Magnolia31

I think I received mine from VSC in February and was due to apply for ROC in March.

Didn't do it until June though...whoops!

Now waiting for my approval to show up.....

LOL, mine was due in April, but I didn't file until June either.

Your husband should file form I-90 to replace his green card. This application can actually be filed online through the USCIS site. We did this as my husband's green card was stolen a few months ago. The fee is $370 (which is a $290 filing fee and $80 biometrics fee) My husband got his biometrics appointment within 3 weeks of filing and we are now awaiting the replacement card.

Best of Luck!!

Does anyone know if they still have penalties for losing a GC?

I have actually had a GC before. My mom married a US citizen back in 1983 and he petitioned for me as well. Anyhow, I remember when I was about 15, my GC got lost and my mom filed for a replacement. However, there was a 1 year penalty.

There is no penalty for loosing the greencard... other than the $370 you have to pay to replace it

Well that is good to know that it changed! LOL, not good to know about that fee though. Back then my mom paid $75 to replace it. LOL

Since you are under Tricare (like me) why not include some of the EOBs (Explanation of Benefits) -- also called Tricare Claim Summary -- that Tricare sends to you. It shows your husband under Sponsor's Name, his last 4 digits of SS number, your name and mailing address.

Edit to add: I also inluded a copy of of our Military ID cards along with our DL in our application.

I dont have any EBOs. All I have got from tricare this years was the renewal letter. Military ID, I ddint think about that, so thanks, I will add them. DL, I cant add because my husband still have his old DL and he doesnt want to change it. So we have different state DL's.

Thanks so much.

I will add a copy of our military ID's to the package.

LissB.

Oh yeah, speaking of military stuff .... I also sent a copy of the DEERS enrollment where it shows that I am his dependent. And yes, I also sent a copy of my military ID.

Since I was pregnant when I sent off the petition, I sent them a copy of my ultrasound pic which shows my name and due date. LMAO!!! My husband thought I was retarded for sending that but I was like hey, it shows that we have another baby on the way LOL.

Hello You all

I just finished putting together my I751 package. My green card expires in Feb 6, 2010. My window should open 90 days before that date. I heard is better to send the package a week after the window is open just to make sure that they wont return the package, so I will be sending my package on the 12th.

This is what I got so far:

Copy of Conditional Green Card.

Copy of my daughter's birth Certificate.

Copy of our 2007 and 2008 tax Return Transcripts.

Copy of Bank Account Statements.

Copy of husband's Current Military Orders to Afghanistan.

Copy of General Power of Attorney.

Copy of Financial Power of Attorney.

Copy of my husband's Last Will and Testament.

Copy of my Servicemen's Group Life Insurance Election and Certificate.

Copy of Automatic Tricare Prime Renewal Statement.

Copy of car insurance renewal statement.

Copy of General Power of Attorney from prior deployment.

Copy of bills showing joint account.

Copy of Bills on his name.

Copy of Water Bills on my name.

Copy of Cable, phone and Internet Bill on my name.

Family Pictures.

What do you think? will be this enough evidence? Do I need anything else?

thanks in advance.

Liss

LOL, I filed pretty late. I think it was like the last 3 weeks within my 90 day time frame.

Anyway, yes, I think you have more than enough evidence. You pretty much have some of the same stuff that I sent off

hi VJers,

i am about to file my application of removal of the conditional status of my residency. I read that a sworn affidavit is needed from 2 people who know me and my husband. Are his parents, sister or any relatives acceptable or should it be non-relative at all? Does the affidavit need to be notarized?

thanks for any advice.

Sworn affidavits are not needed. You can use them to supplement your evidence which you already have, but it is not a must. I didn't get them.

no i think it was the AOS that was expedited.

Yep, you are right, it was for AOS. While removing conditions though, my husband had received orders again, but this time for Afghanistan. They told us we could have things expedited again, but then his orders got canceled. So I know they can do it in ROC cases as well.

You should definitely get an Infopass appointment. When we went, we saw the supervising adjudicator, explained the situation, and she got things moving really fast. Call the military helpline and see what they say. Either way though, make an Infopass appointment. We were told that in cases like this, they will expedite.

