KamLondon

July 28, 2013

So, I finally have an interview date. I had previously received an RFE for legal evidence of my name change (I took my wife's last name on marriage). Apparently the guy has to do it through a court and can't do it via just submitting a marriage certificate. I thought that was going to get drawn out and become an issue but when I explained that USCIS had already accepted my name change by using my marriage certificate and issued an EAD in that name, along with telling them that the County Clerk's office told me that they should accept my marriage certificate.....they sent a letter telling me to come to the interview with my wife.

I'm hoping this is just a case of going through the motions and there are no more curve balls.

Good to see other September filers getting approved.

July 9, 2013

Ok, so I moved to the US in September 2012 and married my wife on a K-1 visa. We decided that I would take her name as that is what we preferred. As with most people that get married and then take their partners name, I filled out all of my paperwork (AOS, EAD, AP applications) in my new married name and provided a certified copy of my marriage certificate to have my name changed. This wasn't an issue when I received my SSN in my new name or when USCIS issued me my EAD in my new married name.

I've been waiting for an update on my adjustment of status case and yesterday I received a letter asking me to 'furnish proof of my legal name change through a request to the county court where I was married'. The marriage certificate should have been sufficient for this for two reasons:

1. This is how a name change is carried out. You take a form of ID and the marriage certificate to where you need your name changing and they change your name.

2. USCIS have already issued me an EAD in my new name so they obviously accept the marriage certificate as proof of legal name change.

I have responded with an explanation of why I took my wife's name, along with another copy of my marriage certificate, as well as a copy of my SSN and EAD to evidence that it is a valid way to obtain a document in a different name.

Has anyone else gone through the process of the husband taking on the wife's last name, and if so, have you experienced anything similar?

July 8, 2013

So, I finally got a response from the Dallas USCIS office. It was a request to send in further information but the good thing I guess is that they are looking at it. Here's the bad news though.

I took my wife's last name when I moved over here and we got married. Just like most people taking their spouses name, I filed my paperwork under my new married name and supplied a certified copy of my marriage certificate. This same marriage certificate allowed me to get my SSN and my EAD from USCIS, as well as accounts through several financial institutions.

They have asked me to 'Furnish proof of my legal name change through a request to the county court'. I've read everywhere that the marriage certificate is 'proof' of a name change and the only time you need to do it via a county court is if you are an adult changing your name without getting married.

I think it is taking so long to work through cases because they haven't got a clue about what they are doing. Yet another show of incompetence on behalf of USCIS....as well as sending this request for information to my old address...despite it clearly stating on the USCIS case status site that my address was changed back in January.

June 25, 2013

Good afternoon all

Well, my positive post from about 4-5 weeks ago led to nothing. I was told that the Dallas Office was dealing with October applications (mine was September) so I would have expected a response. No response, so I called USCIS. They said I can raise a service request...i'd hear back in 15 days....you know the drill. I called on day 16 and just like others have mentioned on here, they said to allow an additional 30 days, so 45 in total for a response. *Queue angry me letting them know that their service levels suck

I was then sent a message from someone on this forum which had a response from USCIS included. They were told that their case is being actively worked and if they do not hear back within 9-12 months, to contact customer support. This is ridiculous. If a case is being 'actively' worked, do you really think it would take 9-12 months to get a response, even if they are busy. After going through the argument I'd have with USCIS in my head, if they had the nerve to send me that letter, I just accepted that this process is way too messed up to even care. I'm with my wife, we have our dog, I have a great job and if this takes 2 months or 2 years, I'm here.

I am however not looking forward to the applications we'll have to go through to get our EAD's extended. On average it takes 65 days to get that and mine took 108 days the first time. I'll be applying earlier, that's for sure.

A question for everyone. What is everyone doing about their drivers license over here? I'm on my UK one which I'm allowed to drive on for a year but that expires in September. I was hoping to get my green card and then apply for a Texas one (you need the green card to apply for the license) but it doesn't look like that is going to happen anytime soon. Has everyone else got a temporary drivers license based off their EAD? That's the route I'm going down now, which will extend my ability to drive to January (when my EAD expires). At that point though, I need to apply for a new temporary license...which takes time apparently because they have to contact USCIS to verify the EAD. Why does everything come back to that ridiculous agency?

Here's a thought, if it takes long enough to process our I-485 applications, are you aware that you can apply for citizenship 3 and a half years after 'arriving' in the country? If I get my citizenship approved before my I-485, that would just be hilarious!!

