TomLena

Elena and I have had the very recent tragedy of her mother passing away very suddenly. She has traveled to Russia late last week in order to be with her family and attend the funeral and pay her last respects.

Unfortunately, in our haste to book the last minute tickets, I didn't even think of potential travel issues related to her maiden vs. married name.

Long story short, she left here with the following:

1) Round trip e-ticket from Tampa to Moscow (via Washington D.C.) with her married name (United Airlines)

2) Round trip e-ticket from Moscow to Chelyabinsk with her married name (S7 Airlines)

3) Russian international passport with her maiden name, but a stamp issued by the Russian Embassy shortly after she renewed her passport stating her married name

4) Green card with her married name

5) Florida driver's license with her married name

She didn't really have any problems getting through check-in and TSA while here in the USA. She also was able to enter Russia on her Russian passport without any problem. In all situations, if anyone needed to compare the name on the passport with the ticket, she showed them the stamp and all was OK. The domestic airline (S7) balked that her passport didn't match her ticket name and didn't care that she had a stamp from the Russian Embassy in there, but the clerk may have been wrong. She didn't have a lot of time to haggle with them over it so I just had her exercise her ability to cancel the ticket for a 25% fee and get a new one issued with her maiden name.

The situation with S7 scared us. We're now worried that she might have issues returning. She didn't take our certified copy of our marriage license with her. I'm going to send her a PDF scan of it so she can print it, but that's about the best we can think to do unless they give her problems at the airport.

I'm hoping that someone has some personal experience in this matter and can give us good advise or information. When all is said and done, even if her return trip is allowable with the documentation she has, there's always a chance she runs into a fickle security agent who wants to make their own rules. I've run into this before, but luckily it was only over a 'duty free' purchased can of Red Bull that I ended up boarding with anyway by consuming it.

I got approved on Jan. 14, 2008 and got my welcome letter in the mail on Jan. 25th. However, I have yet to get my green card. I called customer service and they told me that they would resend it and I would get it within 30 days. However, I get a letter today saying the post office did not return it as undeliverable, therefore, I have to file an I-90. Knowing this is stressing me OUT! How long will that take??

My lawyer is of no help. He just instructed me to do that I-90 and it really upsets me. He said it will take 4.5 months to receive it. All plans I had to travel out the country this summer are clearly out the window :-(. PLUS I gotta pay the fee.

Can't you travel with the permanent residency stamp in your passport? I'm pretty sure that you can, but check with your lawyer. Getting an infopass to get an appointment to get the stamp isn't a big deal usually.

Do NOT pay another $370 for something you did not receive. If you have not changed the address and the card has not arrived, you should get a new one for free.

We involved our congressman and we got it just yesterday, after being a resident since 5/31/2007. Read up on different cases in the CR1/IR1 subforum. There's more info in my signature of our problem.

Best of luck to you!

This is exactly what we are doing. We involved our congressman at the first sign of this issue. He was told something similar to what we were told - to fill out an I-90, but to check the box that says we never received it. We did exactly that and after several weeks got a response back that said that they never received the original card back in the mail, etc. etc. (which they told us before!) and that we must fill out ANOTHER I-90 and check the box that the card was lost/stolen/etc. and pay any fees required. I immediately contacted our congressman of the result.

Here's some additional food for thought on this topic.

Customers of the USPS waive the postal service's liability in the event that a package is lost if they do not insure it, except for services which automatically come with a $100 default insurance level, in which case the customer is waiving the postal service's liability for anything beyond the $100.

In this and other cases talked about here, the USCIS does give us a choice in carrier or services. They are the ones who were responsible for procuring the services from the USPS and they are the ones who were responsible for waiving the USPS's liability in the case of the envelope not being delivered. It is ridiculous if it is true that they are telling people to sue the USPS. Any FAIR judge who has ruled in favor of the USCIS in cases like this must have felt that the person claiming they didn't receive the card probably actually did receive it and lost it. In most cases, unfortunately, that person cannot prove that they did not receive it.

We can prove that we did not receive it, both via circumstantial means (which do count in a civil case) and via a signed affadavit from our mail handler at the UPS Store... the place that we've procured to receive our mail and which is located only 5 doors down from the USPS that delivers the mail to them. No chance that the envelope even made it into their doors. This is something that our congressman is aware of as well. I'm sure he'll bring it up once he reaches out to them again.

