Permanent Green Card

Question:

What, if anything, can K1 legally do to reschedule AOS interview appointment or otherwise arrange things so the AOS interview falls outside the 2 year period which would allow K! to receive permanent resident card status, rather than conditional permanent resident card which would necessitate jumping through another hoop?

What are the options?

Answer:

I guess you could always just write the USCIS office and let them know that you can't make the interview appointment for XYZ reason and need to reschedule it for a later date.

However, personally I wouldn't do it -- what if they never receive your notice and when you don't show up on June 1st? Or they receive it but it isn't followed up on properly, or lost? They'll think you skipped the interview and abandoned your application. Too many "what ifs" for my comfort level, especially since there really wouldn't be a reason NOT to go to the interview on June 1st...

The only way I can see would be to reschedule the AOS interview for a later date, and that's proven to be risky to others who have done so. It must be done in writing, and it must get to the appropriate person at your local office in time....and they need to determine that the reason for postponement was good enough in their eyes to reschedule. I'm pretty sure the reason of "not wanting to have to remove conditions later" won't fly in their eyes. If, for some reason, the letter doesn't get to them in time, or they decline the request to change the interview date, and you don't show up, you'll be considered a no-show, they will close your case, and you'll have to petition to re- open it. Sounds like a hassle to me.

I hope you aren't in Boise, Idaho because they will only issue you a 2 year card no matter how long you've been married. Happened to me and I was told they were legally within their right to issue me only the 2 year card despite the fact that I had been married 2 years by the time I got my approval.

You're right, Margaret, for an entrant on a K-1 visa, it's still not even guaranteed they'll get the 10 year card after 2 years of marriage. Every local office operates differently.

I guess since the OP's question was hypothetical, he won't be affected by any of our answers anyway. ;)

Wonder if there is anyone on here brave enough to tell what they did to achieve the desired postponement, then adjudication which would go ahead and give them the permanent resident without conditions status.

you know, people should not have to wait over two years to get the initial aos interview, then wait another 18 months before having to jump through the hoop again.

gee whillickers, enough already!

There is no consistency from office to office, so there is no rhyme or reason to the decisions made. There are no clear cut guildelines which outline the curcumstances under which an interview can be postponed. It is controlled by the whim of the office or the uncertainty of the USPS. Until there is consistency - and I wouldn't hold my breath - it's a crapshoot, and your hypothetical is nothing more than a mildly amusing intellectual exercise.

In my case I was married July 2002, applied for AOS end of August 2002., got AOS interview December 2002. Due to two screwups on my fingerprinting and then basically being put on the backburner until someone decided to do spring cleaning, I then had to go back in March 2004 to be re-fingerprinted and got my approval 6 days after my 2nd wedding anniversary. You'd think that after all this nonsense they would have given me a break and issued me the 10 year card.

A couple in a group I own had received their AOS interview date and it was three days before their 2 year anniversary. I suggested they see if they can somehow get the 10 year green card and bypass the whole removal of conditions part of the process. The husband (UKC) went to the USCIS office in WI via the infopass thingy and just laid it out to them about them being so near their two year anniversary and is there a way they could manage to get the 10 year green card instead. The person he spoke with was compliant and simply changed their interview date to after their 2 year anniversary. They currently have a 10 year green card.

There is no harm in trying. Some officers will be unwilling to change interview dates as I have heard of others not being so lucky. Personally, if it had been my husband and myself in the above scenario, I think we would have at least tried move the interview date (by being honest) so we could skip a step. We had our AOS interview 3 months after filing in person and will be filing to have conditions removed next month.

If I recall, you are a lawyer -- think like one. Don't ever assume facts. Would you assume that an 80 year old lady can't have a baby? [hell, this rule makes more sense if you consider adoption which I don't remember being a consideration on the Fertile Octegenarian].

What happens if the US citizen dies in the intervening two days? Accidents do happen.

Also, the law on adjustment of K-1's is ambiguous on grant of non- conditional status. Apparently, when the condition was introduced in the 1986 legislation, no one assumed that a K-1 adjustment would ever take over two years. And on top of that, the 1986 IMFA legislation was a poorly drafted peice of crap in the first place. So, a K-1 who has been married over two years does NOT fit within the definition of spouses subject to conditional residence, but can only be adjusted to that status. The regulations do not clear up the ambiguity -- so practice varies.

I posted a hypothetical set of facts which a friend living them mentioned to me in order to perhaps elicit responses which would assist this person with options, learned responses such as yours and the experience of others who find themselves in, more or less, the same boat.

Your contigency about the usc dying is interesting.

I liked the response from the person who just went to uscis and laid the cards on the table and let them make the call. i believe matt u. one time mentioned asking an adjudicating officer at interview to delay adjudication a small amount of time so the client would get the benefit of not having to come back and ask for removal of conditions.

we are lawyers are problem solvers, but you know, an ounce of common sense is sometimes worth a pound of law, and as the late will rogers said, "we are all ignorant just on different subjects", and i guess that includes lawyers, too.