AOSFairfax

I’m honestly not sure. When I went to the embassy to register our marriage I asked if I could get a new passport with the new last name. The guy was very confused lol and told me that he wasn’t sure but if I could, I’d have to wait until my passport expired to maybe do so. It’s been a few years now and I recently did renew my Greek passport but I honestly did not ask whether I could change my name on it. I should’ve, I just didn’t feel like dealing with Greek bureaucracy haha. If you find out though, let me know!!

Hey there! I'm also from Greece and have the same problem since as you know, Greece won't let you change your last name. But to answer your question, yes, you should be good to go. I have taken multiple trips to Greece and other countries with my Greek passport that has my maiden name, ticket booked in that maiden name, and GC in married name. Entering Greece / other countries, border authorities won't typically care what is on your GC. To board back to the US, they'll check your GC but I've never had them ask why the names are different. Once in the US, CBP cares about the GC itself for the most part and I've never had them ask anything about the names. I always carry a copy of our marriage certificate just in case. Now, what I haven't quite figured out is what to do once my naturalization is approved since I'll have 2 passports with 2 last names but as far as traveling on a GC, you should be okay!

Just got notification that my interview was scheduled for late April!

No status update, just showed up in the mail

Received my 48 month extension letter. At least I won’t have to worry about getting an ADIT stamp next year

I’m not at all familiar with the I-360 process but from some quick research it looks like it would require a juvenile court to have issued an order finding that the child is indeed abandoned, is a dependent of the court, state, or of an individual appointed by the court, and it is not in their best interest to return to their home country etc https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-US/eb4/SIJ Is the couple the legal guardians of the child?

As a Greek citizen myself, it is well known that Greek government or airport employees can barely answer competently on questions regarding Greece’s own bureaucratic processes so why she chose to believe a random Greek person’s account of US immigration is beyond me. Also, covid lockdowns would not have prevented her from coming back to the US at any point. As others have mentioned, an LPR is not eligible for an ESTA and an LPR cannot split their time between the US and another country, and spend significant amounts of time outside the US without risking losing their status, especially without having applied for a re-entry permit prior to departure. A green card is for living permanently in the US, the ability to split time between two countries is only afforded to citizens. Regardless, your relative needs to decide where she wants to live. If its the US, then she needs to exit the country, attempt to come back using her GC, and then stay here for a considerable amount of time before trying to leaving again (aka there are not going to be Greek summers in her near future as most expats do). If later on she wants the freedom to split her time between the two countries, she’s going to have to naturalize and meet the continuous residency requirements for that. Once she’s a citizen she can do as she pleases. If on the other hand she wants to live in Greece, she can relinquish her GC and be on her way. Best of luck!

No, it was at the Texas Service Center

Good to know, thank you!

Just got the NOA in the mail, apparently my ROC application was transferred to NBC, not the local field office as I originally thought "to speed up processing." Not sure what this means exactly but assuming it's related to the N400 I filed a couple of weeks ago.

If it’s a priority for either of them to retain their green card, I would absolutely not travel on Dec. 9th or for a few more months at least. And next time they do travel, it can’t be for an indefinite period of time, especially without a re entry permit. I concur with the others that the CBP officer was likely having a good day and let them in with a warning this time but they can absolutely not expect or hope for that next time. A green card is for living in the US on a permanent basis and you are not granted the same flexibility of splitting time between the US and another country as if you were a US citizen. On that note, if they do ever want to naturalize so as to have the option later on of spending longer periods of time abroad, there are continuous residency requirements they would have to meet. The sooner they meet those, the sooner they can naturalize and have flexibility with their travel and living arrangements.

Today my status changed to Case Transferred to Another Office. Anyone know what this means? I assume it's just a notice saying that the case was transferred from SRC to the LFO? Either way, at least there's some movement. I also filed the N400 last week so hoping to be done with USCIS sooner rather than later

self delete, posted in wrong forum

I would tend to agree with all the reasons provided here in favor of naturalizing (ease of every day life, not dealing with USCIS, can move abroad without worrying about keeping GC, more options for the future, etc). One thing that I haven't yet seen mentioned, is the ability to vote. And not just Presidential or US Congress / Senate elections but also, and perhaps most importantly, local elections. The ability to have a say in laws and regulations that impact your daily life I don't think can be overlooked. And it's definitely a privilege not everyone around the world has.

