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Yea, pretty much. I have seen work product from those kind of places and it is typically not really bad. Mostly they seem to rely on being able to get business through the web and churn applications using templates and rote processes so that they can make money on the low rates. This isn't terrible, pretty much every firm is going to rely on templates and boilerplate to some degree, but it works better for some applications over others. H-1Bs, for instance, tend to be pretty easy to process this way, because unless your application checks a particular trigger box they aren't hard to template out. TNs are also very easy to do this way; you hardly need someone to prepare a TN for you if you just have another one to look at. L-1s are not as easy; they typically require much more detailed letters and a different caliber of supporting documentation than an H-1B, for instance. There was a time when they were comparable but USCIS seems to have steadily increased the scrutiny on Ls so that it is considerably more work now. That doesn't mean a box firm can't handle it; how complicated is the case? Is the ownership/affiliation straightforward, or layered? How obvious is the specialized knowledge? Some cases are pretty obvious, like 'this guy built our proprietary tool, and so he is literally the only person who completely understands it'. Other times its more complicated or less obvious to a laymen, which is who is going to be looking at the application. I would say that $6k seems pretty high. I am not sure about the range of fees in the market, but I know that we tend toward the higher end and we still charge significantly less than that. You can always shop around some more. One thing to keep in mind is that if you sign up with a big named firm, there is a real chance that your case gets handled by some associate who is really no better than the box firm attorney - the difference is going to be that if something goes wrong, a higher quality firm will have people to step in, where the box firm might not. I think that's a fair thing to ask people; how many of these cases they handle, how many are RFEed, and how often they prevail on an RFE. No one wins all the time, but a good attorney isn't filing cases that they don't think they can win.
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Jul 22, 2016 04:44
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St_Ides posted:Our lawyer has assured us that they'll be taking us through that part too, so they'll be contacting us and helping us out. About how much did the lawyer cost you? Or does anyone know a price range for this kind of thing? This is what I wanted to ask a lawyer but might as well ask here... I'm a US citizen, my partner has a P-1 currently for a year. If we get married within that year he has that visa, is he stuck here until it's all processed or can he enter and leave the country as he needs?
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Jul 22, 2016 16:49
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Ashcans posted:Yea, pretty much. Hopefully not too complicated a case, the ownership/subsidiary part is straightforward. The complication comes from 2 things, really. 1) the US employees all working from home offices in different states, but it sounds like leasing one of those business suite locations for a time period can help with having a physical office location for the application. 2) the specialized knowledge is from years of working in the company in a position that doesn't output things like presentations or products (services-side of a software company). The easier stuff will be showing advanced knowledge on some of the back-end software that has actual code that can be printed and shown and explained. Harder stuff is showing how the experience factors in to the project management process, vendors, administrative things (apparently our version of SAP is customized which will hopefully help).
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Jul 22, 2016 17:37
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loldance posted:About how much did the lawyer cost you? Or does anyone know a price range for this kind of thing? I think I paid about $4000 - $4500 once things like shipping and passport photos and other expenses were factored in. I think $2500 were the lawyer fees themselves. The rest was cost of forms, etc. But we got through the process without any RFEs or anything, so they seem to have done a good job. And they're sticking with us until we get the provisions lifted in 2 years. I've been pretty satisfied with them.
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Jul 22, 2016 19:12
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Maybe someone in here can help me with my specific situation. I called a lawyer and my bf has called a lawyer for consultations but things remain unclear to me. My bf has a P1 visa, so once we're married we would just file the I485 for AOS. I read I can file the I130 and I864 along with that. He'd get his medical, fingerprints, all other official documents... I find that pretty straight forward. My big question is timing to file the AOS. He works in both the US and Europe and has to fly back to Europe for a month leaving late Nov and then will be back with me from Dec until maybe May, then has to be in Europe again for a few months. Let's say we get married in Oct. 1. Should we file for AOS immediately? Is there enough time to get a medical and fingerprinting done? Will he have any trouble leaving in Nov and coming back in Dec? Will the application being in process void his P1? It's my absolute nightmare scenario that he is faced with issues coming BACK into the US. 2. Should we file for AOS after he's back in Dec? He will have a longer period of time in the US then. But again, need to make sure the process won't interfere with his traveling/working. Appreciate any advice, thanks. This is confusing stuff.
