May 2013 filers

[Nurseling 34]

Hello May filers, First I want to give all glory and honor to God almighty who's is always faithful from ancient times till the future and to every one on VJ and may filers in particular who were like family to myself and others. Thanks for your encouragements,prayers etc. I had my interview yesterday and it didn't even last up to 5 mins and I was approved. She didn't even asked to see my pictures or our conversation history she only check the tax return ask a few questions and viola you are approved the magical words and It felt like I was floating in mid air while I was leaving the embassy. Once again I say thank you Lord Jesus for your faithfulness. Indeed those that knows their God will do exploits. Nurselling Congrats on the job offer that seems pretty fast and Oz girl I hope u are having a good time with the kids settling in very well.

Big congratulations to you godsrule we are so very happy for you. God has pulled ya all through these difficult times so we must all continue to sing his praise.

When are you due to leave Nigeria ?

Thanks the job front has been very easy just in the process of expediting my EAD now will hopefully recieve itin the next few weekks

Hello May filers, First I want to give all glory and honor to God almighty who's is always faithful from ancient times till the future and to every one on VJ and may filers in particular who were like family to myself and others. Thanks for your encouragements,prayers etc. I had my interview yesterday and it didn't even last up to 5 mins and I was approved. She didn't even asked to see my pictures or our conversation history she only check the tax return ask a few questions and viola you are approved the magical words and It felt like I was floating in mid air while I was leaving the embassy. Once again I say thank you Lord Jesus for your faithfulness. Indeed those that knows their God will do exploits. Nurselling Congrats on the job offer that seems pretty fast and Oz girl I hope u are having a good time with the kids settling in very well.

Big congratulations to you godsrule we are so very happy for you. God has pulled ya all through these difficult times so we must all continue to sing his praise.

When are you due to leave Nigeria ?

Thanks the job front has been very easy just in the process of expediting my EAD now will hopefully recieve itin the next few weekks

[godsrule 7]

@Nurselling, my pick up date is in 2 weeks from now and I plan to leave 2 days after my pick up date. Is a weekend so I am online shopping for a ticket to washington with less hour lay over. Virgin Atlantic spend about 12 hours stop over in London and I think that's too much. So I am looking for something that is a bit around 5 hours stop over. How many hours from the UK to the States if you remember?

[sjs87 27]

Hello May 2013 filers!!

I finally arrived in the United States -- wahoo!! My fiance drove up to Canada, and brought his truck to help me move my belongings. We filled his truck bed and my car with boxes and crossed into the U.S. last night around 7:30pm. We had to go inside the customs building to pay some $6 fee, and everybody was incredible nice and helpful!

The border guard at the booth outside that I drove up to even cracked a joke... I said I was entering on the K-1 visa, and that my fiance was behind me in his truck. He asked me if I'd like him (the customs agent) to give my fiance a bad time... I said sure, but not too bad

The agent inside who opened my K-1 packet was also really nice, he jokingly said "Now, before I open this envelope... are you SURE?" and we thought he was joking. And he kind of was, but he said there was a couple (or at least a beneficiary) who ended up backing out of the K-1 before he opened their envelope! Of course we were sure -- and was glad to be there with my fiance on this momentous day!! This agent asked us if we had worked with a lawyer, and I said we had for the first part but decided to do the rest without her... and he went on about how basically lawyers pass off these things to paralegals to do, and that they just look over the paperwork before anything is officially submitted. Without saying these exact words, the agent made it pretty darn clear that immigration lawyers, at least for the K-1, are a complete and total waste of money. Oh well

The border agent inside who took our $6 fee was nice, too. He looked through my packet of Adjustment of Status documents and wrote a few more items down on a piece of paper that I was apparently missing.

All in all, a great experience and so happy to finally be at this stage of the journey! Today we are applying for a marriage license as we are doing our civil ceremony this Saturday!!

[Ozgirl1981 78]

Hello May 2013 filers!!

I finally arrived in the United States -- wahoo!! My fiance drove up to Canada, and brought his truck to help me move my belongings. We filled his truck bed and my car with boxes and crossed into the U.S. last night around 7:30pm. We had to go inside the customs building to pay some $6 fee, and everybody was incredible nice and helpful!

