TinTin and Samby
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Posts posted by TinTin and Samby
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Really nice to hear of such a wonerful, positive outcome. I'm happy for you and your wife, Rodrigo79.
Warm Regards,
Samby
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Agamoto,
Sorry for the late reply. Thanks for taking the time to update us on the outcome. I'm sorry you had to go through this #######. I'm glad you acheived your 1 goal of getting all charges reduced to infractions, so that you do not have any (crazy) criminal record hanging over you.
As you saw from your dealing with the prosecutor, they are paid to get GUILTY pleas....its pretty much a stacked deck against anyone trying to represent themselves. The FACTS rarely matter, as you found out, he/she just strong-armed you into the only option he was willing to consider. The system stinks. One really needs an attorney to act on your behalf during these conversations with the prosecutor, as he is the only one that will have any perceived "standing" in the conversation with the prosecutor.
$1000 is a tough fine, but, as you stated, infinately beter than a record. COngrats on that. and Keep the faith!
Warm Regards,
Samby
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And all this cause you want to proof a point??? A bit over the top in my book. I think a serious dose of perspective is in order here. If you go into some low level court trying to plead legal interpretations, you better be all-in for a long ride of appeals (read years and mucho $$$$$$$$$). Heck, more than likely, you wont even be seeing a judge. It will be some kind of court administrator adjudicating 50 cases with about 2 minutes allocated per case. He will have zero interest in looking at anyting in any new novel way. His goal for the day - get through the 50 cases so that he can get to the next 50 cases scheduled for tomorrow.
-Samby
Whoa, what??
Just to prove a point? The point that I'm NOT a resident of California and that I, and other people in the same boat as I am in the future are NOT guilty of a criminal misdemeanor that brings with it a maximum 6 months in jail and $1000 fine? Then yes, you're darn right I'm going to defend myself in such a way. This is a criminal charge, not a ticket for running a stop sign. I'll be in front of a real judge. I don't think my perspective is out of whack at all.
I'll be pleading not guilty, paying my bail money and I'll be requesting a trial by written declaration so I can get my points across succinctly to the judge that reviews the case without even having to appear again. I'll be sure to let everyone here know how that all works out.
Whoa..Yes! The POINT is that this situation is one that didnt need to exist. You ARE a Licensed Driver. Your License is issued from the country where you have (and continue to have, your permanent residence (canada) until such time as you give up that permanent residence location - by a combination of desire (yours) and ability (USCIS approval). People drive every day in states across the USA, including CA, with international licenses. There is zero problem with that as long as that international license is valid. What they dont do is tell the cop that pulls them over that their permanent residence is down the street in the next town, especially since they know that the drivers license they have in their pocket is from Canada.
All that said..I dont wish bad outcomes on anyone and I do hope that the cards will fall in the right place for you and that you will get out of this situation unscathed. As I have read from all of your detailed posts, I can see that you have been doing a lot of research. No doubl one of the things you found out about CA Veh. Code 12500(a) Driving without a Valid Drivers License is that it can be issued as either a Misdemeanor or a simple Infraction. Even if the cop issued the ticket in the Misdemeanor form, the court can modify that to an Infraction variety. Both forms are also able to be deemed "Correctable" by the Court. Although, your ability to "Correct" this problem may be hampered by the timeline required until you get sufficient Documentary Proof for CA to issue you a CA Drivers License.
Good luck to you.
-Samby
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I'd agree with what other people have said. One question, would a conviction under this affect immigration status at all? I wasn't suggesting arguing unconstitutionality (at least not unless it is a last ditch effort), but just thinking/rambling.
Is this in a municipal/traffic court or normal court? Lawyer might be a good idea especially if s/he isn't too expensive. Have you tried contacting some for prices?
One of the biggest problems with just going to Court and arguing it is that you will end up waiting for hours (assuming this is municipal/traffic court like what I've had to wait in the past). Lawyers get to butt in line. Also, they might want to push you off to another date if you want to contest it, etc.
