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NihonJim

Starting our I-485, have some questions!

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Japan
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Good evening VJ!

 

Short history- My fiance and I submitted the 129F last year in January, and finally got her approval in November.  I flew to Japan to see her and some family/friends for new years, and we flew back to the states together two weeks ago. 

 

We were planning to get her SSN first, but ended up getting married first on Jan 14th because that's just how things happened.  We have also applied for her SSN on Jan 18th, and are still waiting for it to show up.  Would have preferred the other way, but not sure it would have mattered, as the courthouse was unwilling to change her name, and told us we need a court order (#######, I thought that was part of the marriage license/application).

 

So now our plan is to get her SSN, get her driver's license, green card, etc, and then go change her name on everything.  Super pain in the ### I think, but I don't think we have a choice.

 

Anyway, we're now filling out her I-485 (probably will submit in a few weeks) and ran into a few questions.

 

First page- the A-Number.  Is this the number that appears above her name in the Beneficiary box on our I797 approval for her I129f?

 

Page 2- Travel Document number - since she came in with her passport, we don't need to fill out the travel document number info?

 

Page 2 - 21 - Date of last arrival........this on is tricky.  Bear with me.......

 

   We flew from Japan to the states on January 11th.  We had a layover in Toronto, Canada, which is actually a US port of entry.  We went through US customs and border protection, they went through her K1 paperwork, stamped her visa on the 11th, and sent us on our way. 

   Here we are, sitting on the plane, anxiously awaiting getting back to he US.  The flight gets cancelled.  Apparently they didn't have enough staff on board to meet requirements.  A flight attendant was sick and couldn't make it.  Their replacement was unable to clear US CBP before they closed for the night, so the flight had to be cancelled.  Well #######, what now?  We are ushered back into the terminal, and back through Canadian immigration.  I was trying to get somebody to let us just sleep at the gate, because otherwise, we'd have to come back through US CBP, and K1 is a one-entry only visa.  Nope, they won't let us.  So we are forced through Canadian immigration, and get our hotel for the night.

   We arrived early the next morning for our flight (good thing too, things were backed up).  When we went to speak to the border agent they initially didn't want to let her through, as she used her one entry the night before, even though we never actually entered America.  After explaining the situation with the cancelled flight, the agent spoke to their manager, and said that she was free to enter the country.  We land at our final destination, pick up our bags, and go home.

 

Well now which date do we use?  Her passport is stamped the 11th, but her I94 says the 12th. 

 

Page 3- number 2- applying based on INA 245i?  since she's a K1 (family-based) this is a yes?

 

Page 4- receipt number of underlying petition - is this our 129f petition number?

 

Page 9- general eligibility - If she was a member of the girl scouts in her country, is this the type of organizations they want to know about, or just the not-so-nice organizations?

 

 

Thanks a million in advance for the help!  My brain is about to leak out of my head from trying to make sense of some of the super-vague questions, and we're both ready to just get this stuff done.

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4 minutes ago, NihonJim said:

Good evening VJ!

 

Short history- My fiance and I submitted the 129F last year in January, and finally got her approval in November.  I flew to Japan to see her and some family/friends for new years, and we flew back to the states together two weeks ago. 

 

We were planning to get her SSN first, but ended up getting married first on Jan 14th because that's just how things happened.  We have also applied for her SSN on Jan 18th, and are still waiting for it to show up.  Would have preferred the other way, but not sure it would have mattered, as the courthouse was unwilling to change her name, and told us we need a court order (#######, I thought that was part of the marriage license/application). Sounds like you applied for the SSN in her married name or a name that did not match her passport/I94 which is a problem. See below.

 

So now our plan is to get her SSN, get her driver's license, green card, etc, and then go change her name on everything.  Super pain in the ### I think, but I don't think we have a choice.

SSN likely will be denied if you applied in her married name as the name has to match DHS records. You can reapply after EAD is issued in her married name or fill out the SSN application section on the I765.