The border guard at the booth outside that I drove up to even cracked a joke... I said I was entering on the K-1 visa, and that my fiance was behind me in his truck. He asked me if I'd like him (the customs agent) to give my fiance a bad time... I said sure, but not too bad

The agent inside who opened my K-1 packet was also really nice, he jokingly said "Now, before I open this envelope... are you SURE?" and we thought he was joking. And he kind of was, but he said there was a couple (or at least a beneficiary) who ended up backing out of the K-1 before he opened their envelope! Of course we were sure -- and was glad to be there with my fiance on this momentous day!! This agent asked us if we had worked with a lawyer, and I said we had for the first part but decided to do the rest without her... and he went on about how basically lawyers pass off these things to paralegals to do, and that they just look over the paperwork before anything is officially submitted. Without saying these exact words, the agent made it pretty darn clear that immigration lawyers, at least for the K-1, are a complete and total waste of money. Oh well

The border agent inside who took our $6 fee was nice, too. He looked through my packet of Adjustment of Status documents and wrote a few more items down on a piece of paper that I was apparently missing.

All in all, a great experience and so happy to finally be at this stage of the journey! Today we are applying for a marriage license as we are doing our civil ceremony this Saturday!!

YAY!!! Glad to hear POE went smoothly for you. Welcome to the United States of America ! (I didn't get told that as the lines were too long and everyone was hurrying).

Good Luck with the wedding and the settling in. Glad you are now with your loved one !!!

[sjs87 27]

Thanks Ozgirl!

Yesterday's entry was probably THE easiest part of the whole immigration process!! I can't wait to unpack and help make our house a home!! Hope you are settling nicely into Washington state... maybe we'll cross paths someday

[Ozgirl1981 78]

Thanks Ozgirl!

Yesterday's entry was probably THE easiest part of the whole immigration process!! I can't wait to unpack and help make our house a home!! Hope you are settling nicely into Washington state... maybe we'll cross paths someday

So glad to hear.. It does feel like the I-129f process was the hardest and longest. Now that we are with our loved ones, it seems easier to manage.

I'm settling in ok. I dont think I'll ever get used to the rain or cold, but thankfully it's starting to warm up. Looking forward to having some nice weather so we can go outside and do gardening or take the kids to the parks.

Maybe we will cross paths one day or meet for coffee. I cant wait to get my licence so I can have my independance back again. Being from Australia, I have to start from scratch here. In Oz, we drove on the left so things are a little different. WA wont just change over my licence.

Welcome to Washington !!!! Enjoy your time now together.

[Nurseling 34]

@Nurselling, my pick up date is in 2 weeks from now and I plan to leave 2 days after my pick up date. Is a weekend so I am online shopping for a ticket to washington with less hour lay over. Virgin Atlantic spend about 12 hours stop over in London and I think that's too much. So I am looking for something that is a bit around 5 hours stop over. How many hours from the UK to the States if you remember?

Hi godsrule

So glad you will be leaving soon to get there.

The uk is about 8-9 hours flight to Georgia. Yes shop wisely for your ticket you don't want to pay too much out since there more expenses to come with AOS once your married.

I am on day 64 since my application for AOS and have just requested expedite due to the many job offers I decided to take up one so need to get the EAD. But my understanding is that I am close to normal processing time frame anyway so will se what happens this week. My new job is suppose to start 14th Aprils so really need EAD before then or I won't be able to start.

Pack well and dress warmly as London is cold at this time.

Keep us updated. God bless.

[Nurseling 34]

Hello May 2013 filers!!

I finally arrived in the United States -- wahoo!! My fiance drove up to Canada, and brought his truck to help me move my belongings. We filled his truck bed and my car with boxes and crossed into the U.S. last night around 7:30pm. We had to go inside the customs building to pay some $6 fee, and everybody was incredible nice and helpful!

