mjoyceb

I'm so happy to see other people getting updates on their I-751 applications.

On my end I still have no interview in sight, and no new correspondence either. Right now I can't even log into USCIS.gov, even if I was able to do so last night.

To be honest, I think there is no real rhyme or reason* to CIS/DHS requiring biometrics for the I-751 even if they've already gotten biometrics for the I-485.

I had my biometrics done for the 485, I had to get biometrics done again for the 751 on February of this year... and as of today my CIS log-in account only says "Case was received." Go figure!

(* Actually, I do think there is a reason, I've noticed most people who need to get biometrics re-done come from the Global South like myself.)

And now apparently the soonest I can get an approval for the 751 is on July 2023, lol.

I did received the 24-month extension notice at least, but that only lasts until October 2023, so this is cutting it dangerously close.

On 2/15/2022 at 6:28 AM, Cheschirecat said:

We were blessed not to have to repeat it , but, we still had to pay for it 😳

Really? Wow, that sucks. 

Nice checklist!

I am travelling next month too, to visit family to mark an important occasion.  

I hope you dad gets better soonest, and also please take it easy yourself. 

Have a safe trip!

I'm annoyed I had to have biometrics taken again... right on back-to-back winter storms here in KC.

On 10/20/2021 at 7:51 PM, mjoyceb said:

Hi, I am technically a September filer but we had had issues so I ended up filing in October 12th (the 11th was a bank holiday apparently). Weirdly enough, I signed up for email updates, but I received a receipt number through SMS text messaging, and when I tried to enter the receipt number sent to me into the USCIS website it said "Not Found." 🤔

Just an update from me: I finally received a NOA for the biometrics appointment, which will be next week. I am so annoyed they want me to go in for it again. 😒

On 2/7/2022 at 1:49 PM, yuna628 said:

An update from Krebs on this subject: the IRS has understood various concerns and decided against this service. They will transition away from using the third party service. Another process will be used that they hope will avoid additional issues and cause less issues this tax season.

This is great news.

Now if only SSA would stop using ID.me and Login.gov (which seems to be using ID.me's system), that would be great. 

1 minute ago, jim_julian said:

I found it very easy to create an account and get my identity verified at the ripe old age of 78. 

I'm very happy for you, but I work for Medicare, and every day I'm at work I get at least five calls where I need to walk people through the ID.Me portion of the SSA site. The thing is, Medicare isn't actually under the SSA, it's under DHHS. DHHS higher-ups have no idea how to use ID.Me so we don't have any instructions to guide these callers through it. And what's more, we grunts don't even have access to ID.Me and related websites while at work except for the Medicare website. 🙃

Woo-hoo Kansas City I guess. 

I did finally receive my biometrics appointment update though, at least. 

Still surprised that for all the big talk about the USA being so advanced, everything still has to be done in triplicate, and all government agencies/branches/sectors/divisions/bureaus/departments would still rather spend all their money on military-related anything over making internal processes efficient. 

On 1/21/2022 at 1:11 PM, yuna628 said:

Oh yeah absolutely, there's tons of concerns here. Apparently the SSA has been using this system too? State entities have also been using it for unemployment benefits. Oh boy... I feel for people having to go through this. Pretty bonkers.

Oh I can confirm. They call MySocialSecurity accounts made on SSA.gov/socialsecurity.gov before Sept 18th, 2021"legacy accounts." Plus ID.Me does not have any helpful instructions on how to even use their system, which makes it difficult for seniors and people with disabilities to access their information especially now with the SSA offices closed during a pandemic (firsthand experience makes it a headache, and SSA is the slowest of the government offices to start with).

On 10/21/2021 at 8:58 AM, Chris&Ale said:

Hi all! First, I wanted to wish everyone success with the I-751 process.

 

We are preparing the bona fides to send in with the 751 application. My thoughts are to send in evidence for just the last 2 years since we provided evidence for the initial interview at the embassy (fiance) and the 2nd GC interview at our local USCIS office. Is anyone resending evidence from when they first met until present?

On 10/21/2021 at 11:34 AM, cardia said:

 

Concurring with @Joyoussinger: we sent in evidence from the date of our marriage to present, as the form instructions indicate submitting evidence "to demonstrate the circumstances of the relationship from the date of the marriage to the present date." Didn't want to chance anything!

Thirding this. We didn't send evidence from when we first met, but from the start of our marriage up to present. For reference, we submitted:

• Jointly signed rental agreement and renewal
• Joint renter's insurance
• Joint bank account statements with auto loan information
• Bill of sale for the car we bought together
• Joint income tax returns
• Joint health and dental insurance coverage through my spouse's employer
• Vaccination cards
• Family mobile phone account plan statements
• Some more letters of support from new friends
• Evidence of shared life events 
• Affidavit of name change signed by relatives

That said, now I'm wondering if I should have since our receipt for the I-751 is in a different location (SRC) from the one for the I-485 (MSC). 🤔

I'm still watching our account to see when they've taken the money out, since I don't actually have the I-797 yet.

