gwapa-loves-gwapo

33 minutes ago, Cryssiekins said:

Meanwhile, I went to the SS office today to have my name changed and surprise surprise (but not actually a surprise) they were unable to process it. 

 

The agent hit submit before asking me to confirm the information and he spelled my married name wrong so of course it doesn't match the DHS records.  

 

He could tell I was annoyed (not specifically at him bc human error happens) so he tried to tell me that it's because my ID has my full middle name and the EAD card only has the initial.  I don't know how accurate that is, but boy, I'm so over this nonsense.  

 

Hopefully my employer will underatand why the everify request comes back as SSN mismatch.  

 

And here's hoping this doesn't take 8 weeks to resolve.

 

I can't catch a break with the social security stuff but at least the rest of the process is going along without a hitch. 

Awwww I'm so sorry that must been soooo frustrating after waiting for so long! But I wonder how difficult is your married name for them to misspelled it? Some employee are soo careless! They need to verify everything first before submitting it and make sure that there was no mistake in the information they put it the system. Anyway I hope they can resolve it soon. 8 weeks is already a torture!!! I'm hoping you don't need to wait that long!!! 

Just an update guys! I got my social security card in the mail today!!! Didn't took 2 weeks!!! I applied on thursday and recieved it today so it was less than a week ago! I'm so happy I can finally start the process for the job offer that I have. ???????

50 minutes ago, Rickypolo said:

5 to 10 business day if your information is in the system means take 5 days

Oohhh okay that's a relief! I got scared for a second! Haha 8 weeks is a loooong time! I mean after waiting for EAD for over 3 months I can't afford to wait another month or so. I got the number today I asked them if they can give it to me verbally or write it down which they did. I have a job waiting for me already so I needed the number so bad so they can run a background check on me. Hopefully the actual card will be delivered sooner than expected since I have the number already that should mean my name is already in their database. ?

1 minute ago, ifelicity said:

I got mine in less than a week after applying. If you go back the next day they can read the number off the screen for you to write down until the card comes in. This is all assuming you are in the SAVE database to cross reference your ID. If not, add a few weeks to the process 

I already asked for the number today and they give it to me. They write it down in the paper. so does it mean I'm saved in the system and it would delivered sooner/faster? I hope the actual card won't take 8 weeks ? That would be horrible! 

Hey guys quick question. Does it really take 2 weeks for you to recieve your social security number after applying? I just got my EAD card and went to apply for it yesterday and I was told it will take them 2 weeks before I recieved my actual card. Did anyone of you recieved it earlier than 2 weeks? Or is it really the standard waiting time and you got it exactly at 2 weeks time? 

Thanks guys!

Finally recieved my EAD/AP combo card today!! 107 days from PD. Don't lose hope everyone! You'll get yours soon. ?????

5 minutes ago, Rick & Apple said:

 

You can find them here:

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/KS

 

You can select the map to find out your district, then select your congressperson, or you can contact either senator. Senators represent the whole state.

Thank you!!!!! 

2 minutes ago, Jimbob89 said:

Hey! Its pretty simple really, just find out who your congressman is and go onto there website and they should have an office contact number and call them up and explain the situation

Sorry this might sound dumb but how where able to find their number? Just googled it? Is there a specific website that you type in and then search for the congressman? I'm sorry I really don't have any clue! 

36 minutes ago, Jimbob89 said:

Today we contacted our congressman office to try and expedite my EAD based on a job offer. The lady was very nice and sent us a information privacy form to fill in as well as a form to give a brief description of my case and asked me to attach my job offer letter. She then let us know that she had received our files and that she will be in touch if she needs anything else. I will update as it happens. Just incase anyone else is going to try and expedite

Hi how did you contact your congressman? My husband and I are thinking about doing the same thing but has no clue where to start. I have few job interviews but no job offer yet but would like to get my EAD sooner. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you! 

48 minutes ago, hjha said:

Congratulations! great to hear that. I haven't been successful in my job search. Would you mind sharing what field/position you applied for?

