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James and Leny

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Posts posted by James and Leny

    Confused.. and I really need some answer..

    in Adjustment of Status (Green Card) from K1 and K3 Family Based Visas

    Posted

    Hi Sis!

    I am in the same dilemma right now. My husband and I got married at NY. When we filed for our marriage license two months ago, the secretary only asked me what surname will I use upon marriage. I gave my fiancé's (then) last name as the surname I will be using. Then we explained to her that we want my middle name to be changed to my maiden name as the Filipino conventional way of naming when a Filipina gets married but she said they don't allow that. I will need a court order for that.

    I am very bothered about it so we went back again to their office to clarify my situation. Still we got the same answer. They would NOT allow us. She just gave us the number of the county supreme court to inquire about name change. When we called the court, they wanted to know my status to see if I am allowed to do a name change. The K1 status filing for an AOS is not a concrete status for them so they asked us to call USCIS. I called USCIS but the person who took my query was of no help.

    Now we are running out of time since we only have a little more of 3 weeks before my I-94 expires and we want to file the AOS as soon as possible. I don't want my IDs, documents not having the same name so I will stick to the legal name I am supposed to have here: FirstName OriginalMiddleName Husband'sLastName. I will just have to deal with the renewal of my Philippine passport before the year ends (it will expire by Feb of next year) and just file for an Affidavit of One and the Same Person. I will do a Legal Name Change when my GC comes and change everything to the Filipino conventional way of naming. Talk about enough stress I can't handle anymore. LOL I want to have a good, deep sleep. This is making me and my husband insane... :bonk:

    I am wondering though how you did it. I couldn't risk putting my name the way I want it : FirstName MaidenName Husband'sSurname as I have read from others experience that they might have gotten through with the SSA but then when they had their interview for the AOS, the IO changed it back to the legal way of naming and some had trouble with the DMV too because they won't allow a different middle name (maiden name) but the legal middle name. They will ask for a court order as proof before they allow you.

    Health Insurance for a Fiancée

    in Moving to the US and Your New Life In America

    Posted

    Hello fellow VJers! :-)

    I am wondering if my fiancé can include me in his health insurance while I am still in a K1 visa status. Our wedding is scheduled to be on March 23. Can we do the process as early as now or should we wait until we get married? What are the requirements in case we apply? I don't have a SSN yet though. We intend to apply one for me within this week or perhaps next week. Thank you for the help. :-)

    Keeping Busy

    in General Immigration-Related Discussion

    Posted

    Are you the USC or the benificiary?

    If you are the benificiary you can:

    Enjoy your friends and familly while you still live with them. Never say no to a dinner invitation, call all of your friends and meet with them as often as you can, go for a tour and discover things you've always want to go see and you never did.

    Try to think of what you want to do to ease your integration once in the US (want to be part of a club? etc... you can start searching for things so you look even more forward to it)

    For the relationship: Talk, talk, talk. Communication is the key to any succesful relationship, but being separated, we really can't afford to let things go and miscommunicate. If you hung up the phone or skype and your fiancé(e) is upset, he/she is gonna stay that way. She/he won't miraclelously think "ok, that was stupid" because you cooked a nice dinner, smiled a lot, made jokes and made the stupid argument you had go away cause it didn't really matter. No, cause you won't be there to do that. Instead, he or she will worry about it, talk to friends who will take her/his side, make the matter bigger than it is, and still be upset next time you call (and most probably hide it, because you guys are far, and nobody wants to make it worse... so you won't have a chance to find out the problem is still there). So talk as much as you can, never assume problems are gonna desapear, express your feelings, and your fears so your significant other knows what to expect and how to react and everything. Being parted implies a fair deal of patient, self knowledge, introspection, listenning and sharing. This is all the more important in a bi-cultural relationship and with the fear of the foreign fiancé to leave her/his home country to move to the unknown.

    The worst fight I ever had with my fiancé were because we kept our feelings to ourselves, could see things only through our own perspective and totally misunderstood the other person real motivation behind his actions. We were both assuming the other one didn't really care about what our own feelings were, when we just didn't even suspected those feelings existed because we had totally different perspectives.

    Distance is really not an excuse for less communication, it is a nececity for moreyes.gif

    Other than that... the wait is gonna drive you crazy. But it is ok, it does for all of us. Just remember we all survive this yes.gif

    So true! :-)

    In the US with K1 Visa - Getting married by March - What's the best thing to do for now?

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Go and get the SSN NOW!!! If they cannot verify your immigration status in the SAVE database have them look you up by A#. If still not finding you, ask for a supervisor. If they are totally brain dead LEAVE. DO NOT let them do a verify with the USCIS as that will take weeks and your I-94 may expire before that happens and then you have to wait for your EAD card or GC in order to get the SSN. After you leave, write an e-mail to the main SSA office on their website listing the SSA office you visited, the date, time and whom you spoke to and what they told you. You should get an e-mail to take back to the local SSA office to educate them on the procedures for issuing a K-1 a SSN.

