Questions regarding filing I-130 and I-485 for recently married couple

[coolcat327]

Hello,

Found this great forum and hoping to get some advice on our situation.

I've read through UScitizenFilingforspouses's thread and a few of the others recommended on the sticky but have a few questions specific to our case I'm hoping to get some answers to as we are not looking to hire a lawyer and would like to try and save the costs.

First a quick summary of our situation.

I met my wife about 3 years ago and began dating and she moved in with me a few months after, at the time she had just recently failed her appeal to change her status from a B2 to a student visa and was asked to leave the US.

She stayed here with me and overstayed her visa since then and in terms of evidence supporting our relationship; joint credit card account, joint lease, joint phone accounts and etc we have plenty to verify that this is a bonafide relationship.

I started a new company about 2 years ago that has unfortunately been going through startup pains and our financial situation has been getting worse so we are relocating to another state and planning to stay with my parents to help lower costs and ride it out unfortunately due to her status it is dangerous to say the least to travel outside of our current state.

Was hoping to get married on better terms and provide her with a wedding she deserved and had been putting it off but as we need to get her status in line so she can relocate safely we decided to do a private ceremony between us for now and proceeded with establishing our marriage about a week ago.

We are hoping to move out of our current location by the end of the month and have had some free consultations with lawyers that informed us that she will be fine for travelling once the receipt for the I-130 has been received so that has been our priority.

Here are my questions for anyone that can help.

- Is it okay to file the I-130 online and file the I-485 separately at a later date? (Reason we are trying to leave the city by the end of the month and have begun moving preparations, the focus is to be able to travel safely to our destination and we are not worried about the length it takes for the I-485 to process).

- Are there any cons to filing the I-130 and I-485 separately? (Less chance of getting approved or any risk at all?)

- Will the I-130 receipt you receive be enough for my spouse to travel to another state with our vehicle safely?

- We are very recently married but we have been living together for nearly 3 years and have very strong evidence to supplement this fact, will the recent marriage date and the fact we didn't have a public ceremony hurt our case to the point we should wait?

Finances are tight at the moment which is the cause of our move and if there is no harm in filing the I-485 at a later date from our destination location that would be ideal for us to get situated first then dealing with the bigger filing fee.

Thanks!

[newacct]

No, she is not fine to stay after I-130 is filed and you get the I-130 receipt. Only filing AOS (I-485) will allow her to stay and protect her against deportation. Filing I-130 by itself does not give any benefit if she is not in removal proceedings.

Did she ever get a Notice to Appear for removal proceedings? What exactly was this "appeal" you mentioned regarding her Change of Status? There is no "appeal" for I-539; only a Motion to Reopen or Motion to Reconsider.

[coolcat327]

No, she is not fine to stay after I-130 is filed and you get the I-130 receipt. Only filing AOS (I-485) will allow her to stay and protect her against deportation. Filing I-130 by itself does not give any benefit if she is not in removal proceedings.

Did she ever get a Notice to Appear for removal proceedings? What exactly was this "appeal" you mentioned regarding her Change of Status? There is no "appeal" for I-539; only a Motion to Reopen or Motion to Reconsider.

We are planning to file the I-485 as well just at a future date once we have moved to our destination.

She did not get a notice to appear for removal proceedings, she tried to change her visa to a student visa and the application was rejected and then she appealed it with a lawyer and it was denied and her lawyer told her she should leave the USA voluntarily within 7-10 days.

[newacct]

Then maybe you should wait until you are ready to file I-485 to file both I-130 and I-485. If you need her to be protected against deportation, she needs to file I-485.

[tmao923]

Even though the I-145 is longer than I-130, but most things you need to include with the I-485 such as copies of passports, visas, etc. will also have to be included in the I-130. It takes some time to read and answer the questions on I-485, but it is best for you to file everything together and list the address you will be living in after moving. The address you list will be the one USCIS sends all of your documents to.

I-130 does not establish anything, your wife needs the notice of I-485 to be able to stay legally. The receipt notice of I-485 will give her a "pending permanent resident" status until a decision is reached. She can do everything a typical legal non-immigrant can do with the I-485 receipt such as getting a license, going to school, etc.

Plus, USCIS works super slow, it'll be better to send everything in together than sending extra documents in later for them to find and match.

Good luck!

[Stormlead86]

Then maybe you should wait until you are ready to file I-485 to file both I-130 and I-485. If you need her to be protected against deportation, she needs to file I-485.

coolcat327 cant be any clear than this.