Marieke H

Finding a US job while you are outside of the US is hard. Employers may think that you need to be sponsored for a visa, or they want someone who is available to start working immediately. Just get back to the US. Hopefully your in-laws will let you stay with them until you're on your feet. It won't take long to find a job once you're there, as long as you're not picky and are willing to show up and work. You can be picky later, when you start thinking about a career. Finding that initial job to generate income and get settled really won't be as hard as you think.

The requirements are pretty clear: https://www.usa.gov/military-requirements. You need to be a citizen or have a green card. There are also age requirements. You can contact the listed recruiters for the different branches and ask about exceptions, but I don't think your current (lack of) status will allow you to join the military.

You must be new to the world of online forums, so I will provide some help and guidance. There are no lanes in a public forum. Everyone and anyone can comment on any post they have something to say about. We do not need an invitation to provide our thoughts. And if you provide incorrect information, other users will be quick to correct your mistakes. Congratulations on the approval of your petition. This is an important first step in the long immigration process. Even with a "clean" case, you will still have a long road ahead of you, but these little milestones are worth celebrating.

Immigrating to a new country is hard enough, and becoming a stepparent on top of that can be tough. It probably doesn't help that she had to leave her own children behind to now be a stepparent to your children. I can only imagine how much she is struggling, and she really needs your support to start building a relationship with your children. When I moved here, I became a stepmother of an 8 year old girl. It was a huge change, and it took a lot of hard work to build a relationship with her, also because deep down she was hoping that her parents would get back together and me marrying her dad made it very clear that that was not going to happen. It takes a lot of time, patience, hard work, and honest conversations to successfully build your blended family, and you have a very important role in it as you try to support and encourage everyone to connect. I agree that getting out of the house and doing activities together are a great way for them to start bonding. My stepdaughter and I went on tons of bike rides together, which were great opportunities to get to know each other better.

During my K-1 interview, I was asked about our wedding plans. I explained that it is hard to plan a wedding when you don't know when you will be able to move, and that we planned to just go to the courthouse within the first few weeks after my arrival in the US. The officer said that that made sense and that she would probably do the same thing. And then I was told that my visa was approved. It really is nothing to worry about; they just want to make sure that you are actually planning to get married, and it doesn't matter what that will look like for you.

Take it. If they don't have the medical results at your interview they will just interview you and make a decision once they have the medical results.

Your information really wasn't excellent... You are misinformed, as others have pointed out. I had 0 evidence of an engagement ring or wedding plans in my K-1 packet (except for the letters of intent, of course). I was asked about wedding plans during the interview, and I explained that we were just going to go to the courthouse, because it was impossible to plan a wedding without knowing when I would have a visa. The interviewer totally understood and said that she would've done the same thing.

Follow the official USCIS instructions for the I-130, not what "others" are telling you.

I looked at your previous posts that @Rocio0010 nicely summarized, and I believe you never had a "good case". Your interactions with USCIS give the impression that your main goal is to get a visa to the US, not to be with your spouse. And the fact that your spouse needs a joint sponsor to be able to support you does not help. You will need to spend a LOT more time together if you want that visa to be approved.

You will need to be a bit more specific if you want help here.

The 2 year conditional green card is not a trial period for you to decide if you want to keep your immigrant spouse. You have no control over her immigration status, and you don't get to send her back now that things didn't work out. The best thing that you can do is to encourage and support her to naturalize, so at least you won't be on the hook for the affidavit of support anymore. Other than that, divorce proceedings and outcomes will be similar to what they would be if you had married a US citizen.

Does she even want to live in the US permanently? It sounds like she has lots of things to do back in India, so making her go through the AOS process without the possibility to travel back and forth does not seem like the best option for her. AOS can be a LONG process, and she can not leave the country without AP or a greencard.

I agree that you need to make it very clear (on your resume and in your cover letter) that you are authorized to work in the US. Especially in California, employers will likely receive lots of applications from people who are hoping to be sponsored for a visa. Also, consider applying for jobs that you are overqualified for. It would help to get some work experience in the US. The great thing about jobs in the US compared to my experience in Europe, is that it is easy to climb up to better paid positions when you show that you are good at your job. I started 5 years ago at an entry-level position, and in the past few years I have received a promotion and several raises; I now make almost double that initial salary. Good luck!

