I-751 Waiver Filers Timeline

[Holly2234 66]

My divorce came through today so i will be filing in the next few days. I have started putting my package together. I would appreciate any tips you guys may have!

Also curious, do they send an extension letter for the GC? I dont want to be unable to work or cross the border or anything (I live 5 miles away from Canada so my nearest mall is over there etc.)

So far i have bank statement from when we lived together in the UK. Going to try the bank we had in the US together to see if they have any records but we were paperless so i don't have anything as of right now.

His immigration documents from the UK

Lease

Bills from the UK

Things showing the same address in the US

Pictures

Cards addressed to us both including going away cards

One affidavit from a close friend

Medical cards from the UK

Tax return filed joint

Our daughters birth certificate

Our daughters CRBA

Our daughters custody agreement

Our daughters child support agreement

We dont have too much in the way of joint health insurance, life insurance, mortgage, car etc. because we never had that stuff. I didnt get a car until i had already left him and he still doesnt have one now.

Is there anything important missing? Also, what name do i file with? My maiden name which i am going back to or my married name that is on my GC?

Thank you all in advance and i wish you all the best of luck.

[Holly2234 66]

Its too late to edit my post above, but i feel the need to mention that we were not married until July 1st 2011. But a lot of these documents such as his UK immigration papers (it was obtained through me but not marriage) are from before our marriage. We were together from 2009 until 2013. Married from 2011 to 2014 but we split in may 2013. Should i be including things from the entire relationship? Because a lot of our joint life together began before we got to the US. I also have flight tickets and itineraries from 2009 to 2010. He moved to the UK in Jan 2011 and we did not travel after that until we moved here.

[user19000 18]

Throwing in the stuff from before the marriage wouldn't hurt. I'm not sure if it's necessary, though. I lived with my ex husband before we got married too but in my ROC package I only included the documents showing our MARRIED life. As for the bank account, even though you chose to go paperless you can still get hard copies of the statements from the bank or if you can log in to it online you can print them out, methinks.

I used my maiden name for the I-751 petition because that's the name I want to see on my 10-year green card.

My case hasn't been approved (just filed lately) so I guess I'm in no position to advise you, I just wanted to put in my two cents worth.

[Holly2234 66]

Thanks for your help. I think i will put my maiden name too. I think i will just include a few photos etc from before the marriage because i dont want the person reviewing it to think we married in 2011 and filed for divorce in 2013 and that was it. It was 2009 to 2013. I dont believe we even have any pictures of us together in the US because thats when things started to fall apart. He thought i was going to be a house wife and have no life, i thought i was going to get a job and make friends and become a part of the community since i literally had no life here. We grew apart based upon our responses to a different life (plus i found out he was a gigantic liar! I just hadnt found out because he could hide his US life from me when we were in the UK).

Do i need to say why the marriage ended? Id rather not have to because it sounds stupid (i have another thread on it which i posted last year around this time when i was still with him). Or is it simply evidence it was real that they are concerned with?

Also that bank account is closed so i cant log into the account any more so im just hoping they will be able to print something off or maybe write a statement saying that the account existed.

Edited April 26, 2014 by Holly2234

[user19000 18]

Yes, just put in your maiden name if that's the name you want. I took, well, was made to take, my ex-husband's last name too, so the conditional green card is in that married name. I applied to remove conditions in my REAL name (to me, it's the only name I've ever wanted or will ever want). The NOA1 and the biometrics appointment came to me in that maiden name.

You may want to go to the bank and ask them for the statements, or at least some proof that you two had an account with them.

The date the marriage ends will be shown on the divorce decree. But you can write a personal statement providing the USCIS with the details, when you got married, how the marriage was going, and why it didn't last. I didn't. I was just too tired and scared to recall what had happened.

Don't sweat. Marriages fail all the time for 1001 reasons. We didn't know our partner well enough before rushing in, people change, we change... You're going to be just fine.

My marriage to my ex husband was shorter than yours and we didn't have any kids together (thank goodness); he didn't share anything of his. So all the documents showing our joint life were produced by me sharing my stuff, which was not a whole lot. However, I don't worry too much; in fact, I don't really worry at all, at least so far.

I'm just happy now that I'm out of that situation where I was not allowed to drive, use the phone, have friends, could only use the computer when he needed my help with the paperwork for the business he ran; where my duties were putting out, keeping the 150-year-old farm house spotless, washing his clothes, cooking deer meat, and smiling. After the first few months I ran out of recipes for venison-he was a hunter, who didn't believe in spending money on food. That's when depression kicked in, so hard, that I didn't want to live any more, let alone smile.

Leaving the marital home with a broken knee and STDs, the only things that my husband ever gave me during the marriage, I now feel lucky that I survived and I love life more than ever.

I could write a book about that short-lived marriage, the one that was never meant to be. But I have better things to do than beating myself up over the past.

