rouguewave

Yep, did removal of conditions for all in 2010 (or whatever time) without a hitch.

Nope, only two children are still under 18. The third is now 21. We have just dragged our feet getting wife's citizenship.

I'm just really surprised at how little paperwork is needed. Just her N-400 app, her greencard copy, and for some reason previous marriage annulment.

That's the part I'm mostly looking to get confirmed. All the other steps were much more complicated.

Hi folks,

Its been a long time since I've been here, but would really appreciate a quick sanity check on my wife's Citizenship process. If you'd like to help, PLEASE READ CAREFULLY. Thanks in advance.

The situation:

Wife arrived in Jan 2008 on K1 visa

3 children arrived alongside on K2 visa(s)

We married in Feb 2008, adjusted status for all on-time, got greencards Jun 2008.

Lived happily as family, same place, same everything until now.

Wife is 'finally' proceeding with citizenship process.

We've filled out the N-400 for her (only), will write check, and send in.

Questions:

1) Since she's had greencard over 5 years, it would seem better for her to file based on this instead of 3+ years married to US Citizen. True or False?

2) If she files based on possession of greencard over 5 years, it appears she ONLY has to provide resolution of previous marriage (divorce / annulments). True or False?

3) No additional paperwork appears to be needed, based on M-477 Document Checklist. True or False?

The minimal paperwork needed, just seems too good to be true, so I thought I'd ask you good people who have helped in the past. Thanks again.

PS: One child is co-applying because she aged out (She is 21 now). We will apply for other two citizenship after Wife has hers. Is this a bad plan for some reason?

English has been the official language of the US for a long time. Every immigrant group dealt with learning English. The Dutch, German, Italian, Polish. They all adapted to English. It seems there is now are groups either too stupid or lazy or disrespectful to be bothered with learning English and because we have lost our universal backbone as a country we roll over and waste money on providing school books and signage in unofficial languages. I doubt if I moved to Greece I would be able to insist they hire Enlish speaking teachers and books to school my children.

Actually, there is no "official language' of the US.

http://answers.usa.gov/system/templates/selfservice/USAGov/#!portal/1012/article/3206/Official-Language-of-the-US

Hi all,

[snip]

I also do not wish to inform USCIS of our change of plans, as I'd like him to have opportunities here (albeit illegal ones).

Thank you for your input in advance!

Please read the referenced website carefully. Not a hater. Just want you to be informed.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm01907.htm

1907 Title 8, U.S.C. § 1324(a) Offenses Title 8, U.S.C. § 1324(a) defines several distinct offenses related to aliens. Subsection 1324(a)(1)(i)-(v) prohibits alien smuggling, domestic transportation of unauthorized aliens, concealing or harboring unauthorized aliens, encouraging or inducing unauthorized aliens to enter the United States, and engaging in a conspiracy or aiding and abetting any of the preceding acts. Subsection 1324(a)(2) prohibits bringing or attempting to bring unauthorized aliens to the United States in any manner whatsoever, even at a designated port of entry. Subsection 1324(a)(3).

Domestic Transporting -- Subsection 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii) makes it an offense for any person who -- knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, transports, or moves or attempts to transport or move such alien within the United States by means of transportation or otherwise, in furtherance of such violation of law.

Harboring -- Subsection 1324(a)(1)(A)(iii) makes it an offense for any person who -- knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that an alien has come to, entered, or remains in the United States in violation of law, conceals harbors, or shields from detection, or attempts to conceal, harbor, or shield from detection, such alien in any place, including any building or any means of transportation.

Encouraging/Inducing -- Subsection 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) makes it an offense for any person who -- encourages or induces an alien to come to, enter, or reside in the United States, knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that such coming to, entry, or residence is or will be in violation of law.

Conspiracy/Aiding or Abetting -- Subsection 1324(a)(1)(A)(v) expressly makes it an offense to engage in a conspiracy to commit or aid or abet the commission of the foregoing offenses.

Unit of Prosecution -- With regard to offenses defined in subsections 1324(a)(1)(A)(i)-(v), (alien smuggling, domestic transporting, harboring, encouraging/inducing, or conspiracy/aiding or abetting) each alien with respect to whom a violation occurs constitutes a unit of prosecution. Prior to enactment of the IIRIRA, the unit of prosecution for violations of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(2) was each transaction, regardless of the number of aliens involved. However, the unit of prosecution is now based on each alien in respect to whom a violation occurs.

