Gary Morrison

Now that my fiancee from China has her K-1, we need to start preparing
for the next step: Changing her and her daughter's immigration status
to "provisional permanent resident." I'm considering hiring
http://www.4thelegalgroup.com to help, but I'm not certain that there's
much benefit in it.

Here are my questions on this topic:
1. This legal firm had a lot of good advice in getting the K-1,
but I don't know whether there's anything particularly
difficult about the status change. Compared to the K-1, how
easy is the status change to DIY?
2. Assuming that there are no problems meeting the 90-day time
limit, is the status change sure to go through? That is, do
we need to prove anything (e.g., that we have a genuine
relationship, or that they qualify in any other sense) for
the status change? To put it another way, is the status
change guaranteed to be granted as long as we don't miss the
90-day time limit?
3. Is there anything "tricky" or not-so-obvious about the status-
change process, or is it pretty much just "fill out some forms
and wait"? For comparison, things I found tricky or not-so-
obvious in the K-1 process included the nature of the "intent
to marry" statements, and how to interview at the Consulate.
Is there anything tricky in that or other senses?
4. How bad would it be if we were to miss the 90-day deadline?
How feasible is it to speed up the status change process if
the deadline is fast approaching? If we miss the deadline,
would they deport her and would it be all-but-impossible to
get her back into the country?

Thanks for the suggestions!

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Bob

Nothing is guaranteed with immigration, but AOS from a K1 is generally not a problem for many, but if your not comfortable with the forms, might be worth having an immigration lawyer do it, or at the very least have a consult with one.

Often isn't a problem, as long as there isn't anything that you might have lied about on the K1 like convictions etc...also as long as you don't leave the country until you get AP.

The 90 limit is to get married within that period, and it's best to file to AOS as soon as possible afterwards....though it's best to apply for SSN before getting married. The K1 visa is valid for 6 months though.

Gary Morrison

Thanks for the reply.

Bob wrote:

    > Nothing is guaranteed with immigration, but AOS from a K1 is generally
    > not a problem for many, but if your not comfortable with the forms,
    > might be worth having an immigration lawyer do it, or at the very least
    > have a consult with one.

Dumb question: "AOS" I presume means "adjustment of status"? "AP"
(below) = ? I presume that refers to the provisional permanent resident
card?

    >
    > Often isn't a problem, as long as there isn't anything that you might
    > have lied about on the K1 like convictions etc...also as long as you
    > don't leave the country until you get AP.

OK. That should be no problem, unless some sort of emergency should
come up in China.

    >
    > The 90 limit is to get married within that period, and it's best to file
    > to AOS as soon as possible afterwards....though it's best to apply for
    > SSN before getting married. The K1 visa is valid for 6 months though.

OK, so then you're saying that the 90-day limit applies to getting
married, and she (and her daughter) have 6 months before they get kicked
out of the country, correct?

I talked with the marriage-license folks in my county, and they said
that a birth certificate is sufficient for her, although SSN is needed
(or at least preferable) for me. What do you percieve to be the
advantages of her getting a SSN before getting married?

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ian-mstm

AP = Advance Parole = permission to leave and reenter the US prior to receiving a GC.


If she leaves the US without either AP or a GC, she effectively abandons her application and will be refused reentry to the US.


She has 6 months in which to *enter* the US (ie. use the visa), but once she enters the US, she must marry within 90 days. Once married, she applies to adjust her status to PR.


The only advantage is that it is easier for her to get a SSN between the time she arrives in the US and the time she marries. Once she marries, she can not get a SSN until she receives employment authorization... and that could take many months.

Ian

Just Jenney

Not a dumb question at all.

AOS = Adjustment of Status
AP = Advance Parole (travel document)

You'll learn these abbreviations (and then some) as you continue this process over the next few years.


Yes and no. Now that she has the K1 visa, she has six months from the visa's approval date to use it to enter the US. Once she has entered the US using the K1, the visa's validity changes to 90 days. She must marry you within this 90-day window to abide by the terms of the K1 visa.


Remember that, in today's world, the SSN is asked for all the time, for everything from having a bank account to obtaining a drivers license to being added to a health insurance policy. Many credit card companies won't process an application without an SSN, so it is difficult to start building up credit without one. Not to mention filing tax returns.

To be eligible for a SSN, one has be legally authorized to work in the US. Technically, K1 visa holders are considered work authorized. Once a K1er marries, though, their status enters a sort of in a grey area, at least for some people, who may think that marriage nullifies the work authorization of the K1.

Therefore, there may be SSA officials who will refuse to grant a SSN to a K1 visa holder who has married, saying that they need to wait until the K1er gets their EAD (work permit) before they can obtain their SSN. And that could mean months of waiting. That's why it is preferable to obtain the SSN before marriage rather than waiting until after.

One thing I would add is that it is a good idea to not apply for the SSN until about 10 days after she's been in the country. The SSA has to security crosscheck of her name, and if she applies immediately after entering the country then her name may not show up yet. This can severely delay the process.

(BTW, the typical alternative for an SSN is the ITIN [Individual Taxpayer Identification Number]. However, one is only eligible for an ITIN if they are NOT eligible for an SSN. And a K1er IS eligible for an SSN, so the ITIN is out as an alternative to the SSN.)

~ Jenney

Just Jenney

Dang, Ian beat me to it. Well, consider my response the unabridged version!

