carmel34

Take everything listed on the interview letter. 5-year rule makes it simple. Good luck with the interview!

Submit everything on standard 8.5 x 11 inch paper with a big clip so it is easy for USCIS to scan. My husband's I-751 package was more than 500 pages. He included a table of contents with all forms, documents, and exhibits listed and their page numbers. Every one of the pages was numbered so that the officer could find anything easily using the table of contents.

I recommend that your US partner visit you in India while you figure and wait out the likely length of the overstay bar, and while you decide when you want to actually get married. By the time you both agree on a marriage date, do it via Utah online, meet again in India, gather all the documents, then your new US spouse can start the spousal visa process by filing a petition on your behalf. With an overstay on your record, and a US partner, it will be difficult for you to get a B visa to visit, even after the bar. Plan on a 1-2 year wait for the spousal visa process, living apart in the US and India, with your US partner making frequent visits to see you. Many of us on VJ have done this successfully. Good luck!

Quality review after a verbally approved N-400 interview is normal. A supervisor checks the file to make sure the interviewing officer didn't miss anything. My husband's N-400 interview was June 8, was verbally told by the officer that he was recommending approval, then a couple of days later the case status online changed to "quality review." This morning the case status changed to "oath ceremony notice was mailed." This is for Atlanta USCIS field office. It took five days for the quality review. Timelines likely differ across field offices. You're close to the finish line.

To petition an immediate family member for US immigration, you will need to return to the US, before their arrival or accompanying the foreign immigrant. Only US-based income qualifies for financial sponsorship on the I-864, or liquid assets. Foreign income does not count. You will likely need a US citizen or LPR joint sponsor who has sufficient US-based income. Another option would be to return to the US and get a job before the NVC stage of the process.

USCIS misinformation line, we see this all the time. You're waiting for the N-400 interview letter to arrive. All N-400's require an interview before USCIS can make a decision, so it's not approved yet. Good luck studying for the test!

Photocopy of front and back of green card is also required with an I-751. Also G-1145 if you want email notification that the package was received by USCIS.

At this point I recommend that you file married separately, then file an amended return after she enters the US. You'll get the refund back later.

Quick update. The combo interview was June 8, both I-751 and N-400 were approved. Now my husband is waiting for an oath ceremony to be scheduled.

No that is not detention. Detention would be spending time in a prison or holding facility like ICE. Sitting in your car while waiting for a warning or ticket is not detention.

No attorney, I'm a DIY type, and our case had no complications like past criminal record, deportations, misrepresentation, etc. Some recommend taking an attorney if you have one already, especially if there are legal issues to overcome.

I agree that photos are considered weak, but I also believe in being over-prepared with multiple types of evidence and documents ready to give the IO when asked. This officer wanted to see photos and it was a good thing we had them with us. It also helped that many of the photos were of me and my husband with my immediate and extended family in various settings during the last four years. You never know what's going to float an IO's boat.

No, they were separate notices, only after sending a written request. We knew that sometimes they connect the dots to the I-751 and automatically do a combo interview after initially scheduling an N-400, but other times they don't which slows everything down. Knowing this, my husband sent the USCIS field office a letter after receiving the N-400 interview notice, requesting a combo interview and included all the details needed to link the two cases. Ten days later he received a separate interview notice for the pending I-751, same day/time as the N-400, stating that the spouse needed to attend. I recommend sending a letter requesting a combo interview. Others have uploaded a similar letter. Some get combo interviews without asking for one, others don't. It's the way government agencies work.

