maliciant

I believe many people buy cars as a function of their belief system and not as an act of problem-solving

Does that mean people buy cars cause they look pretty, and not because they need some form of transportation? I really don't understand just what the heck that sentence is really saying? I can only imagine he thinks people should be buying his products instead of his competition, and they are misinformed and making irrational choices if they buy from someone else (really... your product is better than your competition... why didn't you say so?)

HellowWorld: That's how it works for K-3's and other married before they get here cases (the PoE does it I believe when they kick out the green card and everything else). If they really did create a SSN for her at the PoE you can request it from SS... but it sounds like a mistake was made, maybe they got the wrong A# or name from y our wife or something... but either way, you need to find out for sure what's going on.

ETA: She went alone? How good is her english... my wife speaks very good english but at the same time, she often doesn't understand something and rarely asks someone for an explaination, so sometimes when I ask her about something her explaination doesn't make sense completely... maybe your wife didn't explain things the way SSA expects and they thought she had married before coming to the US?

I know a hunter or two... and yeah... when it's all said and done it IS cheaper to just buy the meat, the tags and everything else that goes into it are expensive (especially the tags though).

In alaska there is a road kill list of sorts, when someone hits a moose they call whoever is next on the list to come get it. Moose getting hit is pretty common, a lot of the time the car is totaled but the moose is not. (They may not have the roadkill list anymore, I haven't lived there in almost 20 years).

Can I get a marriage license without a SSN? I keep hearing that it's needed, so we've been stuck on that because of the screw-ups there. I'm expecting my SSN next week and then we can hopefully apply for the license.

Depends on the state you are marrying in, just google "marriage license (state you plan to marry in) requirements" and you'll find out easily. It's not necessary to marry in the state you live in, often people don't.

It's mostly speculation that the family based visa's are being pushed aside for some other *thing*, it's always going to take longer than people want, it'll always seem to be slower than necessary, etc... but the reality is that processing times have shrunk in the last year (I don't pay enough attention to know if this is still true). I remember when the theory was they were processing citizenship applications to get as many people as possible through before the presidential elections... I don't know that it was ever stated officially, just something people came up with based on the numbers (and people did seem to be getting citizenship approvals in record time). There are a few things that happen at specific points in the year like the visa lottery... but otherwise I think generally speaking family based visa's are given more credibility/priority over other types of visas, the processing time on them is much lower than most other visa's and the requirements are also pretty low (no education/financial requirements for the beneficiary which are major hurdles for many people in poorer countries).

I know I'm going to get shouted down for this, but I sincerely believe the majority of VAWA applications are fraudulent, and that no real abuse took place.

I'll match your theory about VAWA being mostly fraudulent with my theory that most of the divorces we hear about here, were just failed relationships and not marriage scams. What I've also seen is the most convincing marriage scams (it's hard to imagine how it could have been legitimate) are usually the ones posted by people who clearly have VERY controlling and vindictive personalities... it's all speculation though, I don't think either of us will ever really know the facts... but what is definitely true is marriage scams are so potentially brutal that it's scary (think shark attacks... they really are rare but people have a relatively extreme fear of it, or airplane crashes...).

USCIS told me that in their system, I was listed as a B2 visa! They told me to go back to the airport I entered and get them to correct this.

Wow... you had to go back to the airport then? If that happened to us, that would have cost somewhere around 600-800 to fix at a minimum (though if it could be fixed over the phone... maybe).

Drama sells... and reality tv is often scripted/enhanced etc... but I think there is also a lot of stress and hopes for a perfect wedding that go into it too... I haven't actually watched an episode of the show, I'm sure it'd be entertaining, but it's reality tv, producers know how to get viewers...

I'd rather see a story like this one where both people are aware the marriage is a sham, than the stories where only one side knows it's a sham, love scams are just ridiculously cruel.

So um... poor economy = better military recruiting? The way to win the war on terror is to keep making our economy worse until all it takes to recruit new soldiers is offering them their choice of potato's or vodka for payment...

I think you have to show up in person for anything SS related, I don't think they'll give you any information over the phone.

