Mr. Borkström

Thank you kindly.

My wife (US citizen) and I (10 year green card holder) recently bought a house and moved. I filled out the change of address form online at the USCIS website. I got an email confirmation that they received my online form.

Does my wife (who was/is my sponsor) also need to change her address? We still live together at the same address...

If she needs to change her address as well, how and where does she do that?

Thank you!

Things are going good! I got my citizenship last week and winter has finally arrived! And with this being our last winter up here i am enjoying this white stuff to its fullest!

Awesome! I'm glad to hear it.

Congratulations Mr B!!

Thanks! How are things up in Alaska?

Thank you. I am so relieved.

Thank you.

Congratulations Mr Borkström

Thanks.

This is beyond exciting. Really happy to hear it, si man!

Your next step, as you might recall, is outlined here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/382775-mrs-t-b-the-citizenship-test/

Thank you Sir.

When I get a little more spare time I'm going to properly fill out the details in my timeline.

Wow. It's been a long time since I posted here.

But I have good news. It has been a long journey to get to the point where I am right now. On Sunday it was six years since my wife and I met in person for the first time. It's been over four years since we were married. It has been almost three years since I moved to the United States of America and it's been close to a year since we submitted the request to have the conditional status of my green card removed so I could become a "real" permanent resident.

Emotionally it has been rough. Going such a long time without knowing whether I would be allowed to stay with my wonderful awesome wife has been nagging at me. It has always been there at the back of my mind. The rest of my life has been depending on my legal status and that is not something that I have been able to brush aside.

Well. Now I do not have to worry about it any longer. Our request has been approved and I will shortly be getting my permanent green card. I have been granted the grace of staying with the woman I love.

Thank you kindly.

I got the notice of action today. My request for removal of conditions on my green card was approved. I should be getting my "real" permanent green card within 60 days.

The evidence we sent in, from what I can remember off tge top of my head was the correct tax papers, copy of the will we got, affidavit from my wife's mom that we live together under the conditions previously stated (i.e. in a house my on-laws own), additional photos if my wife and I... I feel like there was more, like documents stating my address and employment and such but I am afraid I don't remember exactly.

I'm beyond relieved! Thanks for all the support I've gotten here. I truly appreciate it.

Hey Mr B! Good to see you here again!

Is uscis being a pain in the butt with the removing of conditions for you guys?

Long time no see! How are you doing up in Alaska?

It's not too bad I guess. Biggest bummer is it's taking so long. I submitted my application to remove conditions in November 2014. I have to send in more evidence by the end of August. I have no idea how long it'll take before we're done with all the paper work.

Yesterday evening I got back to Pittsburgh. I've visited family and friends back home in Västerås. I had a wonderful time. Saw a bunch of people, ate some good food that I've missed (chicken with cashews from Spicy Hot, Abbas fiskbullar i hummersås, Swedish calzone-pizza etc.). I landed at Arlanda in the morning on Tuesday July 28 and, well, I just got back last night. The first week the weather was sort of crappy. The second and third weeks were just wonderful! I had a great time but it's also great to be back in the US with my lovely wife (who was unable to come with me on my trip).

I'm (still) in the process of applying to remove the conditions on my green card. Before I left I went to the local USCIS office and got a stamp in my passport, showing that my green card has been extended while they're handling my application. When I landed at Newark, Immigrations took me aside to verify the stamp and that I've applied to have the conditions removed. I didn't have any problems and it took maybe 15-20 minutes (on a Sunday morning). But I'm just posting this so people will remember that it may be a good idea to get that stamp in your passport of you're leaving the US before your green card conditions have been lifted.

Seeing your pictures really makes me want to go back now! Really nice pictures

Yeah for me Pearl Harbor was also why I picked Oahu. I couldn't go out to the USS Arizona Memorial as there was some bad weather coming in and they wouldn't let anyone go out there. I did get to go on USS Missouri were the sign the peace treaty so that was nice. Like you said, it's very emotional to be there and the word "cool" just feels wrong to use.

I stayed at the Maile Sky Court. Would only recommend it if you can't afford anything else. I was making minimum wage and picked it. Doesn't include any meals but it's close to the beach though I was too busy with tours etc that I think I only really spent a few hours actually being on the beach

I went up to Diamond head, took a submarine tour to see fish and the coolest thing I've ever done: Helicopter tour over the island. I hate heights and I really hate flying but the Helicopter tour was so amazing I forgot all about being scared

Sounds wonderful!