Knowledge -- Prosecutions for alien smuggling, 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(i) require proof that defendant knew that the person brought to the United States was an alien. With regard to the other violations in 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a), proof of knowledge or reckless disregard of alienage is sufficient.

Penalties -- The basic statutory maximum penalty for violating 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(i) and (v)(I) (alien smuggling and conspiracy) is a fine under title 18, imprisonment for not more than 10 years, or both. With regard to violations of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(ii)-(iv) and (v)(ii), domestic transportation, harboring, encouraging/inducing, or aiding/abetting, the basic statutory maximum term of imprisonment is 5 years, unless the offense was committed for commercial advantage or private financial gain, in which case the maximum term of imprisonment is 10 years. In addition, significant enhanced penalties are provided for in violations of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1) involving serious bodily injury or placing life in jeopardy. Moreover, if the violation results in the death of any person, the defendant may be punished by death or by imprisonment for any term of years. The basic penalty for a violation of subsection 1324(a)(2) is a fine under title 18, imprisonment for not more than one year, or both, 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(2)(A). Enhanced penalties are provided for violations involving bringing in criminal aliens, 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(2)(B)(i), offenses done for commercial advantage or private financial gain, 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(2)(B)(ii), and violations where the alien is not presented to an immigration officer immediately upon arrival, 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(2)(B)(iii). A mandatory minimum three year term of imprisonment applies to first or second violations of § 1324(a)(2)(B)(i) or (B)(ii). Further enhanced punishment is provided for third or subsequent offenses.

Information from US Center For Disease Control on US Divorces <here>

(2001 study) data on marriage, divorce, and remarriage in the United States show that 43 percent of first marriages end in separation or divorce within 15 years, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The report, "First Marriage Dissolution, Divorce, and Remarriage: United States," also shows that one in three first marriages end within 10 years and one in five end within 5 years. The findings are based on data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth, a study of 10,847 women 15-44 years of age.

"Separation and divorce can have adverse effects on the health and well-being of children and adults," said CDC Director Jeffrey Koplan. "Past research has shown that divorce is associated with higher rates of mortality, more health problems, and more risky behaviors such as increased alcohol use."

The study also showed that:

•Duration of marriage is linked to a woman's age at first marriage; the older a woman is at first marriage, the longer that marriage is likely to last. For example, 59 percent of marriages to brides under 18 end in separation or divorce within 15 years, compared with 36 percent of those married at age 20 or over.

•About 97 percent of separated non-Hispanic white women are divorced within 5 years of separation, compared with 77 percent of separated Hispanic women and only 67 percent of non-Hispanic black women.

•Younger women who divorce are more likely to remarry: 81 percent of those divorced before age 25 remarry within 10 years, compared with 68 percent of those divorced at age 25 or over.

•Non-Hispanic black women are less likely than other women to remain in a first marriage, to make the transition from separation to divorce, to remarry, and to remain in a remarriage.

I've read the responses to this post and I'm surprised that noone has actually offered any concrete data. So, I did a quick internet search and came up with the following sites that respond directly to the questions posed by the OP. Truth be told, I have no affiliation or advocacy of sites mentioned below, so if people jump in and claim what is presented is bogus, so be it. I just thought it was worth bringing in some outside sourced information.

From Center For Immigration Studies <here>

Article: Hello, I love you, Won't you tell me your name?: Inside the Green Card Marriage Phenomenon

Key Points:

•Marriage to an American citizen remains the most common path to U.S. residency and/or citizenship for foreign nationals, with more than 2.3 million foreign nationals gaining lawful permanent resident (LPR) status in this manner between 1998 and 2007.

•More than 25 percent of all green cards issued in 2007 were to the spouses of American citizens. In 2006 and 2007 there were nearly twice as many green cards issued to the spouses of American citizens than were issued for all employment-based immigration categories combined. The number of foreign nationals obtaining green cards based on marriage to an American has more than doubled since 1985, and has quintupled since 1970.

•Despite these statistics, marriage fraud for the purpose of immigration gets very little notice or debate in the public arena and the State Department and Department of Homeland Security have nowhere near the resources needed to combat the problem. Attention to fraud is not just for the integrity of the legal immigration system, but also for security reasons. If small-time con artists and Third-World gold-diggers can obtain green cards with so little resistance, then surely terrorists can do (and have done) the same.