I went and got my Infopass AFTER we submitted our paperwork because it was afterwards that we found out about the whole Iraq thing. We filed in April and then found out about Iraq at the beginning of June. Our Infopass appointment was June 12. I had my Visa by July 19th.

Wait, was your ROC expedited or something else? You say you had your visa by July 19th, but that doesn't match your timeline for your ROC.

No, it was my AOS - it even says it in my timeline. However, I was told that they can also expedite for ROC in military cases.

isn't the appointment letter the I-797C NOA? That's where the appointment time and place is listed. Ah yes I see on the top it's listed as the ASC Appointment Notice on the I-797C

Yeah you should have received a I-797C NOA1 extension letter first and the a I-797C biometric appointment letter. Take both.

take both if you want... but the requirement is only the appointment letter, state/government issued ID (in the name on the appointment letter) or if not in the same name then a state/government issued ID and the document that changed her name (ie.. marriage certificate).

I know this is late, but just in case someone down the road sees this, I say also bring the envelope that the appointment letter came in. When i went for my biometrics appt. in Birmingham, AL, there was a couple there who just brought their letter along with the required ID's. The immigration officer there made a big old deal about them NOT having the envelope in which the letter came in. He said he wanted to see the envelope. I still haven't been able to figure out why, but he turned them away and they were not able to get their biometrics done that day!

Congratulations! now you can celebrate it

Thank you!!

Thank you! I remember you from the time I first came to this forum a few years ago!

Hello Everyone,

Here is my situation and I would really appreciate it if I can get some advice from you guys. My friend referred my to this forum and I hope I find it helpful.

Background:

I am Palestinian (Palestine is not listed in this forum neither at the USCIS website/system). I came here in 2005 for two months then I went back home. In 2006 I came back to the US on F1 and finished my Masters in 2008.

Right after I finished my MA I received an OPT. In the day OPT started, I got married to a US citizen. We got married on August 30th 2008. So we have been married for a little over a year. Since I had my OPT I didn’t file right after I got married. I filed for green card on January 15th 2009. Then went to an interview which took only about 10 minutes and my card was approved. I received the actual card in June 2009.

For the past couple months, our marriage has been going down hill. We have been trying counseling since then it seems it is not working for us. Now we feel we are different and actually stupid. It is so difficult and I don’t think it will work out.

I moved out last week and I was about to file for divorce. My wife asked me to wait. So I waited but I don’t know why, I think I should have filed for divorce. But I know we will have eventually file for divorce.

We have entered marriage for love. Although my dad was a little against it, I decided to get married. She is 30 years old and I am 26.

I know I have to file to remove the conditions on my own if I want to stay- Of course I want to stay in the US.

Here is an example of what I have:

1. Heath Insurance

2. Accidental insurance

3. 401K

4. Two cars insurance

5. Two ownership of cars

6. Joint back account, checking and saving

7. Joint credit card

8. Tax return I filed separately but married.

9. Letters of love to each other

10. Letters from family and friends for birthdays, Christmas, etc///

11. Emails: over 1100 pages between me and her since we got married

12. Records of calls

13. My paychecks and hers

14. Dental insurance

15. Pictures of us and family in holidays and activities: over 3000 (crazy ha? My wife never let go with the camera)

16. Trip planning to Palestine for both of for her to meet my family in August 2009( with pictures and videos with my family)

17. Marriage video

18. Videos of us: more than 12 GB

19. Letters from friends testifying of our marriage

20. Mail that shows our addresses

21. To leases agreements with both of our names on it

22. Comcast bills with both of names on it

23. Netflex with both of name son it

24. Questar gas with both of name son it.

I can’t think of anything else, but I think I have more stuff (please suggest).

My questions are:

• Is this enough evidence to remove the conditions on my own?

• Does it matter to the USCIS that my wife is older than me? (It did matter to my dad)

• Have you know of any I-751 waiver that got denied? Or ended in deportation?

• Should or should my wife file for divorce?

• How long does it take to get approved? Will I be asked for an interview?

• Do I have any other alternatives if my case was denied? What is the worst case scenario?

• If there are people with waivers that got approved, please share your experiences.

I am sorry for the long post. I know that my marriage was real and God/Allah knows that too.

Your answers are greatly appreciated.

