sanityassassin

I used HCC Atlas for VISA holders and I had to use it for an emergency room visit. There are different coverage options but I paid $155 for 62 days of coverage. The coverage was for $500,000 with a $100 deductible (but if you read the fine print in my case it was a $300 deductible because its an additional $200 for the ER). But hey $300 is better than the $3000 it would have cost us.

Some things to consider. Pre-existing conditions will not be covered. And, if you do file a claim, the insurance company will do whatever they can to get out of paying. They really dragged their feet on us and asking for all kinds of records from us and the hospital to prove that our case was not a pre-existing condition. It took them several months to pay and our hospital even sent us a letter saying that "more than a reasonable" amount of time had passed since our visit and could we please pay them. It took about 5 months for them to pay the bill!

I searched but couldn't find the answer I am looking for. We received our appointment notice for a biometrics appointment on July 7th at Charleston, SC. Due to the nature of my work, there is no way possible I will be able to make that appointment and I likely will not be able to go to another randomly generated appointment date. I called the 1-800 number and asked about rescheduling and the guy just read a script about how you should only reschedule in an emergency, it can affect your case, etc. I explained to him my situation and he said I should try to walk-in. I am willing to give that a shot but that requires 6 hours of driving on my part. I looked at the website for Charleston and it mentioned that you must have an appointment to be seen unless you are military. Has anyone had success with a walk-in at Charleston? I tried to call the office there vs. talking to someone in a national center reading a script but the closest I could get was the Coast Guard Recruiting Station in the suite next door. Can anyone offer advice?

Thanks,

Brian

Thanks for your reply. According to my county's website, he needs his SSN to apply for the license. But I'll call them to verify.

SSN is required in my state for marriage license according to the State's website, but in reality, there are several counties within the state that will accept the K-1 Visa, I-94, birth certificate, and other ID. Best to ask around, possibly in a different county,

Thanks everyone...they asked for the passport, I94, and birth certificate.

We are driving to get a social security card this morning but I am a bit confused of the requirements. Here on Visa Journey it says you must bring a second form of ID as defined in the SS-5 Instructions (in addition to the passport with Visa) and I read on another visa website that you must bring the foreign birth certificate.

When looking at the SS-5 form it specifically says they will not accept the foreign birth certificate for ID and that in our case all we will need to bring is the passport with visa and I-94. Which one is correct? If another form of ID is needed what can it be? My fiancee arrived here two weeks ago on a K1 Visa.

Thanks,

Brian

I was expecting my second notice several days ago. The website said it should come between Dec. 4 and Dec. 9. My NOA1 date was Nov. 6. Nov. 9s are being processed now. Really bummed out now...was so excited to get the ball rolling but from my understanding there's nothing I can do as a call to USCIS will say I am still within their normal 5 months processing time (which is BS, but what can you do?).

I work as a Radiologic Technologist. The amount of radiation is negligible. She will recieve more radiation on the plane ride to the USA than she has recieved from the few chest xrays she has had. As for the St Luke exam, yes she will need to have new Chest x-rays. For three months is more than enough time to come in contact with TB or other communicable disease. Only issue that could be an issue is if you fiancee is Pregnant.

John

Thanks, John. Yeah, I looked at it last night and read that the average dose for a chest x-ray is about 10 mrem (0.1 mSv for you SI types) which is negligible--most of the population easily picks up millirem a day from normal background radiation. I explained that to her yesterday and told her that people like you (that deal with ionizing radiation) are allowed to receive up to 5000 mrem a year. She is ok with it now.

Yes, K1 would probably be the quickest...so if you want the quickest process, then get married here with a K1. About your income, I'm not too sure about that...you may need to find a sponsor (and from what I understand, some embassies don't even allow that). You will send your I-129F to the lockbox facility and they will most likely send it to the California Service Center. Current processing time there is a little over 30 days.

I just started the process myself with the K1...my fiancee lives in the Philippines. I am sure there is someone here that has info specific to Ukraine. With the Ukraine there may be other options for entry so you could always ask in the forum for that region if you don't get an answer here.

Thank you for the info...I assumed that was the case.

My fiancee just received a medical examination for her job which included an x-ray about two weeks ago. If our case proceeds normally, we expect her to be going to Manila for the medical and interview process in the next two months. She was advised that she should not have another chest x-ray within 3 months as it is a unnecessary radiation exposure and could create problems. Will St. Lukes accept the x-ray and results from the x-ray she just had two weeks ago or will she have to get another x-ray there?

Thanks,

Brian

I just filed my petition for alien fiance i129F and received my receipt number. I am anxious to have my fiancé in the U.S. With me. Can someone please share their real time experience. How long after you received the receipt number did you have to wait for approval? I see processing time online is 5 months, how accurate is that?

Thanks.

it doesn't look like you have created a timeline yet. When you input your NOA1 date, you will get an estimate as to your NOA2 date. I believe all the K1s are being sent to CSC now which is desirable since it takes them about a month to process the paperwork as opposed to TSC taking several months.

Thanks for the input. I hope someone will respond to my email and fix my account there. Maybe I will have to sign up with a different email but then I would have to check that email for updates...argh.

Is there any advantage to signing up for an online account on the USCIS website where you check the status of your case (K1 application in my case)? I tried to set-up an account there but the website is pretty "broken" it seems. It allowed me to set-up an account, but then when I went to log-in it said there was a "technical error" and to contact support. I tried a different computer and a different browser and then received a message that my account was "locked" and it gave me the option to reset my password. I did the whole password reset thing and it said my access was restored but again when I went to log-on it said my account was locked.

Sent an email to the webmaster, got an automated reply that they can't reply to emails and to use their website or 1-800 number for help. Did both...no help. There is no option for "website problems" on the 1-800 number but I did manage to get an actual person on the phone and after 20 minutes of talking with him, he wanted my case # so he could tell me my case status. I explained to him that was not the issue, that I could look up the case status just as easily as him...the issue is that I can not log in to an account that I just created because the website immediately locked my account down.

So my two questions are. 1.) Is there a benefit to having an account vs. just entering your receipt # to get case status updates. 2.) How can I get someone at USCIS to fix this issue with my account?

Thanks!

-Brian