BINATIONAL SAME SEX COUPLES !! Show up!

[pinayanne27 8]

Congrats to those who got approved.

I'm still waiting for my EAD/AP to get approved, 86th day today and still nothing ?

[jordan85 8]

Hey, any of us preparing to remove conditions? I get my green card back in October 2013 shortly after DOMA fell and now getting ready to remove conditions. I wonder if we need to start a new thread for same-sex couples who are removing conditions?

[jordan85 8]

Out of curiosity: Has anyone reached the point of ROC yet? (I-751, Removal of Conditions)? It's been awhile since I read this thread, and I do intend to comb through recent posts, but I figured it's also worth asking in case people hadn't posted about it yet. I feel like this must be coming up SOON for some of the first couples (though, we're among the "first couples" and we're not quite there yet.) I'm wondering how it's going for people out there with this step.

Hey, I've just started preparing to remove conditions... We got our green card in October 2013, so can apply to lift conditions in mid-July. Seems much less stressful this time around.

[Nikkosan 127]

Well, almost 14 months after we filed for AOS, the Green Card arrived today, exactly a week after our interview. We had originally received a potential interview waiver letter, but in April received an interview appointment notice for May 10. We had been collecting relationship evidence over the last year, so the pictures and supporting documentation were ready. We were also asked to bring affidavits from two family members on each side of the family attesting to the validity of our marriage, so that required a little work as a couple of affidavits had to be done in Portuguese and completed in Brazil. But we were pretty well prepared on the big day, and the process went pretty smooothly.

Thanks to everyone who has been with us during this process, and now we can give USCIS a rest for a couple years!

I received the update on your timeline (we have similar ones) yesterday afternoon. I could not believe what had happened to you.

Happy for your guys for finally completing this step of the process and receiving the green card!!!

[pinayanne27 8]

Well, almost 14 months after we filed for AOS, the Green Card arrived today, exactly a week after our interview. We had originally received a potential interview waiver letter, but in April received an interview appointment notice for May 10. We had been collecting relationship evidence over the last year, so the pictures and supporting documentation were ready. We were also asked to bring affidavits from two family members on each side of the family attesting to the validity of our marriage, so that required a little work as a couple of affidavits had to be done in Portuguese and completed in Brazil. But we were pretty well prepared on the big day, and the process went pretty smooothly.

Thanks to everyone who has been with us during this process, and now we can give USCIS a rest for a couple years!

Thank you so much for sharing this. I never thought that even if you already had a waived interview notice there's still a chance for you to have an interview.

Regarding the affidavits from both families required to all same sex couples?

[FulanoDeTal 19]

Thank you so much for sharing this. I never thought that even if you already had a waived interview notice there's still a chance for you to have an interview.

Regarding the affidavits from both families required to all same sex couples?

Yes, my understanding is that even if you receive the potential interview waiver letter, there is still about a 50 percent chance that you will have an interview. So it's only a "potential" waiver.

Based on comments that I've seen on this site and elsewhere I'm not aware that affidavits have generally been requested from same-sex couples, although obviously USCIS can ask for them if it wants. I assume it depends on the individual case and the officer involved.

[pinayanne27 8]

Yes, my understanding is that even if you receive the potential interview waiver letter, there is still about a 50 percent chance that you will have an interview. So it's only a "potential" waiver.

Based on comments that I've seen on this site and elsewhere I'm not aware that affidavits have generally been requested from same-sex couples, although obviously USCIS can ask for them if it wants. I assume it depends on the individual case and the officer involved.

Thanks a lot for sharing

[dsldesch 27]

Thanks! As far as the request for affidavits goes, I don't think it's an uncommon request. The request was part of the form letter that we received scheduling the interview. It also occurred to me that this request could be a problem for some same-sex couples in cases when there are real acceptance issues on one or both sides of the family. Our interviewer was not particularly "warm and fuzzy," so I did not raise this issue with her as I had no idea what her views on same-sex marriage were and it wasn't relevant to our situation. If this situation were to arise, however, I would alert USCIS in advance of the interview and be prepared to provide affidavits from close friends, witnesses to your wedding, etc. who can make the same statements.

