CMJuilland

First off, yay for your I-130 approval! That’s awesome, and from what I have seen, everybody in here is happy for you. Then, there is a clear distinction between a USCIS petition and a U.S. visa. Approval of the former means you’re eligible to apply for the latter. They’re also handled by two different departments (DHS vs. DOS). Worst case scenario for using wrong terminology in immigration means you make yourself ineligible for a visa. Nobody here wants that to happen to you, but we have seen our fair share of people who confused petition and visa and ran into trouble because they didn’t factor in the DOS side of things (NVC, consular, and all that). We’re trying to mitigate that and at the same time provide accurate info for everybody else who reads your thread. Finally, and somewhat off topic (mods, please edit if not allowed), I personally find it quite rude to make snarky comments toward long-term members in excellent standing such as @Crazy Cat or @SteveInBostonI130 while knowing full well that they took years (if not decades in some cases) to learn everything there is to know about immigration law, process, and timelines, and are willing to share their knowledge in a DIY forum for free.

As for expedite, what @Crazy Cat said. As for the CO telling you it is approved, that has happened before. It doesn’t mean the visa is issued. Maybe the CO was new and not caught up on the recent change in the F2A category. Or maybe s/he was just not paying attention. We can only speculate.

Wow, I should not be allowed to post here pre-coffee! Thanks so much!

What’s your priority date? According to the current visa bulletin, visas in the F2A category cannot be issued for PDs before 08 Sept 2020, so if yours is after that, you’ll need to wait until a visa is available. Keep checking the visa bulletin.

Bringing a list with dates and destinations is a good idea. I was asked during my interview if I had traveled outside of the U.S. since I had applied, and if so, when and where. I’m pretty sure that’s a standard question, and your idea of coming prepared is spot on. Best of luck to you!

You might want to remove your case number from you post for privacy purposes…

I would like to double down on @Dashinka's post: file asap to avoid any hiccups and fee increases. As soon as your I-485 goes through intake processing and your NOA1 is generated, you're in "authorized stay" (I think that's the correct terminology) again. When looking at the guides @Timona referenced, you'll see that it's best to file I-765 (employment authorization) and I-131 (advance parole, travel document) along with your I-485. As far as USCIS's fee calculator, the fees for these are still waived when filed alongside an I-485 (but I think that will change with the next fee increase). While you might get your I-485 interview and - hopefully - subsequently your green card before your I-765 and I-131 are adjudicated (processing times these days are ... interesting to say the least...), it doesn't hurt to have these applications in as well. Best of luck and congrats to both of you!

Whether you are legally divorced or not doesn’t seem to make a difference. The USCIS manual states a requirement to live in marital union with your spouse in order to qualify. I am not familiar enough with VAWA, but the way I read it, you’ll have to wait until having been a resident for five years. https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-g-chapter-2 (under D).

I think it’s great that so many of us keep coming back. I am on here almost daily as well, and there’s always a good number of people whose journeys I follow and for whom I root as if it were my own case when they get their interviews/approvals/etc. When we first started, I stumbled across this page, and I gained so much knowledge here through other people’s experience. I’d like to think that I can pay it back (at least partially) by sharing my own experiences.

I hope everything will resolve itself for you, and definitely best of luck at the DMV (I have faint memories of waiting in my local DMV for an entire afternoon while they were doing their checks on everything - and that was with an appointment and way more than 10 business days past). My experience has been that the 10 business days are the absolute minimum necessary, so to be on the safe side, I would just give it at least that. If - for whatever reason - they still don’t have a record of you and send you away after that, be sure that you know what the rules, laws, and current guidelines for the specific department you’re dealing with are. Now, I’m just an N of 1, and my initial immigration “hurdles” were all pre-COVID. Best of luck to you!

