Jeannie & Al

To all you kind supporters:
Wow! Who knew anybody would miss me? I don't seek attention, controversy, or to be one of the popular kids. I just give from my heart to those I see struggling to be with their loved ones. For my entire life, if there is something I can do or share to help somebody, then I do it out of kindness.
I give hours daily to VJ because there is always just one more person who seems so sincere and needy that I hate to leave them hanging. So when I opened my iPad one evening to check on my people, I see I have been suspended for 24 hours. There is no reason why. I can't see anything...no threads, no mailbox, no profile, no click here. I was very deeply hurt by what felt like a kick in the teeth when I didn't do anything intentionally wrong. So I decided to move on. I don't fight back, and I don't play time-out games. I'm a volunteer. If it is hurtful, then walk away.
After maybe nine days away, I opened VJ again to check on progress of a couple of people I cared about. I had a PM from someone I was aware of as a regular that I don't normally interact with. It was about tax form 8938. So I replied that I was no longer posting on VJ, but if he still needed help I would be happy to discuss it by email. I guess he informed the UK posse. I didn't mean to cause a VJ bashing riot.
I want you to know that I have had very kind messages from the the Big Kahunas. They are caring people and provide an amazing service. As for me, this long period of not reading posts keeps my heart from being tugged. It's like going into Petco. If I don't go over to the cages of kitties up for adoption, then I am not tempted to bring one home. I just had a quick read of the UK forum, and there are many posts with incorrect info or uncertain replies that I could fine tune. You are correct that somebody with a six year history of a particular area has seen it all and can offer more than the blind leading the blind. But those people will work it out and get their visas, even it it takes a little longer, they make mistakes, or they stress a little more.
Meanwhile I have a long list of things to do for myself like finish clearing my desk so I can remember what color the wood is. Work is never as much fun for me as bringing comfort to a person in need, but I am going to give it a whirl and see how long I can stick to it.
Thank you all so much.

Hi Mr/Mrs Happy - we are pretty much in the same boat - no letter, no nothing but like Mrs P, just happy we have the EAD now so he can look for work.
Congrats to everyone with the good news - glad to see that for my fellow October filers that some cases are moving quickly! Good luck to everyone with job interviews too!

I think you mean "Exemptions" not dependent. Yes you can take two exemptions. There was some discussion about the W-7 and getting a Taxpayer Identification number which is one good option if the new spouse doesn't have a social security number yet. Other options that might work depending on the time frame is to file for an extension which can get you as late as Oct 15 to file your return if the spouse would have the social security number by that time. The other option is to file as single and then when the spouse has the SS # file an amended return.

Yes, it could.

A spouse is never a dependent. You file married jointly, even if one spouse had no income.

yay! Congrats!! that's awesome that it was pretty quick...
sounds like the old USCIS system which is not good with the status changes...hopefully you get the card soon and all is good!
this is true!
Just noticed we are on page 28 - us October filers are a chatty bunch.

I was just going to do the same Mrs P...happy holidays to you and my fellow October filers! All the best to everyone in 2014 especially for some quick processsing for all!!

I know in NJ when we get the EAD, he can get a NJ driver's license and then I can add him to my insurance!

Thanks! Is that decided my MSC when the EAD card goes into production or when it reaches the local field office - is it the local one that decides interview or not?
It really is a relief - thanks!
Congrats hb! great news - that's not far away at all - I would much prefer having the interview!!

awesome - congrats Mrs P!
Did anyone else not do an early walk in for their biometrics or am I the only regretful one?

The I-94 card used to be handed out on the plane to anyone with a visa. Several years back green I94W cards were given to those on visa waiver. When ESTA got fully automated, the I94W cards were no longer used. It became automated (2010 maybe?).
So back to the I-94 for those with visas. You filled out the top and bottom and turned it over at immigration.
CBP made notes on you entry type (K1), wrote your 90 day entry date on it, tore off the bottom half and either stapled it in the passport or handed the small stub to you. It was your proof of entry and status. You used it to get a SSN. You mailed a photocopy with adjustment of status.
In May/June 2013, the I-94 went fully automated. No card to fill in. The info all comes from scanning the passport. The passenger has to do nothing. After arrival, you go online to retrieve a computer printout to use for Social Security or including with AOS.
Everybody on the plane (Americans, VWPs, visa holders) gets a customs form to fill out just before landing. It is white with some blue top border. It where you list items you are bring in...souvenirs from your trip, booze from duty free, gifts for grandma... That is turned in after you go through immigration, process the visa, and pick up your checked luggage. You pass by a customs agent and turn in the form,

Interesting - my fiance only had three generic questions asked of him and he was done...but he was waiting for the age difference question. He is almost 13 years younger than me (even after I swore I'd never date a younger guy again - it seemed to happen to me a lot lol).
Great list/thread AG!

