templeton

My card arrived 6 days after getting the notification that it had been ordered.

True, for some people it's not an issue. But for many others who were maybe more "established" in life before coming to the US, $10K is nothing - especially when you start talking about investments, retirement plans that can't be moved, maybe a rental property back home, etc.

The main point is that no one actually tells immigrants that this is a legal requirement, so many people don't even realize they need to be reporting those accounts.

Many immigrants and visa holders are totally unaware (as I was until my tax accountant mentioned it), so just a friendly reminder...Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) is due by June 30.

All United States persons are required to file an FBAR if:

1. the United States person had a financial interest in or signature authority over at least one financial account located outside of the United States; and
2. the aggregate value of all foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000.00 at any time during the calendar year reported.

http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Report-of-Foreign-Bank-and-Financial-Accounts-FBAR

I don't blame you...We're moving to Charlotte/Huntersville next month

I agree with G&T though; whatever you decide, don't buy yet. That is something you will want to do together, and after you've had some time with each other. If you really want to get out there ahead of time, find a decent place to rent. This will give you a chance to get to know the area without committing to anything.

Hard to say. I assume all states have their own rules, but likely it would still only be temporary. My MN license says it doesn't expire until 2019, but there is a little note at the bottom that saying I need to verify my status before the date my EAD expires in order to keep it valid.

I feel for you. I too was a July 204 AOS filer after coming on a K-1. Got the interview waiver letter in November saying it would be at least another six months.

Then out of the blue a couple of weeks ago, I get an RFE saying the medical documents didn't include a vaccination report. For God's sake! Of course I had supplied them to the doctor.

I went through the documents the doctor gave me and sure enough there was a copy of the vaccination form with everything checked off and signed by him. I sent it to USCIS and crossed my fingers, angry that someone else's mistake had likely extended the process by weeks or more. My one year anniversary of the medical exam was coming up in early June, so I was sure I'd be having to go get that done all over again. Then I'm also moving at the end of June to another state. I was planning for a whole host of complications.

Then, lo and behold, I get an email two days ago. CARD IN PRODUCTION!!! Obviously I was pleasantly surprised.

Anyway, the point is, hang in there. USCIS is to shuffling the workload to different local offices in an effort to TRY and speed things up. Mine ended up in Buffalo. Everyone is different, but I sincerely hope you hear something soon!

Just received an email that card was in production.

NOA was July 21, 2014. Got my NPIW letter in mid-November. RFE for vaccination record arrived on May 18 (from Buffalo, NY office), which was responded to on May 19. Annoying for sure, but at least it gave me hope that someone was making some progress on my case. Needless to say, I was expecting it to be weeks before hearing anything further.

Obviously very relieved. Besides hearing that others had to redo medicals, we're moving to a new state in July, so I was mentally preparing for all sorts of issues. Barring some issue with the mail (knock on wood), they shouldn't be a concern.

Congrats to everyone in the same boat! For the others, hang in there. Things seem to be moving much faster.

Just got the magic email...card in production! What a relief. Interview waiver letter arrived in Nov.

Not to pick on the OP at all - that something like this could cause the whole thing to possibly derail is a little ridiculous - just a generalization based on his circumstances. But it does serve as a good cautionary tale to anyone working their way through the immigration system. Even the most seemingly trivial offense can lead to huge consequences down the road, so use good judgment. Don't let a bad decision, even one that seems insignificant in the moment, come back to haunt you.

Even if everything ends up okay (and I hope it does), I'm sure the OP would agree that any gain he thought he would achieve by jumping the turnstile all those years back was not worth it in the long run.

As long as you've been in a bonafide marriage with the same US Citizen for the entire three years, then yes you can submit the application 90 days prior to the third anniversary of the date one your green card.

My case is pretty straightforward, so I can't deny I sometimes come here just to read others' drama and be thankful. There definitely is a "Jerry Springer" aspect to some of posts. Those are the most interesting, and also the ones that seem to draw out the most passionate and opinionated. But some people forget that whatever the story is, we're usually only getting one side of it, and even then likely only a small view of the entire picture. Regardless, instead of just answering the questions, the foolish responders among us start applying their own assumptions, jumping to emotional conclusions, going off on tangents, or offering judgmental advice that hasn't been solicited...all based on nothing but speculation.

But that's the nature of forums (and the internet in general), for better or for worse. There is a lot of good information here, and I just think like everything else online, you have to learn to take the good with the bad, filter what you need, and disregard the rest.

Or maybe he won't be back because you guys were rude and judgmental and just assumed things without even asking him about details?

While I may agree with you on this for may other threads, I didn't see anything in the first two replies that was overly rude and judgmental. Maybe the insinuation that he was being "taken" was a little presumptive, but BASED ON THE INFORMATION THE OP PROVIDED, I certainly didn't think it was wrong to warn him to be wary of fraud. There certainly were a lot of red flags. If anything I thought the OP's reply seemed hyper-sensitive.

