FP Notice before marriage

W

WillieMays

Registered Users (C)
Folks, I've been a "longtime, part-time" lurker and have gleaned plenty of nuggets on this board. Most questions I've had were addressed in earlier posts. However, I now need the collective wisdom of this board. Here's some background, first...

I applied for my Employment Based Green Card in October '03 under the non RIR category. My Labor cartificate was approved in Jan '04. I then filed my I-140 EB2 in May. An RFE was sent in July/August, I replied with evidence in September/October (2 weeks before the deadline - my fault, if not for my attorney pushing me, I would have forgotten). Anyway, the I-140 was approved in November.

I filed my I-485 in September and just received a "Fingerprint Notice". Problem is, I will be out of town on business on the day that I've been asked to appear at the local office.

Bigger problem: I'm getting married in July and will return to the country only in August, after a long vacation and honeymoon. Is there anyway I can postpone my fingerprinting till, say, October, so that I can add my wife to my application? If that's NOT an option, can I drag my fiance' along to the local office (provided I can reschedule my visit) and get her fingerprinted?

Can someone please list my options here? Rescheduling my business visit, while difficult, is possible, but rescheduling my marriage? That's a whole new ball game...!

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
 
you need not do your fingerprinting on the day requested...just show up with your notice and give your fingerprints before you leave the country...
if that doesn't work, request them for a re-scheduling.
 
Once you get your FP done your case is "ready for approval". You can
request re-scheduling the FP and buy some time.

As you filed 485 in sep 04 the chances of getting approved soon are slim..but there are cases where people got approved way before the normal processing time. Well this was a boon for them it may not be good for you..as you are not yet married.

Your most important objective is..to add your spouse (ofcourse after marriage) to your 485 before it gets approved. I would say that you buy time rescheduling the FP and in mean time try preponing the marriage.

It's better to be safe than sorry.

My 2 cents..Ofcourse I am not an Attorney.
 
There is no problem even if you go for FP in August. I did my FP after 2 months of the scheduled FP date. Only thing they asked is to come on the same week day as that of the schedule date. I believe you have around 80 days to give FP after scheduled date.
 
WillieMays said:
Folks, I've been a "longtime, part-time" lurker and have gleaned plenty of nuggets on this board. Most questions I've had were addressed in earlier posts. However, I now need the collective wisdom of this board. Here's some background, first...

I applied for my Employment Based Green Card in October '03 under the non RIR category. My Labor cartificate was approved in Jan '04. I then filed my I-140 EB2 in May. An RFE was sent in July/August, I replied with evidence in September/October (2 weeks before the deadline - my fault, if not for my attorney pushing me, I would have forgotten). Anyway, the I-140 was approved in November.

I filed my I-485 in September and just received a "Fingerprint Notice". Problem is, I will be out of town on business on the day that I've been asked to appear at the local office.

Bigger problem: I'm getting married in July and will return to the country only in August, after a long vacation and honeymoon. Is there anyway I can postpone my fingerprinting till, say, October, so that I can add my wife to my application? If that's NOT an option, can I drag my fiance' along to the local office (provided I can reschedule my visit) and get her fingerprinted?

Can someone please list my options here? Rescheduling my business visit, while difficult, is possible, but rescheduling my marriage? That's a whole new ball game...!

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Click to expand...

Hey bud,

Sorry to say but you seem to be taking all this too lightly. Couple of points/questions:

1. You need to get your FP done on/before schedule. While many FP centers would let you do FP later than the scheduled date, technically your AOS application is considered abandoned (and hence no chance of approval) if you don't get FP done on date. So, please do request a change of date.

2. You cannot just "drag your fiance" to FP with you. She needs to file her own 485 and get FP notice after the required wait time. Only after that would she be ready for FP. Is she in US currently? What status is she on?

3. If you don't file 485 for her before your approval, her case could take forever to process. If she is not in US at that time on her own status (F/H), you could be looking at a long long time before she can join you.

Please post details about your fiance's status if you want more specific help.

goodluck!

- ab
 
atlantabhopali said:
Hey bud,

Sorry to say but you seem to be taking all this too lightly. Couple of points/questions:

1. You need to get your FP done on/before schedule. While many FP centers would let you do FP later than the scheduled date, technically your AOS application is considered abandoned (and hence no chance of approval) if you don't get FP done on date. So, please do request a change of date.

2. You cannot just "drag your fiance" to FP with you. She needs to file her own 485 and get FP notice after the required wait time. Only after that would she be ready for FP. Is she in US currently? What status is she on?

3. If you don't file 485 for her before your approval, her case could take forever to process. If she is not in US at that time on her own status (F/H), you could be looking at a long long time before she can join you.

Please post details about your fiance's status if you want more specific help.

goodluck!

- ab
Click to expand...

Thanks for the responses. My fiance' is currently in the US on a H1-B visa, valid until Feb '08. She has already extended her H1 once, and I understand she cannot renew it again. Besides, her company will NOT sponsor her for a green card, so a separate immigration application is not an option.

I'm not taking this lightly, it's just that I'm not at all familiar with the procedures and details.

The Fingerprint Notice that I received from BCIS explicitly calls for a written notification if I need to reschedule this appointment, which I will obviously provide, if I have to postpone it. However, I understand that my application is "Ready For Approval" as soon as I'm fingerprinted, and if approved, I cannot process my wife's immigration.

Please advice. Thanks in advance.
 
Why don't you go for a court marriage before your FP date and file i-485 for your wife before doing your FP. Once you file her I-485 go for your FP at scheduled date or postpone FP for yourself
 
WillieMays said:
I'm not taking this lightly, it's just that I'm not at all familiar with the procedures and details.