I flew into Heathrow in February, and the lines we encountered were 1) UK, EU (including Schengen members CH, N, IS, etc.), U.S., and 2) all other passports. So, it seems like it doesn’t really matter as U.S. and UK passports are in the same line. Because we arrived at a time with almost only citizens of countries in 1), “all other passports” would have been quicker, and we ended up being directed there. However, I can’t speak to the legality of entering the UK on a passport other than UK if a citizen, so I’ll leave this to other UK citizens.

As others have said, you'll have to accept that your partner will never have ESTA privileges again. At this point, I wouldn't bother with trying to get a B-visa as it will a) either be at interview stage after the K1, and b) the liklihood of it being denied is relatively high given the pending K1 petition (immigration intent) and the overstay (not following the rules). For any future readers of this thread: book your return trips with a cushion of a few days - flight delays, miscalculations and the like happen and are just not worth losing any visiting privileges. OP, I hope the remainder of your K1-journey will be quick! Best of luck to the both of you.

Did any of your partner’s answers to the ESTA questions change since their last application? Has he/she visited any country on the travel restriction list? These would be Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and Cuba if I’m not mistaken.

Congrats again! And yay for finally getting her passport! Doesn’t it feel great? I admire you for your patience - both with immigration and here on VJ (which, I hope for every current and future member, you will keep coming back to - your CR1 vs. K1 guide that you never get tired of posting is immensely valuable!). Now, I hope you and your wife can enjoy your post-USCIS life to the fullest. I’m very happy for you!

Even if it is temporary, “moving to” and “living in” the U.S. on a tourist visa and ESTA is not permitted. These are for visiting purposes. Definitely be very careful with your words when talking to CBP, even when just visiting once. As others have said, your plan is risky, and you run the risk of being denied entry and having your ESTA privileges pulled on one of your entries. Also, from your post, it seems like that you would be in the U.S., except for your planned vacations to the UK, France, Italy, and others out of the U.S. Is that correct? As for personal experiences, I pushed my luck for a couple of years before we got married (2015 to early 2017) and visited 5-6 times a year. However, my visits were all but one between 3 and 20 days (the longer one was 10 weeks, but we had originally planned for me to stay 20 days). Also, I had a job back in Switzerland with a very generous overtime policy, and on most of my visits, I carried with me a letter signed by my employer confirming my employment and time off, with exact dates on when I was expected back at work. Aside from that, I also always brought a copy of my lease, a copy of my active car insurance, and my active health care insurance policy to prove that I still had life back in Switzerland which would prompt me to return. And even with all of that, I was pulled into secondary once (understandably) and lucky to be admitted. If you don’t have home ties (a job, a lease, etc.) and visit often, being admitted seems less likely.

I hope you have been able to initiate a conversation with USCIS. As others have said, this is most likely a glitch. We had something similar happen to us as @Sarge2155 when we went in for our AOS interview, except that we received the cancellation beforehand. Thanks to VJ, we knew that stuff like that is not too rare with USCIS and that others had received denials for no shows, so we went anyway. And sure enough, they were ready for us, conducted the interview, and I got my GC a few weeks later. Nobody even so much as mentioned the cancellation. Different USCIS offices also don’t seem to communicate well with each other. When I went in for my citizenship interview, my interviewers were a bit confused that I already had my 10 year GC which had been approved and sent to me without an interview two months prior. They then told me that apparently, the USCIS office in charge hadn’t updated my RoC approval system-wide, so they had to do it while I was waiting there. I don’t think you have anything to worry about, and I hope the situation resolves itself in a speedy approval and GC delivery. Best of luck!

You were given great answers, both above and last summer. The process hasn't changed since then: Best of luck to you and your family!

From your post, it is not entirely clear to me if you ever want to live in the U.S. If not, just get married and then see that your partner can move to Australia with you. Since per your post, you seem to be ESTA-eligible, I’d follow @Jorgedig’s and @Mike E’s advice and use that to visit and/or get married here in the States. If down the line you see a future where you and your partner actually live in the U.S., I would get married, either do long-distance for a while or have your partner move to Australia with you, get your Australian citizenship, and then have your partner petition you for a spousal visa once you think you’ll be getting ready to move.

