I-485 Detail

[thongd4me 69]

That's because it WAS her fault. If she had filled out her I-94 correctly, he wouldn't need to fill out her name.

The I-94 is supposed to be completed (by the immigrant) before reaching immigration. When I brought my fiancee back, I filled out her I-94 on the plane. The only thing CBP fills out is the expiration date.

Sorry, but you assumed too much about someone else's case.

We just came back from JFK, which was a little like visiting a manned "Al Capone's Vault."

It's called the "Deferred Inspections Unit" of the Customs & Border Protection

It's located at the American Airlines terminal 8, on the first floor behind the baggage claim area.

Behind baggage carousel #8, there are a set of double doors with two 8-1/2" X 11" papers with

unintelligible "government-speak" notices. It's also known as room 11-161.

Behind a bullet-proof glass enclosure sat a calorically challenged but efficiently disagreeable woman.

We handed her my wife's passport and I explained that the immigration officer misspelled her name.

She asked her if she had with her the packet of documents from the consulate, but she said no, of

course she gave that to the immigration officer. The woman called her up, asked her if that was

her passport and then checked the computer. She took the passport and told both of us to wait.

After about 10 minutes, her name was called.

The woman shoved the passport through the slot and made no comment.

My wife told me to check it to be sure it was ok and this is what they did:

1) A new I-94 card was stapled into the passport to replace the old one.

2) The entry date was the same, stamped as 29 December 2009 and on the

back was the same A# as she got at the Anchorage POE.

3) The chronological number of the I-94 form on the front of it was crossed out

and replaced by the number on the form that they gave her at the POE in Anchorage.

4) Her name was spelled correctly.

5) Thailand was spelled out (the original I-94 just said "Thai."

The point is, that she filled out the disembarkation form correctly on the plane.

The immigration officer filled out the I-94 card with her name spelled incorrectly.

It was then passed to another officer at the Anchorage POE who checked it over,

complete with the misspelled name. He failed to catch that. We discovered that

a week after she arrived, when we started arranging the forms, etc. for her AOS.

We didn't have to argue the point that it was THEIR mistake and it clearly was.

That was a great relief, despite what my friend at work who used to work at the

airport said. His take on it was that they would shake us down for the $320

fee to correct the I-94, but that in fact did not happen and we didn't have to

argue to get it corrected. If in fact the I-94 is LOST, be prepared to pay the $320

penalty to replace it.

It wasn't a totally enjoyable day, but it was a happy one in the end, because

we got them to correct the mistake and a faulty I-94 won't be a problem at

the AOS stage.

We celebrated by going to Chinatown in Manhattan (to good restaurant) and we also went to a

grocery there that had all kinds of stuff necessary to keep a farang husband happy at dinnertime.

[thongd4me 69]

Footnote to the I-94 story - This morning in the YMCA my friend asked how the trip to the

airport was and did we have to pay a fee. When I replied in that the trip went well and we

didn't have to pay a fee, another guy piped up and said he worked for the State Department

(at least we weren't cursing them out so everything was cool).

I mentioned to him that we got her K-1 in 3 months and he said that was impressive,

but also that they were trying to move things along more quickly as a matter of policy.

He said that when he started working there the penalty for losing an I-94 was around $100

but now it's $320, which we didn't pay because it was not lost and their mistake on the form.

[thongd4me 69]

I smudged out the entries in photoshop to prevent copying,

but left the "Employment Authorized_____Her POE DATE____"

Is this temporary employment authorization? - valid for the life of the K-1 visa (3 months)?

Bottom line - no penalty

She got the replacement I-94 free of charge (as it was their mistake in misspelling her name).

However today we had what seems to be a pleasant surprise, as on the BACK of the I-94

it appears to have a red stamp giving her temporary employment authorization.

Can anyone verify that this stamp is indeed the temporary authorization?

Can we take this to the Social Security office and have them take note of it in the issuance of her card?

I can run it down to 26 Federal Plaza in NYC to be 100% sure.

Thanks

[Nik+Heather 121]

No, she is not authorized to work. It is a very misleading stamp, for sure. That stamp should be used in conjunction with a work visa - only good for working for a specific employer who is specified in the work visa. You can see that option now on the I-9.

Here's the link that people were referring to a couple of times on the first page...

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...howtopic=180237

[thongd4me 69]

No, she is not authorized to work. It is a very misleading stamp, for sure. That stamp should be used in conjunction with a work visa - only good for working for a specific employer who is specified in the work visa. You can see that option now on the I-9.

Here's the link that people were referring to a couple of times on the first page...

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...howtopic=180237

Thanks, it was nice to think about it (at least for an hour or so).

We'll plod on with the AOS as planned...

[HeatDeath 430]

Thanks, it was nice to think about it (at least for an hour or so).

We'll plod on with the AOS as planned...

Good news is, though, if you get a particularly under-trained SSA employee, that stamp may substantially reduce the amount of wrestling you have to do to get her a social security card, if you haven't already.

Just mark on her SS-5 social security card application "Alien allowed to work" just like the stamp says.

Too bad it doesn't work that good outside the SSA office, i.e. in real life

[thongd4me 69]

Good news is, though, if you get a particularly under-trained SSA employee, that stamp may substantially reduce the amount of wrestling you have to do to get her a social security card, if you haven't already.

Just mark on her SS-5 social security card application "Alien allowed to work" just like the stamp says.

Too bad it doesn't work that good outside the SSA office, i.e. in real life

You're right about that HD, when we went to the SSA office in the first week

of January she was considered as allowed to work because of that stamp

which we both didn't pay attention to because it was on the back of the

I-94 ticket. I know now that we still have to wait for the Green card/EOD

but the sooner the better...