Y&E

I fail to comprehend how the USCIS is not in any way funded by the US government when it is the first point of information and forms for Citizenship and Immigration. Those things are inherently part of government and must surely receive some funding from the government. Otherwise, how would citizenship function? Unless this is just another example of how imperfectly this government is run.

That said, I dislike calling the helpline as I find that I a) can't understand what they're saying (I spoke to Forrest Gump once) and b) have a tendency to get more angry with them than I would with a 'real' person as I can't see them face to face. Therefore, since I have the luxury of living close to my local office, I have found that making an infopass appointment is much more constructive and useful for me.

The table of fees is on the USCIS website here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=b1ae408b1c4b3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=b1ae408b1c4b3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD

Once you arrive you can use this link on the USCIS website to find a civil surgeon in your area: https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.type&OfficeLocator.office_type=CIV You should shop around though as they charge differing prices for their services.

Please read the guides to find out what the steps will be when you reach the US. You must do your homework when planning to immigrate. All the information that you need for to complete your visa and residency process can be found on this website and if you can't find something then your questions can generally be answered.

Like I said and you should also take a look on the Wiki because UK users have created quite a comprehensive guide to the London Embassy process there.

Good luck.

Extremely!

Congrats and good luck with the job hunting

Thank you. I've had a job since September, only now I can actually get paid for it rather than just volunteer. And hopefully create more hours for myself! Good luck to you too.

Personally I have no problem with prenups as they protect both parties to some extent. In the event of his death his children shouldn't be able to remove any property from you that you own under your own name but I would make sure that you both write a will naming each other as beneficiaries in the event of either of your deaths. I'm not sure that a prenup would have any effect on a will if the children contested it but you should be more protected under the law with a will than you would be without one.

I believe that there's a thread in the Wiki listing which local offices will let you do walk-in biometrics. If the applicant is female and changed her surname then make sure you take your marriage certificate with you (I forgot the first time and had to go back, stupid me!). Indianapolis will let you do walk-in and the best time seemed to be after 2pm there. I don't think that they're a busy office though.

AOS approved 11/01 at Cali and card production ordered same day. Yay, I can finally start getting paid at work! I got my EAD before Xmas but they screwed up and spelled my surname wrong. That's been fixed with USCIS but a new EAD hasn't arrived so GC is even better and hopefully has the right name on it. Good luck to everyone searching for jobs, it's very hard not to have your own money isn't it?

Have you contacted your Senator to get on the case? It seems that people have more success with USCIS when their Senators' get involved.

I'm not surprised that they screwed up like this. I've found that talking to them on the phone only results in mistakes. If you live near your local office making an infopass appointment is a much better way to get real and correct results! Sorry to hear that they're stuffing you around like that.

I used fastlane international and selected their DHL USA service. They picked it up on Tuesday, I left on Wednesday and everything arrived on Friday. Speedy service and the cost was competitive to other companies that I looked into who had longer shipping times. I believe that someone else has mentioned that packing smaller boxes (same weight) ends up costing less than packing big boxes.

You should also do a search on here as this topic has been discussed frequently.

My question regarding this is: what happens if you receive your EAD and your name is spelt wrong? Technically you have permission to work because it's their error but you still have to reapply for the EAD and get the mistake sorted out. So, are you allowed to work or not? I'm guessing not, because you have to take it to SSA to change / request your SSN and give it to your employer. It's a very stupid process to get any administrative mistakes corrected.

I also agree with Sundrop that it seems strange that working is 'forgiven' if you are married to a US citizen but work illegally but they still have the EAD process. Surely it would be a good thing to allow us to work as soon as possible because it would produce more in the way of taxes. I suspect that it is because there is no guarantee that AOS will be granted and they want to discourage people from working and staying illegally once they are married.

Maybe your best course of action would be to travel back to Brazil with her and get married there. Then you could file your CR-1. That negates the idea that she may have entered the US with the intent to get married on a tourist visa.

It seems that they are putting AOS from VWP on hold currently until the law can be clarified and that may also be the case in your situation. Whatever you do you don't want to risk a ban or the need to try and get an elusive hardship waiver.

You care about your luggage more than your children's safety? I hope that you have good clear weather the whole way so that a car crash is less likely to happen.

I rescheduled my K1 interview back in June and I received a reply very quickly. They gave me a date that someone else had cancelled earlier than my original date. Did you include the code for the week on your email? If you did then I should have thought that you'd receive a response. My rescheduled date was sent via email.

