OK&MK

My husband called them like after a month and we got our case number and the other number over the phone and received the letter maybe after a month

Yeah, unfortunately we've been calling for the pass month and they have nothing.

So I am currently assisting a friend of mine and wanted to obtain some information from the all-knowing VisaJourney members....

I'm a little out of touch seeing as when I went through this process for my K1 it wasn't all automated/electronic submission, so need some help from you guys.

Here is there current situation:

Husband filed petition in late January 2015

Petition has been approved as of July 23, 2015

Received NOA2 early August.

Since then nothing has progressed. NO Case # NO Invoice #.

They have been in contact with both, NVC and USCIS.

NVC has been contacted since the end of August thru the beginning of September. They advised them that their case/file has not been received there. Advised them to email NVCResearch and also to reach out to USCIS. NVCResearch was emailed on 9.9.15 and 9.15.15.

No response from NVCResearch as of yet.

As of September 17, USCiS-Vermont said to give them 30 more days to send their case to NVC.

What other guidance can I give this young couple?

The site you quoted is out of date.

If you travel outside of the country without a valid passport then you are going to have a hard time regardless, your friend should not even be entertaining this idea, either they renew their passport or they can't travel internationally. Stop trying to prove this by quoting various websites, that is not going to help you with CBP, Passport Control etc.

No need to be coarse Aussie Jason, lol.

I'm not quoting various websites, I'm quoting USCIS, DHS and and other government run sites (not pulling info from forums)

My aunt was in the same position just a few months ago. No, you can't travel on a green card and apparently, it takes a while to get a new Jamaican passport.

Yeah I was surprised that the standards for Jamaican Citizens traveling back seems to be more stringent than a foreigner from another land traveling there. On the Embassy's page it states:

Jamaicans who are residents of the United States must have a valid Jamaican passport or travel document, Permanent Resident Card (PRC) or appropriate temporary resident visa and return ticket to the United States of America.

http://www.embassyofjamaica.org/VISnorthamericanvisitors.htm

Standards are more lax for non-Jamaican Citizens residing in the US, hmmm...!!?!! Wonder why...

Yes certain airlines also agent processing may not want to allow a passenger

to board .JAMICANS alone would be landed in JA with an expired PP with

instructions to renew, departing JA.with an expired PP will not be entertained

by PICA ,that's Y they tell U go get it renewed and one can in 2 days...if the

person is from Liberia or elsewhere ..NO... they have to renew their PP to

enter JA.

If a Jamaican have an emergency , an" emergency certificate" can be issued

to attach to PP, in Miami, NY (3rd Ave) Houston or CA I think Chicago also

they'll require 2 photos and application notorized....it takes some waiting time

when one is renewing PP at the JA consulates in the US

Expired Passport belongs to Liberian trying to travel to JA (no JA pp issues)

Perhaps I should have rephrased my question: "Has anyone traveled to Jamaica on just their Green card and Return Ticket?"

I think I'll just have to call US CBP, was trying to avoid that given the long wait times on the phone.

So here's the info from the Jamaican Embassy:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nationals or citizens of other countries (with the exception of TAIWAN) who are permanent residents of the United States may enter Jamaica as tourists without visas, but must travel with:

Resident aliens in the United States, visiting Jamaica as tourists for periods not exceeding six (6) months, and who possess return or round trip touring tickets showing that their journey began in the USA, Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands, and that they are entitled to return there, are not required to hold passports to enter Jamaica.

http://www.embassyofjamaica.org/VISnorthamericanvisitors.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I also happened to see this on the United Airlines website. But like one VJer advised, certain airlines may require a passport regardless.... hmmmm.....

So actually the friend is a citizen of Liberia, should have probably included that in the initial post.

Travel will be to Jamaica, and Jamaica only requires a US resident alien to have a Green Card and their return ticket for entry, so that's okay.

I'm more so concerned about the attempt to come back into the states. I'm saw this on the USCIS.gov website (http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/after-green-card-granted/international-travel-permanent-resident)

What documents do I need to present to reenter the United States?

If seeking to enter the United States after temporary travel abroad, you will need to present a valid, unexpired “green card” (Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card). When arriving at a port of entry, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer will review your permanent resident card and any other identity documents you present, such as a passport, foreign national I.D. card or U.S. Driver’s License, and determine if you can enter the United States. For information pertaining to entry into the United States, see U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s webpage.

I was hoping someone on here maybe had some experience with this situation. The process to renew his Liberian passport may not be completed by our travel date so that's why I'm inquiring. Thank you all for your input thus far.

