How late is too late for AOS?

[wbeem 568]

Just get the paperwork and file as soon as you can. 

We filed 3 months after we were married, despite being set on doing it immediately.  A few significantly large and unexpected bills forced us to wait a little.  For the SSN, although I got mine as soon as I arrived in the US, it remained in my maiden name until I got my GC and then I had to mosey on down to the office and spend an afternoon there to apply for it to be issued in my married name.  There are little things that make it a pain when you don't have a SSN, but it's not the end of the world. Once you have your NOA1 you're back on track. 

[ThomasNC1988 762]

I've seen threads on VJ where people waited years. Wouldn't recommend that but you're all good.

[HavenevaH 2]

I appreciate the replies @wbeem & @ThomasNC1988. 

 

Obviously, we want to get it done, but your insight helps us feel better about having to do it late. 

 

Thanks again. 

[TNJ17 1,329]

She’s deportable until she gets aos. Not likely she will though because that’s not who they focus on. As for social, license and everything else, your just gonna have to wait for EAD because you took too long and let her go out of status. It doesn’t cost anything to get ssn, so you should have gotten that as soon as she arrived. No you wait. It’s taking anywhere between 4-6 months for EAD and over a year for aos. 

[HavenevaH 2]

Thanks TNJ17. 

 

As i mentioned in my first post, a lot happened in a very short amount of time to put us behind, but hopefully we’ll get it out soon. We’ve started completing the forms today and will be scheduling her medical exam Monday. 

 

As for her social security, that definitely was a blunder of mine. But we’re ok waiting for EAD, as there is no real hurry for her to work right now. 

 

Does the AP, allowing her to travel, come at about the same time as EAD?

 

Thanks again

[Sunnyland 639]

If when she applies for her AOS, also applies for her EAD (form I-765) and AP (form I-131) at the same time, then she should get a combo card like this one. It's her employment authorization card that also serves as Advance Parole as detailed in the bottom wording. 

Always download the forms (to fill out) directly from the USCIS website which will be the latest version. Not from VJ. 

 

 

 

 

 

[HavenevaH 2]

Thank you Sunnyland. 

 

We are working on the forms now. I downloaded them from USCIS. 

 

Thanks for explaining and showing me the card. Now I know what to expect. 

[Sunnyland 639]

No problem. I know how confusing all seems at the beginning. Like others said, EAD/AP can take from 3 to 6 months from the moment they receive your AOS packet. This website helped me from beginning to my recent naturalization. All the best for you guys.

[HavenevaH 2]

I had another question about I-485

 

As I had mentioned earlier in the thread, I failed to get a social security card for my wife before she became out of status.. due to confusion. So, in essence, her name hasn't changed.

 

I learned that when completing the I-485, that the name we use on the form will be the name the EAD and GC will be issued under. 

 

The thing is, we want to change her name when we receive the EAD, because we failed to with the social security card. 

 

Is that the best course of action, or my only choice at this point? I understand there is a pretty hefty fee to change a name on an issued green card. 

 

Is the copy of our marriage certificate enough to go ahead and put her (future) last name on the I-485?

 

Thanks

Edited May 22, 2018 by HavenevaH

[geowrian 22,338]

23 minutes ago, HavenevaH said:

I had another question about I-485

 

As I had mentioned earlier in the thread, I failed to get a social security card for my wife before she became out of status.. due to confusion. So, in essence, her name hasn't changed.

 

I learned that when completing the I-485, that the name we use on the form will be the name the EAD and GC will be issued under. 

 

The thing is, we want to change her name when we receive the EAD, because we failed to with the social security card. 

 

Is that the best course of action, or my only choice at this point? I understand there is a pretty hefty fee to change a name on an issued green card. 

 

Is the copy of our marriage certificate enough to go ahead and put her (future) last name on the I-485?

Yes. The marriage certificate is a legal name change document. It's not a "future" name...it would be her current name that changed as of the date you married...you just don't have federal documents to serve as evidence of the name change yet.

You can (and should) use the married name on the I-485.

[HavenevaH 2]

@geowrian

 

Thanks a lot for the reply. That clears things up.

 

I guess the part that confused me was the " Current Legal Name" in bold letters, and since we hadn't gone the social security route, thought that I would still need to use her maiden name. 

 

I will put her married name, and then just put her maiden name in "Other names previously used"

 

Thanks for your help.

[geowrian 22,338]

Bingo.

[HavenevaH 2]

@geowrian

 

 or anyone else that can help...

 

I have my documents ready i believe,  but just wanted to re-visit this question before I send them off. 

 

Regarding putting my wife's married name on I-485, without having changed it with social security, etc. 

 

I read this on another forum, and it has me confused:

 

"You fill it in with your current legal name. If you legally changed your name as part of the marriage, then the new name is now your legal name. Not all people legally change their names as part of marriage. If you changed your name, then the marriage certificate should indicate that, and the marriage certificate serves as proof of legal name change. For your I-485 you will need to provide both your birth certificate and proof of name change (marriage certificate) because your current name will be different than the one on your birth certificate. It's okay to use documents in your former name as long as you use them in conjunction with the marriage certificate which proves the name change."

---

 

On our marriage certificate is her maiden name, which I thought was standard on any marriage certificate. Here, in TN, we just take the marriage certificate to the social security office to apply for name change, and that's that. However, I failed to do that within the 90 days for the I-485.

 

This just has me really confused, and I just don't want to run the risk of a denied application because of something so trivial.

 

So, although our marriage certificate has her maiden name, and nothing has been done by us to change her name legally with social security office, I can still put her married name on I-485?

 

Thanks again and sorry for re-hashing this

 

 

[geowrian 22,338]

I wouldn't worry too much about that. The marriage certificate issued to my wife and I also only listed the maiden name. This was no issue for USCIS.

 

Every state is different with marriage certificates, so I can't say with certainty what TN does, but it doesn't sound like an issue. The SSA is not the controller of your legal name...they're just a federal source that provides a document many places use as evidence of a name change. It's a bit funny because marriage certificates are a state issue and the SSA is a federal agency.

 

If anybody is familiar with TN specifically, I highly encourage them to speak up too.

[HavenevaH 2]

Thank you for the reply. I appreciate it.