sweetpiano

Passports are available to US citizens only. Permanent residents travel with their current citizenship passport and the green card.

Congrats on the grandchild!

Same here, interview and approval Sep 15, welcome letter received Sep 19, stating should receive card within 3 weeks, otherwise call them. No email or online updates all this time though.

I'm pretty sure on the I-693 they ticked off the vaccinations i had as a kid from my copy, would this be the usual procedure?

Yes, the doctor probably used your vaccinations copy to transfer the info on the I-693. You should have received your own copy of the medical, so check on it.

Take a look at my timeline. You will not receive an email update, but rather receive an interview letter in the mail to appear at your local (field) office. Do not expect the letter earlier than 3 months from filing. You can check processing times for the I-485 for your field office on the USCIS website, however the times are conservative and generally mean the earliest filing date in their existing pile of filers, most of the filers currently processed will not be that "old", so don't get discouraged. My field office was processing I-485's with a filing date of Dec-07 when I got my interview notice.

Good luck!

Ok, so my plan is to send in the following:

1. A photocopy of my mother-in-law's US birth certificate.

2. My sealed I-693 medical envelope (medical was picked up on August 26th.)

3. My copy of my vaccination records from when i was a child, these are what i gave to the civil surgeon to work from. They are not photocopies, but they are photos my Mum (who is in England) took of the various papers and then sent them to me. (she didn't have access to a scanner at the time.) The civil surgeon thought that they were sufficient enough though.

Does this sound right? I was also going to attach a cover letter saying what is in the envelope and then send it via Fed Ex overnight.

Looks good. I would also include a copy of your mother-in-law's passport. As long as your medical also includes a list of your current immunizations (it should, check on your copy), then 3 shouldn't be needed (can't hurt either, so include if that gives you peace of mind).

Hint!

You could have submited the AOS after your I-94 expired.

Hint! Adjusting from the VWP is different in some respects compared to adjusting from a visitor visa and very different compared to adjusting from a K1/K3. While overstaying a visitor visa is "forgiven" upon approval of PR based on marriage, a recent court case re: adjusting from VWP had the consequence of AOS-ing before expiration of I-94W a more cautious course of action, as the risk of being deported due to overstay is much higher.

Thats true!!!

Nice, but then again I guess if the uk rocks so much why am i here in the us LOL

In that case, how about

UKSUX?

That's exactly what I was going to suggest

Yes, as long as you mail in your application before the medical expires, you should be ok. However it would not surprise me if they RFE'd you for another, new, medical, even though technically your medical was valid on the filing date (the date they received the application). Keep in mind that mailng your application before November and given the processing times as seen from VJ members' timelines, it is possible that your GC would be approved before May next year, in which case it would be a conditional (2 yr) green card. So you are chancing the expense of a new (RFE) medical plus the cost of removing conditions after 2 years of conditional residence (who knows, they might increase fees even more by then).

Let's make the assumption that you would not receive an RFE for a new medical if you apply now. In that case you are comparing the cost of a new medical (if you apply closer to May-09) versus the cost of removing conditions (if you apply before Nov-08). If I were you, I would look beyond the costs, look at the time and hassle of putting together the removing of conditions application (take a look at the ROC guide). If I were you, I would prefer to do another medical (which is also cheaper than ROC) than to go through the hassle of ROC. Also, if you don't need any new immunizations, that's another cost reason to prefer a new medical over ROC. And even with immunizations, I would still prefer that just to be rid of USCIS; and immunizations are good to have anyway.

If you decide to wait until next year to apply, remember that it is the approval date, not the filing date, that matters in deciding if you get the 2 yr or 10 yr residence. So don't apply too early, but also you don't have to wait until after your 2nd anniversary. In my case, it took 5 months from filing to interview (approval) date, and it just so happened that the interview was scheduled 1 week before our 2nd anniversary. Bummer, but what can you do? So I'd advise filing somewhat close to your anniversary.

Good luck!

Congrats!

Likewise, the question of intent at entry did not come up in our interview either.

Hey, there might be a solution for your situation, but you need to talk to your prospective employer about it and gain their cooperation.

Explain that you still do not have authorization to work but will have it once your EAD is approved in about 3 months. Explain that it was an honest mistake and that you genuinely believed you are authorized to work on the K1. Suggest the following to them: you will volunteer with them for no pay, until you get your EAD. When you get the EAD, they will then officially employ you (starting date on your work contract should be after you get the EAD) and they will offer you a signing bonus, mutually agreed to be equal to the pay for the time you put in before getting the EAD.

I admit I don't know what the tax implications would be for the employer for such an arrangement, and if it will suit them or not, but tell them that you really want to work for them and are willing to offer them your time for free until you get the EAD as an investment on your part in their trust for you.

Unfortunately this does not solve you cash problem, but you really seem to like that job and might be worth a try.

Again, I might be mistaken, and I would hate to be suggesting something illegal. But logic and common sense tell me that volunteering for free is not really "working" for IRS and USCIS purposes. And signing bonuses are not illegal either.

No choice at this point but to wait and see what the RFE is about when the letter arrives.

Sure, I did it.

