uapilot

5 hours ago, Tim n Irina said:

Anyone else fly through ZRH?

We did not (Istanbul, which has its own issues due to executive orders from a few years ago), but the passport checker there also asked if we had our packet and we just needed to flash it to him.

The airlines are just trying to do their due diligence to make sure you're able to enter the country. My assumption is that the responsibility is on them if you get deported back because of invalid documentation, either via a fine or you have to be put on one of their flights for free. We especially go through a rigamarole in Ukraine because they need to validate that we're allowed to take my step-daughter out of the country. That plus actual visas, plus COVID tests, plus the packet. We want to fly back to Kyiv in the fall for a quick trip, and I'm already worried that they won't know what a parole document is for re-entering the US.

Also, I have to say, you're pretty brave sticking the immigration packet into checked luggage. 😆 I treated that thing like a baby until we handed it off to a CBP officer. I was constantly terrified somebody would rip it open during our journey because they didn't know what it was.

So in these times of COVID, things are, as usual, unprecedented.

My wife and K-2 child entered in mid-April, we got our license on April 29th. No in-person ceremonies were allowed at the Clerk of Courts, so we were married by a pastor on May 1st. All licenses also had to be returned by mail, it could not be done by appointment.

We sent our license in the mail via Priority Mail on May 3rd, and it took over a week for that license to travel all of 5 miles (not sure what the heck happened here. It was in some limbo state between facilities for a few days, before arriving there on May 10th.

During one of my calls to the Clerks office, they said that getting a certificate takes about 4-12 weeks after receiving the license 😨 and that there are no expedite options (including for the mailing part).

We're about 1 month out from when their 90 day period expires, and I'm wondering what to do. I'm willing to wait 1-2 more weeks, but what do we do then if the certificates don't arrive? I have a photocopy of the license, and the marriage record is available online; would they accept instructions on how to search the county records and a printout of the record from online?

And a side question: if the certificate comes in on time, do we submit an original certificate? Or would a photocopy work?

2 hours ago, Chancy said:

 

In most states, a court order is not necessary to be able to change your legal name to your married name.  Marriage certificate is a legal name change document even if it only lists the bride's maiden name.  You'll only need a court order if the name you want to use does not follow the state's naming convention (e.g. many states do not allow use of maiden surname as new middle name after marriage) or if your home country requires a legal document to explicitly state the new married name in order to change the name on your passport.

 

Interesting. That may saves us some trouble, although we'd still need the certificate.

4 hours ago, Ayrton said:

If you're applying for a SSN during the 75 day period of your I-94, you must apply in your maiden name because that's the name DHS has on file and that's the name on your immigration document (passport/visa/I-94).

 

After getting married, you can use the marriage certificate/court order to update the name on the SSN.

 

Btw what state do you live in that doesn't allow change of last name after marriage?

Florida, but during marriage it doesn't allow it. You can always change it after.

Interesting bit about the use of the maiden name for the SSN. I'll definitely get the SSN application filed ASAP in that case since we're not waiting on anything. I guess I was following some advise that was intended for folks coming on IR-1/CR-1? Although those folks get an automatic SSN after arriving.

On 5/12/2021 at 4:04 PM, JeanneAdil said:

for a K1 they will have to apply within the 90 day window of the I 94

or wait for about a year for the AOS process to be done

OP very important to marry and apply for the ss# ASAP

What's fun is that the Clerk of Courts office where we got married on May 1st is telling us they need 4-12 weeks to get our certificate out to us. I'm wondering if I can apply for the SSN and I-485 using an online record of our marriage (which has been recorded) and provide them with a link or something. And we still have to process a name change at the local circuit court since they don't do the name change during marriage in the state where we married.

11 hours ago, Mike E said:

My understanding is that SSA offices are requiring the green card to be mailed in.  There are several reports (starting with the SSA’s own blog) of SSA losing such documents.  
 

My advice is to insist on an in person interview or defer doing this.  
 

It is a misdemeanor for you to not have your green card on your person at all times. It also takes literally years to replace a lost green card.  

Jeez, that is just nuts.

I'm not as concerned about cost; this is already an expensive endeavor. But I feel really bad for my step-daughter having to go through the bloodwork again. If there is a way to do vaccines in one location, and then have the civil surgeon fill out the form for whatever fee that takes, that would really help.

15 minutes ago, Lucky Cat said:

Probably the entire exam.......liability is a real thing in the US.   

Yikes. Well that stinks. The only reason we didn't do the vaccines was because she was so traumatized by the blood draw that we decided to let it go. You live and learn, I guess.

2 minutes ago, igoyougoduke said:

no physician will sign off on i-693 without seeing the subject. their signature is on the form.

What would the exam entail though? More bloodwork?

I've called three doctors in my area, all three of them either don't do vaccines for someone as young as 4 year olds, or refuse to do just the vaccine portion of the I-693. A fourth doctor will do it but has to see the child first and then refer her for the actual vaccines. Is this common?

The instructions for I-693 clearly state you can do just the vaccines if you had your medical overseas less than a year ago but didn't get all the needed vaccines, but Civil Surgeons seem to not know that. I heard that it's best to do them in the country of origin to save on money, but I didn't expect it's because the Civil Surgeon would make you repeat the entire examination.

