garebear397

Great news! We had just emailed our representative that was able to contact the NVC and said they were assigning interviews with people DQ in August (we were DQ August 30th) so hopefully we get an interview date soon.

Ahh ok, good to know. Only have seen some second-hand experiences, didn't know it was so risky.

Did they overstay? Or did they get an extension? Those are two very different things. If they received an extension, and were always in status while in the US it shouldn't have much impact on future visa applications. Maybe could impact future tourist visa applications or US entries if it looks like they are trying to abuse their tourist visa (spend too much time in the US). Now if they overstayed (past their i-94 date without an extension), yes that could impact future visa applications for them and their family. But each case is unique. My wife overstayed on accident by a couple weeks when she was a teenager, and then she received several tourist visas afterwards, and a green card later on. They would always ask about it, but after her explanation there wasn't an issue. But like I said each case is unique and will depend on many different variables.

Strongly seconded on all points. I would add if you do continue to pursue I would not add sending her money as part of your "evidence" of a relationship. It actually works to opposite effect as it appears that the marriage could be more of a financial transaction rather than a genuine "love" marriage.

Agreed. That there shouldn't really be much of an issue, they admitted him every time with the ESTA and there is no reason to question his intent now, since he clearly has immigrant intent with the correct visa. The one question that could be an issue, that others mentioned, is if they question how he could stay for so long previously with the ESTA -- how could he afford or take so much time off work. If he worked while in the US on ESTA (even remotely for a non-US company) that is not permitted and could still be an issue now and potentially an issue for his AOS interview as well. Again....I think its very unlikely that this will come up when entering the country right now. But he should be prepared for whatever.

Anyone who has completed the NVC DQ step? How long is it taking for the embassy to contact you after?

This seems like a good question for OP....because it sounds like they are staying in the UK and mentioned growing their career there. If that is the case, @msrodan you don't need any sort of visa. K1 is only for immigration intent of your fiance....they are perfectly fine to go a visit the US, get married there, and return back to the UK.

This thread is only for spousal visas, so probably no one will reply for other family based. There is a different page/forum for other family based I130 visas, so I would check/post there.

Ah ok ok. Thanks for the info! Yeah I think keeping it simpler here is the way to go.

Yeah, fair enough "joint-sponsor" I should have said. Yeah I was only thinking of the I-864a since technically I live in the same physical house as my parents right now, until finding a new house. But I think I will go with just myself as the only sponsor. I do have a signed offer letter, with a start date already in the past. And can always provide more pay stubs when they come in for the interview. Thanks!

Wanted to get advice. We just made it past the USCIS stage of our spousal visa process, and now filling out the I-864. I (the petitioner) just started my new job in the US (living overseas with family the past 5 years) that is salaried and over the minimum income, but have yet to receive my first paycheck. Questions: - Should I only use myself as the sponsor (no co-sponsor)? Because technically I do make enough to cover the requirement, though I would only at this time have a signed offer letter that states my yearly salary. Though at the interview I would have a few more paychecks that my wife could show. - Or should I use a co-sponsor? I had previously asked my father to co-sponsor before I knew I would be moved up before my wife, so no problem there. And I was initially thinking to always include him even when I started my new job (basically just in case), but after reading the instructions better for the I864 I see it says "Form I-864A may only be used when a sponsor’s income and assets do not meet the income requirements of Form I-864." So that made me doubt my plan to include him regardless, since I do now technically earn enough. - If I do include my father as a co-sponsor, should I use the I-864A since currently I am living with him and my mom, until my wife moves up? Thanks for any help!

Ahh ok, thanks for letting me know. I was checking every day because I figured it would be a quick turnaround. And yeah, I mean the money is already gone from my account so I assumed it would have been processed quickly. Another little wait then...

Anyone else who is in the NVC stage, who can comment about how long it is taking to process the fee? I submitted both fees (AOS, and IV) on the 13th, and they still show just "In Process". It says it can take 2-3 business days, but just wondering if someone has already passed that step. Since you can't start doing the applications until the fees are processed.