    After you get married, see if you can get certified copies of the Marriage Cerrtificate that day or the next to include with the package. Some states have a certralized processing system that can take weeks before the Marriage Certificate is available. If you cannot get a certified copy then I would see if you can get an ordinary photocopy to send in and while the AOS is being processed get several certified copies and should the USCIS want one you can send it in when they ask for it. That way you are not waiting for the copies and then submitting to the USCIS--one way to shorten the processing time a bit.

    Good luck,

    Dave

    Thank you very much, Dave and Roza. My fiancé and I will look through this. :-)

    SSN Info

    SSN Guide info

    Thank you so much again, Greg n Veronica! God bless! :-)

    In the US with K1 Visa - Getting married by March - What's the best thing to do for now?

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Hello everyone! :-)

    Finally, I'm here in the US now with my beloved fiancé. So happy to be with my James again. :-D We are getting married on March 23rd on a church ceremony. We are very grateful for all the help we got from our fellow VJers. You are all truly God-sent. Thank you so much! :-)

    I am wondering if there is something we can do for now which are needed for the AOS while we are waiting for our wedding day. There sure are a lot of paper work to do once we get married and to file for my change of status. It would be a lot of help for us if someone could give us guides on what we can and should do for the moment until our wedding day arrives. We really have not much idea about these things. And with all the wedding preparations (church and reception) my fiancé and I have which we have to comply and finalize all very soon, we are so stressed and have not much time to look around to see what are needed for the AOS. We would really appreciate your inputs and tips (guides, links, etc) about the AOS. We are hoping to get started with the application right away as soon as we get married. My fiancé is a very busy person. It would be of great relief for him if we get some papers done ahead. Thank you so much. :-)

    Yay finally in the U.S. now

    in Philippines

    Posted

    CONGRATULATIONS sis! I'm glad you made it safe there. More happiness for you and your babe. Hopefully maging smooth din ang journey namin ng fiancé ko. Lapit na lang interview ko... :-)

    God bless you and your fiancé always and I hope you will be patient sa further queries ko. :-)

    Interview Date is Nov. 28

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    hello!

    Just want to ask who has the same interview date, mine is nov. 28... I will be going alone. it would be fun meeting some new friends here in person :)

    Hi sis! Uy, November 28 din ang schedule ko... Happy ako to know na may kasabayan ako sa interview and plano ko rin mag-medical middle ng November, baka 14 or 15.. Pero kung 15 at 16 ka, pwede na rin sabay tayo, sis... :-) Add kita as friend.. :-)

    Post NOA2 received --- What's next?

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Hello, this is the "James" part of James and Leny. :-)

    RyRo, and everyone else here, thanks so much for your help!

    Now that my part is (mostly) done and I have sent everything I have to Leny Rose, I am trying to help her sort out her requirements. She is so busy with work, and the requirements can seem daunting. On top of it all, she is dealing with my church's requirements for our wedding.

    RyRo, WOW - a busy and exciting week! Best of luck to you!!! Please keep us posted. :-)

    Jim

    Post NOA2 received --- What's next?

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    a week after you get NOA2 the petitioner should call NVC and ask for your case number, after you get your case number pay your interview fee at BPI and schedule your interview online :)

    Manila Embassy:

    After NOA2 AND YOU HAVE YOUR MNL #

    (don't need to wait for the letter from the embassy )

    Once you have your MNL # you can take your passport and required visa fee (in Php) to BPI and pay your visa fee. The embassy website states that within 4 hours of paying at BPI you can schedule your interview appointment but most times it seems to take about 24 hours.

    http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/ph-niv-paymentinfo.asp'>http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/ph-niv-paymentinfo.asp

    When scheduling online with the embassy you need to include the "XX" at the beginning of the passport number, your passport number IS your receipt number (normally).

    Priorty Date; this is the date the NOA 1 was accepted.

    Make sure to print two copies of the interview confirmation page as you will need one for St. Luke's and the other for the embassy.

    (open all of these links then save them to your bookmarks so you have them for easy access

    Embassy Letter:

    http://photos.state.gov/libraries/manila/19452/public/Revised%20K1%20Instruction%20Packet%20_3__rtf2_005.pdf

    (Tagalog)

    http://photos.state.gov/libraries/manila/19452/public/K1instructionTag%20rtf3%20_2__rtf2_007.pdfHYPERLINK'>http://photos.state.gov/libraries/manila/19452/public/K1instructionTag%20rtf3%20_2__rtf2_007.pdfHYPERLINK "http://photos.state.gov/libraries/manila/19452/public/K1instructionTag rtf3 _2__rtf2_007.pdf" http://photos.state.gov/libraries/manila/19452/public/K1instructionTag%20rtf3%20_2__rtf2_007.pdf

    (The DS-156 can be difficult to complete sometimes, if you have issues try a different browser.)

    http://www.ustraveldocs.com/ph/

    Embassy (Manila) Phone Number (and email)

    (632) 301-2000, extension 5184 or 5185 (local number: USEM 3012000 loc 5184/5185 call them around 3-4:30pm)

    ** (214) 571-1600 or (646) 254-3546 (these are USA numbers)

    NEW EMAIL ADDRESS

    In order to serve our visa applicants more efficiently, we have created this new e-mail address:

    IVMNLAppointments@state.gov , for early appointment requests and visa scheduling issues. Please note, however, that early appointment requests will be approved on a case to case basis (i.e., aging out cases, or in cases involving personal or medical emergencies), and only if visa interview slots are available.