May 31, 2013

When I first moved here in September, I had my wife add me to her longest credit card as an authorized user. I started work in January, and just before I started looking for a secured credit card with my bank (have to put down a deposit) I received a pre-screened DiscoverIt card in the post. I figured if they had already pre-screened me, I would just apply for it. I was approved with a $750 limit after they called to confirm a few details. I still went ahead and opened up my secured credit card with my bank so that I had another line of credit. While on a roll with lines of credit, I applied for a Kohls stored card while I was in there and was approved for a $300 limit on that too. I thought it would be much more difficult to get my credit building than this. Oh, on my first application for the DiscoverIt card, they had my credit score rated as a 693, which isn't bad after only a few months in the country (so i think being on my wife's card as an authorized user helped).

Now, I keep getting pre-screened applications from USAA and Citi bank. I will wait until the end of the year and then upgrade my secured card to a non-secure line of credit and then apply for another better card that I intend to keep long term.

Hopefully this plan will build my credit without the need for a loan of any sort and allow me to buy a house at the end of next year.

May 31, 2013

Hi VJ folks

Looks like we are all in the same boat waiting for our GC. I must admit, after a torturous process with additional processing, then a prolonged EAD process....I've been happy not even thinking about USCIS for a few months.

I'm not sure where everyone filed but my AOS went to the NBC (Chicago). I called the USCIS service desk yesterday and they have told me that my I-485 application is now with the Dallas office. Has anybody else had their application transfered to a local office? If you have, you might be able to get an idea of how long it will take. They told me that Dallas is currently processing October 9th applications (I was September 29th) and i have service request in now because it is over their processing date. I'll keep everyone posted on any progress.

August 30, 2012

Yes what you said makes sense but the funny part is that I emailed them asking how long it will take, they replied saying 3-4 business days. I assume that the email saying that the visa is approved should mean that the case is just pending the stamp on the passport. It is weird it should take that long after the approval email was sent !

If there is still admin processing to be made, why did they send me the email then?

Hi

Did you receive your visa in the end?

I sent my passport in about 3 and a half weeks ago now and I was beginning to get frustrated. Yesterday, I contacted the Embassy in Washington and they confirmed that it has been issued and will be with me in a few days. That took 18 business days to get 'issued', then its going to be a few more to get it in my hand.

JE06 · August 28, 2012

Hi

First of all, can I just start by saying that you have hundreds, if not thousands of people on here sharing your pain right now. This whole process is torture and something needs to be done to at least sort out the way cases are handled, and the way applicants are communicated to.

I really do not want to be the bearer of bad news because this process is bad enough but I feel I have to let you know what may be in store for you.

We applied through the Vermont Service Centre last October, with an expected timeframe of 5 months. I had planned on it taking the full 5 months, as frustrating as it was to accept that. Fortunately, we provided more evidence than was necessary, just so that there wasn't a reason to get an RFE. This seemed to have worked and our case was processed in 3.5 months. I was pleasantly surprised by this. I had estimated the whole thing, from filling to receiving the visa to take approximately 8 months, which in normal cases is a fair estimate (3 months for the embassy/interview things to take place).

Once the embassy receives the application from Vermont, they tend to be fairly responsive in terms of processing and setting dates. Something you may experience, which will make your wait now seem like a walk in the park is the dreaded additional processing. Yes, if your fiancé has already had a problem entering the country, the chances are that they'll have to do additional security checks etc. I was put in to this and I have written a post on here to try and prepare people for it. You can find it at the link below.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/381417-ap-going-through-london/

August 27, 2012

Hi everyone,

I live in Ottawa, Canada. I applied for a B1/B2 visa about 4 weeks ago and I got the 221(g) Administrative processing blue paper and they told me to keep my passport with them. I wanted to get it back so I can apply for the Mexican visa since I'm traveling to Mexico so I got it back, then I got an email saying my visa is approved and that I should send my passport asap to stamp the visa on it.

I sent my passport about 6 days ago, but I haven't got a reply from them saying the passport is being mailed to me. The process in Ottawa office is that they send it to a courier company and the courier company emails you saying the passport is ready for pickup. It is supposed to take 3-4 business days but today is the 5th day and I am supposed to travel in 4 days but I haven't got my passport back.

I am emailing them but I am not getting any replies ! Does anyone know what can I do in such a situation? Is that normal ??

