OldUser

Is your lawyer a real lawyer?

Normal, wait for few days. Sometimes the status is delayed. But I also understand based on my observations, if IO opens your case to look at it, and closes the window, you may get update saying action been taken without any actual action being taken by IO.

Yes, by staying in home country for 2 years you'll prove satisfaction of 212e requirement.

I cannot make this decision for you. See @appleblossom answer. Also, wouldn't it make more economical sense (besides benefits to marriage in general) to live in one place and pay rent for one place instead of two places? Can your spouse find a job in big city and move in with you? How long do you anticipate this separation to last? People typically don't get married to live in different cities.

Only if she lives / planning to live there. If you get an interview, one of the first questions you may get asked is to show both of your DLs / IDs. If addresses on them don't match, expect scrutiny. But you wouldn't want to pretend living together either by listing on lease / updated IDs when not residing together. This could be viewed as misrepresentation. If there are suspicious about your living arrengements, USCIS can send few agents to knock on the door you listed as residence in application as ask where your spouse is.

Living apart is one of the fraud indicators. Do you comingle finances?

Smart move. MyProgress is one of the biggest sources of confusion and elevated expectations.

And for OP's knowledge: US does not allow working in person or remotely without work authorization on visitor's visa. So if you end up getting the visa, do not abuse it.

You need to put truthful information in the forms, including your employment.

I wouldn't be too angry as a lot of the times congressman enquiry doesn't do anything. They ask about case, and get standard reply from USCIS saying the case is within processing times. Essentially, you get a VIP concierge experience asking on your behalf but not having powers over USCIS.

Well, but her getting another J1 won't solve issues with 2 year rule and ultimately residence in the US.

The estimates are just estimates. My I-751 was estimated 7 months but ended up 20.5 months due to estimates shifting. The elections are over, you can't have the same expected turnaround time. Plus you have a prior denial in your pocket which also doesn't speed things up.

Three doesn't seem to be a delay in your case. N-400 typically takes around a year. There were quicker adjudications related to upcoming elections. Now that this is behind, there's no rush to adjudicate N-400.

Good to know, I'm not sure OP works at the airport. I mentioned 99% of other jobs that don't have such requirements.

Agreed, I have the same question.

It's an absolute must to submit all pages of all forms and all evidence. Don't skip pages in statements or lease, this can cause RFE. You may save few bucks submitting partial documents, but you may long delays related to RFE.

Whenever you apply for citizenship, you automatically receive I-797 with 24-month extension on your GC expiration. You'll be able to use your GC and extension letter to reenter the US, for example. When it comes to employment, the best documents to use for I-9 verification are: 1) Valid driver's license or state ID 2) Unrestricted social security card. E.g. the one that doesn't say any conditions written on it such as "Valid for employment only with DHS authorization". If you have such writing on SS card, get it replaced for free at SSA by filing SS-5 form. Never show employers your GC and or extension letters. They can't demand to see it (law gives you option to use List B+C documents for I-9). HR often don't know how to handle GCs and extension letters.

This won't be different to you marrying in person, then spouse trying entering US on Esta.

There is no downside uploading tax return transcripts

They're quick to take the money but not so quick to adjudicate 😃 In general, notifications lag behind. You can sometimes get faster clues from other sources: - Your bank when they cash the check - USPS Informed Delivery when GC / work card or other correspondence is sent from USCIS. And also, emails and messages lag behind case status, which in its turn lags behind the other things I mentioned above.

If at the time your I-485 was approved you were married for over 2 years, you rightfully received 10 year GC. You didn't need to file I-751. Some people receive 10 year GC in error, when they should have received 2 year conditional card. They get in trouble if they don't file I-751. All appears good in your case, don't worry

From few days to few weeks typically.

Things are typically a bit faster for non-immigrants (outside of H1B visas) since they're not coming forever.

You can delay the case:

Based on earlier messages, she already tried ESTA and got denied. OP is asking whether it's worth applying for visitor's visa as a German citizen. I don't see how it would get approved right now.