1) print off your I-94 arrival record http://www.CBP.gov/I94
2) go get a Social Security number in your maiden name just because you can get one now and it's good to have sooner rather than later
3) get married
4) get your marriage recorded and a certified marriage certificate
5) apply for AOS/EAD/AP. List of documents and forms here
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FIsgnb7Tfj7tcRNnqRMKUOXQdEfR6HTUDY2vX6zKqqU/mobilebasic?authkey=CNXN_oQH
You may not think you have a trip planned back to the UK, but things happen...people get sick or die, best friends decide to marry and want you there. It's free to apply and gives you a chance to go back if an emergency comes up.

well said LAS - as many screwups as I've seen in my short time dealing with this process, I'm still shocked at how far that one went. Hope this gets sorted for good soon. So nice of them to give nobbie 30 days to get the gov't's mistake sorted out.

Ugh, I can't believe you guys have been waiting so long since your interview for the visa. I really hope you guys hear something today.

The days suggested was to allow the record of your entry to be recorded manually from the top half of the I-94 they keep so it would appear in the database SSA uses to find the entry status and name. With the I-94 going automated this summer, there really shouldn't be a delay because it all is electronic with data populated by scanning your passport. There is no I-94 card to fill out and tear off half for you and half for Homeland Security. I would guess if you find your I-94 record online, it is also already in the S.A.V.E. database.There is nothing to hold you back filing except having the proper documents and your lawyer's sense of urgency, which may not match your wishes.
Documents needed you can't do in advance--
*I-94 printed off website. Should be immediate.
*Certified marriage certificate. That depends on your county. With mine when we purchased the license she said we could bring it back in (signed and dated by the officiant) and get instant recording and the marriage certificate or mail it back and they would mail out the certificate. We married on a Su day afternoon and before lu ch on Mo day I had the certificate in hand.
I filled out everything for AOS before he got here. I fully Intended to mail it the day after the wedding but we messed around and didn't get it in the mail until Wednesday or Thursday. All I really needed to do was photocopy the whole thing for records. That was about his 9th day in the country. He had EAD approved something like 71 days after POE I believe ... Oct 1 to Dec 11.

There are lots of other reasons why it's useful to get an SSN - not just for bank accounts. Officially, an SSN is only supposed to be used so that the government can get taxes off you. However, lots of organizations use it to uniquely identify you. I will need it next week to register for a training course that will lead me to taking a state exam. Theoretically, they don't need the SSN but it makes life a darn sight easier having it. To be added to a spouse's health insurance, it makes it easier. To get your own health insurance, it makes it easier. Life is easier if you get your SSN before you're married. Life for the non-US person is enough of a challenge without adding an unnecessary challenge (you can guess I'm chomping at the bit to get to work - there are only so many classes I can take in preparation for working in the US!)
Excellent news - congratulations!

It probably will go just fine. There are hundreds and hundreds of offices across the US. Some have workers who, like your lawyer, think a K1 is not eligible or don't know how to find the name or any other crazy story. K1s are eligible for 90 days, but the SSA won't process the application when there is only 2 weeks left of your 90 days. Print off this from the SSA which clearly says a K1 is eligible for a card. if somebody says NO, don't get frustrated and leave. Ask for a supurvisor and try to be helped. https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0110211530
My husband had no issues at all. We were already married and had applied for AOS. There is no need for them to ask if you are married. But there is also no telling what any one of thousands of workers might do because a K1 is a rare thing to them.

But that's not the same "secondary" process as a room where they go through the envelope and process new immigrants. It is the way they do that extra paperwork separately to keep the regular lines moving. You won't get grilled at your POE. Anybody who knows their POE airport already can read the process for that airport in the POE reviews. click POE in the menu bar above.

Thank you dear! I suffered very much expecting this number, very much! but now is okay, thank you for your kindness!

It may matter less as there is no name change involved. However, the main sticking point for me at the first SSA office was the question 'And have you subsequently married?' That starting them off on the whole 'You are no longer a fiancee, so you can no longer use your K1 visa to get an SSN.' They were wrong and I tried to persuade them for some time but they were adamant. I'm no push over but I had to admit defeat and tried another SSA office who were far better trained and knew exactly what to do. You could get an SSA office where they know what they're doing; you might not.

