The prevailing myth among those who have never experienced the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service first hand is that when you marry an American you are simply issued a Green Card and all is well. You sail off into the sunset, everyone’s happy, America has gained another taxpayer. You raise bilingual kids. End of story.
By virtue of having married a Polish citizen, I now possess a wealth of knowledge that not only contradicts that myth of bliss, but actually is capable of shattering it completely to the point that it is unrecognizable. Even to the myth’s relatives and close friends.
When fate introduced me to a Polish girl in an Irish bar in France, fate was also arranging my introduction to a world of stifling bureaucratic chaos I once thought was monopolized solely by the Internal Revenue Service. How naive I was.
Recently we had what a layman might call our Green Card appointment. This became our life’s goal when we mailed an over-stuffed manila envelope to INS nearly two years ago.
The odyssey began with our civic marriage. The “civic” marriage was a necessity because the “church” marriage wasn’t to be until August 2002. But INS could not wait that long. They did not care that I was in love with an Alien. They only cared that she was an Alien. Paperwork had to be filed immediately or my Alien fiancé would have been deported – which is terrible for relationships. I also think calling someone’s spouse an Alien is terrible for relationships, but I’ve got bigger fish to fry.
And so, in order to get the INS paperwork going, we had our civic ceremony that December in 2001. By civic ceremony I mean we were at the matrimonial equivalent of the Registry of Motor Vehicles. We were married right after a sketchy long-haired guy and his South American wife, right ahead of the morbidly obese couple who came dressed in jeans and t-shirts to celebrate their commitment to dressing like crap.
A woman with a tremendous Hispanic accent called us into a room, recited from the top of her head the marriage vows in mumbled Spanglish, and pronounced us married. My dating life ceased. As the grand finale I was told “chew may now kees dee brine.” So, I kissed me brine. My brother’s cell phone went off, playing Michelle Ma Belle in pre-polyphonic digital bleeps. It was as glorious and romantic as you’d imagine it wouldn’t be. Afterwards, we stood in front of the fake Christmas tree and plastic Menorah in the lobby to have our photo taken.
Newly married, and in possession of a piece of paper saying so, I immediately set about filling out the paperwork. The first step in the coveted Green Card journey. The first step involves reams of paper. Environmental fanatics take note: an entire forest was murdered to accommodate me.
I can recite the forms off the top of my head now. First there was the I-485 Adjustment of Status. This was what you might call the Green Card application. Then there was the I-130 Petition for Alien Relative which you use to prove that you’re related to an Alien and entitled to file the I-485 in the first place.
In addition, we needed to supply the G-325A Biographic Information forms for the two of us, and I had to fill out the I-864 Affidavit of Support. The I-864, backed up by copies of three years of tax returns, W2 and 1099 forms and pay stubs, all my bank account information and any other proof of worth helps to show that you earn more than the poverty limit ($12,000 a year at the time) so that INS could be assured my wife wasn’t going to go on welfare. If you are making less than $12,000 a year no one would want to marry you anyway, so this rule seems completely pointless.
The I-693 Medical Examination of Aliens Seeking Adjustment of Status form required a visit to an INS approved doctor. That doctor ran tests and provided a sealed envelope to include in the application. God forbid my wife had a horrible disease, since that could mean she was dying and was going to be deported. You’d want to know that right away. But they don’t open the sealed envelope until your interview. Two years later. So, right in the beginning of the interview you’ve waited two years for, they presumably dish out the bad news, ask you to cover your mouth, and drag you to the airport for your one-way trip back to the homeland.
Each form comes with a set of instructions unique to that form. Each form requires a certain number of photocopies and originals of various things. Some forms require photographs. Everything needs to be done correctly. The penalties for doing them incorrectly are anybody’s guess – at the very least it means a delay in your application which is already going to take two years under the best of circumstances. Worst case, I imagine you get deported. Again, terrible for relationships. The anxiety starts to build.
The forms were all various degrees of confusing, often with several pages of text telling you what you need to do, but leaving you with enough questions that you’re terrified you’re making a mistake and ruining your life. I pity the poor souls who don’t speak English. Their eyes must tear up as they go from word to word trying to make sense of it all. A lot of it didn’t make sense to me either, and I can read. In English.
Questions are plentiful, and worrisome, because answers are hard or impossible to come by. You will not reach a human by phone. You can go to the district office and wait long periods of time to ask a question. Make it a good question though, because you can only ask one and then you have to go to the back of the line and wait all over again.
For quicker answers the best you can do is flip through Do It Yourself books and hope they’re not outdated. Since the numerous forms are subject to change, you can count on your book being outdated. A few times the books referred to sections that no longer existed on the forms, or didn’t acknowledge other sections on the forms. The books often contained actual copies of forms which would have been helpful if they weren’t outdated. Your best bet was downloading the most current forms on the INS website. Depending on the form, some looked great and others looked like a ninth-generation photocopy. All this form confusion just added to the anxiety, which had already climbed to maximum by the specter of my wife being hauled off by INS agents because I forgot to dot an “i” or cross a “t” on one of my I-forms. I’m not known for being detail oriented.
Processing fees also changed without much fanfare, and had I not noticed this on their website I would have sent in a check for the wrong amount. In any other instance this would have been an unfortunate inconvenience. With the INS it would be a terrifying, nerve-racking disaster.
If you were desperate for assistance you could easily spend thousands of dollars on a lawyer. We had spoken with one early on and she either didn’t know what she was talking about, wasn’t aware the rules had changed, or was deliberately trying to frighten us into using her services. I decided she was a moron and vowed not to involve lawyers in the process. Plus I’m not fond of lawyers. I hate to give them money.
By December’s end I had pounds of paper ready to go. In hindsight I should have also filled out the I-765 Application for Employment Authorization Document which would have allowed her to work and the I-131 Petition for Advance Parole which would have allowed her to leave the country and return, but I held off. Part of me was confused, part of me was tired of paperwork, and part of me didn’t realize that without the I-131 Advance Parole your spouse is in big trouble if they leave the country. This would be another source of extreme anxiety in the near future.
After you mail off the manila envelope, you wait. How long you wait is anyone’s guess. And what you’re waiting for is anyone’s guess. A few weeks later I received a hand-scrawled envelope that contained nothing but a small, yellow receipt. At least it was proof, I hoped, that they had received what I mailed. I cherished that receipt. It was all I had to go by. I photocopied it numerous times. I treasured it like it was a family heirloom when in reality it was a tiny yellow receipt that was barely legible because the ink was so faint.
I was under the impression I would be receiving something more substantial. One book suggested I’d get an official looking letter that said they had received my application and it was being processed. The book even had a picture of the letter. That never happened. Or if it did happen, I never got it.
