xocanin

I think it is better that you stay home and care for your spouse but I would try to document that somehow, maybe affidavits from friends, neighbors, relatives. There is no requirement you work as long as there is sufficient income for you to get by, your working is not an issue.

You already brought up the one thing that I was afraid you hadn't done and that is taxes. Make sure you have been filing taxes married (preferably jointly). If you can show your part-time or free lance income on the taxes you are covered there. It is better not to mention your freelance work if you have not been listing your freelance income on the taxes. But you should list it and no one here should encourage you to avoid filing taxes on your joint income.

Good luck.

We have been filing jointly as married, no worries there.

So me not being actually employed is not a big deal at all then. That's a relief. I really would prefer to stay home with him.

Thank you very much for your response!

Hi everyone!

I'm going to file for removal of conditions in December, but my case is a little bit different and I'm a little bit concerned...

My husband is legally disabled due to mental illness (severe recurring depression with atypical reaction to drugs). He needs constant care because sometimes he can't get out of bed or feed himself, etc., and I constantly worry about his safety as well. I do freelance work from home (translation, mostly) so I can be with him. What I earn + his disability checks + $300/mo from my MIL has been more than enough for us to live comfortably.

Here's my problem, though. I have no verifiable employment -- I just translate stuff for college students and ghost writers, people who can't read English that well -- and it's all done over the internet. I'm worried that not being employed is going to make me look bad. I don't even know if they care about that, if they even ask about it, but it's bugging me (I'm sure you're all familiar with these irrational fears). Is this going to be a problem? Will it make me look lazy or something? I want to be home with my husband to help him whenever he needs me, but if doing so is going to make me look weird/bad to whoever interviews me, I'll go get a retail job or something... does it even matter or is this 100% paranoia?

We have pretty much all the evidence required otherwise (joint bank account, loan, credit cards, lease, a trillion photos, life insurance, taxes, etc). It's just this one thing that's bothering me.

Thanks in advance!

Yeah, come to think of it I doubt it'll pass, I mean, Americans love to talk about slippery slopes and boy is this one ever slippery...

Thank God I'm already in America, but that is assuming that this bill won't affect current green card holders like me. Either way it's completely awful and unfair.

SSN - see this VJ page - http://www.visajourney.com/content/ssn

That page says I need my passport AND "4. another form of valid ID", which I do not have. All I have is my passport, I can't get a state ID yet and I don't drive. And the name on my passport is my maiden name...

Am I missing something?

Oh wow, thanks everyone for replying! I'm relieved to know that not having a big wedding isn't a problem. Also glad that we weren't the only ones who got married in jeans!

Okay, so hold on -- I CAN get a SSN? I was told by several people that I cannot get one with a K-1 visa and that I am only eligible when I have a valid work permit, a US photo ID of some sort or a green card with my legal (married) name on it. I have no US ID of any kind or anything that has my married name on it yet. I don't drive so no driver's license and I don't qualify for a Texas state ID. The bank didn't let me change my name on our account without a photo ID, even though we brought our marriage certificate...

Also, I was under the impression that everyone had interviews, but you're all saying "if" we have one? So some people get approved without an interview? My mind is blown. How common is that?

Oh, and I don't have a timeline because I'm a little paranoid about posting personal information online and it asked for our full names etc. I got my visa on July 21st, arrived here Aug 16th, married Sept 19th and my I-94 expires November 14.

Thank you all for the replies, I feel much better now!

Hi guys,

We got married on the 19th at the local county courthouse, in jeans and sneakers and t-shirts, and only his mother was present. The reason for that was that we are just not able to have a "real wedding" right now, because we are extremely broke -- we literally had to borrow money for the license and marriage fee, that's how bad things are -- and since we're not religious, it didn't feel like a big deal to us to just have it done this way now and just worry about an actual ceremony when and if we can afford it. Things are just... really bad here and I need to be able to start working ASAP so we kind of rushed it for that reason too.

Of course we look extremely happy and in love on the photos, but I just realized that the way we were dressed and the fact that we didn't have a party (we went to a fancy restaurant with my MIL afterwards to celebrate, but there were no other guests) might make people think that we didn't care about our wedding or something. Am I wrong to assume that we may have accidentally created a red flag for my AOS by not dressing up and having a "proper" wedding? If so, what can we do to fix this problem? We don't have plans for a ceremony anytime soon, for obvious reasons.

I came here on a K1 and we have not yet started the AOS because we're now very concerned about this.

Also, I have a couple more questions:

1. I've decided to take his last name, but I don't have any documents with my new name yet. Will I receive anything before the AOS interview that has my new name on it, which I can use to change my name on our joint account? I understand that having a joint account is good evidence and we do have one, but I've got my maiden name on it since I didn't have photo ID with my legal name when we opened it.

2. We are (as I mentioned above) fairly poor at the moment. My husband is permanently disabled (we have a co-sponsor, that's why I had no problem getting the visa) and I can't work yet. We don't drive, so we don't have a car (or car insurance), and we rent, so we have no property or anything else that might have both of our names on it. I want to include my name on the lease for the apartment, but they refuse to do it because I don't have a SSN yet and as far as I understand it, I cannot get one yet. My question is, what can we bring as evidence in a situation like this? The only thing that has both of our names on it is the bank account, and I can't change my maiden name on it until I have some sort of photo ID that has my new name on it...