Same here! When the processing time was 13 months, I was maybe going to wait until Dec to see if the ROC was approved but now that its increased so much, I’m just going to file the N400 next week and get it over with

I echo what @Bob in Boston said. When I originally filed my case, I filed under my maiden name and my original green card is in my maiden name. I eventually changed it by going to the SS office and then the DMV with my marriage license and green card (with the maiden name) and asked them to update my SS card and DL. No one batted an eye that the green card was in the maiden name. Check your state's laws for what the process to update your name on SS and DL is. I have used my married name in the US to do everything since then (credit cards, take out mortgage etc) When I submitted my ROC, I did so with my married name and provided the maiden name as one of the names previously used. When I travel domestically, I travel with my US REAL ID in my married name. When I travel internationally, I book tickets under my maiden name since my home country passport is in my maiden name. Haven't had any issues whatsoever. Once the 10 year GC is issued, I plan to bring a copy of my marriage certificate every time I fly internationally to prove the person on the passport and the one of the green card are the same. Once I get my US passport, I'll likely just use that to travel internationally.

It is illegal for her to work her remote job.Taxes have nothing to do with it. Why would you risk jeopardizing her immigration journey? She cannot work or exit the country until she receives her EAD / AP, which will likely take the better part of a year. So file asap.

I adjusted from F1 to GC and did all the paperwork myself using the guides here on VJ. I don't think you need to hire an attorney and shell out thousands given that AOS paperwork, while there's a lot of it, is fairly straightforward. You just have to be willing to read all instructions carefully and thoroughly. VJ is a wonderful resource that will answer pretty much any questions you may have.

Sorry about your pregnancy loss, hope you're healing well. You are completely fine to continue with AOS. You don't need a "reason" to file for it. Just relax, gather all your docs, and submit as soon as possible. As others said, be mindful that doing AOS means you won't be able to work or travel until you receive your EAD / AP, which could take months. So make sure you all can financially cover that gap and someone back home can take care of any business you may have left behind. You don't need a lawyer to do AOS. Use the Guides on the top left corner of Visa Journey and you'll be fine. Good luck!

That looks like the correct list of documents to me, yes. Yes, you file them all together. I think a month between getting married and filing the petition is enough time as long as you can get your marriage certificate back from the county in that time frame. The timeline for that is gonna vary by state / county. Prep everything else in advance so you're ready to send it off as soon as you have the certificate. That's what I did. On the top left corner of the VJ page, there's a tab that says "Guide." There's a detailed guide on how to fill out all the AOS paperwork that will prove helpful to you and will likely answer most questions. If I remember correctly, the only document I needed from my home country was a birth certificate. I do understand her concern with wanting to stay employed as long as possible though of course, the earlier you marry the better. Just make sure you have enough income / savings to support the both of you once she has to stop working. Good luck!

Marrying and adjusting would be the easiest option that keeps you all together. You are correct, if you went the K1 route, she'd have to leave at the end of her current visa and you'd be separated. She can work in the US until her current visa allows her to (sometime in Feb it sounds like). She would then have to stop working completely until she receives her EAD / AP, at which point she can resume working. You will not be able to visit the Czech Republic until she receives her EAD / AP. If you go the AOS route, make sure to take into consideration that there may be a period of time where she can't work and will thus have no income. Make sure you all are prepared to cover that loss of income via your own employment or savings. I would advise marrying and filing for AOS asap so that her employment gap is as little as possible. As others said, if your case is straightforward and you're willing to do some research, you don't really need a lawyer. I did my own AOS paperwork when adjusting from a student visa in a similar situation to yours and had no issues / RFEs. Good luck!

You cannot travel internationally without a current, valid passport, which has nothing to do with US immigration. Contact your local Hungarian embassy to determine what the process to renew it is. They may require your wife to go in person for the renewal in which case yes, you'd have to travel there to do so. That is what every expat of most any country has to do in order to do official business with their origin country (eg. passports, registering marriages, births, deaths etc). This is not a novelty or anything out of the ordinary. I would start the process sooner rather than later as depending on how bureaucratic some countries are, it can take a couple of months to get the passport renewed.

Since he lives in Germany but had to apply for a B2 (rather than traveling under ESTA) I assume he is not a German citizen? The only alternative I can think of in this situation is that he becomes a German citizen and can then travel with an ESTA to come visit whenever he wants. Of course, I don't know what the German citizenship process looks like or if that's an option to him but that seems easier than going through another B2 or GC

the process is called CRBA. You can find more info on this forum or the state department website on the process. The one caveat is that your husband would have to have been physically present in the US for the last 5 years to complete this process. Upon completion, the child would then be a USC with their own passport and your immigration process would have no bearing on the child as they would be able to enter the US with their US passport

Why not give birth in Canada and have your husband visit you there for the birth? the child would still receive US citizenship through the father..