bpg123

On 9/3/2020 at 10:06 PM, URMYE said:

Does my wife need a SSN in order to submit for AOS?  I am under the impression that she needs a SSN in order to get health insurance for AOS.   

You do not need health insurance for AOS. It helps your case that you are not going to be a public liability but if you have the necessary funds to cover the costs of health issues than that is not the case. That said, you do not need a SSN for health insurance so I would recommend getting it. 

3 hours ago, silvertruck said:

@waiver is coming @bpg123 I called USCIS today and looks like I would need to undergo biometrics first before I can request to expedite my EAD. Here's an excerpt on what they said in their email response:

 

Our records indicate that we are awaiting your appearance for biometric processing. Your case is currently in suspense or on hold until we receive your biometrics.  Your application information has been entered into the system which schedules applicants for biometrics at their local ASC. Once you have been scheduled, you will receive an ASC Appointment Notice containing the date, time and location of your appointment. You must take the ASC Appointment Notice and photo ID to your appointment. You may request expeditious processing again once we have received your biometrics.

 

Also, the agent listed a handful of valid reasons when you can request to expedite - 1) significant financial loss, 2) there is some business need to keep you in employment, 3) there is an interest from the government, 4) and if. there has been a mistake on the USCIS side

 

My ASC is in Newark, NJ and USCIS said that this office has an average waiting time of 90 days from the date they reopened - July 13th.

 

Do you have a formal job offer?

4 minutes ago, Ayrton said:

It can take from 1 week to 1 month...

Yes I am aware. I am wondering from people who have completed the process. Thanks though......

I arrived on via K1 end of March and all SSA office were closed thus I couldn't apply before my I-94 expired. When submitting I-765 I chose the box for them to send me an SSN automatically. I expedited my EAD and received my combo card today. It says that the SSN card should arrive within 6 business days of the EAD. For those who have gone through it during Covid, are they arriving within that window? I have heard at times there can be delays and looking just looking to get an idea so I can let my employer know.

Thanks!

13 hours ago, silvertruck said:

@waiver is coming @bpg123 when you sent your expedite request for EAD, have you already had biometrics? I'm still waiting for my biometrics appointment for 5 months now, so thinking if I can do the same request.

Yea I had my biometrics in August as well. I would call them as I didn't submit my AOS until June 22nd. If you try to expedite the case there is a chance they may notice you haven't had your biometrics and go ahead and schedule it. 

4 hours ago, waiver is coming said:

Congratulations! How long did it take them to expedite? I faxed my offer letter on Thursday and I haven't heard anything back since then. Also, would mind sharing some details as to what you included in your cover letter?

Thanks! I received the fax information on Tuesday, faxed in Wednesday and they approved on Friday afternoon. On my letter I just included my job offer and stated that I had a bachelors degree that I wasn't currently using, I need to take a few certification exams before I can start my career however I am unable to afford the exams/study materials without income. Accepting this position would give me the resources to take my certification exams and start my career.

On 9/18/2020 at 11:49 AM, waiver is coming said:

Have you found an answer to your question yet? I also have an unsigned offer letter, but I am not sure if the USCIS will accept that.

Just an update, USCIS approved my expedite on friday without a signature. The job offer was sent from a company email but no company letterhead or signature and it was approved. 

1 hour ago, Jenerii said:

Thank you for the help! So, in your experience, they were okay with the unconverted currency? 

I am still awaiting my interview but I haven't received a RFE and I submitted 3.5 months ago. That said, there is zero chance anyone from Canada is having their currencies converted on their bank statements. They ask what the value of your assets/debts are in the i944 in USD and as long as you convert there that will be sufficient. They mainly want your bank statements to see you're paying bills, making deposits and the value isn't consistently zero dollars or overdraft. Its more evidence to back up what you are telling them and for them to look for anything really strange. 

22 hours ago, Jenerii said:

That's the thing. The instructions are so vague. It says if I am under 125%, I "may" list my assets to prove I can get by so it seems to imply that if I am above 125%, I don't need to worry about that.

 

We talked it out and we decided to go ahead and submit the 12 bank statements. Our biggest concern at the moment is the cost of translating 48 pages. Could we send the first 3 months to a certified translator then using the translated words for the rest of the bank statements? 

Not sure on the bank statements but it is better to give too much than not enough. My wife (Petitioner) is over 400% and we still included her CDs, checking and savings accounts. We that was sufficient and did not include her retirement and house but better more than not enough. Also remember that the i864 and i944 are completely different documents. Even if you far above 125%, the i944 if for the beneficiary so it still has to be treated independently. Despite the USC income/assets, I still included my assets, credit card statements for 12 months and bank statements for all my account for 12 months. 