[Holly2234 66]

I agree completely. There is so much more to life than what happened. I have achieved so much by myself since leaving a year ago than i ever did with him. Im sure it is the same for you! Your marriage sounded very much like mine minus the STD's and broken knee so i can definitely relate there!

Which country are you originally from if you dont mind me asking?

So far i have put things from each year into folders marked 2009- 2013 just to show a sort of timeline thing. I dont want them to open it and shove it somewhere because its a mess. Waiting for an affidavit from a friend who knew us to come in the mail from the UK and then i will be going in to get my divorce decree and sending it all away.

[Holly2234 66]

I got my divorce decree yesterday (5/1/14) and i almost have my ROC package ready, i am just going to go through it tomorrow and mail it monday.

Tried to change my name back to my maiden name on my social security card today but they wouldnt let me, they said i have to change it with the DHS first. Assuming this will be done when i file for ROC in my new name..

[user19000 18]

They told me the same thing when I tried to change the name on my social security card. I asked to talk to a supervisor and told him that it changing my name on the green card would take a long time and in the mean time I needed my other documents issued in my current legal name. He paused for a minute and said, "Ok, but we need to verify with the USCIS." Six weeks later I got a new social security card in my maiden name.

Even before that I went to the DMV to have the name on my instruction permit changed. The people there said, "we can't do that until you change your name with the social security department". I insisted that they could. After I passed the driving test, they issued me a driver's license in my maiden name.

Sometimes government employees don't know what they are doing or they just don't bother to try.

I did both in California. If you try again, stand your ground.

Edited May 3, 2014 by user19000

[Holly2234 66]

This same office told me i couldnt have a SSN because i didnt have an I-94 after i first arrived and wanted to get one. I told them they could have an I-551 as proof instead. They went away and spend an hour messing about then came back and told me i could have it. It arrived in 4 days after that. I think i am going to wait until i have my extension letter and then try again using that. There are very few foreign people here in this area of upstate NY so they dont have much of a clue what to do with the likes of me! Theres a woman in this area who is also British who i have heard about, shes been here 10 years and has an IR-1 but they wont give her a SSN and she just accepts it according to what people tell me.

The DMV updated my license straight away. It was the first place i went because its in the same building as the County Clerk so i was already there after i got my divorce decree. Cost me $12 and they changed my name and picture and im supposed to wait 2 weeks for it to arrive.

The government employees around this area just write me off because i talk differently to them. They say im not eligible for things that i am (such as HEAP) based on how i sound... They dont ask for proof of permanent residency or anything! I have to read out their policies to them and show them proof, then they go away and find out that im right all along, its insane. I had to force one worker to apologize to me once, she went to the other side of the room and mocked the way i spoke to another worker because i had insisted she was wrong (she was), when she came back i told her i heard every word she said and that i expect an apology and then i will walk away and deal with my application elsewhere. She refused but after i didnt move, she apologized quickly.

People seem to think we are a second class in society and that we are slow and dont understand if they mock us etc. Or people talk about me within earshot thinking its ok or i dont understand. Its completely crazy. I always wonder if its different in larger places!

[jl2014 0]

Hello,

I sent my i751 divorce waiver back in August 2012, after waiting for a long time, more than a year, I went to my interview in November 2013. The interview went pretty well, i think. The officer told me he will email the results to my lawyer in less than a week, and he even told me that everything was ok and i should not have any problems. It has been almost 3 months and i am still waiting. My lawyer emailed the officer but no luck, he has not replied yet. I called the 800 number and they told me they will contact my local office because the time has expired. Should i be worried?? I don't want to be denied.

[jl2014 0]

Hello,

I sent my i751 divorce waiver back in August 2012, after waiting for a long time, more than a year, I went to my interview in November 2013. The interview went pretty well, i think. The officer told me he will email the results to my lawyer in less than a week, and he even told me that everything was ok and i should not have any problems. It has been almost 3 months and i am still waiting. My lawyer emailed the officer but no luck, he has not replied yet. I called the 800 number and they told me they will contact my local office because the time has expired. Should i be worried?? I don't want to be denied.

Yesterday, I received a notice from uscis saying that :My case has been randomly selected for an interview. We are waiting scheduling information from your local district office. At this point, this will be my second interview. Does anybody know if somebody had the same experience before or if this is normal?.

[user19000 18]

Yesterday, I received a notice from uscis saying that :My case has been randomly selected for an interview. We are waiting scheduling information from your local district office. At this point, this will be my second interview. Does anybody know if somebody had the same experience before or if this is normal?.

Can somebody be RANDOMLY selected for interviews twice?

I don't have any similar experience but on this site we've heard of people being grilled twice or even thrice. So your case is rare but you're not alone. It is inconvenient but I think you shouldn't worry too much as far as you were in a bona fide marriage. If they're going to ask you for additional information provide them with it. If they're going to ask the same questions give them the same answers. There can only one truth.

