Randy W

Congrats - there's a lot of people here to meet her when you bring her back to Houston

Yes, American citizens can go to the 5th floor any time they want. Just show your passport at the guard station on the 4th floor. Once on the 5th floor, the American Citizen Services is on the right. Occasionally, it has taken as long as one week for the passport w/visa to show up at the post office.

Yes - K-3 is a multiple entry visa. She can travel all she wants during the 2 years that it is valid, or until she gets the green card.

Someone from New York may have a better answer, but unless they accept the I-797C from the AOS application - yes, I think it does.

If his license shows an expiration date, the license will expire on that date. He will need a green card or EAD and the new expiration of the DL will most likely be set to the same expiration date - i.e., his EAD or green card and driver's license will most likely show the same expiration. Likewise with the I-94. It seems more and more that they key the friver's license to expire at the same time as the legal presence. A K-1 90 day I-94 may not be enough to get a license. Laws vary by state, so check your own regulations to be sure.

I'm sure we're all very grateful to you for being the guinea pig on that. WHEW!!?! Good news!

Yes - just make sure the envelope is big enough for everything - no problem.

Many Chinese come here every year on tourist, business, and student visas. A very few to almost none have overlapped that with a family visa application. What are the details of hers? Have you applied for K-1 or K-3 or CR-1?

No - I think you DO NOT change status from B1/B2 to H1B. I think your sponsoring employer would handle the application for a work visa. Form I-539: Does this make sense?

The K-1 visa is non-immigrant only in the processing performed prior to issuance. Once in the US, it is expected that the visa holder will marry the petitioner and apply to adjust status (get a green card). By applying for a K-1 visa, she is indicating her intent to enter the US, marry her petitioner, and apply for a green card (lawful permanent residence). But I suppose there is nothing wrong with coming to the US, marrying the petitioner, and leaving before the 90-day expiration of the visa, and remaining a non-immigrant.

Not true - marriage does not affect your Social Security status. The requirements are as stated above. Married people are often turned down for cards in their married name, since the card name should match the USCIS database name. But many have found that they can get a card in the immigration card first, and then go back to get a replacement card in the married name.

You get the shots anywhere you wish and at any price. The civil surgeon simply transcribes from the yellow book onto the I-693A - ours charged $10 to do this. The surgeons have this form and will give you a copy.

3 months to 2 years or longer. We're past 2 years. But the EAD and AP should come within the 90 days.

Just some thoughts here - when you petition for a K-1 in Jan '07, then July '07 is a reasonable timeframe for it to get to GUZ, where the visa application (the DS-156) is actually made. We need to see the timeline for the various steps. The exhortation to not lie is a common one "Do you swear to tell the truth . . .". Is it possible that she misunderstood what he was saying, and simply got too flustered, or thrown off balance to continue the interview? Just some thoughts edit - I had forgotten some of the information you gave earlier (white slip, and that it was Sept when she got her P3), but it still might be helpful to go over the interview detail much more closely

It'd be nice if they simply approved the I-485, and didn't worry about the others, but truth is you need the AP and EAD while waiting for the green card. The EAD and AP are usually processed by the NBC in Missouri, while the I-485 can be forwarded either to California or to a local service center for processing California is usually good. If it goes to a local service center, she may be called in for an interview. The next thing that happens is that you get called in for biometrics.

Yes, notarized birth certificate is needed when Lulu applied her SSN and medical exam for AOS. Get a extra copy. Best wishes, Gino & Lulu Passport also works just fine for these things. Jiaying never bothered to get extra copies of her birth certificate (in fact it was everything I could do to have her get just get ONE for her son's AOS application). Of course, it's good advice to get extra copies, but if you don't have them, you're probably okay with the passport.

You need to also have work authorization. For a K-1, this means at least 14 days left on the I-94, or an EAD card. K-3's (also k-1's and K-4's) must have the EAD card. CR1/IR1 have a green card or I-551 stamp, so this is all they need.

Yeah - I hate that "trained seal" business

Miao

Sorry Randy.....you're wrong about California. California DMV looks at the I-94 for issuance along with a valid EAD and SSN. I know this because my wife got her California DL some four months before receiving her GC and we were worried because her DL expired the same date shown on the I-94. But you're right....it does vary state to state. PapaBear B) Yeah - I thought maybe I'd gotten that wrong after I made the post - thanks for the correction. But - if the I-94 needs to be valid, then that would mean - wait for the green card for K-1's at least.

California won't issue a license without the green card. Jiaying was able to get her Texas DL without even an EAD - we did have a state ID for her - but Wendy&David were not able to do this. Yes, it does vary.

And no, the visa itself doesn't enter that picture. That is, you get the 10 year (after 2 yrs of marriage) card regardless of what it says on the visa

For English language movies with Chinese subtitles that you can buy in the states, there's also Mulan, Lost Horizon, and Lady from Shanghai.

from the 1040 Instructions: See Pub. 519 for details

Jim julian has reported on this - anything over $10000 must be declared, but there is no problem carrying it with you.