To ultimately solve this problem, we need to push our congressmen to include these cases the next time they review the USCIS. If we just deal strictly with the USCIS and eventually roll over and pay their fees twice over, it will just keep happening again and again. I'm doing my part. How about everyone else?

By the way - whatever the outcome - we will not pay that $370 fee again. We did everything that we were supposed to do and paid all of the fees that we were supposed to... we will not volunteer ourselves to dish out our hard-earned money to pay twice for something that thousands of others only had to pay once for. We didn't lose the card. The card wasn't stolen. It was never delivered. I don't see the local office denying Elena a new stamp in her passport when the current one expires in September... not if they don't want an angry congressman breathing down their neck for something he just witnessed them do.

When anyone sends something through normal USPS mail, by virtue of their paying the postage they are agreeing to the terms and conditions of the service.

By the USCIS having chosen which method of service to send this green card, they are responsible for whatever terms that they have agreed to by virtue of this.

I'm not a lawyer, but if the terms and conditions of normal USPS mail service where there is no tracking, certification, or otherwise being purchased with the service states that they are not responsible for lost packages, then the burden of this defaults to whomever procured the service, does it not?

Of course I am all for postal reform and increasing the reliability of our postal service... as you can see from our choice to use the UPS store to handle the final distribution of our mail that we don't have a whole lot of trust in our local carriers to deliver the package to the correct mailbox. I do not believe in this case that it is ultimately the responsibility of the postal service to compensate me for this fee. Had this been sent via an insured service, then it would be a different story.

I would consider the letter that we received back in response to our original I-90 to replace the card to be a 'denial'. From what I understand, these denials may be appealed. Has anyone ever gone this route? Since when should the reproduction of a plastic card cost hundreds of dollars anyway? That in itself is rediculous. Even a first driver's license doesn't cost nearly as much.

My wife and I have been happily married for a little over a year now. She arrived here in the USA via a K1 visa in February of 2007 and was approved for permanent residency last September.

Since we currently live in an apartment where the mail room is typically cluttered with envelopes tacked up on the wall from tenants who inadvertently received someone else's mail, we decided early on that we would file any paperwork with the USCIS where a 'mailing' address was asked for using a mailing address provided by the local UPS Store. Of course we've also filled in the forms with our residential address wherever it was asked for. You'll see the irony in our even taking this precaution as you read on.

Within a few weeks of Lena's interview at the local USCIS office and approval for permanent residency, we checked the mailbox and found the welcome notice letter from the USCIS - dated October 5th. It stated that we should call them if we don't receive the green card within 3 weeks.

After several calls to the customer service center, starting from 3 weeks from the date of the notice, we still had not received the green card in the mail. The folks at the UPS Store had been on the lookout for this particular item for us as they knew that the only reason we opened the mailbox with them was in order to ensure that we receive this mail. People at the customer service center insisted first that I call back after it had been 30 days from the notice. I called back and waited on hold for what seemed forever just to then be told that they cannot do anything unless it's been 60 days. I call back after the 60th day and am told that they can submit a ticket for this to be investigated. A few weeks later we receive a letter which states that the green card was never returned to them as undeliverable and that I should check with the local post office or file an I-90 to have the card replaced.

I checked with the local post office and also checked again with the local UPS store. The local post office said that unless the item were sent via certified or other trackable means, they couldn't do anything to locate the missing item or to explain why or where it may have gotten lost. I walked 4 doors down to where the UPS store is and they assured me that they never received anything other than the notices that we had already accounted for. Absolutely nothing was received between the time of the welcome letter and the time of the customer service response.

I contacted the customer service center again and they told me that they couldn't do anything further until another 60 days has passed as they are not even allowed to process more than one service request per person within less than 60 days of each other. They did suggest that we could make an appointment with the local USCIS office (same place where the interview took place).

We made an appointment to speak with someone there. We pretty much got in right away, however, were not even given the courtesy to sit in an office or at a desk to take a look at what's happened with Lena's card. A USCIS 'officer' took a look on a terminal that was right up near the entrance of the facility and said that it says they mailed it and that all I can do is file an I-90 form. He says that we can try to submit it saying that we never received it (which would be accurate) but that since they did not receive it back as undeliverable, they might deny the request and request we do it again and pay the full fees again - which are somewhere in the neighborhood of $370-$380.

Not very satisfied with this answer, I contacted my local U.S. congressman's office. They submitted an inquiry on my behalf only to be given the same run-around answer about having to file an I-90.

