November 2015 l i-29f Filers

[YecaCruz 379]

We took the forum's advice and waited 2 weeks. Some people get it the next day. In this world of electronics and instant information you probably don't need to wait the full two weeks. They will tell you if he is not In the system yet so you can always try again a few days later.

So it's up to you when you want to get it.

As far as name changing goes I don't know how that would affect the Ssn before or after the marriage. I assume you would have to present the marriage certificate, can take a while to get, which serves as the legal name change document if you don't wait until after getting married. But like i said I'm not hundred percent sure about that

[CRB 25]

Thank you! If you don't mind me asking, did you apply for the SSN before you got married or after? I'm hearing it's wiser to apply before you get married, but I'm not sure why.

This is my experience:

We waited for about 2 weeks after her arrival to apply for a SSN. I don't think the wait is necessary anymore since the I-94 information is done electronically now, but that's your call.

Once we got married, we went back to the SS office, showed them a certified marriage certificate, and requested a new card with her new name.

Keep in mind that the paperwork from your marriage (the papers that need to be filled out by whomever conducts the ceremony) is usually sent in to be registered. It can take up to 2 weeks for you to receive a certified copy. We hand carried our marriage license to the office and asked for 6 (certified) copies, which they gave us a no cost.

Take that with your passport and the I-94 and application to the SS office and you should be good to go. She received the new card in less tan week.

[lacolinab13 86]

You definitely no longer need to wait two weeks to get your I-94 - the limiting factor used to be the I-95s being unloaded into the system, but now that everything is electronic it all happens automatically. As soon as you can print out the I-94, you can go to the SS office. We plan on going the day after my fiancé arrives.

People sometimes say to get the SSN before you get married as some workers at the SSA will mistakenly tell you your "visa expired" when you got married and that you can no longer get a SSN. That's bs and should be argued with. You can get one as long as you have at least two weeks (I think) remaining on your I-94, but getting it earlier is better. Otherwise you have to wait for EAD.

State laws vary, but I don't think any state requires a SSN to get married. Most require that you give a SSN number if you have one, but if you don't, that's ok. The requirements to get a marriage license vary by state but in most they're pretty bare-bones. We'll be going to get our license the day after he arrives as the office will be close by the time he gets here on the day of, but our state has a three-day waiting by period beige you can actually get married. Our reason for doing everything ASAP is that we want to apply for AOS as soon as possible, hopefully the same day we get the marriage cert back. I know my fiancé won't enjoy being out of work so trying to get the ball rolling quickly on the EAD. In many states it takes a while to get a marriage certificate back if your officiant mails it in. In many locations you have the option of hand delivering the signed license yourself and getting the certificate back the same day, which is great if you want to send in your AOS package quickly.

[jennaleigh 2]

Thank you all for the very helpful advice!

[kikibooboo 11]

I-485 APPROVED!!!

We are so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!! No interviews, no RFE's, all the stress and annoyance was well worth it!

[Rileybrynn25 5]

I-485 APPROVED!!!

We are so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!! No interviews, no RFE's, all the stress and annoyance was well worth it!

Yay!! Congrats!!

My fiance enters the US on Monday! Wedding day July 30th.

[steph&max 13]

I-485 APPROVED!!!

We are so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!! No interviews, no RFE's, all the stress and annoyance was well worth it!

That's amazing!!! Congratulations!

[lacolinab13 86]

I-485 APPROVED!!!

We are so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!! No interviews, no RFE's, all the stress and annoyance was well worth it!

That's amazing! Congrats on being done with USCIS for a couple of years .

Rileybrynn - Congrats! You must be so excited. My fiancé arrives four weeks from tomorrow.

Edited July 13, 2016 by lacolinab13

[maspas 10]

I-485 APPROVED!!!

We are so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!! No interviews, no RFE's, all the stress and annoyance was well worth it!

WOW!!!!

That's so wonderful! We just sent our AOS package and hoping for a speedy processing as well. Fingers crossed!

[YecaCruz 379]

I-485 APPROVED!!!