Fear of not getting correspondence from INS added tremendously to the anxiety. Most correspondence was hand addressed. The idea that in the 21st Century we had people hand writing addresses seemed absurd, counter-productive, and error-prone. What if the human misspelled the address? What if it was illegible? It certainly looked close to illegible. It had to be — a human being was scribbling 300 of these a day by hand. I constantly wondered if we had missed vital pieces of mail. On top of that, my Chinese expatriate mailman constantly gives me other people’s mail. Despite complaints to the Postmaster, I continue receiving X-rays for a dentist on another block. I could only assume someone other than me was getting some of our mail. Probably our INS letters. More anxiety.
I soon realized the folly of not filing the I-131 Advance Parole document. Without obtaining this piece of laser-printed paper with a photo glued to it, my wife could not leave the country and return. If she did, on an emergency family visit for example, they would not let her re-enter the United States. Even better, all the paperwork we had filed – the entire case – would have been thrown out. We’d then have to start from scratch, but she’d be living outside the US for months or longer. Again, not good for a marriage. Even more anxiety. To top it all off, her aunt was very sick. Every time the phone rang I was terrified my wife would be summoned to Poland. In mid-March 2002 I filed the I-131 Advance Parole and prayed to any deity that would listen.
Near the end of the month we got a little yellow receipt for the I-131 check, which I took to mean the Advance Parole was in the works. But we heard nothing. And her aunt was apparently more ill. Now I was losing sleep.
By April 2002, four months after we’d sent in our paperwork, I only had yellow receipts to show that my checks had been accepted. I had received no other correspondence. I had no A-number, which is the Alien Registration Number they use as an identifier for your case. I had not seen the letter that one of the books claimed I’d be receiving. I started to worry that maybe they misaddressed our mail, lost us in the system or just took my money.
At the end of May 2002 we received a letter telling us to come pick up our Advance Parole Document the following month. After that, she’d be able to leave the country and come back. Though not without a great deal of anxiety. If we were ever to lose that document while abroad the consequences would be unfathomable. The I-131 was valid for one year. Unfortunately, by the time they issued our appointment to pick it up it was already two months old. We’d have to apply for a new one in short order. By this point, my wife was desperate to visit her family. She’d never been away from them for so long.
When we picked up the Advance Parole document in mid-June, we were thrilled. She could leave the country to visit her family and it wouldn’t be the end of the world. The document had her A-number which we had never before seen. I immediately filed the I-765 for her Employment Authorization Document.
We were also happy that the Advance Parole would allow us to go to Poland and get married again, this time in a church with friends and family. We had invited people to the wedding in August. It would have sucked if we couldn’t have been there.
There was much more waiting. By September 2002, nine months after filing, I knew only this much: We had now been married twice. Once on INS terms and once on our own. INS had cashed our checks. They had issued an Advance Parole Document, which means we were in the system somewhere. But still no news on the coveted Green Card interview. We received a letter saying the Employment Authorization Document could be picked up in December.
Picking that up was a story all its own, and a terrific example of how horrible a mean-spirited little man can be when he’s handed power over other people. For every decent INS employee we encountered there were a few of these types: bureaucrats to the nth degree who were dreadful to the wide-eyed, helpless masses sitting in their lobbies.
Months came and went. No news. I just had to hope all was progressing along normally. Going to the mailbox was a combination of hope, dread and anger. I never knew what to expect, but since I’m terribly pessimistic I expected the worst. When I opened the mailbox and received nothing, I then expected that the worst had happened but the mail had been misaddressed. Or that the Chinese mailman gave it to the dentist down the street.
As we approached May 2003, we had to re-submit another I-131 Advance Parole application so that my wife could continue to leave the US and be allowed to return to it when she was finished.
Same deal. We sent it, received a small, yellow receipt weeks later. And an appointment letter after that. Naturally, the appointment was scheduled for a date that my wife was out of town on. she was returning the day after the appointment had been scheduled. More anxiety. I had to go down to the offices, wait in line, and ask a lady what I should do. I told her the appointment was set for May 2nd but my wife was returning May 3rd. The lady told me we could come pick it up on May 4th. I was relieved. I left.
Then I realized May 4th was Sunday. More anxiety. I opted to suck it up and we’d simply return on the 5th. Fortunately they didn’t seem to mind when we did that. We finally had our new Advance Parole. We continued to travel.
Returning from abroad was always terrifying to me. Even though we had the Advance Parole I was nervous that the rules had changed while we were out of the country. As we approached the INS desks at the airport I’d start to feel jittery. I was artificially friendly with the INS staff and visibly nervous. To a trained eye, I’m sure I’d look like a suspect of some sort. Knowing that I looked guilty of something made me even more nervous. The palms of my hands would get clammy. I’d stutter… I’d make a lousy spy.
Inevitably, we’d be told to go to the airport INS office to have the Advance Parole stamped. This took a minimum of 45 minutes, sometimes longer. We’d sit and watch other people from various countries going through various Hells. I saw fathers being told their kid would not be allowed in the country. I saw a hysterical Chinese lady being deported. And I saw countless African guys lying through their teeth. The Africans were my absolute favorite. I watched guys with fake passports, expired passports, no passports or other people’s passports stand there and lie and lie and lie. The INS agent would ask a question, the guy would lie, get caught, and the cycle would repeat itself. It would go like this:
“What is the reason for your visit?”
I have business.
“This is a work visit?”
Yes.
“So you’re visiting for work?”
Yes.
“Well, sir, you don’t have a work visa. You don’t have permission to come here and work.”
(Pause) It’s not for work.
“Wait, you just told me this was a work visit.”
No.
“Why did you tell me this was a work visit?”
I didn’t.
“Yes you did.”
My brother lives here.
And so on. If it wasn’t holding everyone else up it would have been hilarious. Eventually the guy would be cuffed to a chair while they awaited the next flight home.
The end of May finally brought us what we’d been looking for: the date of the Green Card appointment. We were thrilled, though the appointment was not until mid-November 2003. In the time in between we’d have to assemble the necessary evidence to prove that we were a legitimately married couple. A man and his Alien.
My wife also had a Fingerprinting appointment, which turned out to be the greatest immigration experience we had. The reason for this was that it wasn’t INS doing the fingerprinting, it was the Department of Homeland Security. We received an appointment letter which directed us to a clean, well-lit, modern space with only a few folks in it. We were in and out in only 10 minutes. And on top of it all, they handed her a customer satisfaction survey. My first thought was that it was a trap of some sort. It all seemed to good to be true.