Sorry if this is all very complicated. I'm just really clueless and we don't know what to do. Oh, I'm in Texas. Not sure if that's relevant or not.

Would really like an answer, I'm leaving in a few hours. Is the passport and envelope all I need for the POE?

Bring any other records and documents you have. For example, you'll need your birth certificate for the AOS application.

Oh yeah I'm bringing all of my documentation, I'm just wondering what I'll need at the POE.

Hi!

FINALLY after all this wait I am going to America tomorrow! I can't wait to see my love again!!

I just have one quick question: all I need to bring with me as far as papers go is my passport/visa and the mystery envelope, right?

Thanks!

?what kind of disability does he have(if you dont mind me asking)

the reason i ask is because I have arthritis (not completely crippling, but at times..) and my fiance(in Mexico) has eye-sight problems (desease, corneal dystrophy).

I was kind of concerned that the Visa people would look at our disabilities and see it as a reason for concern...

did yall every have issues with this? do you feel that the disability affected negatively at all yall's process to get the visa?

Yikes, sorry, I didn't see your reply until just now. I don't mind!

My fiance actually doesn't have any physical disabilities, he suffers from severe major depressive disorder. He's on medication, so most of the time he's well enough, but sometimes he just crashes and can't even get out of bed. It's heartbreaking.

To answer your question, though, nope. It had no effect. We had a sponsor so that took care of the only problem we had (his income). The interview itself was pretty chill. The CO asked a lot of questions to make sure I knew what I was getting myself into (and also to check how well I knew him and how aware I was of his illness, I'm sure). He was satisfied with my answers and issued my visa. The whole interview lasted about 8 minutes and I got my passport with the visa 3 days later. I'm going to America on Monday!

Mine included a couple of extra questions since my fiance is disabled:

1. Is there a cure for his problem?

2. This will be tough. Are you willing to take care of him?

thanks xocanin, i'll try that and see if it works

Happy to help! Hope everything goes well. Good luck!

The vaccine stuff sounds like BS to me.

Hey you can save your Skype call history if you follow these instructions. It worked fine for me and I brought several pages of the call history to my interview.

No such thing on Peruvian Medical, just a standard checkup. You don't even need to take your clothes. If I were you I'll choose Dr. Corigliano

Best wishes

Lucky you. Mine was pretty awkward because I didn't know it was going to happen so I was wearing my cheap cotton panties. There were holes in them.

Standard physical checkup, eye test (if you wear glasses, bring them), a lot of questions about your medical history. If you're female, expect an external gynecological and breast exams as well.

Wait, are you the beneficiary? It's your fiancee who has to have her finances in order AFAIK. Not you. I've been freelancing since 2008 and making very little money but all they cared about was my sponsor's income. They never even asked me anything about mine.

I didn't do mine in Curitiba (I'm from Sao Paulo) but if there's anything I can do to help, please go ahead and ask.

There's no way to make it "faster". You just gotta wait like everybody else.

The pictures were not dated but they were from different dates.I was slimmer in some and had a different hair styles. There were some before I received my piercing and some after. I did include boarding passes and copies of my passport with the dates of my entry into the country. It's ok. I dont think anybody is trying to pry I just think everyone is as baffled as I am..I am awaiting the actual decision letter so I can see what they say. I asked her several time what the fraudulant evidence was and she was evasive limited to telling me it was a high fraud post and they were very picky. But others that left the consulate were told why they were denied. She really didnt like me at all.

Yeah, this is just really bizarre and I'm really sorry you went through that. I wish I could offer some help, but from what you're saying here there doesn't seem to be a logical reason for this to have happened at all.

I hope everything works out for you guys. This must be so heartbreaking.

All the pictures with him his family adn our friends. I also submitted allt he phone log that shows that I talk to him almost every day for an hour or more. I also submitted the copies of the receipts for the money I sent him adn when I recharge the phone card on his cell phone. The weird thing is that they didnt look at any of the new stuff. and USCIS approved the evidence sent in with petition. I am wondering what they claim is false. I have seen cases where they tell you one thign in the consulate adn then the paperwork they send says somethign else so I hope this is the case.

Okay. I'm not trying to pry or anything, I'm asking because I'm also trying to figure out just how on Earth they reached that conclusion. Were the pictures that you submitted dated? Was there evidence that you met in the last couple of years, such as boarding passes and stuff like that?

Also I'm very sorry they asked those very invasive questions.

What exactly did you submit as evidence?

Congrats!

No problem petitioning your mom, she is your mom on the birth cert and has brought you up.

If you wanted to petition for your dad, there may be an issue- they might ask for a DNA test to prove he is biologically your dad. But your mom should have no problem getting the visa.

Really not thinking about dad at all, I don't think he'd be interested. I'm just really attached to my mom, so I was afraid this would be a problem. Thank you all for your help! I love this forum.