rubyred

guys, i'm DONE!!!!!!!!!

sent off the RFE packet about 10 days ago, got the official letter this past friday congratulating me on a successful removal-of-conditions, got the green card the next day! so damn relieved to be done with this.

my new GC photo is HILARIOUS, though: it's black and white, really shadowy, i look like spy! which is actually a vast improvement on my last one, in which i looked like a hillbilly serial killer.

hmmm that's kind of difficult to answer. on the one hand, it proves your relationship is genuine if your fiance is willing to financially support you (and i think technically he is obligated to, once you are in the US on your visa), but on the other hand, the US doesn't want any "burdens on society", so they want to know that you are employable and self-sufficient. if i was in your position i would prepare by:

1. showing proof your fiance has sent you funds to support you while you look for work

2. show that you are actively looking for work (be prepared to talk about recent jobs you have applied for)

3. provide a really REALLY good resume that shows you are highly employable

just sent off the second package of documents for our condition-removal, after receiving and RFE - i think we came up with 25 pieces of supporting evidence! fingers crossed it all goes smoothly and i get my damn GC soon.

the letter just asked for all the same stuff as the initial petition - proof on an ongoing relationship, in the form of shared address and shared assets. my husband managed to get pg&e to put my name on our power bill, and also on our credit card bill (we have joint credit cards but my name doesn't show up on the bill). we're also thinking about taking out a cheap life insurance policy.

i don't know what more we can prove that we didn't already prove in our initial petition.

well, i had my biometrics appointment early october, so i assumed my petition was fine and i was just waiting for the new GC, but today i received an RFI

i'm worried because we don't have much in both our names, apart from our lease and bank account/credit cards - all the utilities are in my husband's name. i don't understand why they would send me for biometrics first???

it really is $590 and we do have get our biometrics done again (no idea why - probably an excuse to charge more money). you can get organised early, but you're not allowed to send in your paperwork till you are within 90 days of your GC expiration date. if you haven't looked at the forms already, they are super easy and quick to fill out, and then you just have to supply a bunch of evidence (joint lease, bank accounts, photos, affidavits).

when they receive your application, they send a notice as a receipt that also grants you a one year extension on your GC, so don't stress if you haven't been approved or don't get your biometrics appointment by the time your conditional GC expires.

hi guys, long time no see! i was so fed up with the whole stressful situation over residency that i kind of avoided this place once i got my conditional GC. i was just happy to be done with it! but now it's time for removal of conditions...

so: i just found out today that i was supposed to advise USCIS of any change of address. i had no effing idea!!! there was nothing about that in the paperwork i received with my GC - i knew that prior to receiving the GC i had to keep my current address updated, but i specifically went looking for info regarding this once i had the GC in hand. NOW i get a letter reminding me removal of conditions is coming up - but of course it was sent to my old address, then returned to sender, then sent out to my current address. so i tried to change it online, and whaddayaknow, the stupid USCIS site is useless (surprise!!) - i filled the form out and hit 'signature' and nothing happened. i've tried it a bunch of times, and still nothing. ugh now i have to do it the snail mail way.

ANYWAY we're just beginning to get our RoC packet together - not feeling too stressed, since we have a british friend who just went through it, and they were fine.

we were in canada recently and on the way back into the US the customs officer gave me the HUGEST (and unsolicited) lecture on getting my ###### together and filing for RoC!!! he noticed the expiry date on my GC and felt it his duty to tell me how i should have already got the forms together and sent them off... my GC expires in november, and this was back in may (hello!! you can't file outside of 6 months before the expiry date!!). i mean, for all he knew i COULD have already sent the stuff, but he didn't actually ASK me, he just started lecturing me. what a #######.

ok, end of ranting. hope everyone here is doing well, and my two pieces of advice for those of you just starting out:

1. read these forums like crazy: just spend 30 mins every day browsing different threads. you'll be amazed at how much you pick up. all the stuff you need to know seems overwhelming but it's NOT, you just have to read read read.

