Tierpolizistin

On 12/31/2017 at 4:31 PM, Lupigirl said:

That’s awesome!  What a happy start to the new year!  I filed May 1st and still have no updates at all, so your timeline is excellent.  Going by the published processing times, it looks like I still have a couple months to wait.

Hi, Arizona resident here as well. My husband is from Germany, and we also filed in May. USCIS lost our EAD paperwork and only admitted it after numerous complaints from me, and they ignored the congressman and senator who tried to intervene on our behalf. I finally involved the USCIS ombudsman who learned that they lost our paperwork for the EAD, so 151 days later, they were made to issue one on a Saturday and overnight it. They had also screwed up on our Green card filing and lost some of that paperwork too, so we had to re-submit, and they were supposed to expedite the green card process since their error caused a delay. And of course...still crickets chirping over here. His AZ driver's license is only good until June without the green card, so based on prior experience with USCIS and their incompetency, I am of course concerned. Other states are filing MUCH faster than AZ...however, I know of several other K1 visa holders in AZ who filed much later than May 2017 and they already have then green cards. So there seems to be no system for how USCIS processes things.

1 minute ago, RJandHamid said:

I'm assuming you mean May 2017 since he arrived in November 2016. 

 

Check out the May 2017 AOS filers thread. There are still a number of people waiting to hear back about the green card, with some having interviews scheduled and some having heard nothing in some time. 

 

LOL yes...my mistake, it was May 2017. I guess my frustration is why are they going out of order? At first I thought Arizona (where I live) was just slower than other states, but other people in Arizona going through the same process have been processed faster than we have, when they filed way after we did. 

Just now, RJandHamid said:

When did you initially file the AOS paperwork? Some offices are slower than others, which some taking just 3-4 months from filing to interview and others taking close to 12 months. Did you check the processing times of your local office? 

As for no online updates, it seems that the online updating system hasn't been working at all since early November, and that has been frustrating for many including myself, as we wait for additional information from USCIS. 

We filed May 2016. And the processing times are never correctly updated, I learned that a long time ago, so I don't even bother checking anymore. And as I said, I know several other people in my state who are also K1 Visa holders who filed near the same as we did, as well as way after we did, who have already gotten their green cards. So there seems to be no rhyme or reason for how USCIS processes things. 

And this is why people come here illegally - you do things by the book and spend thousands of dollars, only to be failed by a broken immigration system. My parents came here from Germany and Sweden and did NOT have this issue.

Hello everyone,

Just reaching out to see if anyone else is experiencing the hassles that I have been.

My now husband (from Germany) came here on a K1. I travelled to Germany in October 2016 for his Visa Interview in Frankfurt, and his Visa arrived a week later, and he moved to the US in November 2016. 

We filed for his EAD and Green card, and even though USCIS claims K1 visa holders should only take 75 days to get their EAD, our lawyer advised that since USCIS are incompetent, it can take 90 days. 151 days later, and still nothing, even though I had filed numerous complaints, even went down to the Tucson field office, and they advised they saw no issues that should be delaying it, and admitted that my husband SHOULD have heard something by now, and they said if the field offices issued EAD's and green cards, we would be walking out that day with it. However, only the Central Processing office in Missouri can issue those, and even they have no way to get ahold of anyone there directly. Even when I tried talking to anyone at the main Missouri office, it was frustrating and no one knew anything. I got excuse after excuse, which lead me to believe they lost our paperwork. I even involved a US Congressman as well as Senator McCain, and USCIS ignored both of them. I finally filed a complaint with the USCIS Ombudsman (who oversees USCIS) and they found out that my suspicions were founded - that USCIS had misplaced our paperwork all along. So the Ombudsman made someone go into the office the next day, on a Saturday, and issue my husband's EAD and overnight it to us. As soon as we knew his EAD was approved, before it even arrived, my husband applied for and got a job right away. 

So, after all that hassle and me basically being an a**hole to get things done, that is taken care of. My husband was very stressed out at having his wife working two jobs to support us both and he was helpless to do anything - and he is an Engineer so finding a job for him was easy!

