Club Colombia AOS!

[Mike and Adriana 0]

I thought I'd provide an update....so you will be prepared if this happens to you.

Background info....

1) My wife's K-3 visa is in her maiden name. We completed the AOS and EAD paperwork in her married name.

2) My wife applied for EAD with her AOS in February. She received EAD in April. She applied for an received her social security card in her married name.

3) We had the AOS interview at the end of August and were approved. She received her green card a few weeks later...in her married name.

4) I open an IRA in my wife's name (married name). I get a call the other day from T. Rowe Price asking us to send verification of social security number, as they were unable to verify it with the U.S. government....which I thought was strange.

5) Yesterday we go to the social security office to update her records now that she is a permanent resident (we were told to do this by the FO in Orlando during our AOS interview). I'm not sure if this simply involves updating her records or actually getting a new card. We fill out the form (again) and bring it to the window. The lady tells me that she is unable to do anything because the name on the social security card and green card (both in her married name) does not match whatever she is looking at on her computer (which lists her maiden name from her K-3 visa). I really do not understand what's happening (as the lady really doesn't know either). However, she told me we have two options - she can attempt to determine the problem through her office (taking 45 days at a minimum) or we can try to fix the problem through USCIS.

6) I call USCIS and, of course, they can do nothing over the phone. They tell me I need to make an INFOPASS appointment with the Orlando field office, which I have now done for October 8. Another trip to Orlando due to stupidity.

Not sure why this is so hard.....or why my wife's green card is in her married name, but come database (I presume) lists her maiden name. Doesn't make sense, but I should not be surprised.

So, for all of you who are changing your wife's last name through the AOS process, I'll let you know what happens and hopefully give you an explanation of why it happened once this gets resolved.

Mike

[HAL 9000 96]

Gee Mike it seems we may be in a similar situation. I'll post more info here if the name change becomes a problem as well.

We also included a letter explaining the name change, just in case, in the AOS package.

[Mike and Adriana 0]

I might go back to social security and get a better idea of the database from which the information is being pulled and what information they are seeing. I can't quite figure out how everything (AOS petition, SS card, green card) is in my wife's married name, yet some database is showing her maiden name (presumably from her passport/K-3). Seems crazy.

Hopefully I can get things fixed on October 8...with only one trip. We'll see.

Mike

Gee Mike it seems we may be in a similar situation. I'll post more info here if the name change becomes a problem as well.

We also included a letter explaining the name change, just in case, in the AOS package.

[HAL 9000 96]

Good luck Mike. I think I may be led to believe the database is the same one they use to prequalify K-1 visa holders to obtain a SSN before the actual EAD during AOS. If this is so then I probably foresee the same situation in Mária's case with the SSA. Its a possible bump in the road of finishing all this paperwork, albeit a small one.

[parkpapa 0]

I thought I'd provide an update....so you will be prepared if this happens to you.

Background info....

1) My wife's K-3 visa is in her maiden name. We completed the AOS and EAD paperwork in her married name.

2) My wife applied for EAD with her AOS in February. She received EAD in April. She applied for an received her social security card in her married name.

3) We had the AOS interview at the end of August and were approved. She received her green card a few weeks later...in her married name.

4) I open an IRA in my wife's name (married name). I get a call the other day from T. Rowe Price asking us to send verification of social security number, as they were unable to verify it with the U.S. government....which I thought was strange.

5) Yesterday we go to the social security office to update her records now that she is a permanent resident (we were told to do this by the FO in Orlando during our AOS interview). I'm not sure if this simply involves updating her records or actually getting a new card. We fill out the form (again) and bring it to the window. The lady tells me that she is unable to do anything because the name on the social security card and green card (both in her married name) does not match whatever she is looking at on her computer (which lists her maiden name from her K-3 visa). I really do not understand what's happening (as the lady really doesn't know either). However, she told me we have two options - she can attempt to determine the problem through her office (taking 45 days at a minimum) or we can try to fix the problem through USCIS.

6) I call USCIS and, of course, they can do nothing over the phone. They tell me I need to make an INFOPASS appointment with the Orlando field office, which I have now done for October 8. Another trip to Orlando due to stupidity.

Not sure why this is so hard.....or why my wife's green card is in her married name, but come database (I presume) lists her maiden name. Doesn't make sense, but I should not be surprised.

So, for all of you who are changing your wife's last name through the AOS process, I'll let you know what happens and hopefully give you an explanation of why it happened once this gets resolved.

Mike

Why in the hell can't those people get their *(#!@ together? Rather than being another 'bump in the road' it seems there is only a series of bumps where a road should have been. Yeah, Mike, please keep us informed as we are following in your footsteps.

[Mike and Adriana 0]

It is unfortunate because it's wasting time I can't afford to waste right now. Luckily I could get an INFOPASS appointment quickly and on a day and time that works (considering I live a little over an hour away from the field office). It's a hassle over something stupid that should not happen. Hopefully it will be easy to fix and I won't have to worry about anything for another 2 years. But it has already messed up two things - the social security card update/re-issue and my wife's IRA. I wonder if it will mess up her new driver's license. Now that she has her green card, we went to get the driver's licensed changed from temporary (one year) in her maiden name to permanent (8 years?) in her married name. The license will come from Tallahassee....once they have verified her status (assuming that they don't have the same problem that the SS office had).