    For other immigrant and K visa concerns, please send an e-mail to IVManilaReplies@state.gov

    .

    To enable us to electronically sort the messages and provide better, more timely responses, you should follow the instructions below.

    The subject line of your email should indicate the visa applicant's last name, first and middle name (ex. DOE, John James), case number/USCIS receipt number, visa category and priority date.

    Messages should be limited to 500 characters or less.

    The mail size should not be more than 15 KB.

    Do not submit documentation or attachments with your message as our system is unable to receive inquiries with attachments.

    Do not send your inquiry more than once as duplicate inquiries will congest our system and delay our response time.

    ***

    St. Luke's:http://www.slec.ph/us-visa-applicants.shtml#required-docs

    Have copies of passport bio page, confirmation page from scheduling interview online at embassy, and of course the 2X2 photos. (copy of annulment is asked for at times)

    http://www.slec.ph/us/registration/

    Preregister at St. Luke's, it saves time when you arrive.

    CFO: ALL exiting required to attend. Things have changed with CFO, for sure follow the link and read the website

    http://www.cfo.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1348:fiancee-spouses-and-other-partners-of-foreign-nationals&catid=140#ThirdA

    Required documents & "OTHER DOCUMENTS" they ask for at CFO: copies of; CENOMAR, certified birth certificate, bio page of passport, visa page from passport, pictures together, from USC - bio page of passport, birth certificate, divorce decree (if been married before) are the most common. The "other documents" clause can be ANYTHING with those nit-wits at CFO.

    Thank you so much for this RyRo. :) This is a very great help for me and my fiancé. :D God bless your journey, sis. :-)

    Post NOA2 received --- What's next?

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    My fiancé had received in the mail our Post NOA2. What will be our next step?

    He has just completed the requirements on his side and will be sending them to me here in the Philippines. I have started to gather my the requirements on my side and will finalize the date for my medical exam once my requirements are completed.

    Who should be the one to contact the embassy for my appointment/interview schedule?

    HELP on FORM I-134, Question No. 11

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    I checked "intend" and wrote exactly that. "N/A (K-1 VISA PROCESS FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE)"

    The I-134 is used for different visa types requiring a sponsor. The wording that you see on the question if you check "intend" does not specifically have the K-1 in mind. This wording has in mind that you, the sponsor, will be willing to provide support with limitations. However, being that K-1 is for fiance/es, it would seem appropriate that this is not applicable because the fiance/e is seeking permanent residence with the sponsor's support. With that said, I intend to support my fiancee, but how can I put my intent into specific contributions as the question asks? I can't. I do not intend specific contribution, but rather, I intend to support my future wife in all matters indefinitely for the rest of my life. This is the rationale that I see behind the answer in the example form.

    Thank you, ToddnJessa! We will follow the same. I approve of your thought on this. :)

    Congratulations on receiving your NOA2... I think we're exactly on the same boat now. Good luck and God bless your journey!

    - From James and Leny :)

    HELP on FORM I-134, Question No. 11

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    I am confused on Question No. 11 of the Form I-134, Affidavit of Support.

    It is stated there:

    11. I _ intend _ do not intend to make specific contributions of the person(s) named in item 3.

    As I checked the sample forms here in VisaJourney, it was stated there:

    N/A (K1 VISA PROCESS FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE)

    How should it be properly answered?

    All help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. :)

    Form-I-134_Sample.pdf

    Waiting for NOA2 for my K1 visa @Vermont

    in USCIS Service Centers

    Posted

    It took us exactly 6 months to get our NOA2 from VSC. It's all worth the wait. Be a little careful about planning your wedding though. My fiancé and I are planning for a church wedding in the US. And it was a little stressful because the waiting was a torture. But we plan to have our wedding by March so we guess there's still enough time to prepare the next requirements then go through the medical and the interview. Once your NOA2 arrives, every thing will go fast than you expect..More stress but it will be all worth it in the end. :)

    Good luck and God bless your journey. :)

    Vermont July Filers!

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    Hello. :)

    Just be more patient and keep on praying. My fiancé and I waited patiently and prayed hard and eventually got our NOA2 after exactly 6 months. It is worth the wait. :) For the mean time, just keep your relationship to grow stronger. And you may start on gathering some of the documents.. Like NBI clearance, birth certificate..

    I wish for you the best of luck on your journey and a happy life together. God bless.. :)

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