Thanks,

Khaled

Hi

I wouldn't worry too much about it. I was in AP for 16 weeks, then received the email to send my passport in. They have had my passport for just over 3 weeks now and I'm supposed to receive it back after 5-7 business days. I called the embassy in Washington after 2 weeks and they said that my passport was Pending (means they are doing admin on your case apparently). After the 3rd week, I called again and they said that the status was Send Passport. I'm assuming that they have done their processing/admin now, and they are preparing to hand it over to the courier in the next couple of days. Like I said, they've had mine for 3 weeks, so I wouldn't worry too much. It is frustrating though, yet more waiting in this darn process.

Hope you get it soon

elmcitymaven · August 13, 2012

Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone else was able to take a UK handset (blackberry) to the US and put a US sim in it? I remember asking the US and here in the UK and no one at the phone shops seems to know. As I have brought my phone outright it would be a shame not to use it.

It probably seems so trival to ask but if anyone could share their experiences I would be so grateful!

In relation to the interview, I passed my medical in London and was told all would be okay but has anyone passed a medical in London and then received a RFE at the interview? I disclosed I suffered from depression (reactive depression) about 4 years ago and the doctor said she was satified with the letter but could the embassay request I undergo a psych evaluation? Has this happened to anyone else on here? Also has being 6/7 months pregnant prevented them issuing a visa? I am perhaps worrying unnecessarily but I just want to be prepared for every eventuality.

Thank you for the shipping threads by the way, they have been so useful! I wasnt as ruthless getting rid of CDs/books as I expected!

Thanks in advance all

Hi

On my visits to the US, I've been using a AT&T pay as you go sim card. It costs $2/day for unlimited calls and texts and you only pay if you receive or make calls/texts. I used this in my iPhone on my visits to see my fiancee. The only problem with the pay as you go is that it does not include data for smart phones.

As mentioned above, you can get phones pretty cheap out in the US. What might be a good option is to sell your Blackberry (the phone buying companies offer decent values like www.mazumamobile.com) and then just get a new phone on a contract out in the US.

August 10, 2012

Thank you both, I havent got an MENA sounding sirname, nor have any connections with that area of the world in my family, I am just worried as I am 7 months pregnant what could possibly happen at the interview. I guess I am trying to be super efficient to avoid any unwanted headaches. The problems I can forsee with my case is that I had disclosed depression at my medical (which I passed) and I am still waiting on the royal mail to recieve my husbands taxes. I guess it depends on the interviewer you have on the day...it seems you could predict the outcome in London and no not so much!

Well fingers crossed all goes well at the interview. I'm not sure what their stance is on depression but I wouldn't have thought it'd cause any issues, as it's a common thing that many people suffer from.

As for the interview day, just relax and go with the flow. I find it always helps if you know what to expect, so here's something to give you an idea of what you'll experience:

- You'll queue up for ages outside and they tell you not to go with any bags, phones, wallets, keys and anything sharp/electronic/liquid. Oh and make sure you have your appointment letter, they are pretty big on this.

- When you're in, you'll receive a case number and then you'll go in to a big room with lots of chairs and screens

- When your number is called (like buying something at Argos), you'll be asked to go to a window (i found windows 13-18 seemed to be reserved for K1 applicants)

- Don't worry if you see many people going ahead of you at other windows. Some visas don't take as long because they are just temporary and don't require too much work

- When at the window, just put your paperwork in a logical order to make it easier on the person. I found this person to be really friendly

- They'll take all of your paperwork, you'll have your fingerprints scanned and then you'll be asked to sit down

- You'll sit for around 45mins-1hr or so, then you'll be called up to another window where an American will ask you questions about your relationship and what you intend to do over there for work (varies i'm guessing for everyone but that's an idea). Some people have said this person was really friendly when they had their interview but mine was far from that. Very moody and emotionless in my opinion. It was 8.30am though, so maybe she wasn't a morning person. They'll either take your passport and tell you to pay the courier fee or they'll tell you some more processing is required. Fingers crossed it's the first scenario.

August 6, 2012

@Rachie07 I have to agree with Boiler I'm afraid. If you have a surname that sounds like it's from the MENA region, then the chances are very high. Again though, just plan for it so you aren't surprised by it. I was reading on another forum about several cases where the following has happened:

Person X goes through AP on a work or study visa. They move to the US with their family, set up life etc and have many commitments. For them to extend the specific visas they are on, they need to go back to their home country to get the visa extended. On doing so, they think it will be a formality but yet again, they are placed in AP for 3-6 months. They've been checked once already but they still need to be checked again. This indicates to me that it's a flaw in the system, whereby it doesn't look at personal circumstances (i.e. previously checked and approved); if the name creates a hit in the system, you're in AP and have to go through the process.