The most fool proof way to get a SSN is before the wedding and in the maiden name. Social security offices are so dumb about K1s sometimes and tell you K1 isn't eligible or you got married so now are a K3 which isn't eligible. That's all just wrong. They need to find your name in the S.A.V.E. database exactly as you entered at POE. So if you show up saying you are married and want to apply in a married name, they can get all messed up and say that name isn't in USCIS records. Your first K1 card will have written on it --valid for work only with DHS authorization. You will want that removed so go back after EAD or the greencard to show your new status and change the name at the same time. Some people hit the jackpot and get the name change with their first card, but I am telling you the easiest way to actually get a card with the least chance of screw up by an uninformed worker who may have never run across a K1 before. Walk in and say I am a K1 visa holder applying for a social security card. Here is my passport and I-94.
If you go past your 76th day in the US, your window closes until you get EAD or a greencard.

You can definitely apply for the SSN anytime after entry. Personally we are getting married right away and changing her name, so it makes sense for us to get the SSN after we marry so we don't have to do a name change so quickly after. As for the Driving License, each state is different. Here, it just went into affect that anyone living here on a visa may only get an ID or driver's license that is valid for the term of their stay, so we may hold off on that until we get through adjusting status so we don't have to do it multiple times as well.

So just back from a VERY LONG day. Still trying to figure out how it takes so long to get there. So we got to Knightsbridge pretty early. Like 11:45 and his appointment wasn't until 1:50. So we stopped for a bit and rested on the stairs had a packet of crisps and a drink and an old lady came out and asked us to "move along please...this is a residential building" . OK, so on we moved...walked around Selfridges, got a coffee, wasted time until 1:30. We arrived back at 1:35. The lady at reception was very pleasant. We gave her all of our paper work, she handed us the form to fill out and we did and returned it back quickly. Then we sat.....and sat.....until 2:35 when a very nice, heavier man with glasses, came for the x-ray. Glyn said he was very pleasant and had apologized for the fact that they were running behind. Glyn came out and sat and the doctor came out at about 3:50 to get him. Female, chin length, wavy blonde hair....and a not so nice personality. She started out immediately going through Glyn's papers that we brought and said...you didn't bring a picture. Glyn said, yes we did, we handed it in when we got here. She said well its not here...and she wasn't being nice about it. Well, luckily we brought more than one picture so he came out and got another. He brought it in and gave it to the doctor and she said oh...I found the other one, it was in the passport. No apology or anything. She then goes through and gets to the fact that Glyn takes medicine for mixed anxiety and depression. She says...oh, I need a letter from your GP. Which of course he says...we brought one. Not good enough she says, it needs to say you have no history of self harm/suicide, and no threat to others. Instead it says that he is currently and has been treated since 2003 and that it is well controlled with medication. He's never had any suicide attempts so we never even thought that would be a problem. BUT, I did bring a copy of his medical records FROM the GP and no where on it does it say anything out any suicide attempts. She wouldn't take it. So now he's all wound up and she takes his blood pressure which is now through the roof because he's fuming. She wasn't being nice at all. Gave him a hard time about one of his eyes ( He has Coates disease which she has never heard of) and about the fact he has athletes foot. What I don't get, is he went through all this FIVE YEARS AGO, at the VERY SAME place...and he had all these issues before, no problem. Honest to God, by the time we left there I needed a stiff drink. OH, and upon getting ready to leave, Glyn needed to use the toilet...good thing, because while he was in there, the office staff found more of our paperwork that they had neglected to give back. We finally left at 3:30, more than a little frustrated.
SO, in closing, I now I to go BACK to the GP, with the letter from knightsbridge explaining what they need, and try to get another letter and probably have to pay another 16.00 for it.
My recommendation for everyone...bring an extra picture, just in case your 1 required photo goes missing between reception and the exam room, be sure you get back ALL your paperwork before leaving, and if ANYONE has a past or present issue with depression/anxiety, be sure your letter from your GP states you are no danger to yourself or others...save yourself the headache!

My fiance, who is in the UK, was able to reach the embassy at this number:
Callers within the United Kingdom should dial 020 3608 6998 This was last week. and it was about 8:45 pm London time when she reached them. She said he told her they closed the lines at 9pm. Of course he gave her bad information, so I would hope you would get a better informed person on your call, but you can call in the evening if you wish.

Best of luck