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Cuatal posted:I also thought the requirements stated somewhere you must provide evidence that the translator is competent to translate, which if that's the case pretty much narrows it down to me out of everyone I know. pre:Certification by Translator
I __________________, certify that I am fluent in the English and ________ languages,
and that the attached document is an accurate translation of the document
attached entitled ______________________________.
Signature_________________________________
Date Typed Name
Address
quote:If I wanted to just get some random person that knows how to say ni hao to say they translated stuff that I already translated, would they just write that "I <name> certify that I am fluent in English and etcetcetc" and then stick that on there? Seriously, if you absolutely can't find anyone to help you with this (does none of her family speak English? Did you not make any English/Chinese speaking friends in China? You can do this by mail, you know) then just pay someone. At $27 a page (and I bet you can find lower, that was literally my first hit) this is peanuts compared to your filing fees and other costs. Edit: Haha, I just remembered that you are the guy filing an adjustment off a B entry. Seriously, do you really want to give an officer any reason to take another look at your case and risk cracking open a question of intent? Ashcans fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Jan 22, 2014 |
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Jan 22, 2014 19:49
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I paperclip everything together, but you can staple it as well. I actually staple specific things like checks (to the form) and it's fine. I wouldn't paperclip photos though, because the metal can drag on the photo and scratch it up during transit/removal; put them in an envelope or I guess use those plasticized clips so as not to risk it. We use special clear envelopes that we buy in bulk, so it's not really a solution for you. Here is One Crazy Fact USCIS Doesn't Want You to Know!! (except they actually do) - when your application is received by USCIS, before it is ever seen by an officer or anyone who is actually employed by DHS, it is opened by a third-party contractor who takes the whole thing apart and re-arranges it into a specific order, and then feeds it into a document scanner. Most of the time the officer only actually reviews this electronic version, and the physical file is only pulled for final tasks/when the copy sucks. What does this mean? Make your application packet contractor and scanner friendly. Don't put it in a ring binder or use prong fasteners, because you are just making work for the dude. Don't do anything to the forms that makes it hard to feed them into a scanner. Double-siding is generally ok, but try to be consistent because I think having one double-sided document in a single-sided packet can trip people up. Mostly it's important to make sure that your application is held together somehow and not just stuffed loose into the envelope - if something falls out/gets stuck in the envelope, it's not like the officer is going to be able to pull open their trash can to check; its lost to the mail room and they'll have to RFE you for it.
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Jan 29, 2014 17:17
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There is really no downside to including both, but just one of them is fine. Most of the time I end up using a passport because lots of people have no idea where their actual birth certificate is, and have just been renewing their passports from previous passports for years.
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Jan 30, 2014 19:02
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That's a pretty broad question. Make sure you carry some cash - you can't pay the application fee by card (at least not everywhere). Make sure you have all your documentation in order, including a copy of your degree/license/etc. and a resume. Remember that TN is not an immigrant-intent status, so you should be intending to return to Canada at the end of your employment period and not spending the rest of your life in the US. People forget that because the TN is not time-limited, and it can make a nasty problem.
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Feb 1, 2014 05:03
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Yea, the non-time-limited statuses like Es and TNs can be nice, but they often lure people into being complacent and not really thinking about their situation much beyond the next renewal. Which can result in stuff like, as you mentioned, their kids ending up getting screwed out of options. I have also seen really unfortunate situations where someone has been in TN for ages, and then one crossing the officer asks a couple questions and suddenly they're denied entry for immigrant intent and they have no idea what the gently caress (half the time they didn't even realize that was a restriction on TNs and now they have a house and a mortgage and god knows what else) The worst is when something like that happens and the person freaks out, and hits half a dozen different entries trying to get back to the US. Then they get flagged for entry shopping as well, guaranteeing that whatever they try to do is going to get maximum scrutiny. 
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Feb 1, 2014 21:33
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Clochette posted:After I sent in the I-130 I received an I-797C Notice of Action, but that's the most recent paperwork I've received from them. According to the USCIS website the case status is still in Initial Review. And everyone said that it would go fast because he's white and British. A couple things here. First, the USCIS case tracking thing is kind of crappy, it generally jumps straight from 'Initial Review' to 'Decision' the day your case is determined. It shows a bunch of steps that either won't apply to all cases or never actually get triggered. Don't worry about it. Second, you can check the current USCIS processing times here. I-130s are in some sort of backlog right now, it looks like they're still processing cases filed in March 2013. So no one is even looking at your stuff yet. You can keep an eye on those dates to spot when you're actually getting worked on (more or less). Lastly, being British and white helps some, but almost nothing gets you bumped up the timeline. It just means that when your time comes the officer won't bitch about birth certificates and whatever. (Sidenote: Indians and Chinese get a lot of heat in employment petitions, not so much on adjustments. The people that really get burned are west africans.) C-Euro posted:In a perfect world I would be proposing on our anniversary this fall, but is there anything I can start reading or paperwork I can start working through in order to get a head start on that specific kind of immigration process? In terms of getting ahead, you are going to need things like birth certificates and medical records. It's a good thing to look into this in advance. You don't want to get married, start getting ready to file, and then realize you need a copy of a certificate that's going to take months to get a hold of. Same for vaccination records, if you don't have them you end up having to get a ton of pricks you might have already had. Edit: Oh, and pull up the G-325A and take a look at it - you're going to need to provide five years of residential addresses and work history, so you might want to make sure you can do that, and start digging for info if you aren't sure.