Despite being frustrated by this whole process myself, I felt lucky when hearing about these situations. While their family is in the US, with all sorts of payments (rent, car, insurance etc) to make, the main earner is in another country, not earning with their job in the US, as they aren't working. Do they get a job in the country they are stuck in? If so, what kind of job do they get? Will it be 2 weeks, will it be 6 months? It's so difficult for these people to plan for.

Good luck with your interview though. I hope you manage to skip AP. I wouldn't wish it upon my worst enemy.

jamielynn · August 3, 2012

Hi VJ

I thought it would be useful for other people to be aware of Additional Processing (also known as Administrative Processing or just AP). I had a smooth process for the K1 filing. There is a fantastic guide on here that tells you EVERYTHING you need to do in order for your K1 visa petition to go through first time (http://www.visajourn.../content/k1flow). The key thing is follow every single step of it to the word. I did this and sailed through the first part of it.

Ok, so I sailed through the first part of the K1 visa process, so what happened you may be wondering? My petition came back in 3 and a half months, earlier than the 5 months we expected. In this time I had already obtained my police certificates from 2 countries and my military records, as well as filled out all of the necessary forms that I would need to send to the embassy, once they asked for them (found these online). I was prepared like you would not believe. Everything went smoothly, I attended my medical and when I arrived for my interview at the US Embassy in London on April 16th, the first person was appreciative for my well organised pack, which made her job a lot easier (i just put the paperwork in a logical order. Anything to help).

The next step of the interview was to answer some questions. This person wasn't as friendly as the first and asked me lots of questions about our relationship. These went fine and then it went down hill.

I was told they didn't need anything else from me and that my case just required some additional processing which would take 2-3 weeks. I thought "fair enough" and took the blue piece of paper they gave me and walked out. When I looked at the blue piece of paper when I walked out, it said that I had been refused a visa and that my case was under additional processing. This was a shock to me because the lady at the embassy said nothing to me about a refused visa, she indicated everything was fine. Now, for those of you in Additional Processing, this is where my experience may help you.

I got home and immediately googled what this all meant. The message boards were all negative, horror stories of things taking over 6 months to be sorted out etc. I didn't panic too much though because my application was all neatly assembled, with more evidence than they needed, not a single mistake on the forms, so I must have been different.

At the end of the 3 week period, I called the London Embassy to find out what was happening, as I had not heard back. The call was not helpful at all. The operator was unfriendly, unsympathetic and just told me that my case was in additional processing, they can't talk about my case, and it will take anywhere from 2-3 up to 16-22 weeks. This wasn't good. I wasn't given this impression at the embassy and this totally screwed up many plans we had made.

We tried many things. I called the embassy a couple more times, including Washington to see if they could tell me more. Nothing good came of it, I got the same message, time and time again. My fiancee contacted her Congressman who enquired on our behalf, with his office also contacting members of the Department of State they knew. Again, they got the same response as us. The case is in AP and we just have to wait.

Further research showed us that you are most likely to be put in to AP for the following:

- You didn't submit documents (don't panic too much, this is a quick AP process for you guys)

- They don't believe your story (so they'll inform you of this and tell you they are sending the pack back to USCIS to do further checks)

- You have a surname that originates from a country, predominately in the Middle East and North Africa (doesn't matter if you've never lived in those countries, it's just the name)

- You have a background in Science, IT or other special interest areas that the US feel could be a threat

- You have served in a foreign military other than the US

There are probably other reasons for finding yourself in AP but they are the most common. From my understanding, when your paperwork is shown at the first window at the embassy, they gather it all, go through it and one of the final steps is to run your name through several security systems. if there is a potential name match with a person of interest (muslim names are obviously common in the current climate) the system prevents the visa being approved and manual checks have to be carried out by people back in the US. How long this takes depends on the agency/departments dealing with it.

If I had known about this before this whole process had started, I would have factored more time in to my plans (so my hopes didn't get dashed) and prepared myself mentally for the fact that it could take up to 22 weeks. I'm writing this post so that others can pre-empt this and prepare emotionally. I didn't know and it made my life hell. PLEASE, if you feel you have any of the above things that could put you in AP, just prepare yourselves for the fact that it could happen to you.