Hi, I am technically a September filer but we had had issues so I ended up filing in October 12th (the 11th was a bank holiday apparently). Weirdly enough, I signed up for email updates, but I received a receipt number through SMS text messaging, and when I tried to enter the receipt number sent to me into the USCIS website it said "Not Found." 🤔

1 hour ago, Joyoussinger said:

Well, welcome back, then! If you're sending it by Priority Mail, you'll be able to track it. You can always request a signature, although I didn't and someone signed for it anyway. Be sure to send it to the correct lockbox for USPS:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 
P.O. Box 21200 
Phoenix, AZ 85036 

I hope you don't mind if I make a suggestion. You're more than welcome to stay with this group, of course,  but if you join the October group you'll be able to get a better idea of how the process is going with people who filed closer to the same time as you. 

You can also add your info to the October section of this spreadsheet.  It makes it really easy to follow each others' progress.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1uJwpaHzGIuuvbVMXK5h-F8KH3hCh88kMxpxC4uOJOk8/edit#gid=725661854

 

 

 

Thanks for the tip! How long would Priority Mail delivery take for them to receive it? 

Hi all, sorry for disappearing a while back. Life happened (a bit too intense to discuss here), and we got delayed. My wonderful US Citizen spouse helped catch us up during the whole birthday week he spent off (note to self, must give him good food and great sex 😆) and finally, we are ready to mail!
 

Just a question: how does one send use the US Postal Service to send this package to the USCIS PO Box securely? Thank you!

Hi, there's a September filers ROC group: 

On 9/4/2021 at 10:02 AM, Joyoussinger said:

I used Rocket Lawyer to make sure I did it with the proper legal terminology and included everything that was necessary. It's not expensive at all. Then I had it notarized at my bank. The name thing didn't really seem like it was an issue at the interview, but maybe that's because I had included the affidavit. 

Hi, thanks so much for this!
 

I am still a bit confused about how the RocketLawyer Affidavit of Name Change works and I was hoping to ask for more help on filling it out so that I don't encounter issues when travelling using a passport from my country of origin which has my previous full given name and surname on it (see Philippine consulate advisory on name changes for married women):

1. Would you know who the Applicant is and who the Affiant would/should be? If the Affiant is someone else, is quantity better than quality? 
2. Do these Apostille Convention advisories by the Consulate and by my state of residence (KS) mean I can just go to any notary public here in KS to get the same Affidavit of Name Change notarized? And will I still need to have it authenticated by KS? If yes, how long does the authentication take in these pandemic times? There is an older notarization/authentication advisory pre-accession to the Apostille Convention on the current consulate website that is still active and is more immediately visible. 

Keeping my fingers crossed that anyone from the Philippines or from a country where long given names are still in fashion can answer my questions if Joyoussinger can't. Also, folks in KS who have done these before would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you all so much!

On 9/3/2021 at 5:55 AM, Joyoussinger said:

We can't send our application out until September 21 but, as I said before, it's ready to go. Here is what we've included. I organized it  with tabs at the bottom that match the headings for each section. It's not too big. We've only included one bank statement for each quarter, but we did include all pages for each statement. I paid my mortgage off years before we met, so there is no mortgage or lease with both our names. I did, however, add Neil to our homeowner's insurance, and included the declarations page of that policy with both names. At first, we had the same health insurance, through the marketplace, but I turned 65 and was no longer eligible as Medicare kicked in. We included an explanation of that and all the relevant documents to support it. Also, the first name I use on almost everything, including tax documents, is not my legal name. I've used it since I was 16 and got my Social Security card. However, my legal name is on my driver's license and passport, so I included a notarized  "affidavit of same person" in case there is confusion. I also did this for our I-129 application and for AOS. It may have helped, but no one asked about it.  Anyway, here is my list as I've written it for our cover letter:

 

 

Explanation of US Citizen’s different first names on documents

  Explanation for reason of Affidavit of Same Person

  Affidavit of same person

 

Hi! I wanted to ask you... how do you write an "Affidavit of Same Person"?

I dropped a portion of my birth name in my marriage certificate and in all my records here in the USA BUT my passport from my country of origin still has the complete birth name, so it looks like I need to do it too. 

Thank you!

Hi everyone, thank you for the great ideas! I'm a September filer too.

I have a few questions:

• Is a Surgeon General visit required for I-751? Or will a standard doctor's visit be enough? 
• Will I also need to get new Tdap, MMR and Varicella shots? (I first had mine back in my I-129 application on December 2018.)
• Due to COVID-19 and my spouse having significant risk factors/co-morbidities, we chose not to travel. What else can I provide as proof of comingling besides residence- and financial-related documents?

I'm so confused with what's going around online and figured this would be the best place to ask.

Thank you!

19 hours ago, lcl said:

Hi mjoyceb, I have the similar situation/problem. I don't know if I should do another medical exam or risk any delays if they are going to require it later on anyway. Although, as of now, I have only received a Courtesy Letter from USCIS stating that they have not received Form I-693 and that this should be submitted either when RFE is received or shown during the interview.

