Mrs. BB

How did the interview go?

$4.49 for regular in El Cajon, San Diego County CA.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm........delicious piggy.

I have a life insurance policy and a will with wishes clearly stated. I also have him as a beneficiary at work so he can pick up my last check and on the bank account as well. Eventually I will have him added as a joint on the account but my bank requires he have a SSN first. So I made him a beneficiary "just in case."

In addition to that I have an Advance Medical Directive that has my wishes clearly stating what to do in case I become brain dead or in a vegitative state. Organ donation and DNR parameters are all in there. That way there is no question as to what to do in those situations.

I think its always best to be prepared. I've had too many people in my own life die due to unforseen circumstances. Car accidents and sudden illness. Grieving for a loved one is hard enough with out having to worry about all the paperwork.

Congrats!! Have a wonderful time and take lots of pictures!

Crab Bisque, Sourdough bread, and Green Salad

My girl is the same way. Watches the travel channel and asks all the time, "Can we go there?"

My attorney actually had write ups about him. He was known as a cockroach in a suit (God Bless him). Pricey....but AWESOME.

He has an actual hammerhead shark hanging up on his wall in his office.

I knew we were in good hands when we walked into court (this was after I had been doing the court stuff without an attorney) and the opposing counsels eyes got big and said, "When did she get him?"

That moment was worth every penny.

Just thought of something.

Do you have the ability to do an emergency exparte order?

Here its on Monday and Wednesday morning you can walk into court in the morning and fill out a form to see a judge and request a temporary order, in this case allowing you to take your trip, and then revisit it when you get back.

Then when you get back you can have a hearing, and then have a permanent order allowing you to take her out of the country.

If I were you I'd call your family court and see if you can do something like that. You will have to notify your ex if you can get in to see a judge, but maybe that will do the trick. Be nice if a judge told him to pull his head out and quit being a jerk.

Fortunately my daughter is now 12 and a half. She's old enough to make her wishes known in court if need be. Since that incident with her dad ,and subsequently his complaints getting quashed in court.....we haven't seen or heard much from him.

She even said to him, "I don't understand why I can't see Australia. Why are you being mean to me?"

He didn't have much of an answer for that.

But he was being such a pain that I was awarded full physical and legal custody. (Really good and very expensive attorney)

Now we're recouping from the financial losses, but I can take her anywhere in the world I want to now.

Just remember him being a jerk will come back to bite him. I know my daughter is like me in that she loves to travel. Her dad trying to stop that didn't sit well with her at all.

I just went through this not too long ago. I was told that as long as I had certified court orders showing the custodial arrangement and her passport that would suffice. My ex would have to file paperwork barring me from taking her and get that ordered by a court before he could prevent me from taking her out of the country. As long as I was not violating the custodial arrangement I was in my right to take her. I'm the custodial parent. She lives with me. Dad has visitation rights. I was told to inform him where we could be reached, when we'd be back, etc. But unless he had a court order saying so, he could not prevent me from taking her.

Now he can threaten you with calling the border check, customs..etc....(been there, done that) but until he has a document from a court that he can present to THEM proving that you cannot take her out of the country you have a right to do so.

Also, I know that when I got my daughters passport, my ex was required to be there to sign or I needed a notarized document providing his consent. So he KNEW that this would allow me to take her out of the country and he still signed it.

If the documentation you have supports your side of the story you should be okay.

If your still unsure....for peace of mind call an attorney for a consultation. Some may even give you a few min for free.

Documentation that I have:

Divorce Decree that says I have primary physical custody. In the decree it states that I have to tell him of her travel plans and provide an itinerary for him with dates, contact info, and address(es) where we will be staying. It says nothing about needing his permission.

She has a passport already...and yes, he signed the consent form for that too, so he KNEW what it was for and that she would need it for travel.

Her birth certificate that has my former name, which matches the name in my passport (I will also take my marriage cert.)

A page off the Canada Border Security website that addresses traveling with children - what the requirements are if you are the parent or if you are not the parent. All it says is if you are NOT the parent, you need written consent.

I plan on calling an attorney next week...to see if there is an action I can take to prevent this from happening again...something like a document from a judge declaring that I have permission to take her across the border one or two times a year. Not sure if there is anything like that, but I guess it can't hurt to find out.

Thank you all for helping me...or just being here for me. I don't know what I would do without you guys.

You should be just fine. If your court order does not state you need his written permission you should be in the clear.