From the instructions:
 

Quote

If you were admitted as a:

1. K-1 fiancé(e) or a K-2 child of a K-1 fiancé(e); or

2. K-3 spouse of a U.S. citizen or a K-4 child of a K-3 spouse of a U.S. citizen; and

3. You received a medical examination prior to admission, then:

   1. (1)  You are not required to have another medical examination as long as you file your Form I-485 within one year of an overseas medical examination; and

      (a) The panel physician did not find a class A medical condition during your overseas examination; or
      (b) The panel physician did find a class A medical condition, you received a waiver of inadmissibility, and

      you have complied with the terms and conditions of the waiver.

   2. (2)  Even if a new medical examination is not required, you must still show proof that you complied with the vaccination requirements. If the vaccination record (DS 3025) was not properly completed and included as part of the original overseas medical examination report, you will need to have the Part 10. Vaccination Record completed by a designated civil surgeon. In this case, you must submit Parts 1. - 5., 7., and 10.

      of Form I-693.

Confirming. They were doing interviews in December, February, March for K-1s. They started to post interview slots to the scheduling website as of the day they made the announcement that they're doing interviews again starting April 1st. There is an official line they toe, but the unofficial reality is often different.

We've gotten the passports back now and bought our tickets back to the states. The only thing left now is figuring out how to survive in Kyiv without public transportation until our flight.  Keep faith and keep checking the scheduling website.

12 hours ago, Ontarkie said:

What does the mother's custody say regarding hers and his rights? If it's something like Canada - pretty much next to impossible to have the father's rights terminated or  is it something like the PI if the mother was never married she has sole and complete custody then that makes a huge difference. 

They were never married, but he's listed on the birth certificate, so according to Ukrainian law, they both have equal rights and responsibilities.

On 3/22/2021 at 3:40 AM, Keithn85 said:

Post here when you finish the interview on Friday!

Approved! I'll post an embassy review shortly after my fiance stops jumping up and down long enough to tell me what they asked during the interview.

Protip: you'll earn bonus points with the FSO if you follow the instructions and crop your 50x50mm photos before the interview and write the person's name on the back of them.

Visa Approved!! We didn't include a communication history, only our travels and photos together. I'm happy to finally graduate to the AOS stage and let out my breath. 😌

1 hour ago, Baldi said:

Well, if you are bringing I-129 whole package those pictures are included. I have not really paid attention if he had old pictures or not. As for the frequency for WhatsApp my fiancé screenshotted couple of call logs for each month. For emails  - put the word ''inbox'' in a Gmail search then ''label inbox'' comes up click it  and then you put the email of the person who's mails u wanna see and then print it whatever comes up.

I don't have the package though; I assume they do. All I have is a scanned copy of my application that they sent me. I guess this is the part where I realize I should have written down what I sent them. 😂

13 hours ago, Keithn85 said:

Post here when you finish the interview on Friday!

You got it!

It's funny, the year leading up to the interview scheduling was tough, but we were sort of in marathon mode, pacing our anxiety. Now with the interview scheduled, the anxiety is killing us. 😂 I immediately started coming up with a mental list of all the things that could go wrong, even though the worst thing that could happen is that we just go back to waiting for an interview again.

10 hours ago, RamonGomez said:

I have a wonderful stepdaughter here in the US. I have known her for a long time, and her biological father has been MIA since she was 2 years old.

 

It's been shockingly easy and schools, doctors, government offices etc. have never given me any grief for not being her "legal" father. I don't even think I was ever asked. We are, however, looking into legal options in the event something happens to my wife (e.g. adoption, guardianship, etc.) One option we're leaning towards is specifying me as the legal guardian in her will, since my wife has sole custody. In theory, we could also make the argument in court that since her biological dad is "unfit" and she has no other immediate relatives in the US, it's in the child's best interest to stay with me, her stepfather. 

 

But I agree, pay for an hour to talk to a good family-law attorney, ideally one that has experience involving immigrants. There are also state-by-state differences.

Thank you, this is great info. I'll gladly talk to one, but I haven't been back in the states in over a year. We'll likely first choose a state to live in and then get around to it.

5 hours ago, Baldi said:

Hello everyone,

There are some updates I would love to share with ya'll. Yesterday I interviewed at the US embassy in Georgia and my K1 visa got approved. Altogether the process since applying took a year. Despite the frustrations of waiting so long there was a light at the end of the tunnel. The interview was so easy and smooth that I could not even imagine  it in my dreams. At the embassy employees from security guards to the visa officers were superbly friendly, even the environment in the interview room was inviting. Within 10 minutes in the room I was calm and focused. After the documents were taken, I was asked to wait. Meanwhile other lady was interviewing for a K1 visa and her love story was so sweet that left all of us with teary eyes. In my interview window, I was met by a chilled American man who's smile I could see through his mask ❤️that helped and I was able to speak with him like I spoke with peers  let's get to the business now...

There are few things I would advise the couples preparing for interview to do.