So I have a friend who is not sure if they'll be able to renew their passport in time to attend a function in Jamaica. They have been a resident of the US for over 15 years and we'd like to know if it's possible to travel only on their Green Card. I've been searching the web and I feel as though I'm getting conflicting information.

Any help would be helpful. If you can provide a web link with the information with your response, it would be most appreciated. Thanks!

The PO box are named after the parish, so it's PO St. James.

Address: Somerton District, PO St. James

City: Montgeo Bay

Country: Jamaica

You just want to make sure the information shows up properly so it's deliverable by Jamaica Standards.

I wrote in this form manually so I could do what I needed to do. The formats of foreign addresses are not the same as US addresses, so you may have to hand write a few forms.

But if im putting St James for the city\town.....where do I put Montegobay?

Somerton District is his address
Somerton PO is the postal code


But then what

Again, he did NOT automatically become a USC when he was born onto USC parent/parents. That right is there if he or his parents (as long he's under age) choose so, but they haven't. They brought him to the States on some sort of visa and he became LPR. Why would anyone become a LPR instead of just claiming that rightful Citizenship, is beyond me. All the paperwork that was filled out and submitted to USCIS would have uncovered the fact of him being a USC by birth, but it hasn't. That's why I think there's something wrong with the entire picture.

Before you are so adamant about a point, please find the facts that support it. In this case you are most definitely Incorrect and below you'll find an excerpt from the USCIS website. Please educate yourself before providing information to anyone; little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Source: http://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-parents

And just for your reference: In this case, the child was born 1992; entered country 1998, age 6; mother naturalized 2004.

Citizenship at Birth for Children Born Outside the U.S. and its Territories

A Child Born Outside the U.S. is a Citizen at Birth IF...

AND...

Both parents were U.S. citizens at the time of birth,

The parents were married at the time of birth and at least one parent lived in the U.S. or its territories prior to the birth.

If the child was born out of wedlock, see N-600: FAQ.

One parent is a U.S. citizen at the time of birth and the birthdate is on or after November 14, 1986

The parents are married at the time of birth and the U.S. citizen parent had been physically present in the U.S. or its territories for a period of at least five years at some time in his or her life prior to the birth, of which at least two years were after his or her 14^th birthday.

If the U.S. citizen parent spent time abroad in any of the following three capacities, this can also be counted towards the physical presence requirement:

· Serving honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces;

· Employed with the U.S. Government; or

· Employed with certain international organizations.

Additionally, time spent abroad by the U.S. citizen parent while the U.S. citizen parent was the unmarried son or daughter and a member of the household of a person who meets any of the three conditions listed above can also be counted.

If the child was born out of wedlock, see N-600: FAQ.

Here we are making the assumption that this Certificate of Citizenship is REQUIRED to document his citizenship. Proof of his citizenship lies within the documents his mother has; she has documentation of her naturalization and the LPR information documents the age of her son at the time of her naturalization. I'm sure if the family of the OP obtains legal counsel specializing in immigration law this will be an easy case to prove.

It does seem that to be issued a Certificate of Citizenship one must be in the US. Thus the cousin is a citizen, but will be unable to document it and thus incapable of returning to the US. If this is correct, then Aussie_Jason called it back on page one.

Awwww, a voice of reason on here. Thanks Shub.

I read the thread from beginning to end and am taking what the poster is saying at face value. I see no reason for them to lie to us since, in the end, it is the government who will review the case according to the law, so there is nothing to be gained by lying to this forum.
So to your question, again, yes, I saw those comments, and am going on the assumption that errors were committed by his family out of plain ol' ignorance of how things work.
If he was a US citizen by birth, then he shouldn't have gotten a green card in the first place as he was already a citizen.
If he wasn't a citizen at birth, then he automatically became a citizen at age 12 when his mother became a citizen.
His being a member of a gang and serving a prison term is not grounds for denaturalization, and he should not have been deported to begin with, but having been deported also does not affect his status as a US citizen.

On the topic of wrongful deportation of US citizens -- it should not happen, but it does happen, and victims can sue the government for damages.

And so that you may have a more full understanding of what the OP is asking and why she believes her cousin is a US Citizen, please refer to the following:

http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartH-Chapter4.html#S-B

Thanks minina

What I don't get is how was he a GC holder for 12 years and citizenship never came up? Seems to be some key details missing from this story.

Just to respond to this item, it is not uncommon that people hold their green card for many years and never apply for US citizenship. I have family members who are law abiding, who have served in the military**, and have no legal issues who have held their green card for over 20 years and haven't applied for their citizenship. This does not have to be a red flag.

