westguard

Congratulations!!!!

I added your information to the Spetember filers list for statistical purposes....

Please let us know when you receive you GC.

I received my Green Card yesterday. So from actual approval to card production it took about 20 days. From approval letter to receipt of card, a week. Hooray!!!

Hi everyone

Really pleased to say I got approved today for my 10 year green card. We applied at Vermont and according to their processing times it was looking like it would take 6 months. End to end it took about 3 months.

We decided not to use an attorney this time and I'm pleased we didn't, saved us a lot of hassle!

09/19/2009 - Mailed I751 packet

09/21/2009 - Packet arrived at USCIS, VT

09/22/2009 - Check processed at USCIS

09/24/2009 - Check processed by bank

09/28/2009 - Notice of action received

10/06/2009 - Biometrics appointment letter

10/30/2009 - Biometrics appointment

11/02/2009 - Touched

12/30/2009 - Approved! No interview. Card production ordered.

We put as much as we could into our packet. I included an index page and separators in a paperclipped file (no staples or binding).

Hope this helps or gives encouragement to others who are waiting.

Mark

Hi

When I moved the USA I had the opposite situation, but which might be beneficial to you. When I applied for a mortgage here, I found that my UK credit history was null and void over here. I had a very good credit history in the UK, but even though Equifax (for example) are an international company, they have different records and different credit scoring methodologies in the UK and the USA.

I therefore had to start from scratch, opened credit card accounts, got a cell phone etc and move my UK accounts to the USA. I will have to wait quite a while to get the score I want, but so far so good, I have a healthy and clean USA credit file.

My reason for mentioning this is that you *might* find your credit history have to start from scratch when you live in the USA. Once you get a SSN and start to get credit you should be able to get a good credit file.

Please don't quote me on this because I don't know this for sure, but I certainly felt like being born again when I came to the USA to live Its a little frustrating but at the end of the day its a different culture/country and people are identified by their SSN (differently to the UK system) so it kind of makes sense why it is all disjointed.

I am not sure if significant credit problems are reported internationally though.

Hope this helps

Mark

We just submitted the I-129 on the 13th, so I am a bit of a newbie.

This may be a foolish question but I am just wondering if it will possible for my fiance to travel outside the country during the period immediately after we are married. Other than the legal wedding ceremony, what else would have to take place before he is permitted to travel?

We asked the same question too. We went to San Francisco and then to Maui. Maui/Hawaii is in the USA and is a fantastic destination to go to. We were originally going to get married on a K1 Visa, hence why we booked this trip.

In the end I came in on an L1A Visa due to a work commitment and we could therefore have travelled anywhere we wished (and we went on a cruise to Mexico without a problem) but we still had a fantastic time in Maui and would recommend it as a Honeymoon destination.

My advance parole took a few months to come through, so the USA honeymoon was our best option and I'm glad we did it.

We celebrated our first wedding anniversary this weekend!

Thats true! I forgot I had left too! I signed a form with the UK tax office to say I'd gone forever and they kindly post my tax returns to my US address now and have issued me with a bog standard tax code!

We both have Blue Cross health insurance which we can use internationally.

So if I can't get NHS I will have that to fall back on.

Sorry if I picked the wrong discussion forum but I couldn't find one more appropriate

My wife and I married last November and we were wondering if anyone had any experience of visiting the UK with regards to healthcare for US Citizens married to UK Citizens?

We are going to Scotland and the closet Blue Cross healthcare center is in Edinburgh (about 2 hours from where we are).

My question is, as she is now my wife, would she be covered under the NHS as I would? This would make obtaining healthcare a bit more convenient - in the unlikely event we will need it

Thanks!

Mark

All you can do is take evidence of your impending travel with you to your interview.... If you are approved at your interview then ask about the stamp in your passport and show the evidence... That is what we did an we got the stamp... if you are not approved then your AP will still be valid...

Good Luck

Kez

Ok, we'll take our flight confirmation details with us. If the AOS interview is not approved at that point (I hear sometimes they are still waiting for checks to be done etc) then we'll travel and I'll take my advance parole documents with me.

Why oh why do they make this process so over complicated

You can travel with the AP before or after the AOS interview.

They don't normally stamp the I-551 in passport at the AOS interview.

Didn't ours anyway.

I thought they asked for the advance parole document back at the AOS interview?

Hi everyone

I hope someone can help me.

First the background.

- Married November 17th 2006 (originally came in on L1A)

- AOS interview scheduled for December 18th 2007

- I have an employment authorization card and advance parole travel documents

I called my immigration attorney's office last week and asked a very straightforward question, to which I got a very straightforward response:

Q. "Can I travel the day after the AOS interview? (assuming all goes well)"

A. "Yes. They will put a 551 stamp in your passport which will enable you to travel whilst you wait for your green card to be produced. You should have no problems."