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Feb 2, 2014 05:12
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Powerlurker posted:Do the ceremony here, get her green card and then do the ceremony over there. I wouldn't recommend making any plans for over there until you have either her green card or advance parole card in had. Apparently, Adjustment of Status cases are taking longer nowadays but when my wife and I went through this we didn't get her work authorization card until after her green card interview (when it didn't matter anymore). This is all solid advice, don't make big plans overseas until your US stuff is set. Also, you should be getting work/travel authorization in 45-60 days at the moment. USCIS is issuing them as a combined document now, which is nice. Clochette posted:Thanks! I recently read this article and I was kind of bummed that they have such a backlog.
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Feb 2, 2014 21:48
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Who is 'The HR guy at work'? If that is the company's in-house immigration attorney, you should probably listen to them because they are not going to yank your chain for no reason. If it is just the person that pushes your papers to an attorney, eh, ask the attorney that is handling your case? If there is no attorney and this is all done by some HR dude with no actual training, how much do they really know? Re-entering is very likely to actually mess up your H-1B petition. What is more likely to happen is that you could run into issues with your new ESTA entry if the immigration officer sees you have pending casework and gets confused/doesn't like it. CBP generally hates anything they see as an abuse of ESTA, and once you get kicked on that you can never use it again. And yes, that could complicate your future entry in H-1B, although probably not completely derail it. Here is another option for you - when your H-1B comes through, it will be valid for October 1. But you are allowed to enter ten days before that date using your H-1B, even though you won't be able to work. The idea here is that you probably need time to get set up before you start working. So you could always come in on September 21st and do vacation-y stuff for a week before starting your work. No issues with entry or anything.
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Mar 24, 2014 21:29
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JOHN SKELETON posted:Thanks for the feedback. There is really no reason for this HR guy to be go-betweening with the lawyer. If you have the lawyers contact information, you should be able to reach out to them directly and have a conversation about this so that you can understand what is really being said with some crappy game of telephone. We do this all the time, because it is much easier to just talk to someone than run everything through an HR contact/filter. Only the sketchiest of companies don't want their employees speaking directly to immigration attorneys.
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Mar 25, 2014 14:40
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From a US immigration perspective, there is no issue with you going to visit your fiance in the UK. You can travel wherever you want and it's no issue. The only risk is if your fiance attempts to visit the US - the concern there is that the immigration officer might doubt whether they are really just visiting, or plan to enter on the waiver and then try and arrange a permanent situation (which they disapprove of). The sort of visiting you are talking about isn't prohibited, but the fact that you're engaged and immigration is already under consideration makes it harder to convince people of the 'non-immigrant intent' that is required to enter as a visitor. Unless there is a compelling reason for them to come to the US, I would stick to visiting them in the UK while the process is underway.
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Mar 30, 2014 20:15
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My immediate reaction to that is that you may have filed the previous version of the form, which was outdated. When did you file, and where did you get the form? If you started putting stuff together well in advance, or pulled the form from somewhere besides the official site, it's possible you had an older version. Do you have a copy? If so, pull that out and check to make sure it matches this one. If you are sure you used the current version, there are a couple possibilities. One is that the I-864 was lost in handling, and the officer knows it's easier to ask you for another one than try and deal with that mess (this has gotten less common but still happens). The other option is that there was something weird in your documentation, and it just confused someone. It sounds like you were out of the country for the prior period, so you don't have actual tax returns. Did you include an explanation for it? Also, they might be concerned that you are leaving your foreign position to return to the US and aren't sure about your income here. Do you have a position here that you can document? USCIS RFEs are terrible, because they are almost always some stock language generated by the officer hitting a code, so they never tell you what the specific issue is. Instead you are left wondering if the officer is completely incompetent, or if there is some subtle problem you are totally missing.
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Mar 31, 2014 16:37
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I'd love to help you, but this isn't really an immigration question at all. What the immigration service/process considers your residence has basically no impact at all on what you might consider for your tax reasons or other benefits. Immigration is all federal law, so claiming a specific state over another basically has no meaning. I would recommend that you speak to a tax attorney or someone who specializes in military matters. I know you said you spoke to a military lawyer, but it might be worth looking around for another one - it's not like marrying abroad is that unusual for military families, someone must have encountered that before.
