sciencenerd

I didnt say they were. People with TB often arent either, they are treated for it.

I was stating what they look for at the medical.

Just for the record, they don't even look for HIV in the medical anymore - this changed a year ago. I only chime in to say this to ease the anxiety of anyone with HIV who might be reading VJ.

The N-400 form asks about marriages.

How would a California resident, according to California State law married to their same sex partner, answer this question. Would she be "married" or not "married" for N-400 purposes?

The answer is no. Since her marriage is not recognized by USCIS, she is not married according to their rules. If you want a solid answer from an expert, contact the lawyers at www.immigrationequality.org. They usually get back quickly and are extremely knowledgeable about issues such as this.

She can stay past the 16th if they have received the paperwork - send it in early in case there are any problems. Adjusting from a tourist visa (or VWP) isn't that difficult from what I've heard (and wasn't hard for us from Canada, but that's a bit different), but you need to make sure that it is in ASAP (like send it on Monday if you can). The situation as well as the chances of success change dramatically if she overstays. If you don't think you can get it done that quickly, you should probably either do the K1 or CR1 instead. Good luck. There are lots of folks on here with a lot of knowledge and experience, so I'm sure they'll pipe in with more detail.

oops - just realized I missed that you are already married, so scratch the K1 option obviously.

She can stay past the 16th if they have received the paperwork - send it in early in case there are any problems. Adjusting from a tourist visa (or VWP) isn't that difficult from what I've heard (and wasn't hard for us from Canada, but that's a bit different), but you need to make sure that it is in ASAP (like send it on Monday if you can). The situation as well as the chances of success change dramatically if she overstays. If you don't think you can get it done that quickly, you should probably either do the K1 or CR1 instead. Good luck. There are lots of folks on here with a lot of knowledge and experience, so I'm sure they'll pipe in with more detail.

She can definitely travel within the US. Our lawyer just said not to travel anywhere where there could even be a remote possibility of crossing borders (like a cruise).

You can't sponsor a brother-in-law nor can you sponsor a brother while you are a permanent resident. My understanding is that your only option is to wait until you're a citizen (eligible 3 years after immigrating assuming you are still married) and then sponsor him. There is something like a 10 year wait for siblings, so your child will probably not need a babysitter anymore by the time your brother could come over. I don't know if parents are faster - someone will know, though. Either way, it will be several years from now. Good luck.

You should not need a social security number anywhere in the US to get a marriage license. Congrats!

My wife (non-USC) did not take my last name when we got married and it never came up.

I know at least a few other people have done a lease agreement with their family in the US before moving out to their own place - we're doing the same and plan to show the lease agreement as part of our evidence of re-establishing domicile. Question is, should we go ahead and pay the first month/last month's rest like you would with an apartment and thereby have a cashed check to show as more proof? Or are we over-thinking the whole thing, is the lease sufficient? Anyone else who did a lease with family go ahead and put down first/last month rent?

Thanks all!

My wife and I live in a home owned by my mother and pay rent, but don't have an official lease. Our lawyer said that a lease agreement in this situation would not be the same level of evidence as if we lived in a home owned by non-family and that it could seem like we were trying to hide something if we just submitted a lease (like it would seem like we were hoping they wouldn't notice). She had my mom write an affidavit stating her relationship to me, that we have a valid marriage, and that we have rented from her since [date]. It was short and sweet. I can't say for certain what they thought of it, but I know the issue never came up and we got approved. Good luck!

I definitely agree that the mother should have asked more questions, gotten proof, etc., but I can also understand that most Americans really have no idea how immigration works or even what proof of citizenship is. Regardless, the daughter should not be punished because her mother didn't know what processes were involved or assumed that DHS did everything as part of the adoption process.

As an update, the woman is getting a U visa (for crime victims) and will no longer be deported.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/08/blanca_catt_who_was_smuggled_t.html

The immigration reform bill includes a provision to allow people to sponsor their same-sex spouse or partner for immigration purposes using the same guidelines as used for opposite-sex spouses. This could bring relief to a lot of families...

