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Generally, there is no particular rule that you have to come to the US within a certain amount of time, but you do need to keep your application 'active' in processing. The back and forth with the National Visa Center and the US Consulates can take a long time, and it isn't unusual for the process to get substantially delayed if people are trying to hunt down documents like birth certificates or police reports. In immigrant processing, an application is usually considered to have been abandoned if the application goes for one year without any contact from you. Once you get the visa, you usually have six months to enter the US as a resident. So if you have stuff you want to finish up (like school or whatever) you can reasonably draw out the process for a while if you need to. Once you have your green card, things are a little more complicated. Technically, if you leave the US for more than six months, you can be considered to have abandoned your permanent residence and have it revoked. In practice, this is very haphazardly enforced, and many people spend significant time outside the US without issues - but it is not something you would be advised to try. It's unusual that someone will have their residence straight-up revoked, in any case. What usually happens is that if you are coming back to the US and the immigration officer realizes you were gone for a long time, they'll warn you about abandonment and flag your file - at that point you are kind of 'on warning' and you might have your residence revoked the next time you travel for too long. If you know that you need to take a long trip and want to preserve your residence, there is a special application you can file to notify immigration and protect you from revocation - this is called Reentry Permit, and it is fairly simple to have one issued for a two year period. A lot of people do this because hey, they get transferred overseas for a while by their work, or decide they are going to study abroad, or their family overseas needs them. You can extend the Reentry Permit; the second one is also good for two years, and after that they are only one-year extensions. Beginning with that second application, immigration will give the applications increasingly higher scrutiny to determine if you really intend to come back. Most people have trouble going beyond four years without substantial evidence of need and intent to return.
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Jun 22, 2013 18:01
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My wife came here on a K-1 visa and now we're married and we've applied for a permanent residency. She had her biometrics appointment and all that and she just got her work permit today. Does that indicate anything at all on the status of permanent residency or am I still just totally in the dark?
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Jun 29, 2013 02:15
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It doesn't tell you much, really. The fact that she has had the biometrics and received her work authorization basically only lets you know that USCIS hasn't found any terrible gaps in the basic premise if your applications and is actually processing them. So, I mean, at least you know the case hasn't fallen into a black hole of vanished down the side of someone's desk. But it doesn't really indicate whether they'll have any issues with the actual adjustment application itself. Having done the K-1, I wouldn't expect you to have any issues unless you basically filed a bare petition with nothing more than the absolute essentials. The initial K-1 application and the consular interview is generally the more grueling portion of it, and once you're here and married and everything it tends to tick over without too many hiccups. At least compared to a straight marriage petition where this would basically be the first adjudication of the relationship.
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Jun 29, 2013 03:38
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It's frustrating how opaque and open-ended the whole process is. But, on the other hand, it's a lot easier when you're at least in the same country.
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Jun 29, 2013 05:49
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Yea, it's very frustrating, and you basically just don't hear anything until surprise, you're approved! How long has her case been pending now? There are certain things you can do if it is has been pending for way too long, although it takes a while to work up the tree and actually get a result.
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Jun 29, 2013 13:02
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Ashcans posted:Yea, it's very frustrating, and you basically just don't hear anything until surprise, you're approved! How long has her case been pending now? There are certain things you can do if it is has been pending for way too long, although it takes a while to work up the tree and actually get a result. Not long enough for that, I'm guessing; we got married in March.
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Jun 29, 2013 15:10
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Anecdotal but after my wife got her work permit our final appointment where they gave her the green card was a month or so later. The guy who conducted the interview had a crewcut from 1950 and a tie filled with crosses. He asked "Are you a member of the communist party?" The interview was like three minutes and he gave her the green card. She has been here for six years though on a student visa and just got her PhD.