Anyway - my 2nd problem is still unresolved and I am getting concerned. When we initially filed for both the EAD and Green Card, we were initially kicked back an RFE saying that I as the wife, "do not meet the poverty level income requirement" and they advised they could not continue with processing his green card case. I looked up exactly what the "poverty level income requirement" for 2 people were, according to USCIS, and that amount is $20,300 USD, which is roughly $9.62 per hour. At each job I work, I make significantly MORE than that, so someone at USCIS is incapable of simple math. I called the lawyer, and she explained that USCIS are morons which I already knew (which was why I hired the immigration lawyer in the first place), and that the left hand never knows what the right hand is doing there, and that since there is no way to get ahold of anyone there who will know what is going on, the best/fastest way to deal with this is to resend what they are requesting, let them know that we sent it CORRECTLY the first time, and now, due to a delay caused by THEIR error, we request they expedite my husband's green card. They kicked back a response that they received our response to their RFE on July 19th 2016 and there has been NO update since then. I am not sure what USCIS's definition of "expedite" is, but it is clearly not in sync with the rest of the world. The lawyer said is is very rare for USCIS to expedite a green card, it is based on emergency, or, if they make a mistake, which they did. 

I had mistakenly assumed that USCIS processes things in order of received, but I am finding this to be untrue, and there is in fact, no rhyme or reason to how they process things. My cousin who lives in the same state as I do, she filed with her wife from Brasil the same time as I did (K1 process also, so the exact same), and they already had their interview and got the green card. And I have read of many other K1 visa holders who filed WAY after we did according to their timelines, from other states, and they too, already have gotten their green cards. And yet over here, it is still "crickets chirping". 

Has anyone else had any issues with this? I am just fearful that USCIS lost that paperwork too, and based on experience, I obviously have no trust in them. Especially when they knew they lost the papers all along and weren't forthcoming about it, or taking any responsibility for it. 

That was my fault..we recently bought a car for him to drive, and the lady at the title place when we went to put the title and registration in both our names, she said there are Third Party Motor Vehicle places that do licensing only on Saturdays. Without my husband being allowed to work yet, I work two FT jobs to support us both, so I would need to take a day off to go to the DMV, so figured we could try the Third Party DMV for that. My mistake...they are idiots there, clueless and rude. They were passing out licenses like candy to people who spoke no English and showed NO documents or anything...yet they told Stefan his I-94 was expired and he would be deported and I was like "umm, look around...who's the one going to be deported in here? Not the German guy with a valid Visa who speaks 3 languages!" So they don't know what they are doing...so lesson learned...to go only to DMV directly for that stuff! So I am taking March 1st off from work to go to the DMV and that is the day we have his AOS medical thing to have the Dr sign off on his stuff from October so we can finally file for AOS and EAD. 

correction: Arizona DMV said we need his passport, German license, valid visa AND his SSN (which we do have). All he needs is that to get an AZ DL...they don't care about the I-94 whatsoever, they said it is irrelevant for their purposes. 

Update: Just got off the phone with the Arizona DMV. They reiterated exactly what they told me back in December right after we got married. They said that they don't care about his I-94 if it is expired or not. They only need his German license, passport and valid visa on his passport. Arizona will do a transfer of his German license, so no testing required. His license will only be valid until his visa expires, but that gives me time to add him onto my credit union account and add him onto my auto insurance policy and not pay the outrageous "foreign driver" fee. Then they said once we have proof of receipt from USCIS that we filed for EAD and AOS, they just need receipt that we filed and we can renew his license, but in between then he can of course drive on the German license. 

They did say DO NOT go into the Third Party Motor Vehicle place for that (which I found out on Saturday!)...they are idiots with immigration stuff there, so we are going straight to DMV. 

He already got his SSN...we got that back on 3rd January actually. His just has that "not valid for employment without valid EAD" stamp on it. Once we get his EAD we go back to the SSN office to get a new one printed without that stamp on it. 

I will call the Arizona DMV tomorrow when they are open and see what I can find out. They had told me that he can drive for 6 months on a German DL in Arizona with no issues..and that is ONLY if he gets pulled over and they check his passport/visa for his arrival. We get so many German tourists here that drive on a German DL that they will probably just assume he is one of them. But truth be told, he likely won't be doing too much driving until his EAD comes through and he is driving to interviews and back/forth to work. 

