AOS Filers - May 2009!

[alice_and_brandon 0]

Sounds like more and more May filers!! Congrats to all of you that got your NOAs or biometrics appointment letters! It's awesome that we are all getting news from USCIS!

Have a good day!!!

Alice

[levnd 0]

Welcome to all the new people!

I'm off to my medical today. I'm not a fan of needles so it should be interesting!

Wish me luck

[Cuchita 1]

Sara,

Have him open a bank account so the first statement can be a proof. When we got married they had me write a letter saying he lives with me at such and such address and the date. This letter had to be notarized.

Take care,

I probably should have had a definite answer for this before we got so close to K-1 expiring....but does anyone know... what do we use for proof of legal residence if we dont recieve our NOA1 before hs K-1 expires (May 22)?

we are cutting it pretty close, we filed for AOS on 5/12.

[rexalite 0]

Welcome to all the new people!

I'm off to my medical today. I'm not a fan of needles so it should be interesting!

Wish me luck

Good luck! Try not to Vagal! I had to have the MMR, and it hurt!

Aren't I helpful??

For everyone else- in a getting to know one another vein while we are waiting, how long has it been (if you're the non-USC) since you've been in your home country, and what's a silly little thing that you miss about from your hometown?

I've been in the US since Sept 2007, probably one of the longest in the May filers. The thing I miss most of all from my home that I never even thought about before is sidewalks! There are hardly any sidewalks here in Arkansas, so when I am walking the dog in my neighborhood, I have to walk on the street, and can't wear my Ipod anymore because I'm afraid someone might mow me down if I can't hear.

[Cacerez 19]

Without officially asking my husband, I'll speak for him and say he has been here for 1 month today and he misses primarily his family (of course!) and secondarily the ability to walk out of the house and go to a corner store or to wherever just by walking. Here everything is by car. I have to admit that I miss that too from the time that I have spent in Guatemala, we can say "do you want to walk?" and that can actually be an option. We got a taste of that at VA Beach when we left our car in the same parking spot for 3 days and walked/rode bikes everywhere. More laidback!

[kiwiana 2]

Welcome to all the new people!

I'm off to my medical today. I'm not a fan of needles so it should be interesting!

Wish me luck

Good luck with the medical! hope it is all over and done with pretty quickly!

Good luck! Try not to Vagal! I had to have the MMR, and it hurt!

Aren't I helpful??

For everyone else- in a getting to know one another vein while we are waiting, how long has it been (if you're the non-USC) since you've been in your home country, and what's a silly little thing that you miss about from your hometown?

I've been in the US since Sept 2007, probably one of the longest in the May filers. The thing I miss most of all from my home that I never even thought about before is sidewalks! There are hardly any sidewalks here in Arkansas, so when I am walking the dog in my neighborhood, I have to walk on the street, and can't wear my Ipod anymore because I'm afraid someone might mow me down if I can't hear.

It's only been two and a half months since i was last in my hometown. The only thing i really miss is the foods over there. Three weeks after i arrived here, i had mad cravings for food that i could buy in New Zealand, such as vogel bread, milo (hot chocolate drink) and small things like that. I would get frustrated at the supermarket looking at all these brand name of foods and not recognising any of them (silly i know!)

I miss driving too. In New Zealand we drive on the 'other side' of the road to usa. I haven't attempted to drive here yet. I have to wait until i have EAD before i can go along to the DMV and get a cali licence (wonder if they will let me keep my nz one?) so i guess there is no rush to do it but i would drive everywhere in nz and it is really hard being without a car and not having that independence.

[stardusted 0]

Oh, I am so aggravated right now. Went to the license office here in St. Louis to renew my driver's license and showed up with everything: all my NOAs, my passport, my SS, my marriage license. They wouldn't renew my license! She wanted an "approval" notice of the I-485! I tried to explain to her that those things take a long time, but she just shrugged and said there was nothing she could do and asked me to call Jefferson City. I just went online to look at requirements for renewal and it says on the DOR site that for "applicants of adjustment of status" you just need immigration document indicating status (the NOA!) and either an EAD or passport. Either one! I'm going to call up a different license office and PRINT OUT THE PDF FROM THEIR WEBSITE and take with me. Today I'm really not enjoying being an immigrant.

As for what I miss from home? Food. I've been here almost three months now and I cannot get used to the food. I miss Thai food on the streets. And I miss my mom a lot.

[B&J 0]

Oh, I am so aggravated right now. Went to the license office here in St. Louis to renew my driver's license and showed up with everything: all my NOAs, my passport, my SS, my marriage license. They wouldn't renew my license! She wanted an "approval" notice of the I-485! I tried to explain to her that those things take a long time, but she just shrugged and said there was nothing she could do and asked me to call Jefferson City. I just went online to look at requirements for renewal and it says on the DOR site that for "applicants of adjustment of status" you just need immigration document indicating status (the NOA!) and either an EAD or passport. Either one! I'm going to call up a different license office and PRINT OUT THE PDF FROM THEIR WEBSITE and take with me. Today I'm really not enjoying being an immigrant.

As for what I miss from home? Food. I've been here almost three months now and I cannot get used to the food. I miss Thai food on the streets. And I miss my mom a lot.