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Jun 29, 2013 15:57
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EssOEss posted:Assuming one wins the green card lottery, are there any limits on what one must do? E.g. if you do not move to the US permanently in X months, you lose the green card, or that if you move out of the US again for N months you won't be getting back? I know you're just asking, so this isn't really about you specifically, but I'd just try to make up my mind before I'd go with the lottery or at the latest after I won it. (If I'm not mistaken, generally there are more winners drawn than there are green cards issued because there's always a significant percentage of winners who don't show up.) If you get a green card through the lottery and then aren't really interested in the US, it's kinda pointless and you could have just left your spot for someone else to win who really is interested. Instead of strange maneuvering I'd personally just spend five years in the US (you can still travel to foreign countries of course), get naturalized and then be free to travel anywhere for whatever amount of time I'd see fit.
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Jun 30, 2013 01:56
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:Not long enough for that, I'm guessing; we got married in March. I got married in May 2011, I received my work permit in October, and was a permanent resident by December 2011. My interview was about 10 minutes long and my lawyer wasn't even present because he was hospitalized that night before. We went in and sat down with a gentleman who couldn't have been any older than 30 as well as a trainee who sat silent in the corner. The guy was friendly and asked us a few questions about our address, phone numbers and parents. He then did the mandatory yes or no questionnaire for me. Generic stuff like "are you a drug dealer?" and what not. I had been in America for almost a year when I was approved. It's an annoying process, ya, but I second the idea that because you went through with the K-1 you guys will be okay.
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Jul 1, 2013 03:23
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Can someone refresh my memory? If my wife and I move, we both need to submit forms (her as a K1 immigrant and me as her financial sponsor), right? What are the forms again?
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Jul 12, 2013 12:56
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:Can someone refresh my memory? If my wife and I move, we both need to submit forms (her as a K1 immigrant and me as her financial sponsor), right? What are the forms again? I don't know about you, but she most definitely does. Which form will depend on her status: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...00045f3d6a1RCRD
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Jul 12, 2013 19:03
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:My wife came here on a K-1 visa and now we're married and we've applied for a permanent residency. She had her biometrics appointment and all that and she just got her work permit today. Does that indicate anything at all on the status of permanent residency or am I still just totally in the dark? I got my biometrics appointment in november, cancelled it on the day due to a burned finger (yeah, I know) and got another one in December. Got the interview for the green card in mid Jan, and they said at the end of the interview 'approved'. I got my green card around feb 1.
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Jul 12, 2013 19:08
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There are a couple of things that need to be done: 1) Your wife needs to update her address with USCIS (AR-11) 2) You need to amend the address relating to any pending petition. You can file the AR-11 online and update the case address at the same time, so do that. Otherwise (if you mail the AR-11) you will need to call USCIS and update the petition address anyway. Easier to jut do it online. 3) If you filed the I-864 for your wife, then yes, you should technically file an I-865 to inform USCIS of your change in address. You would need to do this by mail.
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Jul 12, 2013 19:13
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So back story: I am a legal U.S. resident, have been all my life. Emigrated to the country when I was 3 and was educated here all the way through college, where I earned my degree. My mum has slacked on getting my brother and me our citizenships for ~*reasons*~, we were almost about to get it once, but then her ex-husband just kind of said "gently caress y'all," divorced her, and screwed up the whole process (to add insult to injury, prior to this my mum was on track to get her citizenship through my grandmother, but the ex-husband convinced my mum to go through him for ~*reasons*~). How easy would it be for the U.S. Government to just throw me out? Barring me committing any kind of violent crime, of course. Am I covered under the DREAM act or something? Or if poo poo hits the fan does my whole being an American in every way but name mean nothing?
