C&Q

Wow, not a lot going on here, huh ?

My AOS is still in acceptance stage, hopefully those who are still waiting will hear something soon... Regret turning down my congresswoman who offered me to look into it after my EAD was approved, because I truly thought it wouldn't take that long. Ugh, that's what I get lol ...

Congrats to everyone who is done with USCIS for now

EAD approved today :] Congress just called and said my expedite was granted (took em long enough lol)

So finally my cases showed up online today!

USCIS sent me a notice on Monday that they need additional info regarding the expedite for my EAD and luckily my congresswoman sent it to them on Tuesday.

Hoping to hear from them soon.

Hi, did u call the military hotline?what did they say about exoediting your EAD?

They said they will contact me within 5 days.

No idea if they call, email me or send me a letter. I still can't check my case status online so idk.

Had my biometrics appt yesterday at 3. So after a 2 hour drive me and hubby arrived at the office ... EMPTY. I was in and out in less then 10 minutes. So we decided to go downtown Norfolk, have some coffee and walk around for a bit... Calling USCIS military helpline today to see if we can expedite my EAD.

Also I've been having some trouble getting my drivers license. It should be easy since I hold a German drivers license and I can just exchange it for a Virginia DL. But for some reason they make it so complicated. First they had to check with German authorities, then they faxed everything to USCIS to verify my documents. The 3rd time at the DMV they had to fax USCIS my NOA1 but they replied saying that there's a problem, they will call me within the next 48 hrs. I guess I don't appear in the system??? I have no idea.

So this Thursday (Nov. 29) I have my biometric appt in Norfolk. Hopefully I will receive this damn EAD soon lol...

How are things going with u guys? Any progress?

so I got the package returned in the mail today... rejected based on the fees-either incorrect amount or not included.

I included two checks; $420 for the I-130 and $1070 for the i485. My understanding was that the i485 fee also included the AP and EAD application/petitions... I cannot work out what I did wrong... I will call them on Monday but does anybody have any ideas?

thanks

Yepp. 1490 for everything. I would call them immediately.

Nope. If u hold a Canadian, German, French or Korean DL u won't have to take the road skills test and the 2 part knowledge exam.

I just went to the DMV myself today and all I will need to do is the vision screening I believe.

Edit: U might want to check with the local DMV as it might vary by state.

Glad I found an October AOS thread :]

We filed Oct 22 and haven't heard from them yet. I'm kinda worried and I'm starting to think I sent that whole thing to the wrong address lol.

She shouldn't have any problems since she left before she turned 18. Always be honest though. Explain on the paperwork if needed. Saves u a lot of trouble.

No worries about it being illegal. The SSN is not an ID, and it does not work as proof of legal name change. Your certified marriage certificate is the legal name change document. Fill out the AOS forms with your married name. It is not cheap to change the name on your green card once it is issued, so you need to apply with the name you will be using from now on.

Thank u! Will do!

Hi. Regarding your SSN: When you applied for your SSN, did you submit your marriage certificate also?

As you are about to send your AOS forms, that means that you still did not receive your EAD (employment authorization)so when you receive this, you will have to take to the SSN office for they to include in your SSN card that you are allowed to work. Otherwise the SSN card that you will receive will not valid for work (this is what they explained to me).

I applied for it on Aug 10 (showing her my marriage cert, passport and the EAD) and the lady said that she would send the copy of these documents for verification. I waited 1 month and 2 weeks until I received it yesterday!

Remember that the name you put in your AOS forms (maiden or married) is the name that will appear on your Green Card so I would suggest you to include your married name in your AOS forms... otherwise you would have a green card under your maiden name but a SSN card under your married name which can be a little confusing. Try to match both cards under the same name.

I dont know if this answered your questions but this is what I got from my personal experience.

Good luck in your interview today!

Yes, I'm trying to get everything under my new name so there won't be any confusion in the future. I just thought that applying for a SSN is the 'official' name change and if that isn't done, I can't put my married name on any forms as that would be illegal. I guess I'm just paranoid lol.

