kkmk

so i have no kids of my own, but my spouse does and the kid is american. so i'm not sure i should include the kid in my i-751 form because the instructions state:
 

Quote

If you have dependent children who acquired conditional resident status on the same day as you or within 90 days thereafter, then include the names and Alien Registration Numbers (A-Numbers) of these children in Part 5. of Form I-751 in order to request that the conditions on their status be removed as well.

so it seems that the intention there is mostly for ROC purposes.

however, i'll be filing jointly with my spouse, so does it mean i have to include spouse's kid anyway? it's not clear, i've found answers here saying i should include the stepkid, other answers saying it's ok not to include so i'm confused....

thanks for your any help. 

There are just so many options, I read the "top checkings/savings account 2021" lists and get more confused because I don't see much of a pattern there...so I'd like to know from you guys, how did you pick the bank where you opened your checkings/savings account? what pros and cons you have experienced and what to look for?

Thanks!

contact your local ss office asap, they can check if your ssn was requested or not, if it wasn't, you probably have to schedule an in-person appointment to get it, so the sooner you do the better.

1 hour ago, laylalex said:

Can you imagine being at a point in your life where you're like: hmmmmmm, sliding into Colteeeeeeeee's DMs sounds like a very good idea, I should do that.  

perhaps the standards of beauty in brazil are a bit peculiar! hahaha i think it's like those criminals that show up on the news for some awful crime but then there will always be women who write them love letters when they're in prison hahaha

4 hours ago, Trompe le Monde said:

Why did Colteeeee do it I wonder?

to have more options to send his d*ck pic to! hahahahaha it worked, his relationship with jess was because she slid into his dms because of his tlc fame, no?

2 hours ago, laylalex said:

I will defend Darcey forever.  She's so ridiculous and over the top, and her plastic surgeries are trash, but I truly believe she feels everything she's emoting. Also, she's had a lifetime being gaslit by her evil twin, Stacey. Stacey's life is dedicated to making Darcey feel bad about everything, and undermining her at every step. 

hahaha darcey may be thirsty for that fame, but she seems to be a sweetheart! i don't think she used anybody in order to get famous, but i do think that tom and jesse used her (and still do!) for that. you are so right about stacey! bet she was very frustrated when darcey scored the 90 day fiance gig with jesse and not her!

7 hours ago, laylalex said:

One of the 90DF podcasts I listen to (don't judge, apparently according to @Boiler we do not judge on VJ) talked about doing an analysis of how far the TLC money would go in India, and the answer was: far. Very far.

omg do tell which podcast it is, i hope it's a different one from the ones i listen to! yes judge me i love running errands or walking my dog while listening to trashy podcasts about trashy tv hahaha 

8 hours ago, laylalex said:

I continue to worry about Ellie, the more I think about it. Also, there is a big unanswered question for me: why does he show up as "Victor 3" on her phone?  I mean, it's better than when Granny Steph had "Harris....Future Fiance????" as the caller ID for that guy but still. QUESTIONS!

HAHAHA I MISSED THAT! nothing can top stephs "harris...future fiance????"  hahahaha 

i really would like to know which one of the couples that chose to apply to be on 90 day fiance ?

what are your theories?

the ones that come to my mind:

yara and jovi: yara wanted the influencer lifestyle and sell her aliexpress overpriced jackets, and she was also in other trashy reality tv shows in her homeland

syngyn and tania: both wanted the fame and the easy life associated with the influencer lifestyle, i think i read somewhere that they wanted the exposure to sell their hippie soaps and whatnot

sumit and jenny: sumit because he wanted to get a paycheck and a divorce but if he did it on a reality tv show his parents and the parents of the ex could not kill him because of the exposure lol

angela and mykull: angela is not stranger to trash tv as she went to maury's, right? also, she loves being the center of attention, thinks she's such a gift to the world and needed the money for her plastic surgeries and cigarettes. i think mykull at this point just puts up with angela's abuse because he likes that tlc paycheck...i don't think he cares about the greencard that much....no greencard is worth the abuse he goes through..but then i heard angela spent the money he made from the show and cameos on her plastic surgeries...

