Heidi9292

1 hour ago, NorthByNorthwest said:

First part is incorrect, travelers of any nationality are exempt from needing a Mexican visa if they have a valid US visa, so assuming OPs parents have a valid B1/B2 visa for visiting her in the US they can enter Mexico without visa.

 

The other part is correct, OP should be fine with expired GC+I-797 extension.

 

Yeah, all of us have B1/B2 visa and my parents have been to the US as well. But mine is technically invalid since I am a GC holder now. Though I doubt MX has access to this information.

1 hour ago, Timona said:

You cannot use a US BI-B2 to enter Mexico. Mexico has nothing to do with it.

 

And Mexico does recognize expired GC + extension letter.

No, Mexican government clearly stated on their website an extension letter is not accepted. There are cases people get by but there are cases people got denied (https://thepointsguy.com/news/expired-green-card/). In my case I do not want to take the risk.

See regulation here https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/washington/index.php/servicios-para-extranjeros-visas?id=182

My GC expired this September. With my parents visiting us this winter, I want to bring them to Cancun for a few days. 

I have only realized that MX does not recognize my GC extension letter and I will need a visa to enter after I booked the entire trip. I am not against getting a MX visa but it is pretty much impossible to schedule an interview with them.

I have an old B1/B2 visa that is still within valid date, however, in my understanding this visa is voided since I was granted my LPR status.

I am wondering if I can enter MX with this B1/B2 visa since there is no void stamp on it. I am hoping that Mexican border control would not see my US status if they check my visa number. I have been to Mexico once with my previous GC tho.

Usually I would just go there and try out, but I really do not want to leave my non-English speaking parents on their own in Mexico while I being deported back to NY.

On 12/19/2020 at 3:40 PM, SusieQQQ said:

I guess I don’t understand why there is such a rush, but ok 

Well this is a reply to an RFE (because we originally filed in early Sept when i944 was paused). We also need to resend our i864 form since we made a couple of mistakes the first time and missed some tax documents.

Unfortunately, my husband's company will have a major layoff soon and he could lose his job at any time in early 2021. If he lost his job, we both are going to lost our health insurance and he might not be eligible for sponsoring me. He works in IT so eventually he can find another job and be a qualified sponsor, but it could take months in this economy and then we will miss the reply deadline. That's why we wanted to get the documents delivered to USCIS in December, so at least when we filed everything we said on the form was true.

On 12/18/2020 at 3:10 PM, SusieQQQ said:

Unfortunately, a hard lesson to learn , chalk it up to experience (and learn the lesson that if something seems very cheap compared to the competition it’s always worth closer inspection). Both posts above have sensible suggestions. WES seems accepted by everyone, I know there are one or two others of similar reputation.

I did use WES 6 years ago when I applied graduate schools in the U.S. However, I was still in college when I applied, so that evaluation only covered 3 years of my undergraduate studies. The only downside for WES is their delivery time is too long and I need to get the form delivered to the USCIS by the end of the month. I eventually found another NACES approved service and they are even willing to use my own translations for my credentials. It was only 30 bucks more expensive but much more professional.

Form i-944 requests applicants  to evaluate their oversea degrees. I did my research and came across some recommendations on USCES (source: reddit), aka the U.S credential evaluation service.

Their website looks professional, their online customer service react very fast even after business hours, and they claim their evaluation has 100% USCIS approval rate. What's even better is they have reasonable price for rush service and they are willing to work with photocopies. They have nice review on trustpilot and review.io. They even have an office in New York. So I decided to give it a try.

I ordered the two business day service, which includes a certified translation of my Chinese credentials and a general evaluation report. I paid at 9 am. but they won't count the day I paid as the first business day. I thought ok I'd wait. From their online system, I can see they romanized my Chinese name wrong. I contacted the customer service to change it, they asked me to provide evidence so I gave them my passport info and my u.s driver license. 

During the wait I started to google more about this company. On LinkedIn I found out most of their employees are living in Philippines. Their New York office is no longer in use, the NY office phone number now belongs to a music production company. They claimed their headquarter is in Laredo, Texas, but I found multiple companies, including a construction company, under the same address. Their texas office phone number also belongs to another evaluation service called crediteval. 

