cwaf

What are the laws in the Ukraine regarding this?

The laws in the U.S. are very clear on it. If you sign the birth certificate whether you are the bio dad or not...You're the Dad.

My concern is this. If she has fraudlently done this, perhaps the bio dad WANTS to be involved. If she leaves the country without his permission, with his child, and has lied on the birth certificate...she could be in A LOT of trouble. It all depends on the laws of the Ukraine.

Hi Rob and Jill....Well, from what I read today online, in the USA it is illegal to sign a birth certificate as the father if you are not the biological father. I know the actual father has no plans on being part of the child's life. After posting this message, I emailed a friend of mine from ukraine who is a naturalized citizen here, and also went back to ukraine to marry a woman and have a child after becoming the citizen. I will paste excerpts from his email response to me.

"When one of the parents is American Citizen, the child is eligible to be American citizen even if the child is born outside of US. But it does not make him/her American citizen automatically. The paperwork must be completed. It called "CRBA (Consular Report of Birth Abroad") and it must be presented to the American consular in the country of birth (in Ukraine) with proper documentation which include but not limited to birth certificate that shows that one of the parents is American and, most importantly, they must prove that parents were together at the time of conceive. It could be dated pictures together , airfare tickets, stamps in the passport that shows the date of entry to Ukraine and date of departure from Ukraine. If he can not present these evidences, they can and more likely they will send him for a paternal test.

What he did, he committed a fraud. They might get a big problem because of that. It includes banning her forever from entering USA.

nd I completely agree with you. They had to wait for a child birth and than he would do exactly what you did - Fiance Visa K1 and Child of Fiance-K2. Or they could get married in Ukraine and than after he comes back to USA he would file Spouse Visa K3 and Child of Spouse Visa K4.

In any case (K2 or K4 Visas), she would need to state during the child registration that she has no clue who the baby's father is. Otherwise, they need to get biological father's written approval for a child to leave the country.

Also, I am not sure how he did sign the papers that he is a father if the child was not born yet. They can not register unborn child. The law in Ukraine states, that if parents are not married, in order for father to register him as a father he must be present during the child registration process. Notarized documents or power of attorney are not accepted. That is why I had to go to Ukraine RIGHT AFTER the child birth. My daughter was born on 4 and I arrived to Ukraine on 13."

I think I have my answer, but am open to other input who may have gone through a similar experience.

thanks!

hello everyone...it has been forever since I was here. I successfully brought my fiance over from Ukraine, along with her daughter, in october 2008 and we married in November 2008. We are living quite happily togther. However, that is not the topic of this thread. Ny wife's neice in Ukraine put her profile online during our last visit to Ukraine in may 2010. She met and began correspondence with a man (whom I do not trust)and he just returned home from Ukraine today. (actually still in the air). They became engaged while he was there. Now, the situation. The niece is 21 and never married. She left her "man" of 5 years early this year and moved back home. That man is the biological father of her unborn child. She is due any day now with a baby boy. yesterday, before my neice's fiance` left, they went to the hospital and he signed the birth certificate of the yet unborn baby as the father. He is not the biological father and I firmly believe it is illegal to sign the birth certificate as such and this could cause them great issues during the visa application time. I know his intent was to show his dedication to the baby and his fiance`, but I think he should have waited until the child was in the USA and then adopt the boy. Will this maneuever they performed cause my niece any trouble? My wife argued that he did not sign saying he was the biological father, only "the father". I told her that is one and the same on the legal documents like that as there are not two lines, one for biolgical and one for desired-fathers. I am going to suggest that they remake the birth certificate without his name since the baby has not yet been born.

am I being paranoid? I care about her--not the fiance`--and do not want her to be branded as being a fraud, inadvertently faking that her son was fathered by an American citizen.

thanks everyone!

Chris

I got my green card in the mail today and the welcome paper as well!!!

CONGRATS!

hello everyone. I have been on vacation so I know I have missed more good news from folks. CONGRATS!

