Tinkerbell24

Woah! In that case I shall just settle for it in my maiden name I guess.. no way are we driving 6 hours round trip to get biometrics done again!

Its funny, as I thought the guy who did our interview asked whether I wanted it in my maiden or married name and I said married. Ah well, guess it'll just be maiden for now. Mabe I can change it in 2 years when I get it renewed, or whatever it is I do to it then.

Thank you Kezzie.

I'm sure this topic has been covered before, but after spending 45 mins searching topics I give up.

My green card came just a coupe of days after my interview, which is great... but its in my maiden name. I know this is because we filed in that name.. but at the time we weren't exactly familiar with the whole process so thought that was how we had to file it.

So my question is.. can I have it changed to my married name? And if so, then how?

Any advice is muchly appreciated!

Lou

Maria, your passport is government issued ID. It doesn't have to be US issued ID. So just the passport will suffice.

However, if you do want ID you can get it from DMV.... I don't drive, so I got sick of carrying my passport for ID to buy alcohol.. so I got a Virginia state ID card from the dmv... expect a long boring wait there though.. their staff are soooo slow! But it only costs $10, and you can go to the DMV website to see the things you need to take with you.. a bill in your name at your address, your passport, one of the notices of action.. the one for the I-485 is best. It costs $10 and you get it straight away.

But, like I said, you don't need it.. your passport is sufficient... that is all they actually ask for, an that is all the guy doing my interview said I needed.

Yes it is bizarre.. it took 8 months from filing for my interview and subsequent instant approval of AOS. Yet it took another couple who had their interview in the same place and sent all the forms to the same place only 4 and a half months. Why would that be? We had no hold ups, and got told we were the perfect simple case... yet ours took 4 months longer than theirs. If ours had come through in that short time frame then it would've made life a lot easier, with being able to work, travel, etc. And would have saved us money applying for AP and EAD unneccesarily. I thought that cases were supposed to be done in the order they were received... I guess not. Pretty frustrating. I mean, I am approved now so can't complain much but it certainly would have made life easier to have got approved as quickly as the other couple did, especially since we filed 4 months before them...

How does a person know they have been touched???????

Debby.

Yeh I want to know that to... how would one know/ why would you ever be? I don't ever remember being 'touched' by the US gov.. and I assume it is something I wouldn't forget it in a hurry!

Well, we got to my interview early. I was scheduled for 2pm.. they let us in at 1.15pm. They were running late, so we didn't get seen till 2.30pm. We were out of there by 2.40pm... approved. We weren't asked any questions at all! Nothing about the wedding, nothing about where we live or our relationship or anything. We just chatted with the guy.. he seemed very nice, and was clearly just seeing how we interacted with each other. He only asked me 2 or 3 of the 'have you ever.. ' questions. And he commented that my husband and I were 'an easy case'. And that we had 'the most photos he had ever seen' with us. And he said that my green card will arrive shortly. We were literally in there for no more than 10 minutes. And sure enough, by the time I got home, I already had an e-mail update from the government on my case saying 'your welcome letter was sent on June 26th, if you have not received it within 30 days please contact us'. So, simple as that, and since we are only 3 hours away from Norfolk (where my interview was), we expect to receive that tomorrow, and I guess the green card will follow very shortly behind? Or do they coe at the same time? I don't know, but good news none the less!

So my only advice to everyone is...

1. Be prepared! Take more evidence rather than less as its better to be safe than sorry and better to have more than you need than not have enough.

2. Be honest. As the interviewer said to us 'we aren't trying to catch people out and stop them getting green cards.. if the case isn't genuine then they will trip themselves up, we don't need to ask tricky questions to make that happen'. ASnd its true.. if you are in love, and if you are genuinely here for love not just for a silly green card then the interviewer will know that.... they will just observe how you interact with your hubby/ wifey, and body language doesn't lie, so if you aren't in love, you'll slip up yourself. So if you're here to take the country for a ride and give people who truly are here for love a bad name,then you will get caught out!

My interview experience was great! No probs at all! Hope everyone elses runs as smoothly! And one more thing... no need to dress up smart... you aren't there for a fashion show! They won't turn you down if you don't have perfectly pressed pants! My hubby was wearing shorts,and a dirty old soccer jersey as he'd got filthy moving boxes just before we left for the interview, and we had no time to change. And I had a denim skirt and a t-shirt on.... so no need to get out your sunday best! Just be comfortable, and be yourself!

And incidentaly, for anyone who saw my post about the vaccination supplement.. well I am glad I didn't pay the civil surgeon to tick the silly few boxes on a form, as the interviewer never even asked for it anyway and he said I had all I needed when I had my medical done in London.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my story with you... I may elaborate further when I have time, but I'm tired now. And there really isn't much to elaborate on, it truly was a walk in the park. These people are trained to spot liars and if you are genuine you will be fine, and if you are dodgy then you won't be, which is a good thing, as the less people abusing the system, the better, as in the future it may make things easier for everyone if the USCIS isn't wasting their time with dodgy people just after a blooming green card!

