by Art Saborio
Wow you got married last week? So how was it finally having your foreign fiance arrive in the USA? I bet it was a great feeling to finally be together in the same country together. I know those long trips back and forth were hard for the both of you. Now you get to see each other everyday and even wake up to each other. How great that must feel.
Married, happy and content is such a great feelings, but I see some problems down the road. Did you know that being married does not keep your spouse here in the USA? It was a great first step, but now you need to hurry and apply for a change of status. Time is running out. I would hate to see your spouse be deported. I hear you really don’t understand what to do next? Its OK, not to worry, I have the information you are looking for, but you need to keep up with me, time is wasting away.
In the old days just being married was enough to warrant a change in status, but times have changed. We are both come from the same era when getting something done was much easier. Now you have to deal with Homeland Security, USCIS and god knows how many other agencies just to remained married in the USA. But all this is necessary to remove the conditional visa and change your spouse over to a Permanent US Immigrant Resident Status.
But wait, you don’t have any idea how to get this change of status? Well I am sorry to be the burden of bad news, but the process is no easier than doing the K1 Visa. I know that both of you put a lot of time into getting the K1 Visa and you probably thought you were done with the piles of paperwork and interviews. But it looks like you are going to have to go through it again.
Now I don’t want to scare you, but the adjustment of status process has a higher percentage of denials than the K1 Visa Process. Remember that the K1 Visa Process had a forty percent denial rate. So you can imagine what that can mean for you and your spouse.
Why such a high percentage of denials for the change of status? Well the first reason is people tend to not take this as serious as the K1 Visa. They think they are married and don’t have to prove anything to the USCIS. Well, I can tell you that is best way to get your adjustment denied. The second reason is not knowing what to do and submitting the wrong information. Most people will not bring the right information to the interview or fail to submit the required information to the USCIS.
Most of the time two things will happen when a couple is denied the adjustment of status. The first possible outcome is the couple is just called back for a second interview. ninety-nine percent of the time this second interview is a positive one. The other thing that can happen is the couple will just have to reapply and go through the entire process all over again.
Now I know reapplying sounds better than deportation, but keep in mind there is an extra cost associated with reapplying. And the effort that goes into it is no piece of cake. It is ideal to get that second interview to clear up any issues. Most of the time a second interview is all that is needed.
Can your new spouse be deported if they fail to get the adjustment of status? Ninety-nine percent of the time the answer is no. If you applied within the ninety days allowed, then you usually are given a chance to reapply if denied or time to prepare for the second interview. If you denied a third time, then there are serious problems where only an attorney or senator can help. In this circumstance you are in for a long and hard fight.
Now for the meat of the process. For all intent and purposes you will need the form I-485 and supporting documentation. It takes time to gather all the supporting documentation and forms. Time to complete a full application is about two weeks. Time to hear back from the USCIS one to two weeks. After hearing back from the USCIS, you will go for fingerprinting and then finally the interview.
Good luck with the process and if you need any help you know where to find me. I can lead you down the right path if you get lost along the way. Take care and again congratulations on your happy day.
