stevensane

you are not understanding that a few credit cards with you listed as an authorized user is not enough. You need solid proof that you live together.

Well the credit cards are intended to show financial co-mingling, not so much proof of living together. For solid proof of living together I am thinking our state IDs that show the same address, that both of our bank accounts and various credit cards all show one address.

Yes, open a joint bank account, they want to see financial co mingling with bank statements from inception of marriage.

At least you can submit bank statements later if you get an RFE since you do not have them now.

You have a meager package, add more.

Explain in a letter why you do not have a lease/mortgage, a car etc. and include the affidavit mentioned above.

We don't have a car because neither of us drive and we live in NYC where having a car is a burden. Do they really expect us to explain why we don't have a car?

OK, well we can open a joint bank account in the next week and I will be sending my package in March 2017, so I guess I will be able to send them a few months of statements.

We didn't initially open a joint account or anything like that because I couldn't work until I got my EAD, and we are a couple who value our independence in general. If we had known ROC was this tough I guess we would have done stuff differently.

Zero need to cover up the numbers imho. Us government could get the info if they wanted it.

My wife is really into personal information security. She wouldn't be happy sending the numbers uncovered. I don't think its so much about the government being able to get the info if they wanted, its more about just not putting full access to your financial stuff out into the world. Just good practice I think, no?

With only her name, you are sending two years of proof she has a credit card and nothing to indicate you use it.

I laid four sets of credit cards face down on the copier/scanner. Don't take a photo with your phone. I covered the middle numbers with white tape so not to mail off the whole number. I did not copy the back.

On the state ID or driver license. Copy both his/hers to show same address is on each of yours. Could be on same page as credit card. Label them even. "Shared credit card account". "State photo IDs showing same address".

Affidavit from Mom saying you have shared a room in her home since [date] but do not have a formal lease. Utilities are all paid by her, etc. Explains your lack of lease, utilities.

OK, I will do that with the credit cards as you suggested. Thank you very much for that advice!

Perhaps we will open a joint checking account as well and I can deposit half of my pay check each pay period into it. Would that help?

I will do as you suggest with the ID card as well.

So you dont have a card with your name on it? You're supposed to if you are an authorized user

Sorry If I'm not being clear.. I mean it's only her name on the credit card statement. I have a card with my name on it and she has a card with her name on it. Both have the same number. As Nich-Nick suggested above I will cover part of the numbers with tape and scan the cards, side-by-side.

Wills? Mpoa?

We could get a will made, but is that necessary if she is the beneficiary of my stock plan, life insurance and 401k? Not sure is what Mpoa?

doesn't sound like enough.

Do you have a joint lease or mortgage, joint bank account statements, joint health insurance, joint utility bills? They want proof of cohabiting, you have no proof that you live together

The only bills that we share and are in our name is a cell-phone bill and a credit card where she is the primary account holder and I am an authorized user. They have our shared address on them. I also have a New York State non-driver ID with my address on it. Is that enough to prove it?

2 years (approx) worth of credit card statements from card where my wife is primary account holder and I am authorized user

Do both of your names appear on the statements? I ask because we had similar but only my name appeared on the statements so I didn't use them. I photocopied four sets of cards side by side. His and Hers with same account number.

No, I believe it is only her name on the credit card. Do you mean you took pictures of the cards themselves, one with your name, one with your spouses name, front and back, and the cards had the same number? We could do that with the shared credit card we use.

What about state IDs, utility bills,. What other bills do you share?

You mean to prove co-habitation? I have a New York state non-driver ID card with my address on it.

We share our cell-phone bill and a credit card, but our utility bills are in our mother-in laws' name and we pay her.

Long time, no post!

I am getting ready to file for my ROC.

The evidence my wife (USC) and myself have to hand is:

2 joint tax returns from 2015 and 2016

2 years (approx) worth of credit card statements from card where my wife is primary account holder and I am authorized user

Wife is beneficiary of my 401k

Wife is beneficiary of my stock account

Wife is beneficiary of my life insurance

Wife is my emergency contact at work

Joint cell phone account

Pictures since we got married

Itinerary of honeymoon in Japan and trip to China to visit her family

Is this enough? We are lucky enough to not have to pay rent so we don't have a shared rental agreement or mortgage, we don't have kids, we live in a big city so don't have a mutually owned car and we are each have our own checking accounts. Will this cause us to get an RFE?

Hi all,

I hope you can help me understand this!

My friend (South Korean) just got approved for an O-1B visa to the US. Yay! She really wants to visit the UK for the holiday period.

We understand that she will have to visit the US embassy in London to get a visa stamp so she can re-enter the US. My understanding is that she has to make an appointment with the US embassy in London, go and leave her passport, and she can then either pick it up or have it returned to an address in the UK by courier. Is that correct?

Is there a way to take care of this before she leaves the US?

Any guidance is appreciated!

Thanks!

Hi all,

Apologies if this has already be answered, but I can't find it.

My friend just got approved for an O1B today. Horray!

She is from South Korea and has plans to travel to the UK for the Christmas. What are the restrictions for travelling on an O1B visa once approved? She was told that she would have to get a stamp from the US embassy in London if she traveled to the UK. Is this true? Does anyone have any resources that show the rules for this?

Thanks in advance!!

I filed renewal for EAD on 2/9/2015 and I have not heard anything from them yet after biometric appointment.

I went to this website to submit the case assistance https://cisomb.dhs.gov/oca/form7001.aspx

or you can give them a call:

Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman

U.S. Department of Homeland Security DB1KM2TD3NC4

Washington, DC 20528-0180

Toll-Free: 1-855-882-8100

Phone: 202-357-8100

Email: cisombudsman@hq.dhs.gov

Web: www.dhs.gov/cisombudsman

/JB

I just got approved recently and I am not sure whether it comes from Senator or Ombudsman. However, it seems that someone got approved because Ombudsman involved.

