
lacolinab13
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Posts posted by lacolinab13
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Congratulations!!! See, we told you not to worry
Good luck planning your move, and welcome to the USA!
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Hi,
I went for my medical, and the Dr noted my blood pressure was "a little elevated". (135/86). He asked if I was stressed / nervous. which I was / am. (stressed about the visa and nervous generally being at a Dr's room for injections).
Does this elevated blood pressure reading affect the medical outcome and eligibility for the K1 visa?
No, they are looking for any communicable infectious diseases, "physical or mental disorders of public health significance", and drug abuse or addiction. A high blood pressure reading won't affect anything - and one reading is NOT enough to conclude that you have chronic elevated high blood pressure that needs treatment. That would only be diagnosed if you had repeated high blood pressure readings.
I'd take that comment as an aside, "for your information", doctor to patient note, not anything to do with the visa. (The reading is also in the borderline range, not in the hypertensive/high blood pressure range.) If I were you, I would follow up with my own doctor to make sure you don't have a blood pressure issue, as you would want to treat hypertension if you did have it.
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It doesn't matter that your wife got pregnant in the "in between" period. Insurance must now cover anyone who signs up, regardless of any preexisting conditions. So you won't have trouble getting coverage, and the insurance your job offers is likely to be at least decent. When do you start working?
Here's some good info from the exchange on this issue:
https://www.healthcare.gov/what-if-im-pregnant-or-plan-to-get-pregnant/
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Wait a couple of weeks before deciding it's going to be a "long AP", I am not saying it's impossible for it to be, but it sure is unlikely, so just try to wait a little bit.
I agree. Just try to hold your horses on everything. They've only just gotten the papers in your file today, so it's premature to think you'll be in AP for a long time.
If you absolutely need the car, then just tell the buyer that it's not available yet, and if the deal falls through, so be it. If you can live for a few weeks to months without the car, then you can sell it now.
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Please look carefully at the information on eligibility that was quoted. The final sentence about having to pay a premium is for those who qualify to enroll in Medicare Part A in the first place. People need to meet one of the three ways to qualify for Medicare first -- having worked or having aspouse who has worked for 40 quarters (which can't be done in 5 years), being under 65 and receiving Social Security or Railroad pension disability payments for at least 24 months (they will not meet this since they can't qualify for government disability payments), or being in end-stage kidney failure (a criteria which, hopefully, they will not meet in five years). Paying the premium only applies if you eet one of these three ways to qualify for Medicare. For most older immigrants, they will never be able to meet one of the three methods to qualify and will always need to have private medical coverage.
I have to admit that's not how I understood it. I just went on to this site: https://medicare.oneexchange.com/medicare/medicare-eligibility and found this:
You should be eligible for Medicare at the age of 65 if:
- You are a U.S. citizen or legal resident, and
- You have resided in the United States for a minimum of five years
- Worked at least 10 years in Medicare-covered employment
If the above applies to you and you have had Social Security deductions taken from your payroll, chances are that you will automatically receive a Medicare card in the mail just prior to becoming eligible, showing benefits for both Part A (hospital care) and Part B (medical care). Part B is optional, can be declined, and requires most people to pay a monthly premium for participation.
U.S. citizens who are 65 and older but do not have enough Medicare-covered employment, as well as permanent resident aliens aged 65 and older who have lived in the United States for five years prior to applying for Medicare, are eligible for Medicare benefits. This is known as "voluntary enrollment." These individuals must pay monthly premiums for both Medicare Part A and Part B benefits.
I interpret to say they will be eligible but have to pay a premium (same info as I found before), but I could definitely be wrong.
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For now, you need to buy them a health plan on the Colorado exchange. I'm fairly sure you have 60 days of when they move to the US to enroll them as moving is a qualifying life event. Otherwise, they would have to wait until open enrollment at the end of the year, and pay a tax penalty (but not sure how this works if they are not working).
The prices on the exchanges have gone up quite a bit since the exchanges were launched. It's most certainly not cheap. If one of them starts working and has an employer who offers health care, that might be a better deal and they could both switch over.
For Medicaid, I believe they would just have to be US citizens and make less than 133% of the poverty line.
For Medicare, here is eligibility info - for them, it sounds like 65 years old, 5 years of residency and they will have to pay a premium as they won't have paid into the system.
