Mike and Thanh

i think there might have been some confusion. what i am trying to say is that let say she becomes a citizen, but keeps her old name and also keep her old name on the baby's birth certificate; is it hard to get a name change later on and have the marriage certificate and baby's birth certificate to reflect her new name? so basically, she doesn't want to check the box on the form where it said if you want a name change. can she change to a more americanize name later on?

could someone advise me on name change for my wife. we will send the form in next week, but unsure if she should change her name now on the form or wait until later on. she was from vietnam and still used her vietnam name. even on our marriage certificate, it states my name and her name unchanged, she still uses her maiden name, haven't change to my last name yet. she is pregnant too and is schedule to give birth to our second child in april of '14. should she petition for a name change now or wait until after everything is set and done such as given birth and also become a citizen? she is worry about it would be a big mess if she does change her name and when she does give birth and how would that affect her as far as her hospital records, baby's birth certificate, etc. what do you guys suggest? also, let say she stays with her current name, gives birth with her current name, and pass the citizen test with her name unchange, how hard would it be to change her name later on? it's not as simple as going to the court and requesting a name change? thanks a bunch.

Wow , nearly all the CA folks are done. What the heck is the problem in VT?

tell me about it. my wife's noa was in november 8th and biometrics was in january 2012. we still haven't got the green card. i checked the online status at uscis.gov website. said it's still in "initial review". why is it so slow at the vt center?

California Service Center (19 applicants)

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics.......Approved....

HEATDEATH.............11/01/11........11/03/11.......11/30/11........--/--/--....

RFITZ.................11/04/11........11/07/11.......12/13/11........--/--/--....

MARIE09...............11/07/11........11/08/11.......12/01/11........--/--/--....

EVILMONKEE............11/07/11........11/09/11.......12/14/11........--/--/--....(Early Bio 11/22)

FAERY.................11/08/11........11/14/11.......12/29/11........--/--/--....

MIKE&SACHIE...........11/09/11........11/14/11.......12/23/11........--/--/--....

AMBEROCTOBER..........11/11/11........11/16/11.......12/16/11........--/--/--....(Early Bio 12/15)

KM24..................11/11/11........11/14/11.......12/14/11........--/--/--....

GERMANIMMIGRANT.......11/12/11........11/14/11.......12/15/11........--/--/--....

MESTIS................11/12/11........11/14/11.......12/19/11........--/--/--....

WIFETOBE..............11/12/11........11/16/11.......12/23/11........--/--/--....

ELLSINLOVE............11/15/11........11/17/11.......12/19/11........--/--/--....

MADDYCRUISE...........11/21/11........11/22/11.......01/04/12........--/--/--....

CUTEDOLPHINN..........11/21/11........11/23/11.......--/--/--........--/--/--....

N M...................11/21/11........11/22/11.......12/28/11........--/--/--....

LISA AND IAN..........11/22/11........11/25/11.......01/03/12........--/--/--....

SNOWYMN...............11/24/11........11/28/11.......01/30/12........--/--/--....

SYRGUY................11/25/11........11/28/11.......--/--/--........--/--/--....

MIKEINWYOMING.........11/26/11........11/29/11.......12/22/11........--/--/--....

Vermont Service Center (26 applicants)

VJName.............Date of I-751.....NOA1 Date......Biometrics.......Approved....

M_RU..................11/01/11........11/04/11.......12/12/11........--/--/--....

BABYLONFARI_K1........11/01/11........11/03/11.......11/30/11........--/--/--....

ALEX&CLAUDIA..........11/01/11........11/07/11.......12/12/11........--/--/--....

MAGICFN1..............11/02/11........11/07/11.......01/24/12........--/--/--....

SHACH.................11/03/11........11/07/11.......12/05/11........--/--/--....

MOKSHA................11/04/11........11/??/11.......11/24/11........--/--/--....

KEN_JAR...............11/04/11........11/07/11.......01/09/12........--/--/--....

JNORIEGA..............11/04/11........11/08/11.......01/09/12........--/--/--....(Early Bio 12/15)

VISAQUEEN.............11/05/11........11/15/11.......12/16/11........--/--/--....

