VISA JOURNEY GUIDELINES OUT OF DATE? WHAT TO DO?

[dirtyweebesom 8]

I think the RFE's people are getting for documents was because no copy or a bad copy was sent - could not be completely read by the IO, or USCIS lost it, or in case of the marriage certificate the applicant sent in the "licence" instead of the certificate

I personally have never quite been able to understand the difference between the marriage certficate and the marriage licence.

After my husband and I went to get the marriage licence, it was transformed magically into the marriage "certificate" when the Justice of the Peace (or whatever you call these people) married us a few days later, and signed her name on it, and maybe put on a special seal. All we ever had was one piece of paper.

Are other states different?,because it seems like everybody else had a separate licence, and then got the certificate once they got married

Yes, we also got married in the courthouse, when we initially went in they swore us in etc. and gave us the Marriage Licence, which "allowed" us to get married, with that licence you can have the "ceremoney" in vegas, your church/temple or backyard as this "allows" you to legally get married - it is not the marriage certificate!!!

Here, they gave us 3 days to change our minds I guess, lol... you can only do the marriage ceremony after 3 days of the licence being issued - I guess to avoid the drunken Vegas style weddings, lol !!! The marriage licence and certificate looks EXACTLY the same, only difference on certificate is top right hand corner is filled in and it's stamped and signed on the back. So, I would think that if you've sent in a licence, or a marriage certificate that does not show the stamp/signature you could get an RFE?

Yes, you're also not allowed to get married in Texas until three days after the licence has been issued (unless you do a state-approved pre-marital counselling course, which also gets you a discount on the price of the licence).

That's a good point you make about people forgetting to send in a photocopy of both sides of the marriage certificate. In Texas (or at least my part of Texas), there's nothing on the other side, but that might be an issue to raise with Istanbulls. Probably USCIS just misplaced the original copy he sent of his certificate, but we should ask if he remembered to photocopy both sides.

[Jasman0717 9]

I think the originator of VJ developed the site based on fiance/spousal immigration so that is probably why the guidelines don't really cover other AOS processes. I know I followed each guide from K-1 to removing conditions and they worked perfectly.

[marie09 5]

Yes, you're also not allowed to get married in Texas until three days after the licence has been issued (unless you do a state-approved pre-marital counselling course, which also gets you a discount on the price of the licence).

That's a good point you make about people forgetting to send in a photocopy of both sides of the marriage certificate. In Texas (or at least my part of Texas), there's nothing on the other side, but that might be an issue to raise with Istanbulls. Probably USCIS just misplaced the original copy he sent of his certificate, but we should ask if he remembered to photocopy both sides.

Wow - in Las Vegas we could married the same day the license is issued the 3 day thing - makes more sense though.

Our official marriage cert has a stamp on the back which we copied - showing the marriage was registered - so we included a copy of that in the paperwork. The original did not.

[Dakine 26]

Though I see your point, let's not forget that here at VJ, these are informational only guidelines, not rules set by any immigration agency (USCIS, NVC, etc, etc). It is the responsibility of the petitioner/intended immigrant to read all Forms as well as their instructions from the proper governmental bodies and follow only the instructions listed in those forms, not VJ's guidelines.

but like I said before, I see your point.

You're right, they're informal, but possibly thousands of people come on here to get advice before they file, I've seen countless times where a new member have asked a question and they've immediately been referred to the VJ checklist... can you imagine how many people are sending in 4 copies of the G325A for each application or running around town trying to get all their documents "certified" & "notarised" and applying for another copy of their marriage certificate at the courthouse because the checklist on here says to send it along with I-485 when it does not apply to them?? This is just adding extra stress to an already annoying and time consuming process.

If the guidelines/checklists on VJ is not 100% correct then VJ'ers need to stop referring people to it and refer them to the official instructions instead which are pretty clear and straight forward.

I have to agree.

Effort should be made to keep the Guides up to date.

I've seen moderators correct people for making incorrect statements at the same time refer them to the not so correct guides.

[dirtyweebesom 8]

Wow - in Las Vegas we could married the same day the license is issued the 3 day thing - makes more sense though.

Yeah, I bet Britney Spears wished Nevada had the three-day rule. Even she couldn't have stayed drunk and crazy for three days straight!

[Minya's wife 25]

I think the RFE's people are getting for documents was because no copy or a bad copy was sent - could not be completely read by the IO, or USCIS lost it, or in case of the marriage certificate the applicant sent in the "licence" instead of the certificate

I personally have never quite been able to understand the difference between the marriage certficate and the marriage licence.

After my husband and I went to get the marriage licence, it was transformed magically into the marriage "certificate" when the Justice of the Peace (or whatever you call these people) married us a few days later, and signed her name on it, and maybe put on a special seal. All we ever had was one piece of paper.