I was recommended to go on a helicopter tour, but both my wife and I are afraid of heights, so we passed on that.

I went to Waikiki in 2012 when I was on vacation from my Au Pair job. First time I've ever traveled on vacation by myself It was the most amazing experience ever!! What did you guys do? Did you go to Pearl Harbor and that kind of stuff or were you just enjoying the beach?

We went in November. Plane tickets and hotel for one week in Waikiki was $2.950 or something like that. The weather was really nice, warm but not too hot. Our hotel was two blocks from the beach - perfect walking distance. Not as expensive as if we'd been right on the beach and still near enough to the beach that it took us like 5 minutes to walk there.We stayed at the Vive Hotel by the way. I can really recommend it.

Aside from enjoying the beach and the Pacific Ocean, we went to the Honolulu Zoo, we went hiking up on Diamond Head, the extinct volcano (although we didn't go all the way to the top, we're both afraid of heights. 3/4 of the way was about as far as we made it - plenty for us). We went to Germaine's Luau, en excellent experience. Fun entertainment right on the beach and good food. That was something my wife really wanted to do. I was kinda indifferent to it but once there, I really enjoyed it. The concierge at the hotel said Germaine's is the best luau to go to on Oahu and yeah, it was really neat.

We did go to Pearl Harbor. That was actually the main reason why we didn't go to one of the other islands. My wife's grandpa was stationed there when the Japanese attacked (he was in some sort of non-fighting branch so he was stationed on a part of the base that wasn't as badly bombed). Even for me who's not American it was rather emotional. We watched a 25-minute documentary about the attack and we went out on the USS Arizona Memorial. I don't want to say it was cool, cause cool is not the right word. But it was very interesting.

We also went into Honolulu to the Iolani Palace and we looked for this pizza place we'd heard of. We found it, but it had moved and the new place as such was just a crappy dive bar. The pizza was very good, but I was a little disappointed by the overall pizza place experience.

Anywho... Hawaii was great! The best week of my life. We want to go back. We're hoping by 2018 we will have saved up enough money to go again, and that's also the year my step daughter graduates high school, so we want to bring the kids also (I have a step son who's 20 and a step dahughter who's 14, almost 15). She didn't buy the argument that people never take their kids on their honeymoon, but next time it'll just be a regular vacation. We'll most likely go to Maui or the Big Island next time though. As much as I loved Oahu, Waikiki and Honolulu seems to be where most tourists go.

Pictures from our trip on my blog: https://mrborkstrom.wordpress.com/2015/01/02/hawaii-2/

Hi! *waves*

Us old timers are still around, see? Sorry to here about your RFE, I kept thinking we were going to get one for ROC, but it seems our ROC wait was short and without issue. Maybe it is the universe's way of balancing out the crappy job they did with the CR1.

4 tickets to Denmark next year for us, but at least children are usually given a discount. I'd be happy to sacrifice my ticket for the money saving and that we wouldn't need to rent a car if I didn't go (but, also I could do without going back), but alas, my husband is too chicken to handle two kids on his own.

Are you going to go for citizenship when it comes up?

Yes I think I will apply for citizenship. It just feels like that will make life easier down the line. I don't know whether my wife and I will ever move to Sweden, but if we do and we want to move back the US, I won't have to go through the whole green card thing again. I am very glad we did do everything the right (legal) way, but waiting to get the visa waa rough.

I have created a facebook group! I think you can just search for it and request to be members if it doesn't work PM me your link or name on facebook and I'll send you a friend request. Group is called Scadinavians in America. I'll try to make the group look pretty by the time you get there

I'd love to join the group.

I don't know if it's ok for me post in this thread anymore cause I'm in the process of getting my two-year green card converted to a "full" non-conditional permanent green card. We got a request for more evidence so my wife and I are getting more papers together. We're getting a will, among other things. I can't wait to be done with USCIS.

My wife and I went on our honeymoon to Waikiki last November. That was the best week of my life. We are definitely going back to Hawaii some day.