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Apr 15, 2014 05:09
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Just to note, there are also a generic legal questions thread and a tax thread that you might want to look in on. I think that your question might end up being a little too specific and detailed for people to throw answers at you (especially the legal thread) but people might be able to give you some pointers or possibly where to look for an attorney.
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Apr 15, 2014 14:24
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I have read your post maybe four times and I am honestly not really sure how to begin to respond because I feel like I have to go back to the groundwork of immigration to even begin. Ugh, ok, short answer: EB-2 gets you a green card. An H-1B, by itself, never gets you to the green card stage. Almost everyone who is getting a green card in the US uses the H-1B or a similar working visa class as a stepping stone while they are getting through the whole permanent residence process. Basically, even if you have a company that is ready to sponsor you, getting through the EB-2 process takes about a year, and during that time you have no basis to enter or work in the US. The company has to do all this work and pay a good deal of money while you sit on your duff in the UK. You can guess that there aren't really too many places willing to do this. What almost always happens is that the company hires someone on an H-1B (or other work visa) allowing them to enter and work much more readily. They work for the company for a while, and then the company can decide if they are worth sponsoring. If so, the worker gets to stay in the US and keep working using the H-1B while the whole EB-2 process is ticking over. If not, well, people end up burning up their six years of H-1B time and have to leave the US. Almost all employers prefer to start people on H-1Bs because this gets them working immediately, and allows them to evaluate workers before making any large/long term commitments like the EB-2.
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Apr 15, 2014 20:24
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Arachnamus posted:Thanks for the insight into the employer mindset, though, they're all fair points even if I'm willing to take most of the cost on myself. Just so you know, there are restrictions on what an employee can pay for in the process. Most notably, you can't pay for anything in the PERM - all the costs of recruitment and preparation need to be carried by the employer. That can be significant in a metro area (required advertising for us regularly runs to a couple thousand dollars) and it only gets higher if they need an attorney. And really, they probably want an attorney, because it is ridiculously easy to mess up a PERM application or fail the audit for lovely, non-substantive reasons.
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Apr 15, 2014 21:03
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If you anticipate needing to leave the US for an extended period of time and want to protect your status as a Permanent Resident, you can file form I-131 requesting a Reentry Permit. It's good for two years, and during that time it basically allows you to bypass the travel/residency requirements of being in the US. The first permit is generally trivial to get, and you can extend it for an additional two years, and then continually in one-year increments, but the more time you try to get the greater chance there is you will get pushback from USCIS about whether you are really intending to return. If you have a very clear reason (say you opted to go to college in another country and so you are going to be there fore four years) and a convincing argument for return (the rest of your family is still in the US, you're keeping up the trappings of residency) then you should be ok. You do not need this if you are taking a two or three month trip, unless you are taking so many of those trips you are spending the majority of the year outside the US. You will generally be fine if your trip is less than six months, but beyond that you may face additional questions and scrutiny for immigration when you re-enter. It isn't common for immigration to revoke someone's green card on re-entry unless they have done something like live outside the US for years without doing anything about it - if you make too many trips or a very long one, the officer will probably just caution you and tell you to get on the ball. If you keep screwing around, then you might see consequences. Of course, I also know of people who basically live outside the US for years, reentering two or three times a year for a couple weeks at a time, and never see any fallout from this. But it's not a really great strategy to rely on.
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Apr 16, 2014 14:20
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If you have an I-20, that means you are going to be applying for F-1 (student) status. What do you mean 'going to school while working'? F-1 status comes with very limited work authorization - it is generally limited to 20 hours a week on campus, unless you are participating in Curricular Practical Training during your course of study approved by the university. If the work you are wanting to do is a full-time gig or doesn't otherwise fit into the above, you should probably be considering applying as a TN based on the work, and then going to school as a plus. But that relies on the position being TN-eligible. What work is it?
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Apr 27, 2014 21:50
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If you are physically in the US and you are getting paid to do something, it is very likely that USCIS will interpret that as employment, even if it is technically something that you could be doing from anywhere and might have been doing before you came here. This is doubly true if any of those companies paying you are also in the US. Even if those companies are outside the US, it's not really an appropriate arrangement under a fiance visa. People can come to the US and do work in the US while being paid by a foreign company, but usually that relies on the trip to the US being part of your duties and is the province of a B visa (i.e,. your company is sending you here for meetings, training, installation, etc.) I mean, if someone is here to see Disney World and they happen to check their email and skype with their office (technically working) no one is actually going to care. But you are adjusting, and presumably have more invested in not loving up your immigration. Just wait for work authorization to come through, don't make yourself problems.
