Should I be worried, yet?

[TayL 0]

I was right to be worried. He got the entire packet back today. This was the first cheque he ever wrote, so he asked his flatmates for help. They told him the wrong way to do it. So they sent him back the packet with instructions on how to write the cheque correctly. So we're back at square one. And because of the fact he's moving, he can't afford to send it with signature required and a tracking number, and that's the only way that he'll send something with his SSN on it, we can't send it back until after he's fully moved.

Which means we have to re-fill out half the bloody packet. This sucks.

[defunct 0]

Sorry to hear that.

I had a big setback in my case too which delayed everything by about 7 months, so I empathize and hope for a speedy journey for you from here on out.

[trailmix 77]

I was right to be worried. He got the entire packet back today. This was the first cheque he ever wrote, so he asked his flatmates for help. They told him the wrong way to do it. So they sent him back the packet with instructions on how to write the cheque correctly. So we're back at square one. And because of the fact he's moving, he can't afford to send it with signature required and a tracking number, and that's the only way that he'll send something with his SSN on it, we can't send it back until after he's fully moved.

Which means we have to re-fill out half the bloody packet. This sucks.

Awww sorry to hear that.

He does know that everyone and their dog has his SSN

[Udella&Wiz 325]

I was right to be worried. He got the entire packet back today. This was the first cheque he ever wrote, so he asked his flatmates for help. They told him the wrong way to do it. So they sent him back the packet with instructions on how to write the cheque correctly. So we're back at square one. And because of the fact he's moving, he can't afford to send it with signature required and a tracking number, and that's the only way that he'll send something with his SSN on it, we can't send it back until after he's fully moved.

Which means we have to re-fill out half the bloody packet. This sucks.

Sorry to hear this - as for the cheque (aka check ) How was it filled out incorrectly, not sure I understand ? Anyhoo....What about getting money order from the post office instead, at least you have a receipt. I may be wrong, but sending something which requires a signature is only a couple bucksdoesn't have to be the fancied service the PO offers, no?

[SonoranSongbird 3]

Yeah, I'm not sure I understand that, either, about the check.

The good news is the packet came back BEFORE your fiance moved. If he holds off on sending it until he has moved, you won't have to worry about the change of address because they will now have the new address. Yes, he will have to redo the forms that ask for his address, but you aren't entirely at square one since you still have the evidence gathered (and I don't think YOUR G-325A is affected).

As for the cost of mailing, Udella & Wiz is correct---it maybe costs an extra dollar or two to send it registered mail with return receipt requested (which you absolutely should do so that you know they've received it and can follow up if they don't get you into the system within a week or two). Sending it overnight mail---which most people seem to do---is what can add a lot more to the cost. We did not send ours overnight mail because it just seemed stupid to pay that much extra to get it there maybe 5 or 6 days earlier than it otherwise would arrive when we knew it was going to sit there gathering dust for several months anyway.

Good luck!

[trailmix 77]

Yeah, I'm not sure I understand that, either, about the check.

The good news is the packet came back BEFORE your fiance moved. If he holds off on sending it until he has moved, you won't have to worry about the change of address because they will now have the new address. Yes, he will have to redo the forms that ask for his address, but you aren't entirely at square one since you still have the evidence gathered (and I don't think YOUR G-325A is affected).

As for the cost of mailing, Udella & Wiz is correct---it maybe costs an extra dollar or two to send it registered mail with return receipt requested (which you absolutely should do so that you know they've received it and can follow up if they don't get you into the system within a week or two). Sending it overnight mail---which most people seem to do---is what can add a lot more to the cost. We did not send ours overnight mail because it just seemed stupid to pay that much extra to get it there maybe 5 or 6 days earlier than it otherwise would arrive when we knew it was going to sit there gathering dust for several months anyway.

Good luck!

Good points - and the cost for Certified Mail with USPS - which provides a mailing receipt and delivery information is only $2.70

Edited March 24, 2009 by trailmix

[SonoranSongbird 3]

Thanks for finding that, Trailmix. I could not remember how much we paid, but thought it was about that much (well, 2-something, anyway). I probably meant certified mail, too, not registered. I'm pretty sure what I was talking about is the same thing Trailmix is talking about.

[TayL 0]

Ah, he somehow got told by the post office you had to send it overnight to get it registered. He probably got talked to by a moron. I've had that happen to me before, at just about any office in any way run by the government.

As for his cheques? Well, his bank doesn't label the lines. There's no little spot saying "memo" and there isn't one saying "signature." There's no "paid to the order of." It's all just lines. So he went to his flatmate for help. She told him where to put all the information. And she had him put his signature on the memo line and the memo on the signature line. No idea why, considering she writes cheques all the time. If I wasn't trying to give her benefit of the doubt, I'd think she did it on purpose so he'd have more money to keep paying towards their share of the bills. Apparently, they won't take a cheque that has those two lines reversed.

[JillA 2]

Ah, he somehow got told by the post office you had to send it overnight to get it registered. He probably got talked to by a moron. I've had that happen to me before, at just about any office in any way run by the government.

