W199

Severe financial hardship, losing jobs and benefits for the USC is one of the allowable categories for requesting an expedite. But there is no hardship if you don't leave, you could support your foreign husband and kids like everyone else is expected to do, and its so unlikely to be approved for many reasons. And the severe financial hardship excuse is a great excuse for uscis not to approve the other child and make this a moot point. But having proof you tried to keep the timeline on schedule makes a lot of sense if it would help with future UK court proceedings. It seems a bit premature though. And it just doesn't seem like a good idea to give USCIS and the embassy more details and concerns until you have no other choice and you are sure it will do more good than harm. Re your other post, If you have a valid legal court court order, then I can't see how legally it could be viewed as abduction if she leaves after the father has filed new motions for the court. There is no law that puts a legal court order on hold if new proceedings are in motion. That could only be done with an emergency court order. In fact, those new motions should simply become moot and just dismissed by the court if she has left already pursuant to the previous court order. The court no longer has jurisdiction. Warning: you would need to verify with a UK lawyer if this is really true or not.

And then she said an appeal would take 2 years to sort out. The clock to start the appeal would not even start until a significant delay after the under estimated timeframe. The I-130 would long since approved before any appeal got finalized so this is all a moot point, especially since the expedite won't be granted based on this wild and totally unproven speculation that the court order could be revoked before the I-130 is approved

You said you have a court order that allows you to take your daughter out after a particular date. Now you say that that the courts are so slow that it will take 2 years to resolve any complaint that the father might have if you have a delay. Since the I-130 is unlikely to be more than 2 years later than your estimate, it seems there is no issue. The I-130 will be completed before the father can get the order revoked. A judge is not going to simply revoke an order that the court made if you have a delay due to USCIS. In addition, any competent lawyer or agreement would specify a maximum date, or at least have contingencies to allow for USCIS delays or other dependencies. Or it will also have provisions for what will make the agreement invalid and revokable, and other rules for each party. This just doesn't seem to make sense to me, not to mention that you want to use this as an excuse to expedite all your other I-130's. Seems that you are just looking to justify an excuse to jump the line, which is what nearly everyone else does, and uscis sees this from a mile away and they all get denied instantly. I do not blame you, we all do this, and all try to find ways to expedite while justifying it in our brains. But despite all our creativity and pleading with USCIS, it doesn't work except for extreme grave cases or specifically allowed cases (see USCIS guidelines) like aging out.

Thats an interesting point. If she provides proof that she will not have custody and permission to take her daughter out of the country after a particular date, then that could backfire and cause her I-130 to be denied due to not having custody and permission to take her out. But this is only a WILD guess, You would need to consult a competent and highly experienced immigration lawyer, which most are not.

It doesn't matter, that is no where even close to an acceptable reason. USCIS lists the various eligible categories for an expedite,. I think the closest for you would be for humanitarian reasons You would need to provide solid and convincing proof that she is in imminent and serious life threatening danger to jump the line. Probably you'd need multiple police reports, medical reports, affidavits, etc.. that would prove she is in grave danger. I think that would be your only hope. Many people have tried this based on various dangers in their country and get denied as uscis is very good about filtering out what is really a very real danger vs suffering. So it had better be proof beyond a doubt that she is literally in grave danger and not just something that you are afraid or are speculating on. Given all that the court did was give you permission to take her out and did not order any protective or restraining orders for her against the father, it doesn't seem like you would be able to cross this threshold of proof.,

So you are saying you made a proposed plan, that was accepted by the court, and now you want USCIS to meet your proposed plan too? And furthermore you want USCIS to expedite based on a speculation of what might happen despite the fact that you alternatives such as going back to court? And the court order does not say what will happen if the time frame is not met? And you haven't even attempted to go back to court to get an extension, and have no proof that you can't extend it, or must abide by your proposed timeline, or even what will happen if you don't meet your own proposed timeline? And what is the worst that will happen if she can't leave the jurisdiction? is that she will stay with her father and you won't get your way? What is the humanitarian crisis that puts her in a serious life threatening danger or harm? Seems like you have a zero or negative chance at getting an expedite.

You can't do it online, except for online help with the paperwork that you need to file at your local courthouse that has jurisdiction over you. Plus your case is too complex for online paperwork. The divorce laws varies by State. Your first step to get 2-4 free consultations with good divorce lawyers, then choose one. This is complex and you will need to be protected.

Agreed. You will need to wait to do an IR5, and have her come live with you for your 3rd or 4th child Don't waste your time to apply for a tourist visa for her. There is zero chance.

Sounds good, its out of your control at this point. So just try to forget about it, and let time fly by quickly. The USCIS mailroom processsing is totally independent of the country of the beneficiary,. But if you can find proof of otherwise with your friends in the same country, then that would be interesting as no one here really knows all the USCIS secrets.

Did you include form G-1145 e-notification? Hopefully you paid with a personal check to see if they cashed your check yet? My NOA1 came in 2 days and I saw my personal check was cashed immediately as well. But that was months ago. For the photos to prove you met within 2 years, did you write the names, location and date on each photo?

