US Immigration from Australia

I got my green card today, despite opening my yellow "do not open" medical packet. Yes I know I am a bad boy

It all started back in November 2020 after I received my medical exam and passport/visa in the mail, it was a little ripped at the bottom but definitely something I would consider to still be "sealed". I was sure to take good care of it in order to ensure it did not get any further rips, due to the ominous warning printed on the front of the packet. I believe it was something like

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He who shall gaze inside will surely die a horrible and slow death waiting for their RFE to be approved

My point of entry in November 2020 at LAX seemed normal up until I reached the desk of the CBP officer. She asked the usual questions, including strangely enough "have you entered on this K-1 visa previously", before stamping and writing over it to render it's one time use null and void. When I offered to hand her the cursed treasure she refused, saying it was not needed. I took her word and kept it with me.

After submitting my AOS packet and getting the NOA-1 I had some time to relax, yet glowing in the corner of the room in the filing cabinet was the packet. It's presence growing stronger as the days turned into weeks, I could not resist for much longer. Having such an important piece that should not be in the hands of a mere K-1 entrant was just un-natural in my mind, everything I read online said the CBP officer should take the packet as it was needed for AOS. What was a man supposed to do knowing the forbidden fruit was just a slice of a letter opener away?

So I opened it. I felt its power rush through me the moment the yellow seal broke apart and revealed what laid within, once again free to feel the outside air.

It was the usual expected stuff, my original copy of the medical report, xray CD, the original I-129F I submitted with handwritten comments of the officer who gave me my original approval. I put the Xray CD into a computer and viewed my results, they were just image files on it easily viewable with any device. I dug through and for a limited time was able to experience how the USCIS officer felt as they gave me the go ahead for an approved petition. Then I finally slept, comfortable with the illicit knowledge that I had obtained, put all my worries to rest and considered it over. But was it?

Eventually I got the biometrics interview, followed by my EAD/AP combo card, then finally the dreaded AOS interview. At this point it had been at least 6 months since I had last touched the opened yellow folder, I wasn't even thinking about it. My mind had decided that USCIS was now using a new paperless system for K-1 entries rendering the yellow packet incomplete. After all I had to be approved at my K-1 interview with that same medical examination.

The interview went normally, everything appeared to be fine until the very end when the USCIS interviewer uttered

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Unfortunately we didn't get sent your medical exam so I will write you up a letter that will allow you to get another one

In this moment I sit there shocked, you mean the $700 collection of papers that I have sitting in a filing cabinet at home? Of course I did not say such a thing. I could not argue with a USCIS employee who as far as he was concerned, did not have everything he needed to approve my green card. I told him that I think I have the yellow packet at home, he asked if it had been opened, my mind panicked and I said "I don't recall". He paused for a moment before continuing and asking me to send it in, but did specifically say if the "do not open" packet could be opened. The medical exam had to be the original and not a copy, this was asserted multiple times, but nothing about whether it has to be open. He provided me with an address and the first thing I did upon returning home (and getting an "I told you so" from the wife) was located that packet and rush to the nearest post office to get it shipped to the USCIS field office ASAP.

For the next month and a half I was worried about the future, would I have to get a new medical exam? Go through the whole process again this time in the United States, pay all the fees for something that should've been completely redundant. But these worries did eventually fade away on the day I got my AOS approval letter, welcoming me to the country which I have lived in for the last 11 months.

And that's about it, the story of how I did the one thing I wasn't supposed to do, yet somehow ended up pulling through and receiving my green card.

The moral of the story? Even if the CBP officer and point of entry refuses to take your packet, make sure you still have it for the interview. Preferably unopened, as you may not be as lucky as me.

Hi all, I have a query.

How does one get to speak to a live person customer service, when phoning USCIS when in the US on 800-375-5283?

Usually in the past, I have got onto someone.

I'm wondering whether this is a new protocol to save money. Many thanks!

