beloved_dingo

We sent all statements, but quarterly seems to be fine, especially if combined with other strong evidence. The big thing, as others have pointed out, is that you do need to send ALL pages of any statements you send.

The 3 years is counted from the date on the green card, not from the date she arrived/got married. If her green card expires June 2024, that means the "clock" for N-400 began around June 2022.

You don't have to have the divorce decree immediately when switching to a divorce waiver. After notifying USCIS of the change, USCIS sends out an RFE with 90 days to provide it. So the timing is important but you do not have to be divorced the second you switch to a waiver. When you are living separately and your wife has filed for divorce it is not just a "break". As I asked before, what will you do if you are scheduled for an interview? What will you do if a few months down the road USCIS sends an RFE for updated proof of a bona fide marriage? Your wife could notify USCIS of your separation herself, btw. And if your joint I-751 is approved after the divorce is finalized, it means that you obtained your immigration benefit by misrepresenting your marriage to USCIS.

Boiler wasn't asking the reason for the expedite, they are asking what part of the process/type of visa you are trying to expedite.

This is fraud. No one here will advise you to lie (including by omission) or misrepresent your situation to USCIS. What will you do if you get called for an interview? With a joint petition, USCIS expects BOTH spouses to attend. However, you can inform USCIS at the interview that you have separated and will need to switch to a divorce waiver. The tricky part is timing, because USCIS needs the divorce decree to approve an I-751 with a divorce waiver. I believe once they request the decree, the deadline to provide it is 90 days. Has your wife actually filed for divorce yet, and you just haven't been served? Because if she hasn't filed, just do it yourself and try to get the divorce finalized as quickly as possible.

I bet my husband would love that. As an Aussie, he loves non-alcoholic ginger beer (Bundaberg) so I can only imagine ginger cider would be a hit.

Understood. Then @Boiler's response to file the I-130 is correct. Re: your questions about the sponsor situation - you would be the primary sponsor even if you do not have income. Your mother could be the joint sponsor. There is also a possibility of using assets to qualify. You going back first to get a job with high enough income to qualify is also an option.

$25k is an absurd amount for an attorney to charge to assist with a K1 petition regardless. Where is your fiancé from? Also - it is not necessarily true that if you make one mistake, you lose money and have to start over again. Some mistakes will cause the petition to be rejected outright (incorrect payment amount, incomplete/unsigned form, etc.), so you fix the mistake and send it back but they do not take your money/charge you if it is rejected in this manner. Some mistakes could result in an RFE (request for evidence), where USCIS will ask you to send them additional information before they make a decision. If an RFE is responded to properly (and timely), it also does not cause any huge issues - just potentially a delay.

Have you considered the spousal visa process instead?

So sorry to hear about the awful situation with the FIL. Does your husband still have his old green card? Did he ever formally relinquish it? And when did it expire? Has he been back in the U.S. at all since 2007?

Framboise is so good! My husband and I both enjoy it. Semi-related note, one of our local craft breweries has an imperial Berliner weisse that is a particular favorite, brewed with plums, apricots and vanilla. It's delicious but not too sweet. Sour ales are my favorite, especially when they hit that balance of sour/sweet just right. Have you had/do you like gose?

@laylalex Certainly welcome in my book, I love a good beer but also love a good cider. Ciderboys is on tap at many locations around where I live and when I'm not in a beer or wine mood, that's my go-to. Do you also happen to enjoy sour ale/fruited sours?

We did this as well. My husband's N-400 interview was May 10th, and we knew there was a good chance he would get same day oath. So on May 7th, I scheduled a passport appointment for him on May 25th. Everything went as planned and his passport is in process. If the timing hadn't worked out (no same-day oath), we would have just cancelled the appointment. Setting up a passport appointment online with USPS does not ask anything about citizenship. All you provide is the name and contact information for the person making the appointment. I do not know if the process varies at all for an urgent appointment at an agency, but considering you are scheduling a future appointment for someone who would be a citizen at the appointment time, it seems like a stretch to worry about false claims of citizenship.

