IR-1 what to keep for entry into the USA Plus SSN/Green Card Q's.

[Tatoosh 1]

My wife has been approved for an IR-1 visa. She is getting her vaccinations tomorrow, a bit mixed up from normal progression, but she had her medical two weeks ago and passed. They wanted to wait to give the vaccinations and that date turned out to be the day after her already scheduled visa interview.

So I know we will get her passport back and a packet that must not be opened and will be handed over upon arrival in the USA. Does she need any of the other things? The medical x-ray scan CD or a receipt showing her vaccinations separate from the packet she hands over?

A second question that I probably should post separately is about her SSN. We checked the box requesting a SSN be assigned her in the DS-260 application. She already has an ITIN (International Tax Identification Number) which we have used when filing US taxes for a few years. But they never asked her for that at any point in the process.

Once we arrive in the USA (Seattle) and head to our new home a bit north of Seattle, should we contact Social Security and check on her SSN? Will it arrive with her green card? Since she wants to work, I know how important a SSN is and a green card too. Even though the visa placard in her passport will say that she can work on it. Or at least the one a friends wife got did. So will that suffice for job hunting once we have settled in?

Worth mentioning: I do want to say how slick the process has been for us filing in Manila and doing the DS-260 online. A couple of missteps on our part but overall, it has gone very smooth. Two months and two days from filing the I-130 to getting approval at her interview. We've been together for a number of years and that helped. She is comfortable using English during her two interviews and that seemed to make things happen a bit quicker too. We had extensive documentation well arranged, so her final interview went very fast, like four questions. Then the interviewer said, "Well, everything his here. Nothing left to ask so congratulations, you are approved."

[Hank_ 9,174]

My wife has been approved for an IR-1 visa. She is getting her vaccinations tomorrow, a bit mixed up from normal progression, but she had her medical two weeks ago and passed. They wanted to wait to give the vaccinations and that date turned out to be the day after her already scheduled visa interview.

So I know we will get her passport back and a packet that must not be opened and will be handed over upon arrival in the USA. Does she need any of the other things? The medical x-ray scan CD or a receipt showing her vaccinations separate from the packet she hands over?

A second question that I probably should post separately is about her SSN. We checked the box requesting a SSN be assigned her in the DS-260 application. She already has an ITIN (International Tax Identification Number) which we have used when filing US taxes for a few years. But they never asked her for that at any point in the process.

Once we arrive in the USA (Seattle) and head to our new home a bit north of Seattle, should we contact Social Security and check on her SSN? Will it arrive with her green card? Since she wants to work, I know how important a SSN is and a green card too. Even though the visa placard in her passport will say that she can work on it. Or at least the one a friends wife got did. So will that suffice for job hunting once we have settled in?

Worth mentioning: I do want to say how slick the process has been for us filing in Manila and doing the DS-260 online. A couple of missteps on our part but overall, it has gone very smooth. Two months and two days from filing the I-130 to getting approval at her interview. We've been together for a number of years and that helped. She is comfortable using English during her two interviews and that seemed to make things happen a bit quicker too. We had extensive documentation well arranged, so her final interview went very fast, like four questions. Then the interviewer said, "Well, everything his here. Nothing left to ask so congratulations, you are approved."

Congrats!!

1) You need nothing else for POE other than the DO NOT OPEN envelope and passport with visa. The x-ray CD is of no value, no one really wants it. Her DS-3025 she keeps for her records.

2) SS card will arrive from SSA separate from the green card. The stamp in her passport does allow her to work, but she will also need her SS card, this will take about 3-6 weeks to arrive after POE.

[Brassballs 47]

Don't forget to sign up at the USCIS ELIS website and fork over another $165 for her GC.

[Hank_ 9,174]

Oh ya ... for sure on the ELIS ... I forgot

https://public-prod-elis2.uscis.dhs.gov/efile/app/app/iv/#!/

[Tatoosh 1]

Wow! Thanks for the info on the ELIS system. I was completely unaware of it. Will the numbers they request appear on her immigration packet when it arrives? All I have for her now is her I-130 approval number that we used to do the DS-260 and make her reservation for interview. I don't have a Alien Registration Number for her (as of now) or a Department of State number ...which looks rather similar to the I-130 approval number we got for Manila (MNL2016XXXXXX).

Once we have her packet, which we won't open, perhaps the numbers are referenced there and I can take care of the application in June. We won't leave until later in very early August.

Also a bit unusual is she has her "do not open" medical records in a sealed envelope and her vaccination record (also in separate sealed envelope) that she got today at St Luke's. They never took the first one at her Embassy interview and the second, of course, she only got today. I guess we will carry those, unopened, with us and submit at the US POE upon arrival.

Thank you Hank_ and BrassBalls for sharing your expertise.

[Brassballs 47]

You'll need the 'A' # off her visa which you'll be able to see through the delivery bag.

