Daviation

Your suspicion is correct. To be eligible you must have been "under contract" by end of April, 2010... the actual closing date had to occur before end of September. Under Contract means that you had to have a signed Purchase and Sale Agreement fully signed by all parties before end of April. There was a tremendous amount of fraud chasing these tax credit dollars... so note the IRS is really scrutinizing any returns claiming the credit.

So we did the Infopass to question why no biometrics scheduled yet... 3 months after getting receipt letter for removal of conditions. We know that other folks in our area have mostly been scheduled for biometrics within a month. Well, they don't accept that 3 months seems long... checked their records and just said simply "you're not scheduled yet, and you have to wait until you're scheduled". They would not consider getting them done on-site today. They did offer to stamp her passport with the I-551, so I consider the trip a success.

My wife's parents were with us recently for 6 months. Her father has diabetes and tested regularly while here. When his glucose levels were off, they would boil an entire chicken with only 4 limes as seasoning. He would eat the whole thing over a few days, including the soup it was boiled in. He occasionally took medication but not often. I don't know much about it, and he said the chicken didn't taste great with only lime seasoning... but I can attest to seeing it improve his test results. Good luck and take care of yourself.

Thanks Dan, we'll likely do that. Is it a given that biometrics are always taken for Removal of Conditions? Seems I read a thread on Visa Journey that indicates it may only occur if there will be an interview, but it seems at least lately everyone gets them. BTW, I didn't intend to hijack the thread... maybe someone can answer the OP's original questions too?

Yes, we have delivery notification, canceled check, receipt notice and extension letter (same letter). The extension was mailed just one week after they received it, so initially they were quick... but nothing for almost 3 months since. I keep checking on-line, thinking that after bio-metrics are scheduled it would show up... but nothing. Would you still recommend info pass?

For us it's been almost 3 months since receipt for removal of conditions. No biometrics appointment yet... hope it's not lost in the mail... no status on-line yet either.

There is a Vietnam consulate in Nanning. My wife has been to Vietnam many times but says the visa requirements have changed. She doesn't know the current details but says you can probably get visa at the Vietnam consulate in Nanning. Have you already arranged visa for Japan... as you'll need one for Chinese doing anything but airport transfers. I'd be curious to hear how that process works. We've considered Japan visit but haven't done so yet. I've been to Japan dozens of times, but mostly on business. All lodging is quite expensive so I'm glad mine was mostly expensed.

Similar to the bailouts, there were actually two tax credits and they are often confused. The article posted refers to the first one of $7500. And, as noted, it was not really a tax credit... rather just an interest free loan. The second tax credit (the one that was extended and FINALLY ended if contracted by 4/30/2010 and closed before 9/30/2010) was an actual tax credit of $8000.

I know that AR-11 can be filed electronically on-line for aliens. Does anyone know if Petitioner Change of Address (I-865) can be filed on-line? Thanks

Transcripts are not free any longer. I forget the price... but not cheap... I thinks its about $60 per return... crazy!

Lucky for me... my wife was the local Chinese travel agent.

Yes, we took the railway from Chengdu to Lhasa, Tibet in 2007 (49 hours). We then flew back to Chengdu. At that time there were no direct flights from Lhasa to Nanning. The train ride was beautiful. I'd recommend it to anyone. It is not luxurious, but is comfortable. We had a sleeper car with another couple. I was the only foreign devil on the whole train. We took our own food to eat the whole way. You should try it!

Form AR-11 for the alien... Form I-865 for the sponsor. And... in our experience you'll get a receipt for the I-865 but not for the AR-11. Anyone else notice that? Good luck.

Thanks for the input Dan. But this does still leave me with one rather subtle question. I understand the receipt for I-751 serves as 1 yr extension of 2yr GC until the 10yr GC arrives. But if we apply I-751 with married name, the receipt will show married name while 2yr GC still shows Chinese name. If my spouse were to travel to China with 2yr GC, showing expired but with I-751 receipt to extend for 1 yr, will there be trouble that name on receipt and 2yr GC don't exactly match? It may seem trivial, but as we've experienced trouble with her getting out of China twice before I'm cautious (once when the didn't understand Advance Parole - and who CAN really understand that?... and another when they thought her 2yr GC was already expired because our date nomenclature is different - mm-dd-yyyy instead of their dd-mm-yyyy). In our case, maybe it's not that complicated because her married name simply places my family name after her full Chinese name, and her Chinese passport shows both. But... curious to know if anyone has experience with name on receipt not exactly matching name on GC? Thanks.