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Apr 29, 2014 14:51
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systran posted:Keep in mind that J-1 visas are not like H-1 visas in that employers can issue them; For the most part, only universities can issue them, but with some exceptions like Fulbright and some hospitals etc. I'll defer to you on most J-1 stuff because it's not a category I work with a lot, but I do want to note that there are also sponsorship organizations that basically mediate between applicants and hosts - essentially, they will vet a position with a company and if they feel like it's legitimate for the J-1, they'll issue all the documents for it. Here is an example. But yes, this is supposed to be for something like bringing in an international intern for them to learn about America and for you to learn about their culture - it is not intended to displace American workers. So a position that is simple 'please come take this job on the cheap' will only fly with a shady sponsorship organization. If the employer is serious they should look up a lawyer. We consult with business clients basically for free on the understanding that doing that makes it much more likely to bring their additional business to us - we especially don't charge people if all we can do is tell them they're boned.
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May 3, 2014 04:15
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So the only thing killing the DV lottery that I am aware of is the SKILL Act - I believe it's just another variation of the act that has been around for several years and fails to get off the ground. If that's not what you mean, I'd appreciate a link or something. Personally, I don't really expect the lottery to go anywhere until congress is prepared to take some sort of action on immigration in general, and so far that has been totally dead in the water - it's one of the areas where lots of different interests converge oddly and no one can seem to come to terms with it. In particular its a nightmare for the current republican party because the ideological fringe basically wants to deport everyone, while the business interested variety would like some reasonable reform - and people paying attention to the world realize that going crazy is a great way to alienate tons of voters. Assuming the DV was just killed though, the only options remaining would be basically through family, through work, or through humanitarian relief (asylum and refugee). Family is more than just a spouse, and you do not have to be 'super skilled' to get in on work - I have handled immigration cases for auto mechanics and cooks. What those do require, though, is companies that are really committed to bringing you in.
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May 4, 2014 02:16
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flavor posted:Wouldn't it rather be this? It passed the senate last year. Thats the comprehensive reform bill (I think), and the general opinion from people is that it is dead in the water because it's not getting out of the house without republicans on board and none of them want to touch it because immigration is one of the things that explodes into a civil war for them. I mean, I want to make it clear I am not a policy person and it's not like I have any particular insight into what congress will do, but a full overhaul of immigration is a huge undertaking and this just doesn't seem like the congress that's going to get poo poo done. They can't even up the H-1B cap, which is pretty low-grade stuff as immigration goes. Also: Crane posted:Hi, I'm Canadian but lived in the States when I was a kid under my parents work visas which we had to renew once a year at the border. If you want to know about the spouse-based process, this is a bare-bones primer. There are also tons of websites with people taking about this and I know a number of other readers in this thread have done it personally so I am sure they can chime in. But please read up on the process first. Regarding dual citizenship, read this. The US doesn't have specific provisions for dual nationality that some countries do, but recognizes that it is a thing and doesn't make citizens surrender their prior citizenship. Many people hold dual citizenship without any issue. quote:I am also Metis. I have never dealt with this before and honestly I was surprised to find out it exists. How about that. The best information page I can find on it is this one with the US Embassy in Canada, which I guess you should read. Notably it says that you have to be 50% American Indian - it also mentions restrictions on Metis, but I do not know enough about the whole thing to say whether that means you qualify. quote:However 16 years ago I had a Sacramento Immigration officer throw out my application for upgrading my Visa to a Permanent one so I could go to school/get a loan/continue to live in the US. He said that he personally doesn't recognize the Jay Treaty. A clerk was going to pass me, but needed a supervisor signature and the supervisor shut it down. Awesome quotes "What right do you have to be in my country?" The fact that you have had your permanent residence denied previously may be an issue and if you want to pursue immigration to the US you should probably consult an attorney to try and work out what happened and if it will cause you problems in the future. The officer would have had to enter some sort of justification for a denial, which could create prejudice.
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May 5, 2014 22:04
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You know it's funny, because I remember doing exactly that same thing when I came to the US so many years ago. I was going to be starting university in the fall, but I came into the country in the summer with my family so that we could have a vacation and they could help me get situated before school. I remember that we basically just explained it to the officer and he admitted me in F-1 status like two months early with no fuss. Please note I am not suggesting that you try this - I did it pre-9/11, in days when I was able to get my student visa by having a courier drop off the application at the embassy and then pick it up later that day. How much stuff has changed.
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May 9, 2014 21:50
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Spike McAwesome posted:telling them that your boyfriend is currently in the states (especially if he's a US citizen - they'll automatically assume you're just trying to marry him for a green card)... all of this just spells trouble. Just something I feel inclined to bring up - you never need to volunteer information to the consulate or border agent. Answer their questions, obviously, but there is no reason to throw your whole life story on the table, and doing so can often be counterproductive. I mean, you can bet that a substantial number of people coming to the US as students are planning on getting into relationships (not for immigration reasons, but because that is something a lot of people do in university) but if you say 'I am coming to study and also date many hot Americans and maybe form lasting relationships!' you are opening the door to questions. The flip side of this is that if you care about your long-term immigration, do not lie to anyone either. If they specifically ask you about family, tell the truth about it. Lying to try to derive a benefit is one of the handful of things that will totally gently caress you forever.
