TheBears

Yeah!!!!

Congratulations, Tom!

Yay!!!

Cheronda, your day's coming soon. It's actually my anniversary. So..... pretty much it's gonna rock! Good luck, darling!

Congrats, Matt! That's great news! Which POE did you guys decide on?

Congrats, Herk and Bud!

Jordi, just a thought about the x-rays. Right; you don't need them at the embassy. But it'd be really nice to have something to compare a new x-ray against if Five ever has any heart or respiratory issues here in the US. A doc would be able to see what has changed and how quickly that change has occurred and go forward with treatment from there. For us, Husby's getting a copy of his medical history from the local hospital he's been seen at since he was little. It may not seem like a big deal, but medical records can be a very useful thing to have if things go bad. Just a thought.

Matt, Laddawan, good luck!

Yayyyyyy!!!! Sachi's set! SSC, GC, and moving to a brand new place!

Now for everyone else's good news, too.

Yay!!! 'Bout time, too. Here comes the flood of good news for those waiting for GCs and SSCs.

RE: DS-230. Yep. Husby was given the oath, then fingerprinted and asked to sign the DS-230.

RE: New home. Here! Because we need it.

Jada, I call BS on USCIS's part. How could your I-130 be denied when it was clearly approved? Do the numbers match your USCIS receipt number or NVC case number? Have you called?

Alright. Like the title says. A home for those who have recently entered the US or are doing so soon.

Bleh! Forget IAH and LAX. Book a flight from BKK to NRT to DFW. Spend a few days enjoying Dallas then drive on down to Houston taking the super scenic route through Austin and the Hill Country. If she's coming soon, stop in Fredericksburg and pick peaches and veggies. Stop on by SA and come visit Husby and me. And then you can return to Houston. Remember, Texas is bigger than Thailand. I'm sure she showed you Thailand, now it's your turn.

All fun aside, I think entering through DFW would be better than entering through LAX or SFO. I don't know about passing through as a non-citizen, but I definitely enjoyed DFW more than LAX.

Wooo!!! Congrats!

Crazy they know about her cousin. They gave my wife a hard time about some IRS stuff that USCIS or NVC never brought up. Only the consulate brought it up.

They knew about her cousin, but didn't know about my ex having being a US citizen. Brats.

Why would they care about her race? I doubt that makes any difference to them at all.

People have been known to divorce in order to make money marrying other people for green cards.

They cared that my ex was Thai. They made quite a fuss about it, asking Husby 3 times how The Ex came to the US and how he had US citizenship. Having Thai nationality, despite being born in the US, was enough to create suspicion in their mind.

That's all. They're just trying to sniff out fraud.

Yep. Give her all the details. Write out your own version of how your relationship has come and how the previous marriage was "over" before you met Laddawan.

It seems to be those timelines overlapping that is causing problems. I met Husby in the same month I married The Ex and then divorced The Ex a month before marrying Husby. That's leaving out all the details, but you can see how bad it looks. Tom has a similar overlapping. And, technically, so do you.

Details, including dates. How you met your ex. When you were married. When you were separated. What sparked the separation. When the divorce was finalized. Husby was asked most of these. Just for fun, make sure she knows your ex is a citizen and how (birth or naturalization). Do you have children? That might come up.

After her practice session, you might want to wait a little and put her through your own interrogation. If she's not used to confrontation and rapid, direct questions, she might need extra practice.

What evidence have you prepared?

Woooo!!! LA&MA, you're up!

Vanessa and Thea, just a few more days!

Good luck everyone!

Congratulations on your marriage and good luck on your journey.

To answer your questions.

1. It might come up at the interview. Beef up your evidence as much as possible. Be prepared for any extra questions or skepticism. Look at your relationship from the most negative perspective possible. Then find documents, pictures, chats, anything at all to counteract those negative points.

Or it may not come up at all. Just be prepared to answer and be happy if you don't have to.

2. From what you've said, I don't think you would need a joint sponsor. He can use any and all assets he would like to show he's able to support you at 125% of the poverty level. Assets and bank accounts are counted at 1/3 of their value, I think. Check out the I-864 instructions and form itself for more information. And I'm certain others will come to fill in, too.

Birth certificate should be enough.

