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50 minutes ago, HaruBK said:

Hello VisaJourney members,

 

My wife entered the US via K-1 visa on 3/1/19 and we got married on 3/27/19.

We applied for her SSN card before our marriage in hope to get her driver's license as soon as possible.

Her SSN card (in her maiden name) came in mail on 3/30/19.

Because we now have the marriage certificate (Not certified, but 1 of 3 copies given back to us) we wanted to apply the license with the married last name.

However, the agent at secretary of state told us that we can only apply with the last name on SSN card (maiden name) and that we should go the social security administration to change to married name.

This was all good until we visited SSA again which a non-friendly lady told us that marriage certificate will do no good and that they need to see in system my wife's new name and legal status.

We told her that my wife came through K-1 and that we just got married last week.  She kept ranting on that our next step is for her to apply for EAD and only then that SSA can adjust the last name.

I explained to her in a calm way that we will be submitting for AOS I-485, but she will not apply for EAD as she does not need to work.

The lady kept mentioning that EAD is the next step and that I should stop arguing with her about American law (hmm....)

 

Anyways here are my questions:

My wife got her SSN with her maiden last name but we now have marriage certificate with married last name.

   1. In all forms to USCIS (I-485, 131, 765) do we use the married last name?

   2. Can she request to change last name to married name for SSN card at SSA?  Without waiting for NOA for I-485?

   3. Can she apply for driver's license with married last name at secretary of state? 

 

Thank you for the time in reading this thread and hope everyone has a blessed week.

So weird, me and some other people I know (all in different states) changed our last name before we got our EAD. MC should be enough. But apparently more people run into this issue.

You can use her married name on all the forms. 

DL in PA goes by last name on the NOA from the USCIS. So if you file in her married name it shouldn't be a problem. But your state might work different, check with your local DMV

3 minutes ago, TK2222 said:

Hi - My I-131 application along with the required documents was received by Dallas Lockbox on 14 March (confirmed by Fedex), however, as of today 1 April I still have not received the Receipt with case number assigned. Have completed form G-1145 with email and phone contact but as of today have not received the notification. Is anyone else experiencing similar issue? Thank you

It can take up to 30 days. If you didn't receive any notification or NOA1 after 30 days you can contact USCIS

2 minutes ago, Jackson71 said:

Hello VJ community !

My wife came here on K-1 VISA and we got married within 90 days.

However, we were late filing the I-485, I-131, and I-765 by 30 days .

My wife received her EAD/AP COMBO card last week but now I am scared that this 30 days of out of status stay might be a problem when reentering the United States with Customs.

 

Is 30 days of out of status stay enough reason for CBP to deny reentry for my wife ?

Thanks for all input and advice !

In the end it's always up to the CBP officer if they'll admit the immigrant into the country (AP is no guarantee, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone running into trouble), but the 30 days should not cause a problem. You got married within the 90 days, the 30 days 'overstay' will be forgiven.

5 minutes ago, bigbuns1291 said:

Hello everyone,

I apologize if this question has been answered before, or if I have posted in the wrong place but I am relatively new to this forum.

My girlfriend of 2 years and I are planning to get married in the summer (yay!) in Michigan, USA. I'm a Canadian citizen by birth and frequently visit her in USA over the summer and during breaks (I am studying in Med School).

 

I have one semester left to complete in Canada after our wedding this summer and I am not sure if I could apply for the green card in USA and then leave the country to come back and finish up my schooling in Canada.

 

So I'm wondering if it is possible to apply for the green card from Canada (after we get married in the States), . If yes, are there any drawbacks compared to if I had applied for it after I completed my education and came to the sates?

 

Thank you!!

 

You can marry wherever and then apply for the CR1 visa. You have to wait out this process in Canada until the visa is granted, what's about 12-14 months currently (you can visit the US in the meantime, just not live here) This way, once you get the visa, you get your 2 year green card the moment you set foot in the US. (after paying the fees etc)

7 hours ago, Talma said:

Ok thanks for your prompt reply. If we recieve an RFE will we be given time to find another co-sponsor? Or am i likely to be sent to immigration court for removal? Does the fact that i am here in limbo bearing in mind that we are putting in our papers in the next few days count as being here unlawfully? As i said we were married within the required timeframe. 

You get (if I remember correctly from my RFIE a few months back) 81 or 85 days to respond to the RF(I)E. They will not make you face an immigration judge.