As for his cheques? Well, his bank doesn't label the lines. There's no little spot saying "memo" and there isn't one saying "signature." There's no "paid to the order of." It's all just lines. So he went to his flatmate for help. She told him where to put all the information. And she had him put his signature on the memo line and the memo on the signature line. No idea why, considering she writes cheques all the time. If I wasn't trying to give her benefit of the doubt, I'd think she did it on purpose so he'd have more money to keep paying towards their share of the bills. Apparently, they won't take a cheque that has those two lines reversed.

DUH!! SHe writes cheques all the time!!?? That's true, the signature does have to be on the signature line or the bank won't accept.

[trailmix 77]

Ah, he somehow got told by the post office you had to send it overnight to get it registered. He probably got talked to by a moron. I've had that happen to me before, at just about any office in any way run by the government.

As for his cheques? Well, his bank doesn't label the lines. There's no little spot saying "memo" and there isn't one saying "signature." There's no "paid to the order of." It's all just lines. So he went to his flatmate for help. She told him where to put all the information. And she had him put his signature on the memo line and the memo on the signature line. No idea why, considering she writes cheques all the time. If I wasn't trying to give her benefit of the doubt, I'd think she did it on purpose so he'd have more money to keep paying towards their share of the bills. Apparently, they won't take a cheque that has those two lines reversed.

Completely understandable about the cheque!

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Ah, he somehow got told by the post office you had to send it overnight to get it registered. He probably got talked to by a moron. I've had that happen to me before, at just about any office in any way run by the government.

As for his cheques? Well, his bank doesn't label the lines. There's no little spot saying "memo" and there isn't one saying "signature." There's no "paid to the order of." It's all just lines. So he went to his flatmate for help. She told him where to put all the information. And she had him put his signature on the memo line and the memo on the signature line. No idea why, considering she writes cheques all the time. If I wasn't trying to give her benefit of the doubt, I'd think she did it on purpose so he'd have more money to keep paying towards their share of the bills. Apparently, they won't take a cheque that has those two lines reversed.

Completely understandable about the cheque!

Stupid bank! first cheque I ever wrote bounced Live and learn

[TayL 0]

Ah, he somehow got told by the post office you had to send it overnight to get it registered. He probably got talked to by a moron. I've had that happen to me before, at just about any office in any way run by the government.

As for his cheques? Well, his bank doesn't label the lines. There's no little spot saying "memo" and there isn't one saying "signature." There's no "paid to the order of." It's all just lines. So he went to his flatmate for help. She told him where to put all the information. And she had him put his signature on the memo line and the memo on the signature line. No idea why, considering she writes cheques all the time. If I wasn't trying to give her benefit of the doubt, I'd think she did it on purpose so he'd have more money to keep paying towards their share of the bills. Apparently, they won't take a cheque that has those two lines reversed.

Completely understandable about the cheque!

Stupid bank! first cheque I ever wrote bounced Live and learn

The irony of this is that my fiancé has difficulty with finances because of ADHD (he's got poor impulse control when it comes to money, but he's working really hard on it and I'm really proud of him) and he was really smart about all this and opened a bank account that was separate from everything else for this process so that he couldn't touch the money he'd set aside for visa stuff. He has no bank card on it. He only got internet banking for it that he can view--he can't do anything to it. He made sure there was extra padding the account in case of some kind of service charge popping up unexpectedly. He's being so careful to make sure that he doesn't overspend and end up with the cheque bouncing. And this happens. It's so frustrating. He was so proud of himself for doing this all right. It really hurt him when he messed up.

[SonoranSongbird 3]

Oh well with that explanation, yeah, the check thing does make sense. If he's never had a bank account and the stupid checks aren't labeled, what goes where could seem random! I recently had to tear up a check because I signed the memo line without thinking, and I can't even count how many times I had to void checks because I wrote out the amount on the line for who it's to---and I've been writing checks for nearly 30 years. He has no reason to be hard on himself.

And it is probably a blessing in disguise because now you won't have to deal with making an address change with USCIS or having an NOA1 go to his roommates after he moves out. Yeah, it is a setback, but once you have the visa in hand, you are going to have a whole life to spend together and this brief delay is going to be a lot less significant than it is now. That is what we kept telling each other while we were apart and waiting to be together. And yeah, it didn't really work so well at the time, but it turned out to be true.

[TayL 0]

He's had bank accounts, he just does everything electronically, so he's never bothered to order cheques. I should have gotten him to check it with someone other than her. He was on the phone with me while he was filling it out and he actually asked "Is this line here just for symmetry?" I didn't hear her response, but seriously, I should have said "show it to someone else."

[Udella&Wiz 325]

He's had bank accounts, he just does everything electronically, so he's never bothered to order cheques. I should have gotten him to check it with someone other than her. He was on the phone with me while he was filling it out and he actually asked "Is this line here just for symmetry?" I didn't hear her response, but seriously, I should have said "show it to someone else."

An honest mistake, he shouldn't give it another thought! He'll be writing lots of cheques in the next year or 2 so no worries, there'll be opportunities to practice