hi kym and thanks for the congrats...hope all goes well for the move to college...its a big thing over here isnt it..
but i bet your looking forward to your honey arriving though huh...

hi jess..
thats great that you have your bio appointment...we had to travel to detroit for ours ...it doesnt take long at all...show id passport and your letter fill out info sheet and wait to be called.. mine only took about 15 mins...
make sure your hands are clean...ohh and another thing...the passport photo's you sent in with the application aren't used on your greencard...the photo they take on the day of fingerprinting is the one they use...i was spewin the passport photo's were better than theirs lol..they take all 10 fingers too so dont put any hand cream on before you leave....

wonder where all the others have got to.. hi to them...
ohhhhhhhhhhhhh vylex and mrs vylex are getting married today (oz time) probably at the reception by now ....whooo hoooo....

take care
kath
ps. a bit of news i been keeping under my hat...were looking at buying a house...its still up in the air at the moment ..and to all those military couples..have you ever heard of the GI Bill ... i dont get it much but you can get a home loan through being in the military...just google it and see what if it might help anyone of you wanting a home loan....robbie was in vietnam so we can apply through it...when more concrete things are in order will let ya know more...

Kath, Good luck buying a house! That is exciting news!

What you're referring to is the Montgomery GI bill, it is a VERY good thing. Tony has been paying into it for college.

Thanks for the tips about the fingerprinting. Should be a fun day

WOOHOO

NVC finally completed our case on the 17th. Phew.
Though I do amuse at the idea of it going out of overworked American workers because of the fee rise, to now go to overworked Australian workers because of APEC

Out of the frying pan and into the fire, but that light is definitly looking a lot brighter at the end of the tunnel!

Sugarbob got his biometrics appointment! 9/12/07 he is happy.

Heavy Heart again,...My hubby left today on a flight back to Kuwait...then back to Iraq when a flight is available.
Had the most amazing time in Malta. In fact the whole 18 days were wonderful,...oh well 10 months down, 5 more to go!!!

Kath,..is it a VA loan your looking at?...As I thought Montgomery GI Bill was only for education,..I may be mistaken, but I thought thats how it was.

Anyways,...hugs to you all, hope everyone has had an awesome weekend,..

Jodee

Me too Jodie, The Montgomery GI Bill is just for education... but the original bill before Montgomery revamped it in the 80's was the GI Bill and included all that stuff together and was colloquially called the GI Bill. But yeah, Kath is referring to a VA loan. A very nice loan arrangement it is too, we're going to be using it sometime in the future.

Congrats Sugarbob & Moonie... one step further towards AOS

i cant wait till November 4th!!! thats when i fly out to the US forever!!!

Y'all have lots of appointments and happy dates scheduled, I see! I'm happy to report that so do we! Meowboy will be traveling to Sydney for his appointment on September 28!

I've been busy trying to plan our wedding and it's so exciting to see things move in the right direction.

hi ya all
congrats to all those who have their biometric appointments coming up...its no big deal just fingerprinting..

hi ya meowgirl
congrats on getting the interview date way to go..being it on a friday interview is he going to stay the weekend and pick the brown envelope up on monday...or get it posted out to him..
good luck to you both..you will do fine im sure...

take care
kath

good luck meowgirl!!
cant wait to hear the result !!

Looks like Loke is going home already

He had a death in the family and will have to go home this week. I think that the K3 allows him to travel in and out of the country because when I went to apply for the AP, the form said that he would not need it if he was K3. I am hoping this is right and I think I just need reassurance that this is not going to mess up the Adjustment of Status for us. Any thoughts are so greatly appreciated.

*hugs*

dont quote me but i think i read somewhere that if you tell the appropriate people that your leaving is for family reasons that is an emergency you can... i think there might be a specific time frame for you to be out of the country as it were..........
have you emailed the consulate maybe?.... or called USCIS?

hi ya rings .. sorry to hear about a death in the family..
take a lok at this might help mate...i think it was nia something 3rd post down in that post...
this is what she/he wrote:


good reason for an AP

so be looks of it Loke can travel back to oz and get back in on his K3 visa cos it hasnt expired mate..i would take a copy of the NOA1 with me to show at the POE to get back just in case they ask for it and anything else that has his american home address on it...

hope the above helps mate ....
take care
kath
ps if your still concerned about it you can always mate an info pass to get the facts right or ring USCIS about it...

hi ya all
i get USCIS email of their updates on regulations and laws and anything else thats going on..
i got one this morning and was scimping through the titles and came across one that the military people in here might interested in...they have set up a helpline for you guys to call if you have questions here is the link to it for you..i didnt read all of it so if its nowt to do with you guys i apologise..now im going to read it all lol

MILITARY HELPLINE
take care
kath

Nice, might be worth a try. Thanks a LOT Kath for noticing that one

Sorry to hear that Rings... best wishes for his journey home and while you are separated. (((HUGS)))

Well I finally went to Dr Poppenbeek; what a funny man. He's all giggly and nervous-like you'd think we had to inspect him lol.. I said hello to him from you KATH; he said that was nice. So yeah, I have one hell of a sore arm and feel slightly violated lol.. but otherwise glad to have been given the clean bill of health aside from my extra heart beat - I already knew I had lol..