In general, all persons 65 years of age or older who have been legal residents of the United States for at least 5 years are eligible for Medicare. People with disabilities under 65 may also be eligible if they receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. Specific medical conditions may also help people become eligible to enroll in Medicare.
People qualify for Medicare coverage, and Medicare Part A premiums are entirely waived, if the following circumstances apply:
- They are 65 years or older and U.S. citizens or have been permanent legal residents for 5 continuous years, and they or their spouse (or qualifying ex-spouse) has paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years.
- They are under 65, disabled, and have been receiving either Social Security SSDI benefits or Railroad Retirement Boarddisability benefits; they must receive one of these benefits for at least 24 months from date of entitlement (eligibility for first disability payment) before becoming eligible to enroll in Medicare.
- They get continuing dialysis for end stage renal disease or need a kidney transplant.
Those who are 65 and older who choose to enroll in Part A Medicare must pay a monthly premium to remain enrolled in Medicare Part A if they or their spouse have not paid the qualifying Medicare payroll taxes.[18]
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Marienne - didn't that happen once before, where they send they hadn't received the docs, you said they had been delivered, and when they checked, they found them? It sounds like they are a bit disorganized. (Our embassy in Peru was too - sent us a letter confirming his visa interview appointment that they mailed AFTER the appointment, ha ha). Definitely follow-up with them to make sure they locate the docs.
I understand why your husband's family is wanting to get things going as far as packing/setting you up in the US, simply because that stuff usually takes lots of time, and obviously they are eager to have you (you should NOT feel guilty about having a tough time, but it's always useful to count one's blessings in a difficult time, and I would say that having such supportive in-laws, who are eager to have you with them, is a big blessing ... even if they're bad at filling out paperwork
). However, if you're not ready to sell things and your car because it gives you too much anxiety, then don't! You're the boss.
If I were in your shoes, I'd probably be deciding on how I wanted to sell furniture/car/etc, researching how to move things, if any, to the US and getting quotes, decluttering, perhaps packing up and selling off non-essential items. I wouldn't be getting rid of my car; forget about September, don't you need it now?
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I know it's very hard to wait to hear from the various immigration authorities, but you do have quite a negative outlook on the process and I think it's hurting you.
I completely understand your need to be in the US quickly, and certainly before the start of the next school year. It seems that you were expecting the DCF to move faster so compared to your expectations, this seems slow, but with a bit of perspective you can see that you were so lucky to have the option of DCF - most people are waiting close to a year for their CR/IR-1s these days.
I don't think the embassy has any bias towards NOT granting you a visa. You seem to be taking some of these bureaucratic instructions way too personally. The people working at the embassy have no reason to want to deny your application - and what you see as them being overly nitpicky or asking for more evidence than required or throwing barriers in your way is just them following their bureaucratic process and rules. If they didn't want to grant you a visa, would they have moved up your interview date? Communicated with you frequently over the paperwork required? They're not trying to trap you, just checking items off a list and making sure everything is just so. It seems to me that your financial situation caused some concern, which is why they wanted the extra evidence of the i-864A. You've complied and provided the right documents - shouldn't be a problem.
I have no experience of "AP" myself but have read horror stories on here from those poor couples in certain parts of the world who wait months and years on a visa. It's only been 2-3 days since they got your final and updated documents! You are not in the dreaded, never-ending, black hole of AP. I'm sure they will get to your paperwork very soon.
It's super stressful to not have control over one's own immigration journey and be dependent on the decisions of some government entity. It's important to stay positive and have faith that - having followed all instructions and provided all necessary documents - all will be well. Don't catastrophize now! You're very close to the finish line and there's no need to even think about your husband moving alone. Don't go to a dark place where you think your family needs to separate. Nothing about your process or interview indicates any reason for you to be denied or any suggestion from the embassy that you will be.
All will be well. You're almost there.
- EM_Vandaveer and Marc_us82
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Ready normally means "ready for interview". It often stays like that after the interview for a little while, if the embassy is waiting for paperwork or just slow processing things.
Once the docs you sent to the embassy have been processed, at some point, all of the statuses will change to AP, and then issued. How fast it happens depends on the embassy and the case. You could be in AP for just a day or two, or longer.
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Apply for AOS/EAD(= work permit)/AP(=travel document) together and the whole package will cost $ 1070.
