town&country

OP please talk to a qualified immigration attorney. don't try to figure it out from this thread! There are many details to your story that we don't know. You need some facts, not a bunch of speculations. This is a very serious situation, especially for him, I think, since he is totally displaced, although posters here are correct. Waivers only deal with hardship that you will experience without him here with you.

There are probably some sliding scale attorneys in your area, you should google it. Even a couple of hours with an attorney should give you the proper directions to head from here.

I feel so bad for you this is so unfortunate and heartbreaking.

we where told

Not to be snarky, but OMG, who told you the misinformation? Just a rhetorical question. My point is that most Americans don't have a clue about the legal immigration process. Culturally, movies and t.v. shows get it wrong all the time.

If I were you I'd be contacting at least one attorney since this looks kind of complicated. But don't just hand the case over to them, you have to be involved the whole time to make sure it's done correctly. You can do your part by studying the guides and sample applications, and searching for like cases.

Wishing you success and good luck.

Wow, interesting! Thanks for sharing that.

Sorry you have to deal with this paperwork glitch. Wonder why they are making you 'jump through this hoop' instead of just approving you. Bureaucrats will be bureaucrats I guess. Crossing the t's and dotting the i's. ?

Hi OP, too bad some people get very over wrought about subjects like this, so just relax and ignore the hysteria. I think you have it just right, the only reason I can imagine them asking you about the petitioners arrest history is to see how well you actually know your fiancé. Not to do you a favor, but to see if your relationship is for real.

And of course, 'they' know all about your fiancé, as long as his arrests were in the last 20 years since everything is in a digital record. People get arrested here for traffic violations and minor offenses and the like and it proves nothing about a person's character, intentions, or motivations.

Please try to stay relaxed, your interview is in a few days.

Best wishes and let us know how it goes!

Thanks so much for your responses and links. I have read that section from the state dept many times and find it kind of ambiguous. But you all have clarified for me.

Why be a citizen of Grenada too? Why not? Is there a downside? Benefits would be I could vote, and with a Grenada passport would qualify for Caricom which gives you a lot of freedom around the Caribbean and England, and well would feel somewhat personally invested in the place for when I retire there with my hubby (we think). Grenada

I'm not totally sure, but I don't think they will ask you that, it's not relevant. If his petition for you was already approved, and it was since you are scheduled for an interview, then it is what it is. He has been vetted already. It's you and your relationship with him that is now the issue in the interview. And, at any rate, if they did ask you that, you would need to be honest about it and say yes, and hopefully explain the circumstances. IMHO!

I have questions about dual citizenship, or dual nationality, and it's hard to get a straight answer from the Great Google or the Dept of State. I am married to a Grenada citizen and I am automatically able to apply for Grenada citizenship. Questions is will U.S. allow me have the dual citizenship? I certainly don't want to give up my U.S. citizenship (by birth BTW). How will I know--do I need a lawyer, or who to talk to?

Thanks for any ideas! Julia

I just saw this thread. I guess the PSC is not so new. Too bad USCIS has not seen fit to post processing times on their website. Hmmmph. I was originally accepted at the TX service center Oct. 19 and transferred on Nov. 9, 2015 to PSC. I was counting on a Jan-Feb 2016 approval and now who knows. If anybody has gotten anything from PSC please let us know!

I don't know how I missed the earlier posts on this thread but things are moving fast, in this thread at least if not at the PSC. So one person has been approved and it took 4 months. That is about normal I guess. Good luck to everyone!!!

Wow you guys, we are on our own . . . just kidding. This new service center will either be totally disorganized and we'll be waiting eons, or they will have all the latest hardware and software and low workloads and crank out our applications pronto. Other wishful thought was that we were all sent there because we are the easy slam dunk petitions and will get our approvals extra fast. Sigh . . . . . good luck to all of us.

aha, the great unknown, just what I needed

My heart was pounding when I opened the envelope from HLS this morning, hoping it was an approval of my I-130 petition but it was only a transfer notice. I guess things are pretty busy in TX where my file was first sent so now it is at the Potomac Service Center. Is this a new office because I don't even see it listed on the timeline app drop down menu for if you case is transferred. Just wondering if anyone knows anything about the PSC!

Thanks, Julia

p.s. I tried to look up processing times for that service center on the USCIS web page but it is not listed. What's up with this?

U.S. is always looking for a reason to deny. If you are currently using any illegal substance stop now and clean out your system. Lying always leads to problems, but avoid admissions. Never say more than is asked of you in any interview. The interviewer/doctor is not your friend. If you admit to or test positive for illegal drug use you will be denied.

I asked an immigration lawyer about this and he said that while it would be beneficial that I was there with my spouse, in the 'waiting room', I wouldn't be allowed into the actual interview with him.

Dear OP, how shocking to read your latest update. So sorry this is happening to you.

