the visa and green card being issued in the passport name. The solution that comes to mind is to drop it in the current passport. Is that possible in his country?

Yes, it adds another year to the process

This old sheet is not updated. Some people are already cleared from AP like ice-qube (via WOM after 13 months), BatmanFlow etc.

Congratulations. You should get the Naturalization Certificate back within a few weeks after passport is processed.

This is sad, but I noticed after few years of solid US work experience and strong references your background doesn't matter that much anymore. Have your fiance visit Finding work in US section on visa journey to prepare for work search. It's also a very good resource for immigrants waiting for EAD to exchange ideas, share success stories and to vent about looking for work.

Update: Visa Approved! Visa was printed and Issued status updated in CEAC same day as interview. Finally time to start planning flights. I wish everyone single one of you the same outcome expeditiously!

Update: November 15: NOA receipt notice, Nebraska Service Center We haven't received anything in the mail yet. I checked the USCIS online account and found PDFs of NOA, as well as the notice previous biometrics will be reused. Both were dated November 15. It's also showing the "case is being actively reviewed by USCIS" message dated November 15. And there's a message from November 8 that they received our package. Text notification was sent five days later.

Hello, My suggestion is to upload each item of evidence separately. You want to make sure that your upload files aren’t so large that you have issues uploading them. Also, if I remember correctly, you can “map” out your documents. For example, if you have a marriage certificate, there is an option for you to label it as such. Hope this helps (and makes sense)!

For peace of mind, I would never hire an attorney, I'd do it myself, Time after time after time we see people here in VJ asking for advice to fix their cases because the high paid lawyers they hired for "peace of mind" screwed up their cases royally. I'm not exaggerating. The lawyer isn't even the person who will fill out the paperwork, a clerk will. Having a lawyer guarantees nothing and getting "VIP" treatment doesn't mean that clerk will fill out the information correctly. I have been on this site for 11 years now, I've seen and heard it all, almost daily we have people come and say how much the regret ever hiring a so called "immigration" attorney, especially for a straightforward case. Is your brother's best friend an immigration attorney? I'm also curious why you would need a lawyer for "backup" at the interview in case there is a "misunderstanding between you and interviewer"? If you tell the truth there won't be any misunderstandings. Obviously you are free to do as you wish, but you seem so concerned about price and you think that somehow hiring a lawyer will help with your "slam dunk" case. If money is a concern and your case is so air tight, it's precisely why you don't need a lawyer. Listen, this is a DIY site, you aren't going to find many, if any, people who tell you to hire an attorney, unless you have a complicated case. In fact, my husband and I had many so called red flags in our case and we never used an attorney during the entire journey, up to and including naturalization. I found this site after our petition had been approved and it was at the NVC, I came here to ask questions when needed, and never once did anyone steer me wrong. Not only did we DIY, we never at any point even received an RFE, I had total control over our case from start to finish. That's what I call peace of mind.

As noted above by others, she faces the real possibility of being inadmissible due to either expedited removal and/or misrepresentation. You won't know until her interview. That is about 18-24 months away. I'd consult an attorney. Good luck.