JustBreathe

Yes. I married my husband in 2013 and never left. 

9 hours ago, OldUser said:

Are you eligible to file under 5 year rule? If so, you generally don't need to prove marriage to USCIS.

I have been married to a US citizen for 10 years. I think I could have applied after year 3. Right? I just didn't see the benefit to applying. 

I have been married to my husband since 2013. 10 years. 

 I am finally going to apply for citizenship. Do I need to show proof of our marriage for the first 3 years (2013,2014,2015) or can I show current proof? I don't have bills from 10 years ago anymore. 

Any suggestions on what to do?

4 hours ago, NikLR said:

Even if you have the experience to start in management, IMHO, starting lower and working your way up seems to be an easier route.  I haven't had any issues getting promoted within companies in the USA but have always had to take a pay cut and start lower. 

Thank you, I will try that

8 hours ago, HoosierEh said:

Hi, 

 

I've been there and yes that can be it, our canadian universities and many companies / corporations do the same. 

 

I was once told I had to loose the accent!

 

What kind of jobs if you don't mind my asking. 

Health Care -management

6 hours ago, Highmystic said:

Perhaps some companies view you as "over qualified" and would not stay on that job but only until something better comes along.  I don't know what your 10 yrs of exp is for, but you may want to think about scaling back the resume to fit each job you apply for.  I've been there, done that in jobs.

You might be right. Good tip. I will do some resume work today.Thank you! 

8 hours ago, mushroomspore said:

Of course the fact you're not American is a factor. They can't hire non-Americans who are not legally authorized to work in the US. Currently, work visas are also experiencing a major crackdown on fraud and policy enforcement. Many companies do not sponsor non-Americans as it can be too much of a liability for them. A lot of companies now are dropping visa sponsorship due to changing government policies and political atmosphere. So everyone is fighting and competing for the diminishing number of employers who still want to offer visa sponsorship.

I’m a permanent resident

Curious if any other Canadians had issues securing employment in the states? I am post secondary educated/graduate. With 10 years of professional experience in my field. I have applied and applied for many jobs, I do not seem to get even an interview. Has anyone else experienced this? I refuse to think that me not being a US citizen is impacting my chances. Could it be? 

I put in a service request a couple weeks ago. I had been waiting for a call back and of course, they called on a SATURDAY and I missed the call. What happens now? Do they try again? I see that my online status for my ROC says "referral closed". Does anyone have any idea what this means?

I'm a Dec 2015 filer....still waiting

Wanted to share my experience with traveling without having a valid green card.

I lost my expired green card while my ROC was pending. I did have the extension letter from USCIS and I had made an appt with my local field office and got the I-551 stamp in my passport prior to travel. When I got to O'Hare airport flying in from Canada. The customs officer sent me to secondary but I over heard the officer say to another that this was an easy one because I had both the extension letter with my EAC# and my 1-551 stamp. I was only held up less than 5 mins. No issues

This happened to me as well....

I called USCIS and they told me they WILL NOT replace an expired greencard. You are required to file a police report and submit that police report if they ask for it. I filed to remove my conditions and then filed for an I-551 stamp in my passport and they assured me it all will be fine

I just came back from a 2 week trip abroad. I got an infopass appointment before my trip and got the i-551 stamp in my passport. They told me as well that all I needed was my passport to travel and to be able to come back to the USA. Being paranoid as I am I also brought my expired green card and extension letter with me. When I got back to New York they just looked at the passport and they told me that when you travel with the i-551 stamp they always have to do some extra verification so I was taken into the side room. The lady looked through my passport and checked her computer. Took an extra 5-10 minutes - then I was good to go. Wish you the best of luck.

Thanks! I have to cross into Canada in the next month at a land border crossing and I am so nervous. I lost my actual expired Greencard, so I will just have the letter and the stamp in my passport. I plan to bring to bring my biometrics notice too...juat to have more proof

Hello, I would like to go home this december too. But haven't hear anything yet, I filed on Nov 3-2015. Do you think I can get an I-551 stamp and come back to the us with exipire extension letter?

I got the I-551 stamp because I lost my expired Greencard. I made an INFO pass appt and they assured me that travelling with my passport with the I-551 stamp was just fine. I have yet to do it.. but they tell me I will be fine!

anyone else have any stories about this?

Mine was 228

Thanks! I am 377.. this gives me hope

wondering what the last few digits of the EAC 3's of people being approved are?

