Great_Dane

Potentially complicated question. I'm in the process of the N400 application (filing online) and it asks me what my legal given name is as one of the very first questions. This has been a tricky one throughout my journey to become a permanent resident as my name has a foreign character in it. The form's explanation specifically says "as it appears on your birth certificate" but that is not possible as it contains a foreign character. The correct international equivalent is "oe" but USCIS has rejected this in the past, forcing my name on my GC to be with an o, as, according to the director of the USCIS office that I appealed to "we cannot put something that isn't explicitly on your birth certificate." To make it more complicated, my SS card has the spelling with "oe" because according to them, they *must* use the correct letter/symbol no matter what language it comes from, as they have to match your birth certificate exactly.

So now my question is, do I put "oe" and potentially run the risk of them being confused that it doesn't match my GC (since the GC is also supposed to match your birth certificate) or do I put a simple "o" as is reflective of my green card, but which might cause them to accuse me of lying if they match it up with my birth certificate and don't realize that this has already been settled by the USCIS once before? 

Also, apologies if there is a similar topic like this, but after searching I wasn't able to find one that was close enough.

Thanks for the responses. I guess I won't worry then!

Hi. We are submitting our I-751 today but I suddenly got concerned about something. I had two money orders made out to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, one for the filing fee and one for biometrics. However, they're both in my name, not my wife's name, who is the U.S. citizen. Might this be a problem? I only thought it might because she is the one petitioning for me, so it might look odd to them that the money orders are in my name, not hers?

I know that lawyers aren't in great reputation here but I contacted a lawyer for a free consultation over the phone. He told me that as long as we file the I-751 before my current GC expires, then I am here legally as authorized by the attorney general and can continue school and even work since the receipt is just a formality to acknowledge the extension. Can anyone confirm any of this information? I have a hard time finding anything online relating to my dillemma.

Hi. Thanks again for all the responses. I called USCIS who couldn't tell me much and I'm waiting to hear back from my school. I know the NOA/receipt is what matters but I guess I am just worried I wont get the NOA before my GC expires. Wouldn't I be violating the law by being enrolled after GC expires but before receiving NOA? I guess that's my dilemma right now. I wish I had thought of this earlier, car repairs might not have seemed as urgent as they did at the time.

Thanks for the responses so far. I guess I am a little worried now. I currently attend University, what happens if I don't get the NOA in time before my GC expires? Will I be breaking the law?

Hi. My GC expires 09/05/15 and we are just filing the I-751 now due to not having been able to afford it earlier, we had some expensive car repairs that got in the way. But I've read a lot of places that filing this late in the 90 window could damage my chances of removing the conditions on my GC, is that true? Should we include a note explaining why we are filing this late, or would that be a bad idea? I'd also like to hear from anyone who may have filed this late and had good experiences.. just kinda worried now!

Hello everyone,

Recently I posed a question in the following topic that was resolved:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/454445-finally-got-gc-name-is-wrong-and-travelling-soon/

But I am posting a new topic because this new issue is completely different and separate from the previous one, which I hope is okay.

The good news is, I can travel with my current Green Card and don't need to have it changed. The bad news is, my Green Card is now inconsistent with everything else I've ever been issued by the U.S. government and with my original passport's romanization of my name.

We set up an Infopass appointment as suggested to do so in the topic I previously made. Upon having our appointment, the Immigration Officer was incredibly impolite in his demeanor, with a very angry poker face that's hard to describe. As my wife and I kept explaining the issue, he informed us that they only issue GC's based on birth certificate and nothing else. Soon after the manager or director (Whatever you call that at USCIS) stepped in and took over, informing us that she'd already looked at our case many times and knew who we were as soon as we made the appointment. She told us that we cannot have it changed, since using the correct romanization of my character would add an additional character, and that if I ever want it to be different I'll have to become a citizen eventually and legally change my name.

I find this incredibly insulting and discriminating, since they have replaced my special character "ø" with the only roman character that looks like it "o", which is a completely different character than mine, and is a name I've never been given. "oe" is internationally recognized as the equivalent of my character, which I kept explaining to her, but she kept seeming like she just didn't get it. I asked what they did with things like Cantonese characters and she just flat out refused to answer, which I honestly think is because she knows that in those cases they do have to go by set standards since Cantonese characters don't look like roman characters at all.

I'm not sure what to do now.. in one way, I'm just glad I can travel, and knowing some of the troubles other immigrants go through, this is such a small issue. I just at the same time can't help but feel discrimated against, and not heard. If I formally try to change it (with the I-90 form), it will take about 4-6 months (according to them) and I will most likely get the change denied, which seems futile. I want to complain, write an angry letter, do something, but I don't know where or how.

I have a feeling that part of my issue is living in the culturally indiverse state of Idaho, but maybe other users on this forum have similar experiences and can share their solutions, since I'm all out of solutions at this point..

Thank you! I really would've had no idea that this was possible. I'll definitely try that.

Hi everyone!

So today I finally got my conditional GC in the mail. The name however, is wrong (Omission of one character in my first name). My wife and I had a feeling this would happen, since the letter saying that I had been accepted as a permanent resident came before the Green Card, and the name on the letter was wrong there too. As soon as we saw the wrong name on the letter, I called USCIS and had the name corrected (even though we've spelled my name correctly on every single form we've ever sent them).. the woman said that when I get the card, if the name was wrong, I'd have to call them again. However, we also got a letter confirming I have corrected a USCIS error and that we'll have to file an i-90 with an expedite addendum saying that I need my new GC with the corrected name.

