sciencenerd

The only difference is if you got your conditional card before May, 2010 when the cards were redesigned. That's not a difference between the conditional and not, but yours will look different if your conditional card is one with the older design on it.

Finally got a text ( no email) that card was ordered. 2+ months after interview I can finally breathe!

I just wanted to update here if the OP checks it or when others refer to it, but there is a new policy being implemented that will no longer require trans people to have sex reassignment surgery in many cases. You have to get married in a state that recognizes the current gender, sees your marriage as heterosexual, and does not bar trans people from marrying - USCIS used to have an additional requirement that the trans person had sex reassignment surgery, but have moved away from that. See Immigration Equality for more info. I hope you are now able to move forward now that your marriage would likely be recognized by USCIS.

well i don't think its so much about shouting but its really hard and annoying to read in all caps. you have to strain your eyes and read everything twice

Most folks are subject to their own inner desires for what turns them on sexually and I doubt anyone would have much success explaining the bases of those desires.

I think you equated gay intimacy with bestiality, which is not how most people view homosexuality. But I do wonder where you got the information, you stated as fact, homosexuality is a mental health disorder?
I would say homosexuality is the orientation of a minority of humans, so it might be fair to say the majority of people normally orient toward heterosexual. Not the pejorative 'abnormal' context you put it in. Merely numerically.

Doctor Kip where did you get your information being gay was a mental disorder?

Any household that subjects children to mainstream daytime TV should be considered abusive, IMO.
Seriously, where does this end? Blanket statements such as this ####### are worthless in a modern society. No two family situations, opposite sex, same sex, or single parent, are alike and attempting to classify them as such is rank stupidity.

those are the 2 most stupidest moronic statements i have ever heard in my life... your the one that obviously has mental issues... actually your hatred of gays makes me think that you probably have issues with your own sexuality.
America the land of the free... unless of course your gay and then you will be persecuted.

That is an awful, heartbreaking story. Dammit Nathan.
Blanket condemnations of households headed by same sex parents are pretty silly. Gay people are just as good or bad of parents as anyone else. They're fallible human beings like anyone else, but their sexual orientation should not be the basis for deciding their worthiness or ability to parent. U

I just poked around the Immigration Equality website to a link: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=5a87338dc3d19210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=994f81c52aa38210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD
Here is the relevant quote:
Q. When marital status is not relevant to the benefit being sought, how should same sex married couples complete USCIS forms (i.e. should they mark married or single)?
A. USCIS is looking into this issue and will provide a response as soon as possible.
Well, that's helpful, isn't it? /sarcasm

im amazed at how America became the power it did when there are such backwards idiots like that making, or trying to make laws like that

This is very small, but it'd be great for the ROC guide to be edited to say that USCIS may or may not send a letter reminding you to file (rather than *will* not). It seems every month or so, there's a new thread from someone concerned that they received a letter when they weren't expecting it.

I live with a married woman! Most happily married men do! But I know what you are getting at and I think you suffer from the same right wing bigotry that this priest apparently does. Where in the Bible does Jesus say that being lesbian is a special, unforgivable category of sin that precludes communion? Or that adultery is likewise such a uniquely egregious sin? There actually are passages suggesting the opposite in the case of adultery! You attempt to use whatever religious and legal hammers that you can to punish those who have a different lifestyle than you. If you believe there really is a heaven and a hell I would suggest you do some research and soul-searching to see if your destination may be more southerly than what you might prefer!

alrighty fellas - thanks for setting me straight !

That's not correct. If the applicant is married 2 yrs at the interview a 10 year card will be issued, if approved. Look at my timeline. It's not about adjusting from tourist etc. It's about length of marriage that is used as a guideline for viability.

Has she legally changed her name? If yes, there you go.

I do think folks in successful long-term marriages aren't generally on here since they no longer have a need to be. That said, I know someone who was on here 7 or so years ago who is in a happy, loving marriage of 17 years (they lived in Canada for a decade before coming to the states).
My wife and I have been together 8 1/2 years and going stronger than ever. Immigration was a huge stress in our life and the uncertainty made it so hard for us to plan for our future (we knew we'd be together, but didn't know where or how). Now that she's a permanent resident, we were finally able to feel really stable and start our family (we now have a 6 month old daughter). Honestly, I think our marriage is stronger because of having to go through immigration - it kind of weeds out many couples who are less committed to each other or relationships that simply can't withstand some of the bigger stresses of life. We don't take each other for granted because there were so many years where we didn't know if we would be torn apart due to immigration (our story is not typical, but let's just say immigration laws were not in our favor). If you let it, this process can bring you closer together. It's a hardship for sure, but then you start your marriage knowing you can get through tough things together.

Wow. That's disrespectful and misinformed.
Who are you to tell anyone where they should live? Who are you to tell me what I should be into in my life? For you it may be the US, I may not give a hoot of these artificial creations we call nation states in the first place, why should that offend you? Everyone's got their thing, mine may be fishing. Why should that be a problem?
What angers and upsets me is when my fellow human beings are being subjected to abuse or ill-treatment that denies them their dignity. I don't care when or where, why, or by who. There is no justification for such treatment, anyplace, ever. "Holier than thou"? That, my friend, would be you. These things happen in America all the time, but you choose to close your eyes to it.

These arguments like "it's not inappropriate/invasive/unjust because it's common/not illegal" aren't particularly logical. Just because their ability to ask these questions has not yet been challenged, doesn't mean that it is right or that there is no ground to challenge them. Even if questions about sex life are helpful to root out fraud, they still might not stand up if challenged in an American court. Consider the question of marital status in a job interview: potentially helpful to employers who want to avoid having their employee take time off for children? Yes. Legal? No. In that case, the person being interviewed doesn't have the "right" to the job (just as people are arguing that interviewees don't have a "right" to a green card), but because of the difference in power between the person offering the job and the person trying to get it, there has to be some protection for the interviewee built into the process.
I can't remember if I got this link off this thread or another on VJ, but this article on marriage fraud talks about a CO that was using interviews to extort sexual favors, and the other article from the NYTimes mentioned in this thread says that officers are trained to avoid questions about sex...it's not entirely impossible that the CO is using his/her power to get their...jollies. With gynecologists, you can always go to another if you get creepy vibes from yours; not so with consular interviewers.

I disagree. There is a limit to how far one must go, and such questions are pushing it. They are demeaning and they should not be asked.

This is by design - so technically not a loophole.

What a bunch of BS, has there been any studies showing that the "good American" is the naturalized that considers himself American only? Please, give us a break, this country is a pure product of immigration...what are you afraid of?

Yes the documents need to span 2 years of your marriage and relationship.
You do not include 25 pages per month. You include 1 page showing the names and address, Usually the first page when you print it out. Then you print the one from 3-4 months later etc until the documents show 2 years.
You include one piece from every few months not all pages from every month.

1st same-sex couple weds at Empire State Building
NEW YORK (AP) — Two women who met at the University of Alaska have become the first same-sex couple to be married at the Empire State Building.
Stephanie Figarelle (fig-uh-REHL'-ee) and Lela (LEE'-luh) McArthur exchanged rings Tuesday and promised to love each other for the rest of their lives.
The couple won an online contest. Theirs was the first of four Valentine's Day weddings being held at the landmark New York City skyscraper.
A wedding chapel was set up for the occasion. After the ceremony, the couple went to the observation deck for photos.
The 29-year-old Figarelle wore a black tuxedo for the ceremony. The 24-year-old McArthur wore a strapless white gown with a train.
Both work as personal trainers in Anchorage.