Mike

Why in the hell can't those people get their *(#!@ together? Rather than being another 'bump in the road' it seems there is only a series of bumps where a road should have been. Yeah, Mike, please keep us informed as we are following in your footsteps.

[tommyesq73 0]

Hola colombia....quick question...My wife entered the U.S. on july 12, 2007 on a K-1 visa...We had 90 days to get married (I-94 has 10/10). We got married on August 25 and i filed the AOS package on 9/18. What happens if we don't here anything back before 10/10? Is my wife ok since we got married and filed the AOS b4 the 10/10?

[lucho562 0]

Hola colombia....quick question...My wife entered the U.S. on july 12, 2007 on a K-1 visa...We had 90 days to get married (I-94 has 10/10). We got married on August 25 and i filed the AOS package on 9/18. What happens if we don't here anything back before 10/10? Is my wife ok since we got married and filed the AOS b4 the 10/10?

No problems with that bro. Your wife's status is perfectly fine.

The I-94 with the 10/10 date is the cutoff only to get married, nothing else. The 10/10 date does not mean you have to file for AOS before that date, only get married by that date.

[tommyesq73 0]

thanks Lucho...i was just reading up on some of these problems with the name changes....we filed all of our AOS EAD AP paperwork in my wife;s married name and listed her maiden name where it asked for it...Additionally, we went to the SS office with our marriage cert and did a name change w/o any problems...Not sure if this is the same prob but so far this has been my exp.

[lucho562 0]

It's not the same problem as Mike experienced. Mike got married in Colombia, he filed the K3 route. I'm assuming his wife's last name should have been in her married name from the get go. Seems like someone at the SS office screwed up.

Bro, are you in L.A.?

[tommyesq73 0]

It's not the same problem as Mike experienced. Mike got married in Colombia, he filed the K3 route. I'm assuming his wife's last name should have been in her married name from the get go. Seems like someone at the SS office screwed up.

Bro, are you in L.A.?

Lucho im in orange county....

[Mike and Adriana 0]

Yes, Lucho is correct. It's not the same issue...as we got married in Colombia and my wife came here on a K-3.

We filed the I-130 and the I-129F using my wife's maiden name (since that was the name on her Colombian passport...and still is). So, the K-3 visa was in her maiden name. We filed AOS and EAD in her married name (notingher maiden name as an "other" name). Everything worked smoothly until now. We got the EAD in the married name. Using that, we got the social security card in her married name. We eventually got the green card in her married name. All correspondence that has come from USCIS has been in her married name.

The only glitch is happening now....when we went back to the social security office to update her "status" from EAD only to permanent resident. The lady was unable to update it because she could not verify the name. Not sure if it's an isolated mistake....or a systematic problem with their system and/or the way they process these things. Very strange that everything physical (SS card, green card, etc.) is in the proper married name, but somewhere in the databse, the maiden name is still listed. Don't know enough about government databases to know the problem for sure. Wish I could have crawled over the desk at SS and SEEN the problem myself.

Hopefully no one else will have this problem.....but just wanted to put out the FYI.

Mike

thanks Lucho...i was just reading up on some of these problems with the name changes....we filed all of our AOS EAD AP paperwork in my wife;s married name and listed her maiden name where it asked for it...Additionally, we went to the SS office with our marriage cert and did a name change w/o any problems...Not sure if this is the same prob but so far this has been my exp.

[HAL 9000 96]

It is unfortunate because it's wasting time I can't afford to waste right now. Luckily I could get an INFOPASS appointment quickly and on a day and time that works (considering I live a little over an hour away from the field office). It's a hassle over something stupid that should not happen. Hopefully it will be easy to fix and I won't have to worry about anything for another 2 years. But it has already messed up two things - the social security card update/re-issue and my wife's IRA. I wonder if it will mess up her new driver's license. Now that she has her green card, we went to get the driver's licensed changed from temporary (one year) in her maiden name to permanent (8 years?) in her married name. The license will come from Tallahassee....once they have verified her status (assuming that they don't have the same problem that the SS office had).

Mike

Why in the hell can't those people get their *(#!@ together? Rather than being another 'bump in the road' it seems there is only a series of bumps where a road should have been. Yeah, Mike, please keep us informed as we are following in your footsteps.

Wow they're STILL doing this at the State-wide DMV down in FL??

Yes, it is an absolute waste of time having to rely on data-input to be up to efficiency... given the implications this has in terms of employment and ID it is strange the issue should come up... here's to hoping Mike can clear it up promptly and discover it was a boo-boo at the data-entry point at some government agency.

[buck501 0]

Howdy folks..................guess I will be comming over here pronto. Hooray!!!

I thought i would bump this thread to the top.

[HAL 9000 96]

Here's a bump:

After more than a month of sitting around, I finally put everything together and mailed the darn AOS package. October 1, 2007. Funny thing is... I could have actually gotten in my car, driven the 10 minutes it takes to get Downtown, and handed the package off to the folks at the "Lockbox"... sucks but I'd rather get proof of mailing. And of course, there's no in-person filing available here in Chicago for AOS as far as I know. I guess it will arrive there tomorrow. I made sure to use a good cover letter with Maria's A# all over the place.

Time to update our VJ Time line, for what its worth. Lets see how long it takes these guys to process our:

I-485

G-325

I-693A

I-864

I-765

I-131

all with the appropriate evidence and documentation.