As our November 2003 appointment grew closer, my anxiety grew bigger. I fully expected to walk into the meeting and be told that they didn’t believe we were married. I spent hours assembling everything they wanted to see, as well as anything else I thought they might want to see. I had to bring originals and photocopies.
On the day of the meeting, we woke early and headed down to the INS office. I was pulling a rolling suitcase filled with: copies of all our paperwork, our passports, birth certificates, translations of her birth certificate, ID photographs, Social Security card, marriage certificate, life insurance policy showing my wife as the beneficiary, any INS correspondence from the past two years, three years of tax returns with three years of W2s, 1099s and paystubs, canceled checks from the IRS, three months of checking and savings account information for myself, three months of checking and savings account information showing joint accounts, gym membership card, health insurance information proving she was on my plan, hospital bills from a miscarriage to show that we were trying to have kids, proof she had her fingerprints taken, her work authorization, a copy of our wedding invitation, cards from a Las Vegas casino to show we share a life together, receipts from our wedding rings, boarding passes from flights we’ve taken together, bills from the dentist to show I’m paying for her dental work, receipts from NYU to show I’m learning Polish, a receipt showing we sat through the horrendous Pre-Cana classes the Catholic church required us to take to get married on their property, phone and utility bills, my college quarterly showing a photo from our wedding, both Advance Parole documents and enough photographs to detail our entire life together. We had photocopies of everything, save the pictures.
For the first time ever, there was no line at the INS building. We walked right in and went through security. It was eerily quiet. That turned out to be misleading. We exited the elevator onto the eighth floor and into a sea of people. After handing the agent our appointment letter we were told it would be a 3-4 hour wait. We sat. We waited. I studied the crowd. There was a little bit of everyone in the world sitting in that room.
The PA system did not work correctly. For over an hour and a half we heard people testing the microphone. They tapped on it. They blew on it. They said “Test, test, test'” into it. But it didn’t work properly. I was certain that after two years of waiting for this appointment we weren’t going to hear our name called and that would be that.
Every few minutes and INS officer would come out, on the other end of the room, and call out a name. It was nearly impossible to hear. Some of the agents halfheartedly called the names, as if they were conserving valuable oxygen. Between that and the din of the crowd the anxiety was working itself to a fever pitch. I tried to read, but all I could really do was listen intently the nearly inaudible announcements.
As seats became available we migrated our way towards the area where the INS officers called out names. When we heard ours we bolted towards the woman and were escorted through a labyrinthine office – a football field of cubicles. She took us into a side office and shut the door.
I was a nervous wreck. I feared that my nervousness would make her think that we were lying. That made me more nervous. I fumbled through my suitcase as she asked to see a few ID documents to make sure we were who we said we were. She opened a file on her desk, our file, and I recognized all the documents that I had mailed to them nearly two years ago.
When she asked to see the I-693 Medical Report results my heart sank. We had sent them in with the initial packet in December 2001. We told her as much. I was terrified they had lost them and it would suddenly be our fault. She flipped through the folder and found them. She opened the envelope. Apparently no diseases to worry about. She pressed on.
The questions were straightforward. Her job is to determine that we’re legitimately married and financially secure enough that we won’t be going on welfare. Fair enough. She asked where we met. What we did. She looked at the original birth certificates, marriage license, passports, bank documents and passports. She took copies of them. Copies of the W2s and 1099s. She flipped through our photos and asked a few Who, What and Where questions. She made a photocopy of a picture from our honeymoon.
She wrote her name and date in my wife’s passport and told us we’d be getting a letter in a month or so. The letter would have an appointment time for us to come in and get her passport stamped. That would serve as proof of a Green Card until the temporaryGreen Card arrived in the mail, God knows when.
A temporary Green Card, called a Conditional, is issued if the couple has been married less than two years. In our case, we would have reached that mark only five weeks later. We mentioned this, but it didn’t matter. Rules are rules. Even if our second anniversary was only five weeks away, we hadn’t been married two years yet. A Conditional was issued.
This means that our two-year journey did not end on that day. Two years from now, we’ll be filing an I-751 Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. We’ll be given another interview date. I’ll be packing another suitcase full of paperwork, and we’ll be making our way back to the sea of humanity to once again prove that I’m legitimately married to an Alien.
I think Kafka moonlights over at INS
Hey Brian, I totally sympathize, man. I’m going through the same thing myself right now, and found your comments on what I can expect at the interview more helpful than anything I’ve been able to find online. THANK YOU for mitigating some of MY anxiety. In regards to you having to wait two more years for the conditional greencard to become permanent, I hope you have found out by now that that is not the case. Yes, the conditional green card expires after two years, but if you have already been married for two years, I believe you can apply for a permanent one before that. Check into this. All the best and thanks again.
I’m pretty sure I have it right,and we are supposed to wait 18 months and then file again within a certain window. But now I feel compelled to double-check.
There isn’t a lot of real help online, which is why I spent so much time documenting what I experienced (http://www.mindspring.com/~bsack/insblog/greencard.html). Most info out there is misleading, not-detailed enough or confuses rather than helps, which you probably already knew.
Glad it was helpful to you.
Dude…I hear you!
Actually, I got my great wife (Japanese) a green card in 6 weeks, dealing with the US Consulate General in Tokyo.
We filed out I-751 on time, and have been waiting for over a year now. Time and time again I have contacted “USCIS” (New fancy name for “INS”). My wife is in Tokyo right now, on an expired green card. We did not think anything of it. We have a “Welcome to the United States” letter from USCIS. Tonight I called them with a Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (What The F*&*). Turns out that our unconditional Greeny was sent in April of 03! We never saw it! Now my beautiful and almighty wife (And I mean it) is stuck in Tokyo with an expired green card. It looks like it is going to cost us $300 to get a temp re-entry letter from the Embassy in Tokyo. What a joke!
I HATE USCIS!!!
Later,
Andy
yOU ARE A GREAT PERSON
Aliens? I can’t think of anything more derogatory. Surely, Polish national would suffice. You are to be admired for dealing with this hideous situation with such humour. Hope there are no further complications from the “nasty little men” with power.
I’d be into helping someone get to the USA
by marriage if he were my type & a understanding
could be reached with me & him
Green Card Fun
Wow we filed the I-485 Jan 2003. We also sent in for a work permit. It is now May 12th 2004 and we have no work permit. However we will be going for an INS interview on May 18th. So the wait time is not so bad, only 18 months. In the mean time no work, no drivers license.
