Arnold_and_Joan

My parents want to regain their Philippine citizenship therefore applying for dual citizenship, keeping their U.S. citizenship intact. Their only worry is that they lose all their benefits as Senior Citizens when they do so. Does anybody know if they retain their benefits if they get dual citizenship?

We recently just went to Mexico and my wife's green card was lost or stolen. We didn't realize this until we were about to check-in at the airport. We were really really lucky that the airline let us board and didn't ask for her card. I guess they were in a hurry and didn't do a thorough check of her passport. They saw the old Fiance Visa and didn't check it expired and let us through. When we got to L.A. the immigration officers there were surprised that we were able to board. Apparently the airline is going to get a hefty fine for that.- sorry airline. We showed her work permit, passport, they asked a few questions, checked her records on the computer - and let us through without too much hassle. They were actually nice. Just surprised that we were able to board the plane.

My question is how much trouble are we going to be in? It says we should've reported to the local authorities etc. Gone to the embassy in Mexico... etc. We are going to submit a form I-90 to replace the card now that we're here. Would they question how we got in if we report it lost in Mexico? Would they ask for the police report, the Travel Permit from embassy etc. that we don't have?

Thanks for any help

Arnold & Joan

My husband just lost his job right before we file for my AOS. We are planning to file it in this week.

Would that be a problem? Would it affect my application in anyway?

He just graduated last year and still has supporting financial documents from his father.

Thank you.

If your husband is in between jobs, I don't see the problem. Is his dad going to be a sponsor to show financial stability? His dad just needs to submit Fed Income Tax Returns and W-2's for past 3 years I believe. Your husband still needs to do the same to show what salary he gets when employed. Also, do you both have enough assets to put your household income past the poverty limit? You need to make a show evidence of those assets. Good Luck.

Hi..

Just want to ask if we need to include payment for I-765, Application for Employment Authorization?

and where I can see the amount?

THANKS!

How much did you pay for yur I-129F? was it the $1,000+ ? If so then the Employment Authorization is paid for also. Just send them a copy of the Notice you received for CSC that they got your check and application for AOS. Good Luck!

We just finished our interview in downtown L.A. this morning and here's our experience:

First of, it was for 7:30AM So we were busy all night preparing all the documents and printing pictures, makeing copies etc. We arrived around 6:40AM and there's a line outside already. LINE ON THE RIGHT of the steps btw. There was some other line on the right. We got in around 7:30AM and turns out there were only a few people going to the same floor we are. We were the 3rd couple inside waiting.

We got called in by our interviewer about 10-15 minutes after we sat down. He was really serious looking guy. Didn't smile, was curt and formal, very serious and I was prepared for getting a hard time. After we swore an oath to tell the truth, he went through our file, asked just for these:

- my driver's license

- Joan's passport w/ I-94

- Joan's Employment Authorization card

- Any other picture ID Joan had

- I brought out my US Passport to prove Citizenship, though he never asked for it

He asked each one of us to state out names, aksed if we've been married before, if we have children, asked me for home phone number, and basic yes or no questions. Ex. You're here on fiance visa? You married before the 30 days were up? Nothing really tricky or trying to make us verify that we're doing this legally. Then he went through the questionnaire in the application and had Joan answer yes or no - the questionnaire being - Have you taken drugs, sell them, are you a terrorist, criminal, etc.

Then he asked for the following:

- a copy of our marriage license. They don't seem to have a copy in file

- bank statements, insurance statements, etc. Anything to prove we've lived together - mostly statements. We brought a load of junk mail just in case. He made copies of those.

That was it. Except he didn't say "You're approved" or anything. He just said he'll re-review the file later this afternoon and then decide then. But right now everything seems ok. He went on to explain the Conditional Residency status Joan's getting, how to remove it later, things do and not do that may get her deported. etc. He NEVER even asked to see pictures and we spent so much time trying to get an album together. Oh well.

TIPS:

- Do not bring your cell phone. A friend of mine was asked to walk all the way back to the parking lot to leave it in the car. You can't deposit it with them.

- You can bring snacks and water. Though the waiting room said you can't, we had it because Joan's pregnant and she needed crackers and water. I had the water bottle sticking out of my jacket pocket and no one said anything.

- Make copies of everything, just in case they need it. I mean everything - driver's license, passport, bank statements, insurance statements, even copies of some of your wedding pictures, EVERYTHING. We're lucky that our interviewer makes copies in case we forgot something. We've read how other places send you back out to make it yourself.

