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We just received a letter stating that my wife's I-485 AOS was approved on March 8, 2007. Our application was received on January 26, 2007. We never had to interview. The letter said that the permanent resident card will arrive within 3 weeks!

I took my wife to a civil surgeon yesterday for the I-693A vaccination supplement. The doctor first said that she needs a tetenus shot and an x-ray. Her last tetenus shot was in 1985, more than 10 years ago. I said that she does not need an x-ray and showed him the x-ray packet from her oversees K-1 medical. He then said that she needs tetenus and a TB test. I said that I don't think she needs the TB test. Then, he changed his mind and said that she needs the tetenus shot and HIV and syphilis tests before he would sign the I-693A and wanted $200 for all of this. I walked out of this clinic without paying anything, because I didn't think that they had a clue.

Her vaccination form from the K-1 interview at the embassy has all of her vaccinations marked complete, not age appropriate, or in the case of rubella - insufficient time interval.

Does anybody know what vaccinations or tests she may need? Where in the Chicago area is a good place to go to get the I-693A form completed from a responsible civil surgeon?

Thanks for all of the great replies.

I was mistaken in my earlier posts. I thought that Norwegian Cruise Lines would be foreign-flagged ships. I found out that the Pride of America, Pride of Aloha, and Pride of Hawaii are all US-flagged ships. These are the ships that do the Hawaiian cruises.

I contacted the cruise company. They told me that the ship never leaves US territorial waters when going to the different islands. Therefore, no passports are necessary. There are no customs/immigration inspections. The only documentation that is needed is a driver's license/state ID. Has anybody had any problems with this type of cruise?

My wife and I would like to take a cruise in Hawaii for a honeymoon in two months. We are applying for AP, but it probably will not be ready by then. The ship is a foreign flag ship, but just goes from one Hawaiian island to another. We would fly to Honolulu and get on the ship. So, there are no foreign stops. Is this allowable without AP?

I want to fill out an Advanced Parole form for travel this summer. However, I don't know the exact dates of travel yet. The AP form has spaces for the dates of travel. I have read on other posts that people are getting APs for multiple entries and do not need any travel dates listed on the form. How can I get an AP, or multiple APs, without specifying any travel dates?

Also, should you buy airplane tickets for international travel before you are approved for AP? Since our plan is to travel in six or seven months, I would think that AP would be approved by then. I would rather purchase tickets before receiving AP, because the prices are lower than waiting several more months to buy.

My fiance arrived on a K-1 visa in October 2006. We applied for a social security card in her maiden name and received it. Then, we married in December 2006. Her I-94 expired in early January. We just went to the social security office to change her last name. The office told us that she can't change her name, because her I-94 is expired. They said that we must wait until she has a green card from immigration or get a new I-94.

How can we get a new social security card with the last name change? Do we have to wait for the green card?

My fiance has a K-1 visa that expires January 4. We have arranged for the wedding at the end of December. However, I am told that I am not allowed to bring the signed marriage document to the county office. Instead, I must wait for the judge to mail it. The certificate will take weeks to arrive. I do not think that I will have the official marriage certificate until after the expiration date of the K-1 visa. What should I do about this?

Thank you very much! You are a wealth of information. Since she has only been here a week, I think that her I-94, Passport, Visa, original birth certificate and its notarized English translation should be good. Thanks again.

We have a K1 visa that was stamped "Work Authorized" at JFK airport. Is it possible to get a social security card for her? We need the card to do a background check at my apartment. What documents are needed to get the card?

My fiancee easily passed the interview in Kiev. They gave her the visa the next day. They asked a few questions. How did you meet? When did you fall in love? What work does he do? What color are his eyes? When are you planning on getting married?

Also, the Kiev embassy does not require the I-134 financial statement. They said that you only need to provide enough documentation to show that you can support a fiancee. I submitted a notice from my work showing my employment dates and salary. I also sent some bank statements. I did not have anything notarized, and I sent all of the documents by email.

There are two different dates on the notices. One is in May 2 and the new one says that it was approved on June 27.

I hope that the embassy didn't send it back for some clerical error that USCIS did or something, and now we are delayed two months.

I received my NOA2 about two months ago. Then, I received a letter from the State Department NVC, saying that they sent my case to the Embassy about 3 weeks later.

Now, all of the sudden, I got another email from from USCIS. It says that they just approved my case and mailed me the notification letter. I thought that USCIS was done with it two months ago. What just happened?

I had e-mail notification set up at USCIS. Now that my K-1 has gone to the State Department, is there a website where I can sign up for e-mail notification of the progress?

I received a snail mail letter from NVC saying that they received the application and will send it on to the Embassy.

Probably, it is best to buy a round trip ticket for your fiance to come here. It usually is cheaper than having to buy another one-way to send her home. I'm sure many of these relationships don't work out so well. If you buy a round trip, find out what the price is to change the date. You may need to be flexible.

I sure hope, though, that he is buying the ticket for some other reason.

I sent two pictures, in addition to the passport photos. I just received my NOA2 without any problems.

Hi all!

I just received three emails from Nebraska informing me that my K-1 petition was approved and sent to the State Department.

This was my first time applying for a K-1 visa, and I did everything by myself. I just followed the directions on this website. I did not receive any RFEs or any other snags. So, if I can do it, it can't be that difficult.

Good Luck, Everybody!

The State Department recommends on their website that you do not purchase a plane ticket until after you have the visa in hand. The Embassy is not going to let you cut in line in front of other people just because you spent money on a ticket. That certainly would not be fair to all of the people in line ahead of you.

By your April 2007 timeline, you probably can already have a civil marriage in the USA before the non-civil marriage in Mexico. If you apply for a K-1 visa now, you will most certainly have it in 6-9 months. Then, she can arrive in the US and have a civil marriage late this year. Then, apply for advanced parole to leave the country and go to Mexico for the non-civil marriage. Applying for advance parole can take 2 or 3 months. To go on a honeymoon, you would need to apply for 2 advance paroles. The first is to go to Mexico for marriage and the second is to go to the Caribbean after arriving in the US again.

Obviously, you can only wait. It may take some time, but there is nothing else that you can do.

By the way, the State Department recommends that nobody purchase a plane ticket to the USA until the visa is in hand.

USCIS will probably not send you anything back. The Consulate in India will send your fiance the packet 3. You will need to send to your fiance copies of your financial documents, proof of having met in the past 2 years, and a statement that you still intend to marry her.

It should not matter that you receive disability benefits in England. You will be ineligible for disability benefits in America. First, in America, the government does not grant disability payments for depression or anxiety. Secondly, you must have 18 months of paid work experience in America before you will be eligible for disability benefits for serious disabilities (meaning disabilities that make it impossible for you to work for at least one year).

The Embassy will want to be certain that your fiance can support you. If so, you will pass. You do not need to intend to work in America to receive a K-1 visa. You may be a housewife if you wish.

You lucky dog! I hope that the interview goes smoothly for you!

Always check the US Consulate's website. I checked the US Embassy website in Ukraine, and they do not require either form. They only require copies of financial documents, which may be scanned and submitted by email. They state that the submission of an I-134 is optional.

I sent mine in with the address to the US Embassy in Ukraine. Probably, I should have addressed to the Nebraska USCIS service center. But I have not received any complaints or RFE's. I think that they are more interesting in the content of the letter than the address on the top. If fact, the address is used to make the letter look more formal. If you have no address at all, it probably will not affect your application.

They just want a signed/dated letter expressing intent to marry.