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I started the marriage green card process for my wife with the plan of pursuing the consular processing route, which means I filed the I-130 by itself, giving a foreign address for my beneficiary spouse. The I-130 was received in early October. Once this was approved, she was going to complete the process at the Madrid embassy.
However, a few days ago we were traveling in South America when countries started closing borders and cancelling flights. With two days left on our tourist visa in Chile, we were planning to cross over to Argentina, but were told we would be put in 14-day quarantine upon entry, and that we shouldn't come, because we likely wouldn't be able to leave. We managed to get a flight to the US that left in a few hours, and we entered the country, my wife on a 3-month ESTA visa waiver.
Now, we are sheltering in place in the US, but with a ticking clock - my wife has to leave the US within a little bit less than three months. Unfortunately, her home city of Madrid is not a particularly appealing destination at the moment - it has had around 100 coronavirus deaths each of the past few days, more than any other city in the world. comparable to Wuhan at its peak. All citizens are confined indoors, and the borders are closed.
So it occurred to us that it might be possible to switch from the consular processing route to the adjustment of status route. Normally, this involves filing the I-485 concurrently, but would it be possible to submit the I-485 now, more than 5 months later, presumably along with an address change? Normally they are mailed together, so would it be possible to link the I-130 and the new I-485? Even if possible, would this somehow start the process over from scratch?
We could also wait until the I-130 is approved, and then submit the I-485, but that is very likely to take more than 3 months, especially given all the current disruptions, and my wife needs a way to stay in the country legally. Should we instead pursue another option for her to stay in the country legally (without having to return to Spain).
Grateful for any insight or experiences you might have!
However, a few days ago we were traveling in South America when countries started closing borders and cancelling flights. With two days left on our tourist visa in Chile, we were planning to cross over to Argentina, but were told we would be put in 14-day quarantine upon entry, and that we shouldn't come, because we likely wouldn't be able to leave. We managed to get a flight to the US that left in a few hours, and we entered the country, my wife on a 3-month ESTA visa waiver.
Now, we are sheltering in place in the US, but with a ticking clock - my wife has to leave the US within a little bit less than three months. Unfortunately, her home city of Madrid is not a particularly appealing destination at the moment - it has had around 100 coronavirus deaths each of the past few days, more than any other city in the world. comparable to Wuhan at its peak. All citizens are confined indoors, and the borders are closed.
So it occurred to us that it might be possible to switch from the consular processing route to the adjustment of status route. Normally, this involves filing the I-485 concurrently, but would it be possible to submit the I-485 now, more than 5 months later, presumably along with an address change? Normally they are mailed together, so would it be possible to link the I-130 and the new I-485? Even if possible, would this somehow start the process over from scratch?
We could also wait until the I-130 is approved, and then submit the I-485, but that is very likely to take more than 3 months, especially given all the current disruptions, and my wife needs a way to stay in the country legally. Should we instead pursue another option for her to stay in the country legally (without having to return to Spain).
Grateful for any insight or experiences you might have!
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