Keith and Gwen

So its been one year since i got to America. Our life here is starting to make sense and things are great.Yehhhy!!!! Adjustment of status went on smooth and i got my green card faster and easier than we expected. When we got married i took my husbands last name and used it on my social security, green card and all my new documents in America. However, my Kenyan passport is still in my maiden name. I am planning to visit my family back in Kenya come May next year and i still dont know if am supposed to change the last name in my passport or not, just carry my birth certificate incase they ask, do i get a new passport with my husbands last name??? Am so confused and time is ticking, please help????

Hello VJ members,

I just read my "Welcome to United States" letter from USCIS two days ago and thought i should let you guys know that i will be receiving my green card in 3 Weeks. Finally its here!!! We filed our AOS on 29 Dec 2011. It has taken much less time than we thought it would. For those who filed at the same time and haven't received any notice this should give you some hope.

We couldn't be happier!

:thumbs: :thumbs: :dance: :dance:

I filed in October, transferred to CSC, and I am still waiting. There are others that filed in August and September and are still waiting. So you can see that there are others that are waiting a lot longer. You may have a while to wait yet. If you haven't already done so, check out the "December AOS filers" thread:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/343245-december-2011-aos-filers/

Hello Lainie B,

Just thought i should let you know that i finally got my "Welcome to United States" letter from USCIS. I should get my GC in 3 weeks! I hope you got yours too. If not, you should expect to hear from them soon. All the best!

We filed near the end of November and are still waiting. I see a few who filed in October are waiting to. There appears to be two tracks going, those that get interviews and are issued green cards earlier. And those if us that were transferred to California for faster processing that are waiting months longer. So much for faster processing If you filed the end of December, you've probably got a good month and half of waiting yet unless something changes on how many are getting processed.

hello Caryh,

Just thought i should let you know that i finally got my "Welcome to United States" letter from USCIS. I should get my GC in 3 weeks! I hope you got yours too. If not, you should expect to hear from them soon. All the best!

We filed Dec. 1 and we are still waiting too, we also are under initial review, I read here to expect to wait at least 6 months, Its hard to wait but not much we can do, good luck guys.

Hi MikelanNida,

Just thought i should let you know that i finally got my "Welcome to United States" letter from USCIS. I should get my GC in 3 weeks! I hope you got yours too. If not, you should expect to hear from them soon. All the best!

Good luck msichana.

Just be ready to answer all the questions they will ask you. Am sure a previous denial will raise so many questions but just be super confident and avoid twisting the answers. Remember every single detail you provided in your previous interview coz any irregularities will raise a lot of issues. Remember that they already have you on their files.Just be straight forward and organized with your evidence. All the best.

Hello VJ members,

We just received our welcome to United States letter from USCIS two days ago! We should be able to receive our Green Card by mail 3 weeks from now. This is unbelievable! We filed on 29 Dec 2011. No interviews, no RFEs. For those still waiting, this should give you some hope. All the best.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! A great way to begin the journey!

:dance: :thumbs:

When you go for biometrics, your fingerprints are also needed to process the EAD and other benefits you are filling for. It just depends on the loads of application your filing centre receives at the same time you send yours in. It can take long or a surprisingly short time. Just be patient. Good luck!

Hello love 83,

Your husband will fill the affidavit of support paperwork and sign it while you will fill everything else and sign them. You should not panic just do it slow but be sure everything is correct and up to the USCIS requirements. Making mistakes will lead to RFEs which you don't want coz they slow the process. My husband and i just got our welcome letter to us two days ago and we filed on 29 December 2011. We didn't hire any lawyers or get any help except from reading posts on VJ. We didn't even get an interview! You should be able to do it, good luck.