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Jul 12, 2013 19:16
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nutranurse posted:So back story: I am a legal U.S. resident, have been all my life. Emigrated to the country when I was 3 and was educated here all the way through college, where I earned my degree. My mum has slacked on getting my brother and me our citizenships for ~*reasons*~, we were almost about to get it once, but then her ex-husband just kind of said "gently caress y'all," divorced her, and screwed up the whole process (to add insult to injury, prior to this my mum was on track to get her citizenship through my grandmother, but the ex-husband convinced my mum to go through him for ~*reasons*~). What is your actual legal status? If you're a legal us resident that means you're here on a visa or green card, AFAIK. If it's legal, what's the time limit that is imposed on you? (for green card there's no real limit, but you have to renew it). What passport have you got? Do you have an SSN?
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Jul 12, 2013 19:23
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Quick question, I'm British and my girlfriend is American, and we're looking at getting married late next year and me moving over there for us to live together. However back here in the UK I've got a sick and elderly grandmother, and depending on how things go I might need to come over to see her or attend the funeral. Whilst the applications are still in the works (i.e. after marriage but before I get a Green Card) would I be able to leave the US and get back in without much trouble?
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Jul 12, 2013 20:31
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When you file a green card application you can also request travel authorization (called an Advance Parole - these days, work and travel authorization is being issued as a combined document in an EAD with travel endorsement). That would allow you to leave the US while your green card is pending and return without abandoning the application. It takes about two months to be issued (really 1-3 months) and so there would be a block of time where you would not be able to travel. Depending on your life situation there are other ways to handle the application. For instance, if you get married before you plan to move, you could consular process the whole thing so that you get a green card basically a couple weeks after entering the US.
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Jul 12, 2013 20:42
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I am coming up on my 2 year expiration date on my green card. What can I expect from the renewal process? Is it as intense as the original filing? What sort of documents do I need to make sure I have? I'm worried because my husband and I don't really have any assets together outside of our bank account, joint tax return, and vet bills. We live at home with my mother-in-law still because we're broke-rear end students so we don't have a lease or mortgage to use. I just want to be as prepared as I can be for when I call our lawyer to start the whole process again.
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Jul 12, 2013 21:01
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Because you say two-year expiration, I am assuming that you have conditional residency based on your marriage, and you are actually looking at the removal of conditions (I-751)? It is not as intense as the original filing, but you should still take it seriously and submit whatever documentation you have (pictures, affidavits, joint stuff, etc.) If you submit sufficient documentation, it is very likely you won't even have an interview and they'll just approve the case. Stuff you should have: - Joint account statements (bank) - Joint tax return - Proof that you are living at the same address (any official mail, banks, schools, etc.) - Pictures of you together since the original petition - Affidavits from friends or family If you are worried, you could go as far as pulling phone records to show that you text/call a bunch, stuff like that. Can you get pregnant? Having a baby is like the gold standard for proof (don't do this, I am joking). The I-751 usually only goes bad when either something has gone weird (ie, you're not living together now, the original sponsor doesn't sign, etc.) or when people don't take it seriously and don't really submit anything with the form.
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Jul 12, 2013 21:13
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Sorry, yea, I mean the conditional stuff. We will definitely take it as seriously as the original filing. When we did the original we were just woefully unprepared for it and scrambled around for a few months getting things together, which I don't want a repeat of. Another random question, my parents moved to Minnesota in April (from Canada). They have work visas through my dad's company who transferred him.When they were doing their work visa petitions they were given a slightly hard time about having a daughter who already lived in the States. The people they were dealing with were really concerned that I'd try to move in with my parents or something. Can I expect that to give me a hard time as well with the I-751? Husband and I don't live anywhere near my parents at all, like 3000 miles apart, and visited once.
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Jul 12, 2013 21:34
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Thanks Ashcans, obviously we've got time before we really need to make firm plans but it's good to know there are various contingencies around.
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Jul 12, 2013 23:25
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redreader posted:What is your actual legal status? If you're a legal us resident that means you're here on a visa or green card, AFAIK. If it's legal, what's the time limit that is imposed on you? (for green card there's no real limit, but you have to renew it). What passport have you got? Do you have an SSN? Legal status is Permanent Resident, and yeah I have a SSN. My passport is Jamaican, though.
