AmericanSoldier

You can always make an info pass appointment in Frankfurt. It looks like you can email them, too. I don't don't how responsive their phone system is. I've sure they've dealt with many of these military type situations. Also, JAG should have a access to a USCIS liasion who can help you.

I hope this all get straightened out for you. It seems having to make a trip back to the U.S. for a stamp should not be a requirement for a military spouse.

Thanks for serving,

-Thai Mom

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=of....statecode=Rome

Yea I emailed them them with my questions and awaiting a responce ...hopefully they can help. I will approach JAG and ask them thats a good point. Thank you all for the help.

Hopefully we will not have to make a trip all the way back to the U.S. for this, but apparently that may be so according to the miltary help line. I will continue to dig into this.

Hello everyone,

Heres some updates to my issue. USCIS Frankfurt contacted me by email and said that I will need to do is get a transportation letter within 30 days of leaving here issued by them. Just need to bring supporting evidence which includes original orders bringing me and my wife here from the U.S. Glad I kept a copy of those.

Also was contacted by the Vermont Service center with the help of the Military Help cell out of the Nebraska Service center. They are mailing me my biometrics forms to be completed on base. They also stated that if there is enough supporting evidence for our case an interview may not even be needed.

Looks like everything is falling into place. Thank you all for the help. Hopefully this info will help others in the future that are going through the same issue.

You can always make an info pass appointment in Frankfurt. It looks like you can email them, too. I don't don't how responsive their phone system is. I've sure they've dealt with many of these military type situations. Also, JAG should have a access to a USCIS liasion who can help you.

I hope this all get straightened out for you. It seems having to make a trip back to the U.S. for a stamp should not be a requirement for a military spouse.

Thanks for serving,

-Thai Mom

https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=of....statecode=Rome

Yea I emailed them them with my questions and awaiting a responce ...hopefully they can help. I will approach JAG and ask them thats a good point. Thank you all for the help.

Hopefully we will not have to make a trip all the way back to the U.S. for this, but apparently that may be so according to the miltary help line. I will continue to dig into this.

I will have to look at the form again but I thought you had to include a fingerprint card with I-751s filed from overseas. Perhaps someone else can correct me. You don't get another extension letter. If the letter is expiring she needs to get an I-551 stamp placed in her passport. I don't know if this can be done at a Consulate or if she needs to schedule a trip back to the US for this.

Yea I thought that as well as I was going to follow the instructions on the form. I called to verify this and I was told that the biometrics would be done at a later time. It also states this on the extenstion letter. There is alot of gray areas on those forms. Got an answer from the military help line by email and they said to schedule an appointment for the biometrics with the service center and take leave to accomplis before the letter expires. Apparently according to them the interview can only be done in the U.S.

Hello everyone,

Maybe some of you have had some experiece with this so here goes and thanks ahead of time for the help.

Me (active duty member) and my wife (military dependent) are stationed at Wiesbaden Air Base, Germany.

Recently we filled the I-751, received the one year extenstion letter. To date we have not received an appointment for the interview or the biometrics. I have already sent them (Vermont Service Center) two passport style photographs as requested in the mail.

I inquired with the Vermont service center and they stated that our case was on military hold and we will not be able to accomplish the interview untill we return stateside upon notifying them of our return.

The extenstion letter is only good for one year. We will be in Germany at least 3 years, possibly moving onto Korea on a follow on assignment.

Not exactly sure if it is possible to accomplish the interview and biometric requirements at the USCIS in Frankfurt. Can this be done?

If it can not be done, how do I get another extension letter for a longer period of time so there are not problems on her entry into the U.S. in the very distant future.

550014x.doc

Here are some instructions on the process. Good luck.

Sir,

Thank you so much for the detailed info. I will definitely looking into this.

Much Respect,

Adam

The military member should get a DD form 1278 from their unit commander. This form is then submitted to the near USCIS office to get expedited citizenship processing for the alien spouse.

Wow,

Thanks I am definetly going to bring this up to my chain of command. Thanks a bunch.

Adam

P.S. Don't worry about the residence issues for citizenship. They don't apply to active duty military spouses.

Everyone,

Thanks for the advice and support. I will follow up with passports/travel and get some inputs from them. I am sure everything will be okay as I am not the only soldier that has had this issue.