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May 11, 2014 03:22
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bokbok posted:He owns property, one of which has a tenant in that pays rent which is enough for him to live off. He also has a lot of accessible money in savings. If he has zero income on his last tax return, will we run into trouble at the interview? Which one is it? How does he have zero income on his tax return if he makes enough on rents to live off of? (Hint: rental income is still income, and if he has been omitting it from his tax returns he probably has a nice big tax problem to unravel - and revealing that he has been cheating his taxes will not endear your application to anyone) quote:From what I can find, it seems like people need to meet an income of 125% of poverty guidelines for a 2 person household; which is $19,662. I don't really know what that means. Is that what people can live off annually in the US? quote:How much savings would my fiance need for them to just not even care about his assets/income? Note that this is the minimum required; it doesn't free you from questions. If he puts down that he has enough assets to support you for five years if he sells his home, you can expect someone to ask what the long term plan - what happens now that you don't have a home, or once that money dries up? The more you can show the better, and documenting income is important even if it doesn't reach the level required - you only need to show 5x the different between income and 125% poverty.
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May 16, 2014 03:50
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bokbok posted:Any chance with that in mind that they would be lenient on the $100,000? If we had $80,000? Super strict on the numbers? I might email the embassy on that one since it's pretty specific. I would not expect them to be lenient. The numbers that they give you are not a guide, those are the rock bottom below which you can be denied out of hand. If you make $20,000 a year and are technically in the clear, the officer can still say 'Hey I notice that you are going to be living in Los Angeles, I don't think you have enough income and want to know how you realistically plan to support yourself' and then you'll have to address that question to their satisfaction. A consular officer has basically unlimited authority to ask you questions and to press you on your application, and there is almost no grounds for reconsideration or appeal of a consular opinion (USCIS can also really turn the screws, but you at least have avenues of appeal if you are denied. Consulates basically get to say 'lol nope'). If you do not have the money, find a co-sponsor. Do not go into this planning to throw yourself on the mercy of an officer, because there is an 100% chance they have denied someone with a much better sob story than you and will have no heartache about canning you. Pikestaff posted:Ugh, this $19k point is the bane of my existence, because I make just slightly less. Just so this is clear, the target is the $19k, and if you don't have that, you can make it up by demonstrating assets equal to five times the shortfall. This means that if you make $18,000, you don't need to show assets worth $100k - you're only a little bit shy, so you could technically show assets of $5k ((19000-1800) * 5) and you would clear the hurdle. Of course, the above argument still holds - if your case looks pretty marginal you may face additional questions and scrutiny about it, and you want to try and make your position as robust as possible. The fact your dad has had a messy financial history doesn't bar him from being a co-sponsor; although it depends on what issues he has with the IRS. If he co-sponsors he is going to need to supply tax returns, and if he hasn't been filing or something (or they look horrendous because he owes them tons of money) then it might seriously undermine his contribution. If he just has a bad history but has been in the clear/above board for a few years, it would likely be fine.
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May 16, 2014 20:47
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You should start somewhere like this page to try and get a grip on the process. Basically, once you are married, your spouse will need to file an I-130 petition. Unless you qualify for a special processing, it has to be filed with the USCIS lockbox in Chicago. They will adjudicate it, and once it is approved they will transfer the case to the National Visa Center, which will want you to submit a bunch of documents before you can have your appointment at the consulate. Once you have your consular interview, you would get an immigrant visa stamp in your passport - you use this to enter the US as a permanent resident, and then in a couple weeks you get your conditional green card in the mail. Hooray. If you are getting married in October, moving to the US by February is really optimistic. Processing times change, but its currently taking 8 months to process I-130s. After that you still have to handle the NVC, which could easily be several more months. Realistically, you could be looking at a year of processing before you get to the US, although processing times might clear up.