ari and bini: ari whose traveling lifestyle was probably sponsored by her parents, probably wanted the tlc paycheck in order to afford her lifestyle with live-in nanny and mansion in ethiopia, since butt bongos wouldn't do it

libby and andrei: libby and her famewh*oring family i mean...libby is an actress wannabe right? i think she just wanted to be tv famous at any cost, since her acting career didn't take off she settled for reality tv..what's intriguing is how much her entire family is thirsty for the tv fame....and they're milking it by selling their onlyfans subscriptions where they show every.thing. this is particularly precious when you think that not a long time ago libby shaded larissa by calling her a "stripper" haha

darcy and jesse and tom: all of them! their ego and vanity are SO similar it's hilarious...

if anyone really cared about their relationship and had two cells in their brains, they'd know that they should reevaluate their life choices and relationships if tlc has any interest in your relationship...it's probably because it's a hotmess and they'll make sure to enhance the trainwreck for our own amusement....it's total self-sabotage if you care about relationship and your mental health, but it's great for the $$$$ if all you care about is instagram followers and trying to score a spin-off

On 8/21/2021 at 8:31 PM, laylalex said:

overegg the pudding

omg i loved that expression, never heard of it before and i am totally adopting it

now who's watching 90 day fiance the other way? i'm loving it

corey and evelin: borefest, please let them go away. but i also root for corey to dump evelin and go to the colombian girl or peruvian girl i don't remember

sumit and jenny: entertaining...sumit calling astrology a science LOL i wonder if sumit paid the astrologer to tell them not to rush into marriage lol will sumit ever marry jenny? why is jenny wanting to live in india as opposed to bringing sumit to the us? i kinda think sumit is a bit checked out of this relationship already, i think he wants to drag it as much as he can for the tlc paycheck

ellie and baba (victor): yes please. she must really love that dude to let go of his betrayal...i'm rooting for her. ellie's pizza co-worker is..weird

steven with a v and alina: looking forward to their storyline, steven is quite a figure and alina seems very sweet. i'm quite impressed that steven learned russian because that's pretty rare for the americans to actually learn a new language even if they lived abroad lol

ari and bini: i always feel like fast-forwarding their bits. bini seems like such a sweet guy but idk because i fast-forwarded his bits in the previous season lol what's up with inviting the ex to visit and stay at your house with your husband? hmmmmm i wouldn't be able to take it as well as bini did. clearly ari lacks empathy, i don't think she'd take that well if bini were to do the same to her. also, ari has been living this entire time in ethiopia and said she hasn't tried their typical dishes yet...uh?

what are you guys' take?

10 hours ago, Rami91 said:

Not sure if can anymore because the interview is in 22 days. She still waiting for the work permit too so she does not have not w2 or any work document 

you should do further research to make sure you can't because i don't see why you wouldn't be able to. i didn't have any of those things when we filed our taxes. the itin can be requested when you file your taxes, which you can do by scheduling an appointment with irs. 

6 hours ago, Rami91 said:

Thank you very much! I have not done my taxes yet because I was waiting to put my wife with me but I can t since she doesn’t have social security yet.

Get her an ITIN https://www.irs.gov/individuals/how-do-i-apply-for-an-itin

i didn't have a SSN when my husband filed our taxes, we had to apply for an ITIN

On 8/25/2021 at 8:25 PM, Rami91 said:

My wife doesn’t speak English, is it ok to take a translator with us? Did you take your taxes or did they ask anything regarding the taxes? I have not done mine yet and that’s why I’m asking. Did he ask about health insurance? Please let me know because interview is scheduled soon.

Esterlyn gave you a good response. But yeah as soon as we entered the IO's office he asked us if we were gonna need a translator. You should double check it, but I don't think the translator will be allowed in the room with you, but on the phone yes, so maybe do some arrangements for that. It is also possible that the office you're going to may provide a translator to you as well (I've read here that some people didn't even need their own translator because the IO offered one from USCIS but you should double check that).

Yeah we took our taxes because it was new (2020), by the time we had filed the AOS we only had the 2019 taxes. IO did not ask me about health insurance but we had all the papers with us just in case. 

