ikarus

Hi....

One of my friends signed up for the site and he told me that he tried to add a topic, but the button appears disabled. He can't add topics or reply to questions. I joined the site a while back and don't remember having that problem. I tried to look for info about posting, but came up empty.

For those newly registered on the site---what are the rules for your first post?

thanks!

hi,

ive recently submitted my AOS and have already started the process towards getting a GC.

i have already had my biometrics done and m wondering how long i have to wait until my EAD should come through or if i can work temporarily without it. ive already gotten an offer of emloyment, but am holding out til i get the proper papers.

any suggestions or advice????

thanks,

Michelle81

I think we got our ead in about 60 days or so...you can look at people's timelines and kind of get an average; people will tell you they got theirs in 60-90 day period; I remember browsing the forums a while back, and some even said they expedited their ead's arrival, but not sure how successful is that; you can maybe do a search on expedite ead.....but average, 60-90 day wait, and some unfortunate souls have had to wait a lot more than that.

Not sure why you have to do an infopass, but when we were in our AOS process, we got our biometrics appt for florida; at the time we were traveling because of my job, and since we were in texas, we just walked in at a biometrics office in houston and that's how we got our biometrics done; as long as you have your appointment letter and your marriage certificate with you, you could go to alaska and have your biometrics done there. Not really sure why the infopass is needed, because we just went straight to the biometrics location and got the stuff done.

Your mother's name is spelled wrong in your marriage certificate? This is not an issue at all, and yes, your husband is correct. I wouldn't bother having that changed. But if you have the time, not a big deal to change by yourself.

They automatically stamp it on your passport, but it's useless.

Thanks Ikarus!

I checked online and it says that my AP was already approved and mailed to me. I did call and they expedited it, so it was approved within 3 days. What I am not sure about is whether I can leave the country before I've had my biometrics done. It seems like biometrics are only required for Re-entry permit and Refugee travel docs, but not for AP. Now that I see that you can just walk in, I might try...Do you just show up and explain you wanted to have it done earlier? Also, I was wondering whether I need any other document in order to travel, or AP is enough. I was on O-1 Visa, but it expired 2 days ago...I will also try to call them, but as you said their answers are often conflicting.

Thanks!

Walk-in appointments are a breeze, as long as the center where you go is not busy. You just show up and tell the person that you have an appoitment for such and such day, but wanted to do it earlier; they will say, yes, you can do it, or no, we are busy at the moment. Most of the times if they are busy, they will tell you when is the best time to do a walk in for that particular office. So yes, all you have to say is, I want to do mine earlier. And if they say you cannot do it, ask when is the best time to do a walk in. Nothing to it.

To travel, yes, you just need the ap; however, if you're a female that took the husband's name, then you also need your marriage certificate.

And yes, they give you all types of conflicting answers; I would say, if you can, do the biometrics appointment since is not hard to do.

What phone number did you call to apply for the expedited AP? I got an NOA in the mail today saying my wife's I-485 has been transferred to the California Service Center for processing. Their processing time for the AP is 3mo, and my wife really wants to go home to Canada for Christmas, but we're afraid she won't get the AP in time. We filed a standard AP, along with an I-485, and EAD. The Chicago Lockbox received it on 9/18/09. Notice of Transfer to CSC is 10/5/09. Thanks for any advice you can provide.

Slavina,

First of all, do you have your biometrics appointment in hand? cause you could do a walk in before your appointment...

About traveling abroad before doing the biometrics...when we spoke to the USCIS person on the phone, she specifically told us to make sure that we had our biometrics done before we applied for the expedited ap, otherwise that would delay the AP; funny thing is that same person told us that we couldn't expedite the AP through the phone, but we had to mail the request in. But because of her, we did a walk in for the biometrics first, and then we called to get the AP expedited. The AP itself only has your picture, but no fingerprints on it, but I don't know if they use biometrics info to issue it; but what was clear to us, was that we needed to have the biometrics done before AP could be issued. The USCIS gives all types of conflicting info, I tell you.

