MexicoExpat

Yea, we ended up doing a walk-in this morning. They did ask us to wait behind the people with an appointment (about 10 people) but they were really understanding and gave us no push back.

My wife filed her N-400 recently and within 2 days was assigned a biometrics appointment. We just received the notice in the mail today and her appointment is in about 2 weeks. 

Problem is, she is 9 months pregnant and ready to give birth any day now, though the birth could be just a few days before our appointment. Either way, we won't be able to make it. The baby will be only a few days to 2 weeks old and it is our first - we know we won't be prepared for such a big outing to the USCIS office an hour away from our house at that time. 

I'm trying to reschedule online, but it's only giving me the option to push it back another week, which still isn't enough time.

I've tried calling the number in the notice numerous times to try and reschedule, but every time it just directs me to the website to reschedule. If i keep pushing to talk to a real person, it will just tell me it will hang up on me if I continue to ask for an agent or will hang up on me for that reason. 

What are my options here? We don't want to abandon her naturalization application, but we had no idea this would all happen so quickly - we thought there would be a few months before the first appointment. 

Should I just wait as long as I can before the appointment to reschedule it as far out as it will let me from that point? Potentially reschedule it again after that if we need more time?

We're having nightmare flashbacks now to the whole green card process we went through and how everything was so rigid and inflexible - this really isn't what we need right now during such a high tension time. I get this is our fault for filing so close to the birth, but this seems like the type of thing where we should be able to have a little more flexibility. 

7 hours ago, OldUser said:

If you don't have proof (receipt) of AR-11 request, treat it as if you never filed it.

 

I'd update the address now and in few months after moving. Both times - AR-11. If you were moving in 3 days, I wouldn't bother, but few months is significant amount of time in my opinion.

 

On N-400 use the latest address after you move.

 

Make sure to update driver licenses / state IDs to match that address.

 

 

Thanks, I thought more about it last night, and we will just both update our address with USCIS today. The way I'm seeing it is if I hadn't done it before, then we're making things right. If we had done it before, then maybe it looks weird in their system, but we had already done the right thing, and if ever question we aren't in the wrong because we already did the right thing at the right time. 

I was operating under the assumption that we would need to specify a date of our move on the form, but upon checking the forms I realized it doesn't ask that. If it did, it would put us in a position of either needing to admit our fault or misrepresent the date of our move. I know the severity of misrepresenting information and would not do so, but it's a moot point anyways as the date isn't asked for. 

The problem is I can’t remember if we both actually submitted our change of address when we moved the first time. The move was also out of state, to the state we are now and will be applying for her citizenship from. She will need to be a resident of this state (she already is) for 90 days to apply for her citizenship here. 
 

We will be moving again, within the the same state we are now, right before we are eligible to submit her documents to apply for citizenship, at which point we would both need to update our addresses again as well. 
 

Not being able to remember if we ever submitted our first change of address from the previous state and not being able to verify the current address anywhere leaves me with a few options. 
 

1. Update our address to where we are now as if we never did it when we first moved. The risk is that we had already done it and it triggers something strange in the system

2. Do nothing until we move again in a few months and update our addresses then. The risk is that if we hadn't done this before when we first moved, then USCIS wouldn’t see her as a resident of this state for 90 days and any proof that she was puts us in violation of not updating our address. It also delays when we can apply. 
 

I just can’t believe there’s no way to check what address they have for us or to see what forms I’ve submitted with them before and on what date. 
 

Maybe there is a way I can request a form to be mailed to me? I can still receive mail from the previous address, so wherever it arrives would be my answer. 

My wife is getting all her ducks in a row to naturalize (she is a current legal permanent resident). We have moved since arriving in the US and will move again just prior to starting the naturalization process. 
 

For the life of me, I can’t find any proof that we have submitted the first change of address to USCIS. We both have USCIS accounts set up and forgetting to do something like this is not like us at all. I don’t think we’ve forgotten, I just can’t prove to myself that we actually have. 
 

Is there any way to check and see the address that is currently on file for us? If it’s not updated then I know we need it to update to immediately. But I don’t want to update it if it was already updated 2 years ago correctly. 
 

Is there any where we can check this to put our minds at ease?

My wife entered the US yesterday and everything went smoothly regarding her entry. When we arrived home, we realized that there is going to be some difficulty with her receiving some types of mail in her name.

Basically anything delivered as letters by the post office addressed in her name will arrive just fine. But packages and anything delivered by a carrier like FedEx or DHL currently will not. Our apartment complex uses a system called Luxer which are code-automated lock boxes for octave deliveries. However you can’t just create an account, it’s tied to the email address on your lease agreement. Landlord is out of town and says he will add her when he’s back in a couple month, so no real quick fix here. 
 

