US Immigration from Russia

My parents divorced when I was a kid and I stayed with my mother while my father moved to the U.S. My father became a U.S. citizen and I immigrated when I was 16 years old and got my Green Card. I'm now 24 and finally decided to obtain a U.S. passport. For those wondering why I did not obtain my passport earlier, I'll just say it wasn't that easy. My home country does not allow dual citizenship and I had to visit my mother once in a while, so I was okay with my Green Card. But now my national passport is about to expire, so I decided to get a U.S passport. I applied a few months ago (even though I paid for the expedited service, which is supposed to be 4-6 weeks and I still haven't gotten my passport). They asked for my parents divorce certificate and evidence of legal and physical custody. I provided a lot of evidence for the physical custody, which was easy to collect, such as medical records, tax documents, school records that specify my father as my guardian. For the legal custody, I translated and notarized my mother's written agreement that states that she gives her permission for me to live with my father, which was written when I was leaving my home country at the age of 16. However, nothing happened for months, and my application was still "in process" according to the Passport Center website. I wrote them a letter and received a phone call a few days later. They said that I provided proof for the physical custody but they need a court decision specifying legal custody. I explained that my home country does not give such court decision when parents divorce, unless there is a disagreement and one parent sues another. They said that they need to talk to their legal department to resolve this issue and see if my documents would be sufficient.

Just wanted to ask if anyone had the same problem and how it resolved for you? What documents did you provide for the legal custody? And how long did this process take for you?

Hello everyone!

We got married two days ago. I'm here with B2 visa.

Now we are filling out documents for status adjustment.

So i have some questions:

1. Should we sent I-130 and I-485 forms at the same time, or I-130 first then waiting for approval and then I-485. I believe girl i know sent it all at one time.

2. There is qustion In I-130 form "Beneficiary native written language...". I'm from Russia and i took my husband's las name here after marriage i'm not sure how my new American last name should be trasliterated in Russian documents. Should i type there what do i think it's supposed to be OR type there my last name before marriage. Kind of confused.

Thank you!

Hi! Can someone familiar with Mexican marriage certificates explain to me the difference between the two certificates I received. One is a long form, that we signed and fingerprinted at the ceremony, with our witnesses names and signatures also. The other is a certified copy that has the bride and grooms names, ages, and nationalities only.

1. Are they both legal documents? Can the certified copy be used for official purposes, with translation and apostille?

2. I can only get copies of the "certified copies", right?

3. Why is the certified copy not an exact replica of the longer one?

Please guide me. I was in the USA as SWT. Do I need to report taxes? I just can t really find straight info. Can somebody explain how to file taxes if you aren t usc or lpr in two words? What website should I use and who s forms should I complete?

Hi everyone,

I have my N400 interview scheduled for next Tuesday, and my I-751 is pending (status has not changed since June of 2019 - 'Case Was Received').

I went to the infopass appointment to get my I-551 stamp, and the officer told me that I will have a joint interview for both cases that are pending.

However I have not yet received a notice for I-751. I guess there are still 5 business days until my interview to get one but I was wondering what should I do in the event I don't get an I-751 interview notice: should I bring my husband with me just in case along with supporting documentation (which I can only guess at this point since I don't have a notice that lists everything I need to bring) and just assume I will have a joint interview?

Thank you!