InTransit,

On the documentation you receive, such as the NOA, there is a phone number that starts with 1-800....don't have those forms with me, but is the customer service number, and then you have to navigate through a series of menus to talk to somebody about the AP. Way back in february, I posted details on how I made it through the phone call. Maybe you can search for my posts, or do a search on 'advance parole' and look for my posts.

Like you, our case got transferred to CSC and we received the greencard in 2.5 months; so you could be just fine, but given the holidays in between now and xmas, maybe applying for the expedited ap is not a bad idea.

Wait for an RFE if you get one; sending any supplement paperwork without being asked to, can only slow down the process

Dr arnold, that's it. I thought it was $20. Oh well, still much cheapoer than the scam artist civil surgeons.

Yes, he will accept what you have and update anything new you get from your family doctor.

Yep, we got ours done this year by Dr. Arnold and his fee was raised to 30 dollars; beats the hundreds of dollars the other scammers out there are charging.

Hi guys,

I entered the states under K1 visa and I was married last week. I am now in the process of AOS but I have some questions about filling out the forms and hope you all can help.

My passport showing my Chinese first name "Siu Ting" with my last name "Chan" and I also got my American name "Tiffany" which is not offically show on my passport but all my friends and family call me "Tiffany". Since I married to my husband, I would like to use my first name as "Tiffany" and his last name "Smith", but I was wondering should I just fill "Tiffany Smith" as my name on the AOS form and so on? Do I have any other step need to do since I change my first name as well?

Appericate any help.

What's the name in your marriage certificate?

My wife somehow managed to communicate with somebody in the embassy/consulate in DC a few months back as she wanted to know the same exact thing you asked....I do believe they said they wanted us to come in person...can't remember; right now she is out of the country so I emailed her your post, and she replied in Romanian! I'll copy paste what she said. Not sure why she replied in Romanian when the post is in English, and she won't have access to email for a couple of days, so I'll go ahead and paste the romanian text below that she sent me; apologies to those who don't speak romanian...i don't speak it either.

Ciao!

Si am avut aceleasi probleme ca si tine si inca nu le-am rezolvat din motive birocratice. Dupa ce am sunat de la un consulat la altul pentru ca ca nimeni nu a fost in stare sa-mi spuna ce si cum sa procedez, mi s-a sugerat sa ma uit pe site-ul site-ul Ambasadei de la Washington, pentru ca acolo sunt furnizate toate informatiile. Insa din cate ai sa citesti, ai sa realizezi ca iti ceri sa produci "n" mii tipuri de documente pe care ei ti le taxeaza dupa bunul plac si dulcele stil romanesc. Iar chestia care m-a infuriat cel mai tare e ca te pun sa scrii o declaratie pe proprie raspundere cum ca nu ai mai fost casatorit, pe care ei apoi o legalizeaza si iti cer bani pe asta. Cum sa legalizeze o declaratie pe proprie raspundere? Normal, ca sa ia bani. In sfarsit, plina de nervi, am decis sa rezolv aceasta problema anul urmator, cand imi expira pasaportul si va trebui sa-l reinnoiesc. Atunci voi schimba toate actele direct in Romania, intrucat nu cer atatea acte si nici atatia bani. Iar daca ai cunostinte la starea civila din orasul de bastina, treaba dureaza cateva zile. Sau poti face o procura parintilor tai sa se ocupe ei in Romania, in numele tau, de toate documentele. Oricum, inscrierea casatoriei in registrul de stare civila, dureaza, in principiu, cel putin 3-6 luni. Ca sa stii cat ai de asteptat.

Iti doresc mult succes!

Si uite si site-ul minunatei ambasade:

http://www.roembus.org/

Voiam sa-ti spun ca in Romania imi refuza certificatul apostilat de Secretarul de Stat,pentru ca nu este original..si din cate am inteles de la o pritena si in Florida e acelasi lucru..iti emit marraige license in original,cea cu stampila rotunda si copie certificat de Court House ...dar nu original cu semnatura in roginal a certificatului....si aia nu vor sa mi-o accepte in romania...

Thanks for the message....have you tried bribing these productive romanian civil servants? Cause that seems to be the only way to get things done in lovely Romania!