I applied for a managerial position. 1 was in a hotel and 1 was in the housing facility in a university. Both of them are willing to wait until I heard from USCIS. I haven't gotten a job offer yet I guess because of my current situation they don't want to commit since I don't have an exact date as to when I can start working. 

3 hours ago, msleja said:

Hi ! I didn't realize we could attend job interviews ! How did the employers react when you told about your EAD status ? Or did it not come up ? I was concerned I'd be misrepresenting myself, can you tell me about your experience ? Thanks ! 

Hi there!

yes I attended 4 job interviews already! Haha Actually I just explained to them that I'm currently adjusting my status and will recieved my EAD this month! I got 2 of them that are willing to wait until I got my approval. Just today I have another interview and I explained my situation. So I told them a rough estimates on when I will recieve my EAD but that may change because of some delays. If the employer is willing to wait for you then they will tell you. There are several jobs opening in my area and I couldn't pass it up without applying. At least I tried and if they can't wait for me that's fine and if they can that's even better! I'm hoping to get my AED on the 17th. I already made a service request online and call USCIS hoping to speed things up but realistically I don't think that'll make a big difference. 

39 minutes ago, thrashunreal said:

Currently on day 89. Put in a service request on day 76. Just got told it was still processing blah blah. So sick of how much this process is dragged out. People entering on tourist visas get approved before K1s and I know I sound like a total brat but I don't think that's cool! We have already spent $1000
's and waited months doing everything the correct way and yet at times it feels like we are at the bottom of a pile. Surviving on only one income has been brutal for us.

Same here!!! I've had few job interviews this month and I just can't wait for EAD! I will be sending a service request when I reach my 90 day mark if won't hear anything by then. 

2 minutes ago, F & D said:

Good news, friends! Just got an email stating that my Card is being produced! I am adjusting from a K1 visa and sent the package on Nov 7th. My NOA date is of Nov 10th and Biometrics on Dec 7th. Exactly 3 months after filing and 2 months after bio appointment. I raised a service inquiry on Jan 24th (75th day), and it was processed on Jan 31st. They sent me the service inquiry through mail but still haven't gotten it. Not sure if it helped my case, but just sharing the info with you all. Finally I can work here in the U.S.! will update my timeline right now. Good luck to you all!!

Congrats on your EAD! hopefully more people will get approved sooner because most of us are getting a little impatient. I've been silently reading and following this thread almost everyday and hoping to get more approvals. I guess a week or two wouldn't hurt. I'm on Day 80.. ?

1 hour ago, Dakine10 said:

  Denver is relatively expensive to both buy and rent currently. I say relatively compared to where you currently live of course. My co-worker who came from New York last year says it's cheap here.

 

  There has been a large influx of people over the last few years which has driven up property values, both buying and renting. They expect (estimate) that it will be a couple of years until inventory catches up with demand. We live in the north east and my wife's friend pays $1500 for a 2 bedroom apartment. They are looking at properties to buy because of the high rent, but other people I know have told me buying is frustrating too, with people bidding 10 or 20 thousand over asking price. For reference, when I rented a 2 bedroom about 12 years ago it was about $700, so basically things have doubled over that time. Another co-worker who rented down town was paying $800 for a 1 bedroom a couple of years ago, IIRC. He left to go back to Utah because his rent was going to increase and he didn't think it was worth staying here.  I don't think it's hard to find a place to rent, there are certainly vacancies ATM. It's just hard to find one at a good price. I'm not sure if the values I listed are typical though. If no one else weighs in, you could get a rough idea online.

 

  I work down town and I don't think I'd want to live there, but all of the suburbs are nice. The west areas are getting into the mountains very quickly and can get a lot of snow dumped at times. If you don't mind that, they are beautiful areas. The north west is towards Boulder county and can get pricey as well.I'm not sure about rent in Boulder though.  Eastern areas are what they call the 'plains', relatively flat areas comparatively.  Depends on what you like I guess.

