Background
Claudine and Jacque, a newly engaged couple, were ready to start their life together in the United States. Originally from Delmas, Haiti, they both moved to Canada during their teenage years. Jacque, workedwith a U.S. based cybersecurity company, and was able to obtain a green card through his employment. During this period of time he traveled back and forth between Canada and the U.S. After five years of holding his green card, he applied for his U.S. citizenship and became a citizen.
Once he became a U.S. citizen, Jacque proposed and filed a K1 visa (fiance) for his partner, Claudine. However, they were eager to start a family, and they decided that they wanted to marry sooner rather than later. In theirculture, infertility held a negative social stigma, and with Claudine turning 35 in the next year, they wanted to start trying for kids soon. As a Canadian citizen, Claudine was able to enter the U.S. to visit Jacque and the couple took the opportunity to get married. However, with the K1 visa still pending, they found themselves uncertain about their next steps after marriage during the K1 visa process.
Case
Claudine and Jacque reached out to our team through the live chatbot on our family-based green card software at apply.visanation.com. After an initial conversation, our specialists recommended that they speak with one of our attorneys to address their specfiic legal concers. The couple needed clarity on how to proceed now that they were legally married, but still navigating the complexities of their pending K1 visa.
In the U.S., Jacque could sponsor Claudine through a marriage-based green card. Once the marriage-based green card petition is filed, USCIS issues a receipt within 4-6 weeks. After, the foreign spouse will be scheduled for a biometrics appointment at a local USCIS office. While the case was pending, we also applied for Claudine’s Employment Authorization Document (EAD) and her Advanced Parole/Travel document, which would allow her to work and travel outside of the U.S. It’s important to note that once these applications are filed, the foreign spouse cannot travel outside the U.S. without their travel documents.
Now, USCIS has waived most interviews for marriage-based filings, which has become more common after COVID. Within the package we included travel itinaries of the couple, photos, proof of their marriage, biographical info (Passports, Visas, etc.), and proof of Jacque’s naturalization. We prepared a detailed petition with sufficient proof to be easily processed.
Nonetheless, everything was submitted perfectly, until we received a Request for Evidence (RFE).
The RFE was regarding Claudine’s medical exam, which is pretty standard. Although, Claudine had previously submitted a medical exam as part of the K1 visa application, it was no longer valid for the marriage-based green card filing. This was not a problem, as we told our clients to bring the old medical filings to their upcoming medical appointment, and that would allow the USCIS physician to identify what was missing on the old forms.
Verdict
Within two months of responding to the RFE, USCIS approved Claudine’s green card petition.
How VisaNation Can Help You
Despite the initial setback with the RFE, the couple reamined proactive, as we helped respond to the RFE and providing enough proof to avoid any sort of denial. Even if you are stuck in the processing times for a K1 visa, there are ways to speed up the process, as seen with Jacque and Claudine. If you decide to take the leap of faith earlier with entering marriage during the K1 visa process, we are are here to help. Please don’t hesitate to contact us for help on your marriage based green card application!
