CzechMate

On 7/20/2020 at 12:04 PM, CzechMate said:

Hi all,

 

      My wife had her citizenship interview this morning at 10AM at the Greer, SC field office.  She passed her interview and civics and reading/writing tests with no problem.  When we started to leave they told us to hang out for a few more minutes. Another lady was just finishing up her interview.  About 10 minutes later they called my wife and this other lady back and the lady at the reception desk called me over and had me look back through the glass.  My wife and this other lady were taking their Oath.  While it certainly wasn't the big ceremonies you see on TV, I was just as proud.  Our long journey is finally over.

 

I sincerely have to Thank the mods and admins here on VisaJourney.  Honestly I don't know if I could have gotten us through this whole process from K-1 to Citizen without you folks.  God bless you all and may you keep doing what you do for a very long time.

 

My son drove down around 10AM this morning.  He interviewed with the same interviewer as my wife at 2PM.  He had the usual interview reading, writing and civics.  They went over his application to verify and clarify and that was it.  He passed the interview and took his citizenship oath 10 minutes later. Same as my wife, he left there with his Certificate of Naturalization and a little American flag.

I prepared his and my wife's paperwork to take with them.  I included:

Must have:

1) Interview Invitation Letter

2) Alien Registration Card (Green Card)

3) Passport

4) Medical Mask

5) Black Pen

Nice to have:

6) Copy of the Application

7) Drivers License

😎 Social Security Card

9) A copy of the foreign birth certificate and translation.

18 hours ago, Sukie said:

A hearty congratulations to your wife AND to you.  As the USC part of our marriage, I know I struggled through the process as much (or even more so, since I did all the paperwork) as my spouse did!

 

Hooray!  Get that passport application and voter application in!

 

Sukie in NY

Do we need to do anything with her Social Security card/number?

19 hours ago, juancarlos said:

Congrats!!! I am checking your timeline and I am surprised how fast the immigration processes were back in 2007!! At least the ones involving immediate US-relatives. Not like nowadays 😪

HI,

        Yes looking back it seems pretty quick but then again, I was sure to triple check all Applications and forms and I had VisaJourney to help me out and do it right.

Funny though, way back then, while we were going through it, it seemed like it took forever.

11 hours ago, Dayv said:

Thank you! I live near Charlotte so, I 85 is the main highway. 

I noticed you went with you wife, are visitors allowed due to COVID? My mom wants to go with me. 

Please do share about your step son's interview process.

I was only allowed to go in because I am the one who prepared her application, but I was only allowed in to the waiting area. Our daughter in law was also with us and she had to wait in the car.

Remember to take you mask and a black pen.

All this is on your Interview letter from USCIS.

If you have to take 85 the whole way then leave early so you can arrive early and have a a bit of time to calm your nerves before you go in.

7 hours ago, Dayv said:

Congratulations! 

was it a quick interview? Mine is next month. Based on 5 years/US Citizen Parent.  Also, for the CIVIS test some of the questions have multiple answers, you only need to provide one, right?

Look here for the study guide we used: https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/questions-and-answers/100q_largeprint.pdf

Some questions have many possible answers so its good to know as many as you can.  Some questions ask specifically for one, two or three answers from a list of answers, like "What are two rights from the Declaration of independence?" and you have to give two right answers from the list of three possible (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness).

For the most part, the officers in Greer,SC are good friendly folks just remember to breathe and stay calm and follow their instructions. My wife's interview took about 40 minutes and the Oath ceremony about 20 minutes. So relatively quick.

Interstate 85 is in terrible shape so i recommend going the longer route with less traffic and way fewer potholes.

My step son is in the same boat you are and doing his interview next week on the 29th.

Best of Luck to you.

Hope it helps!

11 hours ago, HRQX said:

That is correct for EAD cards. Even my very liberal state (California) does it. Note that @CzechMate's wife and step son have green cards for more than a decade: https://www.visajourney.com/timeline/profile.php?id=33676 As green cards holders, they should have SSN cards that don't have the DHS restriction wording.

Yes correct, their SSN Cards are unrestricted.

My wife and step son had citizenship interview appointments scheduled already for April before the office closure. Both we're subsequently "de-scheduled".  Their green cards expire in July.  Anyone care to guess if they will be eligible for deportation then?

You could always go to the ASC in Syracuse.

Thats conditions for the visit from CR to USA ?....how does it apply if USA citizen wishes to visit CR?....i read the question as it is the USC who overstayed in CR and wishes to visit CR

Visit to CZ is still pretty much the same with a few exceptions. You can go and stay for 90 days. Unfortunately because of the Shengen treaty, the 90 days now applies to all teh Shengen zone. So what the means is that you can only spend 90 days every 6 months in the whole Shengen zone. So no more stay 90 days then going to Poland or Austria to reset you visa clock. You do still have the option of flying to the UK every 90 days though.

CM

The sad thing is that Canada has already lifted the visa requirements for Czechs but the Romani are abusing the program and going there and overstaying and filing for asylum. Canada is already looking at requiring visas again and its only been 5 months. Check it: http://www.radio.cz/en/article/102141

You can bet the US State Department and DHS/USCIS are watching that like a hawk.