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Aug 2, 2016 20:45
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Just to be clear, you have to file the I-130 either before or concurrently with the I-485. You can't submit the I-485/AOS unless it is submitted with the I-130 or you already have an I-130 approved. Moving on from there, generally once you have filed an AOS application, you are not eligible to travel in a Non-immigrant status (because those require that you do not intend to remain permanently in the US, which you obviously have if you are filing an AOS). There are exceptions to this rule carved out for 'dual-intent' statuses, which are statuses that are technically non-immigrant but allow the holder to seek residence while using them. This is the case for Hs and Ls, and it is sort of the case for Ps. Specifically, you are allowed to seek permanent residence through employment while in P status under the PERM program, as long as you are maintaining a permanent residence. But I do not know if this holds once you have actually applied for residence, particularly through marriage. This is where you would want an attorney to provide guidance. Based on your plans, the best option is probably to wait until December to file the AOS, because that period of time will be long enough for him to receive his EAD/AP document (which you should file when submitting the AOS) which will provide an alternative work/travel authorization, and allow him to travel while the AOS is pending without the intent complication. There is probably not enough time between October and his departure for this to be issued. In December, this would put him in the situation of traveling while married to a USC and before he applies for AOS, and in theory this could bring someone to question his intent (are you really non-immigrant if your wife is a USC who lives there permanently?). Unless he is renewing his visa during that trip, though, it is not likely that someone would specifically make this connection and raise the question. That is also something you would want to discuss with an attorney.
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Aug 2, 2016 21:53
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Ashcans posted:In December, this would put him in the situation of traveling while married to a USC and before he applies for AOS, and in theory this could bring someone to question his intent (are you really non-immigrant if your wife is a USC who lives there permanently?). Unless he is renewing his visa during that trip, though, it is not likely that someone would specifically make this connection and raise the question. That is also something you would want to discuss with an attorney. I mean, he is coming back to work. Just obviously it makes more sense to file it when he'll have the time to continue the process. Is that something the government won't understand? Have I put too much faith in the govt?? And thanks so much for your response!
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Aug 5, 2016 23:45
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I'm a US citizen who has just repatriated after 10 years overseas, having taken a new job where I expect to be in the US for 3-4 years before moving overseas again. My wife of four years is a Canadian citizen and we've already hired a noted immigration attorney who has filed an I-130 for us and we received acknowledgement of said filing in June. Our attorney has advised us that the wait time is getting significant again and it could be until March of 2017 until my wife has her green card interview in Montreal. We cannot file for a K3 visa as we've been told given the processing time for a K3 is as long as the I-130 green card application the government is not issuing K3's at this time. Our plan was always that I'd be the vanguard, working in the US and getting our apartment and everything sorted while she did a yoga retreat and traveled in Asia for a few months where hopefully by November or December she'd return and do the final green card process. We filed the I-130 while we were both living overseas, I did not want to have my wife come into the US and then do a change of status to file an I-130 as we were advised that would cause all sorts of questions to arise and immigration generally takes a dim view of people who go that route (e.g., your visa interview has questions like "what did you do with your clothes, did you come in with them all and if so was your intent to file a change of status all along?"). With this extended processing time though I'm now evaluating other options. In theory as a Canadian citizen my wife should be able to visit me for periods of time. Our attorney has advised us that as long as she states at customs she is in the process of getting a green card but her intent is to leave and let the process complete itself while showing her travel itinerary with exit tickets within the allowable time period she should be fine to come in. That said in the end it is up to the whim of the customs official, who just has to be having a bad day and tell my wife "I don't believe you" at which point she'll be denied entry. My two questions are: (1) is there anything in addition we should do to increase my wife's chances of getting in successfully to visit me? And (2) if she is denied entry simply because the customs official doesn't believe her is there any recourse we can take to have that removed? Being denied entry scares me, not just for the inconvenience it causes right there but because we have lived overseas and intend to do so again and if you've been denied entry into a country it makes getting a visa or residence permit anywhere in the world much harder. I don't think I would have been able to get my residence visa for China if I was denied entry to a country for whatever reason so we really don't want to have this happen. Thank you.
