Betti

That should not be a problem at all. I was together with my then boyfriend, now husband, too, when I came on a J-1 visa last year. Neither one of us knew at my time of entry that we will get married and I will stay after the visa is up. It was never mentioned by anyone throughout the AOS process, it seemed more important to proof that our relationship is real. Just make sure you send enough evidence with your application and be honest at all times, and it should be going well.

Yes, as soon as you receive your NOAs (Notice Of Action), about 10 days after you send in your AOS package, your new status is "AOS pending", which allows you to stay in the country until a decision is made.

If you did not plan to get married and stay in the States when you last entered the country on your F-1 visa, you can go ahead and get married here and then adjust status (AOS) after the wedding.

You will not be able to work while your AOS is pending and you are waiting for your work permit (EAD). You will also not be able to leave and re-enter the country while your AOS is pending and you are waiting for your travel permit (Advanced Parole=AP). It takes up to 3 months to receive both of this, after filing for AOS.

The whole process, from filing to greencard, takes up to 6 months. In my case it was a little under 3. The total cost is somewhere around $1600, depending on the cost for your medical, pictures,... The visa itself is $1010 for the I-485 and $355 for the I-130.

Here is a link to the guides on VJ: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...page=i130guide2

Here is a link to uscis.gov: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...0004718190aRCRD

Good luck!

Hehehehe, good one. I am not sure if that counts as proof of a bona fide relationship/marriage though, could mean something else, too, the AKJ

I brought some uncommon proof to our interview, too. My husband (the USC) wrote a book, in which he makes fun of Germans, and it just became a bestseller in Germany. His name is on the cover in large letters and he dedicated it to me :-) The officer didn't ask to see it though...

The walk-in was totally easy. I went in there and the security guy checked my papers. He took it to a lady, because my AOS is in my married name, but my passport shows my maiden name. She came to thank me in person that I had brought our marriage certificate! She said that lots of times people don't bring it and then they can't process it. She took me right over to the fingerprint area and I was in and out in about 10 minutes. Everybody was super friendly.

The office in Austin is an ASC (Appointment Service Center), but the interview takes place at a USCIS office. The nearest one is San Antonio, if you live in Austin.

I received the NOA's about 12 days after my package arrived. In my signature I put down the date that was on the NOA, but the date when I received them was later. Yours will come soon, I'm sure!

I had my biometrics there, too.

You will still get to make your trip to San Antonio...that's where your interview will take place! :-)

Thank you, bluehills.

Who is the next in our group to go to the interview?

Congratulations, Christeen! I am happy for you!

Hi guys...

Thanx for ya replies......

Inky:

1. AOS is $1010, ok but what forms are AOS ? :/ I-130, I-485, I-131, I-765, G-325 a for USC and you, I-693, can all be found here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...0004718190aRCRD

2. Any advise where I can get one of those envelopes? Just use a normal large envelope if you send via postal service, otherwise the courier can give it to you, e.g. Fedex

Marie09:

1,

OH MY God...$125 ?????? wait is this for the I-693 - Medical Examination ?? I paid $230 for my medical, depends on your civil surgeon what they charge

I guess it is, but, the new changes... didnt get your point.

i mean, what changes are there in the I-693 compared to the old form? Updated form can be found online here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/men...0004718190aRCRD USCIS changes the forms sometimes and you have to make sure you are sending in the current forms, or else your AOS will be rejected

2. Ok so with all the forms (I-130, G-325a, I-693, I-864, I-485, I-765, I-131A), AND the medical thingy, it will be: $1010 + $355 + $125 for the whoooooooooole thing ? :/

Yes. Even more with the pictures and the money for gas to go to the place where they do the biometrics and the interview.

Jon&Lindsey:

Hi =), My wife´s a US citizen

---

btw.....any one of u kinda wiz on the eligibility categories thingy in the i-765 form .......?

My tip for you is to make yourself familiar with the whole process on www.uscis.gov. You can find all the answers right there. They tell you exactly what to send in and how to organize your AOS package. Good luck!

Thank you guys!

Thank you so much!

And of course I meant in 21 months I have to apply for ROC, not days as I said in my original post :-)

I had my AOS from J-1 interview today and got approved with no problems. Here is a detailed report about how it went:

My husband and I had booked a hotel room in San Antonio for the night before the interview, just to make sure we wouldn't be late for the appointment because of traffic or anything like that. Our interview appointment was at 10.30 am, so we got up at 8 am and got ready and had breakfast and were pretty relaxed, since it was only a 10 minute drive to the USCIS office.

We arrived there at 9.50 am and went through security. The officer asked me to throw out my cough drops at first, because he thought it was candy. His colleague told him that it was cough drops instead and I got to keep them. I had no idea you couldn't take candy with you though. We were asked to have a seat in a pretty full room and there were all kinds of people waiting, mostly hispanic. We were called in by Patricia Torres (officer number 52) at about 10.10 am. She only called our names and didn't wait for us to come to her, but she was headed to the elevator right away. So we hurried up to catch up with her and while waiting for the elevator, 3 other men, that were waiting, too, were joking around and we all had a nice conversation together. Our officer told us later that one of them was the director of that USCIS office. Ms. Torres led us to her office and we had to raise our right hands for the oath. After that we sat down and I put the big binder full of evidence right in front of me on the table. She asked me some questions, while going over the papers, like my birth date, when did we get married, was one of us married before, then some of the questions like: have you ever pretended to be a US citizen, were you ever arrested and so on. While I answered, she wrote some things on my forms and that was that. Then she asked us for a copy of my husbands birth certificate, which we didn't send with the application. I gave her the copy and she said it was only the souvenir version from the hospital and that she needs the long version. Well, we had thought that this is the long versiona dn didn't have anything else. I apologized and she seemed okay with it. She took m husbands' passport and the souvenir birth certificate and got it okay'd by her supervisor and we were set. She said that I am approved, explained to me that in 21 days I have to apply for ROC and that in 3 years from today I can apply for naturalization. Throughout our interview she made some comments that I'd like to sum up here: She said that only the bad cases come with a suitcase full of evidence. She said that my application contained the perfect amount of evidence when I sent it in (she never wanted to see anything but my husband's birth certificate) and she also said that I should send all the evidence I can with my ROC, because that makes it easier for them and I will probably not have to come for an interview again that way.

