TYosemite

4 minutes ago, JosephAsh said:

You really don’t need SSN to be added to those you mentioned,  my partner added me to those without me having ssn.

We did in our case 🙂 

2 hours ago, poh said:

I added my fiance onto my work health plan even before getting Married.  I just needed an affidavit that we were living together. You should check with your company HR.

As soon as my fiance entered US I applied for SSN. You can get an letter from SS office that you applied for SSN.   There is a VisaJourney's step by step guide for K-1 visa and for AOS.

For AOS, most important thing is to show you are in a  bona fida relationship and married.   Do you have jointly filed tax forms, auto insurance coverage? Putting her on your auto insurance shouldn't be too hard .  Getting her on your credit card as authorized user and have her use it. It will help build her credit history too. One Good card is  Costco card it itemizes the purchases based on the card holder so the monthly statement will show charges made by your partner.  It might be difficult to open a bank account without a SSN , greencard or for her to apply for a StateID or driver license.  Even applying for credit cards you need SSN.  Sorry to say Getting the SSn should have been your high priority upon arrival.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I applied for a SSN 2 weeks after I arrived in the US, before we even got married. 
By the time they could even schedule me an appointment, get me in for an appointment it had been a month & a half.

I went & applied for my SSN, he told me it would be 2 weeks before it would arrive, I waited it never came, I called they said their processing times were much longer than usual.

10 days before my visa was set to expire I received a letter in the mail from SSA stating that they couldn’t process my visa because it was expiring in less than 14 days lol

SSN absolutely was my first priority when I moved here. 
 

My husbands health insurance isn’t open enrolment, therefore only us getting married would’ve allowed him to add me but the insurance rep his HR spoke to have them the wrong information about me needing SSN to be added to it.

Keep in mind we also fully expected to have EAD processed before receiving a green card interview so none of this would’ve actually been a problem. 

We have a Sam’s club membership that both of our names are on, the closest Costco is 3 hours away so the cost of membership isn’t worth it. 

We’re not stupid, we tried all avenues we could. 

1 hour ago, wxman22 said:

Ok

The good news is,  we had even less than you.  We were in a small town in Alaska,  no SSAN, no job,  no back account,  no insurance  ,No joint accounts, no nothing, not even a lease. 

 

We brough:

pictures and videos we had made in the prior year, 

Copy of application to add her to my health insurance,  

That's it. 

Officer asked her about our life in Alaska.

 

He ended with he'd let us know. 

 

We were approved the next day. 

 

There is no bad news.  Don't worry. Be open and honest. 

Thank you for this! 
This made me feel a lot better, I think there’s a lot of folks out there that forget how stressful this process is in the moment evens when you can look back & realize a lot of things you stressed about didn’t end up being that important haha

2 minutes ago, blchaddy said:

Not having a SSN shouldnt stop you from having legit things as evidence. My husband hasn’t even gotten his visa yet and during his visits here we have gotten plenty of evidence gathered (again, with no SSN for him)—auto insurance, joint owner on bank accounts, beneficiaries of accounts, life insurance, several other legal documents that carry even more weight, plenty of social evidence and sharing of all kinds of accounts, etc.. All without him even living here yet.  

 

It always kind of irks me when people say they can’t gather enough evidence…all it really takes is some genuine thinking and running around 🙈😂

Okay I mean good for you??? 
 

I don’t drive so no auto insurance, can’t be added as a joint on his bank account with the bank he is with (we’ve called the bank & gone there several times), neither of us have life insurance as we’re in our early 20’s.

We have plenty of social evidence but most of what people suggest are things we’ve tried to get & have been turned away for so it’s not just talking out of my ### about it lol 

20 minutes ago, Vickys_Mom said:

I think you are in New York state.  Consider a non-driver ID card.  It specifically says that you do not need to be a US Citizen to get one.  That way you have a "photo" ID from the State with the same address as your husband.

 

https://dmv.ny.gov/more-info/resources-non-us-citizens

 

Regards,

Vicky's Mom

If you’re applying with a foreign passport you need to have one of these things & I don’t believe I have any of them 🥲

21 minutes ago, iwannaplay54 said:

Matching drivers licenses?  You guys have shared car insurance?  I am also wondering why you are not at least listed as a resident on the lease, our apt made me do that (not on the lease but a listed resident)

 If your mail and his mail (official) bills such as your health insurance come to the same address use that.  No EAD filed?

I don’t drive unfortunately so anything to do with car insurance/drivers licenses I cannot get! 
 