I love New York, but do not go to Motor Vehicle without a green card or a work permit. If you do they will send you home early
Brian my Brother,
I want to thank you for all of your blessed work in recounting the INS journey. My wife and I go tomorrow for our GC interview. Not only were you EAXACTLY on the money with your observations, but you had us laughing out loud over a glass of wine. The laughter is a marvelous stress reliever! Maybe you should gather some experiences from different folks and make your own book… I would have bought it. Not only for help but to allow close rellatives to read so they might comprehend the strange journey. Really, most Americans can’t grasp it. One further note which you could add to your book… file the I485, I765, I131 seperately as you did. We did all of ours in one package a full two weeks before you did and your GC interview was a full six months before our! When we read your story we were cracking up how crazy that is.
Thank you again for taking the time,
I will now say phonetically:
Yestesh fspenyawah,
Jin kooyay Bartzo,
Dovedzaneya,
Rich and Louise
I loved your letter! But, my experience is yet more dramatic: I went to my gc interview before yesterday and the officer ( a 300 lbs. witch) who interviewed us (my hunband and I) did not believe we were actually married, I’m 25 yrs old and he is 45……so,she told me I’ll be receiving some kind of letter in two weeks and she hasn’t stamped my passport. She tought is was weird that we didn’t remember the exact date we met, we have been married for almost 4 years and we just remenber the month but not the day….
Brian,
I love the way you described this horrible journey someone has to take to become “legal” here. I started my own about 2 years ago. My husband and I got married 2 years ago (and 1 day) and I received my interview appointment letter today – one day after my wedding anniversary. I was overjoyed. Now I am just hoping that everything works out well.
I hope that by now you have found a way to bypass those 2 extra years before removing the condition on your wifes green card. As far as I know, and like you said, the rules may have changed, you can apply to have the condition removed and you have a certain amount of days (90 I believe) before your 2nd wedding anniversary to apply for that removal.
I wish you well and good luck on the rest of your journey.
Jeannette
Brian,
I feel for you! But there’s hope!
I just got my conditional today, just 2 and a half months after I was wed to my husband (the US citizen). Yes, after only 2 and a half months. We got married here in New York (I entered with a student’s visa). The interview itself only took about 5 minutes (the walk through their labyrinthine offices took longer). They also stamped my passport right after the interview (no other appointments necessary), and told us to expect the card in the mail in a FEW DAYS.
So, yes, ther’s hope!
Wanda
Hi Brian,
Thank you for taking the time to write and post your story. Since the INS only affects a small and fragmented part of society, there will never be any public outcry to bring about change. Unless, of course, you become President (and to let you know in advance, you have my vote in case you decide to run for office).
I am an American living in Russia, preparing to marry an Ukrainian. I have my own bureaucratic hell to live through on this side. Suffice to say, the authorities here may deny her permission to leave the country after our marriage for fear that she will immigrate. Go figure. So, saving your story in hopes that we even make it to that stage of the process. :)
Thanks again for your post,
John
Man this is a priceless piece of work. im laughing, only because i can relate… i honestly couldnt have said it better myself, only that… im at the beginning and doing the worrying and gathering for the rest… at least you do your part… im the *alien* and im doing all the work(well worrying)! my brian gets lost in the sea of papers and is a bit too laid back for me.. he just says *its gonna work out… dont worry* lol drives me nuts! good luck in the future!
I’m in the paperwork hell now and you made me laugh. Thank you.
The best bit of our story goes like this: we changed address during the process. We told them about it. New street address, new phone number. Now, they ONLY communicate by courier. The courier phones you before delivering, if you don’t answer the phone, they don’t come. God knows what happens if you have no phone.
Six weeks later, we eventually got the embassy to admit that there was a letter at the courier’s for us. Upon collecting it (and paying for the privilege), we saw that it had the correct (new) street address, but the wrong phone number. So when they didn’t get an answer on the phone, they just put it away in a dungeon somewhere. No letting the embassy know the number didn’t work, no note in the letterbox, nothing.
We asked the embassy to correct it, and they serenely ignored us and continued to send our mail to the courier’s dungeon.
Then we had to leave that particular country and go to the UK (we’d thought, in our innocence, that six months would be plenty of time to get this visa). But the embassy won’t send mail abroad, so now we have to call the dungeon every so often, and if there’s anything in the cells for us, we have to send a spy down there to rescue it and fax us the contents.
Brian,
I just recieved the notice for our GC interview, we first submitted our huge pile of paper 15 months ago. I feel all your pain and have had several nightmarish experiences at the INS office. The people that work there are miserable and treat you like cattle. This letter to inform us of our interview is the first letter we have ever recieved from them throughout the whole process. My husband (australian) only got his EAD card after we went to the office three times and on the third time we were lucky and got an officer in a good mood. They issued it to us on the spot when she heard we had been waiting for 5 months. I can’t wait for the process to be done with. Thanks for sharing your experience, it makes me much more confortable for our interview.
We went through all the anxiety too. I agree, the INS info is as clear as mud. Every time we thought we understood, there seemed to be a dire consequence in another section!
I laughed about the part of sending off the VALUABLE documents and not know when or what the next step was! We felt like we had put a newborn in the mail!
Our process was 7 months from marriage to interview. Extremely lucky, I admit. We thought it would take 2 years.
Just to echo everyone else’s comments, thank you Brian for a great insight into someone else’s hellish experience. It was so similar to ours (I am a Brit married to an American, together 4 years, GC interview in a month’s time on our first wedding anniversary) except we foolishly heeded an immigration official’s advice that it was “OK” to leave the country for Christmas & return to the UK, & that my husband could send the Advance Parole onto me once he returned to the US. At the time, we thought it was a good idea, ie for him to come back to complete exams, leaving me in the UK for another couple of weeks, to catch up with friends/family, pack up the remainder of my belongings etc. Four months later, I was still stuck husbandless in the UK, being threatened with having our whole application cancelled and leaving my poor husband to face the hideously unhelpful staff at the INS office alone, including the woman who told me it would be fine in the first place. With a bit of help from our congress office, I’m now back in the US (phew!) and fretting terribly about our GC interview in October, which comes 11 months after sending off all the info. It’s helpful to know other’s experiences – your GC interview seemed pretty straightforward Brian, but I notice there’s others that weren’t so simple. If anyone knows of another forum or website with more shared GC interview experiences, I’d be really interested to read it. I just want to be as prepared for this as possible.
Good luck to all you “aliens” out there.
A good Adjustment of Status story source is:
http://www.kamya.com/interview/intro.html
Thanks for your letter….I could have written it myself.
Say, does anyone know how long it takes to process a green card in NYC? We filed for adjustment of status in March 2003.