I called the DMV for Arizona back in December, and they said all he needs is his SSN (which he has), and his passport and German ID for him to get a license. They said German license will do a transfer. First they said he had to test (before they knew he was from Germany), and then I got snippy and said "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Europeans drivers are way better than US Drivers...it is way too easy to get a license in USA, and it is difficult to get one in Europe! This is why my German grandfather taught me to drive at age 11 and would not let me take US Drivers classes!", and they said "OH....Germany???? Why didn't you say so! We transfer Germany licenses with no exam...so he is fine"...lol 

He does have all the papers from his appointment in Germany - x-rays, bloodwork results, etc. We plan on bringing that to his AOS medical on 1st March 1st so the Dr can just sign off. He just had that medical in Berlin back in October so it is less than one year old of course.

He does need US ID in order to add him onto my credit union (bank) account. They advised me of this several times. 

And the the AOS medical...I forget which form it is, but our immigration lawyer said that basically he just has to have that form signed off by a civil surgeon before we file for AOS.

And I already checked with Arizona for driving...German drivers licenses transfer automatically over. No need to test. Arizona accepts transfers of Germany and I think they said Thailand?? 

I am confused...how is his Visa expired the minute he entered the US?

And yes...I mean his Immigration medical. He had one in October in Germany before we had our K1 Interview. We did the "titer check" bloodwork and based on his bloodwork, he was exempt from all vaccines as his immunities and antibodies were very good. So we have all the x-rays and bloodwork and paperwork from that doctor appointment in October so we just have to do the AOS medical and bring those forms so we can have my doctor (who is a civil surgeon) sign off on the medical, so we can file for AOS/EAD. 

Well I can get my name changed on my AZ license...that is not a problem. I just wanted to get him his AZ license so we can add him onto my bank account and also in case he did get pulled over, the police were not confused at a German driver's license (which he is allowed to drive here in Arizona with a German license of course). 

After his AOS medical exam on March 1st, we will be filing for AOS and EAD. And the 3rd Party motor vehicle place said as long as we even have proof that we filed for that, the receipt, that should be sufficient and he can get his DL. I will fo course confirm this when I call the Arizona DMV tomorrow. What irritated me was when we were at this 3rd Party DMV place, there was a TON of people there who they were handing licenses out to like candy, and they spoke not one word of English and showed no paperwork. 

But that is a relief that there are no DL or US ID card requirements when filing for AOS and EAD. Why do they make the I-94 date not the same as the Visa expiration date? (then again why does the US government do anything the way they do...)

Also not sure if anyone has run into this. We just bought a 2nd car for him...both our names are on the title and registration. So when I called my insurance company (State Farm) to add him and his car, they quoted me $250 because of a "foreign driver policy" since he does not have 3 years experience of driving on US roads. I was able to contact a friend who runs a branch at Farmers Insurance and told him what was going on and he quoted me for both myself and my husband, and both cars, for only $40 more than I am paying now for just myself and my own car. He said they DO have a "foreign driver policy" for an extra $25 per month, but he said he won't even apply that. He knows how difficult and expensive it is to get a driver's license in Germany, and anyone who drives on the Autobahn knows damn well how to drive. And, upon visits here to the US, my husband HAS driven on US roads. Just wondering if anyone has come upon that kind of issue?

Hi everyone. Looking for any input here. 

My newlywed husband arrived here with his K1 Visa on 14 November. We married (eloped due to the K1 time constraint and will later have a wedding ceremony). His Visa expires on 13 March 2017. 

Yesterday we went to a Third Party Motor Vehicle Services place to change my name on my Arizona driver's license, and obtain his Arizona license. I had contacted the actual Arizona DMV back in December right after we married and they said to get his SSN first, and then all we need to bring was his passport, and his German license, and they said a German license will transfer over to an Arizona one - no need to re-test. 

No DMV here in Arizona is open on weekends anymore, and without his EAD, I am working two jobs currently to support us, so that was why we went to a 3rd Party place that handles licensing. Needless to say they were rude and idiots. Tried first telling me his visa was expired and he was going to be deported. I had to get an attitude right back with the guy and point out his visa was valid until March 13th. They finally got a Supervisor to verify some stuff with US Customs and they said that his I-94 was "Admit Until" February 11th and said he would need his EAD before they could issue his license. My Immigration lawyer said nothing about this...and as far as we knew it only mattered when the visa expired.

Either way, we did fulfill the legal requirement of the K1 since we got married back in December, which is way before March 13 or also his "Admit Until" date. 

