Joe&LuMa

Wohoo wohoooo

I have just received ( 6.44PM) an email and sms from USCIS : in line for  the oath ceremony..The notice for Receipt Number ###### should be received within 30 days of mailing date.." 
Just 10 days after my interview..Busy Tampa is moving 

 

Congratulations to you !! 

Hohohohoho congratulatios ! 

Hey OP! You've been given great advice and also fair warning about your situation. It is true that we do not know your relationship in and out but based on the information you have shared thus far, the advice was appropriate.
 
Whilst another poster said it is not impossible for her to get a tourist visa, I'm afraid I'll need to concur with the other posters. She doesn't actually have nor can she prove strong ties back to Thailand. Her child isn't a strong tie either because as many others have posted in the forum previously, a child can be abandoned and/or be taken care of by a friend or relatives. I am employed full time with a good employment history, have overseas travel history with no overstays, sufficient bank balance with ability to fund my trip etc but guess what? I was denied a B2 before under 214(b) i.e. inability to demonstrate strong ties to home country and so have many others. Where do you think that leaves your girlfriend? Invitation letter will not help and you cannot sponsor a person for a B2. List of visa denials list: https://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/general/denials.html.
 
Assimilation difficulty is very real, more so with her background. IF you truly see a future in this relationship and are very sure about moving her across the world, my suggestions are:
 
1) Instead of trying to bring her to the US so quickly, consider signing her up for English classes in Thailand so that she could brush up on her English language skills. No offence, but I think her world would become very small and her opportunities would be awfully limited if she can't communicate well in English IF she does end up moving there to be with you.
 
2) Aside from English classes, maybe enrol her into short courses that would give her some usable hard skills for future employment in the US. Given her previous work history, I presume she has very little education and does not have a lot of hard skills. Otherwise, she would have easily been working as a clerk or cashier instead of bar girl. Again, I mean no offence.
 
3) In the meantime, visit her a few more times. 
 
As per others, K-1 does get her there the fastest. Currently takes closer to 7-8 months. I-129F petition is $535 and K-1 visa is $265 + K2 visa for the child is $265. This is excluding expenses for shipping, K-1 medical cost, passport application assuming they do not already have one, flights to the US etc. Upon entry, you guys will have to get married within 90 days and I am unable to give you a cost estimate because it depends on what you guys wanna do. After you have officially gotten married, she would have to file AOS + EAD + AP for herself $1140 + biometrics $85, another $1140 for her daughter (+ biometrics $85 if the kid is 14 years old and above). Just adding the numbers I have stated, the total is up to $3430 exclusive of costs that are yet to be determined. For the I-129F/K-1, you must have met within the last 2 years preceding the filing date, which you guys have fulfilled anyways. Make sure to keep a variety of evidence from all meetings for future use IF you do plan petition her under a I-129F for a K-1. Here's the K-1 guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1guide.
 
Can't give you the breakdown for CR-1 because I've never paid attention to its costs BUT with a CR-1, she will be a green card holder upon admission into the US and she could work pretty much immediately after setting up a SSN. However, if working immediately does not matter to you and her, then maybe a K-1 is just fine. For a spousal visa, you'll need to be able to prove a bona fide marriage. Here's the CR-1 guide: http://www.visajourney.com/content/i130guide1.
 
Notes on the guides:
G-325A is no longer needed. It has been incorporated into the main forms like I-129F and I-130. However, for a spousal petition, the foreign spouse needs to complete the I-130A in lieu of a G-325A. Current filing fee for both I-129F and I-130 is $535 excluding other fees and expenses. Fee structure: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/our-fees. Always download the most current edition forms from USCIS website. Form downloads: https://www.uscis.gov/forms.  
Additionally, don't forget about sin sod aka dowry IF you do marry her and the potential lifetime support for her entire family back in Thailand. The immigration process is certainly not cheap by any means coupled with cultural expectations. Regardless, go into this with your eyes wide open and with your logic not emotions. Wishing you the very best!