We got approved! PD of June 4th -- there is still hope for those who have earlier PD dates! We did write to our congressman on July 29th, their office contacted USCIS on July 30th, they got a response from USCIS on July 31st (see message below), and we were approved today on August 1st. So our process of contacting our congressman was very easy and quick, and who knows for sure but it might have helped spur the approval! Worth it for others still waiting to consider. USCIS response on July 31st: "USCIS records indicate that the case is located at the California Service Center and is currently pending background checks. We understand that your constituent may be frustrated by the progress of their case. Please know, USCIS is committed to adjudicating immigration benefits in a timely and efficient manner while also ensuring public safety, national security and compliance with all relevant directives. At this time, we are unable to provide you with a processing time."

Did he submit something else to show his citizenship? Like a passport? I would submit his passport for sure, and maybe submit his birth certificate again with some letter highlighting the "county", and also state. What type of evidence did you submit for seeing each other? Good to include passport stamps, ticket vouchers, etc. Also is there something that might be causing them to question the relationship? Age gap? Religion difference? What country are you coming from?

Honestly I don't think that would be the issue. At the USCIS stage they aren't doing a full blown analysis of the case, more just checking that you have all the min requirements to advance -- both that you submitted all the necessary documents, and also things like you have been together in person, have some baseline evidence you are married, etc. And then at the consular stage they do a more detailed evaluation. Most of the time RFEs are because you missed something on the document side (didn't send in every form, missed a signature, filled in a box wrong, etc.). You will find out soon enough and often if you can get back the necessary document quickly they can actually approve your case pretty quickly as well (I think someone in this thread got back their approval pretty soon afterwards).

No I don't think so, plus we have been married 6 years and still are waiting.

same here! If it makes you feel any better we have PD of June 4th. So, you are not alone!

Anyone else waiting with PD the first week of June? Ours PD is June 4th, and in active review since September 12th.

What you need to confirm: Did your husband check the box "Married filing jointly" in his tax returns and include your name (see example below)? Did your husband include your children in his tax returns (also see example below, Dependents)? If he included you and/or your children, in the end he would pay less taxes assuming the same total household income (if he got a refund, the refund would be larger), because you pay taxes on income and that % of tax reduces the larger the family size. For example if you make $50K as a single person you will pay more taxes than if your total household is $50K as a family of 4. If he did not include you in his taxes, you should file deliquent tax return for every year there isn't a tax return with your name on it (regardless if you have worked or not). Now if you truly have not had any income, then you won't have to pay anything, but filing the taxes is the formal way you are declaring to the IRS that you did not earn income. Even if you did earn income, there is a good chance that Foreign Income Tax Credits or Exclusions would wipe out your "owed" taxes, so you still wouldn't have to pay anything. As others have mentioned, evading taxes is a pretty serious deal (and in the extreme cases can result in punishments), but if you haven't been earning income (or very little income) there is a pretty high chance you won't be penalized or owe any taxes. You should now make sure there has been a tax returned filed for you for every year of your adult life, and going forward to include your children on those tax returns (especially if they start earning money). This is the lifelong deal you have as a US citizen (and your children), does not matter where you live you always have to file taxes. EDIT: also, just contact an agency/accountant that works with US taxed filed from other countries. Show them what has been filed and what not. Myself being a US citizen living in another country have had very good experience with these agencies, and they should be able to clear up exactly what you need to file or not now.

Yeah I think you are getting slightly confused with the 2 year wedding anniversary, and the 2 year validity of your green card. The 2 year wedding anniversary (and when you enter the US) is important for determining if you get a CR1 or IR1 and the length of validity of your first green card (2 years or 10 years). After entering the country, your 2 year anniversary basically stops mattering. You could even enter the US being married 1 year and 11 months, and you would still get a 2 year valid green card and have to go removal of conditions -- which is why if you are close to that 2 year anniversary before you enter the US, its better to go ahead and wait until you complete 2 years.

Yeah those timelines absolutely mean almost nothing. Hopefully some june filers should be getting aproved here in june or july and then we can start expecting to see ours also approved.

Yeah it looks like they are processing it in June, so I think you are good expecting similar timelines as other June filers.

So I mean technically you would be a June filer, since you submitted in June and part of the wait time is waiting for the NOA1. But that is normally much quicker than 2-3 months...if mailed it is usually 2 weeks or so, and if done online it is the same day. Did you file online or by mail? And when you say they received the paperwork in June -- that is because your mailed application arrived in June? Or because on the NOA it says "Received Date" in June? Are all the dates at the top left of your NOA1 June or October dates? In the end, if your "Priority Date" is in October, you will be put in line with other people with that priority date, which means yes you will follow a timeline more closely to October filers.

There are dozens of us...dozens!