VikingMamma

Hi Everyone,
My husband was approved for the oath ceremony last month following his citizenship interview. They told us it would take up to 2 months for him to receive the letter, and we're still within that time frame. However, as of Monday, I can no longer pull up his case status online. When I enter in the receipt number, we only see the image of "my" with the scrolling lines and no updates. Does USCIS close out online case status once they issue an oath letter, is this a bug, or should we be concerned? 

Thanks!

Hi all,

My husband and I were on vacation immediately following the filing of his I-751 petition. We sent my mom to check the mail today, and they scheduled his biometrics appointment while we were away, and its now passed... According to the document, his petition is going to be considered abandoned.... There is now way for us to have known the appointment would be scheduled so quickly, how can we remedy this? Just call?

We are leaving on Thursday, so I dont know that that is very realistic (the nearest office is in San Antonio)... I wish I would've known to make an InfoPass appointment sooner

Hi All,
It's been a little while since I've posted on here, but I need some guidance. My husband and I are leaving to visit his home country this week and we have not received a NOA/Extension of Stay receipt for his CR-1 visa.We had to file it later than planned due to some bills that needed to be urgently paid. Obviously, the USCIS team is being less than helpful because it's been less than 30 days since we filed his paperwork and we can't initiate a claim until it's been more than 30 days...

Is there anything we can do to prevent him being denied re-entry if the receipt doesn't come in time?

My husband and I were long-distance on and off until after he received his green card. I think they are relatively understanding that marriage doesn't look like 1 specific lifestyle. That said, include everything you can that shows you two are invested in each other.

I know that sounds stupid, but isn't there one more fee? Hubs has his visa sticker in his passport and his sealed visa package. Our POE is Denver on 05/02/13. I thought there was one more fee for a greencard... but can't find it online? Is that only for certain visas?

Also, for the adjustment of status in 2 years, does that countdown begin on the visa issue date, his first US entry date, or from his greencard issuance date?

Thanks!

Excellent . Congratulations. I am thrilled for you wooo whooo.:dance:

Thank you so much!

We were approved! It took all of two minutes! The visa will be ready in just a few days

this has been very helpful! thankyou for your time! at this point, he will probably have to return on his F-1 visa to home and put some affairs in order, then come back in may/june so we can get started while living with my parents.

about the "proof of income" - can anyone cosponsor us? i only make about $5000/yr on while being a fulltime student. does it have to be a family member, or is a close family friend also acceptable?

I'm not in the same position as you regarding the Adjustment of Status, but I was also a full-time student until this past year (our interview is today!). I had almost no income the past year because of having our daughter and before that averaged around 3k per year... So, I got my mom to be a joint sponsor (meaning she also had to file an I-864 Affidavit of Support with the supporting documentation just I liked I did) and no problems. If you plan on moving out of your parents house shortly after being married, I recommend this option... If you plan on living with your parents for quite some time, you can always just have your parents file I-864As as household members. Hope that helps!

Going in for our interview in just three hours! We havent slept a wink because we were traveling with hubs sports team all of yesterday and last night... Can't wait until the interview is over and we can just CRASH! Anyone else have interviews today? Will try to post as soon as I can about how the interview went.

Ugh that's frustrating. Hope it's quick for you!

LOL. Wait until Boiler jumps in...

To the OP... In my experience Canada has a Social System, and if she needs assistance with housing I am sure that before you BOTH leave HER country you should start there. She may need to go back to work. She may need to work out staying with Friends. She may need to see if she can stay with MOM. You will be separated.. and she will need to survive. You seemed concerned for her.. then You may need to figure out how to afford housing in BOTH countries.

Original poster.. I am speaking from experience.. trust me when I say.. I am a single mom, thanks to our choices on how to handle this immigration situation. I am here in the US with a 2 year old and WE have to send each other money all the time back and forth until this is all over. I housed my husband in Canada for 6 months to get us through the Birth of our child. I traveled back and forth thru a Michigan / Canadian winter until 2 days before I had our daughter. All I am saying is... it wont be easy.. but you can do it. Stop crying, think logically, and figure out a means to an end. This will be over soon, and you will get thru it. But don't break the rules, figure out cheaper housing for her in Canada, and file for your visa.

