Two AOS questions - please help

[Bryan and An 23]

Hello, 

 

My fiancee and I just got back from Vietnam a couple days ago! POE Chicago was very easy, although the officer admitted he "hasn't done one of these in a while," so hopefully he did everything correctly. When he was looking through the sealed packet, he said the medical exam records "didn't look complete," or didn't look like as much as he remembered should be there. He said he wasn't flagging anything though; we offered him the envelope from the hospital that contained the chest x-ray and the DS-3025 (immunization record), but he said he didn't need that. I was under the impression that those would be sent in by him, so do we just send them in with the I-485? Or do we take them to a civil surgeon and have the civil surgeon complete the I-693? How does this work with the fact that the CBP officer kept all of the medical exam records except for the chest x-ray and the DS-3025?

 

Along these same lines, the DS-3025 has the box checked at the bottom that says "US vaccination requirements COMPLETE." However, two of the vaccinations that I'm under the impression she needs - Tdap and Influenza - are marked as "Not routinely available." Since it says requirements complete, is she waived from these just because they weren't available in Vietnam? Or would she need to get them before the civil surgeon completes the I-693? 

 

Finally, a completely unrelated question: as apparently is common with Vietnamese immigrants, the name on my fiancee's visa was entered exactly the same as on her Vietnamese passport - Middle Middle First for given names. So according to the CBP officer, one of her middle names is her first name as of right now. Someone in another thread mentioned just changing it to the way we want it on the marriage license - I know we can change her last name to mine on the marriage license, but can we change her given names around as well? And then take the marriage certificate to the Social Security office to get her a SSN? Would changing the names cause a problem when we submit the I-485, as the names will be different than what USCIS has on file?

 

Thanks for any help on any of these questions. Maybe I should have split them into different topics, but hopefully this will work okay. 

[Cryssiekins 976]

I can answer part of this:

with the i485- you just send in the ds3025 as long as it says complete. 

 

Not sure how it works with the vac not being available though.  I was confused on this as well and just decided to send what I had and wait for an rfe if they needed anything more.  That never came though

 

Worst case: send in what you have and if they need something further, let them request it.  Just to save time and money for you trying to guess now and maybe needing something further later. 

 

Congrats and good luck with the rest of the process!

[Cryssiekins 976]

Oh I missed a whole other question. 

 

For it the initial SSN (go before you get married) it will have to be issued in the way it appears on her i94 as that is the official record with DHS. 

[Bryan and An 23]

9 minutes ago, Cryssiekins said:

Oh I missed a whole other question. 

 

For it the initial SSN (go before you get married) it will have to be issued in the way it appears on her i94 as that is the official record with DHS. 

Great, thank you! What's the benefit to going for the SSN before we're married? We're getting married this Friday, and were considering just waiting until after that. 

[Ontarkie 14,433]

6 minutes ago, Bryan and An said:

Great, thank you! What's the benefit to going for the SSN before we're married? We're getting married this Friday, and were considering just waiting until after that. 

It's better to just apply for it in the name that appears on her visa. At times getting it in married name first causes issues. Some offices refuse to do it as they think getting married voids the i94. Other times  trying to get it in married name before filling for AOS causes issues trying to verify the name. Since no AOS has been started their records only show her maiden name some ppl have issues. 

[Bryan and An 23]

I see. I've also read, though, (in one of the guides on VJ), that we should wait two weeks to apply for the SSN, as she can't get it until her information appears in the SAVE-ASVI database. I just checked online using her I-94 number, and as of now, her info isn't in there. As I said, we're getting married Friday - do we still have to wait until she's in the SAVE database to get the SSN, or can we do it with just her I-94, visa, and birth certificate?

[Cryssiekins 976]

2 weeks is just a general rule to allow time for the database to update.  Check online Tuesday or Wednesday and she should be in there.  

 

It is best to get it before being married for the reasons stated above.  I arrived in October and just got all the SSN sorted out mid-March (about the time I got my EAD) 

[Suss&Camm 2,213]

4 hours ago, Bryan and An said:

I see. I've also read, though, (in one of the guides on VJ), that we should wait two weeks to apply for the SSN, as she can't get it until her information appears in the SAVE-ASVI database. I just checked online using her I-94 number, and as of now, her info isn't in there. As I said, we're getting married Friday - do we still have to wait until she's in the SAVE database to get the SSN, or can we do it with just her I-94, visa, and birth certificate?

The 2 weeks is prior to the electronic updates. It's much faster now, days.

You can't check if "she is in there" (SAVE) .. All it shows is the status of any applications made in her name. It won't show anything until the SSO tries to verify her.

Edited April 17, 2017 by Suss&Camm

[Will_and_Tu 46]

Hey Bryan, good to see you again.

 

A couple of these things sound exactly like what we went through. Tu also had her DS3025 marked as all US vaccinations requirements complete, but also was missing the TDAP (which is basically chicken pox). She and I debated what to do, and we eventually rolled the dice and sent in the DS3025 as is. We figured that the worst-case scenario was that we'd get an RFE requiring another medical exam, but since doctors can basically charge whatever they want for a transcription of the original medical exam, we didn't want to spend the extra money unless necessary. We never got an RFE (GC is now in hand), so my recommendation would be to follow the same course of action and skip the 693 (and its attendant doctor's fees) unless USCIS demands it.