Thanks a lot though. Guess I will go thru the forms again and change it :]

hi there. i submitted all of my paperwork with my new last name and didn't change it for probably a month after with social security (i obviously wouldn't advise waiting that long). i asked this question from an info pass officer before i submitted the paperwork if it was ok to put my new last name before i changed it officially and he said that it was fine and actually very common and that as long as a certified copy of the marriage certificate was included, we should be fine. so far, everything went through okay without issues and we have our interview today with immigration (fingers crossed!). good luck!

Ok. I just wanted to make sure so I wouldn't be doing anything illegal.

Good luck for u as well and I hope everything went well!

Hello everyone,

my husband and I are ready to submit my AOS app but I'm honestly a lil confused about the name change.

Sep 12 - 2 weeks after my arrival - I went to the SSO and applied for a SSN with my new name. The lady said it didn't get thru and she will have to send the documents to Homeland Security (?) to verify them and then will get back at me. So far so good.

We have everything that we need to apply for my AOS but I just now realized that I listed my maiden name on all the forms. Is it okay for me to put my married name on the forms even though the name change isn't officially completed?

It is valid for 2 years.

immigration first, then baggage, then customs. in that order.

Honestly I haven't read all 5 pages so I apologize if I missed anything important.

I agree with everyone that it is not okay for someone to disrespect u and abuse u whether it is physically or verbally.

HOWEVER, u and ur fiance have a baby on the way and that is a huge responsibility. Moreover, u've been apart from him and as we all know on here, it is everything but easy being in this situation... He is ur fiance, ur babydaddy, that's why I personally think that u should try and work things out with him. Whether u marry him in the end or not. But at least u have tried. Leaving him and throwing everything away doesn't seem right to me. It's easy for other people to tell u to leave him but obviously he's ur fiance and at some point u loved him and wanted to marry him.

Translations:

All documents not in English or German must be accompanied by certified English translations. The translation must include a statement signed by the translator that states that the translation is accurate, and the translator is competent to translate.

http://germany.usembassy.gov/visa/iv/step4/

So any certified translator will do.

You WON'T have to bring any documents to the interview because now u have to send everything in avdance or else u don't get an interview date. U just bring ur passport to the interview and the invitation letter (pack 4). That's is.

And no, no copy of the I-129F is needed.

Well, vj is a good source, and so far it has helped us a lot But I agree, too much info can be too much sometimes. I was just nervous because I read that the rules have been changed. But as I see you've been there just shortly ago and seem to have been successful Congrats!

So yeah, I'm going to stick with the list and keep it simple, like you suggested. My god, I'll be so glad after we have made it through this bureaucratic jungle!

No doubt, it is a good source.

But there are a lot of things that are country-specific so u can't rely on VJ 100 %.

Before April 2012 u had to take all the documents to the interview, now u have to send them to the consulate in advance before u even get an interview date. That's really the only thing they have changed. Nothing regarding documents though.

U'll be fine, trust me!

I still don't know why everyone relies so much on VJ.

Just send them everything that's on the checklist.

No whole copy of the initial I-129F package needed. If they did need it, it would be listed on the checklist.

Include some proof of ur relationship with pack 3 as well. Try to send originals.

I thought that, too, but the travel.state website says something different (6 months for all other countries). However they must have changed the rules: I resided abroad for 11 months when I was 17, and when I went to my interview back in 2010 I gave them the police certificate from that foreign country and they didn't want it because I had not lived there 12 months.

It is country specific.

I lived in a different country for 10 months and they don't require a police certificate.

Hello,

It is more than 6mth but by country, not city.... germany has one database...

Good luck.

Xxso

Not entirely true.

Every visa applicant aged 16 years or over, is required to

submit a police certificate from the police authorities of each country of the applicant's nationality or

current residence, where the applicant has resided for at least six months or longer, since attaining the age

of sixteen. Police certificates must also be presented from all other countries where the applicant has

resided for one year or longer.

NOA2 is here guys, received an email 2days ago saying

"Your case is indeed outside normal processing times. As a result, we have approved the expeditious handling of your petition. The petition will be reviewed and you should be receiving notification from this office very shortly."

Does the expeditious end here or it goes till the interview stage ? When should I start bothering NVC?

As far as I understand your petition hasn't been approved yet but will be processed soon.

What does your status on the USCIS website say?