Regardless, if he truly believes everything is on the up and up and wants to proceed, then he has the answers he was specifically asking for - work visa for the son, K-1 (or CR-1, I guess) for the mother. Both seem to have pretty substantial roadblocks to overcome.

It does come into play. My ex and I abandoned AOS to move back to the UK. At that point, he had overstayed his VWP by about 100 days. Since this all happened in the pre-9/11 period, nobody really noticed that he had this overstay on his record when we travelled back and forth between the US and UK using the VWP. Eventually, he was detained at an airport because of the overstay, but was paroled in because it was Christmas and the DHS agent was feeling festive, I guess. Anyway, for our next trip he needed to get a B-1 visa, which was approved no problem. He's back to being able to use the VWP again, from what I understand.

TL/DR: yes, it can come into play if your AOS is abandoned.

Good to know. Thanks!

Not to nitpick (but I am anyways LOL), but at this point it only matters IF she's filed for AOS, not when, as far as any overstay goes. Any overstay is forgiven upon filing. Many people do not file within the 90 days.

Edit: Although I confess I don't know that if she had accrued overstay, applied for AOS, then abandoned said AOS, whether that overstay could come into play if she ever wanted another visa in the future.

Again, we're just making up scenarios now. It would help to simply know her actual status for sure.

Cash in the bank can augment your perceived worthiness when it comes to a mortgage or larger purchases, but for credit cards it's not really something they're concerned about.

Why is everyone saying that she overstayed?

You can't know this unless you know whether or not she filed for the AOS. All she says about it is "we have not completed the adjustment of status process yet"

If she filed for the AOS, then she has not overstayed.

If she did not file, then she is accruing days of overstay.

Agreed. I'm a little confused as well. She talks as though AOS hasn't started, but her status says it is pending. Just a mix-up?

Don't listen to anyone here telling you that being added as an authorized user to your spouses account won't help your credit. They don't know what they're talking about, or their knowledge is limited. Piggy-backing on someone else's (good) account history is the fastest way to establish your own.

Like most, I arrived with no US credit rating. Right after marriage my wife added me as a user to her AMEX. Soon that AMEX appeared as a credit account ON MY CREDIT REPORT. Within three months I had enough of an established credit rating to qualify for my own Capital One MC. It was only a small limit, but it was a start. Four months of on-time payments after that, Capital One increased the limit significantly.

In less than one year my credit has gone from nothing to the mid-700s. I get new offers in the mail all the time now.

I have no idea as to the validity of this relationship, the circumstances seem most odd but second hand info can be misleading.

Indeed. Sticking to the facts, the OP's friend presumably entered legally, was married, and hasn't left. As such, he is legally allowed to stay and APPLY to adjust status to permanent resident if that's the route he wants to take. Anyone making perceived judgements on the motives or timing of the marriage is just engaging in speculation. USCIS will judge the merits of the relationship when the time comes.

An RFE arrived last week while I was out of town, stating that my I-693 was incomplete due to lack of immunization records. They were provided by me to the Panel Physician, and obviously should have been included in the package by him to USCIS. I have a copy of the doctor-signed DS-3025 stating that all is in order. Hopefully sending that along will do the trick. But man...frustrating.

At least there's some movement on the case though.

Wow. That was very generous of her relatives. And presumptive.

You're risking everything you've worked for if you leave without AP. That's pretty unfair of anyone to expect you to do that. If there isn't the time or money to file for AOS/EAD/AP before the trip, you simply have to tell them that leaving the country right now is not an option due to immigration rules...which you would have been happy to tell them before they spent the money, if they had simply taken the courtesy to ask you first.

I'm obviously just speculating, but if the OP moved to another country and they haven't talked since he left, it's conceivable that she didn't know his address. It's very likely (and certainly believable) that she simply said his last known address to her was in the US, and had the divorce paperwork sent there, meeting the burden of effort for the divorce to move forward.

As other have said, obviously USCIS would be aware that she had already been married before. It's very unlikely they would allow her new case to move forward without her providing a divorce decree.

I also agree with the other posters. This seems more motivated by revenge than anything else. The relationship is long over and he's gone home, so there's no reason to pursue this in the US other than an attempt to screw things up for his ex.

OP, take a step back and try to be less emotional about the situation. Unless there's something else going on, what's happening with your ex in no way affects you, and pursuing it will likely just be a waste of time, money and effort.

Just curious, why did you not apply for Advance Parole at the same time as your EAD? Fees are waived for both when included with the green card application.

Anyway, most say it's up to a three month wait. Mine took a little over 2 months. Either way, you should be good by August if you applied in April.

Not quite. You need to be married and an LPR for 3 years provided you meet the presence requirement. You do have to send in relationship evidence, again. If you wait until the 5 year mark, you do not.

Thanks for clarifying!

Yeah, there is a lot of misinformation out there. I was under the same impression for a while too - someone told me that only the children of US and foreign parents could have dual citizenship. But in actuality, as the other posters say, you don't have to relinquish your Canadian citizenship if you become a citizen of another country. I believe that after three years of continuous and ongoing marriage to a US citizen, you are eligible to apply. Someone else can confirm.