Here's a report on our combo I-751/N-400 interview this morning at the Atlanta USCIS field office. The interview was scheduled for 8:50 am. We arrived at 8 am so we used the extra 30 minutes to review all of our documents, well-organized in labeled file folders, and the N-400 application one more time. We entered the building at 8:30 am, showed the two interview notices (I-751 and N-400), and went through security, then checked in at the reception window where an employee took my husband's photo and fingerprint to confirm his identity. Then we went up to the 3rd floor waiting area. About 45 minutes later, an officer came up to my husband and confirmed our names, then said he would be back in five minutes. When he returned he asked both of us to follow him to his office. Once seated, he asked for our driver's licenses, also for my husband's passport and expired green card. I noticed an open file on his desk, with all 500+ pages of the I-751 submission we sent two years ago. He then had us stand up and do an oath to tell the truth. Then he said he would first consider the pending I-751 and ask questions that either of us could answer, and some questions directed to one of us to answer. The first question was how we met (online initially, three months later in person). He asked a series of questions about why I proposed so quickly (on my second trip to Brazil, only five weeks after our first in-person meeting), and why my husband was willing to commit so quickly to marriage and potentially move to the US. I got the impression that the officer was skeptical about our relationship (we have a 27 year age gap, big income and education differences). We explained that we fell in love immediately when we first met in person, and wanted to be together, so we got married seven months after we first met. He then asked for additional documents to support our relationship, new information from the last two years while the I-751 has been pending. We gave him two years' of quarterly joint bank and credit card account statements, also five years of IRS tax return transcripts, married filing jointly. He looked at these additional documents, kept them, and then said "I am a big photo person, do you have any photos?" My husband handed him a file folder with about twelve pages of photos, 2 per page, from marriage to now, each with a brief description and date. As he flipped through the photos, his countenance changed. The look of doubt from before left his face, and he glanced up and said he was approving the I-751, then asked me to leave. I went to the waiting area while he continued the N-400 interview with only my husband. The officer did not ask to see any of the civil documents we had brought with us, but did ask or review most of the questions on the N-400 application. Then he asked six of the 100 history/government questions, and my husband answered all of them correctly. After that the officer did the reading and writing tests. Following this, he gave my husband a form N-652, Naturalization Interview Results, with two marks checked: "you passed the tests of English and U.S. History and government," and "Congratulations! Your application is recommended for approval." The oath ceremony letter will be sent via regular mail. We were all done by 10 am and drove home very happy and relieved that things went so smoothly. Based on my prior research, Atlanta USCIS schedules oath ceremonies for 4-6 weeks after the interview. Once that happens and he has his naturalization certificate, his US immigration journey will be over, five years after it began when I filed an I-130 petition for him back in July, 2018, a month after we got married in Brazil. I would like to thank all the regular contributors here on VisaJourney for your very helpful advice during this long process, as it has been invaluable to benefit from your experience and sense of community. Good luck to everyone!

This could be an example of trying to use affidavits (very weak evidence) when more credible documentation (joint lease/mortgage, health insurance, bank accounts, will, living will, power of attorney, driver's licenses, credit card statements all showing the same residence/address and financial co-mingling for both husband and wife) didn't exist or was fabricated. Seems like the officers reviewing your case were questioning the bona fides of your marriage relationship. OP, what evidence, other than lots of affidavits and IRS tax transcripts did you send with both the I-751 and N-400 to support your claim that the relationship is genuine? I'm helping my husband prepare for his combo interview tomorrow morning (I-751 and N-400), and we have organized hundreds of pages of documents that show we have lived at the same address and co-mingled our finances for the last four years. Not one affidavit or written statement by anybody as we don't need it.

Apply for the baby's SSN. Once you get it, send the IRS an amended tax return. You'll likely owe less taxes and may get an additional refund. Amending the 2022 tax return will take as long as it takes, it will probably not have any impact on the I-864 as long as the number of dependents has been updated to include the baby. Amending the tax return was a suggestion from a senior member, it is not critically important for your wife's visa interview. If the interview is four months or more away as you stated earlier, that's plenty of time to get the SSN and file an amended return.

If your son was born in 2022 you can add him as a dependent for the 2022 tax year, so amend that return if applicable. If he was born in 2023, there is no need to amend. Assuming that you filed as married for all years that you were married.