Also, with a speeding ticket if you talk to a prosecutor ahead of time they'll sometimes throw it out. While if you wait until the Court date, at the minimum you'll have to pay court costs. Not sure if the prosecutor will want to talk to a non-attorney ahead of time, but might be worth trying (since prosecutor's typically have discretion in what to prosecute).
You might be able to talk to an attorney and get a free consultation/advice (and only pay if you hire them and have them go to court / talk with the prosecutor). Anyway good luck.
Hey there,
It's regular criminal court, since it's a criminal misdemeanor charge... The 485 does ask if I've ever been dinged with NON traffic misdemeanors, so I doubt that's a big problem... My big concern is problems with insurance and having it on my permanent record... Many employers do only BASIC criminal checks for new employees, some of the cheaper criminal check servicers don't go into details about what the charge/conviction was and simply list "misdemeanor". I'm trying to avoid that.
Yes, I'm going to plea not guilty and then deal with the prosecutor later... Sure hope my bail isn't set at some ridiculous price.
And all this cause you want to proof a point??? A bit over the top in my book. I think a serious dose of perspective is in order here. If you go into some low level court trying to plead legal interpretations, you better be all-in for a long ride of appeals (read years and mucho $$$$$$$$$). Heck, more than likely, you wont even be seeing a judge. It will be some kind of court administrator adjudicating 50 cases with about 2 minutes allocated per case. He will have zero interest in looking at anyting in any new novel way. His goal for the day - get through the 50 cases so that he can get to the next 50 cases scheduled for tomorrow.
-Samby
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Congratulations.
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I am deeply frustrated right now after receiving a RFE notice from USCIS about my medical exam.
Turns out to be, all of my medical forms (from St Luke's) was missing!! How the hell could it be missing???
When in fact that I didn't even open my brown envelope and pretty confident that all of my madical papers were in that brown packet.
If I had known that it didn't contain all of the necessary documents that should be in there, I could have thrown it away!!!
Now I have to redo all my medical!!!! How frustrating is that????!!!
It wasn't my fault! They should be at least calling the stupid staff at St. Luke's or the people of the Embassy where the hell those papers are!
Rather than us paying the mistake of those stupid people who can't even do their job!!!
We are not financially stable to do this. The whole medical is just insane...
Money matters!!what a ripp off...anyways you better call them as other posters suggested and here's a contact numbers of St.Lukes..Relax and good luck!!
St. Luke's Medical Center Extension Clinic (SLMCEC)
Address:
1177 J. Bocobo St.
Ermita, 1000 Manila
Telephone numbers:
(632) 521-0020
(632) 521-8647
(632) 524-6083
Thank you so much for this! We are looking to do any option that we could to skip the 'whole redo medical thing'.
We already had someone from the FBI look on our case and are optimistic that we won't be doing the medical again.
USCIS needs to stop doing this for some innocent applicants who are struggling to file AOS and totally ripping them off
with something that wasn't even the AOS applicant's fault.
They might think that we are the ones who are in need of it and would definitely do everything (paying the mistakes that they did) just to get a GC.
Wow, did you have the CIA look for your medical results as well?
Seems to me if you had a receipt and evidence of paying/ taking the SLEC medical exam, then you paid for RESULTS to be delivered to the USEM. If that did not happen, then they owe you the results, or a FREE exam to get the results that you paid for. Do you have proof to show that you indeed paid/took the exam? Treat this like something you bought at Ayala mall, and now your item is broken or missing from itz box , and now you are returning for a refund because the store failed to deliver what you paid for, sis.
You clearly have not lived in the Philippines...... The notion of accountability and customer service is , how should i say, noticeably absent there.
That said, of course, as the OP points out there are many many transfer points along the way were the medical results coould have become misplaced or lost. So no telling where the negligence occurred. It sucks, but the easiest away past this situation is to have a new medical done in the US by a CS and forward it to USCIS , as requested by the RFE.
Good luck to the OP.
-Samby
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Does anyone know which exact form that is needed to be sent to the Philippine Embassy counsler here in the USA reporting a marriage K1 in the USA?