I'm not sure where you are getting this information. The website you have been copying and pasting from earlier (https://www.ustraveldocs.com/ng/ng-iv-visaapplyinfo.html#) clearly states: @General Buhari, I would try to contact the Lagos Consulate and ask if they will accept your Direct Consular Filing. Be sure to clarify that you are a US Citizen, that you have been a legal resident in Nigeria for years, and that you and your wife need to return to the US for a medical emergency. It would definitely help if you have been filing your taxes in the US these past years, and if you have done other things to maintain your domicile (back accounts etc). Hopefully they will be able to give you an updated list of the required documents, because the list on the website seems outdated.

Pretty much 0, because it won't be late.

That's amazing! Congratulations!

My then 8 year old stepdaughter took pictures of our courthouse ceremony. We have a few pictures that my parents took during our lunch afterwards. None of the pictures were great or clear, and none of them ended up in our AOS package. 🤣

Page 10 of the instructions lists exactly what you have to submit. Instead of a birth certificate, you can include a copy of your US passport if valid for at least 5 years.

I recommend reading through the I-485 instructions, not just for the answer to this question, but also to make sure you are filling everything out correctly. You will find the answer to your question on page 5: if under 14, a parent/guardian signs for the child. Your child is 14, so will sign the forms himself.

Okay, I read everything so now I'm judging. It seems like your decision to divorce your wife is purely a financial decision. You'll be surprised when you find out how much you will have to continue to pay her after divorcing her. And then supporting another immigrant will be very expensive too. If your decisions are only driven by financial reasons, the best thing to do would be to support your wife, help her find a new job when she's ready, and work on your marriage. But if you already have a new wife lined up, that's a different story of course.

I generally don't recommend using a lawyer, but I think you clearly need some help navigating the process. You already filed the wrong form, and now you seem to struggle to understand the I-751 process. Get some help to make sure it is done correctly this time.

I think it's a great idea to have him take some classes! It's a long wait, so anything he can do to stay busy is awesome! I don't think it looks like he is settling in too quickly; it just looks like he is accepting his fate and trying to find a way to get through the long wait without losing his sanity!

Okay, let me get this straight. You are tired of waiting, so now you are exploring valid reasons for requesting an expedite, and once you have found a reason that seems useful, you will fabricate any documentation to back up that request. That's not how expedites work, or how immigration in general works. I'm pretty sure that it is against the terms of service of this forum to discuss any of these "options". Just wait in line like everyone else.

If you go to the SSA after your marriage, they likely will not be able to issue a SSN to you, because the records in the system (from when you entered the country) do not match your current status (you are married, while you entered the country as single). You would then need to wait until you have some kind of government issued documentation (and EAD or green card) before they can issue a SSN. You do not need a SSN for the AOS application; you will need one for the new hire paperwork at your job. So it would be nice to have that done already, but it usually doesn't take very long to get done. Because EADs are taking so long right now, USCIS is getting tons of expedite requests; chances of approval are small, but you could be lucky. I attempted to expedite my EAD years ago, after I had been waiting for 6 months already and I had started to look for jobs because I thought I would get my EAD "anytime now". I still don't know if my expedite request and the Senator's involvement actually affected anything or if it was just my time to get that approval, but about 6 weeks after I got the job offer I received my EAD. You have a VERY short timeline; you would need to get so much done in just 2.5 months: arrive in the US, get married, submit AOS, get receipt notice (this can take weeks), get biometrics notice (this can take weeks or months), request the expedite, submit requested documentation, the expedite requests needs to be processed (this can take weeks) and then finally you would need to receive your EAD (and get a SSN if you haven't done so yet). I think 2.5 months for all this is not realistic. You'll need to ask for some flexibility with the employer's required start date, or you would have to let this job go.

That definitely is not a delay, especially considering the holidays. Be patient. I agree that the K-1 isn't the best choice, but it's too late for that now.