~ Jenney

Gary Morrison

ian-mstm wrote:

    > AP = Advance Parole = permission to leave and reenter the US prior to
    > receiving a GC.

OK. Good info.

    >
    >
    > If she leaves the US without either AP or a GC, she effectively abandons
    > her application and will be refused reentry to the US.

I presume that "GC" also includes the "provisional permanent resident"
visa? In other words, since we don't apply for the real green card
until two years after they grant the provisional green card, I presume
she won't need an AP to leave the US and return, or will she?

    >
    >
    > She has 6 months in which to *enter* the US (ie. use the visa), but once
    > she enters the US, she must marry within 90 days. Once married, she
    > applies to adjust her status to PR.

I gathered that the 90-day limit is both for getting married and for the
AOS to "provisional permanent resident." If not for both then what's
the time limit on the AOS?

    >
    >
    > The only advantage is that it is easier for her to get a SSN between the
    > time she arrives in the US and the time she marries. Once she marries,
    > she can not get a SSN until she receives employment authorization... and
    > that could take many months.

Hmmm... OK. That's interesting.

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Gary Morrison

ian-mstm wrote:

    > The only advantage is that it is easier for her to get a SSN between the
    > time she arrives in the US and the time she marries. Once she marries,
    > she can not get a SSN until she receives employment authorization... and
    > that could take many months.

Do you folks have a rough idea of how long it typically takes a K-1
holder to get a social-security number issued? Would that be any
different for my fiancee vs. her daughter?

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Bob

an LPR is a permanent resident with a greencard, but until you've been married for 2 years, the status is with conditions....so basically it is a real greencard. So once she has that, she won't need AP.

And the 90 limit, as already mentioned, begins on day that you enter the US to get married. You then apply for AOS afterwards, it's recommended you do it as soon as possible so taht you can apply for EAD at the same time, to allow work.

The time limit on the AOS? depends on where you live on how long it takes to process, can be months to years if you get stuck in the background checks.

Just Jenney

I've never heard of a "provisional permanent resident visa". It SOUNDS like you're talking about conditional permanent residency, in which the foreign spouse gets a green card but it's only valid for two years. This is what is granted when AOS is approved before the couple's 2nd wedding anniversary. (If AOS is approved after the 2nd anniversary, the foreign spouse usually gets the 10-year green card right off the bat.)

Conditional permanent residency has exactly the same rights that non-conditional permanent residency has. The only difference is that the physical card itself is only valid for two years instead of ten. So if someone is a conditional permanent resident, they do not need advance parole to travel outside the US, nor do they need an EAD to work legally.

Ninety days prior to the conditional green card's expiration, the couple files an application to have the conditions removed. Once that application is approved, the foreign spouse gets their 10-year green card within six months.

Given the questions that you're asking, it would be a VERY good idea for you to thoroughly read through the K Visa FAQ, because most of your questions will already have been answered there.

~ Jenney

Bob

depends on where abouts you are, but getting the card, usually within 10 days, but how long it takes to process depends on if your in the system or now, which is why it's recommended you apply 10 days after entering the country and before actually getting married.

ian-mstm

I thought you did a terrific job of explaining the SSN thingy... far more detailed than my response. Well done!

Ian

Folinskyinla

Hi:

The choice is yours. A long time ago when I was a baby lawyer, one of my mentors passed on a word of advice that I often use -- given the complexities of immigration law, all cases are more that just "filling out the forms." In what looks like a straightforward case, a good attorney serves as an insurance policy -- if problems arise, they can fix them or at least minimize the damage.

I often tell my clients that I am for a situation where at the end of the day they should wonder why the hell they had to pay me a fee.

More often than not, the "DIY" cases go through just fine. However, you may simply get the "DAO From Hell" or one who has inadequate training.

Like I say, the decision is yours.

Gary Morrison

Jenney & Mark wrote:

    > It SOUNDS
    > like you're talking about conditional permanent residency, in which the
    > foreign spouse gets a green card but it's only valid for two years. This
    > is what is granted when AOS is approved before the couple's 2nd wedding
    > anniversary.

I'll look over the FAQ in a moment, so thanks for pointing this out.
However, the passage above doesn't seem to agree with what I heard from
the CIS.

What I heard from the CIS is that she will have the following series of
visas:
1st: K-1, which is a non-immigrant visa that gets her long
enough to get married and then change her status.
2nd: That status change is to conditional permanent resident status.
That visa lasts for two years. She then applies for normal
permanent resident status.
3rd: After that, normal permanent resident.

Perhaps I misinterpreted you, but what you said above sounded like
conditional permanent resident status begins your second anniversary,
whereas what I heard from the CIS was that conditional permanent
resident status ends around the time of your second wedding anniversary,
and permanent resident status begins around that time.

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meauxna

Gary, it's terminology--in immigrationlandia, it's very specific.

A K-1 visa allows the bearer to enter the US one time. The 'visa' is now done.

The person now has K-1 status. They apply to *Adjust* their Status (not change). This is commonly called AOS. the status they are adjusting to is called Permanent Resident. A PR gets a card called a Green Card as evidence of their status.
When the PR gets a Green Card based on a new marriage, they have 'conditions' on their status. After two years as a PR, they apply to have the condition removed (use form I-751). They are still a PR the whole time, and they have a Green Card they whole time.

We're all saying pretty much the identical thing. Check out these relevant pages for more detail.

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/PermRes.htm

http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/howdoi/remcond.htm