**Just in case anyone is wondering, just because you serve in the military does not give you automatic citizenship. You still must apply in order to receive citizenship. The process would be easier but it's not automatically granted.

I may have my opinions on the character of the person being assisted here, but the OP came here looking for LEGAL information, not any of our conjectures and opinions. If you don't want to help, don't help.

To the OP:

According to USCIS.gov, it states that a child under the age of 18 as of 2/27/2001 and at the time their parent is naturalized AUTOMATICALLY acquires US Citizenship. No forms need to be submitted in order for this citizenship status to be recognized, hence no statue of limitation applies here. IF the parent wants to obtain documentation of the citizenship, so they can apply for US passport, etc., form N-600 must be completed and submitted to USCIS.

Please reference the excerpts below, it appears that your cousin meets all of the requirements set forth by USCIS:

A child born outside of the United States automatically becomes a U.S. citizen when all of the following conditions have been met on or after February 27, 2001:^[2]

• The child has at least one parent, including an adoptive parent^[3] who is a U.S. citizen by birth or through naturalization;

• The child is under 18 years of age;

• The child is an LPR; and

• The child is residing in the United States in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent.^[4]

A person who automatically obtains citizenship is not required to file an Application for Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-600). A person who seeks documentation of such status, however, must submit an application to obtain a Certificate of Citizenship from USCIS. A person may also apply for a U.S. Passport with the Department of State to serve as evidence of his or her U.S. citizenship.

A person who is at least 18 years of age may submit the Application for Certificate of Citizenship on his or her own behalf. If the application is for a child who has not reached 18 years of age, the child's U.S. citizen biological parent, adoptive parent, or legal guardian must submit the application.^[10]

USCIS will issue proof of U.S. citizenship in the form of a Certificate of Citizenship if the Application for Certificate of Citizenship is approved and the person takes the Oath of Allegiance, if required to do so.^[11]

^{Source: http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartH-Chapter4.html#S-B}

Adding another Alexandria, VA.

Add your info alphabetically
City - Date - Reason - Successful
Take out the top and bottom "quote" tags so your edit is not in a box.

ALABAMA
Birmingham, AL - The guard told us it was not our date. I told him that I had to work that date, but was off today. He give us a hard time, but finally agreed to let us through. Funny because there was only one other customer there. Successfu

CALIFORNIA
Buena Park CA - No reason, just gave security guard my appt letter. YES
Chula Vista, 2 Walk-ins, first was 10 days early and the second was 23 days before the appointment. Successful.
El Monte- 13 days early. Work conflict. Sup wasn't nice about it, but biometrics got done!
Gardena- 5/24/12
Los Angeles - (USCIS Fairfax on W. Pico). Successful with no questions asked.
Los Angeles (downtown) July 2012. NO
Oakland- Oct 2013 successful
Pomona- long wait. Successful
Santa Ana -Walked in 2 times in June 2012. No questions asked. The friendly security guards even told me I could go inside to fill out the form for my wife but will have to wait outside afterwards.
Santa Rosa -Walked in right after lunch. very few people. They were not happy and pointed out the scheduled date many times, but didn't send us away. I'm glad we were in the area and busy on our actual day.
San Marcos - Walked in at a little after 2pm and we're 2nd in line. Showed Appointment Notice and passport. Entire process only took 15 minutes and didn't have to pay parking fee (inside a small shopping center)
San Marcos - Walked in right after I got apt letter, went 20 min before closing, was the only one there, didn't give any reason, was in and out in 7 min, free ample parking space.

COLORADO
Aurora, CO - Went 10 days early. Reason: I was in the area and had lots of meetings on appointment day. Successful. I arrived at 8 am and saw that lots of people were waiting. Left, did some chores, and came back at 9:15. Finished biometrics in 10 minutes.
Denver, Co- went in 2 days early because I couldn't get the day off of work to take hubby on exact date and we had no issues

FLORIDA
Jacksonville- May 2013- Gave no reason, 2 weeks before appointment, successful in 25 minutes.
Miami - June 2012 - Gave no reason. Showed up 2 weeks before - was in and out in 5 minutes.
Oakland Park - Feb 2013 - Gave no reason, 2 weeks before appointment, succsessful in 10 minutes.

