tooduhri

OK. Am I the only one confused about this? OP states: "Last June i was on the road traveling with my wife from Texas to California. i had to pass by two Border Patrol check points in Texas and in New Mexico". Last time I had was in a Geography Class, a trip from Texas to California does not take you outside the USA. - hence no borders to cross... How can you have a "Border Patrol Check Point" when you are not crossing the Border? Sorry if the question is dumb, but I don't get it....

Samby

there are several interior checkpoints. You can read about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Border_Patrol_Interior_Checkpoints

takes 2-3weeks.

1. This form is NOT to be filled out in all capital letters correct?

Correct. Capitalize the last name.

WASHINGTON George

2. I can not fit my city and country of birth in the space provided, that means I need to leave it blank, and attach an extra page right? Do I just type up the question and the answer on the extra page and print it out, then attach behind the form?

write: see attached and attach an extra page. Yes, type the question and answer but do not forget to sign and date on the extra page.

3. How strict are they about the months you put that you lived at your different addresses and worked your different jobs? My husband and I are sure we have the months pretty much correct, but a couple may be a month off. It is really hard to remember all dates as he moved and changed jobs quite often. We don't have much documentation about the specific time periods of his jobs, as he was illegally in the United States. If put down what we honestly think is correct, and it turns out to be a little off, will that be a problem?

Write to your best knowledge -- if he worked in US illegally, this is a problem. I'd say consult a lawyer.

4. It asks for the employers name, is that specifically the person who hired him (which we don't know), or just the name of the company he worked for?

The company.

wow, i can't believe two already have posted answers as I was posting mine.. pretty fast

It is written on your visa or green card. But on your visa it does not start with an A.

only the CO can decide whether what you provide is sufficient. It seems like you have prepared well, but even a lawyer can't tell you if the document is sufficient to get you a visa.

this link explains pretty well: http://newzealand.usembassy.gov/qualify.html

If you are moving to NZ after August 14 this year, it seems like you are out of luck.

See below:

I-130 Petitions – filing for immediate relatives:

After August 14, 2011 Consular posts abroad are no longer authorized to accept I-130 petitions for spouses / immediate relatives, for immigrant visa classification, from American citizens residing abroad. ALL Petitions must be filed in the U.S. at the USCIS Chicago Lock Box. Please check the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service website at www.uscis.gov for full instructions.

Consular Processing

Up until August 14, U.S. citizens residing in New Zealand may still file the I-130 petition in person, accompanied by spouse, at the Consulate General in Auckland. You can request forms and instructions for by calling U.S. Visa Information Service 0900USVISA (0900 878 472), or emailing the Consulate General in Auckland at AucklandIV@state.gov.

NOTE: To demonstrate residency in a consular district the American Citizen petitioners must be able to show that they have permission to reside in the consular district and that they have been doing so continuously for at least six months before filing the petition. Individuals who are in the country on a temporary status such as student would NOT be considered to meet the residency standard.

If you've been married for five years and have two kids, chances are the consular will not be interested in seeing multiple albums. I would put together one album that sorta tells the story of you two together. Have a pic that shows how you spent time before you got married, your wedding photos, new born babies, family visits, vacations, and now.

you can also put together 10 good emails or so but no need to be hauling 100000 pages to the embassy.

At the POE, your wife needs to tell the CBP officer that she would like to make change of address. He might ask you why this was not taken care of prior to the POE but all she has to say is she tried but no action was taken by the NVC or the embassy. You don't need to worry too much about the POE but don't say things like.. oh, i am only going to be here for 2 or 3 weeks and go back to my country for 2-3 years..

My friend had to hire a lawyer for a case like this. They had a successful AOS but that does not mean it would be the same for other cases. It took them a while to find a lawyer who would take their case though.

my wife went for her visa interview a few hours ago and we got pink. i was worry sick that she may not pass so i drank for the whole night, then passed out . she just call me on the phone,woke me up and told me she passed. dang , all that drinking probally paid off lol. now i need to figure out how to get her through the airports and what type of paperworks to fill out when she here in the usa,we are cr1 case. she is on her way home now, as soon as she get home and calm down a bit i will post all the questions that they ask her on here for you guys to see . soo many pinks lately, i wonder some thing must be wrong at the us consulate in saigon.