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May 19, 2014 14:42
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Sharks Below posted:Do you mean that I have a consular interview here in Australia? Gosh. I'm pretty far from the consulate. Yes, you will have to visit the US consulate in Australia for an interview. There are basically no waivers for this unless you are really old (like over 80). It is possible that there are multiple interview locations and you wouldn't have to go to Canberra, but I don't know - this is one of the things your fiance(e) can check with the consulate. quote:The K3 visa seems like it would allow me to live in the USA while we wait for processing. My experience on using the K-3 has been pretty thin, and that link above explains why - historically, the processing of immigrant petitions has been such that you basically did not gain anything by filing it. Even now, with processing pushing toward 8 months, you may not shave much time on it. I have also heard that USCIS doesn't appreciate it because it essentially duplicates the function of the I-130, but that is kind of hearsay. quote:I take it that would have to be filed by my future husband while he is in the USA and I am not, as well? But that it wouldn't take long to process then I could join my husband in the USA while we wait for the I-130? 1- Get Married 2- File I-130 3- Get I-130 receipt notice (~2 weeks to Australia?) 4- File I-129F 5- Wait 6- 5 months later, I-129F is approved. Case is transferred to NVC. 7- NVC requests documents, you submit them for review 8- NVC approves your case for interview, transfers it to the consulate 9- Consulate schedules an interview 10- Interview at the consulate 11- Arrive in America 12- File for Adjustment of Status The reason this isn't popular is because even with processing times dragging, it's very possible that your I-130 will end up getting approved somewhere between 7-10; if that happens, they basically scrap your I-129F and convert it to the I-130 processing. In the past this might have caused delays when they changed over, but honestly they have gotten better on handling that stuff. At best, you end up saving yourself the difference in processing time between the petitions. In the past that was actually no time at all, and currently it's ~3 months; and you still wouldn't be in a position to travel in February. But these days filing the K-3 probably won't lose you anything, except the hassle of filing it. The other thing to consider is that if you end up entering on the K-3, you are not automatically given residency (as happens with the I-130) Instead you have to apply for adjustment, which is another application with another fee ($1070). If you are tight on cash from a move and this whole process, that might be a consideration.
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May 20, 2014 04:02
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nullscan posted:I feel silly for asking, but does that delay apply to the application of green card restriction removal? Wife's 2 year green card runs out this month and we sent the papers in back in February but haven't heard anything yet. Processing time for the I-751 is usually six months. What do you mean by 'haven't heard anything'? You should have gotten a receipt from USCIS within two weeks of filing your application with a receipt number - this is particularly important because in the case of the I-751, the receipt also provides an automatic one year extension to resident status. If you haven't gotten the receipt, you need to follow up and work out what happened to it. Check to make sure your filing fee check was cashed - if you can get a copy of the cashed check, USCIS will actually print your receipt number on the back, and you can use that to follow up and request another copy from the service center. If you have gotten the receipt you are fine, you just need to wait until August. An Cat Dubh posted:I always thought you had to be residing in the U.S. in order to file the I-130 (unless you are residing in a country abroad where there is a USCIS office. There are none in Australia). You have to include the U.S. address where you reside on the forms and that's where USCIS would send the receipt notice/approval notice/everything else. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want anything from USCIS sent to anyone but me, plus there is the issue of providing false/misleading information if you list the address of a friend or family member. Ashcans (sorry!) am I just talking out my rear end here? But yes, this means that you need to be comfortable getting your mail and stuff sent to you in Australia, and hoping that USCIS or the post doesn't screw that up. Fortunately mail to Australia isn't terrible, but you can imagine this is total poo poo when you are filing from many countries. This is one of the ways that a lawyer is useful - you would use their address for communication and not worry about it. Sharks Below posted:Sigh. And I guess we can't apply for a fiancé visa now (while we are engaged) because we are getting married in October and as such will not be fiancés anymore when the visa is finally processed Unfortunately you are kind of stuck unless you want to modify your plans. If you are willing to move around the date of your marriage, that could help with the situation - if you get married earlier, for instance, you can file the I-130 sooner and possibly have things squared up by February; if nothing else, it will reduce the separation time accordingly. There is nothing stopping you from having a legal marriage squared away in advance of your big ceremony, even - lots of people managing immigration constraints end up having multiple ceremonies to accommodate the logistics. This means weighing your immigration needs against your other priorities and beliefs - are you ok being technically married for several months before your big ceremony with friends/family? Yea, immigration processing bites, and it is a mostly heartless process. Most people do not realize that you need to start really looking at this stuff way, way ahead of your intent - I mean, we are talking about a move in almost a year, and you're finding out you're running late. I can't tell you the number of times someone has come in saying 'Oh, and we need this done in two weeks' and you have to let them know that its going to be six months and that USCIS doesn't give the slightest crap about how it messes up your life.
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May 20, 2014 16:27
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Edit: ^^ I would love to, the OP for this thread sucks, but the guy who started the thread abandoned it pretty much immediately. Maybe we should make a new thread with a useful OP. computer parts posted:poo poo sucks, I wish they'd just hire more people but there's probably some minimum wait time for processing I don't know about that would still make it like a 4 month wait. Double posting for this sidenote. USCIS basically does not have enough staff; they have set target processing times for each application, and shuffle around staff trying to get as much on target as possible. Inevitably this means that when one group of cases slows down badly, it's because they are trying to clear a backlog elsewhere. Right now I-130 processing sucks; it's almost certainly because USCIS had a flood of employment-based petitions over the winter due to some priority date quirks. They are also dealing with the H-1B cap petitions now, which have been processing very quickly - I assume they are trying to get them all cleared as quick as they can and then they'll rebalance their staffing again. The only time that we had almost all processing going smoothly was when the economy sucked and applications simply dropped sharply. As for hiring more people, USCIS is almost completely funded by the fees paid by applicants. They could triple their staff, if they wanted to, but it would mean raising all their fees to get the money for it, which would basically price some people out of immigration. It's kind of a crappy situation all around, with the only advantage being that USCIS didn't stop working when the government poo poo the bed in the fall. I do wish they would offer Premium Processing (pay for expediting) for more applications though. Although I don't think that they can offer that on I-130s - one of the reasons those always took a while is because information is shared out to security agencies for background checks. Any time you submit a G-325A, a copy of that is going out for background/crime checks, and USCIS has no control over how long that takes and limited ability to override them.
