bwaaderant

No, you do not need to mail any of the minor child's papers with the parent's application, just list her on the form. No biometrics for the child. This is not her application, but the mother's.

Okay, thanks! That's kind of what we were thinking, but just wanted to make sure.

We are putting together my wife's N-400 application and we were wondering if her child, my step-daughter, will need her biometrics done. Will she need the two passport style photos also? We've looked pretty much everywhere and can't find an answer. Thanks for any replies!

Yes, your wife can change her name to whatever in the naturalization process, your daughter can't. Your daughter's name can be changed in the court either through adoption by you or based upon her mother's name change. But in both cases you need to prove that the girl's biological father doesn't object or doesn't exist, etc

Ah, the biological father, well, he did give his permission for her to move here from Russia. Not that he had much to do with her there anyway, so he shouldn't have a problem with her changing her name. I guess we need to contact him, if we can find him. Oh joy!

Thanks for all the replies!

Change her last name to what?

Generally its a court process to either adopt the child and have her take your last name or court process to get a new last name.

We would like to change her last name to my last name.

So, if I understand your reply correctly, my sd's name can't be changed in the citizenship process, but my wife could change her own name to Lexus J. Whistlefarthing, or whatever, if she had a mind to? Is this because my sd's a minor?

My wife and I will soon to be filing for my wife's citizenship and, as I understand it, my 11 year old step-daughter will automatically get her citizenship also. We would like to change my step-daughter's last name when she gets her citizenship, any idea how we can do this? Also, will we need to pay for her biometrics or just my wife's?

I guess I should have asked if this a common occurence.

We had our AOS interview on the 28th of January, at the interview we were told that we needed a certified copy of our marriage certificate, the one we had with the state seal, the County Recorder's signature, and the certificate number apparently wasn't certified enough for them. We were also told that my daughter needed a physical. No problems in getting either one and they were sent to our interviewer well within the time frame we were given. This past Friday my daughter received the letter of approval, and today the GC came in the mail. We have received nothing concerning my wife's case.

Would immigration actually approve a child's AOS and issue a GC before the parent was approved?

Cool, thanks for the info, and congratulations.

My only quarrel with the whole thing was they asked my wife if she had ever been involved in prostitution. Okay, not a totally unrealistic question, but do they really need to ask it in front of our 8 year old daughter??

We finally had our AOS interview today at the San Bernadino, CA office. The interview lasted about 15 or 20 minutes, she asked us a few questions; how did we meet, how many times did I visit her in Russia, has she met my family, but mostly she just asked basic biographic questions that were already answered on the biograpic forms. She asked my 8y/o step-daughter a few questions; D.O.B., if she was in school, what was the name of her school, and if she behaved in school. My daughter told her that only boys mis-behave in school...lol

Although the the interviewer did ask us a few questions, it seemed to me that the main point of the interview was to make sure the paperwork was present and properly filled out. We had everything but a CERTIFIED copy of our marriage certificate, and a physical for our daughter. During my wife's physical the Dr. said that my daughter didn't need one because of her age. I was under the impression that if the child was under 14 or 15 they didn't need a physical, well, I was wrong. But once we get the certified copy of our marriage certificate and my daughter's physical done then we will be approved for the GC. Nice!

Things the interviewer asked to see during the interview were our birth certificates, divorce papers, proof of relationship; (we showed her a few pics from our wedding which she seemed most interested in, she didn't even glance at any of the other pictures), lease with both of our names, my daughter's school registration papers, medical benefit cards, and a few letters and post cards we've received. She asked for my last years tax return, and my most recent pay stub, and letter of employment from my employer. She didn't ask for an Affidavit of Support, or any further paperwork from me.

I think that's about it. If I've forgotten anything then I will add it later.

My fiancee entered the country on October 6, 2006, we got married on November 24th. We are mostly finished with the AOS packet and we are wondering how long we have to actally file for AOS? Does it have to be filed within 90 days of her arrival, Oct 6, or does it have to be filed before her visa actually expires?

Thanks!

Yup, yup, yup! We finally got the visa! My fiancee had her visa interview on August 14 at the Moscow Embassy, all went well, but they wanted a letter from her exhusband giving his permission for my fiancee to bring her daughter with her. After days of negotiation he finally agreed to give his permission, all he wanted in return was a chance to see his daughter and spend time with her. Why he waited 5 years to see his daughter is quite the mystery, but my fiancee agreed and her whole family went along as a sort of mass chaperone. Her daughter, 7 years old, didn't want much to do with this stranger, but the visit went off without a hitch.

So, my fiancee mailed off the letter to the Embassy, and the day they received it she called them and was told to call back in 3-4 days for their answer. She called 4 days later and they told her to call the next day, she called and was told to call later in the day. Anyway, this ####### went on for weeks, and finally something told me to check the DHL website and run the tracking number the Embassy had given her on the day of her interview. To my surprise the website showed that the packet had left the Embassy the day before at 2:20pm, she had last talked to them at around 6pm that same day and they again told her there was no update, this was after DHL had already picked up her packet. Do they use computers at the Embassy???

Anyway, she called the local DHL office and they told her the packet was already on the truck for delivery. It was delivered around 5:30pm and the visa was in the passport! So much for the Embassy keeping us, and themselves, updated. So, now all they have to do is get on the plane, Oct 6, and go through the POE stuff and then we will finally be together!!

