MarionandJack

Hello everybody,

I am planning on visiting my family in France (three weeks during the Chrismas holidays) using my advance parole document authorization (I-512L). However, I am a bit concerned that the USCIS might schedule my AOS interview date just when I'm in France (my AOS application was transferred to California on August 4, 2008).

I contacted the USCIS customer service this morning and I've been told that I would be able to reschedule the interview for the reason that I was out of the country. Since my husband can't travel with me, he could indeed contact the USCIS local office and reschedule the interview for me.

However, from what I read on the forum, it sounds that it is kinda risky to reschedule an interview.

Do you think that I should cancel my trip? Thanks in advance for your advice.

O.

Oh, one last thing, here is what I found on the USCIS's website concerning the rescheduling of appointments. Not very clear, isn't it?

"If you absolutely cannot make it to a scheduled interview that we requested, call before the interview date as far in advance as possible. However, please understand that rescheduling can delay processing. We will only reschedule if emergency reasons outside your control prevent you from keeping your appointment. Certain kinds of interview cannot be rescheduled. When you call customer service, you will need to explain the reason that makes it impossible for you to keep your appointment. The office where your interview was scheduled will make the decision about whether to grant your request to change your appointment, and will notify you directly."

This is a very frequent question, YES you can apply for clases while waiting for green-card and/or EAD. It is up to the school's admissions department.

NOTE: if the school is state funded, you will probably be charged NON-Resident rates.

Thanks for your reply! The only thing i'm worried about is that I won't get my EAD on time to start the teaching working part of the program after December.

Hey there,

Do you know if I can apply to a Career Switcher Program to become a teacher while filing for and waiting for AOS and EAD?

The fall program I want to apply to indeed consists of 180 hours of instruction delivered within 16 week semester as well as field placements/classroom observations. Once level one is completed, I will be able to get a provisional license for my first year of employment.

If I apply for AOS and EAD in mid June like i intend to, do you think the timeframe to get my work authorization and green card will be favorable enough for me to enter and complete the school program?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

I'm also going to have a courthouse marriage...$55 all of 5 mins over and done with. My dress was $30 (was originally $349) at Filenes Basment believe it or not...all I need to do is have it cleaned. I'm planning a large wedding in Jamaica in 2 years. We're both from very large families and I would be in the poor house if I try to plan anything like that in the states. Besides the friends and co-workers I have here are all dying to go to Jamaica...so I think 2 years is enough time to get the planning on track.

Oh, cool!!!! Thanks for the info, and Congrats for your upcoming court marriage as well as for the big one in Jamaica! Sounds like an awesome wedding ahead! Oh, and congrats on your dress!

Best,

M.&J.

Yes we had a courthouse wedding to then be able to start adjustment of status, and a few months later had a nice reception for friends and family.

My brother and his wife had their ceremony in the foyer of the county office building with a judge proceeding over it.

Thanks for sharing this info with me! I'm glad to hear that courthouse weddings are possible!

Hello everyboby!!!

I've been in America for three weeks now and my fiance and I (i'm french) would like to get married this Mid-June.

I personally would love to have a judge perform the marriage ceremony in a courthouse because it would remind me of the civil ceremonies townhall mayors perform in my homecountry.

Does any of you know if it is possible to get married by a judge in a courthouse in Virginia (especially in Alexandria)? Are there any fees or anything special that I should do? It looks like it is more frequent to have a justice of the peace perform the ceremony in your backyard though.....

What has been your own experience? Should I keep on willing to have a courthouse wedding or should I go for a backyard wedding performed by a justice of the peace?

Looking forward to hearing from you and getting your personal advice!!!

Thank you very much in advance!!!

Hello! I used to live in Alexandria. You should go down to city hall ... right on King Street. It is a beautiful building/area also.. I am sure you have seen it. I am sure they can help you. It would be nice if a judge could marry you right out front near the flowers etc...

I am not sure about the courthouse.. I have been in the courthouse also and there is nothing romantic about it! LOL

Maybe a city hall marriage would suit you?

Congratulations!!

:-)

Catherine

Thank you so much Catherine! I'm gonna check out the city hall, looks like a cool option!

Best wishes to you and your gorgeous family!

And merci encore!

Hello everyboby!!!

I've been in America for three weeks now and my fiance and I (i'm french) would like to get married this Mid-June.

I personally would love to have a judge perform the marriage ceremony in a courthouse because it would remind me of the civil ceremonies townhall mayors perform in my homecountry.

Does any of you know if it is possible to get married by a judge in a courthouse in Virginia (especially in Alexandria)? Are there any fees or anything special that I should do? It looks like it is more frequent to have a justice of the peace perform the ceremony in your backyard though.....

