Artegal

So they do allow non-hawaiians in their school?

Of 5,400 students enrolled at the school's three K-12 campuses, only two do not have Hawaiian ancestry.

Well the USCIS, IRS, and SSA do not share information. Its really ignorant now-a-days too--considering that the SSN is your identity and its readily stolen everyday. The SSA won't even share data on misused and stolen SSN with the USCIS (ICE), or the IRS. Consequently, the real SSN holder has to go through a lengthy and troublesome process to clear their name. IRS bills the SSN holder for income they never received. The person making the income is either an undocumented alien or an identity theif who wants new credit, etc. And here you are stuck--the IRS, USCIS, and SSA won't coordinate the efforts to enforce the law and track down these people abusing the SSN. Over 500,000 known SSN fraud cases and the SSA won't share that data with ICE or other law enforcement. The victim is referred to the FTC--big law enforcement arm there!

Why don't the SSA share and cooperate with the fraud cases-- the SSA sites privacy concerns! Oh my god give me a break--with the Patriot Act and Government personnel taking our precious data home on unsecured laptops when did we ever have any privacy. Furthermore it has been routine to share SSN on applications, US Mail in the Military, is on any financial document (paycheck, bill, or account statement) and in credit reports, it was the Student ID numbers and Driver's License numbers before in my state--so where is the big secret.

The VA let 26.5 Million SSN get stolen. Equifax let another 2.5 million SSN get stolen, and this is just two recent high-profile cases.

But I know bad legislation when I see it. Just because there is a problem it doesn't mean every law that addresses it is a good law, and a person who opposes a law is not necessarily for the crime, understand?

Sums up the reality pretty good- thank you for saving me the typing.

Like the premise of "The Colbert Report", people want to "feel" a law is good, regardless of the weight (in this case the lack thereof) of the evidence proving otherwise. It is all puppies and butterflies as long as the law "sounds" good.

To cite emotionally gripping examples, and claiming they were all preventable if IMBRA had only been in effect, is intellectually bankrupt and only panders to the sensationalistic hot-buttons of the masses.

BUT what is always missing are the studies showing causation and linkage.

What studies were conducted? Were meta-studies done? Who were the control groups? What are the facts supporting this "power imbalance" theory? This is IMBRA's whole problem, it is all based on emotion, there are no facts supporting the alleged efficacy of the solution.

Don't cram legislation down my throat that was written in ambiguous and convolution fashion, based on knee-jerk reaction.

There were already laws in place for visa fraud, spousal abuse. Don't create new laws when you don't enforce the ones already in place.

Perhaps you missed these statistics.

According to USCIS statistics, from the time that VAWA made it possible in 1996 for foreign spouses to leave their abuser and self-petition for their own immigration status through March 2005, approximately 38,000 I-360 applications were filed, 30,672 were approved, and approximately 7200 were denied.

That's 30,000 immigrants on some sort of government assistance. It's not emotional to speculate that many of these American men could have been screened out of the process with the use of criminal background checks. Shoving 30,000 immigrants down the throat of the taxpayer is a bigger pill to swallow than whatever inconvenience IMBRA has caused you personally.

So according to your logic IMBRA was made to protect the American Tax payer from the support of 30,000 immigrants on government assistance? Okay what is the cost of changing a government form and procedures and then implementing those changes and doing background investigations on over 10,000 visa applications so far held-up because of IMBRA. Now to do a thorough investigation you need to check Federal, 50 State, Numerous Local, and possibly Military and overseas law enforcement, court, criminal and family court records. So we enacted IMBRA to save the cost of 30,000 supposedly abused spouses--then we do not enact any law to save the taxpayer the cost of the estimated 20,000,000 illegal immigrants in this country.

I bet you there is way more abuse of the millions of undocumented migrant workers in this country then there is abuse of the few thousand foreign born spouses. But yet you do not seemed concerned about the millions vs a few high-profile domestic violence cases.

Maybe if you would focus on the research about abuses in work-place safety, absentee-landlords, and working and living conditions that constitute modern-day slavery for the millions of illegal aliens, then maybe just maybe a more meaningful law than IMBRA about the totally unregulated invasion of undocumented aliens without any background checks, safeguards, or legal recourse would pass through congress.

I guess it’s just easier to be up in arms about the tragic death of a beautiful eastern-European girl versus the countless deaths of Mexican migrants each day. I can remember recent cases of hundreds dead in rail box cars and in the cabs of 18-wheelers--but nothing has changed on that front.

And as far as the support of immigrants on government assistance: I don't see the Governors of California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida petitioning congress for more aid for all the abused foreign spouses. No its things like work-place accidents, undocumented mothers having babies in our overburdened hospitals that is got them in dire straits fiscally.

You know I speak Spanish and I see countless jobs at our nation's hospitals for patient advocates, billing, and Nurse positions. They want someone that speaks Spanish, someone that can help translate and work at bill collection or apply for medicare or medicaid etc for Spanish speaking immigrants. I will advise you when I see a marriage counselor position open up for someone who speaks Russian.

