Buzz15

Hi. Yes, she received her GC before the 18 month window expired. I got impatient and contacted USCIS through the online portal and told them the situation. Instead of answering my inquiry, it seemed like they just approved her because within a week we got a notice saying the GC was being created.

My recommendation is just to keep bugging them and maybe they will process your application.

Best of luck.

Thank you all for the feedback. My wife received her permanent green card yesterday. Appreciate the good vibes 

Hi All,

My wife's conditional resident 18 month extension letter (while the permanent green card is being processed) is set to expire in April 2021. 

1. What if anything can be done to get a second extension from USCIS if they continue to be super slow and are unable to process the permanent green card by that time?

2. If a second extension letter is not able to be obtained and the deadline passes how will my wife be able to prove her resident status for work, travel, driver's license etc...?

3. Does anybody have a step by step way of navigating the USCIS  phone help line (1-800-375-5283) to actually be able to talk to a live person? Before, you could enter your selections by touch tone but now they simply have a bot "answering" your questions and ultimately running you around in circles.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you in advance. 

Hi All,

My wife's green card interview is 9 days away at the LA office.

Thus far, I feel relatively confident about our proof of a real relationship when it comes to documents. I'll be bringing shared bank account statements, utility bills, health and insurance benefits summary, certified marriage certificate, time stamped photos between marriage and present of us together/ w/ family, affidavits from friends vouching for our relationship. Anything else that you would consider a must have that I can obtain easily in the next few days? (I have all the I-864 stuff ie tax returns, paystubs, employment letter)

I know every interviewer is going to be different, but are officials generally expecting to get an answer to a question specifically from the green card applying partner (assuming my wife and I are sitting next to each other)? In other words, if my wife is answering a question about our marriage ceremony and omits some important details, am I able to jump in and sort of complete the story without us being reprimanded in some way? Just trying to understand how active or inactive a role I will have in the room and when it is reasonable to step in.

Finally, any helpful advise to a pretty nervous husband? haha

Thanks. 

Thanks for the insight! 

Good luck to you too TheSkywalkers. If you guys can do it, so can we 

I got through almost immediately by dialing the number and not hitting a single button afterward. Various automated prompts in both English and Spanish will come up but eventually a Spanish speaking rep will pick up and you can say "English Please". Oh yeah, and this call was made in the middle of the day during operating hours.

Hi All,

Got about a month until my wife and I's green card interview. Some questions for the group....

1. As the sponsor, do I need to refill out the I-864 Financial Affidavit or can I just use the one we submitted with the I-485 a few months earlier? (Obviously will get more current pay stubs and letter from my job)

2. What exactly does "All documentation establishing your (my wife's) eligibility for Lawful permanent Resident status"? We are going to bring all the basic stuff plus the evidence of a bonafide relationship. What else are we missing that they are requesting?

3. I failed to make an exact copy of everything we submitted in the initial AOS application (missing a copy of the check, the table of contents letter with signature, the passport photos). Will they ding us for not having exact backup? Shouldn't they have all this already? FYI, I have copies of all the other pieces (I-485, I-765, I-131 tax docs, pay stubs, marriage cert, I-94, I-797 NOA 2, birth certs etc...

4. Should we dress up in "professional" work attire?

5. I feel pretty confident that my wife could handle the questions, but if I wanted a translator do they have to be "professional"? In other words, can I get one of my bilingual friends to act as the translator?

Many thanks.

Hi,

How much notice does USCIS give pending green card status holders before the actual time the interview will take place?

I was planning a multi week vacation with my wife in either Sept or Oct 2017 and want to be sure the interview won't conflict with the trip. Fyi, we filed in April 2017 so maybe the interview will be next year anyway .

Thanks.

Thanks for the replies.

Unfortunately we won't be going to her home country for the honeymoon so we wouldn't be able to swap it out in person.

The state of CA seems to only issue driver licenses to those who have green cards. Can you suggest another form of picture ID you can think of?

Hi,

My wife's foreign passport has her maiden name. All other documents would have her new married name including US social security card, marriage cert, pending AP doc. FYI, she does not have a green card as of now since we filed for AOS from a K-1. We plan on traveling for our honeymoon upon receipt of the AP before the green card is issued.

1.I was advised that we should purchase the plane and travel tickets using her maiden name so that it agrees with her foreign passport. Is this correct?

2. When returning to the US, will there be any issues with immigration if the foreign passport maiden name does not agree with her married name on the AP, marriage cert or SS card? Should we get her name changed on her foreign passport or can we get by without modifying? Obviously, the latter will take more time.

Thanks!

Assuming she can't get a SSN# before the green card, what evidence did people use as proof of a legit relationship that doesn't require a SSN#? (excluding banks).

Becci391, so did you get married first like we did before the SSN?

Hi,

My wife and I got married and we were not aware that it would be best to get her SSN# two weeks after arrival under the K-1 but before the marriage ceremony. She has decided to change her last name.