But now I am in a panic because I don't want my husband in violation of anything. We are about to file for his AOS and EAD - we have his AOS Immigration exam on 1st March. I have gathered all evidence of our life together as a married couple with bills in both names, a new car purchased with the title/registration in both our names, rental agreement for our house in both names, etc. I wanted also to add him onto my Credit Union bank account but they can not do that until he has US Identification. I plan on calling Arizona DMV tomorrow when they are open to get better clarification on this and see if I can get a license for him, or at the very least for now, an ID card. 

But I wanted to see if anyone had experience with this I-94 thing situation? One one aspect I am not worried since we long fulfilled the requirement of marrying before the visa or I-94 expired, but I am afraid when we file for AOS and EAD, if he has no US ID card, they will deny him. 

Thank you!

On 1/18/2017 at 7:49 AM, Suss&Camm said:

Hi,
I'm sorry, I missed your reply. What your lawyer said is correct, however if you finish your vaccination requirements overseas that includes the flu shot if it's done between Oct-March... If you AOS during flu season but your medical was done outside of flu season, it is still the date of the overseas medical that counts for whether the flu shot was needed or not. If your DS-3025 is marked as complete and requested blanket waiver and you have the blood test results (this would be in lieu of the vaccination dates) you should be fine.

 

I'm curious, how did the local USCIS office discourage you from going through AOS? That sounds strange! 

 

Yes I'm not that far ahead  Married on Halloween, got here on October 19th.. We did a court wedding and a family dinner.. We will have a ceremony sometime in the future, but it's not really what we need to focus on atm either financially or timewise

 

It's true that some K1's are waived for interview at AOS stage... This is mainly cause it's so close in time to the embassy interview that it's a way for them to save time on straightforward cases with no red flags. Some are instead interviewed at the time of ROC (10 year GC) but some are waived also then. According to the USCIS Policy guidelines for adjudicators (as of Feb 2016), interviews are generally  waived according to:

 

 

"A. Interview Waiver Criteria

 

1. Waiver Criteria

 

USCIS has the ability to waive an interview. [2] Adjustment of status interviews are generally waived for applicants in the following classifications:

 

•Applicants clearly ineligible;

 

•Unmarried children of U.S. citizens, if not filed as part of a family pack;

 

•Parents of U.S. citizens;

 

•Fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens who married within 90 days, and their children;

 

•Asylee and refugee cases in which the applicant has previously been interviewed by an asylum or refugee officer; [3] and

 

•Unmarried children (under age 14) of lawful permanent residents."

 

It goes on to say:

 

"Cases in the general interview waiver categories [5] may be relocated to a field office for interview. Reasons for relocation may include:

 

•Need to confirm the identity of the applicant;

 

•Need to validate legal status;

 

•The applicant entered the United States without inspection or there are other unresolved issues regarding the foreign national’s manner of entry;

 

•There are known criminal inadmissibility or national security concerns that cannot be resolved at a service center;

 

•There are fraud concerns and the service center recommends an interview;

 

•The applicant’s fingerprints have been rejected twice;

 

•The applicant has a Class A medical condition that the service center cannot resolve through an RFE;

 

•The applicant answered “Yes” to any eligibility question on the adjustment application and the service center cannot determine eligibility through an RFE; or

 

•The service center has not been able to obtain an applicant’s A-file, T-file, or Receipt file (when the applicant has multiple files).

 

Cases claiming eligibility under INA 245(i) provisions should always be referred to a field office for interview because of the complexity of the provisions and the need to obtain the applicant’s testimony."

 

To answer your final question I've known my husband for a bit over 2 years. At the time of filing i-129f it was about 1.5 years and he had visited me for 3 months... he came over for another 2 months around the time of the interview. It was good "practice" for living together 

 

Well, based on those criteria, I would expect the USCIS wouldn't want to be bothered with an interview. Our case is quite straightforward "boring". I have known him since High School and we have evidence of such. And there is no age discrepancy (we are both near the same age), both speak each other languages, etc. Our K1 petition got pushed through extremely fast, and the only question at the interview was "ummmmm...how did you guys meet?" because apparently me being there when I wasn't required to, seemed to throw off their game and surprise them. But I was not going to let him go through that process alone, we are in this together. 

