CharlotteLister

Hi all,

My status just changed online to 'new card being produced' for the EAD! My receipt date was 13th July.

Does anyone know how long the card takes to arrive?

Thank you for your replies,

ChasUno, do you remember if your status changed online regarding your EAD and AP? Or did they just arrive in the mail?

It's a shame that AOS takes so long but congrats on getting yours approved!!

Hi guys

I had my biometrics appointment on 5th August, i've checked my status on the USCIS and it still says 'Received biometrics fee'

Does anyone know how long it takes for it to change to the next step? Whatever that is. I think it's 'ready for interview to be scheduled'?

If anyone is on a similar timeline as me, it would be great to hear from you and if your status has changed at all.

You should be absolutely fine!

I had my interview at London.

I had a reprimand from being caught shoplifting when I was 14 and I had no problems with getting a visa.

The good thing about your case is that it's not an act that involves moral turpitude, therefore it doesn't make you inadmissible by any means.

Having the police subject access report is handy so they can see that is the only thing on your record.

I would hand over the documents and when they ask about it (if they do), then just be honest and show you're a little embarrassed by the situation. That seemed to help with me!

Good luck!

Thank you for your responses!

The letter and ID worked just fine and i was in and out of there within five minutes! Very impressed.

Does anyone know how long it can take for the status on the USCIS to change?

Charlotte

Hi Guys

Just about to head out to my biometrics appointment but just want to confirm the documents i need to take.

As far as I'm aware, it's just the appointment letter and one form ID i.e passport?

Am i right?

Don't want to travel all the way there and not have the right information!

Thanks

Charlotte

Yeah I think that is the case. I think they just want to see that you're applying to live here permantely.

I know that is the sucky part! The amount of times I've needed a Florida license to do something is incredible. My husbands car insurance company even tripled his rate for the month of July, just because I'm living with him and could potentially drive his car, even though he said I don't! (Which i do) but I think it's crazy!!

I just can't wait to get my license now!

Good luck with everything!

Hi there,

I live in Florida too and have been quite confused about the information provided. From the website it seems straight forward, but before i read that, i went to the DMV to get the handbook to practise and a gentleman who worked there asked what visa i had, and said because its K1 they require you take the test within 28 days (approx) from arriving, and if you don't, you have to wait to receive your NOA1 from the USCIS which you can use to take the test.

I saw nothing about the NOA1 on the website but i have seen someone mention the same information on Visa Journey, who also lives in Florida.

Once my NOA1 arrives, which should be sometime next week, I'm going to call the DMV to get more of an understanding on the situation. I would also like to go ahead with the DATA course but not sure if i'm allowed to do that yet.....

maybe call the DMV and speak to an advisor, it seems Florida is quite different to other states.

Thank you for your responses and help!

Yes I am filing for the EAD and the advance parole too. So do I need a certified copy for each of those too? I was under the impression that I did after seeing people's examples of cover pages on here.

I just hope I can get hold of the certified copies fairly soon because we are wanting to file this week.

Charlotte

Happy 4th July everyone!

I'm just preparing the paperwork for AOS and i have a question about the filing fee.

I know the form I-485 application and biometrics fee equal $1070 (is this correct?)

But when i am preparing the money order or check, do i make out two separate checks for each of them, or put one total fee of $1070 on one check? and what are the exact fees for each?

Also, my husband and i forgot to get more certified copies of the marriage certificate (i asked for one extra which i didn't even receive) but i now know i needed more. How do i go about getting more certified copies even though I've already received the certificate? and does anyone know the cost?

Charlotte

Cedric I like in Hollywood, Florida. The county is broward. It seems that this is a normal thing so if you are worried, I wouldn't be!

That's great news! Thank you so much for responding. So I just take the certificate to the SSN to change my name? Then to the bank etc

Hi Guys

My fiance and I got married on 8th June and just yesterday received our marriage certificate.

