vroni

Hi I am not new here I was pretty active last year but I couldnt remember my username so I just started a new one. Thank you for all your help, I was able to file the full marriage visa packet from abroad for my husband thanks to your help. We filed all required forms and the fee in NOV.2013 and it was approved in NOV.2014 he got the notice to apply for the visa but something happened in our family in March 2014, we split up I came back to the US, he is still in England, we got a divorce probably earlier than we should have. He was worried he wouldn't get approved and that our (myself and our 2 children) lives would be better without him living in the US where we could get the kind of help we need for our disabled son (specialists, therapies, etc.).
I never agreed with all of it but you can't reason with a grown man who refuses to be reasoned with. Well now we know he was approved he got the notice and contacted me in feb 2015, he made a huge mistake, he wants to reconcile and be a family again. I agree it's what I want as well.
How do we proceed as we have a divorce now, we want to reconcile but he's in England I am in the US. Can we alter the approved marriage visa papers, amend them? Do we start over? Do we need to cancel the approved papers first? We were looking into a fiance visa, is that a viable option?
Any help is appreciated. Thank you for your time.

ian-mstm

Since you're no longer married, the original I-130 petition and subsequent paperwork is dead. Start over.

No. They will die a natural death when there's been no movement on the file for a year.


Yes. You, as the USC fiancée, start by filing form I-129F to the US. Once that's approved, he applies for the K-1 visa. Start to finish, you're looking at about 8-10 months. Once he enters the US with the K-1 visa, you must get married within 90 days. After marriage, he then files to adjust status from a K-1 beneficiary to US permanent resident (= green card).


Is there a reason behind this that might still be relevant? It's entirely possible that you're opening a new can of worms if the underlying reason wasn't successfully addressed.

Ian

vroni

It was approved in Nov2014.. so us actually being required to do anything, filing for a visa, or hoops to jump through didn't start until then, that was 6-7 months ago. We waited from Nov2013 to Nov 2014 to hear back from them, is that still considered a year of no activity? Is a year no activity the cut off to auto cancel the papers filed?



This I am worried about. I know as a sponsor I must make a certain amount, he sends us money every month, I care for our disabled son and our daughter, I get the feeling I will need to work for a time to meet the requirements but in the meantime will not be able to afford the extremely expensive care my disabled son will need while I am at work, I would need him here to care for our son so that I can work.. not sure if there is a solution to this.

The reason he was concerned was because he left after his work visa had expired when he last left the US, we were completely honest about this in our originally filed papers, since they approved him.. I would ventyre to say it's not going to be an issue moving forward.

Noorah101

It's hard to follow your case. When you say "it" was approved, what is "it"? The I-130? Did he ever appear for a visa interview in person?

You can have someone else complete an I-134 affidavit of support for the K-1, and you can use a joint sponsor on the I-864 for his AOS.

Rene

Noorah101

How long was he in the USA after his work visa expired, and how long ago was that?

What was the date on his I-94 and how long did he stay after that date?

Rene

ian-mstm

Yes. You don't need to cancel anything. If you do nothing with that file, it'll be deemed abandoned. Since you'll now be pursuing a completely different visa, there likely won't be any issue with the prior filing.

If it makes you feel better, you can send a letter to USCIS London and let them know that you are formally abandoning the earlier paperwork. It'll be cancelled "without prejudice" - which is a good thing.


... or have sufficient assets, or have another sponsor who meets the financial requirements.


You'll probably need another sponsor if you're not able to work. Your fiancé can't help you until he has a visa, and he can't get the visa until you (or another sponsor) are able to file an I-134 to show financial support. There's no way around that.

Ian

vroni

We filed the whole marriage visa packet.. everything that you could file at once we did, it was a long time ago so I don't remember the name of every form I know it had the I130 the G325s and whatever else was required, we sent all of our tax info birth certs, affidavits passports lease with both our names on it the fees etc.
no. he wasn't approved and given the go ahead to start the visa paperwork (the actual visa after the initial paperwork filing and the year wait) until after our divorce..
I will look into the I-134 however for his K-1 thanks
BTW his 194 was not stamped upon leaving he left a couple of years later than he should have, the original plan was to submit the paperwork (change of status from work visa to marriage) straight away and stay in the States, however meeting the financial requirement and trying for the cosigner proved quite difficult with him not authorized to work, and our son was diagnosed.. that was a very hard time for our family, let me just say we left the US and went to the UK to try to make it right, and it looks like it did.

vroni

Hopefully I can find another sponsor. Thank you for the help

Noorah101

When did he leave the USA after overstating his work visa?

Since he overstayed more than 1 year, he will have a 10-year ban in place. So if he left the USA way back in 2005, he will be OK getting a visa to return to the USA. If his overstay was more recent, he's in trouble and has a ban.

I do not know if there is a waiver available for the ban or not. You might want to consult an immigration attorney. You have a complicated case.

By the way, it was the I-130 that was approved, that's all. And now that you're divorced, it's no good anymore, anyway. Evidently the embassy did not know he was divorced when they invited him to apply for the Immigrant visa. .. nor it seems were they aware he had an overstay (unless, of course, the overstay happened more than 10 years ago).

Rene

scrubbedexpat099

i 601 is the waiver.

Takes about 6 months.

Would not be an issue until he was reviewed by the Consulate and that never happened.

The obvious solution would be to move to the UK, he works etc and sounds like just her to sponsor.

ian-mstm

Whoa! This is very important information that you should have mentioned earlier. It changes everything! Forget anything I've said so far... it was premised on the information you gave, not the information you hid!


Get yourself a good immigration attorney. You have a serious issue!

Ian

scrubbedexpat099

Depends if he has a ban which has yet to be ascertained.

vroni

Okay can I please clarify. His work visa expired After we were married, I dont know if that makes a difference as the proper paperwork was not submitted. I realize it sounds awful, and I am not trying to make excuses, my primary reason for posting here was to see if we have any chance at all to be a family in the US. Looks like the verdict is a painful one. Thank you, brutal honesty appreciated.

scrubbedexpat099

Need a timeline, what happened when.

vroni

Also he left in 2012, we were married in feb 2009 his work visa expired in sept 2009, I was a new wife and trusted he had the paperwork under control when he clearly didn't, his work had been renewing his visa with their immigration attorney and we were not expecting them to not renew.. once we found out we did not have his employment to put down for sponsor financial criteria (as the company went under) and I did what I could to meet the criteria, this didn't work out either so we moved to the UK. I just want to make it right so that we can have a family without this thing looming as it has been for most of our married life and now moving forward.