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afterforever

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    SAWASDEE 2

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Sorry I won't be able to accompany my girl for the interview. Just started a new job 2 weeks ago and don't have enough days off to make it there. I have been coaching her right now of what to do and say to be prepared for the interview.

    I am very lucky to have the free time to go. I am sure your fiancee will do just fine at the interview. Have you gotten your interview date yet?

    In a really sticky bind and i need some advice

    in Adjustment of Status (Green Card) from K1 and K3 Family Based Visas

    Posted · Edited by afterforever

    Good afternoon folks,

    I landed myself in a really disappointing and somewhat bad situation on Tuesday and i need any advice I can get. Let me give you a brief status overview.

    I came into the US through san francisco on the 1st of Jan 2007 on a K1 Visa which was approved in December 2006.

    I got married within the 90 days on March 17th 2007.

    I filed for AOS middle of Nov 2007. (I know its late but we were on an extended travelling holiday.)

    The situation :

    A couple of weeks after i arrived in the states i applied for a SSN and successfully got one.

    I then went to the DMV a month later and took a theory test (written exam) for a drivers license and failed it. I then went back a month later and they said that they could not issue me an exam because my I94 had expired. The I94 i was given upon arrival expired in April 2007. So I had a long debate with them explaining that I need to drive as everyone does in southern california. They told me they couldnt do anything until I get some more documentation, namely a green card or an accepted AOS notice.

    This put me in a tricky situation as i need to drive. I was under the impression that I could drive on my UK license since California would not issue me one. I called a lawyer and they said the reason they didnt give me one is because i am considered "out of status" which is fine. I have since received my NOA notices for my AOS and have a biometrics interview pending for next week. (18th of Dec).

    I have been driving on my UK license since January and have never been pulled over at all. 3 weeks ago driving to san francisco from LA a cop pulls me over and gives me a speeding ticket. He suggested that i am not allowed to drive on my UK license but i told him that California would not give me a state one. He let me go with just a speeding ticket.

    On tuesday night i was in downtown LA with some visitors from England and had a beer. By the time I finished with the visitors i maybe had 3-4 beers total. Not UK pint size, substantially smaller amounts. I was driving down through laguna beach after dropping them at their motel on my way home and a cop pulls me over. To cut a long story short, they arrested me for suspected DUI (Driving under the influence) and not having a valid driving license. I explained my situation to them about the license and they didnt have a clue about anything but decided to charge me for an invalid license anyway. I was held for 28 hours in Laguna Beach police station. I have to say at this point that personally, having 4 beers over the space of 6 hours and having one on average every hour DID NOT make me feel drunk in the slightest. However, i know the limit is 0.08%. I decided to opt for a blood test rather than the breathalizer and i have to wait 7-10 days for the results to see if i was over or not.

    To cut a long story short I ended up being released and was given a court date for 01/30/2008.

    I have a few questions that I need answers too and i was wondering if anyone could help me with them :

    1. If I was over the limit will this affect my changes of getting AOS, EAD, AP, etc?

    2. Am i legally allowed to drive on my UK license when i am out of status considering the DMV would not issue a california one to me.

    3. Can I get a california license with the paper work I have now ? (NOA for AOS, and notice of action for AP and EAD + interview date notice)

    4. What will happen to me since i am out of status and dont have a california license?

    5. Will this stop me getting a California driving license?

    6. Were they right to hold me for 28 hours since they had no proof i was over the limit because i opted for a blood test which takes 7 to 10 days?

    7. What other options do I have to be able to drive legally since apparently i am not allowed to drive on my UK license and California will not issue me a local one?

    8. Does anyone have any experiences related to the same issue? I would love to hear from you.

    Being the stupid British man I am, i felt 100%ok to drive my car back home and genuinely did not think i was over the limit. Like I said i had 4 beers over a period of 6 hours. In 10 days i guess i will find out when the blood test gets back.

    Any help is greatly appreciated,

    Best Regards

    Martin

    You have no other options if the DMV will not issue you a license - you'd need to check with the laws specific for your state, but here in Florida, they will take the NOA a lot of the time. But in New York, you NEED an EAD or a green card, an NOA is no good. So check with the laws, and that should tell you. Time to find some public transportation if they will not issue you a license - and I'm not saying that to be heartless, but "it's California/Florida/New York/insert state of your choice here and I have to drive" isn't really a valid argument. (A lessen my own husband earned the hard way, and I had to drive him everywhere for months...hi, not fun. So I get it, but still.)

    My husband had a driving with an expired license charge, but no alcohol was involved, and that was dropped when he got his license. And now, he has a clean driving record since they finally changed his name to the correct one, giving him a new license number and everything.

    Even if you are below .08%, in most states they can hit you with a lesser charge - usually driving while impaired or something along those lines, which has a lower legal limit and more minor consequences.

    A DUI charge can affect you in the ways detailed on the following: http://www.californiadui.com/articles/immi...sues-of-dui.php

    It can carry deportation or denied admission, but this may be able to be overcome with a waiver if your wife can prove significant hardship if forced to move to your country - more details on this would be found in the waiver forum. I am not sure how waivers work at the AOS stage, so I can't help there.

    My best advice is to remain calm for now, investigate, and when you get your results back, take it from there. If it turns out that you are going to be hit with an alcohol related charged, please speak with a qualified family based immigration attorney to cover all of your options, as he/she will be far more qualified to answer specific questions. :) good luck!

