Zeldadla

Hi All, My husband and I (petitioner & then green card holder) submitted I-130 and I-485 in January 2022. He is in the U.S. with EAD. The I-130 was approved in July 2023, and we are in the case decision phase for the I-485 (interview appears to have been waived). In the meantime I applied for citizenship and took the oath two days ago (YAY). I just wanted to confirm that we should mail a copy of my naturalization certificate and a letter requesting my status to be updated for his case (so he is considered spouse of citizen rather than PR) to the Chicago field office (where we have sent our materials so far). Is this correct, or are we missing something? Thank you so much!

I just looked it up and it’s possible under certain circumstances. I am 100% sure. 🙂 Thank you so much!

Thank you all for your responses! The visa bulletin was current when we filed (I don’t remember the exact date of filing, but I remember it was current), therefore the concurrent filing. My husband was still on a visa when we filed, so he never fell out of status. He has his AP document (and has traveled with no problems) and EAD. We have been seeing a lot of fast approvals lately (within a year of filing) which is why we thought it might be worthwhile to have our congresswoman check in, but there is nothing that we can think of that could jeopardize his approval. It has just been a long time and my husband is starting to get depressed and worried because his “career job” requires a green card. I will look into possibly expediting my N-400, thank you!

I am permanent resident (from Germany, submitted N-400 in October 2024) sponsoring my husband who is from Colombia. We submitted I-130 and I-485 in January of 2022. Our I-130 was approved in July 2023. Interview appears to have been waived and we have been in the final case decision stage for four months now. According to my check on USCIS website, we are still within normal processing times until March 2025 (Chicago field office). My husband has a an excellent job prospect, but it requires that he is a permanent resident, and we are nervous about the new administration coming in. Can we ask our Congresswoman to check with USCIS now or should we wait until we fall out of the normal processing time? Thank you!

Hi all, just a quick update and a big thank you to you all for giving us the peace of mind to travel. Our trip was amazing (we had our delayed wedding party with my family and friends and honeymoon - it was important to me to do it ASAP because my father's health is declining). Two days before returning to the U.S., we received notice that the I-130 was approved. My husband was able to return to the U.S. with his AP documents with no problem (just a quick check in secondary inspection). Now we are waiting for the adjudication of his I-485 application (from the safety of being back in the U.S. ). Thank you for helping us have a great trip! ❤️

Our experience with lawyers has not been the greatest...thankfully this place exists!

This was super helpful! Thank you! Thank you! We don't intend to stay abroad longer than a few weeks. Thank you for the reassurance! I My lawyer also just emailed back and said we could have the green card FedExed abroad so he can use it to reenter the country. So it appears that there are options... You all are great, thank you! ❤️

Thank you so much for all the information, everyone! Mike, yes, the I-485 was filed with the I-130.

He was in the U.S. on a tourist visa when we met. We married and filed the I-130 before his tourist visa expired. His I-131 was approved earlier this year and he traveled to Colombia with his advance parole document (which was stamped on the way back to the U.S.). The travel document will be valid until after our trip this summer, but our lawyer advises against traveling because she said if the green card is approved while we are out of the country, he can't re-enter the U.S. with the advance parole document but would need to enter with the green card. Thank you!

Dear all, My husband (Colombian) and I (German green card holder) submitted our initial I-130 in January of 2022 and recently responded to a request for additional evidence (received by USCIS on May 11). We are planning a 5-week trip this summer to visit my family in Europe. He has his advance parole document (he traveled to Colombia recently with no issues). However, our lawyer is advising against traveling because she says if the green card is approved while we are abroad, he would have to re-enter the U.S. with the green card. Can anyone share any experiences? Thank you!