2. DON'T BE STRESSED that you won't get your GC: YOU WILL. seriously, if you relationship is genuine, you won't have any problems getting in here. just fill out all the forms carefully, double check everything (twice).

if he has his permanent residency card - even if it's conditional - he can still leave the country and reenter no problems.

the only catch is that there is a time limit to how long he can be out of the US. i'm not sure how long it is, you'll have to check, but it's probably something like 180 days. if he's just out of the country for a few weeks, you have nothing to worry about.

online status updates seem totally bogus to me: ours was so completely out of wack with reality. even now, it still says that my EAD hasn't been approved yet, even though i got it back in may!

i wouldn't worry too much: you only had your interview in september - we had our interview at the end of july and only just got official approval.

just got an email update from USCIS: card production ordered last friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! so happy

hang in there, everyone!

nope! everything seemed fine... the initial paperwork was fine, no RFEs, the interview was totally painless, she asked us maybe two actual questions and it was obvious that we were earmarked for approval. i'm just worried that someone has f####d something up somewhere and we're going to have to start this whole process over

he's a USC.

yeah, i'm feeling your pain. as you can see in my timeline, our process was going incredibly quickly, and we were patting ourselves on the back... until after the interview. our IO told us about 2mins after we sat down that she was recommending us for approval, she just had to wait on my namecheck. she said to expect my GC in one to two months. it has now been almost 3 so i'm starting to feel panicky.

a couple of days ago, after having no word since our interview, we received an NOA for the I-130 (the petition). it says that the petition has been approved but that the person who is being petitioned on behalf of (me) is not currently eligible to file for adjustment of status as this time. how the hell did i make it to the interview stage if that was the case????

we're gonna wait another month and then try infopass.

nope! getting kind of nervous

i had my interview july 30, the woman 'verbally' approved us: she said she just had to wait on the name check back in NZ, apparently NZ police aren't part of the whole interpol thing, so the police clearance takes a lot longer. she said it would take between one and two months. it's now been 2 months and no green card. should i be concerned? what's the next step? should i call USCIS?

yes it would... if it wasn't going to cost us an extra $300 a month!

interested to know how new immigrants went about getting health insurance here in the US.

my travel insurance expired in july and we got a one-month temp. insurance to cover me till my boss had returned to the US and i could ask her what benefits she would offer. turns out she doesn't offer a group plan and i have to go privately.

but... this is all starting to get complicated.

would love to hear experiences/advice for dealing with this situation!

APPROVED!!

really lovely interviewing officer - she told us she was recommending us for approval within about 3mins of the interview!

quick question:

we have our interview tomorrow and are getting all our papers together tonight. should we bring a copy of all the forms we initally submitted (I-130, 1-485 etc.) or just the supporting documents?

the interview notice says to bring all original supporting documents, plus a copy of each, and doesn't mention the forms (which i would hope they would have on hand, anyway), but i just wanted to know if anyone got asked to show those at their interview.

i had the same problem: my mother had moved back in with her first husband by the time i was born (my own father not wanting to have anything to do with her once she fell pregnant) and he demanded she put his name on the birth certificate. he was a horrible man whom she left a few years later, and i've had a step-father since i was 5... so it was a difficult question to fill out; i wanted to put my stepdad's name, since i consider him my father, but i had to put what was on my birth certificate. but if the BC is blank regarding your father's name, it may be okay just to write his name on the G-325A, and then make a note on your cover letter/table of contents explaining that this is your father's name, even though your BC is fatherless.

we have our interview next thursday!! sure we'll be fine, but still nervous!!

do you know who your family doctor was when you were a child? if so, you can contact them and ask to fax/email a record of your vaccinations. print this off and take it with you to the exam.

if you go to USCIS's website, they have a civil surgeon locator (although it's incredibly out of date): find one in your area, call and ask them if they perform immigration exams (it's best to go to a CS that is familiar with the process and paperwork so you don't have to worry that it's not being done right). now, if you can get a record of your childhood vaccines you'll probably find that you've already had most of the required ones - you'll probably only need a tetanus and maybe a MMR shot. if you can't get a record, you'll need to get all the childhood vaccines redone -you can get these done at much cheaper clinics than the civil surgeon. or you can get tested for immunity (not really sure which is cheaper/easy) to prove you've had them.

make sure you shop around for a civil surgeon - the prices vary greatly. make sure they explain ALL the costs to you - not just the exam cost but also the blood tests and any vaccinations. my recommendation is to look for one out in the suburbs. in my case, and exam, bloodwork, tetanus and MMR shot, and a pregnancy test all cost just a little over $300.

it's to your advantage to get your application in ASAP, but your overstay - if you don't file till after your visa expiration - will be forgiven.

i think having a third-party interpreter on stand-by would be your best bet - you don't want the IO thinking that you're 'speaking for' your husband if you're translating his answers for the IO. there's a good chance your IO will be spanish-speaking, anyway.

when i showed my new EAD to my boss she told me i look like a homicidal maniac in the picture!!