Well yeah keep believing that IMBRA has to do with saving the precious budget from supporting 30,000 abused foreign spouses.

We are losing our constitutional right to privacy and freedom of assembly. Excuse me but that is more than just an inconvenience. Maybe I should connect the dots for you:

NSA is recording all phone records. Wire-tapping at will.

NSA is opening overseas in and out bound US mail.

CIA-FBI-Local Law enforcement are sharing data with little or no court oversight.

NSA is trolling the internet to include email.

Patriot Act requires financial institutions to report all your transactions to the government

Airports under the TSA (HLS) search everyone regardless of threat

Airlines forward your travel plans to the FBI etc.

And now your IMBRA that is only in place to save the cost of 30,000 foreign spouses from going on food stamps--requires background checks on all US Citizens that want to correspond and possibly marry a foreigner.

Gee I see its all about saving dollars! Yeah and I suppose every penny counts oops the 100's of billions spent on Katrina (FEMA Fiasco) and the War in Iraq yet a bigger blunder, need this little cost cutting measure known as IMBRA.

Funny how they will bendover backwards to grant green cards and even citizenship for a Canadian Ice-Skater, and a Cuban Pitching-Sensation, but someone that is highly educated and clearly very intelligent--no such luck. I saw this guy on TV--maybe if he were very handsome like a hollywood actor or model--or in extreme physical shape--then the US Congress and the President would certainly grant him a green card or citizenship. I guess this just shows what the USA values--beauty and brawn over brains.

Um, I think everyone should cut the OP some slack--they are obviously new to the process--some of us on here are repeat-visa-petitioners, or otherwise internet-bookworms about Immigration Law. Not everyone has the same level of patience--nor should this be an expectation. And to post things such as why are you complaining our case has been stuck in so and so service center for so many more days than yours--is really irrelevant---since we all know that the visas are case by case at embassy by embassy, country by country, service center by service center--and even recent IMBRA changes etc. make the whole thing take a step back or forward--so try not to play the playground game of trying to showoff how better or worse you are, like hey I am worse off then you so quit your complaining.

Instead: be polite and just say something to the effect--most cases take about 6 months or so--please review recent timelines for more details on how long your case might take.

There seems to be huge disconnect between the Department of State and the SSA. Well no surprise since they are completely opposite ends of the government. And the DMV in my state is run better than the SSA office here. Well I don't know of anyone on VJ that has successfully received the SSN/Card based on the application box on the DS-230.

Shouldn't this post be in the Immigration News Forum?

Do you think you have changed since you moved to the USA? When you go back to your country of birth do your family and friends there say you have changed? Have you really changed or is there just a perception of change.

This was the discussion on the local latin radio this morning. The example they said was that a lot of Mexicans that have lived in the USA when they return to Mexico have red or orange hair.

My wife has changed in the following ways: She is not in the sun so much so her skin is a lot lighter. She also has gained more weight--for being pregnant and just in general because we eat more regular here in the USA then she did in her country.

So what do you think about changes to you because you live in the USA--myth or real?

Congrats on getting your Visa! Welcome to the USA!

Elsewhere, the National Security Agency said that it was snooping on Internet social networks such as MySpace and LiveJournal in the hopes of identifying terrorists and determining what their favorite bands are.

Its not about stopping Terrorists! Its about counter MP3 file-sharing.

PS: CIA and FBI as well as some bored local law enforcement authorities have been trolling and recording stuff off the Net for years.

#######! Hottie usually refers to a Hot Female! Furthermore a good looking guy is called Beefcake!

Please use the correct slang term. Doh! Well Lucas yeah he is Hot--no I mean he is a cool guy. I hope my son plays soccer or futbol.

You know we can take a clue or two from the multiplicity of Asian (Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Mandarian) and Spanish (Mexican, Central/South American) restaurants. The owners of these type of restuarants don't expect the US public to speak all the dialects of Asian languages and Spanish. They conveniently put food items in to Combos. And put explanations or photos of the food ingredients.

Of course fast food restuarants (Burger King, McDonalds, Wendy's Chic-Fil-a, etc) have Combos also--but for a different reason: the US citizen employees in those establishments are usually illiterate of the English language.

I noticed that incanada multiplied. I said so in this thread as well. In response, she sent me an infantile PM off her new identity, too. I blocked that new identity 'cause I don't care to concern myself with that kind of a ridiculous individual.

You keep thinking whatever you wanna think, sweets. We know how the left loves conspiracy theories.

And we know how YOU love to label....

I see a lot of labeling on all sides of the psuedo various issues.

Suicide has been and is a form of protest--by terrorist (suicide bombings) and others, images of Buddhist monks doused in gasoline and setting themselves on fire in Vietnam comes to mind for the group of others. And yeah Dr. Strangelove is great film.