Now if J can pay the IV Bill and his mother send in the tax forms we may get closer to finishing this thing!

Lok - my condolences to you for your loss and wishing you a safe journey.

I got my daughter moved into her college dorm last weekend. We were exhausted by the end of Sunday, but they have their room fixed up really cute. I have my bridal shower this Saturday and the Saturday after that Darryl will arrive!!!! Absolutely can't wait! I seem to have a ton of things going on everyday to get ready for his arrival and our wedding. I think after such a long wait, I'm still in shock that this is finally happening....it sure is exciting though.

I don't get on here as often as I like but sure do love coming and reading that things are moving right along for others! Congratulations!!!!

I'm very sorry to hear of your loss Loke & Rings Safe journey.

Kym - enjoy having the house to yourself for a little while, and try not to worry too much about your daughter out on her own Enjoy the bridal shower!

Thank you all so much for your support. Loke is on the plane now and will be back in Melbourne on Friday morning. I know he appreciates your kind words. The house feels so lonely and quiet without him

I AM IN THE U.S!!!!!!!


Now what is the next plan of attack? We are getting married on Saturday, so then do I file for my ssn? Then do I have to do all the paperwork for my bio app and stuff? I am sooooooooooo confused

Please help!!!

I hope that everyone is doing well, and I am soooo glad that I have the net on....I was going crazy!

Take care,
Kellie

hi kellie
welcome to america mate...hope all is well and your happy as mate...below are the link you will need to read up on for the AOS and SSN..


k1 adjustment of status, ead and ap

getting a ssn on k1 visa

welcome to america website

welcome to america for new immigrants

the last two are about stuff you might like to look at..different things in there ...

and big congrats on the up coming wedding on saturday i hope it is a memorable and happy one for both of you..

take care
kath

Weeee! Great news Kelli! WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME!

Tip Time:

1. Get your SSN AFTER you get married and take along the ACTUAL marriage certificate if you want to change your name on it.(not the license or anything else, they won't accept it cos they suck). I say this because if you don't, and get your maiden name on it, you'll be in a whole world of PAIN in the you know what getting all your other bits and pieces down the road like drivers license and bank accounts and shenanigans. ALSO you'll have to go back to get it changed (Like we do, since they wouldn't accept the marriage license they gave us on the day, instead wanting the one that we ONLY JUST received in the mail in the last week.)

2. Turn up to the SS office WHEN they open or even 1/2 an hour before they open (yes, people do, according to the lady that FINALLY saw us) or you'll be sitting in the office ALL DAY.

Can you tell that I have SS angst? I also have bank angst... don't get me started on USCIS angst. USCIS is the ruler of the unholy trinity that is my government angst. The Navy doesn't even rate in my angsting, and that is saying something!

Don't worry about me, I'm loving life and my husband and the craziness

3. (And 3 is the most important tip) HAVE A FANTASTIC WEDDING! and CONGRATULATIONS on being back with the love of your life, together at last. All my love to you both! Have a fantastic wedding, enjoy it, enjoy your honeymoon if you have one, or just take plenty of time to enjoy each other. This stuff can wait a couple of weeks

Thank you soooo much Kath and Jezz! I am glad that you are loving the craziness!!!

I am so glad to finally be here, but the last week I have been stressing thinking that I will never get all this stuff done! You guys will probably be sick of me by the next couple of weeks!

I hope that everyone is well, take care and be good!