It's not smart to send in your paperwork without meeting the income requirements. Even if you file right now, the moment the RF(I)E gets issued, your whole application freezes until they received what they need. This includes your EAD and AP application. Find a co-sponsor before you file, and try to do it asap, since you officially will be out of status after the 90 days (even though you got married) 

I don't know how the whole assets thing works, since we didn't need it, but there's a lot of people on here that do. Let's see if anyone else chips in.

22 minutes ago, Boiler said:

UK is easier than most but not a good idea. Do it the other way around.

Agree to this! So many people have been denied K1 visas because they did some kind of religious ceremony, and USCIS considered them 'too married' for K1 but 'not married enough' for CR1. 

If you go for K1, let her enter the US on K1, marry in the US, wait for her AP (currently 5-7 months, but processing times could go up or down by the time she has her visa) and then fly back to the UK to do a religious blessing. 

9 minutes ago, VaneSer81 said:

So that means I need to wait another week for my visa right? So sad 😔😔. I was worrying about it because I misread the requirement about the police clearance of any country I used to live for more that six months. They asked me about it then I was honest to them and told them that I didn’t bring any. But they said I am approved. I’m just too worried about the fact that they will tell me once I go back there that I’m denied. I’m thinking a lot of things. I worry too much hahaha

Well, no one can tell you when you get your visa, since you have to go through AP. The embassy can say you're approved and get your passport than and than, but in the end it depends on how long the final checks take to get your visa. Go back asap to get your fingerprints taken again and then just wait. You'll be fine

They won't deny you, unless they find something that makes you inadmissible (like a criminal record you didn't tell m about) So don't worry about it.

You were extremely lucky that they did not ask for the police report from the other country, unless its a country that doesn't give out police reports if you don't live there anymore (Seen some stories on VJ where the requirement was waived based on the country, you lived in another country for 6+ months after you turned 16 right?). Don't know if they'll just waive it, get their own check done or will RFE you for it when you're in AP. But also that's something I wouldn't worry about too much. 

3 minutes ago, VaneSer81 said:

I recently got approved for our k1 visa petition last March 26,2019. The visa will be released on April 2,2019. But embassy called me that I need to go back to do my fingerprinting again. Is there something I need to worry about?? I’m confused why do I need to do it. 😭😭😭

Your fingerprints prob didn't get in the system right when you did it the first time. Nothing to worry about, they need your prints to run the background checks.

13 minutes ago, toothfixer said:

Hello all, 

 

this past December was a huge step in my life when I proposed to my fiance after 5.5 years of being "together". It was even harder for us because my fiance holds a passport from another country and got denied a visiting visa twice to the US. So we have only been able to see each other when I am free with school which is once a year. 

 

Now that we are finally engaged, we can finally move on to our fiance visa and hopefully she be able to move here by next year after i am finished with Dental school.

 

Not going to lie, I am pretty overwhelmed with ALLLLLLL the info on this site, but am very thankful. 

 

Does anyone have some good links on where to start? I watched a handful of youtube video's and I know the first part is mainly the petitoner's duty of filling the I-129f form. 

We don't want ANYYYY issues with this fiance visa, because honestly we have no idea what we would do if they somehow denied this. She gets anxiety going to the embassy now after getting denied twice for the visiting visa. 

Congrats on your engagement. You can find all the info on the immigration process via the guides on here (https://www.visajourney.com/k1-fiance-visa/) and the instructions on the USCIS website. And keep in mind, the instructions on the USCIS website are always leading. 

Try to avoid youtube videos. A lot of them are old and contain outdated or just wrong information. The guides on here and the USCIS website should be enough recourses to get you through this process fairly easy.

59 minutes ago, Lauren E said:

What is AOS and also how many months does one usually need to wait before being able to work?

AOS = Adjustment of Status

EAD/AP (work- and travel permit) currently take 5-7 months right now.

Green Card depends on your local office, and can take anywhere from 3 months to 1+ years.

Please educate yourself on this process. Knowledge is key. Without proper knowledge you can bump into RFE's, unpleasant surprises down the road and even denials. 

Read the guides on here (https://www.visajourney.com/k1-fiance-visa/) and the instructions on the USCIS website.

And as other said, without proper income there's no chance your fiancé will get a visa. You need to be able to proof at least 6 months of stable 125% poverty line income (K1 requires 100%, but for AOS you need 125% and some IO's at the embassy won't give out the visa if you make only 100%), so get a stable job and find a co-sponsor, just in case you need one.