We basically only need her green card and social security card, plus any other correspondence USCIS or the government wants to send along to us. I do understand that the green card and social security card will be coming from two separate entities, though I’m assuming (hopefully correctly) that since they are government agencies, things will be sent through USPS and delivered in the regular mail. 

Just want to be prepared in case we need to do anything specific to increase her ability to receive all types of mail while waiting for the landlord to add her to the lease more officially.  

We entered the US today successfully and without issue. They did not mention anything related to this issue at all. 
 

They gave us back the medical packet and said it was ours to keep. They did not take our X-rays that were on a CD and said those were ours to keep also. 
 

We checked what was in the medical packet and the class B was indeed related to the marijuana use, and while they did inflate her usage in the report, she was deemed in full remission. 
 

There was an attached psychological report that did make a recommendation for her to attend a drug rehabilitation or narcotics anonymous program, however nothing of this was mentioned by the officer. 
 

Would this mean we are fully in the clear on this issue or could we expect to be called in later? We are considering continuing with our original plan to take a trip outside the US, but if there’s a chance they do contact us we would of course not want to be too far away. 

19 hours ago, HRQX said:

Even if an employer uses E-verify she should still be able to start employment: https://www.e-verify.gov/faq/my-employee-applied-for-a-social-security-number-ssn-but-has-not-yet-received-it-what-should-i "If a newly hired employee has applied for, but has not yet received his or her SSN (e.g., the employee is a newly arrived immigrant), attach an explanation to the employee’s Form I-9 and set it aside. Then create a case in E-Verify using the employee’s SSN as soon as it is available. If you are unable to create a case by the third business day after the employee’s first day of employment, select Awaiting Social Security number when prompted by E-Verify."

Wouldn't it still be an issue for her to get paid? She can work, but not get paid without a SSN, correct? 

My wife is set to enter the US this week, and we are quickly realizing that the SSN is going to be the real key to truly starting her new life. 

She'll need it to get her license and to be able to get a job (technically can work without it but most employers will want it).

For a couple of reasons, we need to get a jump on her being able to get a license, buy and register a car ASAP. 

Can anyone share their experience of how long it's currently taking now for new entries? We checked the box on the DS-260. 

I'm seeing a lot of reports on here about delays, but of course a sub-forum topic like this will have more people reporting about SSN delays than them arriving on time.

We'll also need to take a 1 month trip outside the US around 5 weeks after arriving - so reading about people having to set up  in-person interviews is not reassuring - even worse with people saying they need to mail in their original passport. That would be her only form of ID and proof of legal residence in the US, we're not sending the orignal anywhere; 

So I've spent literally the entire day looking into this, and I don't think there's going to be any easy way for us to get set up easily right when we arrive. 

Most of the issue hinges upon the social security card arriving - which could certainly happen in 1 week, though I've heard reports of it taking up to 3 months. 

With the SSN, we can get her a state ID in Florida, and even if she can't provide 2 proofs of residence right away, there's an affadaivit available that will let me do it for her by providing her marriage certificate. With the license, she would have then have 2 photo ID's (passport and state ID).

We are pretty much completely stuck for opening her own bank account. They want 2 photo ID's and will only accept her passport as a non-US ID. Which basically means that we can't open a bank account for her until she gets a state ID. Even after we get her added to the lease (which could take a long time until the landlord feels like getting around to it), we still would not have another form of proof of residence. The state ID can't act as the proof of residence when it is also the proof of identity. 

I've contacted the utility companies we use at our residence and they said we can certainly add her, but it could take 2 billing cycles to reflect. 

I never imagined it would be this difficult just to get started getting her set up with simple things like a license and bank account, thought it would be much more intuitive upon arrival. Many of the things they are asking for a newly arrived immigrant simply doesn't have. 

Thanks for the suggestion we will do that. They certainly wouldn’t be official documents but hopefully enough of them could help our case. 
 

could it potentially work to show documents proving my address there, plus our marriage certificate? Or does it need to be exactly her name at exactly that address?

We will also be getting a joint account, but she definitely wants her own accounts too ASAP so she can start applying for credit cards and building her credit. 

The issue is less about having access to any bank (she is already an authorized user on my CC) but about being able to get the documents she needs to be able to start all other processes that will follow. 

2 minutes ago, Melc said:

Have a look at your state requirements. 
Up in Maine they also accept affidavits of other residents. 
 

I’d also avoid a Real ID one, for now, if possible. Those have a higher threshold in terms of what can be needed to apply for one. You can always get it later. 
 

I just got a state ID card with the SSA letter. 
 