I read somewhere this has to be done especially for renewing your Philippine passport when you visit the Philippines. If you do not report the marriage in the USA...when in the Philippines they will not renew your passport or change it to your new married last name??
Please advise
Hi! Where in South Carolina? We are in Greenville!
Since you are in South Carolina, you are obligated to register your marriage with the Washington DC Embassy office. Here is a link to the base form tat you need to complete. http://www.philippineembassy-usa.org/downloads/ROMDC.pdf It is a 1 page form. On the 2nd page of the PDF document that this link takes you to, are the instructions for filling out the form, including all of the accompanying documentation, photos and other items which must be submitted with the form. You will note in these instructions that, for example, the "Info Sheet on Filipinos Marrying Foreigners" is but 1 example of such additional documentation that must be submitted with the base Report of Marriage Contracted Abroad form.
Be careful to read the instructions carefully, because in typical Filipino style, 50,000,000 copies of everything is required (ok..only 4, but you get my point!
)You have 2 choice to file: in person in washington DC. or via mail. If you file via mail, than you must have the forms notorized.
Here is an important point to consider:
If you are not going to be needing your passport for the next 60 days, then I would strongly suggest that you file the Passport Application (Renewal) at the same time as the Report of Marriage Contracted Abroad. The one caveat here is that while the Report of Marriage Contracted Abroad can be filed by mail (with the additional requirement of notorization), the Passport Application (Renewal) ***MUST*** be filed peronally by the applicant in Washington DC (for you, Washington DC because you are in South Carolina). It can ***NOT*** be filed by mail, even though you will find plenty of documentation still on the official Phillipine Embassy and Consultate Web Sites giving instructions on how to file this by mail, this is OLD, OUTDATED information. You ***MUST*** file Passport Applicaitions in person now.
Also, it is important to understand that you will still see references to the old PASSPORT AMENDMENT process whereby a valid passport can simply be amended with a notation of the change of legal (married) name. This is also out of date information. With the new Maroon colored Machine Readable Passports, they do not ammend these anymore, so "ammeding the passport with your new married name" is now the same process as "replacing (renewing) your passport. You will receive an entirely new passport (and this must be applied for IN PERSON.)
What is the advantage to filing the passport application at the same time as the report of marriage vs waiting until you are in the Philiipines and getting the passport reissued there?
1. When you file the Report of Marrage Contracted Abroad, the embassy/consulate processes this, sends you back a copy of the application with their stamp on it showing that the Report of Marriage has been received and accepted. Then, the embassy/consulate forwards another copy of the received/accepted Report of Marriage to NSO in the Philippines. NSO then proceeds to update their central records with this information so that in the future, for example, if you were to pull a CENOMAR/CEMAR from the NSO in the philippines, it would include a record of your marriage and show the filipina's married name. This process takes approaximately 4-6 months!!!!!!! When you apply at DFA in the philippines to have your passport reissed with your married name, they have a list of required documents that you must submit. You guessed it...one of them is the NSO documentation (NOT the EMBASSY/CONSULTATE Documentation) showing that your marriage has been reported and is on file with the NSO. So, there is a 4-6 month delay between filing your Report of Marriage Contracted Abroad at the Philippine Embassy/Consulate in the USA and the time you are able to apply for a renewal/reissue of your passport - if you apply for this IN THE PHILIPPINES.
2 If you submit the 2 requests together to the Embassy/Consulate in the USA, The consulate forwards the Report of Marriage to NSO and also forwards the passport renewal (with married name) directly to the DFA. In this case, the DFA accepts the Embassy/Consulate's assurance that that marriage has in fact been registered (even though the NSO has not completed their actual processing to log this in their systems) and immediately processes the Passport Renewal. DFA then sends the new passport back to the Embassy/Consultate from where it was submitted and is available for distribution to the applicant. This process takes only 6-8 weeks.
Of course, the question to be asked is How Far is the Trip to Washington DC to file in person (required) vs how long into the future are you planning to make your next trip to the Philippines. You have to weigh these to see what the right answer is for you.
