minha_raposa
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Posts posted by minha_raposa
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Thanks everyone for your kindness...I can't imagine how I would have gotten us to this point without the help of this most excellent support forum.
Mike
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We arrived at the USCIS at 09:15, checked in through the security process and proceeded to the waiting area for our 10:00 appointment. Thinking we had a while to wait, my wife went to the bathroom to freshen up while I waited in the lobby. Once she returned, I went; however, no sooner than was in there my wife was knocking on the door telling me that we'd been called for the interview...it was only 09:30!
Officer Martinez escorted us to her office, asked us to raise our right hands for the oath and then asked us to please sit. First impression was that she lacked a sense of humor, or maybe a little lethargic, but soon realized that she was just being professional. The interview lasted about 40 minutes and began with questions directed at me:
* Wifes name, birthdate, parent's names, city she was born in, previous marriages/kids, how/when we met, where I work & why did I change jobs,etc.
She then directed the exact same question at my wife plus:
* Names of my ex-wives, name and age of my son, number of children my wife has, where I work, where she works, and again how many children my wife has, dates of my divorces and reasons for them, etc.
She then proceeded to go through the standard I 485 questions about terrorism and prostitution and such. Once question were done she asked for our original docs such as birth certs, divorce decrees, a new I 864 and a new G325 for me. After verifying the originals agains copies included in our file she returned them. She next began questioning me at length as to the reason I changed employment in November after being with the same company for 16 years; however, after she looked at the employment letter and offer she saw I was getting a raise of $14,000.00 and immediately retracted her question with a laugh! Finally, she asked to she evidence of our life together. I only took about 10 pictures into the interview and she seemed kind of dissapointed that only 2 of which were wedding pictures. I told her that I have the entire alblum the the truck if she really wanted to see them, but I did not want to bring them in because I was afraid she would ask to keep them. She began laughing and said it was not necessary and she had all evidence she needed, and our AOS was granted.
Unfortunately, she was trying to look up the Biometrics from and found they had not yet made the system. She also asked my wife what they did for her bios and if they took her picture. We told her they only took her "ten prints" and she issued us an RFE to go back and get the picture and index for her green card.
We concluded the interview and went and had her bios completed. We were done with everything and eating lunch with a friend by 11:30.
Oh...I asked about the I551 and she told me that they don't give those anymore because getting a green card is now so quick.
I guess I can only say that our entire experience with local office has really changed my feelings about the process. It was very quick, friendly and accomodating! :kicking:
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Unless it's an emergency application for AP, I don't think USCIS gives a rat's a## what plans she may have made. They seem to do things on their own time frame.
Good luck to your friend!
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My wife's AP was approved in September, RFE'd in November, Approved again in January, and, supposedly mailed on Feb. 16. Guess what...STILL no AP. At the Infopass appointment the IO showed FOUR different address changes...we changed it 1 time and NO address is correct. Oh well, we have our AOS interview on Friday.
Good luck!
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Thank you! Our district office is in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
That's great to hear! Can you please share what district office you went to?Wow! What a day we've had! About a week ago I made a post about my wife never receiving her twice- approved AP document, no appointment for biometrics and case status for AOS coming and going with no contact.
As is standard, some of you wonderful people replied that I should make an Infopass appointment and I did.
Today when we met with the immigration officer, he was EXTREMELY nice and helpful...he reasearched the history of our AP and proved the incompetency of the no-help people associated with national...seems they have made a game out of randomly changing my address every month or so since last September (don't understand this at all) and sending the approved docs to Santa Claus...or maybe even Mars.
As for the Biometrics...he told me the computer says the letter was sent with our NOA 1 (I-485) back in July and we never responded. I told him that we never received it. He said he believed that becasue actions I have taken since starting the process, and my level of organization of the evidence is not consistent with this behavior (not responding to the appointment).
Anyway...to sum it up: my wife got an immediate Biometrics appoint done today, AND the officer scheduled our AOS interview for THIS Friday at 10 am!
How cool is that?! Not only does my local USCIS rock, but most of you guys rock too for you constant good advice!
Mike
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Thanks all, and we wish each of you a speedy and positive conclusion to your journy as well!
As for the USCIS...I guess there is a touch of good in the heart of hell.
Thanks again!
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Wow! What a day we've had! About a week ago I made a post about my wife never receiving her twice- approved AP document, no appointment for biometrics and case status for AOS coming and going with no contact.
As is standard, some of you wonderful people replied that I should make an Infopass appointment and I did.