I'm confused. You said that you have to remove conditions on your own if you want to stay. Are you talking about divorcing and signing the waiver? If not, then your wife also has to sign the petition to remove conditions. Sorry if I missed it in your post, but I am pregnant with placenta brain and it's causing comprehension problems for me LOL.

Anyhow, I think that you have a lot of good evidence and don't really need anything else. You asked if you or your wife should file for a divorce .... I would say no, unless she is not willing to file your petition for you to remove conditions. I was in a similar situation. My husband and i actually separated for a while and I thought about divorce. He still signed the petition for me though since we have kids together and he did not want my kids to end up without their mother. I think that when you sign the waiver, you have to prove hardship if you leave the country, or domestic violence if you sign the waiver claiming abuse. I heard that it is hard to prove these things.

Anyhow, I just got approved and am getting my GC .... my husband and I have also decided to stay together and work things out. Is there no way that you can work things out? I know you said you don't think so, but I felt the same way too for a while. Then since we got back together, things have been really different and pretty good.

Also, for some of the stuff you asked, no USCIS will not care about the age different. It really isn't that big of a difference anyway. I do know of a person whose waiver got denied and ended up in deportation. However, she showed all of her evidence to the immigration judge and since she proved that she did enter the marriage in good faith, he allowed her to stay. She has a GC now.

Hi,

I have asked this question before and never got an answer.

I'm gathering eveything my husband and I have together so I can file I751 but here's the thing: I just have the business acct. as a joint account, health insurance under his policy, car insurance under his policy and my verizon cellphone is under his name but I will print detail in coming and out coming calls so they can see how often we called each under (which is every day) I don't work. This is everything we have that appears both of our names. Now, we do have two girls together, one is 2 years old and the 2nd is 3 month old, he is a born US citizen. My question is: HAS ANYONE BEFORE BEING ASK TO SENT MORE EVIDENCE BESIDES HAVING KIDS TOGETHER????

I am so scared that they would look at my package and see: bank account together, car insurance, health insurance, verizon bill, affidavits, boarding passes, income tax return for 2007 (we haven't file 2008) and TWO BIRTH CERTIFICATES OF OUR CHILDREN and send me a letter that they need more evidence. IS THIS POSSIBLE????? HAVING KIDS TOGETHER CAN'T BE ENOUGH EVIDENCE OF A MARRIAGE IN GOOD FAITH?????

HAS ANYONE BEFORE RECEIVED A LETTER ASKING FOR MORE EVIDENCE BESIDES HAVING KIDS TOGETHER???

PLEASE RESPOND.

I NEED TO MAIL MY PACKAGE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE I HAVE TO MAKE A TRIP ON DECEMBER AND MY GREEN CARD WAS STOLEN, SO I GUESS IF THEY FIND EVERYTHING GOOD IN MY PACKAGE I WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE A STAMP BEFORE THE END OF NOVEMBER.

Can you not get your name added onto your utility bills such as electric, water, etc? If you have a car, can you get your name put on the title? Do you have your name on the car insurance? These are all things where you can easily get your name added to it, which will mean more evidence for you to submit.

Your husband should file form I-90 to replace his green card. This application can actually be filed online through the USCIS site. We did this as my husband's green card was stolen a few months ago. The fee is $370 (which is a $290 filing fee and $80 biometrics fee) My husband got his biometrics appointment within 3 weeks of filing and we are now awaiting the replacement card.

Best of Luck!!

Does anyone know if they still have penalties for losing a GC?

I have actually had a GC before. My mom married a US citizen back in 1983 and he petitioned for me as well. Anyhow, I remember when I was about 15, my GC got lost and my mom filed for a replacement. However, there was a 1 year penalty.

Hi All,

I apologize if this has been discussed and answered before. Once the conditions are removed and a 10 year green card has been issued, is a U.S. Passport needed to travel out of the U.S. and back in again?

I am confused about this because I am thinking the U.S. Passports are only for U.S. Citizens.

No. Your GC is your "passport" to enter this country. You would need your country's passport to enter there. For example, I have my GC which I will use to enter this country if I were to visit my mom in Germany. However, I need my German passport to enter Germany.

To my understanding, I thought we had to submit 2 passport-style photos with the I 751.

But from looking at the instructions, it says this under the section for military who reside overseas to include passport pics.

Do all others also need to submit passport pics?

I'm a bit confused!

Nope. I did not have to include those. They took my picture at my biometrics appt.