Will follow up later.

Adam

Hello all,

I talked with travel and they said although she has a non U.S. Passport she can still get a SOFA stamp. Her passport will not be stamped, but there is a special card that they stamp to place inside her passport while traveling. She is allowed this because she is green card holder on military orders.

Thanks everyone.

Adam

P.S. Don't worry about the residence issues for citizenship. They don't apply to active duty military spouses.

Everyone,

Thanks for the advice and support. I will follow up with passports/travel and get some inputs from them. I am sure everything will be okay as I am not the only soldier that has had this issue.

Will follow up later.

Adam

Hello all,

Does anyone have any experience about how the process would work for a Non U.S. Passport holder traveling to Germany on Military Orders.

She is a conditional permanent resident in the United States.

Does she need a Visa? Schengen Visa is that the term???

Or will she be able to get a SOFA Stamp? I have heard that she can not as she is not a U.S. Citizen.

Hopefully there is someone out that that can give me some inputs because I am stressing here.

I will follow up with military travel/passports tommorow. I am glad that I am paying attention because no one on base to date has said one bloody thing about this.

Thanks all,

Adam

Hello everyone,

I wanted to get a jump on things early and not wait to the last minute to prepare this paper work for the I-751. I am in the military. Me and my spouse will be in Germany when the readjustment paperwork is sent. I am following the instructions pursuant to military dependants residing overseas.

From reading the instructions a couple of questions came to mind. Maybe someone who has been through this process can clarify things from their experiences.

1) Its asking for two passport-style photos for applicants. Does this mean just two for my wife since she is the permanent resident? Or for both of us since we are processing this form jointly?

2) Its asking for two completed Fingerprint cards for applicants and dependants. Once again does this requirment only apply to my wife since she is a permanent residence or both of us since we are filling jointly?

Also two FD-258's per person?????? Am I reading too far into this or is that # accurate.

I assume they are having us do the biometric requirements ahead of time as we are overseas.

Also since the fingerprint cards are done ahead of time would we be requried to pay the additional biometrics fee of $80.00 along with the filling fee?

I am looking around on base to see if there is a place that finger prints can be done. Any other resources out there that you recommend? Someone told me the police department can do it, but I am not sure if that is authorized by the USCIS.

Thanks so much ahead of time. Have a great weekend.

Adam

Hello all,

Just as simple question. Maybe someone on here knows.

Can my wife renew her thai passport early in the United States, as opposed to doing it upon expiration.

I would like to get this knocked out state side as opposed to waiting for it to expire and doing it when I get stationed in Germany.

We are going to do it there at the Embassy in person on my leave. I dont want to mail it and risk it getting lost.

Tried contacting the Thai Embassy in Washington D.C. by email. No follow up from them and I dont get an answer on the phone.

I will keep trying.

For anyone that has had experience with this as well.....what documents do we need to bring with us to the Embassy to get the renewal done.

I am tracking a copy of her Thai househod registration or Thai Identification card, a $50 fee, and her current passport.

Thanks ahead of time for any inputs.

V/r

Adam

Adam,

Has she considered getting her US Citizenship???

With your orders she should be able to have expedited citizenship

Sarah

Sarah,

Is there a link you can send me to check out the information for this. I will continue to dig and research this option.

Thanks for the heads up.

V/r

Adam

Hello all,

Just wondered if there was someone out there that can clarify something.

My spouse will be traveling to Germany on orders with me in 2009.

According to military travel all they said I needed was her passport which is valid untill May 2009 with a SOFA Stamp. She also has her permanent residence green card.

Reason I am asking this is because the Thai Embassy in Washington D.C. stated she will need a visa too????? I just verified again with military travel and all they said she needed was the SOFA Stamp which gives her permission to stay in the country. I am just concerned because I was getting two different stories.

Her travel time will be between Febaury to April 2009 depending of if it is concurrent with my travel.

Also if we were to renew her passport in Germany what is the best way to go about this? We will be in Smith Barracks around Baumholder Germany. What is the closet place to get it done?

Thanks for all the help. This community has always been a great resource for information.

V/r

Adam

Hello everyone,

Maybe someone can answer this question. Is there someplace in the United States that my wife can renew her Thai Passport as its getting close to expiration? Just for the future time for personal travel. More specifically Texas as that is where we are now.

