WaitingStill

Hello all

My wife was recently naturalized. On her N400 we asked for her name to be shown as "First name" then "Middle Initial" then "last name." But on her naturalization certificate, they changed it by spelling out the entire middle name which causes a big problem. There was a form attached to the certificate stating that they changed it so that it would match the name on file with USCIS.

Now there's no point in talking about why they do such things. But my question is, how do I go about getting it corrected? Has anyone done this, because technically it's not a name change. Same first name, same last name, just remove the middle name.

There's nothing more frustrating than dealing with the federal government.

What state do you live in?

Just thinking out loud here, but what are you going to do when someone asks for your husband's tax return to show the relationship and it says "single?" IRS rules are very clear. If you are married on the last day of the year, the only filing statuses that are available to you are married filing jointly, married filing separately, or in some cases, if you've been separated and have a dependent child, head of household.

If your co-sponsor filed their taxes already, the transcript should be available. Have them go to the irs.gov home page and in the search box type "get transcript." They will be taken to a page where they will create an account, and then will be able immediately to download the transcript of their tax return. This is the only proof that USCIS will accept if the tax return was electronically filed.

The entire process takes about ten or fifteen minutes.

I'm sorry. What is "dhl?"

Age difference usually is not an issue if all the usual evidence of relationship is provided.

Do you mean you are waiting to receive your refund?

Why would that hold anything up?

The IRS is getting direct deposit refunds out in some cases less than two weeks.

After she arrives, have her get her social security number, then file your amended return. You can amend a tax return any time within three years of the date it was due by filing form 1040X. On the 1040X there is a place to explain why you are amending.

If your wife for some reason cannot obtain a social security number ( I can't think of a reason why, but just for argument sake) then you will have to have her fill out a form W7 Request for Individual Tax ID number (ITIN) and mail it with the tax return. The IRS will assign an ITIN for tax purposes.

Hello,

I'm curious. The wife appears to have submitted her Form I-751 and says it was rejected because of a missing certificate of naturalization. She also says they are getting divorced and the divorce is a contentious one. So: did she file a joint petition with the contentious husband, or did she submit a petition with a waiver request? Because to get the waiver, your divorce has to be final. Or your spouse has to be dead. Or you have to be battered or the victim of extreme cruelty.

One way to do it is request the waiver, get your one year extension, and wait til the divorce is final. Has anyone done this, or heard of anyone doing it?

They will want your tax return to see your income. I don't know if they will make an issue out of the erroneous filing status. If your income is sufficient to satisfy them as far as your being able to support the both of you, then it shouldn't make a difference. But be prepared to explain to them that you intend to file an amended return after your husband arrives. This is the type of issue that can be completely overlooked, or it can take on a life of its own. So just proceed normally and deal with it as it comes....

Hello Michey

You have a lot going on, and you've gotten some good advice. I'll try to give you something you can work with.

1. Filing status. Hypnos is correct in explaining that your status is determined as of the last day of the year. If you were married on Dec. 31st, then your filing status can only be Married Filing Jointly, or Married Filing Separately. It is possible to amend your return by filing form 1040X (and CA has the state version, 540X). But you have three years from the date the return was due to amend, so don't rush it right now.

2. To file a tax return with your husband, he needs a tax identification number. If he is eligible for a social security number, he has to apply by filing form SS-5 at your local social security office. If he does not have his visa yet, then he is ineligible and needs an ITIN. The IRS certifies certain tax professionals as "ITIN Acceptance Agents." Find one locally and they will take care of it. Don't try to do it yourself.

3. There has been a discussion of how to report foreign income but I do not know if this is an issue for you so I will leave it alone. There is not enough info in this discussion to advise you properly. Just understand that the rules regarding foreign earned income apply to US citizens and Resident Aliens. If your husband is a nonresident alien, you can choose to have him considered a resident alien for tax purposes by attaching a declaration to your tax return. Again, this is an involved procedure and you should seek advice from a local tax professional.

Remember that once your husband becomes eligible for a social security number, he can no longer use the ITIN.

Obviously, everything will be much easier for you if you wait until your husband is physically present in the U.S. If there is no pressing reason for you to file by April 15th, you can get 6 month extensions from both the IRS and the FTB. The IRS will want you to file a request for extension, form 4868. The FTB grants the extension automatically. Be aware that if you owe taxes, interest begins to accrue as of April 15th. The extension is for filing, not paying.

Good luck.

I see this topic is nearly two months old but here goes:

The State Dept. website gives instructions on applying for a K3 visa. It says first, file your I-130 petition, THEN file your I-129F petition.

Further along the instructions tell you that if I-130 is received at NVC BEFORE the I-129F, they will close out the I-129F. So why do they tell you to file the I-130 first?

Also...

If a foreign spouse is involved in child custody litigation with her ex, is that spouse barred from obtaining a CR-1 or a K3 visa? I didn't see anything about custody disputes on the ineligibility list.

thanks!!!

This should get you started. You should talk with the embassy first. They can point you in the right direction.

http://dubai.usconsulate.gov/dubai_marriage.html

good luck!!!