I couldn’t be added until the lease was due for renewal which isn’t until March 31st & our interview is March 1st so that’s no good to us haha 

Honestly I’m thinking I should be okay with what I have now, I did tick off to have USCIS apply for SSN for me so they’ll be aware that I couldn’t get it in time & I have the letter from SSA stating they couldn’t issue it in time as further proof that I at least tried to get one. 
Hoping they’re understanding of the situation at least. 
 

I’ve had mail from USCIS come to the same address as his bills come to if that counts.

I filed EAD but got my interview before it EAD was even processed.

Just now, Dashinka said:

Yeah, some offices are doing AOS interviews even before the EAD/AP card is processed.  At this point, I would take what you have and hope for the best.  You really cannot manufacture evidence at this point and as others have pointed out, people AOS'ing from a K1 typically do not have a lot of commingling evidence as of yet.  I would have your spouse raise the issue of the health insurance with his HR as they seemed to just want him to go away.  

 

Good Luck!

Yeah I mean it wasn’t so much a matter of manufacturing it as opposed to things we might already have but didn’t think of. 
 

We have Christmas cards addressed to the both of us from extended family members, of course our wedding cards, photos from our ceremony in California with both our family. 
I was added as an authorized user to his credit card & they sent me a card. 
The Sam’s club membership is in both of our names. 
I was looking to add both our names to our dogs licenses but ended up putting one on each since they only accept one name. 
The health insurance they told us I can get too so there’s that as well. 

I have mail addressed to the address we both live at. 
 

Everything else we looked into, told us I needed my SSN unfortunately.

I started calling for an appointment for it way back in June, 2 weeks after I moved to the US & still got a letter 10 days before my I-94 expiry saying they couldn’t issue it before my visa ran out. 
 

2 hours ago, Scandi said:

Your husband can also get a credit card in your name, as an extra to just being an "authorized user" on his card. No SSN needed, and that way you can take copies of both your cards showing the same card number. 

 

No SSN needed for joint bank accounts either, but that should've been done long ago so you had several statements to show. 

 

In many states you can also get a state ID and/or Drivers license without an SSN. 

They sent me a card for him adding me as an authorized user. 
SSN is needed for the bank account we went to the bank & sat down with them in person when we first got married. 
 

Also I don’t drive so can’t get a drivers license in my name, SSN is required for it in our state anyways. 

1 hour ago, molehills said:

We never received a SSN either. We took what we could: 1 credit card statement with both names on account, our Xfinity bill with both names, health insurance info with both names, photos, and that's it. 

 

Our IO never even looked at any evidence  though he did stress that having everything for removal of conditions is much more important. Good luck and congrats on the interview!

Thank you! 
I have everything else they listed on the interview notice so I’m hoping they’re not as worried about the evidence portion! 

7 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

You didn't apply concurrently for an EAD?

I did, I also applied for the travel document as well.

I got my interview notice for this first, apparently it’s been happening fairly often. 
 

1 hour ago, iwannaplay54 said:

They misled you

They absolutely did, so now we’re just trying to find other things we can use as evidence as it’s pretty lacking in that regard 

Just now, iwannaplay54 said:

Newborns are added to policies every day without SS cards

His HR denied you something you were legally entitled to. 

Oh I 100% know that now, we’re equally mad about it.

We were pretty sure we could but when they said not without SSN we just figured it was another one of those things. 

Just now, iwannaplay54 said:

He got an automatic open enrollment when you got married

Only for 30 days & HR gave him the wrong information regarding that.

They told him I couldn’t be added without an SSN at all & it wasn’t until last week that I found out about this loophole myself (loss of coverage) & had him talk to them again, looks like I should be okay on that now but unfortunate I couldve had coverage all along instead of paying $300 for mine separately lol

3 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Worst case you get denied and you file again. 
 

There are worst things in life than getting a 10 year green card afte two I-485s.  

Not having an income for almost a year isn’t a great outcome or anything I want to delay any longer but okay… 

1 minute ago, Mike E said:

Usually you can be added to a health plan within 30 days of marriage or move to the USA. 
 

USCIS understands that newly weds will have weak evidence.  Relax. 

When my husband first questioned his work about this when he moved HR told him that I couldn’t be added.

We’ve obviously been married more than 30 days now lol

I’ve just seen plenty of people refused because they’re lacking proof of ties to the US & their relationship ongoing at the interview is all 🙂

Hey guys, I got my notice for my I-485 interview for March 1st & after reading through the recommended evidence for ongoing relationship I started to panic a bit. 
 

Due to SSA messing me around, I never got my SSN so most things I could never get.

