biggish data

Still figuring out this forum. Sorry for the empty reply. lol

"If and when you do decide to return to the US, you would be able to repeat the process by what is known as a DCF - Direct Counsular Filing - of the I-130 petition."

Well, I will be educating myself on this, for sure. Thank you!

It's quite alright what you said before, about "not necessarily".. I understand this is a rare situation, and I was perhaps too darn honest about our intentions for the tourist visa. But I heard her chances were slim anyway. Yea.. I also understand we're paying for all the fraud out there. Such is life. :unsure:

Again, I appreciate your help and time. Thank you!

Arthur & Anna

Male

Russia

2011-06-20 21:28:00

Well, in many ways you have probably wasted the time and money spent on getting a K-1 visa. The visa is good for a one-time entry to the US for a foreign fiancee of a US citizen to enter the US for the purpose of getting married and applying to remain in the US. There is certainly nothing wrong with applying for the K-1 visa entering the US and getting married and then leaving the US, but you didn't necessarily require a fiancee visa to do that.

If your 'wife' leaves the US after entering on a K-1 visa she will not be allowed back into the US unless she has either her green card (AOS) or a travel document known as Advance Parole (filed for at the same time as the AOS application) or a CR-1 visa. Once the K-1 is used it is over and done with - there is nothing there to be used again.

In order for your wife to return to the US you would need to petition her for an IR-1/CR-1 spousal visa. You would start this by filing the I-130 petition either in the US or at a US Consulate overseas if you are legally living in that country. She would have to redo all of the security checks, medical exams, you would have to provide the same financial information and she would have another interview.

Yes, your passport needs to be valid in order for you to return to the US. If it is due to expire during the time you expect to be away you should go ahead and apply for a new one now. That way you won't have a problem re-entering the US, even though you are a US citizen.

I am not sure why it is necessary for you to move back to Russia right away, but if you chose to remain in the US long enough for her to get her green card, she would be allowed to travel outside of the US for up to one year and still be allowed to return to the US with you (as long as you don't intend to reside overseas and this relocation is temporary). If she planned to be outside of the US for more than one year then she would need a special type of travel permission and would have to return to the US before 2 years are up. If your planned time in Russia is temporary, you may wish to consider delaying your plans to move at least until she gets a green card so you don't have to go through the whole immigration process all over again the following year. The CR-1 process itself takes about a year so you would almost need to apply for it shortly after you leave the US if you wanted to return a year later. If you don't intend to live in the US for a while, then there is no need for any type of visa.

You are making it very complicated on yourself. If you have room to consider other options, you may find it much more sensible to delay your year outside of the US for a few months so she can get her green card.

Arthur & Anna

Male

Russia

2011-06-20 21:17:00

Thank you, Kathryn.. this was VERY helpful. I appreciate the time you took to answer me so well.

I suppose I could have supplied a little more information to start with, but you still answered me. Last year, I wrote the U.S. consulate office in St Petersburg, (where she is) and asked them if she could visit me on a tourist visa, so that we could get married. They said "sure". (shortened a lot) Well, they immediately turned her down for a tourist visa, even before she could say anything at the interview. (They had looked over my letter, explaining that we were to be married, and live in Russia after) They told her ardently, "You MUST file for a K1 visa for this". So.. this is why we took this approach. I'm unaware of any other method. They probably don't have any other option, because our situation is so rare. Do you know of another way?

Yes, we plan on living there permanently.. we bought land there, and plan to live there. We only hoped to visit family here occasionally. So, it appears the government wants to make this as difficult as possible for us. I didn't realize what we'd have to do for her to come back to the U.S. with me.. although I should have. But maybe now the tourist visa will work for her.

Just in deep thought now.. but thank you, once more.

Arthur & Anna

Male

Russia

2011-06-20 20:36:00

K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

Hey, I'm brand new here, so please excuse me if I make this post in the wrong place.

I have questions, if there is anyone who's been through this unusual situation before. My fiancee in Russia, is waiting for her interview schedule date. (the petition has been approved and sent to embassy in Moscow) We plan to be married here in the U.S., and then (even before adjustment of status), I plan on moving back with her in Russia. My questions:

1) After we're married, can she leave the U.S. with the same K1 visa? Or will she need something special again? (We don't plan on coming back for at least a year)
2) If anyone has experience here, do I need to make sure my passport will not expire before I return? Will the U.S deny my re-entry if it's expired?

Thank you!