Good luck to you. And send us a PM where in South Carolina you are!
Warm Regards,
TinTin & Samby
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It is a bit strange that you are saying that the time stamp is showing 2 years instead of the normal 1 year. Are you sure that your wife is lookiung at the right page in her passport? I would want to double check to make sure she found the actual I551 stamp page and is not somehow reading the dates from other markings that are not the I-551.
-Samby
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Application Type: I485, APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS
Current Status: Notice mailed welcoming the new permanent resident.
On May 21, 2009, we mailed you a notice that we had registered this customer's new permanent resident status. Please follow any instructions on the notice. Your new permanent resident card should be mailed within 60 days following this registration or after you complete any ADIT processing referred to in the welcome notice, whichever is later. If you move before you get your new card call customer service. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow the link below to register.
A wonderful First Year Wedding Anniversay Gift, 3 days shy of the exact day! We are definately doing the happy dance!
Warm Regards,
TinTIn & Samby
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K-1, post marriage AOS applicant
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This whole thing is completely avoidable. You are a permanent resident of canada visting Californina. As such you are eligibleto drive in CA using your international license. Done.
This is the truth and it completely eliminates the need for the entire (fruitless) debate with the local cop.
-Samby
No Samby, not according to the policeman that cited me, as well as the other cop I talked to from the Police department.
They don't care what my USCIS status is, In their eyes if I'm in California for more than 10 days at a fixed address it's my "state of domicile". They view California residency entirely separate from United States residency... Not sure how it is in other states.
The cops refuse to argue about it, they always think they are right... The onus is now on me to prove in front of a judge that I am NOT a resident of California according to the standards they have set out.
Yeah, I guess it could have been avoided all this had I flat out lied to the cop about how long I was in the state for and where I was staying.
A few people have told me I should have said that, but uhhh hello, I was in between the I-94 expiry and the AOS I-485 submission when I got dinged... If I had lied to the cop, and if he, for any reason, wanted to see my passport or run some sort of immigration check or to check on what my legal presence status was, I could probably have been deported for bullshitting him. I've come so far in this process to be with my woman, I'm not taking any chances by lying.
Again, you are trying too hard. People are "visiting" CA for more than 10 days at a fixed address all the time. From Grandma visitng their grandchildren for 3 months to workers staying at a hotel for a month while on asignment...
See my other post for more details. But , again, the bottom line: dont try to "educate" so many people...that will only cause stress and inevitably ab outcome that you dont want. Use the system the way it was designed. Follow the rules, speak the truth, but dont buck the system or try to 'demonstrate' or educate finer points of interrelationships to people who have no interest to listen or understand - like the local CA cops you are dealing with.
Good luck,
Samby
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This whole thing is completely avoidable. You are a permanent resident of canada visting Californina. As such you are eligibleto drive in CA using your international license. Done.
This is the truth and it completely eliminates the need for the entire (fruitless) debate with the local cop.
-Samby
That is not correct TinTin and Samby.
"The State of California does not recognize an International Driving Permit (IDP) as a valid driver license. California does recognize a valid driver license that is issued by a foreign jurisdiction (country, state, territory) of which the license holder is a resident.
The IDP is only a translation of information contained on a person’s foreign driver license and is not required to operate a motor vehicle in California. Citations issued to a person in California who has an IDP, but does not have a California driver license will be placed on the Department of Motor Vehicle database."
The home country license is valid to drive in CA if you are visiting. The whole issue is whether you are now a permenant residence. Once you are a perm. resident you have 10 days to get a CA license. The cop on our case quoted just being in CA for 10 days, so I think the police are just ignorant of the actual law. If you can prove you are not a Perm. resident than you can drive, if not, you are breaking the law.
I actually printed out all the definitions and carried them in our glove box after my husband's ticket just incase he got stopped again he could show that he had researched the law and that he was not breaking it.
Yes it is correct. You are overthinking the situation.