A friend of mine posted this in another forum. I looked around here and couldn't find it anywhere so I'm passing it on. It's an app that lets you download skype logs without the content. Or something like that. Here's the link:

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/skype_log_view.html

I remember sitting here making screen shots of my skype logs and then printing out pages and pages....this app is supposed to make it a lot easier and cleaner.

Good Luck!!!

Jim

First thing is, don't panic. Files don't disappear. Just have a plan, and follow it.

I would first call the customer service number for USCIS, tell them you received your NOA2 but NVC has no record of your file. Find out when the CA service center sent the file to NVC.

Then call NVC again with the info from the service center.

Then call the consulate.

Somewhere in there you will find your materials have just gotten stalled, sidetracked, or maybe just took a little longer than usual.

It could be that it's just taking longer these days. Maybe someone else here has info regarding the Manila consulate.

Good luck.

Also remember that they want photos that are date stamped. Your undated wedding photos should be accompanied by a certified copy of your marriage license to establish the date the photos were taken....

The good news is that the time will pass and everything will happen as you hope it will. Right now the CA service center is averaging 7.5 months from filing to approval of I-129F petitions. After that, things will speed up. Good luck! And as has already been mentioned, don't worry about the A number. Just make sure that you use the correct one in any correspondence!

BTW, the best remedy is making friends with whom she could only speak english. Especially somebody in similar circumstances: fresh off the boat. Hopefully, with sunny personality and go-getter attitude. The best place for it - english courses. Sign her up. Good luck.

Your advice is probably sound in many places, but here in Riverside there is a very large hispanic population and 99% of the students in her English classes are Hispanic, mostly from Mexico but some South and Central America as well. So she told me that she will probably speak better Spanish than English when she finishes....

bzzzt, russia withdrawal syndrome alert. The disease is occasionally fatal to the relationship. Also, if untreated the disease may become chronic. Typical recovery time is one year. Russianness should be supplied in controlled doses with the intent of weaning the patient from the dependency. Oversupply may exacerbate the symptoms and delay the recovery.

Aha! I knew it was something like this....I will be very careful!

Yes, we have found Meshta, Svetlana, Odessa, Stolichnaya Bakery, all on Santa Monica Bl. near Fairfax. Make a monthly pilgrimage there....

Hello all,

My wife and I have been back here in the U.S. since October. We live in an area of southern California in which there are very few Russian language speakers, and recently my wife has confided in me that she feels lonely with no one to speak Russian here. She does have a couple of friends that she speaks with occasionally but I think she is feeling isolated. She speaks English a bit, still learning but can communicate, but I do see that she misses having friends with whom she can speak in her native language. Has anyone else experienced this, and can anyone help?????

Thanks!

Jim

Hi everyone!

I need your help!!!

I got here on a K-1 visa. Got married and applied for adjustment of status (green card). My status is pending right now. I got my fingerprints taken and waiting for my interview to be scheduled. My I-94 and K-1 visa expired.

I am planning to take a cruise to Alaska and there is a stop in Canadian port on the way back to Seattle.

My questions are:

1. Am I allowed to take this cruise just with my Ukrainian passport while my status is pending?

2. And if there is a stop in a Canadian port and I shouldn't leave the territory of the USA before I get my green card, am I allowed to take this cruise without leaving the ship in Canadian port?

The ship is U.S-flagged.

Looking forward to your responds.

Thank you!

If you are not a U.S. citizen, Canada requires a visa.

Without your green card, you need something to get back into the U.S. You will be sailing in international waters, and you will be visiting another country (Canada) so as far as the U.S. is concerned, you've left the country. You should have applied for Advanced Parole when you submitted your I485 petition. It is meant for situations like this.

Hope this helps.

My wife was approved for AOS on 2/15/13 but it seems the San Bernardino office dropped the ball and she never got a green card. We called five weeks later, and now we have received an April 4th notice that her I485 was approved, and an April 5th notice that her new permanent residence status has been "registered," and that she should receive her greed card in 60 days or as soon as she completes "ADIT" (does anyone know what this is) if required, whichever is later.

So be prepared. In February they told us we'd have a green card "in one to four weeks." Then, six weeks later we're told it will be 60 days or more.

Good luck to all of you out there.

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has had this experience. We had our adjustment of status interview on February 15th. The officer said my wife's application was approved and she would receive her green card in the mail in 1 to 4 weeks. Checking on the website, it confirmed that the application was approved but it said "we mailed you a notice." We never received a notice, just a letter at the time of the interview stating the app was approved. Five weeks went by, no notice, no green card, so we called and were told we'd get a letter by April 5th that would tell us when the green card would arrive.

Has anyone had anything like this happen???

James

Not enough information. No one can really give you any advice with what you've posted. There are too many possibilities.

I guess the first question is, if your wife is not who you thought she was, then who is she? Did she lie to you before you came? Did she trick you into giving her money or property? Or did she just change her mind about being married to you? Why don't you start by telling us what facts exactly lead you to say she is not who you thought she was. That would be a start. I'm sure everyone here would like to help you.