You can find all the info on the guides, but basically you will need to submit forms i-485, i-864, i-765 and i-131, g-325a and supporting documents.
You do not need a SSN to apply for AOS.
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I filed the K-1 from abroad as my fiance and I were living together in Peru. Other friends did the same with no problems.
1. Can I have just have someone send in the application for me in the US? Of course with a US check and all the docs.
Yes
2. Is it required for the petitioner to be remain in the US while the application is being processed?
No
3. In the form I-325a, I need to fill in my address for the last 5 years. Should I put my current address as the one in the US to "pretend" I am living in the US or should I just put my address in Japan?
Write in your address in Japan. Just give them a US mailing address where they will send the NOA2 (for me, this was my parents' house).
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My fiance's status also showed AP - switched to AP the day after the interview, then issued the next business day. I think it's standard to have it for 1, 2, 3 days after the interview.
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My take on this is it doesn't have to be a reception. Why not a full fledged ceremony? No one has to know that you went to the courthouse to legally marry beforehand. While I understand the sentiment behind your statement, there is nothing illegal about renewing your vows. In fact it would be really special to get married twice to the one you love the most.
This allows one to plan the big day you always wanted together after k-1 is issued. Just my take on it.
Obviously this is what most people on VJ with K-1s end up doing. It's certainly not an issue of legality and I know lots of people who signed the papers a certain amount of time before their ceremony/reception, and I couldn't have cared less and was happy to be at their wedding. However, it just really didn't feel right for me. As soon as I had gone to the courthouse, I would have thought of myself as married, and didn't want to lie to anyone or continue being only engaged. The really special part for me is saying the vows and becoming bound by them, becoming husband and wife, and that in my opinion only happens once - any subsequent vows wouldn't have the same weight for me. I think part of what makes weddings special is that you ONLY do it once and those vows last the rest of your life. I also know people who considered their courthouse wedding their wedding and then had a reception later - my own reason for not wanting that was that I really didn't want to plan two different days! I found wedding planning mostly stressful and would only ever do it again if I some day have a daughter getting married.
Again, just my opinion and what was right for me. In our case it was not an issue because we wanted a small wedding, so were easily able to plan during the k-1 process but on a relatively short time line in wedding industry terms and gave ourselves enough time to make it unlikely that we would run into issues.
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Thank you for your information. May I ask which embassy did your fiancé had their interview at? As in which country? Mine would have theirs in Egypt. Also, since the online information I found and shared is incorrect, does the co-sponsor has to be a US citizen only or could also be a permanent resident?!
Not in Egypt - my fiance interviewed in Peru. That's why you should check on correct info for his/her embassy. There are regional forums on here where you can post and ask country-specific questions, like whether Egypt accepts a co-sponsor for the i-134. You'll probably get lots of other Egypt-specific tips too.
The sponsor can be either a US citizen or a permanent resident. That part was correct. The incorrect parts were the notion of combining incomes to meet the requirement (the co-sponsor must meet the requirement for his household size on his own or with another member of his household, for example, his/her spouse -- but can't combine his income with yours to meet the requirement) and the counting of household size, which I explained in my previous post.
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I also don't think the info is correct.
You (petitioner - sponsor) have to show 100% of poverty line income for you, your fiance and any dependents of yours (children).
The co-sponsor has to show 100% of poverty line income for your fiance, himself and any members of his household (spouse, children).
I was also unemployed when I submitted my I-129F petition as I had just moved back from abroad and was about to start full-time studies. My father was a co-sponsor (his household was 3 - him, my mother and my fiance) and we had no problems. As others have said, not all embassies accept co-sponsors for the I-134 so check first. Our embassy had no problem with it; they simply asked my fiance at the interview who the co-sponsor was.
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It sounds like you are the beneficiary. Your employment status or savings are not relevant. Your fiance needs to fulfill the I-134 and then the I-864 support criteria (sufficient income or assets), but there is no employment or savings requirement for you.
If it were me, I would want to leave my country on good terms with my employer back there, since you might need a reference from them in the future, move back to your country, get a job through them in another country, etc ... So I would do whatever was best by them, in this case, perhaps not starting a new project or asking to be staffed on a short project.
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APPROVED!!!!!!!!!!! Yessss!!!!! So happy!
