JD2

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.“

"Although Shaw lacked a travel document, her son Isaac had one, according to Thorward. Shaw asked Border Patrol agents to allow Besancon, the family friend, to pick up her son, but they refused." Maybe the older kids had AP like their sibling?

So? Better than what she's experiencing now.

What exactly is the issue though? The reporter could have been far more precise but we all get what is going on here (she came legally, divorced, is VAWA now, thought she had AP but only had EAD and traveled). Under normal times, CBP would've paroled her in at a land border but Trump drastically curtailed that discretion leading to immense harm to her family. Instead of empathizing with the horrific situation a paperwork issue has caused her family, we're nitpicking about the reporter saying "visa" instead of "advanced parole." Really? Or maybe I'm missing something here?

Doesn't the article state all of this already? "While her work authorization had been approved, her advance parole had not." and "Shaw immigrated to the United States three and a half years ago under sponsorship from her then-husband. While divorce often jeopardizes a green card application, she qualified to reapply independently under provisions for survivors of domestic abuse."

I tried to look up why it was suspended and it looks like it got chewed up by DOGE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enumeration_Beyond_Entry_program I wrote a latter to my Representative to ask them to reinstate the EBE program. My spouse's EAE had a glitch and I don't want to go through that again.

OP probably should get it overnighted.

The Consulate in Mexico told me the following (see #2) so they have the ability to board without documents if they wanted to but maybe we got away with something: If you are an LPR who has been outside of the United States for fewer than 365 days, below are three options for returning to the United States: Apply for admission directly with Customs and Border Protection at a land port of entry. More information is available about land ports of entry at http://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports Ask your airline to call the Regional Carrier Liaison Group in Miami and seek permission to board without an entry document. The airline retains ultimate authority to board or deny boarding. This is a service provided by the airline to the passenger. The U.S. Embassy is not involved in the process. More information is available at http://www.cbp.gov/travel/travel-industry-personnel/carrier-liaison-prog Apply for a boarding foil (one-time entry) with the U.S. Embassy.

I'm sorry I should have been clearer. This was before GC expiry. I imagined airline apps would let you upload the letters too but maybe not. Then getting the GC overnighted, or boarding foil or Canada or Mexico land crossing would be the OPs best bet.

My spouse forgot her GC when we went to Cancun, Mexico. Since we both had Global entry, we made it back fine. CBP never even asked. We did online check-in and we had already scanned documents in our airline app. You might be able to use images to do online check-in if you have digital copies. I checked all our bags so my spouse wouldn't have to interact with the counter agent. The counter airline rep will be more a problem than CBP. You can do a boarding foil but appointments will depend on when they have availability. Also, in Mexico, you have to pay before they will schedule you. I imagine Greece is similar. Good luck.

We've gone through this before. There's data from Lawfully as I explained before. I'm not saying it works or it doesn't but it's worth a shot before dishing out $10,000+ for a lawyer to file a mandamus IMHO. The OP @Joshimrahman needs to decide if it's worth the time and ink and paper to file an I-129F. I think it's an easy choice especially since he has some time before he can do an out of normal processing time inquiry. We do know this. If OP had filed a K-3 from the start, OP could have done an inquiry on the I-129F long ago.

You are misunderstanding. You can file an I-129F for a K-3 visa IN ADDITION to the I-130. People here are saying it is no longer issued (there are only a few every year). But some think it helps push the I-130 along. It's free and takes only a few minutes to get together. I suggest you do all the free steps that you can (K-3, out of normal processing time inquiries, Senator/Representative), then proceed to a Mandamus if you don't get a decision by winter.

It is the same form as the fiancé visa. You can only apply by paper. https://www.uscis.gov/i-129f Here's what you need to submit. You should have almost everything from the I-130. Form G-1145 Form I-129F I-797C from your Form I-130 Marriage Certificate Divorce Certificates (if any) Evidence of Name Change (if any) Petitioner’s Passport or Birth Certificate or other proof of US citizenship Petitioner's Court Records (if ever arrested or traffic ticket over $500) Petitioner Passport Photo Beneficiary Passport Photo

There's a new interview waiver update: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/News/visas-news/interview-waiver-update-july-25-2025.html. My brother-in-law appears to qualify but he has 2 years left on his B1/B2. He's an Indian citizen and in New Delhi it is taking 8 months for interview required visas per the State Dept. website. They don't publish interview waiver wait times. Should he apply for a new visa before expiry to make sure he gets into that 1 year window in case processing times are longer than published? He has plenty of ties to home country and has no interest in living in the US but since his first B1/B2 my spouse became an LPR (and will likely be a USC by the time he applies).

I used Rocket Lawyer for this if you are price sensitive. If you are savvy it's a decent alternative. Obviously not as good as having an attorney so you should redo it once you accumulate significant assets.

Our situation is similar but not exactly the same. We want to move to London. I'm a UK & US dual citizen and my spouse is LPR. We were going to file for a re-entry permit which allows you to stay outside the US for up to 2 years. But, we decided to just wait til citizenship. It's only 3 years. Then, my spouse can become dual citizen like me eventually. Your kids may be able to inherit both citizenships no matter what you decide.

Only the first dose in our experience. I've never heard of anyone having to do all the doses before coming to the US.

Have you tried contacting KCC? Instructions are here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/diversity-visa-program-entry/diversity-visa-if-you-are-selected/diversity-visa-submit-your-iv-and-alien-registration-application.html Get your documents ready so you can submit all of them as soon as possible when you get a chance. Good luck.

Some of the others can be multiple doses depending on your situation. For example, my spouse got 2 doses of the MMR because we travel internationally frequently. She got one with the panel Dr. and another at the health dept.

I think you will only have to do the first dose of any series. Your spouse can finish the series after they arrive in the USA. That's how my spouse's was. After arriving in the US, I took her to the local Health Dept. and they completed the series (no one really checks if you finish but you should).

I don't want to hijack the OP's post to make it about K-3s. So this is the last I'll say. Even if there's a 1% chance that it might help, I would do it given it's no cost. The Lawfully data shows there may be that 1%. Also, if he had applied for the K-3 from the start, he could have done inquiry on the I-129F months ago rather than waiting til Sept. Expecting an individual to voluntarily not do something when others are is absurd. Congress created this mess. Just because Congress is a mess too doesn't shift the burden onto individuals. It's perfectly legal to apply whereas expedites are a bit different. I would not do an expedite without a valid reason. But @Joshimrahman, if you have a valid expedite reason, I'd do that too, in addition to the K-3, congressman, and inquiry. I would try everything you can that is cost free, then proceed to a mandamus lawsuit if those don't work by this Winter. Also, please fill out your timeline.

Then Congress should make a change. It's not an individual's responsibility to forgo an immigration benefit. When my spouse was abroad, I did whatever I could with no regrets and I'd do it again. I filed for K-3 and my I-130 was approved in roughly 2 months and so did my brother for his wife and she also got approved in roughly 2 months. I don't know if it was the K-3 or not but Lawfully had data that showed K-3 I-129Fs are denied much faster than all I-130s, which implies their corresponding I-130s were approved much faster than I-130s overall. This was in 2022 so it may not hold now and I wish we had better, more detailed data. But, I have no ethical qualms about filing an I-129F and I'd tell my friends/family to do it if they were filing.

Yea, sure. I-129Fs for K-3 visas are causing these backlogs. Sure... I believe that.