This is very helpful. Thank you so much, and again, I'm so happy for both of you!

[pinayanne27 8]

I received my EAD/AP combo card today. Upon checking all the details, instead of only putting my married surname they included my maiden name. I don't want to have 2 surnames. I didn't also make a mistake when i passed my applications.

When i had my biometrics, the girl from uscis instructed me to send a letter for name change since my name was not yet updated in their system. The next day we sent the letter and after 2 weeks they updated my name. But upon receipt of my combo card today, they probably misinterpreted my letter.

How can i make some changes? Do i need to pay for fees again?

[FulanoDeTal 19]

I received my EAD/AP combo card today. Upon checking all the details, instead of only putting my married surname they included my maiden name. I don't want to have 2 surnames. I didn't also make a mistake when i passed my applications.

When i had my biometrics, the girl from uscis instructed me to send a letter for name change since my name was not yet updated in their system. The next day we sent the letter and after 2 weeks they updated my name. But upon receipt of my combo card today, they probably misinterpreted my letter.

How can i make some changes? Do i need to pay for fees again?

If you go to http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/employment-authorization-document, you will see details about what you need to do. Basically, if the mistake was yours, you need to file a new application and pay again. If the mistake was USCIS's, you need to communicate with the service center or National Benefits Center that issued your EAD card, and you should not incur a fee. We had a name spelling issue earlier in the process, but happily it got corrected prior to the issuance of any cards. We found that it's a good idea to have the USCIS personnel check their records for the correction every time you deal with USCIS, as it doesn't appear that all of their systems automatically update.

[FulanoDeTal 19]

This is very helpful. Thank you so much, and again, I'm so happy for both of you!

Thanks, and good luck to you guys as well. I would like to add one thing so that the record is complete. While I said earlier that our officer wasn't particularly "warm and fuzzy," I have since learned that she did us a real favor. Apparently my husband's medical examination, which was done in Brazil in November 2013 during the K-1 visa process, is now considered "expired" under the regulations. So the officer could have required us to put the whole process on hold and go get a new medical examination, thus incurring addtional delay and cost. Happily, while the officer mentioned the issue at the interview, she waived the new examination. We're very appreciative of that courtesy!

[pinayanne27 8]

If you go to http://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-processes-and-procedures/employment-authorization-document, you will see details about what you need to do. Basically, if the mistake was yours, you need to file a new application and pay again. If the mistake was USCIS's, you need to communicate with the service center or National Benefits Center that issued your EAD card, and you should not incur a fee. We had a name spelling issue earlier in the process, but happily it got corrected prior to the issuance of any cards. We found that it's a good idea to have the USCIS personnel check their records for the correction every time you deal with USCIS, as it doesn't appear that all of their systems automatically update.

It wasn't our fault at all. But we've decided to keep it that way to avoid another stress since my name was spelled correctly and all information are correct as well. We no longer want to wait another 2-3 months. Hopefully we get an interview schedule so we can ask them to fix it for my GC, if not then i'll just wait for naturalization.

Anyone here using 2 surnames as well?

Edited June 19, 2015 by pinayanne27

[dsldesch 27]

Anyone here using 2 surnames as well?

My fiance has two surnames; already, just from our NOA1, it looks like they'll just be using his first.... However, he's discussed possibly changing his name legally, not wanting to share a surname with unsupporting parents, but I'm not sure if this is still something he'll want to do since his parents are starting to come around.

In any case, for those already married, did you change your names after marriage?

[Sukie 1,460]

My fiance has two surnames; already, just from our NOA1, it looks like they'll just be using his first.... However, he's discussed possibly changing his name legally, not wanting to share a surname with unsupporting parents, but I'm not sure if this is still something he'll want to do since his parents are starting to come around.

In any case, for those already married, did you change your names after marriage?

My spouse changed her name via our marriage certificate, but since our marriage isn't recognized in Australia, we had to pay $169 to change her name at the Department of Births, Deaths and Marriages in Queensland. Griped my @$$. It would not have cost us a bloody dollar had we been a het couple.

Sukie in NY

[pinayanne27 8]

Congrats to all of us! Same sex marriage is now legal in all states.