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Aug 7, 2016 18:09
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loldance posted:I mean, he is coming back to work. Just obviously it makes more sense to file it when he'll have the time to continue the process. Is that something the government won't understand? Have I put too much faith in the govt?? The issue is that he isn't just coming back to work, he is also coming back to live his life with you, and that creates the obvious question that he does not actually intend to depart the US when his P visa expires. The problem is that most non-immigrant visa classes require a positive affirmation that you intend to leave at the end of your status period, and making that affirmation when you don't mean it is essentially fraud. This is why people who are in explicitly not dual-intent classes (like students and visitors) are generally told to not travel at all until they have had their interim travel issued. Like I said, the P is a weird class because it is not really dual intent but also not not dual intent, and there are specific carve-outs for Ps pursuing residence through employment, but I don't know if any of that applies to marriage. Generally speaking, hinging any part of your plan on the government 'understanding' or 'being reasonable' is not a good idea. Sometimes they are, and I have seen cases where the officer took a human path of understanding. But you have no way of knowing who is going to review a case if how angry/frustrated/hateful/exacting they are going to be. You shouldn't hang your case on faith unless you absolutely have to. Mr_Angry posted:My two questions are: (1) is there anything in addition we should do to increase my wife's chances of getting in successfully to visit me? And (2) if she is denied entry simply because the customs official doesn't believe her is there any recourse we can take to have that removed? Being denied entry scares me, not just for the inconvenience it causes right there but because we have lived overseas and intend to do so again and if you've been denied entry into a country it makes getting a visa or residence permit anywhere in the world much harder. I don't think I would have been able to get my residence visa for China if I was denied entry to a country for whatever reason so we really don't want to have this happen. Well, you already have an attorney, so these are really things you can/should address with him. Nothing drives attorneys crazy quite like a client who says 'I had a question and I looked it up on the internet, what do you think of this answer that I got from a drunken stranger at 3am?'  Having said that, for 1) your goal is to convince the officer that she is definitely returning to Canada. So proof of her return trip, documentation of her ongoing attachments to Canada (job, apartment, etc) are all beneficial. Whatever you can add on this is handy. Does she have a dog that is being petsat while she visits? Can she show that? Does she have family gatherings/events coming up after the trip she can point to as wanting to attend? (I won't be staying in the US, I have to be home for my father's 65th birthday!, etc) The frustrating thing is, this is ultimately a call made by the person who interviews her. For 2), being denied entry can definitely have impacts on your future immigration and possibly other entries to other countries. So it is fine to worry about it. when someone bounces off the border, they are usually given the option to withdraw their application for admission. This is still not good, but generally carries less restrictions and penalties than if you are actually denied and removed. She would likely not be able to apply for a new entry afterward for some time/until she can enter as an immigrant. I have no idea how this would count vs. a straight denial for something like a Chinese application though.
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Aug 8, 2016 18:31
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Ashcans posted:Well, you already have an attorney, so these are really things you can/should address with him. Nothing drives attorneys crazy quite like a client who says 'I had a question and I looked it up on the internet, what do you think of this answer that I got from a drunken stranger at 3am?' I do have an attorney and with all due respect to your A/T thread I'm not about to head in and scream "for all the money I've paid you I've heard something else on the internet so let's change everything!" even though I believe you are giving sincere advice. Rather, it's just that no one has been able to offer me a consistent answer on the full-proof way to get in. What you answer tells me is that in the end it's really a crap shoot as to even with all the paperwork and things to show that my wife would leave it's up to the whim of an individual sitting behind a desk at that particular point in time. I'm trying to find a rational solution but your answer reinforces to me that in the end US immigration is inherently irrational in certain aspects--much like every other country I've lived in. In short I'm going to recommend my wife limit visits to the US or avoid them entirely and let me be the one to travel to see her. It won't always be possible, but it sure sounds more practical. Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
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Aug 12, 2016 06:16
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I'm getting ready to send off an I-129F and I have a couple of questions regarding proof of meeting. My fiancée and I (she's Russian) met in France about 6 years ago and lived there together until last month. Our coming to the States was a sort of last minute decision made for reasons and we weren't able to get married in France for other reasons. Over the last few years our output of pictures and such has dropped off considerably, although we do have a few. We also haven't traveled in about 4 years so we don't have any plane tickets or anything like that (apart from our tickets leaving France just recently). Would receipts for our rent from our landlord and mail we both received at our home address be good things to submit? Also, regarding photos, what exactly are they looking for? We have a bunch of photos we took on our couch being dorks but there's nothing really to indicate where or when it is apart from the beard I spent about two years growing. There are a number of newspaper articles in France with my picture in it taken at the same time as those photos, should I submit clippings as evidence that they were at the same time period given my haircut and beard? About translations, who should I send stuff off to to be translated? In France there are state-certified translators but it looks like they don't exist in the States. Can I just get anyone to translate them as long as they're accurate translations? Also, if I'm submitting things like newspaper clippings or screenshots from TV shows with both of us (we got around) do I need to get all of the text translated even if the date is displayed in numerical format? Also, what if there are no professional translators who translate from the language of the document (we were in a few Breton publications), does that make the document worthless to us? I'm just really not sure what I should submit since all the things I can find online are predicated on the idea that one person traveled to the other's country to meet and that doesn't apply to us at all. Until this month neither of us had even actually returned to our home countries since 2011 apart from a one week business trip I had to make to the States a couple of years ago. We can't even get her passport stamp from when she entered France as she had to get a new passport a couple of years ago and they took her expired one.