Also, what’s the best thing to say when you file for travel parole—will “I miss my family, haven’t been home in five years” do?? Is it possible to get turned away at the border even if you have been granted travel parole?
Thanks friends…
It took us almost exactly two years from filing until our interview. We filed in Dec 2001 and our interview was Nov 2003.
For Advance Parole we gave them a litany of reasons: her whole family is in Poland, aunt is ill, sister-in-law has new baby… They can turn you down at the border for anything, but we never had a problem. The only annoyance with Advance Parole is that when you arrive in the US, you’re sent to a side room for the Advance Parole to be looked at and stamped. If a plane from Somalia lands before you do, that means you could be sitting there a while. We gave up trying to schedule car services for pick up, because she could take anywhere from 5 minutes to over an hour. Advance Parole expires in one year, so you’ll have to re-file again. Keep that in mind when planning trips. Don’t be out of town when it expires.
Another thing we did, which I recommend, is create two books that contained photocopies of everything: marriage license, IDs, passports, Advance Parole, any INS letters, INS receipts – everything. We kept one in checked luggage and one in carry-on, in the event our luggage was ever lost. On a couple of occasions it was very handy because it answered any INS officer questions immediately. It also served as an emergency backup in the event the real documents (God forbid) were lost or stolen.
Check out http://shusterman.com/aos.html for waiting times in all INS districts.
Is it better to wait 10months to a year after the marriage to begin the filing process so you dont have to go on a conditional, chances are the AOS meeting will fall after second anniversy
who is that person that said they will be into helping someone get to the states by marriage?
i have green card interview coming can any one helpt prepare forit
I need some help to prepare for the final interview ,,,,,,,,,,,how should i be prepared;;;;;;;;;wilthey ask sexual questions
i need help finding out the process in getting a green card and what o they ask in the interview
Hi I just wanna repeat what everybody is saying this page its a great help,my experience is this…
first of all im the “alien” my husband lived in miami and i lived in Hermosillo Mexico we met thru the internet, that seems to be very common today, but anyway we started talking and we fell in love very quick his mom works for delta so she gave him a ticket for free to go visit well… first visit i got pregnant ehehhe umm couple of months later he had already sold everything he owned and we moved to cincinnati and had the baby here we started the paperwork in june or so and got married in september oh by the way we went to this horrible lawyer who kept asking us for money 125 an hour~!!!! so we fired her when she sent the papers about a month after she sent them i got my fingerprinting and biometrics appointment and about a month after that we got my work permit about a week from that we got the gc appointment and its in eight days from now!! i cant believe this has been this fast!!! tho we still dont have the green card it has been going really fast… a bad thing bout the interview its that we cant take our baby with us well shes about a year and two months now but still we dont have anybody to babysit her … i guess ill hafta leave her with jordans mom… bleh…. anyways if somebody its going thru the same thing please get your experiences out there it really helps ppl !! i would like to know what kind of questions they ask you in the interview???
thanks
I am now in Kentucky and I’ve submit the I-485 and I urgently need to travel back to my home country at this summer, but UCIS need at least 2 moths to process the AP (I131). I would like to do the emergency document of AP. Does anyone have expereince about apply the emergency travelling document? I need a help from you. Pls advise.
Hey,
I’m about to get married next week and start the paperwork after that. I’d like to know what paperwork goes with what documents, since you guys wrote to file them separately. Anything resent helps. I’m filing in Boston.
Brian – your letter was great. I am only contemplating marriage now, and now have a reference point for what to expect…oh boy!
Question: does it make sense to NOT apply for the green card until about a year after the marriage, so that we don’t get hit with the double-whammy of 1) the interview delay where the Conditional is given PLUS 2) the 2 years AFTER the Conditional is given out to apply for the waiver?? This could be way to short-cut the process, no?
hello
I was reading what that guy had to deal with to get a green card for his wife and seriously I’m scared.
I visited the USA for the first time in 2000 I was in 10th grade. I really liked it and every vacation I would come see my family and have fun in New York. In july 2002 I met my boyfriend online and love came when I least expected it. At the time I met him I didn’t know that much english. My parents don’t know a word in english. I wasn’t here to stay so I went back to my country in november 2002.
I didn’t want to loose him so we would spend hours online talking to each other to keep in touch. I came back in february and had to leave again in July. I couldn’t stay over the 6 months deadline. So in sept 2004, after 2 years of planes tickets, we decided that it would be better if I stayed here since they close the only airport in my country because of the civil war.
My period of stay expired 4 months ago and we got a marriage license 3 weeks ago. I’m scaared that I’ll be deported and I won’t be able to see him again, we love each other so much.
We got pictures,we have emails and letters, he has a good job, we opened a bank account togheter, we have cell phone bills for the past year, we know what make us happy and mad. But is that enough?
We don’t plan on leaving together now because we want to save enough money to get a place we would really like( I live with my Godmother, he lives with his parents). Would it matter if we don’t live together?
I don’t know where to start and if I will have enough strenght to go through that. any comment and advice wil make me happy.
please send me an email to siwellea@hotmail.com or on this website
Well, we sent everything like 3 weeks ago, and we got the whole package back from chicago. Ours was denied saying that I enclosed the wrong amount or I didn’t enclose the money order. I bought them at a western union place, and the only thing we can think is that the ink wasn’t strong enough because the amount were perfectly right.
Another thing they were complaining is sending the I-130 and the I-485 at the same time. The explanation or request that they wrote us back is not really understandable, since somewhere it says you can do it together. So tomorrow morning we will get up extremely early and stand in the line to ask a question and not leave until our whole package is complete and mailed.
Mariann
Brian: a well-written and interesting story.
But in all fairness, stories of immigration to the USA are not always filled with bitterness and frustration. As you pointed out, the process probably seems more confusing to people who are not used to it.
I’m the USC in an American-Finnish marriage and maybe it has something to do with the fact that I became accustomed to dealing with immigration matters when I moved to Finland, but I think my husband’s greencard application for the USA has been pretty easy and straightforward. We’ve had no complaints about the handling of the case, and the customer service has been very efficient and friendly. There is no doubt that some applicants have to put up with some unnecessary stress and confusion, but I just think it’s time once in a while to praise the way immigration officials are doing their job.
hi i want to marri in american girl and stay in usa plz that my id HUMAIRQAZI@YAHOO.COM..I WANT TO GO AMERICA FRO MY BETTER FUTURE
Brian, my wife and I are most grateful for sharing your experiences with us.