Just curious if there was anything that you can think of that would make it difficult for them to scan your package in? For example, did you have a lot of staples, did you include binders, folders, or laminated items, or a lot of odd size paperwork other than standard 8x11 size paper plus passport size photos? How many pages was your package?

It seems pretty straightforward what you need to do now, e.g. reply to the NOID with the explanation and proof that you mentioned above. But given that your past attempts, for whatever reason, have been unsuccessful, and your citizenship is at stake, it seems prudent to find a competent immigration lawyer, key is competent, and let him help you reply,

If you are in such a big rush and so sure you will marry her, then marry her from the USA next week with a Utah zoom wedding. Note, the CR-1 requires you to meet her after the zoom wedding before filing. Therefore, the very next day, after you meet her, with your wedding certificate in hand from the Utah wedding, you can file the CR-1. Done. Easy. Now you can file taxes as married jointly and save a lot of money if you are a high earner, and it will pay for your trip, wedding, engagement ring, even a Tesla if you are a very high earner. But If you marry her in the Philippines, it could take many months longer, not sure, 5 or 6 months or even much longer depending on your wedding planning in order to get the PSA marriage certificate and file the CR-1. Post a screenshot next week of the wedding!

IMHO, the first step is to meet her and spend some time with her and family before deciding anything. . If you are really gung-ho on doing the K-1 ASAP, then prepare the package before you go, and bring everything with you. Then you can send the package in by fedex after you meet her. Many people do it like this when they plan to spend a long time in the Philippines before going back to the USA But from what you said about trying to apply at the manila embassy, there is a lot you need to learn about the K-1 package, and how to do it properly and optimatly There is a agency that specializes in filipino K-1 and CR-1 that is only $600. You can PM me if you want me to dig their name out. It was the best $600 that I spent, saved me wasting many hours of research and making bad choices and mistakes based on a lot of stuff that you read on the internet or even incompetent immigration lawyers

Agreed, the tourist CFO is a grey area, The CFO and the BI may not be in agreement with each other or even among themselves..The CFO did issue an advisory saying the CFO rules do apply to fiancee's that hold a tourist visa. But that memo is extremely hard to dig up. And multiple people at the CFO did recently confirm to me that it is needed even for a a tourist visa to another Country. But on the other hand, the BI told me that the 2nd time we travel, that we will not be sent to secondary. So this seems to contradict the CFO requirements unless its the first time traveling as fiancee. How about for the other engaged couples that you said left without the CFO, was it their FIRST time traveling as a tourist and as fiancee? The BI told us they will not send us to secondary the next time we travel on a tourist visa. So we were not even going to do the CFO, but we did it just in case there is an overzealous BI agent in a bad mood. Plus we will need it for sure when she gets the K-1 visa. So it was a huge bonus to get it out of the way without dealing with the hassle of it after getting the K-1. We just need to update the registration to a K-1 visa on their website once the K-1 is issued.

Hi As I explained above, after she is your fiancee, the CFO requires her to get a CFO GCP certificate to travel with you or meet you, even if its a tourist visa to another Country. That's your only hope, It will be a hassle but is doable if you persist and can provide all the paperwork.

Before we got engaged, I did the same thing. I took her to Vietnam and Cambodia for a vacation. BI sent us to secondary saying that is a blanket rule for any traveling for the first time, he appologized and said he had no choice. At secondary, BI did not want to talk to me, made me sit in the waiting area, and then questioned my then gf on how she knows me, prove that she has traveled with me within the Philippines for the last couple of years, and needed to provide proof. They explained that just recently a Filipina went abroad with her bf, he beat her, and left her stranded in the Country after they had a fight. Therefore, just talking nice, showing you have a good job, etc.. is not enough. You need to prove a long time relationship and experience traveling with each other for evidence that you are safe. This is simply because many guys want to just meet the girls for the first time, often not even give their real names, to take them out, and ultimately abuse them since they are helpless being out of the country. After secondary was satisfied she has traveled locally with me for the last couple of years with dated photos, and she could provide my personal details, they came to me, took a copy of my passport and made me sign an affidavit. So you can see, there is no way they will let the OP just meet her for the first time, the 18 month online relationship means nothing for proof he is safe to travel with, and let her leave. Money, job, etc.. all will not matter .. they want proof in terms of time and personal experience. He is going to need to get engaged, and get a CFO GCP certificate if he wants to travel anytime soon with her

