OldBritAbroad

The doctor’s office will give you a sealed envelope with your results inside. As PollyC says, all you need to do is hold on to this and take it with you to your interview.  The Immigration Officer will be quite used to this.

Good luck!

26 minutes ago, SB5130 said:

...Canada and UK have DL reciprocity agreement with US...

 

I think this is true only if you are visiting and using your existing DL to e.g. rent a car. If you are looking to obtain a State DL, then there is no reciprocity and you must pass whatever driving exam is required by your State. Here in Oregon, the DMV would not accept my UK DL (which I have had for over 44 years) and I had to pass both the written and practical exam before they would grant me one.

That said, my wife’s ex-husband was given an Arizona DL back in 2002 simply on the strength of his Egyptian one - don’t know if that still holds true, though, and given the state of his driving I most certainly hope not!

Bank of America will let you open an account without a SSN; there are others.

What was he charged with? Has he been found guilty or is the case in processing?

Sorry to hear this; I think you’re stressing unnecessarily, though more experienced members will have more to offer.

See a lawyer re your access to your child; I’m pretty sure your ex cannot deny you access just on a personal whim. A judge will decide what’s in the best interest of the child and it’s good for you that you continue support, though it sounds like your relationship with your ex has taken a turn for the worse?

You don’t say so, but have you (either of you) filed for divorce? There is a pathway for that happening prior to or during ROC as far as USCIS is concerned. Just be upfront with them and don’t try to hide anything. They’ll have seen all this many times before.

Good luck to you 

As noted above, most lawyers are ####### - it’s just the nature of the work (and some personality lol). Once the lawyer agrees to take you as a client, they should fight for you and be seen to be doing so. If you’re not convinced, drop them - you’re paying them after all. Check out other users of their service - what do they say?

Your problem is that more than 50,000 people are immigrating from Nigeria to the US each year, so the Diversity Lottery no longer applies - see below.

Your only options would appear to be  in the long-term marry a US citizen and apply for a CR-1 visa, or get engaged to one and apply for a K-1; or short-term find a employer willing to sponsor you; or an educational establishment you could study at. This is not an exhaustive list.

All of which rather begs the question of why you want to move to the US in the first place.

If he is only a GC holder i.e. a Legal Permanent Resident - and therefore not a US citizen - he will need a Canadian passport.

Sounds like they confused your brother with the other patient having the same name. Go back, point out what you’ve told us and ask them to review his file. Hopefully that will clarify things.

Best of luck!

Oops, apologies - I didn’t check the poster’s name and confused you and the OP. My bad!

My EAD took 5 months so you should get yours any time now.

3 hours ago, Londonergirl said:

I applied for my EAD (Work and travel) in August and still haven't heard anything  

I’m confused. In your original post you said you changed your mind “yesterday” - but you applied for your EAD in August? 

You do not make it clear whether you are in the Phillipines or the USA.

You obviously cannot legally marry your US boyfriend until after your annulment is approved. Once that has happened, you can if in the Phillipines get married and your new husband applies for a CR-1 visa for you; if in the US you get married and you apply for Adjustment of Status. If you are in the US and your J1 visa expires before you are able to marry, you will need to return home and either get married there (CR-1 visa) or he applies for you as his fiancé (K-1 visa).

Best of luck to you both!

Other more experienced members will know if this is going to be a problem, but if you have been told in your documentation that you must (or should) bring originals to the interview so that they can be checked (and no offence is meant, but the Phillipines is regarded as a high fraud risk country so I think you should expect them to be checked) I think you have two options. The first is to call first thing on Monday to ask to reschedule your interview so that you can have the documents in hand; the second would be to see if your wife can get to her local Fedex or whatever to see if they can provide you with a guaranteed overnight delivery. I doubt it will be cheap however.

Hope it works out for you.

OP, I’m also in Oregon (Klamath Falls) and just acquired my DL. The clerk verified my status using the SAVE programme - she actually referred to it aloud to a co-worker to see if his access was running slow also. And for all the bureaucracy involved, Oregon is apparently on the list of non-Federally compliant IDs. Go figure.

Oh and my journey to Portland involves driving over the Cascades, not just a quick flip up I-5 lol. AND I have to drive over to Medford for anything Federal like Social Security or IRS - or Costco!

I’m still bemused by the fact that there’s no reciprocity between the UK (EU?) and the US on DLs (apparently the U.K. will recognise a number of countries that I certainly wouldn’t!) Passed both parts of the test OK though having the examiner tell me I should pump the brake pedal on a car fitted with ABS was a bit odd! (I think she mistook the ABS judder - I was braking on ice/packed snow - for wheel skidding.)