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Sep 1, 2016 00:28
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Any pictures you have together are good, even if they're not of you traveling or any indication of when they were taken. If you have pictures of you and her family or her with your family, that would be great, but it won't be held against you if you don't have any, especially if you explain that it's because you were both living far from your families. Anything you have proving you lived together will be good. So bills sent to both of you, a copy of a lease with both your names on it, a bank account, etc. If all else fails, you can get someone (e.g. your landlord) or multiple people to write a letter verifying that s/he saw you living together during this time and you were in a legitimate relationship. You probably didn't write each other letters since you were living together, but you can use transcripts from text messages or phone call logs, if you have something like that. As for the translations, no idea, sorry.
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Sep 1, 2016 00:46
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https://www.uscis.gov/forms/forms-and-fees/general-tips-assembling-applications-mailing Note that it does not say that the translation must be done by a professional translator, it just must be certified by someone fluent. For photos (and all evidence, really), it's always better to have too much rather than not enough. Note that the I-129f specifically asks for evidence that you have met in person within that past 2 years. It doesn't matter where the meeting took place, but the time period is the most important context.
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Sep 1, 2016 01:25
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Anyone can translate for you, as long as they aren't connected to the application (ie, you can't do this for yourselves). They need to provide a certification along with the translation basically saying 'This is who I am and I am fluent in English and this language, and I certify that the attached is accurate' ... you can almost certainly find some template text on the web, it shouldn't be tough. There are also professional translation companies, any of which should be fine for USCIS purposes, and many consulates will either provide this service or recommendations on where to have it done. At a push, look for a local university that offers that language, and call the department to see if there is anyone what would do it for a reasonable fee. For proof of your relationship, go hog wild. I have seen people submit screenshots of facebook posts/messages, texts, whatever. Think of it like sharing a slideshow about your life until someone would say 'oh god enough already'.
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Sep 1, 2016 01:54
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My partner and I aren't sure how to answer the "Have you ever been arrested or convicted of a crime" question. Fifteen years ago they had to pay a fine for libel... causing a scene yelling "rear end in a top hat" at someone, and was put in handcuffs at the time. But they didn't go to court or spend time in jail or any of that. Obviously, this isn't a crime worthy of banning someone from the country (is it??), but is that technically a Yes to that question? I'm confused if that's something worth mentioning. Their country has no record of it because they don't keep stuff like that for more than 10 years, but I've got no idea how deep the US is capable of going. The lawyer said it could go either way but mostly said we could answer No. Of course, we both have been reading online that the gates of hell will swallow us and all we've ever loved if we withhold any iota of past wrongdoings. Any advice?
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Sep 14, 2016 01:56
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I am not a lawyer, so you should talk to yours seriously about this and press them on a recommendation. Having said that, you cannot be penalized for disclosing an event that is actually too minor/doesn't qualify. For instance, if you said 'Yes, I was pulled over and given a ticket for speeding', the response would be 'Ok whatever, traffic violations don't count anyway'. But if you do not disclose an event that is potentially disqualifying, you can be penalized for it and put in the position of having to explain not only what happened, but why you withheld this information on the forms. You can do something like answer Yes, and then include an addendum indicating the incident and its resolution. If you have the opportunity, you could apply for a criminal check in the country and include that to show that it isn't showing up on a check. The idea being that you have now demonstrated an abundance of honesty in disclosing a possible incident, and also shown that it isn't material either. But this is a strategy you would want to discuss with your attorney to decide if its worthwhile. There are only a few 'Yes' answers in those lists that outright disqualify you; most of them just require an explanation, and in many cases a reasonable explanation will allow you to proceed without any issues. But answering them incorrectly can count as fraud, or create the appearance of fraud, which is disqualifying in itself. So anywhere you have doubt you want to make sure your representation has all the information to advise you.