 

I tried asking through the USCIS online customer service -- see below screen shots of my conversation. Note that although this is through "Ask Emma" Virtual Assistant, they connected me to an actual customer service agent to answer my specific questions.

1. They are telling me that Form I-693 needs to be submitted when requested.
2. I also asked why they did not accept DS-3025 even if it was within the time frame -- they said that I should read the instructions of Form I-693 as there are certain parts of the I-693 that still needs to be submitted. Does anyone here  know what part exactly needs to be submitted? Because from my understanding, you don't need to submit Form I-693 at all because it is accomplished by a USCIS-authorized doctor. My DS-3025 was properly accomplished, I believe. I didn't think I was required to do another medical exam as I was able to meet the following requirements:
   • I was admitted as a K1 visa
   • I filed Form I-485 within one year of an overseas medical examination 
   • The panel physician did not find a class A medical condition during my overseas examination

So right now, I just need to wait for either the RFE or the interview notice and figure out if I should do another medical exam or risk not having it done again but get delays later on. 

 

Thanks for sharing and for going through all that trouble! I personally hate consulting the virtual assistants of government agencies because they usually just spout the party line and don't know about the policy manuals. 

On 11/13/2019 at 10:23 AM, Ethan & Shannon said:

I went to my AOS interview last week, they had my medical that I completed for my K1. Did you receive a copy of your DS3025 to ensure it's filled out correctly? That might ease your mind. You should be fine, the vast majority of people do not need to redo their medical. 

Hi. I have my DS-3025, everything reflects my vaccines except for the flu shot which I received this September. Fingers crossed I will not need to redo my medical.

15 minutes ago, GioRod said:

I am going to share my experience really quick I'm from NYC my wife had her interview at 26 federal Plaza everything went Smoove she stated it was a good interview had no doubts. Until boom at the end she said I can not approve your wife she needs new medical records I was shocked since it was submitted within the year. So I went got the new medical records took them in the following week as she did tell me the faster you bring in your results the faster you get your approval. Fast forward its going on 5months I have not heard nothing back I called all they can tell me is wait it really sucks. So if I were you I would go prepared with a new one like that it will not cause delays.  hope this helps a bit

Thanks for sharing your experience! I'm so sorry to hear about this too. Hopefully it gets sorted soonest. 

So far I have two testimonies confirming that a full medical exam under the I-693 is now required. Sigh. 

4 minutes ago, Loo1 said:

Want to share our experience with you, because we don’t want anyone to be put in our position.
I had my medical in Ireland in March. We submitted the DS3250, just to cover all basis with i485. We also brought it to our AOS interview but weren’t asked to produce it as the officer ‘had everything she needed’. We got RFE on Saturday for I693. Over the last 2 days I’ve spoken to 3 USCIS reps who can’t understand why it has been requested as my medical is in date. They also can’t answer if we should resend the DS 3025 or get a new medical as it came from the field office and all they can see on their system is the RFE letter we got. Wouldn’t you know, you can’t contact the field office. I called the recommended doctors office in the city I live, they told me that lately, a lot of people are being made get new medicals even though original medicals are in date. They can’t understand it.
We feel our original medical and DS3025 were lost. We’re in the situation now where we have no choice but to pay for a new medical. 
Insist they take a copy of your DS3250 at your interview, because the situation we’re in now is so frustrating and draining

Well that is just crappy.

Thank you for sharing your experience all the same!

I am so sorry to hear about this though, and I really hope it gets sorted.

Hi all, thanks for replying to my first post. And I'm sorry for being rude, I guess we applicants have no agency anywhere. 

I just received my letter for interview appointment (December 3). The checklist attached to it lists the I-693 form as the very first requirement. I've attached it below with my personal identification details removed. 

However, I keep seeing posts where people are saying it's not required.

Can anyone specifically from the July 2019 filing batch confirm/deny this? I personally think that we need to keep ourselves constantly updated of these changes, which is not what I see in these forums. 

I also have a pretty good DS-3025, having taken the exam at end of December 2018 and most of the required vaccines taken on January 2019. I was only lacking the flu vaccine on that form because it wasn't flu season, but I got my shot at the nearest Walgreen's this past September because I felt like I was displaying flu symptoms (thankfully it was just a cold). 

Thanks!

On 11/10/2019 at 7:27 AM, Cata&Ben said:

 

Hi Brandon

 

The USCIS website indicates that if you enter the United States as a K1 holder:

https://www.uscis.gov/greencard/fiancees

"Note: If you received a medical examination before being admitted to the United States, you may not need to have another examination but you must still show proof that you complied with the vaccination requirements. See the Form I-693 Instructions for more information"

 

The proof that you complied with the vaccination requirement is the form  DS-3025 that you submitted to USCIS when you filed I 485. 

 

Therefore, you do not need the form I-693.

 

And, if you didnt present these documents to USCIS, they would have sent you a RFE because it is a requirement. 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Cata and everyone, I beg to disagree. I am an August filer, and I received my I-797C request for initial interview letter (is this the RFE?) at the end of October.

The I-797C form lists that we need to provide our I-693 now. I've attached the scan below with my personal details removed.