 

DLs vary state to state but she likely wont get one until her status changes with EAD or GC, whichever comes first. Google the rules in your state for immigrant DLs. 

 

Apply for AOS, EAD, AP in her married name. That will allow her to change her name with DHS and then everything is east from there. NOTE. Some states will not allow middle name changes if that's what you were trying to do. Most times you can only change the surname. So apply for AOS with the surname change only and then once you get the GC you can pay for an elaborate name change. 

 

Anyway, we're now filling out her I-485 (probably will submit in a few weeks) and ran into a few questions.

 

First page- the A-Number.  Is this the number that appears above her name in the Beneficiary box on our I797 approval for her I129f? 

Yes.

 

Page 2- Travel Document number - since she came in with her passport, we don't need to fill out the travel document number info? Correct. Its EITHER passport # OR travel document #. Not both. "N/A" for travel document #.

 

Page 2 - 21 - Date of last arrival........this on is tricky.  Bear with me.......

 

   We flew from Japan to the states on January 11th.  We had a layover in Toronto, Canada, which is actually a US port of entry.  We went through US customs and border protection, they went through her K1 paperwork, stamped her visa on the 11th, and sent us on our way. 

   Here we are, sitting on the plane, anxiously awaiting getting back to he US.  The flight gets cancelled.  Apparently they didn't have enough staff on board to meet requirements.  A flight attendant was sick and couldn't make it.  Their replacement was unable to clear US CBP before they closed for the night, so the flight had to be cancelled.  Well #######, what now?  We are ushered back into the terminal, and back through Canadian immigration.  I was trying to get somebody to let us just sleep at the gate, because otherwise, we'd have to come back through US CBP, and K1 is a one-entry only visa.  Nope, they won't let us.  So we are forced through Canadian immigration, and get our hotel for the night.

   We arrived early the next morning for our flight (good thing too, things were backed up).  When we went to speak to the border agent they initially didn't want to let her through, as she used her one entry the night before, even though we never actually entered America.  After explaining the situation with the cancelled flight, the agent spoke to their manager, and said that she was free to enter the country.  We land at our final destination, pick up our bags, and go home.

 

Well now which date do we use?  Her passport is stamped the 11th, but her I94 says the 12th. Eeeee you totally hit the lottery of luck with that one. They shouldnt have let her through. Use the I94 date and explain why it's different then the passport stamp in an additional information section. 

 

Page 3- number 2- applying based on INA 245i?  since she's a K1 (family-based) this is a yes? NO! INA 245(i) is for people who are not otherwise eligible for Adjustment of Status (e.g. due to illegal entry) who were the beneficiaries of a petition filed before 2001. Pick "no".

 

Page 4- receipt number of underlying petition - is this our 129f petition number?

Yes and your NOA1 receipt date for the next question.

 

Page 9- general eligibility - If she was a member of the girl scouts in her country, is this the type of organizations they want to know about, or just the not-so-nice organizations?

I'm not sure. And it says if you are not sure, select "yes" and explain it. Better to be safe than sorry and let them decide instead of not disclosing and them calling you out for it, right?

 

Thanks a million in advance for the help!  My brain is about to leak out of my head from trying to make sense of some of the super-vague questions, and we're both ready to just get this stuff done.

 

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Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Netherlands
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Just now, NihonJim said:

Good evening VJ!

 

Short history- My fiance and I submitted the 129F last year in January, and finally got her approval in November.  I flew to Japan to see her and some family/friends for new years, and we flew back to the states together two weeks ago. 

 

We were planning to get her SSN first, but ended up getting married first on Jan 14th because that's just how things happened.  We have also applied for her SSN on Jan 18th, and are still waiting for it to show up.  Would have preferred the other way, but not sure it would have mattered, as the courthouse was unwilling to change her name, and told us we need a court order (#######, I thought that was part of the marriage license/application).

 

So now our plan is to get her SSN, get her driver's license, green card, etc, and then go change her name on everything.  Super pain in the ### I think, but I don't think we have a choice.