Arthur & Anna

Male

Russia

2011-06-20 19:09:00

I-129F approved

how did you find out? I'm about to have a heart attack. I just received an activity report that our application has skipped all the way from NOA1 to the "Post Decision Activity".

JennaandErik

Male

Norway

2010-04-29 22:06:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

Well, at face value, you filed your I-751 a few weeks before us. You also had the bad luck of having it go to Nebraska. That is the bad news. The good news is your claim has been transferred, most likely to California. From looking at the responses, we can see that there are a good many people here that, once their claim was transferred, got an approval letter shortly after. My wife and I included in that list.

So, long story short, I would wait till the end of the month then call USCIS. Plus I would check your status online twice a day. I suspect you will be getting an approval notice very soon.

Gulskjegg

Male

Ukraine

2008-04-13 17:44:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

We got no letter, and no email. But my wife checks her status online, and it showed up there. On the 27th of this month, we had planned to send off her passport for a one year extension stamp. But, since her card was ordered to be produced on the 10th of this month, there is a chance we will get the actual 10 year green card before the 27th.

If you are like us and have gotten no emails and no letters, I suggest checking your status online or calling the information line.

Gulskjegg

Male

Ukraine

2008-04-13 05:27:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

I just called the USCIS customer service line. They said as of April 10, 2008 production of my wife's 10 year green card has been ordered and that it will arrive in 30 days. We filed in March of 2007. I will keep everyone updated if there is more progress, but as of now we are preparing to hit warp speed on "Operation: Get The Hell Outta America".

Gulskjegg

Male

Ukraine

2008-04-11 16:59:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

Hey that's not a bad plan. According to current feminist dogma, you probably wouldn't even need to break out the feather. None of us stands anything to lose, USCIS already has us over a barrel. It cant get any worse.

Gulskjegg

Male

Ukraine

2008-04-10 20:52:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

I called my local office and they said we can mail my wifes passport in for a 1 year extension stamp. We are authorized to do so on the 27th of April, 2008. It seems a fairly informal matter. That being said, I TOTALLY agree with you about USCIS passing out 3 to 5 year extension letters. I requested a 2 year extension and the local office refused, stating the maximum was 1 year at a time.

One of the Founding Fathers, I forget who, was asked what was the defining aspect of a police state. He thought about it and replied "When those that enforce the law exempt themselves from the law, you live in a police state". We see rules and regulations that we, the citizen, must follow explicitly when dealing with the USCIS upon threat of deportation, or worse.

Yet the USCIS is free to do what they want, when they want, for whatever reason they want, without consequence. Even if it means we and our families suffer or our hopes and dreams are ruined.

Sucks to be us.

Gulskjegg

Male

Ukraine

2008-04-05 07:53:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

Im right with you, NickD. The reason my wife and I stay, the only reason, is to get a 10 year green card or passport. My wife is from Ukraine, so her ability to travel with her current passport is severely limited. One aspect you may consider is attempting to get a job overseas. This will allow you to file an expedited N-400 request.

QUOTE (NickD @ Apr 3 2008, 05:30 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This thread is about removing conditions on residency that assumes the I-751 application, a burden put on us to assure to the USCIS that a US citizen did not marry an alien immigrant for the sole purpose of bringing that immigrant into this country.

So there are two parties involved, the US citizen and the alien immigrant, from reading other posts here, never sure who is posting is what!

When I met my wife, at first we developed a very strong platonic relationship, became for good friends and learned we had a very strong physical attraction as well, we knew we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. I am the US citizen, she is the alien immigrant, and she had a daughter that also required a working relationship that was between just her and me. In other words, could we be a family.

We had a short discussion, key factor is that we all wanted to live together, but in her country or mine? As she was from Colombia with her family in that country, no relatives in Venezuela, and I have a very huge family here, we mutually agreed that she and her daughter would come here. Point is, this is my country, born here, served my country, and been paying taxes for years. So just natural that I handle the immigration details, I feel now that I am fighting to keep my family. So I took it upon myself to learn all about the procedure, this was done before we were married, I certainly was no expert in marrying an alien immigrant as the I-751 assumes. Also decided with the very poor grammar used in the immigration forms and that the very expensive fees for all the applications could be lost with one error to hire the best immigration law firm that I could find.

I just enlisted the aid of my wife in typing in those foreign kind of addresses to make sure they were accurate, an interesting note, the downloadable forms from the USCIS force you to use a fixed over sized font where you cannot fit everything in that small box they provide. The forms I received from my law firm let you reduced the size of the font so you could fit everything in and still very readable, but they were the same identical forms provided by the USCIS.

