SHK1

4 minutes ago, Vaug21 said:

I applied for my SS last friday ,, and i just took my passport and my EAD/Ap card the lady asked if i had an i-94 i said i got it but didn't go with it ,, all you need is your passport and EAD

Thanks for the info.

2 minutes ago, Vaug21 said:

Also guys can you please create Timelines. , it helps some of us compare 

Will do, once I get some things sorted out first. Like this SSN.

Hi all,

My B2 adjustment of status is currently still pending but I've received my EAD card in the mail nearly 2 weeks ago.

I'm planning to go to the SSA to apply for a SSN and just want to know that I have everything I need before I do.

I have read on their website about the documents required but just want to double check with everyone here that I understood it correctly.

The documents I have are:

SS-5 Form (to be filled out once I get there)
EAD/AP Combo Card

Electronic I-94 print out

Passport

Is there anything else I need to successfully apply for a SSN?

Thank you.

Ok. I got it.

Thanks for the replies.

Unfortunately fedex and dhl are not conveniently placed all over Australia like it is in the US and only companies use them as a means of transportation.

I will have to see what I can do then, thanks again.

 

Have it sent fedex or DHL with signature and it 99.5% wont get lost in transit. We were never even asked about any birth certs at our interview.....of course, we didn't leave it out, we had it with. I think your certified JOP copy plus explaining would be ok.

I would think that it'll be sufficient to have a Justice of the Peace copy but I wanted to see if anyone can verify.

Perhaps I can make a phone call to USCIS, would they answer such questions?

I'm sorry, I didn't make myself clear.

It is not an Australian birth certificate, it is a Vietnamese birth certificate. I cannot get a certify copy of the original from the country.

I did not use the word certify correctly and it has caused confusion in my statements.

I am making a photocopy of my birth certificate to present to the Justice of the Peace so that he can witness the documents and
then stamp and sign it to say that it is a true copy of the original. It is by no means an official certified copy.

But it is a method used in Australia to provide a certify copy of an original, if that makes sense.

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace in Australia is typically someone of good stature in the community who is authorised to witness and sign statutory declarations and affidavits and to certify copies of original documents. Criteria for appointment vary widely, depending on the state.

My question is, will this certify copy as per witnessed by a Justice of the Peace be sufficient in presenting to USCIS?

Hi guys.

My case status for I-485 Adjustment of Status has changed to "Case is ready to be scheduled for an interview".
I know it's still early and that it won't come that soon but I have a question regarding my birth certificate for the interview.

So my birth certificate is currently in Australia and in order to get it here for the interview, I would need to get a family member to mail it over.

My concern is that what happens if the parcel gets lost in transit?

That is my biggest fear at this point.

In Australia, we have Justice of the Peace, who is able to witness an original document together with a copy of the said document and certify it to be a true copy.

It is a method used in Australia for anything government related so that there is no need to send the original when required.

It's a long shot but I was wondering if it is possible to get a certified copy of my birth certificate by the Justice of the Peace and have it sent over to eliminate the risk of the original being lost?

I doubt it is possible but I would like to hear from anyone who may know anything about it and inform me.

Any if anyone has any suggestions or have been through a similar experience, please feel free to share your story.

Thank you very much.

2 minutes ago, kumakun said:

Oh I get it! We've been on average 1-2 weeks behind other VJ'ers timing throughout this process and it's stressful every step of the way. We haven't heard anything about my husband's GC ever since his biometrics appointment, and pretty much every VJ'er before us being processed through Honolulu in the past year had their GC by now.  Glad you got your appointment letter though!

Yeah, I know what you mean. It's very stressful to be in the dark about it and all you can do is wait and wait.

Thanks and good luck to you and your husband.

On 07/03/2017 at 10:47 AM, kumakun said:

Our NOA1 was dated December 7 2016 and my husband's biometrics appointment was January 6 2017. We got the biometrics appointment notice about 10 days before the appointment. I'd suspect you'll receive notification this week or next based on our experience but things can change/vary. We filed AOS and did biometrics before the current administration took office.