As I said, the OP **IS** a canadian resident visiting the US/California. They ARE using their canadian drivers license to drive in CA while visiting here. They are NOT yet a resident of the US, until they receive their Green Card.
Completly avoidable problem. The OP is trying too hard to "educate" the local police. Don't try to fight the system..use the system the way it works best. Nothing about this is incorect or fraudulant and it completely avoids the entire issue.
SCENARIO:
OP: Canadian Citizen who has not yet received their Green card driving along the road in CA with their Canadian Drivers License.
CA Cop: Pulls over the OP. Asks for Drivers license and car registration
OP: Gives the CA Cop their Candian Drivers License
CA Cop: asks OP what they are doing here in CA
OP: Answers, I am visiting. (This is completely true, you are not a permanent resident until your AOS is completed and you are issued a Green Card
CA Cop: Well, you are speeding (or whatever the violation is). Here is a ticket. Either pay it by the date on the ticket or submit Not Guilty and come to court to fight it.
OP: OK, thanks officer.
CA Cop: Drive carefully. Good Bye.
OP: Good Bye.
Done! No issue. No discussion of immigration required. No lying or fraud involved.
-Samby
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If everyone tried to "walk in", the whole system would grind to a halt. That's why they have appointments, so that when you go to your appointment, you don't have to wait two hours while the "walk-ins" are served. The biometrics notices have a rescheduling option if the date they give you isn't convenient.
Nonsense. Nothing's gonna "grind to any halt". Completely disagree.
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This whole thing is completely avoidable. You are a permanent resident of canada visting Californina. As such you are eligibleto drive in CA using your international license. Done.
This is the truth and it completely eliminates the need for the entire (fruitless) debate with the local cop.
-Samby
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The immigrant must inform USCIS within 10 days of moving - you can do so online or by submitting an AR-11. The immigrants sponsor must submit an I-865 within 30 days of moving (only a 'paper' method s available).
[/quote
Not picking on Karin and Otto here, just quoting their post to grab the statement....
This is a statement that is routinely made here at VJ. The reality?......Nobody is going to show up at your doorstep on the 11th day and deport you because you didnt do this. Like all things in this process, I always suggest you process the rules in the SPIRIT in which they were created. Weigh the relative risks and rewards and take the action appropriate for you.
ok...i am awaiting the onslaught of the ever recurring "to carry or not to carry" debate about the greencard......some poeple see black and white, others see grey...always been this way, always will be....Good luck!
-Samby
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please remember, that if your filed your AOS more than a year after your medical exam at SLEC in Manila, then you will need a full medical exam completeed again. This must be completed by a civil surgeon. Dr. Arnold can not help you if you need a full medical exam again. If you submitted your AOS within 1 year of your medical exam at SLEC in Manila, then the only thing you need to have done at this time is the Vaccination part of the form completed. If this is your case, then Dr. Arnold provides a good, reasonablly quick and cost effective solution to this.
Do a search on this forum for DR ARNOLD and you will be able to read many infos on how to use/contact Dr. Arnold.
Good Luck!
Samby
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It's just 1 small step in the process, it is not even on the critical path for the next steps in the AOS process. I say, go when you want and when it worksbest for your schedule (as long as it is on or before the scheduled date). If the service center can accomodate you, great. 1 more thing checked off your list. You arent "cutting in line" or impacting anyone elses timeline.
-Samby
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We received a note from CRIS that they resumed processing of our case on the 8th business day after the UPSP recorded date when they received our mailed back response to the RFE.
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I got the letter from USCIS today and it says: Based on the documents submitted with Form I-864, Affidavit of Support, for the petitioner/sponsor, the income did not meet 125% of the federal poverty line for the petitioner/sponsor's household size. In order to process your application further, obtain a joint sponsor or submit evidence of assets that meet the federal poverty line...
My husband is the owner of a store and we sent his tax return for the recent 3 years and the proof that he is the owner of the store. His income is above 125% of the federal poverty line for the recent 3 years. So we don't know why did we got this letter and now our case is pending. I called USCIS and they don't know what is going on. I also could not make an appointment from inforpass. I want to get my EAD asap and now it is pending too. It takes time to get joint sponsor and we don't know what is going on. Does anyone know about it and could give us some advice? Many thanks.
