CBM

J&J, thanks for your info! It seems we received the same medical sheet, and I'll send it in. If I get an RFE for a new medical, I'll cough up the money for it then, rather than (hopefully) unnecessarily do it now.

Dr. Seiden's office gave me my chest xray as the actual xray rather than a CD as I've heard other offices do. Unless the Officer is also a radiologist, sending the xray is useless since he or she can't read anything from it. I hope they don't ask for it, but I guess if they do, I have it.

Inky - thanks for the info as well. There's about 10 Civil Surgeons in my area so I'll just wait for an RFE if I get one - I don't want to spend any more on this process than we already have!!

I've read that the CBEST isn't too hard.. but the units of measurement are obviously in the Imperial system, and I'm used to the metric system... I think that will be the only tricky part; I'll have to memorize conversions the imperial system, yards to miles and all that.

Anyone else out there?

Did you write the CBEST and CSET? I'm getting ready to write them this summer and would love any insight!

So we got our marriage certificates after a little less than a month of waiting, which isn't too bad, considering they said 6 weeks!

Anyway, now I'm ready to file for AOS... and I have everything ready and signed, and going to mail it tomorrow. But then a thought occurred to me after reading through the AOS forum. I did my medical in Toronto and received a copy of the Immunization form, where it says I'm completely immunized for age appropriate shots, etc... and the check boxes, etc..... but I don't think it actually says DS 3025 on it.

I know in theory I don't need a new medical since I had mine done less than 6 months ago, and I planned to send a copy of the receipt with the date of my medical (indicating it was less than a year ago), as well as the Immunization records I received from my medical.

I guess my question is, is the paper to which I am referring the DS 3025 that needs to be sent? Or do I actually need to go to a Civil Surgeon in California to get a new immunization records sheet filled out?

I'm kind of annoyed with myself for not thinking of this sooner

Also, I posted this in the Canadian forum, rather than the AOS forum, to see if anyone had similar experiences with Toronto or Montreal.

We aren't visiting Canada until Christmas.. and by that time, I won't have seen my family since March, since I was away at school this past year. I'm already looking forward to it! And we're also planning to visit my husband's family in the UK next summer..

To be safe, I would say more like 3 hours.

I mentioned this in another thread, but I had around 3.5 hours (it was a little more or a little less, I can't remember)... and I almost missed my flight because there were so many people ahead of me in Secondary, and they don't care when your flight is, or the reason you've been sent to Secondary. Once it was finally my turn, the whole procedure took under 2 minutes.. my passport was stamped, and the i94 was stapled in, and I was told to get married in 90 days, and off I went.

Then you have to wait and go through security. I would just rather be safe than sorry. YYZ isn't the most exciting airport, but you can find something to do for an hour or so if you manage to get through immigration quickly.

Oh boy, I live in Toronto and I'm doing my POE through Pearson tomorrow night!

I know what Pearson hell is like so I'm trying to leave myself alot of time.

My flight is at 730 am and I planned on getting to the airport at 3am.............think thats enough time?

You won't be as bad off as people connecting from other airports. I was connecting in Toronto from Windsor, and going to LAX. So, first I had to wait for my luggage from Windsor to get off the belt to take through customs. That probably took 45 minutes.. then the wait in line began, followed by my wait in Secondary, etc.

Since you'll be there at the a$$-crack of dawn, you probably won't encounter the huge lines that I did. But, you'll have to check in and still go through pre-clearance. But, there is a different section for those doing connections and those checking in at Pearson.

I would say 4.5 hours at that time of day should be plenty. I would check what time customs/security opens.. with Pearson being a major airport, I imagine it's open all night... but I know in some airports, it doesn't open until 5 or 6 am. Just a thought!

When you inevitably encounter the mean guy in Secondary... just secretly run to the corner and cry like I did, haha... I wasn't giving him the satisfaction of seeing me cry.

Congrats!

I would wait it out and send your package full complete. You will risk bot having a work permit in time to start the school year, but there's really nothing you can do there.

Things could go pretty quickly for you tho, I applied for my AOS (2 years ago now) on June 23 (or around that date) and got my EAD in the middle of August.

I started interviewing for jobs in July and just told them I was waiting for my EAD and they gave me the offer as soon as I had the card in my hand. Not every employer will do that, but can't hurt to apply and ask.