Hi kumakun,

Thanks for the reply. You were in fact right, I had just received the appointment letter in the mail today.

Because it differs between people to people, I was just getting a little restless since I've heard people receiving it a lot earlier.

Thanks for your help.

Hi all,

How long does it normally take to receive the biomentric appointment letter?

We've sent out package on February 2, delivered on February 5.

Received email notification receipt on February 13.

Notice of action via mail on February 17.

And which date are we going by from the above if I was to start counting?

Thanks guys.

6 hours ago, Peterpaul216 said:

It depends on which USCIS office that you sent your petitions. If you send your petition to a USCIS Lockbox office then you will receive a receipt notice on email/text message (Assuming you submitted Form G_1145) after 10 working days USCIS received your petitions. If your petition was sent to a USCIS service center then expect to receive your notice of action in 30days.

For Instance mine was submitted on at Chicago Lockbox on 1/25/17 delivered on 1/27/17 and I just received email/text message on yesterday being 2/9/17.

I've submitted mine to the Chicago PO Box as well. Thanks for sharing your experience there,

I've heard people who have received their email and texts within 2-3 days after delivery so I was just wondering if that was the norm.

Thanks to everyone else who have replied.

Hi all,

We've sent our AOS last week, Thursday 2nd, and it was signed for and delivered on Sunday 5th.

Money order and check had not been cashed yet on the Wednesday 8th.

And no e-notification of acceptance either.

My question is how long do these things usually take?

As for the foreign birth certificate, it is actually a temporary replacement of a birth certificate, issued by the government called an identification document.

The document has name of parents, name of applicant, date of birth, address and reason for no birth certificate along with two witnesses' signature and certification with a stamp. This document was not obtained recently, it is the original copy issued in 1991. This is practically the birth document.

However, the birth year is 1987.

Does anyone know if this is sufficient prove of a birth certificate / substitute?

Thanks again, guys.

Hi guys,

I have been able to learn a lot from this forum and have compiled my AOS with the help of everyone here.

This is what I have so far and hoping to send it in later this week.

Just want to make sure I haven't missed anything, please take a look.

My only question is, the evidence for bona fide marriage, is it insufficient?

Thanks all.

U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
PO Box 805887
Chicago, IL 60680-4120

Petitioner (U.S Citizen): NAME
Beneficiary (Alien Spouse): NAME
Joint Sponsor: NAME

Date: February xx, 2017

To who it may concern,
Dear Sir/Madam,

Please find enclosed documentations for the concurrent filing of the following forms with all supporting documents:
I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative), I-485 (Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status), I-864 (Affidavit of Support), I-765 (Application for Employment Authorization) and I-131 (Application for Travel Document).

