davlor

Thanks for the helpful advice.

If your office allows walk-ins, why not try just walking in next Friday? Most offices allow it but some do not. Before you request a later date, try dropping in at your local office. When is your appointment?

Hmm, intriguing. Didn't know walk-ins were an option. The appointment is for 9/8. Our local office is in Milwaukee (my profile is out of date); how do I determine if this office allows walk-ins?

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.detail&office=MIL&OfficeLocator.office_type=LO&OfficeLocator.statecode=WI

says "In order to visit... you must have an appointment scheduled." This isn't a clear yes or no for early walk-ins.... advice?

Thanks so much.

My wife received her notice of appointment for biometrics. It's on an inconvenient day of the week for us; does anyone know if there's any way to speak with USCIS and reschedule for a specific date? We'd be willing to wait extra weeks if we could go on a Friday.

I know there's the option to return the appointment notice and request rescheduling, but this doesn't say anything about requesting a specific day or date.

Thanks!

A couple 'o nitpicky N-400 questions from Part 7, regarding time outside the US:

Question 1:

Part 7 requests dates of travel outside the US, and also asks for 'total days out of the United States'. For some trips, the arrival date in the foreign country is the day after the departure date in America. For instance, on a trip where we left the US on 11/4/2009 and came back 11/18/2009, we arrived in Taiwan on 11/5. Do we call this 14 days (11/5-11/18) or 15 days (11/4-11/18)? Best logical interpretation is the former, but we don't want the USCIS to think we're fudging our numbers.

Question 2:

My wife's requesting naturalization due to marriage to a US citizen (me); she's been in the US for about 6 years (originally on a student visa), and a permanent resident for just over 3 years. Parts 7A-7B ask for trips and days outside the US for the past 5 years, so we're going back to July 2005 for those. But part 7C asks specifically for trips "since becoming a lawful permanent resident." So for this one we're only including the information for the past 3 years. Thus the info here (total number of days) is less than the numbers in 7A-7B, which also include 2005-2006. Is this the correct interpretation, or do you think the USCIS wants all three parts to reflect either the full 5 years or the 3 year green card period?

Thanks for your help everyone. I'm sure we're fine either way, but I always get worried about this stuff.

My wife just filed her I-751 a couple of months ago. In the meantime, we both have lost our jobs due to the great depression.

The industry we both work in is a shambles, and there aren't too many hopeful prospects for us in the US right now. We're thinking about looking for work in other countries (Canada, or possibly China). If we were to move to another country for work for 1 or 2 years (with the full intention of eventually moving back to the US), what's the likelihood of this jeopardizing the I-751 application? We would come back to the US to visit at least every 6 months; as far as I can tell, there's no absolute prohibition on this, but USCIS can always decide that my wife doesn't intend to reside here.... Does anyone have experience relevant to this?

Thanks!

So, what you are saying is, she would not be able to enter the country with a F-1 visa + OPT, even though she is working a job that meets all the requirements of the OPT?

I mean, she will not be re-entering the country purely for immigration--she'll also be re-entering to continue her optional practical training under the F-1 visa. So this is why I'm confused.

Thanks for your help.

My wife sent in an AOS and 1-131 on 8/24/2006. We are hoping to travel out of the country in December, and it sounds like the 1-131 AP may not be processed by December, especially since we live in NYC.

The thing is, my wife entered the USA on an F-1 Student visa; she has graduated and is now under Optional Practical Training (OPT), which does allow her to re-enter the USA, provided she has a job, or has been looking for a job.

My question is, can my wife reenter the USA under OPT, or does the fact that we have filed an I-131 (and an I-485) in some way invalidate the OPT travel authorization?

I'm very confused, as you can see, so all advice will be treasured. Thanks!

My wife applied for AOS in mid-October. She has had her biometrics appointment, and we're waiting on the interview.

We have decided to move out of state in January 2007, and it doesn't seem at all certain that we'll have an interview by then. My question is, if we send a change-of-address form to USCIS, will they automatically shift the interview to a location near our new address? Or do we need to make special arrangements to change the location of the interview, etc.? It seems like this is not a very good time for us to move.

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

Here's a stupid question that I'm surprised hasn't come up yet:

We've filled out the I-485, I-130, etc., digitally. Should we print these forms double-sided or single-sided?

Thanks!

"Certified copy" means the stamped document (with a seal) that records the marriage in your county (this could be the marriage license or a different certificate...areas vary).

You may send a xerox copy of that certified copy with the AOS, but take the original certified copy (document) with you to the AOS interview (I did have to present it).

Thanks for the fast response

See, I always get confused when the word "copy" is used to mean an original, as opposed to a photocopy! What a messy language.

What exactly is a "certified copy" of a marriage certificate?

The original marriage certificate is certified by the state;

Is a regular photocopy of this certificate acceptable with the AOS application? Or does "certified copy" indicate a notarized photocopy,or perhaps an original?

Okay, thanks guys. One more question I have is if we do file an I-130 and I-485, is the process likely to be completed before my girlfriend's current stay expires in January 2007? That's only 6 months away. If we have filed the forms, can we ask permission for my girlfriend to stay in the USA beyond January while we're waiting? That issue isn't terribly clear in the guides. Thanks again for all your help

Forgive me if this has been asked many times before, but my reading and searching wasn't fruitful.

My girlfriend from Taiwan and I plan to get married soon. She has been in the USA for a couple of years on an H1 student visa. She graduated last December and is currently on OPT (Optional Practical Training) which allows her to work in the USA till January 2007; after that, she'll need to leave unless we've procured another visa.

So, where should we start? It would seem that a K1/K2 is unnecessary since she's already in the country. Can we move directly to filing an I-130, after we marry?

Our top priority, of course, is allowing my girlfriend to stay in the USA without having to return to Taiwan in January. We are happy to get legally married ASAP if this is necessary or speeds up the process.

Please forgive my ignorance, and thank you for the help.