tlnt

cofeet,

how is it going with your application, have you already submitted response to the RFE?

any updates would be appreciated.

tlnt

thanks for the responses. glad for the reassurance, wording of the letter seems weird.

take care, we'll patiently wait for our bio letter, etc. have a blessed thanksgiving for you and yours.

Hi,

Does your I-751 NOA1 look like attached? Concerned about the section (IF you have not already done so...). I searched in the forum and several other VJ'ers say this is standard wording. Just wanted to get confirmation.

Also, searching, 1 year extension is from the date of the original conditional GC expiration correct?

Lastly, how long does it usually take to get the asc appt, and how OFTEN does an RFE happen at this stage? (Still can happen?)

PS, please note, we haven't had time to update our timeline/tag, but will do so when we get time.

sorry to ask the obvious but:

Will see what it takes to change name on TW passport, but most likely it's "easier" to keep her maiden name (we would bring along certified copies of our marriage cert).

When we get the passport renewed, wife can travel using this new TW passport leaving US and entering foreign country. Upon entry into the US, US customs would ask to see her TW passport and also her GC (which provides her proof of being legal to be in US)?

When you file the I751 before the 90 day expiration of original GC, when that original GC date expires, is your legal status pending outcome of I751? IE. You're here legally pending the outcome of the lifting of conditions (waiting for new GC)? Should avoid traveling here again (unless emergency)?

Thanks!

TLNT

Hi.

Wife is GC Holder (expires end of 2011), however her foreign passport is set to expire in about month and a half and needs to be renewed (it is from Taiwan)

Her GC is issued under her married name but her passport is issued under her Maiden Name. Reading some threads about some potential issues with traveling (esp when airline tickets don't match passport name ie using the married last name like on the GC).

So are there any issues:

a) renewing foreign passports in general? Besides travel to foreign country, will it be used much for other purposes like identity before citizenship (US passport)?

b) will they take your passport from you and return it?

c) worth trying to change name on renewed passport to match GC (Married last name) or not worth it?

Thanks

Have a great day

tlnt

Hi.

We have our GC now and have a SSN card that states:

VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION

We're thinking of stopping by the SS office to get a card w/o restriction.

Reading comments here such as:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=237114

Seems it would be a good idea to have an unrestricted card. Also read comment to not give up your old card while waiting for the new one.

However, a friend commented to us and also online (can't vouch how accurate this site is but):

http://consumer-law.lawyers.com/consumer-f...ity-Number.html

"If you need to replace your Social Security card, you can do so free of charge. You are entitled to three replacement cards a year with a maximum of 10 during your lifetime. Changes in your legal status, such as a name change, do not count towards your allowed number of replacements. If you exceed your allowed number of replacement cards, you still might be able to get a replacement card if you can show that you will face a significant hardship without one. The replacement card will show your existing Social Security number."

The question is: does removing restrictions on the SSC after receiving a greencard count as one of the 10 life time max? Or should one just wait til after citizenship?

thanks

tlnnt

It's rather confusing to wait 14 days to apply with married name or not. For ourselves, we (rather I) jumped the gun and applied a 4 days after fiance arrived in POE and after we got married. The SS lady did accept our application due to it being a k1 visa well before the expiration date and we did have our marriage license (we applied under married name). The problem for us was that the "quick" verification failed due to her married name was obviously not in the i94 database - actually to this date we have no idea how it's recorded in there. It all became a mess...subsequent visits, they told us we came too early that they weren't even going to start verification until after 10 days. Most likely no matter what name they searched they wouldn't find us cuz probably CBP hadn't even recorded it or made it's way into the i94 db? The ss person showed us his screen (month later) still no name. After electronic verification and manual verification and lots of panic states on my part (being the impatient person i am)...i was kind of regretting applying so early and even using married name. but it all sorted itself out, uscis did indeed "verify" after a short time and we got our SSN card in about a month or so...but i guess it could have gotten ugly. So not sure what the advice I'd give, but I would personally if i had to do it all over again, WAIT 2 weeks (still applied in married name - cuz honestly that's the name we'd be using for everything anyhow)...not sure if married name "makes" a difference but you have to be careful (not sure on this point) if they submit verification documents (electronic and/or manual) what name they're submitting on - maiden or married cuz seems maybe that makes a difference (?) maybe someone has some input. our ss guy (if u visit waples mill rd ss office in va, guy named gene is really knowledgeable and helpful) said the original person who submitted our manual put the name "wrong" so who knows what it's supposed to be...

anyways, i was so confused/nervous about what to do ... so if anyone can learn or feel confident on what to do when they apply for a ssn...hopefully they'll sail through this process. in va, u can't get a driver's license w/o a ssn (i think) so we were "trying" to rush to get that and open joint account, etc.