Congrats!!! There isn't much more to do when she arrives in US. When she makes it to a POE, an CBP officer will do some paperwork him or herself and ask her for a signature and finger print (right index finger.) Then, you wait and wait. He will ask questions like "how long ago have you been married" to see if you are qualified for IR-1 instead of CR-1. If your address has changed, make sure to have your wife tell him that she would like to make change of address; this is very important since that would be the address to where the green card will be shipped. He might ask some questions like do you have a job yet? do you know you need to petition to remove the condition? he will explain that the visa with an entry stamp is now a temporary I-551 and she can work and travel back and forth to US with it for one year and blah blah blah. To make a long story short, allow somewhere between one hour to two hours for this process - for example, when I arrived, we only had three new PRs, and it took us an 1 1/2 hour to be done.

Once she makes it thru that, all you have to do is just to wait for her green card and social security card to arrive. Once she gets a SSN, she can work and apply for a DL and all that. If you don't want to wait, you can always go knock on SSA. If she already has a SSN, you will have to visit SSA and ask for a corrected social security card with an updated status.

Are you still enjoying your hangover?

the expiration date they give you on the visa is the day your medical exam result expires which is usually six months.

You should apply to have your GC replaced with the permanent one. USCIS might detect this and send you a notice before you take an action, but I wouldn't wait on them.

mine never changed.. haha.. the online status is totally wicked.

DS230 along with all documents you've submitted to USCIS and NVC get enclosed in an envelope, and this envelope is given to you with your passport and visa. They also let you know that you shouldn't open that envelope since it should only be open by a CBP officer at a POE. Hence, I urge you to call the embassy and explain your situation to find out what the heck just happened. It could be that the consular made a mistake.

many people have succeeded though. make sure she has enough documents with her to make a strong case that shows she's going back to her country. just for your information, the consulate or embassy cancels any active non-immigrant visa upon issuing you a new immigrant visa. they give you a big fat "canceled" stamp on that visa. I almost got a heart attack because I thought they put that stamp on my CR-1

you will have to talk to the customer rep of that site you are trying to book your tickets on. with an immigrant visa, you DO NOT need proof of return travel.

SFO has a separate line for new PRs. Even if you are accompanied by a USC, you will be asked to go to the line (that's happened to the couple who stood in line behind me.) Of course, USC can choose to go claim bags and wait outside if desired.

don't waste your time on I129F. Even if somehow I129F gets you or your spouse to US one or two months faster (that's if that), you will have to go through AOS and it is just not worth it.

read the NVC process below and be prepared for "the day"

http://www.visajourney.com/wiki/index.php/How_Do_I_Bring_My_Spouse_%28Husband_or_Wife%29_to_Live_in_the_United_States%3F

I hear it takes months to get the police certificate in some countries. If you belong to this category, you should get on it

well, it took me about one and half hour to go through the process, and your husband will have to deal with the cat going through the custom inspection. other than the amount of time he will have to spend at the airport, I don't really see what difference it would make.

CR-1 for sure. Your wife's CR-1 visa will be a temporarily green care immediately after a CBP officer admits her to USA. She will get the real plastic green card a few weeks after her entering US. If your wife arrives in US with a K-1, you will have to go through adjustment of status and this alone costs somewhere around $1,000.

I send all correspondence with NVC in USPS flat rate priority mail envelopes... they are only $4.95 and you can add delivery confirmation for 70 cents. Each time I've done this, the NVC has received the envelope 2 days later, and that's from west coast to east coast. I don't see any reason to spend $20 on express mail unless that one day makes a huge difference to you.

Then again, this is assuming you are mailing from the US. My husband sent in the IV package from France and he sprung for very expensive service because it was the only way to guarantee delivery within a few days.

Hope this helps.

I totally agree with this post.

we sent in one year only as well and had no problem, but we also sent in pay stubs, and employment verification.

Yes, you can. You will have to prove a strong tie to your home country. Bring everything that proves it.

Did you mark on the DS-230 that you wanted the SSA to send you a card? That's what my husband did. I will make sure to tell him about this if he doesn't receive his green card soon after arriving in the U.S. Thanks for the info!

Of course I marked the box on the DS-230. I even told the SSA person that I did this. The person who was helping me basically told me that the SSA would not send a new card to me unless I asked for a corrected card, and it was also my responsibility to update my status in US.

But technically, I would think the SSA would be upset if you were to go on a payroll and pay taxes because they are not the ones who enforce the immigration law. However, it is always safe to do the right thing.