I started to rush them since I no longer trust them and I haven't received anything after 24 hours. They were supposed to send me the first version of translation to review, before they proceed to the evaluation. After I got the translation, I only got more angry. Whoever translated those documents definitely don't speak Chinese. They translated "higher education" into "high school education." They translate Bachelor of Arts degree into Art Degree diploma. And, they still have my name spelled wrong. My B.A degree from an accredited university became a high school diploma according to their translation. Honestly, google translate can do a better job.

I complained at their customer service and left a bad review on review.io. They blocked me from their website. I can no longer chat with the customer service. I got my refund from them tho, but the whole process is a waste of time and energy. I also feel sick because some sketchy company has all my personal information.

On 11/28/2020 at 3:03 PM, MiloPR said:

Hi everyone,

 

Has anyone been in a situation of not including the high school diploma because of already including a diploma or transcripts for a higher degree? I have a foreign high school diploma, however I went to college in the U.S. for a few semesters and my transcript lists "Standard High School Diploma" under external degrees (since they had to accept my high school diploma in order for me to register for college). So I am considering relying solely on my U.S. college transcript as evidence of completing high school, because otherwise I would have to spend more time and money getting an equivalency for my foreign high school diploma.

 

Also, I plan on using these transcripts to prove my language proficiency because I took English classes during college, would that be alright, considering I am not a native speaker?

 

Thanks in advance.

I'm in a similar situation. I got my M.A degree from a U.S university but did my B.A and high school in my home country. I was able to find my B.A documents and got them evaluated, but I couldn't find any high school documents. I am going to submit the I944 with only my M.A and B.A evidence and write a note at the end of the form, saying my high school diploma is lost and the school cannot provide documents for me since I graduated 10 yrs ago, but to be admitted by an accredited university you have to have a high school diploma therefore by logic I have high school diploma.

23 hours ago, James120383 said:

so its really not online where the bride is in Australia and Groom is in Idaho 

yes, the whole process was online, but the couple have to be in the same room in NYC(since this is a NYC project). We got married in my husband's home office, while our officiant was in vermont, one witness was in florida, and one witness was in their own home in nyc. It was quite an experience to get married while wearing flip flops.

On 10/20/2020 at 4:37 PM, gregcrs2 said:

What do you mean you "GOT MARRIED ONLINE"?

the previously explanation by misscloud was correct. We live in New York City where the marriage office was closed since March But, governor Cuomo had a special order for couples in New York to get married online. We met up with a city clerk via zoom and got our digital marriage license. Then, we scheduled a private video call (and the call need to be recorded) with our officiant and witnesses to get married. We e-signed the license and other possible documents, and then upload it with the recorded video to a website. We received our marriage certificate via mail in about 2 weeks. To do this, we need to be in the same room during the video call, but officiant and witnesses don't have to.

On 10/20/2020 at 3:35 PM, JFH said:

The petitioner nerds to contact USCIS to get the petition withdrawn as the benefit is no longer being sought. 

got it, thank you, will let him do this

22 hours ago, Misscloud said:

I under assumption that the OP got married in USA with her partner...she said she entered USA on February 

correct. We live in New York where the marriage office was closed since March. But the governor has this special order for us to get married via zoom, but the couple still need to be in the same room.

I haven't been here for a while.  I entered the US in February with b2 to escape coronavirus (I feel a bit stupid to say that now) and be with my fiance (now husband) in this unstable time. We received my K1 approval in April (NOA2) . With things got worse, we decided to get married directly. We had to wait because the whole city was in quarantine, finally we got married in August online (talking about being modern, yay!).

I didn't think about the K1 for a long time since I no longer need it. It just hit me today that I never received anything from USCIS after the NOA2. No package, no phone call, nothing. I still have my Chinese phone number active just in case they get in touch with me. But I have nothing.  I already filed my adjustment of status as an American citizen's spouse. I am just not sure should I ask about my k1 or cancel the application somewhere?

thanks in advance

NOA1 OCT 30

REF March 2 2020 (forgot to check on box)

Replied to it on March 8th

Got NOA 2 notice from app, it says case was approved on March 18th. Happy but also confused, don't know how to proceed in this time of madness as I know US visa service now are closed.

8 hours ago, ShibaYuri2428 said:

 

 

We received our NOA2 on Jan 17 and got notice via tracker website that The Guangzhou Consulate has received it before Chinese New Year.  

 

I was also worried that the virus would pause this process for a very long time, but at the same time the Consulate Website only notes extended leave from Feb 3- 7:  https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/u-s-citizen-services/security-and-travel-information/

 

If they stopped visa services, they would send a notice on the website.  Moreover, they emailed me 2 hours ago that they are doing pre-interview processing and we'd get P3 in the next few weeks.  See the below screenshot I took just now. 

