jbrid

We decided to wait until after we were married to get a SSN for my wife. I didn't see any reason to get it before. Now in hindsight, I wish we had.

We went to the SSA office yesterday. The clerk said that since we were already married he could not issue the SSN in her new name because she was in the immigration system under her previous name.

I spent about 20 minutes debating/pleading with the guy and his associates. They would not budge. They clearly had very little experience dealing with K-1 applicants. He kept trying to say that since we were now married, her status has changed to K-3. Yeah right!

I would seriously advise people to get the SSN shortly after you arrive in the states just to be safe. Then, go back and change the name after marriage.

Any advice for our situation? I would like my wife to get a SSN fairly soon so that she can get a proper drivers license.

I know I could try to go to a SSA office in a bigger city where the people are more knowledgeable. However, the idea of traveling several hours to only be rejected again is not a pleasant thought.

I am usually very hesitant to post a new topic on here because I truly believe that every possible question has already been asked. But, I searched for an answer to this in the previous year's posts and can't find anything, so here goes...

Two things regarding I-131

1. The VJ community seems to be split as to whether to include exact dates on the I-131 form. Some are saying to write "TBD" or "Not yet Determined". I chose to pick some approximate dates. What's the latest general consensus on this debate?

2. What's the deal with the 'I-131 Supplement Part 7'? Is this needed? I assume so, because the I-131 form states:

On a separate sheet of paper, explain how you qualify for an advance parole document, and what circumstances warrant issuance of advance parole.

I decided to include this bit and followed the nice example of this supplement on VJ. I noted two approximate trip dates.

Is that what other people did?

Thanks VJ folks!

I just found this post....

I have to admit I did the same thing and was a bit worried about it.

I put 'fiance' on the I-134 form and of course my fiancee is a woman.

The most embarrassing thing is that my Japanese fiancee pointed out my error after she received the form from me in the mail.

She has lost all confidence in my English ability. :lol: :bonk:

Most likely, you have gone through the following piece of information:

Police Records

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/reciproc...ocity_3568.html

Yes, that is the Reciprocity website that I mentioned in my original post. Those procedures may work for some countries, but not Ghana.

However, what I find here:

Do not attempt to obtain police certificates covering residence in any of the following countries, as they are not available: http://www.***removed***/immigration/police-certificates.html

And Ghana is listed there. It may be outdated and old information there as NVC require PCC and I believe there is no exception for it.

Thanks for the info. That is interesting but I suspect it is out of date like you said.

The normal response to this post is the infamous Reciprocity website at travel.state.gov. The question is what to do after this procedure has been followed but still no police certificate is obtained?

This is specifically regarding Ghana. My fiance lived there for 3 years and needs a police certificate. As with many developing countries, Ghana doesn't seem to have the procedures in place to fill these types of requests. In addition, the recent election there brought a new political party into power, so there is a changing of the guard occurring now. She started trying to get this in late January while we were waited for the NOA2. Well, now we have the NOA2 and every attempt to get the Ghana police certificate has failed. Because she lived there for so long, she has several contacts that should be able to help. Unfortunately, nothing has been successful and she is left with the prospect of travel to Ghana and visiting the police headquarters in person. That would be very unfortunate and very costly.

Recently she called the embassy in Tokyo, paid $20 USD to ask a question (yes, that's right, it costs $20 to ask them a question), and asked the representative if it would be possible to get an exemption. The representative responded by pointing her to the Reciprocity website.

My questions for the forum are:

1. Has anyone ever gotten an exemption? Meaning, permission from the US embassy to omit a certain police certificate on the grounds that it is nearly impossible to obtain. Obviously, we would expect to show the US embassy the various ways in which we tried to get it.

2. Has anyone ever sought assistance (and gotten it) from a US Congressman or Senator? Is it possible to plead your case to an elected official and ask them to in turn plead with the offshore US embassy. I realize this may sound silly but I am willing to consider any option at this point.

3. Is this something that a lawyer could assist with? We could weigh the cost of her flight to Ghana against the lawyer fees and see which is most cost effective.

Thanks for any input you can provide.

This police certificate nonsense has really thrown a monkey wrench into the operation. We were excited to get the NOA2 a couple weeks ago but our excitement was quickly dampened by the reality of this other hurdle. We are approaching desperation mode. I may also try and call the Tokyo Embassy (pay another $20) and plead with them in English. Maybe that could do it.

Thanks again VJ'ers!

WOOPS! I posted this in the wrong forum. Can someone please move it to US Embassy and Consulate General Discussion?

My fiancee is also in Hokkaido, I've used this site a couple of times...

http://www.worldflower.net/eg/

Great service, the prices are good, the flowers are gorgeous, and they last about a month.