 

Anyway, we're now filling out her I-485 (probably will submit in a few weeks) and ran into a few questions.

 

First page- the A-Number.  Is this the number that appears above her name in the Beneficiary box on our I797 approval for her I129f? Yes, the number that says A-....

 

Page 2- Travel Document number - since she came in with her passport, we don't need to fill out the travel document number info? If she has put her passport number already in another box then leave this blank or put N/A

 

Page 2 - 21 - Date of last arrival........this on is tricky.  Bear with me.......

 

   We flew from Japan to the states on January 11th.  We had a layover in Toronto, Canada, which is actually a US port of entry.  We went through US customs and border protection, they went through her K1 paperwork, stamped her visa on the 11th, and sent us on our way. 

   Here we are, sitting on the plane, anxiously awaiting getting back to he US.  The flight gets cancelled.  Apparently they didn't have enough staff on board to meet requirements.  A flight attendant was sick and couldn't make it.  Their replacement was unable to clear US CBP before they closed for the night, so the flight had to be cancelled.  Well #######, what now?  We are ushered back into the terminal, and back through Canadian immigration.  I was trying to get somebody to let us just sleep at the gate, because otherwise, we'd have to come back through US CBP, and K1 is a one-entry only visa.  Nope, they won't let us.  So we are forced through Canadian immigration, and get our hotel for the night.

   We arrived early the next morning for our flight (good thing too, things were backed up).  When we went to speak to the border agent they initially didn't want to let her through, as she used her one entry the night before, even though we never actually entered America.  After explaining the situation with the cancelled flight, the agent spoke to their manager, and said that she was free to enter the country.  We land at our final destination, pick up our bags, and go home.

 

Well now which date do we use?  Her passport is stamped the 11th, but her I94 says the 12th. Go with the date of the I-94 and send an explanation with the I-485 why the stamp in her passport is different then her I-94.

 

Page 3- number 2- applying based on INA 245i?  since she's a K1 (family-based) this is a yes? USCIS website states the following:

 

Q2. Who are the "certain persons" covered under Section 245(i) adjustment of status? A2. Those covered by the provision are listed at Section 245(a) and (c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and include individuals who: Entered the United States illegally; Worked in the United States illegally, Failed to maintain continuously lawful status, Entered under the Visa Waiver Pilot Program, Entered as foreign crewmen, and Entered as foreign travelers in transit without a visa.

 

Page 4- receipt number of underlying petition - is this our 129f petition number? Yes

 

Page 9- general eligibility - If she was a member of the girl scouts in her country, is this the type of organizations they want to know about, or just the not-so-nice organizations? Can you be more specific about the question? 

 

Don't wanna come off rude here at all, but a lot of the answers above I got from 5 minutes of Google. Try to use Google and previous topics on VJ, it's very helpful and usually a little faster

 

Thanks a million in advance for the help!  My brain is about to leak out of my head from trying to make sense of some of the super-vague questions, and we're both ready to just get this stuff done.

 

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Japan
Timeline
10 minutes ago, K1visaHopeful said:

 

Definitely applied in her maiden name, just double checked the form.  Also double checked the marriage license, it definitely has her name on it, and the maiden name box is blank.  Think the court clerk screwed us on this one.

 

We'll keep plowing through this stuff, hopefully our heads don't explode.  Thanks!

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1 minute ago, NihonJim said:

Definitely applied in her maiden name, just double checked the form.  Also double checked the marriage license, it definitely has her name on it, and the maiden name box is blank.  Think the court clerk screwed us on this one.

 

We'll keep plowing through this stuff, hopefully our heads don't explode.  Thanks!

I see. It was a clerical error. Have you gone back there and asked what you need to do. After all it's their fault right?

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Filed: K-1 Visa Country: Japan
Timeline
33 minutes ago, K1visaHopeful said:

I see. It was a clerical error. Have you gone back there and asked what you need to do. After all it's their fault right?