Kell!

hi ya kellie
awwww mate how can we get sick of our aussie mates...some of us have already gone through the AOS stuff so heaps of help for ya here...

also on the social security office turn up about an hour before they close that works.. they work faster to get themselves out of work too.. i have done this twice and its true lol...ours has a security officer that shuts the doors i think it was half an hour before closing gawd it was 15months ago now i cant remember lol..

also read the instructions there might be a thing about you have to have your EAD to get your SSN..read on VJ somewhere too .. but i would go for it and have a go to get one mate...dont forget your passport with your I-94 and go before the 76th day i think it is before expiry..

take care
kath

Kellie - In response to Kath's inquiry about getting the EAD before the SSN.... I have some good news, on the K-1 VISA you DON'T need the EAD first! What happens is, they give you the SS card that has "valid with USCIS work authorization only" written on it. So you can't work till the EAD comes in and as I understand it, when you get work you need to carry your EAD and SS card to prove you're eligible to work. At some point in the future you can change the SS card to a new one without the sentence on it (I think after you get your greencard is when you do it, I'm just assuming that though.) SS numbers are very useful things to have even when you can't work yet

hi ya
i knew i read what i wrote somewhere..new rules came in october 2006

take a look at this link .. in there someone put up the link to social about the new rules and there is some interesting posts also...

ssn after marriage thread

kellie if you can go to the social security today or go monday and get it in your maiden name that way at least you have your ssn card mate...

take care
kath

In that thread someone wrote "The final marriage problem is women wanting to be issued their SSA card in their new married name. This can not happen until there is supporting documentation from USCIS (EAD or Green Card)." Which is not correct, you only need your marriage certificate to have the name changed. In my opinion, I would wait until you get your marriage certificate unless the court house issuing it will take a long time to send it out (like mine). That way, it will save you a trip to the SS office to change it to your married name. Because EVERYONE wants to see your SS card in your married name before they put your married name on anything, like putting myself on DH's bank accounts (currently in my maiden name) and getting a drivers licence (We're going to wait till we can go back to SS office when we have time so I don't have to pay for a drivers license twice). Upshot is, getting SS card in your maiden name is a Pain in the ### and should be avoided where possible in my very humble opinion. Others are welcome to disagree... Lots of luck to you.

Just making sure I understand all this correctly. Since Darryl does not have to worry about doing a name change after marriage....He can go get his SS card as soon as he arrives in the USA?

He sure can! Some people suggest you wait a week or two though so you "get on the system". At any rate I didn't go to get mine until about 2 weeks after I got here just because we were in California and then we were too busy (our nearest SS office over an hour away) Kath can probably clear that one up for us.

Notice anything different???? *Turns around beaming to see if they notice*

hi rings
did you get a new hairstyle...you expecting.. is loke home and ya smiling...ya home from work...

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT IS ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!! LOL

yep kim wait a few weeks so all daryl's information is in their system...just take his passport birth certificate..or a state id ...

come on rings what is new mate..!!!!

waving all confused now..
kath

ohh bloody hell.. i looked at your signature and just noticed loke got his biometrics appointment..will he be home in time for it mate...am i right...lol

YES you are right and he damn well better be home or I may go to prison for beating him with his own limbs!

weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I think this means we beat the rate increase too wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

How long does a marriage certificate usually take to arrive? Does it vary from state to state?

hi rings
will be watching the newspapers lol....whooo hooo on you beating the fee hike mate...good on ya...

you could always contact them to see if you can get another appointment if he can't...what date is his return ticket?
he has around 18 days up his sleeve lol...

hi katz
yep depends on what state your in..ours only took about a week...then they got the date wrong on when we were married so we rang them up..went in and got a new one handed to us and two arrived in the mail the following week lol...

do a search on your county and look for county court marriage records..something like that..

i see you have had two touches fingers crossed it means an approval soon

take care
kath

Congratulations Rings & Loke! That's great news!

katz, in our experience, it depends on the individual place you might find a place that says 4 to 6 weeks (like ours did) and the next county over you might find one that says a lot less than that. For us, we had to do it like that cos the other county only did it on Fridays... you probably remember the whole Friday the 13th/day after I step of the plane saga.

Good luck everyone who has interviews and things coming up, everyone else, I hope you're all happy and well. I'm looking forward to updates from everyone.

Hi Kath! *waves*

Loke will be home Tuesday so he will be here in time. I keep looking at the appoitment letter and beaming. I am so glad that we are moving forward.

Hows it going with the driving Kath? I am letting Loke drive a lot to get him used to it, but it scares the hell out of me lol

Kath and Jezz, thank you both very much for the info! I'll be living in Indiana... Apparently we have to get blood tests done and apply for the marriage license at least a month before the ceremony - both in person! Eeek! I hope I don't go over the 90 days waiting for the damn thing... The social security office doesn't sound like a fun place to visit twice. Heh.

