shawndoc

They didn't take my wife's EAD or AP either. Just asked to look at them.

A folded copy should be fine.

1.Pay your rent on time for 2 or more consecutive years

2.Pay your utlities on time for 2 or more consecutive years

Most landlords and utilities don't file with the credit reporting agencies, so it doesn't do anything to help your credit.

That's a pretty common conclusion to a tourist visa app in Thailand since it is tough to get one in that country.

That's a serious understatement. One of my Thai friends, who went to school in the US and earned her Master's Degree here, and now works for a large multinational software development company, was denied a tourist visa.

The adapter I used was the D-Link DPH-50U. I think it was $30 after mail in rebate, or basically 1 month's savings of using Skype vs Vonage.

To use Skype with your phone, you just dial ## (to tell it to switch from regular phone to Skype) the number and then hit * to send the call. Been using it for over a month with no complaints from the wife.

Pretty sure you're stuck. If you're under 90 days from point of entry you can probably go back and file for a SSN under her maiden name. Just don't mention she got married.

EAD only took us 2 months though.

About calling cards. I recently switched from using Vonage to Skype-Out. They have a plan for $6/mo that gets you unlimited calls to Thailand (landline and mobile). I bought a D-Link adapter that lets me use my regular phone to make Skype calls (and uses the regular phone line for other calls). Pretty sure the calls are logged at least locally in your Skype client.

With Vonage ($35/mo unlimited calls anywhere in the world) all calls made or received are recorded on-line. Its really nice as you can enter in a date range and it will spit back a report with just those calls. Made it really easy to print out and send in with the I129F.

Also just FYI, we did not get an I551 stamp, even though we were approved. The interviewer said that even though the paperwork says it should take 90 days to get a green card, we should have it in 3 weeks. If we needed to leave the country before we received it, we should make an infopass appointment.

Obviously this goes against the news from a week or so ago that greencards are getting delayed by 8 weeks while they update the machines and that I551's should be issued instead at the interview.

We didn't think to ask about the I551 at the time of the interview, we were just so happy to get approved.

Click on the "Reviews" section above and then pull up AOS reviews.

AOS is submitted by the foreign spouse, so the cover letter should come from them.

I know someone where they'd only met once in person and had probably only known each other 6 months before getting K1.

I bought my wife a cell phone to use for that purpose. Unfortunately at LAX you aren't supposed to use your phone until you leave customs. Which is probably for the best as I couldn't get a signal in the waiting area anyway.

Just for anyone who cares. Lisa got approved for her green card this last Friday. Interview went well (its in the AOS reviews section).

We just had our AOS interview on June 5th. We only submitted a copy of DS3025 from her medical exam for K1. She had not completed all vaccinations (Booster shots for at least 1 weren't possible due to requiring 12 months between shots).

We had no problem getting approved.

Wow. If that was me I would have refused to discuss religion with the interviewer. None of their business.

Anyway, update from me. We had our interview on Friday in Santa Ana. I'll post a full review in the USCIS reviews section.

But we passed. The interviewer didn't even look at our proof of relationship or photos. Just asked us to give her my proof of relationship and choose 3 or 4 photos that they could add to the file.

And just for the record, the only medical my wife had done was the original one in Thailand for the I129F interview. We did not have a civil surgeon perform a new exam or transcribe her vaccinations.

On the AR-11, on the top right it lists "I am in the United States as a: Visitor Permanent Resident Studen or Other"

Am I right in thinking we choose Other and write in K1?

Great, thanks!

Just curious do we need to fill out anything other than an AR-11? Paperwork has already been mailed, we have received the AP and EAD and have an interview scheduled.

Its gotten quiet in here. Please don't forget to post something about your interview experience when you go.

And some times you never get asked for it.

Certified/official copy. Most places aren't going to give you the original BC, they hold onto it for record keeping purposes.

There's no way to know in advance. Could be anything from signing something in the wrong place, to them having lost something you mailed in, to you forgetting something. You'll just have to wait until you get the paperwork.

Just a question for anyone else in California. Do you know where I can find a copy of the Driver Handbook in Thai? My understanding is they made it for a few years and then stopped. I figured someone would have scanned the handbook and put it online, but I can't seem to find it anywhere.

I've found a few sample tests from 2005 that have been translated into Thai, but I'd like to find the actual handbook to help my wife. Her spoken English is ok, but she can't read very well.

If you will have an iterview, you would be required to bring I-693. If your case is transferred, just wait for your GC.

From the AOS FAQ:

"If the beneficiary's vaccinations were COMPLETED as part of the visa process, IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO INCLUDE FORM I-693 IN THE AOS SUBMISSION. All your medical information is enclosed in the brown envelope which was handed in at the POE. The envelope is then forwarded on to USCIS where it will be consolidated with the I-485 submission, once received. If you received a copy of the Vaccination Documentation Worksheet (Form DS-3025) from your Panel Physician, you may include a copy of that form in your AOS submission in place of Form I-693."

Yup, California a EAD is proof of legal status, so looks like we're all set for a CA ID.

As to the question about Civil Surgeon in the US. I haven't. The stickied AOS thread says that as long as your interview is within 1 year of your overseas medical, you shouldn't have to. If the paperwork got lost or expires, you will be issued an RFE. So no RFE, no need to get it done. At worst when you go in to your interview they'll issue the RFE there. Or at least that's my understanding.

I'm kinda worried, as I'm sure my wife didn't complete her vaccinations. However the hospital didn't give her a copy of the paperwork they submitted to the embassy. Just a piece of paper saying everything was done. So I'm not 100% what she still needs to get shots for. But I think we're clear on that and it won't come up again until the time comes to lift the conditions on her green card.

Will know for sure in less than a month. ;-)