So far aside from photos from our wedding ceremony in California (we had our actual wedding a few months before this at the courthouse to stay within the 90 days)… I’ve been able to be added as an authorized user to my husbands credit card & we have a Sam’s club membership together. 

He’s going to be talking to his work on Monday about a possible loop hole they may have managed to find to get me on his health insurance (it’s not open enrolment) so that’s a possibility! 
Our lease isn’t due for renewal until after the appointment date so I cant be added to that in time to use it as evidence either.
 

Is there any other ideas you guys have that I could use? Or do you think these things will be enough? 
 

I did check off for USCIS to apply for SSN for me due to not being able to get one in time, so I’m hoping they’d be understanding that most things require an SSN to be added to (eg bank accounts, car insurance, bills etc) 

6 minutes ago, jrm88 said:

That's the exact same RFE I received. For what it's worth, I actually included in my packet a certified copy of my BC (not a scan) and still received the RFE. Only explanation I have is that they lost it, but I wish they would just come out and say that because now I'm second-guessing whether something was wrong with my BC (e.g. handwriting was illegible or something)

Are you able to see the copy you sent them on your MyUSCIS account? If you go under documents for your case it’ll show you what they have.

I thought this at first, but saw they actually have it on file.

At this point I’m thinking of sending the official extract I have on hand & ordering a new one & send it to my Grandma for my Dad to bring back from Scotland next month when he visits. 

If it helps at all this is a screenshot of the RFE itself. 

I received the same thing for my UK birth certificate (Scottish), I can see my copy uploaded online in myUSCIS account under documents too so I’m not sure why I received an RFE.

I’m going to priority order another official extract  & send them the one I have so I’ll still have one on hand I think.

I don’t want to take chances with scanning the one I have as it clearly wasn’t good enough the first time. 

So on Saturday I received a Request For Initial Evidence for my I-485 asking for my birth certificate, which I had already submitted a copy of with my AOS application. 

My biometrics appointment is scheduled for the 20th of October just to give you an idea of what stage we're at, (receipt for AOS application is August 6th). 

Apparently USCIS is doing this a lot to numerous people right now, I tried the Ask Emma thing on their website and waited an hour to be connected to a live agent only for them to tell me they can't give me further information and basically to just read the RFIE lol

My question is, do I need to submit a certified copy of the birth certificate or will a scanned copy of my long form birth certificate suffice?

Its a United Kingdom, Scotland birth certificate, its an official long form extract (parents names, occupations at time of birth, address at time of birth etc., stamped, signed) as outlined in the requirements on their website as my parents lost my original before my K1 interview. 

It doesn't specify on the RFIE itself that it has to be certified but I don't want to take any chances considering they've asked for this again after already receiving it. 

Also is it best to courier it to them or to submit it online with the myUSCIS account?

1 minute ago, HRQX said:

Just your UK passport is necessary but also carry your I-485 NOA1: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification

 

And don't transit through a foreign airport: https://web.archive.org/web/20190824072204/https://www.uscis.gov/archive/blog/2014/05/five-questions-about-advance-parole_9

Do I need advance parole if I am flying from the continental United States to Puerto Rico?  What about Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, or the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands?

No, advance parole would not be needed if you travel directly between parts of the United States, which includes Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Swains Island and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), without entering a foreign port or place.

Awesome, thank you for the information! 
I’ll just be flying from Buffalo to San Fran with a layover in JFK (Detroit on the way home) so no international travel for me! 

5 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

Where are you flying to California from? 

Assuming you're in the US, as you applied for AOS, to travel domestically you just need your passport and the I-797 notice you already received. 

You no longer need any kind of visa.

Buffalo NY is where I’ll be flying from! 
Awesome, that’s great news makes it a little easier on me haha 

I’m flying to California for my wedding ceremony in a couple weeks, we are already married legally due to my K1 approved before we thought it would so our wedding ceremony planning timing was a bit off (K1 ran out on August 8th, we got married in July).

I’m a UK citizen so we’re part of the VWP, do I need to apply for an ESTA to fly to California? 
 

We’ve already applied for AOS, I have my receipt notice letters for all 3 of my applications (I-485, travel parole & work authorization), marriage certificate, K1 is still in my passport & I have my original I-94 even though both are now expired. 
 

If I do need to apply will it affect my AOS processing? 
If not, what proof should I bring with me when I fly? 

1 minute ago, payxibka said:

Pre pandemic,  k1 was quicker to entry but was never quicker to green card

Interesting every source we read & heard from our lawyer said it was 8-10 months for green card once married