JMYZ

The list of secondary id's was left out on the doc sent to me. Found it on the website:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/identification.html

Quote

You must present one physical, primary ID which includes your photo. We cannot accept digital IDs.

 

If (and only if) you cannot present one of the primary photo IDs listed above, you should present a combination of at least two secondary IDs listed below. 

• Out-of-state driver's license or enhanced driver's license with photo
• Learner's or temporary driver's permit (without a photo)
• In-state, fully valid non-driver ID (without a photo)
• Out-of-state, non-driver ID
• Temporary driver's license (without a photo)
• Social Security card
• Voter registration card
• Employee work ID
• Student ID
• School yearbook with identifiable photograph
• Selective Service (draft) card
• Medicare or other health card
• Expired driver's license 
• Form DS-71, for an Identifying Witness (only available at your local Acceptance Facility or a Passport Agency). 

Hi, VJ community!

I am applying for my first US passport and got one in-person appointment for urgent travel.

Upon making the appointment, they sent me an email with a list of required docs.

Under the "Present ID" section, it states:

You must present one of the following identification documents (IDs) to the acceptance agent. The ID must readily
identify you.
• Valid or expired, undamaged U.S. passport book or passport card
• In-state, fully valid driver's license or enhanced driver's license with photo
• Certificate of Naturalization
• Certificate of Citizenship
• Government employee ID (city, county, state, or federal)
• U.S. military or military dependent ID
• Current (valid) foreign passport
• Matricula Consular (Mexican Consular ID) - commonly used by a parent of a U.S. citizen child applicant
• U.S. Permanent Resident Card (Green Card) - commonly used by a parent of a U.S. citizen child applicant
• Trusted Traveler IDs (including valid Global Entry, FAST, SENTRI, and NEXUS cards)
• Enhanced Tribal Cards and Native American tribal photo IDs
• Other documents: In-state, fully valid learner's permit with photo, In-state, fully valid non-driver ID with photo,
and temporary driver's license with photo. Note: you may be asked to present an additional ID when
presenting one of these 3 documents.
If you cannot present one of the IDs above, or for more information, please see the Identification page on our
website, Travel.State.Gov.
Please note:
• Some states now issue digital ID documents (also known as mobile driver's licenses or mobile IDs). We
cannot accept these digital IDs when you apply for your U.S. passport. You must continue to submit your
physical, photo ID and a photocopy of the ID.
• If you present an out-of-state ID, you must present an additional ID.
• If you are changing the sex marker in your U.S. passport, please see these additional requirements on our
website, Travel.State.Gov.

I really only have two identifications.

- An out-of-state ID (holding CA license, my appointment is in NY)

- My foreign passport, which is not expired but I am no longer a national of that country so perhaps it's no longer "valid"

Swapping my CA license for a NY license is an option, though not guaranteed that I will be able to get the NY state license in time. On top of that, if I go this route, I will have to surrender my CA license. So this could potentially leave me with NO state-issued ID.

Has anyone run into this situation?

Is my foreign passport considered "valid" for this purpose?

Are they (specifically, in Manhattan) strict about having in-state ID?

I am hoping they are forgiving, especially since when I called to make an appointment for urgent travel, they were giving me options of getting my passport in DC, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

I hope that means that they are not so strict about someone from out of state coming to apply for a passport.

Please let me know! Thank you!

USCIS is now calling people to schedule the oath ceremony to take place in May.

The ceremony location is at the baseball field in Coney Island (Brooklyn Cyclones).

Just a headsup, the phone number is not shown. It felt a bit weird as the call came without any notice, and the caller ID shows "Unknown." They do have my personal information without me having to say anything.

The call was just to confirm the date and time, and that a physical letter will follow. I will wait for the official invitation to arrive (or case updated on uscis website) before I actually celebrate.

If you do get a call, be safe and be skeptical. Do not volunteer any personal information. I really hope it's not a phishing scam.

To those that got the oath ceremony cancelled, how long did it take for them to reschedule it?

Mine got cancelled in early March 2022, for NYC. Still waiting for them to reschedule but nothing yet =(

I guess it will be reviewed case by case.

What's the Date of Singapore Police Certificate and the date you left Singapore?

If both dates are pretty close, I guess there should be no problem.

It's about 6 months apart. I hope it's acceptable =/

Hi all,

My home country is China and will be interviewing there.

During the application process, I moved around several different countries.

The confusing part for me goes like this:

A. When I submitted my police COC, I was residing in Singapore.

B. I moved out of Singapore.

C. I received my interview invitation.

So the COC I submitted does not cover the period between A and B.

The interview letter states:

Applicants may need to bring an additional police certificate to the interview. If the following three

items are all true, the applicant needs to bring an updated police certificate to the interview:

· He or she is more than 16 years old;

· He or she obtained a police certificate more than one year ago; and

· He or she still lives in the country that issued the police certificate.

I am more than 16 yo.

I obtained the certificate less than one year ago.

I no longer live in the country that issued the police certificate.

On another note, I read somewhere that the COC needs to cover the entire duration of my residence at any country that I've resided for more than 6 months. So this is conflicting to me.

Will I be in trouble at the interview for not having COC that covers the entire duration of my residence?

Thank you for reading!

>>> EDIT <<<

Add-on question:

If I do need a new COC, I can definitely not get it before my interview date.

Should I still go ahead with the interview, hoping that they won't require me to have this new COC (and meanwhile still apply for a new COC anyway just in case)?

What will happen if I have missing or incomplete COC at an interview?

If I need to reschedule the interview, how late will it be?

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I will definitely include a joint sponsor.