 

So I assume that their backlog is pretty huge now after a 2-3 week break, but will still resume service as normal.  The more they stop working, the more behind they will get scheduling interviews, etc. and no one wants that unless it really is a dire situation. 

 

I'm also checking Guangdong cases everyday and the wiki shows that their confirmed case #s are dropping on a daily basis, which increases the chance that Guangzhou won't stop visa services -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2019–20_Wuhan_coronavirus_outbreak_in_February_2020#Case_statistics

 

Overall, I do think things are stabilizing a bit.  We're still seeing getting thousands of new cases everyday, but it's not exponentially growing and the cases outside of Hubei are decreasing.   This week is critical as people start working this week again, so there's a chance the cases will tick up.  We'll see... 

 

The most updated version is all regular visa service will be closed from Feb 10th. If you already have your NOA2, I suggest you to ask about extension just in case things are not getting back to normal in the next few months.

On 2/6/2020 at 11:50 PM, jd_malachi said:

I am monitoring the situation very carefully, I received my NOA2 on January 30 and currently waiting on NVC processing.  My fiance lives in Beijing, I am hoping it does not get as bad as Hubei province.  We are going to do as much as we can leading up to the interview phase, then wait and hope.  The visa approval from USCIS is only good for 4 months so I am hoping that exceptions will be granted if people can not get interviewed in that time period due to the consulate being closed for safety concerns.

Beijing was not as bad as Hubei, I lived in Beijing as well. I was supposed to start a new job in Beijing after the Chinese New Year.  America already temporarily suspended their visa service from Feb 10th (read here: https://china.usembassy-china.org.cn/mission-china-regular-visa-services-temporarily-suspended/). You also can only do k1 interview at Guangzhou consulate and the situation in Guangzhou is much worse than Beijing.

Hopefully you guys can work things out sooner than later. 

20 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

Are you on a B visa?

 

Honestly?  In your position, I'd stay put.  Like you said, there are no US flights into China at the moment, and trying to get there via other routes is not guaranteed either.

 

You could either marry now and AOS, or just monitor the situation and make a decision before your current allowed stay expires.

 

Best wishes to friends and family back in China, btw.  I've been keeping tabs on WHO data, and the situation is pretty shocking to say the least. ❤️

Thank you. So far me and my fiance are quarantining ourselves at home, just in case we are infected but haven't show symptoms (it is sill contagious during incubation period).

I will start thinking about seeing an immigration lawyer if things in China are not getting better. 

21 hours ago, Lemonslice said:

If you are currently in the US, you could get married and adjust status.  You would be "stuck", unable to work or travel for some months, but you would be in a similar situation if you entered on the K1.

 

AOS is possible on most visas, just make sure it is for you.

 

Look at the guides for more information.

I'm on the B visa so not sure how risky this would be. We are trying to follow the rules with the K visa but I will talk with my fiance if things in China are not getting better in the next month.

So my fiancé filed k1 for me in October 2019, now we are waiting for our NOA2. From what I see in this forum, October people are getting their NOA2 now! 

I came to the U.S when the coronavirus situation went out of the control and planned to go back after the situation gets better. In the past few weeks, It seems things are only getting worse. The consulate in Guangzhou was shut down and American diplomats are being evacuated from China. What if my NOA2 arrived before everything in China backs to normal? Considering this outbreak will probably be on for months (I heard a lot of terrible stories from people I know in Hubei, all of them insist things are much worse than what the media says), is there anyway to file a special request and let me have my interview in the U.S or other consulate like Canada? America is also banning foreign citizens that has been to China to come to the U.S as well. It seems very risky for me to fly back. The flights between two countries are also jeopardized by this outbreak, I could even not be able to board and fly back in the next few months. My visa are valid for 6 months which means I can stay until August. Hopefully by then we already figured a way to solve all these.

Are there any other Chinese cases here and what's your plan to cope with the situation?

It is a bit too early for me to worry this but I like to do something to reduce my anxiety.

I conducted a criminal background check with FBI in April 2019 for other purpose because I lived in the U.S from Aug 2015 to June 2018. In Sept 2019, we decided to jump all the nonsenses and just get married and live together.

