Kajikit

They send you a biometrics appointment letter afterwards.

If they gave him his greencard back and he never got a certificate, and he never returned to the US to sort things out, than I'd say that no he's not a USC... if he really wants to find out after a lapse of 30 years he needs a good lawyer!

If you're short on evidence, do you really NEED to rush into getting his citizenship right now? If you can sit tight for another two years, all of that evidence becomes entirely moot. His greencard is valid for a decade - it's going to be just as green then as it is now. The only things he can't do with his greencard are vote, serve on a jury, and get an American passport. We didn't have the money at the 3 year mark so we waited... and I ended up waiting until 5 years and it magically becomes soooo much simpler overnight!

I don't much like having religion and politics in the same forum... but in the US in 2012 they're inseperable, at least until after the election... there's never anything of interest to me in the sub-forum - I'm interested in FAITH and GOD, not politics, religious or otherwise.

It never would have remotely occurred to me to write down my church in that question - it doesn't say anything about RELIGIOUS organisations in the question. But I wrote down the Friends of the Library because it is a registered organisation, and otherwise that section would be entirely blank.

I don't think that ANY visitors visa will allow your inlaws to appear on your doorstep for six months of the year every single year, unless your husband is a Canadian citizen... everyone who uses the VWP gets 90 days at a time, and while a B2 will allow you to stay for 6 months in a 12-month period, I'm pretty sure they don't intend it for continuous use.

International travel is expensive and time-consuming, and few people can afford to do it more than every few years, so a visit of a month or two seems reasonable. More than that is seriously wearing out your welcome, not to mention raising eyebrows at customs. Warn your DH that if his parents attempt to visit too frequently/long, they might have their visa pulled and be barred from the country...

And no, a one-bedroom apartment is NOT the place for more than an overnight guest. If his parents want to visit for an extended period, you'll just have to find them an extended-stay motel in the area and you'll both have some space!

If you're nearly eligible/ready to apply for citizenship, you can change your name when you do that. There's a space on the form that says 'do you want to change your name'? You don't need to get a whole new greencard first unless you want your name changed RIGHT NOW.

There are so many different visas we can't advise you at all unless you can tell us which one your friend has. Some can be renewed (student, B2), and some are one-use-only with a definite non-extendable expiry date (K1/K3)... and so on.

Just a note - I went and had my biometrics done at the Oakland Park service center today as scheduled and it took all of ten minutes! There were only three people ahead of me in line and three behind me by the time I was done, so the longest part of the procedure was sitting down and filling my info in on the clipboard. It sure was a change from going out to the overcrowded Sunrise office five years ago! Now to wait for my Interview letter...

Doesn't sound like my sort of fun... but it's your wedding so you get to make the rules. If you told me 'No children' I'd assume it meant nobody under the age of 12-14, and it didn't apply to older teens. If you really don't want them there, you have to be point-blank about it. 'NOBODY UNDER 21 WILL BE ADMITTED' - and then you have to check IDs at the door, because there isn't really much difference between 17 and 21. Do you really want that much hassle for your celebration?

My aunt's wedding was 'no children' (she said it was because there was a large fountain in the reception hall and it wasn't 'safe') and she extended that to not inviting ANY of her neices and nephews, including me who was only five years younger than her and 25! I was pretty POed about that because once upon a time we were close... making rules about who's allowed to come to weddings tends to PO people, so you have to be ready for the fallout from whatever choices you make.

In other words, she voluntarily became a homeless street person, dependent on the generosity of others for survival. I don't know how common that is in Germany, but there are millions of homeless people in the US if you open your eyes and look. Not a lot of them CHOSE that situation though...

I had to make the choice - make my parents happy and stay with them forever... or make myself happy and grow up and get married and have a life of my own, even if it meant not having them in it any more. They thought I was making a terrible choice in husband and tried to pressure me into changing my mind - and I stood firm. Because they love me and care for me, they accepted my decision and it didn't have to come down to 'him or us'.

At some point we ALL make that decision - you have to do it too. Making your parents happy is not going to make YOU happy, or your wife-to-be. If it came down to the wire, which would you choose? Them (the past) or her (the future)? Be an adult, make your own choices, and tell your family that's just the way it's going to be. If you're not ready to tell your parents 'this is the woman I love and this is the one person for me for the rest of my life, and if you stand in my way then I'm sorry but nothing is going to change my mind because I love her with every bone in my body and we are going to grow old together' and to STICK TO IT, then you're not really ready to be married. If your family disowns you, then so be it. You are more than thirty years old. You are supporting yourself and putting yourself through college and getting a degree that will give you a professional career. You are not a teenager any more and you do NOT need their approval to choose a wife.

(if you are still living under your parents roof, their rules apply whether you're 15 or 50 - hopefully they have enough respect for you as an adult for you to come to a reasonable agreement about lifestyle, but if they have any particular quirks you have to follow them as long as you're there, no matter how unreasonable you think they are... but once you move out on your own your life becomes YOURS, not theirs.)

But choices also bring responsibilities. Once you bring your fiance here and she becomes your wife, you are going to have to support her as well as yourself, and any children that you have... how are you going to do that? We had to wait FOUR YEARS to be married. It wasn't easy on either of us, but we held strong. You have two years of school left. Throwing away your tuition is irresponsible. It's tough to play the waiting game but sometimes we have to do it.

No. Tom Cruise says tablets are useless. Tablets don't fix the issues that are MAKING her depressed. She's talking about things that are making her upset and those things don't magically stop happening because she takes tablets. The tablets will help her mood, they won't stop her husband from ignoring her or help the other situations that get to her. She needs not only tablets but life management. Sometimes it's better to have mood "assistance" but start learning coping skills.

