US Immigration from Thailand

Hello. I am here seeking information /advice on several subjects. Hopefully, I'm in the right place. First, let me give you the backstory. I'm a US citizen married to a Thai wife and I have 2 step-daughters. We got married in 2022 and are still going thru the immigration process. [ it's taking awhile ] I think I know the answers to my questions but I would like clarification from someone that may have already gone thru this process.

1. I want to adopt the daughters and give them my last name. Is this easier to do here in the USA or in Thailand? And is it better to do a name change in Thailand before they arrive or after arrival?

2. I have been supporting them since even before we got married. Can I claim them on my taxes without them having social security numbers?- I dont think they get SSANs until they arrive in the USA. I also want to add them as my dependents [ for work ] is this possible without ssan? I was told the passport number works in place of ssan, but not sure about that.

Thanks in advance for any info/advice

so i'd like to add my wife's kids as contingent beneficiary on my US accounts. i think the process for them would be easier if they has an ITIN. both kids live in Thailand, never been to the US and likely never will.

i saw this https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/obtaining-an-itin-from-abroad

am i correct in thinking all they need is a W-7 application and their passports and i can do it for them? no filing tax returns or anything like that?

thanks

My husband tried to file I-130 via the uscis website but he can't pay and submit the form. It always shows Pending Client Signature as show in the picture. Please help us to go to the next step.

Hello really looking for some guidance here and also sending this as a warning to others.

We interviewed Wednesday at 830.

Friday morning we received a text message that stated we had an undeliverable package.

We clicked the link "tnt-express.com"

Upon clicking it, it caused the Line App to open to a company "flash Express" (lower case f) , not TNT Express.

We left them a message saying we were waiting for our passport and curious if they had it. They called back later that night and spokr with my wife. The staff asked her to download the Flash Express app and change several permissions on her phone for the app. Nothing came from the app but they then messaged my wife with a picture of a dark brown envelope with a bit of visible water damage. However, they blurred out there name on the envelope and after we hung up deleted it. The envelope looked quite thin. They told us they would deliver to us 9AM and that currently our envelope was in Ayuthaya but they would deliver in the morning. In the morning we actually saw Flash Express driver who didn't have our package. I finally called TNT Express this morning and the agent advised me that another customer had reported that URL as a scam.

It was only then that I started to put the pieces together and started to see signs that this was possibilly a scam.

Few questions if you could please help.

1. Did your status change to "In transit?" prior to delivery? Ours still says "Issued" which makes me wonder if it really ever even hit the mail yet.

2. Do you remember the color and size?

3. Did a courier like Flash Express or TNT Express handle your package at all or was it all done by Thai post?

4. Did you ever get any sort of tracking #??

Thanks any info you all can provide. At this point the worst case is we have a damaged visa and best case is it isn't even in the mail yet but wife is panicking. Feel really dumb I have never fallen for anything like this but being in a different country and so anxious about this visa we weren't thinking clearly.

So my wife arrived on her CR1 visa on 8/19. When I filled out the DS-260, I checked the box for the social security card to be issued. It said we should have it within three weeks of arrival. Well, it didn t come.

today we went to the local Social Security office and they told us she did not have a number issued yet and asked if we d like to fill out an application. So we did. Then we were told they had to have USCIS verify her alien status which could take 4-6 weeks. She said we d get a letter in the mail when this was done and then they would issue a card.

in my view this is beyond ridiculous. Has anyone else experienced this?