recentlymarried!!

Hi there,

its been a while since ive posted but i know there are so many people on this forum who will probably be able to help me!

I received my green card back in August, and its in my married name (obviously), as my petition was thru my USC husband.

Anyhow, i am travelling overseas at christmas for the first time since becoming a PR, and my passport is still in my maiden name. Does that matter or do i need to get to the australian embassy STAT to change it before i go?

OR: do i just need to travel with my marriage certificate (and obviously GC and passport)?? Im only asking to make sure about my return to the US, as im assuming i will have to fill out any travel documentation in my married name.

Im sure there have been many of you that have been in this situation, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hey Saspk!! Congrats on FINALLY getting approved! i, like others in this same forum thread, have been following your story, i havent logged in in a while but today i did and its always great to hear good news!

Good on your for sticking with it and finding new avenues to chase it up, congressmen etc.

Hopefully you will receive your actual card before you travel, if i remember i received mine within ten days. LA office night be different but hey, you have nothing to worry about anymore!!!

Congrats

On October 16, 2009, we ordered production of your new card. Please allow 30 days for your card to be mailed to you. If we need something from you we will contact you. If you move before you receive the card, call customer service at 1-800-375-5283

I want to thank Visajourney for guiding me all the way through, and am grateful to all my friends here who helped me and wished and prayed for me. A bit late, but I did pass this milestone. I know alot of my friends here are waiting to hear this good news

Also, for those who have a complaint related to their AOS interviews or decision Delays, DO WRITE TO YOUR CONGRESSMAN/SENATOR. It surely does help. Before my case status was updated today, I received a mail from my Senator's office stating that my case has been approved.

Dear Mr. Syed:

Thank you for contacting me with your concerns and for providing me with the oppertunity to assist you.

Congratulations! Through the efforts of my staff, you case has been granted. Welcome to being a permanent resident of the United States.

Sincerely,

Anthony D. Weiner

Member of Congress

I thank you all, and wish all the best to those who are still struggling through this painful process.

This is nothing new..... this is a clear case of identity theft.

You seem close to this person and his family. With everything you know, looks like you still communicate with him.

I agree with everyone, report him before its too late. If you think he successfully got his green card, he's prolly using he's real identity now.

Unfortunately I can't write this person out of my life...I have to maintain a certain level of communication with him; however I will report him for abusing the system. He has not only abused the system, but has been conning and coercing people to support his cause.

We don't need another person here that is doing that, life here is hard enough.

So there is NO circumstance whatsoever that can make you cut off all ties with this guy?? The only thing i can think of is if you both have a child together etc. But look, its none of my business why you can't, i just really feel bad that you are associated with someone who is willingly and disdainfully committing fraud. It seems to be weighing on your mind. Everyone here has given the best advice possible, you need to contact ICE or USCIS (not sure which one specifically) and report him.

LIke one of the other posters wrote, how do you know he is not using YOUR SS no. or a friend/family's??

I know all of us on here who have gone thru the long process of doing things legally and had the satisfaction of being able to live in this country as free men and women get frustrated and angry when people commit visa fraud. I know that if i was in your shoes, i would be calling the appropriate numbers to report him. plus, YOU don't want to be accused of harboring a known fraud, it could affect you and your family.

those are my thoughts...

congrats you guys! We also had our interview back on Aug12th in LA, we were interviewed by officer Christopher lowe, he was also young and very nice. He only asked us one or two questions, then him and my husband talked about video games (world of warcraft esp.) for about half an hour then got approved!

I m surprised your officer split you guys up. I guess they all have different approaches and there may not be any standard set way to interview people. But you guys passed and now we are free from immigration waiting times for two years woohoo!!!

celebrate the good times!

I agree with the people (sorry so many posts on here to mention all names!) who said that the OP should consult a lawyer and definitely NOT lie anymore.

I do think it in the end will only hurt the OP's chances, not ours so lets try to give the best advice possible without judging. I have seen, as has everyone, many different cases on here. Each individual has a different story, and not all AOS from VWP cases are fraudulent! Mine in case

I know there are many tensions between the K-1 filers and Adjusters from a VWP. But its like this, if two people are going for a job at a company, one studied arr Hardvard, the other at Brown, and they both get given a position. Should the one at Harvard bag out the one who went to Brown just because they thought their method was better?? No! If the US law allows it, who are we to judge and discriminate, coz if we do, we shouldnt be living in a country where EVERYONE has freedom and we need to get used to the fact that we won't like everything that is going on around us, but it could be worse! We could be living in a war torn, poverty stricken country! Lets learn to get along and help out where possible.

