jburge97

Does anyone want to share their experiences renewing their DL in New Jersey with a 1 year extension letter while they are waiting for their 10 year GC? I sent my 751 in to VSC in January, and my DL expires in July. Will I be able to renew or is the infamous MVC in NJ going to cause me trouble? Any advice appreciated!

Unbelieveble!!! So you support her expenses for a little more, she sticks arround to remove the conditions from your card. But if you have to support her struggle to come out of the depression, well, that'a another story. Obviously you have some kind of blackmail or "understanding" over with your wife. What exactly do you want? What help? You are in good shape there, buddy, keep on going the road your going...chinn up and release the "victim" behaviour...we all know you're the hunter here! Let others who realy need help, write.

I used my AP in February when I returned from a trip abroad through Newark airport. It was very easy and hassle-free. I filled out the white I-94 form on the plane and presented it to the officer along with my passport and parole documents. I went through the non-immigrant line. I also brought my NOAs (don't think I was asked for them, though, but liked to be on the safe side) and my marriage certificate, since my passport has my maiden name and all the immigration documents are issued in my married name. I had to go through the secondary processing, so I was walked to a back room by a pleasant woman officer. I had to wait about five minutes while my documents were reviewed and stamped. My passport was stamped as well. All in all, the whole thing took very little time, everyone I dealt with was friendly, and it was not at all intimidating. Have a nice trip!

I know how you feel! I, too, never had very many doubts that moving here to be with my husband was what I wanted. Yet I feel so incredibly guilty sometimes. We have talked about moving to Norway, but we realize that it will be almost impossible for my husband to get a job in his field there. My mother was not supportive of my decision at all. Like your brother, she gave me the whole guilt trip. For the last two months before my departure we did nothing but argue about it. Now, three years later, she rarely mentions it at all. I guess we both realized that if we want to be on talking terms, it's better not to discuss the issue. I don't have any brothers or sisters, but I have always been very close to my grandparents. They are now in their 80s and in poor health. They let me know that they miss me, but they have always been supportive of my choices. Every time they get ill or something happens to them, I just want to hop on the plane to go stay with them. This is the main reason I want to move back. I try to cope with it by calling every week and go to visit for two weeks twice a year. This means that my husband and I rarely get to go on vacation alone together, but for now that is the best compromise. Good luck on your journey!

Having read your post, I feel so bad for you. This guy is not treating you the way you deserve at all. Honestly, it sounds like emotional abuse is what he is doing to you. If you want to leave him, know that you are not responsible for him, and that threats that he will die if you leave him are most likely empty threats. And again, it's not your responsibility. He is a grown man, isn't he? If you are considering staying with him, insist that you continue counseling, that he files your AOS, and that he allows you to work. Give him a time line to show that he follows through with your demands, and if he doesn't, don't feel bad for leaving him. You tried and he made his choice.

As for your pregnancy, there might be medical help to be had even if you don't have insurance. A place like Catholic Charities might be able to help you both with medical and legal issues. All I can say is that the God I believe in would understand and forgive whatever choice I made under such circumstances. That is because in my opinion, God is loving and caring, not mean and punishing. Anyway, if you decide to have the child, that means that you have another person to care for as well, and you don't want your child to grow up in an abusive environment. Therefore, if your husband doesn't shape up, you have every right to move on with your life. One day you will find a good husband who will treat you the way you deserve. Good luck!

So here is where it gets tricky...

He has been in the US since '02 pursuing his education. We met last year (and can prove that).

We both finish our graduate programs in December 07. However his student visa doesn't expire until August of 2008- we planned that once we graduate we are going to go to Austria together for apx 2 months of holiday/christmas before coming back to NYC (where we live and go to school) to find work/jobs sometime in Feb 08.

It is my understanding that unless one is approved for the one year Optional Practical Training, a student visa is void 60 after graduation/leaving school, regardless of what the expiration date on the actual visa says. That's why they write "valid until: d/s (duration of study)" on a student's I-94 at the port of entry. If I am correct (you may want to verify at his school's international office) then your plan would not work. I agree with previous poster whose advice is to marry before he leaves the country.

I did the same thing, and it was never mentioned at the interview, and it did not cause me any trouble at all. What it did do, though, was to cause me a lot of anxiety, worrying if I had done something wrong or if I was going to be denied because of it. That is why I advice against leaving the country without green card/ AP.

Apart from that, all Caladan's advice is excellent.

To clarify, I wasn't talking about leaving before green card/AP, but an F-1 who is engaged (but not yet married or filing) without having set a date to get married going out of the country for a conference and returning and marrying a year later. Once you're married, stay put until you have the green card or AP.

