SJinCA

Listen to them. For God's sake, when every single person in your life whose opinion you value is giving you the same answer, listen to them. Do not under any circumstances travel to Pakistan as a single woman to meet a stranger. I don't care how often you've talked online, anybody can be anyone online. This person is a stranger to you until you've spent at least some time together in-person. What would you do in the (incredibly likely) scenario that you arrive there, and your love interest turns out to be a completely different person than how they represented themself online? What if he takes your passport? What if he becomes abusive or violent? How did you meet this guy exactly? Is there some backstory, did he just message you out of the blue? Even in a conservative culture like Pakistan's, talking about getting married to someone you've never met in-person (or at least, who you don't know through friends/family) is a red flag. There are plenty of horror stories on this forum and others like it of people who realized their long-distance partner was a completely different person than how they presented themselves at first. You should really read some of those stories to understand exactly what you might be getting yourself into in the entirely likely event that this man sees you as a means to an end, rather than as someone to build a life with.

Another thought in addition to what you've already listed: does your daughter participate in any extracurricular activities -- dance classes, after-school program, something like that? Do you have any records for that? At what point are you in the home-buying process? Are you just going to look at options, or are you about to close? I would be prepared to explain your anticipated timeline and why you're buying a house at this particular moment. U.S. citizen parent, with sole custody of a foreign citizen child, having already filed an I-130 for said child which shows an intent to immigrate, bringing child into the U.S. in order to buy a home -- that is more than enough to raise suspicions about the "temporariness" of a visit. Not doubting your story, just thinking how a CBP officer might. You might be asked how you will manage paying rent in Canada as well as paying a mortgage on a second house. I would be prepared for that question with evidence.

A maximum of 55,000 diversity visas are issued every year worldwide, and millions of people apply, so your chances are slim.

Since your Canadian passport is in English, and presumably whatever documents you have for your address in Canada are also in English, I wouldn't bother completing that section.

Better to keep your documents in plastic sleeves -- provides protection without permanently altering the document.

Small quip, but assuming the OP is female, it wouldn't be polygamy -- polygyny (one husband, multiple wives) is permissible in Islam, but polyandry (one wife, multiple husbands) certainly is not.

Like many countries, Georgia requires applicants for a marriage certificate to demonstrate that any previous legally-contracted marriage of either party has been terminated. See here from Georgia's Public Services Agency. Worst case scenario, you've committed bigamy, which would preclude your spouse from sponsoring your immigration. Best case scenario, this marriage may not have been valid in the first place. You should contact a good marriage attorney in Georgia ASAP to see if it's at all possible to have this marriage annulled somehow. I'm by no means an expert, but it seems like the best possible outcome is 1. annul current invalid marriage, 2. divorce ex properly, legally, and with necessary documentation, 3. re-marry spouse, submitting documentation that previous marriage to ex has been terminated, 4. apply for U.S. immigration. Whether that is possible depends on Georgia's family law.

To my knowledge, apostilles generally are not necessary for CR-1 documents. Your best bet would be to contact the Embassy in Colombia to be sure. See here: https://co.usembassy.gov/visas/iv-contact-form/ Good luck!

Just because you lost your physical green card doesn't mean you lose your status as a U.S. lawful permanent resident (LPR). You are an LPR until a U.S. immigration judge determines your LPR status should be rescinded, which requires a hearing, personal service by USCIS, you would know if that were happening or had already happened. Were you only outside of the U.S. for longer than 12 months because you lost your physical green card and were therefore unable to return?

If your spouse still has their home country nationality, they will likely have to enter their home country using a passport issued by their home country. Many countries (including the U.S.) require their nationals who hold multiple citizenships to enter using the passport issued by that country, rather than a foreign passport. I would plan for your spouse to travel with both their U.S. and home country passport. Exit and re-enter the U.S. with the U.S. passport, exit and re-enter spouse's home country with the home country passport. Also keep in mind, as previous posters mentioned, some countries consider their nationals to have abandoned their citizenship of that country by acquiring the citizenship of a foreign country. For example, here in Uzbekistan, nationality law says that citizens of Uzbekistan are only recognized as citizens of Uzbekistan, even if they acquire another citizenship, and that acquiring foreign citizenship may be grounds for losing Uzbekistani citizenship. If you're willing to share your spouse's original nationality, someone may be able to advise you more accurately. It's certainly worth investigating and making sure you understand what ramifications, if any, acquiring U.S. citizenship will have on your spouse's home country citizenship.

