netminder30

Thanks for your advice. I was thinking the holidays may have slowed down the processing. I'll follow up as you suggested. 

My foreign-born wife and I sent our AOS application to USCIS in September of 2016.  We received a notification acknowledging receipt of the application on 9/20/16 and a subsequent notice stating the following:

"Case Is Ready To Be Scheduled For An Interview

As of November 2, 2016, we are ready to schedule your Form I-485, Application to Register Permanent Residence or to Adjust Status, Receipt Number xxxxxxxxxxxxx, for an interview. We will schedule your interview and send you a notice."

This is the last item shown on the USCIS site in our case history.

We have not yet received a notice containing the time and date for an interview. Should this be cause for concern?  Should we inquire with USCIS?  Or does it typically take longer to go from the notice to the actually scheduling of the interview?  Our case is being processed through the Atlanta field office. 

Thanks in advance for the help. 

Thanks for the clarification, KayDeeCee and aleful. Your help is very much appreciated.

Thank you both for answering my question. I really appreciate your help.

Is there any special way photos have to be packaged with the applications? Should the applicant's name be written on the back? Does any other info need to be included? Should the photos be placed in a small plastic baggie?

Thank you very much!

I married my non-US citizen wife within 90 days of her arrival on a K1 visa. We slipped out of status as of August 29, however. We are preparing our AOS application now, but I have become uncertain whether the fact that we are out of status requires us to file I-130s with our application. Does anyone know the answer here? Thanks in advance for your help.

My non-US citizen wife and I are preparing our AOS application.

It is my understanding that because she entered the US on a K1 visa and we were married within 90 days, that we only need to provide a copy of the I-797C to show that Form I-129F was approved. I have seen some posts, however, that suggest an entire copy of the actual I-129F form be included in the application submission. Is this required? If not, is there a compelling reason to include a copy of the entire form instead of just the I-797C?

Thank you very much, KayDeeCee. Your answer is perfect.

I am sponsoring my non-US citizen wife and her daughter (my stepdaughter). We are in the process of completing the I-864 and I-485s.

As directed, my wife and stepdaughter will each be submitting two passport pics. My wife will also be including a G-325A for herself. Her daughter won't need a G-325A because she is under 14 years of age.

The question is, do I as the sponsor have to submit a G-325A and two passport pics for myself? I believe this is only necessary if we are submitting I-130s. We won't be doing that however, because my wife and stepdaughter entered the country on K1 and K2 visas respectively, and I married my wife within the 90 day window.

I'd appreciate it if someone could set me straight on this. Thanks in advance for your help.

Thanks for your reply.

I wondered if I (as the sponsor) needed to submit the divorce decree for my previous marriage because I didn't see any specific direction in the I-864 instructions or I-485 instructions to include it (of course I could have missed something). I also thought the fact we are submitting Form I-797 showing my fiancée was approved for a K1 visa meant that my marriage eligibility was already established and therefore, I didn't have to submit the divorce decree.

Based on your answer, I will include my divorce decree in the package I submit to USCIS. Thanks again for your help.

We are applying for AOS for my non-US citizen wife and her daughter (my stepdaughter).

Both my wife and I had previous marriages. My question is, do I as the sponsor have to provide a copy of my divorce decree with the I-864 and/or with the I-485s of my wife and/or daughter? My wife will include our marriage certificate and the divorce decree for HER prior marriage with her I-485, but we don't know if it's necessary to include MY divorce decree as well.

I am in the process of appllying for an AOS for my wife and her 11-year-old daughter (my stepdaughter).

They entered the US at the same time, my wife on a K1 visa and her daughter on a K2. My wife and I married within the 90-day-period. Both she and my stepdaughter have been residing with me in the US since their entry into the country. Because of my wife's K1 visa status, we are foregoing the I-130 and going straight to the I-485 in pursuit of the green card.

I am now preparing an I-864 for my wife, while she is completing the I-485. My question is, do we need to complete a separate I-485 and I-864 for her daughter or can she "piggyback" on her mother's application?

Thanks for your help.

Thanks to all who have provided input to my question. I very much appreciate your responses!

My non-US citizen wife and I are about to file for AOS. We are trying to determine whether we can apply using my wife's married name or whether we must use her maiden name. We prefer to apply with the married name so the green card will match the name we intend to use on her social security card, driver's license, bank accounts, credit cards, etc..

The reason why we have this question is because we are not in fact sure that my wife's married name is legally recognized yet. We can't change her name on the social security card until after she is approved for a green card (it's a long story). Consequently, we can't change her name on her driver's license either. Does this mean her maiden name remains in force? Are we prohibited from using the married name on the application?

It might be helpful to add that our marriage certificate shows only my wife's maiden name; her first name with my surname does not appear anywhere on the certificate.

Thanks everyone for your replies. We have decided to amend the marriage certificate and change the name back to Nelli so it matches the passport, birth certificate and other immigration documents. We will legally change my fiancée's name to Nelly after we get the green card.

I am afraid my non-US citizen wife and I made a foolish mistake when we were married.

She is Russian, and her first name as it appears on her birth certificate and Russian passport is "Nelli". We Americanized the spelling of her name and used "Nelly" on the marriage license and marriage certificate. (We made this change reasoning that "Nelli" and "Nelly" are identical names, the last letter differing only because of different transliterations of the Russian to English. We preferred "Nelly" thinking it would avoid spelling issues in the future.)