I was engaged without a date set when I left and reentered the country for a brief vacation. I did not lie at the POE (never do that!!!), but it still had me worried that I knew I was going to get married at some point soon, although I didn't know I could apply for a green card from here, and that I entered with my F-1 visa. Like you said, though, doing this doesn't create a problem for most people, nor did it for me, but I wish I didn't worry so much about it before my interview.

"And plenty of them traveled home, or to another country on a conference, while being engaged. Usually they hadn't set a date, so it was arguable, say, if got engaged in July, flew to a conference in Japan in August, returned for the start of the semester in September and married the following June, that they didn't have immigrant intent upon entry. More common was people being here for several years without having left the country and marrying once the F-1 was about to expire. I wouldn't say the first path is particularly wise, nor would I recommend following it, but I think it's good to have a sense of what has been common. Most young couples don't even think about the visa implications as long as the person is enrolled validly in their program. And most of them have no problems."

I did the same thing, and it was never mentioned at the interview, and it did not cause me any trouble at all. What it did do, though, was to cause me a lot of anxiety, worrying if I had done something wrong or if I was going to be denied because of it. That is why I advice against leaving the country without green card/ AP.

Apart from that, all Caladan's advice is excellent.

I came to the US as a student in 2004. At that time I was already in a long-distance relationship with my now husband, who is a US citizen. I told the person at the embassy who interviewed me for the student visa that I had a boyfriend in the US, and her only comment was: "Don't overstay your visa or use it just to get married. As long as your intent is to be a student, you're fine." I then left for the US and went to grad school for two years. After I graduated (while I had the one year OPT work authorization) my boyfriend and I decided to get married. We married and filed for AOS. My being here on a student visa was never brought up, because it is completely legal to marry and adjust status with this visa as long as you didn't have the intent to do so when you last entered the country. Therefore, you may go ahead and marry and apply for the green card from here. You do that by filing I-485, plus some other papers. Your spouse has to file I-130 to sponsor you. These can be filed at the same time. However, make sure you do NOT leave the country until you either have the green card in your hand or you are married, have applied for green card, and have advance parole to re-enter the country (you apply for this when you do the AOS, i.e. the green card). Again: the only thing that is illegal is to enter the US on a non-immigrant visa (e.g. F-1) with the intent to immigrate. Good luck!

here i come happy as a camper to say hello to my fellow scandinavians...and then now they started to talk in finish...i dont understand finish

Hah, en skandinavisk thread använder skandinaviska språk och finskan är ju en av dem. Detta hindrar (självklart) dej inte att skriva på svenska, norska, danska eller isländska på threaden, men det är inte säkert hur väl andra kommer att förstå dej. Tyskar skriver på tyska på de tyska threaden och belgier använder holländska, därför tycker jag att vi finnar kan använda finska här om vi så vill. Det finns få av oss här, men vi tar den risken att andra inte förstår vad vi säger . Lycka till med ditt visum och kom ihåg att addera din timeline !

If there were any other Norwegians on this forum, I would definitely try to strike up a conversation in Norwegian with them, although Swedish/Danish work for me as well. Enjoy the treat of getting to "talk" to someone in your native language! LOL

I do think, however, that miamoa2002 was only joking. (Although you never know with a Swede, of course. They have, after all, colonized both Finland and Norway in the past!) ........

just kidding, of course

here i come happy as a camper to say hello to my fellow scandinavians...and then now they started to talk in finish...i dont understand finish

Neither, do I, so that makes two of us. Hej och welcome to the board! Where in Sweden are you? I'm from the South of Norway, but now I'm living in New Jersey with my husband, who's American.

Hi,

I don't know very much about insurance, but I did get medical insurance through my employer before I got my green card, so I know that's possible. Good luck to your friend!

Gratulerer og lykke til!

Hi all,

Just wanted to share our great experience with all of you who are waiting anxiously for your interviews out there. We had our interview today, and it was unbelievably easy. The worst part was the wait to be called into the office of the interviewer. We waited for about 1 1/2 hour with a bunch of other applicants and their lawyers. When we were finally called, we were met by a friendly male officer who conducted us to his cubicle. Once there, he swore us in and asked for our photo id. He asked my husband when I was born, what my mom's name is, and whether my mom attended our wedding (she did). He then started talking about my husband's prior job which he thought seemed interesting. He looked briefly at our wedding album, and then told us that we were approved! The whole thing took less than five minutes, and he didn't look at a single document that we brought. At last, he stamped my passport and said that we could expect the card in three to four weeks. I am so relieved, and I hope things go as smoothly for everyone else here. Without the valuable advice from this board we definitely would have felt compelled to dish out a small fortune for lawyer, I think.