Today when we met with the immigration officer, he was EXTREMELY nice and helpful...he reasearched the history of our AP and proved the incompetency of the no-help people associated with national...seems they have made a game out of randomly changing my address every month or so since last September (don't understand this at all) and sending the approved docs to Santa Claus...or maybe even Mars.
As for the Biometrics...he told me the computer says the letter was sent with our NOA 1 (I-485) back in July and we never responded. I told him that we never received it. He said he believed that becasue actions I have taken since starting the process, and my level of organization of the evidence is not consistent with this behavior (not responding to the appointment).
Anyway...to sum it up: my wife got an immediate Biometrics appoint done today, AND the officer scheduled our AOS interview for THIS Friday at 10 am!
How cool is that?! Not only does my local USCIS rock, but most of you guys rock too for you constant good advice!
Mike
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I do like the sound of that wi-fi cell phone thing in the original post, but it would be more of a luxury than a necessity.
I purched the W-Fi in lieu of the adapter. I guess it is kind of a luxury, but I can use it anywhere there is an open hot spot. Sure did come in handy in the Miami airport and Brasil the last time I flew down. I was able to keep my wife updated as to my location and also call back to my parents from a shopping mall in Brasil. Mostly though, we just use it at home.
Mike
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they dont cover Thailand so It would not work for me
Thailand is $0.06;minute.
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I'm glad Vatican City is on the unlimited plan. The Pope has been bugging me about calling him more.
(all kidding aside... thanks for the tip)
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IDT is an wonderful phone service. No need for your computer for it, its a phone company. Its $35 flat rate a month, with unlimited calls anywhere in the US and i believe Canada. And when i call my fiance in Romania it only costs me $.80 a minute, where when i had bellsouth it cost me $2.45 a minute.
Ive been using IDT now for 3 years and I highly recommend it.
I agree...Bellsouth is terrible. There are lots of great traditional phone services out there that are much cheaper and it sounds like you have one thats working well for you.
VoIP is up-and-coming but is definitely not for everyone at this point. Although it does not require you to even have a computer, it does require you to have highspeed internet access. Obviously, you would not want to get highspeed just for this since it is expensive, but I only want to point out that you use the service with a regular telephone and you don't have to sit and talk through a computer unless you want to.
Mike -
We used to have Vonage for a few months and it was horrible. The quality of calls was bad, many times if my husband was downloading things from the internet the phone wouldn't work at all. Maybe this one Broadvoice company is better, but I don't think we want to try any other phone companies that work through internet anymore after that one bad expirience
Understand...however, you can try very cheap (see my reply to flipside) using BYOD.
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I've actually heard good things about these guys. I have Vonage and they piss me off.
I wish I could try another company without having to buy all the equipment and pay activation fees again...
You actually can. They have a program called BYOD (bring your own device) and the start up is only 9.95 plus activation (I think). You can download a soft phone from Xten to try the service out before making the commitment for full cost. Broadvocie provides the configuration settings on the website, but you must call them for a user name and password for the device. ONE caution: In the past, it was hard to get a hold of a CSR but they only had one call center number (now they have several). Fortunately, I never have problems with the service so I have no need to call them.
The thing about Vonage (other than price) is the telephone adapters are "locked" and cannot be used with any other service. Broadvoice is very flexible and allows you to use a BYOD and they will help you set it up.
Definitely checkout the soft phone option if you have any interest. Sure, you still pay something, but it is cheeper than a full comittment until you know you are satisfied with the service.
Take care. Mike
hopefully in two weeks we won't need long distance anymore
Sounds like good things are soon to come! Congrats!
they dont cover Thailand so It would not work for meYeah...not all places are included. I think the service is best for those countries listed. They do have per minute rates for all other countries that are comparable to other phone services across the spectrum, but unless the rate is much less, I do not recommend Broadvoice because you will not really save anything.
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Hello everyone!
For those of you who have a highspeed internet connection and are interested in saving 100's of dollars on international (and national) calls, I want to tell you about a VoIp company called Broadvoice.
Broadvoice is identical to other companies such as Vonage and Lingo but have calling plans that are MUCH cheaper and the call quality is generally excellent. Broadvoice offers 3 different plans ranging in price from about $10 to 25: Unlimited in State($9.95), Unlimited World (includes 21 countries $19.95), and Unlimited World Plus ( includes 35 countries $24.95).
Another great feature is calls to the UK from US (and vice versa) are considered local for an extra $1.89 per month.
