Sarah&Facundo

Steps: 1. Get a second job or a new job. Perhaps you will need to study something to make that happen. Your income is very low for US standards and you will not be able to support a future spouse (never mind also proving your ability to sponsor an immigrant and handling what you owe for your current child(ren) you are responsible for). 2. Pay back your child support. 3. Apply for a passport. That takes a few months. You also can not sponsor an immigrant without a passport (or without meeting them). 4. Save up money to travel to Kenya. 4. Travel to Kenya, not just once, but multiple times. Get to know this woman, her family, etc. You do NOT know someone unless you spend time with them face-to-face. Anyone can appear "amazing" online. 5. Apply for either K1 or CR1 whenever that time comes. Timeline would be about 2+ years to get to the US (by today's wait times, which are increasing). Or, as stated above, tell her you would like to move to Kenya. If you truly want to be with her, that will be your easiest solution. Also, Kenya is known for high fraud for a reason. See if she is using you to get to the US. Would you still be in the picture if you decided to move there? Let's see what she says... Good luck! I hope it all works out!

Lots of misinformation here: 1. No, you can not come to the US with a plan to marry and adjust status. That is immigration fraud and not legal. 2. The "91 day rule" is an internet myth and not a thing. 3. Yes, if someone leaves the US and they are not a permanent resident (green card holder) and do not hold an Advanced Parole document, they can not re-enter the US. If you choose to marry, they must file in the correct legal way. You can petition them for either a K1 (finance) visa or a CR1 (spouse) visa. With a Cr1 visa, she would be able to go and come to visit her mother/home country as she wishes.

Hi! I wasn't too much older than you when I met my then-boyfriend-now-husband, so I totally understand your mom being nervous about the situation. It is also completely understandable her preference would lean towards him coming to the US, just so he is on her "turf" so to speak. My mom was nervous about all this as well, even though my boyfriend and I had actually met in person not online (which I can imagine my mom would have FREAKED out about!). Given your boyfriend's situation, as others mentioned, it is a very, very slim chance he will get a visa to the US. If your mom is nervous, would she be willing to accompany you in going to the Philipines to meet him with you so you aren't alone? My mom ended up going to my husband's country twice and meeting his family, which was really special, despite no one speaking the same language. Or perhaps, if you can all financially swing it, your family can pay for all of you to meet in another country (mom included if it helps) that may be easier to get a visa for? The others above are 100% right in that a lawyer would be a complete waste of time and money since there is absolutely nothing they can do to help. All you do is fill out the forms, and the officer decides if he is approved or not. There is literally nothing else that can be done. Best of luck!! And if you do decide to go there--don't go alone.

The wait time for an EAD card/travel permit could be 8-12 months (sometimes more) after filing AOS. Therefore your wife could not leave the US or work during that period. If you did consular processing, she could work and travel immediately once entering the US with her visa.

We were looking at homes, but ultimately we did not go through with it. I am the USC and the advise I was given by several realtors/lenders was that I should not get a mortgage with my husband. Having my husband's name on the mortgage would increase the interest rate since he had no credit score coming into the country nor could he contribute financially (since he could not work) or possibly not get approved at all. They recommended my husband's name could be on the deed to the house, but I should not apply with him for the mortgage. Keep in mind that interest rates have gone up a lot in the last couple of years as well.

You can get medical insurance, but it's an uphill battle to get it. Be prepared to do a lot of arguing, but yes you can. I highly recommend getting a social security number before doing that though (although I believe technically, you aren't supposed to need one). No, you can not work until you have your EAD card (many months after you apply for it). It is tough to open a bank account. Most banks won't allow it, although some will. In our case, Chase said no even though I was already an account holder, but Wells Fargo let us open a joint account. Again, you need that SSN to get anywhere with most of them. Regarding buying property, it would be nearly impossible to get a mortgage without any credit. I don't know how that would be different if you were paying cash.

I also wouldn't include asking for a waiver. That looks incredibly suspicious. FYI: we included a ton of evidence, had absolutely no red flags or RFEs during the entire process, and we still ended up with an interview. It was really quick and they barely said anything to us though. So it CAN happen like it did to us a few months ago.

I can't speak to the green paper or about Vietnam specifically, but yes the officers do review the cases beforehand and likely already have an idea on whether or not they are going to approve it. It makes sense since everything was submitted beforehand. It was clear our officer knew all about our case. The interview itself wasn't that long--just a few minutes,

Regardless of immigration, as a USC she is always required to file taxes. She would likely qualify for a credit if she has paid taxes elsewhere, but it is a known requirement for those living abroad that they must file. So she needs to fix that immediately anyway. To my understanding, tax returns are also required for immigration purposes too.

To be honest, I've never thought of the form as a way to incentivize immigrants to not work. It never crossed my mind and I signed that form 5 years ago! It's just releasing the burden off the government/taxpayers. If you choose to bring someone foreign into the country, that's fine, but they are YOUR responsibility and not that of the US tax payers. I find it fair, personally.