I (30M) am the USC and spouse(27M) and I live in Australia together (I'm a dual citizen). We're shortly to have our CR1 interview, and our joint sponsor fell through. We don't have an option for another one because I actually don't have family in the US because my mom moved back here after she and USC stepdad split up.

I'm an actor (so is spouse), and I work consistently, and I work internationally, including several tours in the US over the past few years. I have an American CPA going through my tax returns, US and foreign, from the past ten years which includes time before I moved to Australia to write an attestation letter to establish that my current international self-employed income as a performer is USD$XX,XXX and that it should reasonably be expected to continue when we relocate to the US. We also have modest cash savings to include as well. This is all to satisfy the income requirement.

Then, we're including evidence to build our case in the statutory factors for consideration (age, health, skills/education, financial resources, family status). We're including pay stubs from very lucrative projects when spouse worked in the US under the OPT and O1 visas, letters from both my talent manager and his commercial talent agent speaking to our employability, transcripts from spouse's and my degrees both earned in the US that correspond to our career paths, perhaps including an opinion letter from spouse's labor union in the United States. We're trying to put together an absolutely rock solid case that we're both employable.

We know it's nontraditional. I don't expect anyone reading this to really understand an acting career. An immigration lawyer that we had a consultation with said we're on the right track, and that he'd be giving the same legal advice to someone else in our position, and that we also present very well. We know we're going to be playing hard to the consular officer's discretion.

I'd love to hear if there were any other interesting, unique, nontraditional I-864 success stories out there?

A little background for no reason. My husband came to the US at the end of November of 2020 on the VWP from Australia and by Christmas... found out I was pregnant. So we decided to get married and he adjust status after consulting multiple attorneys for advice. This was the first time we had met in person after two years of an online relationship and naturally we are worried about how our case will be received because of how little evidence we have of a "true" relationship together.

We had to get an attorney on short notice and just went with the first one to take our case that would do it the fastest and by fastest that still meant a super long wait. He was supposed to leave February 18th 2021. We were married February 9th 2021 and we were notified by the attorney that they filed the first package while I was at the hospital having just given birth on August 19th 2021. I don't hear from the attorney again until the day before I receive a rejection notice in the mail for the "address field was not completed" and the entire package that was filed is being returned and had to be refiled. Well my attorney says to me that they have proof that they had three people go over the papers before sending it and everything was correct. So they send it again. I don't hear from her again and then the September 17th I receive another rejection notice for "Address field" again. But my attorney states that they were sent back the package with it saying a page was missing but it was actually out of order so they were going to resubmit it with a letter to the IO AND a flash drive with a copy of the paperwork on it and the paper package. Then I get another call the other day from my attorney saying that the package was returned again. Because a page was missing again but when it was sent back it was sent back out of order? I have yet to receive the rejection notice in the mail yet so I don't know if it says "Address Field" again but my attorney says that she is going to file online and by mail but online is bad because it "doesn't tell the full story"? and that she called and waited hours to talk to USCIS and see what was going on because she is frustrated and she has heard from other attorney friends that this is happening to their clients as well. Is this happening to anyone else or is this just me and my attorney is making mistakes? My husband is overstaying WAYYYY past and he needs this submitted now. I contacted our local Congresswoman and she is submitting an inquiry on my behalf so we will see what she gets back from the Chicago lockbox on why they keep being returned I guess. Sorry for the long post.

Hey everyone,

just after a bit of help on what to do. So I received my notice of action with the 18 month visa extension (filed in early august) My first name is spelled incorrectly, so i did the typographic error form. Last status update was 54 days ago which said my name was updated.

Just received my biometrics appt but the name was still spelled incorrectly and have since completed another typographic form.

My visa and drivers license expires on 25th October. I doubt the dmv will renew my license with a spelling error on the form that is also my proof of residency. Does anyone think I could get this fixed up at my biometrics appointment? All I need is just another copy of the form but with my name spelled correctly.