Mansini77

I realize a lot of people like to give credit and blame to people that are elected in office as far as the economy goes.  As a business owner, government, whether on the local, state or federal level is not a positive driving force in my field.  I don't have lobbyists, nor do I have lucrative government contracts.  My daily gross and loss all is dependent on my customers.  As the owner, I am liable for paying out FUTA( federal unemployment), State unemployment, and probably the biggest : FICA.  That is matching all employee's gross of 7.65% to Social security and Medicaid.  To put it simply, if the total payroll is $5000 for the week, the employees paid into FICA $382.50, and as the employer, I must match this.    Under the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, this has no changed.  

2% annual growth of GDP is nothing to write home about.  During most of the 90's, we had 4% growth.  2% is what we had out of the recession, but I think 4% growth in the upcoming years is attainable with lower corporate tax rates.  

Just my 2 cents.  I don't worship at the feet of Washington and wear Obama Hope T shirts, or MAGA hats.  Washington is a burden, not a beacon of light.  

15 hours ago, Póg mo said:

I think they are on record as saying that they hate Nazis, or do we also believe Nazis are good people too?

Virtue signaling at it's finest.

Well, it was only a matter to time before a government agency decided to beat the drum of saving our children.

As someone who smoked cigarettes for over twenty years, I was happy to try the Juul alternative.  Personally, I don't find it quite as "satisfying" for my nicotine cravings, but my clothes and breath don't reek of cigarettes any longer.   Perhaps its time to throw in the towel altogether and quit. 

 https://www.wsj.com/articles/juul-to-stop-sales-of-most-flavored-e-cigarettes-in-retail-stores-1541784238

4 minutes ago, Satisfied said:

I applaud your effort (and agree with you 10,000%), but I assure you, it is wasted.  You really must know your audience before you can make an impact.

 

Haven’t you heard?  The electoral college is unfair and unconstitutional...

Hmrph...well...we do live in this Republic that was founded by a bunch of slave owning white guys who were intolerant of transgender issues.  So everything written in the Constitution is classified as hate speech and therefore null and void.  ~sarc~

Ginsburg wishes to stay on the SC till she turns 90.  And with Trump in the White House, she won't be stepping down any time soon.  Not of fan or her, but she's not going to let a few broken ribs change her mind.

1 hour ago, JimandChristy said:

They wouldn't, they be voting what is best for their States because voila there are more people there!

 

One senator in California represents 20 million people.

One Senator in Texas represents 14 million people.

 

One Senator in Wyoming represents 250,000

One Senator in Vermont represents 300,000.

 

It is absolutely ludicrous that the Senators from Vermont/Wyoming have just as much power as the Senator from Texas/California. It's a false Democracy.

The Senate and the House of Representatives are about checks and balances.  While each state elects two senators, each state is divided up into congressional districts represented roughly by population.  

So while both California and Wyoming have two senators each, California has 53 congressional seats in the House while Wyoming has a grand total of 1.

The United States is not a democracy, it's a Constitutional Republic.

The Democrat party thought Cruz was vulnerable and spent millions of dollars on the Beto campaign.  If they had sensed that Cruz's seat on the senate was solid, they wouldn't have bothered to lift a finger to help Beto at all.

Politics and destroying your rivals is all about surveying the landscape much like a pride of lions surveys a herd of wildebeests.  You don't go after the dominate and strongest of your rivals, you pick off the injured and vulnerable.

1 hour ago, cierraheaven said:

Hi everyone. I am new here. My boyfriend and I met over a year ago. He played hockey in America and he is Canadian. He has recently moved back to Canadia and we are trying to figure out our next step. He will be going to school if he does not get a NHL contract. My questions is... how do we make this work WITHOUT getting married? We are leaning more towards me going to Canada. Any information helps. I have been searching online but can’t seem to find any help. I hope this brings me closer to answers. I would love to hear from a couple who has gone through this, is there are any. Thank you so much!

