[boltondd]

Having married a couple of weeks ago, now is the time to adjust the wifes status from a K-1 fiancee' to a conditional resident here in the US. I thought I would mantain this thread so that others in future would benefit from our experience.

The start of the process is the forms which can be downloaded from the US Government web site at http://uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-485.htm There are only 41 pages consisting of both forms and directions.

On reading the directions, I found that most of the information required was already submitted when applying for the original K-1. We carried all this stuff back with us and gave it to the examing immigration officer when we entered the US. At the time, he told us it would be forwarded to our local immigration office.

So somewhat confused, I made an appointment (see http://infopass.uscis.gov/) to see an immigration officer at our local centre (240 miles away) to find out exactly what we needed to file. Yesterday we trekked out there and after a short wait we got to see someone. Being the real world, what he had to say, I didn't want to hear.

"Forget what you submitted previously, you need to do everything again. The stuff before has been filed and forgotten, different department, biometrics done in Bangkok no use, to be done again" etc.

So it's important that you keep all the original documents used for the K-1 process and bring them with you when you come to the US

The other important thing I found out is that it's going to be 8 to 13 months before this process is done with no guarantee that the petition will be granted. Meanwhile she cannot leave the country without filing another form (I-131 Application to Travel) or work (I-765 Employment Authorization).

Pretty aggravating when you consider what the government is trying to do about the 11 million iilegal aliens resident here in the US.

For the next post I will detail all the forms and backup documents required with a photograph showing the pile of paper.