This is awesome! There are a few in Thailand. We tried it on my last trip, and I can't wait to get back and do it again. Too bad they're not allowed in my state.

Yep. Sounds good to me, Yo. At least you should be able to get some sort of information. They might be able to print your SSN (but not the card) for you then.

Planned Parenthood accepts insurance. Just check to make sure your insurance accepts them (In-Network Provider), too. Or you could pay. But since you'll pay either way, if you have health insurance, why not possibly have it count toward your deductible, too?

Thank you! Husby thinks I'm nuts.

I say no worries about the A-Number being on the NOA2 or not. It's on the visa itself as "Registration Number" and should be written in during your POE. That should be enough.

Yep. Implanon when the husband gets here. Covered for 3 years and a return to fertility usually within 36 hours after removal. Oh, yes.

Call your insurance (the number's on the back of the card) and ask what it would cost for you. What is covered and what comes out of your deductible? Insertion. The device itself. Removal. Office visit/exam fee. Are you allowed to have more than one OB/GYN visit per year? (Don't look at me! I've seen all sorts of wacky insurances.) For me, Implanon comes out of my annual deductible. My OB/GYN offers a discount for paying cash in full and also offers payment plans. For me, it comes to around $600. Divide that by 36 months. That's around $16 per month. Oh, oh yes.

If the pill is expensive even with your insurance, ask your doctor if there is a copay card available. These are assistance cards from the manufacturer. The manufacturer reimburses the pharmacy for the portion of your copay over a certain amount. For example, Loestrin-24 has a $24 per month copay card. Your insurance says it's $40 per month for Loestrin-24. You pay $24. The manufacturer pays the pharmacy the $16 difference.

Or check the manufacturer's website/call the manufacturer. There are often assistance programs for various drugs, some dependent upon income and some not.

Then, check with your pharmacy. Many have preferred drugs now that they will charge less for. If your insurance works with CVS/Caremark, you might want to look into them. We use them a lot in our practice and I've never had complaints. If not, then your insurance probably has a preferred pharmacy or a mail-order option. You can check your insurance's preferred prescription list (aka Formulary), too. It should be available on their website and should tell you which medications are the most and least expensive.

Shop around at pharmacies. Pharmacies can often run "test claims" to find out what your copay would be for a certain drug.

If none of these are available, just be straight with your doctor. You want a reliable birth control pill that not going to interfere with your body's balance too much and has a lower price tag. That's what I want; what you want may be different.

Planned Parenthood is a good option, as others have suggested. If you have insurance, be sure PP is In-Network before heading over.

Umm.... Umm... I'm out of ideas for now. I'm sure I'll think of more at work tomorrow.

It's okay, Yohino. Husby says the A-Number isn't on his NOA2, either. I don't know. The documents are all with him. So he's scanning the NOA1 and NOA2 to me tonight. I can't remember seeing it, though. Otherwise I would have written it down on my Important Number list.

Exciting news! I'm signing the lease on the apartment tomorrow! The move-in isn't until October, but I'm still all sorts of excited.

Haven't been through AOS, but an original or certified copy isn't a bad thing to have around. I would suggest getting it now anyway. If they don't want it, then fine. But if they want it, you won't waste any time.

Two Cents:

The AR-11 and I-865. Gotta file both. We're doing the same thing -- moving when he gets here. Or I might move a week before he gets here. Whatever. The address on the DS-230 is my mothers. So I'm just going to wait until we get the GC before filing these little babies.

Info on SAVE from USCIS. Click around if you feel like. It's supposed to help local government agencies verify an alien's immigration status and correct information. Sounds like a nuisance, but I can see the purpose.

And..... Sachi, you're the bomb. Just thought you should know.

We keep pushing back his POE. First September. Now October. The visa says December 8th is the last day. I told him he has until Halloween to get his butt over here or I'm not accepting delivery. The one thing I keep hoping is that the GC snafu will be done with by then. Of course, you all should get your GCs waaay before then.

And, And. How 'bout the US?! I'm sure Husby's going to have plenty to say when I call him tonight.

Congratulations, Richard!

Tom... I think it's good news that they kept the passport. ####### that they didn't mention the interview. Oh well. As for the documents you sent over, just have Teaw keep them handy. They wouldn't have any impact right now. Have her bring them with her to pick up her passport. Just in case.