beloved_dingo

My husband and I did the K-1 in 2018, and got married in 2019. In 2018, CR-1 versus K-1 was more of a toss up but if we were going through the process now, we would absolutely do the CR-1. At this point, K-1 has pretty much zero advantages over CR-1.

You would think it'd be more logical to just say "starting on [x] date, all filing fees will increase 20%" (or whatever percentage makes sense), rather than picking and choosing certain forms to drastically increase filing fees for. Which supports the thought that there is some other agenda involved rather than just increasing funding.

Looks like we'll have a new thing to add to the list of why K-1 is not a good choice anymore over CR-1, if these proposed changes are approved/implemented.

Lol are they charging the most money for the worst, most inconvenient process? Right? Good grief, that is ridiculous.

Nope, citizenship has nothing to do with the LPR's home country. However, LPRs that are married to US citizens are eligible for citizenship after 3 years instead of 5 years as long as they remain married to the same US citizen throughout that time and meet all other requirements.

Not sure if I am misunderstanding this sentence, but he can apply for N-400 while the ROC is pending as long as he meets the other requirements. You do not have to get the 10 year green card first. Also you are right that a lawyer will not be able to help with anything at this point in your case. Waiting 18+ months for approval has become normal. It's strange that the response to your inquiry said that "conditions have been lifted". What does the online USCIS case status say?

It is the same way for Progressive - the actual insurance cards only show my name (but lists both vehicles we have), however the declaration page lists us both. So print out a couple of copies of the declaration page - one to use for ROC and one to keep in your car just in case your wife ever drives the vehicle.

To be fair, your package is not going to get rejected because you held it together in some form or fashion. I think nearly everyone here used either 2-hole punch with ACCO fasteners, binder clips, rubber bands, or paper clips to keep the paper together. I wouldn't trust everything to stay together when mailing without some sort of fastener.

Am I losing my mind or is @Rearviewmirror not the OP of this thread? They are scanning it into their internal system. USCIS keeps electronic files, regardless of if a filing is paper (mailed).

OP = original poster. In this case, @Rearviewmirror I always recommend putting photos in a Word doc with captions like @Rocio0010 mentioned since it is easier to USCIS to deal with but it's a judgment call.

Just reading through this thread and adding to this comment - before my husband got a U.S. driver's license, I went ahead and added him to my car insurance as a non-driver spouse. So his name still appeared when I printed out the declaration page but it made no change to the cost. I figured it didn't hurt to have as much as possible showing that we were married/spouses. That was for AOS, but still relevant and potentially useful for ROC when one spouse doesn't drive. Here are some things we included in our ROC packet that may be helpful: Credit card statements for any joint credit cards and/or documentation your spouse is an authorized user Copies of letters, cards, or invitations addressed to both spouses Documentation of any joint memberships (gym, Costco, Amazon, etc.) Documentation that you're both on the same mobile phone plan A selection of photos throughout the marriage (in your case family photos with your child would be great) Documentation of any trips taken together since marriage Emergency contact sheet from employer/doctor/school/daycare, etc. (either showing you're each other's emergency contact, or you are both contacts for your child) Healthcare Durable POA for each spouse (this is easy to draw up from templates online and good to have on hand anyway)

For the bank statements - just highlight the line that says "Joint owner with [Spouse's Name]". That way it grabs their attention but doesn't mess up the packet. For life insurance, you should be able to print out the beneficiary designation without printing out the whole policy. Check around in your online account (assuming you have one) and see if there is a section of the website where you just just view/print the beneficiary designation. Or just highlight it as I suggested with the bank statements, or request a letter from the life insurance company stating the beneficiary info, if the prior suggestions don't work/aren't viable. I would suggest perhaps filling in the "gaps" for trips that lack certain boarding passes with other proof that the trip occurred. A photo of you together in front of a recognizable landmark, hotel/airbnb receipts, etc. My husband and I haven't traveled overseas together yet, so our proof of trips together involve photos and hotel receipts usually. And the bank statements back it up as well, since there are clearly charges from the locations we traveled to that correspond with dates.

Just FYI, the requirement to have IRS transcripts or IRS certified tax returns is included in the instructions for N-400 and the N-400 document checklist. Page 11 of N-400 instructions: (e) Internal Revenue Service (IRS)-certified copies of the income tax forms that you and your spouse filed for the past 3 years (or an IRS tax return transcript for the last 3 years). Page 1 of N-400 Document Checklist: b. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)-certified copies of the income tax forms that you both filed for the past 3 years; or c. An IRS tax return transcript for the last 3 years This is an important note for people who previously used regular tax returns for prior parts of the immigration journey. IRS Tax transcripts are the safest bet.