Haha,

For anyone who needs to go to ASC alexandria...have fun! The office is great, courteous and fast. however finding it is a different story, think the instructions are kind of wrong. the office is on richmond highway near ft belvoir's northerly border. the office is in an office building on your LEFT if you're travelling northbound on Hwy 1. To get to it turn left at the light with a roy rogers and then make the first right. Or make a u-turn going back southbound and then there is a sign for 8850. the asc office is in the first floor with a separate entrance off the main door (it's in 8850 and not 8850A) 8850 is the left building. plenty of visitor parking.

make sure to bring your bio appt letter (they don't check the date, they don't care it seems). guard will ask for identification (we used passport) she'll fill out the slip of paper and ask for proof of name (e.g. marriage cert if wife has diff name than passport). NOTE, marriage cert is not listed on the bio letter. Then someone will take you back and do fingerprints depending on your code type our was 3 so all fingers and thumb and picture.

In and out in 10-15 min (we went at 3:30ish). They have modified hours soon, they will change their hours to be 8-4 m-f and closed on saturday (before they wre closed on mon and open sat). please check site for updated hours.

good luck if you ever have to go to this office (finding it was kind of a pain we drove up and done cuz gps has up going to the shopping malls...if u see shopping malls on ur left u've gone too far). look at google maps satellite photo and you'll see the office bldg by itself on your left (if going northbound) cuz after u drive north past belvoir (taking 7100) there's nothing really til you see this office entrance on left.

take care

tlnt

Haha, I didn't think anything of it. Really appreciate the response.

We'll try to go in tmr and see how it goes!

That place sure is in the middle of nowhere Well I guess it's not nowhere as there is a giant base nearby ha.

Atleast they have free parking unlike the annoying USCIS prosperity office ha.

Good luck with you GC.

Thanks

TLNT.

Didn't mean that to sound rude, I meant that as in 'I read that one first'

Hi.

I have an appointment as well in the alexandria asc however we really want to do an early walk-in as well.

What time did you go on Tuesday (We're planning on going on Tuesday too)?

Why do you need to provide SSN?

Is spouse allowed to accompany the applicant for biometric?

Thanks

TLNT

Thanks for the responses.

We did receive a biometric appointment letter from ASC after about 2.5 weeks. We'll attempt a walk-in next week, the original scheduled date was late October.

Thanks again

TLNT

Not sure that i like the new interface all that much.

granted, I like how you get more description of the process in general and think that it's helpful to get that aspect of it. but for example previously our case was transferred to CSC and was pending, according to the new website we would have no clue...

I wouldn't mind the new bubbles and long description as a hover over but still retain the "more important information like where our case really is"

Hope they "revert" it back or something.

tlnt

Hi,

Just wondering if any August filers had their files transferred to CSC and also didn't receive their biometrics prior to that event (or just never received biometrics after roughly 1 month of AOS NOA).

Likewise we had our EAD and AP approved already but no biometrics.

Please see out post at: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry3305214

Just curious to see if anyone else out there.

We called into NSC and received a reference number.

TLNT

Hi,

Just wondering if any August filers had their files transferred to CSC and also didn't receive their biometrics prior to that event (or just never received biometrics after roughly 1 month of AOS NOA).

Likewise we had our EAD and AP approved already but no biometrics.

Please see out post at: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry3305214

Just curious to see if anyone else out there.

We called into NSC and received a reference number.

