dancingcrab

Hello all,

My two year green card is expiring on 20/1/2012, so I know I'm going to have to remove the conditions and apply for a 10-year card via the I-751 soon. However, the info on the USCIS website is giving me some seemingly conflicting (wrong?) information. Under the 'How to Apply to Remove the Conditions', it says: 'You should apply during the 90 days before your second anniversary as a conditional resident. The expiration date on your green card is also the date of your second anniversary as a conditional resident'. This is not true.

My green card, as I mentioned, expires 20/1/2012. However, my second anniversary is at the end of October 2011. What gives? It appears the card's expiration is tied to the expiration of my original K-1 visa.

The ultimate question is do I file now (in time for the end of October this year), or do I wait until November (three months before 20/1/2012)?

Thank you in advance for any advice you can give.

Thanks to everyone for their input! I will try and get to the SS office next week. Very exciting to have my green card.

Congrats! We're on the same state. Where exactly your AOS being processed? ^^ hope mine too.

I obviously filed at the Chicago lockbox, but the processing was handled in California - I received a letter sometime in December informing me that my application was being moved from Vermont to the CSC with no explanation. I can now say I think it was a good thing!

Well, after filing for my green card in early November (married 30th October), I received it in the post in under three months (about two weeks ago) - which pretty much blew my mind. No interview, no nothing following the biometrics.

My next step is to get a learner's permit. However, the requirement to apply for a LP is that I have a SSN with work authorisation. My current SSN states 'VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORISATION'. My question is, do I need to visit the SSN office again to update my card now that I have a green card?

Thanks for any advice!

Hmm, those generally are required for everyone unless for the MMR the individual has had the mumps, measles and chicken pox and acquired immunity that way. I would arrange to get those done at the local health unit as I doubt those one would be given a waiver.

Hello. Maybe someone can help clear the medical stuff up for me a little. I would appreciate the assistance.

I currently have K1 status and will be getting married on the 30th next week. I haven't paid much attention to the medical part of the AoS as I figured as a K1, I wouldn't need it. However, I now realise that the vaccinations might require a bit more than that.

Right now, I have the worksheet (which I assume is the DS-3025 - could someone confirmed this for me?) and a vaccination sheet from my *UK* doctor, showing my entire vaccination record (the Embassy doctor couldn't confirm my MMR status, so I visited my doctor to get this afterwards). I believe I need to fill in some of the I-693 and have a 'civil surgeon' authenticate my vaccination history. Is this relatively simple? I know I've had the required jabs - but will this print-out of my NHS vaccination history be sufficient evidence for the civil surgeon?

Many thanks for any responses.

You have time if you go this week, usually as long as you have at least 15 days on your I-94 they will process your application. In case you didn't know it is not a requirement to have a Social Securtiy # to file you AOS, so don't worry if you can't get it in time.

It isn't?! Phew, that's fine then. Thanks!

Can someone confirm this? Not that I don't trust you pizzadude, but just want to be sure.

I'm submitting an I-765 along with my AOS. Will I need an SSN for that?

Also, re: I-765, can someone clarify what category I should select: (c )(9) for Adjustment Applicant, or (a)(6) K1 nonimmigrant of US Citzen? I'm guessing (c )(9), but not completely positive...

Please can someone advise me!

I arrived into Atlanta on 22nd August on my K1 visa. My fiancee and I are marrying on the 30th October. I've been putting together my AOS pack and realised I don't have an SSN.

Have I screwed up? I still have about five/six weeks before the 90 days is up - do I still have time to get an SSN before 30/Oct?

Many thanks in advance.

How about gifts purchased within the last year? Are they subject to tax when declared?

Hello there. I have touched briefly on this in another topic, but would be grateful if someone could clarify for me.

Bascially, I'm going to be bringing in a couple of higher value items when I enter the USA with my K1 visa. This includes a pure gold 20 CH fr. piece and a 5g gold ingot. They are not massively valuable, but are between $150 and $200 each. Will I get taxed for them? At what price-point do things need to be declared?

How about high value gifts?

Thanks for any help!

Thanks for the comprehensive response!

Read through the document, seems that most of my stuff is considered household goods after all, as canadian_wife suggested.

So you didn't declare anything as less than a year old? No problems? Right now I've put aside a handful of stuff equating to about $365 worth as less than a year old. Any idea how much duty that'll cost? Should I bother?

Hello featherB!

Yes, I believe I will list quantities of stuff like you. Do you remember filling in the 3299 form? I've now heard from my movers, and they said only to put stuff down that I've bought within the last year, but this seems to contradict what the forms says. It's all amazingly obtuse.

Thanks for your response again, canadian_wife! Very useful, although possibly not what I wanted to hear. Looks like I've a long inventory ahead of me.

Did you import any CDs/DVDs/books? If so, did you declare each and every item along with US$ value and date of purchase?

Okay, looking through form 3299 (Declaration For Free Entry Of Unaccompanied Articles). Need help. (Bear with me, a little complicated.)

Part IV, section D requires a list of any articles checked in Part IV, section C. The only boxes I think I need to check in section C are those under '(B) For residents and non-residents ONLY', where I would declare 'Foreign household effects acquired abroad and used for [less/more] than a year'.