Keep in mind, barely making the 125% is no guarantee that a visa will be granted or AOS will be accepted. Many, many stories on VJ where people barely made the 125% and were required to get a co-sponsor. 

57 minutes ago, Lauren E said:

What is a uSC and LPR?

USC = United States Citizen, LPR = Legal Permanent Resident (also known as green card holder)

2 hours ago, username_taken said:

This^^^^

 

@craig21123  Your last thread was Jan 22nd where you stated you were set to depart on Jan 9th but found out she was pregnant. Members outlined the 2 possible paths- K or CR. You repeatedly stated you did not overstay- so I am assuming you left the US and have since returned under ESTA. Because you were very aware of the 2 paths on Jan 22nd it is very hard to believe you returned on ESTA in late March and it was not your intention to bypass the 129f or 130 process. 

 

Visajourney has a very strict policy on fraud and assisting with fraud. Before I ask for the thread to be closed accordingly I am going to wait for you to respond and perhaps clarify things, however I dont really see anyway you can justify coming back on ESTA to marry and stay- which it seems you are doing. Correct me if Im wrong.

Completely agree. And besides the VJ policy, if USCIS finds out that any visa and/or status was obtained via an illegal way (and they find out a lot) they have the right to revoke the status and start the removal process + a ban to the US. This can happen even after citizenship is already obtained.

Do it the legal way or don't do it (or at least don't talk about it on a website where everyone endured a long, long wait to retrieve their visa/status the legal way)

8 minutes ago, MaxKM said:

Hello , 

I wish you doing great , So what to do after filling I-129F form ? ( is the beneficiary birth certificate needed ?

Wait, wait, wait, wait and... wait a little more! It's gonna take 4-7 months to get NOA2 after filing, and then it's gonna take another few months to get the medical, interview an eventually visa in hand.

Beneficiaries birth certificate is needed at the embassy stage.

Please educate yourself more on the whole immigration process to avoid RFE's, denials etc. It seems from this and your previous posts that you did not do a lot of research. 

Use the guides on here (https://www.visajourney.com/k1-fiance-visa/) and the instructions on the USCIS website.

52 minutes ago, Ramsey said:

Hello Visa Journey Family,

 

It has been a while since I've posted here (since my wife entered the country) but I am now having issues with my mother-in-law's permanent residence card (green card). She entered the United States on November 9, 2018 with her Immigrant Visa (I-130) stamp in her passport. The Point Of Entry (POE) was San Diego International Airport. She went through a lengthy interview and then was released with a stamp on her visa (which makes it good for a year). We started the waiting process for the physical permanent resident card (and social security). Over a month passed and she still didn't get her social security card, even though we had filled out the form DS-260 saying that we would like to request a SS card. We had to go to downtown to get that taken care of.

 

We then waited 120 days (4 months) for her physical green card which was never received in the mail. Throughout this wait, we called the USCIS office several times asking for an update for her status (as we'd had family members received their green cards within weeks) but they told us we had to wait the full 120 days before we could make an inquiry. We called on March 10, 2019 and told them of the issue, they told us that the Texas Service Center (TSC) had not received her file but they would make an inquiry to see what happened. We just received a letter today (March 30, 2019), stating:

 

"A search of USCIS records indicates the Immigrant Visa Fee has been received. However, it appears that the Texas Service Center has not received your Department of State issued Immigrant Visa Packet, which should have been submitted by the Port of Entry (POE) when you entered the United States. The Texas Service Center requires a completed Lost Visa Packet in order to process your Permanent Resident Card. Further research is needed in regards to your inquiry. You should receive correspondence within the next 90 days regarding this case. If you do not receive this correspondence, please contact customer service."

 

For the life of me, I have not been able to figure out what the heck a "Lost Visa Packet" is and how we can fill it out. I've been googling that exact phrase for the past 2 hours, with no luck. Has anyone else received such a letter? Does anyone know what this could entail? Is it something that needs to be done with an Infopass session? (There is currently no way to make an appointment in Texas since we recently relocated here from California) To make matters a bit worse, she now has to go back home to Lebanon temporarily while this gets resolved.

 

Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance for your responses  

There was someone else on VJ, I think about 2-3 days ago maybe, with the exact same problem. They also got informed the visa packet was lost. It seems like USCIS opens a case, and once they figured out where it went wrong they can issue the green card. It seems they'll take care of the 'lost visa packet' completion, so all you can do is sit back and wait another 90 days. 

