frank1538

I guess anything's possible, but I have my doubts for several reasons. First, I haven't heard of it being done, but maybe one of the members who has dealt with the consulate can shed some light on it. Second, I wonder if a VO would bother taking time from an otherwise very short interview timeframe to place a call when the "blue slip" approach is faster. Third, the time differences seem odd, particularly if the USC is in an Eastern US time zone.

Merc, I ran across this post a while back: http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/r...lphblanket.pdf# Although this one deals with the Minnesota Department of Health, the blanket designation of local departments of health to act as civil surgeons to certify certain immunizations for adjustment purposes may still be alive and well in your state. Technically, the blanket designation is supposed to apply only to refugee AOS applicants, but you might want to check it out and see if it applies to other AOS applicants as well.

The bill is in the mail.

Touché

Just make sure you're dicing onions and not fingertips. That's assuming he knows the difference in his demented state. I've had sauteed tips of beef before but never sauteed tips of fingers. Maybe Cheffy can enlighten us on the subtle differences.

Just make sure you're dicing onions and not fingertips.

I've linked this for several other members who seemed to need a little help passing the time: http://www.yugop.com/ver3/stuff/03/fla.html As someone once said. Don't worry about the things you can control because you control them and don't worry about the things you can't control because you can't control the. In other words, don't worry. Everything will be fine.

I'm not sure about the DS-230 question and maybe someone with firsthand knowledge can guide you. It would seem to me that if the letter from NVC is just a checklist, your sending the DS-230 separately as you planned would fill the bill. On the I-864 questions, take a look at http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...c=18710&hl= where the question about how to list family members on their respective I-864s was discussed.

Lee is right of course. Unless your wife has become a US citizen, it will likely be faster for you as the step parent/US citizen to file the I-130. If your wife has been naturalized, she can file the petition, and I would expect it to move as quickly as your having filed, maybe a little faster since the documentation that she as a mother must supply is not as extensive as yours if you file as the step father. Bottom line is you're correct. The I-130 is the right petition to file. Processing will vary, but you're fortunate in that, as a child of that age, your step daughter will bypass some of the checks reserved for older children and adults. I have no feel for the timing, but my gut says March may be a little optimistic but still within the realm of possibility.

Glad to hear the good news. Best wishes to you.

Nicely done. Congratulations.

Hearty congratulations to you both.

I ran across this from another consulate's website: http://santodomingo.usembassy.gov/Consular...faq-answers.htm "I am married to a U.S. citizen and am waiting for my adjustment of status interview in the United States. My child, who is my spouse's stepchild, is in the Dominican Republic and is about to have a legal permanent resident visa interview. Do I have to become a legal permanent resident before my child can be issued an immigrant visa? No. There is no requirement that you ever become a legal permanent resident. However, in order for your child to qualify as your spouse's stepchild, the consular officer must be convinced that your marriage is legitimate for immigration purposes. The most direct way for the consular officer to know that the marriage is bona fide is for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland Security to have adjusted your status to that of legal permanent resident. If you are not yet a legal permanent resident, the consular officer may require alternative evidence (e.g., joint rental agreements, bank statements, phone bills, photographs, etc.). You and your spouse may even be invited to the Consular Section for an interview with the consular officer." I read thisFAQ as responsive to the situation where the spouse comes to the US on a K-3, but the step child does not. Rather the step child is still in the foreign country waiting for for the CR-2 interview. It certainly sounds like having the K-3 spouse file for AOS does not impact the CR-2 other than with respect to proof of a valid marriage, it being suggested that having the K-3 spouse already adjusted to legal permanent resident might be preferable in terms of proof. Since a K-4 visa is a derivative visa, should the spouse actually get adjusted to that of a legal permanent resident, I am guessing, for don't know for a fact, that the K-4 will not longer be available to the step child or, if issued in a follow to join setting, might well be invalidated.

Minghao, my step son, also got a biometrics notice after his welcome letter. USCIS acknowledged later (via telephone) that this mistake had been happening a lot with Atlanta and to just ignore it. Good to hear that USCIS got it's act together.

