r/i130_75CountryPause

Hello guys my re interview is next week I am so worried that i might get denied because my wife received public assistance before so we are adding a co-sponsor with great income who never received public assistance. Do you guys think that’s a good idea any input we would gladly appreciate it.
We just don’t know what to do at this point we are seing couple posts where they denying applicants because their spouses received public assistance in the past

Thank you !!

An applicant was given 221g again at the reinterview, because his wife received SNAP and WIC 7 years ago. The wife is a born US citizen! This is not fair.

Hope you guys are doing well. Hopefully my wife will get her interview soon, but not sure when considering the backlogs. I saw a post where husband IR1 visa was denied because wife had Medicaid, SNAP, etc few years back. So i am currently on the same boat like i received Medicaid when i was in my senior year & lived in my parents Federal housing while i was in College ( They were the main applicant & later i was added to the lease). Anyway, after graduation i became FT engineer with good six figure salary & currently have good investments & bank balance, gold & car which is partially paid off. I live by myself & not supporting anyone financially. So no Medicaid since mid 2024 & the housing removed my name from the lease in mid 2025 ( I was out in February & they removed my name in July.. Lol). On the other my wife is an engineer too in back home & currently doing part time Master’s. What do you guys think will happen in my case or how they might do the evaluation here? This is pretty straight forward case where US citizen filing for spouse, no other issues that could cause problem. I know no one knows, but just wanted to see your perspective. Thanks

>I wanted to share something that worked for us. We were asked to provide proof that my husband would have health insurance available after immigrating to the U.S.
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>Since he wasn’t in the U.S. yet, I couldn’t actually enroll him in a Marketplace plan. Instead, I submitted the 2026 Marketplace Eligibility Notice from HealthCare.gov.
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>The notice showed that he had applied for Marketplace coverage and was eligible to enroll in a 2026 Marketplace plan, with the Marketplace still confirming his immigration information.
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>So, if you’re in a similar situation, you may be able to apply through the Marketplace and provide the Eligibility Notice as supporting evidence that the immigrant can obtain Marketplace coverage after arriving.
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>Important: This is not proof that you already have active insurance—it’s an eligibility notice showing that Marketplace coverage is available/that the applicant is eligible to enroll.
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>Attached below is a sample proof that I provided with my and my husband's details in the document as proof to the consular which was acceptable.
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>https://www.studocu.com/en-us/document/houston-christian-high-school/french/eligibility-results-notice-for-marketplace-coverage-2026/149860716?sid=3f8f05ca-11d7-4cda-aac9-387770f6586b1791091356

Also here is the link to start with a health insurance plan choices based on where you live in USA:

https://www.healthcare.gov/see-plans/#/

https://preview.redd.it/pn9p9fn7n6th1.png?width=1192&format=png&auto=webp&s=4cee628e0a24699e21dd25eb9ab4f705dfafc40c

Heyyy everyone! ❤️

I wanted to share some good news with everyone who is waiting to be reunited with their loved ones. Sometimes the wait can feel endless, but please remember that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Don’t lose hope. 🤍

Alhamdulillah, my husband got his visa today after almost 3 years of waiting! 🥹❤️ We were actually very close to getting his visa earlier this year, but then the immigrant visa pause went into effect, which delayed the process and brought with it an incredibly painful and uncertain wait.

But Alhamdulillah, here we are today, finally sharing the news that his visa has been issued! For everyone still waiting, please don’t lose hope. Be patient, keep faith, and continue doing everything you can on your end. Your time will come, InshaAllah. 🤲🏻

After the pause was lifted, my husband was re-interviewed and was asked to provide some additional documents that had typically not been requested before the pause. These included things such as potential health insurance coverage in the U.S., a potential job offer letter, and/or other evidence of financial support or potential assets.

It became a little tedious because we had to gather everything within a very short timeframe. He had only about 10 days to redo his medical examination and obtain a new police certificate, which itself could take more than a week to process. Because of that, even after his interview, we had to wait another week while the remaining documents were completed and submitted.

It was definitely stressful, but today we finally received his passport back with the visa printed inside. 😭❤️

After almost two years, this wait is finally coming to an end. Alhamdulillah. 🥹🤲🏻

For everyone still waiting to be reunited with your husband, wife, fiancé(e), or loved one — please don’t give up hope. I know how difficult this process can be, especially when there are unexpected delays and uncertainty, but keep going. One day, InshaAllah, you’ll be the one sharing your good news too. ❤️

May Allah make everyone’s journey easy, reunite all families soon, and bring good news to everyone who is still waiting. Ameen. 🤲🏻❤️

Feel free to asks questions that may help you prepare or find ease.