TLNT

star_dragon,

What did you end up doing or finding out regarding trying to renew passport while visiting back home?

just curious if may cause any issues going forward when you're missing stamps, original k1 visa, etc from old passport (assuming your country doesn't return) down the road

Thanks

TLNT

So, it gets stranger and stranger.

Spoke to NSC and they stated that it was odd to not have biometrics done, so they sent a request to the local uscis office to request update on biometrics appointment. I assumed this was my local office relative to where I live but actually come to find out they stated (after calling again) that in fact the local office processing my request was CSC. Also, they stated that the actual place doing biometrics is not the washington field office (prosperity ave) but rather the Application Support Center (Alexandria, VA). So, it seems to go like this from what I can gather, local field office contacts the ASC to tell them to generate the biometric appointment and then you go to that office not the field office (which is only really for interviews?) Anyways, I'm a bit confused. NSC generated a request for missing notification and said it would take up to 45 days for response.

So I made an appointment after talking to NSC to the washington field office and spoke to immigration officer. The officer didn't really seem to be too excited to know about our case and gave the line it hasn't been 90 days. He indicated you DON'T always need biometrics for AOS/EAD approval (which somehow I've NEVER heard of in VJ ???), then he reverted back to it's not been 90 days. Honestly kind of a waste of 3 hours ha, but atleast we tried.

So we called NSC after visiting washington field office and the lady confirmed, yes biometrics are required/mandatory and if it's sent to csc, you most likely won't require interview but depends on how your case goes. It may go back to the field office where you live for interview. She attempted to request another missing notification, but the system had our previous one generated already (just wanted to make sure - they will do this if you state you don't believe that request didn't go through).

So we're going to wait for a) the EAD which was approved w/o any biometrics and see if we actually get a card/letter and

B) the 45 days and see if we get any more i485 notices or biometric appointment.

BTW, our i485 (on uscis online) case was now pending (at csc i assume) which others have stated is the next step after transfer to csc.

Thanks for your time. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

TLNT

Thanks for the responses.

I think our case is a little weird in the sense that maybe we had a "problem" with our SSN process. Our SSN required manual verification after multiple failed electronic verification (this due to paperwork error and combination with SSN was filed under my wife's married name vs maiden name and being too early applying for SSN). USCIS finally verified it after 1 month (we applied for AOS about 1 week after applying for SSN). So our case transferred to CSC (and EAD/AP approved) about 1 week after USCIS verified our SSN. So maybe something jumped over another step in the process. Anyways, not sure just guessing at this point.

NSC also stated that our EAD wasn't sent out yet due to lack of biometrics (!?)

NSC stated the same contents of my 2nd NOA letter and was surprised I didn't get biometrics letter. Person stated they would contact the local USCIS office and took down wife's information. Said if I didn't get a letter in 1 month to call them back with Reference Number.

Is this Reference Number the same as Infopass's Request ID?

I made an appointment with local uscis via infopass anyways as it seems biometrics should have originated from them anyhow. Will bring all my NOAs and hopefully squeak in a walk-in biometric if possible. But mostly to figure out if there is something wrong.

Thanks, take care.

TLNT

Hi Everybody.

We searched VJ and couldn't find something similar but here goes...

We applied for AOS (from K1) on 8/7, and in the uscis case status, it told us that our EAD/AP approval notice was being sent on 9/9 and that our AOS was:

" Current Status: Case Transfered to Another Office for Processing

On September 8, 2009, we transferred this case I485 APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS to our CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER location for processing and sent you a notice explaining this action. Please follow the instructions provided on the notice. We will notify you by mail when a decision is made. If you move while this case is pending, call customer service at 1-800-375-5283 to update your address. You can use our processing dates to estimate when your case may be processed by following the link below. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case by registering in the link below. "

It seems some people get their case transferred to CSC (and it should be a good thing - possibly no interview).

Question: How long does it take for CSC to receive the case and in the future do we contact NSC or the CSC Premium processing number (866-315-5718)? We tried to use the Receipt Number on the I797C but CSC didn't recognize that number.

2nd Question: We haven't received our biometric appointment letter, it's been roughly a month. I think most people get their biometric letter fairly soon after NOA of AOS (and most time BEFORE transfer to CSC if applicable)...so we're wondering if anyone else has had this issue? Should we contact NSC/CSC? Can we walk-in with just the NOA and NO BIOMETRIC letter to local USCIS office?