What has been your own experience? Should I keep on willing to have a courthouse wedding or should I go for a backyard wedding performed by a justice of the peace?

Looking forward to hearing from you and getting your personal advice!!!

Thank you very much in advance!!!

I had a courthouse wedding in Maryland....we were wed by a Judge!! it's inexpensive and quick and you can invite up to 12 people in ( Elliott City, MD) you can, not sure about other states or counties!! but all I needed to bring to get the license was my passport, husband Birth cert and my birth cert.( he wasn't even there) and 30 bucks and our date was set for a few days later.

we plan to have a church wedding in 2009 and thats when we are gonna go all out!!

In my opinion at this point in this suituation I think a Civil cermony would be a good choice, it's less expensive and then you can save and have the wedding of ur dreams later on!!

Hope this helps and good luck!!

Thank you very much for your helpful information!!!! If it's possible, we're definitely gonna go for a civil ceremony at the court or city hall. Looks like yours in Maryland was great!

Thanks again and best of luck to you for your upcoming wedding! You make a cute happy couple!!!!!!!!

!

Hello everyboby!!!

I've been in America for three weeks now and my fiance and I (i'm french) would like to get married this Mid-June.

I personally would love to have a judge perform the marriage ceremony in a courthouse because it would remind me of the civil ceremonies townhall mayors perform in my homecountry.

Does any of you know if it is possible to get married by a judge in a courthouse in Virginia (especially in Alexandria)? Are there any fees or anything special that I should do? It looks like it is more frequent to have a justice of the peace perform the ceremony in your backyard though.....

What has been your own experience? Should I keep on willing to have a courthouse wedding or should I go for a backyard wedding performed by a justice of the peace?

Looking forward to hearing from you and getting your personal advice!!!

Thank you very much in advance!!!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And good luck with the packing

Dear French expatriates,

Do you remember sending the DS156 and DS156K forms with your DS230 Part 1 and DS2001 or do I have to keep those two DS forms for the interview in Paris? It isn't clearly said on the Packet 3 instructions that the embassy sent me!

MERCI d'avance!!! et Bon courage a tous dans vos demarches de visa!!!!!

O.

Hey everybody,

I am about to send my packet 3 to the US embassy in Paris. I gathered all the forms they need including (DS230 part 1, DS2001, DS156 (x2), and DS156K).

Do you know if I have to staple/or glue a photograph on the DS156 form I'm sending now, or should I save it for later that is during the interview)?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

I'm not sure how it goes it Paris but in our country, we paste/glue the picture on the DS form.

Thanks!

Hey everybody,

I am about to send my packet 3 to the US embassy in Paris. I gathered all the forms they need including (DS230 part 1, DS2001, DS156 (x2), and DS156K).

Do you know if I have to staple/or glue a photograph on the DS156 form I'm sending now, or should I save it for later that is during the interview)?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

Yeah - Jeremy has reported no letter yet - the package was sent from NVC on Monday and it got there today (if my suspiscions are correct!)

That's wicked, cheers!

You should get a letter giving you your new case number and what embassy it will be forwarded to. By the time we got our letter it was already at the embassy.

THANK YOU very much to you !!! Can't wait to receive the letter!

And, Best of luck for your March interview!!!! Shouldn't be a problem, you two look like a cute happy couple!

Best wishes,

Orphee.

Hey guys,

I was wondering.... Are we supposed (after getting the NOA2 letter) to receive a hard copy letter from the National Visa Center saying that our case was received and would be sent to the US Embassy where the alien fiance(e) will have has her/his interview. I'm asking that because on our NOA2, nowhere do they mention that our case being sent to the NVC. It only states that our 'petition has been approved and forwarded to the listed consulate' ( but they don't list any consulate on it! )

Do I need to worry???

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!!!!

Message to all the July filers who are still waiting for the precious NOA2: Don't lose faith, your NOA2 will come very soon!!!! Be patient! I wasn't expecting mine before the end of January, and here it comes!

Mon cheri and I GOT APPROVED TODAY!!!!!! (Our NOA1 dated back from July 30). I'm so happy !!!!!!!!!!!

Best of all to you all, patience does pay!

Orphee

Congratulations !!

THANKS!

Message to all the July filers who are still waiting for the precious NOA2: Don't lose faith, your NOA2 will come very soon!!!! Be patient! I wasn't expecting mine before the end of January, and here it comes!

Mon cheri and I GOT APPROVED TODAY!!!!!! (Our NOA1 dated back from July 30). I'm so happy !!!!!!!!!!!

Best of all to you all, patience does pay!

