alex and astrid

My husband and I always rib each other about who has the correct English

I'm going to assume that you mean, what happens when people file as soon as their application window opens, 90 days before their 3 or 5 year anniversary date?
This doesn't really need clarification. You just get the ball rolling on your application as soon as you can. Nothing else special happens.

I honestly don't care how long it takes to process my ROC. My life is carrying on as normal, just as it did before I filed. If I don't get approved before January next year, I'll file my N400. No need to get annoyed.
God forbid that people be given a chance at the American Dream that we have all been given....

I honestly don't care how long it takes to process my ROC. My life is carrying on as normal, just as it did before I filed. If I don't get approved before January next year, I'll file my N400. No need to get annoyed.
God forbid that people be given a chance at the American Dream that we have all been given....

I honestly don't care how long it takes to process my ROC. My life is carrying on as normal, just as it did before I filed. If I don't get approved before January next year, I'll file my N400. No need to get annoyed.
God forbid that people be given a chance at the American Dream that we have all been given....

I honestly don't care how long it takes to process my ROC. My life is carrying on as normal, just as it did before I filed. If I don't get approved before January next year, I'll file my N400. No need to get annoyed.
God forbid that people be given a chance at the American Dream that we have all been given....

I honestly don't care how long it takes to process my ROC. My life is carrying on as normal, just as it did before I filed. If I don't get approved before January next year, I'll file my N400. No need to get annoyed.
God forbid that people be given a chance at the American Dream that we have all been given....

I honestly don't care how long it takes to process my ROC. My life is carrying on as normal, just as it did before I filed. If I don't get approved before January next year, I'll file my N400. No need to get annoyed.
God forbid that people be given a chance at the American Dream that we have all been given....

I'm glad your green card process went smoothly....just a tip though, be careful of making broad statements. Being transfered to CSC does not mean that you will not have an interview and you will get your green card automatically. Plenty of people who get transfered to CSC still have an interview. Some people get transfered to CSC and then back to Missouri. CSC also does not conduct the interviews - the are held at field offices around the country. So yes, being sent to CSC is a good sign, but it doesn't always mean the end of the road.

I'm glad your green card process went smoothly....just a tip though, be careful of making broad statements. Being transfered to CSC does not mean that you will not have an interview and you will get your green card automatically. Plenty of people who get transfered to CSC still have an interview. Some people get transfered to CSC and then back to Missouri. CSC also does not conduct the interviews - the are held at field offices around the country. So yes, being sent to CSC is a good sign, but it doesn't always mean the end of the road.

I think the "we think we're awesome!" mentality stems from the overwhelming sense of national pride that Americans have. Which is cool, it's great to love your country and express that, lord knows that I am very proud to be an Australian and even more so when I am not at home. But it annoys me when people look down on me because I am not an American, or kind of infer that I'm not intelligent because of my nationality, and relate to stupid stereotypes when they talk to me.
I find it hard to see negatives about Australia, though there definitely are negatives! There are a lot of things that are a lot more expensive in Australia than over here. There are social problems in Australia. I strongly agree with Vanessa about food and health here. Food is cheaper here for sure, but everything is so fake and processed and sugary. I feel like it is harder for me to eat right here. A gym membership over here is half the price of what I paid at home though, hahaha.
Healthcare here is just insane. Alex pays $160 a month for health insurance, which thankfully he is a healthy man and rarely has to use. But when we were researching about insurance for the both of us, I feel like you get NOTHING for your money! I feel like woman get shafted by healthcare, especially when Alex and I want kids. We're going to need to start saving now for ten years in the future. I am genuinely worried about getting sick while living out here because I don't know what kind of effect it would have on us financially. While Medicare in Australia is not at all perfect and has its flaws, I know if I get ill, I'm not going to have a problem. Yep, Australians are dirty socialists and I don't care who knows it!
Overall.....yeah, I'll live here and be happy, but us moving back to Australia is a plan for sure. I feel like we would have more opportunities there.

I agree...I like being in the USA, but I like being in the USA because that is where my husband is. I'm never going to love the US like I love Australia. People can't really understand what that is like unless you are an immigrant. I'm not ungrateful to be here, and am thankful that I have had a very easy immigration experience. It's like the saying goes - There is no place like home.

You may want to prepare yourself to explain to USCIS why you did not mary within the ninety day period, because that was the specific term of the visa. They are going to ask that if you get an interview.

I have worked in the admissions department of a Californian college and I am very familiar with residency rules.
You were partially correct. The important part to remember with tuition rates is that you do not always qualify for in state tuition when the green card is in hand. US residency does not always automatically mean state residency. There is often a waiting period, and in the meantime, the green card holder must pay out of state fees if they want to go to school. A US citizen can move to another state and still be subjected to out of state tuition. How you stated your answer made it sound like it was an automatic thing.
To the OP - since we don't know what state you are from or the specific school your fiancee wants to attend - you are best to contact the school and see what their rules are and what rates you need to pay. As for being able to attend while on AOS - I don't know the answer to that, because I never came across that when I worked at my college. But, once you have the green card after AOS, you are free to attend wherever you please. Whether you have a two or ten year green card doesn't matter.

