stevea

My stepson has just received his Advanced Parole. His father in China now wants him to come for a month-long visit this summer. My question is: how long can he be out of the country before we need to worry about his being denied permanent status at the end of his two years? I have heard that long visits out of the country may be detrimental to his chances of being granted permanent AOS at the end of his two year temporary period?

We have gone through the K-1 visa process (yay!) and now my fiancee is my wife (double yay!). We have waited six months to bring Rong's son over to the US so that Rong could have an opportunity to adjust to life here before having to help her son adjust. We have sent to Guangzhou Consulate emails and necessary forms to bring her son but it has been over two months and no word. We are stymied and do not know what to do at this point. Please, help us!

Congrats on your GC!!! That's great! Have a wonderful and safe trip.

My new wife has received a request for her I-693 Vaccination Supplemental Form to be submitted. We got her the required immunizations and sent the completed form (signed by a Civil Surgeon!!) and the RFE to California July 25th. We sent it with a Return Receipt Requested attachment. As of yet we have not received the postcard back from the Service Center. Is this length of time normal to wait for a response?

Does anyone know about how long the wait is once the I-693 Supplemental Form is received by the Service Center before a Temporary Green Card is sent out?

There is no set time for an approval once the RFE is returned. You could still have an interview, you might not if you get a CSC transfer.

Thanks for the reply. :-)

Dang! Here is the result of my Status Update, does this mean we got a CSC transfer?

Application Type: I485, APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS

Current Status: This case is now pending at the office to which it was transferred.

The I485 APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS was transferred and is now pending standard processing at a USCIS office. You will be notified by mail when a decision is made, or if the office needs something from you. If you move while this case is pending, please use our Change of Address online tool to update your case with your new address. We process cases in the order we receive them. You can use our processing dates to estimate when this case will be done, counting from when USCIS received it. Follow the link below to check processing dates. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. To receive e-mail updates, follow the link below to register.

What does it mean if the case is transferred? What is the significance of that?

My new wife has received a request for her I-693 Vaccination Supplemental Form to be submitted. We got her the required immunizations and sent the completed form (signed by a Civil Surgeon!!) and the RFE to California July 25th. We sent it with a Return Receipt Requested attachment. As of yet we have not received the postcard back from the Service Center. Is this length of time normal to wait for a response?

Does anyone know about how long the wait is once the I-693 Supplemental Form is received by the Service Center before a Temporary Green Card is sent out?

Well, IMBRA didn't stop Americans from searching for their true love in foreign lands so let's up the fees to astronomical proportions....THAT will stop those quisling folks once and for all!!! (spoken tongue-in-cheek, but only slightly so...)

LUD = Last Updated, i.e. what we call a "touch" here.

To the OP, yes this happens often. I believe it may be due to them moving your case to the "dungeon". Think the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Ah yes, the old, "We have top people working on the Ark Project." Indy asks, "Who?" The federal government official replies, "TOP people."

It goes to prove then, that all of us here at VJ who are going through this wonderful process have "TOP people" working on our cases!!!

sorry you will have to have AP or greencard.

There is immigration on cruise ships.

Hopefully you will have greencard by the Fall.

Go ahead and apply for AP - $170 is not that much when it comes to a honeymoon trip.

Thanks for the reply. Dang! I will just have to keep my lovely Chinese bride away from the gambling deck of the cruise ship to make up for the AP filing fee!

Rong entered into the US on a K-1 visa. We have married within the requisite 90 days and have applied for her AOS. We want to take a cruise this fall which makes stops in Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten. I know that St. Maarten is Dutch territory, not US.

Two questions: 1) Can my wife enter Puerto Rico and St. Thomas and still be readmitted into the US upon the return of the cruise?

2) If she does not leave the ship while docked at St. Maarten will she still be considered to be on US soil and thereby able to reenter the US?

We would like to save the $170 AP fee, if possible, and use it to go towards our honeymoon cruise.

Thanks in advance for any help! :-)

Rong and I thank you all very much for your advice! Rong is excited to take my last name. Her worry was that it would greatly increase the processing time for her AOS.

Thanks again! Congrats to all those who have survived this unwieldy process and have married! It definitely is worth the trouble.

My wife and I married last Friday and now we are beginning the sojourn of the AOS. When completing the forms and it asks for the beneficiarie's last name, do I enter her new married name (she is taking my family name) or continue to use her maiden name? Are there any advantages/disadvantages in using either?

BTW, Rong has not yet received her SSN so we cannot change her name per Social Security as of yet.

This is sooo confusing!! All we want to do is the right thing! Why is it so hard? Dang!!!

Please help two very frustrated people, if you can!

Thanks all for the suggestions. I will investigate further and see what comes of it. I had thought of perhaps driving to Vegas but from Indiana in this weather...perhaps not. :-)

We are trying to secure a marriage license in Indiana. In order to be granted a license we each need proof of where we live. My Indiana driver license is fine for me because it shows my street address, but for Rong she has no government issued document showing her address. I tried to get her an Indiana state ID card, have to have a SSN for that. SS Office stated it will be at least 6 weeks for her SS card to arrive in the mail. Talk about a circular system!

Any ideas anyone?

In our case, I would telephone the DOS each Monday morning shortly after they opened for business. I would ask them the status of the case. The ask me for the, in my case GUZ#, and my fiance's name and birthdate. They would check the computer and let me know. At first the reps would tell me it can take up to 90 days for the package to reach the consulate and to be patient.

The happiest day for me was when I called DOS and they told me Rong's interview date was scheduled for Feb 8th, 2007. I told the man on the other end of the phone that I was ready to do cartwheels down the hallway!

So, my advice is to call the DOS once each week and ask for status of your case. Hope you get your interview date quickly!

Thank you very much for the information! Rong and I truly appreciate it!

My Chinese fiancee received her P4 and her interview date of February 8th. She has a pet pomeranian dog and wants to bring it with her to the US when she comes next month. I have been searching for the rules and regulations covering this but have been unsuccessful to this point. Any assistance in pointing me in the right direction will be most appreciated!

Congratulations to you both!

Woo Hoo! Congratulations! This is great news!

I use www.dynasky.com If you are able to use one of their local access numbers the rate is two cents per minute. If you use their toll-free number, the cost is four cents per minute. I have used it for months and it is great. Also, their web site keeps a record of all of your calls. I will be using this as part of proof of ongoing relationship.

Kitkat! How great is this??? Hot dog! I am sooo happy for you! Long time coming, don't you think?

Wow! That is so GREAT! Congratulations!

Congrats! Let's hope the NVC does not take a long time for "administrative processing". It took three weeks for our case to reach the NVC from the CSC. Rong just told me that she read on a Chinese visa journey-type website that a woman's background check took only one week. Here is hoping for 1 week for us both!

Sit back fully in your seat and give your safety belt an extra tug because you are in for one WILD RIDE on this thing we call a "visa journey"!!!

When your receive your P1 (NOAA1) you can go to the www.uscis.gov website and register for updates. That way you can drive yourself crazy on an frequent basis checking to see if your case has been "touched". Not that being touched means much, but it is comforting to know that your application has not been forgotten. Best of luck on your journey!

Congrats!!!

I wouldn't blame her for "opting out" even with the name change. I had just received a PM from her on dreamlife. Then when I tried to mail her back it would not go through.