Lorenzo

I seem to remember reading an article by an immigration attorney saying that you should not expect to be through with immigration even when you obtain your US citizenship. I thought it was an interesting article and was hoping he was incorrect. My wife received her naturalization last July, but her son is still a citizen of Ukraine. He is 19 now so this is his choice.

Do any of you have a reference to the article? Wish I would have bookmarked it.

What kind of visa for her mom, and how long can she stay (just curious).

Actually, my sister in law filed for her. From what I hear, my mother in law has her 10 year green card already. It helps when both children are US citizens. My wife's sister has already been in the US over 6 years. My mother in law has been here 15 months.

Don't know the best place to post this so I am putting it here since we have reached the last step.

My wife was naturalized back in July.

Nice to know Visa Journey was there every step of the way.

My wifes mother arrived in August, her brother is the only relative left in Ukraine. I don't know if we will need any more visas for awhile. Maybe if her brother decides to come for a visit or to work.

My stepson is over 18, so if he wants to become a citizen it is really his choice. I hope this will happen. If he returns to Ukraine he may be forced to enter the military.

Thanks for the help.

I am very angry after reading this thread.

I have been giving USCIS the same documents for 3 1/2 years.

And I was ready to send the N-400, passport photos and a check.

How ridiculous the USCIS can be to ask for this stuff over and over.

I think this is about as clear as mud to a foreign born US resident. I can understand that my wife would misinterpret the law because I thought her argument was convincing even after I called the immigration attorney. Why can't they just spell it out in black and white and not have someone have to search and pose question online in forums like Visa Journey?

Yes, I filed to remove conditions on March 15 of 2008. Thanks for the clarification.

I have been explaining to my wife about this and I am reading things at USCIS leading me to think I am correct. I want to be sure.

Is she a permanent resident when she arrives on a K1 visa or the 90 days before she receives the 2 year green card?

She was told she can file now as a permanent resident.

She arrived on the K1 July 26, 2005, we were married August 26, 2005 and she received her two year green card June 7, 2006.

I need clarification of this.

Thank you.

I filed for removal of conditions March of 2008. My wife's temporary green card expired June 7, 2008.

Someone told my wife that she can file for US citizenship after 3 years. Is there any truth to this? I seem to think she needs to wait for the 10 year green card before filing for citizenship. I really need clarification because she wanrts me to send the form and $675.00 away very soon and I think it is premature. I could not reach a living person at USCIS site and did not know where the policy could be located on the USCIS website to find the answer. Thank you for your help.

I have been concerned because the receipt notice that my wife received was not very legible.

What I mean is that it looked like it was printed from a printer that was low on toner and is extremely light. Will USCIS issue another letter if requested and can I do this by mail? I was hoping I would not have to request an infopass appointment just to get a decent looking notice.

I filed last Friday and today my stepson receives a letter saying he is listed on his mother's I-751 and he can travel and work for a year.

The letter shows my wife's receipt number.

So where is my wife's letter letting her know that her I-751 has been received at the Vermont Service Center?

Is it normal to receive the child's letter first?

I am getting nervous because my friend (also married to a foreign woman) made me feel like an idiot.

Well, maybe I am an idiot.

I never opened a joint bank account.

When my wife arrived, she knew nothing about saving money and in the beginning she wanted me to buy everything in site. So I decided not to open a joint bank account right away.

Well, things happened, she got a job and we never did find the time to go to the bank together to start the joint account. So what I have is proof of her bank account (she opened it near where she was working) and my bank account. Her name is on other things though, such as insurance policies, tax returns and utility bills.

Sounds reasonable. Not everyone is comfortable with opening joint bank accounts. And IMHO having joint bank accounts does not show a valid marriage.

Well it's a done deal. I just sent it to USCIS via FedEx.

I am getting nervous because my friend (also married to a foreign woman) made me feel like an idiot.

Well, maybe I am an idiot.

I never opened a joint bank account.

When my wife arrived, she knew nothing about saving money and in the beginning she wanted me to buy everything in site. So I decided not to open a joint bank account right away.

Well, things happened, she got a job and we never did find the time to go to the bank together to start the joint account. So what I have is proof of her bank account (she opened it near where she was working) and my bank account. Her name is on other things though, such as insurance policies, tax returns and utility bills.

A lot of this is subjective.

At our interview we had a humorless male officer that did not even care to see our pictures.

The female officer with the family in the next room was joking with them and acting as if she was a best friend. My family had no problem getting approved for the AOS, I don't know about the other family. A portion of this is luck. Any document showing all the names should help a little.