 

  If guess if I was renting, I would start with something closer to work area first, and then work my way outward. I commute 10 miles and it takes about an hour and a bit in rush hour traffic. If I go downtown on weekends it takes just over half an hour. There is a light rail system that is hit or miss. Depending on where you live, there may be a park and ride close by. 

 

  If you have any other specific questions or have a specific area in mind, let me know and I'll try to answer or ask around. Good luck!

Thank you for all the info!! I tried looking online and the apartments are wayyyyy too expensive for me! It's like tripled the price compare to what we're paying! I was hoping maybe to find around 700$ish but no luck! Anyway we are going to really think through before pursuing it because I don't want to regret our decision and ended up broke! Haha So anyway I will message you if I needed more information. Thank you for your help! 

We were on the same boat as you few months ago. When I recently moved here my husband and I shared/rented part of his co-worker's house. They were nice enough to get us on our feet since they know that processing my visa cost a lot of money. They let us rent 2 of their bedroom and a bath for 400$ including all the utilities. But we moved out after 5 months since she got pregnant and needed part of that house. Anyway my advice is stay with his mom for awhile until you can both get on your feet. It's difficult renting a place when only one of you is earning an income. I know that you wanted to be on your own as soon as possible but it would be wise to lived with his mom for now. You will saved money while waiting for you EAD. Once you got it you can start applying for a job and then you can move out anytime you want. As long as his mom isn't giving you a hard time I don't see any problem living with her for awhile. 3 months will go fast and by the time you know it you'll have your EAD. So hopefully you will decide wisely and don't rush things. 

Hi guys!

I just wanted to gather some information regarding living in Denver Colorado. May I ask which town or county is the best place to live? My husband is planning to apply for a job in VA as pharmacy tech in Denver. I on the other hand just recently came here and still in the process of adjusting my status. We're just waiting for my EAD and hopefully it will come this month. Anyway can you suggest/reccommend what are the average rent per month? I'm not sure which part of town we wanted to moved in yet. Still looking around. We're currently living in a small town of Manhattan Kansas. We're living in a 1 bed 1 bath apartment for 450$ per month plus around 80$ utility bills. I read that Denver is an expensive place to live so I'm a bit hesistant. Although there's alot of job opportunities waiting for me since it's a bigger city compared to where we lived now. Can you give me the pros and cons in living there? Any comments are highly appreciated Thank you!

18 minutes ago, jeessgb said:

My fellow November fillers today I received my combo card EAD  received date of 11/04. 

I want so bad to go back to Mexico but I don't want to risk going out and not being let back in  

Congrats! Yes I think it's safe for everyone to stay in the US until everything is clear. Unless there's an absolute emergency to go back to your home country. I guess we can all wait 90 days just to be sure we won't be facing any problem coming back in. 

I'm sorry this has happened to you. I am from Philippines and I can tell you that what your fiancée told you was a lie. First of all you do not need a marriage license for her to process her son's birth certificate at the hospital unless she was married to the father. There are kids that are born out of wedlock in the Philippines and such paperworks are not necessary. I don't want to judge her because I know few women who really just want to start a new life and move on from previous relationship. But it is not an excuse for her to lie to you and wait until up to this point. It seemed like she try her way around this situation and just hope that things will go her way but it didn't worked out. I know that you spent a lot already for her but I think it's best to re-assess your relationship with her. It's not fair to you to be paying the annulment for her and plus she was not honest with you in the beggining. What makes you think she will not lie to you about other things? This is a difficult situation for you and I hope you will think hard about it before making any sudden decision. Sometimes we need to take a step back to see clearly. If you really love her and she loves you she will owned up her mistakes and won't rush you into making decision. You will recover the loss that you spent working for her visa but if you pursue into helping her with the annulment you will spend much more than you can possibly think. Philippines is not known for having a fast process of things. Even wealthy people takes years for them to have it finalize. goodluck and I hope you decide wisely. 

Finally! November Filers are slowly getting approved!! ?