I live in San Diego California, and being a border town our courts and borders are pretty darn strict. People try to take kids across the border all the time here and I have never had a problem. If you are prepared and have all the proper and legal documentation I doubt if you will have a single hassle.

I could see problems with him getting a court order if he could prove that you were not returning or if State Law required his consent. But in my experience that is usually in the final court orders. Usually there is something in there stating that you cannot remove the child out of the (pick one) county, state, country without written permission from the other parent.

Also if you are the primary custodial parent the courts will take into account that you will take vacations, and your child with you. You may be able to get something signed by a judge allowing you to have a certain number of weeks a year for international travel. Just remember if you get that on a court order you have to stick to that. So if you only get 2 weeks a year that limits you and if you stay longer than that for whatever reason: ie, canceled flights...whatever....it gives him leverage.

You've got support. Hang in there.

I just went through this not too long ago. I was told that as long as I had certified court orders showing the custodial arrangement and her passport that would suffice. My ex would have to file paperwork barring me from taking her and get that ordered by a court before he could prevent me from taking her out of the country. As long as I was not violating the custodial arrangement I was in my right to take her. I'm the custodial parent. She lives with me. Dad has visitation rights. I was told to inform him where we could be reached, when we'd be back, etc. But unless he had a court order saying so, he could not prevent me from taking her.

Now he can threaten you with calling the border check, customs..etc....(been there, done that) but until he has a document from a court that he can present to THEM proving that you cannot take her out of the country you have a right to do so.

Also, I know that when I got my daughters passport, my ex was required to be there to sign or I needed a notarized document providing his consent. So he KNEW that this would allow me to take her out of the country and he still signed it.

If the documentation you have supports your side of the story you should be okay.

If your still unsure....for peace of mind call an attorney for a consultation. Some may even give you a few min for free.

We both wear ours all the time. We take them off to clean them but that's pretty much it.

His B-2 was for 6 months and he came here on November 13th 2007 and we sent off the paperwork April 28, 2008. So it was pretty last minute. And living here in California its still so rough economically. It's frustrating because we'd rather be in Australia. But now he's had to basically let everything go over there to stay here. So... if we just took what little we have and left, we'd have nothing at all to start over with again. At least here....its just next to nothing.

Our situation with the B-2 and Adjustment of Status is a bit different.

My husband came in on a B-2 visa but we were already married when he came in the US. The intent was for him to help me and my daughter pack up and move out to Australia. BUT....then the ex husband popped back up and threw a monkey wrench into things. Even though I have full custody we had to go through the rigamarrow to show that it was okay that I move with her. That however ate up the savings, affected me getting rid of the house because that was just as the real estate market crashed and so we ended up having to stay.

We filed the I-130 and I-485 and now were just doing the waiting game.

But since they knew he was already married when they let him in we figure we should be okay. We also didn't make the final decision to file until about a month before his B-2 expired and filed it just under 2 weeks before it did.

Your case sounds like no problem but I hope you are referring to the expiration of his I-94, not his visa. One could have a visa that doesn't expire for ten year, while only having the I-94 grant a 90 day stay in the US.

Whoops. Yep, I meant the I-94. My bad.

Visa on the brain 24/7 and it just pops out on occasion.

Our situation with the B-2 and Adjustment of Status is a bit different.

My husband came in on a B-2 visa but we were already married when he came in the US. The intent was for him to help me and my daughter pack up and move out to Australia. BUT....then the ex husband popped back up and threw a monkey wrench into things. Even though I have full custody we had to go through the rigamarrow to show that it was okay that I move with her. That however ate up the savings, affected me getting rid of the house because that was just as the real estate market crashed and so we ended up having to stay.

We filed the I-130 and I-485 and now were just doing the waiting game.

But since they knew he was already married when they let him in we figure we should be okay. We also didn't make the final decision to file until about a month before his B-2 expired and filed it just under 2 weeks before it did.

This is a photo I manipulated using a digital imaging program...I've made this one, one of me, and one of Joel that I plan on having printed out and framed...sort of like a triptych (sp?) type thingie. I'm really enjoying this!

This one is gorgeous! I can see this one printed in a 11x14 with some nice matting in a 16x20 gold frame. Maybe a frame that is brushed gold to add depth.

I see pictures like these and I frame and mount them on the wall in my head!

Looks like a royal wedding!

Thanks!