Unless... Stuff like that (marriage license etc.) is sorted out with the visa process?

hi katz
no the visa journey doesnt help in that department mate..that is the couple's responsibility to organise..

which county will you be living in...i found a link with all the county's address and phone numbers you might give them a ring to find out the facts..cos sometimes the internet can mislead you mate...

in Ohio which isnt far from indiana...we just went into the marriage licence place showed id and got the licence ...then you have to wait 24 hours before you get married and that was it..lol..no blood tests either..
i was reading that you would have to have a medical by a local doc too in indiana...

info on marriage licences in indiana

hope you find out something different than you did mate with a phone call...at least you have 90 days to organise this stuff.. i would apply for the marriage licence as soon as you arrive...that way you have heaps of time up your sleeve...
kath

Gee wizz, this is confusing!

So, is it best that I go to the SS office and apply for a SSN, but not let them know that I am married...is that correct? ...and do I take my passport and birth cert?????


thanks guys!

Also, do I start the paperwork ASAP, and do they tell me when I have my biometrics app and the other medical thing, or do I have to organise them myself?

BACK AGAIN.....


A few q's for the I-485

Do I put my married name as my family name?
Date of last arrival-is that the date that I landed 2 weeks ago, or when I was over before?
Current USCIS status-is that K1 Visa???
Place of last entry to the US-would that be LA?
Inspected by Immigration officer? Was that the guy who opened my package?
What status did I last enter? I am confused.....do they mean when I came over as a visitor last year, or on a K1 visa?
And I take it that I tick that I am married?

Oh gee, I am soooo sorry guys, but I am sooooo confused, and this is the last thing that I need at the moment, as there is alot happening back home with my family.


Thanks heaps!

This is what I did Correct me if I'm wrong anyone

Thanks sooooooooo much Jezz!

hi guys just dropping in to say hi and i hope your all going smoothly including those waiting for their approvals... you should get them all soon!! fingers crossed...

well we were told last week that we now have the APEC day 7th sept off as a public holiday... yay!!! means one more day without a computer that i dont get to talk to my fiance......... drats...........

but 9 weeks to go till i finish work and then 4 days after that i hit the US !!

Hi folks!

Just dropping in to say hi. Hope all is well with everyone. Still in beautiful Sydney with the wifey. Congrats Rings and Loke!

Hi Kath, den mother of the Oz thread LOL.

Wedding turned out to be an amazing time with family and friends. It was so stressful trying to get things in order the last few days! I am waiting for some worthy pics before I post hee hee. I am loving it here even more. I've been driving around the last week and pretty much have the hang of it. I even drove family back and forth from the airport. It's much more relaxed driving here in NSW than in the east coast in the US. I can get used to it over here LOL.

Vy and I are off to Airlie Beach in a few hours. We spent the first week doing final wedding prep work and then 2nd week with family before they left. We are honeymooning this week. All my paperwork is at the NVC now and am waiting for the elusive Case Complete. Hopefully it will be done in NH and then sent to Sydney during Apec week. With Apec done things should go back to normal *FINGERS CROSSED*. I am praying her interview and visa come in October.

C'mon NVC, I need that case complete!!!!

Good luck to everyone else on their journeys!

-Alex

lol how you gonna be drinking blend 43 and then turn around trying to be all discerning in your taste...no no no missy

hahahha..
i was told i have to try all the american blends of coffee before i turn into a forced tea drinker.

i got a weird question to ask........

when you apply for AOS ... Forgotten what that all stands for..........
why would they deny your application?

i mean if your married and followed all the rules to the letter..........?

hi sharyna
AOS stands for Adjustment of Status (meaning your changing your residental status to permanent resident)

there is a number of reasons that there could be a denial...
not enough evidence to prove you have a bonafide marriage
not answering to a RFE quick smart....they would think you have abandoned your application..
your sponsor pulls out or cancels the sponsorship like what they said happened to on of the aussies and was deported ..remember...

i think there was a thread on denials on vj...the above are just what i think could happen ...
anyone else got anything to add...i wouldnt worry on it too much as long as your honest with the application you got nothing to be scared of....

hi ya vylex
lol @Den Mother... i think im the oldest here lol good to see you...so happy to hear all went well with the wedding and your finally relaxing with your wifey and honeymooning....cant wait to see the pics...how did they like the video mate..

ohhh aussie driving is less stressful than over here.. it seems you have to be on your toes all the time on the roads here...my driving is improving im getting more relaxed but still very cautious still..nice to hear from you mate and i hope like you do that your application is complete very very soon ....

*waves to jess** hi ya how are you going...liking it over here ...

ohhhh a bit of news here...were moving on the weekend..couldnt believe its only gunna cost us $29.95 and 85cents a mile to high a U-haul truck to move.....now to figure out how were gunna get 2 couches a huge 50" tv down 3 flights of stairs....lol...
take care
kath