I can't talk about the UK but mail from HK is taking ages. My mum and I sent our parcels on the same day. She received mine in HK 1 week later and hers still hasn't arrived. Maybe it's something to do with US customs?

I found out yesterday that I was approved for EAD! I went in for an infopass appointment to query why my surname was spelled wrong on my AP and what can be done to fix it. I have to send the AP and EAD forms back in (no fee) and ask them to change it. So annoying - they make an error (after spelling my surname correctly on every other notice) and I'm the one who has to spend the time fixing it! I hate USCIS administrative drones! At least the infopass was more helpful and informative than the telephone monkeys are!

Hi, I sent my forms about the same time as you and received my AP on Friday (but they misspelt my surname) and had it confirmed that my EAD has been approved. My case also went to Cali, but AP/EAD went to Missouri. The IO that I spoke to at my infopass appointment today told me that most K1s are going to Cali and not being interviewed at the moment (that could just be Indiana though). You should be pleased, no interview! I'm sure that you'll receive the other things shortly. Have you received a biometrics letter? If not maybe you could make an infopass apt if you live close enough to your local office and enquire with them what the status of your case is. I definitely found that speaking to a real live human being was more beneficial and informative than speaking to an administrative drone on the phone.

I don't know what it is about some women. My ex-MIL was fantastic, even though my ex and I are no longer together I'll still visit his parents the next time I'm home. They treated me just like the daughter that they never had and she really was like my second Mum.

New MIL however is a totally different story. I spent 2 hours turning the volume up and up to drown out a shouting match in Russian between her, Hubby and FIL - I was later told, 'we are sorry for being so loud and talking in Russian, but it was a family matter.' Erm, hello, aren't I now family. If you want to do that don't do it in my house. However, I made it clear to both of them that they were being very rude to me and that they weren't welcome in my house unless they learnt to be polite. No wonder their own sons try to avoid spending any significant time with them!

Well done to everyone who now has fabulous MILs and sorry to anyone else who shares the wicked MIL.

And, even when she does receive the AP be prepared for it not to be correct. I received mine yesterday and they've spelt my surname wrong, despite it being spelt correctly on all forms and the receipt that they issued. Having something like that corrected will take additional time.

I would make sure that you have a place / room that you can go to when she starts to get really awful. Either that or tell your husband that he and your child are welcome to spend as much time as they like with her at her home but if she can't treat you well in yours then she's not welcome (trust me, this is a recurring trend in my family, me, my Mum and her Mum have all had awful MIL's). You deserve to be treated respectfully in your home and the way that she treats you will just alienate her son from her.

Yes, once you have your EAD you can go to the local SSA office and apply for your SSN.

I wouldn't count on being able to travel at the end of Jan so don't make plans. Remember that you can't travel until you have either AP or GC and the rates that they process these seem to vary from office to office and time of year. I also 'needed' to travel at the end of November but was unable to due to lack of AP or GC (mainly my own fault as I applied at the beginning of October). As with everything to do with this process you will just have to be patient!

Your other half, in the UK, will have to call them and get the weekly email code and the email address. If you email them without the code then the email is ignored. It will cost them up to about £20 depending on how long they have to hold for. The charge at that end is £1.20 per minute on a landline and more from a mobile.

It shouldn't be a problem for him at all. I came through with no paperwork showing ties and they never asked for anything. I told them the purpose of my visit was to visit a friend (this was the second time in 3 months) and they let me though fine. I suspect that they're pretty lenient when it comes to low-risk countries and I believe that the immigration petitions don't even show up unless you tell them about it (I may be wrong I just remember someone mentioning that).

Make sure that you two still get married within the 90 day period allowed on his I-94 otherwise the I-485 will be inapplicable and you will be required to file different paperwork. Sorry, you may already have married but you say fiance.

Transfer to CSC, yippee. But hope that I get AP sooner rather than later because hubby has a work trip to Turkey before the end of the year and I want to go too. Also, found a job that's exactly in my field that I'm going to apply for - they can only say no when I tell them I'm waiting for EAD. I'm really surprised to find my field in Indiana since it's not exactly a mecca for it - I think that this may be the only company in that field in the state! Otherwise I'm sticking with the gym coaching until we move somewhere better.

Your documents will need to be read and understood by English speakers in the US and most likely at the Embassy in Russia too. Not everyone who works there or who is at HLS here will read Cyrillic.