mlsjmu

We went the secured card route with a Discover card for my Canadian wife. No trouble at all to set up, now about 4 months or so later so has an unsecured CapitalOne card with a relatively low limit. That scenario has worked out well for us.

Update:

So we heard back today via letter from our Senator. They informed us of exactly what we already know, and what we've told them. That the tracking number shows our card was delivered. Obviously it wasn't or we wouldn't have been pestering people for the last two months trying to find out where it is. So disappointed right now. Absolutely ridiculous the card isn't sent via certified mail. No way will I pay them again for failing us the first time, so I suppose we're stuck now hoping to eventually get the actual green card.

8 minutes ago, mlsjmu said:

 

1 hour ago, Ebunoluwa said:

We received most but one thing we did not receive, it sometimes depends on the interpretation of the mail carrier.
There are threads here to point you to : put names your names on the mail box for the reason I mentioned

to not go through this  a second time.

Thanks, I do appreciate your advice, but we can't actually put our names on the physical box itself. Our apartment complex's cluster box isn't constructed in such a way that that is possible. All of them are simply marked by the corresponding apartment letter. Secondly, we actually still get mail from about the last 5 residents of the apartment, so I don't believe our carrier has any issues with the name on the envelope. Unfortunately I think it's more likely they misplaced our letter with a similar looking letter of another apartment. Had we known several months ago, at least we could have checked directly with the post office at the time and tried to recover it. Again, the USCIS telling us there was no tracking available until two months after the fact basically rendered any benefit of a tracking number moot. 

20 hours ago, Ebunoluwa said:

Recipients name must be on mail box or some mail carriers will not deliver anything from USCIS !

we put both of our names on the 

mailbox. 

Thanks, but not the issue. Both my wife and I receive mail at our box. She received her NOA2 approval letters at the same address back in April, they simply mishandled the card.

Yes, we spoke to a Tier 2 officer, on Monday, they finally gave us a tracking number after the original inquiry when we were told there was no tracking available. Unfortunately a tracking number now does us no good now, as the letter was delivered apparently two months ago. We do have the app, but unfortunately did not at the time. I'm waiting now for a reply back from our Senator. Frankly, I find it insulting they insinuated we should file and pay them again for an error on the USPS/USCIS's part. Why USCIS would send out a card without requiring signature confirmation for receiving is asinine. Even our local post office said the same. 

An update to the situation:

We've contacted our Senator, but are waiting for a case worker to find out more information. In the mean time, we have contacted USCIS again, and they finally provided us with a tracking number for the card. The tracking results show the card was delivered to our apartment complex's cluster mailbox on April 29th, 2017. Unfortunately, USCIS has basically told us they consider it delivered and that now we can either attempt to prove we didn't receive the card, or resubmit the paperwork and file again. Obviously that is an untenable situation. Our mail delivery in this apartment complex has been hit and miss lately, with our box occasionally receiving other apartment's mail and vice-versa, so I fear some other apartment received my wife's card. We are very frustrated at this point. I'm upset the card was simply sent Priority Mail with no signature confirmation required, and now apparently both the USCIS and postal service seem to say it's our fault. Other than hoping our Senator's office and intervene, does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks for your time.

Thanks very much very for everyone's suggestions and information.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. For those that have contacted a Senator, did you just randomly pick one of the two representing your state? I'm unsure whether to send requests to both Virginia senators, or if I just just select one and hope they reply.

14 hours ago, Scandi said:

So USCIS never sent you the card or it was lost in the mail? 

Good question, we received the approval letters, but the actual card has never arrived. USCIS basically has told us they can see it was approved, but that they will contact us back with what happened. Unfortunately, we haven't heard anything yet. So in reality, we have no idea whether they sent a card and it didn't arrive, or they didn't send a card period.

Hello, my wife received her NOA2 approval notification of her AP and EAD on April 27th of this year. Unfortunately, we've yet to receive the card in the mail after 7 weeks of waiting. We've contacted the service line, and received a response that we should hear something by this Monday, June 19th. However when we asked how we'd be contacted the response was that it could be email, it might be standard mail, and that actually the 19th was just the date they gave, that they might take up to a month to look into our inquiry. At this point the frustration is building, as she has been approved, but obviously we can't travel or look for employment without the card. I'm considering contacting our Senator and/or Congressmen. Any other suggestions? We received our NOA1 on her Adjustment of Status back in January, so it seems a bit ridiculous that we haven't yet received the AP/EAD card almost 5 months after her NOA1. Thanks for your suggestions.

54 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

No she does not need to pay taxes in both countries. She needs only to report her Canadian income in the US, if you then choose to treat her as a tax resident for the entire year (by adding an election statement) she can use the form 2555 to exclude the foreign earned income from being taxable - still as said reported though..

