nousername

ditto this! when my SO received packet 4, i called DOS to verify everything. and when i talked to the lady at DOS she said, "nope you there was no interview scheduled" i said "are you sure?". "yes, no interview scheduled." then i said that CANNOT be b/c edith had received packet 4 IN HAND... the DOS lady then said, "hmm, let me check again... oh... ok... i see... yes, you are right. the interview is scheduled". you gotta love it... just prod and pry... don't let DOS give you the easy answer! ps - once the DOS lady found it, she made some comment that was "not looking at right screen" ... ???

Out of status simply means they no longer have any legal status in this country. Thus they are technically ilegal aliens. Depending on the situation it can be a very bad thing. Filing AOS is a bit of a gray area. If you don't marry within 90 days of arrival your wife has no legal status to file on. If you married within that window and just didn't file AOS in that timeframe then they usually shrug it off. In a different scenario if you neglect to file for the removal of conditions within 90 days prior to the expiration of your SO's conditional green card then the petition is considered abandoned and he or she could be deported. It is best not to tempt fate and just file within 90 days. 161465[/snapback] thanks carl.

always wondered.... technically, what does "out of status" mean? is an "out of status"-status illegal? or just bad?

FYI, it appears that the biometrics procedure may be changing, as we did not get instuctions about "making" a biometrics appointment. the receipt just said "sit back and wait" for THEM to schedule an appointment (same note on both our AOS and EAD notices). i even called CIS today and "played dumb" hoping to get them to schedule our biometrics... no luck... and not surprised.

we just got edith's EAD receipt notice last week, and i wonder if she is now legal to work? from the discussion here it appears that our edith IS legal once we receive the EAD receipt, and until they give the final decision. BUT the discussion mentioned above was about a renewal EAD, so i don't know if it also applies to initial EAD filings (like ours)? FYI, i mentioned in an earlier post that edith had an upcoming interview, it's now over and i want to report that, in spite of her nerves, it went very well... they even asked her back for a 2nd interview!!! ... big confidence boost for her... i'm really happy for her.

is this 90 day limit explicitly stated somewhere? or, is it assumed b/c the K1 expired after 90 days? it seems to me that if you apply for a SSN within the 90 days, according to your I-94 and k1 status, you will get an work-authorized SSN... right? once you have a work-authorized SSN, what would you ever need an EAD for? 158858[/snapback] SSN and EAD, for K-1 holder http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...indpost&p=88933 K1 visa able to work?, Legally? http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=9213&hl= EAD, Still confused. http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8907&hl= 158903[/snapback] thanks for these links david... you are an insanely valuable pool of resources. anyway... i am now convinced that SSN and EAD will FOREVER be a point of confusion. it seems to me that most people when talking about SSN refer to 2 types of SSN cards. BUT, after reading all these post it seems that there are 3, and better clarity about which one's we are talking about would greatly help the SSN discussions. Here are the 3 i think exist, others please reconfirm: 1) "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION" 2) "NOT VALID FOR WORK" ... (or a similar phrase???) 3) "plain jane" card ... i.e. nothing on it. I know for FACT that (1) and (3) exist: I have a (3) and my wife has a (1). I have not seen the (2) variety so i am not exactly sure what it says. floating around in a lot of post out there are a lot of similar phrases to the ones above, and i think it really confuses all the discussions. personally, i think we should gather all the different "types" of SSNs and then pin them somewhere. only pin them once we are sure to have gathered all the "types" AND exactly what they are good for and what they need to be used with (EAD, temp EAD, "POE"-EAD, no EAD, etc...) what do you think??? or, has this been done? i guess the same should be done with EAD. a list of the "types" of EADs, when they are obtained, how they are obtained, etc. maybe???

nice link. right now, i think we will run to the SSN office and try to re-apply for our SSN, to get an authorized for work SSN. the above statement is NOT closure on the topic... keep replying please!!!

is this 90 day limit explicitly stated somewhere? or, is it assumed b/c the K1 expired after 90 days? it seems to me that if you apply for a SSN within the 90 days, according to your I-94 and k1 status, you will get an work-authorized SSN... right? once you have a work-authorized SSN, what would you ever need an EAD for?