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Sep 14, 2016 03:35
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I'm pretty sure I posted in this thread at least once in the past, so I wanted to drop in and say that my wife just got notice that her spousal visa was approved! Woo! Some input for the thread / anyone who cares: - I translated all of the local forms myself and signed them as the translator. They didn't seem to question any of it either at the NVS or at the embassy during her interview. - The website said to bring her sealed "police records" to the interview, not to send them to the NVC. However, we got a letter a month later saying that the police records were missing, so we sent them off. We got worried because afterwards (before the interview) we read on the Japanese Embassy site that "the NVC does not accept originals, so send a copy to the NVS and bring your original to the interview". Ooops. In the end, they accepted it. - I'm going to continue to work for my current job as a contract worker after I go to US, so I included a letter from company stating that as much, including my estimated monthly pay and such. The embassy sent a cryptic message talking about the letter before the interview, so I called and checked to make sure that the one I sent to the NVC had been forwarded to the embassy for the interview and that would be enough. Then, at the interview, the official said stuff like "there isn't even a letterhead" and "anyone could make this up" and "Where's the official company stamp (the ink kind)? Every company has a stamp!" and sent my wife home with an envelope to resend the letter. Apparently just a signature wasn't enough to convince them, so I had my boss reprint the letter and stamp it along with his signature, then put it in an official company envelope. That was apparently enough. Overall, there seemed to be a fairly big disconnect between what the NVC wanted and what the embassy wanted. Oh well.
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Sep 14, 2016 06:41
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Ashcans posted:Anyone can translate for you, as long as they aren't connected to the application (ie, you can't do this for yourselves). This is not the case. I did the translations for my I-130 application myself and I was the petitioner. Translated documents included bank statements, marriage certificate, shared apartment lease, and some other multi-page documents. I just included a copy of a translation/simultaneous interpretation certification I had, though I'm mot sure if that was even necessary in the grand scheme. Anyways point being you can in fact do the translations yourself.
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Sep 15, 2016 03:38
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I have a few questions about maintaining residency on my (marriage-based) green card. I've been laid off from a job I'd expected to keep for a long time, and am trapped in a lease, because to break it would be major hit to my (already fragile, as I just started building it) credit. Right now, my best option for employment and making enough money to maintain my lease would be to work overseas, doing what I used to do. The company that I've been talking to would prefer a longer term contract (more than 6mo). From what I've read, I'm free to leave the US for up to 6 months. And as long as I'm intending to continue living in the US, I should be good. We are/were planning to stay here. If I leave for less than 6mo, stay for a few weeks or a month, but then go back for another few months later, is that still legal? I can certainly get some time off work to come home every few months. Will I need to file another i-131? Even if we're not planning to be out for more than 6 months at a time? We're hoping to only be there for a year at most, unless circumstances change. In which case I'd be looking in to this again. My wife is hoping to finish her PhD in the spring, then will be looking for a job in the US. If she gets that, we'll be moving back early, or possibly just her for a few months while I finish my contract. We'll still file taxes as a resident, my wife's family is here (mine is in Canada), and our dog and house will be here as ties (the house until the lease is up, then we'll move our stuff somewhere a lot less expensive). We have a US bank account, US credit cards. However, my wife will be joining me for the time overseas. I really don't want to lose my green card, it's a lot of stress, work and money to get it. Am I pretty safe?
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Sep 20, 2016 20:39
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You may be fine if you keep the times spent outside the US to less than six months, but if you are making repeated trips it is still possible you will have issues during your travel. Unfortunately it is not a hard and fast thing, it mostly boils down to what the officer clearing you at entry notices and cares about. I have seen people who spent six months in and out of the US for a decade and then abruptly got stopped on an entry and raked over the coals for it. The safest thing to do is file a I-131 to request a Reentry Permit based on working abroad. This would protect your residence for up to two years outside the US (before you have to consider renewing it) which should hopefully cover the whole period you are talking about. If you have a permit you are not at risk of losing your residence due to this kind of temporary overseas travel, with the downside that more fees and paperwork is probably not what you want.