As for the OP, please please dont lie anymore! (your wife, sorry). if you Adjust your status, they do a background check on you. We've all had the BC! The US DHS has seen many many fraudulent cases, some happen to get through, but some dont. If you have a genuine desire to live in the US. A GOOD immigration lawyer will be able to help you (some can be bad).

Best of luck!

Hi there. Are you adjusting status for a green card? There are 3 more major forms you needed to include: I864 which shows someone (you?) can financially support and sponsor them. The G325 form. They will both have to fill these forms out. Youll need to check the uscis website as to how many exactly. Also the I693 medical examination form. They each gave to get one. Check out www.uscis.gov for all the info. If you didn't submit these 3 forms with your original package (plus 8 passport pics and any other supplementary documents) you will most likely get an RFE. Hope that info helps!

O wow,

I am reading all this and I have to put my two cents on it I have a 2 VWP stamps in my passport one from 2002 marked as WT and another one from 2002 marked as WB. About intent there is a BIA ruling that states if there are now other derogatory facts on application, except intent, the visa is granted.

Matter of Cavazos, 17 I. & N. Dec. 215 (BIA 1980)

I think it has been ruled on B-1 but it is applied on all immediate family immigration

Yes I too have to agree. All the VWP stamps I have in my passport (6 altogether) all have WT written on them, one has WB.

Relax you will be fine! I too had mine in la 2 weeks ago and got the nicest officer! Oh here's a tip for parking: don't park at the $17 parking station across from the federal building. Instead turn left at the federal building and on that street you'll see a parking station for $8 flat rate!

The lines aren't too long. Our interview was 1:45pm and we waited about half an hour in the waiting room which wasn't full at all! We had a few less documents than you. But I think we just got lucky with our IO and he barely looked at our papers. I did however come prepared with copies of everything for DHS and he took all of those and put it in my file. Hope that advice helps somewhat! Best of luck and breathe and relax, you're on your way to becoming a PR!!!

hey Saspak.

I'm really sorry you are still waiting for a decision! From what I gather in your case you sent in the extra info they wanted after your interview. If I were you I'd definitely make an info pass appointment. In my interview they guy said if I don't receive my card in the mail after 90 days make an info pass appt. But it seems everyone is told a different number. The worst they can say is " no wait a little longer". This is your life and future in this country. We all know what it's like to be on edge so do what you can!!

You are one lucky person... it's gotta be an oversight at the POE. Normally they will question you to pieces for coming back 3 weeks later. A lot of people get sent back for grounds of being an intending immigrant. You can't adjust status while on VWP by the way. It's written all over the place that's not permissible.

Ummm I really think people should check facts before posting info as truth. Not only did I adjust status on a VWP and get my green card (through marriage to a USC) but I too did a number of visiting trips during 2008, some only 3 weeks apart and have never been questioned! My intentions were totally above board but my point is that everyones situation is different. We shouldn't judge but give the right advice as we know best, and if it's a topic we don't know, let's not speculate but point them in the right direction. I know I've had a lot of helpful advice from VJ forums and other friends that have gone thru green card process

OK so my hubby and i had our interview for 1:45pm today august 12th downtown LA.

I was a little nervous but mostly just wanting to get it over with and was very overprepared.

Here is a list of what we brought with us:

Photos for USCIS to keep

Bank statements

health Insurance statement

Car insurance

Joint Home phone account

Utility bill with only my name but shows our address

wedding album

another album filled with photos throughout our relationship

copies of all the original forms i submitted

all the NOAs i received from USCIS during the past 5 months

wedding invitations

church group flyers (my hubby and i hold a bible study for youngans')

Passports/ids etc

2 affidavit letters from close friends

wedding receipts from honeymoon, catering invoice, wedding vows

my aussie citizenship

both our birth certs. and our marriage cert.

joint costco cards

So we were sworn in, and the guy looked pretty serious, but youngish (i'd say 35/38)

he was cordial at first, asking us to separate our papers and documentation into 'original' piles and 'supplementary docs'

He asked me a bit about Australia and where in the uK i was born. Then we chatted a bit about the good ol' land of Oz. Somehow he mentioned that he plays against aussie, english and NZ people on world of War Craft, and then that subject totally DOMINATED the interview!!!