First, have a wonderfully organized  documents and organize them according to the P3 package the embassy sent you. In my case, they have asked for ds-160, passport, fee payment; original documents with notarized translations(police certificates and so on); I-134 with all supporting documents; evidence of genuine engagement: pictures, correspondence frequency, remittances and so on. At the interview they have not asked beyond these documents though I had my i-129f  with me.  

Second, I reviewed 100 questions or more, but was asked these two. 1. So you went to the US before on what type of visa? If you had a J1 visa make sure 2 year requirement is met or waived. 2. How did you meet your fiancé? 3. Where does he work? 

The officer looked at some of the pictures and said - ''ohh, they are cool'' and then ''seems we have everything we need and you should have your passport within a week'' DONE. 

Seems like the embassies missed applicants too  

Any idea if the officer did or did not have the photos you already sent with your I-129F application? I've printed out some from after we filed the I-129F, and am wondering if I need to reprint the old photos as well.

I'm trying to figure out how to demonstrate correspondence frequency, but it's difficult to print out an entire chat history dating back 3 years.

48 minutes ago, Ontarkie said:

~~MOved to Moving Here and Your New Life, from General Immigration Discussion.~~

 

 

 

Mod hat off

The mother will have to list you as someone who has permission to see the child's medical reports/talk to the doctors/pay the bill (yes it's crazy)  and she will have to list you at the school as contact and pick up.

As a step -parent you really have no rights at all. Does not matter if the father is in the country or not. Your rights end with divorce/death. There is no gray area here. 

If something happens to the mother, the father is to be notified and she is returned to him. If someone  deicides to hide the fact from the father and he finds out a world of trouble can happen.

You cannot adopt her without him giving up his parental rights, so if he wants to still be her father even from far then no adoption. 

 

Permission to move is a notarized letter or court order. 

The part about adoption I'm well aware of. I'm just suggesting him wanting to be a parent is not a permanent thing.

Assuming he does, though, and something happens to the mother but he is fine with my step-daughter continuing to live in my family, is there a vehicle other than adoption that would allow for that?

1 hour ago, JeanneAdil said:

social workers only get involved when they get a report of abuse or some kind of misuse 

and as step father you will have rights to attend dr appointments,  school functions including sporting events and recitals and teacher meetings

if for any reason the mother is incapciatated,  it will depend on so many factors like for how long,   laws where u live,   age of child as if old enough she may choose to return to father,  and so many other things

 

if father is still out of the country ,  you will have the wife's permission here in US not the father 

and when considering adoption,   you would have to have father's permission  but consider the cost as adoption is expensive even when all parties are in the US

What do you mean about me having my wife's permission if the father isn't in the US? Does that mean my wife could grant me some rights without consent from the father since he doesn't live in the US?

As for adoption, I'm aware of the costs, and I could certainly see a future in which the father would allow it. But at the moment, I'm just looking for practical alternatives that we could implement for the near future.

We're on the precipice of getting our K-1 visa and being able to move to the United States. This has finally given me some mental space to start considering the logistics of life back in the US, including the fact that I will be a step-parent after our marriage.

My would-be stepdaughter is 4 years old. Her father is alive and well, has some interest in the child, and has given us his blessing to move to the US (including giving us formal permission to leave their native country, which is required when the child is leaving the country with one parent).

My question is, how does it work in the States (Virginia specifically, but we'll be moving elsewhere most likely)? Let's say my fiance is incapacitated. Does a social worker come for my step-daughter? Does my fiance have to be at every one of her doctor's appointments?

In terms of getting some rights to the child, what are my options (assuming the father agrees)? I'd be willing to adopt, but I'm sure it's not something that's tenable, at least not yet. I know legal guardianship exists, but based on what I'm reading, it's only for those cases where both natural parents rescind their parental rights. Is there something that would work for my situation? Something that would give me some authority over the child's well being, and in cases of emergency, prevent her from just simply being taken from me just because it's hospital protocol or something.

And if there is something (and this is the part that is immigration related), how do we go about proving the father's permission? Do we get a notarized statement with an apostille?

Hopefully, these weren't stupid questions. Internet searches haven't given me a lot of answers, so I'm thinking, people around here may have some experience in this area.

Any idea if this new quarantine in Kyiv from March 20th-April 9th will affect interviews on those days? My assumption is no since they don't seem to rely on those quarantine measures for their opening/closing decisions, but maybe I'm being too hopeful.

4 minutes ago, Tim n Irina said:

 

I didn't see anything that indicated we needed a new one, but we decided to go get one just in case.  Plenty of time to get it done for us.

Ah, I missed that you were doing a CR-1/IR-1. Sorry, that may have been the wrong info.

If it's required for you, then it's valid for one year from the date of issue.

Hey, we got ours scheduled recently for Mar 26, so we're on a tight schedule. We found out the hard way that a police report takes 1 month (!!) to complete, in case you haven't done that yet. There are paid agencies that can do an expedited report that takes between 3-7 days, however. But still, information we wish we had earlier.

Finally got our interview scheduled. Wish it wasn't just a complete free-for-all. Our Embassy resumed interviews on Friday, and I found some slots today after playing refresh Bingo. I feel bad for anybody that happens to be asleep when they add appointment slots.