I believe a K-3 is available only if you're a US citizen. The gameplan that some legal permanent residents follow is to get married and then file the I-130 as a legal permanent resident, which is allowed but painfully slow. After naturalization, you can inform USCIS of your change in status from LPR to US citizen and then file for the K-3. As with many things dealing with the government, the hurdle seems to be in making sure its records/files properly reflect your change in status to a US citizen. Otherwise, I can't think of any real differences.

I'm really glad USCIS granted the MTR. This is a very good sign. Good luck.

Although Jingwen was K-1, I never received any notice from NVC that the case was being forwarded to GZ. I learned about it through my routine phone calls. It didn't seem a big deal, so I ignored it. The P3 from the consulate eventually made in into Jingwen's hands.

Adambchildress went through HK for his K-3. You can search some of his posts and get a pretty good idea of how the process works at that consulate. Here's one to get you started: http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...ndpost&p=177206

Lee's advice is good, but remember that AOS processing can be rather formal and responses to certain actions by USCIS might require a formal appeal or a Motion to Reconsider (MTR). Usually, you are required to file an MTR when there was something that you could have supplied and didn't, like a response to an RFE that you failed to get in on time which caused a denial. You might want to check to make sure the letter you got from USCIS is not a denial and also determine whether you should file an MTR just as a protective measure.

We made an Infopass appointment and went to the local office (Atlanta) in person, armed with the I-485 paperwork showing that all forms that we submitted showed the correct spelling of my step-daughter's name. The lady behind the counter, took the I-90, marked it "fee waived", took KK's green card, and stamped her passport with the I-551 stamp. The new green card arrive in the mail saveral months later.

Well, I've been inside the inner workings of the consulate and have witnessed first hand how the process works. I hate to say this, but you're all wrong. Before the morning activities begin, each VO is told how many interviews will be conducted. Each is then handed that number of darts, each dart numbered to correspond to the interview scheduled. The VOs then retreats to the dart board room (order determined by seniority), and all the darts are thrown at once. Those darts that hit the dart board either hit "pink slip" (a rather large section of the board) or "blue slip" (the smaller section). Those that miss the board completely are marked for further processing - nowyou really know what "administrative processing" means. There are two other spots on the dart board - one for failed (no blue slip) and one (the bull's eye) that, if hit, activates an Elvis song, "Return to Sender", which in this case is USCIS. Now you know the rest of the story. Trying to guess what the consulate looks for is difficult. The tumblers turn constantly and the red flag of one month often retreats into oblivion only to be raised in another month when people get that false sense of security that age, communications, financials, fiance(e)'s hometown, employment, party affiliations, or whatever are no longer a hot button for the consulate. The best that any person can do is to prepare, be honest and consistent with the information, dress appropriately, and bring an air of friendly confidence to the interview. Chances are good that the VO will hand out that long sought-after pink slip. No guarantees, but nothing in life is.

My step-daughter's green card arrived with a misspelled name, so we had to file for a replacement, using an I-90: http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/i-90.pdf Unless things have changed, if you can show that the mistake was USCIS's mistake and not yours, the fee will be waived. We filed our I-90 in person, but you may be able to e-file now (don't know for sure).

Like Jim and many others, Jingwen and I had a ceremonial wedding in China while waiting for the K-1 to process. With the exception of our respective governments, everybody considered us married. To this day, we celebrate our ceremonial wedding as our anniversary. The only caution I would interject if following the K-1 route is to make sure you don't register your Chinese wedding as a legal marriage. If I'm not mistaken, the K-1 rules require that the legally binding marriage take place after admission to the US.

I guess the only bright spot here is that the files are still at the consulate. Like George said, it's best to try to keep the files from being returned. I'm guessing that the request for pictures of her overseas trips may in some way be related to her Afghanistan travels, even though the country isn't overseas. I'm also guessing that having to provide a resume my be designed to reveal whether any of her past employers are of the sort that typically requires CCP membership as a condition of employment. Yeah, yeah, I know. All this information has already been provided with past filings and overcome submissions, but when the consulate asks for something that they already have, you don't have much choice but to give it to them...again. Good luck.

My understanding is that they throw out the other three copies.. keeping only the top one. Based on that, I only sent in one page of the G-325a. Never a problem. 237562[/snapback] This is my understanding as well since the other three pages are technically for use by other agencies.