If you enter the USA on a K-1 visa, that’s only enough to get you into the country, not to allow you to stay there on a permanent basis. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services want to be certain that no-longer-long-distance relationships are genuine. They don’t want anyone to enter the country on a fiancé(e) visa, and then disappear without a trace. Hence, the Adjustment of Status process.
Just a couple of weeks after our wedding, we started our Adjustment of Status process. This is the process that leads to permanent residence in the USA (and the Green Card). We asked our immigration attorney to help us through the process. It did mean some additional fees, but they completed and filed all the necessary documents on our behalf, and provided detailed instructions so that we’d know what we had to do to at every stage. It felt like a good idea to have them do the work, because they already had most of the necessary information in hand, from having handled our K-1 petition.
Starting the process
It started with an email asking if we wanted to proceed, with our attorney’s assistance. We replied yes, and the attorney sent a questionnaire with further instructions. The questionnaire requested information such as:
- Details of our marriage (date, place)
- Our home address and phone number
- When and where Carla entered the US, plus I-94 and K-1 visa information
We also needed to supply the following documents:
- Marriage certificate
- Verification of Larry’s employment
- A letter from Larry’s bank (or bank statements)
- Income tax forms for the previous three years
- A copy of Carla’s I-94 (both sides)
- A copy of Carla’s passport, including the page with the K-1 visa
- Eight passport-style photographs of Carla
- Medical exam and vaccination record
Note: USCIS doesn’t require another medical exam if you file for Adjustment of Status within one year of having had the “overseas medical exam”. The medical examination people should provide a Vaccination Documentation Worksheet (form DS-3025) as part of the examination process. We understand that sometimes USCIS tells people that they have to “complete the entire medical exam” – but there’s an exception for K-1 fiancé(e)s, so if that happens all you should have to tell them is that you only need the vaccination supplement.
So… here’s how our timeline went:
Sepember 22nd, 2012
Our wedding day!
October 2nd, 2012
We collected a copy of our marriage certificate from City Hall, so that we could send it to our immigration attorney, along with the other documents listed above.
We completed and signed the following forms, ready to send to the USCIS for processing:
- Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status (Form I-485) – signed by Carla
- Biographical Information (Form G-325A) – signed by Carla
- Application for Travel Document (Form I-131) – signed by Carla
- Application for Employment Authorization (Form I-765) – signed by Carla
- Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) – 2 copies, signed by Larry
November 5th, 2012
We received receipt notices (Form I-797C Notice of Action), confirming receipt of Forms I-485, I-131 and I-765. Carla was the proud recipient of a USCIS ALIEN NUMBER.
November 7th, 2012
We received an ASC Appointment Notice (Form I-797C Notice of Action) giving a date for Carla to attend a BIOMETRICS APPOINTMENT on 16th November. This appointment would involve taking photos and fingerprints. The USCIS would then be able to compare the fingerprints with those given during the K-1 visa process.
November 16th, 2012
Carla’s biometrics appointment took place in San Jose.
December 9th, 2012
We received an I-797C “Notice of Action” telling us to attend an interview on January 11th. We needed to make sure we had plenty of evidence that our marriage is genuine; for example, wedding photos, and pictures of trips we’ve taken together since our wedding… and documents to show that we have joint finances, and that we’re living as one household.
December 31st, 2012
Carla received her Employment Authorization Card, marked “SERVES AS I-512 ADVANCE PAROLE”. This was her travel authorization. Carla would be able to leave the USA for short visits overseas and come back – without having to go through the visa process again. We weren’t planning any overseas trips yet, but it was a useful thing to have, in case Carla needed to travel back to England to deal with any kind of emergency or family situation. We’d have hated to have to start another visa process all over again!
January 9th, 2013
Carla received an I-797 Notice of Action from the USCIS, confirming that her application for employment authorization has been approved.
January 11th, 2013
We had our Adjustment of Status interview in San Jose.
January 19th, 2013
Carla received a letter confirming that her application for Conditional Permanent Residence has been approved.
January 21st, 2013
Carla’s Green Card arrived! Her residence in the USA was then conditional for the next two years. Before the card expired, we’d have to apply to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services for them to lift the conditions. That would involve filling in yet more forms, and providing yet more evidence of our continued relationship.
Please remember that all information given is from our own personal experience only – from some years ago! We’re not immigration experts, and nothing on our website should be construed as legal advice, or relied upon for your own visa process. Every case is different – and for expert help and advice, we would always recommend that you contact an immigration attorney.
If you’d like to talk to us about your own visa experience, or your long-distance relationship, you’re welcome to get in touch with us on our Facebook page. We can’t give legal advice or financial help, but we’re always happy to hear from people in long-distance relationships, so if you’d like to talk anything through with us, please get in touch.
© Larry and Carla Sue
