nellieandsimon

I guess I'll be heading into my local office then. Thanks for your advice!

I am in the US on a K3 visa with EAD. I have had my AOS interview and have verbal green card approval...just waiting for it in writing and for the green card itself now. For the past couple of years my husband has filed joint tax returns using my ITIN. I am now job hunting and in need of a SSN and it occurred to me that on the DS-230 form I checked the boxes requesting a SSN....this was over a year ago and i've heard nothing. Does anyone have any idea whether i should be expecting a SSN to turn up with my green card, or whether this request has gone unfulfilled and i should just apply for a SSN anew? Thanks in advance

Yes, if EAD is filed before AOS, you have to pay the EAD fee (but in your case you would save the I-751 fee two years from now). Really up to you if you are willing to take the gamble on the AOS taking longer than 4 months. Those that are transferred and approved without interview typically are done in 2 to 4 months; if an interview is required then it is more like six months (or longer).

An unrelated question - How has your husband filed taxes the past two years - Single, HOH, MFS or MFJ? Depending on your situation (and assuming your income from the UK was not too high - over $87,000), then he could have filed MFJ and most, if not all, of your income would have been excluded. MFJ has a lower tax rate and would lower the tax burden. Additionally, if you file MFJ for TY 2008 (just filed this year) and you have a SSN, then you would have most likely qualified for the tax credit (up to $600). Rin and I actually waited to file last year until she had her SSN to qualify for the credit (with three children our total credit was $2,100 - would have been $0 if we had filed with the ITIN prior to getting her and the children's SSNs).

Thanks for your help John. I think i'll go ahead and apply for my EAD now and hold off on the AOS for a couple of months.

My husband filed his taxes MFJ and had my UK wages excluded. I don't have a SSN yet though so didn't qualify for the tax credit.

Thanks again

Once you have your SSN, you can file an amended return (1040X) and claim the tax credit for you. You'll need to wait until the originally submitted return has been processed prior to filing the amended return. The $600 will more than cover the EAD fee!

ah ha. Thanks for the tip...we will definitely do that.

Yes, if EAD is filed before AOS, you have to pay the EAD fee (but in your case you would save the I-751 fee two years from now). Really up to you if you are willing to take the gamble on the AOS taking longer than 4 months. Those that are transferred and approved without interview typically are done in 2 to 4 months; if an interview is required then it is more like six months (or longer).

An unrelated question - How has your husband filed taxes the past two years - Single, HOH, MFS or MFJ? Depending on your situation (and assuming your income from the UK was not too high - over $87,000), then he could have filed MFJ and most, if not all, of your income would have been excluded. MFJ has a lower tax rate and would lower the tax burden. Additionally, if you file MFJ for TY 2008 (just filed this year) and you have a SSN, then you would have most likely qualified for the tax credit (up to $600). Rin and I actually waited to file last year until she had her SSN to qualify for the credit (with three children our total credit was $2,100 - would have been $0 if we had filed with the ITIN prior to getting her and the children's SSNs).

Thanks for your help John. I think i'll go ahead and apply for my EAD now and hold off on the AOS for a couple of months.

My husband filed his taxes MFJ and had my UK wages excluded. I don't have a SSN yet though so didn't qualify for the tax credit.

Thanks again

ok, no need to include my x-ray. many thanks for your helpful and quick responses.

Nellieandsimon - Looking at your timeline, you may want to consider waiting a month or two before submitting your AOS. If it is approved quickly - before your second wedding anniversary (about 25% of AOS are approved without interview), you will be given a two year GC. If it is approved after August 24th (your second anniversary) you will receive a 10 yr GC and then can forego the time and expense of lifting conditions two years from now. Your next dealings with USCIS would either be in 3 yrs (naturalization) or 10 yrs (GC renewal).

yes, we had been wondering if filing for AOS now would be a bit soon. However, i really need to be able to work and we had been hoping to cut costs by filing my EAD request at the same time as my AOS forms.

Am i correct in thinking that we'll have to pay to file the EAD request if we file it before the AOS paperwork?

ok, no need to include my x-ray. many thanks for your helpful and quick responses.

I was given my vaccination records, but they did not take my X-ray at my POE, I still have it. My X-ray was given to me at my interview, separate to my brown envelope of documents I received with my visa/passport. I am assuming there was not a smaller copy of the X-ray in the brown envelope, so should I send it in along with my vaccination records when I apply for my adjustment of status?

Thanks for any help

On AOS form I-485 I am unsure which category (in part 2) I am supposed to apply under. Category a.) seems to be the one, however it means that I need to have a whole new medical done, despite having just had one done a couple of months ago for the K3 visa. In addition, at my K3 visa medical I was told I would only need to submit my vaccination records (which they gave me a copy of), and my chest x-ray (which I got at my K3 visa interview) when I applied for my green card. I have never been given a copy of my medical. All this seems to follow the guidelines for applying for my AOS under category c.) even though it does not mention the K3 visa directly.

Which category I should be applying for my AOS under?

Do I need to get a whole new medical done?

Many thanks for any advice.

Ok thanks - so from what you've said I assume that my spouse can NOT volunteer in the U.S. Does anyone have any more specific experience or wisdom on the topic of foreign spouses volunteering in the U.S. with a pending I-129 and I-130? By the way, the day after i started this topic i received approval of both the I-129 and I-130 at the same time. I'm not sure if this makes any difference, but again all advice is welcome. Thanks,

I am a U.S. citizen and I married my British spouse in England last August. She has come to the U.S. without problems under the VWA several times since we filed for her K3 visa (she always carries a return flight and ample proof of her foreign residence and her obligations to return, such as letters from employers, doctors appointments, etc.). We are interested in having her volunteer in the U.S. during a visit, and we are unsure if that is safe. We have been consulting with our immigration lawyer, the U.S. Immigration Service, the Department of State, Customs and Border Patrol, the U.S. embassy in London, as well as various unofficial online resources (such as programs for British who want to volunteer in the U.S. and have heard mostly consistent answers and are trying to piece together the full answer. The most consistent piece of information that we have learned is:

A foreigner who enters the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Act (what Nellie

has done every time she entered the U.S. before and during her

immigration process) is allowed to volunteer in the U.S. within their

allowed stay (89 days), as long as they:

- are a member of the organization for which they are volunteering

(which Nellie can easily become of CHA, and which we both have been

meaning to do anyways)

- volunteer for a non-profit organization which benefits the local

community (CHA certainly qualifies)

- accept no remuneration (payment). they are, however, allowed to be

compensated for incidentals (travel, accommodation, etc.)

- do not have a pending immigrant visa

We have also learned from multiple sources that you may not volunteer in the U.S. with a pending immigrant

visa. We feel certain that her pending K3 visa is a NON-immigrant visa, however we are unsure if the I-130 is a pending immigrant visa. We are also unsure if her pending K3 will affect her ability to volunteer in

the U.S., or if volunteering in the U.S. will jeopardize her pending K3 visa.

We obviously want to be certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is safe to volunteer in the U.S. under the circumstances of her pending K3 visa and I-130, and we would greatly appreciate any advice. Thanks and cheers,