yehaww

I'm American and my wife is a permanent resident from Sweden. We live in the U.S. We just had a baby and we'd like it to have dual citizenship. She called the Swedish (whatever office it is) and they told her she needed to check with the U.S. about whether or not that was possible. I can't believe they wouldn't know more info, this must happen all the time. Anyone here had a baby in the U.S. And filed for dual citizenship in Sweden?

It's funny, today I received the notice that my payment had been processed. It arrived 2 days after it was mailed. No problems with THAT being delivered.

I would definitely write a letter to your Congressman or Senator detailing the situation and what you were forced to do under the circumstances. What you went through is definitely wrong and should not have happened. If you have the USCIS officer's name, include it, along with the date and time and location of your appointment. Ask them to investigate why a simple matter of giving your wife proof of her legal Permanent Resident status - the I-551 stamp in her passport - so she could fulfill travel obligations before her actual green card arrived in the mail - during one of the biggest mail seasons of the year - did not happen, that they forced you to file for a replacement card 10 days after the first one was issued rather than allow a reasonable amount of time to pass for it to be delivered or returned to USCIS. Her behaviour was inexcusable. Good luck.

I just wrote an email to the USCIS "Employee Misconduct" hotline. I will try that first. Honestly, I'm a little afraid to write people outside of USCIS, because it seems like if I make a stink about something, it would be very easy for someone at Immigration, if they were to be reprimanded, to fiddle with our case and cause us more problems down the line. I know maybe that's being paranoid, but our lives really are in the hands of whomever that letter gets put in front of. But yeah, I have a list of my California reps and was considering writing them and CC'ing USCIS. I will see what sort of response I get from the Misconduct office.

No it's too late. She said our ONLY option was to file an I-90 and only then would she stamp our passport. My wife leaves tomorrow morning, so there's no going back. It's been 10 days since they claim the card was mailed. I'm not sure where they are mailed from. In any case, 10 days seems like a rather long time for something to get to Los Angeles, even if it's sent from the East Coast.

Because my wife has to go back for another Biometrics appt now, I guess the card won't actually print till we go to that appt, which won't be for another month, so maybe if the card does indeed arrive, I can cancel the new card? Probably not. We weren't given a choice to wait, she was very rude and not helpful at all or even willing to take the time to explain any other options. Any question I tried to ask was answered with "SIR, YOU NEED TO GO FILE THE I90 AND I WILL THEN STAMP HER PASSPORT". We were given no choice but to either cancel the trip, which would have ended up costing us a lot more than $450, or just pay up. I felt a bit like I was being shaken down.

It certainly makes sense that they should have stamped our passport without having to re-file, but that wasn't an option she offered.

We got a last minute appointment for 7:15am on Friday. We were so happy. We got there and the woman at the counter told us that the card had been mailed on December 7th.

I said "We never received it."

She said, "Well, it was sent and not returned to us." and crossed her arms.

I said, "Well what are we supposed to do?".

She says, "Go fill out this I-90 form online for a replacement card and come back and we'll stamp her passport. It will cost $450." Crosses arms, staring at us

Me: "WHAT! It never arrives to our address and we have to pay $450?"

Her: "SIR, you have to go fill out form I-90 blah blah blah"

She was super rude. So we had to go do it. It seems ridiculous that the card is just dropped in the mail with no sort of delivery confirmation. Shouldn't a green card, if they're so concerned about fraud, be signed for by the recipient or picked up at an office or something? It seems a little crazy to put something so important in the mail with greeting cards and coupons. We found a post office near the Immigration office with internet access that E-files forms for people in our situation. $40. He told us that he gets people in there all the time with I-90 forms to replace cards that they never received in the mail. Sounds like a scam to me. I've been checking all the online Case Status sites, none of which showed a card being mailed. I even called Immigration yesterday to try to get an infopass appt, and when they looked into my case, they said nothing about a card being mailed. Then all of a sudden we're told it went out Dec. 7th and we owe them another $450 andmy wife also now has to go back for a new Biometrics appt to get printed and photo'd again. She's not going to have a real green card till February.

Anyway, I'll be writing a letter to my local representatives about this. In any case, she did get her passport stamped and will be able to travel freely now. It cost us an extra $500, but we didn't have much choice.

Yes, I guess we could do that as a last resort. I hadn't thought about just trying to get in without an appointment. It doesn't seem like something they would look kindly on, but I guess it's worth a shot.