When we got married I asked about it, but was told that we need a court order.  Unfortunately, I've read that she needs to live in this county for six months before they'll do a name change.  However, I've also ready that she just needs to fill out the form and we're good.

 

I'm going to swing by the courthouse tomorrow and see exactly what is up.  The lady who helped us last time was of no help at all.  She rushed us through the marriage paperwork in an effort to go home a few minutes earlier.

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Filed: Lift. Cond. (pnd) Country: Japan
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4 minutes ago, NihonJim said:

When we got married I asked about it, but was told that we need a court order.  Unfortunately, I've read that she needs to live in this county for six months before they'll do a name change.  However, I've also ready that she just needs to fill out the form and we're good.

 

I'm going to swing by the courthouse tomorrow and see exactly what is up.  The lady who helped us last time was of no help at all.  She rushed us through the marriage paperwork in an effort to go home a few minutes earlier.

She will just go to her embassy and do the name change there by letting them know she’s married(with the marriage certificate) and then get a new passport and her name will be changed. She doesn’t need to go through US court for name change.

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21 hours ago, C90 said:

Page 4- receipt number of underlying petition - is this our 129f petition number? Yes

I totally missed this box on our forms - I've printed everything off and it was ready to send off tomorrow. Think it's okay to hand write these in when the rest of the form is printed? What would have happened if I hadn't noticed?

K1 NOA1: 2018-01-26

K1 NOA2: 2018-08-06

NVC received: 2018-09-04

K1 Interview: 2018-11-14

K1 Visa in hand: 2018-11-22

POE: 2018-12-13

SSN application: 2019-01-08

Marriage: 2019-01-18 (the best bit!)

SSN in hand: 2019-01-28

AOS application: 2019-01-31

EAD application: 2019-01-31

AP application: 2019-01-31

AOS NOA1: 2019-02-14 

EAD NOA1: 2019-02-14

AP NOA1: 2019-02-14

BIOMETRICS: 2019-03-04

AOS Interview: 2020-02-06

AOS approved: 2020-02-06

Green Card in Hand: 2020-02-20

ROC packet sent: 2021-12-08

ROC Biometrics: 2022-01-29

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Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Netherlands
Timeline
Just now, adamj7 said:

I totally missed this box on our forms - I've printed everything off and it was ready to send off tomorrow. Think it's okay to hand write these in when the rest of the form is printed? What would have happened if I hadn't noticed?

Yes, you can manually check it, USCIS doesn't care. If you wouldn't have noticed it you'd probably get an RFE for it

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Just now, C90 said:

Yes, you can manually check it, USCIS doesn't care. If you wouldn't have noticed it you'd probably get an RFE for it

okay - I have an email from the NVC and it has loads of different numbers listed, is it the case number or the USCIS receipt number? and the date of the email right? We also got a paper receipt in the mail - would it be from that?

Thanks

K1 NOA1: 2018-01-26

K1 NOA2: 2018-08-06

NVC received: 2018-09-04

K1 Interview: 2018-11-14

K1 Visa in hand: 2018-11-22

POE: 2018-12-13

SSN application: 2019-01-08

Marriage: 2019-01-18 (the best bit!)

SSN in hand: 2019-01-28

AOS application: 2019-01-31

EAD application: 2019-01-31

AP application: 2019-01-31

AOS NOA1: 2019-02-14 

EAD NOA1: 2019-02-14

AP NOA1: 2019-02-14

BIOMETRICS: 2019-03-04

AOS Interview: 2020-02-06

AOS approved: 2020-02-06

Green Card in Hand: 2020-02-20

ROC packet sent: 2021-12-08

ROC Biometrics: 2022-01-29

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Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Netherlands
Timeline
Just now, adamj7 said:

okay - I have an email from the NVC and it has loads of different numbers listed, is it the case number or the USCIS receipt number? and the date of the email right? We also got a paper receipt in the mail - would it be from that?