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Jul 13, 2013 01:39
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If you are a Permanent Resident, then congratulations, you have the next best thing to citizenship. I am not sure what you mean by 'if poo poo hits the fan', but your status is pretty much safe unless you start committing felonies, drug crimes, or decide to leave the US and not come back extended periods of time. There is basically no avenue of immigration reform that would threaten permanent residents. The DREAM Act was intended to help people who were brought here without a status as children, and only discovered they were undocumented when they had grown up and been here forever. Basically it was intended to help people get to where you are now. However, I am kind of puzzled because you talk about your mother (and you?) getting citizenship 'through' her husband and mother. That doesn't really make any sense. Once you are a permanent resident, you do not need anyone to sponsor you for citizenship or anything. You just need to wait five years and then you can apply all on your own. So either you are confused about what was going on, or you could probably just file your own application whenever you like and get your citizenship without your mom or your grandmother or anyone else.
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Jul 13, 2013 02:32
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Yeah, I'm not quite sure what I was talking about either. I do, though, know that I can file for my citizenship by myself now, and that it will probably go through without a hitch, but filings crazy expensive for a young adult with student loans!
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Jul 13, 2013 02:47
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Ashcans posted:There are a couple of things that need to be done: Here we go. Thanks, this is what I needed.
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Jul 13, 2013 03:54
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My wife is Canadian and I am a US citizen. If she wanted to move to the us and be able to work is it a good idea for her to just come here(without a visa or any paperwork) and file for change of status? We were planning on sending in an i130 about 6 months before she finishes school, but I would just like to know all the options.
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Jul 13, 2013 18:08
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Your wife should enter the US in the status that is most appropriate for her intentions. By 'without a visa or any paperwork' I am assuming you mean just rocking up at the border and entering as a visitor? Because she has a US citizen as a spouse, it is likely that she will encounter problems entering as a visitor because they will suspect that she is trying to do what you are suggesting - enter as a non-immigrant and then adjust her status, because it's easier. CBP doesn't like this and may refuse her entry to the US. You do not what that to happen. It's not impossible for her to enter as a visitor, she will just have a higher standard to meet than someone without family in the US. You should understand that entering the US as a visitor (or in most nonimmigrant statuses) when you intend to become a permanent resident is fraud. Many people do it and get away with it, but it is still fraud and if you are one of the unlucky people caught at it then it will seriously gently caress your immigration process, potentially irreversibly. Is the savings in hassle worth the risk? If your wife wants to move to the US she should do so either using the immigrant process or in a dual-intent status (H-1B, L-1, O-1) I would suggest that you go through the proper immigrant visa process, starting with the I-130. I would recommend filing it at least a year before you want her to actually come to the US; it might not take that long to actually process, but it is much easier to draw the process out if you need to than it is to expedite it if it is going slowly and you are running into issues with your timetable.
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Jul 13, 2013 21:55
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Does having military orders change anything? What happens we do the i130 and everything gets processed faster than expected? Can she stay in canada a couple more months or will anything expire?
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Jul 14, 2013 06:19
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USCIS does provide certain benefits to active military; I am not familiar with all of those because we vary rarely handle them. Ok, so the consular application process goes like this: 1) You file the I-130 for your wife with USCIS. This basically verifies your relationship. 2) Once the I-130 is approved, the case is passed to the National Visa Center; the NVC sends a list of documentation that they want from you and your wife before they'll continue processing. You get all those things together and send them in to the NVC. 3) Once the NVC has everything, they'll wrap the case up and send it to the consulate for an interview. The consulate generally just picks a time and lets you know when they want your wife to come in. 4) Your wife goes in, has the interview, handles any questions, and gets a immigration visa stamp. 5) She now has a set period of time to enter the US using the visa - on entry, she is a resident and will get a green card in the mail shortly. Now, if the I-130 somehow gets processed too quickly, you can basically stall the process by not sending anything to the NVC as soon as they ask for it. The NVC basically doesn't care how long you take to get stuff to it (partly because it is used to communicating by mail with people all over the world, many of whom have lots of trouble getting documentation from their dysfunctional governments). Basically, if the NVC doesn't hear from you for an entire year, they will send you a notice saying they think you have abandoned the case and they'll close it; if you send them anything in that whole year (including just one of the fifteen documents) they'll reset the clock and send you an updated list of what they want. This means you can stall the process for a good long time, if you need to. Once your wife gets the visa, she will usually have between 3-6 months to actually use it; she doesn't have to do so immediately, because most people have to wrap up some last minute things in their life. So again, there is some flexibility here. If you are military, you should probably see if there are any legal resources available to you. This sort of thing is going to be pretty common, and I would be surprised if there isn't some sort of legal services that can give you some basic help with the whole thing.