Your assumptions are correct. That's what I was worried about all that you said. But I am happy to hear it from someone first hand. Thank you

@ac8238 congratulations on receiving your oath notification!! For parking, probably what you need to know is that it costs $20! Once you get close to the parking lot, the signs are pretty clear and there will be a sign saying "Citizenship Parking". I ended up parking in the West Hall Garage that you enter from Pico.  As you may know if you have been to the Convention Center/L.A. Live before, there are a few street corner lots in the area that are cheaper but for something as important as this I didn't want to be worried about getting my car into a small spot on a vacant lot and having to walk a few blocks to get to the convention center and then try to find where the citizenship ceremony was etc. so I just paid the $20. As did my husband as he was driving separately from me! Oh, another tip, the parking garage is huge and the afternoon is long and tiring so I highly recommend taking a photo of your section (color, letter and number) and don't assume you'll remember it after the ceremony, I barely remembered mine!
 
My notification said to get there at 1 pm but I do believe that they give people different times on the notification form simply to stagger the arrival of people so they're not all trying to park at once. I actually got there more like 12:15 and no one said to me "you're too early" or anything, it was not an issue. So I think within reason you can get there earlier than your notification. Also the earlier you get there, the earlier you get out--after the ceremony they allow groups to leave, row by row, based on "first in first out". So being a little early is going to help you. I was one of the earliest ones and I was very close to the front when the ceremony was held. If you are U.S. military or a veteran, you can go in the very front row and you will be presented to the crowd for a special recognition. I'm not sure how those people got identified but you could probably tell a USCIS officer. Some were in uniform, some not.
 
As you exit the parking garage there will be clear signs saying Citizenship pointing you in the direction you need to go to get into the line. I truly wouldn't be able to show you on a map where exactly I was that day, I just followed the signs and then eventually joined a line of other people. I think I was among some of the earliest to get there as when I got there, there was still a single line consisting of both applicants and guests all together. Shortly after I joined the line, a UCSIC guy told us all to "Stop!" and separate into two lines -- left line applicants, right line guests. Applicants and guests go through security screening separately and then are sent into separate areas of the big hall where the ceremony takes place.
 
What else... The security consists of regular metal detectors, not the machines you see at the airport. They DON'T need you take off shoes or belts. Obviously leave any weapons at home! Also I believe someone else on VisaJourney had their water in a glass mason jar and that got taken, so no glass jars or bottles. In general I would suggest bringing as little as possible. The less you bring, the less they might need to inspect. The lines look long but they move fast.
 
Oh, there was one inconsistency on what was otherwise a pretty well-tuned day. After we went through the metal detectors, we were told to line up at three doors. A USCIS officer said "I'm about to send you through these three doors. Once you are through, you'll see a long line of tables with officers at them. You can go to ANY table to check in, just pick the table with the shortest line. You may want to go all the way to the farthest end of the table to find the shortest line. After your ceremony, go back to the officer at that SAME table where you checked in to collect your citizenship certificate."
 
Well, while the first part was good advice--the final sentence of that information was wrong. It was true that when you were first checking in you could go to ANY officer at any table to check in. However, as part of that initial check-in, the officer will write on your oath notification form the TABLE NUMBER to which you should go AFTER the ceremony to collect your certificate of naturalization. It is NOT true that you should go back to the same officer who checked you in. After the ceremony you MUST go to the table number that has been handwritten on the form by the officer who checked you in. That's where you'll get your personalized certificate. A couple of people sitting around me were confused by that because of what the UCSIC officer had said to us after security clearance and before checking in at the long row of tables.
 
There are people selling flags, teddy bears, citizenship certificate folders, etc. etc. before and after the ceremony. Just so you know, applicants will get a free flag from USCIS as they walk into the ceremony. And once you're checked in, the USCIS staff also gives you a pretty nice certificate folder that you can keep and store your certificate in. It's not leatherbound or anything but it's good enough in my opinion.
 
OK I think that's the main information I have. Have a great day!
 
