BINATIONAL SAME SEX COUPLES !! Show up!

[Sukie 1,444]

I'm struggling with preparing the letters of intent to marry because, if the Supreme Court takes up one of the marriage cases they're considering on Jan. 9 and upholds the lower court decisions, it could potentially undo the legalization of same-sex marriage in North Carolina. Do you think the following will cover all our bases?

I, petitioner's name, do hereby state that I am legally able and willing to marry beneficiary's name (whose preferred name is XXX), and I intend to do so within 90 days of his arrival into the United States using the K-1 visa.

On October 10, 2014, Judge Max Cogburn overturned North Carolina’s Amendment 1, passed May 8, 2012, that had defined marriage in the state constitution as the union of one man and one woman; since Judge Cogburn’s ruling, same-sex marriages have been performed legally in North Carolina. Please see an attached copy of a news article from the North Carolina Court Systems announcing the overturning of Amendment 1 (next page); please also note that it says page “1 of 2” but that the second page was blank.

It is our plan, following the beneficiary’s entry into the United States, to obtain a civil marriage in North Carolina; once we have filed for adjustment of status, we will begin planning a Jewish wedding ceremony at (our place of worship) in (a city), NC, to be attended by our friends and both of our families.

If a future ruling by the United States Supreme Court reverses the legality of same-sex marriage in North Carolina, my fiancé and I will travel to Washington, D.C., to be legally married; Washington, D.C. legalized same-sex marriage in December 2009 through legislative action and thereby would not be affected by a decision effecting same-sex marriage legalized through court cases. Following our marriage in Washington, D.C., we will adjust status and continue with planning our religious ceremony as previously stated.

Additionally, must my fiance's letter be identical to mine, or would simply the first paragraph suffice since I've already outlined our wedding plans?

Darren

Darren,

I think your letter is great. It shows that you completely understand the legal situation you are in, and that you have a valid contingency plan should SCOTUS scuttle NC law. I think your fiance does not have to repeat your words exactly, but he should say that you and he will marry in a jurisdiction where your marriage is legal. He can say that both of you are currently planning to marry in North Carolina, but will switch to Washington DC if necessary. In other words, let him paraphrase your words without all the legal-beaglese.

Best to you both! I'm hoping the Supremes will end this farcical law ####### once and for all!!!

Sukie in NY

[pinayanne27 8]

We are a bit confused with the latest ruling in Florida regarding same sex marriage.

Is it now legal to get married in 67 counties in FLorida?

[Sukie 1,444]

We are a bit confused with the latest ruling in Florida regarding same sex marriage.

Is it now legal to get married in 67 counties in FLorida?

Looks like you are good to go on Monday, January 5th!!!

http://www.scotusblog.com/2015/01/same-sex-marriage-close-to-reality-in-florida/#more-223412

Sukie in NY

[dsldesch 27]

Darren,

I think your letter is great. It shows that you completely understand the legal situation you are in, and that you have a valid contingency plan should SCOTUS scuttle NC law. I think your fiance does not have to repeat your words exactly, but he should say that you and he will marry in a jurisdiction where your marriage is legal. He can say that both of you are currently planning to marry in North Carolina, but will switch to Washington DC if necessary. In other words, let him paraphrase your words without all the legal-beaglese.

Best to you both! I'm hoping the Supremes will end this farcical law ####### once and for all!!!

Sukie in NY

Thank you, Sukie. I greatly appreciate your feedback and encourage. I, too, hope the Supreme Court will settle this once and for all finally.

* * *

In other news, being back is much harder than I was hoping it would be. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to cope with being apart?

[dsldesch 27]

Hello everyone! I hope your New Year is off to a great start. My fiance and I are, we believe, just a few weeks out from finally filing, but we're also looking into applying for a visitor's visa so he can attend my graduation in May since it's unlikely we'll have the K-1 before then (and even if we did, he's in a class until June). Does anyone have advice for same-sex couples visiting during the visa application process, such as special considerations or PoEs to avoid/favor? I know entry on a visitor's visa is ultimately up to the officer at the PoE, and I wouldn't want anything to keep us apart.

[Davesings 30]

Hello everyone! I hope your New Year is off to a great start. My fiance and I are, we believe, just a few weeks out from finally filing, but we're also looking into applying for a visitor's visa so he can attend my graduation in May since it's unlikely we'll have the K-1 before then (and even if we did, he's in a class until June). Does anyone have advice for same-sex couples visiting during the visa application process, such as special considerations or PoEs to avoid/favor? I know entry on a visitor's visa is ultimately up to the officer at the PoE, and I wouldn't want anything to keep us apart.

