Hypnos

I personally would be willing to wait a little longer if it meant that people living on the edges of society could begin to get a foothold into a normal life, in the same way that I'd be willing to pay a little extra in taxes to help the disadvantaged and less fortunate (hell, less lucky in some parts).
I know that many people would not be willing to do that, however.

To those who castigate illegal immigrants I say: try living it.
Some people were brought to this country as a child and had no say in it. Some made questionable decisions that seemed like a good idea at the time. Others still just came here in search of a better life for themselves and their children.
Life is not as black and white as the Republican party perched on their ivory tower would have you believe.
Living in fear that this day could be your last amongst your family is no way for anyone to live. I'm not one to quote the bible, but since the Right seems to be in love with it I am fairly certain it says to examine the plank in your own eye before trying to remove the speck in your brother's. Perhaps the entire US population (sans native Americans, of course) should self-deport back to Europe? I'm fairly sure none of them had papers when they arrived here. The bible is big on punishing children for their parents' sins, after all.
At the end of the day it's about treating people as human beings, with compassion and dignity. Did some of them break the law by coming here? Certainly. Does this mean that none of them are worth helping, that we should just spit on them? No it does not.

I personally would be willing to wait a little longer if it meant that people living on the edges of society could begin to get a foothold into a normal life, in the same way that I'd be willing to pay a little extra in taxes to help the disadvantaged and less fortunate (hell, less lucky in some parts).
I know that many people would not be willing to do that, however.

I personally would be willing to wait a little longer if it meant that people living on the edges of society could begin to get a foothold into a normal life, in the same way that I'd be willing to pay a little extra in taxes to help the disadvantaged and less fortunate (hell, less lucky in some parts).
I know that many people would not be willing to do that, however.

To those who castigate illegal immigrants I say: try living it.
Some people were brought to this country as a child and had no say in it. Some made questionable decisions that seemed like a good idea at the time. Others still just came here in search of a better life for themselves and their children.
Life is not as black and white as the Republican party perched on their ivory tower would have you believe.
Living in fear that this day could be your last amongst your family is no way for anyone to live. I'm not one to quote the bible, but since the Right seems to be in love with it I am fairly certain it says to examine the plank in your own eye before trying to remove the speck in your brother's. Perhaps the entire US population (sans native Americans, of course) should self-deport back to Europe? I'm fairly sure none of them had papers when they arrived here. The bible is big on punishing children for their parents' sins, after all.
At the end of the day it's about treating people as human beings, with compassion and dignity. Did some of them break the law by coming here? Certainly. Does this mean that none of them are worth helping, that we should just spit on them? No it does not.

I understand your frustration but some of those (a large portion) who our President is legitimizing are not illegal because they did something wrong, it is their parents who made the choice and now they are left between a rock and a hard place. We cannot be angry at those who did not have a choice in their illegal status. We tend to lump everyone together and not show compassion to those who deserves compassion.

This is only true for people entering the US on an immigrant visa. As part of the process they go through, one of the questions on their forms specifically asks whether or not they want to apply for a social security number and card. If they check this box then after they enter the United States their social security card arrives automatically in the mail without them needing to do anything (their green card arrives the same way).
However, this does not apply for people obtaining a green card via adjustment of status. To get a social security number and card you must complete an SS-5 form (available on www.ssa.gov) and appear in person at your local social security office.

Well, actually, it is illegal to enter on a non-immigrant visa with the intent to immigrate. If this were the way to do it, there would be no K-1 or CR-1 visas available at the Canadian embassy. The law allows for adjustment from a non-immigrant visa, because in some cases it is overly bureaucratic to force someone to go home, but this situation is mostly for long overstays or people who have had a sudden change of circumstances - they find out they are pregnant or get a job offer in the US, for example. It is not meant to be an alternative to the immigration process, and as I said, using it as such is illegal. The TOS for this site prohibit advising based on any illegal process.
If you had said you planned to adjust status at the border, you would have been refused entry.

Do not mess with any statues, they won't help you with USCIS.
It looks like you most recently entered on a K-1, so that is what you enter in that box.