I filed Nov. 2021 and have had no updates since Jan. 2022 (biometrics were reused). This is the norm and it will likely be around 18 months for must of us to get approved.

We've always used the transcripts (for K-1, AOS and ROC). It gets recommended here because it's less paper, it's official (directly from the IRS), and minimizes the risk of RFEs since tax returns must have ALL schedules included to be accepted by USCIS (W-2s, 1099s, etc.).

From the travel.state.gov website: You should schedule an appointment for your visa interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the country where you live. You may schedule your interview at another U.S. Embassy or Consulate, but be aware that it may be more difficult to qualify for a visa outside of the country where you live. Canada wait times: Interview Required Visitors (B1/B2) 422 Calendar Days (Ottawa) Interview Required Visitors (B1/B2) 358 Calendar Days (Calgary) Interview Required Visitors (B1/B2) 296 Calendar Days (Halifax) Interview Required Visitors (B1/B2) Emergency Appointments Only (Montreal) Interview Required Visitors (B1/B2) 296 Calendar Days (Quebec) Interview Required Visitors (B1/B2) 456 Calendar Days (Toronto) Interview Required Visitors (B1/B2) 342 Calendar Days (Vancouver) This is not a viable plan.

It's also worth noting that even with a valid visa or ESTA, entry to the U.S. is always at the discretion of CBP. If she gives even the slightest hint that she won't return to her country, they will deny entry. CBP has been known to look through luggage, phones and other devices if they suspect anything is "off".

As someone already mentioned, to get a US visitor visa through Canada, she would have to be a resident of Canada. She can't just show up in Canada and apply for a U.S. visa like she's a Canadian. Additionally, she'd have to get a visitor visa to Canada first as well. So this will not work. @TBoneTX was saying that spouses are allowed to visit (as in, come to the U.S. for a short time and then return to their country) during the spousal visa process. But if your partner doesn't already have a valid U.S. visa, that becomes harder.

While this isn't the most typical living situation, people have different work schedules so it's not exactly unusual that one spouse may be out in the rare case of a home visit. Does he have clothes in the closet? Are there belongings around the house that indicate a couple is living together? Do you have photos together in the house? You really don't need to worry unless there are other red flags or actual fraud in your case.

After is the norm.

You are fine as long as you follow this from the USCIS instructions (found here https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/tips-for-filing-forms-by-mail): In preparing your packet, remember: Do not use binders or folders that we cannot easily disassemble. Use fasteners to hold together thick or bulky applications or petitions. Two-hole punching the top of the material for easy placement in the file is appreciated. Sticky tabs assist in locating items listed as attachments. For easy filing, place the tabs on the bottom of the page, not the side. Do not use heavy-duty staples; instead use fasteners or heavy clips. For all of our applications we have two-hole punched everything and used ACCO fasteners to hold it together, but that is not required.

Not at all 😂 Funnily enough, I take photos of my husband all the time, but much less of us both in the photo together.

Well, I guess I should say "we don't have 100 photos we could send to USCIS" because so many of our photos together are just silly selfies we took together with poor lighting or with similar clothes to dozens of other photos which makes them indistinguishable as far as laying out a timeline in picture form. We definitely don't have 1000 photos together for sure though! Haha Specifically for the K-1, they want to see things like boarding passes and/or hotel reservations, in addition to some photos, as proof of meeting in person. After all, they don't know what either of you actually look like and they can't verify a photo was taken in a two year period either - so photos alone aren't really proof of anything. However, by the time you are doing ROC, your identities have been established, they likely have many photos in the file due to K-1 + AOS, so photos are a great type of secondary evidence to include for the I-751.

No, you do not need to worry about it affecting ROC. Presumably you have plenty of evidence that you do actually reside at the same location, and you have the AR-11 confirmations/forms as proof that you properly changed you address. It is ridiculous how common this issue is to the point that I really hope my husband and I can stay put until we are 100% done with USCIS.

Wow. My husband and I don't even have 100 photos together. However, we did send around 12 photos, all spaced throughout our marriage and showing us in different places, and a few with friends/family.