You can alway call USCIS on Monday just to double check. If they did not send you any forms or any other instructions on filling out any form, they'll probably take care of it, and this letter is just to inform you what's going on.

1 hour ago, Kyle89 said:

Hello everyone,

 

I’m the petitioner, my fiancé is Canadian. We filed in December of 2018. We have set everything up to get married in August of 2019. We have only received our NOA1. 

 

I’m thinking we will have to push the wedding back and send out new invitations and everything however I don’t want to have her freaking out yet, but I haven’t been able to reach anyone at USCIS to get a timeline on a decision for the K-1. 

Never plan anything with K1. There's so many people who can tell you they lost $$$$$ because they planned a wedding, payed the location and didn't get their visa in time for whatever reason. Even when you get NOA2, you don't know how quick you'll get an interview, how long AP takes and how long it takes to get your passport with visa after the interview.

If you can get the money back, I would inform the location that you might not make it and see if you can cancel, say, 1 month before the wedding if necessary OR if you can change the date 1 month before the original date if necessary. If not, there's nothing you can do but wait and hope everything is ready in time. 

1 hour ago, craig21123 said:

Hello everyone! 

 

Based on my last post myself and soon to be wife are ready to get married and begin the AOS process on ESTA but the big questions is do we need a lawyer? We have spoken to a few and most are quoting around $4,000 + filing fees! Whilst this is completely affordable for us we'd rather not fork out thousands of dollars if it's just as easy for us to do ourselves, especially as we are having a baby . 

 

Are there any guides on this site or any others that explain the process in more detail? 

 

If any of you have successfully AOS on ESTA without a lawyer can you please share your experience?

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but your wife (or you, not sure who is the USC in this story) entered the US on an ESTA with the intent to marry and adjust status? In that case you're committing immigration fraud, since an ESTA is to visit for a max of 90 days, not to get around the I-129F or I-130 process. 

If you/she entered with the intent to leave and you ended up getting married, than no, you don't need a lawyer. It's a pretty DYI process.

I didn't read all 7 pages of your last post btw.

26 minutes ago, JoJoJoJo said:

Are there any updates on this? Thanks!

I checked on the USCIS website and couldn't find anything. Really hope someone on here participated and can give some kind of update! Very curious to see if this changed anything in the way USCIS processes EAD (renewals)

On 3/25/2019 at 12:44 PM, KeratNY said:

I am awaiting my interview for a marriage based green card. My EAD is about to expire. My priority date is Dec 2017. I applied for an EAD renewal in mid-October. My renewal receipt extends my EAD by 180 days. Does that also apply to advance parole? I also applied for advance parole renewal at the same time and received my receipt for that but there's no mention of the extension on that receipt.

 

Thank you

 

@geowrianI'm sure you know and would love your input, thank you

Nope, extension is only for EAD

On 3/25/2019 at 12:28 PM, Techniix said:

So my fiance will be coming to the US on the 27th. She has an online job based in the Philippines. Is it legal for her to bring her laptop to the US and continue working this job?

This is a gray area that has been point of discussion for years. She is not allowed to work in the US without EAD, but this is mostly regarding to taking away jobs from USC's/LPR's. I know there's people on this forum that successfully kept working for a foreign company (with paychecks in a foreign bank account) and got their green card, but it's pretty risky.

The thing you really need to consider is, is her making that money worth risking a denial of the green card? In the end it's the IO that makes the decision if it's seen as working without work permit. If (s)he sees it like that, there's a chance they'll deny her green card (it's also possible she's forgiven since she's married to a USC, but it's a risk)

Personally I wouldn't risk it, but in the end it's up to you guys.

20 hours ago, Ycats said:

I have one more question. Which I-797C should I bring? The I-485 or the one for the interview date, or all of them?

 

Thanks again all!

You can just bring both of them. Big chance they won't even ask for it, but 2 pieces of paper are not going to add up on the weight in the suitcase 😉

And like others said, him not having a job has 0 impact on his AP. Sounds like a good thing he left that company. Using immigration scares to keep someone on board is the lowest of the lowest imo. Wonder if he can report them somewhere.

3 hours ago, Commando said:

Note: I don't want her to wait for me in a different country since the process for I-130 application will take forever.

Also I have a friend told that if we married in america first then the GC will be issued for her in month (is that true)?

