chris4gretchen

Hi, yes, WIC has programs to help with getting milk, juice and cheese etc. But you have to be under a certain income. We did not qualify as i made more than they would allow.

Chris

isn't there a WIC to help with both pre- and post-labor needs?

Hi, she wouldnt be eligible for medicaid/medicare if she came on a K1 or K3 visa since the sponsor swears on the affidavit of support that the recepient of the K1/K3 wont be a government charge and on any government aid programs. However the child once born, if born here would be a us citizen and eligible for medicaid/medicare.

I know since we just went thru it, and had our child. We had no insurance at first, got it after and nothing of the maternity was covered. We had to pay out 14K in expenses out of our pocket to cover the expenses of the birth.

If she has not been in the USA for 6 months prior to getting the insurance, she wont qualify for most carriers being an immigrant. Only group insurance covers any maternity expenses, not individual coverage. I have blue cross now for my wife and kid and it still doesnt cover anything maternity wise. Being self employed i have individual insurance on us not group. We were eligible for a cash discount program at our hospital, but not medicaid or medicare.

and pregnancy is a pre existing condition unless you have group medical insurance. Unfortunately if you are here illegally you have more programs and rights than if you are a legal immigrant as we found out. If you are here illegally you can have a free health care.

Chris

Yes, indeed, pregnancy is considered "a pre-existing sickness"... i just found this out recently myself. And i am stunned that there are not more services allotted to vets & their families.

But to address the immediate: Pregnant women who can't afford insurance are almost always eligible for Medicaid. What city/state do you live in? If there is a medical clinic nearby, i suggest dropping in to talk to someone... And if worse comes to worse, call the hospital and ask if there is someone you can talk to about enrolling for Medicaid benefits.

Really wish you the best of luck!

Hi, yes Guam will be your POE. it will be pretty painless. I had friends who had Guam as a POE. Much easier than Los Angeles.

Chris

Hi All, Gretchen has been in the USA one year now. Our son is almost 3 months old and we had our interview today. green card should be here in 2 to 3 weeks. Its been a long two years of immigration, now we get a lull for 2 years. Hope everyone else is going smoothly also.

Chris & Gretchen

Hi All, we got our interview schedule. Aly you can update the spreadsheet for us. March 18, we got the letter today. Of course they dont bother to update the USCIS website. our K1 is still pending there lol.

i hope they gave out alot of interviews for us in Feb and March. Its been a long time coming for all us July K1 filers.

Chris

well you can update the Baby spreadsheet.

William Andrew Hill born Dec 30th......8lb 2 oz

you can see his pic here

http://www.friendster.com/photos/52142231/1/495881211

no interview date yet for AOS nor any touch since EAD.

Chris

Was your mother or father a philippine citizen? did they become US citizen? then they are deemed to have not lost their Philippine citizenship. (RA 9225, which took effect on 17 September 2003, declares that former natural-born Filipino citizens who acquired foreign citizenship through naturalization are deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship under conditions provided in the Act. )

If yes to the above... then are you born in USA but from Philippine citizen? If yes, then you can apply for Philippine citizenship since you are born of philippine citizens in another country. You dont have to apply as a foreigner. The applying and being under 18 and unmarried is if your parents lost their Philippine citizenship and are not currently Philippine citizens.

i think you should talk to your parents and find out what is their Philippine status. That will give you your status. You can also contact a Philippine Immigration Attorney.

Chris

Isn't an American, a citizen of the United State of America, regardless of where they came from? I was a natural born Filipino Citizen but became an American/US Citizen by naturalization, so I no longer can own a certain amount of land, do certain business, etc.. unless I get my dual-citizenship back.. I'm an American/US Citizen, but my nationality is Filipino... so, if your Filipino spouse becomes an American Citizen, then she also can't own property as you stated..

Youre confusing two different things. If you are a US citizen who has filipino parents, or became a US citizen and lost your Philippine citizenship etc etc then you can get your Philippine citizenship back because you had it at some point, even if only from your birth status (example, one of your parents are from the Phils, but you were born in the USA where they were at the time. thus you are US citizen and can have Philippine citizenship also).