Have you looked into the application process and the license you need to teach in the state of CA? I ask because I have a teacher friend here in NY and she actually got a new job at a different school and they actually hired her back in March. I onyl say this because you might be stressing yourself out over nothing if its already too late. And try not to worry about rushing to pay your student loans! I've been out of school for 5 years now and I'm JUST starting to chip away at loans!

You might also look into substitute teaching for the year once you do get your EAD to get your foot in the door!

Good luck!

I know what you mean about it already being too late. They do generally do re-hires and "older" teacher hiring earlier in the year. I'm a new teacher, and just got my license (well, it's actually on it's way!), so I couldn't be hired as early as others. I believe in general, new hires can get called as late as late August (that's what I've heard anyway!).

I have to write the CBEST to teach in CA... basically just to ensure the state of CA that I'm not a total dunce. But all teachers here have to take it, so it's not an out of state thing.

I'm definitely going to look into subbing while I look for a full time job. Anything to get my name out there

We'll probably begrudgingly wait until we get our marriage certificate. Dang LA county.

Just wanted to butt in and say goodluck and congrats! Hope you can find a way to get it on sooner.. I too need my GC by the fall season and I am crossing my fingers to get it by then (need the GC to enroll for grad school which I got accepted to)

Best of luck!

It's hardly butting in Thanks! Good luck to you, too!

Ahh, lame about the wait. Well, let's say you send in the AOS without the marriage cert. They would send you an RFE, as you know. The RFE has a deadline, so if the deadline was 30 days, and you were still waiting the 6 weeks, then you might miss the deadline and they would deny the AOS (maybe the timing would work out, but you never know). The other possibility is that they would reject the package outright and send it back to you.

Good point. I hadn't thought of that.. but let's be realistic. They took 5 months to look at our 129-F, so I doubt they would be ready to adjudicate AOS in less than 6 weeks! Still, maybe better to hold off for a couple weeks. Thanks for that, I really didn't think about it!

Marriage license won't work. Member JimvaPhuong got married in California and got his cert right away, from what I remember from his posts. Try calling the country clerk office and see what you can do to expedite? Offer to walk stuff around to their offices? Hopefully someone with first hand experience will post.

If I recall, JVP lives in Northern California. I'm in SoCal, specifically LA County. I talked to the county clerk at their office, and asked what I could do to get it quicker - if we waited, etc, but there was nothing. She said we just had to wait.

And I realize USCIS will not accept my marriage license as the same as a certified marriage certificate.. my question was essentially if anyone has sent in their AOS package without the certified certificate and basically just waited for the RFE... therefore, not wasting the 6 weeks.

So I made the big move on April 30th. That in itself is a sorrid tale. Let me highly recommend if you plan to enter the US through Toronto Pearson, leave A LOT of time between flights. I had a 3.5 hour connection and legitimately almost missed my flight. I had to wait almost an hour just to see a Pre-Clearance officer, who directed me to Secondary (as I knew would be the case)... however, I did not expect there to be 4.8 million other people in there for various reasons. The man who "greeted" me was rude - "Give me your stuff. We might get to you today."... me - "Umm.. really? Are you serious?"... "Yup. All these people are in front of you."... "Oh, okay.. so what happens when I miss my flight?"... "that's too bad for you and you get the next flight".... "Okay, thanks.... *secretly burst into tears in the corner*"..... Alas, he was not kidding, and I just barely made it to my gate on time, after crying to a security guy and convincing him to let me jump the line, and these nice flight attendants making people let me go first, haha... I think the wedding dress helped convince them. Anyway!

We got married on Friday in a quiet civil ceremony with just us a couple witnesses. We're planning our actual wedding for Christmas.

I was hoping to file for my AOS this week, but it turns out there's a 6 week wait in California for certified marriage certificates. I asked if we could get a copy on the spot, and we couldn't.

We DO have a copy of our marriage license with our witnesses signatures and the JP's signature.. I know it's not the real deal, but I was thinking about sending in our AOS package with that, and then waiting for the RFE for the actual certified copy of the certificate. Has anyone does this, just to basically get their foot in the door? Do you think our package will just be sent back from the get-go because it isn't complete?