•An overwhelming percentage of all petitions to bring foreign spouses or fiancés to the United States illegally (or to help them adjust visa status if they are already in the United States on non-immigrant visas) are approved — even in cases where the couple may only have met over the Internet, and may not even share a common language.

•Marriage to an American is the clearest pathway to citizenship for an illegal alien. A substantial number of illegal aliens ordered removed (many of whom have criminal records) later resurface as marriage-based green card applicants. Waivers granted to those marrying U.S. citizens can eliminate ineligibilities for green cards, including the 3/10-year bar on entry for those with long periods of illegal presence.

•The decision-making authority for green card applications lies with USCIS officials who rely almost exclusively on documents, records, and photographs, with little opportunity for interviews or investigations. Consular officers reviewing cases overseas do live interviews and can initiate local investigations, but may only approve petitions, not deny them.

From: Goodwife.com <here>

Marriage Survey <here>

Relevant Results:

Survey results indicate cross-cultural marriages fail at a rate of 40.76%

Comparatively, the divorce rate of U.S. domestic marriages is 48%

As a group, cross-cultural marriages can be expected to fail at a significantly lower rate than U.S. domestic marriages

Cross-cultural marriages have less than 10 years differences in the ages between men and women

Average age of men who marry a cross-cultural spouse is 40

Average age of women who marry a cross-cultural spouse is 32

Marital Longevity at Divorce <chart here>

Standard Bell Curve with majority from 1-6 years and peak at 2-3 years.

Primary Factors In Divorce: <chart here>

Top Seven Responses:

Male Responses (Ranked): Commitment, Family Goals, Communication, Sex, Infidelity, Financial, Stress

Female Responses (Ranked): Abuse, Family Goals, Communication, Stress, Sex, Financial, Commitment

When my (then fiancee) arrived with her 3 kids (Jan 08) and we got married (Feb 08), there was NO requirement for a SSN in order to enroll the kids into school (Kindergarden, 3rd, and 9th grade) or to add them to my health plan (Aetna) at work. They asked for the information, but when I didn't have it they didn't push. You might want to go back and check if this is a REQUIREMENT or just optional information. I would be surprised if it was mandatory.

Could be related to the following:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=168768

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=92602

Relax.

If you were married within 90 days of arrival, You are in a protected status. Given your compliance with the requirements of the K-1 Visa, you are allotted time to get the AOS accomplished. If asked, present your passport and a copy of your marriage certificate and if available, a copy of your AOS application..

Generally, you will not be challenged on your status.

Yeah I am really getting worried about it. Do you think it will be sufficient too if I'll bring with me my state Id and social security card?

All evidence on hand will help, in the unlikely event you are stopped and questioned.

The USA is not a communist state, where all movements are questioned. Your chances of interrogation by Border or local Law Enforcement = nearly zero.

Regards.

William33,

It is not that movements are questioned, rather ICE taking advantage of opportunities to contact individuals in locations where they might be trying to enter (or exit) the country, as well as where they are likely to be living, or working. I've placed a link below of another example where individuals were confronted on an AMTRAK train from upstate NY to NYC. I could also post stories (from Washington Post) where local Law Enforcement are requesting proof of legal status during routine stops, and local municipal business license offices are requiring them prior to issuing licenses.

Please don't minimize the possibility. I think it is better to encourage people to get their AOS application done and submitted within the appropriate timeframe, rather than minimizing the risk of getting caught.

http://www.theworldoffilipinas.com/forum/i...showtopic=12790

Relax.

If you were married within 90 days of arrival, You are in a protected status. Given your compliance with the requirements of the K-1 Visa, you are allotted time to get the AOS accomplished. If asked, present your passport and a copy of your marriage certificate and if available, a copy of your AOS application..

Generally, you will not be challenged on your status.

William33,

Whether or not it was true in the past, your statement (bolded) appears to be NOT correct now. If you read the story the OP posted, which can be found in its source in another forum (link below) you will see that the woman WAS married within 90 days of her arrival. They had just not yet filed AOS application. In spite of the fact that they had a marriage certificate faxed to the Border Patrol station, the wife was detained in the WILLACY DETENTION CENTER from Jan 17-27 and has to return to appear for a Deportation Hearing (unless she mis-understood) on Mar 11, 2009.