I finally got through to someone today. The conversation went something like:

me "What do I do if I can't get an appointment"

him: "Follow the directions on your paper."

me: "I DID follow the directions, they told me to call you with questions"

him: "Keep trying to schedule an appointment"

me: "I HAVE been trying, but what happens if I can't get one, will she be allowed back into the country with her current paperwork?"

him: "Sir, you have to follow the instruction on your form. Try early in the morning, there will be new appointments made."

me: "For this week?"

him: "Perhaps, I have no way of knowing."

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I couldn't get any sort of real answer from him, he was just reading information off the website that I had already read weeks ago. He was telling me it could be up to 2 months to get the card. We were told 3 weeks, probably sooner. If it takes 60 days, she will be stuck over there. Now I'm even more nervous than before. I guess we just keep our fingers crossed. This is such crappy timing.

Yeah, this sucks. I'm having a hard time getting through to the USCIS office to ask. If the card doesn't arrive, will there be an issue for my wife leaving the US? I guess they would just be checking her passport as she leaves. She would just need the GC to get back into the country right? Is there any reason why leaving the country without the Green Card might cause problems? Other than the possibility that it might not arrive at all, I guess. She will be taking her Travel Parole forms with her as well as her "Approval Notice". This is so annoying, I don't know why they just can't stamp your passport, to use temporarily. If they are going to void all the Travel Parole forms that we applied for, they should at least give you some way to travel before the card arrives.

Just went to the site and they don't have anything available before she leaves. Maybe I'll try to give them a call tomorrow.

That's it. Infopass. Thanks so much.

My wife and I passed our interview on the 30th, in Los Angeles. The problem is that the Green Card may not arrive before she was supposed to leave on a trip back to Sweden, that was planned 2 or 3 months ago, long before our interview was scheduled. We have Travel Parole's, but were informed that they were no longer valid since she's been approved for the Green Card. So we are now in that grey area, where she's approved, but has no proof to take with her if the GC doesn't arrive this week. The interviewer said something about if it doesn't arrive, we could schedule a last minute appt and maybe get her passport stamped. I forget what she called it. I had the term written down but can't find it. It seemed to be an appt that can be scheduled a day or two in advance. Has anyone done this or know what it's called?

I'm curious about this too. We passed our interview on the 30th of November and the woman said no longer than 3 weeks, but that in some cases it can be less than a week. We are still waiting. My wife had a trip planned to go back to Sweden for Christmas, leaving the 18th. We had already gotten her the Travel Parole papers so that she could leave. Then all of a sudden the interview was scheduled and we passed and the paroles are no longer valid, so we are kind of screwed if we don't get it this week. I may have to mail it to her in Sweden, which is a little scary.

That was enough proof for us. My wife is from Sweden and we didn't have any bills or anything with her name on it. She didn't change her last name to mine. We had a lot of photos though, from the past 3 years of visits. That was enough for a conditional 2 year Green Card. We have two years to submit the necessary proof to get the 10 year card.

Congratulations on your approval! Your post was helpful for our situation as well - my husband couldn't be added to my lease since he has no credit history, and couldn't be added to my credit card because he has no income, and couldn't get a job because he has no EAD.. Circular, huh?

Great to hear you were approved without the documentation of living together, etc. Two years does sound more realistic for sure! We will provide the same (pictures, family plan phone bill, etc) to show we're together - wish us luck!

SM

We had some packages and letters that her Mom and my Mom had sent to her at our apartment. That was really all we had as far as address verification. When I added her to my cell phone plan, I told them to put her name on my bill, but when I went to print one out for the interview, I saw that they hadn't done it right. She was only on there as an account manager. Both lines were under my name. So I couldn't even use that. But we had photos ranging back to 2007, 18 months before we even filed for the Fiance Visa and also photos with my family, so I think we had a pretty good case. At least proof that she's met my family and friends.

Well that's good then! In that case it should be pretty easy for you to go to a local office and get a I-551 stamp (with proof of your flights).

I hope so. She just made it clear that they don't stamp for vacations, just emergencies. I thought our Travel Parole papers would be fine to let her back in the country. That's why we got it. I guess it's just bad timing. If she hadn't been approved, then the paroles would have worked, but know that she's approved, they're no good anymore. AND they took her EAD card so she really doesn't have anything now, other than a letter saying that she's approved. I guess I'll start worrying in about 2 weeks if she doesn't have the green card in hand.

Another reason could be they don't seem to be saying the word "approved" as often.. sometimes they indicate you are approved but don't give the I-551 stamp because in actuality your file is reviewed before the card is sent. If they find something missing or not quite right, they've already given you a stamp, you kinda have proof they told you you were approved..