Ditto this. You've got to get your head on straight. I've got a 15 month old who couldn't pick her dad out of a line-up if she had to, up until recently... because she's spent more time away from him than she has with him, because of the immigration process. Be happy it's just the two of you that you have worry about in this process! That being said, We have managed just fine. Yes, it sucked being apart but, if you two really love each other and want to be together, y'all need to buck up and push forward. In the grand scheme of life what's a couple months? I recommend you get a support network set up for both of you. It will make the process a whole lot easier.One or the other of us has been unemployed throughout this whole process, but we still made things work financially and with our living situations... We couldn't have done that without having a plan and seeking out support, both virtually and IRL.

Also, read up on the guides here on VisaJourney. They are a lifesaver and I have never had an RFE thanks to the wonderful help of the people on here. Get informed so you can speed up the process as much as possible! GL

Sorry, haven't checked in in awhile... Just wanted to say that my cased was received by the Embassy today and the CO sent me an email! She was so nice and informed us of the new Police Record requirements and reminded us to get the medical done (which we already have.

So excited that it's less than a month until the interview!!

If you are looking to change name in near future, I don't have good answer. However, one can change name when he/she becomes a US citizen

I am the USC

Okay so, because my husband is Icelandic and women don't traditionally assume the last name of their spouse upon marriage, hubs and I went back and forth about taking his last name for a long time. Finally, we agreed that I would take his last name, but now we are almost through with the visa process and I'm not sure when is the best time to change my name legally. I'm assuming after would be the best time? And once I do complete my name change, what is the proper process for notifying the US authorities so we don't run into any problems with his visa?

aaaaaH. What are we going to do with these men we love so much. Mine just cannot believe we met in Nov 2012. he keeps saying it has to have been much earlier than that even though I have the date and time he called me to the T .

Its best you go to "embassy reviews" on the top screen of VJ and select your country. That way you narrow your study to question trends in that particular embasy/consulate and become more familiar with it. Just dont get bogged down by any negative review. A lot of people come out to say it is easier than what is painted by some. Key words are preparation and confidence.

hahahahahah! That is hilarious! And makes me feel better that my hubs isn't the only one

Thanks for the info! I appreciate it. And good luck getting your hubs to get the right dates as well

Congratulations everyone on their interviews! April is going to be an exciting month and we are almost there!!!

Can anyone tell me where I can find a sample list of interview questions specifically for the IR/CR-1? I'm already prepping hubs on dates (he still always says 2011 is the year we met even though he knows it's 2010 and just forgets! :S) but I'd love for him to be better prepared so he doesn't get to nervous during the interview.

Congratulations do you mind if I add you to the interview list just for reference sake. WOW that is awesome.

I don't mind at all!

Congrats!

Ours is coming up in 2 weeks. *freaking out*

Thanks! and thanks also to champi

I'm so glad all your stuff got sorted out pretty quickly then!!!

Here's hoping we have easy, breezy interviews! Fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly for you

GOT AN INTERVIEW DATE!!! APRIL 10!!!

CASE COMPLETE WOOOHOOOO!!!!! Hoping for easy, fast case completion for everyone else!!

Called to confirm AOS acceptance today! They are only waiting on the IV package, which means they probably just haven't reviewed it yet! She said "your Affidavit of Support is Complete." So nice to hear the word complete even if it isn't case complete, quite yet at least

Hubs and I had a baby before sending the I-130 petition and it didn't help us speed it up at all. Still took the average amount of time.

WOOHOOO! I got a checklist today! That means they've started reviewing our case and everything made it!!!

How can I tell if it's a false checklist or not?

It says it's waiting for the IV app and has a barcode attached... I sent them at the same time so does that just mean they haven't started on the IV app packet yet?

either way.... SO happy to have some form of contact from the NVC!

No packets being reviewed so far on my case :/ Seriously hoping they got there. I don't know why they wouldn't... i checked the address meticulously a million times. It will be two weeks on Wednesday.... and it can take up to 15 weekdays though just to even get there though, so who knows... I will call again on Friday and if they haven't heard anything, then I'll consider panicking...

Remember, a package will only show up in the operators' system once the review has begun. Until then, it shows up as not being received. It's very likely your package is in the building, just that the review hasn't started yet. Did you not get tracking for your packages?

Yep! you're right. I was just hoping maybe they had started reviewing! I'm aiming for an April interview according to what the CO at the Embassy said. I've got this week and next week I think to get an April interview day, so I'm reaaaally hoping they look at ours on Monday!

Unfortunately we did not get tracking for our packages :/ Between the IV Bill, weird Danish pay schedules, and moving from Denmark, we were really short on cash this month so just getting them as priority A was a stretch. Still, I have faith in the Icelandic postal service. They've never screwed anything up so far! (*knock on wood* 7,9,13 [ that one's an icelandic superstition!])