With all this jazz about the I-751, I took it upon myself to contact my congressman, senator, the USCIS, the Ombudsman form, after all, I am the US citizen. In our interviews, I did most of the talking just keeping my big mouth shut when questions were directed to either my wife or daughter.

If a law was broken by me marrying an alien immigrant just to bring her into this country, well, she would be deported and I would be in prison, so not only fighting for her, but actually fighting for myself. I am the assumed guilty party here trying to prove my innocence that seems to be just the opposite of what our US Constitution dictates.

With some of the hardships imposed, my wife and I have already discussed moving to a different country where both of us will be welcomed. Seems ironic to receive a form that both my wife and daughter received in separate envelops addressed to each, Welcome to the USA! Then to have to go through this entire procedure again, isn't this a flat contradiction? First, they are welcomed, then put in a position to prove that they are welcomed?

This entire procedure seems crazy to me and contradicts everything I learned about this country, and a country where I was forced to put my life down to defend. I never asked anything from my country, on the other hand gave everything to this country and never received anything in return. But I did ask my country if I could bring the woman of my most wildest dreams here, and her daughter, they told me it would cost me so much, and that I can, and told me how I can do it, and I said, okay. And I paid the price.

This whole I-751 and the problems and stress it has caused really has me asking, is it really worth staying here? We are talking about the most valuable entity here, my wife. My anger is high, but I keep that to myself and attempt to use logic and reasoning. Also not particularly fond that a number of our most recent leaders are draft dodgers and claim to be patriots of this once great country. My dad wasn't even around to send me to Harvard to avoid the draft.

The battle to keep my wife here is my battle, not hers, and I feel for those here that have to take steps to stay here instead of their US citizen spouses. My wife comes before this country, and whatever it takes, even leaving it, I am prepared to do. I feel that I have been let down by my country. And why in the hell do they get Veterans Day off?

Gulskjegg

Male

Ukraine

2008-04-03 15:47:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

Just FYI for the group, my wife checked her status online this morning and sure enough, her claim was transfered from Nebraska to God knows where. I assume California? We have yet to get an email or snail mail notification of this. Jenny, our claim is 12 months in, and we were about to contact the senator after the 27th. Since you are well beyond 12 months, you should consider talking to your senator.

Gulskjegg

Male

Ukraine

2008-04-03 15:41:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

Lets just agree we are all aboard the good ship USCIS Titanic, and its a bumpy ride.

Gulskjegg

Male

Ukraine

2008-04-02 20:51:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

First off, I did Recruiting and Retention Command support for a few years. You would be bonkers to trust a recruiter, let alone trust one with your kids life. Also, I was one of those "weekend warriors" for 14 years and served in Iraq. I held my own and them some while assigned to the 1st Infantry Division. My battle wounds are no less then yours...if you have them.

The day you sign on the dotted line, you have effectively written a blank check to the U.S. Gov't that has a price up to and including your life. The kid that had his foot crushed in basic training is every bit the honored veteran as the grizzled 20-year-letter guy with multiple combat tours.

Anyhow, if "all Nebraska I-751's were shipped to California" what was the effective date? My wife and I have passed our 12 month mark already (March 3rd, 2007), so does that mean OUR file is now in California? And how the hell can we tell? My wifes letter of extension expires this coming May, and if we don't have a 10-year green card by then, I will appeal to my senator.

My heart goes out to you on the passport issue. Thats an angle I had never considered. Both my wife and I updated our passports soon after arriving in America, so we are set for the moment. I cant imagine what it would be like having a dependent (victim?) to have to take into account.

Finally, lets all give the 35 odd million illegal Mexicans a hearty THANKS for jumping the fence, clogging the USCIS in their bit for "amnesty", and shoving aside us law abiding citizens/taxpayers. Don't ever change, guys!

Gulskjegg

Male

Ukraine

2008-03-28 06:26:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

My filing date was 6 months before his, I guess I should panic.

Gulskjegg

Male

Ukraine

2008-03-28 02:59:00

Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

Dont feel bad, my wife and I just passed our 12 month wait date. We are going to wait for the next USCIS online update, and hope our date is covered. If not, I plan to stop by to see my senator. We have heard rumor that N-400 processing takes about 6 months, so after waiting a year whats another 6 months? So many of our plans have been parked or abandoned altogether due to the spectacular incompetence of the USCIS.

Gulskjegg

Male

Ukraine

2008-03-27 01:15:00