She is not a U.S. Citizen yet so she can not get a U.S. Passport as far as I know.

But on the other side of that coin, I am in the U.S. Army so we will be applying for a passport for official travel when we PCS to Germany.

Not sure what kind of passport the Army will issue, but I am pretty sure that is just used for official travel and not personal travel.

Any help would be great.

Thanks all,

Adam

Hello, Adam,

May be you can contact the Thai Consular in the US?

For Malaysians, we can renew our passport through the consular office in the US, in person or by mail.

Leah

Hello again everyone,

Thanks Leah.

Just talked to the Consualr branch in Washington D.C. They said that I could process the paper work through them, but to wait until the end of May as there will be services availiable in Texas at that time. Not sure if that is accurate but I am verifying this and will follow up for those of you in Texas.

Adam

Hello everyone,

Maybe someone can answer this question. Is there someplace in the United States that my wife can renew her Thai Passport as its getting close to expiration? Just for the future time for personal travel. More specifically Texas as that is where we are now.

She is not a U.S. Citizen yet so she can not get a U.S. Passport as far as I know.

But on the other side of that coin, I am in the U.S. Army so we will be applying for a passport for official travel when we PCS to Germany.

Not sure what kind of passport the Army will issue, but I am pretty sure that is just used for official travel and not personal travel.

Any help would be great.

Thanks all,

Adam

I have lodged a I-751 from germany,.completed, and have a 10yr g/c to show for it,....any questions just ask,..

LOL, I was just about to follow up with you as your name was mentioned above. Congrats by the way. Did you have to do an interview for this or was just the paper work necessary? I was just told that the interview is not always necessary.

Adam

Hello everyone.

I was looking ahead into the future time and came to the realization that me and my spouse will be in Germany on military orders at the time of our 90 window to file for permanent residence with the I-751 form. She has a conditional residence green card which is good untill June 2009.

How does this work for those outside the United States on military orders? And at what office do we file?

Thanks for the help.

Adam

Hi Adam,

Please call the US Military Immigration Helpline

USCIS has established a toll-free military help line, 1-877-CIS-4MIL (1-877-247-4645), exclusively for members of the military and their families. USCIS customer service specialists are available to answer calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (CST), excluding federal holidays.

They will give you all the information you need, and are extremely helpful. You will speak with USCIS directly and there will be no 'messing around'.

Once you get your information, can you please post it on the Military Spouses Thread, so that it can help those in your situation in the future.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=111988

Goodluck,

Sarah x

Sarah,

Your an angel thank you. Thanks to everyone else as well.

Talked to them at USCIS. I was told that we will go ahead and file the I-751. At that point my wife will be issued an paper that will give her temporary green card a one year extension. Upon approval of the I-751 of course. I was also told to send a copy of my orders bringing me to Germany along with the rest of the supporting evidence. At that time the USCIS will make a choice as to if we or just my wife has to travel back state side for an interview.

Does anyone know if the interview process for this is ever waived or is it necessary every time for being granted true permanent residence? Its a pain to have to travel back to the United States upon getting to Germany and I am not sure if my chain of command would allow me to do that. Hopefully the USCIS will work with us.

I am sure I will cooked up more question and give those folks a call.

Adam

It is actually quite common for there to be no interview, and I am sure USCIS would not make you do something that the US Military didn't want you to, so don't worry on that end

Sure hope so. I will send them a mound of supporting evidence of our outstanding relationship so there should be no doubts in their eyes anyways. That would be awesome if they were so understanding of our situation. Thanks for the fast reply.

Adam

Hi, I'm Sarah and thought it may be good to start a thread specifically for Military Spouses.

I didn't see one anywhere else on the site, and thought it may be a good way to start some form of support network which incorporates our different set of stresses, to those whose partners have normal jobs.

I met my US Army Husband online when he was in Iraq originally back in 2005, and when he returned we've lived with him being a Reservist, but he goes Active again in a few weeks.

With the current climate of things, it's a little worrying .... I pray there's no deployment, again.

At the moment, I'm separated from him, in England, while we go through the I-130 process which we started in January 2008.