Some of the answers here are not that "accurate." Here is what you need to know. Yes, you are right, the fact that you never met her before and that she never traveled out of the Country will put you under the microscope.. If this is her first time out of the country, it is extremely unlikely they will allow you to meet her for the first time, and then on the same visit (or even the same year), take her out of the country. I would strongly suggest don't waste your time unless you get the CFO GCP certificate. Once she is your fiancée, she is required by the CFO office to get a CFO GCP certificate. Yes, she technically needs one per the CFO even if she is on a tourist visa, going to a different country that the one she will immigrate to. I have verified this, and just did it my fiancée for meeting her in Canada while waiting for the K-1. Once she gets the CFO GCP certificate, then this is her ticket to leave the Country without any hassles or risk. If she is just your gf, not fiancee, then you don't need the CFO, but secondary will offload you because you just met her. It will be very difficult for her to get the CFO certificate if she has never met you before, you haven't even applied for the K-1 yet, and she doesn't have a tourist visa from a country that they CFO knows already did an investigation on her. But it is still possible, it will just be very hard a lot of documents needed. But for us, it was very easy, no documents were really needed, and it was only a 30 second interview. But this was because we had many years of visiting each other, traveling locally, the K-1 was already applied for and they know how much paperwork was needed for that, and she had a tourist visa from Canada which they also know is difficult to get without all the paperwork. If you really want to try it, then your best bet would be to wait to meet her, have her do the online CFO, and then if everything goes smoothly she will have the certificate in just a 2-3 days. Then you can make travel plans to travel with her. But I bet it won't go smoothly with the CFO, but it is free to try and she can do it from her house with a zoom meeting with the CFO if she has high speed internet. Just don't get your hopes up.

If you are legally required in your country to get an FTIN, then you need to get one. If not legally required or if your Country does not issue them, then "FTIN is not legally required" is an valid explanation that the IRS will accept.

You are saying two different things. Here you say you will file taxes "separately". The only "separately" category is "Married filing separately". That is fine and makes sense under certain rare cases such as if he has HUGE out of pocket medical expense combined with you also having a good income, then it could make sense. But you yourself would probably end up paying higher taxes. If these rare cases applied to him, then that is fine and is the right thing to do. But if this is really the case, then you should find out what he is hiding to create such large out of pocket expenses that prevent it from making sense to take the standard deduction. Does he not have health care, gambling losses, etc? If the above is correct, then all is good, and ignore and disregard the following. The other thing you said which is very different from the above is that he wants you and him to file as "singe" after getting married. This is tax fraud, and very bad things will happen to you and him and your immigration benefits. If he files single and you filed "married file separately", then you must list your spouse on the tax return. He will then 100% automatically get audited, have to pay fines, and penalties, and then bad things will likely happen in your "marriage". He doesn't sound too tax savvy as he would have explained the exact rare circumstance that would make filing separately ad advantage. Usually it is HUGE advantage to file jointly. And to know if you really need to file jointly takes a bit of work with an accountant or using TurboTax and doing it both ways for both him and you and then combining the total taxes that you will pay when married. Therefore, the only other thing that I can think of why he would want you to file single, and that he is hiding something from you such as he is really still being married to someone else. Otherwise, this really doesn't make any sense to commit tax fraud when it will almost certainly save a lot of money to file jointly.

Ouch! Checking off that she is your spouse seems more serious. You might want to check with a lawyer. If it were me, I would pronbably try to submit an errata even though there is no real guaranted mechansim to do so. But my guess is if they are in a good mood, they would issue you a NOID (notice to deny) and give you a chance to correct the error. I bet they encounter these typo's often, so I wouldn't panic.

Seems like you are reading too much "stuff" on the internet. All you needed were signed intent letters from each of you saying that you are are legally free to marry and intend to do so within 90 days of arriving in the USA. If you didn't do this, they will send you an RFE anyways which is not going to clear this up. They know very well the k-1 approvals are taking much longer and wedding plans need to be delayed, so it would be insane to deny you based on wedding plans that are impossible to do due to their pathetic backlog. If there was some confusion, I'd think they would issue a RFE or NOID and give you a chance to reply. They would normally only outright deny it if there was obvious inegligibilty such as not meeting within 2 years. The "too married" stuff is for strict cultures where traveling and being together is taboo in their culture and makes it higly suspicious that you are really married. Stop reading so much and getting paranoid!

You can choose to do the CFO GCP in-person or do it purly online with no face-to-face meeting For the online option, there is only a delivery option for the certificate. Immediately after you pay the fee for that, they send an email ack with the digital certificiate in the email. Whats the big deal, its only $8 and the CFO seminar and couseling was free. You don't even have to pay to travel to the CFO office. Its so insiginfificant, its not even wroth the time to make this message. Plus, as we keep saying, they are doing away with this hardcopy requirement. Its all changing very soon.

Do you mean a B-2 visa for emergency medical? She would not be eligible for that now that she has a US fiance (or even a US BF). The Philiippines is extremely strict.

This is just my guess, so take it with a grain of salt. But I think It would be very unlikely since it doesn't help the USC petitioner, and its not a urgent, sudden, and grave situation. Even so many USC petioners with cancer get denied. You would need to show that your medical situation suddenly changed for the worse and you are in grave danger and the only solution is medical treatement in the USA. Just needing better medical care won't be enough. Medical "emergencies"' are a common excuse and most get denied. The USCIS website says a reason for expediting for humantiarian reasons would be "sudden grave illness that requires you to be in the U.S." I wonder if in your case a CR-1 combined with a K-3 visa, then some well planned medical letters to expedite might be a better choice. It might help reduce the risk of being denied a K-1, and might have some medical insurance benefits depending on his medical plan. But if so, both of you need to be able to emotionally handle being married and then being seperated for a long time until you get the CR-1.