NewestGCholder

I got my GC in the mail yesterday! Say what what!?!

My personal opinion - a prenup has nothing to do with the Green Card process.

Yes, a pre-nup has nothing to do with the green card process itself, but it has a LOT to do with marrying a foreigner. It is a very usefool tool at our (USC) disposal when marrying a person who may have alterior motives. Yes, an American spouse can also have other plans for your money but it's riskier when you find love abroad. You can never be 100% certain that the other person is not playing you. If you think you are, then you are blinded by "love".

There are some great actresses out there, and I'm not talking about Meryll Streep or Julia Roberts. If some little honey is using you to come to the US and become a permanent resident and decides that she got what she really wanted, and then decides to divorce you and attempt to take 50% of all YOUR sh*t, you'd be wishing that you signed one.

Looks like you met one too many actresses. Sorry about that. Like I said - my personal opinion and I am going to stick to it and wishing that people were not cynical.

Have a good weekend.

I got my GC in the mail today!!!

It was mailed on 6/26/09.

My personal opinion - a prenup has nothing to do with the Green Card process.

I believe by requiring the immigrant and his/her spouse jump through legal hoops and what not for almost 3 yrs in the name of 'Conditional Permanent Residency', USCIS is doing what it needs to do to determine whether the marriage was a 'marriage of convenience'.

Marriage with ANYONE (be it with a USC or someone else) is about love,commitment and patience. If you ain't got that, your marriage won't last - genuine or not.

My wife and I were asked by our marriage counselors (with us practicing different religions) whether we wanted to sign a pre-nup and our answer was an unequivocal no. As cliched as it might sound, money is important but commitment is more important.

Finally, if your immigrant spouse wanted to use and abuse you for getting the GC - you would prolly see the writing on the wall during that 'almost 3 yr experience with USCIS of colonoscopic proportions'.

My AOS (based on family) was approved following an interview on June 12th. The USCIS site was updated on June 17th to 'Card Production Ordered'. I received the 'Welcome to USA' notice in the mail on the same day. I am still waiting for my card.

Btw, I apologize to everyone in this thread for my response. I had some technical issues with posting my response and I didn't realize that it was posting my message over,over,over....and over again.

When I was asked whether I was ever on a J - exchange visitor visa, I first answered NO and I immediately corrected myself and told my IO that I visited the US on a cultural exchange trip back in 1994. She smiled while I looked at her with a 'HOLY #######,Did I just lie to an IO look'. She went on to say that she saw my passport and I actually came on a B-2 visa.

Anyhoo... she added that she appreciated my honesty and I somehow feel that it really helped her to come to the conclusion that our marriage was genuine and that I was not making up stories to get a GC.

In conclusion...be up front and honest. They are also looking for your body language, how you react to certain questions and stuff but it ain't a job interview at AIG - so no sweat!

Goodluck!

When I was asked whether I was ever on a J - exchange visitor visa, I first answered NO and I immediately corrected myself and told my IO that I visited the US on a cultural exchange trip back in 1994. She smiled while I looked at her with a 'HOLY #######,Did I just lie to an IO look'. She went on to say that she saw my passport and I actually came on a B-2 visa.

Anyhoo... she added that she appreciated my honesty and I somehow feel that it really helped her to come to the conclusion that our marriage was genuine and that I was not making up stories to get a GC.

In conclusion...be up front and honest. They are also looking for your body language, how you react to certain questions and stuff but it ain't a job interview at AIG - so no sweat!

Goodluck!

When I was asked whether I was ever on a J - exchange visitor visa, I first answered NO and I immediately corrected myself and told my IO that I visited the US on a cultural exchange trip back in 1994. She smiled while I looked at her with a 'HOLY #######,Did I just lie to an IO look'. She went on to say that she saw my passport and I actually came on a B-2 visa.

Anyhoo... she added that she appreciated my honesty and I somehow feel that it really helped her to come to the conclusion that our marriage was genuine and that I was not making up stories to get a GC.