The former president just days ago claimed he would reinstate his "travel ban" policy if re-elected. It might just be campaign rhetoric, but I think it's certainly a possibility. My spouse is a national of a country that, while never included in any of the previous administration's "Muslim bans," is adjacent (geographically and in terms of similarity of its relations to the U.S.) with a country that was, and frankly I'm very worried thinking of that possibility.

Are you asking on behalf of a family member of a GC holder? If so, expect that the bar to prove nonimmigrant intent will be higher, particularly if they're a close relation. Are the intending visitors married? Do they have spouses, and especially children, who will stay in the Philippines and won't travel to the US? Do the intending visitors own property in the Philippines? Are the intending visitors permanently employed in the Philippines? Can they provide a letter from their employer confirming that employer knows about their travel and expects them back at work by a certain date? There are other ways to substantiate nonimmigrant intent than a return itinerary.

What age were you at the time of your conviction, and what age was the victim? Was the charge for which you were convicted a misdemeanor or felony? Does your girlfriend know about your conviction? Whatever you do, do not fail to disclose your conviction if asked. Having a criminal record and lying about is always worse than just having a criminal record.

Many of the U.S. citizens who have been arbitrarily detained in Iran were there in the first place to visit romantic partners. Is that a risk you want to expose your fiancee to? Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Oman, and Turkiye are all nearby, safe countries where travel won't raise any red flags, and, unless I'm mistaken, all offer visa-free access for both Iranian and U.S. citizens.

I wouldn't plan on bringing anything more than your identification and documents. Certainly no electronics -- cell phones, computers, tablets, SIM cards, flash drives, any other kind of electronic storage device. Wallets, purses, house keys, things like that should be OK, but it wouldn't hurt to check with the specific consulate to be sure. Here in Tashkent, they'll store visitors' cell phones at the security desk, but not any larger electronics or any other personal effects. My wife had to ask a shopkeeper nearby to hold on to her backpack when she went in for a visa interview.

The I-130 (the first step in the CR1 process) does ask for the beneficiary's passport information, but this is only necessary if you've ever traveled to the United States. The I-130 instructions from USCIS state: Passport and Travel Document Numbers. Complete Part 4., Item Numbers 45. - 50., as applicable, if the beneficiary relative used a passport or travel document to travel to the United States, enter the passport or travel document information in the appropriate space on the petition, even if the passport or travel document is currently expired. So, if you've ever traveled to the U.S. for any reason, be sure to include that information, otherwise, it's not necessary. Like @Crazy Cat mentioned, you don't need to have a passport until you get to the visa stage. If Italy doesn't allow you to keep your old passport once you renew it, it would be a good idea to scan the bio page of your current passport before you renew for documentation purposes. Good luck!

I'm sorry you're having such a difficult time. I'm sure you're already familiar with this, but keep in mind that Russian culture is very patriarchal. There is a strong social expectation that the man should be the breadwinner and provider in a relationship, much more so than in American culture. I'm sure being unable to fulfill that role and being financially reliant on you, even temporarily, is deeply emasculating to him, which, along with the stress of relocating to a foreign country and adjusting to a new way of life, is probably taking a toll on his mental health. At the same time, from your description, he's responding to that stress in an unacceptable way. Don't think about it as a response to your own inadequacies; nobody is perfect, thinking about what you could have done differently will only cause you more anguish, and nobody deserves to be berated by their partner like that. I won't presume to tell you what decisions you should make about your relationship, though I think it's perfectly understandable if/that you're having second thoughts due to this kind of treatment. You deserve better than that, just because you are you. I echo what others have said in that you two need to work on your communication. Try to communicate from a place of self: it's not so much about what your partner is doing or saying, it's about how you feel. It's not, "you have unreasonable expectations," (though I don't disagree with that statement, based on what you've shared), it's "when you criticize me, it makes me feel like you don't see and appreciate my efforts and it makes me feel inadequate." "When you say/do X, it makes me feel Y because Z" is a great formula to follow. Some practical advice: - It sounds like you are both operating under some misconceptions about SSNs. I would sit down, together, and do some research, plot out what the rest of the journey is going to look like, and make a to-do list for the big immigration / documentation milestones. - California must have a decent-sized Russian community, have you or your husband thought about getting in touch with someone? That would certainly help with the social isolation at least, and might make things logistically easier if you can make some good connections.