My wife and I got married in March 2004; she is an American citizen and I am a Canadian citizen, and we have chosen to live in the US for now. We made a petition for me at around July 2004. We received a notification in February 2005 that the petition has been approved, but in order for INS to complete the process I am required to complete several forms, including medical reports, police records, etc., along with fees and mailed to them. My understanding is, the INS would forward my records to the consulates’ office in Montreal, Canada for the interview.
Our second anniversary is in March 2006, and having read Brian’s story, I am now wondering perhaps I should wait till say a month or two before our anniversary next year before sending them all the documents they need. This way I would given an UNCONDITIONAL status, and not have to wait two extra years.
Any suggestion? Thanks.
This the THE best letter I ever read about immigration. Brian, you couldn’t do better. I and I’m sure everyone else encourage you to write a book, it would be the best seller I’m positive. And hopefully many will read and realize what we are going through. I wish you the best of luck!
i can not find my past w2 forms. and i havent filed my taxes in 3 years what do i do
Generally, it helps to contact your congressman/lady. I am retired from an admin position with INS and I know they jumped (high)when a liaison from a Congressman’s office called about a consituent. It’s worth a try. Also there are a lot of non-profit outfits that assist in the process – churches and the like.
Excellent !!! I can relate to all that you said Brian. I just had my interview and was given the unconditional GC. But hold it, this was after a 26 month wait
february 14 2006
was a scary day we got to our interview late a hour and a half late!!! but luckily they didnt get upset ,waited for 20 minutes . finally got called he asked us few questions. my husband got approved!!! happiest day of our lives. wasnt as bad expierence like people seem to put it. good luck to all. good things always happen to good people.
Filed 751 fourteen months ago. have receipt. GC expires soon, so need 551 extention. retired with not tax filing requirement .In the original visa process the consulate lost the file twice and denied it. we are married four years now, three years in country. deadline for us is end of this year..no final
interview to remove conditions, we will apply for canadian immigration. we have both decided a big NO on ever applying for citizenship. This
government is run by slope headed derilect individuals who have no idea of the trauma and heartache the manifest on the lives of decent people. Three hundred illegals a day get in out of the 3000 who try. All of who have played by their rules are suckers. Its easier to stay and make a life in the country of your loved one and forget all these turkey’s. This county in its righteous might has alienated half the world and it still cannot understand why
everyone hates them so much. Don’t think for one second 911 was the big one. Well we have nothing to fear,
we have dept of homeland security to protect us. My aren’t we lucky. I am sorry to say that when the bozos finally decide to interview us , they will enjoy the most erudite applicant ever. I hope they tape it so I can
sound off at every turn. If they don’t like it they can file a removal order. The onus is on their backs then because they have to prove the marriage is a fraud, which they cannot do…Isn’t demeaning that you have to prove your married after signing up for “under penalty of perjury” the five year gig if you lie. What a bunch of Morons/
I went for my interview with my husband who is the American citizen last Thursday the 23rd. It was easier than i thought it would be. The whole interview lasted about 15 mins. We were over prepared I guess and she did not look at any of the stuff we brought along expect for my passport, his i.d, our lease and bank statement. She asked us only two questions and that was where we met and when we decided to get married. She told us it was approved and that the card should arrive in the mail shortly.
I am a little bit concerned though cause I came home today and found a letter addressed to my husband stating “approval notice” The letter stated that the above petition was approved (I130 immigrant petition for relative, fiance or orphan. It further asked that I visit an INS office to get a form I-485 (Application for permanent residence). This makes no sense to me cause i thought the interview we attended was for the I-485. Can someone please enlighten me on this.
hello,
my question is we were petition I-130 immigrant for fiance or orphan file in january 26 2006 and we gor Receipt notice like we got ur file and ur receipt notice date is 9th february 2006. but when i saw my status of file they written like this,
Application Type: I130, IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN
Current Status:
Your I130 IMMIGRANT PETITION FOR RELATIVE, FIANCE(E), OR ORPHAN was received on
February 9, 2006. We mailed you a receipt with information about processing. It is taking between
990 and 999 days for us to process this kind of case. We will mail you a decision as soon as
processing is complete.
i have an question about their processing time 990 to 999 days. can please tell me what happen in this type of case and how long it will take. hoping for ur favourable reply
thanks
My boyfriend has been waiting for his employment visa for nearly a year!! wwe are very serious with one another, and hope to eventually get married. It has already been a very stressful anxious time just waiting for this visa, I can only imagine the gruel of becoming a citizen!
I nearly pissed myself at this story. Partly because it was so damn humorous, partly because not too long ago I was doing the same thing, in Ireland, with my own Alien. Funny that through all this they never warn you that you can’t send them back.
Just kidding. your story was great. Brought me back to a time when I wanted to poke my own eyes out with a blunt instrument. Preferably a no. 2 government issued pencil taped to the INS window. Hope your story has a happy ending.
Jamie
HI! Wow…great read huh…..its true we have this image that you get married take a few pics of the wedding….and then poof a greencard just appears…….
Well Here is what I found confusing……does anyone know how working illegally will affect there application. My husband came here on a J-1 visa, and stayed after it expired.
He has been finding work illegally ever since, and currently is too….We are married now so we will start filing our paperwork soon, but we are confused about the work permit. Will he be denied if he is working illegally when he files that.?
Also we are confused about the travel permission slip……i read something that said that if you stayed unlawfully in the US for more than 180 days that re-entry permission slip thang….could be denied. Since he was and is working he is technically “unlawful” right…..but since we are married now and the 180 days is not up yet will that be okay>? or does he need to stop working soon, to be able to be approved.?
has anyone heard about this?
any info would be helpfull….thanks
Jenn
Hi everyone! I have an important question and I really hope you can help. My wife won a green card via diversity visa and she travelled to USA last year in May to get the actual green card. It was sent to her at a US address. She left the US on the 22nd May 2005.She hasn’t been back there since. Does she need to travel there at least once every calendar year or once every 12 month. Can she lose the card if she doesn’t travel??? Please ASSIST!Thanks million!