I was a little confused when we received it as it doesn't typically look like a 'certificate' of marriage as it lists the applicants names, marriage licence and certificate signatures all on one piece of paper, with the seal stamped at the bottom.

After noticing that this is normal, especially in the county of Broward, Fl, i was put at ease.

However, at the top of the page, below where it says 'application to marry', 'spouse 1' is listed in my maiden name, not my married name.

When we filled out the marriage licence a few days prior to the marriage, the lady said 'make sure all the details are correct or you will need to get a court order to change them after this date' and we said yes, as we were certain the application for the licence would be filled out in my maiden name, and the lady didn't say otherwise.

After panicking for a while, i googled the situation and it says that depending on the state, (California for example) it can be standard practice to have the maiden name on there instead of the married name.

Has anyone else got married in the state of Florida and experienced the same situation?

i have read that if it not meant to be on there, it can mean petitioning and getting a court order and going before a judge! All things that cost money and take time.

We are really wanting file for AOS next month, and i feel that me not taking his name is a bit of a red flag.

If anyone could just shed some light on this if they know anything about marriage licences/certificates in state of Florida.

Thanks, Charlotte

Hi nicvel

That's a little frustrating to know since we are only in broward and could of gone to Miami-dade if we had of known! Haha but thank you anyway.

It seems there is no way to expedite but the guy who did the ceremony did give us a copy of the document. I don't think it's certified though.

Thank you all for your congratulations, looking forward to married life!

Charlotte

Yeah we told her and explained the situation and she could see we were a little concerned but did not bat an eyelid so I think she either didn't care or there are no expediting services that they offer. We will mention again when we go tomorrow and hope for the best.

Thank you everyone for your replies!

I knew that I had seen people say they filed after the 90 days so wasn't too worried but just wanted to clarify!

I will try to speak to the lady but she seemed very adamant on the process unfortunately!

She did say she would give me a copy of the documentation they fill out on the day to prove that we were there on that day and got married so we will see what that looks like.

By the sounds of it I think they do send off all the documentation and don't deal with the certificates directly which is frustrating! I live in Florida. Has anyone else in Florida had the same situation?

Charlotte

Hi everyone,

I just wanted a little advice regarding what we should do when it comes to obtaining the marriage certificate.

I arrived in the US on 24th April and we are getting married at the courthouse tomorrow morning (having a big wedding in October) so that we can fulfill the 90 day requirement.

However, when we went to the courthouse last week to obtain the marriage license, the lady behind the kiosk told us it can take 4-6 weeks to receive the marriage certificate. We were shocked at this as we thought doing it this way would be quicker and we could file AOS before the 90 days is over. Looking at the dates, on the worst case scenario of 6 weeks, it is cutting it fine with timing when it comes to getting the AOS paperwork mailed off. July 22nd is the date I need to be married by which will be fine but the filing of AOS, if what I have read is correct, could put me into illegal status. Is this correct?

Does anyone know if there is a way of expediting the marriage certificate? Or if this will jeopardize our AOS filing at all?

Charlotte

Ahh cool. I may have seen you!

Glad everything will work out for you flights wise.

I paid extra to get my passport sent to my house so I don't know if that will delay my tracking and delivery.

I'm not going until the end of April though so got plenty of time to wait

Ahh okay haha

Shouldn't be too long now then!

Was your interview at London?

Hi everyone

My visa status on CEAC changed to 'issued' on Wednesday but I still haven't received an email or text with my tracking information for my passport.

Just wondering when I should receive this? I feel like I should have had something by now.

Hi IAmIan

just came across your post and thought i would reply to you on my experience with this.

I have no live trace on my police certificate too from a shoplifting incident when i was 14 years old. I ticked yes on the DS-160 to 'have you ever been arrested?' because i was, even though it was a reprimand, it was still an arrest. As you were possibly a minor at the time you shouldn't have any problems and also since it was so long ago!