In conclusion...be up front and honest. They are also looking for your body language, how you react to certain questions and stuff but it ain't a job interview at AIG - so no sweat!

Goodluck!

Well Fellas...I got my 'Welcome to USA' notice in the mail today! Now I just have to wait for my actual Green Card.

1/31/09 - 485,765,131 and other fun stuff filed

2/24/09 - Received 'Receipt Letters'

2/26/09 - Biometrics Interview letter

3/26/09 - Biometrics taken

4/17/09 - Received AOS appointment letter

6/12/09 - Interview APPROVED :-)

6/12/09 - Card Production Ordered

6/17/09 - Welcome to USA

What does this job entail? Do you have ride a tank or something? Your employer is being an ignorant fool! . If you have a green card and a valid passport, he should accept them as 2 forms of Photo ID. Google 'form I-9',print it and it take it to him. It specifically states that it is illegal for an employer to tell you what forms of ID they will accept from you. You don't have to outsmart him but just mention it gently. I know Cali DMV has waiting times going back to the dark ages....so I really can't help you with that.

Good luck!

Congrats!! I am also in Philly

Thank you. Congratulations to you as well 'JillA'

I've been reading the forums for a while now but this is my first time posting here. I am an Indian citizen married (entered in '01 on F-1 and then been on H-1 since '03) to a USC for about 2 yrs now. We went to our AOS interview in Philly today. It was scheduled at 7.30 am but we got there by 6.55 am. It was raining a lil' but the guards who were already there didn't want to let us in until 7.25 am. As we got inside, the guard told us that the X ray machines were not working so they had to check each bag individually - wasn't really that bad. Btw,don't expect to see any smile on their faces - it's a Federal Building and they make you very much aware of that. Anyhoo...we walked in, produced our interview letter to the guy behind this glass screen. After 25 minutes which somehow felt like 25 hours, this really nice lady called us inside. After brief introductions and an oath, she got down to business. I have to admit - I was expecting the immigration officer to be kinda mean or have a poker face but this lady had a very pleasant smile and when requesting for additional documentation, she commented how she was glad that I was all organized (thanks to these forums - i put all the docs in a nice lil' binder). She asked my wife and I some basic questions - where were you born, how old are you, what is ur SSN, what is ur address and where did u get married. She also had asked me some questions about my last entry into US and then asked for our birth certificates,took our tax return and left her office to make some copies. When she came back, she started explaining how USCIS has started stamping green card approvals on the applicant's passport as they were facing some delays with card production. My wife and I looked at each other and I was like - so..are we approved? She smiled and said YES. The funniest thing was I psyched my wife so much about this interview that she couldn't help but tell the lady - BUT...you haven't looked at our wedding album or my scrap book yet (she maintained this really nice scrap book since the day we met )! The lady smiled again and said...sorry about that but we believe your marriage is genuine,so we don't really need more information. She also mentioned that they were satisfied with the documentation that we we provided with our application (deed on our house,the mortage statements and insurance card etc.) to make a reasonable judgment on our marriage.

She requested us to sit outside in the waiting room while she stamped my passport and after ten minutes,Voila! The stamp is valid for 1 year and IF I don't get my card within 1 year, I could schedule an appointment via Infopass and get an extension. However, I checked my status on the website today and it's already been updated to 'card production ordered'.

We were outside the building by 8.30 am!

Overall....an amazing experience and hats off to Philly USCIS for their professional handling of our case.

I don't remember the exact dates of my visa journey but I am going to give it a shot.

1/31/09 - 485,765,131 and other fun stuff filed

2/24/09 - Received 'Receipt Letters'

2/26/09 - Biometrics Interview letter

3/26/09 - Biometrics taken

4/17/09 - Received AOS appointment letter

6/12/09 - Interview APPROVED :-)

6/12/09 - Card Production Ordered