His is my fiance's feedback on his interview:
"It went amazing. Hardly asked me much, just what to I do for work, what do you do? When we first met, when I last saw you., what do we have in common but it was over so quick!!"
Congratulations!!! And just one more month until you are together? You must be really excited!
I have the countdown until my fiance arrives on my phone ... 54 more days.
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14 months is a good chunk of time - personally, I don't quite see what could come up that would stretch your process out that far (assuming both of you have a clean criminal record and no medical/drugs issues). Never say never, but given current processing times, it seems highly unlikely that it would take longer than 14 months. I would file as soon as possible though, especially since you can delay your interview if things go too fast, but you can't speed up the process if it's going slowly.
I started putting deposits down for our wedding after we scheduled his interview (for several months out). (The wedding date was to be about 3 months after the interview). I really didn't want to have a "legal wedding" and a separate reception. I knew that the visa wasn't a sure thing, but I felt reasonably confident that we had plenty of time to get the visa. No matter when you plan a wedding, there may always be unexpected things/issues come up at the last minute - and at a certain point, you have to just set a date.
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Yes we already got married ,we applied for marriage licence, our pastor in church did it in his Office, and we to it back to the county and we were issued our marriage certificate now, so we are legally married, but will start file of AOS by july.
my question is we want to have the wedding ceremony, where relatives can attend from Nigeria. Do you think they will be allowed to attend the wedding ceremomy here in the US since we are already married by court? And since my status will be AOS(July first week) by th e time of their visa interview.
NB: my status now is still K-1 but will expire by August 10 and but we are planning the big wedding August 13th.
Thanks
If you check out the tourist visa forum, you'll see that the big overarching message is that those interviewing for tourist visas don't need to show they have a reason to go to the US, they need to show they have ties to their home country and a reason to return. Lots of people who come on K-1 visas have quickie legal marriages and bigger receptions later, with family attending, so I don't think anything about your situation will arouse suspicion or really any questions. (And once you apply for AOS, you enter a new period of authorized stay, so the expiration date of your K1 entry will be irrelevant at that point).
What your relatives need to be able to do is show strong ties to Nigeria. Good, stable employment, property ownership, family and community ties etc ... I hope they get approved!
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I guess it depends how far along you are in the process and when you expect your fiancee to arrive. Are you thinking weeks, month, a year?
That being said, regardless of the above, the 195 square foot place sounds really rough. Most people probably wouldn't be able to handle that for a very long time.
I was recently in the same situation - possibility of a short-term, cheap situation until fiance arrives (2.5 months from now), or possibility of a year-long lease on a nicer, more expensive place - and decided I'd rather pay more for a few months so that everything could be ready for my fiance's arrival. I thought it would be much more enjoyable for him to arrive to a nice, fully set-up apartment rather than us spending his first few weeks in the US searching for rentals, moving everything and running a whole lot of errands. We'll already have enough on our plate what with the wedding and sending out the AOS ASAP, running around getting his SS card, temp driver's license, etc etc that I decided we didn't need anything else.
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I'd put
First : Luis
Middle: Rafael
Last: Garcia Lopez
For my fiancé, who is Peruvian, I put both Luis and Rafael as first names because he goes by his second name. Otherwise I would have done as I wrote above. Definitely put both last names in the surname category.
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The process has been (deservedly and much too late) open to same-sex couples since the summer of 2013, when the Supreme Court struck down the relevant section of DOMA.
Best wishes to all the happy couples
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Bit late on this, but my fiance is Peruvian. On his Peruvian passport he has
Names : Jose Carlos
Family Name: Garcia Lopez
What I put on US forms:
First name: Jose Carlos
Middle: N/A or None or Leave Blank
Last name: Garcia Lopez
I might have put "Carlos" as a middle name, but since he actually goes by "Carlos" and not "Jose", I thought it might be easier to have them together under the first name.
(Not his real names, of course ...)
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As others have said, do not sign any sort of prenuptial agreement without having your own lawyer (NOT your fiance's lawyer) look over it. Can you afford to hire a lawyer?
Had you two discussed signing a prenup, or a timeline for getting married and adjusting your status? It's very understandable that you want to move forward quickly so that you can get a job, drive, etc ...
ISSUED!!!!
in Direct Consular Filing (DCF) General Discussion
Posted
I posted on your other thread, but congrats to you Marienne and your whole family! I hope you love it in the US!