sheeshkabelle

POE does not change the name on the green card for you.
You will likely have to apply for a change of name via the I-90 form and a fee.

Just checked the uscis website and our petition got APPROVED - best news in the world considering it is my BIRTHDAY and my fiance can't be here with me today!!! funny how things work out...i stared at the computer for a good two minutes before moving - it was crazy news!!!! SOOOO we are now on to the next stage - any tips, advice, thoughts are more then welcome! i am so excited! I know we have a waiting period before our packet gets to Montreal but I believe I can begin gathering papers needed for Packet 3...correct? Thanks for all the help!

Write your Representative
Put your info in here and it will pop up with the Representative for your area :)You have a better chance of getting somewhere with your local Congressman.
I'll try to give you a short sweet US Civics lesson:
Congressmen- Each representative is elected to a two-year term serving the people of a specific congressional district.
Senator- Is representative for the whole state, elected every six years.
Since the United States legislature is bicameral, there are different titles for legislators: Congressmen/women are in the lower House, the Congress. Senators are members of the Senate, the higher branch of the House. Together they are called The House of Representatives. With out getting into too much detail, Senators have more 'power' than Congressmen. Like, consenting to treaties and consenting or confirming appointments of Cabinet secretaries and federal judges.

when you get the blu-ray editions Of some of your husband's favourite movies, The Godfather Trilogy for only $15...

This is the 5-6 month wait time yes.
The US citizen must prove they can support the family house hold at 125% of the poverty guidelines. If the US citizen cannot prove this they will require a co-sponsor that can meet the requirements for the people who need visas + their house hold. http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/i-864p.pdf
Montreal is the only embassy in Canada that does spousal visa interviews and they are notorious when it comes to proving domicile in the USA. The US citizen will need proof of you all moving to the USA such as a home/bank account/credit cards/job. There is a specific thread on domicile proof in the Canada section. http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/164618-proving-domicile-when-not-living-in-the-us/ Even if she has never lived in the USA she will have to prove you all intend to move back to the USA and she needs this proof at the interview time or they will not issue the visa until she provides the proof.
The employment of the Canadian/beneficiary does not matter at this time. The employment of the US citizen is what is important.

No. You have not worked and paid into the system in your state. You must have worked for the past 3 quarters to be eligible for benefits.
Could you not collect EI from Canada?

I know that this may be too narrow a focus for this forum, but VJ is where my journey with Neetu's immigration process started ... it was this site and these forums that got us through SOOOO much ... So I wanted to share ...
Just wanted you guys to know, thanks in no small part to the VJ community from way back when we FIRST filed for her to come here on an I-130 back in January 2008 to now ...

NEETU IS OFFICIALLY A U.S. CITIZEN AS OF TODAY!!!

I found that VODKA worked very well for me.

Right as the cops are hauling me away my cell phone would buzz with a text message that said "NOA2 Approved"

We bought my plane ticket last week so I can fly to Calgary and spend Christmas with my husband. 99% of the time I drive to Canada, so I've always used a NEXUS card. It popped in my mind the day after we bought the tickets "Oh #######! I think my passport is expired!"
Sure enough it is, and it expired in March. I know, I know.. shouldn't have procrastinated.
I have to change my name to my married name anyway, so I gather up all my documents, get my cashier's check and head to the County Clerk's Office (our local passport acceptance facility)
I had filled out and printed all the forms on-line, so basically all I had to do was hand over the documents, sign the form in front of the Clerk, pay the lady and be on my merry way.
Ms. Busybody County Clerk was reading over my forms. "You're husband ISN'T a US Citizen?" in a really snotty voice, (keep in mind where I live, illegal aliens are abundant). "No, ma'am we have filled for his CR-1 Visa so he can get a GC" She looks at me funny, then says under her voice "He's probably Mexican" I guess she thought I was deaf, or stupid, or didn't care.
"EXCUSE ME?! One, my husband is Canadian, two you are NOT Customs and Immigration, we are doing things the legal way, I just want my passport renewed please, thank you."
So she's looking over my birth certificate, which I made sure was the 'long form' and she says "I've never seen one like this before, where were you born?" "The state of Maryland, it says so on top of the Birth Certificate." By this time I was pretty annoyed at the lady.
Then she says, "Oh how did you end up in Tennessee?" The only reply I gave, "I moved" I guess she was trying to 'suck up' after she knew she made me mad.
Mean while the girl at the other desk looked like a deer in the headlights. When Ms. Busybody went to make a copy of my driver's license, girl B. looked at me and said "Oh my God I can't believe what she just said to you" I just shrugged my shoulders.
I worried for five days if Ms. Busybody sent my stuff off to Atlanta like she was supposed to. I got the email today, my passport is in production. Yay!
But the more I think about it, the more p*ssed off I get. I love this little town, I love the schools, I love the Great Smokey Mountains are my back yard. But I can do with out the backwoods rednecks preaching about immigrants, legal or not. I've had more than one rude, snide comment made to me about the fact I'm married to a foreigner and American's were not 'good enough'.

