AZwolfman

Prenups. . . here we go again with this topic. I guess a prenup would be ok if both parties are ok with it. But how do you know she would be ok with it until you bring up the subject. Then after you do bring up the subject and she feels that it means your love is not so committed to her and a successful marriage, you discover that you should not have brought up the subject. If you don't bring it up, you will never know what would have been her reaction, but you will be showing committment. Boy, this is confusing! Love is a risk, marriage a gamble. . . if you love her, go ahead, take the risk and roll the dice! You can never win if you do not risk loss. BTW, if you read the fine print, you will find that you (as petitioner [support affidavit]) are "financially responsible" for your wife until she has worked for 10 qualifying years in the U.S., even if she divorces you and remarries someone else.

We kept her family name as middle name. I say, make your desires known to her and then, if she still insists, do as she wishes. After all, the main thing is that you have her here with you, right?

Welcome back, P.J. !

Congratulations! You should see the actual card in a week or so.

Dave, My wife and I met on kiss.com. There are singles from all nations there. I paid my membership dues of $5.95/month for over a year before I finally got off my butt and decided to post a profile and actively search. I started and ended my search in China. Take your time, and especially take time to be alone and OVER her before you dive in again. I am sure you have learned from the relationship and know more how to proceed this time, and what to watch out for. Good luck!

Becoming a citizen is definitely the best route, especially considering the changing political climate of today's world. Look to history for a lesson. When we were drawn into WWII by Japan, how did our government treat Japanese who were already legal residents in this country?

It does not LOGICALLY follow that there would be a repetition of name checks for AOS on people that had just had name checks performed. Until someone can verify, I would just discount this as unfounded rumor. It just doesn't make sense. I doubt even our gov't is this stupid. AOS interviews are for making sure it is a real marriage and that you are living together per the law. They have already done name checks, prior to issuing the visa. I realize we have had a rather quick turnaround time for our AOS approval, but I attribute this solely to the fact that we were able to file in person and take advantage of the efficiency of our local BCIS office. For those who have had to file by mail to their regional offices, I would expect more delay . . . especially if they filed at the 'shredder' office in California. It seems it even takes the California office 6 weeks just to open the envelope and get you the receipt.

This reminds me of my feelings toward our gov't during those old Black Hole Days.

Hmmmmmmmmm...... I forgot also what exactly ADIT stands for, but we were instructed to bring photo, passport, and EAD card to INS office for ADIT processing. We did so and they stamped her passport, put her fingerprint on it, and said she was now a conditional permanent resident and free to move about the world and reenter the U.S. Our next step in to file the I-751 in two years to remove the conditional status.

Your license plate gave you away, Dave. I expect you will have smooth sailing after you get the visa. There are some long lines here, but still shorter than mailing to the regional offices, and much shorter than the wait from the national offices and the consulate.

At least there is something that makes living here worthwhile! Processing has gone smooth since the locals took over.

Date Entered the Country: 04/16/03 Type of Visa: K-1 Marriage Date: 05/06/03 Date Received SSN: 06/23/03 Date Filed AOS/EAD/: 06/09/03 Filed in person at local Las Vegas BCIS Receipt number received? No- just a "grocery store" type receipt EAD Granted: 06/17/03 Driver Learner Permit: 07/15/03 First Appointment Scheduled: waived; approved 09/17/03 ADIT processing: in person at local Las Vegas BCIS 10/01/03 GREEN CARD received: by mail 11/03/03 File I-751 to remove conditiional status: 06/17/05

June 9: Filed AOS (I-485), EAD (I-765) at local BCIS office in Las Vegas 6:00 AM- we arrived at the BCIS building and stood outside in the sunny 90 to 100 degree desert morning. 7:47 AM- after almost two hours in the hot sun, my wife shows her ID and they let her enter the building. I had to take my cell phone to the car, then return. 7:50 AM- We both pass through the metal detector and get in line for a number that will put us in another line. 8:00 AM- we get a number and wait. We are number 6 in the AOS applications window, since most people seem to be there for other reasons - mostly work permit photos. 9:04 AM- Finally our number is called, we present our papers, including the 3 checks (AOS, EAD, and fingerprint fee). 9:14 AM we are finished, given a receipt and told to come back in one week for EAD card June 17 arrived at BCIS 7:30 AM, dropped off wife while I found a parking spot half mile away. I joined her in line, and she had her EAD card by about 9:00 AM. Next we went to the Social Security office to get SSN. This took about 1 1/2 hours. Actual SS card arrived in mail about a week later