----> You are at the right place buddy. You will find a lot of folks here who are willing to help. Keep in mind that the better you can specify your questions, the more answers you would get. Also, you can get a good overview of the whole process at http://www.immihelp.com/gc/

However, I understand that my application is "Ready For Approval" as soon as I'm fingerprinted, and if approved, I cannot process my wife's immigration.

----> That is correct.

Please advice. Thanks in advance.

----> vahope is correct. Especially with your Fiance being here, I would suggest just get married in a court immediately here in US and file her AOS asap. What date have they scheduled your FP for? You may be able to get all this done by then.
Click to expand...

goodluck!

- ab
 
My FP is scheduled for March 22nd. However, I currently do not have my fiance's completed medical transcripts that need to accompany the I-485. All other documents are available.

Another issue is that she's on a temporary assignment in Florida, while she actually lives in TX. Her DL and tax returns have her TX address, and I live in PA. Does this mean that her application goes to the Texas Service Center?

Finally, if we do get married in court and send her application to VSC/TSC, can she still accompany me for fingerprinting?
 
WillieMays said:
My FP is scheduled for March 22nd. However, I currently do not have my fiance's completed medical transcripts that need to accompany the I-485. All other documents are available.

----> Several doctors can get her medicals done in no time. You can find the list of CIS certified docs in her area here: http://uscis.gov/text/exec/cs/index.asp. Call all of them, and someone should be able to get it done in 1-2 days.

Another issue is that she's on a temporary assignment in Florida, while she actually lives in TX. Her DL and tax returns have her TX address, and I live in PA. Does this mean that her application goes to the Texas Service Center?

----> Her application will be filed in the same center as yours. Her residence place does not matter.

Finally, if we do get married in court and send her application to VSC/TSC, can she still accompany me for fingerprinting?

----> Unfortunately not, she needs to wait for her FP notice to come. But that is not an issue as she can always get her FP done later.
Click to expand...

You have sometime between now and Mar 22nd. And even in best case scenario, CIS won't approve your case till atleast a week after your FP so that is your buffer.

Get married in court right away, file her AOS and then get your FP done on time. You (or your wife) will almost surely get a RFE on proof of marriage as you are getting married close to ur approval. CIS typically considers marriage within 2 yrs of 485 to be suspicious. It is not a big deal though - they will issue a RFE, and you can respond with marriage pictures, joint utility bills (get some of ur utilities in her name right away after court marraige), joint bank statements (get that too asap after court marriage), etc.

goodluck!

- ab
 
atlantabhopali said:
You have sometime between now and Mar 22nd. And even in best case scenario, CIS won't approve your case till atleast a week after your FP so that is your buffer.

Get married in court right away, file her AOS and then get your FP done on time. You (or your wife) will almost surely get a RFE on proof of marriage as you are getting married close to ur approval. CIS typically considers marriage within 2 yrs of 485 to be suspicious. It is not a big deal though - they will issue a RFE, and you can respond with marriage pictures, joint utility bills (get some of ur utilities in her name right away after court marraige), joint bank statements (get that too asap after court marriage), etc.

goodluck!

- ab
Click to expand...

Per your (and many others, including my attorney) suggestion, we do plan to get married in Vegas next weekend. However, she lives in FL and I don't want to add her to my utilities bill or apartment lease because of tax implications in the wonderful state of PA. We already have credit cards together - she is an add-on to one of my cards, and we plan to add each other to each other's bank accounts. Will that count as proof of a bonafide marriage? Given the short notice, getting a flights into Vegas alone is a pain (think March Madness), let along calling and arranging for a photographer. Our credit histories show a brief period in 2001 when we were living together - I don't want to attach a credit history, however...!

Thanks again for your help.
 
WillieMays said:
We already have credit cards together - she is an add-on to one of my cards, and we plan to add each other to each other's bank accounts. Will that count as proof of a bonafide marriage?

----> Congratulations on your Vegas Bonanza :) CIS has been many things to many people, but playing cupid is a new role for them ;). Marriage certificate and bank/credit card statements will count. Meanwhile, get common utilities as soon as you can work out the tax implications.

credit histories show a brief period in 2001 when we were living together - I don't want to attach a credit history, however...!

----> That won't count. They want to see you both living together after marriage. Hopefully, her/your marraige RFE won't come anytime soon, and by then you guys can start living together and have some history of having common utilities etc.
Click to expand...

goodluck!

- ab
 
atlantabhopali said:
CIS has been many things to many people, but playing cupid is a new role for them
Click to expand...

Yeah, it certainly is, Gob bless..!

atlantabhopali said:
They want to see you both living together after marriage. Hopefully, her/your marraige RFE won't come anytime soon, and by then you guys can start living together and have some history of having common utilities etc.
Click to expand...

That's the problem. We do NOT plan to live together for atleast another year. She's currently in FL, and will return to TX as soon as she wraps up her current project. I am in PA, and plan to be here for atleast another year. We don't plan to live together until late next year, when I move down to TX. Adding her to my lease in PA muddies the waters further, mainly because of tax implication in PA.

Given this conundrum, I can think of the following documents as proof of bonafide amrriage:

* Marriage License (issued by the state of NV, for a marriage in Las Vegas)
* Bank Statement(s)
* Credit Card Statement(s)
* Affidavits from family and friends vouching for the veracity of the marriage
* If an RFE is generated in 2006, our 2005 joint tax returns
* Health Insurance statement (I plan to add myself to her insurance because of better benefits and coverages)

Will this pose a problem? I appreciate all responses.
 
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