Marriage scam.. Please tell me if I have any hope!! Please, someone help me in this crazy unjust situation I am in. My wife left within 6 weeks of receiving her conditional residence card. She followed the script posted on many of our immigration web sites, by going to a battered women’s shelter and claiming Goss neglect, and Extreme cruelty, the two claims she must make in order to file a waiver and stay in this country. She is also enforcing this totally misrepresented affidavit of support, and I am now very worried, because this was not fully explained to me, that she could sue me for spousal support, and I could be obilgated to her for up to ten years at 125% above the poverty level. We were only married for 11 months, and I feel I have no rights. I have bben on the computer daily trying to find any information that might be helpful. If any of you guys or gals are thinking of signing form I-864 please give it some thought, because this is a form that can be used against you, and possibly hurt you for many years. I am looking for a way to have this form revoked based on the fact it was not fully explained to me when I signed it. Mentally and emotionally, I am a mess. Do not end up like me. Please if you know of someone who might be able to help, have them to contact Mike at mr_mike2000@msn.com Good luck to all of you. Mike
Marriage scam.. Please tell me if I have any hope!! Please, someone help me in this crazy unjust situation I am in. My wife left within 6 weeks of receiving her conditional residence card. She followed the script posted on many of our immigration web sites, by going to a battered women’s shelter and claiming Goss neglect, and Extreme cruelty, the two claims she must make in order to file a waiver and stay in this country. She is also enforcing this totally misrepresented affidavit of support, and I am now very worried, because this was not fully explained to me, that she could sue me for spousal support, and I could be obilgated to her for up to ten years at 125% above the poverty level. We were only married for 11 months, and I feel I have no rights. I have bben on the computer daily trying to find any information that might be helpful. If any of you guys or gals are thinking of signing form I-864 please give it some thought, because this is a form that can be used against you, and possibly hurt you for many years. I am looking for a way to have this form revoked based on the fact it was not fully explained to me when I signed it. Mentally and emotionally, I am a mess. Do not end up like me. Please if you know of someone who might be able to help, have them to contact Mike at mr_mike2000@msn.com Good luck to all of you. Mike
Brian, your story brought back memories! I went through this in the early 90’s with my Canadian Alien. Only then, we had to drive to Memphis from Nashville (no INS office in Nashville then) for every meeting, and there was no internet. Just horror story legends and fear mongering lawyers who we wisely didn’t give money to. Oddly, the Green Card interview was the easiest part.
I am a US citizen, living in Costa Rica, planning to marry a Costa Rican. Is it easier if we get married here or in the USA?
To Michael, about marriage scam. Be very careful what steps will you take next.
If you say that the Form I-864 wasn’t explained to you clearly that is still your fault. You signed it! First of all if your marriage to that Alien begin in good faith why would you have not signed that document? If you tell the authorities now that you weren’t aware clearly of what you just signed to petition your wife, they will have a strong case against you with a good reason to suspect that you were aware of that the marriage was not in good faith at all thus it was to evade Immigration Law and that is punishable by Law. You can be jailed for up to the maximum of 5 years and/or fined for up to the maximum amount of $250,000!!!
You say that your wife threatens to sue you of Extreme Cruelty…etc.
The good news is that it will not be easy for her to prove her claim unless Extreme Cruelty from your part really did take place against her!
She can go on Government Assistant if she does really want to or really need to and you maybe held responsible for this since you signed an Affidavit of Support where you obligated yourself to help her anytime if she is in the need. Usually you are not obligated to this affidavit for more than 3 years but it can depend upon the conditions of the approval. However, she should know that if she will be on government support for many years she will not have an easy time to get her citizenship if she decides to, again, unless she is really a battered woman!
My advice to you is to stay put and try to divorce her if you think so, by both of you indicating that otherwise the marriage started up in good faith and if it is true and the authorities don’t think otherwise than both of you are home free. Even if they think that the marriage was not in good faith it is very hard for them to prove it confidently unless one of you will support their case by affirmatively saying that in fact the marriage did not begin in good faith in the first place. However if your marriage was not in good faith and you tell them this fact than both of you are in BIG TROUBLE. Well, in this case she will be deported and that’s it for her. On the other hand you can go to jail and/or fined and later you can have a criminal record for yourself and that is not good, in fact it is NOT GOOD AT ALL. Even if you will get a conditional sentence only, it will not save you from a criminal record that can hunt you for life and good luck to get a good job with criminal record in your hands. In fact good luck to have a normal life after that. Both of you should realize and grasp the situation you guys are in and for that the next steps you take can be crucial. Try to talk to a good lawyer if you think you need one.
great story brian. I went almost through the same situation. My husband just arrived to the US and we had just a year of marriage. the The thing now is that i didn’t know about the conditional residency. That means that i will have to pay the 205 dollars go through another interview? Please someone help me understand the process. I would like to know how long does it take for the green card to arrived after the person arrives to the US. I lived in new york and paper work here takes so long specially with all the immigriation laws that they are impossing. Please someone email me with an answer. my email is silk1328@hotmail.com
brain nice story
i feel your pain
its been five years two kids and still no green card.
and we keep getting the run around after paying the lawyer 10,000 dollars still no green card………
[ Because lawyers are evil. They’ll tell you the worst-case scenario every time in order to keep you scared and using their services. -B. ]
Hilarious!
Being an “Alien” I can relate to all of it. While the process itself has changed somewhat since your filing, the problems haven’t.
We too lugged all sorts of stuff to our interview, only to be told that I was approved but I had to wait for the FBI to give the okey-dokey.
Ah, the joys of of red-tape.
I would laugh my head off if I wasn’t up to my neck in paperwork, I entered the US July 1 2006 was married july 24 2006 filed all the paperwork they asked for, I was informed that I could’t file for AP until I recieved my reciept notice for my EAD and AOS so I waited, I was also informed that the AP would be proccessed quickly,wrong, according to the “people”at USCIS I should have filed my AP at the same time! and that it can take up to 3 months! My grandmother got sick and has only a little time left so I filed to have it expitited, they have cashed all my cheques and still I have not heard anything. My family calls all the time to find out when I can come to visit her and I don’t know what to tell them. I went to the INS office here in Columbus Ohio hoping someone would help me but they tell me they don’t have the authority to do anything for me. Makes me wonder what they are there for!!! Every day my ears perk up when I hear the mail truck(different mailman every day) and every day I’m dissapointed, If I had to do this again I would have married in Canada and waited there, at least I would be able to work, and spend time with my family. I wish anyone trying this the best of luck, you are going to need it!!!
ha, everything in that story is sooo true! The system is an absloloute inhuman mess. I’ve waited years and years and years for my greencard. Just so I can live with my father in the U.S.
I now have my ‘final interview’ scheduled for next week.
It’s amazing that a person with a badge and authority is going to judge me there and then- and ultimately decide which path my life will take.
Uuuuurrrggghhh-
someone please help! is there anyone out there who has been told that their greencard was “undeliverable” and hence, mailed back to the INS. I have received every single piece of mail from them throughout this whole process. I have NOT moved at all. The address they have filed for me is correct. What is going on? How do I get my green card? The Boston USCIS office does not stamp passports anymore once the green card has been issued. So, I am really stuck. I need to travel out of the country in a few weeks. What should I do?
Yes – I went through the who process with my Filipina wife. There is just as much paperwork and finger-printing to remove the conditional status.