I was wondering would people just get married overseas and pursue CR-1 on the I-130. Since I have seen nothing about IMBRA affecting this visa route. That is what I am reading--right? That only the I-129F is governed by IMBRA. And god how would you determine if you met your spouse through an IMB? I mean the definition is so vague--technically your ISP is an IMB since you pay to have Internet access and you are then facilitated by that access a communication route with foreingers.

Thank god my wife is here already and I am done.

I wonder will there be an increase in the filing fee with the new form?

With the K-3 there is a lot more paperwork to do once you are here in the USA.

That's assuming you adjust status in the US and don't return home for the CR-1.

True--that's another possibility. I guess you have to consider at this moment how fast are K-3 (I-129F) moving versus CR-1 (I-130). And would you really want to move to the USA on a K-3 only to turn around and go back for another round of interviews for the CR-1, do an AOS here instead of returning. It might be better just to stay the course for the CR-1. I see a lot of forum post about delays of the I-129F reference IMBRA. I don't know exactly how that applies to cases where the couple is already married. I mean it is the same form as the non-spousal K-1 (financee) visa--but still, seems odd to me, that IMBRA would in effect keep married people apart. Then again maybe it won't but just help speed up the CR-1 process.

As far as I understand, there is a point of no return in filing for CR-1, meaning you can no longer pursue K-3 visa (which might appear to be a faster track at that point). Can we safely proceed with DS3032 and I-864 bill now? At which point in proceeding for immigrant visa do we get stuck?

Thank you very much for your replies!

This point of no return is when the CR1 visa paperwork actually arrives at the US Embassy. So its not like a magical half-way point in the process. Its actually in the homestretch--at the point of interview pretty much, or within 30 days thereof. I did and would again pursue the CR-1. But I also pursued the K-3 and lost money--but no time, as both the CR-1 and the K-3 were approved and arrived at the Embassy together. This has been the case for many where the CR-1 is faster than the K-3, but at times the K-3 has been faster. With the K-3 there is a lot more paperwork to do once you are here in the USA. With the CR-1 you are set for two years once you arrive in the USA and within a few weeks your Green Card arrives and possibly your SS Card. But sometimes you do have to apply for the SS Card, as the embassy drops the ball on this one at times.

Aussie here is another thing that they do, suppose you opt out of medical insurance. Then the next year you decide you do want to have medical insurance--well guess what you pay the same premium out of your paycheck but you get only first tier (level A) coverages and no second tier (level B.) coverages. They have a policy that you must be covered the prior year in order to have full medical benefits--even though you are paying the same premium as everyone else. Its wrong.

And they of course they increase the premium each year without any added benefit. And then of course the doctors care is less and less actual "care" anymore.

I went to Cali two times in 2003. I didn't have any fear--but the people I met there me cuidan mucho--because you know they had some fear. Yeah Colombia is beautiful, and the people are nice--but there are still FARC, and others--and then the usual crime you have in any city anywhere. But they knew where to go when to go and where not to go and when not to go--so I felt safe.

Now on the other hand--the only time I really felt in danger was in a car driving from Cali to Armenia and back--oh my God! Colombians are very reckless drivers! Its no wonder the side of the roads are lined with memorials, roses, flores, and a cross--I saw two traffic accidents during that trip--I would prefer to drive myself if I ever return to Colombia.

In my case (Peru) the passport did not need a translation--but Peru passports are printed in English and Spanish, so it does not really need a translation. I don't think the passport needs to be translated. How is the Brazil passport--is it bilingual?

In my case the Consular asked what was our common language (my wife and I). We said we spoke to each other in Spanish. They then conducted 90% of the interview in Spanish--but did on occassion ask me questions in English.

It is a blue fly swatter.

What did the Clock with the word Police on it and time set to 12:10:40?

Could someone please tell me how to find the thread where it tells you how to get the ITTN? Do we need a certified copy of the passport? What is a certified copy of the passport? Will the US IRS accept a Brazilian certified copy? Will I have to get it translated?

You call the US Embassy or Consulate in Brazil and request to have a certified copy of the passport made. In my case--the US Embassy (Lima, Peru), even offered to fill out the W-7 as well. If you already have the W-7 completed then just get the certified copy of the passport made. A consular will stamp it (copy of the passport) with something to the affect Certified Copy for IRS purposes only.

... if my wife pretends to not have a valid visa--that is she pretends to be undocumented and go and "dar the luz" (give birth) to our baby in the Public County Hospital. I mean I am paying out the butt for Aetna healthcare with my employer--granted the 9,000 per year is deducted before taxes--but then I have to pay co-pays and deductibles--the prenatal vitamins are not covered so that is totally out of pocket. Anyway she is thinking of pretending not to have a Visa and wants to get free health care at the public clinic and hospital. Like also for later when the baby is born--she is thinking of the cost of immunizations---she even has thought of returning to her home country because vaccinations are so much cheaper there--and on top of that the 9,000 per year I pay in premiums will go up because I am adding another family member.

Man--2008 can't wait, we need something done in this country--immigration, banning of gays, terror wars, oil prices--just put those on the back burner and make health care less expensive. Its crazy that third world countries have better and less expensive medical care.