My bank was able to add my spouse before he had his SSN, but the person assisting me had to get a supervisor involved because there were some obstacles to get around. The bank employees were extremely helpful and understanding of our unique situation. This was PNC btw. Side note - at that time, he couldn't be added on an interest-bearing account. So they got him on my checking account, but not savings.

Did your wife send you a photo or scan of the letter? If not, I would definitely ask her to do so. It may help us make sense of it if you are able to post the letter here, will all identifying information removed. As others have said, biometrics is NOT normal for someone who has arrived in the U.S. on an spousal visa.

Yes, you do need to count your son, so you have a household of 3. The I-864 instructions state: Your household size includes yourself and the following individuals, no matter where they live: any spouse, any dependent children under 21 years of age, any other dependents listed on your most recent Federal income tax return, all persons being sponsored in this affidavit of support...etc. Your son is still a dependent regardless of how taxes are done and where your son lives. Unfortunately, your income will not qualify with a household size of 3. See below: 2 $24,650 3 $31,075 https://www.uscis.gov/i-864p Even with a household of 2, it's cutting it too close. You'll need a joint sponsor, unless you can get a W-2 job that has qualifying income.

What was the small error that caused USCIS to reject and return it?

Just chiming in to add that my local office was once new (opened 5 years ago), and they did not offer same day oath ceremonies for the first 2-3 years.

The I-485 instructions specifically address this: "In general, you do not need to submit documentation relating to traffic fines and incidents that did not involve an actual physical arrest if the penalty was only a fine of less than $500 or points on your driver’s license. However, you must submit such documentation if the traffic incident resulted in criminal charges or involved alcohol, drugs, or injury to a person or property." You weren't even ticketed. It does not apply.

This thread may be helpful to you, though I linked to the specific comment which shows the OP ended up having no issue returning to the US on AP after green card approval. However, keep in mind this is one person's experience.

This is kind of meaningless because yes K-1s are technically eligible for EAD but it is irrelevant, there's no point in trying to get an EAD under this technicality. K-1s apply for EAD with their AOS.

I hope you are consulting a different lawyer if your current lawyer cannot properly address and mail a package. You do not need to wait to re-file. You can refile at any time. HOWEVER, you still have to overcome the issues that originally came up that caused your first I-751 to be called into question. Sending "a million" pages will not solve your problem. You and your spouse need to very carefully go over every single shred of evidence you have that shows you have a bona fide marriage and correct any mistakes, gaps, missing information, redundant information (sending returns AND transcripts is part of this!), etc. QUALITY evidence is key here, not the sheer number of pages. If your relationship is not bona fide, your efforts will fail. Full stop.

😂 Our I-751 package was over 500 pages and we submitted 37 docs to the online N-400 application (not sure of total pages). Honestly the only thing I would change if I had to do it over again (pls god no) would be submit quarterly bank statements instead of every single month. It probably would have cut our package down to ~300 pages.

I don't think it's a matter of being a "myth" or not. It works for some and not for others, but based on the majority of experiences shared on VJ, it seems to help much more often than not. I also think it is too soon for a conclusion to be drawn regarding your own case. Your ROC has been pending roughly 1 year and 4 months. We know that waiting 2 years or more is not uncommon for ROC, so you are still quite far from that point. Your N-400 has been pending only 4 months. You could receive an interview notice literally any moment for the N-400. In 2 months (or less), you may be completely finished with USCIS. Or you may still be waiting. It's simply too soon to judge, imo.

Yes, that is common and I didn't say that you have to have joint accounts. It is not required. But it is good to create a clear picture of how finances are handled, with at least an explanation (at the minimum). This is the prevailing advice on VJ, from users who have "been there and done that" (not just me). Considering how ridiculous the ROC process can be with waiting times of 2+ years, I wouldn't play fast and loose with the evidence. YMMV. There are a ton of threads here on VJ where RFEs were received due to insufficient financial evidence. Some common themes in these RFE threads are 1) not sending any bank statements at all, 2) provided bank statements but leaving out pages, 3) sending evidence that is sporadic or that does not cover the entirety of the marriage, and 4) not including any kind of explanation for their specific/unique situation.