Thanks for any help!

Regards

TLNT

bapacker,

What did you end up doing with your marriage license?

(I was super "paranoid" and checked it over and over again before I left my clerk's office, as they told me that I'd have to go through the court for name change...but not sure what happens if it's "their mistake" assuming it's their mistake).

BTW, my marriage cert says TAIWAN only. Just curious.

tlnt

You're right, it's probably not at all consistent with anything regarding immigration

Thanks! Yah, we're nervous about the interview, but hopefully it'll all go fine.

BTW, congrats on such a speedy NOA1 -> NO2 transition...it was agonizing months for us of waiting (and I still consider us very lucky with some of the crazy RFE's and wait times and lost files and no movement others have experienced in VJ).

Hope you have smooth sailing ahead.

Take care

-tlnt

Hey, I was naturalized U.S. Citizen as well, on the NOA 2 approval notice, only my fiance's A # was listed above his name. Not sure, it approval notices are never consistent.

But your already passed that stage, ~good luck on your fiance's interview~

Yes, I was naturalized, that's the same reason I was thinking I have an A number too (It's been a long time ) Wasn't sure if it was just being assigned to me now since I was petitioning for K1, but seeing others don't have an A number for petitioner, makes more sense now.

Thanks

Yes, the A # is the alien number.

Tlnt, were you naturalized? Maybe that's why you have one.

Hi.

Just wondering (didn't find a post for this on VJ)...

I hear everyone mentioning an A number on both the NOA2 and on K1 visa (inside passport itself) for the beneficiary. Does it make sense if the petitioner has an A number as well?

On our NOA2, I (petitioner) have an A number to above my name besides my beneficiary having her own A number. Just wondering...why do I have one? Is that normal?

(Do I have to put MY A number on K1 or AOS forms, such as the G-325A?)

thanks

-tlnt

I called USCIS and NVC and both indicated that hyphens "-" are not possible in their system and that it shouldn't cause any issues (I hope not later down the road).

Strangely my passport and driver's license has a hyphen, not sure why immigration wouldn't be able to put it in. Oh well.

Thanks

tlnt

Hi.

I did a search for hyphen and only found a few results and wasn't sure if this had already been addressed.

We (fiance and I) both have a hyphenated first name, no middle name, and last name (which is sort of common in some Asian countries). e.g. doe, john-paul (none).

In our I-129F application, we entered our names the same way (see above, note we put (none) under middle name). However, we received our NOA1 and it was spelled as "doe, john paul" note without hyphen but a space. Note on my US passport and citizenship document, it's doe, john-paul however my fiance's other documents, it's with a space (no hyphen). I hope they didn't put john as our first name and paul as our middle name

The "correct" way to spell our names is with a hyphen, however it seems for US legal documents, it's sort of hit or miss in terms of how the person entering the name wants to include the hyphen or not (years ago, the hyphen wasn't possible on some documents so they deliberately left spaces i guess...)

Anyways, just wanted to find out if anyone had a similar experience or if this will come back to be a pain in the future (with security checks, Interview, marriage certificate, and AOS process, etc).

Note, I recently got the NOA2 CRIS email and haven't received the actual 797 NOA, so I can't say how our names are spelled on there.

We will call the 1-800 number and post the results as well of what we hear but in case someone can speak to it.

Thanks again.

BTW, without VJ and it's users we couldn't "survive" this long, difficult process, especially with ?'s like this.

Take care

tlnt

Hello.

I wasn't able to find answer searching the forum, but excuse the post if the question's already been raised.

I am USC and have a US passport that will expire in < 6 months. I was thinking I should hurry up and get it renewed over the mail.

My question is, is there any issues with a "brand new" passport that won't have any stamps on it ), would that matter at all as part of the K1 process (currently waiting for NOA2). Will my passport be needed at all as part of the K1 and AOS process?

(wasn't planning on travelling anywhere except to my beneficiary's country after I get my renewed passport. The country recommends to have valid passport > 6 months

Thanks, much appreciated.

tlnt