Great, I thought, so I went ahead and booked our flights for December 19th to the UK as we had already planned to visit family and friends through Christmas and the New Year. We also booked internal flights, car hire, hotels etc. Over $4k in total.

I had also emailed my attorneys about this question about 3 weeks ago, but never got a reply despite sending it twice. This morning I got a reply!

"Prior practice was that you would get a stamp on your passport on the day of the interview. That is no longer the case. The current practice is with a case which is not problematic, you will receive your approval and/or your card within one to two weeks of the interview."

I am furious! I pay this attorney company soooo much money its ridiculous. They are the most respected in the city and I cannot believe how incompetent they are. The same company is telling me two different things.

Does anyone know what the case actually is? My local USCIS office in Metairie, Louisiana, which is where my interview is taking place.

Mark

A mess indeed! Doesn't make any sense to me. I mean lets face it, even if they gave me a license valid for one year and I have to leave the country, its not like I'll have arms long enough to reach a steering wheel in Louisiana from London!

I didn't start a business up, buy a house, car, get married, invest in the city if I wasn't intending on staying.

And when I read about offering licenses to illegal immigrants in New York it makes me angry when we are all trying our best to do things by the book and legally.

Fortunately my wife is very kindly driving me whenever she can, but its a ridiculous situation to have to be in. Maybe when they issue an L1A visa (or equivalent) they should give you a 'getting started in the USA' booklet to inform you of the huge variation on OMV rules you will encounter and other rules alike. But no, we're expected to read through pages and pages of information that are either inaccurate, misleading, difficult to understand and ultimately speak to government employees who are clueless about the rules. Even my immigration attorney misinformed me.

You would think in this day and age, we could do better. It took me weeks to get a damn credit card in the USA because of the catch 22 no credit situation! Even American Express couldn't work out how to get my UK American Express card transferred to the UK because they are on separate systems. As are Equifax (credit agency). It really is like being born again

Why they can't improve the process for those coming from ally countries such as the UK I have no idea. It would save so much time and money. But hey, I can shout, complain and moan all I like on here and nothing will change. As the immigrant, I know I have lowest priority, so I'll just have to put up with the red tape! Although I must commend the tax office at being incredibly efficient on asking me for quarterly tax returns, that part of the system at least works.

He he

My apologies for venting!

Mark

Latest response from the OMV:

"Louisiana law says you must produce documents verifying your "legal presence" and those documents must specify you have at least 180 days remaining of legal presence. If you have those documents, then you are eligible for license."

That was it after I gave them a detailed response. Clearly I don't think I am going to get anywhere until I renew my Employment Authorization card or get my green card. Totally crazy.

I give up

Mark

Hi Stacey

I went to the one on Airline Dr. Maybe I'll try the Westbank one too.

Mark

Hi AOS

Maybe I'll try again! It does seem completely crazy that I cannot get a drivers license. All I want to do is the right thing and be able to drive to work legally! Meanwhile, in New York they are encouraging illegal immigrants to get drivers licenses - um, I don't get it? We all follow the law and get screwed. I am legally allowed to work in the USA, but I cannot drive *to* work. Maybe it's an underground racket designed to get people onto public transport or to encourage car sharing?

I will try and call them again on Monday to see if I can get to the bottom of this. I really appreciate your help and time investigating this for me. Fingers crossed!

I just wanted to have my drivers license in time for my interview in December, not essential I know but I thought it would help, plus I'm fed up paying so much for car insurance - he he! It is also rather embarassing having to get your wife to drop you off to work because you are a US ally who is not eligible to drive a car! I shall, however, continue to sweep the road in front of my house to ensure it is clear of debris for other drivers

Mark

Good luck! Let us know how you do.

I called the OMV and again, they said I had to wait for my Green Card (or 551 stamp) before I can get a drivers license. How frustrating! The person I spoke to even checked with their supervisor. They sat there and read me the rules from their website!

They also asked me to call the local law enforcement about my ability to drive!

I cannot believe I am not able to drive, how crazy. I have a clean UK license, over 10 years no claims insurance, insurance in the USA, road worthy cars and I am more than capable of driving in New Orleans because I have been doing so for over a year. I guess no amount of my complaining with change the situation.

Hi AOS

Thank you so much for your comprehensive response. I will try again tomorrow!

Mark

Hi, we realise the interview is not a guaranteed 'yes', hence the interview process itself, but I'm just wondering, regardless of the outcome if we should book tickets or not. Given the first response it looks like we should wait What a pain, we had the trip all planned (except tickets).

Hi everyone

We have our AOS interview on December 18th and we would like to travel on December 19th.

I have my employment authorization card and advance parole documents which are valid until next March.

I'm assuming we'll be ok to visit the UK on the 19th? I've heard some centers are not stamping passports? We're visiting the one in Metairie, Louisiana.

If they don't stamp my passport, then I guess we can travel on the advance parole documents anyway?

