Youd have to use your marriage certificate a lot initially to show you're the same person. Bit of a pain but not so much that its worth $450 imo. Once the ssn is updated after green card and your drivers license is your married name it's a non issue.
You should have filed the AOS in your married name. If I were you I'd try to get that fixed before the green card. Call the USCIS and do an infopas updating the information. Because you are a K1 AOS you may not get an interview (it's $450 to change the card not $750 btw.) Legal name change in the USA for a married spouse is not a court matter. You use the marriage certificate to show have a legal right to that name.
Your marriage certificate was enough for your name change. Go to the SSN and ask for SSN in new name and then when you have that head to the DMW and get a DL in new name (some state need EAD to give out a DL)
But your should have just filed the AOS with new name. Now you will have to change name on GC and that is expensive.
Just came across this Miami Herald article from a few months back. Thought it might be a useful short read for all South Florida filers
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/immigration/article208692884.html
Yes, a public school is possible but they still need to pay the cost of him going to the school. He needs to contact the school that he is going to attend to see if he is allowed. There may be some requirements for a student to prove that reside in the district. However, since he will be paying for the school year, this may not be the case.
Regardless, clearing up the eligibility for him to be enrolled in said school would be the first step. In regards to the visa, your friend needs to know that the current visa may be tied to the particular school her son is attending. Changing schools would require her to repeat the same process she did for the school he is in now. This is to prevent people from "school hopping" on one visa.
I received the alert that my case is ready for interview yesterday (Yay!!)
In average how long it’s taking from there to get the interview? I’ve seen people getting notice 1-2 weeks after. My office is Miami and my case is F2A PD 8/11/16, RD 10/16/17 and I just got my EAD/AP last week! (Almost a year wait)
Of course is not a life/death situation, but you can't deny this is totally unprofessional.
What they did was not giving me a decent answer for two months. All I had was "we're doing more checks on your case" with no further explanation and then a denial base on the expiration of the i-94. Especially if all the checks they need to do are included in the file (all the paperwork they needed was there).
I didn't apply a week before it expired, it was over 2 months before.
And honestly, if every paperwork would slip through cracks, then we would have a bigger problem. That's a lame excuse.
I'm sorry if I'm asking something someone else has already asked before -- I couldn't find any recent posts than answered my questions specifically.
I came into the US on a K1 visa on June 16, 2018. Got married and filed for AOS just three weeks ago.
My life has been an ordeal since. My spouse is not at all the person I thought, his family is also against me of course, and I just feel that things are spiraling downwards very fast for me now. My spouse is not even willing to try to work out our issues and has mentioned parting ways multiple times as his first resort after changing his mind five times over the last two weeks. I feel vulnerable, bamboozled and played with and I'm utterly disgusted and heartbroken. As sad as it might sound, there's not much that can be fixed (sorry for venting!)
I want to divorce my husband, abandon my AOS and leave the US as soon and as smoothly as possible, and I'd like to really do it by the book so as to have the least issues possible.
A couple questions I have are
a. my K1 visa says I'm only allowed to stay in the US till September 13. I hope I can figure it out and leave the US by then, but if I should need more time before I can fly out, would that still be considered me overstaying and accruing overstay days that would hinder me from getting an ESTA if I ever want to visit the USA again as a tourist?
b. I understand I need to contact USCIS and let them know I'm abandoning my petition. Is there a specific address I should send a letter to / any templates I should follow?
c. Would the fact that I've abandoned a K1 based AOS bar me from visiting the US or getting a US visa of different nature in the future?
Mostly chiming in to share a heartfelt apology for this having happened to you. It looks like you've already been given some pretty solid advice on your questions, and I would only be repeating what's already been said.
This is an awful thing, and one I will never understand. I get that things happen, life happens, people change... but it is beyond me how someone could treat another person this way. Even if, God forbid, my husband and I fell on similar times... I cannot imagine treating him like that, just refusing to try and work it out. After everything he's done and given up to come here, to a new country away from his home and family... the least I could do in that situation is still act with his best interest in mind, at least until he's returned home. It's also crazy to me how you can go through such a strenuous and stressful process such as immigration, get through everything you have to wind up here and married... only for that to be the time for one's true colors to show.