Thanks

 

Page 4- receipt number of underlying petition - is this our 129f petition number? Yes <-- here's your answer. It's the receipt number of your I-129F, aka your case number you got when you started this process with USCIS. The NVC case number is consulate related, don't fill that out on these papers.

Your other questions are very confusing, try to organise them a little more and be a little more clear on what you want so I actually know what you're asking.

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Just now, C90 said:

 

Page 4- receipt number of underlying petition - is this our 129f petition number? Yes <-- here's your answer. It's the receipt number of your I-129F, aka your case number you got when you started this process with USCIS. The NVC case number is consulate related, don't fill that out on these papers.

Your other questions are very confusing, try to organise them a little more and be a little more clear on what you want so I actually know what you're asking.

Sorry - Just to check; the number to put in the first box is the case number from when we first got notification that USCIS had received our i-129f in January last year, and the date of which (01/22/2018) would be put into the next box?

K1 NOA1: 2018-01-26

K1 NOA2: 2018-08-06

NVC received: 2018-09-04

K1 Interview: 2018-11-14

K1 Visa in hand: 2018-11-22

POE: 2018-12-13

SSN application: 2019-01-08

Marriage: 2019-01-18 (the best bit!)

SSN in hand: 2019-01-28

AOS application: 2019-01-31

EAD application: 2019-01-31

AP application: 2019-01-31

AOS NOA1: 2019-02-14 

EAD NOA1: 2019-02-14

AP NOA1: 2019-02-14

BIOMETRICS: 2019-03-04

AOS Interview: 2020-02-06

AOS approved: 2020-02-06

Green Card in Hand: 2020-02-20

ROC packet sent: 2021-12-08

ROC Biometrics: 2022-01-29

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Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Netherlands
Timeline
Just now, adamj7 said:

Sorry - Just to check; the number to put in the first box is the case number from when we first got notification that USCIS had received our i-129f in January last year, and the date of which (01/22/2018) would be put into the next box?

I don't know the forms by heart, what does it ask? If it asks 'receipt number of underlying petition' you put your WAC (I think that was the K1) receipt number. If it asks priority date, you put in the priority date from the NOA1. If there's no priority date you just put the receipt date of NOA1

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6 minutes ago, C90 said:

I don't know the forms by heart, what does it ask? If it asks 'receipt number of underlying petition' you put your WAC (I think that was the K1) receipt number. If it asks priority date, you put in the priority date from the NOA1. If there's no priority date you just put the receipt date of NOA1

ok great thanks - it does ask for "receipt number of underlying petition" and "priority date". 

 

I'll have to dig out the receipt we received in the mail for those numbers as I can't find an email with them, assuming they're different to the WAC number we received in September when the case was transferred to NVC.

K1 NOA1: 2018-01-26

K1 NOA2: 2018-08-06

NVC received: 2018-09-04

K1 Interview: 2018-11-14

K1 Visa in hand: 2018-11-22

POE: 2018-12-13

SSN application: 2019-01-08

Marriage: 2019-01-18 (the best bit!)

SSN in hand: 2019-01-28

AOS application: 2019-01-31

EAD application: 2019-01-31

AP application: 2019-01-31

AOS NOA1: 2019-02-14 

EAD NOA1: 2019-02-14

AP NOA1: 2019-02-14

BIOMETRICS: 2019-03-04

AOS Interview: 2020-02-06

AOS approved: 2020-02-06

Green Card in Hand: 2020-02-20

ROC packet sent: 2021-12-08

ROC Biometrics: 2022-01-29

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Filed: AOS (apr) Country: Netherlands
Timeline
30 minutes ago, adamj7 said:

ok great thanks - it does ask for "receipt number of underlying petition" and "priority date". 

 

I'll have to dig out the receipt we received in the mail for those numbers as I can't find an email with them, assuming they're different to the WAC number we received in September when the case was transferred to NVC.

Receipt number = case number I-129F. You can find this on the NOA1 you got right after filing I-129F. Here you can also find the receipt or priority date

Edited by C90
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