Heather&Matt

Got my Green Card today!!!

I got my NY state license, plates, and vehicle registration done this weekend. I had to bring my importing papers from customs but never paid state taxes on it, nor did I pay duty on my car but a customs officer on my POE was VERY kind to me and stamped my papers without making pay 2.5% on it.

Look to see if you state has tax exemption forms as you already paid taxes on it in Canada. I also brought my sales receipt to prove the amount that I paid but they didn't need to see it. The only things I paid was standard fees for registering and such.

Correct, the receipt number can be used on the USCIS website to track production of the green card. Mine started with the letters "SRC".

Same as mine...and as I just checked it, alien registration approval was sent today!

Grats on the welcome letter! That NOA should be for your green card I believe.

Oh, nice...that kinda makes sense. Thanks!

So I got my USCIS Welcome letter today, along with another 'receipt notice' which looked eerily familiar to the NOA2. It came in a separate envelope, does anyone know what exactly this is?

Same ish on my wife's social security card. It's not problem until when you try to file your tax return and you use your middle initial. IRS rejects your file. You have to file tax return with the name exactly as it appears. I suggest you get your SSN changed to include the middle name. I'll be doing that for my wife as soon as this god-forsaken weather passes

Good to know, thanks Indigo! It just seems weird that they would only put first-last, considering all my paperwork was filed first-middle-last. Hope the bad weather passes you by quickly.

Got my SS card today! No green card yet or welcome letter.

Question: they only put my first and last name on it...no middle name like my husband's, not a problem right?

Google form 3299--you will see its for unaccompanied baggage. If you move urself (uhaul) you do not need that form! I moved down to the USA back in 2004 with U-haul truck I made up a nice inventory list and labelled the boxes! Like--many they didnt even open up the truck to inspect--some they do!

My husband was driving the moving truck while I was in my car, I was told we needed it as I wasn't physically with my belongings....they didn't even look at the form. The customs officer told my husband that he didnt even need to stay with me and he could go ahead with he truck while I activated my Visa.

Hi folks,

Someone was telling me that my husband also needs to bring an I-94 form at the point of entry. Is this true?

I've looked up the form, but am unsure why it might be needed.

Thanks,

- Sam

I'm not sure what that form is but I didn't need anything at my POE...other than a safety letter from the manufacturer of my car, which I was importing. We filled out form 3299 and it was not needed, they only opened the door to the moving truck, never checked anything.

Just got my interview date! May 3rd 54 days from CC to interview!

Yay!!

Congratulations!

Congratulations!!

Did they even ask for all that evidence of a relationship???

They didn't want to see anything. The interview was less than 10 minutes.

Good luck!!

POE done! Sitting in the my new home and it feels awesome!

POE today! Went well, long but not stressful. Peace bridge was kinda busy, took an hour and a half before they even called my name. My husband and my mom were with me and we made the most of it. Lots of people watching, observing and enjoying CBP happenings. The officer that completed the process was slow but she was hilarious and we joked the entire time. Importing my car was painless, they never checked anything with the moving truck. The entire POE was 2.5 hours and I'm not mad about it.

Sitting in my new home and it feels fantastic!

Nice job with the Green Card Indigo. And Happy 1st Anniversary!!

Less than an hour after I posted that, I got an email from the consulate saying DHL had picked up my passport, and gave me the waybill number

So, I have now changed my address in the system to come directly to my house!

Nice! And the VJer that I was speaking about recieved their passport this morning!

That is awesome for you guys, but I think you're correct, that it's not really average. I've been waiting 8 days, and don't even have a waybill number yet, but I think that's pretty typical. The approval letter has a note on the back that says wait "approximatively" (yes, it really says approximatively) 6 - 7 business days.... so you guys are lucky!

I got mine in 3 days but again, not very typical. I was talking to another VJer who had their interview the same day as you and they haven't received their passport either, and as of yesterday, the consulate hadn't even shipped it yet.