Orphee

Congratulations !!

THANKS, good luck to you CBR!!!

Message to all the July filers who are still waiting for the precious NOA2: Don't lose faith, your NOA2 will come very soon!!!! Be patient! I wasn't expecting mine before the end of January, and here it comes!

Mon cheri and I GOT APPROVED TODAY!!!!!! (Our NOA1 dated back from July 30). I'm so happy !!!!!!!!!!!

Best of all to you all, patience does pay!

Orphee

I would recommend to keep all leases and bills in both of your names, regardless of who is where and when

I think this is really smart. orphee (sorry, can't figure out how to make the accent in vista), will you be renting an apartment to use during the week? If you can, get his name on the lease as someone financially responsible for it. And pay the monthly rent on your school apartment from an account in both your names, showing that he's supporting you while at school.

Thanks for the tip! Great idea. That's what I'll try to do! Merci!

You can also get 2 cell phones on the same bills with both your names. Do as many utility bills as possible in both names, etc.

I think I remember reading posts of people in the same case. There even were some couples were the spouse was studying back in the home country if I remember well. So as long as you can prove that you're a bona fide relationship you should be just fine.

Merci Cécy!

Some mobile phone companies (Cingular/"the new AT&T" for example) will not put both names on the phone bill for some reason. When I asked why, the Cingular store guy said that when AT&T took over, they don't allow it.

Will keep that in mind, merci!

You can also get 2 cell phones on the same bills with both your names. Do as many utility bills as possible in both names, etc.

I think I remember reading posts of people in the same case. There even were some couples were the spouse was studying back in the home country if I remember well. So as long as you can prove that you're a bona fide relationship you should be just fine.

Merci Cécy!

Orphee,

where are you now?

If you are in France and paperwork for K1 is already submitted, that is one story...

If you are in the US and already have a proper visa to study in Virginia, that is a very different story.

In any case, it is not unheard of people transferring between schools after a semester or two. If you show good grades, I am sure you can transfer if you want to.

You have no timeline, your circumstances are unclear... it is hard to give a good advise!

Rika

Sorry ! I am kinda new to the forum. I definitely need to put my timeline and all the other details. I am currently in France. My fiance (American) sent our I129F package on July 21, but I am already thinking about the AOS because I was admitted in a teacher education program in June 2007 (but they deferred my admission to June 2008). That's good to hear that I could have the possibility to transfer between schools.

THANKS!!!

Maybe someone else will have a suggestion, too. But you *are* living together. You're just commuting to school during the week.

Yes, you're totally right! We'll live together. I'll only be commuting to school during the week and then spend all my weekends and holidays with my husband to be.

Thanks C!!!

I would recommend to keep all leases and bills in both of your names, regardless of who is where and when

Thanks for your wicked advice! I'll keep all my train tickets too!

Best,

O.

Hello everybody!

How are you all doing? I have a little question about the AOS. My American fiance (who lives in Virginia) and I have just started the K1 visa journey. However, I have a little concern about the green card application.

I plan on studying in North Carolina for two years (to get a teaching certificate) while my husband-to be will be working and living in Virginia. Do you think we will have problems getting my green card because we'll be living apart during the week?

Thank you very much in advance for your help and time,

I am looking forward to hearing your sound advice ! ! !

Best wishes,

Orphee

Thanks! That's reassuring! I keep my fingers crossed for you too, but I don't see why there'll be a problem with your AOS application. Good luck for you two !

Orphee

Hello everybody!

How are you all doing? I have a little question about the AOS. My American fiance (who lives in Virginia) and I have just started the K1 visa journey. However, I have a little concern about the green card application.

I plan on studying in North Carolina for two years (to get a teaching certificate) while my husband-to be will be working and living in Virginia. Do you think we will have problems getting my green card because we'll be living apart during the week?

Thank you very much in advance for your help and time,

I am looking forward to hearing your sound advice ! ! !

Best wishes,

Orphee.

Thanks for your reply! It is just a two-program though and I'll be commuting to Virginia every weekend... The thing is that I couldn't get into a program in VA. Should I defer my entry into the program till I get the green card?

Thanks in advance!

Orphee

Hello everybody!

How are you all doing? I have a little question about the AOS. My American fiance (who lives in Virginia) and I have just started the K1 visa journey. However, I have a little concern about the green card application.

I plan on studying in North Carolina for two years (to get a teaching certificate) while my husband-to be will be working and living in Virginia. Do you think we will have problems getting my green card because we'll be living apart during the week?

Thank you very much in advance for your help and time,

I am looking forward to hearing your sound advice ! ! !

Best wishes,

Orphee