- Be organized. We bought one of those accordio folders in a box with handle. Labeled everything so when we were asked to pull something out, we didn't spend too much time riffling through papers to find it.

- Most of all- RELAX, you have nothing to hide.

QUESTION:

I was surprised by the Conditional Residency part. I wasn't expecting it. Did everyone get it too? I mean being married less than 2 years before the interview means EVERYONE right? It wasn't mentioned much in any of the discussions here. For those who don't know. You'll be given a 2 year conditional Green Card. This is to prevent false marriages to get green card. You will go for ANOTHER INTERVIEW at the end of that 2 years to get a new one(?) or have the condition removed.

Well, good luck to everyone else. We're still in the dark as to whether we should be celebrating or not yet. I wish he would've just said, you're approved or you'll be getting your green card soon. Now there's more waiting???!!

I just wanted to post and see if anyone ran into any problems with this. To make a long story short, my wife decided to change her middle name when we did our civil wedding. She changed it to her mother's maiden name. Just to clarify, in the Philippines the mother's maiden name is usually the child's middle name. When a woman gets married, they drop the mother's maiden name and use the father's last name as their new middle name - hope that's clear. My wife instead took her mother's last name to be her middle name now. Well, we changed her Philippine passport to try and reflect her married name now. When we picked up the passport, her middle name shows her father's instead of her mother's that she wanted. We complained but there's some Philppine law that they need to carry her father's last name instead. We argued that her marriage certificate shows her new middle name but they wouldn't oblige by US papers/customs.

Anyhow, my small concern is that all our paperwork for AOS shows her mother's name as her middle name. Would this pose a problem if her passport shows something different? The Phil consul finally agreed to create an affidavit saying that her passport and her work permit (only US document we had then) is one and the same person. Except of course the work permit only shows an initial for her middle name instead of spelling it out. So how strict is INS with proper ID names showing?

Updated list.........

Username------------Date sent------Received------NOA1 Date-------Biometrics------Transfer-----Interview

divs76--------------07/12/07-------07/20/07-------08/27/07--------08/24/07

Mike and Larisa-----07/13/07-------??/??/??-------07/20/07--------08/09/07

Sultan Acheh--------07/16/07-------07/22/07-------08/27/07--------08/31/07-------09/24/07

Lana Rascoe---------07/20/07-------07/23/07----------No-----------09/13/07

chloe---------------07/23/07-------07/24/07-------08/28/07--------09/04/07

sahara--------------07/23/07-------07/24/07----------No-----------08/30/07

Ricardo-------------07/17/07-------07/25/07----------No-----------08/17/07

jezz85--------------07/23/07-------07/25/07-------08/29/07--------08/31/07-------09/04/07

garya505------------07/24/07-------07/25/07-------08/28/07--------09/04/07

dano2006------------07/24/07-------07/26/07-------08/30/07--------09/22/07

GabachaYucataca-----07/24/07-------07/26/07----------No-----------09/05/07-------09/24/07

nayan21-------------07/25/07-------07/26/07-------09/06/07

Shona---------------07/24/07-------07/27/07-------08/01/07--------08/24/07

pat001--------------07/26/07-------07/27/07----------No-----------09/07/07

darolina1-----------07/26/07-------07/27/07-------08/31/07--------09/15/07-------09/19/07