Anyone had a similar experience? I just want to make sure I can get back in the country again without having the green card in hand first!

Mark

Thanks for everyones help.

Without disrespect to New Orleans which isn't in the best of shapes infrastructure wise I have the following to tell you!

Having sat 6 hours of classroom tuition, I went to the OMV (Office of Motor Vehicles the next day) and spoke to a rather unhelpful lady after having lined up. She said that because of employment authorization card had less than 180 days on it I couldn't get a license, not even a temporary one. I also showed them my AOS interview date letter and offered to show her anything I had. No luck.

I told her my insurance company were insuring me without a problem and she said I would probably be ok driving on my UK driving license! I asked for that in writing and she refused! ha ha!

To be honest, I don't think she knew what I was talking about. I tried calling the OMV phone help line and it said "Due to an emergency or technical problem we cannot take your call right now". What a mess.

So I'm not sure what to do now!

I've got my interview in December, so I guess I just have to wait. The documentation and information about this issue is not clear at all. I even received an email from OMV stating that I did not need to take the 6 hours classroom tuition, even though their website said I did! Cloudy9 found that as well: "Non-U.S. citizens must also comply with Louisiana's Driver Education Requirements." - who knows?

In the mean time, I'll sit back and continue to pay income and property tax and watch all the illegal immigrants driving around here without any kind of license whatsoever he he

If anyone else has any ideas, please let me know

Hi everyone

I was wondering whether someone could enlighten me on the driving license situation for pending AOS interviewees.

I moved to the USA in August 2006 on L1A, married in November 2006 and have been driving on my UK license having being told I could drive on my UK license for 1 year (which I assumed would last the duration of my employment authorization card. My employment authorization runs out on 26th March 2008, but I have my AOS interview in December).

My wife's sister had to go to the DMV (in Louisiana) for something to do with her license and it kind of made me worry that perhaps I should get a Louisiana license. So I read up on the rules and took the 6 hours of drivers education yesterday hoping I could go the DMV tomorrow and take my test.

During this time, I emailed the DMV to make absolutely sure (note that my immigration attorney never gave me any advice about the laws surrounding this). They emailed me today and told me the following:

"Once you have established residence in Louisiana, you are required to apply for Louisiana license. If you have a UK license you are not required to take the 6 hour course (that is only for new drivers). You are required to have a minimum of 180 days left on your INS document in order to qualify."

I was horrified! I only have 137 days left on my employment authorization. I own two cars and have been driving them around quite unawares. My insurance company, Progressive, have quite happily been charging me the priviledge of having me as a customer with a UK license.

What can I do? I need my car to reach my business and to carry out my business in and around New Orleans. I am getting conflicting information and I am really worried now I cannot drive my car anymore.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Kindest regards

Mark

I too had a bit of trouble getting the credit card movement going in the USA I was initially trying to get an American Express card (I already had one in the UK) and eventually found out that they have a special department for transferring existing UK customers to USA ones, it made the process a lot quicker.

Too many visits on a Visa Waiver are frowned upon. If you do it too many times, a disgruntled immigration officer *could* deny entry.

I entered 3 times on my Visa Waiver. On the last time I did it, they asked a lot of questions and I opted to stop my visits until I had the K1 Visa in hand, just to be on the safe side. Once you are turned away on a Visa Waiver, I believe you lose that right for a long time (i.e. to enter on Visa Waiver again), which could cause problems with the K1 application.

But every case is different. The difficulty in answering this question is that there are really no hard and fast rules surrounding re-entry over and over. It really is at the discretion of the immigration officer as to what she/he does.

We solved the problem by my fiance visiting me in the UK instead and we never missed a holiday! We just didn't want to risk anything given our firm wedding date.

You don't need to report it. It is not considered a serious crime.

I too had a minor speeding offence on my record when I applied but my attorney advised me I did not have to report it. I didn't and nothing came of it as expected.

Also, when applying for my police report (I did it from two counties I lived in) it did not show up either.

Inidentally, my license is now clean, but that doesn't matter now I live in the USA! Your clean insurance and driving history mean nothing in the USA - he he! Sometimes it feels like being born again...!

Why take the risk? Go and take some proper photographs and ensure they meet the USCIS requirements.

There is no point in cutting corners with your K1 Visa. Get everything as complete and thorough as you can. You'll only end up worrying for weeks otherwise. If they do reject your photos, you'll have wasted weeks.

I always bought return tickets, including when I flew out for the 'last' time, because they were in fact cheaper than buying a one-way at the time! Not sure why?! I never got questioned about my travel arrangements. I'm sure an immigration officer won't worry if you have a ticket to your former home!

I would say there is no doubt that photographs of you actually together will help your application. They are not vital as others have clearly been approved without them, but including them will help.

We included about 6 photographs of us at various different locations and added captions to each.