I-130 - Petition for Alien Relative

1.       Money Order $535: Payable to U.S. Department of Homeland Security

2.       Form I-130 – Petition for Alien Relative

3.       Form G-1145 e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance

4.       Copy of Petitioner’s Birth Certificate

5.       Copy of Beneficiary’s Passport Biographic Page and Non-Immigrant Visa Page

6.       Copy of Beneficiary’s Foreign Birth Certificate with Certified Translation

7.       Copy of Marriage Certificate

8.       One Passport-style Photo of Petitioner

9.       One Passport-style Photo of Beneficiary

10.   Form G-325A, Biographic Information Sheet for Petitioner

11.   Form G-325A, Biographic Information Sheet for Beneficiary

12.   Evidence of Bona Fide Marriage

·         Plane tickets and itineraries

·         Wedding photos

·         Vacation photos

·         Copy of mailed address for birthday cards, Christmas cards

·         Call Histories

I-485 - Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status

1.       Money Order $1225 (with Biometric Fees): Payable to U.S. Department of Homeland Security

2.       Form I-485 - Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status

3.       Form G-1145 e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance

4.       Copy of Beneficiary’s Foreign Birth Certificate with Certified Translation

5.       Copy of Beneficiary’s Passport Biographic Page and Non-Immigrant Visa Page

6.       Copy of Beneficiary’s Electronic Form I-94 - Arrival/Departure Record

7.       Two Passport-style Photo of Beneficiary

8.       Form I-693 – Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record (Sealed Envelope)

9.       Form G-325A, Biographic Information Sheet for Beneficiary

I-864 - Affidavit of Support

1.       FORM I-864 - Affidavit of Support: Completed by Petitioner

2.       FORM I-864 - Affidavit of Support: Completed by Joint Sponsor

3.       Form G-1145 e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance

4.       Copy of Petitioner’s Birth Certificate

5.       Copy of Joint Sponsor’s Passport Biographic Page

6.       Copy of Petitioner’s Tax Transcript

7.       Copy of Joint Sponsor’s Tax Transcript and Form W-2

8.       Joint Sponsor’s Letter of Employment

9.       Joint Sponsor’s most recent Pay Stubs for the last 6 Months

I-765 - Application for Employment Authorization

1.       Form I-765 - Application for Employment Authorization

2.       Form G-1145 e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance

3.       Copy of Beneficiary’s Passport Biographic Page

4.       Two Passport-style Photo of Beneficiary

I-131 - Application for Travel Document

1.       Form I-131 - Application for Travel Document

2.       Form G-1145 e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance

3.       Copy of Beneficiary’s Passport Biographic Page

4.       Two Passport-style Photo of Beneficiary

5.       Copy of Beneficiary’s Electronic Form I-94 - Arrival/Departure Record

Regards,

NAME
DATE
SIGNATURE

7 hours ago, Lenchick said:

oh by the way. Since you are in the US, you can go to Vietnamese consulate in the US. They usually handle such kind of matters, or they might at least give you some direction.

 

Here is the link

http://vietnamembassy-usa.org/consular

 

I'll give them a call first thing tomorrow.

Right now, I'm having no luck obtaining one or even coming close to finding the right place to talk to about it.

Very frustrating and stressful.

I found a page that claims to be investigators for such matter in Vietnam, they're looking for about $500 USD for the service.
This just seems like too much and I'm not even sure if they are trustworthy.

3 minutes ago, Lenchick said:

I would get power of attorney and assign someone to order the BC  for you. That's how I did obtaining my BC from my country as I resided very far away.  Do you have anyone in Vietnam? Maybe there are agencies that do it?

I don't have anyone in Vietnam so that is a problem. And I don't speak Vietnamese either.

I'm currently looking for answers, thanks for your help.

1 minute ago, Lenchick said:

Hi!  Were you born Vietnamese or Australian in Vietnam?

I also found this on the US embassy in Vietnam website:

 

"You may wish to contact the district People’s Committee of the place where you were born to issue certified copies of your birth certificate (Ban Sao Giay Khai Sinh). Alternatively, you may ask them to provide an Extract (Trich Luc Giay Khai Sinh) of your birth certificate.  If you are not able to obtain your birth certificate because records have been destroyed or the government will not issue one, you must obtain a statement to that effect from the local civil registrar’s office. "

Born Vietnamese. I have doubts that it was recorded so I am preparing for the worst.

Do you mind sending me a link to that? I having a hard time searching for the site...

Also, I have mentioned the Australian citizenship certificate above, is that totally out of the question?

Thanks again.

2 minutes ago, Lenchick said:

You need to request your BC from Vietman. Hopefully it won't take too long. Why didn't you take care of it in advance?

Hi Lenchick,

Thanks for your response.

In the event that my birth had not registered (likely) on their records, what can I do in that case?

Thanks.

Hi guys,

I'm just about finished compiling my paperwork for the adjustment of status but I came to quite some trouble with the last piece of required evidence.

Basically, I don't have a birth certificate.

In Australia, I was never once required to show my birth certificate, if anything, my citizenship certificate was the solution.

The Australian citizenship certificate does contain my father's name on it (mother's name is on her own separate certificate) and my name (listed under child) has my date of birth beside it.

Would this be acceptable as a substitute?

What must I do in this case, by the way, I was born in Vietnam. Please help.

If anyone can shed some light on this, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.