Hi Daphne, thank you for your helpful response!
Regarding your question "Does she have a stable job and life in Indonesia," her immediate family (mother, father and sister) live in Indonesia and it’s important for her to return Indonesia to be with them. She owns her own clothing business in Indonesia which she has been running for about six years. She does not currently own property or a home in Indonesia, and has been living in her sister's house. Does that sound like it would satisfy the need for "stable job and life in Indonesia"? What other sorts of things are helpful to demonstrate this?
She has visited the US three times since 2021. Visit history: 2021: 2 months, 2022: 4 months, 2023: 180 days or very near to it. Should we be concerned because that last visit was so close to the maximum allowed? Did we make a mistake with that?
Ideally she would come to visit for four months this next time, while waiting for the I-130 to be processed if we get married first.
One immigration lawyer I spoke with said he thought it would be fine for her to visit on the B2 visa while the I-130 was pending as long as we have a letter from the lawyer explaining she had applied for I-130 and will be returning to her country to complete the process after her visit. Is that letter important or useful? (also, another lawyer said something completely different: that she would not be able to visit on a B2 visa while the I-130 is pending).
If we get married in Indonesia and apply for the I-130 and she comes to visit the US on the B2 visa, while at CBP at the POE should she mention that she’s married to a US citizen and is coming to visit him, or should she not mention this (unless asked?)?
Thank you again!