So, why do I care about your emotions. Well, the first reason is because as you'll find out, the embassy doesn't give a damn. You can't blame them really because they need to take emotion out when they are dealing with serious matters. In saying that, there is a line between distancing emotions and treating people with respect and understanding when calling for updates on their case. I had a dealing with an embassy rep just 2 weeks ago and just being polite on the phone and explaining things to me, it made a huge difference. I was actually happy when ending the call, not angry and frustrated like previous times.

Anyway, I digress. The next reason I am typing this is to tell you what you will go through if you do not prepare for AP:

- A whole lot of not knowing. This was the worst thing for me because I had played the game, filled in their lengthy forms and done everything right, so why was it taking so long. My advice, don't take it personal. It's just a process that you unfortunately may have to go through

- Depression. I am one of the most confident and easy going people you will meet. I am able to cut off my feelings so I don't get hurt....until it came to this. I think because the love of my life was waiting for me and they were playing with my life now, it got to me more than anything has before. I lost all motivation to do things, found it hard to work out and had a constant negative attitude towards things. This was not me and this is the biggest reason i'm writing this post. Just accept you'll be waiting in this process and plan for the full 22 weeks. It's the only way to stay sane.

- Calling the embassy and contacting your congressman etc....it does not work. Save yourself the time, money and future dashed hopes when you hear nothing back and just wait for the visa to come through. If you have nothing to hide, you have a genuine relationship, all will be fine. This remember is a bureaucratic process that you unfortunately got caught up in. It's not personal, it's just that a system forced manual checks to take place.

- Don't think your individual circumstances can change things, they can't, I tried. My frustration came with the fact that the I not only served in the military during 9/11 and the Afghan and Iraq conflicts, but I was also security cleared with the NSA (National Security Agency of America). Yes, if they can trust me with sensitive information, surely that should speed up a visa security check, right? WRONG!!! It does not matter. Although you see yourself as special and unique, you're not in this process. You're just in line and you have to.....yes, you're getting it now I'm sure.....WAIT!!!!

- I was told not to travel to the US because I would get turned away due to the visa having been refused. Although the embassy do not class this as a visa refusal (so why give us a refusal form?), the Border and Customs people do. If you can't give a reason why you got refused, they just won't let you in, simple.

- Leading on from the above point, I was unable to travel to the US to see my fiancee. This was really hard, so what we did was we brought our honeymoon forward and had a pre-wedding honeymoon. Hey, we can't leave the country for 3 months after we're married until I get Advance Parole, so we figured we'd do this. It worked for us because it was a much needed time where we forgot about everything bad and focussed on us.

There are probably more things but this post is dragging on a little now. You'll be glad to hear (I don't mean to rub it in people's faces) that yesterday (15 weeks and 5 days after going in to AP) that I received an email from the embassy telling me to send in my passport so they can issue the visa. I am not exaggerating when I say it was one of the happiest days of my life. Having felt so low to finally knowing we can carry on with our lives, it was an amazing feeling.

So, to sum up, here are my steps to surviving AP if you find yourself in it:

- Just wait and do not call the embassy, it does not help and just costs you money

- Do not call your congressman, it does you no good

- If you have a muslim sounding surname, expect to be in AP for up to 16 weeks or so and add this to your plans (better to be safe than depressed, believe me)

- Try and carry on with your life (it's easier if you already know you may be put in AP)

- Have a strong support network around you who can keep you busy and not thinking about this

- Set yourself things to aim for. The worst thing of this for me is that I felt like my life was on hold and I was powerless in moving forward. Take the time to take up a new hobby, where you do something maybe 3-4 weeks down the line. Goal setting will help.

- Last of all, just accept that this process has many flaws, the embassy aren't there to be your friends and lastly, it's not personal. They system forces checks and if you end up in it, your'e just unlucky.

I hope this helps those in AP, prepares those who could get put in to AP and makes those that didn't go in to AP realise that you were so damn lucky haha.

This is just my view, from my experience and from the information I came across. All cases are different and we can only speculate as to what happens inside the embassy and their processes. This is my best effort at trying to make sense of it though.

Feel free to comment and especially if you are in AP and are finding it hard, please feel free to comment or message me. If I can help just 1 person feel slightly better, this post will have served its purpose.

Thanks

Kam

Harpa Timsah · August 3, 2012

Hi VJ

I thought it would be useful for other people to be aware of Additional Processing (also known as Administrative Processing or just AP). I had a smooth process for the K1 filing. There is a fantastic guide on here that tells you EVERYTHING you need to do in order for your K1 visa petition to go through first time (http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1flow). The key thing is follow every single step of it to the word. I did this and sailed through the first part of it.