Now we are preparing to apply for AOS. We prefer to file the application as "Nelly" with her new surname (my last name), so the green card would have the preferred spelling of her name. "Nelli" would appear on her passport and birth certificate, while "Nelly" would appear on the marriage certificate.

The question is, have we created a problem by creating this name discrepancy? Would USCIS see this for what it is -- a valid transliteration of the same Russian name, or would they reject the application out of hand? If the latter is likely, is it possible to change the spelling of her name on the marriage certificate? If so, is this a lengthy and involved process? (We live in the state of Georgia.)

Thanks in advance for your help.

Thanks for your responses, everyone. You exactly answered my question. I greatly appreciate your help.

In case anyone was wondering, the interview went exceedingly well and my fiancée was approved for a K1 visa. She will arrive in late May and we will marry shortly thereafter. Thanks again to everyone who offered help and advice during the K1 application process. You were immensely helpful!

My fiancée will be arriving in the U.S. on a K1 visa in late May. As I understand it, we must marry within 90 days of her entry into the country. In order for her to remain in the country beyond the 90 days, we must file a green card application before the K1 visa expires.

Our plan is to marry almost immediately after she arrives in the U.S. and then apply for the green card once we have a marriage certificate, which is required for the application. Can anyone tell me what happens if we don’t receive a marriage certificate quickly enough to apply for the green card within the 90 days? Must my fiancée leave the country? If so, is there something that can be done to allow her to stay? If not, can she return when the green card application is eventually filed?

Thanks for your help.

Thanks, everyone, for your responses. It seems that accompanying my fiancée to the interview certainly shouldn't hurt matters if it doesn't indeed help at all.

My fiancée is scheduled to have an interview at the US Embassy in Moscow on February 25. I am travelling to Moscow to provide moral support, as well as to celebrate if all goes well and we receive approval. (I plan to give her the engagement ring I purchased.)

I plan to accompany my fiancée to the interview. Can anyone tell me whether this is a good or bad idea? I tend to think my presence would show an additional level of commitment that would be viewed favorably and help our chances for approval. But would my presence subject me to questioning and cause problems if my answers differ from my fiancée's?

Thanks in advance for your responses.

I am preparing the Form I-134 and have some questions concerning question 8.

I have three children with my divorced wife: a daughter (25), and two sons (17 & 20).

I pay child support for my sons. My daughter is essentially self-sufficient, although my ex-wife and I help her out with various expenses (e.g., I pay for my daughter's mobile phone and data services every month and help with car repairs and other odd expenses). I do not pay my ex-wife any alimony.

My question is, who should I list as dependents? As I list my 20-year-old son as a dependent on my tax return, I assume I should definitely show him as a partial dependent (he lives with his mother, who also provides financial support), but what about the other children? (My ex-wife lists them as dependents on her return.)

I read somewhere that Form I-864 Affidavit of Support, which is similar to the I-134, states "Your household size includes yourself and the following individuals, no matter where they live: any spouse, any dependent children under the age of 21, any other dependents listed on your most recent Federal income tax return, all persons being sponsored in this affidavit of support, and any immigrants previously sponsored with a Form I-864 or Form I-864 EZ affidavit of support whom you are still obligated to support."

Does this mean I should list my two sons, but not my daughter since she is older than 25? I have seen on another site that only children declared as dependents on tax returns need to be listed on the I-134.

And should I list my fiancée and her 10-year-old-daughter as my dependents as well? Or is the form only interested in my current dependents? Of course I will be supporting my fiancée and her daughter once we are married.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I reported that my daughter's age is 25, when it is actually 22. Therefore, my question should have read, "Does this mean I should list my two sons, but not my daughter since she is older than 21?"

I am preparing the Form I-134 and have some questions concerning question 8.

I have three children with my divorced wife: a daughter (25), and two sons (17 & 20).

I pay child support for my sons. My daughter is essentially self-sufficient, although my ex-wife and I help her out with various expenses (e.g., I pay for my daughter's mobile phone and data services every month and help with car repairs and other odd expenses). I do not pay my ex-wife any alimony.

My question is, who should I list as dependents? As I list my 20-year-old son as a dependent on my tax return, I assume I should definitely show him as a partial dependent (he lives with his mother, who also provides financial support), but what about the other children? (My ex-wife lists them as dependents on her return.)

I read somewhere that Form I-864 Affidavit of Support, which is similar to the I-134, states "Your household size includes yourself and the following individuals, no matter where they live: any spouse, any dependent children under the age of 21, any other dependents listed on your most recent Federal income tax return, all persons being sponsored in this affidavit of support, and any immigrants previously sponsored with a Form I-864 or Form I-864 EZ affidavit of support whom you are still obligated to support."

Does this mean I should list my two sons, but not my daughter since she is older than 25? I have seen on another site that only children declared as dependents on tax returns need to be listed on the I-134.

And should I list my fiancée and her 10-year-old-daughter as my dependents as well? Or is the form only interested in my current dependents? Of course I will be supporting my fiancée and her daughter once we are married.

Thanks in advance for your help.

I recently received the Form I-797C, NOA and entered the data into my timeline on this site. Based on the information I provided, I received the following estimate:

"Based on timeline data, your I129f may be adjudicated between December 4, 2015 and December 6, 2015*."

What is meant by "adjudicated"? Does this mean approved or not approved or does it simply mean USCIS will begin to review my petition? I will be shocked if it is approved or not approved; less than a month seems like an incredibly short turnaround on a decision. I was thinking 4-5 months at a minimum.

Thanks in advance for the clarification.