My hubby and i kept nudging each other coz it was hilarious!!! He was a total game nerd and would not stop, i honestly think i even zoned out once or twice (thank goodness hubby is up with all the video/computer game stuff) but had to pull my concentration back.

Then in the middle he asked how we met, we told him thru a mutual friend, then told him the basic timeline of how we started dating, to us getting married. All the while he couldn't wait to start chatting about WoW, and he was absent mindedly (well maybe not, but it just looked like a robotic second nature thing to us) punching holes in the documents we brought for him and attached it to the rest of the forms and papers in our file.

Then he left for a second, and came back and said congrats you are approved! He made sure he had our new address on his computer, told me briefly about removing conditions, then talked for another 20 minutes about how in China there are sweat shops with little kids playing WoW just to get paid etc etc, then we stood up shook hands and left with HUGE grins on our faces!!

We prayed for this day to be great, our friends and family also did so i want to take this opportunity to thank God immensely for his favor upon us and his blessing.

We were probably only waiting about 1/2 an hour in the waiting room, everyone there was really friendly, the waiting room wasn't packed and overall a very encouraging experience! I feel lucky as all up its only been 5 months.

I know there are many similar stories to mine so i want to say congrats to everyone who has just been or just about to go for their interviews!

I would love to answer any questions anyone might have?? im no expert, i only know that im a simple aussie girl who came here as a tourist and adjusted from that (sorry K-1ers) and am now able to breathe a sigh of relief!

Cheerio!

Hey to all my well-wishers...

Just wanted to let you know hubby and i arrived back from downtown LA from our interview and passed!!! woohoo!!!

I should get the card within 3 weeks the guy said. I have to say we got VERY lucky, we happened to get an interview officer who LOVES world of warcraft and he just talked about that the WHOLE time, im not even kidding!!! in fact the only question he asked me relating to my case was how we met, and asked to see documents, but he was so busy talking about games etc that he just mechanically punched holes in all the copies i made for him and placed it in the folder.

THen he went and got the 'congratulations you're approved!" notice, handed it to us, proceeded to talk for another 20 minutes about world of war craft and we were on our way!!!

Keep faith Saspak, thinking of everyone else about to do their i/v!

God bless

Thank you for your reply. Only in my case, its not for AP. My I-485 Interview was held last month and I want to check what they are doing on my case.

Hey Saspak.

Dude I'm so sorry you still haven't got a decision! I don't really know anything about infopass but you are well within your rights to find out what the heck is happening! Best of luck. I know whatever happens (and I'm sure you'll be fine) your experience may help countless others in the future.

Best

Hey everyone,

My hubby and i are going for our interview this wednesday in LA. Im so excited, a little nervous too, as you never know what the interviewing officer is going to be like etc.

Im praying we get someone nice! if anyone has any last minute advice about interviews that'd be great. We've prepared a lot of supporting documents and photos, but any tips on what they might ask and how to conduct ourselves would be great.

I also wanted to wish anyone else from the April 09 filers group BEST OF LUCK as i know we seem to all be having our interviews around the same time.

thank you for the replies! They were really helpful and made me feel a little more at ease! Thank you Trillium for your helpful words. yes i did adjust from a VWP. Totally spontaneous and in fact i didn't even know the Spouse visa (K1 etc) existed until after we submitted AOS etc!!

Oh E-man thanks for the helpful tip about the 'c/o' thing on utilities, i think i will do that!

Good luck everyone else who has an upcoming interview!!!

Hi!

Hubby and i are going for our interview in LA August 12th.

We've gathered a significant about of documentation etc. One thing we don't have both our names on is our utilities: Phone and Electricity. They only allow one name on the account!!!

Does anyone else have this problem?? Surely i am not the only one! I have my name on both of those, in my married name which i will bring, but how come other people can get both spouses names on their utilities???

its frustrating coz we've only been married 6 months and we only have a limited amount of joint evidences: bank, car insurance (no health insurance as we aren't working at the moment) costco membership, apartment leases (from both places we've lived together so far) and thats pretty much it!

Is this enough??

We have a marriage certificate, proof of a plane ticket as i was meant to return to Australia, emails, heaps of photos, receipts from wedding stuff and other trips, various christmas and wedding cards to both of us, affidavit from my parents stating we are a real married couple, brochures of a bible study we lead with our pictures and contact details, a printout of our wedding vows from our minister, our wedding catering invoice and thats about it.

Anyone have any advice who is in the same boat as us who already did their interview???? Would REALLY appreciate any help.