Hi Baby Cookie, Thanks so much for the quick response. But I have another follow-up question. Do we (my husband and I both fill up the forms like the G325A and etc? or just me alone? thanks again. :)

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Hello,

Your husband will fill the affidavit of support paperwork and sign it while you will fill everything else and sign them. You should not panic just do it slow but be sure everything is correct and up to the USCIS requirements. Making mistakes will lead to RFEs which you don't want coz they slow the process. My husband and i just got our welcome letter to us two days ago and we filed on 29 December 2011. We didn't hire any lawyers or get any help except from reading posts on VJ. We didn't even get an interview! You should be able to do it, good luck.

Hi everyone,

I need help. Can someone give me the requirements for the Adjustment Of Status. And do we (my husband and I) both fill up the forms? Or just me as the beneficiary alone? Any input is appreciated. Thanks guys and God Bless.

Hello,

Your husband will fill the affidavit of support paperwork and sign it while you will fill everything else and sign them. You should not panic just do it slow but be sure everything is correct and up to the USCIS requirements. Making mistakes will lead to RFEs which you don't want coz they slow the process. My husband and i just got our welcome letter to us two days ago and we filed on 29 December 2011. We didn't hire any lawyers or get any help except from reading posts on VJ. We didn't even get an interview! You should be able to do it, good luck.

Hello,

Your husband will fill the affidavit of support paperwork and sign it while you will fill everything else and sign them. You should not panic just do it slow but be sure everything is correct and up to the USCIS requirements. Making mistakes will lead to RFEs which you don't want coz they slow the process. My husband and i just got our welcome letter to us two days ago and we filed on 29 December 2011. We didn't hire any lawyers or get any help except from reading posts on VJ. We didn't even get an interview! You should be able to do it, good luck.

Hello,

Your husband will fill the affidavit of support paperwork and sign it while you will fill everything else and sign them. You should not panic just do it slow but be sure everything is correct and up to the USCIS requirements. Making mistakes will lead to RFEs which you don't want coz they slow the process. My husband and i just got our welcome letter to us two days ago and we filed on 29 December 2011. We didn't hire any lawyers or get any help except from reading posts on VJ. We didn't even get an interview! You should be able to do it, good luck.

Hello VJ members,

What an amazing day to wake up to! I just read my welcome letter from USCIS! I cant believe we have been approved!!!!! At least we didn't expect this to happen so soon. We have been reading other peoples posts and thought it would take at least six months to get the green card. Its 4 and a half months for us since we filled. No interviews! The letter says we should be able to get the GC within the next 3 weeks. Cant wait!

We are just so happy that we can now rest as we wait for removal of conditions after 2 years. So thankful that VJ members were always there to answer our questions when we needed them. It was a long journey......glad its almost over!!!!

My husband and i filed on 29th Dec, received EAD and AP but no GC and interview yet. Our case was transferred to California processing centre. I am just wondering if it depends on where you file or where your case was transferred to for processing. Seems like the California service centre is either very busy or too slow. Still waiting to hear from them...

Well I'll be darned .. I figured a way to find your kenyan wives. If you go to the Immigration timelines at the top of the screen and click it, you will find them. Just click all visas under the visa dispaly option. when the members list shows.. go to the bottom of the screen where you see the filters. choose the country.. in your case kenya and you will see about 6 members. You will be able to click their info and even email them or add them to your contacts.. fell free to email me if you run into problems . Congratulations and Good luck to you and your husband.

Felicia

I am a Kenyan, my husband is American.

Since no one has answered I'll give this a shot. What I would do is include the wrong name, because the name was technically used. You should also attach a sheet explaining everything that surrounds the circumstances of the name and include any paper work you can that verifies your explanation. That may be the only thing you can do. Unless someone else comes along with actual experience with this matter, this may be your best bet. But with anything that I thought they may question all I did was back it up with all the possible evidence that I could. I hope this helps. Good luck to you both.

INCONSISTENCY of names in your applications may cause you a denial. There are places in the application forms where they ask you to fill in ANY OTHER NAMES USED. I have alias that i filled there and they didn't even question it. They just want to know if you have used any other names before for background checks. Just don't fail to include the OMITTED name in ANY OTHER NAME USED section. You will be fine.

aaaaaah finally approved!! I feel blessed.

