JD63

It must have been the country code, because they wouldn't know what "GB" is and there's a missmatch on the current country/home country of the fiance. Otherwise they don't really need the abroad address at all besides the embassy to forward it to, and it's a huge pain when you have to change it.

Also this probably never made it to an adjudicator, it never made it through processing at the facility.

THanks for the website, that is great! I'll def use this again.

Yes, that was the case, and it was the Incheon to Dallas flight. Perhaps they've updated the plane? This was last year sometime when I flew. Another one that i've flown with the community screen is United to/from Narita. It's usually really affordable, but just community screens and the service is nothing compared to an asian airline.

Korean air was so great for my last trip to Thailand (just me and the baby) LOVE the experience and all the help. They are very very helpful!!!!!

But hate the 4 night in NY stuck in a hotel near JFK. JFK suck so bad.. I travelled with baby and noone even care to ask if I need help to lift my luggage and stroller on to the x-ray WHILE I have to hold my baby also. Yea it's my choice to fly alone with the baby and I can manage just fine on my own but not even a peep? well, sorry I compaired them to RDU, Thai and Korea airport.

Anya- I flew Korea Air last time, and they were fantastic. Hands down the best international line i've flown. However, make sure you get on their biggest newer jets, as the small ones don't have individual screens and you have to watch Koh-lee variety shows the whole way. They were even delayed leaving by 6 hours and made another connection to bkk in incheon so we didn't have to stay the night.

PS. Congrats on the new one, na rak mak mak!

I agree with completely with rsn and ning, and you would be wise to follow their advice. They helped me greatly when I was going through some of this. Although it seems pressing on her now, it will be so much easier for you in the future to sit it out, adjust, and then you are much more able to move freely. Plus it will greatly help solidify your relationship together (Sorry, I am not trying to be a life coach here, but there are so many adjustments you will both have to make in the near future that waiting for AOS is trivial)

My wife has been in the midwest for a year now, and the winter's are difficult. I would recommend everything rsn listed, as well as one thing he forgot, helping her connect in the community and with thai people there. Whether it is through the wat, restaraunts, the university, etc, help her get involved and socializing with people there. They can help her adjust and feel more comfortable. Thai culture is much more gregarious then US and loneliness is a real issue you need to address, especially in a midwestern winter where she cannot work or be independent.

Hello TT2. Your're wife is definitely not alone. The adjustment from Thailand to the midwest is a difficult one for some, initially. Winter is not generally a good time for a Thai to start their experience in the midwest, but what's done is done. I've heard this story many times before, and I can assure you that your fiancee will adjust if she gives it a little time. Some things that will make it easier for her:

• Ability to call her family back in Thailand. There are many cheap ways to do this. Skype via a computer, Skype via a regular phone, magic jack (mailed to her family). There are a number of other good voice over IP services that will do the job.
• Food, as you may know, is really important to Thais. If you haven't already, take her to an Asian supermarket and get her some papaya, jackfruit, sticky rice, or, even the dreaded durian.
• A heated mattress pad is really nice in the winter. My wife couldn't live without one. You can get a nice one for a king bed w/ dual heat controls for well under $100.
• Have your fiancee check out usvisa4thai.com. It's a website for Thai people that have immigrated to the U.S. Lots of networking and friendships to be found there for her. She will never make it here if she doesn't start networking. Trust me.
• If your fiancee is buddhist, find the nearest wat.

I might be forgetting some things, but that's a start. Her life here will likely get better with time.

Yeah, we used NOA forms I believe, because she never received Packet 3. Have your fiance ask/plead if there's someone she can talk to speed it up or deal with this situation. They certainly can issue a letter, it's just a matter of who you need to talk to.

Packet 3 on the website will tell you exactly what needs to be submitted then and what needs to be brought to the interview. Be careful about sending originals, only send those if they ask for it. You can just email the address change to them, but they don't really need it for anything except to send Packet 3.

I was worried to as she had moved right before Packet 3 too, but it doesn't matter, you don't need anything to be sent to the address. Packet 4 is just an appointment date/time.

Good Luck!

I love domestic airlines in SE Asia, that is if they don't crash. In Indonesia I flew Sriwijaya and they had the old school paper tickets written out in pencil and flew an old school 737-200. The overhead compartments would fly open on landing and chickens and god knows what else would go flying all about.

GC or EAD yes.

You can TRY and get your licence before you have an EAD/greencard as long as your I-94 is still valid but the licence would only be valid till your I-94 expires so usually they tell you they can't issue a licence till you have the EAD or GC. If you get the licence on the EAD it will only be valid for a year because the EAD is only valid a year. So you'll need to go back once you get your GC to have the licence validity extended.

In regards to SSN, bear in mind whatever name is on your SSN will be your licence name. So if you have it in your maiden name you will need to show them your marriage certificate to get it issued in married name.

Actually this depends on the state, and for Iowa at least, is incorrect. You can get a 6 months validity on the license if your I-94 is expired and you can demonstrate that you have applied for AOS and it is pending approval. We showed them NOA2, I-94, SS#, marriage license and got 6 months. They extended it to two years after we received the green card.

