leeen21

That's what I thought, and thanks for confirming! The language "dependent children" always trips me up because it means different things in different contexts (under 18 vs. not, living under your roof vs. not, etc.). In this context, I believe it to mean children who obtained resident status under the parent, whether they are a minor or not.

This is still a ways off for us, but as with everything USCIS-related, we want to be as prepared as possible. My husband entered the U.S. on 9/23/2023, and my stepdaughters entered on 11/23/2023. Per the filing date calculator, we can file I-751 jointly starting on 6/25/2025. My questions/clarifications: Even though the 90-day window won't be open yet for my stepdaughters, they can be included on their dad's/my husband's I-751, correct? (pay 1 filing fee + 4 biometric fees) At the time of filing in June 2025, their ages will be 20, 18, and 15. They are still considered "dependent children" as USCIS refers to in the instructions, correct? They received their green cards as a result of their dad's marriage to me (USC). I'm confused by the new filing fees with the biometrics included for situations like this. Would we pay $750 for my husband (751 w/ biometrics included), plus $30 additional biometrics for each stepdaughter? ($840 total) Appreciate your help. Wouldn't have gotten this far in the process without VJ's help!

This was my experience too. I was able to take care of guardianship paperwork and "pre-enrollment" before my husband and stepdaughters arrived. They crossed on Thanksgiving Day, and the following Monday, I took them to their respective schools to register. It turned out they needed a few vaccines and a TB test before they could finish registering, but they were able to complete registration and start classes by that Thursday.

Yes! His social security card FINALLY arrived in our mail on 11/22/23, so it was 2 months from his entry into the U.S. to receiving it.

His name is the Mexican equivalent of John Smith, so that would make sense haha.

He handed his passport through the window, and the guy at SSA saw the CR1 stamp. We didn't have our marriage license with us. So, it's not out of the ordinary for the SSN to take longer when it's obtained through immigration?

My husband entered the U.S. on his CR-1 visa on September 23. He had checked "YES" on his DS-260 to automatically apply for his SSN, but three weeks went by, and it hadn't arrived, so we went to our local SSA office on October 13. They said it was never generated, so he applied for his number that day with them, saying that it should arrive in 7-10 business days. The two-week mark just passed, so we went back to the office today, and they told him that it's still processing and his application is "under investigation." (actually said in Spanish, "bajo investigación," so I don't know what terminology in English is used by SSA). They said that SSA would call us if they need any additional documents, and it could be another four weeks. On SAVE, it says there was a CaseCheck on October 13, and the case status is "Returned to Agency." My husband is very eager to start working, and even though his CR-1 visa stamp gives him authorization, every employer is saying they can't until he gets his SSN. He does have an ITIN from when we did our taxes this year. And he's obviously spooked at the term "under investigation." Has this happened to anyone else? Anything we can do?

Fellow TX/MX border resident here, though my commute has only been 45 minutes each way. Advantage of folks like us - we have the opportunity to see our spouses relatively easily during this process, while so many others don't. I tried to focus on that through our journey. Just wanted to give you some hope - though understand that our timeline was much quicker than most others I've seen - and also echo others that have said to get your travel documents in order as quickly as possible. We submitted I-130s (husband + 3 stepdaughters) on June 2, 2022. I sent off the I-129F for K3 a couple weeks after that. Our I-130s were approved on November 12 (5 months). Our NVC stage was super drawn out and not because we wanted it to be, and here is where I will encourage you to always err on the side of caution when it comes to travel documents. We obviously did not expect our I-130s to get approved in 5 months (for most, it takes about a year at least), so my husband didn't have his Mexican passport renewed yet, and my stepdaughters still didn't have Mexican passports -- we (naively) thought we had plenty of time! We also (naively) thought Mexican passports would not take that long to get -- we were wrong. By beginning of April, we finally submitted everything to NVC. At the time, we were kicking ourselves for not getting the passports done right away and wasting precious time. End of April 2023, we were DQ'd at NVC and expected it to be about a year to get our interview scheduled at NVC. Three months later in July, we got the email that our interviews would be in September (5 months from DQ to interview). My husband and one stepdaughter got approved on September 18, and we'll back at CDJ this week for another appointment for the other two stepdaughters (administrative processing). All that to say: 1. Yes, expect it to be a 2+ year process, but also know that it IS possible for things to move more quickly. I have no idea how our I-130s were approved so quickly or how we got an interview scheduled so quickly at CDJ, but it can happen. Be prepared for things to happen at any point. Keep going day by day, and eventually, you'll get to have your family with you on the US side of the border, and I promise you, the wait is so worth it. 2. Never assume the length of time it will take for a travel document (in any country) to be processed.

Apologies - we both live on the border. I'm in Texas; he and my stepdaughters in Mexico. It's about a 45-minute drive between our houses, just with the international border between them.