The most inclusive calling plan is the Unlimited World Plus for $24.95/month, and includes unlimited calling to the following countries (from the website):
VoIP Phone Rates
BroadVoice Unlimited™ World Plus: $24.95 mo
The BroadVoice Unlimited World plan lets you talk all you want. For just $24.95 per month you get unlimited calling to 35 countries including the United States.
BROADVOICE UNLIMITED WORLD PLUS:
* Unlimited calling to 35 countries including the United States:
Australia, Netherlands, Austria, Norway, Belgium, Singapore, Canada, Spain, Chile, Sweden,China,
Switzerland, Denmark, Taiwan, France, United Kingdom, Germany, United States, Ireland, Vatican City, and Italy (NOTE: these are the countries included in the Unlimited World Plan for $19.95/month)
Additional countries included in Unlimited World PLUS:
Argentina, Luxembourg, Brazil, Malaysia, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Finland, Poland, Greece, Portugal, Israel, San Marino, Japan, South Korea
* All basic and advanced features included free (caller ID, Voicemail, 3-way calling, call transfer, etc.)
* Calls to other BroadVoice users, even in other countries, are always free
* Calls to mobile phone numbers included (mobile numbers within US and Canada only)
* Use the BroadVoice online Account Portal to check voicemail and personalize features
There are several methods in which you can call but basically, only one party needs to have a highspeed connection and you call directly to a regular telephone. However, I have the VoIP Wi-Fi phone (in place of the adapter)and use it just like a cell phone anywhere there is a Wi-Fi hotspot (coffe shop, airports, etc.). I also use a "soft phone" on my computer to make calls when I'm traveling. YES... you can use the service even in other countries...anywhere you can get a highspeed connection...and the price stays the same.
I've had Broadvoice service for almost two years now and I am totally thrilled. My wife talks to her family in Brasil almost 3000 minutes every month and we never pay more than the price advertised other than FCC charges and taxes...still, the bill is never more than $28/month.
Please know this: My only interest here is that I believe in this company and want everyone to know about this option. I do not work for them, nor do I earn anything if you do or do not sign up. I am a consumer and nothing more. I've tried Vonage, VoIP.net, Lingo, Linefire and Sunrocket, and NONE of the others can compare to Broadvoice for price and features.
If you want to save money and talk to your sweetheart without worrying about cost then at least checkout their website.
Best of luck to you.
Mike
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Finding fillable I-forms is difficult at times; however, I get most of mine from this website: Fillable forms
They have every immigration form I've ever needed. Not always perfect but they work fine.
I would be extremely careful when using the forms from here to make sure the forms are the current version. The first one I opened was outdated.
From above site Form I-130 (Rev. 06/05/02)
From uscis site Form I-130 (Rev. 10/26/05) OMB #1615-0012; Expires 01/31/07
Yeah, that was something I really failed to include huh? One thing you can do is convert current forms to fiallable using one of the site's features. I've done it before but don't really remember how.
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Finding fillable I-forms is difficult at times; however, I get most of mine from this website: Fillable forms
They have every immigration form I've ever needed. Not always perfect but they work fine.
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My wife is 32 and is in the process of learning to drive now. First I tried to teach her in my toyota truck with a stick...not a good thing so I paid for her to have driving lessons and the a private instructor who was very patient. In January I bought her a car and she got her driver's license. Although she has her license, she is not a very good or confident driver so she really only goes the 3 miles to work or 1 mile to the store...essentially straight lines. However, she just had a job interview downtown and encountered many one-ways, do not enters, and 5-way stops! I've spent every day since last Sunday riding with her back and forth to get her accustomed to the traffic and roads. She did just fine apparently (maybe pissed a few folks off but hey...)
The ONE trick I use that really works (and may give you a little patience and) is a forked steel rod that I place on the brake petal stem (above the foot pad) that allows me to control the brake by hand from the passenger side if it is necessary. We use this tool in the Southwest to turn on lawn sprinkler. Looks something like this:
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Good luck!
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infopass is not available for New Mexico...
Well...the last time I tried to make an Infopass appointment it was not available;however, I just checked and lo and behold I got one! You folks are awesome! Thanks again.
Mike
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Have you tried making an infopass appointment and going in person to your local district office yet? They should be able to give you a more informative answer than the people on the 800 number -- hopefully actually be able to verify what address they have for you, where your file is, etc.
Or you can contact one of your congressional representatives.
Yeah, infopass is not available for New Mexico...if this drags on I may need to contact my representative; however, I don't want to piss these idots off with AOS still pending. It just irritates me to no end that I paid the Three Stooges to provide a very important service for...these folks are as useless as man titties! Thanks for your sugestion. the Representative my be my only option other than a walk in and wait 10 hours at the local office.