Our vacation was terrific and it was hard to put them on a plane back to visit family and friends in Ukraine on Sunday--alone. The the plane had some air conditioning trouble and had to land only an hour after take off. Then they arrived in Ukraine, and the paasport control agent was refusing to allow my stepdaughter into the country. My wife had to talk to his manager to get them to relent. However, they warned that with the current documentation, my stepdaughter will not be allowed to leave Ukraine. Our problem is my stepdaughter was 17 when she came to the USA in october. In Ukraine, you have a children's international passport and an adult's. At age 18, she has to have an adult passport. She turned 18 in January so now her child's passport is expired. She had come over on her K2 visa in my wife's passport, but when traveling back, the airlines needed her to have her own passport number before they could issue the boarding pass. They were able to use the expired passport (fortunately, we had it with us). It was a bit tricky and messy at the airport, but I worked with Delta. My wife will apply for en emergency passport tomorrow in Ukraine and we have been told that it could be ready in a week. That is not an official response, but annecdotal reporting. Of course, the fee is much higher for an emergency one, but it will be worth it if it is completed in time.

The good news is both wife and stepdaughter want to come back home to me! Some people were suggesting that my stepdaughter would want to remain with her friends in Ukraine once she arrived. However, I chatted with her this afternoon and she is ready to come home NOW. She knows that is impossible, but it is nice to know she considers "home" to be with me.

sorry for the rambling...I hope no one else experiences any travel issues like ours.

color me surprised! the green cards arrived in the mail today!! only 2 days after the welcome letter. Now they can travel back home with the GC and not use the AP!

Hi, guys, I just want you to know I was approved today. My appointment is at 12:30pm, and our lawyer told us to meet him in front of the building at 12:00pm. Me and Amy got there at 11:45am, and we tried to get into the waiting area, but the security guard told us that the officers are having lunch break and asked us to come back at 12:25pm. So we went down to wait our lawyer. While we were waiting, there was another couple coming in, and we told them that the security didn't let us in. So they waited with us for a few mins. And as they decided to go up to try, our lawyer came, and we went up together. Our lawyer explained to the guard that he emailed the officer and asking him to interview us earlier as he had a court to go to at 1pm. So the security let us in but not the other couple, which made me feel good about having a lawyer. We were called in around 12:15pm. Our officer was a young male, and he was pretty professional and respectful the whole time. He swore us in really quick, then asked us our DOB, where we were born, the standard questions. He asked when we got married, and how we met, how long did we date before we got married. Then he asked us if we had set up a joint account, and utility bills. And he flipped through our photos, and commented on two pictures of the dishes we had on a date. Then he approved us after that, explained lifting the condition in two years. My lawyer asked him if he had lunch already, he said he hadn't taken a break today, then Amy joked about how those dishes must look really good to him. He said yes, and laughed. We were in and out for about 10 to 15 mins. I was really worried when he was checking my passport and looking at my canceled visa, but he didn't ask any questions related to that. Anyway, I am really happy now, and I am gonna have a nice dinner with Amy and our friends tonight to celebrate. Thanks for all the help and support from the VJers. Wish everyone good luck on their journey.

congrats!

thanks to all the well-wishers. I hope everyone gets to this point, soon!

To :Levi_Heather, EnS, cwaf: CONGRATULATIONS!

Just a question though: Prior to receiving any email/letter from USCIS to inform you that your case was approved, did you receive a letter that your case was transferred?

Just wondering... Am still waiting too for any communication from them. Haven't heard from them since they sent me the EAD card.

Thanks for your reply...

Thanks! yes, we also received notice via mail that our case was transferred to California--on March 16th. the CRIS system has not been very good about updating online or emailing to us any status notifications. The only notification that we received was for the EAD, telling us they had been ordered for production.

Today has been a very big day for my wife! Her English tutor said she "has made great progress", she used her new debit card for the first time, she used her new credit card for the first time, she passed her driver's learners permit test, and when we came home, the "Welcome" letters were waiting in our mailbox!

We are leaving on Saturday for vacation, and they will be flying home to Ukraine before we return to our home. I do not know if the Green cards will arrive by Friday, but would really be nice if they did so they do not have to use their AP's.

Levi just got an email from USCIS! His welcome letter and card on the way!

CONGRATS!

Hey guys, just want to share my news and let you know we were approved yesterday

We arrived about 20 minutes early and there were three other couples waiting, one of them had a huge box full of documents that was about 6-7 inches thick! We just waited around 5 minutes for someone to call us in. We were interviewed by the same officer separately starting with me (I had read that they interview couples separately in Indianapolis). He swore me in then asked for identification. He looked at my passport while I was taking it out and said "Romania huh?" (I'm from the UK lol). Both countries have dark red passports but the UK one is a lot darker. After correcting him, he looked at our file and asked some questions like name, DOB, husband's name and put a check by each on my file. He then asked a few questions about our relationship: how did you meet, when did you get engaged, when were you married, have you been separated since you got married, has my husband visited the UK. He then told me that if my husband's answers matched mine he would approve my case and to watch out for my green card within 30 days. He didn't ask me for any of the evidence that I brought and been stressing out over the past week, tax returns, joint bank statements, bills, photos, nothing... I was almost disappointed lol. He didn't take my EAD, AP or I-94 either.