I hope you are able to get this ordeal behind you quickly, and without any consequence, so you can start over and move on with your life. Good luck to you!
How old are you, Erika?
Most definitely you won't need to get the shot for antipneumococco. Have a look at this .pdf file I posted in my previous comment, so you can save money, those IGG tests get pretty expensive.
You are exempt from the antipneumococco vaccine if you're between 7 and 64 years old.
Hello there, fellow Italian applicants!
I am the beneficiary of a K1 Visa submitted by my future husband, who is American.
I am Italian-Canadian, born and raised in Italy.
On March 14th, 2018 my Visa was finally approved. I now understand the full meaning the name of this website carries, it is indeed a journey.
Throughout the process I decided to document my entire experience with the intention of posting it once it would be over, hoping that it might be useful to all those people who will be interviewed at Consulate in Napoli (or Naples).
Perhaps most of the information will sound redundant or obvious, just keep in mind that I wrote every step in detail as it was happening, wishing to have a similar report to quiet my most trivial doubts (SPOILER: there will be MANY trivial doubts, just never feel stupid to ask).
This website has been our most used guide. However, I suggest you always follow the instructions you are given as a primary source.
There is nothing hidden, everything is pretty straightforward.
I hope that sharing my experience could help you and serve you as a general reference, nothing more than that. Every case is different.
Anyway, here’s what happened:
We decided to get married in May 2017. After doing our research, we decided to go through the K1 Visa process without the assistance of a lawyer.
I-129 F PACKAGE
We filed our I-129F form and sent the package at the end of June 2017.
Our I-129F package contained:
- e-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance, which you can use to keep track of the status of your application. I highly recommend anyone to file it, they will send you a Receipt Number and your Case Status will be easily kept under control.
- Completed Form I-129F, Petition for Alien Fiancé(e)
- Declaration of How We Met, written and signed by my future husband, the petitioner, in which he stated the day we met and provided some additional details about our relationship, such as the days we met each other’s parents and relatives, the trips we took together, how we keep in touch when we are apart, etc. It is a very personal statement, so feel free to compose it according to you own experience.
The declaration is an extended point from the I-129F form, part 2, item number 54, that we decided to expand in a separate paper to provide further details. On the form, my fiancé wrote “Please read attached declaration”.
- Both Letters of intent to Marry within 90 days of entry; we wrote and signed one letter each.
- Passport copies
- The petitioner’s birth certificate
- The beneficiary’s most recent I-94, to show all my past entrances in the United States. You can get it for free on the USCIS website, after submitting your passport number.
I also included copies of expired passport pages with stamps.
- EVIDENCE OF RELATIONSHIP, for which I provided 8 photos of us in various situations (photos of just the two of us, photos with our families, etc); receipts of airplane tickets we took together; receipts of hotel stays and various tickets.
I would suggest you to gather as much evidence as possible, and it’s totally up to you to evaluate how much material to send to USCIS. We felt we wanted to be safe, and we submitted anything official that had both our names.
In the package I also decided to include a personal statement in which I informed USCIS about my dual citizenship. I am Italian and Canadian. I was born in Italy and I’ve always resided there, so I applied to the K1 Visa as an Italian citizen, but I’ve always used my Canadian passport to travel and I felt it was safer and nicer to explain it, in case anything would come up. I included copies of both my passports.
I’m informing you about this just to suggest you to provide all the information you can about yourself from the very first step, to avoid delays in the process. As a matter of fact, it did come up during the interview, but did not constitute any setback.
The package that we sent was a regular folder that we organized in sections. We also put a list on the first page to recap all the documents that we were submitting.
MAKE A COPY OF THE WHOLE I-129F PACKAGE BEFORE SENDING IT AND KEEP IT FOR ANY FUTURE REFERENCE. Actually, what I did was updating the original folder as we moved on with the procedure, adding a new section each time there was progress. On the interview date I arrived at the Consulate with this massive (but very organized ) creation that contained every single page, notification, document submitted. It helped me to keep everything under control, as you will often need to check, double check, triple check.