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Jul 15, 2013 18:08
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I'm through to pretty much the end game on getting my wife permanent residency. We finished the consular interview abroad, got her passport back with the visa/temporary I-551 in it. The only thing that has occurred since then is paying the ELIS immigrant fees, which I did back on June 1st, but the ELIS webpage is showing the case status just sitting at 'accepted' and hasn't moved since I paid the fees. Will it move to optimized and then closed before we fly in or at some point afterwards or what? Also this is the final thing aside from handing that gigantor manilla folder over the attending official at our port of entry, right?
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Jul 25, 2013 05:35
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Unfortunately I don't have much experience with the ELIS system, so I don't want to take my best guess and mislead you. Having said which, if your wife has gotten her immigrant stamp and is otherwise approved, she should be set to travel to the US. You might want to give the NCSC a call and try to work your way to an officer to see if they can give you some information specifically about the ELIS system - having used other USCIS online systems, many of them are terrible about actually updating and tracking the case progress properly, and it always ends up freaking people out. And yes, now that she has her visa, etc., she just needs to make a proper entry to the US. Once she clears immigration, her actual card should be sent to you in the mail in a couple of weeks, and then you're all set (until citizenship, if she feels like it)
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Jul 25, 2013 15:31
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I'm not sure whether this is the right place to ask this question, and I have a pretty good idea what the answer will be, but here goes: Our former nanny came here from Bolivia with her two minor children on a ten year work visa, which recently expired. She doesn't have a green card and is currently staying in the country illegally. Her oldest daughter just started college and got approved for a two year deportation deferral (I forget the exact term) under the DREAM Act. Her youngest daughter is 15 and is applying for the same program. She's an honor student with no legal problems and I expect she'll also get accepted. The nanny has no desire to go back to Bolivia and neither do her kids. She no longer works for us but I've heard stories about people sponsoring friends or former employees and whatnot for citizenship and my husband I would be willing to do it if it's not prohibitively expensive. Is this possible, or should we try to find her a rich American guy to marry instead?
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Jul 25, 2013 22:54
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I have a vague recollection that my wife said the officer who did her biometrics told her she might have some problems down the road, having taken my last name, because her Korean passport obviously has her maiden name. Is this a real problem? What do people usually do? I understand it's not customary for Koreans to change their last names on marriage (plus if it's anything like Japan it's a hassle when you start talking about foreign names) so I don't know if they have a procedure in place over there or what.
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Jul 25, 2013 23:19
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classic girl posted:She no longer works for us but I've heard stories about people sponsoring friends or former employees and whatnot for citizenship and my husband I would be willing to do it if it's not prohibitively expensive. Is this possible, or should we try to find her a rich American guy to marry instead? Some people don't even charge the consultation fee if there is nothing to be done, because it sucks to take someone's money just to shrug your shoulders at them. RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:I have a vague recollection that my wife said the officer who did her biometrics told her she might have some problems down the road, having taken my last name, because her Korean passport obviously has her maiden name. Is this a real problem? What do people usually do? I understand it's not customary for Koreans to change their last names on marriage (plus if it's anything like Japan it's a hassle when you start talking about foreign names) so I don't know if they have a procedure in place over there or what. Also, I would be really surprised if there wasn't some mechanism for her to get an updated passport with her married name (which she should probably do whenever she renews her passport, if she doesn't want to bother with it before hand). Name changes occur for a variety of reasons and there is almost always some system to handle it. If nothing else, most passports can be annotated by the issuing post to indicate special information that doesn't fall into the regular fields. If she is baffled, she should call her regional consulate and ask someone.