I'm going home to visit family and friends in Sweden this summer. Booked plane tickets tonight. Wish my wife could go too but it's so damn expensive!

Edit: Hi N-o-l-a!

Thanks, I greatly appreciate it.

Ugh. Yesterday I got that yellow letter. I'm trying really hard not to let it get to me.

I have lived in the US since December 2012. My wife (US citizen) and I live in a house that her parents own. Our names are not on any deed. We don't really pay rent, just utilities and such, which are still in her parents' name(s). We don't have kids (she has two from before, a 20yo son and a 14yo daughter). Her daughter stays with us on the weekends and with their dad during the school weeks. We don't really have any shared finances, like bank accounts or anything like that. My wife makes (much more) money than I do, I only work at Target (have done so since September 2013). I don't have a drivers license, so my name is not on the car that she bought a couple months after I moved here.

When we sent in the application (in November) we sent in:

- photo copy of green card

- copy of marriage certificate (we got married in Sweden in 2011 but we also had a ceremony here in Pittsburgh for her friends and family)

- evidence of joint health care

- affidavit from a friend of ours (who have known us for a long time and whom we've met going back to before we were married; I first visited Pittsburgh and my wife and this friend in 2010)

- 2013 joint tax documents "without evidence they were properly filed with the IRS" (what does that mean?)

- an emergency contact document

- utilities (internet/tv bill) in my name

- travel documents (our honeymoon in Hawaii)

What else can we send in? We're getting an affidavit from my wife's mom, testifying that we've lived together in the house since I moved here. Also getting an affidavit from a different friend, whom we visited in 2010 during my visit here and whom we've also met in Pittsburgh and Washington DC. I'm also thinking of photos from various occasions (we've been to NYC twice, Ocean City MD, Detroit, Hawaii of course, Washington DC and Pittsburgh of course. We're also sending in more tax papers for last year's taxes, Sprint bills showing my wife as the "main person" and my name on one of the phone numbers of the account. I'm listed as an authorized user on her credit card. Copies of her drivers license and my state ID (with our address).

I was also featured in a newspaper article about immigrants living in Pittsburgh. It was in the local paper (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). I was interviewed in March last year and the article was printed in the paper this spring. Is that something worth sending in? Pay stubs from Target, showing my address as the same as that of my wife...? What about affidavit from one or two co-workers (who see us often at the store together) or new friends outside of work? They have not known us from the start of our marriage, but they could testify that we are in a real marriage...?

That's all I can think of right now off the top of my head.

I'm going home to Sweden this summer to visit family and friends. My wife is (hopefully) coming too, but only for part of my stay (we hope to fly home to Pittsburgh together). We'll be back before the last date to send supporting documents in. I'm picking up my renewed Swedish passport this Friday and requesting an info pass so I can get that stamp in my passport showing that my green card's been extended for one year. Anywho, I thought maybe I can send in the itinerary once we've booked our plane tickets...

That's all I can think of right now. Sorry if I'm not very coherent, I'm kinda stressed out at the moment.

If we get called to an interview, what is that like? We really are in a bona fide marriage and this is a weight on my shoulders.

Long time no see/read Bork!

Got my NOA1 for ROC on December 1st. Still no biometric appointment letter.. Strange..

As far as a sticker, no. You can get a stamp at your local CIS office at an InfoPass, but you don't really need it. The NOA1 letter acts as valid proof of your permanent resident status until the 10 year card arrives in the mail.

How you doin' man!?

I know the NOA1 letter works, but if I don't have the 10 year green card by the time we go home and visit in Sweden this summer, I think I'll prefer to get a stamp in my new passport.

My wife and I went on our honeymoon in Waikiki btw. It was the best week of my life!

https://mrborkstrom.wordpress.com/2015/01/02/hawaii-2/

Mr. Borkstrom, if you're living in Pittsburgh your service center would be VSC. For now I'll add your bio date but pls furnish us the other dates when you can. Good luck!