NOA1 - July 5th 2017
We received our NOA1 on June 5th 2017, about a week after sending our petition. We received one copy in the mail and we also got a notification by email.
I made a copy of the NOA1 and placed it in a new section the folder.
Visiting your SO during the wait:
After receiving our NOA1, the longest wait of our life started. I visited my fiancé in the United States for a few months and we did most of the wait together, so I can’t really complain about the distance, but not a day went by without checking our status.
If you wish to visit your SO during the wait and travel with your Italian passport, make sure you have a valid ESTA before you start the I-129F. It is indeed possible to visit, but remember that there is always the chance of being denied by a POE officer.
As for my experience, I had the possibility to travel with my Canadian passport, which allows a 6 months B2 Visitor Visa. I spent 5 months in the United States, from the end of September 2017 to February 2018, because I was a non working student and I had the chance to go. I took the time I had to write my final thesis and be with my man. We were together when we received our NOA2 and my return ticket was shortly after that. During the interview I was legitimately asked questions about my frequent long stays, but because I have always been meticulous with my dates and in good faith about my travels, it didn’t raise any red flags.
The website to track the status of your petition is:
https://egov.uscis.gov/casestatus/mycasestatus.do
You will need to enter the Receipt Number written on your NOA1.
NOA2 - 18 Jan 2018
Our I-129F petition was approved in 197 days, with no RFEs.
On January 18th 2018, we finally received our NOA2 in the mail.
It was a moment of great joy, and things definitely moved super fast for us after that.
I made a copy of the NOA2 and put it in the folder.
At this point, you could start gathering the documents of Packet3, if you plan to schedule your interview as soon as possible. Do not start gathering documents before you receive your NOA2, as most of them have an expiration date of 6 months.
NVC NOTICE - Case sent to Naples, Italy - 06 Feb 2018
On February 6th, 2018, my fiancé received NOTICE FROM NVC, which includes your CASE NUMBER that you will need to use when filing the DS-160.
The notice also informed us that our case had been sent to the Consulate in Naples.
PACKET3 - 08 Feb 2018
On February 8th 2018, my fiancé received an email from IVNAPLES@STATE.GOV, notifying us that they had received our petition. In the same email they attached the Packet3, containing all the instructions for the interview and the medical examination.
I immediately started to prepare and gather all the documentation required for the day of the interview. You won’t have to send anything to the Consulate, you just collect everything and present it on the day of the interview.
The instructions also tell you how to book your interview once you have everything in hand, and pay the $265 fee.
The medical fee is €220, and the visit will be automatically scheduled by the Consulate for the day before your interview date.
REMEMBER TO GATHER EVERYTHING IN DOUBLE COPY. On the interview day, you will be asked to provide everything in duplicate evidence, and at the end they will give you back either the original or the copy of each document.
This is what I had to do and what applied to my case, but there may be additional requirements if you need to present divorce certificates, if you were in the military, if you were adopted, if you lived in other countries than Italy for more than 6 months, etc.
I happen to have never been married before, have never lived in other countries for more than 6 months, have no children, have never been in the military, was never arrested or have never had problems with the law, thus:
- I completed the DS-160 ONLINE NONIMMIGRATION FORM, and printed the confirmation receipt. You will need the CASE NUMBER provided in the NVC notice, and after submitting the form you will be able to track the status of your case on the CEAC platform (https://ceac.state.gov/ceacstattracker/status.aspx).
NB: When you check your status, remember to select “IMMIGRATION VISA (IV)” from the list of the Visa Application Type. Although the K1 Visa is a “non-immigrant” type, the tracking will only work if you select IV. I guess this depends on the fact that your nonimmigrant status will be extremely temporary, just the 90 days window to get married.
- I requested my CERTIFICATO DI NASCITA at my Comune di residenza, and made an authenticated copy of it. I was also requested to gather the birth certificate of my fiancé again.
- I requested my CERTIFICATO DEI CARICHI PENDENTI and CERTIFICATO GENERALE DEL CASELLARIO GIUDIZIALE at the Tribunale of my city. They need a stamp (marca da bollo) of €19,84 each, and I made an authenticated copy for both.
I made authenticated copies at my Comune di residenza, and paid €2,5 each.