The poverty line is barely livable in the US. I have no idea how two people support themselves on any salary even close to that and I am not a fancy person at all whatsoever. This country is EXPENSIVE and with inflation, prices are soaring. So more importantly than immigration, your fiance needs to work on improving their economic situation or it will be a STRUGGLE living here. When you apply for the K1, you guarantee that your petitioner can support the two of you, whether the beneficiary has a job or not. That's exactly what we as petitioners sign and it is what's expected so it is fairly laid out. If you are that close to the poverty line, it is advisable to have a joint sponsor lined up. This will lessen the chances of receiving a denial, plus ideally help you out financially when you come here. But hopefully once you receive your work permit, you will be able to work and contribute! Good luck!

But one of the things you will need to prove is that you are able to support the immigrant. Could they support you from their country? How will it change if he comes to the US, considering it may take some time to find a job (and even longer if their English skills are weak)? If you plan on lining up a joint sponsor due to your lack of income, why is that person not willing to support you now if they are willing to support the partner?

If you applied in June 2022, it really hasn't been that long and you definitely are not outside of normal processing time. Some people don't get these documents for closer to a year nowadays. Not being able to work or travel are things people need to strongly consider when they try to jump the line by adjusting within the US instead of doing consular processing in their own country.

It isn't about the amount of hours per week you work. It is about the annual salary you earn. You could qualify if you made $1,000 per hour working one hour per week. Focus on keeping the salary high enough, not only to satisfy the CO, but more importantly to also provide a decent life for your partner upon arrival. It's your responsibility. That's why totality of circumstances is so important. In my state, if I made anywhere close to the poverty line, we literally couldn't afford food or a place to live. We have to make significantly more than that in order to survive.

I totally understand the struggle of being a small business owner. I am one as well. When we aren't there, we don't make money. I had to make a LOT of sacrifices during that time, especially when taking a hit to my income. I traveled back and forth to my now-husband's country several times before he received his K1. Sometimes we just have to do what we have to do. But I can say we are now happily married and with my husband living in the US with a permanent green card. It's all worth it, but it just takes a lot of time and patience. Good luck! Also, getting a B2 doesn't mean you are rich. My now-husband-then-fiance got a B2, but it is about the person showing ties to their country and their willingness to return home. If someone doesn't have a job and they are being supported by someone else (especially a USC), it really doesn't look likely that they will return to their home country. You just have to see it from the officer's angle. They do not know you and they do not know your intentions. Many people have lied to their faces before and unfortunately, the current applicants pay the price.

Although rare, it CAN happen. We were one of the *lucky* couples who had to both an AOS and ROC interview. No red flags, no RFEs, nothing weird. Our ROC interview was like 5 minutes and we weren't asked anything strange. Who knows why we had to do both--I think we were randomly selected in my opinion. It's happened to a few others as well. We did not apply for N400, and we still have not since my husband does not want to be a USC. Total time from filing to getting the green card was 18 months.

I realize this is regarding our experience with an AOS interview and not a N400 interview. We ended up in a situation where we were scheduled for our AOS while visiting family back in my husband's home country. We asked for a reschedule and we were granted one. There was no issue.

Yes, you can take classes. My husband did that right when he entered the US, far before he had an EAD or SSN, and he graduated with no issues. Just keep in mind, you have little to no financial aid options during that time and you can not file a FAFSA. We paid cash for my husband's courses before he got his green card.

In regards to the expiration date, we entered the day before it expired. 😂 Granted, it was a K1 but still the same idea applies. No issues at all! I definitely recommend waiting until it converts to an IR1. ROC isn't too fun.

If I am not mistaken, wouldn't it be possible to go for the interview but postpone the oath until after returning? Then traveling on the old passport would still work. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Since a few people already recommended this, I am going to chime in and say we also use Geico. My LPR husband just got his license last year at 30 years old (for the first time). There was no issue adding him to my Geico policy. In fact, my premium went down $5??

YEP!! We feel the same. My husband has made massive sacrifices to come live with me in the US. I often feel guilty about it, but he always tells me it was his choice to come be with me in the US so I shouldn't feel guilty. And like you, the only reason he would consider citizenship is to be able to travel outside of the US more freely. He did not move to the US for any other reason than to be with me and I know if something ever happened with our marriage, he would leave the US.

Yep, that's how my husband is. He just "deals with" living here.

My now-husband visited me twice in the US while his I-129F was pending. They didn't really ask him anything other than how long he would be staying. Both times, he stayed about 2 weeks.

Yes, we did this. Because we would not be able to travel for our honeymoon, we did our trip first then came to the US and got married. We flew to Europe and traveled to several countries, then entered the US on the K1 and got married two weeks later. No issues.