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

Our interview experience, FINALLY! It's been such a crazy week with the kids and Paul starting his new job!
We got to the Atlanta USCIS building in Atlanta at 7:20, our interview was scheduled for 8am. Only a couple of people in line for security, and it was JUST like going through for airline security. Checked in downstairs, and they sent us to the 3rd floor waiting room.
There were about 6-8 other couples in there with us, only one of them had a lawyer with them, another had one show up who introduced herself to the couple, must have been someone else from the firm they used. Two couples seemed to have their whole family with them(5+ people sitting together). Some people were in jeans and tshirts, a few in suits, most in business-casual type stuff(think church clothes). Couples were being called back pretty steadily, and we got called somewhere around 8:05.
Our officer was an African-American man in his 40's(?) last name Singleton. He was VERY stern and serious, and stayed that way pretty much the entire time. It made me nervous, because I am used to people who are more personable, and this guy never really smiled at all.
He told us our interview would be in two parts, one for the marriage and one for the i-485. He took our ID's and Paul's i-94. He asked me to confirm my name, address, and daytime phone number. He asked Paul his full name, daytime phone number, and asked why he didn't have a driver's licence yet(AL won't allow since he is out of status). He then asked for anything additional we'd brought with us to prove the marriage. He made a comment about 'but I've already made up my mind about you two' that I was curious about, but let slide because I was so nervous. We handed over the joint bank statements, statement showing him as a non-driver on my insurance, father's day cards from my kids, and an envelope of pictures. He really just kind of glanced over most of it, and started flipping through the pictures. Then he did the standard yes/no's, sort of pausing and clairfying about Paul's weapons training(he was int he Irish army for a few years) but it wasn't an issue.
He then told us he wanted to approve our case, BUT...He needed a new translation of Paul's divorce papers because he'd done them himself. You guys know LOADS of people on VJ have done their own and had no problems, but for whatever reason they were not ok with this there. He said it could even be done through Google Translate(the person doing it didn't have to speak Danish) but they just needed someone else's signature on the papers other than ours. He reccomended going next door to an immigrant services office that had set up there, they did translations, notary, etc, and gave us until 3pm that day to get it back to him, otherwise we'd have to mail it in.
He mentioned again how if it were up to him we'd be approved on the spot, and said again how he'd already made up his mind about us. I was making a joke and said 'Oh, don't believe everything you hear!', and he said no, it was the pictures of the tattoos. About a year ago he and I had gone and gotten similar themed tattoos together with each other's names, our wedding date, and his family motto. I ended up sending pictures of those in because I figured it has to be pretty sure proof we are really in a relationship, right? Paul now says it was the best $500 we ever spent...LOL. The officer asked were we drinking when we did it(no), and said he thought it was crazy, but it definitly convinced him. We just needed the translated doc and we'd be approved.
We went to the place next door, and once we explained what we needed, they got us fixed up pretty quick. Paul ended up re-typing his divorce document because of all the weird Danish characters, and the guy working there just ran it through Google Translate for us and put it on their letterhead and signed it and we went back to USCIS.(Yes, we did get charged $20 instead of $30 since Paul did most of the work! LOL!)
We checked in downstairs again, and she had us sit and wait while they tried to get hold of our officer so he could come down and get the documents. We waited a bit, and then realized it was 10:40, and checkout at the hotel was 11, so Paul said why don't you run back over(hotel was literally around the corner, 45 second drive away) and get us checked out and come back. So ran and did that, and as I was leaving the hotel again, Paul called me. It's done! Approved! LOL! I missed the whole thing because I had to go check us out of the hotel! He said the guy was nice and more relaxed and almost smiled even, so I'm really sorry I missed that part I picked him up outside the building and we headed back the 6 hours to Mobile

You can apply for citizenship without your I-751 being approved. This will often force USCIS to adjudicate your I-751 quickly.

It is not "becoming more and more common" in fact it's still, and always has been, rare. Please provide a link that shows the amount of divorces where alimony is awarded based on the I-864 in increasing amounts over time.

