JD2

I don't think the I-751 even asks for passport number or a copy of passport.

Why don’t you try it and let everyone know?

Best to keep a spreadsheet and keep a log of date left, date returned, and countries visited.

Congratulations. Good luck to you. Please fill out your timeline so we can follow your case. Another reason to file an I-130 would be if you think you'd travel before getting Advance Parole. But I would adjust without the I-130 if you're sure you'll be able to stay put until you get AP (assuming you get married and file before the 90 days are up).

I don't know. I would wager not since the rest of the section wasn't filled out. My thinking is they probably get typos all the time so they know how to handle them but I'm just guessing. Whatever you decide to do, good luck to you and congratulations.

Double check your I-94 and leave before your authorized stay and you'll be fine. https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/home. People change plans all the time. In the I-130, there's a section for if you are inside the United States, you fill that out BUT you do not select adjustment of status, you say you want to consular process and write in the consulate that handles immigrant visas in the home country.

If I understand you correctly, the timing of your wedding is the primary concern? You could get married and file an I-130 then consular process. You could do a simple court marriage now to get the I-130 going then do the big wedding later this year. I think you should have plenty of time on your visitor visa if you entered late July. You'd have to withdraw the I-129F after getting married. You can continue to visit while the I-130 is processing but it will most likely be a longer process than continuing with the K-1 but it also has some benefits.

So I emailed a local attorney asking for a quote on my spouse's upcoming N-400 and also I asked when can she file. I gave the date of our marriage, the date she got her GC and the date we started living together (same as GC date). The attorney said we can file 90 days early but recommended we wait a couple business days after that date to be safe. I'm pretty sure I gave them all the info needed to tell us she should wait the full 3 years but I didn't want to bias their answer by telling them about these cases linked in this thread. So it seems like even immigration attorneys are unaware of this. I may send a follow up email but their prices are very high and I don't want to pay that much so I don't know if it's ethical to waste their time now.

Isn't the officer wrong about #4? They filed in the 90 day window.

Yes, you can.

I guess someone would have to appeal a denial based on that to find out for sure but it's probably easier to just reapply so we may never know.

Like others have said, you can go ahead and file and you'll probably be fine but if you want to keep things extra clean, then wait. I withdrew my I-129F (K-1) and filed an I-130 (CR-1) but I did not wait for the withdrawal acknowledgment. It took forever and came after my I-130 was approved.

In this second case, @top_secret says that most people who file early but don't meet the marital union requirement at the time of filing (but I assume do meet it by the interview date) are fine. Would you say that is true? I don't intend to tell my spouse to file early because we won't qualify under marital union but I'm trying to understand do the officers have the authority to just side step this requirement?

So who CAN file early? Who could be in continuous residence for only 2 years 9 months but still be in marital union for 3 years? I'm guessing only LPRs who lived with their spouse in the US before adjustment? Or maybe if a couple lived together abroad before coming with a CR-1 or IR-1?

Any links to these cases? Not doubting you; just curious. My spouse is approaching N-400 eligibility so I want to read up.

So the 90 days allows you to file with just 2 years and 9 months of continuous residence but all other criteria must be satisfied. How could someone meet the early filing eligibility but still have marital union of 3 years? They lived together abroad for 3 months or more?

So if you arrived on a CR-1 and that's when you and spouse started living together and that same day is when you became an LPR, you cannot apply 90 days early? Do you have a source please? If what you say is true, then the N-400 early filing calculator on USCIS.gov is wrong for a big chunk of cases. Almost everyone who consular processed would not qualify for early filing.

May I suggest getting married now while y'all are together and filing for a CR-1 visa. You can still visit on ESTA during the process for up to 3 months at a time. My brother's wife did that from the UK and it went smoothly. Adjustment is also a possibility assuming you did not intend to adjust before you came but the downside is the many months waiting for the work permit and not being able to leave the US while waiting for Advance Parole. You can view timelines by navigating to the timelines section of Visa Journey. I would not do the K-1. Either adjust or do CR-1. There's not much benefit to a K-1 over adjustment.

Yea, great system we have. Great use of people's money. You can concoct countless scenarios. What if this New Zealander mother is actually a secret member of Tren de Aragua? Or a secret member of Hamas? Or both groups simultaneously? By that logic we should never use discretion ever. They should make reasonable judgments based on the facts before them. Y'all are going to logical extremes to defend this admin's cruel, unforgiving policy (like the other side did to defend Biden's overly generous asylum policy).

That's the language from the article. Did you read the article? Her savings being depleted is literally in the article. If you are plucked out of your life and put in detention, you think your bills just stop? I can't believe I'm having to say this. And my spouse forgot her GC at home when we went to Cancun and the Consulate told us the Carriers have discretion and one option was to try to board without her GC. I've posted about the experience before and copied what the Consulate's email said.

Flights and land borders have always been treated differently. Airlines have to pay for return fare so they consider their risk. It's not CBP usually it's airline agents (and even they have discretion too). Do you really think a paperwork error deserves getting put in detention, your kid losing school or daycare days, your savings being depleted? Imagine what that is like for her and her family. Unless there's something else we don't know, this situation screams discretion.

So we can judge was this a good use of discretion? I think the answer is clearly no.

I think we can infer what it means. She thought she had a combo card but only had EAD. People can make honest mistakes. It's one of the reasons for discretion.

The article explains it. "“Border Patrol had the discretion to parole her into the U.S.,” Thorward said. “I told her, yes, you don’t have a travel document, but you’ve only been gone about a day. Just explain what happened to the immigration officials.” Then she would re-file her adjustment based on her VAWA I-130.

It appears she did: "“I thought we had crossed every ‘T’ and dotted every ‘I,’” said Victoria Besancon, a close friend of Shaw.“