Whether you need to translate them all I do not know but all my statements were in CAD and I didn't convert them to USD. If you can look at the statement and clearly see the numbers/value, personally myself with no expertise, I would only translate the 3 and include the rest untranslated. 

56 minutes ago, Letspaintcookies said:

That is absolutely no concern for USCIS. I don't even understand why you have to work in order to have a child. You could stay at home and take care it, no need for your wife to do it except a personal choice.

Cool story. Was just a question but yea, not sure me going a year without a job and then her taking time off for a kid and forcing her to go back to work right away since I can’t work is something that is reasonable. Plus, not sure that bringing a child into the mix outside a strong financial situation is a smart move.

6 hours ago, waiver is coming said:

Have you found an answer to your question yet? I also have an unsigned offer letter, but I am not sure if the USCIS will accept that.

I haven't yet. I am still trying to search but cannot find a definitive answer. Leaning towards asking the employer for a written signed copy but don't want to be an extra hassle if not necessary.

Hello,

Recently filed an EAD expedite request yesterday with a written job offer. I am waiting for USCIS to reach out to send my documents but had a few questions. 

The business send me an email stating the job offer, there name, position with the company and their contact information but it is not on a company letterhead or signed. I understand this is pretty informal. Should I reach out to the company asking for the letter on a company letterhead with a signature or will the basic letter be fine? 

Also, if it is a written job offer, do I need to share other factors why this will cause financial/life hardship? I have a bachelors but to start my career I need to take certification exams. Between taking study courses, exams and materials it will be quite expensive and I cannot afford to cover the costs without a job so waiting for my EAD would delay my career by 6 months or longer. 

Further my wife is in her late 30s and we are looking to have our first child but that is something we are unable to do without me working. Considering the danger/difficulty with pregnancies closer to 40, is this something that I should even mention? Is circumstantial factors such as those something they even care about? 

Thanks for the help in advance. 

Hey all,

I arrived on my K1 in March when all the Social Security offices were closed and they didn't open until after my K1 expired. I sent in my AOS in June and with everything going on I am assuming it will be a while before I received my EAD with SSN. Are there any avenues for getting a SSN prior to the EAD while going through AOS? Really want to get my credit started.

Thanks!

22 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

We live in the jurisdiction of one of the longest wait times for AOS interviews (Seattle).  It took ~14 months to get an appointment.  We were not given a choice of dates or times.

 

After 14 months, we made sure to be there!

Curious, is there a site to check the typical wait times for field offices. Just curious whether the Jacksonville Fl office is historically busy/slow.

1 hour ago, aphr0dite said:

CBP asked to see proof of how much money he had in his bank account. I suppose it was to determine whether or not he could afford a five month long visit, but I could be wrong. I wish he could come visit since the K-1 process will take longer than expected, but I am sure they will deny him entry because we have a pending I-129F which presents intent to immigrate. Thankfully France is offering the laissez-passer for international couples, so I am hoping to visit him in December. 

Obviously unaware of your situation but a pending I-129F doesn't make your situation any more likely to be denied. If its a short trip, not much longer than 2 weeks and he has ties to France, the I-129F shows that you have started the process and you intend to have him come legally. 

That helps your case rather than hurts it. It's when you try to come for longer periods of time that aren't considered vacation along with no ties to home country that the chance of them denying you goes up. 

27 minutes ago, James120383 said:

you can do however you want in your life  but it pretty straight away looks suspicious when it comes to immigration. 

How so? I am unable to work presently while she has a high income. The house is paid off and she pays all the bills, I pay for all my personal expensive and we split the pet items. I paid for half the wedding and honeymoon but that has come from all my personal accounts. Once I am working I will contribute to all the bills but considering the backlogs I feel there is a good chance I will have my GC interview prior to having a work permit.  

18 minutes ago, Bray666 said:

Why did they restrict your b2 down to 10 days? I'm Canadian, so our passports are essentially our b2 visas. Can they still restrict them? How did you get informed of the restriction?

I am Canadian as well. The B2 visa is a privilege, not a right. They restricted me to 10 days so that my trip was short and I was unable to lie and extend. They usually have zero reason to do this but they can restrict your B2 visa however much they like. They told me right after they interrogated me for 2 hours. They ended it with "We believe that you are just going down for a quick trip and not a risk to immigrate illegally. We will however be restricting your i94 to 10 days. (I had a return flight 7 days later) If you don't have a flag, the CBP officers are usually friendly and will give you a shot. Once you have that flag on your account though every single time you cross the officers will be looking at you like you are a potential illegal immigrant, especially considering the extreme backlogs with the K1. They are going to be looking for people to try and bypass the system and get married on a B2.