It appears that your mother is arriving with the intent to immigrate; her visitor’s visa is just that - for a visitor. Using it whilst having the actual intent to reside here permanently is classed as visa fraud as dentsflogged pointed out and will, if detected, land her in considerable trouble - turned around at point of entry, her existing visa revoked and probably a lifetime ban on ever visiting the US again. As well as making it that much harder for anyone else from Nigeria (I assume) to obtain the right visa - not that it’s easy in the first place.

I say ‘if’ detected - CBP officers, nor USCIS are not stupid, so it’s more a case of ‘when’.

I suggest she obtains a refund and you read up on bringing family members to join you on this forum (http://www.visajourney.com/forums/forum/111-bringing-family-members-of-us-citizens-to-america/); be prepared for a long wait, however.

Just now, Going through said:

Owing back taxes can become an issue during the interview ...but usually only when there's no payment plan or no proof of payment plan set up by the applicant to the IRS.

 

In case it comes up during the interview, just make sure your wife carries with her proof of payments/proof of payment plan to show the interviewing officer.

Ninja’d! This is what you should do.

Not a lawyer (worked with a few though; what I’d call a character-building experience lol), but “in your possession” is not the same as e.g. ‘must have it on your person/must carry it with you at all times’. Having a State ID or Driver Licence ought to be enough to authorities at State level and below (police etc) that you are in lawful presence since in most States now you can’t get such without verified proof of lawful presence. Federal authorities on the other hand would almost certainly want to see the Green Card.

7 minutes ago, k0olmini said:

After re-reading what you said, I just need clarification on that one part. If she decides to continue working at her current job (the one that provided her the visa) while her AP/AOS are pending will that violate any rules?

I’m not an expert, but I don’t think so.

AP is Advance Parole, essentially permission to leave and re-enter the US whilst her application for AOS is being adjudicated. Normally people file for this and the Employment Approval Document (EAD) at the same time as for AOS, since there are no extra fees as there would be if they were filed for separately. She CANNOT leave the country without AP in hand unless she has a valid visa, though once the AOS application has been filed it may well be assumed by CBP that she has immigrant intent and her visa revoked. So basically don’t do this.

Immigration matters are a federal responsibility, States have no bearing on the matter.

1 hour ago, zaban said:

Oh wow 5 months that’s long time. I already have my SSN and I applied for drivers licence today. Can you share your timeline for EAD I wonder why it took so long ?

Timeline is already shared. I think it was simply down to an increased number of applications. My office was Chicago though.

Yeah you’ll be waiting a while - it took 5 months before I got my EAD; then 2 months more to get my SSN (which you need in my State for a DL - as well as then passing the knowledge and driving test). Fortunately I’ve no need to work, being retired, so I got into volunteering. Very rewarding mentally as well as giving you new friends, outlets for your enthusiasms etc. You could also try finding a hobby that suits you - mine is model ship building, a solitary pastime but it sure eats up the hours (as well as pocket money!)

Best of luck!

Probably no longer relevant, but you said you’d retouched the photos. That’s a no-no and unless you’re a photoshop professional, reasonably obvious.

My wife and I went to our local Walmart to get our photos done. They were probably the absolute worst photos either of us had ever had and made us look like we belonged on the Most Wanted list. But we sent them in as they were; no problems later.

Even with expedited service on the passport (which you can’t apply for until you have your naturalisation certificate, and for which BTW you have to surrender your GC) you’re only leaving yourself 3 days in between the two and I can’t see it happening, sorry.

I think you’ll have to delay either your travel or your ceremony.

Bring the originals of whatever copies you submitted, faded or otherwise (just how much time has elapsed? Print doesn’t normally fade that quickly.)

The certified copy of the marriage certificate, even though they hold the original. 

As much evidence as you can of mingling your lives - finances especially e.g. joint bank accounts, life, health, car insurance, titles to property, cars, assets as well as your personal lives such as family get-togethers, vacation/social occasion photos of the two of you (no more than 6 or so).

Best of luck!

If you marry immediately and submit your application to adjust status soon after (the paperwork takes a little time) yes you’ll be out of status for a short while. However you cannot work until your EAD Card arrives, which could be 4-5 months after USCIS receive & acknowledge your application. Do you have access to sufficient funds for this period? If not I would suggest leaving and doing the K1 (or CR1 if you get married before you leave) instead.

Best of luck!