Nice! I just placed the order!

Thanks folks! I will give that a shot...

@KimAndRuss & @kcoyclay1

Thanks!

Sorry for this dumb question. I am sure everyone understands this except me.

I see peoples timelines mentioning "touches".

What does this mean?

I don't think my petition has been "touched", but how would I know.

Hi All,

I want to send my fiance flowers this month for her birthday. Can anyone recommend an online florist that will delivery to Hokkaido?

Thanks!

Hi All!

My fiance is a Japanese citizen. She lived in Malaysia for 2 years and then Ghana for 3 years. She will need a police certificate from both countries. Can anyone provide any insight into how to get these. We are currently waiting for the NOA2 which should not come until March, but it sounds like getting these police certificate may take some time. I hope she can start the process soon. Should she start with the Malaysian and Ghana embassies in Tokyo first? Does anyone have any experience getting one from Ghana or Malaysia? I am worried about the Ghana one. I also lived there and it is usually difficult and time consuming to get these types of thing done.

Thanks for your input.

Begin here. http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/reciproc...ocity_3272.html After selecting the country, scroll down to "Police Reports".

Thanks pushbrk. That is a good place to start. For Ghana it says to send $80USD to the Commissioner of Police in Accra. Again, from my experience in Ghana I cannot imagine that request being processed without some serious poking and prodding. I hope I am wrong. Malaysia says to go through your local Malaysian embassy. That one will cost ringgit 20.

My fiance has read some horror stories about these police certificates causing serious delays in the K1 process. I hope I can set her mind at ease and I hope we are able to obtain the proper documents over the next 3 months.

What would happen if she tried to move forward without them? Would it be an immediate denial or would she have an opportunity to explain why she couldn't get them?

Hi All!

My fiance is a Japanese citizen. She lived in Malaysia for 2 years and then Ghana for 3 years. She will need a police certificate from both countries. Can anyone provide any insight into how to get these. We are currently waiting for the NOA2 which should not come until March, but it sounds like getting these police certificate may take some time. I hope she can start the process soon. Should she start with the Malaysian and Ghana embassies in Tokyo first? Does anyone have any experience getting one from Ghana or Malaysia? I am worried about the Ghana one. I also lived there and it is usually difficult and time consuming to get these types of thing done.

Thanks for your input.

Greetings to all other Japanese filers!

Not much to report...

I start my journey last week. They just cashed my check yesterday so I guess things are moving.

I hope everyone journey is going smooth. I may be back later for questions about my fiance's impending trip to the Sapporo consulate. I thought the I-129F package was annoying but not really that difficult. I am glad I didn't hire a lawyer so far. I am preying for no RFE!

Hello All,

I am the U.S. citizen and actually at the moment I am between jobs. I see that later in the process I will need to supply paycheck stubs and bank statements proving that I am employed and can support my fiance. I certainly expect to be employed by then which should be at least three months from now. However, my G-325A states 'None' on the top Employment history line. I am mailing my I-129F any day now.

Should I be worried about this?

Do they require employment of the U.S. citizen at the time of filing I-129F?

Thanks very much!

You will have something to put in for employment, your last job. They don't ask for that financial information until the beneficiary is interviewed. You're just starting this process so there is lots of time before you're going to need that information.

All the best in finding new employment!

Thanks for the quick reply.

Right, my last job is there on the second line, but on the first line I put 'None' because the End Date on the first line is hardcoded as 'Present'. I am still not sure what to do there. If I put my last job on the first line, the form is forcing me to say that I am still working there because End Date = Present. That is why I think I should be None on the first line.

Hello All,

I am the U.S. citizen and actually at the moment I am between jobs. I see that later in the process I will need to supply paycheck stubs and bank statements proving that I am employed and can support my fiance. I certainly expect to be employed by then which should be at least three months from now. However, my G-325A states 'None' on the top Employment history line. I am mailing my I-129F any day now.

Should I be worried about this?

Do they require employment of the U.S. citizen at the time of filing I-129F?

Thanks very much!

If you get married to a foreign national via the K1 process and then need a divorce, is that divorce process more complicated than if 2 U.S. citizens need a divorce.

OK. Thanks for the advice.

I encountered something strange when I was typing in my information on the G325a form.

The Employer Name/Address field and Occupation fields are a bit too small. If your information extends beyond the field size, Abode Acrobat will display a small '+' box indicator to show that there is more information than can fit in the field. Unfortunately, this is also how it appears when you print the form.

How are people handling this?

I figure I can leave it as is, and the USCIS won't be able to read all the information.

Or, I could simply abbreviate everything until it is small enough to be displayed fully.

Thanks!