The problem with that is I'll have to send in the card with the misspelling of my name as well, leaving me with no GC for who knows how long. My dad died in May while I was waiting for my green card, and we've bought non-refundable tickets to go see my family and visit my dad's grave.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Since technically my name is mispelled in a way that doesn't invalidate it, and the card has my biometrics, then I'm thinking I should be able to use it just fine, and just change it when we get home from our trip in December. I'm just afraid to take the chance and send my card in with the i-90 only to have the new card not arrive in time for our trip. It's rather frustrating, especially since I couldn't be at my dad's funeral.

I appreciate any help or suggestions..

Thanks all for the responses! I did not write because I was traveling to the US and was without internet for a few days. I finally got here and had no hassle or problems at my POE, so that is good.

To answer another question, I did receive permission from my Danish school to finish this current semester abroad online, so that at least will not be a problem.

You're not going to get into trouble from the US end - you don't get paid to go to school. Student loans and financial aid are not a salary. But you'd have to talk to your school about whether they'd let you continue your studies from overseas. It may or may not be possible.

That's really great! I was very worried because technically it is a source of income, just one from school and not work, and not in the U.S.

Does this also count for other sources of income abroad? Before I left I put severel of my posessions for sale, and I am wondering if I am allowed to receive the money for these things, or even make a deal in the first place. The things I am selling are in Denmark and will be in danish currency. My parents are helping me sell it for me, but I will receive the money. It's not a store or anything like that though, and I am not offering a service of any kind. But I still wonder if it is allowed?

My K-1 Visa finally got approved after waiting for it for several weeks, very nerve-racking! But now it's all sorted and I'm flying on sunday for my POE.

But at this last minute I've suddenly gotten doubts about something.. I currently attend online classes in my home country, which I also receive loans and student aid for. I figured that since it's not work and since it's not a US school, that I could still finish this semester online and then apply to a US school once I get my GC.

However, is this truly so? I really don't want to do anything wrong at this point, and have no interest in making my life harder than it needs to be. I've seen a few posts about people working online with a non-US company and it being a grey area, but what about school online with a non-US school?

Thanks for any help!

For Irrelevant Folks Offering Emmentaler

GOUDA

Congrats!

I know how paranoid this process makes you, but you are lucky enough to be going through one of the fastest embasies out there. I don't think you need to worry at all. It's not like they have been sitting there waiting for your file to come in They have many visas etc to deal with. I think you did the right thing by emailing them and all you can do now is just to wait. If they recieved it by now, you will have your visa within a week or so. They process it very fast in Stockholm! (it might be on it's way right now!). They would definately have let you know if something was wrong or missing - they do that pretty fast,too! Good Luck!

Thank you for the encouragement! It's definitely a process that can make you paranoid. Every day I race home to check my mail, but still nothing. I have a feeling everything is fine, or that if they are processing our case further, that it's something minor and trivial that won't take too long.

Just so hard to focus on the future when this most vital part is still missing.

Breathe IN and breathe OUT

1) They still have your passport, right? This is a good sign

2) Have you contacted the Embassy and asked? While one may think that "they will let us know" I know from my own experience that, if I hadn't emailed them and asked what was going on, I never would have found out until the passport was delivered. --- So, get a hold of them, pronto!

Trying to stay calm. I e-mailed them yesterday, but I have a feeling it could be a while before they get around to responding. I just hope nothing is wrong because we intend to get married next month on a date which is special to us. Of course, beggers can't be choosers.

Thank you for the response.

Hi everyone. I had my interview in Stockholm a few weeks ago today, but when I had it, the medical results still hadn't arrived at the embassy. This was mainly due to the fact that I got a very early interview appointment, only a few weeks after Packet 3, so my scheduled medical was too close to that date. I was told that everything looked good and that if the medical looked good I would receive my passport with the visa in a week or two. Should I be worried? The doctor wrote me a letter I got after I got home from the embassy, saying the medical results had been sent off to the embassy and so I suspect they had the medical results as soon as a day or two after I had had my interview. I don't mean to sound impatient or anything, it's just nerve-wracking every day waiting for the visa, missing my Fiancée, and wondering if something went wrong.. further processing, lost by mail service.. just too many possibilities, and I see many people on VJ saying how they got their visa within a week or so, at least from others in Scandinavia.

So I guess my final question is, should I be worried? Would they even let me know if they had denied me/further processing/complications?

Thanks so much in advance! I hope my question isn't too annoying.

Thank you so much for the response. I think I will do just that.

So sorry to hear that!

Hello all.

Really excited, having my medical exam done tomorrow but I've become confused about the passport requirements. They say to bring a passport-style photo that shows the upper part of your chest, but the lady from the clinic didn't know the specific requirements. Is this picture just a normal passport photo that shows some of my upper chest, or should I get the more expensive 2x2 inch photo that I also need for the interview?

I'm just hessitant to go get one of those if they only need a regular passport photo since I already have that (had them done yesterday) and the others are very expensive.. so anybody with experience of that, particularly from Denmark, would be super!

Thank you in advance!

Thanks for the info! I hope it works for me..