Thank you to everybody on this site. Just reading what everybody is going through has made the journey easier. Also the embassy reviews and ideas on how to handle different things has been priceless

We are finally approved and i think the journey will be easier now - since we will be handling it together.

Thanks you and good luck to all of you.

Congratulations!

Best of Luck, be patient.

I was as nervous as you are when my husband and i were filing our case. It however turned out to be easier than we thought. The petition might take some time but once approved things start to happen faster. All the best and take it easy.

Hello everyone, my name is Tabitha and Elvis and I just started the visa process. My fiance is from Kenya and yes I know its funny to have a kenyan named Elvis! lol! We just started the process on Wendsday, April 04, 2012, and we are very nervous but excited at the same time. However, I am very nervous because when i check the processing time for Texas it shows they are 16 months behind but I have seen others who have been through the process in my state as early as december who are being processed and interviewed. I pray that all goes well because it's so hard being away from him and its driving me crazy. Elvis has been my best friend of 2 years and he has always been so postive and loving and he tells me everyday that we will make it through this. I just ask for encouragement from my VJ family and thank you to the admins who made this website! God bless and good luck to you all!!!!........Soon To Be Tabitha Onyango

I was as nervous as you are when my husband and i were filing our case. It however turned out to be easier than we thought. The petition might take some time but once approved things start to happen faster. All the best and take it easy.

Hello everyone, my name is Tabitha and Elvis and I just started the visa process. My fiance is from Kenya and yes I know its funny to have a kenyan named Elvis! lol! We just started the process on Wendsday, April 04, 2012, and we are very nervous but excited at the same time. However, I am very nervous because when i check the processing time for Texas it shows they are 16 months behind but I have seen others who have been through the process in my state as early as december who are being processed and interviewed. I pray that all goes well because it's so hard being away from him and its driving me crazy. Elvis has been my best friend of 2 years and he has always been so postive and loving and he tells me everyday that we will make it through this. I just ask for encouragement from my VJ family and thank you to the admins who made this website! God bless and good luck to you all!!!!........Soon To Be Tabitha Onyango

I was as nervous as you are when my husband and i were filing our case. It however turned out to be easier than we thought. The petition might take some time but once approved things start to happen faster. All the best and take it easy.

Every college and university is different.

Some may let you with just the EAD but will consider you an international student and you would have to pay higher tuition and fees.

Some may not.

You will have to call the school you plan to attend.

Thanks Inky and Sheeshkabelle. Will do my research. Might have to wait longer to pay less...

Every college and university is different.

Some may let you with just the EAD but will consider you an international student and you would have to pay higher tuition and fees.

Some may not.

You will have to call the school you plan to attend.

Thanks Inky and Sheeshkabelle, i will do my research. Might have to wait longer to pay less...

I was wondering if one is allowed to go to school in America while their AOS is still pending. Can i use my EAD to go to school? I am thinking of working and hopefully enrolling in school at the same time for a better job placement in future. Any advice?

Vermont does not process adjustment of status. Sending your AOS package to them probably slowed down your process because it would of been relocated to the correct office to be worked on.

Thanks Inky for taking your time to reply to my post. Actually i don't know how i ended up selecting vermont as my service centre. My bad. I actually filed my case with USCIS by sending my package to Chicago Lock Box. I received a NOA saying it has been transferred to California service centre for processing. I haven't heard from them since then and whenever i check the status in the USCIS web page it says its still in the initial review. Filed in December 29, 2011. Just wondering if i should go ahead and contact them to know what's happening or i should stop worrying and wait..

Hello visa Journey members!

I have been a member for a while but never posted. My husband and i send our Adjustment of Status to Vermont Service Station in late December 2011. We filed for 1-485 along with EAD and AP. The EAD and AP was approved in a very short time which was quite surprising given the long awaiting periods some VJ members have had to go through. However the I-485 is taking too long, OR we are getting impatient. Has anyone who applied in December received their interview letters yet? I just want to know am on the right track. Thanks.