\

Will this create a problem, if we leave the country and at the POE immigration w/ her permanent card?

How do we actually get it fixed in the "system," whatever system means?

Thanks.

When leaving/entering the country it shouldn't be a problem as long as she carriages her marriage certificate.

When my wife travels outside the usa, we buy the plane ticket in her maiden name because her passport is still in her maiden name, and is also easier to go through the TSA agents that way.

When returning to the usa, at the exiting country she shows her passport that has her maiden name, along with the marriage certificate that shows her new name, and she also shows the greencard that has the married name.

Upon entering the usa, she only shows the greencard. They could ask for the passport and marriage certificate, but that has not happened.

Also, if the DMV showed her maiden name, why didn't you show the marriage certificate to prove that she changed her name?

Hi,

We are gathering all the papers to send the AOS. They ask for the most 6 recent paystubs. Unfortunatly 2 (the 2nd and 3rd) are missing and his accountant told him he cannot make any copy. Is it ok if we send some others that will be older of 6 weeks?

Many thanks

I had a similar issue. I was missing the latest pay stubs; i sent what I could and it was not an issue. We didn't receive any RFE's on the pay stubs and we figured that if anything, we would bring the latest paystubs to the interview. Fortunately, our case was sent to CSC, and no interview was done.

( I attached a letter explaining together with proof) and that I would hear from them within 5 days. I have not heard back from them, the case status online says that it is being processed. I looked at the infopass appointments, but it seems like you can only make an appointment if you have waited for 45 days. Has anyone been through the same situation? I have to travel to Europe in two weeks and need to figure out what to do. Thanks for your answers!

We filed for expedited AP on the phone; we called on a friday afternoon and we were told we would hear back in five days. We actually got a letter in the mail with the approval the following friday.

Prior to our phone call, we did an infopass appointment to try to get the AP at the local office and yes, when you show up, you tell the officer you're there for an AP. Once we talked to a clerk, he didn't give a damn about our request and told us it couldn't be done at the local office. He went on to say that the only way AP's were done was mailing them in. Obviously he was wrong as we ended up applying through the phone.

My point to you is that even if you make the infopass appointment, you might be dismissed with no info, so be ready to either come back, or request to speak to another clerk. If I were you, I would call and try to find out what happened to the AP; and if they tell you that they don't know, call again until somebody responds; we called in about 3 times and 2 times on the phone we were told we couldn't apply for the AP on the phone; on the 3rd time, as soon as we said we wanted to apply for the AP, the lady took in our data and done deal.

If it involves working for a US company that requires proof of employment, yes, it is illegal. However, I'm not sure what you mean by home projects...

I'm actually amused by this topic; my wife came to the usa from Romania on a k1 visa and she works remotely for a belgian company. She does her european taxes as she has always done them, and then we do our taxes in the usa and I include her income that she made in her european company; has not been a problem. It kind of sucks to pay taxes twice, but not much we can do about that, except just not work at all.... My friend's wife also came on a k1 visa and she works 'remotely' for a japanese company, as she is japanese. We honestly don't understand what's so difficult about this situation or why others find it as a grey area.

I'm sorry to ask but I don't think you have to pay taxes in both country, unless it reaches a certain amount (which is actually quite big like 80K per year as far as I can remember).

Are you really sure you have to declare those incomes in your american taxes?

Maybe I'm doing a mistake, I asborbed a lot of informations lately....

We're concerned about the time we'll be kinda out of status, basically before we actually get the work permit.

But I agree there's no reasonnable reason why this would be illegal.

It's been a few months, but in a way you're correct; I could have filed my taxes without including my wife's belgian income. However, for our case, we were doing the AOS around tax season, and we decided it would be good proof to say that we filed our taxes together for 2008. Thus, as specified in other posts related to taxes in this forum, when I sent in my taxes, we mailed also a statement to consider my wife as a us resident for tax purposes, and thus by doing that, we declared her belgian income. And yes, you're right...if the income is above a certain amount you pay taxes. And yes, we exceeded that amount; the tax wasn't that much, but is still a double tax. But I could have chosen not to declare her income; the only reason i did it was just to have more proof of a solid marriage for AOS interview purposes.