My husband went in after me, was sworn in by the officer, asked same questions and was then told he would approve our case My husband said the officer also asked if he was graduating this year and when he told the officer about a job offer he got from a government agency, they ended up spending most of the time discussing government salary grades and benefits

We're so relieved that we can take a break from paperwork for a while now! Thanks for everyone's support, this support on this website is great Wishing everyone else who are still waiting for approvals/interviews a smooth journey and good luck!

CONGRATS! Since our cases were transferred to the CSC, I am not sure if we will be required to interview in Indy, but if we have to, I know more about what to expect, now! Thanks for all of the details, and CONGRATS again!

My husband's green card arrived today! We are just so relieved and excited, I know those of you still waiting will be feeling this way soon! Good luck! I can't believe we have until 2019 to worry about this again! YESSS!

hello...I am not trying to rain on your parade, but if I am not mistaken, this GC is valid for only 2 years and you must reapply 90 days prior to that 2 years to remove the conditions of this GC. If I am wrong, I am certain I will be corrected by the helpful people in this room.

I think mrsbonky and mrbonky has been married for over 2 years that is why they got the 10 year permanent residency card.

anybody who has been married over 2 years gets to receive 10 years green card.

Congrats mrsbonky. I don't know if the same rule apply with people who receive 10 years gc. do you need to wait 3 years from receiving the gc before you could apply for citizenship or would you start counting the 3 years from date of entry?

thank you for correcting me. I was trying to determine if the situation was different, and now I know it is. congrats on not having to go through this again in 2 years!

My husband's green card arrived today! We are just so relieved and excited, I know those of you still waiting will be feeling this way soon! Good luck! I can't believe we have until 2019 to worry about this again! YESSS!

hello...I am not trying to rain on your parade, but if I am not mistaken, this GC is valid for only 2 years and you must reapply 90 days prior to that 2 years to remove the conditions of this GC. If I am wrong, I am certain I will be corrected by the helpful people in this room.

Dear all Jan filers,

Thank you so much for all the wishes and support. I'm so nervous for tmw since I had bad experience for interview before (long story). Anyway I will let you guys know how it goes asap. I dun think I can sleep so well tonight hopefully I won't show up with panda eyes!

I'm so happy to see all the good news posting everyday. Keep going!!! Good luck everyone!

Cwaf, thanks so much for the driving testing site, I was trying to find them for couple days!

Cheers,

Glo

Glo...you are very welcome, and good luck!

Cwaf, thank you so much for the link! I am getting ready for the knowledge test right now and that will be very helpful

Steveinsandiego, my congratulations!!! Wow, so many good news for you at one time My interview will be just a couple of day before yours.

you are very welcome! good luck with the test!

for anyone who might be preparing for a drivers permit test. this location may be a good one to practice from.

drivers license practice tests

it looks good to me, and I am going to have my wife and stepdaughter pracctice one it.

we received both SS cards on Saturday, so now we continue to 'train' for the driver's permit test.

I received my AP today. Wish it had been my EAD but can't complain; at least something is happening!

congrats! you are right--it means something is happening!

Well just thought I would post this to start us all off in the new year for those that will be filing for AOS in January! We are working on our package right now and hope to have it mailed out next week! Good luck to all!

Steph n' Gareth

Congratulations to you guys with the AOS approvals

Tiff received her Green Card in the mail today. We also went to the Social Security Office with no problems. Good Luck, Talk soon.

Steve

CONGRATS!!!

i got my AP and interivew schedule in the mail yesterday and it was dated feb 1, i wonder what made that too far from when i received it. anyways, im glad i have it. i hope my ead will come this week as well..

btw, my ap has 2 similar pages. is that really how it should be?

We also received two pages for each AP, so I guess that is normal. Perhaps one is a spare in case the other is lost or destroyed. I am not sure, though.

Your wife and daughter will need to bring both AP pages when they travel (unless they receive their green cards before the travel date). Both will be stamped, one will be taken by the IO at passport control/border and the other your wife and daughter keep to use for multiple entries until they get their green cards.

Thanks for the info! I wondered if that is how that worked, or what the reason was.