Yes.

Have you personally done it? Any reason or justification on why?

Hi all,

I am living abroad with my wife while applying for her immigration. We are at the NVC stage now.

My income abroad does meet the minimum income guideline, but I am afraid that at the interview, they will ask questions like:

>>> If both you and your wife move to the US after getting the immigration visa, you both will have to quit your job and find new jobs in the US. That means you will have zero income, and there's no guarantee that either of you will be able to find a job in a reasonable time frame. How will you support her?

Should I just bring in a joint sponsor from the beginning (as in now while I am filling out the I-864) so that there's already someone legally responsible for my wife?

Thanks in advance!

________

Edit: I do not have enough asset to use it as an alternative way of supporting my wife.

Thanks again for the information, Hypnos.

Will I get a RFE if I leave this field blank?

The person I talked to at NVC told me (rather rudely) that he has no way of accessing that information, and that I should see it on the USCIS approval form as you've mentioned before. I will probe around a little more. Thanks for your advice, Hypnos!

Your A-number should be listed on your naturalisation certificate, if you wish to compare it and see whether the one listed on the I-130 is yours or your wife's.

I unfortunately do not have the naturalization certificate, only the US passport. My family made this financial decision to not apply for the naturalization certificate due to cost. Any other way that I could verify my or her A-number? Thanks again, Hypnos.

If she was in the US under a nonimmigrant visa then those are typically not assigned an alien number, even if they have a social security number. A notable exception are K visas, the holders of which are assigned alien numbers.

Her alien number is likely stated on the I-130 approval notice.

@Hypnos, thanks for a quick response!

I did check our I-130 approval letter. There's one A-number listed but within the "PETITIONER" box above my name (I was once an immigrant but 20 years ago, and I do not know if this is my A-number. I have no record.).

Her name is in the box "BENEFICIARY" with no A-number.

Hi all,

My wife attended university in the States and worked a bit, so she has the Social Security Number.

Now that we are at the NVC stage, the I-864 asks for her Alien Registration Number, which she does not have.

I am not sure if USCIS has assigned her one and we just didn't realize, or that she was never assigned an Alien Registration Number. How do we find out?

Thanks in advance!

Thank you both!! I very much appreciate your responses!

Additional questions:

Q7. Do you forsee any complications because we live in different countries abroad?

Q8. I read that once she gets her visa, she has 6 months to enter the United States. Is this still true?

***Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Process & Procedures to What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration forum; OP is considering multiple paths.***

**Moderator hat off**

Answers to your questions:

1. Yes
2. True
3. No
4. Just one person; however, you will only be able to register for marriage at the marriage bureau that has jurisdiction where her hukou is located AND if the office has to be able to register the marriage where one of the parties is a foreigner (meaning, my wife and I had to register for marriage in the Provincial Capital).
5. No
6. Once you determine the path that is best for you, carefully study the instructions for the required forms as well as the applicable guide on VJ.

Dear Ryan,

Thank you so much for the succinct answers, and also for moving this thread to the correct section.

sounds like seeking any status in the USA for her is useless.

I suggest not to pursue it, until and when, SHE is ready to live in the USA with YOU.

In the meantime? Shift a bit, get a job in her city, marry, and relax.

Dear Darnell,

I do not think this is "useless" at all. If we can tackle the CR1 as early as possible, it takes away waiting time from later. Another way to think of our situation is that we are ready to move together to US now, but we both know the process will take approximately 12 months so we have already made business commitments for these 12 months.

If you still think we should apply later, as in one year from now, please go into details on what the advantages are? I very much appreciate your input, Darnell.

Thank you!

Dear VJ community,

I’ve been lurking for a while now and finally found the courage to post up here! Please help me check my logic. We very much appreciate your time!

Background:

• Me – petitioner – 27 years-old, male, US citizen
• Her – fiancée – 24 years-old, female, Chinese citizen
• Met in the US and have been in the relationship for 2.5 years, most of which was in the US.
  

Goals:

1. Be able to move to US without much hassle about 1 year from now. This needs a little more explanation:
   1. Build our careers overseas.
   2. Move back to US in about 1 year.
   3. Get married =D

Complications:

1. We do not live in US.
2. We may not live together outside of US (we do plan to live together once we are inside the US). She will be in Thailand and China. I will be in South East Asia.
3. Neither of us may be able to leave Asia for more than 1 week at a time.
4. We do not get paid expat salaries. We get enough to go by and will be working hard to get above the 1.25x poverty line.

Options (K1, CR1, DCF):

• K1 – is this an option? Considering she cannot leave Asia for more than 1 week, and the Advance Parole option, after we get married, takes around 3 months to get. Is there any way around this?
• CR1 – Get married in China, apply for CR1 through one of the offices in the US.
• DCF – Get married in China, apply DCF for CR1 through one of the field offices (there is one in Beijing and another one in Bangkok, according http://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/international-immigration-offices)

Questions

Q1. Given that we will be overseas, is K1 still viable?

Q2. For DCF, I read that I will have to be resident of the country that the field office is in. If I want to apply DCF at Bangkok, I would have to be a resident in Thailand for 6 months. Is that true?

Q3. If I want to apply DCF at Bangkok, can I be a resident of one of the nearby countries, like Burma (Myanmar)?

Q4. To get married in China, do both people need to have their own “Chinese residence permit” or having it for just one person is enough? (http://shanghai.usembassy-china.org.cn/acs_faq.html#faq_marriage)

Q5. Are there other options that we have missed?

Q6. Do you have any specific pointers, hints, or tips for different options we do have?

Thank you so much!!!

-J