Good luck and keep calm.

[user19000 18]

This same office told me i couldnt have a SSN because i didnt have an I-94 after i first arrived and wanted to get one. I told them they could have an I-551 as proof instead. They went away and spend an hour messing about then came back and told me i could have it. It arrived in 4 days after that. I think i am going to wait until i have my extension letter and then try again using that. There are very few foreign people here in this area of upstate NY so they dont have much of a clue what to do with the likes of me! Theres a woman in this area who is also British who i have heard about, shes been here 10 years and has an IR-1 but they wont give her a SSN and she just accepts it according to what people tell me.

The DMV updated my license straight away. It was the first place i went because its in the same building as the County Clerk so i was already there after i got my divorce decree. Cost me $12 and they changed my name and picture and im supposed to wait 2 weeks for it to arrive.

The government employees around this area just write me off because i talk differently to them. They say im not eligible for things that i am (such as HEAP) based on how i sound... They dont ask for proof of permanent residency or anything! I have to read out their policies to them and show them proof, then they go away and find out that im right all along, its insane. I had to force one worker to apologize to me once, she went to the other side of the room and mocked the way i spoke to another worker because i had insisted she was wrong (she was), when she came back i told her i heard every word she said and that i expect an apology and then i will walk away and deal with my application elsewhere. She refused but after i didnt move, she apologized quickly.

People seem to think we are a second class in society and that we are slow and dont understand if they mock us etc. Or people talk about me within earshot thinking its ok or i dont understand. Its completely crazy. I always wonder if its different in larger places!

After we filed for divorce I moved across the country and ended up in a place where there's almost nothing but immigrants. And believe me, government employees around here still don't have much of a clue what to do with them either. Worse yet, everything takes ages to get done. That's why it took 6 weeks for my new social security card to be processed. If you fail your driving test here, you'll have to wait at least three weeks to take another one. Appointments are very hard to make. DMV offices are always extremely busy.

So are USCIS local offices and application support centers. My biometrics appointment was for 11 am the other day, I arrived at 10 am, waited until around 4 for my number to be called. The room is always full, noisy with all kinds of languages but English. While I was waiting, a woman approached me and started to shoot Chinese at me. I told her, "M'am, I'm not Chinese." She kept going on. I said, "I'm sorry, I don't speak Chinese. I don't understand a single word you're saying." That didn't stop her. Then I shook my head from side to side until I got dizzy. Now she got the message and just left.

What part of the UK are you from? If somebody living in the US discriminates against you based on your British accent then s/he is a pitiably ignorant creature and shouldn't be given a government job. Do they even know why the English language is called English?

[Holly2234 66]

Im from Nottingham, theres no strong regional accent or anything! No, they dont know why it is called English. I have been told to "Learn to speak proper English next time" as people walk away from me. They are extremely prejudiced around here. If i could move to a place with more immigrants i definitely would! Its in my plan for the future.

The road tests are really busy here too. I had to wait 6 weeks to take my test, i booked it when i was almost ready in the hopes of being better at driving by the time those 6 weeks had passed! The bank manager who i just got copies of my statements from my old joint account with my ex from, was from Vancouver and had gone through the immigration process after he moved here to be with his wife, he told me his last biometrics appointment was in Albany and he was in and out within an hour! I almost didnt believe him. How do people get "early biometrics"?

[user19000 18]

Im from Nottingham, theres no strong regional accent or anything! No, they dont know why it is called English. I have been told to "Learn to speak proper English next time" as people walk away from me. They are extremely prejudiced around here. If i could move to a place with more immigrants i definitely would! Its in my plan for the future.

The road tests are really busy here too. I had to wait 6 weeks to take my test, i booked it when i was almost ready in the hopes of being better at driving by the time those 6 weeks had passed! The bank manager who i just got copies of my statements from my old joint account with my ex from, was from Vancouver and had gone through the immigration process after he moved here to be with his wife, he told me his last biometrics appointment was in Albany and he was in and out within an hour! I almost didnt believe him. How do people get "early biometrics"?

Glad you got the monthly statements!

In and out within an hour is good but guess what? I lived in Pennsylvania and the whole thing took me about 10 minutes. Very few immigrants there. But there's a catch: my ex-husband and his family corrected every word I said, for example "aunt" had to be pronounced like "ant". I explained to them there were some differences between British-English and American-English and the english spoken in other parts of the world. They said, "They say it wrong. We say it right." adding that only in that part of the country, Western Pennsylvania, people spoke "the real English".

I've never done early biometrics but my understanding is you just walk in and ask to have your fingerprints and photo taken earlier than scheduled, for a valid reason, like you already have a trip booked up for that day.

Here's the thread about walk-in biometrics. Check it out and see if anyone from your area has tried it successfully: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/367977-thinking-of-early-walk-in-for-biometrics/page-8