I was browsing the required documents for k1 visa interview and saw that criminal background check from countries I lived for more than 6 months after 16 years old is required.  I emailed the U.S embassy here and they told me the report for countries I used to live in should be able to cover the duration of my stay and report for country I am living in need to be done within 12 months before the interview. My FBI report sounds enough,  I never stay over 2 weeks in the U.S since 2018. However, I'd like to know about others' experience here and learn about your guys insights on:

1. Do I need to get a more updated report from the U.S? It is kinda expensive since last time I spent over 100 usd to get my fingerprints took by professionals and another 30 usd for international shipping, plus that 18 usd FBI application fee. 

2. Does FBI identity history report is enough or I need something from the local police (where I lived back then).

Thanks

just want to update with people who are traveling during the holiday seasons.

I arrived on Dec.20th late night and the custom in nyc was easy. The lady was more concerned about things I need to declare (sugar, candy, cookies). The first question she had for me was: you sure you only have these items right? If they found any veggies and fruits you would come across a lot of troubles. I confirmed with her that I don't have any items she mentioned. She looked through my passport, while writing on it she asked do I have friends or family in here. I told her I have friends since I studied aboard here and I also have a bf which I think as my family. She nod and said "enjoy your holiday" and let me go.

I guess for people who have a good travel history, your K1 doesn't influence your entry at all. I travel in between China, the U.S and Europe a lot and I never violated any rules. I also only stayed no more than 2 weeks for each visit. For people who are not confident about your entry, try to make it shorter (you can always change your flight later), you will mostly still get 6 months for B2 visa holder. However, 2 month visit could raise doubts since most jobs are not that flexible.

good luck everyone

40 minutes ago, JFH said:

This!!! I do get tired of those (not on this forum so much but elsewhere) who say “all you need to say is ‘vacation’, nothing more”. Us young, single, females traveling alone over holidays going to residential addresses in random towns with no hotels or touristic value (and making multiple visits to that same address - remember they keep the address you write on the blue customs form on file) will never get away with saying “vacation” and leaving it at that. You WILL be asked further questions. They’re not stupid. You might get away with it if you’re going to a major tourist hot spot, if your fiancé happens to live in Manhattan, Las Vegas, Orlando, etc. but for those going to Smalltown, Nebraska..well, CBP agents are not stupid. 

 

It’s not illegal to have an American partner. It’s not illegal to visit said partner. It is, however, completely illegal to lie. 

Well, he does live in New York City, not Manhattan but within five boroughs. My question is more about, do I have to change my answer due to the K1？Because my usual answer never got me in any trouble.

1 hour ago, Duke & Marie said:

He’s not your friend anymore, he’s your fiancé I’d recommend using that term... but be ready to prove intent to go home until k1 processed... eg, carry rental lease, return ticket, job or employment leave confirmation... 

I understand that. If I say I am here to visit my friend, it would be a lie. However, I am asking do I have to point out I am visiting my American citizen fiance and celebrating holidays with him? Should I keep that information to myself until they ask "who are you celebrating with?". Because in the past they never ask who I was visiting (considering I lived in there before, it is natural for me to visit after I moved away), or why I chose nyc for holiday/vacation. So I am not sure would I get myself in trouble if I mention this American fiance before they ask.

1 hour ago, billding said:

Fiance not friend

Gray area. Some say for vacation and never run into any problem. Keep in mind that come the k1 inteview, adjustment of status, and even beyond, they can access your records and know what you said at POE. If they think there's a misrep, they can deny you and in the future deport you.

 

You do realize you're not guaranteed entry right? It's possible that you'll travel halfway across the world only to be denied entry

I understand that. Like I said before, I have been to America multiple times and lived in NYC before. I studied and worked legally in the US, I had my SSN, driver license etc. Even it is not guaranteed, I would not worry about entering the US with my travel visa if I don't have my K1 filed. I did this many times before, for work, for fun, with my parents, with boss, on myself etc. I never violated any rules or overstayed my visa. I have a good history up to now.

I am not sure should I say I am here for a vacation with my fiance or I can still say I am here for a vacation. Would I get myself into unnecessary troubles by mentioning my fiance first?

30 minutes ago, billding said:

Lie and you'll be banned for life .

It's not lying, it's not like when they ask me why I am here I say I am here to visit a friend. I'm just saying usually they ask me pov I told them I'm here for vacation and that's the end of the conversation. Sometimes I say it's for work because I do have to travel to nyc for work despite my relationship status.  I mean can I do the same or I should point out "I am here to spend the holidays with my soon to be family in laws."