If you are not born of Filipino parents and you are a US citizen such as myself, who married a filipine citizen, there is no way for me to become a Philippine citizen unless the Philippine Congress acts to declare me one which is extremely rare. Just marrying a Filipino/filipina will not give you any options to attain citizenship in the Philippines, unlike here in the USA. There is a procedure for foreigners to become a citizen. There is no procedure in the Philippines for that.

So if you have Filipino heritage and can prove it , you can regain your citizenship there. If you were born somewhere else and you dont have filipino heritage in you, then you cant be a Philippines citizen. Unless Congress votes to enact and gift you citizenship.

Chris

What are the advantages of dual citizenship? Will it be helpful if we retire here in the philippines?

dual for who? Dual for the Philippine citizen to have Phils and USA citizenship? yes there are certainly advantages. A US passport will get you into many more countries without a visa or with minimum fuss for a visa, whereas a Philippine passport wont get you anywhere as a tourist. Also you have more rights in the USA as a citizen than a green card holder. A green card can be abandoned, revoked etc.

Dual for the US citizen to get Phils citizenship? not going to happen. It takes an act of the Philippine congress to award citizenship on a foreigner. I think that happened once. they do have a program that you can buy some citizenship rights, but its several hundred thousand dollars, and you still arent really a citizen with the same rights.

Chris

For all you self employed people, Its gross income, but its after business deductions not total gross before anything. If your business makes 40K and you have 25K in deductions, then your gross income is now 15k, not 40K.

Chris

fingers crossed, debz!

did you guys read the post of the guy who thinks that his case should get expedited because he knocked up is fiancee?

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=160094

well - if your fiance lives in a third world country and you don't use contraceptive stuff, and you do the big nasty, there is a chance that she will have a bun in the oven. and yes, you knew how long it takes to get a visa for her.

If there was an expedite for pregnancy, all of us would get pregnant (at least I would have )

I will probably get killed for that opinion though.

ohwell.

i agreed with you and posted if the situation there is so bad he should send her support to get her and his future baby into a better place. I also liked how he complained about having to pay the medical expenses there "out of pocket" lol. I posted he should try that here in the USA.

Chris

my fiance is in a bad living situation - she recently lost her job and health insurance and is living in a room with three other women, a shared bathroom and limited kitchen facilities, and above all there is mold in the apartment and bathroom.

Last week, my fiance got very sick with a fever of 103. She went to a doctor (we're obviously paying for all doctor's visits out of pocket) who confirmed and wrote a letter stating that she was 17 weeks pregnant and her living situation was causing "allergic crisis" and was "impossible in her state of pregnancy." the place my fiance lives is supposed to be for single women with no children and I'm concerned with what will happen if she doesn't get here before the birth.

Why dont you provide for your fiance and get her a better place to live. Surely you send her support? You cant rent her a place there that is safer? With your baby at stake, that seems to be the proper course, and something that can be done within a week or less.

nothing personal, but try paying all the medical expenses for a pregnant wife here in the USA "out of pocket".

Chris

If she got on a plane she would be refused entry in the US at whatever port of entry she hit. Then they would have her book a flight back to the Philippines on the next available flight and she would have to pay the return flight and change flight fees etc. She would be held prisoner in customs until she left on her flight back.

thats if she can get on the flight to the USA. They also have rules about first time travelers and they might require her to have a CFO seminar and stamp, and could refuse to let her on the plane there in the Philippines with no visa or CFO stamp. Either way it goes she cant enter the USA unless she has a visa and they will check her passport when she tries to leave the Philippines and when she lands in the USA.

Chris

Does it help our prospects at all if I've got more financial assets than probably the average working stiff? I'm not quite rich but could probably live off my investments if I wanted. Or at least I could have before the damn stock market TANKED!

in regards to her tourist visa, your income and financial means will have no bearing. They will only look at her job/ finances / ties/ proof she would return. I have heard of people having alot of money in the bank and still being denied. But others have been approved with almost no means. If she was ever given a tourist visa as a child to visit a relative when young she would have a better chance.