Another caveat..... You will probably have to front fill the number with a couple of zeros to satisfy the data field. Took me a week or so to figure that one out with several back and forths with the asawa acusing her of not giving me all the numbers.

Also not disputing your timeline but only 2 months from I-130 submission to visa approved? That's unheard of at least for me over the past 2-3 years. And even with missteps. You lead a charmed life!

[Tatoosh 1]

Brassballs, thanks! And double thanks for the heads up on the data field. That stuff just drives me bonkers when I run into and I am not intuitive about sorting it out at all.

Yes, we are both a bit in awe of the speed with which things happened too. We expected a 6 month process, possibly 8 if we screwed things up a bit, and our most optimistic forecast was 4 months if it just went wonderfully. Two months was never even something we considered. But March 14th was when we filed the I-130 with the embassy. They said to expect one month for a reply and up to six months possible. It was just about 3 weeks when I got the email noting approval. We waited a few days while she gathered up some documents and I started helping her with her DS-260. Because we had prepared extensively for the I-130, the DS-260 went fairly smoothly. We needed to get some info, parents birth places and so forth. But since she hand never been married before and I had only been married once before decades back, I think it helped smooth the process.

We had a lot of supporting evidence, shared bank account in the Philippines, our marriage claimed with an ITIN on our tax returns for a number of years. Plus she had some pretty good ID's, her passport of course, then her PRC teachers ID, and the TOR/Diploma from her masters degree she finished last year. Other than a blip with St Luke's because the doctor was worried about her period and wanting to wait two weeks for a retest to make sure she wasn't pregnant, it all went very well.

We had one unnecessary trip to the Embassy because we got confused by the on-line instructions to submit documentation to the NVC after finishing the DS-260. Perplexed, we assembled the basic documents, gathered up funds to pay fees, and scheduled through infopass for a meeting to ask questions. That was a waste of time and money. They did not answer questions, gave her a regular hand out paper and told her to visit the website for more details. Bleh! But a few more tries, a couple of short arguments, and we got it sorted. I chatted with a friend that went through it last year. He said he paid fees when his wife went for her interview and she turned in her documentation then, as well. I simply hit the relax button at that point.

We got her papers in order again, double checked, made sure she had originals and copies, extra documentation in case they required it, and then made the reservations for the Embassy visa interview and St Luke's medical patient data. Other than the doctor worrying about her non-existent chance of pregnancy, it went swimmingly.

My wife is personable. Her English is good and she often responds in English even to questions in Tagalog. At least she did in the initial interview with the Filipino at the embassy. The last interview in the process was with the American who only had couple of questions: where we met and why we were going to back to the States after so long here. Then she congratulated my wife on getting her visa. Bingo! May 16, so just the two months and two days. Color me happy!

[Brassballs 47]

I didn't catch your DCF filing status which definitely explains a lot about the shortened timeframe. You didn't have to deal with the USCIS and NVC with all their protracted delays between events. The standard, if there is such a thing, CR1 filed in the US will take 9 (very lucky) up to 12-15 months, the norm.

You sure you want to abandon the PI lifestyle to return to the US???? So many dream of being able to move in the opposite direction,

[chillin4me 15]

My wife has been approved for an IR-1 visa. She is getting her vaccinations tomorrow, a bit mixed up from normal progression, but she had her medical two weeks ago and passed. They wanted to wait to give the vaccinations and that date turned out to be the day after her already scheduled visa interview.

So I know we will get her passport back and a packet that must not be opened and will be handed over upon arrival in the USA. Does she need any of the other things? The medical x-ray scan CD or a receipt showing her vaccinations separate from the packet she hands over?

A second question that I probably should post separately is about her SSN. We checked the box requesting a SSN be assigned her in the DS-260 application. She already has an ITIN (International Tax Identification Number) which we have used when filing US taxes for a few years. But they never asked her for that at any point in the process.

Once we arrive in the USA (Seattle) and head to our new home a bit north of Seattle, should we contact Social Security and check on her SSN? Will it arrive with her green card? Since she wants to work, I know how important a SSN is and a green card too. Even though the visa placard in her passport will say that she can work on it. Or at least the one a friends wife got did. So will that suffice for job hunting once we have settled in?

Worth mentioning: I do want to say how slick the process has been for us filing in Manila and doing the DS-260 online. A couple of missteps on our part but overall, it has gone very smooth. Two months and two days from filing the I-130 to getting approval at her interview. We've been together for a number of years and that helped. She is comfortable using English during her two interviews and that seemed to make things happen a bit quicker too. We had extensive documentation well arranged, so her final interview went very fast, like four questions. Then the interviewer said, "Well, everything his here. Nothing left to ask so congratulations, you are approved."

Once she arrives in the US, u just have to wait to receive the SSN card in the mail, no need to contact them. It will arrive 1-2 weeks after her arriving in the US. She can work immediately once she has her SSN because she has temporary green card in her passport. You just have to pay for USCIS ELIS for green card fee asap so she can get her actual green card.