There won't necessarily be multiple simultaneous marriage certificates in a polygamy situation. As I understand it, State Department / USCIS policy distinguishes between polygamy and bigamy, polygamy being the religious or sociocultural custom of having multiple spouses, whether legally recognized or not; and bigamy being the act of being legally married to two or more individuals at the same time. Generally, all parties in a polygamy situation know about and accept the arrangement, while one or more parties in a bigamy situation is generally unknowing -- think husband with a secret second family he visits on "business trips." This is an important point to bring up, because bigamy vs. polygamy can have different impacts on the immigration outcome -- E.G. the INA specifically states polygamists are ineligible for admission, but bigamy falls under "moral turpitude." Either way, it's a moot point if it was done for the purpose of getting a green card.

1. Hopefully you've done this for this account -- use a burner e-mail for any social media profiles where you discuss/seek advice for this issue. 2. Talk to a lawyer.

How old is the child, and how long have they been in your legal/physical custody?

I'm submitting this affidavit as a supplement to "real" evidence. I have a lease agreement, something about contract law in Uzbekistan means that only one party (other than the landlord) can sign a lease, so my wife's name isn't on the contract. I'm having my landlord confirm that we live there together. Thank you for sharing!

I'm an anxious person and I figure better safe than sorry as far as immigration is concerned. Thank you for the reassurance.

Hello all! I'm hoping for some advice as to whether it's acceptable to draft a sworn statement on someone else's behalf for them to sign. I currently live with my spouse in their home country and we're preparing to submit our I-130 petition. Part of the evidence I plan to include is our 2023-24 lease agreement, current lease, and a sworn statement from our landlord that spouse and I live together. I need to include the latter because I'm the only one listed on the lease, not my spouse. To save our landlord the hassle, and to make sure all the necessary information is included, I was planning to draft a statement for them, give them the chance to review it, and have them sign and notarize it if everything is acceptable to them. Is it acceptable to draft a statement for someone else like this, or is that a no-no? I understand in principle it might seem suspicious, but it seems like, as long as the party making the statement has knowledge of and swears to the truthfulness of the information within the statement, it shouldn't be a problem.

Thank you both for the advice!

Hello all! I have a question as to what extent minor variations in transliteration from languages that don't use the Latin script are tolerated. My wife's documents are mostly in Uzbek (written in Cyrillic script) and/or Russian. The problem is, there are inconsistencies in how Uzbek/Russian are transliterated from Cyrillic to Latin. Her given name is commonly transliterated two different ways, same for her patronymic (more or less her middle name), and her maiden name can be transliterated at least three different ways. I'm mainly concerned with how my wife's maiden name is given on our marriage certificate. She has always preferred to write her maiden name in Latin script a certain way, for example, as her e-mail address. However, her maiden name is given (in Latin script) with a different transliteration on our marriage certificate. The translation service we're using has transliterated it in my wife's preferred style in our certified translation. In short, her maiden name is given one way in Latin script on the document itself, and another way in our translation. It's only a difference of one letter, but that is the initial letter, if that makes a difference. The same issue applies to her patronymic, which is transliterated two different ways in both her passport and on our marriage certificate. Again, it's a difference of only one letter, that letter being the initial letter. In both cases, the variation is close enough that I think it would be intuitively understood by someone who doesn't understand the context (K vs. Q and U vs. O), but it sill worries me. Is this likely to be an issue, or does USCIS generally tolerate this kind of variation? I want to stick to one standard, but it's difficult due to the fact that her name (at least her patronymic) is spelled differently in her passport and on our marriage certificate. Would it be prudent to list all possible transliterations in the "beneficiary's name" section of the I-130, or would that just add confusion to the mix? Very grateful for any guidance you might be able to provide, and feel free to ask for follow-up if I haven't been clear enough.