Are other states different?,because it seems like everybody else had a separate licence, and then got the certificate once they got married

A license is something that 'allows' you to do something. The marriace license is issued by the state and it authorizes a couple to marry. Once you're married, the ceremony officiant (priest, judge, JP) will sign the license certifying that you have indeed married....making that license into a marriage certificate.

[marie09 5]

Wow - in Las Vegas we could married the same day the license is issued the 3 day thing - makes more sense though.

Yeah, I bet Britney Spears wished Nevada had the three-day rule. Even she couldn't have stayed drunk and crazy for three days straight!

Lol so true!

[Ellie-and-David 38]

I followed the guides and had no problem.

None at all. A little common sense, research and effort on my part in conjunction to the use of the guides, led to to a fast, painless and RFE free AOS journey.

[FortLaudy 10]

I followed the guides and had no problem.

None at all. A little common sense, research and effort on my part in conjunction to the use of the guides, led to to a fast, painless and RFE free AOS journey.

I think as someone mentioned before, this site was created basically for the K1 situation, so the checklist/guides for AOS from K1 is pretty up to date... the info for adjusting from other visa status's however is not so good and a little out of date and incorrect.

[Minya's wife 25]

This site is called "Visa Journey - Your family immigration community" and is primarily based on immigration based on a 'family' relationship....so the guides do focus on that aspect. However, one should always read and follow the instructions provided by USCIS that accompany each form. The VJ guides should be used only as a supplement to the USCIS instructions. That said, the site administration should be made aware if there is 'outdated' information contained within the guides.

[FortLaudy 10]

This site is called "Visa Journey - Your family immigration community" and is primarily based on immigration based on a 'family' relationship....so the guides do focus on that aspect. However, one should always read and follow the instructions provided by USCIS that accompany each form. The VJ guides should be used only as a supplement to the USCIS instructions. That said, the site administration should be made aware if there is 'outdated' information contained within the guides.

Yup, so it's really annoying when VJ'ers keep referring new members to the guides on here and not the official instructions... and then the same questions keep coming up about the marriage certificate for I-485 and certified copies and G-325A etc. and the ensuing arguments... so hopefully they'll change it soon and this reference to incorrect checklists and spreading of misinformation will stop.

[Dakine 26]

It's VERY difficult for anyone to keep updated on changes with immigration. From what I know Capt Ewok doesn't make money from this site. If he does then he should make an attempt to keep up with the latest changes.

If he doesn't make any money then he's still my hero making an attempt to help people.

[FortLaudy 10]

It's VERY difficult for anyone to keep updated on changes with immigration. From what I know Capt Ewok doesn't make money from this site. If he does then he should make an attempt to keep up with the latest changes.

If he doesn't make any money then he's still my hero making an attempt to help people.

Yup this is an awesome site and I love it, just wish that people would not be following the guides on here like some religious script or something and use their common sense and use the official instructions instead or atleast take a real good look at it first...

Unfortunately some filers do only follow the guides on here thoroughly, not even taking a look at the official instructions, and then come on here referring new members to the VJ guides and argues with those that have followed the official instructions about certain points - just putting doubts in the minds and scaring those who followed the official instructions thoroughly and already filed...

I feel that if there are going to be checklists and guidelines on here they might as well be correct and updated every now and then, and I would gladly help if need be (for free, since I'm sitting on my ####### all day long waiting for my EAD, and I'm majoring in law and might as well start getting useful, lol)

[Minya's wife 25]

This site is called "Visa Journey - Your family immigration community" and is primarily based on immigration based on a 'family' relationship....so the guides do focus on that aspect. However, one should always read and follow the instructions provided by USCIS that accompany each form. The VJ guides should be used only as a supplement to the USCIS instructions. That said, the site administration should be made aware if there is 'outdated' information contained within the guides.

Yup, so it's really annoying when VJ'ers keep referring new members to the guides on here and not the official instructions... and then the same questions keep coming up about the marriage certificate for I-485 and certified copies and G-325A etc. and the ensuing arguments... so hopefully they'll change it soon and this reference to incorrect checklists and spreading of misinformation will stop.

Its also really annoying when a new member starts a new thread to ask a question that he/she could have found the answer to if they had only read the guides. VJ-ers refer noobs to the Guides because the majority of the questions they ask do have answers within the guides....like the "where do I mail my petition?" and "what should I make the check out to?". But, I have seen many a VJ-er tell new members to read the USCIS instructions. It just depends on the question being asked and who is answering said question.

By 'they' I assume you mean the site administration....that would be Captain Ewok...he runs this is a non-profit site. You can certainly PM the captain, and request your changes.

[Captain Ewok 1,900]

Two topics merged.