- I re-printed a new I-94, because I travelled to the United Stated during the process
- I took 6 American passport photos for the interview
- My fiancé completed the I-134 Affidavit of Support Form and provided evidence of support, such as a letter from his employer, two pay stubs, his W2, a statement from his bank. Remember to verify if you need a co-sponsor by checking the income guidelines.
- I printed my fiancé’s passport copy again
- EVIDENCE OF RELATIONSHIP: I gathered 26 new photos and submitted other additional evidence, including new airplane ticket receipts and anything else we had.
Then I had to verify that I had all the vaccinations required. I went to the Italian ASL and requested a new LIBRETTO DELLE VACCINAZIONI and CERTIFICATO DELLE VACCINAZIONI. I also had two shots that I had missing for free. I would recommend to do the same to any Italian applicant, because otherwise you will have to pay for them on the day of the medical exam and the fees are not exactly cheap.
One of the vaccinations required is the Measles-Mumps-Rubella (the Italian TRIVALENTE). Since I had mine done privately during the ‘90s (it wasn’t mandatory in Italy back then), I had no proof of my immunization, so my medico di base suggested me to get IGG blood tests, which will tell you if you need to get the shot again.
I was able to obtain all these documents in 10-12 days.
On February 26th, 2018 I scheduled my interview for March 14th, 2018 and paid the $265 fee on the website indicated on Packet3, (https://ais.usvisa-info.com/). You will need to access the platform through “IMMIGRANT VISA APPLICANT”.
You won’t be able to complete this step unless your case is marked as “Ready” on the CEAC platform, so if you have any problems just wait a couple of days.
I was actually able to book the interview only two days after my case was marked as “Ready”. I guess there was some processing from the Consulate in the middle of the way.
I paid an additional fee of €30 for a DHL courier service that will deliver my passport at my residence. There are several options for the delivery/pick-up of the passport once the Visa is issued. You could either pick it up at the Embassy, at a selected DHL facility, or have it sent to you.
The website only accepts payment with debit cards, Visa and Mastercard.
MEDICAL VISIT
Istituto Diagnostico Varelli - March 13th 2018
The Varelli medical clinic is located quite far from the city center, although it doesn’t take long to reach by car. The instructions of the Consulate suggest you to get there by 8AM.
I arrived there at 7AM and I already had 5 people in front of me, already waiting. I highly recommend to get there early as well, as you will have to re-do the same line each time for each part of the visit (blood test, urine test, X-rays, vaccine examination, general visit)
I took a ticket number from the C (Consulate) button of the machine and waited in line.
A woman at front desk called my number and took my passport. They will keep your passport until the end of the whole procedure.
I signed a document and they sent me to a new waiting room, where shortly after I was called for blood and urine test. They need these tests to check you don’t have gonorrhea and syphilis.
After that, I was sent to another floor, where I waited in line in a very narrow space, to talk about my immunization records and provide personal information. Two people were sitting behind desks taking care of this step. They were talking without any discretion. I could hear what the missing vaccines of other people were, where they were going to live in the United States, and all of the personal information asked.
I didn’t like that.
When my turn came, I provided my Italian address, my future American address, email, phone number and I had to give them my vaccination certificate and 4 photographs.
I came prepared and I had every vaccine needed for immigration purposes. I gave them Italian style document photos and they accepted them, but warned me that the Consulate would only accept American style ones.
I paid €220 and I was sent back upstairs, where I started a new line to get the X-rays done.
After that, I was sent downstairs again, started a new line, and waited for the final medical visit, where they registered my weight and height, measured my blood pressure, checked my lungs and sight, made me complete a questionnaire of my medical history.
After that, I was free to leave. They informed me that the Consulate would give me my results.
Overall, I wasn’t impressed by the experience.
The structure could improve its organization, but everyone was kind and informative.
I personally feel that €220 is an overpriced fee for what you get.
INTERVIEW - March 14th, 2018 - Approved!
I arrived at the Consulate half an hour early, and passed the airport style security.
I had to leave my phone and was given a number and a visitor pass.
Once upstairs, two young ladies at a welcome desk made sure I had all the documents, took the originals and the copies, put them in their own order and gave them back to me. They were kind and informative.