I've read some posts on subject before, but can't seem to find them now. We are just about to mail I-751 Removal of Conditions and we are considering name implications. Situation Spouse entered on K1 and we married here. For all immigration related items (EAD, advance parole, 2yr GC, etc), my spouse has continued to use only her Chinese name. Also her SSN is in Chinese name only. For everything else (Driver's license, banking, credit cards, insurance, mortgage, etc) she has taken my married name with her Chinese family name as middle name. She's also had her Chinese passport updated by Chinese consulate to include the "Also known as _________" statement with her married name. So the question is, what name to use on I-751. If she wishes to have 10yr GC in married name, can we just fill out the paperwork with married name, even though 2yr GC is in Chinese name only? Frankly, it doesn't matter a big deal to us either way, just wanting to understand our options. Also, would either option cause any kind of complication at this stage? Thanks

I did. As long as she will stand behind the signature, there will be no problem. plagiarize - copy something from other person's work: to copy another person's idea or written work and claim it as original You may be thinking of "forgery". You may disagree if you like. Yes... meant "forgery" not "plagiary". While the IRS does give the option of signing for a spouse under very limited circumstances (illness and/or mental incompetence), those circumstances must include an explanation and do not include simply being unavailable. All other cases require Power of Attorney. Ref: http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc301.html Quote from link: "If a joint return is filed, both husband and wife must sign the return. If your spouse cannot sign because of a medical condition and requests that you sign the return, sign your spouse's name in the proper place followed by the word "by" (your signature), followed by the word "husband" or "wife". Be sure to also sign in the space provided for your signature. In addition, you must attach a statement that includes the form number of the return you are filing, the tax year, the reason your spouse cannot sign the return, and that your spouse has agreed to your signing for him or her. If you are the guardian for your spouse who is mentally incompetent, you may sign the return for your spouse, as guardian. If your spouse cannot sign the return for any other reason, you may sign it only if you are given a valid power of attorney. The document granting you power of attorney should be attached to the return when it is filed. Form 2848 (PDF), Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, may be used for this purpose."

I would NOT suggest 'cutting and pasting'... plagiary. As others have stated, the quickest way would be to email her the form, have her sign it and FedEx back to you. Use the form from IRS web site that you can fill out digitally and print in .pdf. Then email the .pdf file for her to print, sign and send back to you by FedEx (3 days average from Nanning). Of course, you're going to have the goofy A4 size paper, slightly narrow and longer than 8.5x11. To avoid that you could print and FedEx 8.5x11 to her for signature. FedEx takes about 3 days from US to Nanning as well. You'd probably just make it... thought FedEx times 2 is not cheap. If it were about 3 weeks from now, I'd offer to help you get them hand carried to Nanning, but with Oct 15 looming, that obviously won't work. Personally, I like the e-file suggestion, with signature to follow later for the files. You sure that's not an option... even with a complicated filing? Good luck.

We've transited through HK many times without HK visa for my spouse with GC, including onward travel to mainland via bus, train and/or airplane. Prior to her coming to America, she met me many times in HK coming from the mainland. In those cases, of course she always had HK visa, but not required for HK transit now that she is US permanent resident.

Correct... only Schengen visa's issued now. Last fall we toured Germany, France, Italy and Austria on Schengen visa issued by Germany. Movement through Schengen EU countries is simple... we were never asked for docs within EU, only upon entry to Germany. In our home city, the Schengen visa was easier to get from Germany as German consulate has attache' here that is delegated to perform the interview. For France we'd have required a trip to San Francisco for interview... so we built our itinerary around entering and exiting EU through Germany. You do have to enter and exit via the country that issued visa. I'm not sure about the Schengen visa for business purposes (as the seminar you note might be considered). Note - Germany was quite specific about travel dates for EU entry and exit. You must have issued tickets to get visa and our's was issued without much extra time on either end of our itinerary. Not much concern with inter EU travel itinerary as long as you enter and exit within time allowed. Feel free to PM me if you have questions about our experience. Good luck.

While I should know the answer to such questions, I want to double check. And since I'm getting error messages when trying to use the search engine in updated site, I'm asking via new thread: When moving I know that form AR-11 "Alien's Change of Address" is required for GC holder. Questions: 1/ Is there requirement for sponsor to submit change of address? 2/ Her parents are currently visiting on B2 visas. Any requirement to submit change of address for them while with us? Thanks

Ah... understand. Seems this is part of immigrant visa process but not tourist visa... guess that makes sense.

I am curious what type of visa they are seeking? For B2 this was never a question on the application, nor was it asked during interview (at least in my limited experience).

I'd suggest being very careful here. Not sure how you were able to print an altered pass, but that most certainly could raise flags that could leave one vulnerable to far more scrutiny than you might have imagined.

My LP's folks are here now, having just obtained B2 visas under the new process. I'm not expert, but it seems that you've already done the only part that is different under the new process (the application and scheduling of interview appointment). I think from here on out all the previous guidance would apply as to what you should prepare. We used the posts noted and tweaked a few things to our needs and it all worked out in the end. Good luck!

Was just going to mention that you can call from here... but looks like you've already figured that out. We just went through the same process and were surprised at quickly and smoothly it went (as compared to K1). Ba and Ma just arrived this week on their tourist visas... they are from Nanning too. Cheers & Good Luck!