 

 

Thank you, TurboTax allows me to input her foreign income if we list as filing jointly, and the program initially shows I should be able to exclude it, but it won't allow me to select anything to do so. I appreciate the info very much! 

Hello, OP here again. Unfortunately, I'm still having the same issues as before. Turbo Tax doesn't seem to want to handle the problem, and much of what I read seems to indicate my now wife may have to pay taxes in both Canada and the US, even though she did not work a day in the US in 2016. Can anyone confirm if this is correct? Sorry, I'm very lost on this issue, and everywhere I seek help from seems to give contradictory answers.

First off thanks to VJ for always great advice, you've helped us immensely through our K1 process. Secondly, please forgive if this is covered somewhere else, I've read a number of threads here and on Turbotax's message boards, but seem to find conflicting answers. Here is our scenario, I'm about to file our 2016 tax returns. My wife is originally from Canada, and came here on her K1 Visa. We were married in November 2016, and have recently sent the paperwork in for her Adjustment of Status (though have yet to hear any news of it). She does already have her social security number. My now wife was a nurse in Canada working part-time in 2016 up until her move down in November. Of course since she does not yet have her EAD, she earned no income in the US in 2016. At this point I'm unclear how to proceed. Has anyone ever attempted a similar scenario in Turbotax? Any additional comments or suggestions are welcome and appreciated.Or if there is a more specific guide relevant to our situation, any links are appreciated. Please excuse the ignorance on tax topics, I've always preferred to plug everything into Turbotax online and let it do all the work. Thanks for your time.

Just as an aside, I've read the sticky, but some of the messages on Turbotax seem to contradict or conflate a bit of this, so seeking clarification.

Hello All,

I've been following the forum and last week i received a notice that i'll be getting an RFE. I was a little upset as I used a lawyer to avoid that. I received the RFE letter today and its asking for the following:

- Circumstances of Meeting

- Last Personal meeting

This concerns me too. I've seen conflicting info on VJ about this very topic. I've seen veteran members say all the government is interested in is you showing proof of meeting in the last two years, while in other cases such as this it seems they want more info as to the start of the relationship. The question on the I-129f is worded ambiguously so it isn't entirely clear which meeting it is referencing. Any others have experiences one way or another?

Additionally after searching more for the location of that quote, it appears on the USCIS website here at https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-914instr.pdf, but that appears to be instructions for the I-914 and not the I-129F.

Form instructions :

Other Names Used

- Provide all the names you have

used, including maiden name if applicable, married

names, nicknames, etc

Yes, enter his name Alan as other names used. You can attach a sheet to the form that explains it was not used for legal purposes but just a nickname

he uses.

Sorry, but where did you find that quote? I was in a similar situation to the original poster, and tried to research it. On the official USCIS website for the I-129F instructions (https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/files/form/i-129finstr.pdf) it says nothing like this. I can't find any confirmation anywhere officially that this is necessary. Just looking for a source for your reply, not questioning your knowledge.

We've used Expedia for literally about 15+ visits in the last few years. Never been an issue for the trips when I've bought my fiancee a ticket with my card.

I've been wondering the same thing! Can't really find anything solid though. I'm a disabled vet and receive VA disability as well as Soc. Sec. The only thing taxable is Soc Sec. I'm well over the poverty line but not sure how it's see able through my tax transcripts... I have proof from the government showing my monthly pay... So yeah, in the same boat as you.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one finding mixed information. Thank you for your service to our country.

I would just provide your fiancé with as much info as you can...better too much than not enough in my opinion. The letter I got from my bank shows the current amount (from the date I requested it), how long the account has been open, and the average monthly amount over a 12 month period. The letter from my employer states my title, how long I've been employed, that I'm full time and permanent, and my hourly rate. Within the next two weeks I plan to get the remaining items together such as tax return, new letter of intent to marry, and I-134.

Thanks for the reply. While I certainly am willing to get the additional paperwork, I'm just wondering if it is really necessary. Additionally, I stay mostly fully invested with extra cash (except for a fairly small amount of cash for emergencies), so I'm wondering if providing just that on hand cash balance would be positive or not.

Hello All,

Thanks for the invaluable information on the site. We received our NOA1 on February 26th, after gathering a lot of great advice from here. I've started some preliminary work on the next packet, and just had a question regarding form I-134, the affidavit of support. I've seen conflicting information as to how much additional information needs to be provided if you are well over the 125% support line. If I'm significantly over that in yearly salary, do I still need to request bank statements/letters and stock brokerage reports? Thanks in advance for any advice.