I would advise you to call the military help line, As far as I know there is no expedite for ROC or AOS. But call the military help line.

USCIS has established a toll-free military help line, 1-877-CIS-4MIL (1-877-247-4645), exclusively for members of the military and their families. USCIS customer service specialists are available to answer calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (CST), excluding federal holidays.

Yes, you can definitely expedite the process. We did it when we found out my husband was going to Iraq.

Wow. I didnt know about this. You think, I can do this? my husband is deploying for Afghanistan in a couple of weeks. My 90 days window opens on the 6th. I was thinking on sending my package on the 12th. What should I do to expidite my application? Do you get the infopass before of after you submitted your papers?

thanks in advance,

Lis

You should definitely get an Infopass appointment. When we went, we saw the supervising adjudicator, explained the situation, and she got things moving really fast. Call the military helpline and see what they say. Either way though, make an Infopass appointment. We were told that in cases like this, they will expedite.

I went and got my Infopass AFTER we submitted our paperwork because it was afterwards that we found out about the whole Iraq thing. We filed in April and then found out about Iraq at the beginning of June. Our Infopass appointment was June 12. I had my Visa by July 19th.

So I'm trying to find a doctor on my insurance website - I've pulled up a list of providers near to my work and found one within a half-mile of here but for some reason I can't seem to find out from the insurance people if the person is covered as "in-network".

The customer service rep I spoke to apparently tried to call the provider but couldn't get through and told me to ask them if they are "contracted to the local bluecross/blue shield".

Is this really how these things are done - something that could mean my paying a co-pay at 100% coverage Versus 50% against a deductible is based entirely on my taking someone's word for it that they are covered!?

How can the insurance company not provide a straight answer as to who is covered under a plan? I mean... what is it exactly I'm paying them for if not to have this sort of information so that informed decisions can be made!?

When making an appointment with a physician from this directory, confirm with the physician before you receive treatment that he/she is participating in a Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield plan.

In order to receive benefits, services must be covered under the terms of your contract. The services to which you are entitled may not include every specialty offered by the providers listed in the directory. Please call the Customer Service telephone number on the back of your ID card to determine which services are covered.

Empire BlueCross BlueShield cannot and does not guarantee or warrant that files available for downloading from this site are free of viruses or codes that have destructive properties.

Empire BlueCross BlueShield and other Blue Cross and Blue Shield Licensees have made reasonable efforts to validate that the list of providers displayed is up to date and accurate. Please call the provider prior to scheduling an appointment to verify that the provider continues to be part of the network. Neither Empire BlueCross BlueShield, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any of its Licensees shall be liable for any losses, damages, or uncovered charges as a result of using this provider locator Web site or receiving care from a provider listed in this Web site.

We used to have BCBS as well and all i did was go to their website and click on "Find a Provider" .... You can then choose a specialty, etc. and it will only give you a list of providers that are in their network.

Hello Everybody

We are brand new to this forum and we are (as a lot of other people here) feeling very frustrated with what to do.

We have been together for almost 5 years - but have both been living and working in another country (not his or hers country) together.

We are now looking into hiring an immigration lawyer to help us with this process but how do we find a good one?

When we google "immigration lawyer + the city the US Citizen live in" - we get a lot of hits - but when we look at each attorney's website - they don't appear to be specialized in immigration law or even write on their websites that they deal with it.

THe European fiancee in this couple is currently here on a tourist visa (visa-waiver) and we were planning to file for a K1 visa once she returns to Europe. Now we realized how long that can take - and are wondering if there might be other options for us.... (maybe a quickie and then go for the K3?) An immigration lawyer should hopefully be able to help us figure out the best way in this situation.

The fiancee can not return to the US again without it being a K-visa as she was barely allowed to enter the country on this last return t the US.

Any advice on this will be greatly appreciated

Thanks in advance

Houseon24!

If you are looking for help with a K1 Visa, I highly recommend Jim Phair. We used him to get our fiancee visa and I was very thankful for all of his help. Some people prepare their packages themselves, but the process was a little confusing to me, and since I am a worry wart, I didn't want to take any chances on getting it done wrong. He prepares all of the paperwork for you and will submit directly to USCIS - you just have to sign the papers.