Since we filed her Green card docs a few weeks ago in her new name (have not received any notification yet from USCIS), should we then obtain a social security number under her new name or old name?

Also, what set of documents would be best to bring? Her I-94, passport and birth certificate all show her maiden name while her new name appears officially only on our marriage certificate.

Thanks.

8 hours ago, meimeiliu said:

Sure. But my plan to travel is in June so you wont hear from me until May, unless I have an interview and get my GC before that. My AP is my backup plan so i'm not sure if i'll use it yet. I'm waiting to see, I'll check back with you if anything!

Thanks. Our travel plans won't likely be until Sept this year so we could definitely use any info up until then. Good luck.

4 hours ago, meimeiliu said:

I had no prob obtaining and AP (came within a month) But just like you, I'm considering whether I want to use it or not though I'm not from one of the countries or traveling there.

If you end up using your AP, would you mind reporting your experience? I'd really like to know what you faced so I can share with my soon to be wife.

thank you all for sharing your stories/ insights. all very helpful.

Hi,

With this new president's agenda of cracking down on illegal immigrants, did anybody recently have any issues with obtaining an AP doc for non-specific travel plans during the green card application process?

In addition, did anybody get denied and or thoroughly questioned at point of entry into the US even if they did have a valid AP doc?

I ask because it was my understanding that it is up to immigration officials at the airport whether or not to accept or deny the AP as it is no guarantee for entry like a green card or citizenship doc.

FYI, I'm asking on behalf of my fiancee who is Japanese and our intention is to travel to Italy and Austria for a honeymoon. As of now, it does not seem that any of these countries listed are on the "ban" list but I wanted to get some confirmation from others.

Thanks!

Hi All,

When filling out the various green card docs, should my fiancee (soon to be wife through K-1) use her new last name on all docs or should she stick with her maiden one?

The marriage certificate will have her new name but as I understand it, that does not legally charge her old name.

Whatever the method, I just don't want her to deal with any hiccups in the approval process.

Thanks!

Thank you all for your insight and reassurance. I've never had to deal with immigration before and it has been very stressful for my fiancee and myself.

A few more somewhat related questions ... Apologies in advance if I'm being too neurotic but I just don't want to screw anything up.

Assuming my fiancee chooses to take my last name (and have it documented on the marriage license), should she enter this as her official last name on every document related to AOS, including I-485, I-765 and I-131? 

Any issues whatsoever if her native country passport maiden last name doesn't agree with the current one appearing on her Advance Parole card when trying to get back to the US from abroad? Should we bring a marriage certificate and other docs for extra backup in case?

Thanks!

If Advance Parole is the proper application, the instructions say that a vacation is not a valid reason to apply for AP.

What have others faced using AP when going on vacation abroad before the green card (k-1 specific)?

All,

Is the Advance Parole timeline processing time stats I'm seeing on this forum also apply to those looking for a re-entry permit?

I would really like to know the specific average re-entry permit processing times so my fiancee and I can plan a honeymoon outside the US before her actual green card is approved (K-1 visa entry). She will be filing the green card application and I-765 simultaneously with the I-131 if that makes any difference.

Thanks.

Original poster who wanted to give an update...

My fiancee was not selected for further investigation (thank goodness!). It ended up being a clerical issue where the RCMP required the original fingerprint card from her native country to further process.

As a suggestion to all those in the future who need to obtain Canadian police certificates remotely and choose to use a 3rd Party vendor, be sure to send the vendor the original fingerprint card. My understanding is that they can submit the application on your behalf without the originals initially, but they must eventually have the card on file for any inquiries by RCMP. The vendor failed to notify us of those facts so that is why we got delayed.

So are you suggesting that the RCMP essentially regards out of country temporary Canadian residents as "higher risk" than those who are natives hence the scrutiny?

Did anybody try to submit their fingerprints a second time in the hopes of the RCMP not selecting them for "extensive review"?

We were told by the private local fingerprint agency that if the first submission was taking too long to process we could potentially send it again and hope that the RCMP would let it pass. Thoughts?

dandndandn,

Thank you for the wishes. My fiancee had to use a 3rd party fingerprint service since she is currently living outside of Canada.

When you contacted the RCMP, did you email this address?

Email: CCRTIS-SCICTR@rcmp-grc.gc.ca

Phone: 613-998-6362 between 7:30 AM and 3:30 PM Eastern Time

Also, what information did you need to provide in order for them to find your record? Were they detailed in telling you about the status?

Thank you!

Hi,

Has anyone been "randomly selected" for extensive investigation by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after submitting fingerprints in order to obtain Canadian Police Certificates?

A process that should take 3 days can go as long as six months, even for a law abiding citizen like my fiancee who lived in Canada for less than 2 years.

Any stories or ways to deal with this hiccup would be much appreciated. It is very frustrating for us to be moving closer to the interview and not have this document.

Thanks.