Normally, I'd just wait it out... but I am hoping to get hired by a school board for September, and those 6 weeks could cost me a job, and with $50K in student debt, I really can't afford to not work. My husband makes a comfortable salary, but I'd like to pay off my debt sooner than later.

Any suggestions?

Thanks, everyone! I might just take gravol before my flight to knock me out so I don't have to deal with the pain.

I'm too happy celebrating my degree & moving to worry too much about it!!

Yay, congratulations on the B.Ed!

I see from your timeline your move is in a few days, good luck, safe travels and I hope your sinus infection clears up.

Thanks, OBX! I have allergies and pollen is starting to be in the air - tis the season of sinus infections I just hope it clears up quickly; I hate the feeling of an exploding face during a flight, haha...

I finished my B.Ed today

.... but also have a nasty sinus infection, and my antibiotics are making me sick to my stomach.

Bringing the pills over yourself is no problem. When I was travelling back and forth between Canada & the US often, I always had multiple prescriptions for BC, allergies, etc. It was never a problem.

The only problem I could think of regarding your plan is that if security or Immigration decides to search your friend's bag and finds pills with a different name on them than the passenger, it may be a problem. It was my understanding that all prescription medication that goes through the airport must be in the original container with the patient's name and info on it. Just a thought.

Maybe someone else has experience with bringing over someone else's prescriptions?

Try calling and leaving another voicemail. As GLo said, it's very strange, as they generally call back quite promptly. Made your message got lost. I would just try again

I would check out how long it will take to get one from the RCMP in the GTA. I know a few friends I go to school with waited months to get theirs back. Just a heads up

Did your fiance apply for the extension of her B2 BEFORE she was out of status, before her i-94 expired? So... let's say her i-94 expired April 30th... did she apply for the extension before April 30th, and was subsequently denied and denied again on appeal, then ended up staying 90 days past April 30th?

If she applied before her i-94 expired, she should be okay. Even if she didn't, she should be okay. I applied for an extension (I believe it's i-512?) before my i-94 expired, and even though it was denied, there was no problems at my interview. The issue didn't even come up. I was told (by a reputable member of VJ) that I technically overstayed from the time my i-94 expired until I left, even though I was "in status" while my application was being reviewed. Basically, since they denied my extension, the days I was in the country beyond the date on my i-94 was a retroactive overstay. I accumulated about 60 days, which is less than the number of days it takes to incur a ban, so really, it was a non-issue.

As for your fiance's being denied entry... canadian_wife gave good advice. If she was allowed to withdraw her application, then she should be fine. No immigration charges were brought against her.

Good luck to you both!

N/A (not applicable)implies the question does not apply to you or whoever is filling out the form. That is generally not the case, since the questions are intended for everyone to answer.

None implies just that, none.

For example, if your fiance answered, N/A to "Names of Previous Spouses", that would imply the question is not applicable to him, when it is. Answering "none" is more appropriate, as that tells he has had no previous spouses.

It's really just semantics and I'm sure there are some COs who are picky enough to require None over N/A.

For the i-134, as Coconuts pointed out, they are really interested in the actual financial info. You could in theory have a problem, but probably won't.

Good luck!

I thought it was a bit foolish when I read the directions too, but in the end, we just copied both sides and wrote "back side of Naturalization Cert. (blank)" on the blank copy and stapled it to the front side. Just a suggestion

This new scheduling online thing is changing a lot of stuff.... when I booked my K-1 interview online, it was back in November when the system was still new, so I didn't have to pay, but from what I hear, the system won't let you schedule now unless you pay.

And, it is reasonably common to have your AOS approved without an interview It's probably greater than a 50% chance, but it's not 100% sure you'll have an interview!

K-1 is just the $350.

Thank you, sorry im just so anxious for this as i have my life on hold for this package.

Everyone here has put their life on hold in some way or another for this process, so don't apologize. Feeling anxious is normal! Let me know if you get your waybill number today

It will happen soon!

The UK address would be fine. I live away for university, and on the forms, put my parent's address, as that's my "permanent address" and on the forms that required CURRENT residence, I put my school address. All the CO asked me at the interview was if I was currently living at my parent's house, and I confirmed no, that was just my permanent address, but I was still living where I had stated. My fiance even put my parent's address on the i-134. It really was not a big deal.

Good luck!