We bought my plane ticket last week so I can fly to Calgary and spend Christmas with my husband. 99% of the time I drive to Canada, so I've always used a NEXUS card. It popped in my mind the day after we bought the tickets "Oh #######! I think my passport is expired!"
Sure enough it is, and it expired in March. I know, I know.. shouldn't have procrastinated.
I have to change my name to my married name anyway, so I gather up all my documents, get my cashier's check and head to the County Clerk's Office (our local passport acceptance facility)
I had filled out and printed all the forms on-line, so basically all I had to do was hand over the documents, sign the form in front of the Clerk, pay the lady and be on my merry way.
Ms. Busybody County Clerk was reading over my forms. "You're husband ISN'T a US Citizen?" in a really snotty voice, (keep in mind where I live, illegal aliens are abundant). "No, ma'am we have filled for his CR-1 Visa so he can get a GC" She looks at me funny, then says under her voice "He's probably Mexican" I guess she thought I was deaf, or stupid, or didn't care.
"EXCUSE ME?! One, my husband is Canadian, two you are NOT Customs and Immigration, we are doing things the legal way, I just want my passport renewed please, thank you."
So she's looking over my birth certificate, which I made sure was the 'long form' and she says "I've never seen one like this before, where were you born?" "The state of Maryland, it says so on top of the Birth Certificate." By this time I was pretty annoyed at the lady.
Then she says, "Oh how did you end up in Tennessee?" The only reply I gave, "I moved" I guess she was trying to 'suck up' after she knew she made me mad.
Mean while the girl at the other desk looked like a deer in the headlights. When Ms. Busybody went to make a copy of my driver's license, girl B. looked at me and said "Oh my God I can't believe what she just said to you" I just shrugged my shoulders.
I worried for five days if Ms. Busybody sent my stuff off to Atlanta like she was supposed to. I got the email today, my passport is in production. Yay!
But the more I think about it, the more p*ssed off I get. I love this little town, I love the schools, I love the Great Smokey Mountains are my back yard. But I can do with out the backwoods rednecks preaching about immigrants, legal or not. I've had more than one rude, snide comment made to me about the fact I'm married to a foreigner and American's were not 'good enough'.

I'm sorry for your pain. I agree that it would be best just to get divorced and move on. Your wife states that she married you for love and that is where any claim of visa fraud action would have to begin. If she married you for love then she didn't commit visa fraud. She did misrepresent the nature of the relationship from her perspective to USCIS when she filed jointly with you for the ten year card, but she could also have left you before she filed and still have been eligible to file on her own with a waiver. She wasn't honest to either you or USCIS but that is misrepresentation and not visa fraud, and it would probably not have made a material difference in the outcome if the true situation were known. As well, even if she felt that way then, she could have had a change of mind later and continued with the marriage and you would never have known that she had these thoughts. I don't think going to USCIS under these circumstances would provide you with any sort of 'satisfaction' and would only help make you feel more unhappy. Relationships do break down, even ones that do not involve partners from different countries. I am sorry that you are going through this, though, and hope you are able to move on.

Things to tend always move slow if different entities are working together. For the visa process, USCIS is a branch of Homeland Security coordination with the State Department, FBI, ICE, Customs, etc. all working together to vet the petitioner and beneficiary if they both qualify for a visa. So I seriously doubt it will move faster because you paid more. Only way possible if one branch of government was in charge of processing the visa entirely.
Also, I seriously doubt many people would take advantage of a $1000 I-129F petition approval that you stated to offset the cost of hiring permanent workers and building new office spaces to house them in to actually expedite the process.
I wish they processed petitions at the local state levels though. I would love to just drive 30 minutes away and talk to the person who is actually handling my case and if problems do arise, I'm just a phone call away and can bring any document they need in 30 minutes. It would eliminate so many RFEs and maybe speed up the process faster because there will be lesser RFEs to process.

He has a job. The economy sucks, people are losing their jobs and getting hours cut all over the place. He needs a little help and he's allowed to get said help. He is a tax payer, and paid into the system. The OP has even said he's looking for another job. Ease up a little. Some need to remember the saying "Walk a mile in my shoes"
People seem to be confusing temporary benefits as welfare. Welfare is a totally different ball game all together.

Lady23, I'm wondering if I missed something, correct me if I am. Your husband and you are going for CR-1 correct? You have a pretty extensive timeline on your signature, where is that from?