Thanks very much! I will contact the ombudsman. How long did it take for them to respond to you?

For I-485, a lot of people are still waiting and it could take up to 1 year+ at this time. Did you contact your Congressman, Senator, and/or Ombudsman?

You can renew your EAD within 120 days from expiration date and do it as soon as possible. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I will file for a renewal of my EAD right now. How long can I expect a renewal to take?

I am also in to process of contacting my Congresswoman. How can I find out which Ombudsman I should contact?

Hi all,

So I submitted my I-485 last year and my finger prints were received on May 13th 2014. This is where my USCIS case status has been ever since.

I received a potential interview waiver on August 16th 2014 and was told it could take up to 6 months for this to be processed, which would be February 16th 2015.

By March 6th 2015 I still had not heard anything so put in a service request. I just called back today, 30 days later, only to be told that 3 days ago I was mailed an update that stated something to the effect that they were aware that this was outside of the normal processing time and apologize for the inconvenience etc and was essentially told that I just have to continue waiting. They didn't provide me with a time frame or anything like that for when I can expect the next action to take place.

My EAD card expires on July 22nd, so I suppose I should start the process of getting that renewed.

Has any body got any advice or can anybody provide any insight on what I can do to speed this up? Has my case fallen into a black hole?

My employer is offering to have our lawyers help out if need be (we deal with a lot of H1Bs at my company so our lawyers are immigration specialists). The benefit of this is that I wouldn't need to pay them, but I have heard some horror stories about getting lawyers involved. What does everyone think about going this route?

Any insight from the community would be great appreciated.

Thanks!

Hi all!

I have my AP/employment card (got it July 31st) but am still waiting on my GC. I need to travel at the end of November to Japan and China.

My question my be a bit silly: how do you actually use the AP card? When I re-enter the US do I show the combo card along with my passport? Or is there something more complicated about it?

I got my EAD in the mail about an hour ago! My NOA1 was dated 12th May, so if I have counted right that is 80 days from NOA to EAD in hand. I start my new job tomorrow morning. I can't wait!

Thank you all for your help!

That is awful. I'm waiting on mine in the post and this is my worst nightmare. How did you get the tracking number? Did you call the USCIS to get it?

officially filed my EAD application June 12, 2014 --> had biometric July 11, 2014 --> EAD approved July 25, 2014 but then again I requested expedite processing.

Thats incredibly fast. How do you request expedite processing?

Do some volunteer work, make some contacts, maybe the contacts will lead to a job..,,.,.Good Luck!

This is good advice. A majority of people in the US say that they got their job through some kind of contact. So networking, as unnatural as it felt to me, really helped.

Volunteering too. I took three volunteering positions which stopped me from going mad.

just a random thought, what are other ways you can get an EAD aside from filing AOS?

Getting an employer to sponsor you. Though that would be a work visa, so It actually wouldn't be EAD.

I applied for my EAD on 05/12/2014

received notice it had been approved on 07/25/2014

Now I must wait to receive the card in the mail

So generally about 90 days / 3 months

I filed on the same day as you and got notice it had been approved last Tuesday. Also waiting on the mailman to bring it to me! I heard it's 5 business days, which I hope is right because I have accepted a job offer and they want me to start ASAP.

How did you get notice it had been approved? USCIS Case Status? Or did you get the e-notification text/email? I signed up for the e-notification but had to check my USCIS Case Status as I didn't get an email or text.

There you go! Congrats!

If they want to hire you, then it doesn't really matter. I am not sure how they will do the paperwork, and they may realize they can't, but there is no real risk to you. Make sure you get paid, though. Good luck.

Thank you for all of your help! It's a great thing to have knowledgeable people like you around to offer guidance!

The USCIS online status system says my EAD card was approved for production on Tuesday 22nd July, and just two hours ago I got a job offer for a company I am really excited to work for! Fantastic timing! Thank you everyone for your help and support! It is much appreciated!

One more question: They want me to start working on Monday. My card obviously hasn't come yet and I wouldn't expect it to until perhaps the middle of next week. They have been asking me if because I have this approval on the USCIS status system thing, could I not begin working with them in anticipation of getting the card. I am fairly sure I know the answer to this, but is this allowed? (I anticipate the answer to be 'no, this is not allowed. Just tell them they have to wait.' but wanted to check all the same).

Once again, thank you all!

Hi everyone! My name is Lina I'm from France.

Here's my timeline:

-filed for I-130/I-485 and I-765 on May 12th 2014 to Chicago lock box

-RECEIVED DATE: May 14th transferred to National Benefit Center

-Biometrics done July 1st

-I-485: on Testing and Interview right now since July 9th

Here's the thing, I'm able to see my updates on the I-485 but not for the I-765. It says that they can't find my receipt number. I called USCIS a few times and finally got a Service Request, don't know what it means exactly though. How long does it take to get the interview appointment?

I have a job offer for the end of July or beginning of August, they are waiting for me but not sure how long they are gonna wait. I'm worried because I don't have any sign of my EAD, I know it hasn't been 90 days yet, but still no updates on my case. Anyone has the same issue? I'm worried that I won't get the job.

Really need your help guys! Thank you

My USCIS case status for my EAD was actually just updated to approved/card production yesterday morning. My NOA1 is dated 12th May, just two days before yours. Maybe yours will be soon.

The e-notification service isn't that great. When applying for my K-1 visa we didn't get any texts/emails. When applying for AOS we got the NOA1s and then got the texts/emails a week later.