hello all, HELP! edith has a job interview tomorrow, and b/c EAD will surely be an issue i want to straighten out the details. (psst... and i think we messed up ... ) here's what we've done: 1) arrived in the US on July 29 as K-1 2) applied for SSN after marriage, and received a SSN with a "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION" line on it. 3) applied for (c )(9) EAD (got rejected the 1st time b/c of a stupid check-box!!!), and are now waiting for receipt and approval of 2nd application. After doing all this i "re"-discovered this info: SSA Policies on K-1 SSN, What SSA Says About It., from this it appears that WE SCREWED UP. is edith's "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION" SSN card the same as the "authorized for work" SSN that is mentioned in the link above? Tomorrow is day 70 after entry, should we go and immediately apply for an "authorized for work" SSN? is this type of SSN required for work? if we do this will it solve all our problems? is she valid for work indefinitely? is EAD simply a MEANS of obtaining an "authorized for work" SSN? once you obtain an "authorized for work" SSN are you golden? NO more need for EAD EVER again??? OR, is a "NOT authorized for work" SSN AND a (c )(9) EAD sufficient for work? For some reason, I was under the assumption that she was eligible for work for 90 days REGARDLESS after entry... i now think this assumption was wrong... ???? i assumed a "NOT authorized" SSN was ok, b/c i thought if she proved her K-1 status to an employer then that would "override" the "NOT authorized" note on the SSN. apparently not so. Immediately, what i really need to know is: is edith currently eligible for work? ... if so, for how long? ... if NOT, what does she need to do? sorry for the rambling post... i'm just ticked and annoyed at myself right now for apparently making things so much harder for ourselves. EDIT: i initially said that edith's SSN was "NOT authorized for work", but in fact it says "VALID FOR WORK ONLY WITH DHS AUTHORIZATION"

congrats! glad to hear you made it...

We filed through Chicago and had our interview in San Diego. I was very surprised to get approved so fast because I thought the Chicago times would apply (currently Nov 15, 2004). I wasn't expecting us to be approved for another 7-8 months and didn't even know there was a separate time table for the San Diego office. I just found the San Diego time table and it says June 1, 2005. We applied mid-June so they are actually a little ahead of what is on the web site. There seems to be a fairly amazing regional variability on processing times: San Diego: June 1, 2005 Los Angeles: April 25, 2005 San Francisco: Jan 28, 2005 Chicago, Illinois: November 15, 2004 Miami, Forida: October 29, 2004 Philadelphia, PA: June 28, 2004 This is one case where I definitely wouldn't "rather be in Philadelphia." Egads - but Hawaii is May 1, 2004! Alaska is April 15, 2005. I might have expected them to be slower. Portland, Oregon is almost as fast as San Diego: May 9, 2005. And several CFL members from Oregon had rapid interviews. Perhaps the regional office times are a decent predictor, except for special circumstances. 155970[/snapback] thanks for the reply. but for us, i guess we're toward the bottom of the barrel.... st. paul, mn: sept. 30, 2004. just hope we can get ead soon, and ap by feb.

just today we sent off our aos packet, with ead and ap apps too (we are k1). we sent it off to the chicago "lock box". where does it go from there? to the local "field office"? do the aos, ead, and ap all get processed simultaneously, or do they each get processed individually??? ryan

this is an unbelieveable story! congrats guys. i'm curious, what field office did you guys go through? from the uscis site, it looks like most are backed-up a year or more for aos processing. just wondering if the uscis processing time for aos are reliable... anyone else know?

SWEET!!! what other services do you offer free of charge?

a NEW question: who to make out the checks too? i think it's "Department of Homeland Security" since the April 05 instruction state that. BUT, the uscis website allways points you to this notice about "Paying Immigration-Related Fees After March 1, 2003...", this notice says "US Citizenship and Immigration Services"... so whadda ya think guys?

thanks frank. i now remember seening that don had bumped that thread up a while ago. but this brings up another question... about tax returns, and the "oath of authenticity", what is this? the last 3 yrs i have filed my taxes online, and i only have electronic copies of my tax forms with larg "COPY ONLY" watermarks on them, will these pass for the i-864? 155107[/snapback] I used the FC-029 which is an old document that states that the copies submitted are exact photocopies of the originals and that the originals would be submitted if necessary. This was also intended to cover my file copies of the tax returns. But, I also added a notarized certification with each of the tax returns that said that I certify that the tax return was a true and correct copy of the original filed with the IRS. 155225[/snapback] yeah, this isn't required anymore. probably b/c it is certification is explicitly stated in the statement your sign at the end of the i-864 forms. so i think i am good as for the tax returns.

Ryan, From the latest I-485 on USCIS web site, go to page 3 on the 485 instructions, bottom of page on left side: Attach a copy of the fiancé(e) petition approval notice, a copy of your marriage certificate and your Form 1-94. 155115[/snapback] yep, you guys are right.... i just thought that "technically" the condition just before the explicit K-1 condition also applies as well, and that condition doesn't require the marriage cert... anyway, i see it now. thanks.

thanks frank. i now remember seening that don had bumped that thread up a while ago. but this brings up another question... about tax returns, and the "oath of authenticity", what is this? the last 3 yrs i have filed my taxes online, and i only have electronic copies of my tax forms with larg "COPY ONLY" watermarks on them, will these pass for the i-864?

i think you guys are right, the photo (nor the g-235a) of me is not required. but if you read the instructions of the i-485, it appears that an NOA2 is sufficient to prove eligibility. it seems like the marriage cert may also be used to prove eligibility, but not necessarily. well, at least the way i read it. guess, we're gonna go witht he mini-"kitchen sink" approach, and just include it all. ... except the photos of me... we'll keep those out. don't wanna be scaring any of those USCIS official!!!