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May 20, 2014 16:41
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Maybe this will provide some clarity. If not, please try rephrasing your question more precisely. It is so vague as to be unanswerable.
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May 23, 2014 16:05
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nullscan posted:As a follow up, we sent the papers in April and just received the 10 year card yesterday. No receipt or correspondence until today either! This is old, but it's not unusual for a I-751 to be approved without an interview, as long as the couple is both signing the petition and still shows a semblance of a joined life. It's if the sponsor won't sign or something looks weird now that you get called in (there might be some random sampling too). I don't think being military could have hurt though! oishii posted:So, my OPT is ending in August, and it looks like I lost the H1-B lottery this year. Well, first of all this is kind of something that your attorney should be talking to you about. If they are terrible and your company agrees, feel free to find a new one that you find competent! What do you mean by an awful experience? Are we talking about typical immigration-is-lovely stuff, or are you getting grilled about a particular thing that keeps coming up? The advantage to filing a Change of Status is that USCIS is less likely to grill you on your immigrant intent, and if they have problems with your application they will issue an RFE that you can carefully respond to instead of grilling you when you are tired and confused and require immediate replies. Filing in the US is more expensive though, particularly because you are probably going to need to Premium Process to get an approval by August. Applying straight at the border is faster and simpler (assuming it works) and gets stuff done more easily. We only Change of Status people for TN when they can't travel or there is some particular issue we want to really control the dialogue on. Bear in mind that even with a USCIS approval, if you travel to Canada you are going to run that gauntlet at some point or another. Having an approval in hand might make it a little easier, but it comes back to what the nature of the hassle you are getting at the border is.
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Jun 16, 2014 22:20
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), and they suddenly now remembered that I could be eligible for a TN Visa (after I researched it and brought it up) I am now trying to scramble and apply for that.
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You should bring a copy of whatever you submitted to USCIS, in case they ask you for something you already sent (which happens). You should bring updated evidence of your relationship - current statements for a shared bank account, lease if that has changed, pictures taken of you guys since the original petition, sex tape (don't do this) etc. Make sure you have all your original status documents, like passport, copy of your I-94 from your last entry, I-20s and EAD, etc. You probably included copies of this when you filed the petition but having the originals is good too. If you relied on your income in any way to complete the I-864, then you should bring evidence of your employment, like recent paystubs. If the support was entirely from your husband, then it's not a bad idea to bring some current documentation of his income.
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Jul 1, 2014 14:52
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Miranda posted:I'm pretty sure it's all based on his income but I did just get hired as an RN, would it be any good to bring a copy of my contract if I have it? It's probably not worth setting anything up days before your appointment, no. Bring your contract if you are worried about it, it can't hurt to have it. Yes, you should print out photos - it helps if they are from obvious events or occasions or you can supply information/dates as needed ('oh, this is Fred's birthday', 'This is that Jets game we went to', 'Here is where we got wasted on the holiday weekend'). Photos are good because they are pretty hard to convincingly fake without a ton of effort. Beerdeer posted:From what I hear, adjudicating I-129Fs is a lot of fun.
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Jul 2, 2014 20:43
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It's not usually an issue, and as you can imagine it's hardly a rare situation for people to be in. In theory the officer would have access to her file and could check if they cared. Having said which, it's not a bad idea to carry a copy of the marriage certificate, just in case you get some rear end in a top hat officer who wants to make a thing about it. Disclaimer: This applies to the US standard of adopting the husband's last name. If she hyphenated, then it is basically no issue at all. If she is one of the small number of people that changed her entire name on marriage, that's very confusing to people and she should carry additional documentation (like the marriage certificate). For some countries, you can take your passport to the consulate and have them enter an addendum showing a married/alternate name.