I never seem to get many replies on VJ. There are so many others who get tonnes of replies and i hardly do, esp. when i really need help and advice.

yes i have august 12th interview woohoo! God bless us all indeed!

Hello all!

I have been away from VJ for a few weeks due to moving house with my hubby.

But i received the all important letter stating we have our interview date August 12th!!!! In a months time, better get prepared (which i mostly am).

I wanted to ask if anyone here has had their interview in Los Angeles (300 Nth Los Angeles Street).

Specifically i want to find out about parking around that area, and how long people were waiting for.

Also, anyone who has, like me, adjusted from the VWP if they can give me any tips on what they will most likely ask as well as what specifically to bring with us, that would be AWESOME!!!

I hope everyone is having a GREAT weekend (can you tell im in a good mood hehe!)

I figured the same too, just wanted to be sure. I was hoping they would make a decision on it before the interview, but if it gets delayed in resumption then I guess, i'll have to wait till the interview and that will be D-Day. Thank You All.

After my RFE my case was resumed a week later. Everyone has different experiences, my case is in Missouri (NBC) so hopefully that helps and that you already have your email from CRIS stating "evidence received and case has been resumed".

I also had the same situation happen after my fingerprints. It took about a week to get the 'request for initial evidence letter' then i sent what they needed. They also state they will only resume processing your EAD (not sure about the advance parole) after you submit the needed evidence, and that it will take 90 days.

I was a bit bummed, but just yesterday i got notice that my EAD card has been ordered, nowhere NEAR 90 days! (check my timeline for dates after sending new evidence etc).

Hope that gives you some comfort. But, everyone's case and experience can be different.

Good luck!

Hello fellow VJ-ers.

I know this number is already on here in some threads, but i just wanted to post it again as i used the number.

I had my fingerprints done on 5th of May 09 (im currently in the US so for those outside probably doesn't apply to you??). I called 1 304 625 5590 , it is the FBI background check number. I was thoroughly SURPRISED that it only took a few minutes to get through to a customer service representative!

She was able to tell me the fingerprints and biometrics were sent to uscis the same day and were successful, BUT she wasn't able to tell me whether they had been approved.

You will need to have your A# handy. Just thought this might be helpful for others wanting to ring up!

My girlfriend lives in the Philippines. While we have not yet visited in person, through our communications, we are both certain we wish to marry. Normally, I'd go visit her and then get her a fiance visa to come here and marry me. However, she already has a multiple entry visa she and her parents got to visit family in the states. In fact, she has been to Los Angeles before.

Now, since she has the visa to come visit here, could we skip the usual lost time and funds related to processing a fiance visa and just have her come visit on her multiple entry visa and marry me while she's here? Then could she stay? Could it be done that way? We'd hate to wait for me to go see her, only then to wait six more months for a fiance visa to go through, not to mention the costs of it all, plus a round trip ticket for me, etc., etc. I'd love to know that we could skip the usual drawn out process if possible! Thanks to anyone who has some answers.

Steve

Anyone can enter on a tourist visa and get married. You can then apply for a K-3 or CR-1. When her visa visit period expires your wife will have to return to the Phillipines and wait for her K-3 or CR-1 visa to be processed, go to the interview in Manilla, etc., etc. Marriage and immigration are two different things.

It is visa fraud to enter the US on a tourist visa with the intent to get married and adjust status from a tourist visa.

Hi,

i just wanted to reply as i am "one of those" people who happened to get married to my fiance whilst here on a tourist visa from Australia.

I was on one of my visiting trips and he proposed to me, we made a last minute decision (after getting advice from 2 immigration lawyers in NY and LA) that instead of coming and going back and forth (as we had done a lot the past 2 years, and since my job in australia had finished) we would get married. We got married in the last week of my tourist visa and i have since adjusted status.

We have a genuine bonafide marriage, and we have known each other 3 years, so i guess it is slightly different to you in that you have never met your GF???

It CAN be considered visa fraud, especially if you land in the states and marry the next day! BUT it isn't illegal. Everyone has different experiences and i know my experience is certainly NOT visa fraud.

But in your case i do agree with people on his thread and do the fiance visa. In fact, i would even say you guys should meet first and spend some time together.

HOpefully that helps??

Hello!

My Japanese wife and I are presently living together in Japan and are applying for her visa. We hope to move to the US in July. I have already submitted the I-130 to the embassy in Tokyo and we have heard back from them - so far, so good.