Went to the SSA office this morning, unfortunatelly, they were not able to verify my status online. The girl at the SSA sent electronic verification request to USCIS. She said if USCIS won't reply in a day or two, they would need to send a manual verification request which would take 4-6 weeks to go through which means I would be looking at 1-2 months before getting my SSN.. the thing that gets me is, SSA did not have problem verifying my 2 kids status so my kids will be receiving their SSN card in a week or 2. We just told the lady at SSA office that we might as well put the 2 kids to work since they will have their SSN soon and they have EAD to boot.

When we got home, I immediately called USCIS call center to make sure that my EAD status is in their system and the first person i talked to said, they can't do anything (she did not ask for my name nor my case number which should have been standard) and that I would need to do infopass but i insisted she transfer me to a supervisor so she did and the supervisor was able to verify my EAD status for me. The supervisor said they will transmit the info to the SSA office. Hopefully, things will smoothen up and I will get my SSN card in a week or two also like my kids.

JulianDavid, try calling USCIS and make sure you are in their system or you can make and infopass, they might be able to pull up your EAD status and give you something to bring back to SSA that will make your change of name application faster. I hope things will work out good for you.

WOW! what a lot of frustration!! I hope they get it smoothed over right away and your SSN card arrives quickly!

ps....putting the kids to work early,....hmmm...maybe not a bad idea! hahahaha

Cwaf, go online and search for California drivers license and see if they have the manual and a self test where she can answer the questions and be graded to see how much she really knows. It helps.

Congrats to all those who are getting great news, touches, EAD Cards and AP's and for those who are still waiting I am praying that this is the month of great news for you too.

To all of us who are having our interview this month may the process be smooth and successful. Be blessed guys.

we are in Indianapolis, IN, but I would think the driver's test is pretty standard everywhere. I may see what I can find. Thanks!

the two EAD cards arrived in the mail yesterday! So we now have the EAD and AP's and are only waiting for the AOS greencards. :-) I am taking both to the Social Security office shortly so my stepdaughter can get her SS card and my wife can get her name changed on hers. Then the next big step is testing to get the driver's learning permit!

additional note: I took them both to the Social Security office and was able to get the nam changed for my wife and a new card ordered for my stepdaughter. All the pieces are slowly coming together!

Cwaf cograts on EAD cards! By the way, did they tell you how long it would take to get SSN with the new name for your wife? I also went to SS office to have my name changed after I got EAD and they told me it would take up to 4 weeks to get the new card Why so long? I am concerned about that because I also want to get my Learning Permit, and in local DMV they require EAD card and SSN to be for the same last name!

Thanks for the congrats. They told me that the SSN would be in the system overnight, and they provided a letter for each of them stating that fact, and said we could take that to the license branch to get the permit if we did not want to wait for the cards to arrive. The man told me that the cards would arrive within 2 weeks. The first card, in my wife's maiden name, arrived in about a week, I believe, so I think they "pad" the estimated time to allow for the anomalies. I would be shocked if it actually took 4 weeks to get to you! My wife got out the driver's manual for the first time yesterday, and has a lot of studying to do. We discussed some of the rules of the road last night, but it is all "foreign" to her since she has never driven before. Once I can get her to understand the terminology, I think it will go much easier.

i got my AP and interivew schedule in the mail yesterday and it was dated feb 1, i wonder what made that too far from when i received it. anyways, im glad i have it. i hope my ead will come this week as well..

btw, my ap has 2 similar pages. is that really how it should be?

We also received two pages for each AP, so I guess that is normal. Perhaps one is a spare in case the other is lost or destroyed. I am not sure, though.

the two EAD cards arrived in the mail yesterday! So we now have the EAD and AP's and are only waiting for the AOS greencards. :-) I am taking both to the Social Security office shortly so my stepdaughter can get her SS card and my wife can get her name changed on hers. Then the next big step is testing to get the driver's learning permit!

additional note: I took them both to the Social Security office and was able to get the nam changed for my wife and a new card ordered for my stepdaughter. All the pieces are slowly coming together!

Congratulations cwaf!!!

THANKS!

the two EAD cards arrived in the mail yesterday! So we now have the EAD and AP's and are only waiting for the AOS greencards. :-) I am taking both to the Social Security office shortly so my stepdaughter can get her SS card and my wife can get her name changed on hers. Then the next big step is testing to get the driver's learning permit!

additional note: I took them both to the Social Security office and was able to get the nam changed for my wife and a new card ordered for my stepdaughter. All the pieces are slowly coming together!