Well if that worked for you guys what the heck I'll just have her send it to me. Looks like she'd have to jump through a flaming hoop of flaming fire in Canada to get the friggin thing to be officially notarized for US use.

If I have to take it to the capital its only a couple hours away, and the weathers been nice! -Roadtrip! lol

Thanks again all... oh and PS... NOA1 today, woot! =P

Yeah it's kind of a pain in the @ss but at least she'll have the ITIN.

Congrats on your NOA!

I talked to the notary here in the state I reside, they said it has to go to the capital city to get "certified" as a regular notary can only notarize a signature.

So I called a Notary in Canada. Apparently Canada isn't part of the Hague Convention and thus can't send the required Apostille form required of non-American Notaries. D=<

What do we do now? We'd like to avoid sending her passport through the mail to me in the states if possible. Seeing as we've only got 30 days to submit we'd like to keep the time in the post down to a minimum!

You may just have to get it sent in the mail. I don't know any other options other than going to a lawyer (or certified 'notarizer') with her passport or to take her passport to your local IRS office. I'm not sure if there is any other way to get the ITIN without proving that she is a non-resident.

Anyone else have any ideas?

I was busy moving to NJ and the new job. Moving is a pain! Yes, started the new job on this Monday. So far so good!

I hear that! I am surrounded by cardboard right now. 3 more days!

Yes I called someone on my break from the IRS and they did say it needed to be notarized.

However if you had yours done in the US Heather by your husband (without you present?) then I don't know what in the world they're notarizing? Perhaps notarizing that the image wasn't manipulated and it is a 1:1 copy?

Either way, it doesn't seem to difficult now that I've had time to look into it... thanks for the replies folks!

I talked to Matt, he said if you were to e-file it then you had to go to the local IRS building to verify the passport in person. If you are going to snail mail it then you can go to a lawywer to get them to authenticate the passport. Essentially they are a legal authority to sign to the fact that my passport is from another country. You then can send in your IRS package with the W-7 and notarized photocopy.

Heather&Matt is absolutely right. You need to have the passport in your hands and take it to a notary to have them notarize it or take it to an IRS office. You can use other IDs but than you need at least 2. I would do it with a passport (personal choice). You also need a letter to treat your spouse as a U.S. resident for tax year 2010 IF he or she is NOT. Here is a sample and it has to be signed by both od you.

March 15, 2011

Dear Sir/Madam,

I, (U.S. taxpayer), am a United States citizen and would like my non-resident alien wife/husband from (country), (name), to be treated as a United States resident for the 2010 tax year.

X______________________________ X_________________________________

(taxpayers name) (aliens name)

I remember signing something VERY similar to this, at least twice now.

I got some kickback from the government about my wife's W-7 application. It looks as if they need some identifying information from her to the likes of a birth certificate or passport etc? Which is great, however I don't know if I can just take copies of it and send them in... otherwise I think they may need to be notarized in the US. How in the world do I do that? Should I have her mail her passport to me and then get it copied and notarized here? I've never had anything notarized before so I'm not even sure what that means to be honest! lol

Thanks for any insight in advance!

My US husband took my passport to a lawyer and got it notarized. You pretty much just pay for them to photocopy it, stamp the photocopy with a signature and put a seal on it. You would then send it with the W-7 to get an ITIN.

You could also take her passport to your local IRS office and get everything done there.

The movers fill it out if you've hired one. If you're moving things yourself, you fill it out. And, yes, it's just a generalized description. It doesn't matter if you or your husband hold the form when you're travelling together. You will get in line first and he will be right behind you. When you get to the booth you will hand over all your forms and passport and let them know he is behind you with your belongings. They will keep everything and send you over to secondary.

Thanks. I've packed everything and kept a running tab of what's in the boxes and such. That 3299 looks kinda wordy in some parts....I may have to hit you up in a couple of days for some advice