We submitted the I-90 form and checked the box that we never received the item in the mail. After longer than a month, we finally received a response today which very much assimilated the response we received from the original customer service response. We are being told that we now have to file ANOTHER I-90 and check the box that the green card was lost, stolen, or destroyed and pay any applicable fees (the $370-$380).

A representative from the UPS Store will gladly sign an affidavit stating that they never received the green card at their facility, however, I doubt that I will find anyone in the USCIS that this would make a difference to.

How come we're responsible for paying a ridiculously high replacement fee (or any fee at all) to create a new plastic card and mail it when nobody but agencies of the U.S. government could have possibly laid hands on or otherwise handled the original card immediately prior to it getting lost (if it were ever issued at all!)

Coincidentally, the claim from the USCIS is that they mailed the green card on October 5th... same date that the welcome letter was actually dated that said the card would arrive within 3 weeks.

Is there anything that I can do that I have not already done? Has anyone ever resolved this issue? I know we're not the first this has happened to. Please share your experiences and advice.

We are a family base immigration site, not a work-based visa site. I suggest looking elsewhere.

Do you have any suggestions where? So far I've turned up nothing useful. I'm not so off topic as you may think. This search for an answer is more for the benefit of my wife Lena who is stuck sitting at home all day while waiting for her AOS and employment authorization to come in - it would help her out a lot if her friend who is here temporarily from Russia were able to spend some of her time with her.

By the 'we' in 'We are a family base immigration site', Lena and I are part of that 'we' yaknow.

A friend of my wife is here in the USA on a J-1 (Work and Travel) Visa. She's only just arrived a few days ago and is already working at the job that she had pre-arranged.

I've found a job for her here in our city and also a place that she can live. What is the exact process that she has to follow in order to change the place that she's living and accept employment at the new job, which would be within the same state (if it makes any difference) but a different city (about a 6 hour drive from where she is at now)?

Thanks in advance for any answers!

A good friend of my wife (who is from Russia) has arrived here in the USA Thursday on a program that is called the "Work and Travel Program". She was told by the agency that she worked with to get on the program that she would be provided a place to live and a job working at a beach/surf shop here in the USA.

She arrived Thursday evening and was quickly put to work Friday morning at 8am... and was required to work until the shop closed at around midnight. When she was finally able to call us, she's told us that her 'boss' at this job told her that they will not pay her for all of the hours that she works - that they will only pay up to a certain amount, but that she has to work all of the time anyway. They also told her that she has to pay $300 a month rent to share a very crowded apartment. Sounds like a few labor laws are being broken here at the very least.

My question - I may be able to line up a job for her where I am at... we live only about 6 hours away from where she's staying now and there is a shop that has mentioned to me that if my wife had any friends who were looking for work that they might be interested in hiring. The only problem right now is that our friend is slaving away at this sweat shop and will probably continue to have to do so until we know what she can legally do to make a transition.... example, what would happen if we drove over there tomorrow and removed her from that situation and let her live with us for a few days until we could get ahold of the shop owner here in our city? Would the current 'employer' be able to do anything to cause our friend to be in any trouble?

Also, she's asking us about the SSN. Does she need to have her SSN in order to work, or just the work permit in hand? I'm sure she could eventually get one, but I also know that it takes a little while for her to even be in the system to get the SSN.

Any advise, especially accurate expedited advise that could spell out our options here would be much appreciated. Thank you.

I'm putting together the AOS package for Lena and working on the I-864 Affadavit of Support.

For the original K1 Fiancee Visa interview, Lena showed my 2005 tax filing. 2006 has passed, but I haven't yet filed (I've filed for an extension). On part 6 of the form, question 25, Federal income tax return information, what is the most appropriate way to fill this out if I don't have my most recent filing ready yet? (I have my W-2 and 1099s)

We still have a photocopy of the translation certificate for Elena's birth certificate that was used for the original K1 submission. Of course, the USCIS has this one that was originally signed by the translator. Do we need to go and get this birth certificate translated again just to be able to provide a new originally signed translation for the AOS application, or are we allowed to send one of our filed photocopies from the original submission? It was notorized (the original, that is) if this makes any difference.

I am putting together Elena's AOS package. We will be filing the I-485 along with the I-765 (EAD form) and I-131 (app for travel / advanced parole).

From the guides, I understand that there is a $325 fee for the I-485 + $70 fingerprinting fee, which can be sent as one check for a total of $395.

