Chemist_Geek

You will tell people at the social security how you want your name to be. Make sure to let your embassy know about it as well.

SSA wouldn't let my wife change her given name, only her family name.

yes you would need to go to a civil Surgent to have the DS 3025 transverd to a ! 693a form but be carefull some will try to convince you that you need another full medicial , wich is not true for K1 You do NOT usually need another medical exam after entry on the K-1 visa, in spite of what the directions with the forms may tell you! Ignore the instructions regarding a medical exam after entry on a K-1 fiance visa unless your local USCIS office advises you otherwise.

Unfortunately all of the surgeons around my area (Michigan's thumb) insist on doing the full medical.

Ive read all through the forum. I cant figure out how I legally change her last name now. Do I need to go to the county clerks office or ??

In Texas - you take the marriage certificate to the DPS (Driver's License Office) and get a new ID/DL, then also to the SS Office to get a new card and ta-da, legally changed. (Of course after you get new cards, you may need to change any business accounts as well - banks, employment, insurance, etc.)

(This differs from state to state am sure...)

Social Security, in Michigan, refused to accept a change in her given name (with the marriage certificate) but changed my wife's family name.

(That was fine, because being our third visit to a SSA office to try to get her SSN, we were happy just to get something out of them. One office told us that we had to give them her GC before they'd issue a SSN!)

OK, so, to be clear, the 90 day clock on the legal wedding & filing for AOS does not start until my bao bei steps off the plane in the USA?

My fiancee was granted her K-1 on 30 May 2007; the six month clock expires 30 November 2007. She won't get here until 26 November 2007. I couldn't determine for certain whether or not those clocks expire at the same time. It wouldn't be a record, but getting the legal wedding done and the AOS filed in two days would be Herculean.

I can confirm that the Guangzhou consulate sends the I-864. I had sent my bao bei an I-134 between when I received NOA2, and when she received P3. The supporting information is the same, but, it's a different form and another Global Priority Mail shipment... (And, that ought to help, right? Lots of letters back & forth...)

Our interview is on 30 May!

This is interesting... On 26 December, I received the I-797 maked "Approval Notice" in the mail. (One nice Christmas present, if a little bit late.) Now, today, I received 11 (!) copies of an e-mail stating that the CSC has mailed my approval notice on 7 January.

Hmm.

Of course, remember the comparison some Americans have: make the decision, go to Las Vegas, Elvis does his thing (thankyouverymuch), and you're married. Total elapsed time anywhere from 30 minutes to maybe a week.

When I tell my friends that, even though we've got our hearts set on marrying we can't schedule anything for six to nine months, they can't believe it... (And then when I tell them that once we finally know, we'll have less than 90 days to get everything arranged, they really are astonished!)

My advice... while you're waiting for the NOA2, talk to your boss about the letter you'll need stating your employment for the I-134! Explain it to your boss and ask how long it'll take to get it when you need it, so they're aware and you know how long it'll take. It took almost 2 weeks for my boss to do it for me. Not like it killed us or anything, it's just annoying to get the NOA2 and have to wait so long for your boss to sign a 1 paragraph letter so you can send all the necessary documents to your loved one.

That's a piece of good advice..!

Soon after I sent in my I-129F, I did that. I'm lucky, I work for a small company (200 people) so I walked in to the CEO's office with the I-134 instructions and spoke with him. When we got back from holiday, and I had received my NOA2 on 26 December (what a Christmas gift!), it was a simple matter to send them an e-mail and the "reference letters" were ready the next day. I asked for six copies; one set for my copy of the I-134, and two for Bobbie's use...

Okay, if the fee can be paid immediately before the interview, then that's not inconvenient. After all, she'd be in Guangzhou anyway!

But, be aware that neither the flowchart or the Step-by-Step indicate exactly when the fees (other than the initial I-129F fee) must be paid. That caused confusion in my mind...

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...mp;page=k1guide

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...amp;page=k1flow

Quick question: I downloaded the list of CITIC bank branches from the Consulate Web site... It states that the K-1 fee, 830 RMB, can only be paid at certain branches in Gangdong and Fujian. What's up with that? It's a not insignificant trip from Qingdao just to visit a bank..!

Why do service centers sometimes RFE for something that's not required as per the instructions on their own forms? That's what really confuses me. It's not required, so why RFE for it, and if it is required it should be in the instructions and EVERYone that doesn't send it should get RFEd, not just some random people.

I think the way to look at it is that the instructions' list is a minimum; if they want more information, unfortunately the burden of proof is on us, the petitioners... After all, we're still not entitled to marry just anyone.

Sometimes, though, from what I've read here it seems as if it all depends on the mood of the adjudicator that day, whether they've had their coffee yet, etc.

I live up north - north of Canada even - and still I had to go through California.

Oh well, some day the NOA2 will come...

Thanks everyone. Does anyone know how to save the G325-A form? Adobe doesn't allow me to save what I have completed.

Not to be flippant, but, print out an extra copy (of each persons' G-325A). That's what I did... Of course, I printed out an extra copy of everything...

If someone can provide you with the Case number, from your NOA-1 (I-797) form, you can set up an online account with USCIS, enabling you to follow your case online.

Depending on your bank, you can get the case number the day after the check is cashed. After I sent my K-1 package in, I checked my bank account Web site every day. When the check showed up, I got its image (front and back) and got the case number from the endorsement on the back of the check.

I received my I-797C (NOA1) today, but I had known since last week that our K-1 was actually in the queue.

You don't live in the Vermont area, that's what you're doing wrong.

IANAL, but I cannot understand how such a geographic discrepancy can be permitted by the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Look, the Supreme court held in Loving v. Virginia that marriage is a basic civil right of man, and, Rev. King had beforehand pointed out that rights delayed are rights denied.

Of course, there are huge standing, damages, and sovereign immunity issues to bringing a suit, and even if successful the likely governmental response would be to slow VSC down...

Hello VJ'ers i send in my k-1 package to the TSC on OCT 1st, i have recieved USPS confirmation that they have recieved it already. This is my issue though. i am going to india to visit my fionce next week for about 2 months i will be in india. while i am over there how can i check the status on the case? i did pay with a check from my personal bank account. i am waiting on NOA1...once i do recieve that then how can i check anything if i am overseas?

You can go to the USCIS Web site and use the receipt number from the NOA1 to check on its status.

USCIS Case Status Online.

You can also get the receipt number from the cancelled check... It will begin with three letters, e.g. WAC.

Best Regards!

Good luck!

I did ours using Adobe Reader 7 and they came out with the check in the correct box on all four pages. (Okay, eight.)

Using a Michigan address means you will be processed in CA which can double the wait time.

California processes I-129Fs from Michigan? The instructions in the pdf read to send it to Nebraska...

If your petition packet is over an inch thick, you have too much. The visa interview is when you throw everything at them

Okay, so the 400 pages of e-mail hard copies don't have to go... Whew... That would have really made shipping the 129F a pain.

As it was, I sent copies of my passport visa page, copies of boarding passes and train tickets, copies of our handwritten "let's get married" letters, and five or six photos.

However, that leads me to a question... When I visited Bobbie in Qingdao, I took my digital camera...so all of our photos together are electronic. I pasted them into a Word document and printed it out for the 129F. Ought I to get photo prints made, and send them to her for the interview?