Mine didn't have that either, and I encountered no problems as I used it to re-enter the US about a month ago. Good luck!

I did things slightly in the wrong order, I now realize, and filed for AOS in my maiden name. I am planning on changing it when I (hopefully, touch wood!) apply to remove conditions in a couple of years. My question, then is: When I get my green card with my maiden name on it, can I still change other documents into my married name (e.g. social security card, driver's license etc), or do they have to match my green card? Thanks for any input!

You could ask to change to your married name at the AOS interview and get the GC in your married name. Why wait to lift conditions?

I can?!? Awesome Thanks for the advise; I will definitely try that. Our interview is in only nine days. Can't wait for it to be over with!

I did things slightly in the wrong order, I now realize, and filed for AOS in my maiden name. I am planning on changing it when I (hopefully, touch wood!) apply to remove conditions in a couple of years. My question, then is: When I get my green card with my maiden name on it, can I still change other documents into my married name (e.g. social security card, driver's license etc), or do they have to match my green card? Thanks for any input!

Hi everyone,

This is my first post in this thread. Nice to find some fellow Scandinavians here. I am Norwegian, and I am doing AOS. I came here on a student visa three years ago, so we didn't do the k-1, though. Right now we are waiting anxiously for our interview on April 11. Good luck to you all!

If you don't have any special issues, like an overstay, there is absolutely no reason to worry. I entered the US on Tuesday using my newly issued AP. It was very fast and easy. I had to go into the back room to get the Paroled-stamp, but that only took five minutes extra. I did get a new I-94, though. Good luck!

If you were doing OPT then your F1 is still valid and you have not commited any fraud.... if you are still worried then have a chat with an immigration lawyer...

Kez

She entered on a non Immigrant visa with what appears immigrant intent. She also did not disclose that when asked.

Now come Adjustment she may be lucky and they let it slide, but I would want a Lawyer holding my hand, could get interesting.

It kind of makes sense now what you are saying. Unfortunately, at the time I did not know anything about the permanent residency process, as I had only been engaged for about ten days, and the proposal was a surprise to me. I knew that I could somehow apply for a greencard after I was married, but it didn't occur to me that I violated the terms of my visa when I came back from my trip to Europe in August. I thought that as long as my intent was to study, not to immigrate, when the F1 visa was issued back in 2004 I was fine. Therefore, I automatically answered what I always had answered ("I was a student, I graduated and now I'm doing OPT") at the POE. I realize now that I unintentionally withheld information. Since this was based on ignorance, do you think it is forgivable, or can I pretty much kiss my AOS application goodbye? Any other advise?

If you were doing OPT then your F1 is still valid and you have not commited any fraud.... if you are still worried then have a chat with an immigration lawyer...

Kez

Yes, I did continue my OPT after I returned. What you write is a tremendous relief. Thanks again!

What questions were you asked on your last entry??? and what answers did you give???

Kez

I think they asked me why I was here, and I answered that I was coming back from vacation and that I was continuing my OPT, which I was, since this was valid until the end of January. I feel so silly for not thinking about this before, but at the time I had no idea that I might have been doing something wrong. Thanks for your pertinent questions (knowing all the details myself, it's hard to present it completely clearly to others, I realize) and your help!

Were you still attending school?

Sounds like you need a lawyer.

I was here doing the 1 year Optional Practical Training that is available to F1 students after they graduate.

Ups, noticed the silly typo in my heading just now, but I'm not able to edit it.

Hi everyone,

Strangely, this never occured to me until I read another post here a couple of days ago. Therefore, my possible fraud was very unintentional. Not that this makes it any better. I came here on a F1 visa 3 1/2 years ago to go to grad school, although I already knew my now husband (USC) at that point. I went to school and graduated in February 2006, and in August 2006 my husband surprisingly proposed. We got married at the end of September and filed for AOS. So far so good. However, in August, after getting engaged, we also took a trip to Europe together. We came back, and I entered on my F1 visa as I always have done, without giving it any thought. Was this fraudulent, since I knew we were getting married about a month later? If so, is it forgivable? Darn, I feel like I messed up now! Any advise or opinions appreciated - thanks in advance!

I'm not sure why you would want or need to submit a question in writing. Might it be best to schedule an Infopass appointment?

It probably would, but my District Office is so out of the way (or actually it is my home that is), and I have trouble geting there in their office hours. Anyway, I wrote to NSC and cc'ed the District Office. I'm pretty sure it won't do me any good, but at least it feels like I'm doing something instead of just waiting