The border guard at the booth outside that I drove up to even cracked a joke... I said I was entering on the K-1 visa, and that my fiance was behind me in his truck. He asked me if I'd like him (the customs agent) to give my fiance a bad time... I said sure, but not too bad

The agent inside who opened my K-1 packet was also really nice, he jokingly said "Now, before I open this envelope... are you SURE?" and we thought he was joking. And he kind of was, but he said there was a couple (or at least a beneficiary) who ended up backing out of the K-1 before he opened their envelope! Of course we were sure -- and was glad to be there with my fiance on this momentous day!! This agent asked us if we had worked with a lawyer, and I said we had for the first part but decided to do the rest without her... and he went on about how basically lawyers pass off these things to paralegals to do, and that they just look over the paperwork before anything is officially submitted. Without saying these exact words, the agent made it pretty darn clear that immigration lawyers, at least for the K-1, are a complete and total waste of money. Oh well

The border agent inside who took our $6 fee was nice, too. He looked through my packet of Adjustment of Status documents and wrote a few more items down on a piece of paper that I was apparently missing.

All in all, a great experience and so happy to finally be at this stage of the journey! Today we are applying for a marriage license as we are doing our civil ceremony this Saturday!!

Welcome to the USA Sjs

You made it so happy for you. Put you feet up and relax for a bit you deserve it.

Things get better from here on.

Keep us updated on how your doing.

[Bambi & João 2]

YEAH!!! So happy to see so many are approved and with their loved ones now!! Congratulations to those I have missed and to those who asked me fopr help, I am sorry for not responding. We've been married since February 21 and it's been amazing. I'm very happy. He's adjusted very well to the weather here in Michigan. I was worried that coming from Rio where it's always warm during their summer to the coldest and snowiest Michigan winter EVER was goint to be a problem. It wasn't. He LOVES the snow (at leastuntil he gets sick of it). Thankfully, it is almost gone and the weather has been so much nicer. We've been taking walks. I've been missing because for the last 6 months or so I had to schedule my Mac to come on because the power button stopped working. I still had a warranty so I decided that I would get it fixed since I don't need it to see my amazing guy anymore because HE IS HERE!!!! It took them FOREVER to fix it and when I tried to log on to the forum wiith my iPhone, I couldn't remember the password (I always had it saved on my Mac). I got locked out multiple times while trying to respond and gave up. I really didn't miss the computer though.

Everyone is ahead of us! The flight and things we needed for getting married, preparing him for clothes, and some other stuff thatwas unrelated left us a little short on cash so we are still only preparing for the AOS. He did get his Social Security number though. That was a complicated process and the US Social Security office forced him to have a double last name instead of a middle and last name because of the way Brazil has it on his passport. They wanted us to have his passport fixed but we don't even know how to start that one. I believe we have to go to the nearest embassy which is in Chicago (a six hour drive or train ride). We will eventually fix it and they said at Social Security that we can fix it later if we choose to do so or he can just have two last names. The problem is, he ALWAYS has to sign BOTH names for anything important. We still have not started the process for his AOS. I hired someone for our paperwork with the visa and it went perfectly but prefer to try to do this on our own. Hopefully we'll get it started VERY soon. Is it easy? Has anyone had any troubles getting things together? I'm not in a huge rush for him to get a job because he lived in a big city where driving wasn't necessary. Here we have very little public transportation so I have to teach him to drive. I'm not sure if we can do that before AOS. Does anyone know if he can get a drivers license before his AOS is approved? If not, it complicates things because I have to work so driving him until he can get a license might be tricky. I know, I have a lot of research to do. I've been so busy taking care of the things that I felt were most important like getting him on my medical and dental, and getting married. I've been working a lot when I get a free moment, I just love to enjoy him. We know he can't leave the country because we have to do AOS first. I'm READY!!! I'd love to have it in time to vacation in Rio next year when it gets cold and see his parents. On another note, it turns out his brother and sister in law will be moving to the USA for 1 1/2 year later this year so they'll only be a 6 hour drive or short plane ride away! :-)

[Nurseling 34]

Hi may filers here's my update. I had my EAD and AP approved today so waiting for them in the mail hopefully next week still no interview notice yet for green card but from my understanding there's a backlog in my local office so might be a longer wait.

I start a new job as a RN in cardiac heart failure unit. Looking forward to finally earning good money again.

My son got a daycare employee daycare at the hospital where I will be working they pay half the daycare I pay the other half so that was really a great help. I will be starting my masters program in family nurse practitioner in a few months my employer is going to pay some of the tuition two year program at least then I will greatly increase my earning potential.

Next is my car hoping by end may I can buy my jeep so can't wait to be driving.

Hope everyone else is getting on fine. Good luck to all of us.

