Torn as to what to do now...

[brezarenee]

(This is a long one, I'm sorry! :blush:)
I need help, I’m torn as to whether to stall our process of go full steam ahead. Before you vote for the latter (as I know you’re thinking!), let me explain our situation.

Last summer, before I found I2US and became informed, we had a lawyer that told us that the soonest my husband would be able to get a visa would be approx. 3 years out (I don’t think she knew about the pilot program). We went ahead and sent the I-130 thinking that he’d have to be in Mexico for probably 2 of the next 3 years. I, not wanting to be apart from my husband for that long, went ahead and made plans to spend as much time in Mexico with him as possible. As a graduate student I am extremely lucky to have a lot of flexibility. I decided to plan to continue my research in Mexico. I just learned I’ve won a fellowship to do research in Mexico (yay!) and it gives me a timeline requiring me to be in Mexico for 9 months starting this July (so July-March).

Right now I’ve been sitting on the I864 because with the current processing times, if I send everything in ASAP, my husband would have his appointment this summer. Which would mean my husband could be legal and back to the US while I have to stay in Mexico, defeating the whole purpose of my original plan. (I know, I’m the only one on this whole site that’s not happy about the process being sped up – lol).

Because of this, we’re now considering two possible plans:
1) Waiting off until approx this winter to send in the DS-230 (considering the time right now from NVC completion to cdj appointment is 2-3 months and I’d have to be in Mexico until March). However, I realize I’d be taking two huge leaps of faith in doing this: a) that we’d be approved at the waiver appointment and not backlogged, and b) that the processing times will remain relatively stable until then.
2) Submitting everything this spring as soon as we get the packets, and going ahead with the interview this summer, get the visa, and remain in Mexico until I’m done there (so for like 8-9 months more). But, I’m not sure if this is doable or not. I think he’d have to go to the US to wait for the green card, but then could travel back to Mexico. I’m not sure about this though. I’ve read that a LPR can leave the country for up to1 year, but that you might risk getting the green card revoked?!?

Also, does the consulate have to know that I am in Mexico (w/ a FM3)? I’m really worried about doing this all and then looking like I could adapt easily in Mexico. I’ve gone to great lengths to make this work for a SHORT period of time, but it would be impossible long-term. I don’t want me going to Mexico to negatively affect my HSL. :confused:

Any thoughts as to what seems like a better path?

Thank you for reading, I apologize for being long-winded. I really appreciate any input people have. :o

[monki12]

wow bre...tough situation.

I think i would send off all the forms now, and if you still felt like not going to the interview you could reschedule it...however, i dont know how to reschedule an interview nor do i know how long it will be so im not sure this is the best direction....

im not sure how this will all play out as far as you HSL Packet....this fellowship, will it be paid? this is really tough.....i wish i had your problem, though and not mine.....

i think if i were you, i would first find out how this fellowship and the fact that you could be studying in mexico will affect your hardship.....next i would go ahead and send off all the forms, and if my hubby were approved same day he could use his passport as his green card to stay in mexico a while, but i would send him back to check the mail for the official green card...

i hope someone else has a better idea...:wink:

[brezarenee]

[QUOTE=monki12;158564]

im not sure how this will all play out as far as you HSL Packet....this fellowship, will it be paid? this is really tough.....i wish i had your problem, though and not mine.....
[QUOTE]


Thanks Monki,
I was actually apprehensive about posting this question because I realize my problem seems trivial compared to a difficult situation like yours! But the more my husband and I discuss our options, we just get more confused as to what to do, so I need some insight from my i2us family.

To answer your question, the fellowship would be paid (not very much, but paid). But, I was planning to not even bring any of that up for the HSL. I guess my real question about that was whether or not the consulate would know that I had a visa.

[monki12]

thats what i love about this site, that we can all help out no matter what our situation is :shy:

im not sure how the consulate will now if you have a visa or not...hopefully someone else will let us know. this whole thing sucks...its hard to plan for the future when your future is in someone else's hand.......

if you dont have to mention it in the packet then dont, after all its only a temporary thing and its not the equivalent to what you would get paid here :wink:

[Laura]

That is a tough decision.

A couple questions - does your husband have any criminal record or any immigration history that might send him to the backlog? Do you have some strong hardships that would likely get him immediately approved if there weren't any other complications?