Dear Brian,
I really enjoyed reading your Green Card Diary. So candid , humorous, and helpful. One suggestion – you may want to consider revising your entry in August 15, 2001 about “some creepy guy who orders up a Thai girl through a service . . . ” to a rather more general statement like “some creepy guy who orders up a girl through a ‘mail-order bride’ service . . .”
Again, just a suggestion.
Thanks!
Was your wife in the US during this whole time? I know she went to visit her family, but was she here from the beginning? I am trying to get my pregrant girlfriend over here from russia, but she has the 2 year exclusion on an old J-1 visa. I want the baby born in the US and I want her and the baby on my health insurance, but the lawyer doesn’t know anything…. Any advice?
Paul
My husband and I will be married 5 years at the end of this year. We have a lawyer. We have had 2 greencard interviews. My husband has not been able to live the country to see his family. They have this document that keeps us from doing so. We were supposed to hear from them within 2 weeks of our interview. It is well over a year since the 2nd interview. My husband has not seen his family in ages. It is so sad.
An editorial (The Citizenship Surge) from the Nov 27th TimesDigest said a lot of immigrants have taken Immigration to court over, in particular, the days by the FBI. My favorite part of the article is about a US District Judge in Boston who became so annoyed with the process, he gave the plaintiff the oath of citizenship on the spot.
I too understand your journey, as I am an Alien. I have been in the country for nine years, was recruited for college, played sports on scholarship and graduated in 2003. During that time I had renewals with student visas, and upon graduation I had researched visas and found out that my profession was on the NAFTA approved list for TN visas – YAHOO…I too struggled over the years, constantly in fear of doing something wrong, being nervous at the border crossings *from Canada to North Dakota* feeling like a criminal and not being able to explain my situation to anyone because they just “don’t get it” unless they have lived through it. I met the man *US Citizen* that I would later marry and after two years together, we got married, I could go into detail – we found out his ex-wife never dissolved his previous marriage from 10 years before, despite him signing over his rights and sending her the money. So now it looked like he got divorced and married in the same month. I just hoped that wouldn’t be a cause for concern down the road. We got married in April 07, sent the paperwork in May 07. I did extensive research on my own, filed all 4 petitions at the same time – Advance Parole, Work Authorization, Petiton for Alien Relative (and you’re right, you never do get used to the Alien name) and to adjust for permanent residence status. I mailed them all four applications, along with copies of everything, our child’s birth certificate, etc, my sealed envelope of my medical records. I too asked, they’ll tell me if I have something right? They won’t just surprise me, right? Who knows. We filed in May because I wanted to go home for my brothers wedding in Sept. My work visa and advance parole was approved two weeks after my brothers’ wedding, so much for filing early. We got married the second time in June when my friends and family could all be there. But then I wondered if they would ask why we got married twice – paperwork would expire and I didn’t want to miss that wedding, which I missed anyway.
In Nov 07 i received my green card notice and began compiling things to prove we were legitimately married, I thought having a kid and one on the way should be good, but regardless i got everything together *basically the same thing I had put together in my original mailing back in May the incredibly thick folder of paperwork. So with our green card interview scheduled for the weekend before Christmas, I proceeded to get ready and then sit and worry and wait. My husband being the realist was like, why the heck do we have to drive 8 hours in the winter to prove we’re married, if they want to know they can come to our house and see for themselves. I tried to explain they couldn’t do that for everyone, and he was just upset that he would have to take time off of work, etc. But regardless we made the trip and it was actually really nice. The interview was scheduled at 8:30 a.m. so I prayed there wouldn’t be a long wait, after 20 minutes or so we were called into the office. Me first, then my hubsand. I too brought a duffel bag (which looked suspicious) filled with my evidence and our photo albums. I acted nervous and had copies of my copies of my copies. The lady went through my application with me, looked at my birth certificate, my advance parole info, and flipped through one of my albums. Then she said I have no doubts you’re married and I will approving your petitions. So after a two minute interview with my husband we were back in the car on the way home. Luckily my story is a good one, 7 months from start to finish to have all four applications approved, all without a lawyer. But I also have a few factors at play, the fact that we are legitimately married and have a child together I think might have sped up the process but who knows. The nine years before this was hardest. But that’s an entirely new story. After two years I will have to apply for the condition to be removed…and I am hoping for the same sort of speediness at that time. Thanks and good luck to all who post here. Stay strong and stay on top of things. Feel free to contact your local state congressman’s office – they can call immigration and ask on your behalf. They get answers a lot faster than the rest of us “normal” folk.
Again, good luck and best wishes to everyone.
Sincerely, an Alien wife now permanent….for now.
All of you folks looking for a nice American to marry you just so you can stay/get into the States and all of you folks willing to marry some random person just so they can stay/get into the States: please kindly screw off. You’re the reason those of us who really *do* love someone who is not a US citizen have to go through all this crap if we want to spend a few years with them in the States.
My German boyfriend won’t consider living in the States for this very reason, and I can’t blame him. If we get married and decide to live over here (Germany), I’m granted a 3-year residence/work permit on the spot (does help that I’m a US cit, not 3rd world), and after 3 years of not being a burden on the German state, can then apply for the permanent one. German bureaucrats love paperwork, but don’t produce quite the same harrowing stories for people who do things the way they’re supposed to.
In fact, there’s such a presumption that marriage to a non-US cit = immigration fraud, I’m almost afraid to even have a regular church wedding back home, even though we’d then shortly get back on the plane for Germany.
I loathe the USCIS, and the people who abuse it, even more.
Hi, i have a question i receved my green card last summer. i am originally from belarus. I was in Belarus thise january,february.Now i am going there July 21 how long can i stay there?Please someone help …..thank you
Thanks for ur post Brian….Maybe I can use this to convince my US-fiance’ that this is going to be a LABORING, COSTLY, and PAINFULLY TEDIOUS task in getting me (his Alien fiance) ‘fit’ for the US citizen community. All I have to say is WOW!!!!! I am NOT looking forward to this!
Well, He is a green-card holder and I am an international student from Antigua in the Caribbean. What is the fastest way for us to get me working so I can help with the finances…and for him to finally become a citizen – which he has been eligile for months and months ago. We get married in 6 months and he is only a green card holder. What do we do?
Many foreigners will do anything to get a green card and leave immediately afterwards. All the complaints that you have about how hard it is to get a green card will shock you when you realize how easy it was and how the government will not help you one bit when you realize you were defrauded. Thansks to VAWA, many US Citizens end up in jail for allegedly abusing their foreign spouse. Then you will see that it was all too easy to get a green card.