I can totally understand your frustration with the DL. I had that, too. I stopped counting how often I've been at that office after the 10th time. Don't give up and keep being a pain in the a... Good luck!

[B&J 0]

Welcome to all the new people!

I'm off to my medical today. I'm not a fan of needles so it should be interesting!

Wish me luck

Good luck! Try not to Vagal! I had to have the MMR, and it hurt!

Aren't I helpful??

For everyone else- in a getting to know one another vein while we are waiting, how long has it been (if you're the non-USC) since you've been in your home country, and what's a silly little thing that you miss about from your hometown?

I've been in the US since Sept 2007, probably one of the longest in the May filers. The thing I miss most of all from my home that I never even thought about before is sidewalks! There are hardly any sidewalks here in Arkansas, so when I am walking the dog in my neighborhood, I have to walk on the street, and can't wear my Ipod anymore because I'm afraid someone might mow me down if I can't hear.

I have been here for 2.5 months now. As I have been here a lot before and even another time for 6 months I already know a lot here and knew that there will be a lot different. But I miss some stuff, too.

First of all my little nephew, who will turn 2 in June. I love him like hell and it always breaks my heart thinking about how he grows up without me being part of it. And sure, my mom and sister.

Then I miss some German food (but I enjoy some American food at the same time), especially my grandmas cooking.

And the sidewalks! I don't have a car yet either and stucking at the house defenitely gets frustrating. The only thing I can walk to without being scared to be hit by a car is a supermarket...

I am really looking forward to start working (if I find a job) and have a regular schedule Mo-Fr.

[bellavita 0]

Hey,I just want let you guys know today I did the BIO appointment which is supposed to be next saturday,wish it will speedy the whole process....and,

will not buther my vacation next weekend.....oh yeah..... B)

[Moksha 1]

I'll jump in and speak for my husband too (funny how us girls do that)...I'm the USC, he's from India and he came here March 30th on a K-1. I know he misses his family a ton...and his friends...some days I would swear he misses them more than his mom and sister. He used to do Sat night boys nights with them so not having that here is hard for him. And as much as I try I don't think I quite qualify for "boys nights!"

As far as food...we have actually done a pretty good job finding Indian grocery stores and cooking whatever he needs. Plus, I spent 10 months living over there and would travel back and forth every few months so my mother-in-law would load my suitcases with spices and rice galore! Now I think we're stocked for a very long time!

And I have to agree with Chelsey that not being able to walk out the door and hail a taxi (or rickshaw) has been hard for him. He has an international driver's license so he does drive, but we only have one car so if I'm working he's pretty much stuck at home all day. He's becoming quite friendly with Playstation!!!!

[alice_and_brandon 0]

Moksha, your answer made me smile a lot and it felt good! Your mother-in-law putting food in your suitcases and your hubby playing playstation!!! Oh, and I'm sure you don't qualify for 'boys night'! but it's ok... you're more than that!

I miss French food too! I miss bread sooo much but I manage to find decent bread and stuff I need to cook at some grocery stores. But more than food I miss my parents. I've been here 2 months and it feels like an eternity, being home all day doesn't help, I can't wait to get a driver's license and my own car and go to work. I miss my friends a lot too, our jokes and our slang, in fact I miss speaking French! I guess it will get better when we all get a chance to start a 'real' new life as a person and not as a US citizen's spouse!!! ahahah.

Have a lovely day,

Alice

[Devildog 0]

Hi everyone,

I mailed my wife's AOS on 5/13 but still no NOA's. I mailed w/ delivery confirmation via USPS and confirmed that they received it at Chicago office. My question is: Her K1 visa expires on 5/30 and I'm a little worried about it. If she doesn't get her NOA until then, does that mean her status will be in jeopardy? What's the usual turn around time for NOA's?

Thanks in advance!

[Aloe 10]

Hi!

I am an Australian married to a USC. As of now we are waiting for our biometrics appointment to come up. Although, I was wondering if every office allowed walk-ins because if they did I will definitley go in ASAP. However, I don't want to get in some sort of rouble for showing up before the appointment. Also if I did go in early what is the likelihood that it would speed up my EAD?

For the rest of my details see my signature or timeline!

Goodluck everyone!

Hi everyone,

I mailed my wife's AOS on 5/13 but still no NOA's. I mailed w/ delivery confirmation via USPS and confirmed that they received it at Chicago office. My question is: Her K1 visa expires on 5/30 and I'm a little worried about it. If she doesn't get her NOA until then, does that mean her status will be in jeopardy? What's the usual turn around time for NOA's?

Thanks in advance!

The NOA's normally take about 10 days give or take a few. Mine took about 8 days. So I am quite certain your wife will be fine! :-)

[Cuchita 1]

Hi DevilDog,

I also sent my husband's paperwork on the 13th!!! . They still haven't cashed the check. Don't worry about her status as long as you have your marriage certificate and she has a Social security Number!.

Take care,

Cuchita

Hi everyone,

I mailed my wife's AOS on 5/13 but still no NOA's. I mailed w/ delivery confirmation via USPS and confirmed that they received it at Chicago office. My question is: Her K1 visa expires on 5/30 and I'm a little worried about it. If she doesn't get her NOA until then, does that mean her status will be in jeopardy? What's the usual turn around time for NOA's?

Thanks in advance!