The last week or so edith and i have been trying to get our aos paperwork done. i have a couple questions: 1) G-325A for me, the USC, is this needed? edith found something on 001 that said we need this, but i cannot find anything in the AOS, EAD, AP, or I-864 instructions that require it. 2) 2 photos of me, the USC, is this needed? same story as (1) 3) is a copy of our marriage certificate required for the i-485? i actually also cannot find anywhere were this is required, but that just baffles me. the instructions sound like if we include a copy of our initial i-129f approval notice, we don't need the marriage cert. is this right? 3.a) we are using edith's AFTER marriage name on all forms. b/c of this, should we include a copy of our marriage cert in all forms (AOS, EAD, and AP) to verify this? 4) OT - edith got her ssn card yesterday. it says "valid for work only with DHS authorization". will it always say this? will we later (e.g. after AOS) apply to have this changed? thanks. ryan

Ryan, the EAD for K-1 will expire 90 days from entry. An SSN is issued for one person for life. As you found we all need to be careful about delegating some of the processes to others asthey are not familiar with the issues involved in dealing with government agencies from the immigration side. Your wife is correct and you should tell her you are proud that she understood the process so well, then appologize for not being with her for this process... Now do we get a detailed report about the honeymoon? 153504[/snapback] yeah... i knew my babe would get it right!! ... and.... my mom is great, but it's the last time i ask her to help with immigration stuff! the honeymoon you ask? .... well, it was great. i had never been to san fran before. i really enjoyed it, BUT the beginning of our trip i was on business. i had a technical conference to attend, and somehow i forgot about it when planning our wedding. ... not the most romantic thing to do, but we made the best of it. she's a real gem, didn't complain once about having to wait for me while i was away at the conference. overall, it was a wonderful time ... it's just so amazing having her here everyday, all the time.

shortly after returning from our honeymoon my wife went to apply for her SSN. so this was after marriage, and after the name change. i believe everything went fine, and will be ok... except... i have a question of my own... can a SSN expire? since my wife cannot yet drive, i asked my mom to take her to our ssn office during the day. thus, i wasn't there (BIG mistake) .... as a result, both my mom and my wife have different stories about what happened and what was the end result. my mom says that she will get her SSN but it will "expire" on the same date as the K-1 validity, 90 days after entry. is this right? but after talking to my mom and wife for a while, i found out that the ssn agent didn't know we were already married until half-way through their discussion. my wife seems to think things will be ok, i.e. ssn will NOT expire and it will have the her married name. but my mom insisted that it will expire. can anyone shed any light on this matter? thanks. ryan

NICE!! Congrats you two!! I wish you guys the best... i'm just a little worried about your relationship... seems as though you SO might gets "upset" a little too easily!!!!

haven't been reading many details here on cfl lately... but... it was surprising to see this long list of upcoming interview... it's great! i wish everyone the best. to you guys: CONGRATS!!!

Hey Ryan, Yep, that's all we had with us when we entered through MSP: 1. Passport with Visa 2. Completed I-94 (distributed by flight attendants on the plane) 3. Brown envelope 4. X-Ray 3. Completed Customs Declaration Form (also handed out on the plane) - The Passport, visa and I-94 were presented to the immigration officer in the "Visitors" line. - At MSP the brown evelope was presented to a second immigration officer in a little room off to the side after the first immigration officer finished stamping our passports. - No one ever asked to see the X-ray - The customs form was handed to a customs officer on the way out of baggage claim. When we came in, we were carrying some packaged snacks from China (dried beef, spicy bamboo shoots, tofu...) some instant noodles, and a couple jars of spicy seasoning. We indicated on the customs form that we were carrying "food" and explained to the customs inspector what we had. Our bags were screened and opened, and the agent thanked us for declaring the food but apologized that the instant noodles, beef and jars of spicy stuff would have to be trashed. Then a minute later as we were closing up our bags she decided only the beef was prohibitted and we got to keep the rest. The point is, I would remind Edith to declare any food she's carrying. As we were opening our bags for the customs agent, an asian couple next to us was being told they would be fined for failing to declare some food they were carrying. I thought the whole process was smooth, and the immigration officers were unexpectedly friendly and helpful. Best of luck in keeping your sanity for the next three days!! Matt 140683[/snapback] hey matt thanks for the details. i've heard that's it very important to declare food. i always have on my return trips, and usually get asked about it but it turns out to be no problem. once edith's mom gave me smoked pork and fish. they took the pork, but let me keep the fish. depending upon how the meat is packaged/sealed i believe they may even allow some pork into the us. i'm just a little worried about some of the new stuff she is bringing in, a few clothes and her wedding dress, and also the ipod i gave her. i've read everything on the CBP website, and the way i read thing all this can be lumped into the "personal effects" category and should not be a problem. thanks again. ryan