And again, your usa work permit has nothing to do with your 'native' work permit. The only concern is---if you're workign for foreign company and you physically have to be out of the usa---do you have the legal means to get back to the usa without a problem(is your AP approved and has it arrived)? Other than that, the usa work permit has nothing to do with your french company. Unless of course, the french company has a branch in the usa, and you have to be 're-hired' in the usa. Then yes, you need your usa permit to do that. Example, my friend came from switzerland and was working at company xyz. Company xyz has offices in the usa, but company xyz told her that to continue employment at xyz, she would have to be rehired in the usa. In that case, it does not work. But if your french company is just allowing you to continue working from the usa, again, NOT A PROBLEM!

I'm actually amused by this topic; my wife came to the usa from Romania on a k1 visa and she works remotely for a belgian company. She does her european taxes as she has always done them, and then we do our taxes in the usa and I include her income that she made in her european company; has not been a problem. It kind of sucks to pay taxes twice, but not much we can do about that, except just not work at all.... My friend's wife also came on a k1 visa and she works 'remotely' for a japanese company, as she is japanese. We honestly don't understand what's so difficult about this situation or why others find it as a grey area.

"Does this mean that I can telecommute to the UK to continue to provide an income for my new life or not?"

By tele commute, do you mean, working remotely? You're in the usa, and you're working for your british company remotely? And do you also mean flying to the UK every so often to do some work?

Either way, absolutely you can do this. Not having the permit to work in the usa, doesn't mean you can't work in the UK. My wife has done exactly the same in the past; she worked remotely for a european company, and couple of times she had to fly back there for work. As long as you can legally get back to the usa, then not a problem; however, my only advice would be that when entering the usa, and if you're asked reason for being out the country, don't say, work reasons. That can only lead to unwelcoming 'probing' questions...And believe me, you're not in a unique situation.

The only EAD that I heard and knew that could be done electronically was about a couple of years ago when the texas service center had a pilot program; I know my friend did it through the computer but that was in 2006, and it was for a limited time; never heard of that program being implemented all over, and I know when my turn came this year to do the EAD, i couldn't find that program anywhere. Maybe things have changed now, but haven't seen any posts on it lately on these forums.

We did our AOS using help from this board. We had a straight forward case. I know some have had divorced, or other legal problems, and then they do need legal help; but if you have a simple case, yes, you can do it yourself.

about 2.5 months

Sorry for delay, but I have been very busy. The original marriage licence is the that looks like a form, not the "fancy" one. I'm sure you must have got at least a few copies (RO = "exemplare") of that "form marriage licence" type. Each of them is, in fact, original, so you should submit one. If you don't have an extra copy of it, you can probably go to the Court House and ask for one (for which you'll have to pay a fee).

If you are afraid to send your passport by post to the Embassy, you can obviously choose one of the other carriers: FedEx, UPS, etc. It's a bit more expensive, but not unaffordable.

Now, I haven't changed my name yet on my Romanian identity card/passport, because I haven't had the time for the bureaucratic process, and I'm still using my "both identities" for the moment. I am hoping to take care of that in the following months.

I wish you best of luck!

Anyway..can you please e-mail her back...I need to ask..some more things.Pls.

My passport doesn't expire soon...Actually it expires in 5 years,,,or smth...

I can;t wait that much...My concern is that they won't let me come back from Ro...and I may have pb at the customs ,having 2 different names in green card/passport.

And if I send a copy of my marriage certificate to my mother in Romania...can she register me there?I don't trust the post office...to send the original...And how can my mother do that?Do I still need to go in Washington to sign smth and send it to her so she register me there?

thanks a lot

Wife finally emailed me back:

Like I said before, you have 2 options: either solve it through the Embassy (but, from my point of view, it'll cost a lot more), or directly in Romania. Now, if you want to register your marriage in the civil register in Romania, you can't simply send the marriage certificate to your mother (or any other family member). You will have to send them the following documents:

- power of attorney (empowering her to represent you before the Romanian authorities);

- translation into Romanian and notarisation of the power of attorney;

- copy of your marriage ceritificate;

- translation and notarisation (including apostille of the Hague Convention) of the marriage certificate;

- copy of your birth cerificate;

- copy of your Romanian ID;

- copy of your husband's birth certificate/passport.