And when I had gone to the USCIS office here in Phoenix, I went to try to get some questions answered before we filed the I-129F because it was a bit confusing for me and I wanted to make sure I did it right, and didn't cause any delays if I did it by myself. The office there was very rude and did not answer anything I asked, and even tried to discourage me from going through this K1 process! I understand they may be disgruntled because they are likely quite busy with illegal Mexican immigration issues here in Arizona..but they don't need to categorize everyone like that and mistreat them. So they are the reason I hired an Immigration lawyer. 

But it's great to find a forum of others who can relate to all of this! It is extremely helpful!  

11 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

I'm waiting atm
I filed in November about 2 weeks after getting married... I believe it can take anywhere from 3 months up to over a year it really depends.. but I'm hoping I'll get my EAD/AP fairly soon. 

 

and yes, the medical is not required for K1's that file within a year. It could however be a good idea to supply a copy of the DS-3025 that the overseas doc filled out, just so they know that you have complied and there is supposed to be a medical in your A-file for them to link up to your AOS case. I'm not surprised that the immigration lawyer wasn't aware of that. I hear many times they are unfamiliar with certain procedures which is why we opted to do everything ourselves. Why pay money if you're not even going to get the correct/full information right. 

 

edit: no judgement on your choice intended, just how we thought about it

I would much rather NOT have to waste time on a 2nd medical exam if we don't have to of course! I just emailed our lawyer what what you said, and this was her reply:

"

Some K1 applicants complete the entire vaccination supplement as part of their K1 medical abroad. When that happens, they don’t need anything once they are here in the US, unless USCIS requires anything additional (such as the flu vaccine during the months of Oct-Mar).

It sounds like you have a good relationship with your doctor here, so I would consult with them on Stefan’s report and vaccination supplement."

He does have all his documentation from the K1 medical exam, including the blood test results and the x-rays though, if needed. And the only reason I hired a lawyer was, back in January last year I went to the local USCIS office in Phoenix to ask some questions about doing the K1  and Iw anted t make sure that if I did this on my own, I would not make any mistakes to hold the process up. My experience at my local USCIS was awful, they were rude, very short with me, and unhelpful, and even tried to discourage me from going through this process. (both my parents are immigrants...my dad came here from Sweden, my mum came here from Germany). So after I left the USCIS office that day, I knew I had to hire an immigration lawyer to help me. 

It sounds like you are not too far ahead of me in the process actually. My husband arrived here on his K1 on 14th November, and we got married 19th December (we did the elope thing because lack of time, we will do our actual ceremony with ring exchange and wedding dress etc in April this year and then later in Germany at Neuschwanstein Castle), and we are about to file for EAD and AOS now. The lawyer also said that not everyone is required by USCIS to have a AOS interview...but I am not sure what would make them not require someone to have an interview. If my husnamd doesn't have to do that interview there, I would prefer that of course! 

How long did you know your spouse for? I have known my husband since high school and we kept in touch and visited each other back and forth.

20 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

No.. the K1 medical is given to CBP at the border and they send it to USCIS. No other medical exam is needed.

I just sent our Immigration lawyer an email regarding that because I would much rather we don't have to go through another medical exam if we don't have to, since we just did this in October in Germany! 

How long did it take you get your AOS adjusted?

6 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

ok gotcha.. yea I never had a flu shot... I've been lucky to not get sick too much in my life as well. It's good that the flu shot is there for those that benefit from it though. Ofc you can still get sick if you are infected by a different virus. The blood test is really good for those that don't have their vaccination backgrounds as well..

 

I'm wondering about the "aos medical" though, you mean you'll have to get another one? The K1 is valid for a year so you don't need to.

Well, for the AOS medical, my husband will have to get another medical exam for AOS, but since he had his K1 in October, he only has to bring his bloodwork papers and x-rays to the exam and the Dr will just sign off that he is fine. At least I believe that is how it works. 

53 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

If he has ample evidence from blood work that he doesn't need the flu shot I'm sure that will be fine. Most ppl don't opt to do the blood test though. They just refill what they need, in which case the US require the flu shot during that season. Unsure what you mean about propaganda? 

 

edit: I didn't need varicella since i remember having chickenpox.