saruno1958----------07/26/07-------07/28/07-------08/28/07--------09/13/07

vnoe----------------07/26/07-------07/28/07----------No-----------09/11/07

Tomyu---------------07/23/07-------07/25/07-------08/28/07--------08/31/07

Len&How-------------07/25/07-------07/28/07-------08/31/07--------09/15/07

colcols-------------07/27/07-------07/28/07----------No-----------09/26/07

mona_jamie----------07/27/07-------07/28/07-------08/31/07--------09/11/07

sarah08-------------07/27/07-------07/28/07----------No

zgt3344-------------07/27/07-------07/29/07-------08/30/07--------09/18/07

Iris&Jim------------07/28/07-------07/30/07-------08/28/07--------09/06/07

George and Jenny----07/27/07-------07/30/07-------09/10/07--------10/04/07

David-Mae Forever---07/26/07-------07/30/07-------08/27/07--------09/18/07

tonyeck ------------07/27/07-------07/30/07----------Yes----------09/18/07

DocMay--------------07/26/07-------07/30/07----------No

carla-justin--------07/27/07-------07/30/07-------08/24/07

memoration----------07/27/07-------07/30/07-------08/30/07--------09/29/07

chris-n-veronica----07/27/07-------07/30/07----------No

Tajoumaru-----------07/27/07-------07/30/07-------09/05/07--------09/21/07

Eli_y_Mauri---------07/27/07-------07/30/07-------09/04/07--------09/28/07

JUANyPERLA----------07/27/07-------07/30/07-------08/30/07--------09/18/07

3nd3avour-----------07/27/07-------07/30/07-------08/29/07--------09/17/07

mfarmer2------------07/27/07-------07/29/07-------08/30/07--------10/05/07

Eff-----------------07/28/07-------07/30/07----------No

Shub----------------07/28/07-------07/30/07-------08/28/07--------09/20/07

akarchin------------07/28/07-------07/30/07-------09/10/07

genxv---------------07/28/07-------07/30/07-------08/24/07

CountryBoy----------07/27/07-------07/30/07-------09/04/07--------09/28/07

Mrs. Wilson---------07/28/07-------07/30/07-------09/06/07 (I-130 app only)

Happymouse----------07/26/07-------07/30/07-------08/30/07--------10/11/07

jerricho------------07/26/07-------07/31/07-------09/05/07--------10/03/07

CB82----------------07/27/07-------07/31/07-------08/31/07

Dynamo-Dean --------07/27/07-------07/31/07-------09/10/07--------10/05/07

MrsAyilliath--------07/28/07-------07/31/07-------08/30/07

LouisMary-----------07/28/07-------07/31/07-------08/30/07

Corey3368-----------07/27/07-------08/01/07----------No-----------09/25/07

luvtravlin----------07/28/07-------08/01/07-------09/11/07--------09/28/07

lynamon-------------07/28/07-------08/01/07----------No

Babydoll**----------07/26/07-------08/01/07-------09/06/07--------09/25/07

mmarlo--------------07/30/07-------08/01/07----------No

lucho562------------07/27/07-------08/02/07-------09/13/07

huff----------------08/01/07-------08/02/07-------09/12/07

wthomas-------------08/03/07-------??/??/??----------No

6aug2007------------08/03/07-------08/06/07----------No

Illidan-------------08/07/07-------08/09/07-------09/12/07

HannahP-------------08/10/07-------08/12/07----------No

gabster41-----------08/13/07-------08/14/07-------09/12/07--------10/16/07

SM&LP---------------08/14/07-------08/14/07-------09/13/07--------10/17/07 (filed through DORA)

AOSBEGINSJULY31-----08/14/07-------08/14/07-------09/13/07--------10/17/07 (filed through DORA)

foxy vegan----------08/13/07-------08/14/07-------09/12/07--------10/09/07

Ahmed & Ella--------08/14/07-------08/16/07----------No

phillyboy-----------08/15/07-------08/16/07-------08/21/07

pinaybeauty---------08/13/07-------08/17/07-------09/13/07--------09/18/07-------10/02/07

Arnod & Joan -------08/13/07-------08/15/07----------No ---------Mistakenly sent to Nebraska

sihwees-------------08/17/07-------08/20/07-------09/14/07

dylanshook----------08/15/07-------08/21/07-------09/18/07

BDiego--------------08/18/07-------??/??/??----------No

Hazah---------------08/20/07-------??/??/??----------No

Gainsey-------------08/21/07-------08/23/07----------No

Asamu---------------08/24/07-------08/26/07-------09/17/07--------10/20/07

knobby_Wheezer------08/25/07-------08/27/07-------09/17/07--------10/09/07

AnneiyAndJacky------08/27/07-------08/29/07----------No

jcontrer------------08/30/07-------08/31/07----------No

Doesn't the AOS papers goto the Chicago lockbox?

Yes I realized my mistake now. I called USCIS and they said to wait for 90 days (!!!!) before I can call back and have them track it. According to the agent I spoke to, it would've been returned to me or forwarded to Chicago office. The way gov offices work i'm just worried that it's lost in limbo now. How can I call the Nebraska office? Anyone know? I don't want to wait 90 days if I can avoid it. I asked if I could re-send an entire new package to Chicago office instead, but was still advised to wait 90 days.