This might be off topic a bit, but I am a hockey fan.  Was your boyfriend drafted by an NHL team or is he a free agent trying to make it in the big leagues?  

I'm an employer.  A small business really with a handful of full and part time employees.  And, as most of us have, I've been an employee of someone else as well.  So I can see both sides of the coin pretty clearly.  

So being the tyrannical dictator, I mean...understanding and patient boss that I am, I value my employees just as much as I value my customers.  I don't have a cap on days people are allowed to take off yadda yadda yadda.  

Life happens. There are things in this world that are beyond our control.  Sickness, car accident, child in the hospital and a death in the family happen and they need to be dealt with by the employee regardless of "company policy".  

A full time employee of mine just got into an accident yesterday and her car is totaled and couldn't come to work.  Yup, that's life happening all over the place.

I don't know who you are working for, OP, but it sounds like a large company or the DMV.  I'm assuming that based key words in your original post like "unapproved absences" and "performance management".  Yeah...hearing office jargon like that makes me want to strangle someone.  I'll flip burgers or deliver pizzas before I work for a company like that.  No offense to anyone who works for a big corporation, I'm actually quite a fan of corporations and the products and services they deliver.  I'll never work for one though.  

That being said.  Your adjustment of status is priority number one.  No exceptions.  You've come too far to be denied this opportunity, and your employer shouldn't be punishing you for going. If your employer gives you a verbal warning, so what. If your employer fires you, claim unemployment and they'll be paying for it.  Most people think the state and federal government are the ones paying unemployment, wrong...it's the employer.  I know this, because I pay the fee per employee every quarter.  File unemployment and take your skills to another employer that will be more flexible with their employees.  This is the United States of America after all.  You're the one with AOS on the line, take charge of the situation and don't take their .  

Honestly I don't know what everyone's problem is on this thread today.  Usually most are helpful.  Not so much today it seems.  Maybe their fantasy football team stunk it up last weekend and decided to take it out on you.

40 minutes ago, mel99 said:

I was wondering if say someone who is trying to fix papers for their undocumented spouse, if the undocumented one got a driving with no license ticket if that shows up on their record when they go to the visa interview in juarez.... would the immigration officer find out about that no license ticket?

Unlikely.  Biometrics will run a background check of the individual of their unlawful presence in the United States.  Felony charges such as assault, domestic violence and DUI are large legal immigration hurdles and are possible denials of visas for illegals who married an American citizen and filed the I-601a waiver.  Immigration is aware of these individuals driving without licenses and will forgive this as long as he/she appeared in court and paid for their tickets.   

The interviewing officer in Juarez will be asking more in depth questions about when and where the individual crossed and if he/she used false identification (misrepresentation) for starters.  Questions about the visa applicants spouse, family, number of children and where and when they were born are in the cards.  A minor traffic ticket is the least of your worries.

On 8/28/2018 at 12:15 PM, Nena13 said:

Hello everyone!! Just an update! Today was my interview and I was approved! Everything went very well!!

Very happy for you!! Congrats on your visa journey completion!

8 hours ago, Marta Proniagina said:

Thank you very much! yes, I see, paying 5000 was much better than 27000....

I'll sure check the insurance providers during the open enrollment and see if any of them sell me the insurance. Hopefully, it'll be possible and everything will work out this way. Otherwise we'll try the Emergency Medicaid (if it's even our case here in Nebraska).

Anyway, thank you very much for such  informative and detailed comments. I really appreciate it! Makes me calm down a little.

 

P.S. I've seen so many good reviews about Kaiser. Unfortunately, they don't work in our state, otherwise I'd be glad working with them

I understand your stress, we've been through it.  While both of us were excited of the pregnancy, I was worried about the pending bills the pregnancy would bring to our family. 