CM

Here's the question - for the approval time frame 1/10/08 to 5/9/08 how realistic is it to believe that my fiance will actually be on a plane by 5/9/08?

Big congratulations!!!!

Ive you've got NOA2, you should be planning in weeks not months. The whole embassy process in Prague goes VERY fast.

Take a look at my time line and you'll get the idea. Basically, from NOA2 to Prague is about 2 weeks then another week for them to mail the papers to the beneficiary. After they get the papers, you call the embassy switch board and schedule the appointment then start filing out more paperwork.

So realistically, the "get on a plane" date can be more like end of Feb/early March.

Take care,

CM

Social Security doesn't write employment law. Congress does.

Yes, the K1 is authorized to work. But the PROOF is an EAD. Social Security is permitted to give work authorized folks a number. But that number alone does not authorize the work!

Ok guys, here is a final word on this for what its worth from an employer (me) who just went through this with a K-1 (my wife).

SSA has nothing to do with Employment Authorization other than to issue a K-1 SSN.

K-1 are authorized to work for the 90 day period of their I-94. Beyond that they require an EAD even if they are in process of filing an AOS.

Most employers dont even understand the immigration process let alone the process for a K-1. For them you need just a photocopy of your K-1 Visa page, the ID Page and I-94 from the passport.

CM

Hello VJer's:

My fiance is Czech and living in Ireland. I'm wondering if any of the Czech's have had to request the police certificate from the Czech Republic while living abroad? How did that work - what did you do? I'm hoping that this isn't something that will take a long time.

Thanks for your input.

-Wendy

Hi Wendy,

You can request it through the nearest Czech embassy, for us in the US in New York or Washington. We didnt actually end up needing one so I dont know how long the process takes. Hope it helps.

CM

Whoooo Hoooo!!! Biometrics appointments letters arrived today..... 01/08/08.

Kind of curios though, I was sort of expecting an RFE. Do those usually come before or after the Biometrics appointments? Im definately okay with not getting an RFE, just thought Id ask.

CM

To quote from the I-485 Instructions:

8. Fiancé(e)s.

If you are a K-1 fiancé(e) or K-2 dependent who had a medical examination within the past year as required for the non immigrant fiancé(e) visa, you only need to submit a vaccination supplement, not the entire medical report. You may include the vaccination supplement with your adjustment of status application.

So things to point out here:

1) You "may" include the vaccination supplement... -- May does not indicate a requirement

2) There is no mention anywhere in any of the form instructions that a civil surgeon is required to do anything.

3) There is also no mention of Form I-693A on any of the instructions for any of the forms.

Not arguing with folks that have gone through this already but USCIS is leaving a lot of room for interpretation here. The embassy took all the papers we had including the vaccination forms from the K-1/K-2 medical exam, so theoretically those are already in our packet at USCIS waiting for our AOS application.

Got to love federal ambiguity

CM

I attended my wife's interview at the embassy in Prague. Totally painless. Couple questions about our papers and I think one about how we met. Apparently he thought it was romantic that we met in a train station in the Czech Republic (there are only two) and asked which one. His staff had a bet going on which one it was. It was all good and I wont say fun but close.

CM

Hi folks,

Add us to the list of December filers. Dropped the packets in the mail about 45 minutes ago for my wife and my stepson. Let the waiting begin.... Whoo Hoooo.....

CM

Hi folks,

Well its almost tax time. Oh Joy. Of course that brings its own set of questions and it looks like Im the first to throw this out there.

My SO just got her SSN but they didnt give my stepson one. So how am I supposed to put him on the 1040?

CM

Okay so we never got a DS-3025 or else we handed over to the embassy. What can we do now?

CM

Just making sure before I drop the packet in the mail.

My spouse (obviously the K-1) is $1010 and her son (the K-2) another $1010 for a total of $2020.

Correct?

CM

Yeah, they did the same to us. Now we're scrambling to get a new vaccination supplement before we run out of time.

Hi Folks,

Down to last thing before we send in our AOS packet, the I-693A. We managed to find the form, but at the embassy, they took everything from the pre-interview medical. All we have left is her non USCIS shot record which the pre-interview Docs didnt annotate.

So what do we put on the I-693A?

Thanks in advance for the reply's.

CM

It depends on your state laws. In most cases you just have to follow the procedures for filing for divorce or annulment for an absentee spouse. Go to your local family court, they'll have a guide book maybe. Otherwise you could go pay an attorney about $1500.00 and let them handle it all. Generally if you file for an absentee divorce, you just have to post it in the local newspaper and he has 30 days to contest, if not, then the court will grant your divorce.

Anyhow, its different by state so like I said pay a visit to your local Family Court or law library theyll tell you waht the real deal is.

CM

ITS OVER!!!!! Showed up to court, waited 20 minutes, went in to see the judge and walked out 5 minutes (if that) later. My ex-wife failed to appear, probably because she didnt want to have to face the possibility of a perjury charge. Anyhow, it was totally dismissed with a warning to my ex-wife that if she interfered with me and my fiancee again that I had the right to submit a criminal complaint and another warning to my ex-wife that if she wasted the court's or the local police's time again she would be found in contempt.

Anyhow, my honey is coming to the US on the 17th so life is good.

CM