Bajinga

I-824 is not needed in this case. this is an old thread, commenting to prevent the I824 discussion here from misleading people. As long as the I-485 is filled correctly and I-130 approval notice is attached with the application. USCIS will request the I130 file be transferred back as part of the process. generally the I-485 interview waiting period is so long these days that USCIS will have the file back, so the time impact will be negligible. plenty of people have adjusted based on approved I-130 for immediate relatives on VJ without the I-824 as its not needed. just linking an example below

interview location is unrelated to the service center on the receipt. your file will eventually be transferred to the local uscis field office for the I-485 interview. field office depends on your physical address that you put on the application. you can find your field office by entering your zip code on this page

wait time for the I-485 interview will depend on the backlog at the local field office, so check the uscis processing time for I-485 for your local field office. Also, i recommend having the employer extend the H1B if possible ,until you have the gc in hand. the moment you use AP or EAD your H1 status will end and you will have no status to fall back on in case GC gets denied. there is still a risk just in case marriage falls apart or other eligibility issues are discovered so general recommendation is to stay in status if possible till the AOS process is complete.

my advice would be clarify the SEVIS situation from your current school. a new I-20 from them might or might not be needed based on the status. do not try to get a new I-20 from a different school as that will seem very sketchy at best. the school name on the visa does not matter as long as proper transfer process was followed and no other requirements of the F1 visa were broken while attending the new school. try to enter on your current visa and hope for the best. there is a good chance you will face scrutiny if the CBP decides to dig, Its hard to say if they will.

I think there is a good chance you will not be allowed to enter if you try to use your existing F1 visa. based on the information you have provided there are several red flags that CBP would be able to notice you never attended the Master program. your explanation of switching to a language school seems quite odd. for getting admitted into a school, demonstrating english proficiency is required usually via TOEFL. how did you get admitted into the master program without proving the language requirement. you failed to maintain the attendance in the language school. the school was required to terminate the SEVIS record once you stopped attending the school to ensure compliance, so its safe to assume it was cancelled. the explanation that you could not come back because of lack of funds actually goes against requirement of the F1 visa that you had committed to i.e to demonstrate sufficient funds before starting the school. Based on the above i see problems entering on the existing visa, also based on the history its unlikely you will ever be issued another F1 visa.

Well, I think it can be safely concluded that USCIS sent the card to your old address. if you have access I would check the mail in the old address or reach the USPS office at the old address in case they have it. the communication between the departments is not a strong suite for the USCIS and we have seen AR-11 being ineffective at updating the address even when people have gotten confirmations of AR-11 acceptance via mail. Its bad to the point where people generally recommend avoiding changing the address altogether while a case is processing with the USCIS. I would also worry that your interview letter might also get sent to your old address, So stay proactive and call the tier-2 officer to get the notice once the status updates online for the I-485 instead of relying on the mail. Also call tier again to confirm they have the updated address on file.

did you use a lawyer by any chance? if the G-28 is filled depending on what was checked on it, It could potentially have been sent to the attorney address.

USCIS will most likely suspect a visa gc shopping intention for the first marriage, then a cheeky friend assist for the second with a common goal.of reaching the green card glory. expect heavy scrutiny during the process

you can apply, they need to leave before the end date till CBP admitted them for on their visit. As mentioned by other posters it will likely take more than 20 years before they can potentially immigrate once the priority date is current for the sibling category.

Since the trip is pre planned you also have the option of making the urgent travel appointment with the passport office within the 14 days of travel. Its cheaper than using external passport agencies as the only extra fees required is the standard passport expedite and shipping fee. I recently had good experience doing that at the SFO passport office, they were able to schedule an appointment within the same week i called them and issued the passport on the day of the appointment. They did require proof of travel in addition to the other documents.

is this the N400 oath ceremony? I recently had mine in San Francisco. I was the only one allowed into the building, wife and kids were not allowed in for the oath ceremony.

do both if possible. if you get the H1B through lottery prefer that, it is just easier to switch employers on the H1B as any H1B transfer will be cap except whereas L1B is not portable and if you need to switch employers they will need to sponsor a new visa in a EB category generally H1.

I recently naturalized under 3 year rule in SF. my spouse was not allowed into the building for the interview or the oath, not even in the waiting area. she had to wait for a few hours at Starbucks lol.

I do not agree that switching employers on H1B is complex at all other than some rare edge cases. I worked on H1B for almost 10 years and switched multiple employers through the years. All of the legwork is done by the employers lawyers. generally employers will do the transfer using premium processing, so the transfer itself completes within 15 days.

both of these advices are incorrect. OP can combine their income with the beneficiary as a household member. even if OP switches jobs it does not add complexity, they will just need to carry the updated I-864A including the updated information to the AOS interview. I know a few folks on H1B who have successfully combined their income for I-864 when adjusting status through US citizen spouse.

the only option is the Travel insurance but as mentioned above it does not cover pre existing condition. So there are no great options for health coverage as the travel insurances will usually try to pin a lot of the medical charges on a preexisting condition especially for the elder people. the only thing she can do is make sure to have a good travel insurance, bring all the prescriptions in advance for the period she is planning to stay for. there are some travel insurance plans from imglobal that are expensive but seem to be decent