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Hotel Rwanda

Yep, 30 days from reply to, not from the request. The system actually didn't allow one when I tried unless it was customer support lying to me. Which give the lack honest answers from them, wouldn't surprise me if they did.

Wow.. I hate to say it but I think they lied. When I called the tier 2 person didn't mention anything about a 30-day wait, and even if there was one, she had no problems bypassing it in the system since she was able to put mine in exactly the same way as they had the first one. This process totally sucks, I'm sorry you guys are still waiting.

Tried to put in another service request. its been 30 days since we put in our last one. I guess waiting two weeks to send a copy and paste form letter sets the 30 days until you can file a new one from that date.

30 days until you can put in another service request? I put in my second one the day I got that bs reply to the first one, about 20 days after the first one.

Does anyone know if pictures are really necessary to bring to the interview? I don't want to go have a bunch of them printed out to take if nobody's even going to look at them. I have some pics and hotel receipts, etc. from when Juha visited me in March, but I remember reading somewhere that you shouldn't use stuff as evidence that shows the beneficiary visiting the US after the K-1 was filed, but I don't know how true that is...

I had with me maybe 10 pics but no one asked to see them. In fact they didn't ask to see any evidence, just the paperwork required to process the visa. Definitely bring the evidence along, just in case, but most likely the interview in Helsinki will be anticlimactic. I was just asked how we met and a few very basic biographical questions. Not a big deal at all. And jaejayC already answered the bit about visits after filing, which shouldn't be an issue. Good luck!

It's entirely up to you how you want to celebrate your wedding. All you need for AOS is a certified marriage certificate that proves you are legally married. In addition to all the other material of course.

No, they are not needed, copies are fine. They only need originals from the beneficiary at the interview stage.

I think we had maybe 5-6 photos, together, with our names, places and dates written on the back of each photo.

No, they don't need to be notarized. Good luck on your journey!

Is there any way to check on that status of that part (theEAD from Nat'l Benefits Center)?

Yes, the same way as you check the status of your I-485 at the USCIS website. You should have separate NOAs (Notices of Action) for each of your applications: AOS(I-485), EAD(I-765) and AP (I-131 Advance Parole, allowing re-entry to the US after traveling abroad while AOS pending). Each of these applications has a unique case number which allows you to check their status at the USCIS website. Did you apply for all three? EAD and AP are optional.

I sent copies of all that the doctor gave me, so yes, the x-ray certificate too (not the actual x-ray).

And just your marriage certificate, nothing else is needed.

Helsinki, Finland

Yes, employment authorization (EAD) usually arrives in 2-3 months, if you filed I-765 with your AOS. It's issued by the Nat'l Benefits Center and not the CSC.

Include both. We included my USC husband's BC and got an RFE for all pages of his passport (and mine, by the way). Just throw it all in, it can't hurt.

Nacka, Sweden

They won't. Copies are fine. Unless they suspect fraud, I guess.

That's because in the US many people believe that "support from the government" is a euphemism for "support from the taxpayers". The government in the US doesn't have any money they didn't take from a taxpayer or borrow from a bond holder. The same is true in most countries that aren't socialist (i.e., where the government isn't getting revenue from nationalized industries), but many people don't make the mental connection between the government's money and where the government got that money.

I'm not belittling the social support structure they have in Australia, especially if most Australians are happy with it. I'm saying that, to a large degree, people in America don't feel the same way. Most people in America believe that unearned public benefits should be reserved for those who are either permanently incapable of supporting themselves (the disabled), or are temporarily down on their luck. What might be surprising is that this belief is the strongest in America's working class. The people who believe that America should have a social support structure resembling the one in Australia or much of Europe are at opposite ends of the income spectrum - those at the bottom who would directly benefit from a strong social support system, and wealthy liberals who would happily contribute a chunk of their own wealth if the government forced everyone else to do the same. The people in between don't like it because they're the ones who would mostly be paying for it.

Immigration law is crafted to appease the majority of American who feel this way. Americans, for the most part, expect the costs of family immigration to be paid for by the families and immigrants, and that there should be protections in place to ensure that Americans aren't left holding the bill for immigrants who can't support themselves.

Interesting analysis. What I find most unfortunate about the American system and mentality in this regard is that it's a reflection of very fragmented society that pits one group against another, instead of promoting a sense of community. In many ways America still is like the Wild West, and an "every man for himself" mentality prevails to this very day. Everyone wants their own little group (be it family, ethnic, religious, whatever) to do well but heck if they be asked to help "the others". I find that very unfortunate, especially since the bigger problems we face in the world require not only unity of purpose on a national scale, but internationally as well. We all live on the same planet, and too many of us fail to see the bigger picture.

Gwangju, Korea

Thanks for the feedback. That was with the NBC. They forwarded the file on 11-28, received in California 2011-12-16. Our dates are extremely close together.

So 11/28 is likely your receipt date at CSC, not 12/16 which I assume is the date of your transfer notice. I think they make this vague on purpose, so people don't realize they can file a service request much sooner. 180 days since receipt at CSC, not date of transfer notice.

Did your online status change?

Yes, when they made the decision June 6. And three times since then.

The chicago office sent my applcation over to the california office so that it will get processed quicker, which is great.

Yeah, that's what we thought too, 6 months ago. Turned out to be wayyy slower than non-transfers that had interviews.

I think your degree quite certainly is the equivalent of a Master's degree here in the US. I would just state it as such in your resume, I don't know if there's an agency here in the US that makes such determinations and gives equivalency certificates?

Can you get an official English translation of your diploma from your university? I would just go with that.

Antibiotics

13:51

Nantes, France

Congrats. You've got the same receive date as us. When did your congressman contact them? I'm considering getting ours involved now that we got a "we're busy response" to our service request. Just wondering if you thought it did any good at this stage or not.

I definitely don't think you have anything to lose by contacting a congressman or filing another service request. I filed another service request the same day I got that nonsense reply to the previous one, and I had also contacted a senator a few days prior to that. (I had already contacted the local congressman at around 5 months, late April I think) Plus, I had sent an email follow-up to the first service request since I hadn't received their letter within 15 days. Of course we'll never know what actually happened, but the CSC would've received the senator's inquiry a couple of days before they approved me. I figure if they don't "have the resources" to approve my case in time, I am being deprived of something that I am entitled to, and they will hear from me and are legally bound to find the resources to respond to my service requests and inquiries on my behalf.

Not that it really matters at this point but what was 11/25/11 your receipt date at the CSC? Or NBC?