I don't think that's the case. She gave us a stamped letter stating that we were approved and took away the Temporary Work Permit card, which we only had for 30 days. So the word "approved" was said and is in writing on an official document from Immigration. In any case, I guess we're playing the waiting game and hoping for a quick turnaround.

Thanks! The woman mentioned that if it isn't here by the 16th, that we should make an appointment, although she also made it sound like they only stamp passports in emergencies, not for vacations. I'm not sure what the big deal is? Would it be so difficult just to stamp someone's passport, even if it's just so that they can go on holiday? She stamped about 10 other things in the interview, what's one more?

From what I've been reading, most people seem to get theirs in about 2 weeks. She said one lawyer told her that his clients got theirs in 4 days. Worst case scenario, I guess I can mail it to her. Certified, signature required, insured and all that.

The interview was fine. The woman was super friendly. She didn't seem to have a problem that we hadn't gotten a SS# yet. She said that it's perfectly normal for people to wait for the Green Card to get their SS#. She approved us for the 2 year conditional green card, so we have 2 years to gather the information that proves we are living together like a lease and bank accounts and insurance and all that. That seems perfectly reasonable to me. 2 years makes a lot more sense than expecting everyone to have joined up their lives completely in a matter of months, especially when the Fiance in question has just moved here.

So it's all good. The only question left is whether or not her green card will arrive in the mail before she is scheduled to leave to go back to Sweden for Christmas. They said no longer than 3 weeks. She leaves in 19 days....

It's hard to believe we made it through all the hurdles.

I'm a little nervous about our interview tomorrow. I've read that the interview is normally waived at this point unless there is a problem. I'm American and my wife is Swedish. She arrived on K1 in June and we married in July. Because she hasn't had a work permit, we didn't bother with a SS# and I haven't added her name to any bills or anything and she doesn't have a bank account here. I'm just paying the bills myself. We've been waiting for all the BS to pass through and then start clean, getting a new apartment or house with shared lease, etc. But all of a sudden we have this interview and all of a sudden I don't really have any bonafide proof other than photos of our marriage ceremony, which was basically us and the officiant, and photos of us together, out and about over the last 4 months. We have photographs submitted earlier going back to 2007 that show us together with my family at various points.

I hear that some interviews go pretty quickly without hardly any questions. Then you hear nightmare stories about people being separated and interrogated and quizzed on parent's birthdays and phone numbers.

I wasn't worried until I started reading up on people's interview question lists. I guess I just expected an interview like this to come at a later date. I'm not sure how 2 people in our situation are expected to get things settled in a few months when the Fiance in question isn't even allowed to look for work. We've just kind of put everything on hold until we know for sure that she will get the green card,then once she has that, we know we can go ahead with things. I just assumed she'd need a SS# for a bank account and most of my utilities are paid for in my rent.

Anyway, I'm probably worried for nothing. All we can be is honest about the situation. We are just pretty much taking copies of everything we've submitted and received so far, with some new photos and a cell phone bill that has her name and our address on it.

Due to an error on our part, it's going to be a while till we can get a certified copy of our marriage license. So now I can't send in the AOS form packet. Is it possible to still send in the form 765 ahead of time to get the ball rolling on the Temporary Work Permit? I see in the instructions for the 485 "Fees" that it's possible to have paid for the 765 fees before hand, which makes it sound like you can get authorization to work before filing the 485. Anyone have any experience with this?

Can't figure out how to delete posts. Ok, I think I found the NOA2. It's the second of the I-797C notices that I received, before the packet was sent to my Fiance in Sweden. It says "Approval Notice" under "Notice Type:"

I still wonder whether or not we need to worry about the SS# right now. I can't see where it affects anything in the I 485 package.

Copy of I-797 - Notice of Action, Approval of K1 petition, dated ##### (front & back)

I haven't seen that listed anywhere else. Is that necessary? I'm not sure where that is and isn't it obvious that the K1 was approved based on the I94?

Nevermind I see it now. So this is the letter that my Fiance received in Sweden when our packet was approved?

Also, is there really any benefit to applying for a SS# before she gets work authorization? The SS# doesn't affect what we're doing for the AOS packet, right?

Copy of I-797 - Notice of Action, Approval of K1 petition, dated ##### (front & back)

I haven't seen that listed anywhere else. Is that necessary? I'm not sure where that is and isn't it obvious that the K1 was approved based on the I94?

You wont need an I-130 for AOS from K-1 visa.

This is the guide to follow http://www.visajourney.com/content/k1k3aos

Ah, ok. Thanks for that. Let me take a look.

So I have to do another affadavit of support or just include copies of the one I did for the K1 Visa?