To meowmie,

Sorry that you got an RFE. The best advice I can give you now is set aside any negative emotions and don't panic. These things happen from time to time, even cases with strong evidence will sometime get randomly selected to provide more evidence. That's because it's been almost a year since the initial applicant was sent in, things could have changed (eg marriage fell apart, no longer living together, marriage dissolution or separation has occured, etc). It could be that your case was randomly selected to provide more recent (and strong) evidence, that' all.

The best course of action is to start gathering new evidence. Do not resend anything that you have already sent, but you are welcome to write a separate cover letter listing all the evidence that were sent previously and include a paragraph like: "adding to the evidence previously submitted, we are including the following evidence that cover the period from the time the initial application was sent up to now"

Now, pay attention, this part is important and could help you (and will do no harm to your case). When you compile your evidence (paperwork), place the stronger evidence before the weaker ones. Anything that shows joint financial assets and debts are good primary evidence (joint lease, joint loans, joint bank account with activities, jointly filed tax returns (add in the w-2s from both spouses or get the official irs tax transcripts)). Since your initial application, you should have a 2015 joint tax return ready for submission, so include it. Note that if any of your recent tax returns since your marriage was not filed in the category of "married filed jointly" then it is not considered strong primary evidence and you should write out a statement explaining why your taxes werent filed jointly. Don't forget to Include joint health insurance (get a letter from the insurer to "validate" that the joint health insurance is still active as of today, or, even better see if the insurer can add in the date the insurance policy became active with both of you being covered under the same policy); unlike homeowner or auto insurance polies which generally list out the time periods such policies are valid, health insurance often do not include this information on the insurance cards themselves, so get a letter from the insurer if you can.

Weak (secondary) evidence should be placed toward the back of your paperwork. That would be your photos, affidavits, utility bills, vacation trip itineraries, christmas cards/correspondence, etc. if you are planning to include more of them.

Note: for all evidence with joint names, take a yellow highlighter and highlight both names (spouses) on those paperwork. Do that for every piece of paperwork that include both names. This helps the case officers when reviewing your documents ; in effect it draws their eyes/attention to those strong documents with both spouses name on them.

Also, find or buy some file tab stickers or post it note pad. For each type of evidence, place a tab sticker on the right side of the 1st page of eqch evidence type, hand write the name/title of that evidence type. Keep going down yoir evidence packet until you have covered all evidence types you are submitting. Besure to layer the stickers so they are easily for the case officer to access (like a filing tab system). This makes it easier for the officers to thumb through your evidence (and not inadvertently miss an important piece of strong evidence espeicallt if it was a single-page evidence)

Please do not print anything double-sided. Uscis case officers (regardless of which office location) hate double-side printed evidence. Print everything single -sided (one printed side per page). Also, do not hole-punch (top or side) your evidence paperwork. Use a simple file clip to bind all the paperwork together, and do not use prong-hole style paper fastener....another thing they hate (cut accidents happen quite often)

Submit your response to RFE as quickly as possible, do not delay it if all you are waiting for are weak evidence (like your utility bills that are just now being added -- kind of pointless at this point unless you have no other stronger primary evidence to include). Once Vermont service center receives your response, they have up to 60 days to adjudicate your case. If they pass the 60-day mark, your case would be considered "outside of processing time" and you could then follow up and request it to be escalated.

The result of your response to the RFE is either going to be a straight approval or it's going to be an interview at the local office. You have nothing to fear as long as you have a bona fide marriage. It will not be a straight denial, so dont worry (honestly though, with your evidence this is unlikely to happen to you), no one case officer can straight out deny your case -- it takes 2. Before a case can be denied, the case officer making such a decision would need his/her supervisor to review and agree with that decision and come to the same conclusion that there is something very fishy about the case even after RFE and interview. Again, I doubt that will be your case so this really is just for informational purpose.

Relax. Gather your evidence, stack them in the order of strongest primary evidence on top and weak ones at the bottom, highlight the pertinent portions (joint names), create a file-tab system for easy review, type up and sign a cover letter listing all the name/title of the evidence you are submitting (and the period they cover) as well as the ones previously submitted (and the periods they covered). Don't worry about missing the secondary "fluff" evidence unless you feel your primary evidence are lacking and the "fluff" actually make your case stronger when combined with primary evidence. All "fluff" evidence should be place at bottom of your evidence stack.

Make a complete copy of the entire package before you send it to the service center. This may come in handy in the event that you are selected for an interview; it's easier when you have a complete copy of the evidence the interviewer is looking at when they open up your case file during the interview, and also as a reference point of what evidence have been submitted up to this point.