Empty anon accounts does not automatically indicate a troll, people find forums like this one when they have an actual need for information, a divorce is that kind of situation. Also sometimes long time members will create an anonymous account as well, for a variety of reasons... anything from their SO may read the postings, or they are embarrassed, possibly because for long time posters the people here are just as real as their own neighbors and coworkers... or possibly just because at one time they were riding the mighty infallable relationship train cause they did everything the right way and are truly in love and may have even ridden others who had problems harshly...

I think all the accusations of people being trolls tends to make it self fullfilling, people ask questions hoping for answers and in return are often accused of a variety of things, and they are forced into a cycle of defending themselves or leaving. If someone really wanted to troll this place it would take little effort, it's so easy to bait people in this forum, if a person is really trolling the thread would never die, far too many people here feed the trolls, the only real danger to spoiling a good troll here is thread closings...

I don't think it's fair to call Merrillizer a knucklehead for being scammed, many of the people who post here assume it couldn't happen to them, but it's easy to maintain that view while you are in a happy relationship. If you were single, and looking for love, you'd be so much more susceptable and while you might be harder to scam than merrillizer, who really didn't have to invest a great deal into the immigration process at all, it's foolish to think you couldn't have been scammed.

I think most of the time when people come here complaining about being scammed it's really just sour grapes, a relationship that failed, too many are far to quick to jump on that wagon. I'm all for Merrillizer following through on his case assuming that he hasn't lied about any of the major facts, but honestly the biggest trophy he's sporting, the marriage contract... I just find it hard to believe that's legit, and even if it is, how do you prove it? I don't really expect the result of this case to be determined based on the facts so much as who is willing to spend the most on their lawyer, we're talking civil law, it's never black and white if you pay your lawyer right.

You probably have to wait at least 10 days on the SSN so yeah... figure on waiting a bit on that, but it's not really a big deal for the most part, if your state doesn't require it for weddings, there probably isn't anything that's a huge rush to get it for. I've used it to add my wife to my bank account, a credit card, and to get a state ID (that was only valid for about 3 months... I assume now that she is a LPR she would get one that's good for a few years). While I say no rush on the SSN, you should still get it done within the first month, if you wait until the visa is close to expiring they may require you to wait until completing AOS to get an SSN. A little off topic and me and Fred both had different experiences with the social security offices, you'll porbably get her number in her maiden name, though I think Fred's wife got it in her married name, I think most SSA offices will limit you to her maiden name, after the green card shows up you can go back to SSA bringing in your marriage certificate and green card and have them change it. The SSN stuff is pretty much hassle free and fairly quick... and I say that despite having to make 5 or 6 trips (one for going too early, one for the card that never showed up, one for not bringing in the marriage license for the name change... and two successful visits where we got what we needed... so guess maybe it's 5 times).

When you get married get a certified copy of your marriage license, or maybe two or three wouldn't hurt, but at a minimum you need one. This is in addition to the original marriage license, the certified copy you'll send to USCIS in the AOS.

It doesn't sound like VAWA to me, it sounds like she had a traumatic childhood. Being so defensive of her family like that is a way to avoid having to deal with whatever that trauma is (as one of them is likely involved in some way). Definitely do not hit her back, nothing good will come from that, you'd only reinforce the behavior.

There is a deadline to get married, make sure you do that within 90 days... I recommend getting it done as soon as possible because... the sooner your apply for AOS the better off you are, while many on this site will tell you that there isn't really a deadline for AOS, it seems far more likely that the AOS will take a long time or have complications if you wait until after the visa expires to file. There are some things that seem pretty certain too, such as if you wait a year you will have to do the medical again which is going to cost more, I think it's a 213.35 flat rate outside the US but inside the US doing the medical is more along the lines of $600 (this seems odd to me that it's a flat rate everywhere else so maybe that's not right). And of course, the sooner you file AOS the sooner the work auth and everything else can show up, even if the plan is for her to be a house wife, getting the AOS taken care of is pretty important. File as soon as you can, especially if she plans to work or travel.