 

We also had the same issue with the name. In our case, we were able to get the Social Security office to list her name properly on her first card. They just listed the name on her I-94 as a "known alias" for their own records. The only other time we had problems with the name was in getting the marriage license. Frankly, the county clerk's office was a bit difficult, but we were able to persuade the person at the clerk's office to operate off of her passport rather than the I-94. Then, once we had her name correct on both the social security card and the marriage license, we filed it that way with the 485, and now we have enough documents with her name as it should be that it's no longer a big deal.

 

We went back after the green card was in hand and updated her social security card with her married name.

Edited April 17, 2017 by Will_and_Tu
typo

[doreenmattseattle 9]

16 hours ago, Cryssiekins said:

I can answer part of this:

with the i485- you just send in the ds3025 as long as it says complete. 

 

Not sure how it works with the vac not being available though.  I was confused on this as well and just decided to send what I had and wait for an rfe if they needed anything more.  That never came though

 

Worst case: send in what you have and if they need something further, let them request it.  Just to save time and money for you trying to guess now and maybe needing something further later. 

 

Congrats and good luck with the rest of the process!

Ok-- now i am totally confused. I didn't see anything on the I-485 that mentioned medical/vacinnation items be sent. My fiance had her whole packet kept at the point of entry.  She doesn't have anything.  Should that have been given back to her once opened?  As I read the 485 it only said Medical stuff "when requested".  Anyway-- my hope is that the packet stuff gets sent/forwarded to somewhere.

[Cryssiekins 976]

15 minutes ago, doreenmattseattle said:

Ok-- now i am totally confused. I didn't see anything on the I-485 that mentioned medical/vacinnation items be sent. My fiance had her whole packet kept at the point of entry.  She doesn't have anything.  Should that have been given back to her once opened?  As I read the 485 it only said Medical stuff "when requested".  Anyway-- my hope is that the packet stuff gets sent/forwarded to somewhere.

The doctor who performed my medical gave me a copy of the ds3025.  I was not given anything from the embassy or POE.

 

The ds3025 is just the vaccination supplement part of the medical, which is required to send along with the i485 package.  Perhaps check with your spouse to see if they received it from the doctor and filed it somewhere else?

 

If missing from the i485 my understanding is they will send an rfe asking for the 693, which is a form filled by a US civil surgeon who transcribes the vaccination record. 

[lacolinab13 86]

Just a quick note that TDAP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis aka whooping cough) has nothing to do with chickenpox (varicella). 

[doreenmattseattle 9]

14 minutes ago, Cryssiekins said:

The doctor who performed my medical gave me a copy of the ds3025.  I was not given anything from the embassy or POE.

 

The ds3025 is just the vaccination supplement part of the medical, which is required to send along with the i485 package.  Perhaps check with your spouse to see if they received it from the doctor and filed it somewhere else?

 

If missing from the i485 my understanding is they will send an rfe asking for the 693, which is a form filled by a US civil surgeon who transcribes the vaccination record. 

Ok-- thanks.  As i read the instructions for the I-485 it says medical records on request.  I just assumed they had all that stuff, or at minimum you came into the country on a k-1 visa and had already met all those medical/physical requirements and to ask for them would be totally redundant. Looks like I will get an RFE and now I need to track down copies back in Africa, or get them from the doctor back there. Really annoying when things aren't spelled out clearly.

[Cryssiekins 976]

2 minutes ago, doreenmattseattle said:

Ok-- thanks.  As i read the instructions for the I-485 it says medical records on request.  I just assumed they had all that stuff, or at minimum you came into the country on a k-1 visa and had already met all those medical/physical requirements and to ask for them would be totally redundant. Looks like I will get an RFE and now I need to track down copies back in Africa, or get them from the doctor back there. Really annoying when things aren't spelled out clearly.

After I hit send, I realized I may have been incorrect.

 

I filed AOS in November 2016 and at that time the instructions specifically asked for the medical supplement.  If the forms were changed between mid-November until when you filed, that may have changed. 

 

It should change to streamline the process.  

 

My apologies as I may have worried/confused you unnecessarily. 

[Diane and Chris 651]

3 hours ago, Will_and_Tu said:

Hey Bryan, good to see you again.

 

A couple of these things sound exactly like what we went through. Tu also had her DS3025 marked as all US vaccinations requirements complete, but also was missing the TDAP (which is basically chicken pox). She and I debated what to do, and we eventually rolled the dice and sent in the DS3025 as is. We figured that the worst-case scenario was that we'd get an RFE requiring another medical exam, but since doctors can basically charge whatever they want for a transcription of the original medical exam, we didn't want to spend the extra money unless necessary. We never got an RFE (GC is now in hand), so my recommendation would be to follow the same course of action and skip the 693 (and its attendant doctor's fees) unless USCIS demands it.

 

We also had the same issue with the name. In our case, we were able to get the Social Security office to list her name properly on her first card. They just listed the name on her I-94 as a "known alias" for their own records. The only other time we had problems with the name was in getting the marriage license. Frankly, the county clerk's office was a bit difficult, but we were able to persuade the person at the clerk's office to operate off of her passport rather than the I-94. Then, once we had her name correct on both the social security card and the marriage license, we filed it that way with the 485, and now we have enough documents with her name as it should be that it's no longer a big deal.

 

We went back after the green card was in hand and updated her social security card with her married name.

Very good information here. However, TDAP is not chicken pox. It is tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis. Varicella is the chicken pox vaccine. 😁