We received a letter from BCIS telling us that our AOS interview was waived, our AOS was approved on 9/17/03, and informed us that we needed to go to the local BCIS office for ADIT processing. We arrived at 12:59 PM on October 1, the next day. This time, we were allowed inside immediately, where we waited for more than an hour to get a number. Finally our number was called, we showed passport and EAD card. They stamped the passport with a temporary validation (good for 1 year), kept the EAD card (which is no longer needed), and said our alien registration card will arrive in the mail - probably in about 4 to 6 weeks. We were finished and out the door at 3:54 PM. Now Jessica and I can travel without filing for advance parole. She is officially a permanent U.S. resident. We will file to remove the conditional status in two years. (must be within 90 days of AOS approval 2-year anniversary date) AOS part 1

Good grief! Quite the loquacious type, isn't he?

Better be safe than sorry - celebrate both, Eric. We celebrate anniversary of day we met, and I suspect I had better celebrate the day we married also.

It was exactly one and one-half years from the time I saw my fiancee until the time I saw her again as she exited customs at LAX. At times, during the wait, it was very depressing. Sometimes I even thought it was all a dream, that the U.S. would never let us be together. But finally there was light at tunnel's end. I kept myself busy while waiting for her. That made the time pass. I kept busy daily petitioning our gov't with letters, calls, etc. . . but that was in the old days. We also communicated daily by email and sometimes by Yahoo IM chat and video chat. You will be together. Just hang in there. It will be worth it.

A "Second party check" is a check made out to you, which you in turn sign for payment to someone else. If the payee on the front of the check is the same as the person or company that is receiving payment, then it is a first party check. In other words, if the name in the "pay to order of" is the person or company (BCIS) to whom you are sending payment, then it is a first party check. If you wrote out a check from your checkbook, payable to BCIS, then it is a first party check to BCIS. If the BICS subsequently signed the check and gave it to me as payment for updating their systems, it would then become a 2nd party check to me. In other words, if you wrote out a check to BCIS, it is a first party check and you should be fine. B) How's that for elaboration?

Both AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) and Yahoo IM are way better than MSN. With Yahoo, you can even have video chat.

Congratulations! Assuming that the two of you are sure you want to marry, I suggest you do so soon and try the local BCIS first.You can get this all done in other orders, but if you want it to go smoothly as possible, I suggest you do in this order: 1. Get married. It takes a week after marriage to get a certified copy. 2. File AOS and EAD, and (AP if needed). 3. Get SSN. She will need it for work, id, and driver license. 4. Get driver license learners permit. 5. Get lots of Tylenol and teach her to drive. Of course procedures and timelines may vary slightly from one local office to the next. It took us about 1 week to get #2 and #3 accomplished.

. . . understanding driving, or football B) ??? It's a tossup, I think, but football definitely safer.

Since I use it for business, I ALWAYS use a portable surge protector no matter where I go - even in the U.S. You can get adapters at Comp USA if you like. The hotel in Beijing in which I stayed had both types of outlets. Unless you have an antique laptop, the AC-DC converter will accept dual voltage. My laptop actually operates on 20v DC current. Read the documentation on your laptop or your AC-DC converter to be sure. Chances are your laptop was made wholly or partly in China or Taiwan anyway - so it is just like coming home for your pc. B)

Congratulations to PJ and Candy, and welcome to PJ's 'family', Candy. You lucky girl; you have found a good man. Take care of each other, and hurry home.

Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services Unfortunately, I would bet you do win the dubious award. I haven't heard of anyone waiting longer. We waited 1 1/2 years.

Unless it has changed, there is also POE at San Francisco and at Los Angeles. We got married, filed AOS and EAD at same time, was told to come back in one week to get work card. No problems. Local Las Vegas INS office much quicker than national BCIS that made us wait 1 1/2 years.