renatesol

On 3/25/2019 at 3:59 PM, Carol.Bejj said:

Hello All! Congrats for all who got approved and crossing fingers for those who are still waiting 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

 

I have a question. I got my approval notice by mail dated March 20. I also have the below update in my USCIS account. Based on your experiences, when should I expect the actual green card to be delivered to me? Thank you!!!

 

Background: I filed on March 30, 2018 in California. My biometrics and interview were waived. I currently have the 18 months extension letter. 

 

I also had biometrics and interview waived and also got my approval notice on March 20, and I had my new card in hand yesterday (March 26). Hopefully you have yours now, too!

Hey all,

My apologies if this specific question has already been asked - I've done some searching of the forum but didn't find my question specifically. I filed for ROC early 2018, and have received both the 12 month and the 18 month extension letters. I also got a letter stating that my previous biometrics data will be reused for this petition, so I don't have to schedule an appointment for it. However, because of this (I assume) I have no new case number that I can enter on the online case status check - the case number referenced on the biometrics letter is the same as on NOA1, and returns case number not found.

Is this to be expected? Should I call USCIS to see what's going on with that? Or should I just continue business as usual, and wait for the 10 year green card to show up? 🤔

On 6/19/2018 at 12:18 AM, geowrian said:

The extension letter extends the validity of the green card by 12 months (unless you got the new one already, which extends it by 18 months now). The letter + green card is sufficient for an I-9. Some people have had difficulty with an employer recognizing that, but they are prohibited from requiring alternative documentation.

 

Only if you can show evidence of your LPR status, which would be the green card + extension letter.

Or you can take the green card + extension letter to the SSA and get an unrestricted Social Security card. Then you can use that + the unexpired driver's license to verify employment eligibility on the I-9.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/acceptable-documents

You need either an item in list A

OR

one item in list B + one item in list C.

Thanks! This is super helpful. I was just confused as to whether or not the expired GC + extension letter would be accepted. Hopefully I won't run into any issues to where I have to argue my case, should I get this job. Thank you so much for the peace of mind.

Hi all,

I am currently employed and filed my i-751 earlier this year, however, I don't expect to get my new GC anytime soon with the current processing times.

I am hoping to apply for and get a new job soon, but now I'm worried if I can verify everything I need for the i-9... I have an unexpired driver's license, my expired GC and my NOA/extension letter. However, I read that the extension letter does not constitute the type of receipt that can be accepted - is this correct?

My SS card shows the "valid for work only with DHS authorization" legend. Should my prospective new employer still be able to use my SSN to verify that I am still allowed to work in the US?

Thanks!

I too got the letter that they're going to reuse my biometrics info from before. Yay! That's a half day of PTO I can save for something actually fun...

Any of you filing at CSC still waiting for your biometrics letter? I got my NOA1 over a month ago, still no biometrics. :/

It's that time again, dealing with paperwork and USCIS! 

I am putting together all our evidence, and one of the major points that we do not have is a joint bank account. Stupid, I know, but there we are. We did have a savings account with both of our names on it, but the account was breached, and the bank created a new account and for some reason only put my husband's name on that one, something we did not notice until very recently (since it's a savings account we don't check statements too often, and we're on paperless so we never got any paper statements).

What we do have, bank account wise, is that we both have online access to each others' accounts. Our debit cards only go to our designated accounts, but if I log in online I can see and manage his account, and vice versa. Our statements will also show funds moving between accounts, although the statements will not have both names on them. Does this help at all? 

In addition, this is what we have:
- Apartment leases with both of our names

- Proof of being each others' insurance beneficiaries

- Joint tax returns

- Car title with both of our names

- Car insurance with both of our names

- Utility bills with each of our names, same address

- Shared credit card account (not with our bank)

- School records (print from online) showing me as emergency contact for his daughter/my stepdaughter 

- Pictures of our "second wedding" - the ceremony and party we threw with family, also showing my family from Norway

- Other pictures of us together

Is this sufficient, or should we also bolster it with affidavits?