 
 

I passed my interview (San Francisco) today. I waited 10 minutes, and the interview took around 10 minutes too.
 The IO did the Civics exam first, which I appreciated - to get the nerves out of the way.
Reading: Why do people come to America
Writing: People come to be free (or something)
 
Q&A (what I remember)
1. Who's the father of our country
2. Name a war fought in the 1900s
3. Who is the chief justice
4. How many House of Representatives are there
5. How many years is a Senator elected for?
 
Then we went over my application. When asked for my current address, my mind went blank and couldn't remember my residence number. LOL

Hi, 
just short description of my interview yesterday in Tampa.
 
Questions:
1. who is the Commander in Chief of the military?
2. What is the political party of the President now?
3. What are the two major political parties in the United States?
4. Name one state that borders Mexico
5. There were 13 original states. Name three.
6. Whi wrote the Declaration of Independence?
 
We   veryfied  my personal information and a few questions from NO, but all questions from YES.
Finally I received the Naturaliation Interview Result with information that my application is recommended for aproval.
The officer was nice and  generally it was  really pleasant experience ( whole interview lasted abt 20 min) 
 
Good luck to all of you, still waiting 
 

We did it 

I was thinking that knives were a bad idea because she may cut her after what she said. 

We did it, congrats 

Hi, 
just short description of my interview yesterday in Tampa.
 
Questions:
1. who is the Commander in Chief of the military?
2. What is the political party of the President now?
3. What are the two major political parties in the United States?
4. Name one state that borders Mexico
5. There were 13 original states. Name three.
6. Whi wrote the Declaration of Independence?
 
We   veryfied  my personal information and a few questions from NO, but all questions from YES.
Finally I received the Naturaliation Interview Result with information that my application is recommended for aproval.
The officer was nice and  generally it was  really pleasant experience ( whole interview lasted abt 20 min) 
 
Good luck to all of you, still waiting 
 

Hi, 
just short description of my interview yesterday in Tampa.
 
Questions:
1. who is the Commander in Chief of the military?
2. What is the political party of the President now?
3. What are the two major political parties in the United States?
4. Name one state that borders Mexico
5. There were 13 original states. Name three.
6. Whi wrote the Declaration of Independence?
 
We   veryfied  my personal information and a few questions from NO, but all questions from YES.
Finally I received the Naturaliation Interview Result with information that my application is recommended for aproval.
The officer was nice and  generally it was  really pleasant experience ( whole interview lasted abt 20 min) 
 
Good luck to all of you, still waiting 
 

Great analysis lol, 

My records were sealed too because the moon landing was filmed in my basement.

Sorry, what engagement documents??? 
 
Supplying evidence of relationship is a normal thing with I-129F but I've never heard of engagement documents what more ones that need to be fingerprinted. Engagement ring receipt, sure 

Took the oath today! Good luck all with your journey!!

@weakheart if you aren't far from the field office that conducted the interview maybe you could go with that letter and your photos to hand deliver them to the officer. Just a thought. 

Many K1's do not have interview... It's very common

K1 can take 4-10 ish.. depends on a lot of factors... took 5 months for me... then you apply for AOS together with EAD (work authorization) and Advanced Parole (so you can travel) - You ususally get the EAD/AP around 3-4 months, so you can work and travel while you are waiting on the AOS to process... My AOS only took 3.5 months..got the green card 2 weeks.after the EAD/AP card LOL.. so it varies soooo much.

It depends on the wait time for interview at each field office when it takes that long (some are SUPER backed up) iT's not just K1's that do interview, so the wait is long. If you are approved at the NBC without interview it is quicker.

It has to do with when you get transferred from the NBC to your local office in your state and those offices get backed up pretty fast.

e.g.  I -Oct filer- was transferred to the Memphis field office in December, after my RFIE, it took seven months to approve. 

Yes. Some offices always have a high number of ppl to interview. For example Dallas where I'm from in Texas, they are backed and wait is around a year for interview. Depends on the number of ppl immigrating to that area ofc  (and the manpower)

Yes, you are right. Thank you so much.
thank joe&luma....
i am waiting for your letter my journey, its been a while, hopefully anyday now