Chris

I was thinking an attorney would be able to help with specific answers as to the legality of entering the US on a tourist visa when the ultimate goal was marriage.

ok, here is it in a nutshell. It is virtually impossible for a normal filipino to get a tourist visa to the USA. In fact last year 2 filipino congressmen were denied tourist visas. they were coming to Washington for a big seminar. Some people do get them, but its very rare. If your girl is a celebrity there or is very rich then she can probably get one. If she is not, her chances are about 1% success.

Secondly the legality of entering the USA on a tourist visa with the intention or goal marriage is not legal at all and is visa fraud and a felony. Attempting it and getting caught will result in a ten year ban. Do people do it, sure, a few get away with it.

Unfortunately there is no short cut to the immigration process if your girl is from the Philippines. They normally cant even visit here and are not part of the visa waiver program that most of Europe is on. You will have to file for her and wait the time. You can visit her.

Chris

I think they will abolish it.

It's a stupid process and it should be done by the US Embassy before a interview is scheduled.

We had to go thru DV. I see it as a waste of time.

they started it because people in manila were giving fake NSO documents and giving fake names to get around being married to a filipino and not having an annullment while having a k1 filed for them and pretending to be single. So they started verifying all NSO records, cross referencing birth certificates with CenNOMar etc.

If you paid the fee one month before the interview its done by the time you have your interview. Unfortunately people paid it at the interview and then had to wait.

We also went thru DV. We paid it a month before our interview and got our visa a week after our interview. In fact we were in the first group of couples to go thru DV, and had to learn the process from the official websites which recommended to pay the fee a month before interview. And it cant be done by the US embassy since the record databases are the Filipine governments property.

Sorry people didnt research the process to minimize the time line of the process.

It will be back, as there are too many fake documents being used. And not a waste of time. It actually protects the US citizen.

Chris

my friend i help her for up coming medical and interview

her medical is sept 29,30

interview oct.6 she don't pay DV i told my friend that need to pay advance

for DV because its take time and courses for visa its common problem

i am surprise she told me she only pay visa delivery during her interview

and she receive her visa in oct.15 wowwwwww!!!!!!!!! is that true that usem

they abolish the DV??? HUMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!

They didnt abolish it, they have suspended it until they can catch up from the backlog. it will begin again soon enough.

Chris

My wife had an expired state ID and her passport, but they wanted more, (they wouldnt accept the expired state id. Then they accepted medical insurance card with her name on it and we got her added to my accounts. It didnt have her photo on it. Wells Fargo bank.

Chris

Most states require a Green card to issue a Drivers License. They wont even issue a State ID that is longer than the I-94 being valid. I dont think EAD will suffice to get a Driver's License. i dont know all the states however and could be wrong. You need documentation that you can legally stay in the USA for a length of time. EAD just gives you permission to work. The Green card is what gives you permission to stay legally for 2 years or 10 years at a time, subject to renewal.

Chris

The effect would be to have 6 months of living together to plan our wedding as opposed to only the 3 months the K-1 allows.

Her visa is good for 6 months. You and she can take that long before you have her come to the USA on the K1. Once she enters the USA on the K1 visa, you have 90 days to get married. So take up to 6 months planning your wedding with her in Russia, then once you have it all planned , have her enter and then get married within the 90 days.

And the denial on her using the B2, will probably come from her "moving to USA" while processign the K1. That will be frowned upon and could result in her denial to enter until the K1 is approved. She will need to look like she is not moving here permanently with a quick trip back to russia for a medical and interview formality.

Chris

If you came to the USA legally on a K1 visa and have an I-94 in your passport (even expired it shows your immigration status) and you have a marriage license proving you got married, you can change the name.

Nope. If your I-94 is expired, you are technically "out of status". It's forgiven once you become a permanent resident. A k-1 visa holder is allowed to apply for or change a name on a SS card up to 2-3 weeks before the expiration of the I-94. After that, you will have to wait for a greencard.

