Crazy Cat

One YT immigration attorney says USCIS and Consulate Officers wants to see evidence of living in the same household together and evidence of financial mingling.

I just verified that my wife did not receive a new extension letter when we filed her N-400 (Aug 7, 2022). A 24-month extension would have been useless, anyway. Her Green Card expired in June of 2019.

It matters. Count him.

Getting a tourist visa might be the issue. You can marry anywhere, meet, then start the spousal visa process. The Utah Zoom marriage is a good option.

Not required. I'm not even sure it helped. I just know we had a combo interview.

My wife didn't get a new extension letter when we submitted her N-400. We filed online. It was a piece of cake.

His status does not change when his extension letter expires. He remains a legal resident. Only the evidence of his status expires. USCIS is now issuing 48 month extension letters after submitting an I-751. He may or may not get one. If he needs evidence for travel or work, he can contact USCIS for either an infopass appointment or other evidence. His N-400 receipt, itself, will not auto trigger a new extension letter. The good news is that filing an N-400 can push the I-751 for some offices. After waiting 40 months for USCIS to process my wife's I-751, she filed her N-400. Five months later, she had her Naturalization Certificate in hand. Filed I-751 in March 2019 Filed N-400 in Aug 2022 Combo Interview for I-751 and N-400 conducted Dec 2022 Citizenship Oath conducted Jan 2023

Yes. It certainly won't do any harm.

The IO who conducted our combo interview wanted to see evidence showing us both at the same address since filing the I-751. Leases, Bank statements, Car insurance Driver's Licenses.

I wouldn't do anything until you figure out what the issue is. Could be a mistake on their part.

You should take a look at the other India timelines to get an idea of the wait between DQ and interview. In pre-Covid times, the wait was within 90 days.

What country?

Why do you think the officer said "apply for another type of visa"?? If the case is sent back to USCIS, it will likely expire.

Did you have a ceremony which might lead the CO to think you are already married?

She was inspected. That means she entered the US legally.

. That quote was accurate before all the foreign USCIS offices closed. You now must have exceptional circumstances. You CAN file stateside if you are living abroad. In fact, you must if you don't have qualifying exceptional circumstances.

It depends on the length of the queue for your country at NVC: 1. Case is DQ'd by NVC. 2. Case then enters NVC queue for your consulate and waits at NVC. 3. Consulate informs NVC of available interview date for upcoming month. 4. NVC schedules interview when case reaches the front of the queue for that consulate. 5. NVC notifies person of interview date via email. 6. NVC then sends case to consulate. After the interview is scheduled, it can take several days to several weeks for the consulate to receive the case.

What is the USCIS status? Are you in line for an oath ceremony?

"Refused" means that your visa could not be issued at that moment. It could have been refused for many reasons. It could be temporary.

***Moved to IR-1/CR-1 Process and Procedures***

No. This was explained in one of your earlier threads. Doing that will just delay your case by a year or more. Deciding to change from K1 to CR1/IR1 - IR-1 / CR-1 Spouse Visa Process & Procedures - VisaJourney

On the day after her I-94 expired, she would have immediately been out of status and subject to deportation. ...until the day a proper I-485 package was filed. Once the proper package was submitted, she would have been granted authorized stay in the US. Authorized stay is not a legal status, but it halts accrual of unlawful status until adjudication of the I-485. Waiting 90 days delays the entire process of being able to work, leave the US, getting a Green Card and becoming eligible for citizenship. As @Daphne . stated, there are no benefits in waiting to file for adjustment of status.

USCIS certainly has a lot of discretion with I-751 interviews.

I don't think so. Once a case status changes to "Case is ready to be scheduled for an interview", the local office comes into play. Had we not filed the N-400, who knows how long it would have taken for the I-751 approval.

Read my signature for personal experience: Filed I-751 in March 2019 Filed N-400 in Aug 2022 I-751 and N-400 both approved on same day in Dec 2022 Wife had Naturalization Certificate in hand in Jan 2023