Thanks all!

Hey!

Sorry to breathe life into this old thread, but it is kind of an extension of it.

We've just had our quotes done, and apparently, if my US citizen spouse files without me (married head of household, I believe), he somehow gets about $1000 more back on his taxes than if we file MFJ. But - if he files "without me", I understand that my name won't be on any of the tax return paperwork, and we might get some trouble out of this when I go in for my AoS interview.

We talked to one of the consultants at H&R Block, and she didn't even say anything about writing a statement to say I want to be treated as a resident - all they mentioned there was the "resident test", which I guess I don't pass because I didn't live in the US for 6+ months in 2015.

Does anyone have any insights on this? We're just so confused now.

Great, thanks to both of you! This really cleared it up for me.

Your best answer is post #6 from Maria.
File Married filing jointly.
Write the statement saying you wish to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes.
Use form 2555EZ to exclude your foreign income.
Print a paper return and mail it (with your statement).

Buy TurboTax and install on your computer. I have compared it doing a return with TurboTax Online, TurboTax App on IPad, H&R Block desktop software. It is the easiest to understand and use. (H&R Block gave me free software to install last year and for grins I did my tax return from scratch on it. It came out exactly the same as TurboTax, but was not as intuitive to use.) With purchased software, you can print a paper return, You can look at individual forms. You can do unlimited returns. Some of those things don't happen easily or at all with the "free" online, which isn't really free.

TurboTax Basic will handle the foreign Income exclusion. You might be more comfortable with TurboTax Deluxe which may do a little more hand holding. Many places put it on sale in January/Fevruary, so wait a few weeks and compare prices. It is often hard for me to find Basic because they push Deluxe and higher. If you live in a state with a state income tax you might want to look for one which includes state filing. Even plain old Basic does offer a state return download for a fee once you get Into it.

Thank you all for your input. Kris&me, do I need to obtain an ITIN for me (the foreign spouse) when I already have an SSN?

Hey guys!

My husband is getting ready to file his taxes for 2015. I've been trying to figure all of this out by Googling, but I'm not sure which status really applies to me at the moment, so I thought I'd ask the experts.

I arrived in the US in July on the K1 visa, and we got married in August. I got my EAD in November (still awaiting GC), but haven't worked in the US in 2015. I did have income in my home country though.

How should we file taxes for 2015? MFJ? Can he claim the spousal exemption for me when I'm not yet an LPR? Do I even need to file as (and if not, can he still claim the exemption)?

It could also be that he's allowed the dual citizenship because he's a kid - afaik if I have children here in the US they can have dual citizenship until they're 18, then Norway will make them choose one. Unless the law changes, of course... Come on, Norway!

I totally agree k1 shouldn't take less time than cr1. The fact that its not a green card is not the point. We are being processed by the same agencies and they complain of lack of resources whilst they send over people who barely know the usc whilst scrutinizing couples that have been together, lived together, have children...for a year or over. Doesn't make sense.

That's exactly the point though - they're processed differently because a K1 and a CR1 applicant aren't applying for the same thing. Also, there is no reason why an engaged couple couldn't have been together, lived together and have children for a year or more, just the same as a married couple.

It's a tough process for all of us, no matter which route we choose, and I don't think the time spent apart is easier on one type of visa applicants than the other. We're all in the same boat here when it comes to having to wait to be with our loved ones.

Welcome, and congrats on a swift journey so far! Whereabouts in Texas will you be moving to?