[godsrule 7]

Hey Nurselling, I am glad to know things are all working out smoothly for you. Thanks for the update. I hope you guys will still be available to help us understand the process of filing and getting the EAD approved. What does EAD means? For now I just want to be able to pass the POE stage before going further and I hope you won't be too busy to assist when that time comes. I'm really happy to see you have put your ducks in a row already. Stay blessed always sis.

[Nurseling 34]

Hey Nurselling, I am glad to know things are all working out smoothly for you. Thanks for the update. I hope you guys will still be available to help us understand the process of filing and getting the EAD approved. What does EAD means? For now I just want to be able to pass the POE stage before going further and I hope you won't be too busy to assist when that time comes. I'm really happy to see you have put your ducks in a row already. Stay blessed always sis.

Hi godsrule

No worries am still here to help guide you along with the process just mail me happy to help. EAD stands for employment authorisation and AP stands for advance parole travel document we need to travel outside the United States in a emergency while we are waiting on the green card to be approved.

Once you get to America and get married you need to file the AOS adjustment of Status forms which cost 1077$ consisting of form i485 for green card form I131 application for uscis travel document and form I765 application for employment authorization. Once you file all these together you send them all with the cheque and wait after 4 weeks they write to you to go do your biometrics finger printing. Once you do that you wait again till your approved. When filing make sure you attach all the evidence they need like marriage licence medical form from k1 and passport picture for i94 that you print off online. Passport copy etc. the instructions will guide you.

When your at that stage to file let me know so I can help with any questions. You want to avoid a rfe so essential to send all documents required. My application from start to approval was 68 days just waiting on the card in the post now so I can start the new job.

Yes get POE out of the way first lol. You will be fine lots of guide on this website on AOS too. Forms you can download here and uscis main website.

Let us know how things go.

God bless

[godsrule 7]

Wow. You have really turn pro on immigration matters. Just kidding though. I am so happpy to have someone like you to assist me and other May filers tagging along. So is going to be a smooth walk all the way with someone like you guiding me through. I'm picking up my visa next week and I'm jetting out next day. Already had my ticket just counting the days to pick up. Will let you know when I POE. Thanks sister.

[Nurseling 34]

Wow. You have really turn pro on immigration matters. Just kidding though. I am so happpy to have someone like you to assist me and other May filers tagging along. So is going to be a smooth walk all the way with someone like you guiding me through. I'm picking up my visa next week and I'm jetting out next day. Already had my ticket just counting the days to pick up. Will let you know when I POE. Thanks sister.

pp

Haha godsrule

Just about to do a k2 for my daughter. Sh is due to come in June from university in Birmingham. She has 3 months vacation before she starts her second year of he chemical engineering degree. Trying to get her paper work in before she goes back. So we are going through the whole interview thing in London again and medical and visa lol. Should hopefully be easier this time round.

Hope POE goes well your almost there. Your family in Nigeria will miss you am sure you will do great once you get here. It does take some adjustments but you will be fine once you get working.

God bless.

[sjs87 27]

Hi Friends!

I've been in the U.S. for about 10 days now, and we had our civil ceremony this past weekend... yes, I know we moved quick! My grandma was visiting from another province, and so we wanted to have the civil ceremony while she was still visiting . We filed our marriage license with the county I live in, so now we are officially husband and wife... hurray!

We are getting ready to file the Adjustment of Status paperwork, and I had a few questions stemming from when I entered in the US (and advice on what those of you who have filed for Adjustment of Status already would be much appreciated!)

We had an incredibly friendly CBP agent, who said we need to file for I-130. This is not a document on the VJ "Step by Step" guide for Adjustment for K-1... so, I do not believe I need to file for this?

Also, he said we should file for I-131 "Advanced Parole" so I could have the option of leaving the U.S. I was considering filling this out, however, the I-131 requires a date and reason for travel of which I have none. Have any of you filed for this?

Also, we never received a paper NOA2 approval notice, only an email from USCIS, and the VJ Step by Step guide says we should submit a copy of this along with our application. Wouldnt it be obvious that we were approved initially, since we had an interview, I have a visa in my passport, and that I have already been admitted to the U.S.? I will contact USCIS for a copy of this letter if need be -- but I would hate to pay out of pocket for this letter, to the tune of over $400, even though we never received it in the first place!!