I sat and waited in a spacious room. There are booths where you will interact with consuls and functionaries though a glass window, standing.
My interview took place in two steps.
Step 1: my number was called from one of the booths. I walked there and I talked to an Italian woman, who took all my documents, examined them, and asked me a few questions about my fiancé and I.
The documents were: passport, DS-160 receipt, interview and payment receipt, my birth certificate, my fiancé’s birth certificate, my fiancé’s passport copy, my police certificate, Affidavit of Support with the supporting evidence (letter from employer, pay stubs, tax documents, statement from bank), 2 American passport photos.
The questions were about where my fiancé is from, what he does for a living, what I do for a living, if we had already made plans for the wedding, and confirmed our future home address.
She organized all my documents in an open hardcopy file with our names, where they have the approved I-129F and all the previous documents submitted, took my fingerprints, gave me an envelope containing the results of my medical visit, and sent me back to the waiting area, informing me that I would shortly be called for the final phase of the interview.
You will need to take the medical exam results with you when you will travel to the US with your new Visa.
Step 2: my number was called again from a different booth, where the consul was waiting for the final interview. Upon arriving, I was asked if I preferred to speak in English or Italian, swore to tell the truth, and the interview began.
The questions were different this time, more specific and detailed, asked in rapid fire.
I guess each experience varies according to your own case and situation. What is important is to provide all the information truthfully and clearly, they are legitimately serious about your immigration petition and need to make sure you are too.
Although it was a nerve-racking experience, I cannot write this review without expressing my appreciation for the way it is conducted.
The CO who interviewed me was very formal. She listened carefully to my answers, insisting on various points when she needed more information.
I was asked about 20-25 questions about my background, my family background, my fiancé’s family background, where, when and how we met, how old he is, where he was at the time of the interview, when was the last time we had heard from each other, how often we hear from each other, how we are going to arrange our wedding, what our respective families think of each other, requested quite detailed information about my fiancé’s family members, about how many times I had been to the United States, and since each time I went I did long stays, she wanted to know exactly my dates of entry and exits. I said that I had provided a I-94 to further document my travels and asked if she’d like to see it, and she replied that she preferred to hear it from me.
After the interrogation, she concluded telling me that she was going to approve my K1 Visa and reminded me about the 90 days. I asked if I needed any proof of approval and she replied that I just have to wait for my passport to be delivered at home with the sealed Visa package which you must not open.
My evidence of relationship wasn’t requested at all, let alone looked at.
MY BEST ADVICE: Most of the interviews that take place at the Naples Consulate are generally reviewed to be shorter than mine has been, with less and more generic questions.
I didn’t know what to expect and I was prepared to any possibility. I am happy about how it went.
Do not take the questions I was asked as a reference. Actually, do not take any question of any review as a reference, or at least not to the point where you use them to prepare for the interview.
They will have questions for you, and you will have answers for them. It could be about things you expect more, or things you expect less. To each their own. Just make the exchange worth all the sacrifices you’ve done to get to this final step, and everything will end smoothly. After all, you want to be there to prove you agree to play by the rules and to confirm the consistency of all the information you have submitted.
Obvious tips that never get old enough:
- Be confident. The interview can indeed get arduous, but as long as you are there in bona fide and with all the documents in the right place, there is no need to feel intimidated. They will understand you being nervous, so just worry about the accuracy of your answers and ignore that vocal tremor of yours.
- Arrive early.
- Smile! It’s the final step of your long awaited process. You will be married soon!
AFTER THE INTERVIEW
After the approval on March 14th, my CEAC case changed to “Administrative Processing”, and switched to “Issued” on March 16th. That’s when I knew my Visa was finally being printed and sent to me.
Do not panic when you read that the Administrative Processing may take up to several weeks. If you were told your case was approved, it just means they are doing their final reviews and printing the super cool Visa on your passport.
Here’s a recap of the fees:
I-129F fee: $535
Embassy fee: $265
DHL fee: €30 (optional)
Medical fee: €220
Marca da Bollo for “Certificato dei Carichi Pendenti” e “Certificato Generale del Casellario Giudiziale”: €39.68
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