Dan and Wee

This is ALL very good information.  Thank you all.  We are going to be using her married name on all the documents, and just see what happens.  I am so happy that this community exists.  

17 hours ago, Ray&Ash said:

Hey! firstly congrats on the wedding  and after talking to some lawyers and other experienced people in this field, I have concluded that its really not necessary to change the name at the time of marriage. (many girls dont do it, and its absolutely ok and understandable) 

is the wife in your case wanting to chnage her name or only wanna do it cos of the filing? if so you can choose to delay it later and change the name based on the marriage certificate later anytime and get a new SSN (SSN num remains same, theyll just chnage the name on it) 

 

And just a clarification - the name on the marriage certificate IS ALWAYS the MAIDEN name. NOT the married name. So dont worry. Just use the married name by default whatever name you wanna have after marriage in your forms. 

You marriage certificate will act as a proof of all that. If the girl puts husbands last name as hers, officers just look at marriage certificate to confirm. 

Thats about it. 

 

Meanwhile you can go to SSN office to change it. Thats better than court  

 

Good luck !!

She wanted to change it because she wants my last name, not just because of the filing.

So are you saying that she can legally use my last name no matter what on forms like the i-485, even though the marriage certificate only says her maiden name?  

I have seen some documentation here on (http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1k3aos) where it states: 

1 hour ago, EvieMN said:

How would you go about changing her name later? I'm not exactly sure about the process.

Since I'm filing for AOS from a J1 visa I opted to keep my maiden name since all my documents regarding my previous visa are in my maiden name and I didn't want to create any confusion.

But I'm thinking of changing my name after I get my GC.

Can you request a change at the AOS interview? So they can produce the card with the new name?

I'ts much more difficult to do it after the fact, which is why my wife and I wanted to have her new name immediately after we got married...

but here is what I found on the internet about changing your name after marriage in Ohio...

http://info.legalzoom.com/legally-change-name-after-marriage-ohio-20429.html

I hope this helps.  it was a quick search, and it seems roughly the same as in Florida.  It's also rather expensive at $400 here in Florida, not sure about Ohio.

14 hours ago, Suss&Camm said:

Right,  yes if there is a separate field for maiden name,  then the married name goes in the name field. That's what I meant, yours does have separate fields. Where I live, (TX), there is only one name field, which is then current name (maiden), and the fact that you are married to the other person with the last name you might use,  gives you the right to use it. So for me,  I could then just choose to start using it and fill in the AOS papers with the married name. I know it doesn't help you, but it is an explanation for some of the confusion around this. It doesn't excuse the clerk though - amazing that they gave that answer,  the one place you would expect to get the answer specific to your circumstances... so sorry about that...

 

If I remember correctly, you can't change anything in the court here, before becoming an lpr - But don't quote me on that... have you tried just correcting it as an admin error with the county clerk's?

I contacted them this morning, and I was informed that no matter what, she would not have been able to change her name to my last name until after she got her green card.  This is in contrast to EVERYTHING I have seen online, but it is in line with what the people at the courts and the notary that married us said in that it is done later.  This is so very confusing, but I will just go with what the courts told me today in that because she is not an American citizen yet, the court system in America has no legal right to change her name.  

31 minutes ago, Suss&Camm said:

What state are you in and does your marriage certificate have specific fields for maiden name and married name or not?

Florida, and no, it doesn't, or at least not readily apparent.  It just asks for the name: First and Last, then has a spot for maiden name.  I thought it was strange at first, and it just never clicked in my head as to why they would do that.  I even asked the guy at the clerks office about how to change her name to my last name now that we are married, and he said you do that later.  She is devastated over this.

34 minutes ago, Aviinashh said:

Sorry 

 

Approval Date= Notice date of NOA2 (the I-129F Approval letter) not NOA1

AWESOME!!! Thank you Aviinashh!!!

6 minutes ago, Aviinashh said:

Additional info

Part 2

Q3 - Receipt Number- is the receipt number on your Approved I-129F, look on NOA1

Q4- Approval date of your I-129F, look on NOA1

 

Thank you.  I looked for P2Q4 Priority Date, and mine didnt have one on it.  It also doesnt have an Approval date...but it does have a "notice date".  Would that be the same thing?  

The fields that it has on it are: Notice type, Notice date, case type, receipt number, receipt date, page, date of birth.  Im assuming that "Notice date" = "Approval date" = "Priority date"?

Sorry, and thanks JFH.

I found a couple answers to my questions by searching here, and THANK YOU to those that asked the same questions that I was about to (about 5 of 'em).

Firstly: we made a mistake and didn't update her last name on the marriage license to my last name (which we asked many many times about and EVERYONE...not on VJ...just kept saying you do that later...well...no...you don't...and we missed it, and I'm a dummy for not just googling it), and that creates an issue with A LOT of things...so tomorrow morning we are going to the court to try to fix it.  Should we hold off on filling out and filing the documents until we get her name changed, so that her green card and passport and all these forms we have to file have her desired/new last name on it?  How should we go about fixing this to minimize the damage done by this oversight?

Anyways, here are the questions: 

Part1:

Q22A: What do I put here? firstly, it wont let me type anything, but I can work around that.  Do I put K-1 Visa Holder? Fiancee of (my name)? nonimmigrant?

Part 2:

Q5: Derivative applicant for the Principal applicant.  

      Is that me?  (i know this seems like a silly question with a ####### answer...)

Part 6:

Q1: No children, so do I leave it blank? N/A? or put "0"?

As always...thank you all in advance.  Without all your guy's help up to this point, this would have been a much more difficult journey.

Dan and Wee.