I'm sure there are a few Spouses (and for Fiances for that matter) on here which are in difficult situations regarding their partners involved in the Military, while they too are on their own personal visa journey's, and are finding it harder than normal as they are not attached to or able to access their 'Family Readiness Group' as yet, till they reach the US.

Hence, attempting to start a form of one for us here.

Not sure if this was a good idea, but I didn't think it could do any harm.

Good luck to us all, and I hope we all have a speedy reunion with our Beloved One who is part of the defense structure of the country we will soon be calling 'Home'.

Sarah x

p.s. The link here is for the Military specific immigration hotline (with real people to talk to), which may be of use to some of you http://www.military.com/military-report/im...ESRC=miltrep.nl

Hello All,

Here is an issue I am comtemplating. Maybe some of you can add to it. Have found some answers, but still more question. Read on........

Hello everyone.

I was looking ahead into the future time and came to the realization that me and my spouse will be in Germany on military orders at the time of our 90 window to file for permanent residence with the I-751 form. She has a conditional residence green card which is good untill June 2009.

How does this work for those outside the United States on military orders? And at what office do we file?

Thanks for the help.

Adam

Hi Adam,

Please call the US Military Immigration Helpline

USCIS has established a toll-free military help line, 1-877-CIS-4MIL (1-877-247-4645), exclusively for members of the military and their families. USCIS customer service specialists are available to answer calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (CST), excluding federal holidays.

They will give you all the information you need, and are extremely helpful. You will speak with USCIS directly and there will be no 'messing around'.

Once you get your information, can you please post it on the Military Spouses Thread, so that it can help those in your situation in the future.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=111988

Goodluck,

Sarah x

Sarah,

Your an angel thank you. Thanks to everyone else as well.

Talked to them at USCIS. I was told that we will go ahead and file the I-751. At that point my wife will be issued an paper that will give her temporary green card a one year extension. Upon approval of the I-751 of course. I was also told to send a copy of my orders bringing me to Germany along with the rest of the supporting evidence. At that time the USCIS will make a choice as to if we or just my wife has to travel back state side for an interview.

Does anyone know if the interview process for this is ever waived or is it necessary every time for being granted true permanent residence? Its a pain to have to travel back to the United States upon getting to Germany and I am not sure if my chain of command would allow me to do that. Hopefully the USCIS will work with us.

I am sure I will cooked up more question and give those folks a call.

Adam

Hello everyone.

I was looking ahead into the future time and came to the realization that me and my spouse will be in Germany on military orders at the time of our 90 window to file for permanent residence with the I-751 form. She has a conditional residence green card which is good untill June 2009.

How does this work for those outside the United States on military orders? And at what office do we file?

Thanks for the help.

Adam

Hi Adam,

Please call the US Military Immigration Helpline

USCIS has established a toll-free military help line, 1-877-CIS-4MIL (1-877-247-4645), exclusively for members of the military and their families. USCIS customer service specialists are available to answer calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. (CST), excluding federal holidays.

They will give you all the information you need, and are extremely helpful. You will speak with USCIS directly and there will be no 'messing around'.

Once you get your information, can you please post it on the Military Spouses Thread, so that it can help those in your situation in the future.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=111988

Goodluck,

Sarah x

Sarah,

Your an angel thank you. Thanks to everyone else as well.

Talked to them at USCIS. I was told that we will go ahead and file the I-751. At that point my wife will be issued an paper that will give her temporary green card a one year extension. Upon approval of the I-751 of course. I was also told to send a copy of my orders bringing me to Germany along with the rest of the supporting evidence. At that time the USCIS will make a choice as to if we or just my wife has to travel back state side for an interview.

Does anyone know if the interview process for this is ever waived or is it necessary every time for being granted true permanent residence? Its a pain to have to travel back to the United States upon getting to Germany and I am not sure if my chain of command would allow me to do that. Hopefully the USCIS will work with us.

I am sure I will cooked up more question and give those folks a call.

Adam

Hello everyone.

I was looking ahead into the future time and came to the realization that me and my spouse will be in Germany on military orders at the time of our 90 window to file for permanent residence with the I-751 form. She has a conditional residence green card which is good untill June 2009.

How does this work for those outside the United States on military orders? And at what office do we file?

Thanks for the help.