The reason I ask is, if you think there is fairly high chance he will be backlogged, it's in your best interest to go ahead now, and then know that you will be able to be together in Mexico from the summer until next spring when he would probably eventually be approved.

On the other hand, if you think your case is pretty straightforward and you have a really good chance of getting approved right away, it might make sense to wait until winter, like you said.

Now, if you do go ahead now and he gets approved right away, he would have to enter the U.S. and wait for the green card, but he could then return to Mexico for six months, re-enter the U.S., maybe spend a couple weeks, then go back to Mexico for the remainder of your time there, and come back. I don't think you would want him to be outside the U.S. for more than six months right away, but I'm not sure where I heard that number, I just thought that six months was the max amount of time you could be out.

[Laura]

The Consulate would now know you had a visa unless you told them. I don't think you would have to lie because there is a difference between being able to live in Mexico for a year and 10 years, but still, you wouldn't have to reveal that information.

[brezarenee]

Our case is pretty much as straighforward as it gets. My husband only EWIed once (without ever getting tossed back), has no criminal, drug/alcohol history, the only thing on his record would be traffic tickets.
As hardships go, I don't have any of the high level hardships, but I think I can put together enough mid-level arguments (my education, career, chronic health problems & inherited risk, safety, mental distress, my son's health, safety, & education, etc.) that should give us a pretty good chance at getting approved at the waiver.

So, basically, we've got our fingers crossed for being approved with the pilot program, but still keep the backlog in the back of our mind in case of a mistaken name match of just not enough evidence of hardship.

And, no I have no intentions of lying at any point in the process, I just plan to omit details that would harm instead of help my case. :D

[brezarenee]

Oh no laurafern - your mood is *****y!! lol - didn't know we had that one!

[Laura]

LOL... I'm *****y because I hardly have internet access at my boring job anymore. I might be *****y until I start law school in fall. :erm:

I agree about omitting some things from the waiver.

I guess if it were me I would go ahead and get everything done as quickly as possible. If you wait, you never know, what if you are backlogged, even if it's unlikely? If he gets approved this summer he could spend a few weeks in the U.S. to get his green card and then be in Mexico with you and then go back to make sure there aren't any issues. I don't think there is a really a risk that he would lose his green card not living in the U.S. for less than a year, especially because there is a perfectly good explanation - your fellowship.

[jeannie]

I think I am in the same boat as you. I feel like we are mentally just taking our time because we just don't want to deal with the whole process.Obviously, this is your choice,but from what I have read you have a good chance of being approved right away. I say go for it and get it over with so that you can get on with your life.Just my opinion.

[emt103c]

Doesn't he have a couple of months to use the visa once it has been issued? This seems like a good problem to have. . .the visa is valid a couple of months, they could actually return to the U.S. together if it is timed just right. Verdad?

[Laura]

Yes... but that would personally make me nervous. It depends too on the visa. For whatever reason ours was only good for a month, something to do with how long it took our waiver to be adjudicated. I'm not sure how it works if you are approved right away through the pilot program. Either way he can travel as much as he wants once he gets the PR status, he just wouldn't necessarily want to be out for 9 months straight.

[brezarenee]

If we went ahead with everything now, then we'd likely have an appointment in cdj late summer. I think I would probably be the first person ever to send my husband back to the US alone with his new visa while I stayed in Mexico with the inlaws. Crazy! But, if we did go that route, he would end up staying with my parents for a month while he waited for the green card and then come back to be with me for 6 months. Hopefully it would mean that I would only be in Mexico without him for 2-3 months. Seriously though, what a crazy world. I'd be living with his mom in mexico and he'd be living with my mom in Minnesota!!

Just the thought of having to be in Mexico without him makes me want to delay the process and try to time things so that wouldn't happen. But then my fear of being backlogged kicks in because instead of just being 9 months without my husband's income (which is our primary source), we'd be 9 months plus however long the backlog is. In that case, I'd more than likely have to request a leave from my graduate studies, and get a real job until everything was resolved.

[Laura]

Those would be good stories. And the green card doesn't take months anymore, just a few weeks, maybe a month tops.

I think ultimately you have to do what's best for you guys, both scenarios have pros and cons.

[jlgherrera]

A few thoughts.........you don't need to worry about the consulate knowing you have an FM3 in Mexico. I had one, and mentioned it briefly in our HSL, along with the fact that I've been living in Mexico with my husband for nearly two years. As long as you have strong packet, I don't think they will assume you have adapted too easily.