If he comes into the country during the K1 process have him bring a copy whatever NOAs you have, and also any evidence that he still has ties to his home country such as employment verification or lease, in case they ask if he has been coming repeatedly into the country, but we never had a problem so it might not be needed but that is what we did.

[pinayanne27 8]

Hello everyone!

I would like to ask for those who already passed their AOS.

we are both girls, so now i'm confused if i should write my hubby's maiden name in G-325A "Current husband or wives family name (for wife, give maiden name).

For both girls relationship, are we both considered as wives?

[JimmyHou 610]

Hello everyone!

I would like to ask for those who already passed their AOS.

we are both girls, so now i'm confused if i should write my hubby's maiden name in G-325A "Current husband or wives family name (for wife, give maiden name).

For both girls relationship, are we both considered as wives?

Are you legally married? If so, then yes, each of you is the other's wife.

I'm confused by your use of the word "hubby" which is short for husband, so I may have misunderstood your question.

[pinayanne27 8]

Are you legally married? If so, then yes, each of you is the other's wife.

I'm confused by your use of the word "hubby" which is short for husband, so I may have misunderstood your question.

Oh sorry for the confusion. We're both girls, but i call her my hubby and i'm her wifey. But in the application: are we both considered as wives?

[JimmyHou 610]

Oh sorry for the confusion. We're both girls, but i call her my hubby and i'm her wifey. But in the application: are we both considered as wives?

1- That's cute :-)

2- Yep, as long as you were legally married. For example, if you had a ceremony in Texas, it wouldn't be legally binding, but if you have a marriage certificate from Washington, then it's all legal and official.

[Sukie 1,444]

Oh sorry for the confusion. We're both girls, but i call her my hubby and i'm her wifey. But in the application: are we both considered as wives?

Just substitute "spouse" for "Husband/wife". And remember which one of you is the "sponsor" and the "beneficiary"!

Good luck!

Sukie in NY

[NYCruiser 423]

To piggy back on this thread....we just referred to each other the first time as Spouse 'Name David' and Name 'John'..as an example. Then afterwards in the letter of intent by just the name. Hope it helps

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

As far as maiden names go, I don't know how all the federal folks are doing it, but I know that when we got married in the state of Massachusetts, they required us to put the maiden name of both parents (even in the case of our fathers whose names had not changed) on the marriage application. It may be best to write it twice for government forms. Once in regular place and once in maiden name, even though the name did not change. I'm not sure if others would agree, but that was my state level experience in one locale. It even caused us problems because my father's name was too long that way for the electronic forms to parse. It was quite nerve wracking.

[redraidermty 3]

We had our interview today and I'm happy to report that we got approved in the spot. We arrived at the site about 15 minutes early and there were 3 couples ahead of us. Our appointment was right at noon so I kind of anticipated that we might have a little bit of a wait. The three couples ahead of us went in fairly quickly. By this time another couple arrived and put the notice in the slot. About 10 minutes after that they were called but not us. Lol

We waited about an hour before the IO came and called my husband name and we both stood up but he said, only him...

So I got a little nervous because we were the only couple that got separated, less than 10 minutes passed and the IO and the hubby came out, the IO asked me to come in, we walked to the office and he swore me in. I forgot to mention that we had a binder full of evidence (deed of house, letter from the bank stating our joint account, insurance policies with both of our names, sworn affidavits of friends, bill on both of our names and about 50 pictures). He asked for our marriage licence, birth certificate, my passport and visa (border crossing card) then he asked me my full legal name, my birthday, date of marriage, full legal name and date of birth of hubby and how we met then a brief explanation on the date we met until today. After that he made a bunch of marks in red on the applications and asked me the yes or no questions. Right after that he told me that he was going to go ahead and approve our petition. The whole process from when they called the hubby until he told me that was less than 10 minutes and he never asked for more evidence or look at the pictures, after all the effort I but on the binder. Oh well.

About 10 minutes after leaving the office I got the notifications that my card is in production and a welcome notice has been mailed. Good luck to everybody that are still in the process.

Cheers!

[pkie1985 6]

Anyone from Chicago here?

We filed papers in may 2014. Me and my hub had an interview on Dec 11th 2014. It lasted maybe 7 min. We were asked generic questions. The IO looked at couple bills. Asked how long we been together (6years) and how we met. That's was it. Than she said that our application is approved and we should get the green card in 2 weeks. Well and this is when our luck stops. We haven't received any mail or gc since that time. I went infopass in January. The IO said that everything looks good and we should hear something in 30 days. Well we haven't. Again. My next infopass is scheduled for February 18th. I don't know what is going on in Chocago. But it seems like they are overloaded or something. What the hell?