VERNE BLAISE..........11/05/11........11/07/11.......11/30/11........--/--/--....

RBAL_TN...............11/07/11........11/09/11.......01/09/12........--/--/--....

KEVIN&LEILEI..........11/07/11........11/10/11.......12/30/11........--/--/--....

NIKKI-1980............11/07/11........11/10/11.......12/07/11........--/--/--....

BEANS.................11/07/11........11/10/11.......11/30/11........--/--/--....

LKSOON................11/07/11........11/09/11.......12/07/11........--/--/--....

JEFFANDDONA...........11/09/11........11/14/11.......12/15/11........--/--/--....

JAY & KEN.............11/14/11........11/17/11.......12/20/11........--/--/--....

ANYANCHARLES..........11/15/11........11/16/11.......12/22/11........--/--/--....

DASALEPH..............11/17/11........11/21/11.......02/07/12........--/--/--....

DAVID'SGIRL...........11/17/11........11/28/11.......01/04/12........--/--/--....

SKY*..................11/18/11........11/22/11.......01/20/12........--/--/--....(Early Bio 1/11)

WHTMYID...............11/19/11........11/21/11.......02/10/12........--/--/--....

LGG...................11/26/11........12/02/11.......01/09/12........--/--/--....

POPTHECORK............11/28/11........12/02/11.......01/05/12........--/--/--....

JOANNAV...............11/28/11........12/05/11.......01/30/12........--/--/--....

INGODSHANDS...........11/28/11........11/29/11.......--/--/--........--/--/--....

MIKEANDTHANH..........11/04/11........11/08/11.......01/31/12........--/--/--....

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my wife's biometrics is schedule for jan 31st at 3pm. it should go smoothly, so don't worry. that how it was when she first applied for a green card and got her biometrics. it was pretty quick, in and out within half an hour.

i noticed your local uscis office is in new orleans? i'm from new orleans as well, to be specific, in the westbank.

an update: i called uscis last friday which was jan 6th. i told them my wife never receive the biometric letter. they put in a notice in their system saying that we never receive the biometric letter. they said to wait about 15 days if the uscis hasn't contact us about this matter to call them again. well, the biometric letter arrived today. either that notice to the uscis from the lady i talked to had such a fast reply or it could be that it just took a bit longer than normal for us. a friend of mine told me that it could be delayed until now because of the thanksgiving and then christmas holidays. who knows.

cutie: hope you will receive yours in the mail soon.

can someone please answer my question? how can contact uscis? as i said, i called and all i got was an automated system. how do you get through to the live person?

The thing is how to get through to USCIS? Like I said, I called but all I got was an automated message telling me to press some numbers. There was no live person option to press. I even waited for the all the options to be said and like some other places if I don't press, it would transfer me to a live person. That didn't happen.

I filed a I-751 for my wife no too long ago. I received a notice from the USCIS stating the receipt notice date as: 11/08/2011. On that letter, it said that her conditional resident status is extended for a period of one year. Can she travel back to Vietnam with this as proof on her extension? Or does she have to wait until she gets her new green card? In that letter, it said that she will be receiving an Application Support Center(ASC) appointment for her biometrics. We still didn't receive anything yet? How long is the usual wait time? Also, curiously on that letter, it said if she hasn't already done so, she should provide supporting documents to assist USCIS in processing this petition and also to include a copy of this receipt notice with any supporting documents. I don't understand this. Supporting documents? Like the ones I sent in already? Also, why do I need to send in a copy of this receipt notice? Makes no sense. Someone please enlighten me. Thanks.

Btw, how do I suppose to get through the USCIS phone number? I called and each time I got an automated system. There was no live person to speak to option.

guess what? we got the green card in the mail today! they said 3 weeks, but we received it today. even faster than the social security card. the removal of condition is down the road. next up should be a driver's license....yikes!

got some good news. thanh's aos application is approved. the paper said that she should receive her green card within 3 weeks. an interview wasn't even necessary. what's next? green card is good for 2 yrs only. before the 2 yr deadline, we should apply for what? removal of condition?