_______________

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) introduced a comprehensive immigration reform bill yesterday, including a somewhat controversial provision to extend family-based immigration for same-sex couples. If passed — it’s unclear whether even the reform bill could — the provision could help some of the estimated 24,000 gay and lesbian couples in the U.S. that include at least one foreign partner.

The Uniting American Families Act establishes rights of same-sex couples to bring their foreign partners to the U.S. Under the current system, straight couples can petition for their foreign-born husbands or wives to move to the U.S. as legal residents, but gay and lesbians are denied the ability to petition for foreign partners — even in states that allow gay marriage.

There was some question over whether comprehensive immigration reform would include the measure. Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Mike Honda (D-Calif.) have pushed for the Uniting American Families Act to be included in comprehensive reform legislation, claiming it could broaden the support base for the bill.

But while many Catholic and other religious organizations support immigration reform, some argue they cannot support a bill with gay rights measures. “That would be a deal-breaker,” J. Kenneth Blackwell, a senior fellow at the evangelical Family Research Council, told the New York Times in July when asked about including same-sex family reunification in an immigration bill.

While it’s unclear whether this bill will go anywhere, advocates of gay rights and immigration reform applauded the inclusion of the Uniting American Families Act to Menendez’s bill.

“Senator Menendez’s bill will set the stage, in this Congress and the next, for a serious debate on fixing our broken immigration system,” Steve Ralls from the pro-LGBT Immigration Equality told The Advocate.

http://washingtonindependent.com/99185/menendez-immigration-bill-includes-gay-rights-provision

You'll probably get an RFE and you can send them in response to that. If you mail them on their own (even with case number/explanation), they will never get added to your application. You should probably just wait at this point and have them ready to send as soon as you get the RFE. Good luck!

I was present for my wife's physical and she did not have to remove her clothes at all - it depends a lot on the doctor it seems. Also, transsexual people can immigrate as their current sex if their legal sex has been changed, implying that USCIS is not as interested in your genital configuration as your legal sex, which is proven by documentation.

I have a job with paystubs, but I only provided documentation via a letter by my employer. That plus tax returns was fine - they never said a word about it.

I wonder if it varies by location. I know when I was going for my citizenship interview there were others there with lawyers - and the interviewing officers kindly but firmly told them 'no' the lawyer was not able to come in to the interview with them. I noticed one couple come out and their lawyer go up to meet them to ask them how things had transpired. Their application was denied and I could hear the lawyer giving advice about what they would do next - I wasn't able to hear enough of the conversation to understand why they were denied nor why they had a lawyer in the first place. That being said, even if a lawyer is not able to accompany you, with your situation it would certainly be a useful exercise to meet with one to discuss your circumstances. Even in the interview the lawyer would not be able to answer any of the questions about your application - only you can do that - so I am not sure what value a lawyer would be in the actual interview; getting prepared for the interview - yes, definitely; at the interview - probably not.

Oh - to clarify about the 'couple' - one family member went as an interpretor for the other who was an elderly woman.

Maybe - it seems weird that it would be different at different places, but I don't know why else it would be different. Our lawyer told us a story about being present even during the oral citizenship exam given during the N400 interview and her client looking towards her when she didn't know an answer and how she had to give no reaction at all, so she was definitely there. There seems to be so much inconsistency in this whole process that you just kinda have to go with it as it comes.

I have over $150,000 in student loans and am not rich. It never came up at all during the AOS process - they just cared about my current income.

I had a lawyer for my AOS interview and she had been present for several naturalization interviews, so they definitely are allowed in the room. It's not weird to have an interview present for an immigration matter - it's an overwhelming process and a lot of people with completely straightforward cases hire lawyers since so much is at stake. They are totally used to people both using lawyers and doing things on their own and neither one raises a flag.