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Sep 20, 2016 21:00
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In that case, I think I'll take the safe route, despite the costs, and file the i-131. I'll contact our lawyer. Any idea of the lead time for filing an i-131? Like if we filed next week or the week after, how long would it take for the permit to arrive? Do I need it before I leave? I'm not expecting to be starting before November, but some things take so long to arrive.
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Sep 20, 2016 21:20
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Reentry Permits are usually around 3 months; you need to be here when it is filed, and you will need to complete a biometrics appointment (fingerprinting) that usually happens within a month of filing. Once that is done you can travel, although you would need to have the permit sent on to you or return to pick it up when its approved.
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Sep 20, 2016 21:26
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Is it ok to generally bitch about this process in here? My partner went for his physical and for $300 the doctor had him squeeze his hands, lift one knee, and track his eyesight. That's crazy! But in super great news (and additional fee), I know with 100% certainty he does not have syphilis. I just want to cry as money flies through our fingertips. I even price checked with a few doctors and prices were all over the place with no consistency at all. I know the forms have hefty fees but at least they have a standard. Overall we ended up dropping like $600 on medical stuff. Love is expensive.
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Sep 27, 2016 16:40
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Feel free to use the thread to vent if it helps, the OP is long gone and its not like you'd be interrupting anything.  I also hate the medical process, everyone feels frustrated that they can't just refer to their normal doctor for this, and you basically pay a fat fee for what amounts to some unremarkable doctor signing off on a form for you. It's always a source of ire, from the cost to the wait times, and its the thing we have the least ability to control or to prepare our clients for.
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Sep 27, 2016 16:57
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But you'll also find out if ever had TB!
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Sep 27, 2016 17:11
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Vent away friend. I had to travel to a city an hour's plane flight / 8 hours drive away to do mine. It sucked, the whole process sucked.
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Sep 27, 2016 17:33
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Ah yes, the medical. Through process of elimination I ended up with my doctor - of the three places listed by USCIS one had reviews so bad I refused to go in, and one denied that they had ever done immigration checkups full stop. We were told the whole process would be about $200, and the first visit went fine. I then had a phone call saying they needed to redo my blood draw and my wife ended up in an argument with their nurse because the whole thing seemed off and they wouldn't tell us what was going on. Turned out I hit enough factors to trigger the possibility of syphilis and they needed to retest from scratch. Naturally I came up completely clean afterwards. So the next thing was the 2 day TB test which just dragged on forever. There were state holidays, a day where they simply didn't open for whatever reason despite telling us they would be, and in the end I missed out on a trip with my family just to get the drat results done. Which, of course, triggered positive as the mark on my arm hadn't faced. In fact it's still just about visible months later. The result? Do a chest X-ray on site they could've loving arranged from the word go after dragging out the whole process to a 3rd week. It's not as if they didn't charge for it anyway. The kicker? The doctor, who I got on fine with to be honest, came in to do the final examination and said he saw the X-ray and everything was good and I could relax. 10 minutes later the nurse came in and said my X-ray was ready for his review. I mean, Jesus. The whole thing is an utter farce. At least they didn't demand I do piss tests for drug abuse tests or anything to cost even more money and take even more time just to find out I'm clean. So yeah, cost and time took tripled from the word go. I should've gone to the place with abysmal reviews.
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Sep 27, 2016 17:55
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Ashcans posted:For proof of your relationship, go hog wild. I have seen people submit screenshots of facebook posts/messages, texts, whatever. Think of it like sharing a slideshow about your life until someone would say 'oh god enough already'. I sent out my I-129F last week and I went absolutely hog wild. I sent every scrap of evidence I could find of us living together, the packet ended up being about 3/4" thick. For translations I know the head of foreign languages at the local university (who happens to teach the language I needed translated) so she certified them for free, which was pretty nice. As for the medical, my fiancée lives almost 1,000 miles from the embassy in Moscow and they only do medical exams there in Moscow. I've seen other people on the Internet saying that they scheduled the medical exam to be about 3 days before the interview so they only had to make one trip to Moscow but that makes me a bit nervous because if something like El Bromance's situation happens I imagine we'd be pretty screwed. I'm not exactly rolling in cash so I'd like to save on trips to Moscow but man, I don't want to screw up the whole process just to save a few hundred dollars.