My husband and stepdaughters had their interviews at the CDJ consulate in Mexico yesterday, and my husband and youngest were approved! The two others were given the dreaded blue sheet for administrative processing, as well as a second blue sheet with what's required. Because there was a delay between when each of them were born and when they were registered with the Civil Registry (common where they were born), the consulate official told my husband it is protocol to need to provide more evidence of their blood relationship with him. When given the options, my husband asked which one is the quickest for them to process, and that is DNA testing. We've ordered the test kits, and they'll be sent later today to the consulate. Once received, the lab says that they're seeing about a 3-week turnaround to when applicants get their appointment to be tested at CDJ (thankfully, Mexico is one of the faster-moving consulates on DNA testing). Once the lab gets the samples back, they take 5 business days to send the results back to the consulate. The results will get sent back to the consulate officer who did their interview yesterday, and she will make a decision on the case, and if approved, they'll send the passport/visa to the city where we live via DHL. All that said, we're estimating this whole thing to take maybe 6 weeks, of course knowing that you never know with administrative processing. That being said, my husband and youngest stepdaughters' visas are en route to our city via DHL, and he is planning to cross right away to start looking for a job. My question is: are there any implications if he makes entry, but then there ends up being a big delay with the other daughters and they aren't able to make entry for 2-3 months, or longer? I know the 90-day rule for dependents on the I-751 to remove conditions, and it sounds like the biggest consequence there would be having to pay $595 per dependent if they enter 90 days or more after he does. Is there anything else we should be aware of when not making entry for the first time as a whole family unit?

It’s worth a shot. There’s no promise or guarantee it’ll speed things along, but she’s got nothing to lose. It’s just more paperwork, but at this point, I’m sure she’s used to that.

Just the postage to send the packet to USCIS (unlike the I-130s, there’s no electronic option). There’s no application fee when you’re filing the I-129f for your spouse as K3.

I echo this. I submitted my husband and stepdaughters’ I-130s on June 2, 2022, and we sent the K3 packet (I-129f) 11 days later. We got the receipt confirmation from USCIS 9 days after that. The I-130s were approved on November 12, 2022 — about 5 months after we sent them, which was much faster than what we expected. I obviously can’t say that sending the K3 packet helped, but it certainly didn’t hurt. ETA: We received the I-129f rejection some time after getting approved, maybe a month or so later.

Correct - no need to register it in the U.S. Your original marriage certificate and certified translation to English is all you need. What could get listed on your marriage certificate is each of your nationalities - Cuban and Russian. You'd have to check an example of a Cuban one, but on our Mexican one, it lists my husband's and my nationality (Mexican and U.S.), as well as the nationality of our parents and witnesses. But I can't see any reason why that would have any impact on your visa process. Your nationality is not the same as your citizenship, and you are a U.S. citizen, which gives you the legal right to petition your spouse for an immigrant visa. It all might be moot because as a Cuban citizen, even though you reside and are a citizen elsewhere, you may have to use your Cuban passport in the marriage process. And if that's the case, I wouldn't stress about it.

Ah you’re right. Appreciate that advice. Oh well, it’s already uploaded. Even with just my W2 employment, the income clears the household size threshold. If they have any issues with the self-employment, we’ll address it then.

How I calculated my current income for the I-864 is 1) my annual salary as stated in my employment letter + 2) my one contracted freelance client (weekly income x 52) as seen in pay stubs + 3) my income so far in 2023 from other freelance. That figure only differs from the "Total Income" on my 2022 tax return by about $3,000. Both figures are above 185% of the threshold for my household size of 5 (that 125% number on the HHS table, so 200%+ of the poverty leve). I have included the complete 17-page tax return (the complete package sent to the IRS) for each applicant and uploaded to CEAC.

I'm finalizing all the prep on my end for my husband and stepdaughters' CR-1/IR-2 interviews in two weeks. I've uploaded updated I-864s for each case to CEAC, as well as updated supporting financial docs. The only document that I don't have is my 2022 tax transcript because it is not yet available from the IRS. I sent the return, signed by both my husband and me, along with a check for the tax payment on June 14. Because I filed an extension on my 2022 taxes, and my husband/stepdaughters submitted W-7 ITIN applications with it, everything has been delayed. Just yesterday, my husband was finally assigned an ITIN, and my stepdaughters' applications were rejected, so right now, my return is kind of in a holding pattern until we either re-apply for their ITINs, get their SSNs (assuming their visas are approved), or amend the tax return to remove my stepdaughters as dependents. TLDR: no 2022 tax transcript, extension was filed, tax return was sent and payment was made in June In lieu of the tax transcript, I have included the following documents to take to the interview (4 packets - one for each applicant): For 2022 tax year: 1040 tax return for 2022 1040-V payment voucher with copy of check and proof of deposit (from bank statement) W2 from my primary employer Schedule C from my self-employment freelance income 1099s from freelance clients Additional paid invoices and earnings reports from clients for whom I didn't get a 1099 My husband's income/tax report (as it was included in our 2022 taxes) 2021 tax transcript & W2 2020 tax transcript & W2 For proof of current income, I have included: Updated letter from my employer with my annual salary Letter signed by me verifying my self-employment 3 recent paystubs from my employer 3 recent paystubs from one of my freelance clients (independent contractor) Paid invoices and earning reports from clients to show self-employment income so far in 2023 All proof of current income, plus my 2022 tax return/W2/Schedule C, have been upload to CEAC. Am I missing any other document that I could help the fact that I can't yet get my tax transcript?