The US has a "propaganda" on the flu shot...they push it on everyone, even local pharmacies like "Walgreens". I work in law enforcement, and the government tried to force me to get the flu shot, but I refused. I have never had a flu shot, nor have I ever had the flu. And every year those around me that do get the flu shot, they end up out sick from work for a week from the flu, and even though I am exposed to them, I never get it. Like I said, I am not anti-vaccine, but for myself (and my German husband feels the same) we just don't want unnecessary vaccines. But I was happy when my husband's blood titers came back and he was exempt from all vaccines. And the Immigration lawyer said since his exam for K1 was within the last few months, when we do the AoS medical exam, he just has to bring the bloodwork and x-rays with him and that will be fine. 

But  I think someone posted in here that I saw, that USCIS doesn't even pay attention to the specifics, they just look to see the immigration Dr info and that he signed and cleared the AoS applicant. 

My German fiancé (now husband) had his K1 medical prior to our K1 Interview and that was in October 2016 - during USA's "flu season". They had a list of vaccines, some I have never heard of. (not sure why "varicela" - chickenpox - was even on there - I have never had that vaccine nor have I had chickenpox yet, but he has not either, but he has had chickenpox before, so why would they make him get a vaccine for something he can never get again/??). Anyway, he and I are not "anti vaccine" just against unnecessary vaccines. So we requested a titer blood test (I work with wild animals and have to be current on rabies vaccines, so every 2 years I have to do a rabies titer check to make sure I can still work with wild animals safely) from the Immigration Exam doctor, and they did that, and the blood results showed his titers were very high and therefore he did not need ANY vaccines. So even though we did this in October, "flu season", he was not required to get the flu shot. We are going through AOS processes now, and my own Dr is thankfully an Immigration Dr, and he does NOT force the flu shot propaganda. So, chances are that my husband won't have to deal with that. 

But our Immigration lawyer said that as long as the medical exam from the K1 was given within a year then it would be ok for the AOS...just bring those records to the AOS medical exam.

Danke!!! Das ist sehr  hilfsbereit  und ich schätze es!!! Ich werde dir eine Nachricht schicken! VIelen, vielen dank!!! 

I doubt any US government official is going to care on a matter like this. And police in Germany certainly won't care either. I think this is a matter of Bremerhaven not knowing what they are doing. I can not get ahold of anyone at US Customer to confirm this or advise what to do, but I figured that someone in here who went through this process had to have gone through this same thing and shipped their things here and might be able to advise exact;y what they did and needed. I just want my husband to have his stuff (well, our stuff) and not pay unnecessary storage fees. I don't know if we just simply need to submit our marriage certificate to them to show we have fulfilled the K1 requirement, or they perhaps need the AOS receipt from USCIS once we have it? 

I was not quite sure where to pose this question, but I feel I will find better answers in here than I have had by contacting the US Customs and Government officials who are clueless as to what I am talking about. 

I am actually the petitioner. My fiancé (now husband) and I went through the K1 process for him. Before we had our interview and got the K1 approved, he had contacted various shipping companies to inquire about having his household goods shipped from Germany to Arizona. He was given a quote and advised that as soon as his K1 was approved to call them back and they would come out to pick the boxes up. (just household items of his like books, linens, kitchen items, tools, decorations etc). As soon as we left the Consulate after the Visa got approved, he called the company and advised that we were approved and he would get the Visa in the main within a week, so he scheduled for them to come to pick the boxes up. I was not in Germany anymore when they came out to pick the boxes up, or I would have raised a fuss with them and prevented this from happening..but they saw the K1 Visa and told him "oh no, we can't ship these boxes on only a K1 since it is only good for 90 days. We are going to take your stuff and put it in storage that you pay for in Bremerhaven and call us when you get the Adjustment of Status." This is, of course extortion. 

So now they are telling him this is not their rules, but that the US will only allow them to ship his boxes when he has his new status. We are going through the step of filing for AOS and work authorization for him now...but that can be a while. 

Does anyone have experience with this? Or know who to contact to get this resolved? Now that he and I are married, can we submit to them the marriage certificate, or, once we file for AOS can we submit the receipt to them showing we filed? I am just trying to find out if there is anything we can do to get his stuff shipped. His work authorization will come through sooner than the AOS, and he has many tools in those boxes that he needs for his work (he is an Engineer). 

And one other question - later this year we are planning to marry in Germany, and I know that Germany will allow that as they will accept our US marriage as legal. But my husband was advised he would have to submit our marriage certificate to Germany to register our marriage there, but he is not sure to where it goes...possibly to his local Standesamt? Does anyone have any insight into that as well?

Thank you in advance!