If you have a bank account/credit card in the US already, you could make your partner an authorised used. The letter with the card is generally addressed to the authorised user. That also allows your partner to get started on their credit score. 

She is already an authorized user on my credit card but unfortunately when the statements come her name isn’t included. 

3 minutes ago, Melc said:

If all goes well, she’ll receive her SSN in about a week after entering. (If you ticked that box on the DS-260)

 

the letter from the SSA makes for a great proof of address.  

That's reassuring as I've been reading it could take up to 3 months. 
 

having the SS card and accompanying letter would definitely be a big help and would be 1 proof of address. 
 

will I just need to bite the bullet and wait for getting more? A license or even a non-drivers license (faster than going through the driving test process, which we will still do ASAP) seems to still require additional proof of address?

Thanks we will do that - is this worth mentioning these errors (primarily mother and fathers names being switched, as it sounds like her alias is normal) at POE? 
 

Or only address it if they ask about it?

Hi, 

My wife was approved for her immigrant visa and we will be entering the US on it this week. 
 

We are excited to get started getting her a US bank account and starting the process of getting her drivers license among many other things. 
 

All of the things we want to do in order to get her new life started, appear to require a proof of address. 
 

We will be staying with a family member temporarily - I am already on the lease agreement at this address, although my wife is not. It may complicated to get another person added. 
 

We are also open to paying a couple of the monthly utility bills for this family member and putting these utility bills in my wife's name. 
 

None of this seems like it will be a quick process though - I imagine the name change on the utility bills wouldn't reflect until the next bill comes out. 
 

We ideally would like to get started on setting up things for her new life in her first week in the US, though it seems we would likely need to wait about a month until she could get all of these documents.  
 

Our situation can't be that uncommon - what are other people doing? Just waiting a bit longer until they can get these docs? Or is there another way?

We were able to het in touch with the doctor today. She was confused by it and said everything was fine during her medical exam and that my wife was told by the doctor already all information that was relevant to her case. Really hoping this is all just a big error and we enter quickly and easily. 

12 minutes ago, payxibka said:

Not a uscis document,  why are you contacting them?  If If you are compelled to talk to someone it would be the consulate.  However,  nothing you mention is anything to worry about 

AIS gave me the number of USCIS to contact about this. As I said, they are wholly unhelpful, it was a supervisor who advised me to contact them. 
 

is this just not an official document so not something to really worry about?

Should she mention the error to CBP at the POE? We did check her DS-260 just to be sure the error isn't on our end and it all shows correctly on her DS-260. 

My wife received her IR-1 visa on Friday, along with a large yellow packet and a smaller yellow packet attached with her medical results. Taped to the front of both of them is a white paper titled "Immigrant Data Summary". 
 

we noticed a couple of errors on it

1. The lines for her mother and father's first names have their answers reversed. Her mother's first name is in her father's field and vice versa

2. It includes an alias that we did not list on her DS-260. We did include two aliases on her DS-260 due to her countries naming structure, though we did not add this one. The alias that is showing is all of her names except the last one, which has been replaced with "DE MYLASTNAME". I'm thinking the "DE" was added because we are in Mexico but she did not ever take my last name on any official documents. 
 

I've contacted AIS who are generally wholly unhelpful at answering any real questions and they said if there's an error on the visa itself we need to send it backroads the consulate but they couldn't say what we needed to do when it was on the Immigrant Data Summary. 
 

I also contacted USCIS and got a recorded line who directed me to the tool section of their website for a section to correct a typographical error in a document. This was not a document type I could select though. 
 

my wife and I have had a very rough time with this whole process and having the immigrant visa in hand, it's unfathomable to think of sending it back. I don't even know where to send it anyways. 
 

is this something that isn't even an official document like the IR-1 visa is? Am I overthinking this and we'll just be fine? 
 

My backup plan is just to have my wife email the consulate explaining this and then enter the US and bring proof that we've already contacted the consulate and are being pro-active about trying to correct the errors. 
 

We are flying Friday morning, so only have 3 days to sort this out if it needs sorting out. 
 

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated. 

There’s also a larger problem we are now worried about that seems like we may be stuck between a rock and a hard place upon entry where she is medically admissible but criminally inadmissible. 
 

“

However, continuing with the example of an applicant who admits to past recreational drug use such as marijuana, a more serious consequence of the admission exists.

Depending on exactly what the applicant admits to during the medical examination, and what the civil surgeon or panel physician explains to the applicant about the illegality of  drug use, the applicant may be inadmissible under INA 212(a)(2)(A)(i)(II).  This section of the INA states that an applicant is inadmissible if he is found to have admitted “committing acts which constitute the essential elements of . . . a violation of (or a conspiracy or attempt to violate) any law or regulation of a State, the United States, or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)).”

