Sawasdee 4 (Thai K-1s in 2010)

[Tom and Teaw 1]

Well, that sucks!! I don't get the distinction....if you are here on a K-1 and you get it right after you arrive or wait until later...what does it prove? Nothing. A person could stay here illegally and have a SSI card after the 90 days. Oh, well, I guess they shouldn't have waited so long to do it.

[rin and john 71]

On another note, a friend in Chicago took his wife to get her SSI and they would not issue it saying the I-94 was past the 90 days and they had to wait until she had a green card. I am wondering if anyone else had that happen. I would think you can get your SSI anytime as long as you show you were admitted here legally. Anyone know if that's true after the I-94 has expired? They waited to get married right before it expired.

Technically, they need to wait for either the EAD or the GC, whichever comes first, as they both provide work authorization and therefore qualify the holder to receive a SSN. Your friends will want to make sure they file for the EAD (comes much faster than GC interview in virtually all cases). It will be much easier to file taxes with the SSN than going the ITIN route.

John

Edited December 15, 2010 by rin and john

[Tom and Teaw 1]

Thanks, John. I think they are about ready to file the AOS papers so I'll email him and make sure he does them all at the same time to avoid paying later. Even though she won't be working since she is pregnant it's nice to have the EAD and they can at least use it to get the SSI sooner.

[Tom and Teaw 1]

Teaw had her biometrics yesterday. Turns out the USCIS office if not too far from where we live. But with the snow/sleet/freezing rain we had I left with plenty of time to spare. The roads weren't that bad so we

got there pretty quick and they took her right in and processed her. She was out in about 20 min with her paper stamped. So now we wait for the EAD, advanced parole and interviews!! And she wants to learn to drive!!!

Which is fine except she can barely drive a motorbike!!

[Adi&Pim 6]

Hi.

I am new here. I mailed the 129F last week and today the check was cashed.

Will keep you updated

[Tom and Teaw 1]

Welcome and good luck. Hopefully it will continue to get processed fast.

[Adi&Pim 6]

Thanks Tom and Teau.

It looks like the waiting time is here.

So far the check was cashed.

[ArizonaMike74 0]

Hello everyone,

I just thought I'd give a quick update. Mimi and I got married at the Excalibur's wedding chapel the Tuesday after Thanksgiving - small wedding just my mother-in-law and my immediate family. The wedding was cheap ($250 package), but the pictures were expensive ($300 just for the CD - otherwise you get one 8*10 print). We stayed four nights in Vegas at the Excalibur. Mimi doesn't gamble and I didn't really have time but I managed to play in one very small poker tournament at the Excalibur's poker room and dumped about $20 into a slot machine.

Vegas was colder than I've ever experienced in that city - freezing at night and 50s during the day. I know some of you are probably dealing with snow but I grew up in the desert so it was very cold for me and definitely way too cold for Thai people:) The last day we were there it warmed up a bit so we walked up the Vegas strip, saw the hotels, did a little shopping, and grabbed lunch at PF Chang's (this was the closest to real Chinese food they've experienced - both gave it the thumbs up). The last night in Vegas we saw the Lion King - quite a musical production - everyone loved it (and we had front row tickets I bought months in advance so that helped).

After four nights in Vegas, we drove to Anaheim Thursday for four nights in a hotel across the street from Disneyland. The first night I drove to "Thai Town" in Hollywood. There are a few restaurants and a grocery store - they mainly wanted to go to get hard to find Thai ingredients from the grocery store there. There is a book store right outside the grocery store that carries Mimi's favorite weekly Thai gossip (oops I mean "news") magazine. The store's proprietor said that he would ship her the magazine once a month (I can't remember the price but I think for 3-4 issues of the magazine shipped to our house it would be $15-20 so very reasonable). We ate at a good Thai place and then drove to China Town in downtown LA. We just drove through China town since it was getting late and they already got the groceries they were looking for at the Thai market.

I think the trip to and through LA/Hollywood was an eye opener for both Mimi and her mother. They had a glamorous view of both cities from movies and TV shows but when they saw all the trash on the side of the freeway, the horrible smog and traffic, and then the downtrodden areas that are Thai and China town they were happy that we lived in Phoenix. Thai town particularly was a rough neighborhood. The grocery store had an armed guard at the front door - that was a little scary.

Friday we spent the day in Disneyland and both Mimi and her mother were very impressed - her Mom asked why we didn't spend more time there and less time in Las Vegas. We took an all day bus tour of LA on Saturday (Santa Monica Beach, Venice Beach, Walk of Fame, etc.). Sunday we spent the day at the newer Disney park across from Disneyland called California Adventures. We had a long drive home on Monday - everyone came home tired but happy with the trip. More to come about life with two Thai women:)

Mike

Edited December 22, 2010 by ArizonaMike74

[bless1010 1]

Hi guys Gif and i finally tied the knot yesterday in albuquerque,Nm.Everything went great after we had our POE at SFO on November 30th.We are now preparing all the documents so we can start AOS in early January.Gif is not homesick which is a huge surprise for me.She calls her family at least once a week and most times i am the one who encourages her to speak more with her family.We have found a supermarket her in albuquerque that stocks thai food so we kinda doing food shopping every 2 weeks.

[Kang Lang 7]

congrats on your marriage...arizona mike and to you and gif as well, bless 1010. wish you lifetime of happiness and an easy transition for your wives in a new country.

@arizona mike are you anywhere near chandler? there are quite a few thai people there, some solid restaurants and grocery ingredients as well.

[toma1 10]

congrats on your marriage...arizona mike and to you and gif as well, bless 1010. wish you lifetime of happiness and an easy transition for your wives in a new country.

Wives? Now I know why he lives in Arizona... I heard they ran all of the polygamists out of Utah.

[Kang Lang 7]

Wives? Now I know why he lives in Arizona... I heard they ran all of the polygamists out of Utah.

hey smarty pants! two congrats in there bless1010 and arizona mike got married.

*english is not my first language so pardon my poor grammar.

and as i understand it one wife is enough trouble who would want more than one. girls are a pain in the backside

[toma1 10]

*english is not my first language so pardon my poor grammar.

Really? I always thought that you were native American.

and as i understand it one wife is enough trouble who would want more than one. girls are a pain in the backside

Not sure, but there are definitely a lot of mia noi's back in Thailand...

Edited December 22, 2010 by toma1

[Kang Lang 7]

Really? I always thought that you were native American.

ha! my ancestors were not at the first thanksgiving

actually i am a crba baby...my mom is california born and bred but my dad is from hong kong and that's where i'm from, didn't come to the u.s. until i was 12. interestingly enough my mom has some castillian roots so she spoke spanish to me as a kid and my dad and family are cantonese speakers.

my parents spoke english to one another but my mom put forth a concerted effort to learn chinese (she just wasn't good at it beyond understanding the basics) but not to me, they thought i would be better off learning english last.

[Daryl&Jeep 0]

Well I am Native America and english is my second native lang. tred sofly here..

Congrats to both of you newly weds....and have a life time of happiness !!!!!!!