Hi, I sent my wife's AOS papers Aug 13th and to this day have not received an NOA yet. I noticed that at the most people here get theirs in about 30 days others much less. Is this normal? Is there anything I can do to check on its status? We tried calling and they told us they are experiencing a lot of incoming apps that's why ours wasn't processed yet. The tracking of the package showed it was delivered 15th at Nebraska Office. I used Cashier's check so can't really check if that was cashed. Is there anything I can do to find out what's going on? Thanks all.

We filed our papers in Aug 15 and still haven't received an NOA. How long does it normally take? I'm noticing here that a lot of peple filing after us have already received theirs.

O yea - we expect a RFE - we just dont think its going to be returned to us and that we'll have to submit a whole new application

Hi Jamal,

I noticed in your timeline you changed name in SSA but still w/o the notarized marriage cert. What did you need to do that?

thanks

Arnold & Joan

Thanks everyone.

Yeah, I missed the boat. I thought it was going to be Aug 1st where the fees changed - I misunderstood and should've double checked. I was going to send paperwork in like JamalNTam without the marriage cert just to make it within the lower fee bracket and just hope for an RFE Good luck to JamalNTam who went that route. I hope they just send you an RFE.

Arnold & Joan

Hi,

We still haven't got our marriage certificate though we asked it be expedited and paid extra fee. We got married in Hawaii. We're wondering if I can send the entire package now without the certificate and get an RFE later. Would the entire package be sent back to us and have us start over paying the increased fee? If I send it postage stamped on Monday Jul 30 - would that still be the old fee or the increased fee?

thanks for any advice

arnold & joan

Hi,

Silly question but we just wanted to be sure. When filling out the forms for AOS, do we fill it up with my wife's married name now?

thanks

a.

My last visit was in January of this year. I know not to travel after the interview unless it is to marry.

Correct me if i'm wrong. You had your interview after the expiration stated on the NOA2 (I think?) for the application for your visa? THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME. Our scheduled interview date was AFTER the expiration date of my fiance's petition. What I did was to send a fax to the US Embassy requesting an extension but I don't really know if this matters or they even gave an extension. If I remember correctly now, the Embassy informed us later in the interview it doesn't really matter about the expiry date and our interview going over that date. So, this officer doesn't really know what he's talking about and you shouldn't worry. My fiance's here now with me in U.S. and didn't have much problems regarding the expiry date at her POE. Good Luck.

Does the declaration of how we met need to be signed?

Since it's a declaration - definitely sign it. My fiance even had hers Notarized but not necessary. Good Luck!!

In my situation, I included my 401K, Stocks and Bonds, MRA's etc. since I was out of a job and just put down "freelance artist" as my job description. As stated though, if your future salary is enough to past the minimum requirement you don't need all of the above.

You can request a letter from your future employer stating that you are to be hired and what your salary would be. This is not unusual for businesses to do. I always request a letter of the sort when I transfer jobs. This is just a written agreement to what you met upon your final interview etc. I always get one in case I quit my other job and the new company changes their mind or something goes wrong - then I have a binding agreement that they have to compensate me since I'm going to be unemployed based on an offer they will now renege upon.

Only your last tax return is actually needed. If you feel like your current one may not be sufficient, bring your 2005. I only showed my 2005 and told them I filed an extension for my 2006 - which I did anyway since I was in Philippines the whole time and couldn't file my taxes yet.

Good Luck!!

Our POE was Los Angeles. Didn't have a problem there before with my parents going through the Citizen Line that's why I thought it was no big deal with me escorting my fiance. IT IS a hit or miss and both of us going to non-citizen line would've been easier and less stressful specially for Joan. But the lines were long - oh well. Thanks for the well wishes!!

Arnold & Joan.

After wait and journey through getting Joan's visa, we finally arrived here in U.S. last Sunday May 13. I decided to take Joan with me to the U.S. Citizen line instead of separating with her going to Visitor line. I've read before that this won't be a problem. My parents who I've petitioned before also went through the Citizen/Immigrant line when they finally came over and had no problems. Well, I guess it comes down to the Officer that checks your papers. The guy we got was a big flockin' eyes hall. The moment we walked up to him, I could tell he was going to be a jerk. He saw the sealed envelope I was carrying and asked for it. He was gruff, curt, didn't smile, and was cold. He processed my passport first then told me to leave - "You can go" was all he said. So I had to leave Joan alone with him. Then after checking the seal on Joan's envelope told her to go back to one of the other desks in the Visitor part. All I noticed was that she was walking back (not in back of lines but in front of the Immigration desks) and she was confused. Finally another officer approached her and asked her where she was going. Once she explained, he told her to follow him and they walked a few more desks away and he told her to stand in front of one of the lines. She was a bit scared and confused by this time and so was I. I couldn't go back to be with her and just watched anxiously from the baggage claim area wondering what was going on. The officer who finally processed her papers turned out to be nice and just asked her one question, "Did you come here to marry your fiance?". That was it. Another 10-15 minutes and she was done (fingerprinting, picture taken, etc.) The sealed envelope wasn't even opened.