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Jul 26, 2013 01:40
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:I have a vague recollection that my wife said the officer who did her biometrics told her she might have some problems down the road, having taken my last name, because her Korean passport obviously has her maiden name. Is this a real problem? What do people usually do? I understand it's not customary for Koreans to change their last names on marriage (plus if it's anything like Japan it's a hassle when you start talking about foreign names) so I don't know if they have a procedure in place over there or what. If it's anything like Japan, you just go down to city hall and they have a stamp specifically for name changes. My wife's passport is still in her maiden name but page 5 lists an amendment showing her new married surname and where her family registry originally was (for whatever reason). It was free and only took two hours to process.
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Jul 26, 2013 05:10
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Great answers from both of you... thanks very much.Sheep posted:If it's anything like Japan, you just go down to city hall and they have a stamp specifically for name changes. My wife's passport is still in her maiden name but page 5 lists an amendment showing her new married surname and where her family registry originally was (for whatever reason). It was free and only took two hours to process. RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS fucked around with this message at 12:25 on Jul 27, 2013 |
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Jul 27, 2013 04:11
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:I had the impression that you weren't allowed to have a name that was not written with a combination of the Zyôyô Kanzi and Zinmei Kanzi. Edit: you most definitely do not have to use joyo kanji for names, as a fair number of names use archaic kanji that are no longer joyo. For example, 福圓. Sheep fucked around with this message at 09:10 on Jul 27, 2013 |
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Jul 27, 2013 09:06
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Sheep posted:Names using katakana are allowed - notably lots of older women have first names involving katakana + ko, such as my old landlord, Mutsuko. Apparently it was a pretty popular thing a couple of generations ago. Anyways I'm fairly sure exceptions would be allowed for those married to non-citizens even were that not the case - I think the restrictions on having to use jimei kanji and all that was a more pre-WW2 thing, and the whole concept of jinmei kanji just sticks around due to inertia and tradition or whatever. I don't want to derail the thread anymore than this one comment, but yes, of course, it's not only Zyôyô; the others are in the Zinmeiyô Kanzi. I think, also, that people add kanzi to their names when taking citizenship; I assumed that was required. RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS fucked around with this message at 12:30 on Jul 27, 2013 |
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Jul 27, 2013 12:26
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RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE I have a question about temporarily bringing a vehicle into the USA. I enter the US as a Canadian under B2 (tourist), and I want to leave my motorcycle at my partner's place during the winter so that I can ride it when I'm down there. Am I allowed to temporarily leave a vehicle in the states while I go back to Canada?
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Oct 9, 2013 05:51
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The Kraken Wakes! Honestly, though, that is not really an immigration question as much as it is an import or possibly customs question. Immigration is all about the movement of people, not their crap. Having said that, as a visitor you are generally allowed to bring a personal vehicle into the US for your own use without having to actually do all the import stuff. I believe that you can only have the vehicle in the US for a year before you need to get it under US regulations (ie, registration, inspection, etc.) I suspect that if you rode your bike into the US and then left it here for the winter, you wouldn't have any issues. But if you drive in towing the bike, that might be considered two vehicles and you might have issues with CBP wanting you to clear some sort of import rules on one of them. You might want to try and give someone at CBP a call and ask how to handle this, if you want to be very safe. Sorry I can't give you more help, this is way out of my area of expertise.
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Oct 9, 2013 14:45
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