Oh give me a break! Someone cant be patient but have days of frustration because they miss the person they love? Is he suppose to be happy about being apart. Save the preaching on the flaws of our society for a situation that makes sense

The answer to your question is YES and NO.
Yes, hire an attorney and No, do not hire an attorney.
Let me go over pros and cons.
On Pro side:
the real purpose of attorney is to protect your rights and make sure no error is made that leads to
denial of benefit you are statutorily eligible for.
I am currently on the last stage of my AOS and instead of approval I got RFE (after approval of I-130).
The main reason, as I see it, is that I didn't have an attorney during the interview.
And here is what happened:
I was NEVER in my life arrested or charged with any crime, anywhere. No DUI/DWI , nothing at all , nothing but very minor traffic tickets ( I didn't even get points on DL record for it!).
And I-485 unlike N-400 specifically says "excluding traffic violations".
Since I NEVER was arrested or charged of crime I NEVER admitted to the same and answered NO to relevant
application question.
However, during the interview I had an officer who specifically asked me "Not even a traffic ticket?" (after I answered NO to original question on i-485),to which I answered "I had traffic tickets".
He then went on to change my answer to YES , added in hand writing "traffic violation" and asked me to place initials
next to it.
A month later, instead of an approval I got the RFE saying "in your app and during the interview you admitted to have been arrested ... now submit an original letter of arrest disposition".
So, I had to hire an attorney (and I found a good one) to file a response who submitted the RFE reply.
Weeks later there is not even acknowledgment of RFE response receipt on USCIS.GOV page.
Had I had a competent attorney who went to interview with me he could have intervened and advised me not to place initials to YES and he would correct the newly hired USCIS officer that proper answer to this question should be NO since I have NEVER been arrested in my life or charged with any criminal violation.
So, this is just one example of when attorney can be helpful even if your case is million percent straightforward.
But here are the Cons to consider:
First, most attorneys charge obscenely huge amounts for nothing.
For example they will charge you some $2500 to $3500 and then make you
to do all the work (fill out all the forms) and after you fill everything out they will say
"now sign here and there" and then they will mail the package to USCIS.
If you paid a Kinkos employee to do all the copies of documents for you , you would end up with
$5-$10 bill. Since you yourself have to fill out forms, you could pay zero for it and, to be on safe side,
you could ask couple of your relatives or friends with good comprehension of English to go over and make sure
there are no typos or errors in your application.
Another $18 you would pay to send your package via USPS Express-next day delivery and , having spent $30 or so
you would have submitted exactly the same package as $3500 attorney would.
This ,of course, does not apply to good attorneys who may spend time with you , really analyzing your case and giving you advise, spending hours to fill out forms, but such attorneys are extreme rarity and most attorneys see their profession as a treadmill where fools are coming to pay them money in exchange for doing nothing.
Another big problem, again due to lack of ethical standards , is that in many cases attorneys will actually
damage your straightforward case.
Not only they don't do anything on your case while charging you for over 10 hrs of hourly rate to submit
your application, but on top of that they often hire poorly educated and low paid paralegals who , since they get paid little more than a cashier in Wallmart, populate your application with errors and some may turn to be very very costly to fix down the road.
So, hiring an attorney you risk to end up with insult and injury, not a best thing you can buy out there for 3 grands.
Now you have to consider all the pros and cons and make your own decision.
If I were you I would fill out all forms and submit by myself (just pay great deal of attention
to all and every single line and avoid by all means any typos and errors, even keep your application for days
before mailing, read and review it over and over during various times of the day as you get a chance and correct any and all typos/errors you may find. Ask someone to review and make sure all your answers are correct, have then read all questions to you and answer them and make sure all your answers are correct).
Make 2 copies of all forms submitted and put in a safe place your copies.
Once done with paperwork mail it to USCIS via FedEx or USPS Express, save the receipt.
Next you will be fingerprinted , issued EAD/TD and appointment letter for interview (assuming you fill out your paperwork with no errors and submit all the initial evidence to establish your eligibility).
When your interview nears then make a decision if you need an attorney.
If you decide to hire one make a very thorough research, make sure you are hiring a competent one. Do as much googling on a firm/attorney as you can. Get a list of few selected attorneys who have: good record, lots of presence on net, published , written books,attended seminars, praised by peers (check Martindale-Hubbel rating. The highest is AV) and etc.
Then pick up the phone and call to see attorney in person or talk over the phone.
If they say "Pay $XXX or WE WON'T TALK" then hang up immediately. May be it's a great attorney but you don't want to spend $200-$400 to just find out if he or she is.
Interview them as you would a plumber or a building contractor - you will be paying , they will be working for you and you should make sure they are truly competent , not just in paper but in real life too.
Ask pointed questions (not necessarily related to your case but find something relatively obscure to test how current the attorney is on current laws/rulings/case precedents).
This will help you to make a better judgment instead of blindly assuming that they are proficient.
If all checks and they agree to charge reasonable fee (interview lasts only 30-45 mins and you wait another hour or so to be called in) then you may pay relatively small fee in exchange for professional representation and to avoid situation like one I got myself into.
Tell your attorney NOT TO INTERFERE unless USCIS officer makes an obvious error or asks totally irrelevant to AOS forms questions.
If your attorney interferes , interrupts the officer and keeps telling you what to answer then the officer may grow suspicious that there is something wrong and this will cause major hurdles in processing of your case.
If you are lucky and the USCIS officer is experienced and knows his job well then you may not need any attorney at all. Google and find out if the local office had recently hired a lot of new officers. Older and more experienced the officers - higher chances you will pass the interview and be approved on the spot (assuming your case is straightforward and you submit all evidence needed with your application).
Good luck to you and all the best.