I still need to tackle the I-864.

I am presently unemployed and we do not have enough assets for me to be the sole sponsor, so my dad is going to be my joint sponsor, and he is filling out his own I-864.

My questions concern the I-864 that I am filling out.

I have a few questions, and this post is a little long, but PLEASE bear with me and any help would be very much appreciated!

#1 On the I-864 form you are required to list your adjusted gross income from the last 3 tax years, right? Well, I have been living and working in Japan for a number of years now. Each year I have always filed my federal tax return, but my income in Japan is excluded from US federal tax, and actually my adjusted gross income as listed on my federal tax return ends up being $0.00 in light of tax exclusion. So, where it asks for me to write my income on the I-864, I am planning on writing $0.00. Is this correct?

#2 When my wife and I went to the embassy in Tokyo and submitted our I-130, I brought with me an incomplete draft of my I-864 and asked the officer some questions about it. She told me that regardless of the fact that my wife and I do not have enough income and assets for me to be the sole sponsor, and my dad is going to be the joint sponsor, I should nevertheless STILL fill in the lines (in the section about assets) regarding how much money we have in our savings account. I was under the impression that listing assets is entirely optional. Has anyone else been told the same thing? (I really wish I didn't have to do this, as it would be easier for me to just declare that I don't have enough money to be the sole sponsor and leave it at that!)

#3 Now, assuming that I must do as the officer told me and write about how much savings my wife and I have, do I need to provide proof that we indeed have the amount of money I write on the form? The I-864 form's instructions for using assets indicate that you need to provide for each assets a description of what it is, proof of ownership, basis of claim of its net cash value, and date of acquisition. While it makes sense to me that his information must be required when using a possession (such as a car) as an asset, but the instructions are unclear as to whether this applies to bank accounts/savings as well (and to what extent it applies). Indeed, I have not been able to find specific information about what evidence is needed for bank accounts. (Again, the question here is, "do I need to provide proof that we indeed have the amount of money I write on the form?")

#4 If I DO need to provide a detailed description of our bank accounts along with documentary evidence of some kind, exactly what do I need to submit? I would imagine that we are going to need to get some documentation from our banks in Japan. (If anyone who lived in Japan has experience with this, please let me know what you did). And whatever Japanese forms we submit must be translated, right? I really hope the answer to this question is NO, but in my heart I fear that it is YES. If the answer is YES, this means more hours of work translating bank statements(?) and the like to prove that we have an amount of money which is insufficient to sponsor my wife anyway!

Please excuse this long post (and some of my venting - this whole visa application process has been more involved than I expected and I am tired). Thanks in advance!!!

-Jason

Hello there! I just read your post and i also had issues with my I864 so i thought i can be a little helpful (hopefully??)

My husband is the Us Citizen, im from Australia. he is also unemployed. We only attached one tax return and wrote the amounts in 07 and 06 (and one of them was $0).

We were told his unemployment income is not enough and also had his parents as Joint Sponsors as you said you will do. Hubby's parents income is MORE than enough above the poverty line, so we DIDN"T fill in the optional assests page, and neither did his parents.

I know that the more documentation and evidence the better, but it is optional, and if you look at the most recent copy of the form (which is the best to use) on www.uscis.gov it will say that.

We did include a copy of our savings and checking account from our bank just in case. Hubby and his parents both included copies of pay stubs and tax returns 1099s, W-2s.

Our re-submitted I864with the joint sponsor was received by immigration just yesterday so we will wait to see all is good.

I hope some of this info was helpful??

Is there anyone else here who has recently filed their AOS case-family based only- and received an RFE asking for more financial info/joint sponsor?

If so, how long after you re-submitted the requested forms did it get approved?

What about the EAD?

The RFE i received was for more financial info, and it also stated that AFTER they receive the requested documents, they will then begin processing my I765 and it can take up to 90 days, man i was so bummed and frustrated!

But i have read randomly that it can actually be different? I would love to hear some experiences, ESPECIALLY if your case is at National Benefits CEnter!!

Thanks

I just wanna know generally from people's experiences how long it usually takes to approve forms, specifically, I485, I130, I131, I765.

I sent mine early april and they received the forms april 15th and soon after i received NOA on april 18th (in my timeline).

I recently re-submitted I864 as they requested further financial info and this was sent last week.

So i wanted to have a rough idea of when i can expect an answer, God willing an APPROVAL!!!

RM