Yes, he is paying child support, but only because my fiancee went after him, and the court ordered his company to garnish his wages for back child support and for current child support. One of our hopes is that he will be so happy to not have to pay the child support anymore that he will sign the paper. But my fiancee doesn't put much stock in that, she says he is "a sick person". But someone mentioned having the brother take the paper to him, yes, I know, no violence! That might be a good idea. I know she is scared to death to see him, he's already attacked her and her mother once on the street in front of the child. Her mother broke his nose, and the police laughed at him when he went to the police station to file charges Luckily a friend was with them and she ran away with the child, and luckily the child was very young at the time and has no memory of the incident. She is 7 years old and couldn't pick out her father from a line up of men, she had no clue what he looks like.

As for an attorney, his uncle has very deep pockets and is good friends with many of the judges in the city and could possibly influence the outcome of any trial, or judgement if he caught wind of it. But getting a lawyer is something I mentioned to her before and she seemed unsure about going that route. Needless to say, I think her opinion about that might have changed in the last day or two.

Yes, we ruled out the violence route as soon as he brought it up. One thing I forgot to add is that according to Russian law she has full custody of the child. The interviewer claimed that Russian law requires the ex-spouses permission before a child can be taken out of the country regardless of custody, and this is not true. She finally asked her supervisor and he/she didn't know either. Makes ya feel real comfortable about the people making a decision about someone elses future, YOUR future.

Well, my fiancee had her visa interview yesterday in Moscow. She didn't get the visa. She needs the permission of her lowlife ex-husband for her daughter to accompany her and she has no idea where he is. It's amazing to me that in this day and age that a woman can be held virtually hostage by some knuckle dragging, mouth breather that she made a mistake with years ago. Mistake as in marrying him, not having her daughter, that was not a mistake!! He won't sign the permission, of that she is 99.9% sure. Not that he wants his sweet, lovely daughter to be close by, he hasn't seen her since she was two, and that was a court ordered visit during which he was "escorted" by social services.

So, now we have to go crawling to this idiot to get his permission for his daughter, and exwife, to be with someone who truly loves them.

A bit of advice for you guys who are starting out on this journey, if your fiancee has a child, before you do anything, before her child becomes attached to you, make damn sure you have her ex's permission. The Embassy may not ask for it during the interview, but it will save a lot of heartache if you already have it. I wouldn't wish for anyone to get a message on their voice mail like the one I got last night from my fiancee as she was going to bed. I can't begin to describe the pain, the grief, the hopelessness I heard in her voice, and I can't bring myself to listen to the message again so I can actually tell what she was saying through her sobs and tears.

I want to thank Larry and Maria, also posters on this forum, who are in Moscow for their interview for being there for my fiancee, for giving her moral support and a shoulder to cry on. I wanted to be there, but we didn't realize how fast this process would actually go for us, so we planned my visit to Russia back in March, bought tickets, rented the apartment, etc., and I spent a week there the last week of July. I couldn't get the time off to go back again two weeks later for her interview.

Anyway, we still have a couple of things we can try; Senator, Congressional representative(tho I don't know how much they can actually accomplish), and there is also the possibility that when they return her passport to her that the visa might already be in it. It's happened before to other people, tho I think it might be a slim chance. And there is the groveling and low crawling to her ex, and perhaps a bribe. My fiancee's brother is thinking more of a threat type of scenario, he and his friends are ready and have already volunteered, but we refuse to go that route.

I will keep you all updated how this turns out. One good thing is that if she is able to get the permission she won't have to go all the way back to Moscow for another interview, she just needs to mail it to them. If anyone has advice or a similar, successful, experience, I would be glad to hear it!

There are a few of us, I couldn't tell you how many. I think the Embassy in Moscow does around 20 interviews a day, but perhaps only 4 or 5, at the most, are for K-1 visas. My fiancee has her interview on the 14th of August, so hang in there it will happen for you too. Good luck, and follow the advice that you find on this site and you shouldn't go wrong. Ask questions if you aren't sure about something, as the smart old cliche says "the only dumb question is the one you don't ask".

My NOA 1 date was Mar 3, 2006, NOA 2 date of May 8, 2006, and my fiancee's interview date is August 14th, 2006. This is all out of the CSC and since it was pre-IMBRA I'm sure it will take a little longer for you. But it went faster than I thought it would, at least in my case. Good luck and hang in there, it will be worth it!!

I would think that as long as you still meet the 125% poverty level requirement, and inform them of the job change, and any address change, changing jobs shouldn't matter.

Yes, I agree! Any info, experiences, obstacles, hurdles, nightmares, pleasant surprises, advice, etc., that anyone has to offer for those of us getting ready for the big event at the Moscow Embassy would be greatly appreciated!

Mine took 69 days with no RFE's, My NOA-1 date was March 3, and NOA-2 was May 8. This is through the CSC. But I was lucky and just slipped under the IMBRA b.s., so it probably will take a little longer than it used to. Hmm, hopefully not, but when has the government ever changed the way they did something and actually made it faster and more efficient?

Aussiewench, I think you are right. Bwaadrent, may I ask your 'received date'.

thanks

My received date is 1 March, my NOA 1 date is 3 March, so I should be cool.

Well, I just called NVC to check on my status and found out that mine is also on AR. I was told it is very common, but I wonder how many other people actually had went through an AR at the NVC level? Is it really that common??

The only thing I would add is I would like for them to post the top 10 reasons why we should continue the legal path to bring our loved ones here to be with us and not just fly them to Mexico and waltz across the border.

Yeah, I'm being sarcastic!

But it's a great letter and it should be sent to every frickin' newspaper, newsroom, radio station, any and every media outlet!

Yeah, I haven't gotten my notice from the NVC yet, hopefully I will in the next few days

Is there way to check the status of my petition on the NVC website? I know the petition's at the NVC, I called on May 19th and got the case number. Do they have a status update web page like the the service centers have? Or is it all by telephone?

Receipt date: March 1, 2006

NOA1: March 3, 2006

NOA2: May 8, 2006

California Service Center

Country: Russia