Though, I would recommend getting a Subject Access Report which shows exactly what the crimes were and the actions that were taken. I feel like this helped my situation to show the age, the crime and the action that was taken. They can take about 40 days to arrive so would move quickly if your interview is coming up shortly!

I know that one crime of moral turpitude as a minor falls under the exception - which still makes you eligible for a visa. So the stealing of the books won't be an issue and your arrest doesn't sound like a mortal turpitude crime.

The best thing to do is be honest about the incidents. I even wrote some additional comments explaining how i was an impressionable teenager and it was so out of character for me to do such thing. Although this wasn't needed at the interview, i think it's something to have at hand if things turn sour.

Maybe prepare yourself for ESTA questions but you should be fine.

Hope this helps!

Thank you both for your replies.

I am in the process of ordering the Subject Access Report now, hopefully it will come before the interview. Luckily i still have a form that i filled out when i got reprimanded in 2007, stating exactly what the offence was, so i will take that to the interview too.

I looked into what you said about MKAT becoming illegal and you were right (thanks so much!), in England it became illegal in April 2010 and 2012 for US. I took the drug around November 2009. Now i have already told the doctor about this, i'm not sure what difference it will make, but i plan to print out a page showing when it became illegal just in case they ask about it.

My fiance seems to think that anything that happened under the age of 18 isn't looked at too seriously by immigration. But i want to be cautious just in case.

The doctor clearly said to me that if the drug test comes back negative, i will be absolutely fine. So i'm hoping she is right!

Hi everyone,

Yesterday i went for my medical at Knightsbridge. It all went well until the doctor asked me if i had EVER taken or tried drugs. I told her that once, when i was 16 (6 years ago) i tried a drug once. It was called MKAT, a drug that got pretty popular around my area at the time. It was a stupid mistake and it was an awful experience and i've never touched drugs since, and i never plan to again. She told me that the good news was that i was honest about it, but the bad news was that i had to do a drugs test which cost £50!

I was absolutely fine with it as i have nothing to hide (as i said, it was just the once!) and i'm pretty sure it'll come back negative, and the doctor said if it does, then it will not prevent me from getting the visa. However, i have been reading up on this situation and i have seen people say that the admission of taking drugs even once can be reason for denial or a 1 year ban. I feel that my honesty may have bitten me in the butt if this is the case.

Even if not, i have also got 'NO LIVE TRACE' on my police certificate from when i got a reprimand for shoplifting when i was 14. When i went for my J1 Visa they told me it wasn't relevant because i was a minor. Is this the case too when it comes to trying drugs just the once as a minor?

Has anyone had this situation? I would really like to hear about your experiences.

Thanks

Charlotte

Hi Everyone,

I am pretty new to this site so i apologise if this has already been answered but i couldn't see anything relating to my situation.

Everything so far has been running smoothly with the K1 Visa Process, but yesterday i had my medical examination at Knightsbridge Doctors.

As i luckily have no previous medical history i thought that it would be pretty much a breeze, however when she asked me whether i had EVER tried or used drugs, i told her that when i was 16 (6 years ago) i tried a drug once. It was something silly that was popular around my area called MKAT. It was an awful experience and i have never touched a drug since and i never plan to. As i had told her about this she had told me that the good news was that i had been honest about it, but the bad news was that i would have to take a urine drug test which would cost £50! As i have nothing to hide (as i said, it was only the once!) i was absolutely fine with it and i'm sure it'll come back as negative.

The doctor told me that if it did come back negative, i would have no problems with getting my VISA. However, after reading certain things relating to this online, i worry that my honesty make have bitten me in the butt. I have seen some people say that even admitting to doing drugs once is enough for visa denial or getting a ban for 1 year.

Can anyone shed some light on this or provide me with any experiences they have had as i don't know what to think! I'm really worried that i may not be granted my fiancee visa and will not be able to get married later this year.

Thanks

Charlotte