She stamped my passport and said that my actual card will arrive via mail in about 2 to 3 weeks.

We were out at 10.25 am, 5 minutes before our original appointment time.

It was a really easy interview and even though Ms. Torres was a bit harsh in the beginning, she warmed up throughout the interview and was really nice after all. I believe she had made the decision to approve me even before she met us today.

I hope this might help others to prepare for their interview!

And now I am off to do the happy dance! :-)

Thank you for your good wishes! I received my stamp in the passport and will get the card within 2 to 3 weeks in the mail. It was a very easy interview and I am really happy to be done with this for the next 21 months...I'll write a detailed review later on today!

Congrats on the recent approvals and good luck on upcoming interviews!

BigBubble, congrats on recieving the interview letter!

I'm so nervous about mine which is in a week! Guys who recieved the interview notice, what do you think they mean by "bring copies of supporting documents that you submitted with your application"? What is "supporting documents" exactly? Do they mean "supporting documents of bonafides of marriage"(included with I-130) or just ALL the documents submitted in general(EVERYTHING submitted in AOS package)?

1)Like,with I-864 we submitted copies of 7 month's worth of paystubs (which is 14 pages) of our joint sponsor, are we supposed to bring these 14 pages again including the additional 2 revent months' paystubs??

2)And copies of all W2s and tax returns too?

3)We also submitted our actual bank statement (original,not a copy), does it mean we need to print out a copy of it for the interview?

4) Utility bill to show that household member's address matches ours, needs to be printed again?

5) And a copy of I-94 and passport pages?

I just don't want to carry too much unneccesary stuff to the interview and then spend a bunch of time going through tons of prints and documents when looking for something. Let me know copies of what papers you are going to bring to your interview, and any input on this is appriciated!

I have my interview on Monday and I will take a big binder with me, which has separate "pockets" that I labeled to find things easier. I will bring one exact copy of my AOS that I sent in (they always recommend to do so and I believe that that is what they mean by "copies of supporting documents that you submitted with your application"). I will also bring everything I sent in again as the original. they ask for that in the interview letter. So I will have the marriage certificate, birth certificate for both, bank statements and so on. I will also bring our wedding album full of pictures and some more photos of the 2 of us between sending in the AOS and now. I went over the letter over and over again and am now sure that I have everything they ask for! :-) Wish me luck!

My husband (the USC) wrote a book about the German quirks-from an american perspective. It is called Nothing For UnGood (the Germans here will know why it's kinda funny) and came out in Germany, Switzerland and Austria last month. It is now in the new best seller list in place 23! I am very proud of my husband and thought I'd share it with you. Maybe the one or other has read it?

Here is a link: http://www.amazon.de/Nothing-UnGood-Seltsa...ef=pd_rhf_p_t_1

Yay! Congratulations rahulv!

My I-485 is being touched since I got my Interview Letter

Anybody here got touches too?

Congrats Matthew&Huong!!

I only got one touch on 10/22. That was the first and so far last touch ever on the I-485 and also on the I-130!

That's awesome...congratulations!!!

It's probably better if you get married at the courthouse first, since a big white wedding usually needs a longer time to be planned and could make them think that you planned it all before you came to the US. I would definitely take some pictures, even if it is "only" a small courthouse wedding. If there are family and friends around for the event, make sure to also take pictures together with them.

As Jon&Lindsey already said, showing that you mingle your finances will be great proof for your bona fide relationship. You don't just share your money with anyone. :-) Also, try to get on the lease/mortgage, car insurance and name each other as beneficiaries on your insurances!

If you truly had no intentions of getting married and staying in the US when you last entered the country, you can go ahead and get married and then apply for AOS. You do not need a visa (like K-1, K-3 or CR-1), since you are already here!

Make sure that you have proof of binding ties to Canada though, like an employer who expected you back, a rent that needs to be paid or affidavits of friends/family that state that they expected you to come back. Lots of members here say that they never needed to show any of the proof of their intent to return to their home country, but I'd prefer to be prepared in your case. For the AOS you will have to be able to present proof of a bona fide relationship with your fiance.

Good luck!

It's an appointment where you have to go to an ASC (Application Support Center) and have a picture and fingerprints taken. You will get an invitation via mail, and it will give you the date, time and place to go to. The picture as well as a fingerprint will be used for your EAD (work authorization card) and also the permanent resident card.

I just glued the photos to a blank piece of paper, 2 per page. Next to each picture I wrote 1 sentence, for example: John and Bettina during their vacation in Quarteira, Portugal: November 11th 2008. Then I put the pages in the right order...from the beginning of our relationship to the wedding, so it makes sense to the person at USCIS looking at the pictures. :-)

Hi Laur,

you can look up abbreviations in the Wiki, next to the Guides on the top. If you type NOA in the search box for example, it comes up with a page that's titled Notice Of Action and the explanation what it is.

I do not know how the process for siblings works, but thought I could answer part of your questions. :-)

Good luck!

But can't you buy the plane ticket in the married name and just show the certified copy of the marriage certificate and your passport with your maiden name as well?

Yay! Congratulations!!!

It tells your employer that there must be a valid work authorization in addition to the SSN in order for you to work legally.