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Oct 18, 2016 14:12
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So, I went to college in the US and met my now-wife of one year there (I'm Norwegian, she's a US citizen). Currently we're in Greece working for a small NGO based in the US. We're living here and quite like it, but I was just informed today that if I'm willing, there's a job for me in Washington with the org in a year with a signifcant pay bump, so we're pretty eager to go for it. They're not willing to deal with getting a work related green card for me, but made the 'offer' on the assumption that since I'm married to a US citizen and have a clean record etc, getting a green card should be doable. They're also willing to sponsor a big chunk of the cost of an agency or lawyer to deal with the process in the form of a bonus, but I have to make the arrangements myself. How doable is it to get this done in a years time, and what are some reputable law firms or agencies that deal with this sort of thing?
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Oct 23, 2016 17:48
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The exact timing is going to depend on the processing time for the application and how busy your consulate is (as you have to appear for an interview). Some consulates are much busier than others and so take longer to schedule appointments. But a year is feasible, assuming you get moving on it and there isn't any sort of horrible snarl in the process. I think that living in Greece your wife can actually file with the office in Athens instead of with USCIS in the US, but I am not positive - one thing your wife can do is reach out to the consulate in Athens and ask them how to initiate the process, they should be able to confirm whether you need to file with USCIS or if there is an international office you can use. In terms of finding a representative, being overseas makes it a little tricky. The best option is to look for a recommendation - if you know anyone who has moved to the US, ask who they got to help. Otherwise, if you know a lawyer in a different field you can often ask them who they would recommend to help with an immigration matter. They might not practice, but they might know who can help you. It sounds like the NGO doesn't know anyone? We have a number of companies who refer employees to us because we have helped their people in the past. You may find someone in Greece who actually assists, but you would want to make sure they are legit/useful because that is prime for someone milking fees to do nothing.
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Oct 24, 2016 14:30
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Ashcans posted:Feel free to use the thread to vent if it helps, the OP is long gone and its not like you'd be interrupting anything. Yes. medical is the worst. Wife is from Asia, but in the US on a visa. Medical ran $290 and failed her TB test since they use a different vaccine in Asia and it causes false positives with our TB skin test, she was also missing one of the three vaccinations in the MMR. The thing is she is pregnant so can't do the chest X-ray, can't take MMR vaccine. Mailed in her packet for a green card a few weeks ago with the incomplete medical exam knowing that at the minimum we're getting an RFE for medical. We went basic on the evidence, proof of joint bank accounts, multiple airline tickets with both of us sitting next to each other and about 20 pictures from both our overseas and American weddings, pictures with family and friends from both sides. If that is not enough proof, by the time we get the RFE for it, the baby will be born and we'll have a few more things as proof.
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Oct 27, 2016 04:55
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For Christ's sakes. I got a notice saying my evidence did not constitute sufficient proof of a good-faith marriage. I sent them statements for the only two bank accounts either of us have, a gas bill and renter's insurance policy for our apartment, photos, and affidavits but apparently this does not establish that we've co-mingled our assets.
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Nov 13, 2016 01:35
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So I had my self-sponsored EB-1 (I-140) approved with no RFEs or anything. My lawyer says this is a very rare scenario. I presume the next step is consular interviews and stuff like police reports. Will having a speeding ticket from when I was 18 (8 years ago) impact the embassy's decision in granting me permanent residency? I had my license suspended but got it back really fast by proving I was providing exceptional contributions to the community. This is in the UK btw. I'm a bit worried that a dumb mistake will make them go 'lol no' especially with Trump-dawg demanding more scrutiny.
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Nov 13, 2016 11:31
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:For Christ's sakes. I got a notice saying my evidence did not constitute sufficient proof of a good-faith marriage. I sent them statements for the only two bank accounts either of us have, a gas bill and renter's insurance policy for our apartment, photos, and affidavits but apparently this does not establish that we've co-mingled our assets. Sorry to hear that.  Do you have any shared credit cards? Or a copy of current/previous leases showing both of you? You can also use benefits, like health insurance, beneficiaries for life insurance or retirement accounts. Copies of itineraties/reservations showing you traveling or staying together at hotels is also good (you can just use printouts of emails). For that matter, in a pinch you can also use things like printouts from facebook messages, or copies of phone statements showing texts/calls between you. You can even use mail showing you are both receiving stuff at the same address. If you can rustle up some more photos/affidavits from new people that would help too. awesome-express posted:So I had my self-sponsored EB-1 (I-140) approved with no RFEs or anything. My lawyer says this is a very rare scenario.