Hi everyone! I’m Karol Suarez, a news correspondent based in Houston. I’m looking to speak with families in Texas who have been affected by the worldwide pause on immigrant visa interviews, including families who have been separated, faced delays, or whose lives have been disrupted by the pause. If this has affected you or your family in any way, I’d like to hear your story and learn how it has impacted your life.

Please DM me or email me at karol.suarezaponte@nbcuni.com

I’ve been speaking with a journalist at The New York Times, who is working on a story about the visa pause and its impact on families and applicants.

He is especially interested in hearing from people who:

• Were already approved before the pause
• Are the spouse or parent of a U.S. citizen
• Are employment-based immigrant visa applicants
• Have been waiting for a significant amount of time
• Can explain how the pause has affected their family, career, finances, or life
• Are willing to be identified by name in the story

If you’re interested, please DM me, and I will give you his contact information so you can reach out to him about your story.

Please only message me if you are genuinely comfortable with the possibility of being identified publicly by The New York Times.

There has been very little media attention on the pause, and this is an opportunity for us to be heard via a major media outlet.

NOTE: This is primarily for those who have already interviewed and were refused as a result of the 75-country pause, not for those currently waiting for an interview.

We didn’t do anything wrong. We followed every step, attended our interviews, completed our requirements, and have been waiting for our immigrant visas.

Every day feels like hell — waking up with hope and going to sleep with tears, wondering when we will finally be able to live with our spouses and families.

Some of us have already been waiting 3, 4, or even more years to finally live together. If a stay is granted, does that mean even more waiting, more uncertainty, and another indefinite delay?

How much longer are families expected to endure this? People are exhausted. People are struggling emotionally and physically. This is not just a number or a case file — these are real families whose lives have been put on hold.

Please, CLINIC, continue fighting for us. And please, DOS, remember the human cost of these delays. We just want to be with our families and finally live the lives we have been waiting years for.

I applied with what I thought was a large lawfirm to help us with immigration filing because the process is daunting and I didnt trust myself to not mess up some kind of paperwork.

That lawyer delayed our I-130 application 3 months. I let that go but then ignored us and wouldn't respond if I asked any questions or anything. Sometimes for weeks and then Id email again and get a "I received you email Ill respond in a few days. Im patient so I dont push or harass. Weeks later I email again and get a few sentences kinda answering part of one question and that addressing anything else.

My wife's I-130 was finally submitted November 12 2025.

I switched and let them go when the Immigration Pause happened and they ignored my email again for 2 weeks and then didnt answer a single thing or offer to alleviate our anxiety. I found another closer more local Lawyer. Did consultation. He talked to my wife and me in a video call. I had the other law firm send over our case file. They released me as a client when I asked for that so I could do the consultation at the other firm here in Texas.

The new lawyer was friendly enough and I thought took me on. I asked what else we needed to do and was told to wait. Few months and I ask some questions in a email and he kinda answers one question or two but not all of them. He mostly responded with short quick non helpful asnwers. Alot of waiting and not alot of help when I try to talk to him about the process. One time I said hey I got a letter format from AI I was gunna use to write a letter to our congress representatives. Then he gave me 3 full paragraphs panicking I said the word AI. I told him I was just getting the formatting and writing all my own words. Im blue collar. I dont know legal letter format or how to make it professional so they will actually read it.

Well I ended up abandoning that since he said it was a big no no and was told to wait.

Now Im asking him questions again because theres updates to all these cases and he kept telling me not to trust Reddit or anything else and if I had questions to ask him. So I did. I asked. And keep getting 1 sentence responses. Not even formally addressing me.

Today he responded by telling me Im not his client and we never signed any paperwork to take me on and he reviewed our old email and we have no case and no case was started....Im about to lose my mind. Ive flown to Pakistan like 3 times. About to fly a 4th time. Im building so much debt for this.

I just want someone to give me something. Alleviate some of this anxiety. Take some pressure off. OMG I dont know why its like this. Ive seen lawyer shows. I thought they were supposed to be professional?

Shit I know lawyers in Criminal Prosecution for Fort Worth. We went to school together. She has more professionalism in one finger than Ive experienced with immigration lawyers.

Do I really need a lawyer? Can someone recommend a actually good lawyer who answered questions and cares about their clients?

I'm about to apply for another family visa and I got approval from work to work remote out there for 3 months so my wife and I can be together.

Someone told me the average processing time for I-130 in Pakistan is like 15 months. That puts us in February March timing. But.. everything I see in Reddit and online makes me think this will take longer than 15 months just for processing this step. I dont even know whats after this step. Can someone please help me?

I’d like to propose creating a dedicated thread for members to report when their embassy contacts them or schedules an interview. Having a single, central place for updates would make it much easier for everyone to track active timelines

We could also do a google sheet with original interview date, location , and reinterview date.