On 8/5/2021 at 3:40 PM, Entheos said:

Ugh... more waiting.  Had the interview this morning... Was told at the end by the officer that he expects that the case will be approved but that the paperwork just needs to be 'reviewed' this afternoon or tomorrow.  Told me about how there would be an approval letter in the mail first then the card itself, because we were married for less than 2 years that it'll be a conditional green card and need to file to remove conditions before that expires, but that he had to give me the paperwork to show that I had presented and that it needed 'review'.... that we should expect to hear in the next day or so regardless.  Kept a bunch of papers to add to the file.... handed back the passports and the Driver's Licences, etc and thanked us for coming in.  All very conversational.  Even saw him smiling through the mask....

 

Have I told you how much I'm ready to not be waiting anymore?!?!?!

You know, my interview went just like that, it seems that that's the normal procedure of some offices. I received a paper saying that my interview was done and that it should be reviewed and as soon as I got home I saw my status changed to new card being produced.

I actually got the card first and a few days later the approval letter lol

On 8/6/2021 at 11:53 AM, Pat&Jan said:

Where can we go to see reviews of folks' experience of the interview? Also, feel free to share your own in the thread if you already went through the interview process.

you can go here and search for your local office https://www.visajourney.com/reviews/

or you can go back to the progress report threads of people who filed before september, usually there's a bunch of people (me included) posting about how their interview went

22 hours ago, Momoo said:

Then he called my husband in and asked the same list of questions

oh wow so you had your interview separated from your spouse?

2 hours ago, Vj12 said:

What steps to be taken next? I

Probably to do a new exam if they request. You will receive a notice in case they want you to do a new exam. 

15 hours ago, Kaleb8082 said:

What we don't have

• Joint Bank account - My bank keep rejecting her W-8BEN. Nobody we talk to seems to know why and how to properly fill one out
• Both names on lease - I asked my manager to add my wife to the lease months ago and she sent it to the corporate office but it has yet to be returned. I dropped the ball on that by not keeping up
• Both names on title of car - The car is still being paid off and the contract cannot be modified to add any additional names

I didn't have the last two and got approved. 

have you considered opening a joint bank account in a different bank then?

I agree with everyone here and say apply for CR-1.

Crazy Cat made great points! Regardless if you're from Brazil, that applies to anyone.

I'd say go for the k1 if you want to be with your significant other as soon as possible, and you don't care about all the cons Crazy Cat listed.

If I could turn back time I'd much have preferred applying for the spousal visa so that when I'd get to the US, I'd be able to have a normal life right away. It really sucked being in a limbo with no certain time to end.

got my green card today! i'm surprised at how fast it took for me to receive it 😮

7 hours ago, ak5285 said:

The notice says a bunch of times to not bring anyone into the interview with you

My notice said the same, however, towards the end of my interview notice it says that if your case is based on marriage, to bring spouse and a buncha  other documents as well..so yeah, bring your spouse!

My interview has finally happened and I got approved! yay!

I am very thankful to all of you who shared your journey, knowledge and experience with me. 🧡

I'm gonna share my experience now hoping that it will be helpful to someone.

The waiting room:

While we were waiting for my name to be called, we noticed the couples that got called before us and how they separated two of them. I wonder if that was the infamous Stokes interview? First couple: got inside together, a while after just the guy left and was sitting at the waiting room again. Then he got called back and after a while both of them left together. Second couple: they arrived after us, but got called first. They both stood up to follow the IO, but the IO only let the woman in, told the guy to wait outside. He seemed upset. It lasted for a while, then the woman was back at the waiting room and the guy went inside. And then I got called.

The interview:

My IO was very well dressed, polite and kind. His office was nice, decorated. There was a plexiglass on his desk with a hole for documents to be passed through. 

First he made us take an oath, then asked us if we are gonna need an interpreter. He then took our passports, checked them out and handed them back.

He asked for our Marriage Certificate and we handed him the original, he checked it out and handed it back.

He also asked us if we wanted to give him any complementary documents, to which we said yes and handed him the most recent joint tax statements, my husband asked him if he wanted the evidence of joint bank account, health insurance, etc that we submitted with the AOS before and IO said it was not necessary because he already had it. I also volunteered more recent pics (which I just printed in regular paper) where I wrote down the name of the people in the pics, place and date, which he took and said thanks (but didn't look through). He didn't ask for any specific document from us (like the vaccine form, my EAD, birth certificate, form I-94, nothing).