Night all!

ooh, and to answer your question... I applied for mutiple trips as you never know when you may need it. And it is my belief that the earlier the date of travel the quicker you get it, as I was shocked when I got mine through so fast! Unless they always come through in just over a week? Personally I was fully expecting to wait a few months for it as everything else with the process is so slow.

I applied for (and got granted within 10 days...) AP on the basis that 'I wanted the security of knowing that if something happened to anyone in my friends and family that I would have the freedon to travel to be with them. I received the 2 forms within 10 days, and travelled back home to nEngland for a holiday with my husband a week after I received the forms.

When I came back into Wasdhington DC after an hours wait (even though I was there first) and 2 incredibly rude immigration officers finally getting to me it took 5 seconds to stamp one form and give both back to me. But they were so so rude to everyone expecting us all to be illegal immigrants. I was so so angry and upset and completely cried my eyes out the second I got through the door past them. They treated us like we were cattle and used no civility whatsoever... as someone who has always held a responsible job and never been in ttrouble with the law or ever done anything illegal I was absolutely horrified by their behaviour, which I don't really want to go in to. It was 2 weeks ago and I am still considering making a complaint against them but suspect it on't do me any good. These men just play god, and the way they were treating some of the guys that didn't speak english was just beyond belief.

Anyway, sorry for going slightly off topic! ) But for me, they stamped one but gave both back to me.. whether that was the correct procedure or not I do not know, and judging y those guys I wouldn't be surprised if it was wrong as they were clearly clueless on basic manners and how to treat a human being so probably clueless on procedure too....

Louise

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Deary me. Blooming confusing isn't it! So much of it seems to be that we could get lucky and not even get asked for it or get unlucky and delay the GC even further. I don't have a copy of the medical... I had to hand it over to the US customs when I came to the US in August. If I called the nuffield in London that did my medical would they have a copy to fax me? I thought the only copy was the one I submitted to the US government at my Port of entry (Washington DC).

Incidentaly, I have now found 6 listed civil surgeons in our town.. i looked it up wrong the first time.. my husband just phoned them and was told that they only fill in the vaccination supplement if I have a full medical (costing between $250 and $350...) as it is their 'office policy'. How frustrating! He has phoned 5 out of the 6 so far... the one charging $125 just for filling in the form, and 4 others who only fill the form in if In pay for a full medical. So with just one more to try I don't much fancy our chances of finding one that isn't a rude con artist. They all say they 'understand our situation, but its office policy to do a full medical! Grr!

Ooh yes. I am sorry. I came here on a K-1 visa so am applying for adjustment of status based on that. I will fill in the timeline now.. we registered last year but can't remember our account name so I re-joined today. I will fill in the visa timeline now.

Also, the doctor I spoke to said that the I-693 included having to have blood teste done.. but I had all that done already in England! Just feels like they are trying to maximise their profit!

Hi there,

Pretty please help! I have my AOS interview on Monday and I am so confused with what to do about the vaccination supplement. I have had all of the vaccinations required done in England before I moved to the US. So how do I show proof of this? I thought all I had to do was take a letter from my English doctor stating that I've had them, along with the vaccination supplement. But..... I phoned the government helpline to confirm this and spoke to an immigration officer who simply told me 'i cannot advise you as to whether that is sufficient.. you will have to take it up with the immigration officer who is interviewing you at your AOS interview.' So I told him that all I wanted to know was if that was sufficient to meet the guidelines. His response 'ma'am, again, all I can say is that the officer interviewing you is like the judge and he is the one that says if that is acceptable, I cannot comment'.

So I was left feeling mega confused!! So I called our local civil surgeon... we live in Richmond, VA and the only one within 100 miles of us according the list appears to be just one doctor in Richmond. So we have no choice but to go to him.. and when I called him I was told that it will cost $125 just for him to tick 3 boxes and put his signature at the bottom of the form.. all of which would take about 5 seconds to do! So I cannot understand how it costs so much! I also got told by them that I need to have another medical done which will cost a larger 'as yet undisclosed sum'. I told them I had already had and passed the medical in London. But they told me 'well if you want to risk going to the interview and being rejected because you haven't had a medical with us then that is your prerogotive'. I know I do not need another medical! I feel like they are just trying to con even more money out of me!

So please help.. I need your advice. What should I do? What do I actually need for the interview? As both the USCIS and the local civil surgeon have proved useless and I can't find the appropriate info anywhere. Having read through this forum it appears that half the time they never even ask for the vaccination supplement at the interview... but I hardly want to risk not having it! Will the letter from my English doctor be acceptable or am I forced to go and pay this doctor $125 for 3 seconds work? Seems like a con to me.

Sorry for writing a long essay.. I am just so stressed trying to make sure I have all the relevant paperwork in order. Please help!

Thanks so much in advance!

Louise

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