Age Difference – Impact on Immigration Case
If you and your partner have a significant age gap, is that a concern? Immigration does have a list of certain things that they consider to be red flags and having a significant age difference is one of those red flags. The way that immigration looks at any relationship, even for ones with a red…
Tips on Travel to US While Petition Pending
Are you able to travel to the United States if you have ESTA or a tourist visa while your application is pending? Fiancé visa wait times are very long right now. As of January 2021, it’s over seven months, so it is understandable that some couples want to visit each other between those wait times.…
Important Updates – US Embassy Russia
In April 2021, the US embassy in Moscow, Russia had to close and discontinue services due to the government of Russia prohibiting the US embassy in Moscow from employing foreign nationals in any capacity. When that happened, we made announcements and we promised that we would give all of you updates as we had more…
Waiver of In-Person Consular Interview
There was an announcement by the Department of Homeland Security in December of 2021. They, along with the Secretary of State, decided that because they need to get cases moving through, they are going to waive certain types of interviews in limited circumstances. Read: Important Announcement on Waivers of the Interview Requirement for Certain Nonimmigrant…
NVC Role – K1 Visa
The National Visa Center is basically a go-between between USCIS here in the United States and the US embassies and consulates abroad. The National Visa Center’s role is to collect documents that are required for the interview phase of the case for visas that will be happening at a US embassy or consulate abroad. There’s…
Does My Spouse Attend AOS Interview?
The other topic that has been really popular lately is whether or not your spouse needs to attend that adjustment of status I-485 interview. Recently, immigration has made a change to the interview letter form that comes when your interview has been scheduled. These changes made a lot of people confused because immigration is being very clear…
Still No Green Card – What Next?
If you have gone through a consular processing spouse visa process, once you arrive in the United States with your visa, your green card will arrive in the mail. We’ve had a lot of individuals that are asking, “It’s been several months since my arrival in the United States and I still haven’t received my…
Transfer Case to Another Embassy
“Can I transfer my case to another embassy or consulate? Would it make it faster?” It’s great that people are looking for a way to find a shortcut or to make things move more smoothly. Transferring a spouse or fiancé visa case to another embassy or consulate is something that we actually do pretty frequently…
CR1/ IR1 Entry Stamp
An I-551 stamp is put in a person’s passport when they enter the United States after completing the spouse visa process. The spouse visa process is completed while the immigrant is abroad. There’s an interview at a US embassy or consulate abroad and once you are approved at your interview at the US embassy or…
K1 Visa – Immigrant or Non-Immigrant Visa
Is the K1 visa an immigrant or a non-immigrant visa? If you’re going through the K1 fiancé visa process, you are probably wondering how your case will be treated, whether it’s treated like an immigrant visa or a non-immigrant visa. There are all kinds of memos that are released about especially during COVID about how…
Interview Cancelled
Individuals who were scheduled for an interview later receive a notice that says their interview has been canceled. Maybe you got on your USCIS case status check and you saw that it said your interview was canceled or you got a letter in the mail that said your interview was canceled. You likely have been…
IR1 versus CR1 Spouse Visa
What is the difference between a CR1 and an IR1? Many individuals are led to believe that these are two separate paths and that they need to pick. For many couples who are starting out in their immigration journey, you might have a few different options available to you and it becomes overwhelming. Don’t worry,…
NVC Says I’m “DOCUMENTARILY QUALIFIED” How Long Until I Get an Interview?
The National Visa Center says I’m documentarily qualified. How long until I get an interview? Once you’re documentarily qualified with the National Visa Center, that means that there’s nothing else they want from you in order to pass your file onto the embassy. What you don’t know is how many people are waiting in line…
When to Schedule Immigration Medical Exam
When to schedule your medical exam? It depends on the type of case that you have. Adjustment of Status Adjustment of status is the process that happens inside of the United States. You file a petition that shows your relationship is real plus an application for your green card altogether. The interview happens here in…
COVID Vaccine Required? – K1 Visa
There is a lot of confusion about whether or not the COVID vaccine is required for K1 fiancé visa applicants. Is it required for K1 visa applicants? Yes, it is required. It needs to be done before you receive your green card. K1 visa applicants have to complete a process through a US embassy or…
Immigration Officers – What You Should Know
For couples who are just starting out in their immigration journey, one of the scariest parts of the entire process is the immigration interview. You’ll have an immigration officer on the other side of the desk asking you important questions about your immigration history, marriage, and relationship. It can be oftentimes a little invasive and…
USCIS Courtesy Letter Received – How Long Until Interview?