Nope. The K1 visa holder is allowed to apply for SSN card up to 2 weeks before the I-94 expiring. But once you have a number and card, you only have to show that you have immigration status ( which you have because you came to the country legally) and a marriage license to change the name. You dont need a valid non expired I-94 to change the name on the card. I posted the correct info in both my links. Read the visa flow chart and the SSA website. If you dont apply for a SSN card during the I-94 90 days then you have to wait for the green card. But that has nothing to do with changing the name on an existing card. Just because you are between I-94 expired and AOS approval with green card doesnt mean you have no status and cant change the name. And i know many couples that have changed the name on their card to their married name without AOS or green card , including my wife.

Chris

e .

My husband and I told her that the SSN office told us that they will not change my last name until I receive my GC.but it went on more questioning.She asked also why we dont have joint bank account.Still my husband and I told her that SSN in my married last name should be change first,for us to have joint account .

That Social Security office told you wrong. You dont have to wait to get your green card to change your card from your maiden name to your married name. All you need is your certified marriage certificate. My wife has her SSN card in her maiden name and we changed it to her married name ( she now has both), and we dont have EAD or AOS yet. Try another SSA office or go back to that one and ask for a supervisor.

Chris

Actually, you got lucky. Technically, since they married, the K-1 is not longer valid. She's legally here; but without any real status at this point. AOS is needed to change the name on the SS card.

We had the same issues and the norm is for the SSA to tell you to come back with the GC.

That too is not correct. The K1 is no longer valid once its used to enter the USA, its used once. Period. After that the I-94 is what is valid. And its valid for 90 days. you are supposed to marry in that time frame. You have to wait about 2 weeks upon entering the USA to be in the system to get your SSN card. You get your card, then you get married, then you go and get your name changed on it. It is even listed this way here on Visajourney in the K1 visa flowchart. check #16 thru #19.

K1 flow chart

You do NOT need a green card to change the name from your maiden name to married name on the social security card. All you need to show is immigration status, according to the SSA website SSA requirements to change name on card

If you came to the USA legally on a K1 visa and have an I-94 in your passport (even expired it shows your immigration status) and you have a marriage license proving you got married, you can change the name.

check our the Visajourney flowcharts

Chris

e .

My husband and I told her that the SSN office told us that they will not change my last name until I receive my GC.but it went on more questioning.She asked also why we dont have joint bank account.Still my husband and I told her that SSN in my married last name should be change first,for us to have joint account .

That Social Security office told you wrong. You dont have to wait to get your green card to change your card from your maiden name to your married name. All you need is your certified marriage certificate. My wife has her SSN card in her maiden name and we changed it to her married name ( she now has both), and we dont have EAD or AOS yet. Try another SSA office or go back to that one and ask for a supervisor.

Chris

I'm so worried coz my fiance told me that maybe it's because of our age gap, that's why it's so hard for them to make a decision about this petition.....

My wife is also from the Philippines. We have a 23 year age gap. We had no problems and no RFE's during our K1 process. I would assume your paperwork is not in order if you have an RFE, not an age gap issue. With filing you must give them exactly what they want, every form filled out correctly, and the proper proofs. Wait until you get the RFE and see what it is they are requesting you send them. When you get it, send them exactly what they request.

Chris

FAQ: http://www.visajourney.com/faq/k1k2visa-application.html#4.6 4.6)...Can my fiance(e) come to the US to visit me once the visa process is started?

PITFALL: the POE CAN deny entry. Having a visa is no guarantee of entry.

Thanks for the link. As for the other pitfall, it's a given any person can be denied entry to the U.S. whether they have a visa or not. Heck, customs could refuse my own entry back in to the country if they didn't like my passport. But as it is, she's already been in an out of the U.S. a couple of times on her B-2, so there's no reason they would suddenly refuse her.

actually after you file the K1, they could refuse her B2 since they will both be in the system. And it has happened numerous times. You should be ok as long as she has good proof of ties to her country.

Chris