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Tony&Natasha

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    Houston N-400 Filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    Greetings,

     

    July 10th, 2019 We received notice our interview for naturalization was scheduled for today (8/14/2019) at 09:25.

     

    Today we arrived exactly 30 minutes before the appointment and the place was full - a lot of people waiting. We checked in and were told to have a seat and wait for Natasha's name to be called. We were called about 09:30 and Natasha met her USCIS officer at door number 1. 15 to 20 minutes later Natasha emerged with a big smile, a document stating she had passed the tests and congratulations your Oath Ceremony will be scheduled most likely in September!

     

    Wow! What a journey!

    Houston N-400 Filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    Hi everyone!

     

    We filed our N-400 online 10/16/2018, received our N-400 interview date of 8/14/2019. We have not been informed of a combo interview with our still pending I-751 but based on current events we will attend together ready for both to be accomplished at the same time!

     

    We have not received any RFEs for either one but we are bringing everything with us in case anything is requested.

     

    (One important note - our N-400 interview notice does not mention bringing two passport photos with us to the interview! We know of an individual who had their Houston N-400 interview in early 2018. Their notice also did not request them to bring photos to the interview but they had to leave the interview, find a Walgreen's, have passport photos made and return to the interview to complete the process. The N-400 instructions mentions photos only for applicants who are overseas. Please - Bring 2 passport photos with you!)

     

    Good luck everyone!

    Tony&Natasha

    I-751 October 2017 filers

    in Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

    Posted

    Background: We filed I-751 October 2017, hold 18 month extension letter and we did file N-400 in October 2018. Our file transferred to Lee Summit Mo. December 21st. 2018.

     

    Update and Intelligence:

     

    We have a small business which requires us to have security credentials. The credential grantor will not honor the extension letter but they will honor a I-551 passport stamp. 

     

    We can no longer make an info-pass appointment online so we called the 800 number this past Wednesday (3/13) to ask for an Info-pass appointment. Yesterday, (3/14) we received a call from USCIS and they made the appointment for today (3/15)!  (That is far better than the online process ever was.)

     

    Today we visited our USCIS office to obtain stamps in my wife's and stepdaughter's passports. They obliged and we are good for another 12 months.

     

    We did ask about the effect of filing N-400 with a pending I-751 and they confirmed that the citizenship application does put the I-751 on hold and essentially combines the process. They said depending on the examining officer there might be 2 interviews - I-751 followed immediately buy the N-400 interview and testing or a combined one interview for both. They reassured us that we are "In Status" and we can receive additional passport stamps if necessary until our case is adjudicated. 

     

    The officer did say this location has more cases than other offices (Houston, Texas) so we could expect 17 to 20 months for our N-400 to complete. that means we are 12 to 15 months away from being done. I personally think they over state the wait time and I would be surprised if we were not finished before next March. Waiting is not always easy but having a better understanding of the process and an expected end makes it much easier in my opinion.

     

    Based on the very helpful posts here on VJ we believed that was the case and it was good to get confirmation from the USCIS office today to know what to expect. 

     

    Thank you to everyone who contributes helpful information to this site.

     

    Good luck to everyone!

     

    Kind regards,

     

    Tony & Natasha

     

     

    I-751 October 2017 filers

    in Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

    Posted

    Gr

    20 minutes ago, I751_HK said:

    Seems like nothing will happen until next year. Plus government shutdown can delay too

    Greetings!

    I searched Government shutdown and USCIS and most answers the especially immigration law firm websites say USCIS is not affected by because they are self funded by our form and biometric fees. One firm said they will continue to accept and adjudicate immigration applications.

    Merry Christmas!

     

    N-400 October 2018 Filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    Greetings,

    Pending I-751 (Remove Conditions).

    We became eligible to file N-400 on the 16th.

    We filed online on October 16th and uploaded almost all of the requested documentation. (It was a rather painless process!)

    Yesterday (1-/20) we received and email that our bio-metrics appointment has been scheduled with an appointment letter to follow within a few days.

    Good luck everyone!

     

    Regards,

    Tony&Natasha

    I-751 October 2017 filers

    in Removing Conditions on Residency General Discussion

    Posted

    Greetings and salutations everyone,

     

    We received our modified (18 month) extension letter yesterday. 

     

    As a precaution - this past April, we made an appointment at our local USCIS office (Houston, Texas) to get an I-551 Passport Stamp in My wife's and her daughter's passport so we would not have any issues during their upcoming travel to their home country to visit family. By the way, the Houston Office is great - they called us to the window early and were very understanding. We had made 2 appointments (Mother and Daughter) but they processed them together the moment they realized the relationship. 

     

    My step daughter left in May and returned a few weeks ago and had no issues returning, my wife is currently in her home country to be with her grand children when they begin school. 

     

    I want to say we are very grateful to my country for the fantastic freedoms and benefits we have. This process of bringing the love of my life here, getting married and having an amazing future together is challenging but oh so rewarding and worth it.

     

    We have all seen there is a great deal of news lately revolving around immigration and the possibility of changes coming down to stem the flood of those who would rather jump the fence rather than jump through the hoops you and I are required to do and are doing to be good citizens. We are also seeing the USCIS organization being stretched very thin as they try their best to accomplish the tedious task of their mandate which is to evaluate all of our applications in spite of the rhetoric,  misinformation and political grandstanding we see on a daily basis.

     

    Don't lose heart!