I have plenty of medical bills and utility bills and hundreds of phone calls to Ukraine documented on the phone bill.

There is no lease or deed, it is a verbal agreement. I plan to explain it in detail to CIS and have a letter from my sister concerning the arrangement. I have been living there since 1984. Yes I am definitely in the minority because my rent is extremely reasonable considering my sister owns this old house. The house itself is pretty nice even though it is 85 years old.

I do not have a lease, mortgage or deed. I rent from relatives and it is a verbal agreement. I am trying to obtain a letter from them for USCIS.

We, like many others here on VJ, just followed the guide and so far so good

Ok here is what I have so far:

1) Statement from Blue Cross/Blue Shield Insurance showing all three names

2) Auto Insurance Policy with my name and my wife's name.

3) Gas and Electric Bill in both names

4) Vonage Bill in both names

5) Statement from my sister about our verbal agreement for me to lease the house

6) Bank statement from my wife's bank account

7) Letter from my stepson's high school

8) Tax returns from 2005, 2006 and 2007

9) Copies of green cards, front and back

10) statements from three married couples that have known us for two years

11) $465 for I-751 and $160.00 for biometrics

I hope this is enough evidence for USCIS.

Thank you. I think I knew the answer, just wanted some reassurance that I was correct.

This sounds like a piece of cake compared to the Adjustment of Status paperwork.

I seem to have more than enough evidence of a bona fide marriage.

Lawyers are so clueless sometimes.

I had a brief consultation with an immigration attorney and what he told me conflicts with what is posted on Visa Journey.

He said the biographical data, Ukrainian passport photo page, birth certificates, divorce decree and new passport photos are required when the I-751 is submitted, along with the evidence of a bona fide marital relationship and copies of the temporary green cards (front and back).

I think this is overkill. Do I really need all of this evidence?

all the evidence doesn't have to be in your both your names...

i included some bills etc. that were joint and then I also included some bills that were just in my name and some that were just in my hubby's name but they all showed that we lived at the same address....

It sounds like the lifting of conditions requires less in legal documents but more in actual proof of a legitimate marriage. Except for the USCIS form and biometrics, I do not see that evidence is required such as proof of birth, passport, divorce decree etc. The real work now is gathering the evidence to establish a lasting marriage. I have plenty of time to get it together.

I am worried we will be short on evidence when I file in March because my wife and I have separate bank accounts and credit cards.

I did have several bills set up to include both of our names and the T-Mobile account shows all our phone numbers and the calls made. I also have a Vonage account showing both names with many calls to Ukraine.

My wife and stepson are shown on my health insurance policy but for some reason my auto insurance has them listed but not on the insurance card itself. They are in the system. It is quite possible I can obtain a letter from State Farm. I am purchasing a car for my wife but I left it in my name since I make all the payments and I rarely drive the car. This can be changed but I was told I will need a new contract with the finance company.

This is my first marriage and in the beginning I chose to not have a joint bank account because she did not understand our money system or how to save money. I made the decision to just give her money each week from my account. I have until March 7 to get the evidence together. Are there any changes I can make to be able to have more evidence? We do have plenty of photographs. The other problem is that I rent the house from my family and there is no formal lease (it is a verbal contract).

Thank you.

Fee's after Fee's ... Its a good business folks, lets open one ...

The prices are extremely steep but lets let USCIS know love always wins out. They can't take that away from us no matter how steep the fees get. The power of love wins out over capitalism. At least I would hope so. They seem intent on preventing us from bringing our loved ones here to the US of A. Well they have lost in my case and many others. Lets see if the service is better once the fees have increased.

I filed AOS in October of 2005. It seems some of the fees have doubled. Can someone post a comparison of the basic fees for K1, AOS and Advanced Parole? Thanks.

Sorry, this is a big place and I know I cannot file until March of 2008.

Never thought to look further.

Just lazy I guess.

I am dreading the process of filing to remove conditions simply because there seems to be a strict requirement it be initiated exactly 90 days before the expiration of the temporary green card.

Does USCIS adhere strictly to the rule or is there some leeway?

Maybe if I start now I will have everything ready by March of 2008.

Some people are good with forms but I tend to get stressed and try to make the documents letter perfect which takes more time. When I filed AOS I completed all the forms by hand (no typing or carbon copies).

Thank you.

My son came up with a false positive on the tb test and needed another chest x-ray.

The doctor was blaming the skin test for creating the false positive.

He says this is routine for some countries and does not mean you were actually exposed to tb.

An option is to take pills in case you are not sure if you were actually exposed to tb.

A clinic will have the pills which are refilled every 30 days.

If I remember correctly he took the pills for about a year.