I agree that each field office is different. In my husband's case, the Atlanta field office did not pull the pending I-751file (500 pages) when the N-400 interview was scheduled, he had to send a letter asking them to, and only because of the letter ended up getting a separate interview letter for I-751, same day/time as the N-400. There have been similar cases where N-400 applicants, based on 3 years married to a USC with a pending I-751, show up for the N-400 interview expecting/hoping for a combo interview and the officer says the I-751 file is not there so the N-400 cannot be finalized, adding more time to the process. Big government cannot even figure out how to link two pending cases with the same A number, it's crazy!

Filing an N-400 (filed August 2022) helped move my husband's pending I-751 (filed May 2021), Atlanta USCIS field office, although he had to ask for the two cases to be linked. When his N-400 interview notice arrived in early May, he sent a letter to the Atlanta USCIS field office asking for a combo interview with the I-751. Ten days later he received an interview notice for the pending I-751, same day and time as the N-400 interview (coming up on Thursday, June 8), so now I'm helping him to prepare for the combo interview and gathering/organizing all of the supporting documents. We are hopeful that the end of his immigration journey is in sight. Good luck!

Only way you could do this is to move to Poland to live together during the 1-2 years for the spousal visa process, which should be possible since it sounds like you don't work. You will need a qualified joint sponsor in the US, and maintain a US domicile (US address, driver's license, bank accounts, etc).

OP, there are lots of similar threads here on VJ, about the chances of getting the in-person meeting requirement waived for a K-1. I remember one such thread very vividly, shortly after joining this site almost five years ago when I was starting my own journey. The US citizen had severe anxiety and could not fly. You may glean a few tidbits of additional advice/opinions from it if you're interested. I have never seen a K-1 meeting in-person waiver approved in five years of following this site almost every day. I also attached a recent USCIS appeal decision from a real case where a petitioner appealed a K-1 denial, asking for a waiver of the in-person meeting requirement because of extreme hardship. The appeal was denied because the petitioner did not submit enough convincing evidence/documentation. JUN112021_03D6101.pdf

He will need to disclose his family in the US on any visa application. This could complicate things even more given the country of origin. Lots of time and patience will be needed based on everything you have disclosed so far. The advice you have been given is realistic and pragmatic. This is a difficult situation. Hopefully your medical condition will improve over time so that you can travel to meet him in person. Good luck!

Your significant other will have to apply for a tourist visa on his own merits. It could be a challenge unless he has strong ties to his country (property owned, long-term job, other ties). Chances are low in my opinion, because going to the US to visit a girlfriend is a strong tie to the US and could be viewed as a potential problem, risk of overstay and adjusting status. But it will ultimately be up to the consular officer. You could also try a K-1 with a request to waive the in-person meeting requirement, based on your medical condition, but those waivers are very rarely approved. I agree with others, he should first try for a tourist visa on his own merits. If that is denied, try for the K-1 waiver of meeting in person. If that doesn't work, you'll have no choice but to wait until your medical condition improves so that you can go and meet him in his home country or a third country.

A spousal visa, starting with marriage somewhere, then filing an I-130 petition, is the better choice. Fiancé visas (K-1) are taking the same amount of time or longer right now, and a spouse entering with a CR-1/IR-1 can work, get a driver's license, and leave the US immediately upon entry, vs K-1s who have to wait a year or longer, during which they are severely restricted during the adjustment of status process.

If you file an I-130 petition for your spouse, you will include information about the previous petition on the I-130, part 5, so you don't need to include the details in "support letters". USCIS will pull the file anyway and review all the documents connected with the previous immigration process. Based on your previous posts, I strongly recommend that you hire a competent US immigration attorney, with experience in complicated cases like yours. The lawyer you consulted does not seem to understand that your spouse's active LPR status, although abandoned, could delay your case. Find a better lawyer. You should start by filing an I-407, to officially "close out" the previous case: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/i-407.pdf