GEORGIA
Atlanta - No reason Officer had us wait outside until the earliest appts went in (about 15 minutes). Yes.
Atlanta - Our appt was for 6/13 went in 5/25 and we were successful with no questions. The office just wrote on our form Walk-in.
Atlanta - Appointment for 04/26/13. Did a walk-in at 3PM 04/17/13 successfully. Reason was husband is working on appointment day. No question of reason though.
Atlanta - Appointment for 10/18/13. Did a walk-in at 3PM 10/01/13 as we are on vacation on appointment day. No problems, the place was deserted. Successful - in and out in 10 minutes.

ILLINOIS
Naperville (abut 30 miles west of Chicago) - My appt was 8/13. Went on 8/30 at 2pm but was unsuccessful - only one technician on duty. I asked if there was any point in trying again and was told 'I can't tell you not to try again but to try earlier in the day'. I went on 8/1 at 11am and was seen after the 11am appts. I was in and out in about 25 minutes. I was told that I shouldn't really be doing this and not to do it again but at least they saw me. I didn't give any reason for wanting an earlier appt. I just said that I had been waiting so long during the whole K1 process, I would like to get a head start on AOS!

INDIANA
Michigan City - January 2012 - No reason needed - Yes to successful walk-in(asked about it, I was there the same day as appointment)

IOWA
Des Moines - April 2010 - Husbands erratic work schedule meant rescheduling wouldn't help because there was still no guarantee the new date would work - Successful
Des Moines - March 2011 - To get it over with - Successful (advised they were being more strict but letting them proceed due to no-one else being there)

LOUISIANA
Metairie - Unsuccessful. You must arrive on the correct day at the exact time of your appointment, or they will not see you. Tried for AOS, ROC and N-400. Two friends have also tried it and been refused.

MARYLAND
Baltimore - April/2013, told guard I will have oral surgery couple days before appointment & will be very swollen/bruised, she asked for supporting documents which I provided. Denied walk in. Was told I could come the day of if I was feeling well enough or after appointment date but not before.
Wheaton - told Security guard I was not going to be in State on the day. Yes
Wheaton - July 2012, asked why could not make appointment, said attending wedding. Successful(out in 10 minutes).
Wheaton - Dec 27, 2013 - Told guard we had an 01/07/14 appointment in Baltimore but had a dr. appointment the same day. He passed us on through. The gentleman who we talked to gave us a lecture about going to the wrong place, that people would be waiting for us on the appointed day, that it wasn't fair to them, etc, etc. - but then said he would allow it this time but to do all other appointments on the scheduled date at the right office.

MINNESOTA
Duluth - successful
Minneapolis-May 2012- NO because one of the computers was down
St Paul - No reason asked or given. Successful

MISSOURI
St. Louis - No problems, no questions asked, Successful

MONTANA
Helena- family had appts on different days. Did all the same day. Friendly office.

NEBRASKA
Omaha - 3/22/2012- appointment was for Apr 5. No questions. Successful

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Manchester, NH - Did routine security check and showed I-797 to guy at the window who said the decision would be the department's whether to take early appointment or not. Lady gave me lecture on how to change appt, if not able to make it and said they need to stop early walk-ins as they schedule staff based on # of persons per appt, Asked why I wanted it done, told the truth...it was anxiety....

NEW JERSEY
Hackensack - The guard asked me what I was doing there on 8/20/12 when my schedule was 8/30/12. I told him my sister will be having her baby and I will fly to Rochester on 8/25/12 to be with her. The guard let me talk with the manager and the manager checked my roundtrip ticket. The walk-in attempt was SUCCESSFUL.

NEW YORK
Holtsville, NY (Long Island) 5/22/12 No reason asked. YES
Manhattan, NY, 01/15/2013, Couldn't get to Philadelphia, Walk in Successful

OHIO
Cleveland- no questions. Successful.

PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia - Drummond Road -Successful. No questions asked. YES
Philadelphia- Oct 2013 successful
Pittsburgh - did this twice and no questions asked! YES
York - Successful. Place was basically empty and took less than 10 mins. They realized i was a walk-in after the process was done and just told me there isnt any problem with it, just to let them know when you get there. Pretty awesome people.

TENNESSEE
Nashville- unsuccessful

TEXAS
Austin - We were in the area that day (we live an hour away) - Yes
Dallas (Whitehurst) - Yes, had to give a reason, come early and they will take you
Fort Worth (Landmark Lake) - Successful, but they were not happy about doing it early.
Houston (Hwy 290 office) -Jan 2012 - gave no reason, only appt letter. Yes (3 times-AOS, ROC, Citizenship)
Houston SW (Sugarland) No questions. YES
Houston SW (Sugarland) - Successful, but they were not happy about doing it early

VIRGINIA
Alexandria - Yes
Alexandria- 1/7/214- A week early. No questions asked about date on letter. Successful.