Why could you not make an infopass appointment? Anyone can make an infopass appointment, there are no prerequirements. This is what you should do so you can speak with an actual human uscis officer to see what is going on.
Good Luck,
Samby
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Your only choice is right after birth to apply for emergncy medicaid. If you look it up you will see that this program is free and clear of the AOS that you had to sign. WIC isn't covered under the AOS but it's not medical insurance. EM will only cover the the birth of the baby ( the day or days your wife stays in the hospital curing birth) You can apply for medicaid for you baby as he/she is a citizen and not covered under the AOS This is correct. THere is too much misinformation in this post. The Emergeny Medicaid for Aliens program is specifically excluded from the list of Means Tested Benefits. Apply and if you qualify, utilize this benefit without any concerns for your AOS processing. The benefit to the Alien is for all costs associated with the labor and delivery, including any complications that arise to the mother. Application for the newly born child is a different thing. Although, if the married alien met the qualifitions for the Emergency Medicaid for Aliens program, it is most likely the baby will meet the requirements for Regular Medicaid. This will cover all (most) costs for the baby. As the baby is a US Citizen, there is no effect of the Alien's AOS procesing.
-Samby
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All late registered births in the philippines are required to be accompanied with an affidavit. The affadavit most commonly used is a standardized got form that is shown on the back of the (local) birth certificate when issued. The reason give is usually only a few words to a sentence long - short and simple. Just bring a copy of this local BC with Affadait and state what it states. (note, this is the local issued BC, not the NSO authenticted one. of course, you will also need the NSO Authenticated Certificate of Live Birth, but this local BC (which often has the affadavit on back/atttached) can help with any questions if you were late registered. )
Good Luck!
Samby
Local BCs may help a little but can be faked easily.
Best to have the other evidence as abbynorm2 and I said.
Baptismal certificate, photos of the page in baptismal book, photo of the cover, school records and work records, school annuals, SSS, postal Id, voter ID. affidavits from people that attended your birth. Especially the hilot.
Haole,
My point was not that this local BC Affadavit was all the evidence needed. Only that it is a source of info to answer the specific question about the REASON why they brith was late registered.
-Samby
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All late registered births in the philippines are required to be accompanied with an affidavit. The affadavit most commonly used is a standardized got form that is shown on the back of the (local) birth certificate when issued. The reason give is usually only a few words to a sentence long - short and simple. Just bring a copy of this local BC with Affadait and state what it states. (note, this is the local issued BC, not the NSO authenticted one. of course, you will also need the NSO Authenticated Certificate of Live Birth, but this local BC (which often has the affadavit on back/atttached) can help with any questions if you were late registered. )
Good Luck!
Samby
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I'm tending to treat people's posts like child rearing advice... I listen to it all, gather the facts myself, and then make the best decision for my own circumstance.
Jen
This comment from JenT is the Best advise that any VJ member can get!Warm Regards,
Samby
Well, imagine my foolishness for just realizing that I replied to a 3 year old thread!....Time for bed.... (but Jenn's advise is still good today!)-Samby
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I'm tending to treat people's posts like child rearing advice... I listen to it all, gather the facts myself, and then make the best decision for my own circumstance.
Jen
This comment from JenT is the Best advise that any VJ member can get!Warm Regards,
Samby
interview for citizenship
in US Citizenship General Discussion
Posted
I would't do option #3. In my experience with people I know, it is quite common in the USA for a woman to drop her given middle name and replace it with her maiden last name and then take her husband's last name as her new married last name. I am aware that in the OP's case that the woman's orginal middle name was not a "given" name, but rather her Mother's maiden name, as is the norm in the Philippines (and many other countires). This doesnt change the situation, IMHO. I would insist that they correct their mistake and reissue a corrected naturalization certificate, at no additional charge.
Warm Regards,
Samby