How long does it take for an interview after being told we need evidence or a form needing a physical from the doctor? If you file an adjustment of status without the medical exam included, they send you a courtesy letter. It’ll say that you need to bring your medical exam to the interview. There…
Interview Scheduled But No Work Permit – Should I Worry?
When someone’s applying for an adjustment of status, either straight from another type of visa or they’ve already come into the United States on a K1 fiancé visa and gotten married, part of that process involves applying for temporary work authorization at the same time. Lawyers will present the typical process as you apply for…
K1 Visa versus K3 Visa – Which is Better?
K1 versus K3, which is better? One of the things people have been doing with their immigration cases is trying to unearth secret strategies that maybe will help them skip this whole process. Unfortunately, a lot of these alternate theories that people are unearthing are things that simply don’t work right now. The K1 visa…
High Priority? CR1 Spousal Petitions
K1 fiancé visas have been designated as high priority. What about CR1 spouse visas, are they high priority too? Are they being ignored? What’s going on with my CR1 visa application? The CR1 is the spouse visa for individuals who are married to United States citizens or lawful permanent residents. The K1 fiancé visa is…
Failure to Marry in 90 Days – K1 Visa
One of the requirements of the K1 fiancé visa is that you marry your fiancé upon entry to the United States with your K1 visa within 90 days. But what happens if you don’t get married in 90 days? Immigration is very strict. It has to be 90 days, not 91 or 92. There’s no flexibility. It’s…
Special Option – Direct Consular Filing
Are you wondering what is the fastest way to receive your green card? There is a special option available to couples who are going through the immigration process that is the fastest way to receive a green card. It’s called direct consular filing. Direct consular filing is an option where you can skip two offices of…
Case Status – Ready to Be Scheduled for an Interview
If you’ve recently checked your USCIS case status online and it shows “my case is ready to be scheduled for an interview”, your next question is likely “When will I receive my interview?”. For those of you who are filing an adjustment of status case, that is a case that is completed inside of the…
CEAC – Ready Status
We’re starting to see things slowly but surely moving in the world of immigration because more and more interviews are being scheduled. There are also more approvals of K1 visas and more couples finally be able to be together in the United States. One of the questions that we are receiving is about the ready…
K1 Visa – Joint Financial Evidence
If my fiancé comes to visit soon and I have her added to my current apartment lease and utilities bill before her visit ends after three weeks. If I do that, will that draw unwanted scrutiny or would that work as two solid pieces of proof? We have a free resource in our resource center…
Lawsuit Filed – Work Permit Delays
There was a lawsuit that was filed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association against USCIS because of the long work permit delays. If you’re eligible and you file your application for adjustment of status in the United States, part of that application is a work permit. The idea of the work permit is that USCIS…
Can I Get Married on a Tourist Visa to a US Citizen? (ON ESTA at 2020?)
If someone who’s not a US citizen comes to the US, either on a tourist visa or on a visa waiver program, or commonly referred to as ESTA, can they get married and apply for a green card in the US? With this question, there’s a lot of online forums that have said that they…
How Do I Confirm USCIS Received My RFE Response?
If you do not respond to a request that USCIS sends you, they’re going to deny your case automatically. It’s important to figure out whether it was actually received. When you respond to the government, you always want to keep a copy of what you send in case it gets lost. But they actually want…
Top 3 Reasons for K1 Fiancé Visa Denials
There can be many reasons for a K1 visa denila but there are three things that we commonly see for denials. With the K1 fiancé visa, there are certain requirements that an individual has to meet. 1. Eligibility Requirements The first basis for denial with K1 fiancé visas is that the person is not eligible. We…
K1 vs CR1 – Which is Faster?
One of the most frequently asked questions we have been receiving in the past few weeks and months is whether it’s faster to do the fiancé visa or the spouse visa. A lot of couples become paralyzed by this decision. The K1 is the fiancé visa route and the CR1, also called IR1, is the spouse…