So I guess it's a hit or miss with whoever you get. The guy we got by the way was Asian of all people. I thought he'd be friendly facing 2 asians but he was just a big f**ing jerk. So, if you want to take a chance, bring your fiance with you to the Citizen/Immigrant line or to play it safe, take the Visitor line.

Another advice just to get out of the airport quicker, DO NOT bring anything you HAVE TO DECLARE. Specially Fruits (whether dried, preserved, pickled, etc.). There was a line of people going through an x-ray machine then some bags being opened and sorted through. This is just another stressfull delay for your both or your fiance alone to go through when all you both want is to get out of there.

Anyhow we finally made it here and now it's time to plan the civil wedding and start the next part of the process. Good Luck to all!!!!

i have not worked since sept. '06. i lived in india the last six months. i am now doing some PT work for a previous employer, but the bulk of my work will writing a book that i went to india to do research for. (meeting my fiance was a surprise bonus )

i lost nearly four months of wages in '06, which shows last years salary below the poverty guidelines on my tax returns. i can get a letter from my employer, but that does not help with the tax returns. i do have adequate funds in the bank to support my fiance when he comes, so i just need to understand how to go about presenting this on the given forms. it looks like i need to do further research with re to the I864 to understand how "$50000 would substitute for $16666 shortfall".

what a great forum!

I went to the Philippines in Dec 2005 -- met Joan in May 2006 --- came back here for a couple of months to start the petition then back to Philippines again --- and just now got back to U.S. with Joan a couple days ago. So I was gone for over a year and unemployed for that amount of time. I just got a Notarized statement from my bank with how much money I have. I gave them my prior year's income tax return just to show how much someone makes in my profession. I stated my current job as a freelancer (rather than saying Unemployed which sounds negative). During the interview, I was asked if I still have a job when I get back here and I just said YES. No problems. I think that if you have enough assets, they wouldn't worry about it. Good Luck!!!

Before any vaccination the women has to have a pregnancy test. If she is pregnant, no vaccine for her.

And congratulations

Pregnancy tests only work at certain times of a woman's cylce. So it's not really realiable to test during times you won't get a honest result. So if your interview falls on those times then a pregnancy test won't work. They asked my fiance when her cycle starts and then asked her if we were intimate in the last 7 days. She said yes - they didn't even give her a test and told her no vaccinations. At least this is how it was in Philippines.

a.

On the visa guides, it states that you need a "declaration of how we met in person" (a single separate page-typed) to attach in response to #18. Does anyone have an example of their declaration that they could share with me? Or do I just type a paragraph stating that we met in X city or country and spent X number of days together?

If you go to my Signature & Story tab - the Story I wrote there is close to what I sent with the I-129F. Good Luck!!

Congratulations first of all!!!!

They actually won't even give vaccinations if they knew you and your fiance were intimate (for lack of better word), just in case she may have gotten pregnant. Even if any form of birth control was used, they would still forego vaccination. So it won't really impede your K-1.

What they mean in most cases for "places" they mean countries. If a person resided in a country more than 6 months then they need a police cert from than country.

If your fiancee has lived in Russia all time since 16 then need just one police cert.

We made the mistake of getting a police clearance for every CITY my fiance lived in - In the end, they never asked for it anyhow. Good luck

Our 129f petition was approved last month.. It has been a while now, and i decided to check the embassy website in Manila.. hmmm,, there is a appointment date scheduled for June.. But neither of us has recieved any information up till now...? Is this normal..? Thanks in advance.., Brian

Same thing happened to me. My fiance wasn't getting her packet 4 so I faxed the Manila US Embassy about it. Didn't receive an answer and faxed them again the next week. Our appointment dates appeared online and then we received Packet 4 2 days later. Am still not sure if it's because of the fax or not but at least we got it. You can actually download all forms included in packet 4 online. here's the link:

http://philippines.usembassy.gov/wwwhivk1.html

Good Luck!

Arnold & Joan