Just one thing: the survey directs us to choose 3 most important motivations to become USC, however from the final results (at least immediately after I completed the survey), it looks like people answered Yes to more than 3 motivations. If it is important to the end result of the survey that people choose Yes for only 3 motivations, this needs to be emphasized more clearly in the survey.

Try sending it again, hopefully you kept a copy of the RFE letter and all the documents you sent the first time. If you don't get an update after the second time, then make an infopass appointment. Also, I know a lot of people's cases are not updated on the website at all. Mine aren't.

Yes, only the interview letter in the mail.

Too tired to dig out a more appropriate thread about Sarah Palin, so here goes: try out this Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator, it's hilarious.

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeahhhhhh!!!

Congratulations! We also had Michelle Wong as our interviewer.

Look for "Carnation" Evaporated Milk (canned) in the baking section of your grocery store, it's pretty similar to condensed milk.

Oh goodness. Please I hope you are having a good laugh like I am!!! You are absolutely right of course that his BC (from a foreign country) obviously wouldn't prove he's a US citizen In our desire to do everything by the book, and to the letter of the law, that didn't even occur to me! Thanks for so politely pointing out the obvious and for allowing me to continue to harass with questions!

Oh don't worry about it I didn't think they would want his foreign BC, but I admit the thought crossed my mind, what with all their crazy requirements

Good luck with everything!

What is the I-130 and what is it used for?

An I-130 is a petition filed by a US citizen to bring their spouse to the US. It can be:

1) filed on its own if the married couple wants to go

- the CR-1/IR-1 route (the couple lives separately in their respective countries during the process; after the I-130 is approved, the foreign spouse applies for an immigrant visa at the embassy in their home country and becomes a permanent resident upon entry in the US) or

- the K3 route (while the I-130 is pending, the foreign spouse applies for a K3 in their home country, comes to the US and then adjusts status to permanent resident),

or

2) filed concurrently with I-485 if the foreign spouse is already in the US. In this case the I-130 establishes the eligibility of the foreign spouse to adjust status.

See more details here.

More knowledgeable VJ members, please correct me if I'm wrong in the above.

He's a naturalized US citizen, so we'd included his certificate, and passport copies, but not the BC. Fortunately we have time to dig up his BC and get it translated.

I wouldn't worry about bringing his BC and translation. They want proof of US citizenship, and since he's naturalized, his BC (from a foreign country) obviously wouldn't prove he's a US citizen. Just bring his passport and naturalization certificate.

However, if you want to be on the safe side and still bring the BC but not spend money on finding a translator, you know that you can translate it yourself? just include the proper wording at the bottom; see here, item 13.

our 2nd child is due later in the year, and so we have bigger things to think about then worrying about having to do a 751 down the road.

Congratulations and good luck with everything!

We'll just be happy to have this part of the journey done soon!

That's how I feel too.

This is great information, thanks for sharing! One question. The interview letter we received instructs us to bring the petitioners birth certificate (and proof of US citizenship etc). This is something new and not requested with the original AOS paperwork.

Did your letter also ask you to bring the petitioners BC, and if so, did they ask to see it?

Yes, my appointment letter asked to bring the petitioner's birth certificate and proof of US citizenship (i.e. passport plus BC). However the officer did not ask to see it, she only asked for our ID at the beginning of the interview. I presented my passport (from which she took away the I-94, by the way) and my husband presented his driver's license.

Regarding proof of petitioner's US citizenship being asked with the original paperwork, it was definitely asked and we included copies of BC and passport in the evidence for the I-130. However, if you didn't file I-130 and I-485 concurrently, then you probably didn't include that, as it was not required for the I-485. My recommendation is to bring whatever you have, but at least one of the two (BC or passport), or if the USC is naturalized, the certificate of naturalization.

Sweetpiano, Congratulation on the approval and I saw in your timeline you already filed for Removal of Conditions. Yeehahhh!

Sending positive thoughts your way, it can't not work this time!

Thanks for the congratulations. Unfortunately I have to wait two years to file for removal of conditions, so that will be in 2010. But that's alright, it should be easy, after going through this.

Hey April filers...We got our I-797 for our AOS interview. YEEEAAAAHHHHH. Our interview is Oct 30th.

Oh my, this is just wonderful my wife was crying last night. This process is just so emotional.

:star:

Great news!

Good Luck on your RFE Steph!!!! I hope you will hear a quick response.

We made another service request and got a confirmation number to the service request. To anybody making service request, make sure they give you a confirmation number or they will deny any knowledge of it. Believe me, it happened to us. They have 45 days to do something, so now it is more waiting.

Chris, what a rocky road you have! I'm really hoping things start moving for you two!

And yes, the approval date is the interview date, if the officer tells you clearly you are approved.

One thought I had is that, in cases like ours - when we are almost at the 2nd anniversary - they schedule these interviews on purpose just prior to the 2nd anniversary, so you are approved conditionally and they can milk more money for removal of conditions later on.

However, had I known I would be approved conditionally (I too, like you, was hoping to get the 10 yr card), I still would not have gone through the trouble of rescheduling the interview. But that's another discussion. Good luck!