A GC is a physical token you carry to prove your LPR status. Your LPR status is typically awarded on the date they order card production. This date is recorded on the GC as your "Resident since" date. So you very well have LPR status without holding a physical GC that documents that status.
But as to whether holding LPR status (whether you can prove it or not) automatically entitles you to in-state tuition rates - unfortunately, no. Read some of the threads in the "Working and Traveling in the US during Immigration" forum about getting a US Drivers License. It's a similar situation. Like getting in-state resident tuition rates, getting a state driver license virtually never depends solely (or in some cases, at all) on whether the federal government thinks you have legal presence in the US. It usually depends on whether that particular state thinks you are a resident of that particular state, by that particular state's legal definition of state residency. State law definitions of state residency are wildly variable from state to state and frequently have little, if anything, to do with federally awarded immigration status (i.e your green card).
And to make things even more complex, a state may have, as California apparently does, additional criteria for whether you qualify for in-state tuition rates on top of the bare-minimum state residency criterion they apply when deciding whether or not to give you a local driver license - the aforementioned waiting periods and the like.
Best bet is to talk to the admissions officers at the schools near you. It's their jobs to know and apply the local criterion. These things vary too much to make it worth trying to research out generalities. Go straight to the source. - the particular school you have in mind.

In California, or at least, in LA County, the woman or the man can say what their name will be after marriage and have that change placed on the marriage licence. You can change both your middle name and last name, but not your first name. There is no additional charge for this. So, on my marriage licence/certificate, it states that I have a new last name as of the date we got married.
If, on the marriage licence, you choose to keep your birth name, but then decide to change it at a later time, you would need to do a legal name change. I am not sure what the fee is for that.
Once you have your marriage certificate, you use it to prove your new legal name and update it on your driver's licence, with your bank, with the SSA, and so on. I've not had any trouble doing this since I was married in February.

In California, or at least, in LA County, the woman or the man can say what their name will be after marriage and have that change placed on the marriage licence. You can change both your middle name and last name, but not your first name. There is no additional charge for this. So, on my marriage licence/certificate, it states that I have a new last name as of the date we got married.
If, on the marriage licence, you choose to keep your birth name, but then decide to change it at a later time, you would need to do a legal name change. I am not sure what the fee is for that.
Once you have your marriage certificate, you use it to prove your new legal name and update it on your driver's licence, with your bank, with the SSA, and so on. I've not had any trouble doing this since I was married in February.

Got my CA licence today! Passed the test with no worries at all
Terri - Sorry your Mum was being a complete cow. People just don't 'get' it, do they?
In other news - My mum is back home from the hospital, they still don't know exactly what happened but they suspect she had some form of a seizure. Not the kind where you fit, but where your brain just stops sending the right messages and you kind of just blank out. So, she isn't allowed to drive for six months. Not too pleased about that but she is dealing with it.

I sent a copy, and a photocopy of LA County documents always have "VOID" all over them. I sent the copy and had no problems. Just remember to have extra original copies of documents on hand, because USCIS can ask to see originals at any time.

It's very hard to get a work visa. As far as I am aware, your prospective employer pretty much has to prove that there is no one in the US that is available to do that job. So if you are something like a specialized surgeon you are a pretty good chance, but for something general, I don't think you will get it. Also remember that you can not adjust status from the Visa Waiver Program. You would still need to go back to Australia to get this visa.
As someone who has been there and done that with the K1, it really does not take that long to get from start to finish. For me, we were engaged April 2009 (in the US), I went back to Australia in June 2009, we filed for the K1 that August. We were approved in the October, had the visa in December, back in the US in January, married in February, filed for AOS in March. Green card in hand May 1. So from the NOA1 for the K1 to getting the Green Card, nine months. We could have done it even faster, but we had our own timeline worked out.
I don't think there is anything against scouting for work and seeing what is out there while you are visiting, but I really think it's a waste of time.
When you enter the US under the VWP, make sure you bring HEAPS of evidence showing that you don't intend to stay. Bring the evidence that you have applied for the K1, a letter from your landlord saying that they still live there, letters from your employer saying they expect you back, or enrollment at Uni.
With the EAD, it's pretty much what the others have said. You can apply for it when you AOS, which is what most people do. You can also apply for it when you first enter the country on the K1, but you have to pay to file for it, and since they can take up to three months to be approved and are also tied to your I-94 expiry, it isn't worth it.

That is not realistic at all. Sure, it is a very, very good idea to have money saved up and put away ready for AOS. But life happens. People lose jobs, cars die, unexpected expenses crop up. I really hate when people act like the world is going to end as soon as the 90 days are up and AOS isn't filed. Yeah, it's not the ideal situation, but as long as you aren't careless or take unneeded risk, you will be ok. It's comments like your that make people who have been unable to immediately file AOS feel even worse than they already do.
To say that a couple should not be brought together unless they have $10,000 in the bank is not feasible for a lot of people. It sure wasn't for my husband, who is 23, works full time and is a Masters student, full time. We are doing just fine without a close to a THIRD of his annual income stashed away. It's cool if it works for you.....but it's not cool when people start getting preachy because others don't follow what they have done in their own life.

It is your husband that does the majority of the forms for AOS, the only form your name goes onto in the Affidavit of Support. If your name is now your married name, then use that name, and include a photocopy of your marriage certificate showing the link between your old and new names.

Really, there is no set time limit for you to file AOS. Mostly everyone agrees that you should file for it as soon as you are able, but, some couples cannot do that. The longer you leave it, the longer you cannot work and such.

You do not need to send any evidence with your AOS application, apart from a copy of the marriage certificate. It isn't like the K1 packet where you can front load it. If you get an interview, thats when you can show all the evidence of your marriage and mingling of your lives. You would only need to send that kind of information if you are AOS'ing from a tourist visa, or a F1 or a J1 etc. K1 you don't need to.

You do not need to send any evidence with your AOS application, apart from a copy of the marriage certificate. It isn't like the K1 packet where you can front load it. If you get an interview, thats when you can show all the evidence of your marriage and mingling of your lives. You would only need to send that kind of information if you are AOS'ing from a tourist visa, or a F1 or a J1 etc. K1 you don't need to.