What about the other fees? ($180 for EAD and $170 for application for travel) Should I be sending just one big check with the total for all, or separate checks, or does it even matter?

Thanks for all of the great info regarding International Driver's Licenses. Digging deeper, I've even found the following document from a police department in Maryland that 'debunks' a lot of the scam around IDLs. Good reading and really explains a lot in common terms.

http://www.berwynheightspd.com/internation...%20licenses.htm

So I guess what our next steps are, unless we wait another 3 months or so for an EAD, are:

1) Contact the Florida DMV to ask if there will be any issues if Lena obtains an Internal Driver's Permit from Russia and carries this with her actual Russian-issued Driver's License.

2) If the answer to #1 turns out to be 'no, there will not be any problems', then we have to go on a 'scavenger hunt' so to speak to figure out who in Russia is allowed to issue an International Driver's Permit and find out if she can apply for it while here in the USA.

In the interim, if anyone knows of any good links to documents from either the Florida DMV, or the Russian government that answers either of these questions for me, please share! Thanks!

My husband went with his NOA's for the I-485, I-765, and I-130 and they gave him his - this was the DMV on Starkey Road in Largo (Pinellas County). This isn't typical for Florida.

If you try this and they say no, you'll have to wait for the EAD.

As far as the international license, I'm not well versed on it. I've heard it's good for up to a year, but you said it expires in 2003...?

Oops that was a typo. I meant to say 2013! International Driver's License answer anyone?

We're within days from submitting the AOS (and EAD) applications and have a question in regards to driving priviliges during this period of time.

Is her status from the day we submit the AOS app considered to be 'immigrant' or 'non-immigrant'? I understand that the actual status is called something like "Stay authorized by...." but just aren't sure when the 'switch gets flipped' or how that affects the rules for driving in Florida.

Lena has a legal driver's license issued from Russia that is valid until 2003. We've heard something about an 'International Driver's License' that she can obtain to drive here in the states that Florida will allow to be used for up to 1 year... but the document that we read is in Russian and the way it is formatted, it appears that this text may be applying to 'Non-Immigrant Status' persons only. The only think we know for certain about this topic is that the Florida DMV will not issue a driver's license to Lena if there are less than 30 days left on her K1 visa, and it would expire anyway when her visa expires, and that we would need an EAD in our hands to get a new one issued for her. So how does it work with the International license? Can someone give us the run-down, especially where Florida is concerned?

Thanks in advance!

I'm assuming where it asks 'Husband or Wife (If none, so state.)' that they are looking for the word 'Husband' and the following boxes to have my (the husband's) information. You don't have to put the word "husband"; she would put your name in that area If this is not correct, please tell me!

Are you 100% on this? On the fillable PDF form, there are 'entry spots' to add separate information for:

'Husband or Wife (If none, so state)' <--- field in question

Family Name (For wife, give maiden name)

First Name

Birth Date (mm/dd/yyyy)

City and Country of Birth

Date of Marriage

Place of Marriage

Seems that I'm still back at the same question since there is a place for me to put my name in the other boxes which follow.

Did they just inadvertently create 2 places to enter something where they just meant for a place to put either 'none' or my last name.

Note: On the current form the 'Husband and Wife' field appear as the same box as the 'Family Name' field, but on the form that my lawyer put together back in March of '06, they were separate boxes, which implies to me that there is a separate answer for each.

If nobody knows for 100% certainty, I'll give a call and make sure I post the 'official response' here.

We're filling out the G-325A form for Lena's Adjustment of Status application. She arrived here on a K1 and we've gotten married this past March.

I'm assuming where it asks 'Husband or Wife (If none, so state.)' that they are looking for the word 'Husband' and the following boxes to have my (the husband's) information. If this is not correct, please tell me!

Under the 'Applicant's residence last five years' does where we are living together in the USA as of her arrival (via K1) count as a residence to be listed here?

We previously hired an attorney to handle the K1 application, but decided to go at it on our own for the AOS. I remember that they printed this G-325A on 4 different colored papers. Is this something that the USCIS requires/favors? If so, what color is for each page? Thanks.

Lena and I have recently married after she's arrived on her K1 visa. We are in the process of getting her AOS paperwork together and have been advised to also apply for an EAD at the same time - since, if the AOS gets held up for any reason, at least we'll probably have her EAD so that she can get her driver's license and work here in Florida.