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We sent my wifes application for AP off on July 19, 2005. On September 27 we received this notice:
Application Type: I131 , APPLICATION FOR USCIS TRAVEL DOCUMENT
Current Status:
This case has been approved. On September 26, 2005, an approval notice
was mailed. If 14 days have passed and you have not received this
notice, you may wish to verify or update your address. To update your
address, please call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283.
********************************************************************************
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We never got the document so I called after 30 days and was told to wait 30 more days...then We got this:
Application Type: I131 , APPLICATION FOR USCIS TRAVEL DOCUMENT
Current Status:
On November 4, 2005, the document we made based on the approval or
registration of this case was mailed directly to the person to whom issued.
********************************************************************************
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Again never got it. I called AGAIN and was told to wait 30 more days...finally, instead of the AP we got an RFE because they "lost" the pictures. We sent the new pics and got this one:
Application Type: I131 , APPLICATION FOR USCIS TRAVEL DOCUMENT
Current Status:
On November 18, 2005, we received your response to our request for
evidence or information. It is taking between 30 and 60 days for us to
process this kind of case. However because preliminary processing was
complete, the remaining processing time will be less than the maximum stated
in this message. You will receive a written decision on this case.
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Being the patient person I am I waited and finally this:
Application Type: I131 , APPLICATION FOR USCIS TRAVEL DOCUMENT
Current Status:
This case has been approved. On January 24, 2006, an approval notice
was mailed. If 14 days have passed and you have not received this notice,
you may wish to verify or update your address. To update your address,
please call the National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283.
Never got it so Again I called and was told to wait 30 more days, and then this:
Application Type: I131 , APPLICATION FOR USCIS TRAVEL DOCUMENT
Current Status:
On February 16, 2006, the document we made based on the approval or
registration of this case was mailed directly to the person to whom
issued.
********************************************************************************
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As of today, we have not received a damn thing! To top it off, the local service center is now processing AOS from the second week in August...three weeks after receiving our application! No contact. No biometrics. Nothing!
Now we moved in November and I immediately called to change our address and also sent the AR 11. However, when I call to verify that the address has been changed the stupid ### people are unable to "provide any information regarding personal information on any case". They can only verify the same junk ### info that I can get on the website and tell me to wait 30 more days!
Seems that AP is useless at this point and we basically GAVE those MORONS free money for nothing.
Any idea how I can make sure they have our correct address so our AOS does not get dismissed due to their incompetence?
What a f*cking joke!
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I tried cigarettes in highschool because all my friends picked up smoking. SOOOOOOO glad I stayed away from that. They're all hooked and I have fresh breath. It's so nice. My dad tries to quit every year. Then he starts chewing on these little cigars. Then he lights one and says "well it's better than a cigarette" and before we know it he's back on the marlboro's.
Sounds like my dad...chews Nic gum; suck nic losenges; tokes stogies; takes zyban AND then has the nerve to chew, suck, toke and swallow all at the same time! I know... sounds kinda kinky, but the only thing left is to learn to spit!
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Read several pages back in this thread for a more detailed statistic that presents a different pictures. As you can find out in this thread there are many reasons to have abortions and just because you think it's bad doesn't mean that you can make the decision for me as well. I think driving is bad for you and your health and I still don't take the streets to outlaw it....
I'm actually pro-choice and do not care what you do with your body. Do I think abortion is generally ok? No, and it would not be a choice that would be acceptable for my family under most circumstances; however, there are circustances that abortion would be an option.
My concern is that arguments made for abortions are usually hidden behind a banner of rape or incest. Although there certainly are those cases, the majority are performed because of the girl/womans choice to engage in consensual sex. Unless you are very young, have a mental handicap, or you are just totally F*cking stupid you know that playing hide the wennie makes babies. If your choice results in an unwanted pregnancy and/or there are medical indications that require termination then you should have that right.
Reality is most WOMEN choose to have an abortion simply because they did not want to have a baby. That's ok, but BE HONEST about your decision and don't hide behind a serious issue like rape or incest because you take credibility away from those women who really did get pregnant because of it.
Make your choice but be honest as to the reason why, Champion the cause with integrity.
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Another CPR....
in Adjustment of Status (Green Card) from K1 and K3 Family Based Visas
Posted
Congrats on the sucessful interview! We had ours today and are in the same situation with FBI checks, but we were not told of the web address where we could check our case status. Is this something you can share with us? Thanks, and again many congrats to you and Wes.
Mike