A was stressing out before the wedding about finding a dress. Money was an issue with flying back and forth to Australia a couple times a year. And I also didn't want to wear white. Been there, done that. Then I found this dress at Davids Bridal on the clearance rack. The sales gal had just set it out 15 min prior to me walking in the door. It jumped right out at me. I love that shade of red. $29.99 was all it cost. It fit perfect and I already had the jewlery at home. Happy days!

I like that new word Lurve!!!!!!

That's the thing I find hard right now, I cannot make any friends really because all my coworkers are all single woman that are pissed off about men....so they keep telling me my fairy tale won't last forever and my husband will sooner or later be bad....what the f ever... What part they don't get in " I found my soulmate and changed country for him" ? You guys are the only people that really understand me right now !

More wedding pictures please

My husband put in his vows that he would cross oceans for me. And he did.

Those women are just bitter cause they can't find someone that will cross the front walk to take out the trash for them.

Some of my friends were skeptical at first, and they coudn't understand the whole LOOOOOONG distance relationship thing. But now they are rethinking their position. I tell them, "How do you know your soulmate is in THIS country?"

But I digress.....

Back to the wedding photos!

Leon and I got married in Melbourne Australia. We got married at the registry. It rained that day but it didn't dampen our spirits! I was a wonderful day.

We had a small simple wedding. We wrote our own vows and my husband made my bouquet for me that morning with fresh flowers he picked out at the local market.

hey fellow UK-ers,

does anyone have any experience with mortgages and their new spouses?? My husband and I would like to refinance my home together now that he has EAD and a job over here. Can he be put on the mortgage with his SSN and EAD and such or do we have to wait for him to have his GC to be a property owner??

thanks for any help, and if there is somewhere more useful to post this question, please let me know!

Sara

We are buying a home right now and my bank is allowing my husband to be on the loan because he now has his greencard. When I initially applied for pre-approval they wouldn't put him on the loan as the green card was not yet approved. It appears that each bank does things differently, so you may want to check with the bank you will get yor financing through.

ETA: Hubs has no credit here, but since I can qualify on my own they are allowing him to be a co-borrower.

You're right Julz, each bank can pick and choose who they loan to and the criteria.

Loans with Foreign Nationals used to be much easier to obtain just a little over 2 years ago. But with the mortgage crisis, the majority of the banks have tightened up the rules. A mortgage broker that works with lots of different banks would be a good option to check out. They hunt down those specialized loans. But the trade off with that in many cases is a higher interest rate and higher loan to value. These days you can have a 700 middle FICO and 80% LTV and still have trouble finding a decent loan.

hey fellow UK-ers,

does anyone have any experience with mortgages and their new spouses?? My husband and I would like to refinance my home together now that he has EAD and a job over here. Can he be put on the mortgage with his SSN and EAD and such or do we have to wait for him to have his GC to be a property owner??

thanks for any help, and if there is somewhere more useful to post this question, please let me know!

Sara

Last year when I was still doing mortgages, whether or not someone was a GC holder was irrelevant. There is even a process, something called No Doc loans, where if a certain percentage of the downpayment is made, usually 50%, you don't even have to submit documentation of employment.

What is going to matter is your spouses credit history. Most mortgage brokers use the middle FICO score of the primary borrower. The primary borrower would be the person that makes the most money. If your husband makes more money than you and has no or poor credit, refinancing with him as the primary on the loan will most likely result in a higher interest rate. However if you make the most money and your credit is good, your score will be the one that makes the difference. Talk it over with your mortgage consultant. The most prudent course of action may be to not have him on the loan but to have him on title.

I hope this helps.

Just came home from our biometrics (we had to travel 2 hours for it). We got there 45 minutes early and was processed straight away without any issues. There were 2 other folks there with us. The fingerprinting was fine - I didn't see any "Match Warning" messages, but I probably just didn't pay attention to where that would have been. It was basically the same fingerprinting process they did when I got my police check back in Australia - that's the standard way of doing it. And the USCIS lady was very nice.

Now here's hoping for a speedy approval! USCIS lady said it could take 30 to 90 days for my EAD - hopefully it gets here SOONER!

How did everybody else go?

We had several things today and the Biometrics went the smoothest and was the most hassle free out of all of them. Glad its done!

Good luck to all of you with biometrics appointments tomorrow. Our biometrics appointment is tomorrow at 12pm!

Renatchi,

Did they keep it at the MSC? Or did your I-130 get transferred someplace else?