From what I gather from your question, I believe his trip in May will pretty much have to be scraped if you don’t want to go through the I-90 process of GC renewal (which I wouldn’t as it seems like a waste of money), and proceed with his naturalization instead. However, I would follow @Mike E’s advice and apply for citizenship immediately. Also, do report the loss of your husband’s green card and get a police report.

As @Dashinka said, DV is one option. Another option is to find out what skills are needed and in short supply in the U.S. market and pursue your education in Portugal on that path (what @Crazy Cat suggested). Make connections with U.S. and international employers early on (internships, exchange programs, etc.), and maybe that will lead you to your goal. However, none of this will be quick. Best of luck!

Just to add (comment only borderlines on the actual immigration situation): maybe your friend does open her mind a little when you emphasize how hard she will make her daughter’s every step in the U.S. down the line - through no fault of her own (after all, the daughter is only eight). Fraud is still fraud (as already pointed out multiple times). Have her imagine the disappointment if the daughter were to go back and just wanted to visit in the future. She will have great difficulty if there is just a remote mention of fraud anywhere in her file. Also, her ESTA eligibility through her Swedish citizenship will be gone. Maybe envisioning that will move your friend a little; maybe it’s worth a try to save them the heartache. I hope your friend comes to her senses and gets in line just like everybody else has to. I know I should keep a cool head, but it’s people like her who make it hard for literally everybody else, and that makes me angry. Finally on a personal note: you seem to be a really good friend with all the patience you show this person - I would probably have given up long ago.

You can get married remotely, but for visa purposes, you’ll still have to meet physically after your marriage has been performed. Other members have also met somewhere else and used Utah Zoom marriage while they were in each other’s presence. This will make things easier in so far that you’ll have an American marriage certificate. In order for you to make everything less time-consuming for you and with her having more liberty to travel in terms of time, you might be able to find out if her chances of obtaining a visa to Mexico or Canada are better (I unfortunately don’t know anything about that) and then meet there and get married from there. Other central or South American countries might be an option as well to make total travel time at least a little easier on you. Alternatively, a Schengen visa might also be an option, which, depending on where you live and where you would go, could also be relatively easy to get to for both of you. Others might have more and better ideas.

I understand how overwhelming the whole process is when you’re just starting out. And it definitely has more than enough flaws. However, that’s the system you are dealing with, and it won’t change any time soon. Like others have said, if you have any option to get together somewhere to get married or get married via Utah Zoom and then meet, I’d also strongly suggest you do that to then apply for a CR1 instead of a K1. It’s way easier (and cheaper!) down the line, not to mention a lot less restrictive. (see @Crazy Cat’s perfect overview). I know (and remember) things are really tough when you’re in a long distance relationship, and longer and longer processing times don’t make it any better. However, there is no way around long flights, taking time off, and putting certain aspects of your life on hold, sadly. The best thing for us to do when we were just starting out was reading and learning everything there is to know (knowledge is power!). You made a good start by coming here; this site has taught me everything (and more!) I needed to know, and even just other people’s experience will make your journey a lot easier. Best of luck to both of you on your journey!

I am so sorry this is happening to both of you. I’d proceed as @Lil bear advised. That’s the best course of action you have. Also, for peace of mind, send it with signature requirement so that you know it’ll arrive there. If we see more of those I-130 RFIEs popping up for submitted fiancee petitions, then it might even be a software update gone awry on USCIS’s part. Best of luck!

I can’t tell you what your chances of approval are, but if you want to visit the U.S., I would just apply for ESTA and see what happens. All you have to lose are $21, and at least you’ll know what your situation is after your application is processed. It’s been too long for me to remember what the exact questions are, but do answer them truthfully (I believe there is one that either asks whether you have ever been arrested or found guilty of a crime). Best case scenario for you is getting your ESTA approved, and if not, you can still apply for a visa.