California Service Center (8 applicants)

VJName..............Date of I-751...NOA1 Date....Biometrics.....Approved

VISANESE..............11/01/14......11/04/14......11/25/14......--/--/--

ANNIECRUZ.............11/03/14......11/04/14......11/25/14......--/--/-- (Early bio: 11/14/14)

SHARITO83.............11/04/14......11/06/14......12/02/14......--/--/--

MY UK LOVE............11/04/14......11/06/14......12/10/14......--/--/--

CADREAMER.............11/05/14......11/07/14......12/02/14......--/--/--

ZENTACO...............11/10/14......11/--/14......12/04/14......--/--/--
QUAN12................11/26/14......--/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

JAMAICAN LUV..........11/29/14......--/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

Vermont Service Center (16 applicants)

VJName..............Date of I-751...NOA1 Date....Biometrics.....Approved

SRRAGH................10/29/14......11/04/14......11/26/14......--/--/--

YIALANLIU.............11/01/14......11/05/14......12/05/14......--/--/--

MOEMAC59..............11/03/14......11/05/14......12/04/14......--/--/--
PPIHTR123.............11/04/14......11/06/14......12/01/14......--/--/-- (Early bio: 11/28/14)

NEIL81................11/04/14......11/05/14......12/05/14......--/--/-- (Early bio: 11/21/14)

MERC0230..............11/05/14......11/07/14......12/10/14......--/--/--

CILLYX5...............11/05/14......11/07/14......12/11/14......--/--/--

JUSTMARRIED12.........11/07/14......11/12/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

T & P.................11/08/14......11/14/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

SVIAT87...............11/10/14......11/14/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

NOV14FILERS...........11/10/14......11/24/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

CRIS&SILVI............11/15/14......11/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

NICAUS................11/17/14......11/19/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

ITERTHEWAY............11/24/14......12/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

BRIAN&IVY.............11/24/14......12/--/14......--/--/14......--/--/--

MR.BORKSTROM..........11/--/14......11/--/14......12/02/14......--/--/--

IMPORTANT!

* Make sure that your VJ Text Editor setting is set to Rich Text Editor.
* Go to the MOST RECENTLY POSTED VERSION of this list (go to the last post and scroll UP) and "Reply" to it, deleting the "quote" tags in your reply.
* Please DO NOT change the font, font size, add colors, stuff like that.
* Please PREVIEW before posting to make sure it is properly formatted.
* Please check that you have not deleted anyone's NAME & DATA.

Date of I-751 = The Date you sent your application.
NOA Date = The Receipt Date on your original NOA letter.
Biometrics = The Date of your biometrics appointment.
Approved = The Date your case was approved.

* Please Capitalize your VJ Name when adding it to the list.
* When you're on this list, please come back to update your information accordingly.

* If you cannot add your information yourself, please ask another VJ member to help you do so.

Thanks guys. Let's see here. Date of I-751, is that when I sent in my application? And NOA1 is the date of the I-797? If so then I believe my I-751 date is November 14 (but I will have to double check that) and NOA1 date is November 17.

Things are a little confused. Here's what happened.

My wife and I sent in my application in early November. I got an I-797 letter. I am not sure if I still have it. I believe I later got a letter saying I had not written out the check correctly, so I had to write a new check and send in the application again.

I got an I-797C, a notice for a biometrics appointment.

I got a new I-797, saying they had accepted my check and that my green card had been extended for a year.

I went on the appointment on December 2.

I then got a second almost identical I-797C, an appointment for December 15. I realized that the Application # on the first appointment notice did not match the # on the second I-797. So I went to the second biometrics appointment. I talked to a manager and she said for me to email Vermont and tell them to do a SRMT and upload my biometrics from the first case # to the second case #.

I emailed them as she instructed on December 22. I got an auto-reply saying they had received my email. And nothing has happened since, so that's where I stand right now.

I hope I'm posting in the right place this time.

I sent in my application to the USCIS some time in mid November. I forget the exact dates. I did get the paper back saying my green card has been extended for a year. I got an appointment to complete biometrics. I went and did that this morning in fact. I'll have to look at the paperwork to verify dates.

Ooh, forgot to mention that I sent my package in last week and got a notice today saying they'd received my application to remove the conditional status of my residency, or something like that.

I'm a little confused, I thought I read somewhere that you get a sticker or something to put on your green card to show your residency has been extended for a year?

I sent my package in last week and got a notice today saying they'd received my application to remove the conditional status of my residency, or something like that.

I'm a little confused, I thought I read somewhere that you get a sticker or something to put on your green card to show your residency has been extended for a year?