Adam

Than

Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to collect some information from the members here. I have gotten alot of good info here in the past.

My wife is going to Thailand to visit her family and is exiting on a Green Card.

That being said she should be able to reenter the United States with no issue using the Green Card as well?

Her Green Card was received after she entered with a CR-1 Visa.

Thanks for the help.

Adam

Green card and a passport, sure. Absolutely, provided she doesn't stay away longer than a year without a re-entry permit.

Thanks that what I thought. I just checked on the USCIS as well and they are tracking the same info. Have a great day.

Adam

Hello Everyone,

Just wanted to collect some information from the members here. I have gotten alot of good info here in the past.

My wife is going to Thailand to visit her family and is exiting on a Green Card.

That being said she should be able to reenter the United States with no issue using the Green Card as well?

Her Green Card was received after she entered with a CR-1 Visa.

Thanks for the help.

Adam

Hello Everyone,

My wife just immigrated to the United States last week. She is awaiting arrival of her Green Card and Social Security Card.

Is she authorized to work now or does she have to await arrival of those items?

I assume she would need her SSN for hiring purposes and taxes before they would allow her to work.

I have read that the paper that was stapled to her passport (1550 - correct me if I am wrong on the nomenclature) upon entry is a temporary Green Card of sorts.

Anyone have clarification?

If that is a temporary Green Card do most employers accept that for hiring purposes?

If I am missing anything in regards to items needed for employment let me know. I know the high school diploma could be one of those items.

Do employers take high school diplomas from schools in other countries, specifically Thailand?

I am also working on making her a decent résumé.

Thanks for the help.

Adam

Hey I live near Austin, but I am not Asian.

Hello there,

Shoot me an email to adam dot perrin @ us dot army dot mil

Than we can start cooresponding. I am looking for some nice people that my wife can spend some time with as she has no friends here yet other than my family. Your race is not important, it just that my wife's English is a little rough right now so its hard for some people to understand her. But yea if you are looking for friends why not. Lets chat. Thanks.

Adam

Hello Everyone,

Well good news. My wife was able to immigrate to Texas on her CR-1 Visa. She is living with my mother who owns a bakery and my father who is a police officer. My wife for now is staying busy helping out my mother with her business and around our farm, but she has aspirations of finding another job as well which I support. (Its not all that bad for her as she is a tomboy herself and was raised in the country LOL).

She also has to get her drivers licsence. She drove a little in Thailand, but has relied on public transportation most of her life.

She has picked up on the English language pretty quick in the last three years through my turtoring and sending her to school in Thailand, but still has a ways to go. She speaks Chinese fluently and some Korean as well. Are there student driver classes for international students that are not totally comfortable with the English Language?

She is very culture shocked right now as she moved from Busy Bangkok to the quite country. She is accostomed to a busier lifestyle. She is very independant hard worker. She is a very skilled seamstress, a certified massage therapist in Thailand (I sent her to school to learn) and is awesome at cooking. She would love to find some work, possibly start her own business. The point is she does like to be bored just sitting at home. She is the type of person that wants to be productive all the time. She wants to get out and work as she has been doing that all her life.

She came to the United States to fullfill her entry requirements. Only time will tell if she ends up moving back to Thailand to await my return. I would like her to stay and learn as much a possible about the United States. But its hard for her right now because she fills out of place as some of you might be able to relate to.

I am trying to be supportive and helpful to her as possible. But I am limited on what I can do as I am deployed to Iraq in the Army. My parents have been a great help, and are trying as best they can as well. My family loves her and she has a very good relationship with them. But on the same token she still is homesick and misses her culture.

She wants to make some asian Friends. Someone she can relate to and learn from. I think her stay there without me would be much easier if she found some friends from the same cultural backgrounds.

If there are any in the area drop me a few lines, lets chat and possibly I can introduce you to my wife.

Also are there any Asian support groups in the Area?

If she were closer to the base I am deployed from (Fort Hood) it would be a different story as there is always a large asian community around military bases. Since she is immigrating to the United States for the first time and I am not there, we all agreed it best she stay with my parents while I am gone, which is some distance from Fort Hood.

Thanks for the help.

Adam

P.S. Currently my wife is living near Austin and San Marcos Texas.

Adam