I'm hardly an insurance expert, so I again recommend you speak to a health insurance broker that can find you and your family coverage that will fit your budget.  Let him/her answer the questions, it's their job to do so.  Don't worry about paying the broker, they'll get a cut from the insurance carrier as payment for brokering the package.  In Colorado, we have a few options: Kaiser and Centura to name a few.  Kaiser had the best rates and we've been members since.  Whatever state you are living in, a health insurance company comparable to Kaiser should be available.  It's almost September, and while enrollment isn't possible now, you can still contact an insurance broker to at least get some price quotes and rates of companies in  your state and get some preliminary paperwork started.  That way, once open enrollment begins, you will be ready to dive right in.

How many months are you pregnant btw?  And congratulations   So much fun, so many laughs, and oh...sleepless nights haha!

Better call the NVC pronto.  (603) 334-0700 eastern standard time, open Mon through Fri until midnight.

If you are not able to receive your originals, I'd get on the phone with an immigration attorney.  

14 hours ago, Marta Proniagina said:

Hi! could I ask you the question that bothers me about getting insurance now?
You said your payments were about a $1000 a month which is quite a lot (for us at least). And you've been having that plan for, let's say, 4-5 month. Did you have to pay anything else above this sum or did it cover everything? because paying 5000 for insurance and then paying extra seems to bee too much and no different from paying cash and asking the hospital for discount

My original response to your situation stated I was paying nearly $1000 a month for platinum coverage, which was correct.  I forgot to elaborate on the coverage and who it covered.  The coverage for that plan back in 2016 was for both my pregnant wife AND myself.  In general, the older you are the higher the insurance cost.  I'm nine years older than my wife, so I assume that the majority of the cost was because of my age compared to that of my younger wife.  If the plan only covered her, it would have probably been $350-$450 a month for just her.  As the years have gone by, health insurance rates have risen dramatically.  For my wife, 2 year old and myself now for the low bronze insurance package is running around $825 a month.

To answer your question of what we had to pay out of pocket, the simple answer is $1000.  This is what I owed the hospital after our baby was born.  The total cost of my child's delivery and hospital stay (2 days) was $28,000. Kaiser almost covered all of it, around $27,000.  Let me also add that Kaiser also covered several visits and examinations before our baby's delivery.  So, having five months of platinum insurance really saved us a lot money, you do the math.  After the calendar year was finished, we were given the option to completely drop the insurance or change our coverage.  I personally felt an obligation to stay with Kaiser as they pretty much bailed us out, so I rewarded them with our continued business and the bronze coverage package we pay every month since 2017 (even though we hardly use it).  

I advice you to get in contact with a health insurance broker and discuss with him/her your families' options.  That's how we got started and got a lot of questions answered.  We never had health insurance, so it was a crash coarse in coverages, deductables

If someone already suggested this, I apologize as I don't have time to read the entire thread.

My wife became pregnant in 2015 and we didn't have insurance.  We made too much to qualify for Medicaid, so we had to somehow fit the bill.  Luckily, we were able to open enroll into a platinum level coverage via Kaiser Permanente in December or Janurary(can't remember exactly).  While the health insurance payments were nearly a thousand dollars a month, the insurance covered every bill that would have been been 30k out of pocket without insurance.  The following open enrollment, we canceled the platinum plan and enrolled in a cheaper bronze monthly package.

On 8/13/2018 at 3:38 PM, Mchave32 said:

does anyone knows how long is taking to get an appointment in Ciudad Juarez? My attorney will be submitting my DS-260 this week

 

Congratulations. 

That all depends on the DS-260, the I864 and all the paperwork you submit to the NVC.  I'm guessing it will take the NVC a month or so to process your information and when they are satisfied, they'll email you letting you know they will schedule your appointment.  Waiting for that appointment could take as little as a month, or maybe as many as three.  So I wouldn't be making any travel plans quite just yet.  

On 8/12/2018 at 5:25 PM, Nena13 said:

I selected for mine to be mailed to my home town. So I think it will be fine for a roundtrip. I didn’t select for the juarez DHL

If you plan on staying in Mexico for awhile and visiting family, then roundtrip should be fine.  In most cases, people want to get back to the US as soon as possible and anxiously wait in Juarez until their visa becomes available.  