Lena got an I-94 stapled into her passport when she arrived via JFK airport. On it is a stamp that says "Employment Authorized" with the date hand-written of May 09, 2007. At the beginning of the I-765 application are the choices for the reason for application... among those are "Permission to accept employment", "Renewal of my permission to accept employment", and a few others. Is our application considered to be a 'renewal'? If this is the case (and an EAD is required) - is the I-94 also the EAD that we need to provide a copy of?

Thanks

Lena and I have married

We're going through the forms and guides on this site (thank you to everyone who has pointed us in the right direction so far) and have a few questions about some specifics in the forms:

I-765 (EAD application):

Lena got an I-94 stapled into her passport when she arrived via JFK airport. On it is a stamp that says "Employment Authorized" with the date hand-written of May 09, 2007. At the beginning of the I-765 application are the choices for the reason for application... among those are "Permission to accept employment", "Renewal of my permission to accept employment", and a few others. Is our application considered to be a 'renewal'? If this is the case (and an EAD is required) - is the I-94 also the EAD that we need to provide a copy of?

Lena's Social Security card currently has her maiden name on it, although we've recently applied at the SS office to have the name changed (we just don't have the card in hand yet with the new name). Anywhere on any of these forms that it asks for her 'family name' is it correct that we are supposed to use her married name? Just checking

There is also a question that asks if she has ever applied for employment authorization from USCIS. She has somehow received this authorization stamp on her I-94, although she isn't sure if one of the forms she signed at the port of entry was an application to the USCIS for this. She simply entered with the sealed envelope provided by the embassy - the border guard looked through the papers, asked her to sign a couple of documents, stamped her visa, and away she went. Does this constitute a prior application for employment authorization from the USCIS?

I-485 (AOS application):

The form asks for her A#. There is this mysterious number that is hand-written on the I-94 that begins with an A followed by 8 numbers. Is this the A# that they are looking for?

There are questions: "What is the current USCIS Status" and "In what status did you last enter". What is the exact text that should be in here for her, since she's entered with her K1 Visa?

I-131 (Advanced Parole):

In Part 3, it asks for a date of intended departure and expected length of trip. We just want to get her advanced parole applied for so that if and when she wants to go to visit her parents before her AOS has been fully processed, she will be able to. We don't have any specific/set dates or trip durations yet. What do we put here?

Thanks in advance to everyone on this site for all of the help.

Lena and I are happy to finally be together and spending our lives together. She arrived in early February and we've gotten married this past Sunday.

Our biggest challenge right now, which is one I'm sure most deal with in the early part after arrival, is that until she can get around on her own, get a job, etc., she really feels helpless. We want to expedite the steps necessary to get her 'on her feet' so to speak but are a little confused as to what's next in the process.

We're trying to accomplish the following:

1) Driving Priviliges:

Lena can get a Florida driver's license today if she passed the test, but it would expire on the same day that her K1 visa expires. The Florida DMV requires that we provide documentation from the immigration office that states that she can legally be in the USA beyond this date in order for them to process a license that is valid for a longer amount of time. They haven't been too specific on exactly what documentation they need - they just instruct us to bring in whatever immigration documents that we have. In either case, they will only issue licenses based on real dates that they see documented and that can be verified with the immigration officials. What can we do to either eliminate or reduce the lapse that would occur upon her visa expiration date? What do we need to apply for in order to get a document that states that her allowed stay is longer than what is currently on her visa?

2) Work Permit (or equivalant document allowing Lena to work): Anyone familiar with the K1 process knows that when the foreign fiance(e) arrives, she gets a work permit that is valid for the duration of his/her Visa. What can we do to eliminate or reduce the lapse that would occur upon her visa expiration date? What do we need to apply for in order to get an extension of her work priviliges.

3) Adjustment of Status: We are told this is required for Lena to be able to legally stay here. What is involved and how does it play into everything else we're trying to accomplish?

4) Social Security Number: What is required in order to get Lena an SSN? Any banks, credit card issuers, etc., that we've checked with require one to apply for accounts. We want to start building a credit background for her.

5) Advanced Parole: We understand this is needed if Lena wants to be able to leave the country for a short period of time to visit her family. What do we need to do to get this and how does it play into everything else we're trying to accomplish?

6) Green Card: We're not sure when a green card comes into play or when we need one as compared to a work permit and social security number. Can someone give us a quick rundown?

Thanks!

P.S. Does anyone know how many official copies of our marriage certificate that we will need for all of this or what a safe number is without going overboard (they charge per each one)?