A woman who entered the country with her birth mother at 3 years old without inspection is now facing deportation. She was adopted by US Citizens after being taken from her birth mother because of abuse. Her parents were told by the state that she automatically became a citizen once adopted, so her immigration status was never settled.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2010/08/blanca_catt_who_was_smuggled_i.html

Definitely get a different lawyer. Your overstay shouldn't matter at all for this. Honestly, upon hearing your story, I think the hearing is probably a good thing. With a decent lawyer, it will be an opportunity for you to get all the facts out there and settle this. Unless there is something you're leaving out, this seems like a pretty straightforward case.

Simmy - our situation is different because of an overstay, but my wife entered the country through Canada via the standard route (no visa - or a default B2, but no paperwork). We had no intention of getting married at that point, but had been together for quite a while by then. Our interviewer also mentioned nothing about intent. Our lawyer said the only thing the overstay changed was that we couldn't leave the US during the application process (advanced parole). Many of the Canadians here I know actually did things similarly and were also approved. Everybody mentions this intent thing, but that's really just because if you lied to the border (said you were coming for a visit when you were really coming to immigrate) you are guilty of immigration fraud. If you were honest to the border folks, it doesn't matter. I even told our lawyer that we didn't have intent and she said it really didn't matter if we didn't misrepresent anything to border control. I have yet to hear of intent being an issue in an interview (maybe it happens, but its certainly not the norm even in relatively quick marriages). You really would be fine in this regard.

It sounds like you've decided to go the CR-1 route, but doing an AOS is perfectly legal and not remotely fraudulent. If you entered as a tourist with the intention of going home, were honest with border officers, and decided to get married and stay here after you were already in the country, you are fine. A lot of folks here try to scare people off from doing this, but it is perfectly legit.

There's no citizenship requirement. I signed up my wife as my beneficiary before she had even applied for permanent residence.

Hi, I know I've read more than one post about this in the past, but searching the forums isn't turning up what I need to know. My father is agreeing to co-sponsor, but he had some questions about how long he's legally bound to support my fiance, even if (god forbid) we divorce? I think I remember reading that he (and I) is obligated to keep him from being a public charge for as long as he's in the US, regardless of whether or not we're married, but could someone point me to a link or explanation that I could show him?

Thanks in advance.

You're responsible until your fiance becomes a US citizen, ceases to be a PR (moves back to country of origin), works for 10 years, or dies. Here's the info you want: http://www.***removed***/affidavit-of-support/sponsor-responsibilities-obligations.html

This may be a strange question, but I haven't been able to find an answer to it. My wife recently got approved for permanent residency and will be applying for citizenship in 3 years. My question is actually about her brother. He is autistic and in all likelihood will end up with us if anything ever happens to his (and my wife's) mother. We are trying to figure out how to properly plan for this likely scenario. I understand that it will be about 10 years for her brother's priority date to come up after we can file, but I'm more concerned about after that. Hopefully, this will not be something that comes up for many, many years (my wife's mom is only 59 now), but we probably won't have much notice when it's necessary. Her brother needs 24 hour supervision and we are basically the only family. What can we do to prepare for this?

Some specific questions:

- once her brother is approved (probably in 15 years-ish), how long does he have to move down here? (can he be approved and then just move down here at the point when his mom can no longer care for him?)

- once his priority date comes up, can we postpone things until he needs to come down here?

- are there alternative options for this type of situation, especially if (God forbid), something happened to his mom prior to his priority date coming up? We would need near-immediate approval to ensure he is safe and cared for.

I don't want to be morbid, but with the time required for immigration, we are trying to make sure we have some plan that won't leave him without any care or supervision in Canada. We definitely want to allow him to live in Canada with his mom for as long as possible. This is obviously very long term planning, but it is impossible for us to know exactly when he will need to be able to move here, whether next month or in 30 years. I don't understand how to work with immigration for this type of situation.

Any information or advice would be appreciated.

My understanding is that it is the same as if you weren't an LPR. So, the rules that exist for your country of citizenship are the ones you have to follow. If Canada requires a visa for citizens of Pakistan, then you'll have to get a visa. The LPR only means anything to the American government. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm mistaken, but I'm pretty sure this is correct.