    As if it were not bad enough that you freely dispense advise on immigration issues like you are a seasoned immigration attorney, now you are giving out advise regarding criminal law as if you have expertise in that field also. I guess if you think it, then it must be true :wacko:

    SAWASDEE 2

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted · Edited by afterforever

    Received an email from the embassy in Thailand. Our interview date is January 14th at 7:00 AM. I will be leaving to Thailand on January 6th. I cannot believe this part of the journey is almost over. I cannot wait to see my baby again. It will be six months since we last were together but it seems like a life time.

    Does anybody know of a good place to stay near the embassy, so we can get there quickly on the interview day?

    Good luck to everybody!!! :thumbs:

    Afterforever - that's great news! Glad to hear your interview date is confirmed. 7am?!? Wow, the Embassy starts the day early. Good luck!

    We should have our interview request in at the beginning of this week, and we're looking forward to getting the date confirmed as well.

    Spent a good portion of the day today preparing and starting on repainting the inside of my house - want to make sure everything is looking great! Ha!

    Keep us posted!

    heyx2rr

    Heyx2rr, we originally were given an interview date of December 21st but I was not able to get to Thailand that quickly, so I requested January 14th. I was shocked that they granted my request. They received my packet 3 on December 4th and gave us our original interview date on December 6th. You may have an interview before I do, if they receive your packet 3 soon. Good luck!

    Great news and congrats to all as we all near that finish line (or is it the starting line?). I just hung up with NVC and found that they sent our file to Bangkok TODAY -- 12/12 -- and have assigned us a case number. Fortunately I'm in Bangkok as I type this, so I'll be meeting with our attorney Monday and finalizing everything. As many of you have said, I can't believe we're almost there! :thumbs:

    Congratulations Texas Farang. Hopefully you will be able to get your packet 3 sent quickly. Maybe you will have an interview date early in January. Good luck!!

    SAWASDEE 2

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Received an email from the embassy in Thailand. Our interview date is January 14th at 7:00 AM. I will be leaving to Thailand on January 6th. I cannot believe this part of the journey is almost over. I cannot wait to see my baby again. It will be six months since we last were together but it seems like a life time.

    Does anybody know of a good place to stay near the embassy, so we can get there quickly on the interview day?

    Good luck to everybody!!! :thumbs:

    Afterforever - that's great news! Glad to hear your interview date is confirmed. 7am?!? Wow, the Embassy starts the day early. Good luck!

    We should have our interview request in at the beginning of this week, and we're looking forward to getting the date confirmed as well.

    Spent a good portion of the day today preparing and starting on repainting the inside of my house - want to make sure everything is looking great! Ha!

    Keep us posted!

    heyx2rr

    Heyx2rr, we originally were given an interview date of December 21st but I was not able to get to Thailand that quickly, so I requested January 14th. I was shocked that they granted my request. They received my packet 3 on December 4th and gave us our original interview date on December 6th. You may have an interview before I do, if they receive your packet 3 soon. Good luck!

    SAWASDEE 2

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Process & Procedures

    Posted

    Received an email from the embassy in Thailand. Our interview date is January 14th at 7:00 AM. I will be leaving to Thailand on January 6th. I cannot believe this part of the journey is almost over. I cannot wait to see my baby again. It will be six months since we last were together but it seems like a life time.

    Does anybody know of a good place to stay near the embassy, so we can get there quickly on the interview day?

    Good luck to everybody!!! :thumbs:

    I129-F Approval

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    :dance: Whooooo Hooooo :dance: .

    Ahmed and I got our 2nd NOA.....our I129-F was approved. Of course we still have a long road ahead of us but at least we know it is being processed We filed In July but it was not received until August 14th 2007. I received Our approval notice via email on December 2, 2007 but just got the letter today. However, there are not many instructions on this letter. There is a date that states the approval is valid from December 2, 2007 to April 2, 2007. I am a little confused. It basically said it was forwarded to the Consulate listed and to contact them with any questions about visa issuance. So will the Consulate contact us with a receipt that they received it and then send us our packet three and packet four? Any comments from those who have been through this is greatly appreciated. I was expecting my Affdavit of Support or something. Please Help. Thanks. God Bless You!!!!!!!!

    Cheryl

    Congratulations on your approval. USCIS will send your petition to NVC first. It will get assigned a new case number according to the embassy that will issue your visa. NVC will then send your petition to the embassy. After the embassy receives your petition, they will send out packet 3, and later packet 4. Good luck!

    OUT OF ORDER jeje from USCIS

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    Our Case Status Online system, Change of Address Online system, processing times, and field office/Application Support Center/Civil Surgeon locator will be unavailable due to server upgrades from 9:30 PM on Friday December 7 until about 8:00 AM on Monday December 10.

    In addition, our search engine and naturalization self-test will be unavailable due to scheduled server maintenance on Sunday Dec. 9, 2007, from midnight to 6 AM Eastern Time.

    We apologize for the inconvenience. :whistle:

    It's business as usual at USCIS :wacko:

    June and July filers - NVC to Interview

    in K-1 Fiance(e) Visa Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    Just found out from the embassy that our interview date is January 14th. I will leave for Thailand on January 6th. I cannot believe that this part of this long process is almost over. I cannot wait to see my baby!

    Good luck everybody!!

    That is soo awsome!!!! Congrats

    :dance::dance::dance::dance::dance::dance::dance:

    I am hoping mine is around the same time

    Good luck on getting your interview date soon. :thumbs: It is a small, but needed pleasure after all the wait.

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