Lena is in Russia and had her embassy interview last Tuesday in Moscow. They told her that she is approved and to expect her visa soon. It is currently on the way to her via DHL (it's showing in their tracking system) as of this posting.

She visited a local travel agency today to book her tickets to come here, but the agent refused to sell her tickets based on the following reasons:

1) Claims that she needs to see Lena's actual passport (her local passport - essentially a government issued ID - was not good enough apparently)

2) Claims that she needs to have the Visa #

3) Claims that Lena needs to buy a round-trip ticket regardless of the visa type

Is this agent crazy, or is there any legitimacy to her claims? I know that I could book this ticket on Expedia.com - it'd cost about $100 more after all of the courier costs to expedite getting it to Lena, but they wouldn't stop me from buying her a ticket... but after these claims from the travel agent, I'm concerned about the claim about needing a round-trip ticket. She would be flying in via Aeroflot to NYC and then taking a local Delta flight to get to Tampa if we get the tickets we want. Anyone have any ideas about who's 'rules' these are and who I have to call to get confirmation or denial of this?

Thanks!

My fiancee lives in Chelyabinsk, and has lived there her whole life. We are trying to understand what document she is required to bring with her to the K1 interview to be accepted as what they are calling a 'police certificate'. We also have no idea exactly where to get it. Lena visited the local police station in hopes to get answers, but they sent her on a wild goose chase. Can someone provide some very specific answers? Thank you.

If it was very recent, you are probably looking for one of these:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=28961

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=29082

B)

Big deal, he got approval for an application filed in May. Does that give him the right to needle everyone else that is using the system the way it is intended. I have a buddy that filed in August 2005 with the Nebraska center and was approved in September 2005. His attorney wanted to know if he had political help. He had no idea how it happened. So this guy has nothing to crow about, it's all just a matter of good timing and sometimes it is about superb preparation. Lets see how he does with the green card issue.

Hang in there everyone, you will get approval.

Actually...

if the guy's claim is true that he got approved using the old form without an RFE for IMBRA, it is a big deal. It could shed a lot of light on how things are getting processed over at the USCIS which could in turn still help a lot of folks out down the road. I'd like to know what he said before.

Finally got an email notification that our petition was approved on 8/31!

I also forgot to make a very important point for those who might think of the fairly legitimate question "What if they delayed in issuing a new form because they were worried they might not ask for enough information if they don't think it through". Well... my answer to that is that if they did not put everything on the form that they needed to know about the first go-around, then they would have been at the very worst in the same boat they are in right now... but chances are they would not have missed the very important question "Did you meet your fiance(e) through an International Marriage Broker"... to which I'm sure most have answered "No", making further information unnecessary for those folks. Bottom line is that someone in charge didn't think it through for all about the 5 minutes that it would have taken to say "Ok, let's add the yes/no checkbox to the form at the very least and save ourselves some significant resources in dealing with this IMBRA thing".

They addressed it .. they said look we need to send RFE's to everyone.. which delayed all the petitions.. they also said they would work to clear the backlog.

I mean I in no way shape or form say not to go and spear head some reform .. please be my guest.. but when I was up in arms.. people would ask me .. What is the problem.... what is your proposed solution.

They know that the law was passed jan .. they know it was efective march they know their forms came out in june.. these are all things they know.. we at visajourney are just a small portion of the K petitions they receive.. Not trying to be a fuddy duddy (hahah funny word) but really you need to have a real arguement, a real problem and a real solution, not just speculation.. We tried this once before.. and had 5 people willing to try something.. 5 aint gonna do nothing. sorry

Maybe not 5, but I was actually thinking about this not more than 2 days ago... 5 turns into a few hundred with the proper leadership/guidance. All it takes is for one person to step up and make a standard form letter outlining the specific issues, grievances, and questions and for someone who runs VisaJourney to be willing to push it in front of our current and recently past K1 petitioners. We make specific instructions to print this out and fax it to both your congressman and senator. Sure we're only a few hundred out of thousands... it's significant enough if the letter is written well enough and enough of them get into the hands of our representatives. Elections are coming soon. Think about it.

5 people is plenty. 5 people makes for a committee... everyone else just needs to play a very small role and have it brought to their attention. You only get 5 people when you use a mere form post. We need more bang. If anyone wants to create a committee, I'm in. Hell... I'll lead it if need be. PM me.