I do not believe a visa can be issued to a child that has a claim to US citizenship.

Would love to see pics.
3 times, each time younger than the last. And she was completely upfront about her intention. Are you for real? What did you expect?
Is this whole thread simply for our entertainment?

Bill I don't understand why you keep complaining about your ex wife.What do you expect, you got what you paid for? Nothing in life is guaranteed, but you married a hooker and she is 32 younger than you... Man up and admit that YOU made a bad choice. It's time to accept your age and stop with this kind of "business arrangement" where she gets a green card, money and security and you get youth and beauty for a while... It's disgusting to say the least.

when you treat marriage as a game and go after the hot chicks to have fun, it's no wonder you're in the situation you are.
sorry, i have no sympathy whatsoever for you.

I think you played the immigration game one too many times and now its coming back to bite you in the butt. Any sympathy and understanding I had for your situation is gone, I think may be its time you grew up and found a woman your own age.

The woman is on a power trip. Go straight up the chain of command because your wife has legal status as of the paper that says her PR card is extended for a year. She needs the letter AND the card, but she is legal.
Also, would consider suing for wrongful termination??
that really pisses me off that someone would do ####### like that.
current processing times for I-751 are like 10 months, which is WHY you need the letter.

There's a lot of nonsense posted in this thread.
The OP has said he wishes to move to the US and is considering entering on a B-2, marrying, staying for a while and then leaving before his authorised duration expires. There is nothing wrong with this at all.
Of course, his wife would then need to file an I-130 (or do it immediately after the marriage to shave some time off) and he would interview in London for a CR-1 immigrant visa. Again, this is perfectly legal.
One potential issue I can see is that if you tell the CBP officer that you are coming to marry on a B-2 and then leave, they may give you extra attention because they think you want to stay and AoS instead of applying for an immigrant visa. You should come well-armed with plenty of documentation to show that you intend to leave when your authorised stay expires.
Other than that, the OP should have no issues whatsoever.

There's a lot of nonsense posted in this thread.
The OP has said he wishes to move to the US and is considering entering on a B-2, marrying, staying for a while and then leaving before his authorised duration expires. There is nothing wrong with this at all.
Of course, his wife would then need to file an I-130 (or do it immediately after the marriage to shave some time off) and he would interview in London for a CR-1 immigrant visa. Again, this is perfectly legal.
One potential issue I can see is that if you tell the CBP officer that you are coming to marry on a B-2 and then leave, they may give you extra attention because they think you want to stay and AoS instead of applying for an immigrant visa. You should come well-armed with plenty of documentation to show that you intend to leave when your authorised stay expires.
Other than that, the OP should have no issues whatsoever.

There's a lot of nonsense posted in this thread.
The OP has said he wishes to move to the US and is considering entering on a B-2, marrying, staying for a while and then leaving before his authorised duration expires. There is nothing wrong with this at all.
Of course, his wife would then need to file an I-130 (or do it immediately after the marriage to shave some time off) and he would interview in London for a CR-1 immigrant visa. Again, this is perfectly legal.
One potential issue I can see is that if you tell the CBP officer that you are coming to marry on a B-2 and then leave, they may give you extra attention because they think you want to stay and AoS instead of applying for an immigrant visa. You should come well-armed with plenty of documentation to show that you intend to leave when your authorised stay expires.
Other than that, the OP should have no issues whatsoever.