We are so happy!!!!!!!!!!!!! No interviews, no RFE's, all the stress and annoyance was well worth it!

Hooray! Congrats

[kikibooboo 11]

Yay!! Congrats!!

My fiance enters the US on Monday! Wedding day July 30th.

That's amazing!!! Congratulations!

That's amazing! Congrats on being done with USCIS for a couple of years .

Rileybrynn - Congrats! You must be so excited. My fiancé arrives four weeks from tomorrow.

WOW!!!!

That's so wonderful! We just sent our AOS package and hoping for a speedy processing as well. Fingers crossed!

Hooray! Congrats

Thank you so very much, guys! We're so happy!! Now we're ready to start the job hunting! I'm very surprised and happy with the speed of the process and it was just a few day before my husband's birthday, so that's a good birthday gift

Please, don't forget to post here when your GC gets approved too! I want to hear some more good news!

[Abisflores 6]

Hi! I just have a wuestion. So i finished my biometrics last June 29. Now i had an update on my uscis case tracker that my "case is ready to schedule for an interview" will you get that update as well even if you're candidate for an interview waiver? Thanks!!!

[Ted & Janine 31]

Hi everybody! Is there anybody left here?

It's been a long time since my last visit. Looks like I have a lot of reading to do. Congratulations to all those with approvals. Janine and I are probably the longest engaged couple ever!! and maybe the longest apart from each other. It's been many hurdles. Main thing being unstable employment. In these times, I have come to learn that there really is no such thing as "stable employment". Honestly, I have avoided this site because it was beginning to feel as though our outlook was not favorable.

Fast forward: We made the decision to schedule the interview. It was set for July 11th. Of course, their was a typhoon looming about. I must say, everything has worked out for us... including the rain ending the morning of her interview. Unfortunately, I could not attend. She was literally the first person at the embassy and the first to be interviewed for K-1 Visa. Thanks to all of the information here, she was well prepared and organized. In fact, she was complimented and the interviewer said "Perfect". Then came the answer that I pathetically worried about so much that xanax could not help with the stress level.... Then came the decision... the interviewers words were: "You're approved, go to window 5".

I waited until Janine had the visa in hand to announce it. She received it yesterday, so happy days are much closer.

I originally was considering hiring an attorney to prepare our petition. Went to the free consultation and was told $3,000 to get things started. That was not happening, so that night, I went to google and typed in "Fiance Visa Philippines". Visa-Journey popped up. The rest is history.

We could not have done it without Visa-Journey

I want to thank:

The creators and site administrators of this site- very well laid out and maintained.

Greenbaum and Hank_ - The step by step process guide for Philippines is an invaluable tool. The wisdom and time that is put in to answering our questions. Fortunately, almost every question I had, was already answered by Greenbaum at some point.

HappyLaytons- For creating this thread (The Best Thread Ever on VJ!!).

To all of you, the members- For sharing your stories, your progress, trials and tribulations, and allowing us to be like family.

Jaime- I have to mention you because the stories you shared and your technique, kept me sane!! I'm out of brown bags as I used the last 10 waiting for Janine's interview results. Hope all is well with you and Aisha.

Wow! That sounded like an acceptance speech for an award. With a little luck, my award and her son will arrive next month.

[Rileybrynn25 5]

Wow! That sounded like an acceptance speech for an award. With a little luck, my award and her son will arrive next month.

Congrats on your approval and sorry to hear of your stress during the process. Worth it in the end. Best of luck to you & your bride!

[Rileybrynn25 5]

My fiance arrived yesterday from London. He was supposed to have an hour and a half connection in Edmonton, Canada to Seattle. His plane out of London was an hour late. He missed his connection because the US Border Control in Canada were the ones to call him into the room and open his packet and ask a few questions. The airline sorted him out on another flight not too long after. Thank God... because US border control had already stamped the K1 stamp in his passport. Very interesting! I honestly thought Seattle would be his POE. But, he's here. Another small disturbance in the process. So anyone connecting in Canada to the US, take note and allow for extra time for your POE process.