I edited my first post to explain further

Hi there,

I believed that CFO seminar is still required for Filipino that are leaving abroad from Philippines. I had mine last May. Although we process our K1 visa in Dubai because that's where I lived and worked at that time. I went home in Philippines to visit and spend time with my family before moving to US. So I still attended the seminar. The GCC and CFO sticker are given at the same time. And she needed to bring that with her at the airport because they will ask to see it when you pay for your terminal fee. I attached my appointment letter for you to see the requirements needed for you fiancée. Also it's best for her to bring some photographs of you two since after the seminar and counseling she will be ask by the counselor regarding your relationship. I think they just wanted to make sure that you have a legitimate relationship before flying here and not regret your decision. Since there are so many horor stories regarding abuse by foreign husband. Anyway she needed to make an online appointment for the seminar. Once she recieved her approval notice or NOA 2 she can go ahead and schedule it. Make sure she schedule ahead of time because the seats are limited. Anyway If you needed more information visit the website below.

http://www.cfo.gov.ph/gcp.html 

God bless 

Hi there,

CFO seminar is required if you're leaving from Philippines and you need to have an online appointment. I had mine in Cebu. I attached my appointment letter that I needed to bring with me on the day of the seminar. Also she needed to bring few pictures of you two since she will be interviewed about your relationship. I blurred some personal informations. The website that she can go in order to request an appointment for Cebu based applicants is cfocebu@cfo.gov.ph and also if you need more information you can find it here http://www.cfo.gov.ph/gcp.html 

2 hours ago, MiaTher said:

It's not like your information will be put into their system and you'll be paid with checks, I assume your mother in law would give you cash. Like others have mentioned, USCIS doesn't much care about this, they'd prefer you wouldn't do it, but they're not going to deny you or arrest you just because you're trying to put some food on the table. My lawyer said the same thing, she said they understand that people need to survive.  My husband's uncle is married to a lady from Scotland, she overstayed 8 years, and she worked the whole time that she was out of status (she was a housekeeper). Then when they got married she adjusted her status and her work history wasn't a problem. 

 

Honestly answering the phone for an hour is hardly a job IMO lol, it sounds more like you'd be getting a tip as a thank you ? Same goes for babysitting a dog. 

I'm not advising anything though, I'm just pointing out that it wouldn't be that big of an issue if you decide to do it. 

Ohh thank you for saying this!!!! I got super worried because I thought it will be an issue for me. I watched my husband's co-worker dogs. I've done it twice already. But we already sent our AOS last November and just waiting for EAD just like others on this forum. I accepted it mainly because I wanted to get out of the house as well since they let us stay in their beautiful house while they are away for a week. I didn't expect to get anything but they were kind enough to give me something. Also I think it's crazy to think that you will be arrested just because you watched somebody's dog and they pay you. Anyway I'm glad to read your opinion. 

I've been here for 6 months too. I'm just glad that my husband's work allows him to have 3 days off in a week. We get to spend more time together. When I'm home alone I usually keep myself busy doing chores. I also love to cook so I go online and search for different recipes. Also my husband's colleagues are kind enough to help me out as well. When they go for vacation they usually ask me to watch their dogs for a week and when they get back they pay me. When my husband is at home then we go shopping together,watch movies, go to library and get books to read at home, and cuddles alot. So that helps me get my mind off things. Currently I'm on day 60. I had a job interview last week and I explain them my situation. They reassure me that I have nothing to worry about since they are willing to wait for me. It's a university job so I guess they are willing to wait if you are the right candidate for them. Anyway I hope we don't have to wait for too long so we can actually start living our lives. 

Hola November Filers

Here's my timeline

Filed AOS/I-765/I-131 November 11

NOA 1 November 22

Biometrics Dec 15

Hopefully they will start working on our papers soon.

Good luck everyone!

I'm so sorry this has happen to you. It must be very difficult making such a heart breaking decision. But I suggest that you should go to your interview. And be honest with the immigration officer. I believe they may have options for you especially you're suferring from abuse. Do you know anyone aside from your husband's family than you can trust? Maybe stay for them for awhile until you can clear your head on what's the next step to take.