I imagine TboneTX is right, that many people in this forum have at some point been fooled by a foreign. (I was, it was 10 years ago and thank God I never petitioned for him). But I'm not sure that your guy had in mind to 'hose' you when you got engaged and he came to the U.S. His behavior doesn't seem to indicate that, or he wasn't such a great actor since he sent up red flags galore right away with his terrible behavior. What was the intention there if he was trying to defraud you? If this was intentional, preconceived fraud he would have been on his best behavior. Sometimes visa (and relationship) fraud seems to be a cut and dry case of lying and usury, but other times, it's not so clear. so don't beat yourself up about it.

I hope you can get through it with your self respect intact. Try not to feel stupid. Probably he does love you, in his own way, not that it matters at this point since the damage is done, but men from many cultures feel that they can have more than one woman, that they can keep all the ladies happy, even though they usually cannot.

I hope you are not considering taking him back, it does seem like time for you to find someone worthy of you!

all the best, Julia

read this:

http://www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-and-fees/general-tips-assembling-applications-mailing

I really feel for you OP. Your situation is really sad. Be thankful you are only engaged to this immature person. My advice is to just stop pampering and spoiling your fiancé because it isn't working, and just go to work or whatever you do and let him get himself together. You have well, what, 2.5 months to decide one way or not to marry him. Unless he is being abusive to you and making you miserable (you do sound miserable, so very disappointed in him you are) maybe give it some more time and just leave him to his own devices. Maybe his Skype friends in Cuba will buy him a ticket home!

I am married to a Caribbean man. I know he will be in shock to actually live here even though he has visited in the past, twice, and knows a little bit what to expect. But, like, he is terrified of cold weather and snow. He has heard it can cause a stroke . . . I tried to assure him that was not true. So I have been nervously thinking about what it will be like when he actually gets here. Your story is compelling to me.

Incidentally, my husband is not Cuban, he's from further south in the Caribbean, but I do hear the same thing from him often enough, that I don't understand him and his country and his culture. So I just try and smile and nod and say 'I'm trying!' People around the world seem to have a love/hate thing for America and Americans. And while we may not agree with everything our country says and does, when a 'foreign' criticizes America unfairly, we get fighting' mad, I do anyway.

I really do hope he starts to relax and you guys can feel the love once more. Let us know how it is going!

Thanks for weighing in everybody I really appreciate it!

So, that thing about having photos taken with landmarks or signs that prove your location, who is thinking about that when you are just getting to know someone. It seems like it could look manufactured, to have photos like that! I mean how convenient!! My photos don't have those location indicators but do show us in a variety of settings alone and with family members. I am counting on my passport stamps and other receipts as evidence that I spent time in my husbands (who was first a friend and then a fiancé) location.

About notarizing, it does say in the I-130 instructions to have affidavits notarized. But maybe I'll get the person to send an un notarized addendum . . . just to try and cover the bases.

Checking into chat, text, and phone records--even harder than I thought. Phone calls never went straight to his number, always through a phone card number. Skype chat and text logs don't migrate from your Skype app on the phone to the Skype app on the laptop, so I can't take an appropriate screenshot and print it out. FaceTime doesn't actually show a chat history, not on my laptop. and his prepaid cellphone doesn't keep records once the memory is cleared out. Same with text threads. I have those on my smart phone, but how to get that onto paper? Rhetorical question . . . I will probably skip this sort of evidence.

~Julia

thanks for straightening that out. I guess that leads me to one more question:

Are things like chat, text, and phone logs expected? These days I don't know how those things can be documented on a piece of paper. Possibly screenshots of Skype and FaceTime chat and text records? BTW, I meant marriage certificate not license but thanks for noticing that!

~Julia

Thanks for your quick response. So let me delve further into this:

In the USCIS instructions for the I-130 they do say you can present "any other relevant documentation to establish that there is an ongoing marital union." But the words 'any other' seem to imply that you could add some stuff after fulfilling one of the previous types of documentation that they ask for. The only thing on their bullet list that we can submit would be the affidavits. Do you think, in addition to these affidavits, complete or not, we should make a photo copy montage of photos and boarding passes/passport pages, apt rental receipts? I thought these things were saved for the interview but you are saying to submit some of that stuff now? Really appreciate the help.

Hi VJ members, I just got married in Grenada. We are preparing our petition for the spousal visa. My question is about the proof of bona fide marriage that is not 'required' but 'recommended' for one to have in this initial petition, besides the marriage license. (Incidentally, the immigration lawyer I spoke with for an hour a few months ago said he never includes anything but the marriage license when they are doing the petition for a client. Is the logic here that if you hire a lawyer you must have a bona fide marriage? He wouldn't explain. )

The Issue--We have no mingling of finances yet, so I have gotten affidavits from a few people. One person in Grenada made one, had it notarized by a JP as needed, and sent it to me, but unfortunately did not include his date and place of birth. Obviously it's needed so the person can be verified as a real person. Can I add it to the affidavit myself (I'm guessing not) or should I include the affidavit without that info, or just not include the affidavit at all, avoiding a possible RFE request? Or, ask that the person do the whole thing over again? This is becoming a stupid burden I must say . . . but oh well. Any advice for us? Thanks in advance.

Julia