I was in the same boat as you, though I live in the U.S. on the border, and my (now) husband lives in Mexico on the border. We got married last year in Mexico; there is no advantage/disadvantage legally to what country you get married, and it doesn't have an impact on your visa process. Keep in mind that as a U.S. citizen marrying a Mexican citizen, you will need to have certain documents to get married - one of those being your U.S. birth certified apostilled by the state you were born in. You also need to have it translated into Spanish by a certified translator (aka you can't do it yourself).

I am petitioning for my husband and three stepdaughters (ages 18, 16, and 14); each are principal applicants. Originally, the consulate gave my husband and two of my stepdaughters (18 and 16) an interview appointment for September 26. My other stepdaughter (14) was delayed one month at the NVC, so we didn't receive an email for her interview appointment like we did for the others. I immediately sent an NVC expedite, and she was assigned an interview for September 15. I called the consulate to see if they could reschedule her appointment, and they said she could just go to her dad's. When I explained to them that she couldn't because her appointment is BEFORE her dad's, they sent an escalation to request the change. This routine of me calling and them escalating continued for a few weeks. Last week, they finally responded aaand..... they rescheduled my husband's appointment for September 15. So, now there are two appointments -- one for my husband and stepdaughter (14) on 9/15 and the other for my stepdaughters (18 and 16) on 9/26. I again requested that they be changed to all the same, but the consulate refused. What we're thinking is that we could take everyone to CDJ for the first appointment and at least do their medical/biometrics -- how long do the medical results last before they expire? We could try to get them to be seen all together, and if that can't happen, we'll just go back for the 26th appointment. Does that seem feasible? Anything you would do in our situation?

I apologize for that. That was not my intention at all to create confusion, and I will not repeat that in the future.

Thanks for this! Good to know that entering by land can be easier.

Thanks for your detailed response! Re: paperwork + fees, understood - par for the course with U.S. immigration. I did just read that if dependent children enter with the parent (who is the spouse of the USC petitioner), they can be included on the same I-751 and pay one fee. We have four cases total, each being their own principal applicant - my husband, 18yo stepchild, 16yo stepchild, and 14yo stepchild. Any idea if those would be one I-751 and one fee? Would 18yo be on her own I-751 because she is an adult? The major issue I'm getting is that the extension letters are not universally "recognized" in the way that they should be (re: DLs, air travel, etc.). We do live on the border and will be frequently making trips into Mexico (no farther than 10-15 miles in) to see family, so a potential worry every time my husband/stepkids re-enter. It seems like it's not so much a fear of getting denied, but a constant worry that something won't work out or go through correctly because it's conditional and reliant on an extension letter and USCIS not being at all helpful in those situations. Appreciate your input - you've certainly given us a lot to think about!

I am the USC petitioner. The medical is scheduled for September 21, prior to the interview. Can you expand on what tragedies happen with kids are involved in I-751?

Of course I don't. But from reading that thread, it does not seem like a very common occurrence, and all the replies of the very knowledgeable VJ community have indicated that she is still in status, and there's been some error in the system OR the I-751 was denied. Are I-751 denials common?

Context: My husband and stepkids are currently scheduled for their interviews at CDJ in Mexico on September 26, and our plan is to have them cross as soon as they get their visas (hopefully a week or two after - early-ish October). Our second wedding anniversary is March 11. We are (like many of us here on VJ) dying to finally live together; plus, getting my stepdaughters enrolled in school and having my husband get a U.S. job sooner rather than later is a major advantage. Could you expand a little on why ROC should be avoided if possible? I've read through this thread and others that it is expensive ($595 x 4 for us - goodie!) and is extremely delayed. I guess my initial reaction is - well, sure, it may be a lot more waiting, but at least we'd be waiting together, living together. It's been hell doing all of this paperwork and paying all of this money, plus the waiting and waiting and waiting, all while living apart. Is the ROC process particularly nerve-wracking? Is there a chance of losing status? Are the chances of getting denied high? All that to say, this thread has me rethinking our plan a little bit. To wait until March would break my heart and crush me, but I'm curious of ROC is bad enough that it would be worth it to wait.