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Jul 3, 2014 15:37
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tl;dr - Don't travel using your F-1. It is possible to travel while your I-485 is pending and re-enter using a visa without causing any problems, but only with certain visa classes. These classes are considered 'Dual Intent' visas - they are non-immigrant visas, but they allow an applicant to have an immigrant intent while using them. This means that it is ok to use, say, an H-1B visa while you are trying to gain permanent residency. The F-1 student visa is not a dual intent visa. It requires that you do not have immigrant intent, and using it you are making that assertion. As you have a pending I-485, it is obvious that this is not true, and it is extremely likely that when you tried to enter, the officer would flag you for the I-485 and deny you entry because you no longer demonstrate the required intent for using the F-1. And yea, then your I-485 would be abandoned, you would have to consular process, and the entry denial becomes a big headache for you. Don't do it unless this family trip is worth that. You can always contact USCIS and request that they expedite the I-131 because you have a pressing need to travel. They probably won't do anything, but it can't hurt you to try. Entry is handled by CBP, not by USCIS - the person you spoke to probably has very little basis for their answer beyond knowing what the basic requirements are for entering as an F-1. If this is really important to you, get a lawyer and see if they can do anything for you (they probably can't - as representatives we deal with these situations 99% by managing the filing date to avoid conflicts, once its filed its really hard to do anything within regular processing times)
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Jul 15, 2014 16:30
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Man, I am going to be a lot less helpful with those. Did you ask the cops if they did anything? I have no idea how they would make a report like that, so I doubt that it happened. Normally it is up to you to handle it. You could contact your country's embassy and ask them to verify if your passport is still valid, that might be an indicator? At a pinch, you could also try visiting a CBP post while still in the US, explain what happened, and ask them for their advice. A lot of the time you can access CBP at an airport without actually traveling (usually to fix I-94 information, but maybe they could answer this). I have never heard of a visa/passport being remotely canceled like that, so it seems really unlikely, but I don't want to tell you you are fine and have you get in trouble later. I don't think there are any alerts or watch lists revolving around Uzbekistan at the moment. You might face some questions about it on re-entry, so it would be a good idea to be able to explain exactly what you were doing and where you were. Take some pictures at the tourist sites, etc. None of your family are on watch lists, right? 
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Jul 16, 2014 17:13
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There is surprisingly little buzz on this at the moment, meaning that I don't really know any more than what is showing up in the news. From the breadth of the processes that it's affecting, it seems like something really fundamental has hosed up. From what I know about the process, I don't actually think that this will stop the NVC doing their job - they should still be able to do their document review and so on to get your application ready. But it probably means that they aren't going to be able to easily pass your application on to the State Department when they are done, if there is a huge backlog of people waiting for visa and passports. So what is likely is that the NVC will chug along fine, but if this isn't completely resolved when they're done, you'll be waiting for an appointment for much longer than expected. I imagine they are trying to get this fixed ASAP because not being able to renew passports or issue visa to anyone is a total nightmare. I feel bad for any students who are training to make it in for the end of August.
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Jul 28, 2014 14:35
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SEVIS is administered by DHS, the problem is with the DOS systems - so USCIS, ICE, CBP, should not be affected. The only thing that is going wrong seems to be passports, citizenship, and consular operations (visas, births abroad, etc). The DOS has issued some updates and a FAQ. It looks like they were trying to update their systems and the update not only screwed up their main database, but meant that they couldn't easily fall back to their backups. So they've been trying to work out what happened and get it fixed so they can at least get into the backups properly and keep work rolling. They say they are managing to issue visas and other documents, just moving at a reduced rate, and are prioritizing immigrant applicants at the moment. Anticipate several weeks before the lag and associated delays have blown over. It sounds like the problem is partly that they are using old system (because of course they are, who updaets government frameworks?) and the latest series of updates didn't sit well with their older software/hardware. Kind of a mess.
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Jul 31, 2014 16:08
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Sharks Below posted:Ashcans at what point do you think we should start getting worried about this? They've banked the check but no email (that's how we nominated to be sent our NOA1 but I don't know if they also post it in addition) yet and they received our application on the 14th. Wait a bit longer you think before panicking? I'm thinking about it, but I can't recall a time when they cashed the check and then subsequently managed to lose the case. I mean, it's always possible that your case will get hung up and delayed somewhere, but if they cash the check it pretty much always gets recorded and registered. Here's a thing - this works with USCIS but I can't recall if it works with NVC - pull up the copy of the cashed check from the bank. Often they actually stamp the back with the receipt information, so you can pull this off the copy (including the case number). Three weeks is kind of a long time to hear anything. You can try calling the NVC and talking to someone - they are usually more personable and communicative than USCIS, and even if you don't have the case number they should be able to look up the case using biographic info. It's possible that the NVC has been caught in this mess than isn't handling receipts at a normal pace, I guess, but I haven't seen them mentioned in releases.
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Aug 1, 2014 02:36
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Glad to be of help!  Generally it doesn't hurt to try and contact the agency for help. Pretty much the worst thing that will happen is that they'll tell you it's too soon for them to do anything, and that you need to call back in 15/30/60 days. It's not like they're going to trash your file for being worried about it.
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Aug 1, 2014 04:46
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