Her situation was that she was there for work at first, and then left after a few months to return back to Thailand because she got sick and couldn't work.  She only visited that same country after that because I was there.  The total time she spent there was over 12 months, but there were breaks in between and never consecutively. 

The reason I'm not sure is because I could make 12 one-month trips to the the same country, and that's completely different than living there for 12 months even if it covers the same timeframe.  So this is just confusing to me. 

Why would they say 12 months on the Thai embassy website then, if that will only set everyone up failure?  I'm so confused.

If my fiancee stayed in a foreign country (not her home country) for work, never stayed there longer than 12 months consecutively, but total time there was more than 12 months total over 2 trips, does she still need to get a police report thing showing that she was never arrested or in any legal issues?

Thanks

We just got an update to our case today!!!!!  Going to Congress was ABSOLUTELY the BEST move we could have made.  I hope everyone else also gets good news soon.

3 minutes ago, JahRyl said:

Yes after 10weeks of waiting. My suggestion is to contact the embassy and follow up your case. For us that's what we did and you may also seek assistance from your fiance congressperson. 

 

Thank you. 

That's great news.  Wee and I are happy for you.  

To give you all an update, i have waited on the OMBUDSMAN now longer than i care to wait, and i havent heard anything back yet.  their email to me said they will respond sometime within 45 days, which is unacceptable.  so i went to my congressman today, and i just need to provide a note from my doctor for the reason i originally expedited our case...too easy.  After that, they are submitting a congressional inquiry into this.  I'll have that note to them by tomorrow.  

If anyoneeelse sees this after this thread is old and forgotten, what i would do is not wait like i have and dont even bother with other avenues of redress...go straight to your congressman for your district.  You can find them online with a simple google search.  Call them, fill ou amd submit the privacy release form, and let them handle it.  I tried to do it the proper way and all i got was more grief.  

Just now, JahRyl said:

hello! any update with your case?

Nothing so far.  I emailed the OMBUDSMAN at the DHS, and submitted for a case review of sorts on their website (some online form they told me to fill out in their emailed response).  Did your status ever re-appear?  I hope it did and it was just a database error.

@Greenbaum

I submitted the form to the OMBUDSMAN.  Thanks for the info.  We will see what happens.

2 hours ago, Greenbaum said:

*Email the Ombudsman at cisombudsman@HQ.DHS.GOV

"The Ombudsman provides an impartial and independent perspective to USCIS in an attempt to resolve problems"

Thank you Shipmate.  I don't know why I didnt think about using that resource...you are a genius.

Thank you.  I am going to do that right now.

11 hours ago, JahRyl said:

hi! for us it is stuck in transit for 2 months now, as per nvc it was sent to qatar consulate last 4 may.and as per embassy they have'nt got it yet.

my fiance will contact their congressperson to inquire iur case on our behalf.

 

I wish you the best, and i agree, your fiancees local congressman may be the best option at this point.  The hardest part you will face is the issues right now with the GCC and their close ties we have with the rest of them (not Qatar).  I feel for you but thats going to be a huge factor, especially with the current administration. Insha'allah you will find out soon.

11 hours ago, Anne Darcera said:

Yes, we are struggling with the same problem as well. 1 month has passed and still our status is "in transit"

 

Any update on your case @Dan & Wee

So i contacted the NVC again last thursday, and the rep i spoke with said that for all K1 Visas now, they are sending via email and not through DHL anymore (i cant verify the truth in this).  I was also then offered by the gentleman on the line that he would have someone look into it.  Also, he said that the embassies are horrible at updating information on accounts and they may have already received it and didnt update the status.  To me, thats believable, but when i email the embassy, i get those canned responses of when they get the package they will contact me.  

I knew the 4th of July weekend was coming up and since i just recently left government service, i know they do 4 day weekends (Monday and Tuesday they will be off, and Wednesday, nothing will get done before lunch time because they will discuss what they did on their 4 day, then do the minimum after lunch until they can go home (its sad, but true...and ive always hated that about the places i worked and no office was any different), so if they do locate it, I wont find out until at least the 5th or 6th of July.  If I dont see an update, I am going to contact my congressman and use a card i hate using.  Im an Afghanistan Veteran with a spinal chord injury from combat, facing surgery soon that may leave me paralyzed forever, and our case was supposed to be expedited back in February a month before i left the service...expedited my ###.  This is ridiculous. 

We have been "in transit" status for more than one month, and now are concerned that it may have been lost by DHL (which the NVC and the embassy supposedly dont track).  We have made phone calls and sent emails, and keep getting a "you just have to wait" response.

What can we do?  Looking at what others here on Visa Journey are going through with the Thai embassy, even packages sent from the NVC in mid-June have already been received, status changed to "ready" and they have an interview date.  Something is most certainly wrong here, but I dont know what to do and could use some advice.

Thanks.

1 minute ago, KULtoATL said:

If you are fluent in the language, you can self translate and you'll need to sign the certification yourself

 

 

Thanks.  Thats what I thought, but just wanted to make sure.  You rock!!

If i can translate the documents by myself, can i self-certify them?  Or am i forced to pay someone to translate them?

Thanks VJ warriors for all the help so far!

If you don't owe the government any money, don't sweat the returns as much.  If the IRS owes you money for any of those years, you are able to get interest on what you were supposed to get back.  There was a guy I did taxes for a few years back that only did his taxes once every 3 years (because that's as far back as you can file and still get a return)...he would get interest on what he was owed.  I don't remember how much the interest was, but it was a neat little trick I learned from him. 

From everything I have been told (because my 1040 shows 0 income due to a tax free combat location)...your W2 should work.  Just make sure all your ducks are in a row and you can show them what happened.  What I would do is provide original copies to your fiancée for the interview, and show them what you have done to get your returns.