The IO was holding our file, the same way we had submitted it, with the page stickers and all.

He was going through that as he asked my husband:

- The date we got married.

- When we met (I'm not quite sure if he asked where and how, but I just remember my husband going through all the story lol the IO was interested/amused and asked followed up questions to that but it seemed to be more out of curiosity)

- How was the proposal.

Keep in mind that these questions were directed to my husband (the USC), IO was staring at my husband the entire time, I was wondering  briefly whether or not I should chime in, and decided not to, realizing that if the IO wanted to hear from me specifically he'd have asked me directly.

Besides, if you chime in it may raise suspicion that you're trying to help the person answer a question that s/he was supposed to know already lol

IO was writing down everything my husband was saying. 

After that the IO finally turned his attention to me and asked me those weird questions from the 485 form (have i killed someone, have i joined a nazi organization etc).

Then he asked us if we had any questions for him, I asked when we should hear back from them about the result of the interview and he said first they'd review our case and that in 3 weeks or so we should know.

IO made me sign the form, said we did not need to provide him with any further document and handed us a paper saying in short:

- I have completed my interview. USCIS is unable to complete my case at this time. My case is being continued until a final decision can be made and they will mail you a notice if they make a decision or take further action.

Finally, IO actually complimented us and thanked us for how good and helpful it was the way we submitted our AOS documents, how easy it was for him to find stuff in the dossier with the page marker stickers, he seemed really pleased with it lol 

We were happy to know that, we had watched many youtube videos of people giving their advice on how to send the packet, but they're not really IOs so we decided to do our own thing putting ourselves into the IO's shoes, trying to make his/her life as easy as possible lol

IO walked us out in good spirits, we were chatting about travel (he started it) and we gave him some tips and he thanked us.

Results:

As soon as I got back home I checked my status and it had already changed to "Card is being produced", the next day it changed to "Your case was approved" and the following day it changed to "Card was mailed to me".

I will write an update when I receive my card! 💳

1 hour ago, A Polite Parrot said:

Final update:

Entered with no issues. After the CBP officer scanned my passport and AP cards I was sent to secondary screening for a few minutes. At some point they placed a Paroled stamp in my passport (see attached image for an example) where it stated Until next year, Purpose: AOS, the entry date, etc.

 

I want to mention this is not something I would recommend doing if you have the choice. As a few have stated, the risk is you are outside the US, and royally screwed if there are issues.

 

Thanks again for all your input and caution. Best of luck with everyone else's immigration journey.

thank you A Polite Parrot for the update! Did they ask you any questions? did you have to disclose that you knew you were already approved? Did they know you were approved without you telling them?

edit: also, super happy that it all worked out well for you!!!

I also requested my SSN through the I-765 but it never came and all that time I wasted just waiting for it, I could have been already in line to schedule an appointment in person (which took roughly 3 months to happen - I couldn't just call them and get to schedule my appointment, I had to wait for them to call me back just to schedule the appointment).

My local SS office was seriously backlogged, but maybe it's not the case of your local SS office...if you call them you will probably know how long it'd take for you to get an appointment there.

But, from my own experience, if I were you, I'd call your local SSN, check whether or not a number was assigned to you (it may be that the card is on its way) and if not, schedule an appointment to get a SSN. In case your new card arrives in the meantime, you call them and cancel the appointment. 

On 7/15/2021 at 4:14 PM, Toby_HB said:

Biometrics pics for me, which means I wasted like $20+ for like 4 pairs of passport style pics lol. 

damn that sucks... my biometrics pic is horrible...

as for your passport style pics, i'm sure you'll be able to use them on future filings with the USCIS (removal of conditions etc, they always ask for passport style pics, right? hahaha)

5 minutes ago, payxibka said:

And if it was no longer applicable, then guess what, It would be unpinned. 

you know, there's also this awesome pinned post you may want to take a look

no need for negativity! (nor your judgment)     

9 hours ago, payxibka said:

f you had looked around,  you would have noticed a pinned thread

I think it's a very valid doubt by OP because the pinned post is from 2015 and it's 2021...these things change so fast and so much that you can never be too sure  

btw i meant that emma was unhelpful, not you polite parrot! lol