     

    I say to all of you who read this - Fear not! Everything in this life that is worthwhile requires effort, sacrifice, hard work and a great deal of faith! I just spoke to my wife on WhatsApp (she is in Kazakhstan with her grand kids and I am here holding down the fort so to speak). After our conversation I had tears well up in my eyes because I miss her but more because she is my soulmate. The day before she boarded her flight to her home country we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary! These three years for us have passed in what seems like just a few days. Yet, we have so many memories, so much history and a fullness of life that is indescribable. 

     

    [FYI - In a few hours I will call her again so I can test her on the 100 practice questions on the naturalization test (which, by the way she has answered all 100% for weeks now) because she never wants to make a mistake!]

     

    Kindest regards,

     

    Tony & Natasha

    08/21/2015

     

     

    Russian friend is being threatened by American Husband

    in Effects of Major Family Changes on Immigration Benefits

    Posted

    When My wife was issued her Visa in Kazakhstan the Consulate gave her a brochure describing both in English and Russian guidance and resources in the event of domestic violence or other situations a K-1 Visa holder might need some assistance with. I looked on the USCIS website and there is a great deal of guidance there as well. It is my understanding if there is indeed domestic violence of any kind there are legal protections available including protection of LPR status.

    Help guys. :) (merged topics)

    in Philippines

    Posted · Edited by Tony&Natasha

    Hi everyone. I'm a son of k1 visa holder, i just want to know what are the requirements for a k2 visa applicant.thank you :)

    Greetings,

    Does your parent already have their K-1 Visa in hand?

    I believe the first requirement to be eligible for the K-2 Visa you had to be listed on your parent's K-1 Visa Application (I-129F) when it was originally filed! You had to be identified on that application as a child that would be accompanying your parent to the US!

    If that was not done then you are not eligible for the K-2 Visa! If you were not listed on the application I do not believe there is anyway to change that after-the-fact! You would have to apply for a different type of Visa!

    Please - Check with your Parent (K-1 Visa holder) about this!

    Kind regards,

    Tony

    DS-160

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

    Posted

    I can't seem to find my DS-160 application or confirmation page... I have my interview but it's required at the interview, I can't find my "application ID" the only thing I have is my case number, my interview date, time and location and that's it... I'm extremely worried, I don't know what to do or where to find it! Can anyone help me?

    You can get a copy of your confirmation page by going to this site: https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/and selecting RETRIEVE AN APPLICATION on the right side of the page and entering your original login in credentials.

    Best,

    Tony

    RFE Demaning IMBRA consent form, which I Don't have

    in IMBRA Special Topics

    Posted · Edited by Tony&Natasha

    I applied for K1 visa, Just got an RFE from USCIS. They claim the websiteI used was an IMB and they are demanding proof of the consent form that an IMB should obtain from its members.

    Of course, the website never asked for any such "consent" from my fiance, and does not even reply to my emails when I ask for them to provide any info on IMBRA.

    Has anyone had this problem? If so please advise
    what happened.
    How do I reply to the RFE?

    Here is the text of the RFE.

    The evidence in the file reflects that you met the beneficiary through the services of an International Marriage Broker (IMB). You stated you met the beneficiary through Bridesandlovers.com. This website is considered to be an International Marriage Broker as it is a business that charges fees for providing, dating, matrimonial, matchmaking services. or social referrals between United States citizens and foreign nationals. Therefore, you are required submit a copy of the signed written consent form that the International Marriage Broker obtained from the beneficiary, authorizing the release of her personal contact information to you.

    The decision of whether to approve or deny your petition will be based upon the type(s) of evidence submitted and its credibility.

    Greetings! Natasha and I met on BridesandLover.com and we also received the exact same RFE requesting the signed written consent form which, of course, does not exist!

    I went to B&L.com website and wrote a respectful message via their contact link that I met a woman through their website. "I am a US Citizen and I recently submitted a request for a Fiance Visa. As part of that process I indicated we met on your BridesandLovers.com website The US State Dept believes your website falls under the \"International Marriage Broker\" Law and is asking me to provide the signed consent for that is required of women member before release of their information. I know Natasha never signed any consent form.

    Can you provide me with an official email stating you are not a Marriage Broker and

    you are just a dating site?

    Regards,"

    I received a a very nice message from an administrator of that website! They agreed and sent an official email describing B&L.com as a dating site and not a marriage broker. The message acknowledged that no consent was required nor asked for to use their website services.

    I also wrote a very respectful letter claiming they were not an "IMB" based on the attached email from B&L.com as proof and then proceeded to described our bonafied relationship and plans to be married!

    Natasha wrote and signed a letter describing how we met and affirming the fact she was never asked to sign any consent form.

    I sent the 2 letters and a copy of the Email from B&L administrator as my answer to the RFE! Now we wait!

    Two people meet online in a website, fall in love, spend months getting to know each other, travel to meet in her home country, make the decision to get married, go through all the trouble to file a 6 page application with 150 pages of documents and evidence then they demand us to produce a consent form that never existed in the first place!

    There is no list that tells anyone which websites are IMBs or regular dating sites!

    They wrote this law so foreign women would know the criminal background of the USC applicant BEFORE communicating with him (her)! Great! It is ridiculous - how on earth will they compel a foreign owned and operated businesses to comply with a US LAW? By demanding a non-existent consent form after the fact from a USC applicant for a visa?

    It is really sad that we have a government that creates laws that do nothing to but make matters worse!

    I have lived in various places around the world and the bureaucratic nightmare of getting things done in some of these countries just makes my hair hurt! Lol!

    The USA used to be a free country but it is clearly becoming like the rest all in the name for protecting something or someone!

    End of rant!

    I love my Natasha with all my heart and if they do not approve our K-1 because of this stupid law then we will just get married and file as a couple!

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