Please don't mis-represent this, as it has potentially serious consequences for those who cannot, will not, or have not done a prompt AOS application.

http://www.theworldoffilipinas.com/forum/i...showtopic=15820

Is it me and only me? When I first started with visa journey, which wasnt such a long time ago, I would start a new topic w/ a question and I would get a billion of answers right away! and I'm not lying. I would post something new and in less than a minute i would get atleast 5 answers. Lately I post a question and I barely get a response. Maybe just one and sometimes just plain none. Is this normal? Am I being ignored or is the system not letting other people see my questions? Is anyone else going through this? (I know this may be a dumb post but couldn’t help making it lol)

MGG,

Back in Feb 2007, the VJ Board of Directors created and populated a "VJ Welcoming Commitee" (VWC) who's responsibility it was to troll around looking for questions posted by New Members. The reason for this was so that New Members would feel welcome, supported, relevant, and in some cases important because they posted a question that so many people responded to. Not surprisingly, it worked. The benefit to this for VJ was people kept returning to VJ over and over again, long after their immediate need (VISA support) had passed. This allowed VJ to accumulate more Internet Posting Points (IPP) which could be translated into cold, hard, cash through the WWW Helper Incentive Plan and Interchange Policy (WHIPIT) and helped support the VWC.

With the economic downturn in the US, it has simply become too cost inefficient for this to continue. The income realized through WHIPIT no longer covered the expenses incurred by the welcoming comittee. As a result, in Aug 2008 the VJ BOD voted to suspend the VWC over time by having them no longer respond to members from particular countries, based on Geographic density of population. Nicaragua, as the least densely populated country in Central America (ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaragua) was first with a scheduled drop date of Jan 1 2009.

If you started noticing that people weren't responding to your posts after Jan 1, I suspect this is the reason why. They simply couldn't afford to any longer.

Frank

{Overblown Fabrication Alert!!! }

The only reason people make a big deal is because they don't have a higher position. How many directors, VP, CEOs have whiskey in their office and have a glass every now and then?

GREAT point Nessa.

Actually, IMHO, not a great point at all. "Having a glass every now and then" is not the same as "being drunk". I'm sure there are VPs, CEOs, and other corporate executives who have been fired for being drunk, or activities or events that happened as a result of their "being drunk".

I'm trying to establish domicile in the states. I tried opening a bank account but I recieved an email from the New Account Coordinator saying that its against the US Patriot Act for me to open a US bank account while living abroad.

Has anyone else had this problem??

Are you trying to establish proof of residency somewhere for yourself or are you trying to accomplish something else?

If its proof of residency, there are other easier ways than through the banking system. Can you be a little more specific about the circumstances for your question? It might help for people to respond.

Regardless, if you trying to establish proof of residency and you don't actually reside there, then its questionable why you want to do that.

MikelovesGracey,

It might be obvious, but I ask this anyway. Have you gotten a copy of all the documents filed on your behalf from the Attorney? If not, I would suggest that you request them, using some "safe" excuse, before you start making noises about letting them go. Otherwise, you might find they will drag their feet and not respond to such a request.

During my first marriage, when we had to process a Visa change, we used a lawyer who ended up being terrible. Non submission of forms, mistakes all over, and no follow through for delays. I finally started making sure we got copies of everything they sent and kept on the lawyers tail. The only reason we didn't boot them is because we'd already sunk the money and really didn't know where to insert ourselves into the process (we didn't know about VJ then).

One divorce and one better romance later, and my fiance did all our own processing for the Visa and AOS. This marriage and our process this time are both so much better.

So, I see people talking about how they view that their case has been "touched." I have been checking my case status online often. The original status was updated as of 10/8/08 however when I looked today the most recent update is as of 10/17/08. However, the Current Status message hasn't changed. Is that considered a "touch" or what was that?

Thanks!

The change of the date is the indication of "touch". You can now claim to have been "touched" on 10/17/08. It will not change the current status message.

I have a lot of friends married to Filipinas and so far about 75% of the Filipinas have cheated on their husbands. Is this a normal thing in the Philippines? One friend treated his wife like a queen and she still got a boyfriend on the side and was even renting an apartment for him using my friend's money. I just don't understand this cheating thing. I am going to have long discussions with my wife but wanted to get feedback here on this board too.

It wasn't clear from your posting question or your friends situation, but I'm wondering if you're asking in the context of a continuing LDR (e.g. married and filing for K3 visa) rather than currently co-habitating. Personally, I think this makes a difference in the statistics also. I think a lot more of what you describes happens when the couple remains seperated and have heard of instances of this from my wife.