Are you a lawyer or did you work for USCIS? How come you are so confident in this..... Not trying to be rude. Just wondered how someone who is going through the process like the rest of us can be so assured on these things?

Hello All,

The long awaited text/status update is here. This happened just 2 mins back - Just got a text that my case has been updated. I logged in to check USCIS case status and it says "On September 15, 2016, we ordered your new card for Receipt Number EACXXXXXXXXX, and will mail it to the address you gave us. If you move, go towww.uscis.gov/addresschange to give us your new mailing address."

I'm a Vermont Filer, and below is my timeline

Date Filed : 2015-10-10 NOA Date : 2015-10-14 RFE(s) : None Bio. Appt. : 2015-11-10

Good Luck everyone! Vermont filers are up for a surprise

congrats!!!

I just wanted to share my experience with obtaining an I-551 stamp in my passport

I had filed an I-751 to remove the conditions on my 2 yr conditional card and my application is pending. I lost my expired Greencard and was told that I was not able to get a replacement card because they do not replace expired card. No need to fill out an I-90 as my I-751 was pending.

I need to travel to Canada to see my sick mother.

I made an INFO pass appt at my Louisville field office. I explained my situation to the officer I spoke with. I had with me my 1 yr extension letter and explained I was without a Greencard. He gave me no trouble at all and offered to put the I-551 stamp in my passport and assured me that traveling without my Greencard and only my passport and the extension letter will be fine. He did not require proof that my mother was sick.

I had read online that some field offices will not or cannot provide the stamp. My office was no issue... he was polite and offered to help!

Im a December filer... so hearing that some VSC filers are being approved makes me happy!!

I am asking this for a friend ( i went through the k-1 process in 2013 and things may have changed since then)

He mailed his checklist off 7 weeks ago and is waiting to book his interview. Is 7 weeks a concern? Should he have heard something? He is using a lawyer and wonders if the lawyer missed an email from the Consulate

Wow that is just nuts. Were you using a US CC? I wonder if that could have been the issue, someone had to be doing something wrong on there end if the bank says there's no issue. I'm guessing here as it just doesn't make sense.

Glad you got it sorted out now.

I have a Canadian (CIBC) credit card still and I used that 2 times...no luck.

Then I tried a US one, ...no luck.

Then my sister sent in hers and it worked?!?

No explanation why. Other than human error on their part punching in the numbers. Which is crazy to have that many errors. Who are they hiring??!?

I had a small binder and each page was the contents of the numbered boxes.

If it was an assorted mix of things I listed most things on that one page

if one box was full of a specific thing I just labelled it as a general "kitchen items" or "house decorations" for example

I was asked for my list of what I was bringing and the border guard did go through page by page. However, he never looked in the Uhaul at all.

They aren't going to read the number back to you. They can't be sure who you are over the phone.

Just give them the new number again, because someone screwed up punching the numbers in.

I called in my number again. "Invaild Acct" again. Then I faxed in my husbands number "Invalid acct" again. 4 cards were tried in total. 4 cards came back "invalid acct" All those cards are actively being used.

They ended up reading me the numbers that they tried and the had them right. There was no reason for the "invalid acct" - when I called the bank for each of these cards, I was told there was no issue with the cards. When I asked Passport Canada what "invalid acct" meant- she said that the number on the card was incorrect and did not attach to a real card. (well that is just wrong)

anyways- I sent my sister to the Passport office in my home town, she submitted her Mastercard # and it worked. However, the supervisor I talked to told me incorrect informatiom. Just an FYI- you cannot just go pay for a US based application at a Canadian Passport office. They can however forward the payment info to Gatineau for processing.

All in all.... there was no explaination for why 4 cards came back Invalid acct (not declined) just Invalid. When all said and done.. this will have been a 3 month process for a stupid unexplainable reason. Every agent I talked to and Supervisor said they had never heard or seen this before.

I sent in my application for my Passport with my new married name beginning of June. Its now almost August and no Passport

I wrote in my credit card # on the application. I them had my wallet stolen with that credit card. I cancelled the card and got a new one. While it was cancelled Passport Canada attempted to pay for my new passport. It was declined. I called in my new number and they cannot process it and they say my account is Invalid. I called CIBC, its not. My card is fine, I have used it, and paid my bill. Called Passport back. to try again. Same thing. Between each call is a week as the application goes into the "que" Its now been almost 2 months. I called and was angry today because I just want to know what # they have on file. They tell me they cannot tell me that. I asked to speak to a supervisor and they took my phone number and told me a supervisor will call me WITHIN 2 WEEKS!!!

Has anyone had this issue with Passport Canada?