From her initial post it sounds like so many people she's gone along to her GP (or seen a random doctor at the hospital when she became desperate enough to go there and beg for help) and they've said 'you're depressed, here take this prescription and you'll be okay'. IT IS NOT EVER THAT SIMPLE. Believe me, I know the effects of improperly-treated clinical depression and major anxiety, and while I don't want to scare the OP, this is a LIFE-THREATENING condition and doctors treat it like a cold! We don't know enough about how the brain works to be able to fix it with a simple prescription. It needs somebody who knows what they're doing to monitor the treatment until she finds something that will really help, and individual counselling to deal with everything else in her life that's contributing.

If you asked a scientologist what to do about major depression they'd tell you that it didn't need any treatment whatsoever because you just need to change your thinking patterns and it will go away. UGH.

A happy pill isn't going to fix your life. All it does is cover things up, and it comes with its own problems (side effects!). You need counselling bigtime. PLEASE make your husband understand that you need professional help RIGHT NOW. 'Locking you up' won't keep you safe or help you to get better. Your husband is scared for you and he doesn't know what to do to help you, so that's all he can think of. This isn't just 'the blues' or feeling bad because you've had so many life changes. The life changes have triggered serious problems for you and you need real help to deal with them. Please please please get some.

You gave up EVERYTHING to come here to be with your husband. He should appreciate that and want to do his best to help you adjust.

Yes, you really need to get out of the house at least a few days a week. Since you're out in the country someplace, walking isn't practical, but how about a bicycle? A bike effectively doubles your transport range without having to be dependent on anyone else. You and your husband need to carve out a regular time in your schedule to spend time TOGETHER away from his family so you can strengthen your relationship. The more time you spend apart, the further you'll drift. I don't like that he's staying out all night when you haven't even been married six months yet! Leaving you with his parents is not the same as looking after you.

There is nothing that you have done or said that would send you to prison. He has nothing to hold over your head in that department. He can say what he likes... right now you have two choices - stay married to him, work on your relationship through counselling etc. and adjust his status normally; or hand him divorce papers and tell him not to let the door hit him on the way out. You're not legally obligated to do ANYTHING for him, and if he hasn't adjusted status yet, there isn't anything he can do about it unless he has real evidence of abuse on your part (which he obviously doesn't.) Even if he did cook something up that he thinks would pass USCIS inspection, it's not your problem any more after you're divorced.

Under NO circumstances, leave your own home - he's the one who's got to go. If you left and he filed a restraining order against you, things could get very messy for you.

Good luck Riss! Which part of Australia are you from?

You need a SSN to do almost anything in the US, and it takes a certain amount of time to process, so getting one asap simplifies matters. After you're married you go back to the Social Security office and change your name if it's necessary. As a woman, I have two cards with my number on them - one in my maiden name, and one issued a few months later in my married one.

The biggest question is do you have your heart set on an American wedding, or would you be happy to marry her in Korea. If the answer is a, then you need a fiance visa. If the answer is b, then marry her tomorrow (or as soon as you can arrange it) and you can live together as man and wife while you wait for her paperwork. Student visas are for people who are coming to the US to be a student, not to stay forever.

If you haven't formally filed the paperwork, you don't have any real ground for a formal complaint against her. Anybody can SAY stuff - but where's the proof? You could just be a jealous ex wanting to spoil her life. I'm sorry you got hurt by her, but thank goodness you found out now before you invested yourself any further in her.

I'm sure the check was made of rubber. The intent is to defraud you of $2000, because the check they gave you is worthless, but before you know that you've already forwarded the cash and your money is GONE. I'm very glad that you weren't gullible enough to fall for it - as a new migrant you're part of a vulnerable group. Scammers target the very young, the elderly, and the newly-arrived for a good (to them) reason - you're all not as familiar with the way things are 'supposed' to work.

I got two things in the mail today - first, my biometrics appointment letter. I'm set for Jan 17... and second, my bank statement for last month, which tells me that USCIS cashed my check on December 22, 2011. Things are moving along much faster than I expected...

My question was answered today - I got my biometrics appointment letter in the mail. Jan 17 at 11am. They're moving a lot faster than I expected! I hope this means that the whole thing will go faster and I won't have to wait 6 months for my interview...

When I was a teenager people always thought I must be in my 20s because I was tall, fat and matronly in a young kind of way... and until very recently they STILL thought I'm in my 20s because I really did look the same. I've got a photo of me at 15 and it doesn't look much different to my wedding photos. It's only in the last few months that I think I'm starting to look my age (40). We'll see what happens in the future.

I got carded at the liquor store before Christmas, buying a miniature bottle of brandy for my Christmas hardsauce. I was like 'guy, how old do you think I AM - I left 18 behind more than 20 years ago.' Ridiculous. My husband has been mistaken for my father more than once because he was well on his way to grey before we got married, even though he's only 7 years older than me.

It's not a problem as long as your partner has the ability to financially support you and your special needs, and you don't have anything contagious. If the doctor who does your health check has any concerns, you'll need to get a clearance letter from your medical specialist/s to say that you're physically up to immigrating, and possibly extra documentation from your partner to prove that they're prepared to support you. (I was on disability before we got married... I had to get a letter from my shrink, and at my interview they wanted to know what we'd planned to do if I had any further problems after I got to the US. Then they gave me a conditional clearance, and I had to have a follow-up medical exam in the US before I adjusted status. But that was REALLY perfunctory!) It sounds like you've got CFS. That's not a barrable medical condition, so try not to get paranoid.