I copied our pictures into a MS Powerpoint document that allowed for ease of resizing and layout. I then put a "little" text about each group or pics (page) which fell far short of identifing all locations and people in the pics. Printing was easy from that point and I did it on my home color printer with regular bond paper.

Something sounds not right here and perhaps its the information you are hearing, rather than the information that you are given.

Most banks only require Social Security number, Income Taxpayer number (ITIN), and identification (Passport, State, Federal). Why is your bank so different? If you have trouble getting SSN for your wife (strange on its own) then try getting an ITIN from the IRS. You can find out more about that here http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/intern...d=96696,00.html

If this is really what the financial institution is telling you, you might try another one and open an account there.

Also, have you added your wife to your credit accounts (e.g. credit cards)? They represent co-mingling finances too.

Hello averyone I'm K1 and now waiting for my AOS but iIgot already my SSN..My question is can I work now using my SSN and bank account because Im still waiting for my EAD biometrics? Does it will cause a problem to the job that I am applying for? Does anyone have the same experience? Thank you so much...

I'm curious, because it was not mentioned in your post or the discussion. Does your SS card have the following printed on it? "Not valid for work without DHS authorization"

If it does have this printed, then you will have to wait for the EAD. If it does not have that printed, then I don't think you will have a problem applying for work. Employers are required to complete a Form I-9 (http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/I-9.pdf) for all employees they hire. There are several combinations of documents that you could provide (SS Card & State ID) that would pass muster.

I'm only exploring this because usually someone who posts these threads mentions that wording from their SS Card. If your's doesn't say that, then I think the debate will shift another way.

You people from Texas always make me laugh....

Did you know if you cut Alaska in 1/2 then there would be TWO states bigger than Texas?

When I did AOS for Honey ko's AOS, I sent in last 3 years. It was pretty easy to do that, since I had just made request from IRS for Tax Transcripts using their phone in system. It didn't cost anything and they arrived in the mail a week or so later. Its just a couple of pages of paper, versus sending copies of my tax return, which could be a whole stack of paper.

As I recall, the AOS required 3 years tax returns.

Please add me/us to the AOS transfer list. We got an email indicating our AOS was transferred to CSC on 5/23. We had biometrics on 5/14.

Thanks.

March filers, my apology for not being able to update your timeline since I got back from vacation. I missed like 50 pages of this thread so got lazy to update the list.

But I tried my best today to do it. So if there's any errors, please bear with me. Kindly check the list and let me know if there's any correction need to be made. Thanks.

Also, congratulations for everyone who got their AP + EAD + AOS approval/interview.

Legend:

• Updates

• Done!

• Upcoming

For any correction, please let me know.

Username--------------FILED----RCVD-----NOA1-----BIO------TRNFR----INTRW----APRVL----EAD------AP

38.rouguewave-------- 03-14 __ 03-16 __ 04-25 __ xx-xx __ xx-xx __ xx-xx __ xx-xx __ xx-xx __ xx-xx

For any correction/updates, please let me know.

Just to keep you updated, we had our biometrics on 05/14 and we received an email that said the case was transferred to CSC for processing. The email was dated 05/24.

I know there are no guarentees, but does the case being transferred to CSC suggest that we'll be getting AOS without interview?

ya i was reading something somewhere about you need to show all your deposits i mean cant i just have the bank write a letter that says I have such balance in my account i mean wouldnt that work or do i still need to show each month statement?

There are people who have brought a "few" recent bank statements and others who have brought a year's worth. In reality, you don't need to submit ANY regular monthly statements for your account. As a previous poster pointed out, the instructions are specific about the statement from the bank as being one that lists current balance as well as total deposits over the past 12 months (not last year). They are looking for you to request this specific letter from the bank, not submit the equivalent bank monthly statements. My bank charged me $30 for it. Thanks, BankOfAmerica, for taking good care of my money.

Its generally felt that the letter provides a rough cross check for the income and assets statements that you make on the Affidavit of Support. If you tell them you've got megabucks in assets and its not reflected in the current balance of the bank statement ("Ohhhhh, its in my other account") then you're running a risk. If you tell them you make Megabucks of income and your bank statement shows paltry deposits, then you'd better have a shiny clean employment letter or your risking some serious questions or an RFE.

Obviously, the numbers don't have to exactly match anything, but the total picture from all evidence needs to convey the impression that you can afford to support having a spouse and/or family (especially above the poverty limits).