I don't know where your mother lives, but if it Bucharest, then it's going to take a few months to register the marriage. If it's a different town, it could take less. Only after that you can change all your other papers (passport and ID card). The office where she has to go or simply make a phone call (but better go there in person) is called "Biroul pentru Evidenta Informatiza a Populatiei", which belongs to the town-hall. (So, if you do things in Romania, no need to go to Washington, DC).

Should you have any other questions, let me know.

Best of luck!

You show up at the biometrics office and say that is not your appt time but want to do a walk in; most places will let you do it, unless they are extremely busy; and if they are busy, they will tell you when is the best time to come back. If there are other offices in your city, try another one...

My wife somehow managed to communicate with somebody in the embassy/consulate in DC a few months back as she wanted to know the same exact thing you asked....I do believe they said they wanted us to come in person...can't remember; right now she is out of the country so I emailed her your post, and she replied in Romanian! I'll copy paste what she said. Not sure why she replied in Romanian when the post is in English, and she won't have access to email for a couple of days, so I'll go ahead and paste the romanian text below that she sent me; apologies to those who don't speak romanian...i don't speak it either.

Ciao!

Si am avut aceleasi probleme ca si tine si inca nu le-am rezolvat din motive birocratice. Dupa ce am sunat de la un consulat la altul pentru ca ca nimeni nu a fost in stare sa-mi spuna ce si cum sa procedez, mi s-a sugerat sa ma uit pe site-ul site-ul Ambasadei de la Washington, pentru ca acolo sunt furnizate toate informatiile. Insa din cate ai sa citesti, ai sa realizezi ca iti ceri sa produci "n" mii tipuri de documente pe care ei ti le taxeaza dupa bunul plac si dulcele stil romanesc. Iar chestia care m-a infuriat cel mai tare e ca te pun sa scrii o declaratie pe proprie raspundere cum ca nu ai mai fost casatorit, pe care ei apoi o legalizeaza si iti cer bani pe asta. Cum sa legalizeze o declaratie pe proprie raspundere? Normal, ca sa ia bani. In sfarsit, plina de nervi, am decis sa rezolv aceasta problema anul urmator, cand imi expira pasaportul si va trebui sa-l reinnoiesc. Atunci voi schimba toate actele direct in Romania, intrucat nu cer atatea acte si nici atatia bani. Iar daca ai cunostinte la starea civila din orasul de bastina, treaba dureaza cateva zile. Sau poti face o procura parintilor tai sa se ocupe ei in Romania, in numele tau, de toate documentele. Oricum, inscrierea casatoriei in registrul de stare civila, dureaza, in principiu, cel putin 3-6 luni. Ca sa stii cat ai de asteptat.

Iti doresc mult succes!

Si uite si site-ul minunatei ambasade:

http://www.roembus.org/

K.Thanks...

It sounds like I have to go in person in Washington and I live in Louisiana..it sound great:(

Anyway..can you please e-mail her back...I need to ask..some more things.Pls.

My passport doesn't expire soon...Actually it expires in 5 years,,,or smth...

I can;t wait that much...My concern is that they won't let me come back from Ro...and I may have pb at the customs ,having 2 different names in green card/passport.

And if I send a copy of my marriage certificate to my mother in Romania...can she register me there?I don't trust the post office...to send the original...And how can my mother do that?Do I still need to go in Washington to sign smth and send it to her so she register me there?

thanks a lot

If your concern is that they won't let you out of romania in the usa because of the different name in the passport/greencard, you might want to look into posting that same question to others that have gone back in the europe asian forum; we have gone to europe after we got married and we left europe showing the marriage certificate and AP and it was not a problem. I'll email my wife and see what she says to your other questions.

Also you need to do a search on the forums. Plenty of people have asked this question and many replies given. Our case was transferred to csc, and it was approved with no interview. Wish you the same luck!