Thanks

No one wants this, everyone has to go through it. If they find out ANYWHERE down the line (even after she gained citizenship) that she obtained her status via fraud (like others said, coming here with the intent to marry and adjust status is fraud), they'll cancel her status and she 'gets' a one way ticket back to her home country and a ban to the US. And since you obtained citizenship, it could work out pretty bad for you too I would think. Just do it the legal way.

You can marry wherever you want and after you filed I-130 you can visit each other. Depending on the country you might be able to do DCF, but without the proper info we won't be able to help you with that.

You could also consider moving to her country while waiting for the I-130 to not be apart from each other while waiting. Just make sure you still can meet the domicile and financial requirements.

On 3/26/2019 at 11:26 AM, Brittani said:

Me and my husband are in the waiting for an interview for AOS stage at the moment. He has his AP/EAD and a job. We just bought a house together however I was the only one on the loan due to him not working very long and plus sometimes it's better to do it with only one person on the loan anyway I applied for two different loans one I don't have to pay back after a certain amount of years. Free money who wouldn't however this particular loan wouldn't allow him to sign at closing because he wasn't actually on the loan. However, he was included on the deed to the house. Is this sufficient evidence when we have our interview? We have a joint bank account, we are on the same phone plan, he's on my health insurance and car insurance. Most of the bills are in my name but I'm going to work on changing that and having a few put in his name. I don't see why this would be an issue or cause any red flags with all the other evidence we have plus him being on the deed but I wanted to consult some of my experts here on visa journey.

You should be fine. I'm not on the mortgage since my now husband bought the house before I moved here, and we're not going to refinance the house just to prove to USCIS that our marriage is real (it costs a lot of money to do so, and the mortgage would go up cause of my credit score) We have all the bills and the house/car/health insurance in both names. We also have a joint bank account and I'm a authorized user on his credit cards. Once I'm through the background check and drug screening for my new job, we will also get a life insurance in both names (yay for benefits)

My point is, you don't need the deed or mortgage in both names if you have sufficient other evidence. If you don't have an interview date yet, get the bills in both names. On top of everything else you should have more than enough evidence!

19 hours ago, Laura Hartman said:

This is all so confusing. I read the instructions for i-693 and it states on page 7: C.You received a medical examination prior to admission, then:(1)You are not required to have another medical examination as long as you file your Form I-485 within one year of an overseas medical examination. I called USCIS and they said the medical examination I got overseas when applied for a K1 visa is only valid for a year. I got my medical examination on May 23rd, 2017 and I applied for AOS on October 24th, 2017. I recently got my interview appointment for April 16th giving me only 30 days to get all the paperwork needed for the interview. I scheduled a medical exam just in case but I'm still unsure whether I have to get it done or not. I only have my vaccination records and chest X-rays from the last medical exam since the results of the medical exam overseas was given in a sealed envelope to an IO when going through customs after landing to the states in order to be admitted to the country (July 19th, 2017). What are your thoughts? My interview is in 18 days.

There's a lot of topics about this question that are very recent. You can type the question in the search bar (top right corner) to find them

To answer your question, no you don't need a new medical if you meet 2 requirements.

1) Your DS-3025 is marked complete 

2) You filed your AOS within 1 year from your medical

The USCIS representative was right when she said that the medical is only good for 1 year, but if you meet both criteria described above, you do NOT need to get a new medical done. USCIS states this them self (https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume8-PartB-Chapter3.html), so take a print of this page to your interview, in case the officer tries to RFE you.

Don't waste your money on a new medical, unless you don't meet the criteria.

26 minutes ago, VeVe said:

Effective Nov 1, 2018, medical examinations are effective for 2 years. The visa is good for 1 year. Look at the USCIS website.

I think that's only for the I-693 done by a civil surgeon in the US, OP is talking about overseas medicals. For as far as I know overseas medical is only valid for 1 year still, but I could be wrong

3 minutes ago, emil2888 said:

what about mediacl some vj members say i need to enter befor my medical expiers and ive veen told medical exam is valid for only 6 month s from the day i did the exam

No, medical is good for 1 year (I'm pretty sure that's for K1 and CR1/IR1) Your visa is valid for 6 months after your medical.

I'm sure if the embassy/consulate would take longer than 6 months to process your visa, they would make you redo the medical before they issued your visa, but they would inform you of that. 

If you get your passport with visa in the mail, just make sure you enter the USA before your visa expires, that's it.