~July 2007 K-1 Filers~

[tucson_chick 0]

poor aly! i hope you feel better soon!

you could try to find a job with a temp-company. they hire people for companies which need temporary workers FAST. i worked for one and basically jumped in for the secretary that quit her job unexpectedly. the pay isn't particularly overwhelming, but it helped me to build up some savings so that i can live here for 2 months looking for nice jobs. (after the 2 months are over i will do ANY kind of job )

i spent most of the day working in the yard yesterday. in southern arizona that means pulling cacti. i have a bunch of these hurting stings in my fingers and can't get them out. OUTCH!!!!

free hugs for everybody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[teachmehistory 0]

Hello July friends!!! just popping in to tell Aly that your wedding pics are gorgeous! you must be thrilled

AND to get on the AOS spreadsheet! We mailed it all off yesterday March 4th. Oh God please let everything be right!!!! I pulled my hair out in frustration and curses enough to make a pirate blush, but we did it! I also just want to share another bit of experience that came as a total and expensive surprise.....apparently there is a little form called the I-693A which is ANOTHER vaccine form that came as a total shock to me. So you have to take all your vaccine records to an appointed 'civil surgeon' (listed is on the USCIS website) in your local area - and have a doc locally look them over and fill out the form for you to mail off with AOS. this lovely experience cost us another $75.00 for the office visit. I was so stunned angry and frustrated there are not words. I mean we paid 200 pounds for the medical already, he had 2 visits with his GP and got many stabs before the medical even happened to be sure we had all the necessary vaccines, we were APPROVED for heaven's sake, his medical record (is in the brown mysterious POE envelope) was submitted at POE and is now on file with USCIS and I STILL have to track down some random doctor to pay more money to have it documented again???? somebody has got to fix this BS process.....just have to note that as the USC I have totally changed my views on immigration in general!

okay so aside from my rant, I just want to pass the experience along to others because it blind-sided us and delayed our paperwork. I did post many q's in the AOS forum about it and it turns out that some people do go ahead file AOS without this form, just assuming that USCIS will match up the files (some get thru and some get RFE's - I am not willing to risk the RFE), and others are able to send there forms/vaccine records to a doc in Texas who will sign the form and mail it back to you for like $20.00 plus shipping, so much cheaper. I just wanted it over with so we sucked it up and paid

Oh, and as another side note - the "doctor' office" that are listed as an official "civil surgeoun" for USCIS was perhaps the scariest, most back woods, I-can't-believe-this-is-a-bonafied-health-care-professional kind of place I have ever seen! My husband was like "please tell this is not what doctor's offices are like in America!!!" Seriously, it was in this scary part of town, run down building next to a junk yard, he is an acupuncturist/GP(??), the office was crowded with random stuff and tiny, the receptionist had an ancient type typewriter piled on a stack of books she used to fill out our form, there were viles of blood just sitting in a box on her desk, all these notices from USCIS from the mid-1990's posted everywhere and then signs that this office is not equipped to help the disabled! - like a seen from a bad comedy! but whatever, we have a bizarre story and we got it done.

Good Luck to everyone on their continued journeys! We will post on our AOS experience as we go!

@ Debz - YAY!!!! you're almost here

@ Julez - have you filed AOS yet???

Cheers,

Sara

[*julez* 124]

Sara, we haven't filed our AOS yet. I know I'm going to have to suck it up and take more time off work to make it happen, but in the meantime, we've been so busy that we haven't really delved too far into it yet. We have designated this weekend as the one to get up to our elbows in it!

[tucson_chick 0]

sara, i'm so sorry that you didn't read about my immunization research!

the doctors charge different amounts for that! you really have to shop around and call them and ask how much they charge for that. i called 3 of the USCIS-docs here in town and they charged between 120 and 15 for it. i went to the one that charged 15 and it was SCARY!!!

but always call them and ask!!!!

have to run now!!!

hugs

agnes

[teachmehistory 0]

sara, i'm so sorry that you didn't read about my immunization research!

the doctors charge different amounts for that! you really have to shop around and call them and ask how much they charge for that. i called 3 of the USCIS-docs here in town and they charged between 120 and 15 for it. i went to the one that charged 15 and it was SCARY!!!

but always call them and ask!!!!

have to run now!!!

hugs

agnes

Agnes, thanks! I am sorry I missed it too - honestly with all the talk about it I have now found on the forum, I don't how I didn't see it earlier! I just thought I would post my experience to others headed that way because if I missed the warnings/posts about this hurdle, I thought others might too!

Julez - good luck getting into it this weekend!

Hugs to all!

Sara

[StillThePrettiest 4]

I'm still not clear on what you have to do - so you have the immunisation record from the visa medical check, and you take that somewhere, and the doctor - does what? puts a stamp on it? does a blood test? points a bone at the moon and howls like a wolf?

[*julez* 124]

balloons fell from the ceiling and everyone cheered and threw confetti and popped champagne corks*

That was my idea. I just made a couple phone calls, no big deal.

Kirk knows how to make anything happen.

What I still can't understand is why he didn't send the bunny with the pancake on its head It would have added that certain je ne sais quoi to the festivities!