Hey,

I'm from Canada and met my now USC wife 2 years ago. I recently filed AOS and although a long way off I am starting to think about the interview.

I am a semi-pro athlete, traveller and have an education but have yet to use it thus I have next to zero equity. My wife on the other hand is a CPA who has saved her entire life and has a strong net worth with a house fully paid off. 

She is very financially independent and prefers to keep all bank accounts and financial assets completely separate and we have a prenuptial agreement stating such. She is undecided whether she will change her name however it will not be done before the interview.

We dated for a year, we engaged for a year and are very clearly from an outside perspective a legit couple. We visited each other every months for the 2 years prior to marriage including myself staying with her for 4 months straight. We have taken trips together, honeymoon in Alaska and are best friends. 

Considering she has nothing to gain from the marriage outside of a partner and we have lots of photos/events showing we are a legitimate couple, is the financial separation going to cause any issues in proving a bonafide relationship?

23 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

Uh, CBP can see that a prior attempt was made, and the reason for denial.   They're probs not going to say "on Tuesday you were trying to enter with immigrant intent, but today you're clearly not."

I have been told by CBP officers that if you try again that quickly you are almost 100% going to get the 5 year bar.

57 minutes ago, Bray666 said:

Thank you for a positive outlook! It's definitely a tough journey ahead. When you say proof of funds, does that mean proof of a job or just proof of money to last the 5 months? My biggest fear is getting denied entry and dealing with that. Could a person attempt to get another flight and not get denied entry later that day or week even? From my understanding there is no laws against extending the flight to the max once yous arrive to your destination, hence why I'm asking.

If you get denied entry your account will be flagged indefinitely. I was denied last year as I was going to stay with my fiancé for 4 months while I train for triathlons full time. I had recently gave up my apartment and was bringing my cats with me. All my family lives in Canada, I had a letter from my boss stating that he was giving me four months off work and expected my return. I was completely honest but they didn't buy it. My account was flagged and they threatened to ban me for 5 years. I had Nexus for almost 15 years prior and that was taken away. I ended up speaking with a CBP officer who gave me some tips to visiting with the flag and I was able to fly down a few more times before our K1 was approved but everytime I crossed the border whether in Vancouver, Seattle, Atlanta or Dallas. I was interrogated for around 2-3hours by CBP officers. 

Also FWIW, CBP goes through phases where they give out very few 5 year bans and years where they give them out like crazy. They are currently giving them out like crazy and they are nearly impossible to fight.

Also, if you have a flight for a month later, you are lying and risking a 5/10 year ban but also, they may restrict your B2 visa for a couple days after your return flight. They once restricted my B2 from 6 months down to 10 days and on day 7 Hurricane Dorian was going to make landfall closing all airports nearby. Luckily Dorian turned a corner and the airport opened before my 10 days so I made it home safely. 

Moral of story, play it very carefully as distance sucks, but not sure any relationship could handle 5 years without crossing the border.

I arrived on my K1 last month and getting my wedding license wedding and was going to adjust status next week. Do you think this will affect my AOS? Do I need to speed this up before this is implemented? 

Curious, a California officiant mentions that some notaries have the ability to issue confidential marriage licenses? Does anyone know if this is true and if so, are there any negative implications of a confidential certificate?

11 minutes ago, Forrest Fire said:

I tried getting answers by calling the CBP and they just forwarded me to an automatic recording telling me to go to the Department of Homeland Securities website to answer my questions. 
 

I’m not sure how you were so lucky to get your information but thank you so much for posting it! I’m loading up my cat and all my belonging on a uHaul today with the hopes that they let me through. 

Happy to help! The Montreal Consulate lost my passport so I got my local MP involved a while back and she had a few different CBP contacts she was able to check with so I was very lucky to have her on my side. 

I got confirmation from a few CBP officers in different areas that confirmed as of now they are processing K1s so should be good at a land border as well.

On 3/21/2020 at 9:23 AM, cherrypeanut said:

Here is some new info I found:

 

I am assuming that "valid travel documents" include the K1 visa.

 

Now the problem with entering with a K1 at this point is that most courthouses are closed so it will be a gamble in waiting for those to re-open before your 90 days expires.

I just crossed at 4pm March 23rd at YVR and was in and out. Airports are dead and they are only accepting Canadians with visas so K1 at the moment are okay. 
 

that said, as the last poster said, flights are dropping fast. I was suppose to fly out tomorrow but American and delta did a massive cut of flights so took the next flight out.

you are good to cross but I would leave as soon as possible.