Problem: the 'helpful' guide my mover has provided with this form tells me to pay particular attention to terminology, noting in particular (I quote):

Household goods: Furniture & household goods, except personnal effects

Personal effects: Clothing, jewelry, photographic equipment, tape recorders, stereo components, vehicles, etc.

So where does that leave me with 'Foreign household effects [...]'? My possessions are DVDs, CDs, video games and books, a few soft toys, a board game, some Lego, four small (can be held comfortably in one hand) African ornaments, etc., I assume all these to be personal effects, not household goods.

Depending on how I read the entry, I either have to list absolutely everything ('household effects' = personal effects), along with US$ value and date of purchase (to which I have NO idea), or list nothing at all ('household effects' = household goods).

Please help!

Hello all. For those of you that read and posted in my previous topic, you have my thanks. I have now packed and inventoried my stuff. Phew.

I'm now trying to figure out insurance for the belongings that I'm shipping. I was basically wondering if anyone had any problems shipping their stuff (e.g. damaged boxes/goods, missing items, delays, etc), and if so, how the insurance people handled it.

Problems that I'm facing include: (1) if I want cover for individually missing items, I need to have provided a detailed inventory for each box; and (2) general confusion surrounding 'under-insurance' - as in, say I have 130 CDs and quote an estimate of their combined worth at £650 (£5 each) - the policy seems to make a big thing about this, but I don't understand it or the jargon it uses.

One of my big problems is that I don't have a lot of £$£$£$ considering all the payments and investments I've made recently, so throwing £150-£200 at insurance (a rough 2.75% of my belongings' total worth) seems a little steep for something that will hopefully not be necessary. But maybe that's just foolish thinking!

If anyone has any tips or suggestion regarding this, I would greatly appreciate them.

4) I'm saying if you get searched, do you really want this to be a problem? I had 4 out of 17 boxes randomly searched. The put a little sticker on the ones that were searched. Pick the ones that are obviously a year old (DVD's look a day old when they look 10 years old) and list them.

Thanks again!

My understanding is that I'll have to pay duty on anything that is less than a year old, so, if that's the case, I wouldn't want to mark up items as new any more than I have to. Most of my collection is either more than a year old, or gifts (don't know if that makes a difference). However, I keep all of my stuff in virtually pristine condition as I'm a bit OCD, which is probably going to suggest to the customs official that everything is new. Oh dear.

So I guess I'll just pick a randomish sample of things that could be less than a year old. Should I mark them on the same inventory attached to the box?

Thank you very much for your reply. Very helpful, I am grateful. Couple of queries:

4) So you think I should literally go through my DVDs/CDs/books/games (pretty much the sum of my possessions) and essentially randomly pick a load which might be less than a year old?

6) I will have some form of receipt I'm sure. This will help?

Oh, and re: 7) - I won't know this until I receive my visa (i.e. passport) back via the courier - now I'm going to be very nervous about the contents!

Cheers again for the response.

Hello all. I believe this is my first post on the VJ forums (my fiancee has used to site), so a big wave and smile to everyone.

To quickly fill you in, we applied for a K1 in December and I had my interview last Friday. It went super smooth except for one irritating issue: I supplied the wrong birth certificate. The result is that I have now couried my 'long-form' birth cert. to the embassy and am waiting for my passport and visa to be sent back to me.

Today I booked the removal of my 'excess baggage' - i.e. all my worldly belongings, which amount to less than 1.5 cubic metres and thus are merely considered by Eagle Relocations as 'excess baggage'. I've already packed the boxes, but failed to make a detailed inventory during the process. My questions are as follows:

1) How detailed does detailed mean? I can probably go through and list 'books', 'DVDs', 'music CDs', 'video games', etc, quite happily. Would this do? Or does US customs require specific titles and quantities?

2) In one of the boxes are three Swiss army knives. (I'm British/Swiss - it's only natural for me to own a small collection of pen knives.) Will they be a problem?

3) Is it okay to affix a printed inventory to each box with masking tape? Or does is need to be written directly onto the box.

4) Should I really list the items that are less than one year old? I have no idea what is and what isn't, and I'm not taking anything of specific value (everything's pretty much <$50) except the ring (see below).

5) I haven't presented my financee with a ring yet, I hope to bring one over. I will, of course, being taking it in person, not shipping it with my 'excess baggage', but was wondering whether I should carry it on my person (e.g. a pocket), in my hand luggage, or put it with my checked luggage (seems a bad idea).

6) Will I have to pay tax/duty/fees on the ring? (It will not be >$10000, or anywhere near it.) Coming off the back of that, I'm assuming I should definitely declare it?

7) I've read about sealed brown envelopes and DS-230 Pt. 2s in various topics. I have neither. Or rather, I have the open brown envelope that has my chest x-ray in (and only that), which the embassy dude said I could safely put in my checked luggage. And I have an unfilled DS-230 Pt. 2 that I retained after sending my completed DS-230 Pt. 1 to the embassy. During my interview, we did not talk about or look at any DS-230 things.

8) Lastly, anyone able to talk me through the PoE procedure for a K1 like myself? My PoE will be ATL, which is where we'll be living.

Phew. Lotsa questions! If you can help with only one, I'd still appreciate it!

Many many thanks.