1. No
2. No
3. No
4. No, but you might need a co-sponsor if you don't have sufficient income.
5. Note for immigration, however you might want to consider one for workers comp
You have nothing to worry about.
First of workers comp doesn't considered a federal benefit and even if it would you are a USC and elligible for that.
The only downside you have for not having a constant job and stady income, you will need a co-sponsor for your visa who makes enough to co-sponsor your fiancee. Other then that your case will be just fine.
I don't see a reason for a lawyer as I said earlier your case is pretty simple.
Good luck on your journey

Nonwe of this is correct. Please refrain from giving incorrect naswers based on what one would wish for. It takles a lot of posts to correct this mess.
The US citizen is NEVER, EVER restricted from the benefts of being a US citizen for any reason.
A US citizen can easily qualify to sponsor an immigrant under one definiton of poverty (125%) AND qualify for food stamps under another definition of poverty (300%)
A US citizen can qualify to sponsor an immigrant with ZERO income, ZERO assets, while collecting EVERY FORM of welfare there is ...IF he has a co-sponsor.
I do not have to like it and you do not have to like it, but them's the facts! I always presume the OP wants the facts, not opinions of the facts.

It's so hard for all of us. Whether it's a week, a month, 9 months like me or even years like those in AP and with ban waivers pending, each day is still a day without our best friend, which is why I think every single case on here deserves an update as much as the next.
Just know in your heart that everyday you wait for each other is another reason why you are doing this. We're all so incredibly lucky to find people we are willing to do this for, and people who are willing to wait while we do this. I thank my lucky stars each day that I found an amazing lover, my best friend and someone I can trust beyond everything else, and to top it all he thinks I'm enough to wait through all of this for me to appear at the top of the airport stairs. Sometimes the amount of trust I've been given bowls me over, and this is what keeps me going.
Also, I see friends in stale relationships, clearly not in love, arguing all the time and I think thank god I only have to go though a bit of waiting and then I skip the rubbish relationship part where we take each other for granted. I think we're all incredibly lucky to be going through this hell!

Same story, but we played Final Fantasy XI I was married twice before). I was married when we first started talking, but divorced before we ever met in person.
USCIS doesn't care about prior marriages. They only care about this one. We had a small wedding of his family and friends in Canada. None of my friends or family could make it. My sister joked, "I was at the first two, look how those turned out!" The way we look at it, it's no different then running to Vegas and eloping. We're still married and we still love each other. One way to know how committed you both are, is spend 10 months out of the year apart.
As for the income taxes. Just call up the IRS, tell them you want your tax transcripts for the years you need. They're yours too, they will give them to you.

Edited from above...
Renting a car from Toronto to Texas is going to be outrageously expensive. Even IF the rental company lets you cross the border with the car, some don't.
Renting a car you pay insurance, gas, the rental fee, plus mileage and the extra charge of dropping off in a different location.
Just out of curiosity I did a quote from Hertz. You're looking at 765.36 CAD for a one week rental with unlimited mileage. It's for a Kia Rio, so it will be decent on gas, but your still probably looking at another $600 for gas, hotels and food.
Hubby and I are hooking up an 8'x4' cargo trailer to our SUV and moving him. What doesn't fit in the truck or the trailer doesn't go! We bought the trailer for a little under $2,000.00 We figured it would be an investment since we need 'storage' space anyway and we won't have to pay a storage company $70 a month. (Our US house doesn't have a garage to store his tools and motorcycle)

Renting a car from Toronto to Texas is going to be outrageously expensive. Even IF the rental company lets you cross the border with the car, some don't.
Renting a car you pay insurance, gas, the rental fee, plus mileage and the extra charge of dropping off in a different location.
Just out of curiosity I did a quote from Hertz. You're looking at 765.36 CAD for a one week rental NOT including kilometers/mileage.

Renting a car from Toronto to Texas is going to be outrageously expensive. Even IF the rental company lets you cross the border with the car, some don't.
Renting a car you pay insurance, gas, the rental fee, plus mileage and the extra charge of dropping off in a different location.
Just out of curiosity I did a quote from Hertz. You're looking at 765.36 CAD for a one week rental NOT including kilometers/mileage.

Same story, but we played Final Fantasy XI I was married twice before). I was married when we first started talking, but divorced before we ever met in person.
USCIS doesn't care about prior marriages. They only care about this one. We had a small wedding of his family and friends in Canada. None of my friends or family could make it. My sister joked, "I was at the first two, look how those turned out!" The way we look at it, it's no different then running to Vegas and eloping. We're still married and we still love each other. One way to know how committed you both are, is spend 10 months out of the year apart.
As for the income taxes. Just call up the IRS, tell them you want your tax transcripts for the years you need. They're yours too, they will give them to you.

Pretty clear... They tried to get him here to use the loophole of AOS. Let's all be honest with each other and call everything what it is. COs are not stupid. You tried to get him here on student visa, get married, and apply for AOS exploring loophole in the law. They caught it and now you have a problem. You need to be upfront for anyone to give you advice. From your timeline it is clear that you applied for visa knowing that you will get married, right? Why student visa then? This is pretty obvious.