Alexandria- 2/27/14- A week early. Gave no reason. Handed them appointment letter and passport, that was it. Successful

I think some of the information given here is incorrect. His wife is only exempt from the fee if she is unlawfully present in the US. As stated here..... https://www.healthcare.gov/exemptions/

As she is adjusting status to that of an LPR then she is considered lawfully present in the US and is required to have health insurance as stated here..... https://www.healthcare.gov/immigration-status-and-the-marketplace/

I would think that if she does not have it and does not meet the exemptions then she will have to pay the fee.

I stand corrected once again, It does appear that anyone here on a K1 visa falls in the classification of Lawful Temporary Resident. So she would be subjected to the ACA penalty. OP, I would advise you to review this page to see if you fall into any of the other categories for exemption since you did state some financial woes; https://www.healthcare.gov/exemptions/%C2'>

Thanks Gail83 for the corrected information.

After a little research, it appears you're wife would not be subject to the penalty, regardless.... http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/health/2014/01/23/obamacare-penalty-cost/

Please ignore this last post.

Here is what I wanted to say:

Apparently I was wrong about the deadline to have insurance, it is March 31, 2014.

However, after a little research, it appears your wife would not be subject to the penalty

because she would be considered an alien ... http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/health/2014/01/23/obamacare-penalty-cost/

After a little research, it appears you're wife would not be subject to the penalty, regardless.... http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/health/2014/01/23/obamacare-penalty-cost/

Hello OP,

I'm assuming you're referring to the biometrics appointment for AOS, if that is the case then, we received a letter approximately 1 week after we received our NOA1 with our biometrics appointment and time. They scheduled it and it's approximately one month from NOA1 at a time that is convenient for the local office processing your file.

In reference to the last issue you stated:

• BUT HERE'S THE BIGGER ISSUE, WIFEY'S CURRENTLY PREGGO WITH NO HEALTH INSURANCE FROM MY CURRENT WORK AND I NEED TO FILE FOR TAX FOR 2013, MY BIGGEST FEAR IS PAYING A PENALTY FOR MY WIFE'S DOESNT HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE YET CUZ WE FAILED TO ADD HER AND OUR NEXT OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR HEALTH INSURANCE FOR WORK IS NOT TILL MAY, 2014, AND THE LAST DAY TO FILE FOR TAXES IS APRIL 15, 2014.....

The tax penalty is being applied to everyone who does not have coverage for the year 2014. You are currently filing your taxes for 2013, so there was no mandate that she be covered by insurance in 2013. The mandate applies to 2014, so when you file your 2014 taxes (April 15, 2015) that is when you'd pay the penalty of $95 if she never carries insurance for the entire year of 2014. You filing your 2013 taxes should not be an issue, so you'll be okay on that issue.

S/N: your wife will need prenatal care, I'm not sure how far along she is but I would inquire with my HR department/Insurance company rep. on what recommendations they could make to help you get your pregnant wife under some type of coverage until May 2014.

God speed with everything else. A plan thru the Affordable Care Act might make sense if it would go into affect by March/early April. Take care.

Thank you all for the help!!! They had their interview last week and they were approved!!!

They're an older couple so I believe they showed them some leniency with the phone records and they had a rack of other evidence. Thanks again!

He got here Jan 11,2014 Married /the 24th of Janurary

Remember, when you file your 2013 taxes, you're filing for events and income earned in 2013. When you file next year for 2014, then you'll file as married. But for 2013, you were single (or head of household, if you had dependents in 2013).

Hello VJ,

I have a question for anyone who can be of assistance. I have a relative that is married and is trying to bring her husband here from Jamaica. He recently went to the embassy for his interview and they advised that they would need more documentation supporting their communication. He didn't have any phone records for his phone or his wife's phone.

I spoke with her and she advised me that because she has a pay as you go phone she doesn't have any phone records. When she called Metro PCs they advised her that they would need a court order in order to release the phone records to her. Is there any way to meet the requirements with other evidence, i.e. provide written statements, bank statements, etc. ??

Thank you all in advance.

Thanks for the information!!

We have a joint account.. what do we need from the bank when doing the AOS?

When you're providing proof of relationship when adjusting from the temp. green card to the 10yr green card is when you need to provide proof of joint assets, birth cert for children born to the two of you, etc. For AOS, you just need bank statements for affidavit of support, they don't need to be jointly held.

You need two photos for each application so a total of 6 if you are filing AOS, EAD and AP.

Okay! Thanks!!!