Well I gather everything I needed for the AOS. I am going to file the AOS along with the EAD. When I get the EAD, I will then get the social security card for her. I just need to finish up some stuff, but I should send the application in by next week.

My wife(then fiancee)came here on September 8th, 2009. Her I-94 stated that her K1 visa will expire on December 7, 2009. I haven't apply for AOS yet. I was just busy with the wedding and work. I didn't even apply for a social security card or employment authorization card yet either. As long as I send in the application before December 7th, I should be ok right? I need to get the ball rolling that's for sure.

Btw, I went to the social security office to apply a card for my wife. They said I needed an employment authorization card. I posted this question before, and a member here link to a page on the ssa.gov site stating that a K1 visa holder does not need an employment authorization card. I brought all the papers and even printed out the link and they told me I still need the employment authorization card. I guess I should just go apply for one.

For K1 you need to go and apply. For CR1/IR1 it is different.

I see, thanks!

Don't you normally have to apply for one? I didn't know you don't have to apply and just wait for one to come to you.

On the marriage certificate, I helped her fill out the application with the name that's on her passport. When should I help her apply for a name change so she would have my last name? Do I wait until after getting her a social security card and received the green card? I heard from someone by doing this it would be easier and less confusing. Her full name is Thanh Le Dang. Mine is Michael Chiang. So, when I do help her change it, which should it be? Thanh Le Chiang or Thanh Dang Chiang or just Thanh Chiang?

On the certificate, it states that it's not valid until October 3rd. That's the 72 hours wait period? Also, today the judge did the ceremony, got certificate recorded, and got the certified copy, is this normal? I thought there is a wait period for each?

Today I went with Thanh to the local court house to get our marriage license. It was faster and easier than I expected. The room where I filed the application and the room where the judge that we saw was just a few steps away from each other. After filing out the application, we brought it to the judge's room. We didn't even need our own witnesses. His secretary and another person that were our witnesses. Thanh doesn't understand much English at all, but the judge said it was no problem. He told her to repeat after him. He even said each word one by one so she can say it. Afterward, he brought us to the recorder's office himself to have the application recorded and we even got a certified marriage certificate right there. I'm not sure if this is how things are for the rest of you. The judge seem to be very open, nice, and even told a few jokes. Now I have to take care of the social security card and apply for AOS.

I have another question. I was told that I need two witness when I get the marriage license. Will they ask the witnesses anything? Let say one of them doesn't speak English, will that be a problem?

Thanks guys for the info.

On the application of the social security card, on line 4 where it said Citizenship, which one should I check? Legal Alien Allowed To Work or Legal Alien Not Allow To Work? Or Other?

Thanks Jim.

Today I went to the courthouse to apply for a marriage license. They said I needed both of the original translation documents of ours birth certificates. I only have copies. I called the attorney that did my paperwork, but he said the originals were sent in with the petition. He said he thought my fiancee would have got back the originals, but my fiancee said she didn't. I can't ask him to translate again because he is now a congressman and said he doesn't do these things anymore, so I have to find someone else. Can anyone translate the birth certificates? All they need is to know both Vietnamese and English right? Also it has to be certified, what does this mean? Notarized? Do I need to find another lawyer to translate? I was told that I could basically retype everything that is on the translation page, but have someone else sign and date it. Is that right?

Also I went to try to apply a social security card for Thanh. The lady there said I needed an employment authorization card which Thanh doesn't have. So how can she get a social security card without one? The lady said they do sometimes give out a social security card, but the applicant need to prove that she has a valid nonwork reason for requesting a card. So how can she get one now?

When filing for the marriage license and ss card, how should I list her name? Her full name is Dang Le Thanh or Thanh Le Dang here in the U.S. Do I put her name down as it is on her passport?

Thanks Scott.

What do I need to apply a social security card for Thanh? I went to the social security website, but I want to see what you guys say since most of you already went through this. I read that there is a work and a non-work option that you can check and they said she must provide a valid reason/proof if it's a non-work ss card. What does this mean? Can someone provide me a step by step? Sorry if it seem like an obvious thing to you, but I just want to make sure and not have to go back and forth.

Thanks again. I think I will just go to the courthouse to attain more information.