Notice here that mere admission of drug use that would constitute a controlled substance violation is enough to make a person inadmissible.   A conviction is not required.  There is no waiver available.”

https://www.smartimmigrationlawyer.com/drug-use-inadmissibility/

Thanks for this but a couple questions: 

1. We do not have that annotation in her passport about the IV docs, although we do have the yellow packet (2 separate packets, one clearly medical) and a paper immigrant data summary. Does that change your answer at all?

2. we actually don't have a new address, our plan was to rent an Airbnb for a couple months while checking out a new city. Not sure if they would take that address or not since it won't be permanent. 
 

3. maybe our plans are just too ambitious and this is much more important to het sorted out first. In which case we would just need to go directly to what's listed as our final destination. But when would she receive some sort document that shows her living at that address?

To answer your other question, no she doesn’t have a history of depression, self harm or anything else. The only issue she has ever had in the medical exam is related to marijuana. 
 

I know we just need to deal with this now, but the whole thing is completely insane to us. She has smoked marijuana less than a handful of times in her entire life. Nobody who knows her would describe her as a drug user. Going to all these lengths for a few times having tried weed in the past just seems so outrageous and unnecessary. It’s also shocking that no one else has ever received an annotation such as this on this forum. Marijuana is a common thing, seems it should come up more often. 
 

Even in the first medical exam the doctor said he didn’t think she was an abuser but did not give her a sealed packet but did give her a note with a recommendation for counseling if the interviewing officer required it. 
 

Second interview went great and she received her packet. She hadn’t used marijuana since before the first interview and confirmed she had no desire to ever use it again. We thought we were in the clear when she received her medical packet and it wasn’t brought up during the interview. 
 

our entire process has been a complete nightmare. At no point of the process, have we ever been able to just feel relieved and happy about our progress. Even receiving her passport with visa back form the consulate was only 5 minutes of joy before we saw this annotation. Sorry, I’m just venting at this point, but my wife has been treated incredibly poorly by the US gov throughout the entirety of all her dealings with them, ever since her first tourist visa application. 

Thanks for this. I truly couldn’t find anything online with people with the B classification that wasn’t related to TB. Only documentation from the US govt saying class B for drug abuse means in full remission. 
 

another thing to overcomplicate things - things have changed a bit for us and we are no longer planning to move to our final destination that’s on on our DS-260. This isn’t misrepresentation of any sort and we are still able to move there if absolutely necessary, but some family related issues will make that non-ideal. 
 

would we be able to request at the airport to be referred to to a physician closer to the airport at the first port of entry as opposed to the final destination written on our DS-260? 
 

If we need to do multiple

appointments in the area of our final destination, this will massively disrupt our plans and lives and almost (but not quite) make the move to the US itself

not worth it in the end. 

My wife received her immigrant visa and sealed yellow packet today, after what has been a very long process for us. 
 

She has 2 annotations on here immigrant visa. First is a 221 (g)(2)(B) which I understand is a waiver for not needing a vaccine, which seems strange as her doctor during the medical never mentioned not needing a specific vaccine, but this isn't really the part we are worried about. 
 

It's the class B we are worried about. I've been reading up on it but most results I find are related to tuberculosis, but they all have a "TB" included along with the class, which our annotation doesn't. Nothing unusual was discovered during her medical for TB either.
 

during her first medical exam (before covid) she admitted to past but seldom marijuana use and did not receive a sealed packet from the clinic when she was done. Our interview ended up being cancelled due to COVID, and we just recently re-took the medical and had our visa interview. She did receive the sealed medical packet during her second medical exam, and the interviewing officer did not inquire about her marijuana use. 
 

I'm thinking the class B is almost certainly related to the marijuana use and have read that class B indicates full remission. Pretty silly IMO for someone who has smoked pot less than a handful of times in their entire life, but that's another story...

the real question that I have here, is what we can realistically expect at the POE from USPHS? I understand a class B doesn't make her inadmissible but is there any chance they find her inadmissible upon further questioning? Or face any obstacles at the POE? She does not currently use marijuana and has not since before the first medical exam.

It also seems like people with this type of annotation for TB have some things they need to complete shortly after arrival. We had been planning to arrive and spend a week or so in the US before visiting my wife's family in her home country (US is between our current location and her home country so logistically makes sense) for a month or so before returning to the US. 
 

Now we're not sure if we'll need to really be around for some type of further screen or counseling or something. Making it really difficult to plan our arrival. 
 

any advice would be appreciated.  

Does anyone know the answer to the above question? 

We are going insane knowing that this mistake is all on the consulate's end and there is nothing we can do but wait.