Here is Mr Phair's website:

http://www.fianceevisas.net/

I would advise you to call the military help line, As far as I know there is no expedite for ROC or AOS. But call the military help line.

USCIS has established a toll-free military help line, 1-877-CIS-4MIL (1-877-247-4645), exclusively for members of the military and their families. USCIS customer service specialists are available to answer calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (CST), excluding federal holidays.

Yes, you can definitely expedite the process. We did it when we found out my husband was going to Iraq.

Good day all, My wife got her green card back in April of last year, it expires in October 2010, so we were going to do the removal of restrictions paperwork the 60 days prior like required.

But, I just received orders for the Horn of Africa for a 10 month Deployment, since it's a deployment she will stay in Guam were we are stationed right now. I depart in Feb of 2010 so my question is there any special form or place to contact to see about doing the paper work early in lieu of military orders overseas .

Without the extension she would not be able to travel outside of Guam from October until January until I return, meaning no visits to her family in the Philippines during the holidays since the green card will have expired.

Any advice on this would be helpful.

Thank you

Please call the immigration military line. My husband was sent on orders for Iraq in August of 2007. We were able to make an infopass appointment and our case was expedited. Look at my timeline and you can see how quickly we were able to do AOS. I know that you are needing to remove conditions, but it can also be expedited!

We found out about his orders in June - had Infopass appt on June 12 ... and had our interview on July 11. They also let me know I was approved that same day. I got my GC a few days after the interview.

Bottom Line: If couple does not marry within the 90 days on a K1 visa, you are in for a world of hassle. How simple can the rules be: Marry within 90 days!

I'm not impressed with all the suggestions for fancy paperwork to get things right if the couple fails to marry within 90 days. It says chapters about the couple if they can't comply with such a simple 90 day requirement. There simply is no excuse for not getting married within 90 days. Does not bode well for the longevity of the relationship. Pffffft!

You're really not answering the question. You don't know why they did not get married within the required time frame. Fact is that it wasn't done so now it's time to think of other options/solutions. Dwelling on the past won't help them in the matter.

What i don't understand is this ....

I have been on VJ since around 2006 or so. I have seen plenty of posts from people on here who also did not get married within the 90 days, and still they filed for AOS.

This really confuses me. Have you asked this question in the AOS section? Perhaps others in that section will answer who have faced a similar problem. I know with 100% certainty that others have done this.

You are the beneficiary applying for a visa to come to the US. You are not a US citizen so you can't use the law to refuse vaccincations. if you want to come here on a K-1, get married and file for an adjustment of status you are going to have to meet the vaccination requirements for the paperwork or you won't get approved...

ok then if i can't use my hopefully future country's laws, i can certainly use other laws

or if not who has decided to get their vaccines done in the US and not their country?

(ETA : just changed my profile, thank u for reminding me)

Hmm. Well I had partial vaccinations done in Germany and the rest in the US. I did not want the vaccinations either but I had to get them.

About 5 weeks ago my wife (permanent resident with conditions) filed her AR-11 online to file our new address. I also mailed in my sponsor change of address form at the same time.

I got a receipt in the mail for my change of address about a week later. But we haven't received an NOA or any type of receipt for the AR-11 filing. Is this normal? I remember when we change our address before the AOS process, we got a receipt in the mail for the AR-11. I did print our a confirmation of the AR-11 the same day we submitted it, but I always feel better when I get the official receipt from them in the mail acknowledging the change. Should I be worried?

Thanks for your advice!

Hmm, I never even sent a letter in the mail. I changed my address online and printed the confirmation.

I don't think you should be worried. You can always call them and make sure they have the updated address.

I sent my petition off for removal of conditions in June. I had my biometrics appointment in August, and yesterday I received my letter telling me that the removal of conditions has been approved and that I will be receiving my card in 60 days!

At first I thought it was a letter asking for more evidence, or perhaps even an interview date, but nope, just a big old congratulations letter! I am so happy today! My baby is due on November 19th and this is just a double blessing for me! I did not think I would get this letter so soon.

Anyhow, just had to share since you guys have helped me out since the beginning of time when I filed for the fiancee visa! TY!

Can someone tell me how long it took to get a biometrics appointment after receiving the 1 year extension letter? I received that letter in June and am just wondering how long it will take to go in for my biometric stuff. TY.