[teachmehistory 0]

I'm still not clear on what you have to do - so you have the immunisation record from the visa medical check, and you take that somewhere, and the doctor - does what? puts a stamp on it? does a blood test? points a bone at the moon and howls like a wolf?

no no no silly, first they stick their finger in their mouth and hold it up to test the direction of the current winds, and then while chanting to the tune of ABBA (specific song is doctor dependent) they then stick said finger in your ear to do the 'wet willy, have you had all the right vaccines?' check!

seriously, you have to take the vaccination records (the little book we have in Matt's case) and show it to them, bring a copy of the I-693A form found here http://www.cdc.gov/NCIDOD/DQ/pdf/ti-03/appdx-a_693vacc.pdf and they look through your records, verify you have had all the right vaccines and fill out the form, sign it, and seal it in an envelope, signed over the seal (at least they did for us) to be sent to USCIS with AOS forms (we had them make us a copy before they sealed it up - the least they could do for $75.00! the list of civil surgeons in your area can be found here https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=of...office_type=CIV

Also, many people use this guy Dr. Arnold in Texas. ask in the AOS forum for contact info. apparently you can fax or mail in your forms and he will sign off on them for $20.00.

Some people do send in AOS without this form and are okay, others get RFE'd. I don't want the delay of an RFE!

I have been told by many people that this is a well-known hurdle since I posted my experience, but I didn't know about it so I thought others of my july/UK friends might not either and wanted to do my part to share info!

Sara

[StillThePrettiest 4]

well, I took my little book to the medical, and the woman there filled in a form, and gave me a copy, saying 'you'll need this later when you're adjusting status' - would that mean that's THE form? or just another step along the way?

[tucson_chick 0]

well, I took my little book to the medical, and the woman there filled in a form, and gave me a copy, saying 'you'll need this later when you're adjusting status' - would that mean that's THE form? or just another step along the way?

yep, i think that's the one

it's basically one more unnecessary hurdle in the way of a person that just moved to a new continent: call doctors offices (especially whenever it is not your mother language) and try to figure out the cheapest one, then drive across town in a new city, new continent, in a car you aren't used to.

and then you sit in between a weird crowd in the waiting area: for me it were the uninsured workers of mc donalds, burger king, wendy etc that got hurt at work.

it's all part of the game named: how to make your first weeks in the US as stressful and unpleasant as possible.

*sigh*

but, hey, we have our biometrics apt. next saturday that way eric can come with me. seriously, in this AOS-limbo you really feel like not worthy of being a human.

[teachmehistory 0]

well, I took my little book to the medical, and the woman there filled in a form, and gave me a copy, saying 'you'll need this later when you're adjusting status' - would that mean that's THE form? or just another step along the way?

is the form they gave you the DS-3025?? it is basically a duplicate of the I-693A in a different format. some people of the forum did just send in a copy of that instead of the I-693A to meet the requirement. As with everything in this process, it works for some and others said they were RFE's because needed the actual I-693A. Although, if you have this form, it would be handy to take along with you to the civil surgeon to fill out because it should make it quick to verify you have had all the vaccines!

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

Passed the behind the wheel test Why am I dancing here? With my experience it was just a piece of a cake anyways

Hope you are feeling better now Aly

[Ovaltine Jenkins 5]

well, I took my little book to the medical, and the woman there filled in a form, and gave me a copy, saying 'you'll need this later when you're adjusting status' - would that mean that's THE form? or just another step along the way?

Yeah sounds like it. If it´s the one in the sealed envelope. They said USCIS wouldn´t accept it if the envelope wasn´t sealed. Also I don´t know about others but in my case it wasn´t just a check of my vaccinations. They did the entire physical and also all the blood tests and all the other stuff. Basically the K1 medical all over again.

Sara, we haven't filed our AOS yet. I know I'm going to have to suck it up and take more time off work to make it happen, but in the meantime, we've been so busy that we haven't really delved too far into it yet. We have designated this weekend as the one to get up to our elbows in it!

Yeah we haven´t done it either since we have been so busy all the time but want to do it this week too. Maybe you and I send it at the same time

Debz Are you packed yet?

[tucson_chick 0]

congratulations to the drivers test! :)

[Jeraly 4]

sara, i'm so sorry that you didn't read about my immunization research!

the doctors charge different amounts for that! you really have to shop around and call them and ask how much they charge for that. i called 3 of the USCIS-docs here in town and they charged between 120 and 15 for it. i went to the one that charged 15 and it was SCARY!!!

but always call them and ask!!!!

I totally didn't know about this - no doubt I will be picking all your brains when I first move over - we are going to have about 6 weeks before we have the legal thing so plenty of time for me to get things in order - reading some of the posts here I feel like I did before I filed K-1... I mean - I don't even know all the form names off by heart!!

Passed the behind the wheel test Why am I dancing here? With my experience it was just a piece of a cake anyways

Hope you are feeling better now Aly

Gratzies!! And thanks! I am feeling well enough to come into work but not so great that I am back to normal - I can speak now though which is a bonus as my job involves phoning people. I have to try and get sneaky coughing fits in when on hold though which is interesting - am sure I will end up deafening some poor soul