Hi! I've been reading every single post all weekend and I must say I'm really glad I'm not the only one feeling confused I'm Swedish, my hubby is from Texas. We got married there in 2010 and he's been living with me in Sweden since 2011. Now we've jumped on this crazy visa journey and hopefully it will get us back to Texas in no time We sent in the I-130 26/7, got our NOA1 11/8 and exactly a month later we got our NOA2. Now we are bugging NVC every other day to get our case-and IIN number. Last Friday my hubby called them and they said they have our paperwork but they need to put in in their system. They said they expect to be able to give us the numbers within 42 days from the NOA2... Hurry up then!!! I think we have gathered almost all the required paperwork except the I-864, we are waiting on our sponsor to do their part back in the US. I can't wait to be done with all the paperwork, mixed messages and lack of clean and simple instructions. Or maybe they are easy but I make them harder to understand Congratulations to all of you who already have your visas and good luck to the rest of us

We live in San Antonio, and pay about $625 a month for our 1 bedroom apartment. We're moving to a 2 bedroom soon, which will cost us about $850. Electricity is high now that it's summer - I believe our last bill was a whopping $400, with the AC running all day since I'm at home. It's an oldish apartment complex though, so it could be that our AC is old and not running very efficiently.

You can also check out this website: http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/comparison.jsp. You can input the city you want to live in versus the city you live in now and see how they compare.

Gotcha. I'll include them - better to delay filing by one day to get extra copies, than to get an RFE for it later.

Follow-up question - does this mean that the copy of the marriage certificate also needs to be attached to the i-765 and i-131 as well, as proof of my name change (I want my married name on my EAD card)?

That's what I thought - I just wish I had thought of it sooner, when I had all my other copies made... Thank you!

I'm just about ready to file for AOS, but of course these little nuggets of doubt pop up... I know I don't need to attach another copy of the i-94 to the i-131 and i-765 as I'm filing concurrently with the i-485, which has the i-94 attached. But - the instructions for the i-765 say to attach a copy of my passport and (K1) visa. Do I still need to do this when these have been attached to the i-485, or will the different case handlers (I'm assuming) have access to all the documentation I've filed with the i-485?

I'm not doing the hyphenated name, I'm changing it to his name entirely. I'll put my married name there then, thanks!

This might be very nitpicky, but I wanna make sure I do everything right. On the bottom of form G-325A it tells me to put my family, first and middle names along with my alien registration number. Do I put my "new", married name (as I did on the top part of the form), or my maiden name (that I've listed as a previous name, of course)?

Hi!

Hi fellow Scandinavians!

I'm a virgin K-1 poster who've been secretly reading up on your experiences for a few months ;-) Thanks for all your valuable posts, and congratulations to everyone who is approved/landed in the US etc!

My fiancé and I are only in the process of preparing the I129F, but I have a (series of) question(s) for further down the line. This one is especially for the Norwegian filers on here.

Birth certificate! So, when we order the birth certificate from Skatteetaten, we can choose to get it in "multiple languages", this includes English. Is this version of the birth certificate sufficient for:

a) The K1 interview

b) AOS

c) To obtain a marriage license in the US (when notarized)

Or, does it need to be translated "again"?

I hope this question isn't too silly.

-L

Welcome to the thread, and congrats on starting your journey!

The multi language birth certificate is what I used for my K1 interview, and it was accepted without question. I can't remember if there are two different birth certificates - just make sure to get the one that will have your parents' names on it.

I assume it will also be good for AOS, if not then I don't know what to do...

Like Maria said, you might not need it to get a marriage license, depending on the state where you're seeking the license. I just got mine here in Texas, and all I needed was valid ID (passport).

I'm gonna use Travel Cargo here in Sweden. They quoted me a total price of 6.238 SEK from Malmo to Austin. That's for 4 large boxes weighing 23 kg each and 4 medium boxes of 15 kg each. Thought that was a pretty good price. ?

Whoa, that is nice!

Also hey, we'll be in "neighbouring" cities. Because, ya know, distances in Texas are nooothing...

Was that a Norwegian or International company? Wish I could find a price like that!!

The one I shipped by mail? That was just Posten Norge, our equivalent to USPS. So, sadly, Norway only (I assume).