Now that you have that number wait until after the holidays, you can contact the consulate directly and see if they have received the peitition. If they have you can send in Packet 3 available off the website. I would recommend this as many people never actually receive Packet 3 in the mail.

My wife and I went through the same process in central Iowa. She passed the written with flying colors and was actually able to get her permit while we were adjusting status. The driving part was exceedingly difficult because there are so many foreign students here, and they are very strict with the tests, as she took it 4 times but got the full license in August. She cried and everyone was really happy as they had all gotten to know her over the summer

What ever you do do not speed, practice your parallel parking ahead of time, and make complete stops. This is what got her the first few times.

I've used Agoda quite often and had no complaints.

I second RSN, don't wait. Ours never came, until we already had the visa and were stateside, they had sent it to my address in the US!

I just contacted the embassy (make sure you put the NVC # in the email, you can call NVC to get this number) I double checked that they had received the application and then sent in the Packet three filled out from forms available on the website. You can then make payment at the post office, and as ning said, purchase a pin if you have questions to contact someone directly at the embassy. They then email her with "Packet Four" which is a list of things to bring to the interview and an appointment date and time.

I know my wife got the checklist in Thai from some other source? perhaps a thai language message board. I would double check this stuff, hers was outdated and some of the instructions were a bit off from the translation.

You can get a positive mantoux skin test if there was a previous BCG vaccine administration. You can do a secondary chest xray test, but those are not very sensitive. I know many practitioners have started using the Quantiferon-Gold TB assay to determine if there's a latent infection or just a false positive. I believe the new USCIS guidelines for civil surgeons reflects this and adds this assay as an option for screening of latent TB.

Congrats!

There's a lot of helpful people on this board, many with Thai husbands or wives. Check out the Sawasdee (I think its on fourth or fifth iteration) thread for detailed questions you'll have later on in the process.

Don't sweat the buddhist ceremony, it should not be a problem at the embassy, just don't rub it in their face with a bunch of pictures that could be misconstrued as an official wedding. Anyway, follow the guides, fill in your timeline, and sit back for a long wait. Better start now with your fiance collecting birth certs and signatures and the things in the guides that may be needed later on.

As Jim said the states will require proof of status. In my state we were given 6 month extension for driver's license after we demonstrated we had applied for AOS (NOA1 was accepted). All in all we needed 1)passport for ID 2)marriage license for name change 3)NOA1 to demonstrate status with expired I-94 4)My driver's license to confirm home address and place of residency, this was accepted in combination with marriage license

After we received green card they extended Driver's license for 5 years.

You really should try to find the records, or contact the physician that administered them. Otherwise you and your son will have to do them all again.

the list is here, your son will probably have to get quite a few

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_1331.html

I find it hard to believe they're "scamming" you, it's not like they make any money off of giving you an extra tetanus vaccination. However, they rely on their nurses much more than they should, and probably haven't read the instructions since they had a seminar in medical school about being certified as a civil surgeon. So if the nurses get an idea about how things need to be done, they can be stubborn about it.

I know how difficult it is keeping up on every nuance of the ever changing accredited veterinarian regs, I imagine it's much worse for a physician.

As Ning said they'll contact the family and try to do it that way. My wife has a student loan and they were hassling her grandma (consigner) about it since she's been out of the country for several years now. We now just wire money to her friend every year and pay it that way.

Otherwise it will have no impact on immigration, as far as the US is concerned.

Hi marriedtomrg,

Thanks for your reply. So you did not get Hep A/B, and you received your Visa without any issue? I've researched hepatitis a bit, and there doesn't seem to be any age requirement. I don't understand why the doctor wouldn't give her hep A/B. And it indeed on the list of required vaccinations: http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/root/pdfs/k_appointment_package_may09.pdf

I just don't get it... Why would this be on the list if she didn't need the vaccination?

Thanks.

It's because of the way the schedules work here. If you're older you're not required to have the Hep series, but I would get it in thailand anyway because it's probably more affordable

The vaccination requirements if your AOS for an adult are Td or Tdap (tetanus, diptheria, and/or pertussis), MMR, and varicella. IF you're from Thailand I can tell you for a fact these are the three they will give you, and that you will get followed up on to fill out the vaccine schedule for AOS. My wife got boosters for these, and then blood titers stateside to confirm immunity. You had to do a second round? Had she not had these before? Then you won't need the tests as the schedule should be complete (maybe not with MMR)

IF you have a child I believe the schedule is expanded to include Hep A/B, polio, Hib, seasonal influenza, and the pneumococcal conjugate. Varicella too f you have no exposure history

http://www.cdc.gov/immigrantrefugeehealth/exams/ti/civil/vaccination-civil-technical-instructions.html

We got the greencard 2 weeks ago now, we're going to go up north next weekend so she can see these strange things called seasons and see the foliage change.

We just got ours approved W/O interview. It was transferred beginning of June.

I'ved used Korean Air out of Chicago the last two or three times, no complaints, super cheap and nice service.

Green Card approved!

Hi All,

I have a question about processing times. The CSC processing times says 4 months for I-485, and I was transferred at the beginning of June. Any thoughts on when I would be "outside" the normal processing window and start calling people?

Thanks