Marieke H

Do you have someone who can help you fill out the forms and make sure no fields are accidentally skipped? While the forms are fillable PDFs, I don't think that they are very screen reader accessible, so it might be good to have some help just so you know the forms are filled out correctly. That doesn't necessarily need to be an attorney though, it can be anyone you trust.

USCIS does not dictate how a married couple should manage their finances. Your spouse has shown that he can financially support you, and now it's up to you and your spouse to figure out what that looks like for you. Ideally, this would be something that has been discussed before you even moved her, to make sure that you are on the same page regarding these financial expectations.

Good catch!

They won't issue a visa without an interview anyway...

I think it is highly unlikely that the petition will be approved by mid-December. But even if it is, he can still just travel home to complete the visa application process.

In this process, you are the conditional resident. "US citizen or lawful permanent resident spouse" does NOT mean "spouse of US citizen or LPR". It means "the spouse who is the US citizen or LPR". I hope that makes sense.

Again, just refile when you're ready. You clearly weren't ready this time. USCIS has been very accommodating with your requests to postpone the oath, but now that they have asked you 3 times to please come take the oath and accept this citizenship and it has been 19 months, it is very clear that you were not ready to naturalize. The reason doesn't matter; you were not ready. Why would you want to go through the process of a hearing with all the added costs, while it is very unlikely that you will be successful? Refiling (when you are ready) will be the cheaper and easier solution.

From your post history, it looks like you had your interview in April 2022, which is 1.5 years ago. I think you have demonstrated that you did not intend to naturalize when you filed your petition. Whatever "processing" you had to take care of should have been done before even applying for US citizenship. I agree with others; just refile when you are sure that you are ready.

Sounds like only the parents have been on holidays together and the children have never met each other.

I agree that the children should have had a chance to meet and get to know each other even before there was any talk about marriage and visas. And I don't think it would be helpful for your fiancée and her children to live at a temporary place before moving in with you. They are having to leave their home to travel to a country they don't know; the least you can do is provide them a place to call home instead of a temporary place. Putting them in a temporary house will make them feel like you are not sure yet if you are going to accept them as your stepchildren. If your house is big enough to accommodate the whole family, start working with your children on making it a home for their stepsiblings. This will also help the children to get to know each other better, finding out their interests.

Your intent was determined when you entered the country, and you were clearly able to show that you were planning to return home after your visit. If it comes up during your interview, the things you mentioned should be enough to demonstrate this. It sounds like you have thought this through and are aware of the consequences and the fact that your life will kinda be on hold for a while. Good luck, find a hobby or something that will keep you busy, because I can tell from experience that the long wait can drive you nuts!

Just to be clear, this isn't a thing in all states. Some states (like mine) do not make you list your new surname on the marriage certificate. In those states, the marriage certificate is still a valid name change document to take on a spouse's last name.

Just choose what you want to use, and be consistent in it. You don't want to end up having different official documents with variations of the last name combination.

It really just depends on how you want to organize your finances and what your incomes look like. We have a joint checking account where both of our incomes are deposited and from where all our bills are paid, and a joint savings account. And then we both have a personal checking account with the same bank, and we transfer money to our personal accounts for personal purposes (and presents for each other so we don't ruin the surprise. Lol).

She can probably open an account, as long as she has a SSN, but some banks may require some proof of legal status. I was able to open a personal account with my EAD and SS card, but we went to the bank that my husband was already with and opened a joint account and a personal account for me on top of his existing account.

Your attorney seems pretty incompetent; I would consider hiring someone else or just do it yourself. The process is not that complicated. Your marriage certificate is proof of a legal name change. Decide which name you want to use from now on, and be consistent in using it. There is an "other names used" section in the application; make sure to include your "old" name there. Once you have your EAD or green card with your new name, you will be able to open bank accounts, get a driver's license, etc in that name. Regarding the medical: please refer to the I-693 instructions (https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-693instr.pdf). Starting on page 7, you will see that if you entered the country on a K-1 or K-2 visa and you are filing the I-485 within a year from when you completed your medical abroad, you do not need to redo the medical, as long as no issues were found and you have our DS3025 to submit.

I agree that it is super confusing to post for someone else. That being said, there can be numerous reasons why the one person got approved and the other got denied. It could be based on the answers to the interview questions, but more than likely the decision was mostly made based on the information provided in the application. The approved person does seem to have a better profile: a higher paying job (I think, just based on the job title), being able to pay for their own flight, and visited the US in the past and left the country.

I am sorry this happened to you. Did you file a police report against your employer for withholding your passport? Having a record of that might be useful if you are asked questions about the arrest and jail time.

I know this is not what you want to hear, but I think it is something that you should consider... How well do you know your wife's past from before you met her? Is there any possibility that she was married to someone else (officially/religiously/etc) before you?

The only correct response is the truth. Only you know what that is.

You are going to need to prove that the petitioner is able to financially support the beneficiary, and the better you look financially the more likely you are to get approved. Being able to show that you have these assets, and then also having a joint sponsor, looks so much better than completely relying on a joint sponsor. I would definitely put in the effort to put the paperwork together to include your assets.

It doesn't hurt to try, but I would be careful with the language you use in your request. Caregiver/caretaker/support are jobs, and you will not be allowed to work until you have your EAD. You don't want it to sound like you are going to take on a role that would normally be a paid position. Focus on his disability and how you as a spouse would be able to help him take better care of himself; don't use words like "caretaker", "providing support", etc. Good luck!

The number will remain the same; it will be her SSN for the rest of her life.

They will need to be interviewed in the country where they are residing, so no, they can not interview in a country where they don't live. You will need to arrange for an interpreter to go with them to the consulate and assist during the interview.

I found this in a previous post and I think this makes approval much less likely: OP spent a significant amount of time in a different state (without her spouse) and even got a driver's license in that other state, which made her a resident of that other state. This, on top of not being able to answer some basic questions about the marriage, and not being able to show comingled finances, makes this a very, very weak case. While I initially advised OP to just wait and see what the outcome is, I now believe that denial is very likely. If this is a genuine marriage, it is definitely time to get a lawyer involved and see what can be done.