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Nov 13, 2016 14:44
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Well, I printed out renter's insurance policies for the entire time we've been living together, tax returns for the last two years, a P&S agreement on a home we're buying, and teh full three-year history of our checking account (their complaint was specifically that the statement I sent them didn't show "sufficient evidence of transactional activity through the duration of your marriage"). I feel like this is probably enough... right? We have a bunch of credit cards where she or I is an authorized user but I don't know where that is even reflected.
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Nov 13, 2016 18:42
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:Well, I printed out renter's insurance policies for the entire time we've been living together, tax returns for the last two years, a P&S agreement on a home we're buying, and teh full three-year history of our checking account (their complaint was specifically that the statement I sent them didn't show "sufficient evidence of transactional activity through the duration of your marriage"). I feel like this is probably enough... right? Do you have an actual lease with both of your names on it? That's probably what they're fishing for.
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Nov 13, 2016 23:12
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Yikes. That sounds like it would be plenty. I'm nervous of my own now! What's the deal with how long a green card holder is allowed to stay out of the United States? I read 6 months but is that altogether in a year or 6 consecutive months per year? Can you stay longer if you get some kind of permission? I'm just thinking of different scenarios my partner and i might encounter in our lives
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Nov 13, 2016 23:55
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Powerlurker posted:Do you have an actual lease with both of your names on it? That's probably what they're fishing for. I might have one or even both of them if that's important.
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Nov 14, 2016 02:28
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It sounds like you put in a bunch of stuff, not sure why you got pushback. Sometimes it happens. You basically have to submit additional information to respond to the RFE, though, you don't want to let it lie. If there was something that you originally submitted that addresses something in the RFE, though, you can certainly call attention to it and include it again - I have RFEs where they were requesting things we had already provided, or apparently hadn't actually looked at everything we gave them. If you have leases, I would include those. Do you have any intineraries you can include? It sounds like you gave them a good deal of financial stuff, so maybe building on another element would help. Basically dig up everything you have with both of you on/in it and throw it at the wall. loldance posted:What's the deal with how long a green card holder is allowed to stay out of the United States? I read 6 months but is that altogether in a year or 6 consecutive months per year? Can you stay longer if you get some kind of permission? I'm just thinking of different scenarios my partner and i might encounter in our lives Both, really. The situation is that when you return to the US, the immigration officer can see your travel history - if they feel that there is something there that brings into question that you are actually a resident in the US, they can prompt a revocation of your status. If you take a six-month trip outside the US, or you are spending the majority of the year outside the US over several trips, that can bring your residence into question. Some people do this for years without ever actually having an issue, but every time you are basically hoping the officer doesn't notice/care. One thing you can do is bring documentation explaining an absence. Say your relative is sick, and you are making a lot of trips to visit them and help out, you can bring documentation of that to show that there is a specific and immediate need causing it, you're not just someone who wants to spend eight months a year outside the US and still benefit from residence. If you know that you are going to be spending a prolonged period outside the US, you can apply for a Reentry Permit in advance. This will be valid for two years, and protects your green card during the period. USCIS generally issues the first permit without question; lots of people get them if they have to go overseas for work, college, etc. You can extend them, and there is technically no limit on the extensions, but usually after the second permit USCIS will only issue one-year extensions, and will get increasingly suspicious of your intent. Basically if you decide to go to university overseas you could do that and reliably get permits for four years, but if you then get a job and start working, USCIS is going to start asking if you actually intend to return after so long and want you to prove you have maintained your residence/connections in the US.
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Nov 14, 2016 15:56
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I didn't have all that stuff the first time, just a much smaller amount. But I produced all that and sent it off today so fingers crossed. I also threw in tax transcripts, health cards, and leases so I'm going to be pretty frustrated if there is a problem. I included a cover letter explaining what was included as well which seemed like a good idea.
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Nov 14, 2016 20:02
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