MaddiGibbs

Hey everyone
On July 26 my 90 days opened, we mailed off the i751 (filing jointly) on July 27 and they received it the next day. What happens next? We get the extension letter and basically wait, right?

I'm so, so scared I'll get denied. I heard that people are being denied the appeal and being issued immediate NTA's.. The USCIS spokesperson denied this when I asked about it but still...

Do you guys think we submitted enough?
We submitted two of those big folders full of certificates, emails, messages and social media posts, four affidavits of support from family/friends, completed joint tax returns for 2016/2017 including W2s, joint signed rental agreement, bank statements and complete transaards and mail (formal and informal) sent to us at both addresses we lived at, etc. Etc. Oh, and photos. Sooo many photos showing us together and with our son (born August 2016). We lived with his Dad fir about 18 months and we were completely broke so there's not a whole lot of recorded communication for a while.

Man I'm so scared.

How do people even cope going through this???

Love to you all!!
Maddi

Noorah101

You'll get the extension letter and biometrics appointment, then you just wait.

Sounds like you submitted way more than enough evidence. In fact, proof of communication (emails, messages and social media posts) were not even necessary. You hopefully included proof of your joint life together...joint banking, joint insurance, proof of being each other's beneficiary on life insurance, etc.

I know USCIS seems to be tightening up, but it's nothing you can control, so best to just forget about the I-751 processing and get on with life.

Rene

MaddiGibbs

Thanks, Rene! We are pretty poor so we don't have insurances just bank statements /transactions/utility bills etc. Unfortunately both our bank and the utility companies only issue bills and statements out under one name, but we submitted evidence to show all these are jointly owned and are registered to the same address. That's why we went with extra evidence like the communications and photos, to make up for what (I felt) we lacked in other areas. We've only just got on our feet financially after our son was born, as my first Green Card was approved then my Social # arrived a few months later. Took forever but I finally found a job and boom! First apartment and life is going well.

I am one to get very nervous, very easily so I'm really trying to figure out a way to move on with life whilst they process it all.

Have you been through this? If so, what was it like?

Xxx

Noorah101

Yes, my foreign husband and I went through the joint I-751 process back in about 2007. It all went very smoothly, no problems. In my signature line there is a link to our timeline, you can see how long it took. I honestly don't remember. LOL

As for dealing with it, we filed it and then went on with daily life and work. We always approached immigration with the attitude that we will get approved at each step, just a matter of time. And that's exactly how it went.

Rene

civilservant

I wouldn't worry about it - those still in the same marriage that they got their GC through really have nothing to worry about and you seem to have submitted a mountain of evidence. You should be fine.

Rete

It is rare that a joint filed I-751 is denied. In fact, my memory can't dredge up any such occurrence. If there is any doubt to the validity of your claim to still be within a valid marital union with your spouse, USCIS will issue an invitation to another interview similar to the one the majority of people are invited to attend for their original adjustment of status which gives you the CR-1 status.

One thing to note is that the I-751 is one of the lowest priority petitions for the USCIS and is often pushed aside while they assign officers to handle an overload of other types of petitions. Why? Simple because the beneficiary of the I-751 remains a permanent resident until the I-751 is adjudicated. Hence the reason why historically it has taken some applicants 2 or more years to have the I-751 adjudicated. Typically it is at minimum 12 months.

What to do if your extension letter is about to run out and you have not heard from USCIS on your I-751?

Make an Infopass appointment at your local USCIS office and have them place a new I-551 (green card stamp) in your current passport. This is proof that you are still within status and that you are authorized to live and work within the US and that if you travel abroad, you are allowed to return with status intact.

One way to force a quicker adjudication of the I-751

In the 90 day window of your third year of permanent residency, if you meet the criteria of having passed your third year of marriage to a USC, you are eligible to file for US naturalization. If this is an avenue that you wish to travel, than filing for naturalization will 'force' adjudication of the I-751 as one cannot naturalize until that petition is adjudicated.

Please do not worry about the process of removing conditions. It is a simple petition and you continue to have all the rights and privileges you had while the green card was unexpired. The card is expired -- not your status.

MaddiGibbs

Really, you've never come across an i751 being denied? That's pretty cool and certainly encouraging. Did you feel anxious before filing yours? Did you use an attorney? We didn't as we couldn't afford one so we may have submitted too much evidence thinking about it lol.

Rete

Just because I've not seen or heard of it happening doesn't mean that it hasn't.

Why ever would I be anxious about the I-751? I had and still have a legitimate marriage after 20 years. And no, we did all our own applications from K-1 through naturalization on our own.

MaddiGibbs

You filed all of it on your own? That's awesome! I guess I'm just nervous because of the political climate here

To add fuel to the fire the USCIS still hasn't processed our cheques yet, though it seems to be the case that it's taking them a lot longer then it did a few years ago to process the cheques and get the 797 form. We sent Friday, it arrived Saturday and now we're nearly at Thursday should I be worried?

Rete

You will find that in the marriage-based visa section 98% of all filed on our own and the 2% of those that used attorneys were unhappy with the service.

No, it is just that they have not gotten around to opening your envelope and/or the envelope was opened but the check (American spelling) has not been sent in for deposit.

1. Do not compare what transpired last time (even last month) with timelines for today;
2. Do not worry unless it a normal condition for you; and
3. Political climate has little, if any, affect on I-751 applications.

The USCIS is going after fraudulent business visas and if they are looking into marriage-based visas, it would be those that are new cases seeking conditional status not CPR's.

PS I'm sorry read that you do not healthcare insurance or life insurance. I'm sure that both you and your husband should be able to qualify for some type of State sponsored healthcare insurance at minimal or free cost if you are financially unable to afford the premiums yourselves.

MaddiGibbs

I managed to get Presumptive Medicaid when my little one (Simon) was born which was a huge helped and luckily he's covered by Medicaid still.

Thank you for the reassurance about all this-- I really do appreciate it. I do have a tendency to over worry about... Everything. So when something like this happens I get super worked up. You should have seen me when I applied for the green card at 6 no this pregnant lol.

So you really think they've not opened the envelope yet? My husband agrees with you. I guess I should breathe. Luckily I've found working helps keep my mind busy

Where do I find more stories on the 751 I can't find any. . Xx

Rete

Use the search function on BE. It is located towards the right on the blue bar. It says "search" but click on the arrow and do "advance search". Type in I-751 and chose the US marriage-based visa forum.

Noorah101

Many of us here did everything every step of the way without a lawyer, including me.

No.

Rene

BenK91

I've seen on another forum a person waited 5 weeks for his to cheque to be cashed. I wouldn't be concerned at all.

As everyone else has mentioned, USCIS is overloaded right now and doesn't show any signs of getting better anytime soon.

MaddiGibbs

​​​​​​Thanks for the response! Our cheques were cashed the next morning and 7 days after uscis got our joint 751 we got our NOA. I'm surprised at how quick that was!

Fun fact- Statuses are now being extended by 18 months instead of 12 so they can handle their workload. Great news