On 8/10/2018 at 11:27 AM, Oro 01 said:

I also wanted to ask you or if anyone can answer, if you're flying there? Did you purchase round trip flight tickets?  For how many days? 

Thanks! 

If you are flying into El Paso or Juarez, I'd recommend that you book a one way ticket.  Even if your visa is approved at the consulate, it may take 3-10 days for your visa to be ready for pickup.  You cannot have that kind of variability when booking an outgoing flight.  My wife's interview was on a Monday and she was approved.  We received the email confirming her visa was ready for pickup on that Thursday at 3:30 pm.  Wife picked up her visa the following day.  

12 hours ago, fazi73 said:

Hi Everyone, Everything is good with the mercy of GOD, i cant believe my wife is already back home with me and kids.

 

Waiver filled - May 17

Juarez office called attorney's office to inform that they will look into the case - June 6

Waiver approved - June 18

Passport mailed to Juarez office - June 20

Passport received with visa issued - July 20

Traveled back home July 26, took 3 hours at the Airport because of many flights and many people with immigrant visas.

 

Good luck to all of you, I know it is hard but do good no matter what and have faith.

Wow, after all that hard work and long waiting has finally paid off.

did your wife need to file another waiver other than the I-601a?

22 hours ago, villa14 said:

I have a question my husband is from minatitlan, veracruz does his family has to go straight to the PGR or just any police station from the city. 

Thanks for your time.

Villa14,

Good question.  My wife is from a small town called Chalchihutes and while there is a police station in her hometown they could not supply her with the police certificate.  The local police told us to contact the police station in Zacatecas City...the capital city of Zacatecas state.  Luckily, her brother lives in Zacatecas City for school and was able to get the police certificate there for us.

So, to answer your question...your husband's family or yourself are going to have to call around and see whether or not the local police stations can provide the police certificate for your husband.  All the states of Mexico are different in this regard, including how much they charge.  

This is granted that you have already been to the Mexican Consulate nearest you and filled out the paperwork there to give your husband's relative "power of attorney".

Keep us posted, I'm interested how your police certificate works out, being that your husband is from Veracruz.  

23 hours ago, Nena13 said:

No i am from Coahuila. But I came into the states when I was 3. I just want to make sure I have it. I’ve read some people have been asked for it even if they are in the same situation as me.

Ahhh, that is probably why the NVC did not ask for it.  That makes sense.  

Yeah, at the US Consulate, they have little patience for people without documentation and my wife said everyone was asked for their documents prior to the actual interview.  The police certificate included.  Better safe than sorry.  

Let me know if you have any other questions, even about Juarez.  We are glad to help.  

13 hours ago, Nena13 said:

They didn’t ask for it but I just want to have. It in case because you never know. I don’t want to give them any reason to reschedule me😫 yes i have scheduled those as well. Im prettu nervous getting everything together. I know it says on the birth certificates you need them translated to English if its in any other language than English and Spanish correct? My husband is in Spanish(puertorico) and mine is in Spanish as well. So I’m guessing those are not required to be translated since they are spanish.

Are you from Chihuahua?  One reason why maybe NVC scheduled your interview without the certificate but asked you to bring it to the interview is because Juarez is in that state and probably easy to get directly there.

I wouldn't worry about the translations too much.  All interviewing officers at the Consulate are bilingual.  They speak both English and Spanish.

11 hours ago, Nena13 said:

Ok thank you I’ll be in Juarez in 2 wks so I’ll go in person since i will be there 1 wk prior to my interview! Im so nervous if i forget anything 😫

Exciting!  Well, since you'll be there in person, no need to do all that "power of attorney" nonsense and just get it yourself.  I've heard of some people doing it this way, by traveling to Mexico and getting the certificate in person.  Did the NVC schedule your interview without the certificate and tell you to bring it to the interview?  The NVC wouldn't schedule our interview until we received it.  I take it you already scheduled your ASC and medical exam, yeah?

It is a stressful time, but it goes by fairly quickly and easy as long as you have all your documents in order.