On another note, I do NOT think you should plan for him to stay in Mexico for very long after a waiver approval. I also don't think you should plan to stay by yourself for your fellowship if he is approved and goes back to the US. I think either of those scenarios would be cause for suspicion, as if the arguments in your HSL were not sincere. I mean, you are trying to prove that you cannot be without him in the US, and that you can't stay in Mexico either. If your case is a straightforward as it sounds, and you are sure you can put together a strong packet, I think you should hold off on the I-864, do your research in Mexico, and try to aim for having the interview next year. Worst case scenario, you'll end up in Mexico for quite a bit longer than you'd planned, but that is survivable.

[discoviking]

he just wouldn't necessarily want to be out for 9 months straight.

He definately does not want to be out of the US for 9 months once achieving LPR status. Being out of the US for over 6 months is considered intent to abandon LPR status. After 1 year the greencard is cancelled, unless the LPR has a valid re-entry permit. I would be careful with this, especially on a conditional green card.

[Dorothea]

Ok, without reading anything that anyone else responded, I say do it!
That way, if he were backlogged the process would be half over by the time your research is done.
Which is SO cool, by the way... Can I ask what you're doing research on in Mexico?

[brezarenee]

A few thoughts.........you don't need to worry about the consulate knowing you have an FM3 in Mexico. I had one, and mentioned it briefly in our HSL, along with the fact that I've been living in Mexico with my husband for nearly two years. As long as you have strong packet, I don't think they will assume you have adapted too easily.

On another note, I do NOT think you should plan for him to stay in Mexico for very long after a waiver approval. I also don't think you should plan to stay by yourself for your fellowship if he is approved and goes back to the US. I think either of those scenarios would be cause for suspicion, as if the arguments in your HSL were not sincere. I mean, you are trying to prove that you cannot be without him in the US, and that you can't stay in Mexico either. If your case is a straightforward as it sounds, and you are sure you can put together a strong packet, I think you should hold off on the I-864, do your research in Mexico, and try to aim for having the interview next year. Worst case scenario, you'll end up in Mexico for quite a bit longer than you'd planned, but that is survivable.

That's a good point. I don't want any reason to call ourselves into suspicion. Would it still be suscpicious, if I was straightforward with them in the HSL and said that I'd made sacrifices to move to Mexico for a short period of time because I couldn't be apart from my husband? (and the truth is that was a huge part of the decision because besides the emotional distress of it, I wouldn't be able to afford childcare without him and don't have any other family members here close at school to help with out son, and my only other option would be temporarily dropping out of school.) Hmmm....I wonder. Now I'm starting to think I should mention this all in the HSL instead of omitting it.

[brezarenee]

He definately does not want to be out of the US for 9 months once achieving LPR status. Being out of the US for over 6 months is considered intent to abandon LPR status. After 1 year the greencard is cancelled, unless the LPR has a valid re-entry permit. I would be careful with this, especially on a conditional green card.

Yeah, we've been married long enough that it wouldn't be conditional, but I definitely wouldn't let him be in Mexico on the LPR for longer than 6 months. If we did it that way, it would probably work out so he was there with me for the majority of my stay - like a month before his appointment then in the US for a month, then back with us in Mexico for up to 6 months, and then back to the US while I finish up in Mexico.

[brezarenee]

Ok, without reading anything that anyone else responded, I say do it!
That way, if he were backlogged the process would be half over by the time your research is done.
Which is SO cool, by the way... Can I ask what you're doing research on in Mexico?

Thanks! I'm super excited about it!
I study a whole variety of different things here in the US. I'm a developmental psychologist so I study what factors promote normal and healthy development from infancy all the way up to old age. Generally I focus on family dynamics and the influence on development. For my project in Mexico, I'll actually be doing a study on how families cope with migration to the US by focusing on the family members that are left behind when a spouse, parent, child, sibling, etc. migrates to the US for an indefinite period of time. I'm hopeful that this study can shed some light on the social and psychological implications of the current (and in my opinion faulty) immigration system. There aren't very many researchers focusing on these issues right now, but it's really important because immigration is more than just a financial issue.

[Laura]

Wow.. that is fascinating research! I'm sure it's going to be a wonderful experience!

[Dorothea]

Sounds very cool! I love that you are looking at it from a totally different pov.