appleblossom

Anybody filing under the 5 year rule can file 90 days early as they don’t have to meet the ‘marital union’ requirement at all - I’m one of them as I got my GC through employment. To add to @OldUser’s link, it’s also in the N400 instructions - https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/n-400instr.pdf

Interview for what? DV? She should have a detailed checklist of what she’ll need to bring and yes, marriage certificate is on it. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/diversity-visa-program-entry/diversity-visa-interview/diversity-visa-prepare-for-interview.html

The marital union requirement is separate and must be met at the time of filing.

Yep, saw that - you posted at the same time as I did, edited my post! 😊

Then you did the right thing withdrawing, you weren't eligible to file yet. Best of luck with the second application.

Not necessarily. When you say you got your GC on 8/26/22, is that when you entered on your immigrant visa? Or did you enter on your IV earlier than that/get your green card through AoS and therefore live with your spouse before that date?

Congrats! That's pretty standard for any 'normal' application via London, mine was the same. Interview on Monday afternoon and I had my passport back with visa on the Thursday afternoon. AP is usually just a final box checking exercise, it's only unusual circumstances/people with links to high risk countries that will take longer for AP.

Before you decide, I'll ask @Crazy Cat to share their excellent comparison list for K1 vs CR1. Good luck.

You can travel and marry but then you would return to your home country and apply for a spouse visa via consular processing. AoS woudn't be an option. You haven't answered the questions about the age different or consulate? It could be very important, particularly if you've only met once. You might need to plan another few visits together before re-filing if it's a large difference and/or a high fraud consulate, another denial wouldn't be good.

Ok, so it sounds like they had some doubts about the validity of the relationship. Hopefully checking that will take less time than if it was other checks, but it’s just a case of waiting it out now. Good luck.

It can take a lot longer than 4 weeks. All you can do is wait it out I’m afraid. What were the additional docs they asked for?

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/iv-wait-times.html Bonne chance.

I was asking about it for any future application.

What's the age difference between you both and which consulate? Just wondering if that might be difficult to overcome anyway, even if you refile with the correct documents.

It seems they’ll find out anyway if they look at the I-864, so I think you’re going to have to have a tough conversation with them. But if you’re going to be living close to them then surely they’ll know - won’t they invited to events with you and your husband, come to your house etc? Even if they don’t find out from the I-864 there will be many other ways they could once living near you. What if (God forbid) you were in an accident and they turned up to the hospital to find your husband there? What if they keep trying to set you up with girls and somebody else tells them? As Boiler said, if you didn’t want them to know then you shouldn’t have petitioned them really. I don’t think you’re being fair to them by lying to them and bringing them to another country when they don’t know about something so major - if they find out 6 months in, do you think they’d want to stay? Wouldn’t it be better to be truthful now and let them decide if they still want to come? If it’s causing you this much stress and they’re going to find out anyway I’d tell them now rather than risk them finding out from another source. Best of luck to you.

They won't usually schedule interviews if no visas are available though, and the link I gave you above says May 2023 are currently being scheduled for employment based. I'm sure once October rolls around it won't take long. Good luck.

Then it seems you do need to take the I-864, it's on the consulate specific interview instructions - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/Supplements/Supplements_by_Post/GUZ-Guangzhou.html#pre_interview_checklist Is that the document you're worried about, or is it something else?

Perfectly normal, and nothing to worry about. The visa quota has either been met or is about to be, so they're only scheduling those DQ'ed well before your date - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/iv-wait-times.html Which country were you born in?

What exactly are you worried about them seeing/hearing? Is it a specific document or something else? And which consulate?

Can you amend your text so it's a bit smaller? No idea why it's coming up so huge but it makes it really hard to read! Boiler wasn't saying you had aged out, just that you are looking at two issues - aging out and seeking to acquire - as one. All you can do is wait and see what NVC say, and if they refuse to move you back to F2A that's when you'll have to argue that you couldn't seek to acquire within a year anyway due to their original error. Good luck.

Is he South African? Why is he not interviewing in the country where he's resident? That would presumably be much easier if he can't travel to SA easily.

Their advice is correct though. It does keep the case active, but it doesn't stop you aging out, they just didn't mention that bit! But as I said above, if you couldn't submit in June 2024 because they had you as F2B, that's the argument you'll have to make if they refuse to move you back.

That didn't seem to be within the one year window to me though, as from the dates you've given a visa become available to you on 1st June 2024. So you'd have had to have paid the fee etc before 1st June 2025 to have met the sought to acquire requirement. But I've only done a quick look/calculation - if you're eligible, NVC will put you back to F2A soon I'm sure. I guess the argument you'll have to make if they refuse is that because they incorrectly moved you to F2B the first time, it mean you couldn't pay the fees etc when you should have been able to. Good luck.

That does keep your case active, but doesn't stop you aging out in to F2B. You have to 'seek to acquire' the visa within a year of it becoming available to you if you want to take advantage of CPSA. See this webpage - https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/child-status-protection-act-cspa "To benefit from CSPA as an alien applying for family preference (including VAWA self-petition), employment-based preference, or a DV , you must seek to acquire lawful permanent resident status within 1 year of when a visa becomes available . This is referred to as the “sought to acquire” requirement. You may satisfy this requirement by: Properly filing Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status; Submitting a completed Part 1 of Form DS-260, Immigrant Visa Electronic Application; Paying the immigrant visa fee to the Department of State; Paying the Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, review fee to the Department of State (provided the alien is listed on the Affidavit of Support); or Having a Form I-824, Application for Action on an Approved Application or Petition, properly filed on your behalf."

When you say they abandoned it, do you mean they've actually withdrawn the petition? Or just left it? No problem applying for a B visa either way, your chances are slim of it being granted but you can always apply.