If you watch a video clip of William Haung (american idol) you can see right away that he isn't quite normal, you don't need medical credentials when it's so obvious. If you want to know exactly what is wrong, that's when you need someone with credentials. We don't need credentials to tell you, you ain't quite right, for a complete diagnosis and treatment, talk to a professional.

Green card received in the mail 6-13-09... I haven't updated the spreadsheet to reflect this, I'll take care of it monday if someone doesn't beat me to it.

My wife's green card showed up in the mail today (well, yesterday but we didn't check the mail so we got it today). Next stop, updating the SSN card to have her married name and so it no longer says not valid without work authorization (which is kind of goofy because of course we have work authorization proof).

Merrillizer: You thought she was a different person than she turned out to be... but I also doubt she knew what kind of person you are either. That's not a compliment to your dogged persistance or anything like that, I think anyone reading your myspace site/blog is likely to come up with the same conclusion as I have, that you are at least three kinds of crazy, two of which are the kind that cause women to feel a need to get the heck away from you and protect themselves as much as possible. You are clearly obsessed with this girl still, I can't blame ya, but you're only a few steps from making the local headlines (and not in a positive way).

I didn't get a mail from CRIS for the welcome letter but I know about it from looking online, and it stated that on 5-22 the application was approved and I think it said something about the welcome letter. We received the welcome letter, then later on I got the email about card production being ordered... then another email from CRIS saying the application was approved on 6-9 (three weeks later). I think the wording is different in this latest email than the original welcome letter wording (shown in case status online) so there is some difference between the letters, but they seem to say the same thing.

My theory is that the first one is the date your GC is approved, the second one is probably the actual day it was printed and the date that your GC will show as the date it was issued (I haven't seen a green card before though so maybe it doesn't specify that... but I bet it does).

9-9-09... nice... and I thought I had it easy remembering 2-22 for my own wedding anniversary... remembering the year might be harder though... I think I can only remember the year so far because it hasn't changed yet... once 2010 is here I'll probably have to wonder if I got married in 2008 or 2009...

Congrats HW, will you be flying back with your fiancee?

I feel it would be much easier to be skeptical about the situation from your side of the fence, but over here we are running out of ideas, patience and belief in this system actually working.

I understand completely, and I hope it works out. It sounds reasonable and it's definitely better than doing nothing, you've waited far too long already.

OK, to me it sounds like they gave you the worst case what could happen, I really don't think it's likely to cause all the problems described, I can't say on the lost job thing because I don't know what his job is, marrying a foreigner is not a crime, and it seems awfully hard to call that espionage, otherwise no one in the military could marry foreigners visa or not without losing their job.

The second thing I wonder about is this appeal thing... it seems unlikely that some lawyer is going to know about something that no one else at VJ has ever heard of, maybe it's just that people with competant lawyers never have a reason to find the VJ forums, but I've only ever heard of lawyers coming up with hair brained ideas that don't pan out, has this guy actually done this particular process before (successfully)?

The third thing... supreme court? I don't know much about it, but I was under the impression that to file anything in the supreme court, took something along the lines of an act of congress or a large chunk of money (ie over $10,000)... maybe because this involves a government organization the supreme court is the first step of the legal system, that just seems odd to me though.

Sorry it can't be positive news, I just hope this guy is not going to take you for a ride on the fraternity discount bus, if he's an experienced immigration attorney then I'm probably just being paranoid but if he's practicing some other kind of law and just taking on this case for an old buddy, then I think you'll be dissappointed, poorer and unhappy with the results you achieve (and worse, still at square 1). I hope this mess is finally sorted out for you soon though.

Hi August filers. My fiance & I also applied for a K-1 last August. I’m currently waiting for an interview with the Montreal consulate. They move pretty slowly and I may have a few more months left to wait. I only recently discovered VJ and it’s a pity because I think it would have made this last year much easier. Anyhow, best of luck to those of you who are still waiting, I don’t think there are many of us left. Also congrats to those of you who are already landed in the US. How wonderful to be reunited with the people you love!

Welcome to the thread, no doubt had you found VJ earlier it would have probably made things easier, and potentially go smoother, but now you know we're here... for next time... (just kidding, hoping no next time is needed for anyone here, I can't imagine repeating this process if things didn't work out).